18.
A scream erupted from the crowd.
“The Black Armor was Beth Wein all along!”
“My money… my money…!”
Lancel’s master, Beth Wein, was undoubtedly a madman—a crazed human being born solely for battle.
‘The bastard’s got the instincts of a killer!’
Even allies were unnerved by the sight of Beth Wein, drenched in blood and roaring with laughter while at the heart of the enemy territories.
He was a knight born for battle.
The Empire’s first swordsman, Beth Wein.
Lancel’s long-time master.
“Lancel Dante, allow me to apologize in advance. I have trouble controlling my strength. I have this… condition where fighting nobly makes my skin crawl.”
Boom, boom, boom.
The ground around Beth Wein trembled.
“It seems I’ve finally received permission to kill you. You must have really gotten under someone’s skin.”
“Doesn’t the person involved need to give their consent?”
“Of course not.”
The bastard approached Lancel with his sword dragging across the ground.
“Stopping me and surviving is also your choice.”
Bang!
Beth Wein’s feet were planted squarely on the ground.
Power surged through his bulging thigh muscles, concentrating in his toes.
The solid dirt floor cracked, and even the gravel beneath was kicked up.
“Gah!”
A suppressed battle cry escaped his lips as he leaped forward.
Beth Wein’s eyes, gleaming with a frenzied intensity, closed in on Lancel Dante.
“Try and take this, Lancel Dante!”
“……!”
It was pure reflex that made Lancel react to the blade tearing through the air as it fell.
Lancel parried the bastard’s sword with his own, and held it at a diagonal angle.
Claaang!
A shower of sparks obscured his vision. He felt his grip tearing and blood splattering.
The impact traveled through Lancel’s arm, shoulder, and spine, reaching his knees. The sheer force was beyond human limits—this man was practically a monster.
Lancel’s reason for choosing him as his master wasn’t particularly profound: he was simply strong. Probably the strongest swordsman on the continent.
Ca-clang!
Lancel’s blade, which had been deflecting the force, twisted at a cunning angle.
The tip of his sword aimed precisely for Beth Wein’s shoulder.
“A combination of offense and defense—impressive!”
Against an ordinary opponent, this would have been the moment to retreat and evade the blade.
But Beth Wein was no ordinary opponent.
He brazenly surrendered himself to the blade that swept across his shoulder as if it were nothing. Even a blunt practice weapon could inflict a wound, yet Beth Wein showed no hesitation.
“Heh heh heh, it stings…the sensation is just divine.”
Beth Wayne gripped the hilt of his sword and slashed upward diagonally. The blade flew at an angle Lancel couldn’t evade.
Swish—!
The bastard’s sword passed through, scattering blood. A long gash stretched from Lancel’s chest to his shoulder.
“Now you’re just like me.”
“……”
Lancel stared dumbfounded at his wound, located almost exactly where Beth Wein’s own scar lay.
‘You’re as crazy as ever, Master.’
Indeed. For Beth Wein, it was always better to take a hit than to dodge and fight.
When Lancel once asked him how he’d survived the battlefield while pulling off such stunts, his Master gave an absurd answer: “I offered myself up to be killed, but no one could manage it. That’s all there is to it.”
A knight utterly devoid of fear.
That was the kind of man that Beth Wein was.
“As expected, you’ve got the skill to crush the pride of my disciple, Lancel Dante. Damn it! I’m starting to like you! I will do everything in my power to give you an honorable death.”
“……”
Beth Wein grinned at Lancel’s impassive expression.
“I like it. I like it a lot. Especially how you don’t fear death.”
He seemed to have recognized a kindred spirit.
Lancel wanted to deny it. In truth, If Lancel only had one life, he would have feared death.
“Here I come, Lancel Dante!”
The clash of swords erupted in a relentless cacophony. With each collision, fresh wounds accumulated on their bodies, turning the battle into a grueling war of attrition.
“Impressive. To achieve this much at such a young age… I’m curious to know who taught you to wield a sword.”
‘I learned from you.’
Clang!
Lancel’s blade vibrated violently, the shockwaves rippling through his entire body. He could feel the damage gradually accumulating.
‘At this rate, I should have about three minutes left.’
