Chapter 31
The moment he faced the enemy, Reinhardt knew.
This enemy was far stronger than the last warlock he had dealt with.
‘This is going to be tougher than expected.’
Dark red magic overflowed around the warlock.
It was like a volcano spewing out lava.
Reinhardt met the red glow of her eyes.
The warlock Avara.
She, who had been wearing the mask of the Miller Caravan leader, possessed power beyond that of a mere extra.
“She belongs to Agrio-s. Be careful not to touch that magic, Reinhardt.”
“Have you faced them before?”
“I have encountered them. An ordinary human would lose their sanity the moment they touched that magic.”
Fermil wore an unusually serious expression, unlike his usual self.
It was a silver lining in a dark cloud.
At least when it came to dealing with warlocks, a knight of Paganoa was, in name and reality, one of the best allies to have.
“Captain of the Guard!”
“Yes!”
“Have all soldiers fall back! Be careful not to come into contact with the red magic!”
“Yes, sir!”
At Reinhardt’s command, Jerad moved immediately.
First, he had all the soldiers who had surrounded the wagons retreat.
Then, he pushed the citizens of Serigel who were about to come out to watch back into the city and herded all the people waiting for inspection into a corner.
“Reinhardt. What’s the plan?”
“What do you mean, what’s the plan.”
“You first? Or me first? Or at the same time?”
Instead of answering, Reinhardt scanned the front.
The warlock Avara was floating about half a foot in the air.
Her gaze was fixed on the sky.
Seeing her lips move continuously, it seemed she was chanting some kind of spell.
Around her were the members of the Miller Caravan.
All fifty or so of them were in a daze, clutching crude weapons.
“There are too many of them.”
“You and I could clean them up in an instant, couldn’t we? They don’t look like they’ve had any proper training.”
“They are innocent.”
At those words, Fermil tilted his head.
“Hm?”
“They are innocent. I cannot cut down those who are being used by the warlock.”
“Are you serious?”
“I have no intention of exchanging jokes in a situation like this.”
Of course, his purpose was not to appear knightly.
Those people were, in effect, a means to strengthen his [Justice] skill.
They were also a stepping stone to elevate Reinhardt’s reputation.
Still, he could not just leave the enemy be. There was no telling what would happen if he allowed the warlock to complete her spell.
“Fermil. Can you move faster than me?”
“Even in Paganoa, there are few who are faster than this Fermil.”
It seemed the title Knight of Swiftness was not just for show.
Even if it was a title from the distant future.
“You open the path. I will cut her down.”
“Open the path?”
“So that I do not harm those innocent people. Understood?”
“……Of course.”
Surprisingly, Fermil nodded obediently.
Swish.
He was seen flipping his grip on the spear. The tip of the spear was now pointing toward the ground.
Following that, Reinhardt let go of the reins of his reason.
Snap-
It was as if he heard something snapping in his ears.
The anger he had painstakingly suppressed until now began to consume his body.
“Reinhardt!”
Fermil’s shout came from behind.
Reinhardt was already charging towards the warlock at full speed.
Fwoosh-
A wall of humans approached before his eyes, and fortunately, Fermil was not late.
“You, you are damn fast!”
Whoong!
Fermil swung his spear shaft, pushing back two or three members of the Miller Caravan at a time.
From the sounds of paak, paak, something must have broken somewhere, but at least their lives were spared.
‘This is what a Knight of Swiftness should be.’
A wide-open path was created in front of Reinhardt.
Leaving Fermil behind, Reinhardt aimed his sword at Avara.
She was still looking up at the sky, chanting something. Dense magic surrounded her like a protective cloak.
‘I can’t break through.’
It wasn't a level that could be breached with one or two attacks.
But it should be enough to interrupt her spell…… The moment Reinhardt thought so.
“Ppit!”
The sound came from his left shoulder.
Following the sight of something small and white being shot forward.
BOOOOM!
With a sound like a bomb exploding, Avara disappeared.
‘No, you crazy…….’
To be precise, she hadn't disappeared, but was bouncing and rolling on the ground multiple times like a skipping stone on a lake.
Reinhardt instinctively changed direction.
He couldn't hide his bewilderment even as he approached the fallen Avara.
“Knight! Kniiight!”
A sharp voice pierced Reinhardt’s ears.
But he ignored it. He raised his sword and cut down the fallen warlock.
Clang!
A repulsive force, as if he had struck an iron plate, was transmitted to his wrist.
He almost lost his sword, but he barely managed to tighten his grip and hold on.
“Do you think you can stop me with this!”
The overflowing magic grew even denser.
Avara shot up into the air in an instant. She rose to a height that a knight’s sword could never reach and looked down at Reinhardt with blood-red eyes.
And Bitdori moved.
Thwack! Clatter!
Avara was slammed into the ground again. Thanks to the barrier, there was no impact, but when she raised her head, she wore a bewildered expression.
“What did you do! What did you do to me!”
“Ppit-ppit! Ppiiit!”
As if not to be outdone by Avara, Bitdori waved its arms wildly.
However, the only person who could see that gesture was Reinhardt.
‘This is beyond my expectations.’
