Chapter 326: Chapter 326: Ouroboros (1)

Bond.

It’s a support spell that makes the target recognize you as a companion, allowing you to travel together when using a labyrinth portal and share experience points after killing monsters.

I learned that this spell was the counter to [Flameless Spirit] when I was trying to clear the rebellion route.

After absorbing the Essence of Silence and going through about 300 tries, I finally reached the royal family’s inner sanctum. I was filled with hope, thinking I was just a few steps away from seeing the King’s face.

[Character has been ‘Bound’ to a Royal Guard.]

The royal family’s NPCs used this method on me, crushing my hopes and dreams.

Well, I did eventually find a way to counter this counter…

‘But I never saw the King’s face.’

I gave up on the rebellion route.

I think it was my first time giving up while playing this game…

But I don’t think it was a meaningless experience.

Sometimes, you gain something from failure.

Like this.

“Keugh…!”

The Bond + Giant Body Slam combo.

Liuhen Praha was thrown back, his body flying through the air.

But watching him fly was something only a noob would do.

Fighting games are the same, right?

If you launch your opponent into the air, you have to follow up with a combo.

‘Transcendence.’

I chanted the command.

Before his body went out of the 20-meter radius.

‘Eye of the Storm.’

The grab skill I obtained from [Stormgush].

‘Somehow, I ended up with a PvP optimized build.’

A strong gust of wind swept through the long sewer, and his flying body changed direction and flew towards me.

So I got ready to smash him.

And…

One, two, three.

‘Now.’

I swung my hammer with all my might at the right timing.

Kwagic!

Flesh and bone were crushed.

But I wasn’t completely satisfied.

Because it wasn’t the sound I was hoping for.

‘Damn it.’

I was aiming for his shiny temple, but he raised his arm to block it. He had regained his composure and protected his vital point, even while being dragged by the wind.

‘Well, at least I took one of his arms.’

It wasn’t a fatal blow, but I decided to think positively.

His arm was bent at a grotesque angle.

It was clear that I had inflicted significant damage—

Tadat.

He was thrown towards the side wall, but he regained his balance in midair and kicked off the wall with one leg.

And…

‘This guy really is experienced.’

…he charged towards me, swinging his sword, instead of creating distance.

Whoosh!

A fierce Aura emanated from the blade.

His Agility stat was much higher than mine, so it was difficult to block with my hammer in my current position.

Therefore…

Tadat.

…I retreated.

Damn it, if I had dodged backwards, I would have continued chasing him and kept up the pressure.

Splash.

A brief lull in the battle occurred as we created a distance of about 10 meters. He pointed his sword at me, holding it with his remaining arm, and asked,

“How… did you know?”

His ragged breathing suggested that he was still injured from the body slam and the broken arm.

Hmm, so he’s trying to buy time to recover?

I analyzed his condition, and then I chuckled at his next words.

“No one… should know about… this essence…”

He was seeking an answer to the contradiction he had encountered.

Right, so he was just curious.

He must have tried hard to hide this weakness.

That’s probably why he always explored alone. Even when he was with others, he never ‘Bound’ with them.

Because that would reveal the weakness of [Flameless Spirit].

‘Come to think of it, the reason he was clinging to the Ruin Scholar in the community was probably because of [Flameless Spirit].’

He needed a companion who wouldn’t lose their power even without ‘Bonding’ to achieve his goal of killing the King.

Like a mage or a priest.

But a priest wouldn’t help him kill the King, so the Ruin Scholar was more valuable.

He was a top-tier mage and a fellow ‘evil spirit’.

“Right, an evil spirit…”

He muttered, looking at me.

I hadn’t said a word, but he had already reached a conclusion.

Well, it wasn’t a wrong conclusion…

‘But he doesn’t know the counter.’

I was certain that he didn’t know the countermeasure after hearing him talk. He wouldn’t have insisted on being alone if he knew.

I tightened my grip on my hammer.

‘It’s a good thing this is twenty years ago.’

I didn’t know what he would be like in the future.

Maybe he would have overcome this weakness.

He might have even switched out some of his essences.

And his swordsmanship might have reached its peak.

