Seidel, pushed by the force, slightly frowned. However, she quickly regained her composure and shook off the sword. She instantly widened the distance and stared at Dietrian.
“Who are you?”
“I am the lord of the knight you tried to kill.”
“The lord of that knight?”
Seidel’s eyes narrowed.
“The lord of a principality knight. Then, could it be?”
Seidel immediately lunged at Dietrian. Her movements were as sharp as a bird of prey.
“Guh!”
Dietrian barely managed to deflect the sword that aimed to pierce his chest. Seidel’s sword whipped into his open guard like a lash.
“So, you are Prince Dietrian. You have come to find your death.”
“Doctor! What about Julia?”
“I will check immediately!”
Seidel glanced sideways at the familiar voice. The doctor who had lured Julia earlier was now carrying her. Seidel’s eyes narrowed.
“There’s no way you have the leisure to look away!”
Dietrian aimed at Seidel’s shoulder again, standing in front of the doctor and Julia. Seidel slightly frowned as she deflected Dietrian’s sword.
Dietrian followed the trajectory of his sliding sword and slashed horizontally at Seidel’s waist. Seidel turned in the opposite direction of the incoming sword, avoiding the attack.
“Prince Dietrian, they said no one on this continent could match your swordsmanship. Is this all you’ve got?”
Seidel sneered. Dietrian gritted his teeth. He had no time to waste and thrust his sword again.
“Ugh!”
Despite his fierce demeanor, Dietrian was pushed back by Seidel. The situation remained the same thereafter. Whenever Dietrian rushed at Seidel, she would effortlessly deflect his attacks and immediately pinpoint his weaknesses. Dietrian barely dodged Seidel’s lethal strikes.
“Your luck is quite good. But that luck won’t last much longer.”
“Shut that mouth!”
“A king, acting so emotionally. It’s unbelievable.”
“I said, shut that mouth!”
“Prince Dietrian, you’ll never defeat me. Emotions are poison. How can you win against me while drinking poison?”
Seidel felt no emotions. She had been like that since birth. People around her said she seemed like a living corpse. This allowed Seidel to become an exceptionally skilled knight.
Emotions cloud judgment. In the battlefield, where split-second decisions determine life and death, her nature was a significant weapon. Her victory over Julia earlier was also due to this.
Julia protected the doctor out of emotion, while Seidel ignored whatever Julia said. In the end, Seidel won against Julia. The fight with Prince Dietrian would ultimately end the same way.
“Your Highness! The knight is bleeding too much! Her pulse is still detectable, but she needs to be taken to a hospital immediately!”
“I’ll handle this place. Quickly, take Julia!”
As expected, the fight went as Seidel had anticipated. Wounds kept accumulating on Prince Dietrian’s body. He had only managed to avoid fatal injuries due to sheer luck.
From the start, Dietrian’s swordsmanship was no match for Seidel’s. The rumor of him having the best swordsmanship on the continent was clearly false. His skills were already lacking, and he couldn’t fully concentrate on the fight because he was worried about Julia. He couldn’t withstand Seidel’s attacks.
‘It’s time to end this.’
It was time to put an end to this tedious fight. At that moment, Dietrian’s stance slightly wavered. Seidel thrust her sword into Dietrian’s exposed shoulder. Clang!
‘What is this?’
Something felt off. It had been clearly open, yet Dietrian managed to block it narrowly. Due to his awkward stance, Dietrian’s sword trembled. Seidel’s eyes narrowed.
‘This feels strange.’
The fight should have ended already. Her sword should have cut through Dietrian’s shoulder and pierced his heart. But she kept getting blocked. The fact that Dietrian had blocked her last attack was incomprehensible.
‘How did he do that?’
Seidel tried to recall the trajectory of the sword she had just seen. She shivered. She couldn’t remember anything. In the empty space, a sword had suddenly appeared.
‘I didn’t see it.’
A chill ran down her spine. She had seen nothing just now. She had missed Dietrian’s sword.
‘Even in the previous attacks…’
Seidel hurriedly reviewed her exchanges with Dietrian. Now she realized that she had never truly seen Dietrian’s sword. She stared at Dietrian, unable to believe it.
‘Did I miss his sword? Then, could it be?’
Dietrian’s face was still contorted in pain. Seidel gritted her teeth.
Schwing, thud!
Seidel pushed Dietrian’s sword aside and retreated. Ignoring Dietrian, she dashed toward Julia and the doctor.
Thud!
Simultaneously, she pulled out shurikens from her bosom and threw them. Two shurikens and a sword flew toward the doctor from different angles. The doctor, wide-eyed, stared at the flying blades.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Before the doctor could be hit, the two shurikens and one sword were instantly deflected. Seidel, now face-to-face with Dietrian, glanced at the fallen shurikens.
“So you were hiding your skills.”
“Do not look away. I am your opponent.”
Dietrian spoke without expression. The struggling figure who barely managed to parry Seidel’s sword moments ago was gone.
Eyes as calm as a lake. Yet, hidden within was the sharpest blade in the world.
“Prince Dietrian, don’t be conceited. You can never defeat me with swordsmanship alone. My true weapon isn’t the sword.”
“If you have the leisure to call upon your power as a wing. But it seems you don’t have that leisure.”
