LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 49
Clang!
“Ugh.”
Currently, Benedict was quite flustered.
He had aimed to subdue the Saintess. However, contrary to his expectations, he was almost several minutes into confrontation with her.
He didn’t unleash his full strength. If he did, he risked seriously injuring the Saintess.
He had to control his strength and subdue her, which was anything but easy.
The assassination skills he had honed over a lifetime lost their significance in front of her.
Even when he sprinkled poison, cast curses, or launched daggers, the Saintess only grimaced for a moment before instantly recovering through Holy Magic.
In the end, he had no choice but to rely on swordsmanship to subdue her.
However.
Clang!
Swords clashed.
The sword energy created by Benedict simply ricocheted off Ophelia’s golden sword without matching its brilliance.
“Why?”
Benedict grimaced.
The reason was fairly obvious. The sword she wielded, shaped by her divine power, possessed strength on par with his sword energy. With the support of her Mark, the Saintess’s divine power easily surpassed his pitiful sword energy.
What he couldn’t comprehend, however, was how the Saintess wielded her sword so skillfully.
It wasn’t just a matter of being good with a sword. At that level, she could rival any knight.
“Are you scared, you fool?”
“….”
“Are you a man or would you cower before a woman?”
Ophelia raised her middle finger.
Though it was a trivial provocation, it made Benedict scowl.
As the head of the Shadow of God, he felt considerable irritation at the fact that he couldn’t break through a mere Saintess in a full-on battle.
He had intended to capture her without inflicting serious harm. But the Saintess proved to be stronger than he had anticipated.
“Looks like this isn’t going to work.”
Benedict slowly crouched down.
From within his cloak, he drew two daggers.
Even the Pope had tolerated it. Losing a limb was permissible. It was paramount that he captured the Saintess by any means.
“Please understand.”
As he said this, Benedict leaped, seemingly disappearing from Ophelia’s line of sight in an instant.
“Oof.”
Bang!
One dagger struck the barrier. Ophelia, unable to withstand the shock, staggered but quickly regained her stance and swung her sword. However, the other dagger twisted the sword path.
When another heavy impact hit the barrier, Ophelia lost her balance and fell on her backside.
Benedict didn’t let that opportunity slip by. Using a dagger imbued with sword energy, he tore through the barrier and buried the other dagger into her thigh.
Thud.
Ophelia couldn’t even scream.
This was because Benedict twisted the dagger firmly lodged inside her.
Thus, bones, muscles, and nerves were all damaged. No matter how powerful the Saintess’s Holy Magic was, it would take a long time to heal from such a wound.
“Now, it’s time for you to accept the outcome.”
Benedict, gasping for breath, plunged the dagger deeper.
The sword Ophelia had summoned dissipated the moment it allowed such a strike, her concentration shattered.
“The Saintess is a treasure of the Cathedral. You must heed the words of His Highness. So…”
“Shut it.”
Ophelia glared at Benedict, her face contorted in pain.
“Whose body do you think you have the right to touch?”
“….”
“What I’m going to do is up to me.”
“….”
“So you worry about yourself. Does your back not itch?”
As she said something incomprehensible, Benedict tilted his head, and at that moment, the alarm bell rang loudly in his mind.
The instincts of an assassin, quicker than consciousness, kicked in. He leaned back just in time, as an arrow flew past the spot where his head had just been.
“This is….”
The arrow had come from the annex.
On the second-floor balcony of the distant annex, an elf woman with green hair was gazing back at him.
The Shadow of God was the Pope’s intelligence unit. Therefore, they could pride themselves on knowing the continent’s strong figures better than anyone else.
And so, Benedict realized the identity of that woman.
“Archery Master Erwin? Why….”
There was no reason for Erwin, the chief of the Great Forest, to be hostile towards him.
Well, there was one reason.
Only moments ago, he had stabbed a dagger into the Saintess right before their eyes.
To any observer, it would look as if the assassin was aiming to harm the Saintess.
However, before he could clear up the misunderstanding, Benedict was struck directly by a fireball fired from behind.
Boom!
Black smoke billowed.
For the first time, Benedict couldn’t evade it. He rolled around pathetically, covered in ash.
“Cough. What the….”
As he inhaled the thick smoke and began to sneeze, a wizard appeared in front of him.
“Emily, Valied…?”
What was the next Archmage doing here?
Just as he was narrowing his eyes in confusion, a knight emerged through the dense dust.
It was someone who had crossed swords with Benedict only a few days prior.
“…It’s you.”
“Fancy meeting you here, bastard.”
Apostate Elliot stood before Benedict, drawing his sword.
He too, much like the Saintess moments ago, knelt on one knee, letting his shoulders droop as he held his sword at an angle.
*
The Capital Knights, as a state-run order, not only engaged in general activities but also handled various powerful incidents happening in the Imperial Capital—especially problems that the guard could not resolve.
In that context, the disturbance in the Grand Assembly Hall Annex warranted the Capital Knights’ intervention. With just three hours left until the Continental Conference, an incident occurred in a location where dignitaries of the Cathedral were staying. There were grounds to suspect the involvement of the Demon King’s Army.
Upon receiving the report, the Capital Knights equipped themselves and headed to the annex…
“Commander…?”
One knight at the front said in a dazed voice.
Standing at the entrance of the annex was none other than the face of the Capital Knights, Sword Saint Albrecht.
