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Chapter 54
A banquet hall in chaos.
Hamilton, whose swordsmanship had barely been enough to fend off passing bandits, was now tearing through the hall like a high-ranking knight, driving off the royal guards and clearing an escape route.
Shwaaak!
Clang—
Hamilton’s sword grazed Louise’s arm before spinning to deflect an incoming strike from a knight.
“Your Highness! Are you alright?”
“I’m fine! Block the entrance!”
Even while moving with dazzling agility, Hamilton threatened the nobles in the hall and took hostages to carve out a path.
Amid the commotion, he seized Miriam Heretia.
With the third princess taken hostage, the knights of Brillant stood frozen.
“Miriam!!”
King Maurice Heretia, having returned to the hall too late, roared in fury.
“Please calm down, Your Majesty. I’ll save her.”
“Morgan… Please… Please bring my daughter back safely. At all costs!”
“I accept your command, Your Majesty.”
The one who appeared with the king was a middle-aged knight with short hair—Morgan, the greatest knight in the Kingdom of Brillant.
As Morgan drew his sword, a sense of relief washed over the eyes of the knights.
“Morgan? I wouldn’t swing that sword carelessly if I were you. Otherwise, the third princess won’t survive.”
“Do whatever it takes! Capture that blasphemous man now!”
Archbishop Mel gritted his teeth and shouted.
Morgan stared at Hamilton with cautious eyes and slowly approached.
“Open the door! Now! If you don’t move within three seconds, Miriam dies!”
The knights hesitated under Hamilton’s threat.
The nobles kept their distance to avoid getting caught up in the fray, and by the entrance stood Layton, the royal knights, and nobles skilled with the sword, forming a blockade against Hamilton.
“Everyone, stand aside.”
“Sir Morgan! If we open the door, he’ll escape!”
“There’s no choice. Step aside.”
“Hahaha! Even the mighty master-level knight can’t do anything, huh!”
At Morgan’s command and the king’s approval, the people blocking the entrance stepped aside, and the doors swung wide open.
Still holding his sword to Miriam’s neck, Hamilton stepped out of the banquet hall.
“I’ll pursue him. Please take control of the situation here and follow as soon as you can, Your Highness.”
Morgan passed by Louise and said quietly.
“Understood.”
With a frustrated look, Louise quickly gathered the knights, bringing the chaotic hall under control.
Meanwhile, Ren was exiting a nearby building when he spotted Hamilton and Morgan rushing out of the hall.
He immediately realized something had gone wrong.
“Damn it!”
Not only was Hamilton still alive, but he was carrying Miriam in his arms.
And even with Morgan—the king’s personal knight—on the move, the situation hadn’t been resolved.
That meant Hamilton’s skill was at least on par with a high-ranking knight.
“Princess Jane! Lord! I’ll leave them to you!”
“Miriam? Miriam’s been taken hostage?”
“It seems so. Lord Cohen, we have to pursue them!”
“Understood.”
There was no time to talk further.
They had to chase after them quickly.
“Get on.”
With his current physical condition, Ren couldn’t keep up with Hamilton or Morgan.
Knowing this, he immediately climbed onto Cohen’s back.
Thud!
Drawing on all his remaining energy, Cohen kicked off the ground.
Wherever his feet landed, frost bloomed.
“There! I see them!”
“My body hasn’t fully recovered. I’m already pushing myself, so we might fall behind soon.”
Cohen didn’t say it, but carrying Ren made it even harder to maintain speed.
Fortunately, Hamilton was also burdened—carrying Miriam and watching his back for Morgan—so he couldn’t move at full speed either.
That allowed them to keep up.
‘Where is he trying to go?’
Even if he escaped the kingdom, he wouldn’t be able to shake off Morgan.
Not to mention, Louise and the other knights were following as well.
Morgan had also left behind clear traces, so there was no fear of losing the trail.
He wouldn’t head to their hideout—not with Morgan right behind him.
That would be too risky for them.
Which meant they were trying to shake him off somewhere else...
‘The only place around here they could do that... there’s just one.’
Ren’s gaze shifted toward the distant Kinish Bluff.
“We have to go there.”