One thing was certain, he would probably become an enemy I couldn’t defeat, judging by his notoriety twenty years later.

But…

‘Not today.’

I chanted the command.

After all, why do you think I’ve been holding back?

‘Transcendence.’

‘Eye of the Storm.’

The cooldown for my grab skill was over.

_____________________

The battle was simple.

Kwaaang, kwaaang!

Aura and the Demon Crusher, a Double Numbered Item, clashed repeatedly.

And…

‘Damn it, he’s good.’

…I felt a wall for the first time.

I had fought many opponents who were stronger than me, but this was my first time feeling this way about someone’s martial arts.

Slash!

My skin was cut open in an instant.

His sword moved like a snake, and sometimes it was as hard as steel.

And not only that…

His swordsmanship had form and rhythm, even to my untrained eyes.

Even knights, when pushed into a brawl, would rely on instinct and momentary judgments…

Slash!

…but he was different.

The wounds on my body piled up.

They were appearing faster than my Natural Regeneration could heal them.

But I hadn’t received any fatal blows yet.

It wasn’t because I was good at dodging, but because I was constantly using potions.

Sizzle!

The deep cuts bubbled as flesh regrew.

I stepped back after briefly checking my condition.

And…

‘Transcendence.’

‘Eye of the Storm.’

I used my grab skill, which was off cooldown.

But the situation was similar.

As if proving that he had only been caught off guard because he didn’t know about it, he didn’t panic at all and swung his sword, using the momentum.

Whoosh!

Damn it, his timing is perfect now.

I should probably just seal this grab skill.

Tadat.

I retreated again to avoid his sword.

And he stepped on the ceiling and closed the distance, asking,

“Who are you?”

Kwaaang!

“You’re with that woman.”

Kwaaang!

“So you’re also from the royal family?”

Geez, he’s so talkative.

I was annoyed by his constant chatter, but I was also curious.

‘From the royal family? Why is he suddenly mentioning the royal family?’

Well, it wasn’t strange for him to misunderstand.

The royal family and the Lord’s forces were attacking Orculus.

But what I was really curious about was this:

‘What’s going to happen now?’

I didn’t even consider killing him here.

After all, he was supposed to appear in front of Amelia soon.

But…

‘I might not be able to win, but I don’t think I’ll lose either.’

I felt like I could hold him off for hours if I wanted to.

Well, I couldn’t be sure…

‘Huh?’

That’s when…

…it happened.

Like the saying, ‘be careful what you wish for’.

Splash.

I heard footsteps from afar.

And at the same time…

…we both looked towards the sound.

Someone was there.

‘Damn it.’

It was someone I knew.

And it seemed like Liuhen Praha also knew him.

“…Jerome Saintred.”

The silver-haired knight on the other side of the passage also spoke as soon as Liuhen Praha muttered his name.

“Ricardo Liuhen Praha.”

It wasn’t a friendly greeting.

Their voices and gazes were filled with hatred and killing intent.

Well, it was only natural for the ‘Traitor’ who wanted to kill the King and the protector of the royal family to meet.

I quickly assessed the situation.

‘Okay, I have to run while they’re fighting.’

The Knight of Light must have followed me here, but I might be able to turn this crisis into an opportunity since they were enemies.

That’s when, as I was looking for a chance to escape…

…someone was faster than me.

“Two.”

Liuhen Praha muttered a single word.

And…

“…Huh?”

…he started running towards a side passage.

I realized what ‘two’ meant as soon as I saw him run.

‘…Damn it, this is happening?’

He thought I was on the Knight of Light’s side.

_______________________

It was a mistake caused by the fact that I hadn’t cleared up his misunderstanding that I was from the royal family.

Well, even I would have been hesitant to fight a 2v1 in this situation.

I could understand his reasoning.

But that wasn’t what I should be focusing on right now.

‘Ah… I have to run too.’

I quickly came to my senses and started running after Liuhen Praha.

And I prayed inwardly.

‘Please, please, please…’

Please follow him, not me.

He’s the one who wants to kill your King.

Tadat.

I heard footsteps behind me as soon as I started running.

It seemed like he had made his decision…

Splash.

Damn it.

There’s no way it would be this easy.

Splash, splash!