Seidel frowned slightly. Dietrian was right. Using her power as a wing required concentration. But there was no time for that.
“Ugh!”
In a matter of seconds, they exchanged over ten blows. Clang! Clang! Sparks flew as their blades clashed. The composure vanished from Seidel’s face, replaced by a grimace.
The tide had completely turned. Though the exchanges seemed similar to before, they were entirely different. While Dietrian had been hiding his skills, Seidel was now giving it her all.
Voom.
Dietrian even unleashed his aura. The dark, flickering aura was as intimidating as a torch. Every time the tip of the aura touched her, blood spurted from Seidel’s body. Pain flickered in Seidel’s eyes.
‘I can’t keep fighting like this. I need time!’
Just a few seconds were all she needed. A few seconds to summon her power as a wing to awaken the corpses buried in the ground! This was a temple, with the dead buried everywhere. If she could wake them, her army of the dead would tear Dietrian apart!
“Oh, knight!”
It was then that Seidel found her first opportunity. The doctor, who was supporting Julia, let her go. Dietrian’s gaze momentarily shifted to the fallen Julia. Limp, Julia looked as if she were dead. Dietrian’s eyes widened. Seidel did not miss the chance.
Boom! Crash!
Right in front of the doctor, the ground erupted. As the soil split apart, skeletal hands emerged. The doctor, who had been trying to lift Julia again, fell backward with a thud.
“Aaah!”
Boom! The earth burst open, and something dark sprang out. The doctor reflexively ducked. The corpse that had lunged at the doctor leaped over his head and landed on the ground, baring its teeth again with a swift turn.
“Graar.”
“A, a monster…!”
What had attacked the doctor was the corpse of a wolf. The rotting flesh of the wolf exuded a horrific stench.
“Help me!”
The wolf lunged at the doctor again. The doctor began to crawl away like a madman. In that moment, Julia and Dietrian were nowhere in his mind. All he could think about was escaping this place. Then, something snagged his knee. It was Julia’s hand.
The doctor held his breath. Countless thoughts raced through his mind. The wolf was Seidel’s subordinate. Seidel’s target was not him, but Julia. If he threw Julia to the wolf, he could buy some time. Prince Dietrian would not be able to chase him while protecting his subordinate. Even if Julia died, Dietrian would not seek revenge on him for the sake of his wife.
He just needed to escape with Irene. He was just an ordinary citizen. They would understand his choice. It was their fault for involving an ordinary person like him. He had to run away…
“Aaah!”
But his body made a different choice. Screaming, he grabbed a shuriken from the ground and struck the wolf’s head. The wolf recoiled with a gurgling sound as its skull was hit. The doctor stood in front of Julia, swinging the shuriken wildly.
“Get lost! You monster! Get away from me!”
The doctor thought, This is insane. I must have lost my mind. How could someone like me try to fight such a monster? I will be torn apart in no time!
‘Irene!’
But he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t betray his benefactor again. He wouldn’t be able to face his daughter if he did. The doctor shed tears like chicken droppings.
“Damn it. If there’s a goddess, please help! This is a temple! Why are you doing nothing while these bastards run wild? If you have a name as a goddess, do your job! If you’ve received offerings, repay them… Ugh!”
Despite his desperate plea, the goddess ignored him. The wolf, leaping, pinned the doctor down. Rotten saliva dripped onto the doctor’s face. He kicked the wolf’s back with his shoes, struggling to push the slimy jaw away with his other hand.
“Aaaargh!”
Screeeech! At that moment, a terrifying cry was heard. It was different from the wolf’s growl but equally chilling—a beastly scream.
The wolf, which had been about to devour the doctor, quickly lifted its head. It looked in the direction of the sound as if gauging the situation, then bared its teeth menacingly.
“Grrrr… Woof!”
Screeeech! Screeeech! Responding to the cry, another beastly scream echoed. This time, it was louder and more formidable. The wolf flinched, seemingly intimidated.
‘This is my chance to escape!’
The doctor used all his strength to push the wolf away. Crawling madly, he grabbed Julia’s ankle. If he couldn’t support her, he would at least drag her by the ankle.
“Oof!”
But instead, his own ankle was grabbed. As he lost his grip on Julia, his nose slammed into the ground. He was dragged away, his pants gripped tightly. In the wildly shifting view, he saw Julia’s hand moving.
Thud! He felt a blow to his back, like being hit with a club, and heard the wolf’s breathing near his ear. This is it, I’m really going to die now, he thought, feeling the fangs sinking into his coat. He thought he was fainting. No, he thought he had fainted.
Yelp!
The doctor lay on the ground, breathing heavily with his cheek pressed against the dirt. He resented the goddess again. If she was going to kill him, she should do it quickly or at least let him faint. Why torment him until the very end?
“Damn you, goddess…”
“Please hold that thought, doctor.”
“What do you mean, hold… Knight?”
The doctor sprang up, eyes wide open. Julia, who had been dying just moments ago, was standing there. The doctor asked in a trembling voice.
“Am I dead? Did I finally die and meet you, Knight?”
“You are still alive. And so am I. The goddess helped us. So, please hold your complaints for now.”
“The goddess helped us?”
Julia smiled slightly and turned away without answering. The wolf that had been hit by her was staggering to its feet. She calmly aimed her sword and thought about the voice she had just heard.