Cohen saw where Ren pointed and understood immediately.
He nodded.
“Got it.”
Thud, thud, thud.
Cohen pushed his body harder as they sped ahead.
“No one knows the terrain of Kinish Bluff better than I do. There’s a shortcut—just follow my directions.”
Even in such a rough mountain range, Cohen’s abilities made traversal possible.
‘Right now, neither Cohen nor I can contribute much. But…’
After running for a while, they arrived at a familiar cemetery.
“This is Decaine, isn’t it?”
“Yes. In our current condition, we won’t be of any help to Sir Morgan.”
Understanding Ren’s implication, Cohen turned his head and glanced at him.
“You’re going to use that ability?”
“Yes. I have no choice.”
Moonlight illuminated a grand tomb beneath a massive stone tablet—the most ornate grave in Decaine.
Ren stood before it.
“Ancestor.”
From the tomb rose Havenberg, looking at Ren with a disinterested face.
—Why do you look like that again?
“I need your help.”
—Tsk. In your current condition, you won’t last long.
“I’ll be fine.”
—You must be desperate. Fine, then.
[Descent – Havenberg Argen]
Havenberg entered Ren’s body.
“We need to conserve our strength as much as possible. Sir Cohen, just a bit more, please.”
“Understood.”
Ren, now possessed by Havenberg, got back on Cohen’s back and directed him toward where he predicted Hamilton would go.
—What’s going on?
‘A princess of the kingdom has been taken hostage by a black mage.’
—I see. But your body isn’t in good shape either.
‘I have to save the princess, no matter what. Even if it ruins my body—please help me.’
—Tsk. Foolish brat.
As they ran further, the sound of fleeing animals and faint tremors in the ground reached them from the base of the mountain.
“There.”
“Huff… Huff… I’m really at my limit now.”
Cold sweat ran down Cohen’s back and forehead.
Due to the lingering curse of frost, his body had yet to fully recover.
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And his earlier fight with Kelvin Rogers had taken its toll too.
“You did well. Leave the rest to me.”
Having taken control of Ren’s body, Havenberg got off Cohen’s back and drew his spirit blade.
The tremors grew stronger as the ground rumbled closer.
Closing his eyes, Havenberg focused on the vibrations.
Then he suddenly snapped his eyes open and dashed to the left.
Rustle—rustle—
As leaves shook, a dark figure leapt out from behind the trees.
At the same time, the Soulstone of Summoning turned red.
"Curse of Frailty."
Havenberg summoned spiritual power as if it were his own and sent the evil spirit flying forward.
“Urgh…!”
A groan echoed from the front.
Though the darkness obscured the opponent’s figure, the hit was clear—the spell had landed.
Swoooosh!!
A black silhouette rapidly approached, growing clearer.
“What did you do to me!”
A black mage in Hamilton’s form.
No, since he used a sword, perhaps he should be called a dark knight.
The dark knight thrust his sword while holding Miriam tucked under his left side.
Clang—!
Despite being weakened by the spell, the thrust was menacing.
Havenberg deflected the trajectory by striking upward and then launched a deep horizontal slash.
A slash aimed at the cumbersome Miriam.
Hamilton’s movement widened as he dodged, trying to avoid injuring her.
—Ancestor! Miriam must not be harmed!
Ren’s desperate voice seemed unheard.
Seizing the opening, Havenberg’s sword dug inward again, this time aiming for Hamilton’s left side.
“Gah…!”
Claaang!!
Swords clashed fiercely with a loud crash.
Hamilton protected Miriam with desperation, refusing to let her go, and Havenberg persistently exploited the openings that resulted.
“You crazy bastard!”
Hamilton's movements grew more frantic.
‘Damn it! Who the hell is this guy?’
Morgan could arrive at any moment, and now this inexplicable guy was stalling him.
As if that weren’t enough, the guy was skilled with both curses and swordplay—frustratingly so.
‘Physical ability matches a knight… but his swordsmanship level… I can’t tell.’
Someone who could cast a spell to weaken the body and still fight with such refined skill?
Hamilton was caught off guard, unable to gauge Ren’s level of swordsmanship.