He was following me.

He must have judged that retrieving the Fragment of Records from me was more important than chasing the ‘Traitor’.

Or maybe he was still holding a grudge from earlier.

Flash!

He used [Gate of Light] and blocked my path as soon as Liuhen Praha escaped and [Flameless Spirit] was deactivated.

He looked different from before.

‘What the… why is he so angry…?’

The naive knight from before was gone, and he was glaring at me with a merciless gaze.

“Did you think you could get away with mocking me?”

Maybe this was my fault.

You know, like when you take the easy and fast path and then realize you’re surrounded by enemies.

Ah, of course, I wasn’t regretting it.

It was the fool who got tricked who was at fault.

“I’ll ask you one question before I punish you.”

He pointed his Aura-infused sword at me and continued,

“What’s your relationship with Liuhen Praha? Did he order you to steal the Fragment of Records?”

It was an ironic situation.

Liuhen Praha thought I was on his side, and this guy thought I was on Liuhen Praha’s side.

I felt like a shrimp caught between two whales… but what could I do?

I had to try and wiggle out of this somehow.

So, in that sense…

“Right, you figured it out.”

I agreed instead of clearing up the misunderstanding.

It would be more helpful for now.

His eyes trembled as I nodded.

“Don’t tell me, you’ve already given it to him?”

“Well.”

I had learned something while wearing the Lion mask.

The key to lying is to convince yourself.

“What do you think?”

I shrugged, as if telling him to use his imagination, and he started struggling.

“…So that’s why you split up and ran away.”

“You’re not called the Knight of Light for nothing. You’re sharp.”

He bit his lip as I complimented him at the right time.

I tried to keep a straight face.

And I added the final touch.

“I won’t let you go to the Captain. Attack me.”

I expressed my willingness to buy time for the greater cause.

But it was a meaningless gesture in front of Jerome.

He could just use [Gate of Light] to pass me.

And that was actually what I was hoping for—

“Keuh…”

What the hell, why is he laughing?

Did he lose his mind?

He stopped laughing and stared at me as I frowned.

“I almost fell for it again.”

“…What?”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re telling the truth or not. I can just kill you and find out.”

“But if you do that, you’ll be late—”

“It doesn’t matter. To reach your destination by taking the right path, not by being greedy.”

He looked at me and said grandly,

“That’s the way of a knight.”

It seemed like he had found his own way of surviving in a world full of deceivers.

‘…So we have to fight.’

I quietly raised my hammer.

He wouldn’t be swayed by words.

“…….”

“…….”

A tense silence followed.

We were both about to attack.

That’s when I heard an old man’s laughter from behind.

“Haha…”

I couldn’t turn around to check because Jerome was in front of me.

But I could tell who it was.

“You’re quite the deceiver.”

Auril Gabis.

But could it be that Jerome had never met him?

“…Reveal your identity, old man.”

The silver-haired knight spoke authoritatively.

That’s when…

“You’re rude.”

…Auril Gabis’ voice echoed through the sewer.

“…Ugh!”

Jerome, the Knight of Light, clutched his throat.

His expression was pained, as if he couldn’t breathe.

His gaze was fixed on something behind me, his eyes filled with shock.

“Wh, who… are you…?”

“You’re not worth my time.”

“Ugh…!”

“Disappear.”

The moment Auril Gabis finished speaking in a flat voice, Jerome’s body went limp.

I felt a chill run down my spine.

…Don’t tell me, he’s dead?

He killed the strongest knight of the royal family that easily, like a fly?

A voice came from behind me, as if to answer my question.

“He’s not dead. He’ll probably wake up at the royal palace.”

Ah, is he talking about that essence?

I dismissed the thought and slowly turned around.

“You’re finally looking at me.”

The old man’s kind smile was unsettling. His lips were curved upwards, but his eyes weren’t.

‘…Just how much does he know?’

Auril Gabis opened his mouth as I gulped nervously.

“The barbarian you mentioned. Bjorn, son of Thor.”

“…….”

“I asked around in the city, and a kind young man told me about him. He said he always wears a thick helmet that covers his face, so he’s called Iron Mask.”

“…….”

“Just like you.”

Right, he knew everything.