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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 165: Saint Hill (8)
The flickering torchlight illuminated the dark isolation chamber.
Veronica furrowed her brows as she stared at the knight before her.
‘There was absolutely no sign of him.’
Even until the greatsword was about to fall on Fran’s head, she hadn't sensed his presence.
It felt as if she had been ensnared by a ghost.
“Hm?”
The knight turned his head and looked at the spot where Fran had been standing.
Where there should have been a bisected body and a pool of blood, only the wind swirled.
“Huff, huff!”
The wind gathered and reformed into Fran.
He was drenched in sweat, panting uncontrollably.
“A troublesome ability. So ordinary attacks don’t work on you.”
Muttering indifferently, the knight gathered his energy.
“Oh divine one, this time I will not fail.”
Whoosh!
A dark, ominous aura began to swirl around the knight’s greatsword.
Just looking at it made Veronica feel uneasy for no reason.
“…Black magic.”
Recalling what she had encountered in Vince, Veronica muttered under her breath.
The knight responded briefly.
“This is holy power.”
“…Crazy bastard.”
She cursed reflexively, but the next moment—
Veronica’s pupils trembled.
‘Wait, where did he go?’
The knight had vanished without a trace.
‘Stealth? No, if it were just stealth, I’d still be able to sense his magic.’
Her mind raced through possibilities—
Whoosh!
Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her, and she completed her spell in an instant.
“Gust Hand!”
Boom!
A massive hand of wind surged from the ground, lifting her into the air.
Without missing a beat, Veronica unleashed another spell at high speed.
“Wild Leaf!”
In an instant, sharp leaves of wind surrounded the knight’s body.
“High-speed chanting. A rare skill.”
The knight calmly assessed her ability but paid no heed to the incoming attack.
He simply spun his body in a wide arc.
Crash!
The enchanted leaves crumbled like dry foliage before his cursed greatsword.
With deliberate steps, he strode forward and slashed through the Gust Hand as well.
“Ugh…!”
Veronica flew back to gain distance, biting her lip.
‘He’s strong.’
She had a gut feeling that their attacks wouldn’t work on him.
And it wasn’t just his defenses—
‘His presence itself is fading.’
More accurately, it felt like she couldn’t recognize his presence.
It meant he had the ability to selectively erase his existence from perception.
‘I can’t do this alone.’
She glanced sideways at Fran.
If he could just recover and help her, that would be ideal.
But he looked far from capable of that.
“Huff… huff…”
Lying flat on the ground, Fran was gasping like he was about to hyperventilate.
He knew.
He knew this wasn’t the time to be lying there so pathetically—
That he needed to get up and help Veronica immediately.
But his body refused to move.
‘…Damn it.’
It was a feeling no one could understand unless they had experienced it themselves.
Like being lost in the vast emptiness of space, as if his very existence was fading away.
“You resemble them.”
Just then, Killian, who stood tied up with both arms restrained, muttered suddenly.
Fran lifted his head, confused.
“What?”
“There’s a trial of courage among the forest tribes. Through this trial, one can overcome fear and terror towards what they dread.”
“How?”
“It’s simple. You don’t run from what you fear. You face it. Until it no longer scares you.”
“What kind of brute-force method is that…?”
“But it works.”
Killian stared directly into Fran’s eyes.
“Fear comes from the unknown and ignorance. Your imagination makes something seem more terrifying and overwhelming than it truly is. But once you actually experience it, you realize it’s not as bad as you thought. Isn’t that the case for you?”
Fran couldn’t answer.
Instead, he fell into deep thought.
‘Being reduced to mere wind… isn’t as bad as I thought?’
No, the experience was still horrifying.
Something he never wanted to go through again.
‘…But it’s just that. Nothing more.’
Like the spiders he feared as a child.
He still disliked them, but they no longer made him cry.
With time, people learn to endure things they despise.
And now, this power—his ability to dissolve into wind—felt the same.
‘I hate it. It’s still terrifying. But…’
It was powerful.
For him, and for his allies.
Fran turned his head toward Veronica.
While he had been cowering on the ground, she had been fighting alone.
In just a few minutes, she had already sustained multiple injuries.
“…”
His fists clenched involuntarily.
And then, as if by magic, the trembling in his body stopped.
“…Thanks, Killian.”
“I did nothing. You’re the one who overcame the trial of courage.”
Killian smirked.
“Go, warrior.”
Fran sprang to his feet and began walking toward Veronica.
But his exhausted body felt sluggish and unbearably heavy.
So, he erased it.
His burdensome arms, his legs, his weight—
He erased them all and became the wind.
‘Tch. This really feels awful.’
He shut his eyes tightly.
He knew he would never like this sensation.
But if there was one advantage—
‘I’m light.’
Free from the shackles of weight and form, he felt unrestrained.
Like he could go anywhere in the world.
Savoring that overwhelming sense of liberation, Fran opened his eyes.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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And then, he moved toward the knight attacking Veronica.
“Now, die.”
The knight swung his greatsword in a deadly arc.
Veronica, already backed against a wall, grimaced—
Clang!
A dull impact rang out.
His greatsword had been stopped by something.
“What?”
Frowning, the knight turned his head.
And at that moment—
Fran’s fist slammed into his jaw.
Boom!
“Guh!”
Caught completely off guard, the knight staggered backward.