Bitdori was the optimal assistant in dealing with a warlock.
Unfortunately, it had failed to strip away her barrier, but at this rate, she would never be able to complete her spell.
Reinhardt took on the fallen Avara.
Reinhardt’s sword repeatedly struck Avara’s magic. The trajectory was clearly drawn under the moonlight of the night sky.
‘My wrist is sore.’
Every time the barrier and the sword clashed, a loud noise echoed all around.
Seeing the once-solid magic waver, it seemed to be having an effect.
In addition to that, there was Bitdori’s timely assistance.
Avara was unable to come to her senses due to the intense impacts delivered from time to time.
“Reinhardt! Support has arrived from the temple!”
It was then that Fermil’s shout was heard. Reinhardt, without stopping his sword, shouted back in reply.
“Only those of bishop rank or higher join! Send the rest back!”
“Got it!”
It seemed the clerics of Serigel had joined.
In the brief moment of swinging his sword, Reinhardt looked around.
Thanks to Fermil taking on a supporting role, the situation was almost under control.
The members of the Miller Caravan were all tied up and making sounds similar to animal cries, and personnel without resistance, such as ordinary soldiers, had all been evacuated inside.
“Sir Reinhardt! We will assist you!”
“By the radiant light!”
Then, high-ranking clerics surrounded Avara in a circle.
For a moment, the world became as bright as if it were day. At the center of that light were Reinhardt and Avara.
The solid magic was wavering. Its wobbly form looked like a bright red pudding.
“Keuh, keuh……”
Avara gasped for breath. It seemed she was having a hard time withstanding the pressure.
“You, are you Reinhardt?”
“I am Reinhardt, a knight of Taton.”
“I wondered why Weber fell. You are no less than the hypocrites of Paganoa. I was arrogant. I admit it.”
“Will you surrender?”
“Surrender?”
She asked back, then burst into a mad laugh.
She cackled, shedding tears as if something was so funny.
Then she fumbled in her pocket. In her right hand was a short but sharp dagger.
“Agrio-s will be watching you. Knight.”
Reinhardt tensed up. He readjusted his grip on the sword to be able to react at any moment, but the dagger was aimed at Avara’s own heart.
“Keok, keok……”
Avara coughed up blood. But her expression looked joyful.
The dark red magic was gradually growing stronger.
In that brief moment, a thought flashed through Reinhardt’s mind.
‘……Incarnation. This is troublesome.’
Incarnation.
It meant a half-baked summoning, accomplished using a follower’s sacrifice as a stepping stone.
And so.
“……Sir Reinhardt!”
“That is……”
A red eye appeared in the air.
A giant eyeball with bloodshot veins.
The pupil was shaped like that of a snake, with a vertical slit.
It was the same as the symbol found on the body of the warlock Weber.
The mark of the Agrio-s faction.
So the owner of the gaze looking down at Reinhardt from the air right now was.
“I will remember you.”
It was a voice that directly penetrated the mind.
His body felt an instinctive sense of crisis. He tried to react, but his body would not move as he willed.
“I will remember all of you.”
Groans erupted from all around.
The clerics’ light faded. Blood began to flow from their eyes and noses.
As if the ownership of their bodies had been stolen, all of them stood frozen in place.
“Ppit.”
Just then, Bitdori cried.
Reinhardt, despite his head trembling, forced his gaze towards Bitdori.
A faint light hung over it.
It was a brightness similar to when it had healed people at the City Hall.
And so.
“I, Fermil, a knight of Paganoa, am here!”
A familiar voice broke the silence and burst forth.
It was Fermil, twirling his spear. He looked to be struggling, but he was definitely moving.
The eye creaked as it turned.
Reinhardt realized that the pressure on him had lessened slightly.
‘Fermil.’
Fermil, the Knight of Swiftness.
Fermil, the knight of Paganoa.
He didn't know how he did it, but he clearly had the strength to shake off this pressure.
Twitch.
Strength returned to the tip of his finger. Reinhardt desperately strained his entire body, trying to break free from the restraints.
“Look at me! Monster eye! I, Fermil, will be your opponent!”
Now Fermil was charging towards Agrio-s. The sharp tip of his spear was aimed precisely at the eye.
Twitch.
Reinhardt succeeded in moving his hand.
Once his right hand began to move, sensation quickly returned to his entire right arm.
“Child of hypocrisy. You are in my memory.”
The voice echoed in his head again.
The monster eye looked at Fermil.
In an instant, everyone around was released from the restraint that had held them immobile, and some of the clerics, losing their strength, collapsed to the ground.
But for Reinhardt, that was more than enough.
“Ppiiit!”
Shing.
Simultaneously with Reinhardt drawing his sword, Bitdori cried out as if it had regained its energy.
The sword began to shine brilliantly.
The demon was in itself a great injustice, and the righteous knight Reinhardt, enraged by the injustice, ran forward.
“Keoheok!”
Fermil was flying backward as if struck by something.
But Reinhardt was not. He swung his sword down and broke through an invisible wall.
And what followed was a flash of light.
The brilliantly shining sword strike, cut through the darkness.