Chapter 22
Cruel Welcoming Party
Shed Lester's legendary achievements were always based on reason.
He maintained a cool head even in the most extreme situations, making the most rational and best decisions in times of crisis.
A leader you could entrust your life to.
A person you wouldn't doubt would make better judgments than you.
However.
Bang!
"Kyaa!"
"Ugh!"
Eclaus lowered his body against the fierce wind blowing from the darkness.
'Damn it, what's going on!'
The sharp gale flew like a blade, sweeping through the group.
Screams and sobs mingled.
Everyone regretted coming to Ideana.
"Where is Count Shed Lester?"
Eclaus asked the knights, who were dimly visible in the darkness.
But the knights did not answer.
In a normal situation, Shed would have been giving orders even in the dark.
Telling everyone to lower their bodies, how to organize their forces in the darkness, or soothing people to calmly assess the situation.
But after the order to gather around the carriage, he had been silent.
And then, a series of massive shockwaves.
The previous ones were significant, but the shockwave that just hit was different.
A blue flash of light shone in the darkness, splitting the darkness as if a meteor had fallen from the sky.
"What was that just now...?"
The sound of carts overturning and trees snapping echoed through the fierce waves.
So did screams and groans.
It seemed that some were crushed under the overturned carts or injured.
However, it was difficult to accurately assess the situation due to the darkness, like a deep night without a single star.
People were terrified and trembling in the dark.
"Our lord is unable to give orders."
Sir Carlisle's voice came from beside him.
"That shockwave just now, it's definitely unusual..."
Carlisle bit his lip tightly.
It was fortunate that he was alive and not far away, but it was unfortunate that he had drawn his Aura.
Carlisle had followed Shed for a long time, but he had only seen him draw his Aura when facing other Swordmasters or hunting Giant Demon Beasts.
But he was using Aura.
That alone was enough for the knights to know how dangerous this darkness was.
Their eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and their vision began to clear, but no one dared to go near Shed.
If they rashly intervened, they might get caught up and have their necks or limbs cut off.
And, the judgment of Carlisle and the other knights was a wise choice.
Even if they jumped into the fight, Shed Lester would not have had the composure to consider them.
He would probably have cut down anything that got in his way.
If it meant he could kill the Heretic holding Liana in his arms.
Shed stared intently at the enemy beyond the darkness.
Even the thick darkness was useless against Aura.
"Kugh...!"
The Heretic staggered backward from the previous attack.
Thud, blood dripped to the floor.
His left arm was gone.
"Damn it..."
The Heretic looked at Shed.
Liana Serpens was already in Shed Lester's arms.
Shed Lester's eyes gleamed with a madness as if he was going berserk.
The Heretic pressed down on his severed arm.
But Shed swung his sword with overwhelming power, as if he would not give him a chance to recover.
"Damn it...!"
The Heretic, who had lost an arm, gnashed his teeth and barely clung to life.
Bang, bang, his knees buckled and he staggered under the crushing force.
'The odds are not in my favor...'
The difference in power was clear.
The Heretic realized that staying any longer would only be disadvantageous to him.
"It's a shame... but let's meet again next time."
The darkness that had momentarily faded deepened again.
All around was dark without a single point of light.
Instinctively, he tightened his arms to protect Liana.
He sharpened all his senses in the darkness.
But soon the darkness cleared, and the surroundings became dazzlingly bright.
The Heretic was nowhere to be seen.
And the figure of Liana in his arms became clear.
At that moment, Shed's head went cold.
"Liana...!"
A bloodless, pale face.
Blood flowed unceasingly from the pierced wound.
He had no time to think about chasing the Heretic.
Shed put her on his lap, hugged her, and pressed down on her abdomen to stop the bleeding.
Crimson liquid flowed through the gaps in his fingers that blocked the wound.
His hand, which had been shining blue until just now, was stained red with blood as if nothing had happened.
Liana's breath gradually faded.
No. I didn't come here to let you die like this.
I didn't find you just to let you go so futilely.
It was a moment of carelessness.
He was just a little slow to react because he had never experienced Black Magic before.
"Why did you interfere...!"
He couldn't understand Liana's actions at all.