No matter how experienced Lancel was, his 20-year-old body had its limits. The accumulation of magical powers, the strength of his muscles, and his stamina were still those of a fledgling knight.
Compared to Beth Wein, who had lived a life hardened by decades of war, Lancel Dante was nothing more than a minnow.
“What are you doing! You’re slowing down so soon! Is this all you’ve got, Lancel Dante?”
As if to prove his point, Beth Wein moved with even greater agility than before, as if he were just now warming up.
“Don’t let my excitement fade! Entertain me some more! Hurry! Please!”
Meanwhile, Lancel, whom he had once taught like his own son, was soaked in blood and gleaming amidst the swirling sand and dust.
Clang!
Lancel staggered backward, barely managing to parry the mercilessly swing of Beth Wein’s blade. His knees buckled, and he felt his muscles twitch uncontrollably.
He had finally reached his limits.
“This is the end. But don’t despair, Lancel Dante! The Empire’s law dictates that knights who die in the arena are honored and their names remembered!”
Lancel clicked his tongue, savoring the taste.
‘Would it really be alright if I died now?’
Perhaps it would be okay.
Given Marigold’s current momentum, the two hundredth church would eventually be established. Lancel guessed as much.
If not… well, then he’d just have to start over from scratch.
“If I die, will my family get a reward?”
“You’re an amusing one. Alright then. I’ll put in a good word for you.”
“You seem like a good person.”
“…It’s a real shame to kill someone like you. If it weren’t for my master’s orders, I would have kept you alive and made you someone who was even more entertaining.”
Lancel met Beth Wein’s approach with half-closed eyes, the man sighing incessantly as he drew closer.
That must have been the moment.
It was then that an unknown power began to slowly surge within Lancel.
* * *
Amidst the noise of the audience, Baron Ibil Shen continued to scream.
“Aaahhhhh! Hahhhhhhh!”
Watching the two figures slowly being drenched in blood on the arena floor, the baron could no longer sit still.
Marigold clasped her hands together, her eyes filled with anxiety. “W-what’s happening? Is Disciple Lancel alright?”
“What should we do, Miss Marigold? Lancel is losing!”
“Huh?”
“He’s going to lose at this rate. No…” Baron Ibil Shen’s voice trembled. “He might even die here.”
“……”
Marigold froze, her mouth hanging open in a daze. ‘Die?’
“Why did Beth Wein, who was supposed to be missing, suddenly… If even Lancel gets caught by a monster like that… That madman even kills people in practice matches…”
The baron’s voice was thick with fear and despair. Marigold instinctively knew his words weren’t just idle worries.
‘Lancel Dante… dead?’
For a moment, Marigold felt as if all the sounds of the world had faded away. A profound silence descended upon her dark, desolate world.
Dead.
Lancel Dante.
Dying right before her eyes.
“Haah… haah…”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Her breath quickened.
Her heart pounded relentlessly.
Lancel Dante, dead. At those few words, Marigold felt a wave of overwhelming trauma crashing down on her, even though she had never experienced such a loss before.
‘He’s dying. Disciple Lancel is dying. Lancel.’
Thump.
Lord Lancel.
Thump.
Master.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Fragments of memories swirled through her mind in an instant.
“My… secret… story… Marigold… We’ll meet again…”
“I’ll find you… no matter what…”
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
That was the extent of her memory. A part of her mind seemed to boil over, as if lightning were crackling within her skull. Fragments of memory crumbled and scattered like sand.
She didn’t know why Lancel existed in her memories. It was such a disjointed combination, impossible to piece together. The Lancel in her memories was always in the same place, yet always appeared different.
But one thing she knew for certain.
Marigold didn’t want to lose him.
‘Don’t die.’
She clenched her hands so tightly that the blood drained from them.
A faint light began to emanate from Marigold’s body.
“M-Miss Marigold?”
* * *
“Mmm.”
Lancel felt the accumulated fatigue in his body gradually recede. His trembling limbs regained their strength.
“This is… incredible.”
He felt an overwhelming sense of liberation, as if he were in a trance. It was as if he were ascending to the heavens.
The entire world seemed to be bathed in light.
“…You…?”
Only then did Lancel notice Beth Wein staring at him with a look of utter shock.
