Chapter 21
Heretic
Shed Lester, holding Liana's hand to sense her presence, dismounted from his horse. Staying on the horse any longer could escalate the situation due to the animal's agitation.
He lifted Liana down as well.
Shed pulled her close, not wanting to let her go.
In the darkness, her rapid breathing sounded anxiously loud.
Her condition had been strange ever since they reached Paradell.
"Liana."
"I didn't do it. I..."
Liana trembled, mumbling something between gasps.
"Liana!"
Shed cupped her terror-stricken face in his hands, forcing her to look at him.
In the pitch-black darkness, they could tell they were making eye contact.
Only then did Liana's breathing gradually calm down.
'First, we need to gather the scattered people.'
He thought coldly.
Cries and calls for one another echoed from all directions.
"Everyone, dismount and stay close to the carriages and wagons!"
He sharpened all his senses.
The surroundings had only turned dark; the land of Paradell hadn't collapsed, nor had the sky fallen.
Underfoot, he felt soil, weeds, and stones, and on his skin, he felt the warm, gentle breeze unique to Ideana.
Nothing had changed except for the blocked vision. Not yet.
He instructed those near the wagons and carriages to keep making noise by banging on things.
Perhaps because of the darkness, the sounds seemed distant.
"Let's go."
Shed, holding Liana in his arms, took a step.
In the darkness, they had only each other to rely on.
Then, Shed turned his head towards the deep darkness.
He couldn't see anything, but he felt something.
A presence felt on the opposite side of where the Lester family's group was.
And that presence was approaching Shed and Liana.
"Liana."
Shed held Liana even tighter, hiding her in his embrace.
Shed realized.
The moment he rejoined the procession, that faceless murderous intent would sweep up the others as well.
Shed thought coldly.
At that moment.
Whoosh! Something sharp pierced the darkness and flew towards him.
Shed instinctively pulled Liana and twisted his body to avoid it.
A chilling wind passed by his cheek.
"Oops."
Only then did the nameless entity in the darkness speak.
And gradually, the darkness surrounding them began to fade, and their vision slowly widened.
Shed shielded Liana behind him, wary of the presence beyond the darkness.
"Who are you?"
Shed pointed his sword directly at the presence.
Then, thud, thud, the enemy emerged, dispelling the blurred darkness.
A long robe that concealed the face, a height comparable to Shed's, and eerie, gleaming purple eyes in the darkness.
'Lupus?'
Shed was momentarily shaken, recognizing him.
Purple eyes and that physique clearly belonged to the Lupus clan.
"A feast has begun."
Instead of revealing his identity, the unknown opponent grinned, revealing white teeth beneath the robe.
At the same time, he charged at them with an old, rusty sword with a chipped blade.
Clang!
In an instant, the two swords clashed, creating a deafening roar that seemed to shatter the heavens and the earth.
Even the darkness surrounding them seemed to ripple and retreat from the intense shockwave.
'The sword...?'
Shed, pushing back the sword, looked at his opponent's rusty blade.
Surely, if they collided with this much force, it should have broken or completely chipped.
But that rusty, old sword was as sturdy as if it were made of hongyeom iron, maintaining its form.
Shed saw the black Aura surrounding the sword.
It wasn't the sword that was special. The unpleasant power the wielder possessed was strengthening the sword.
Black Magic. He was a 'Heretic' who used forbidden spells.
Meanwhile, the face-covered opponent looked at him with surprised eyes.
"You can use Aura?"
Purple eyes, hidden in the shadows, tilted inquisitively as they looked at Shed.
If Clerics had Divine Power, knights had Aura.
When one reached a certain level or higher in handling swords and spears, they could use energy beyond physical strength, which people called Aura, and those who could use Aura were called Swordmasters.
"You're Lupus... I've never seen a Lupus who uses Aura before."
The face hidden by the robe chuckled.
As he said, no Lupus had ever been able to use Aura until now.
Reaching the level of using Aura required experience and training that pushed the body beyond its limits.
However, Lupus were born with far superior physical conditions than ordinary humans, so their 'limit' was much higher than others.
Until now, Lupus had never found a reason or need to push themselves to that limit.
There were some Lupus who could do as much as a Swordmaster without using Aura.
But Shed Lester was different.
"Aura, aren't you going to use more?"