‘I don’t know why, but his body isn’t normal either. I’ll have to overpower him physically.’
Dark energy began to swirl ominously around his sword.
“Die!”
Hamilton put some distance between them and thrust his sword in a straight line.
A black energy beam shot from the tip, tearing through the air and rushing toward Ren.
At the same time, his gray eyes flared, and his aura wrapped the air.
‘What is this…!’
In the quiet night, the moonlight filtering through the trees dimly lit the area, but now even that light was gone.
It was as if darkness had swallowed everything.
Then, within that darkness, a moon appeared, drawing the eye.
“Hngh!”
The sense of danger to his life sent a jolt through his body, but in an instant, the sensation in his left arm vanished.
“Aaaaaargh!!”
The darkness disappeared, and the world returned.
Moonlight once again illuminated the forest interior.
Blood ran down his arm, and Miriam, who had fallen to the ground, scrambled to her feet and fled.
‘I’m going to die…!’
He couldn't even understand what had happened.
The calm eyes of his opponent were fixed on him.
All he could think was escape.
He had to run.
Hamilton grabbed his severed arm from the ground, turned, and fled.
Havenberg couldn’t give chase.
Only after Hamilton vanished from sight did he collapse to the ground, coughing up blood.
“Kuhh…!”
It was the recoil of using Moon Severance.
His body had taken severe damage.
The descent ended, and Ren gasped for breath, unable to move, until Miriam came over and helped him.
“Are you all right?”
“Haa… ha… I’m… fine.”
“You don’t look fine at all. Just lie down and rest.”
She knelt on the rough ground and gently laid Ren’s head on her lap.
“He might come back at any moment. Haa… You need to… run.”
“I can’t do that. How can I leave the man who saved my life behind?”
Ren gritted his teeth and tried to sit up, but she pushed him back down.
“Third Princess…”
“You're Ren Arzen, right?”
“You… know me?”
“Of course. You’re the most talked-about person in the kingdom lately. I never imagined you’d be the one to save me.”
“It was… nothing. I just did what was right.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to help you.”
“…Please, just go.”
“Stop talking. You’re exhausted.”
For the first time, Ren saw Miriam’s face up close.
Blue eyes and blue hair.
A round face with large eyes.
In his past life, he had never even seen the princess’s face.
‘She’s… so beautiful.’
He felt a pang of sorrow that she had nearly suffered a terrible fate right after her coming-of-age ceremony—but still, this wasn’t right.
“Third Princess—”
“Why are you so stubborn?”
Miriam suddenly cut him off by tapping his arm.
Ren closed his mouth with a bitter look and thought,
‘No, you need to hurry down and fetch Morgan or the priests…’
His whole body ached, and his heart felt like it would explode.
He wanted to spit out the blood rising in his throat, but with her lap as a pillow, he couldn’t do so freely.
“Are you trying to make me look like a bad person?”
This right now is the bad thing.
“Don’t worry. Even if I end up in danger, I’ll never abandon you.”
This is the most dangerous moment right now.
At any moment, the blood pooling in his mouth might spill onto her.
Ren had many things he wanted to say, but he couldn’t speak any longer.
Rustle—
Just then, Morgan stepped out from the bushes.
“Princess Miriam.”
“Sir Morgan! You’re here!”
Relief filled her voice at last.
“Where’s Hamilton?”
“Oh, Sir Ren saved me! That man ran away.”
At her words, Morgan gave Ren a long, suspicious look.
‘Right, he must be wondering how I managed to rescue Miriam from Hamilton—’
“Where exactly are you lying right now?”
Morgan’s chilling voice made Ren nervously shift his eyes.
“Ah, um… gurgle! Blegh!”
Ren tried to make an excuse, but forgot about the blood in his mouth and ended up vomiting it instead.
“Oh my!”
Miriam gasped in alarm.
Cold sweat began to pour down Ren’s face.
That’s right.
Ren had just vomited blood… onto the princess’s lap.
And on top of that, he was using her lap as a pillow.
“…Ah, haha…”
He gave an awkward laugh, trying to brush it off, but Morgan’s hand twitched toward the hilt of his sword.
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