“Why are you here, Commander?”
Normally, the commander wouldn’t respond on-site unless it was a major issue. Furthermore, Albrecht, before being the commander, was supposed to attend the conference as a Mark Holder.
Seeing Albrecht right in front of them raised suspicion, and as one knight approached, he waved his hand.
“You all should turn back. This isn’t something for the Capital Knights to handle.”
“But we received a report. It’s better to confirm the situation…”
“I’ve taken care of everything.”
“What do you mean by ‘taken care of’….”
The knight frowned, but upon seeing the figure emerging behind Albrecht, his eyes widened in shock.
“O-Owen?”
The information bureau’s Hound Owen was right next to Albrecht.
“This matter has already been processed by the Information Bureau. The Capital Knights have no need to interfere. Return.”
“….”
Regardless of how much of a knight the Capital Knights were, when their commander and the top agent of the Information Bureau said something like that, they had no choice but to turn back.
Eventually, the knight stepped back. Yet he still seemed reluctant, casting a glance at the backside of the annex.
What was bothering him was the sound of something breaking from within the building.
“Though you and the chief of the Information Bureau say to turn back, we can’t just ignore what’s happening inside. Can you tell us what’s going on?”
“Hmm.”
Albrecht pondered for a moment at the knight’s inquiry before giving a sheepish smile.
“We’re just clearing up old matters.”
“….”
“Honestly.”
Naturally, none of those present believed Albrecht’s words.
*
“Cough!”
Benedict, true to the title of assassin, avoided Erwin’s shot and Emily’s magic with acrobatic finesse.
However, instead of waiting for him to land, I charged forward and swung my sword.
Clang! A mere exchange. But if comparing only the intensity of the sword energy, mine greatly exceeded his. Plus, Benedict’s stance was already breaking down. His dagger shattered, and my sword deeply sliced into his side.
The agony and rage contorted Benedict’s face.
“You cowardly bastard! Three against one!”
“Seriously, who’s talking about whose unfairness?”
Hearing that made me incredulous.
Had he forgotten about the seven who had ambushed us just two days ago, using poison and curses?
Anyway, I had no intention of fighting fairly.
“Looks like you’re done for.”
No one thought of killing him. It was just about saving Ophelia and giving the Pope a few smacks.
Of course, having casualties would complicate the aftermath, and it would burden those who had helped me, including Albrecht.
But this guy? He was marked for death.
What sealed the deal was that he had just stabbed a dagger into Ophelia’s thigh.
“….”
I admit it.
I was extremely angry right now.
“You bastard, whose body do you think you’ve touched?”
I poured all my mana into the sword. The Holy Sword began to blaze with an even more brilliant light.
And that killing intent was something Benedict noticed first.
“…Wait! I’m withdrawing! I’m serious!”
“Shut up, it’s already too late.”
Benedict, his complexion pale, tried to retreat. However, an arrow launched by Erwin was already flying toward his position. Benedict, with nowhere to retreat, leaped up, but the force Emily had conjured pressed him down.
I approached him slowly, grabbing him by the collar.
Benedict’s eyes filled with terror.
Ignoring everything, I plunged the Holy Sword deep into his heart.
“….”
It was the completion of a human candied hawthorn.
“…Ugh.”
Ophelia, witnessing this, let out a high-pitched scream, and even Emily, who had been raising her staff, looked equally shocked.
Benedict, pierced through the chest, couldn’t even let out a dying scream as he met his end.
“…Ha.”
As I withdrew the Holy Sword, crimson blood dripped to the ground.
I had done it, but how would I clean this up?
I had killed a man. In broad daylight, in the Imperial Capital.
“….”
I don’t know.
The Hero’s Divine Mark will sort it out for me.
I slid the Holy Sword back into its sheath and turned towards Ophelia, who was looking at me with a dazed expression, and smiled a mischievous grin.
“It’s been a while, Ophelia. Have you been waiting long?”
“Ugh, ugh.”
At that, her face twisted even more.
Tears welled up at the corners of her eyes.
“Why are you like this? Are you going to cry again?”
“I-I’m not….”
She tried to wipe her tears with her sleeve, but more kept flowing than she could contain. Clear tears dripped onto the back of Ophelia’s hands as she buried her face deep in them.
I knelt down, intending to bandage her thigh.
But before I could, Ophelia wrapped her arms around my neck and collapsed into me.
“Ugh.”
“You imbecile, you fool… you worthless piece of trash…”
Her voice was thick with emotion.
Her little fists pounded my chest like pillows.
I lay back, allowing Ophelia’s vulnerability for a while.
“I told you I was fine.”
“I don’t know! I… I don’t know….”
“Everything is alright now.”
As I brushed her tangled hair, she buried her face into my chest.
In an instant, my chest grew damp.
“At this rate, you’ll completely become a crying Saintess.”
“I told you to shut up….”
Far in the distance, Emily was covering her eyes with a deeply reddened face, which seemed amusing.
After a while of shedding tears, Ophelia seemed to gather her emotions and lifted herself up.
And I couldn’t help but add one more thing.
“Hey, Ophelia.”
“What?”
“Why is your Holy Garment on backward?”
“…Huh?”
“From my angle, I can see everything inside your outfit.”
“….”
A snap.
That was the sound of my head turning a bit too late.