The Heretic, tilting his head, had one hand completely dyed black.
'Damn it.'
Shed, despite being a Swordmaster, didn't have many opportunities to use Aura.
As a Lupus, he could often do as much as a Swordmaster without needing to use Aura.
But now was not the time to conserve power.
However, the reason he hesitated was.
'Liana...'
If he used Aura properly, Liana, who was nearby, could get caught up and injured.
But the enemy had no patience to wait for Shed's hesitation.
The murderous intent wrapped in darkness rushed at him again.
At the same time, a roar that created a strong wind exploded once more.
"Ugh!"
Dust spread like a wave along with the wind that made his hair flutter violently.
The wave reached far away, causing a commotion even in the Lester family's procession.
"Aaaagh!"
"Lord! Are you alright!"
Voices echoed from the darkness in the distance.
Liana, who had lowered her body against the wind, raised her head, and Shed's fingertips were glowing blue.
Blue energy extended from his hand to his sword. It was Aura.
"You're really strong?"
The Heretic muttered in an intrigued voice.
"You'll be the best treat."
The man smiled at Shed.
And charged at Shed again.
Several more gusts of wind swept over the darkness.
Shed tenaciously pursued and countered him, targeting his weaknesses.
With each collision, the Heretic gradually began to be pushed back.
Bewilderment flashed at the end of the black sword.
It was natural. Until he met Shed, he had never been in an inferior position.
Shed had also never encountered an opponent of this strength.
But the Heretic soon shook off his bewilderment and stepped back.
Eyes gleaming with madness gauged the opponent.
'His movements are, interesting?'
That Swordmaster was definitely strong. Strong enough that it would be difficult for him to win.
But his movements were quite regular.
The Heretic's eyes turned to the woman beside the Swordmaster.
'He's been moving around that woman since earlier.'
Even when using Aura, he always faced away from her and swung, luring and protecting her so that the Heretic could never approach her.
His fingertips and toes clearly showed that he was worried that she might get caught up in this fight or that the Heretic might target her.
'He's quite desperate over just one woman?'
The Heretic grinned.
Meanwhile, Shed became even more sensitive to the change in his atmosphere.
However.
"It was fun."
The Heretic's light greeting echoed in the darkness.
At the same time, his figure was completely buried in the darkness.
Just as he was thinking of retreating, a chilling thrill ran along Shed's nerves.
"Shed!"
The moment he recognized the chilling sensation, Liana's cry was heard from behind.
And.
Thwack!
A clear piercing sound rang in his ears.
Thump, his heart dropped, and as he turned his head, Liana was behind him.
"Ha, what's this now?"
Drip, even in the darkness, the falling blood was clearly visible.
The Heretic looked at the woman who had blocked him as if he couldn't believe it.
A black blade pierced through her abdomen.
"I was carrying around a crazy bitch."
He hadn't intended to stab the woman.
He had only targeted the man's weakness, which he had taken to protect the woman.
But, ridiculously, the woman whom the man had been so fiercely trying to protect had stepped forward and thrown herself in the way.
If it had been slightly off, her heart could have been pierced, but what courage...?
The Heretic chuckled at the absurd judgment.
'His efforts have become a joke.'
He looked at the Swordmaster's expression in the distance.
The face, which had been calmly showing no openings until now, was a mixture of shock and despair, like a Cleric who had witnessed the fall of an angel.
"Liana...!"
Shed saw the blood that was staining her torso red.
For a moment, Shed's mind stopped with time, frozen, wondering what had happened.
Very slowly, even in the dark vision, the small body impaled on the tip of the sword collapsed powerlessly.
Shed reached out towards Liana, who was impaled by the black blade.
At that moment, the eyes of the man holding the hilt changed.
The Heretic twisted the sword slightly and pulled it out.
The chipped blade dragged Liana's body like a hook.
Liana, who had collapsed powerlessly, was pulled into the man's grasp like hunted livestock.
And the Heretic, confirming the woman's face up close, grinned.
"This woman... is Ideana?"
The Heretic held Liana in his arms and pulled out the sword stuck in her abdomen.
With that, red blood gushed out of Liana's body.
Liana's body convulsed once and then went limp.
All those scenes were clearly visible, even in the darkness.
Shed's mind went blank.
At the same time, his heart pumped as if it would burst, and hot blood surged from his toes to the top of his head.