=============
—Promotion Event! Marigold awakens her divine power. has awakened her divine power. She has mastered “Beginner” white magic.
※ Beginner white magic – Blessing – Wings of the Angel has been activated. Abilities of the chosen target will increase by 1.5x for 5 minutes.
=============
Only after seeing the game’s system screen did Lancel realize his condition.
A colossal, wing-shaped light erupted from his back, displaying its majestic splendor as high as the sky.
For the few seconds the effect lasted, no one dared to breathe.
‘You’re doing an incredible job, Marigold.’
Fully recovered, Lancel stood before Beth Wein, who remained gaping speechlessly.
“A hothead… so there’s another one besides me?”
It seemed as if a tremendous heat was radiating from Lancel’s body.
“I just run a little hot,” Lancel muttered, raising his sword. “Come on. I can still fight. Not for long, maybe five minutes.”
“Five minutes… and then it’s over?”
“Will you wait?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
The two clashed swords again.
Claaang!
An ear-splitting sound erupted, so deafening it was hard to believe it came from clashing swords.
A chain reaction of shockwaves, far beyond what one would expect from mere blades meeting, rippled outward. Invisible shockwaves swept across the ground, trailing clouds of dust like the wake of a wave.
Beth Wein’s face twitched as he watched a bluish light emanate from Lancel’s sword.
“You… that thing…”
“It’s all thanks to the grace of the Saintess,” Lancel replied, his footsteps steady as he approached. A radiant glow emanated from his entire body, illuminating the path before him.
Beth Wein felt a suffocating pressure from this sight, as if some colossal presence were bearing down upon him.
With each step Lancel took, the air seemed to compress, crushing Beth Wein under its weight.
It was a sensation he had never experienced before.
“…Maybe I should have gone to church more often.”
“Welcome, brother.”
Their swords clashed.
CLANG!
The hilt of Beth Wein’s sword flew from his hand, soaring far away before embedding itself into the ground.
“……”
When he regained his senses, the tip of Lancel’s sword was pressed against his adam’s apple.
For a single moment, Beth Wein’s emotions wavered, sealing his defeat. He wore an expression of disbelief.
With his weapon gone, the outcome was already decided.
“The victor is… Lancel Dante…”
=============
※The effects of the white magic, Wings of the Angel, have dissipated.
=============
Lancel fell to the floor as he felt whatever it was that had been holding him together snap.
That day, Lancel’s name was heard throughout the Empire.
The newly crowned Imperial First Sword. The knight of the great Saintess. The one blessed by god.
“Lancel Dante of the Holy Maiden Church!”
All the spectators who had witnessed the miracle unfold before their eyes could not hide their excitement.
19.
Since that day, Lancel lay in his hospital bed watching the “system notifications” blocking his vision.
==========
[Emergency Alert!]
—One Church of Marigold has been dismantled.
—Two Churches of Marigold have been dismantled.
—Three Churches of Marigold have been dismantled.
.
.
.
—Sixteen Churches of Marigold have been dismantled.
※Karma points will continue to increase for every number of church dismantled.
==========
The churches were disappearing.
Instead of building two hundred churches as planned, the numbers dwindled down to just one hundred thirty. All this in a single day.
It was faster than Lancel expected.
He suspected that the pilgrimage order was quite angry.
‘It’s fine. I always knew this would happen.’
It was just as the Fourth Prince said, “The Martyr’s Church is essential to this Empire and the Imperial Family. The new wave of the Holy Maiden Church simply doesn’t meet the requirements to replace it.”
Lancel clicked his tongue, a bitter taste rising in his mouth as he thought of the one person behind all this.
‘My Lord, have you chosen the Tyrant’s Path again?’
Lancel had understood why she empowered the pilgrimage group then, or even why she brought Beth Wein to thwart his victory.
But that was then, and this was now.
Lancel was determined to help Marigold regain her vision. He needed to tear down the veil obscuring her sight before he could move forward himself. There was no room for sentimentality about any old ties.
“Deliver these to their designated locations.”
“What are these?”
“These?”
Lancel hesitated, considering how to respond to the master of the Thieves’ Guild’s curious gaze.
“Hmm.”
‘How shall I explain it?’
Finally, Lancel settled on a simple answer.
“Final will.”