You could have just left it alone.
You didn't have to sacrifice yourself for me.
It was as if the world was mocking him.
To bring her back to life after thinking she had died eight years ago, to let him find a reason to live only then, and then to let her die like this in front of his eyes again so soon was unacceptable.
Damn Ideana.
The land that had no good memories from childhood welcomed his return in an unchangingly cruel way.
"Lord!"
Then knights ran from afar.
Shed hugged Liana, who was growing colder and colder.
"Cleric."
He didn't need anything else.
"Bring a Cleric right now!"
He had to save Liana Serpens.
The old Ideana Count's residence in Paradell.
Although some parts were broken, the mansion built of white stone still had ceilings and walls.
Shed made it his temporary residence and moved Liana to the best room among the usable rooms.
He couldn't take his eyes off the pale face of the woman lying limply on the makeshift bed.
"How long do I have to wait?"
Shed's voice was as low and monotonous as ever.
But the Cleric, sweating profusely, opened his mouth at the colder tone than ever before.
"I, well, strangely, Divine Power isn't working..."
The Cleric had been by her side to heal her ever since Liana was moved.
But his Divine Power simply couldn't heal the wound.
All he could do was stop the bleeding.
But it hadn't stopped completely yet, and the makeshift bed was soaked with blood.
"Damn it, did the Temple send a greenhorn who can't even do that? Can't even heal a simple wound like this...!"
As Shed muttered quietly, the Cleric lowered his head.
"This wound isn't an ordinary wound..."
"Then find another way to save her!"
Bang, Shed slammed the table next to him, and the old table leg broke, tilting and falling to the side.
The Cleric trembled his lips as if he was about to cry and devoted himself to the failing treatment again.
If he couldn't save Liana, Shed Lester seemed like he would cut off his head and kill him, even if he was a Cleric.
The Cleric, already exhausted and drenched in sweat, began to heal Liana again.
Eventually, Eclaus stepped in.
"Count Lester. It seems that Divine Power cannot heal the wound."
As Eclaus stepped forward, Shed's eyes turned to him.
Eclaus felt a chill down his spine at the bloodshot gaze.
"I'm not saying that Miss Liana has no hope, but..."
Eclaus raised both hands and calmed him down.
Damn it. How much reason had he lost to glare like that at such advice?
If he touched him wrong, even he would have his head cut off.
'He's not in his right mind.'
Eclaus looked at Shed's trembling hands.
To have eyes that looked like they would destroy anything and tremble like a lamb.
Could the Shed Lester of all people be so afraid and anxious?
'What the hell happened...?'
No one knew what had happened while the darkness fell.
Why darkness had fallen on Paradell, what had happened to him, why Liana was injured, Shed did not explain.
He was only focused on Liana Serpens.
Because Shed, who should have been giving instructions, was in that state, everyone else was in confusion and anxiety.
There were no instructions on even simple things like where to unpack their luggage or how the knights should prepare.
'I have to get him to regain his reason first.'
Eclaus plucked up the courage to speak again in the silence that no one dared to break.
"I don't know much, but wasn't that darkness an accident caused by Black Magic?"
Eclaus was a quick-witted and discerning person.
Even if Shed didn't tell him, he could grasp the general flow of events.
There are only three mysterious forces in this world that cannot be explained physically.
The Divine Power used by Clerics, the Aura of Swordmasters, and the power of the Heretic, Black Magic.
The darkness that covered Paradell was neither Divine Power nor Aura, so it was easy to infer that it was Black Magic.
However... the fact that that power is still present here, where the Heretic purge ended years ago, is very, very troublesome.
Perhaps everyone else is aware of it too. They just don't want to believe it.
Among them, Eclaus was the first to regain his rational judgment.
"Black Magic is a power that is the opposite of Divine Power. Perhaps it is natural that Divine Power does not work on wounds caused by Black Magic. There may be a curse mixed in."
Eclaus continued to speak as calmly as possible to calm Shed down.
Then the Cleric nodded his head violently as if it would break.
It seemed he wanted to argue that it was not because of his incompetence.
Then Shed's lips were tightly shut.
Fortunately, he seemed to have enough reason left to understand his words to some extent.