Veronica’s eyes widened in shock.
“You—! That form…!”
“Took you long enough, huh?”
Fran flashed a confident smile.
Veronica’s expression turned ice-cold.
"You're laughing? I almost died fighting alone, and you think this is funny?"
"S-Sorry."
"As long as you understand."
Responding curtly, she casually asked,
"Are you okay just standing there? Weren't you scared?"
"Honestly, I'm still scared."
Clenching her fists tightly, Fran muttered,
"But I'm okay now."
"……."
Hearing the determination in his voice, Veronica nodded.
"Suit yourself. Just don't freeze up at a critical moment and hold me back."
"Wow, you really have a nasty personality. You’re just like Oscar used to be."
"You wanna die? Of all people to compare me to, you choose that guy…?"
As she growled under her breath, the knight stirred.
"Urgh… It feels like I was struck by a massive steel hammer."
"Yeah, it probably does."
What Fran had thrown wasn’t just an ordinary punch.
He had momentarily infused his wind-transformed arm with Breath of Steel before striking.
In other words, the knight had essentially been hit by a high-speed chunk of solid steel.
"……."
Realizing the tide had turned against him, the knight let out a faint sigh.
‘I need to escape from here and regroup with my allies.’
Clicking his tongue lightly, he erased his presence.
If he left the room in this state, his enemies wouldn’t be able to track him.
"Where do you think you're going?"
At that moment, Fran stared straight at him and asked.
The knight, startled, froze in place.
‘Wait… Can he see me?’
No, that was impossible.
As a chosen warrior of the gods, he had been granted divine power along with the ability Silent Oath.
As long as he held his breath, his presence would be completely erased.
Watching the eerie standoff, Veronica cautiously asked,
"Wait… You can see him?"
"Huh? What? You can’t?"
"No. That guy has an ability that erases his presence completely."
"Huh, then why can I see him?"
"We’ll figure that out later—just catch him!"
The moment Veronica shouted, Fran shot forward.
"Tch!"
Realizing his ability was useless, the knight exhaled and swung his sword.
But he was up against two opponents.
"It won't go like last time."
Crunch!
Veronica’s four Gust Hands seized the greatsword completely.
As the knight's face twisted in frustration inside his helmet—
"Wind Blade."
Fran's entire body turned into a blade as he skimmed past the knight.
Shraaack!
"Guahhh!"
With his final scream, blood spurted out from every joint in his armor like a fountain.
‘Damn, I’m amazing.’
Fran admired his handiwork for only a moment—before he suddenly felt his own weight returning.
Uh-oh.
The instant his weathering ability wore off, his body slammed into the ground.
A tidal wave of exhaustion and dizziness crashed over him.
"Fran! Fran!"
Hearing Veronica’s panicked voice fading into the background, Fran lost consciousness.
* * *
After that, the situation was quickly brought under control.
With the high priest and the holy knight gone, there was no force left in the temple capable of stopping them.
Oscar, having captured the cult leader, sent Veronica to report the situation to the imperial court, and within a few days, reinforcements arrived.
"…So, you’re telling me that the four of you handled all of this alone?"
At the question from Chief Inspector Walker—whom they hadn’t seen in a while—Oscar nodded.
"Yes."
"How reckless."
For the first time, Walker’s face showed genuine anger as he scolded them.
"What if you had encountered an enemy beyond your ability to handle?"
"Well…"
Oscar trailed off.
To be honest, he was confident they could have won, no matter who showed up—but explaining the source of that confidence was impossible.
In the end, there was only one thing he could say.
"I’m sorry."
"Next time, report to the higher-ups at the White Tower and take more people with you. If you don’t—Doran!"
"Sir! You called?"
Walker held out his hand to the subordinate who had rushed over.
"The communicator."
"Here it is, sir."
Receiving a small, palm-sized device, Walker handed it to Oscar.
"If you infuse it with magic, you can communicate over long distances. My direct line is registered—use it if something happens."
"Whoa…"
Oscar examined the device curiously, turning it over in his hands.
Seeing this, Walker frowned.
"…Don’t tell me this is your first time seeing a communicator?"
"Uh, yeah. It’s really cool, though."
"…You’re not very modern, are you?"
Oscar flinched slightly at that.
Well, it wasn’t like he was actually a modern kid, so what did it matter?
Tucking the communicator into his coat, he asked,
"So, what happens to this place now?"
"Every member of the Salvation Cult is being arrested and taken in. We’ll interrogate them in the dungeon until they spill every last connection they have. No need to worry—we’re very good at that part."
Walker lit a cigarette and continued,
"The problem is… the victims. The higher-ups don’t want them leaving this place. They see even their survival as a risk."
If those people were released into society, it would inevitably cause chaos.
Recalling how the imperial court had handled things in the past, Oscar cautiously spoke.
"They’ve ordered their elimination, haven’t they?"
"…You catch on quick."
"Before that happens, may I attempt to heal them?"
"Heal? That’s impossible."
"If you provide the necessary materials and facilities, I can do it. Killing them all is too cruel."
"……."
Conflict flickered in Walker’s eyes.
If he handled this differently and it backfired, he’d be the one to take the fall.
"Sigh."
After smoking his cigarette down to the filter, he finally made his decision.
"Three days. That’s all I can give you."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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