Chapter 147. An Invitation to Darkness (2)
“Kuaaack-!”
The scream now being heard was not coming from the darkness Blanc had thrown.
It was the sound of his own knight, who had accepted the Void, being impaled by a sword that shot out from the darkness.
Watching this, Count Lacie rolled his void-filled eyes ceaselessly.
‘Where the hell are they coming from?’
Every time Blanc’s knights emerged from the crimson-stained darkness, his own knights died without fail.
When the knight in black armor appeared, his knight was crushed, and when the blind knight appeared, one by one their heads fell and rolled on the floor.
What made Count Lacie most anxious was that Blanc was nowhere to be seen.
“Damn it!”
One of the knights managed to swing his sword at Barzio, but his form merely flickered and disappeared like an afterimage reflected on a surface.
“This is an illusion! Everyone, come to your senses!”
Hearing Count Lacie’s words, the void knights tried to break the illusion by summoning their own void, but.
-Is the banquet not to your liking?
Their void energy alone was not enough to break the illusion of Ulrich, who had spent both his past and present lives researching the Void.
“Kuhk!”
Because it was an illusion created by two regressors who hated the Void the most, Count Lacie and his knights instinctively felt fear from the surrounding darkness.
Watching his subordinates fall one by one, Count Lacie felt like he could foam at the mouth.
“Blanc Cadmus-! Stop with the cheap tricks and come out!”
Count Lacie searched for Blanc while swinging his sword, but the only answer was an empty echo.
‘…’
Blanc stood in the darkness, silently glaring at Count Lacie, who was shouting abuse.
‘It’s definitely different from the Void of my past life.’
The illusion Blanc had created now was like a nightmare, born from unleashing Tiday’s Evil into Ulrich’s night sky.
“Uwaaack!”
A nightmare that stimulated human fear and shook the soul.
And the void beings before him were now being swayed by such a nightmare.
Watching this, Blanc was, on one hand, pleased with the weakened state of the Void, but on the other hand, he had to admit that someone was perfectly controlling the Void.
‘I don’t know which is better.’
Between the Void of the past life, which simply spread endlessly like a plague, and the Void of this life, which moved according to someone’s will and intention, he did not yet know which would be more difficult to handle.
But the task Blanc had to do would remain unchanged.
Blanc drew his sword and melted into the darkness.
The task for the regressor Blanc was simply to cut down one more void being.
Towards those who were clumsily cloaked in the Void, the regressor who despised them more than anything swung his sword.
Every time their blood seeped into the darkness, the crimson-shining stars blinked as if in satisfaction.
***
The void beings clinging to the wall turned their heads at the sudden sound of horse hooves.
A man had suddenly emerged from the stables under the wall, leading a horse.
“...This is intense.”
He had been prepared for it, but facing countless pitch-black eyes, he couldn’t help but feel his knees weaken.
Nevertheless, Jerome quickly mounted the horse as intended and shouted at the void beings.
“Over here! You sons of bitches!”
At Jerome’s loud shout, not only the things clinging to the wall but also the void beings searching for blood nearby turned their heads toward him.
Jerome, confirming that their gazes were fixed on him, spurred his horse and began to flee outside Norington’s forest.
“Kiiieeeek-!”
“Kaaaaak-!”
As if taunted by Jerome’s actions, the void beings began to swarm after the horse he was riding.
“Sob... hic...”
Watching Jerome’s retreating back as he led the black horde away, a tearful handmaiden in a hidden space beneath the stables was forcing back her sobs.
“…”
Ciella wrapped her arms around Emilia, but her own eyes were also reddening.
“We follow.”
From the hidden space beneath the stables, Rakshar scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes.
“...We’re moving.”
Not all the void beings had left, but at least those clinging to the walls and gate had followed Jerome’s taunt and were heading towards the forest outside Norington.
Hansen, with a bitter heart, quickly cleared away the wooden planks above.
“From now on, please follow us quietly.”
The people who had just witnessed Jerome’s sacrifice understood Hansen’s feelings and simply nodded their heads quietly.
‘I can do it.’
‘...But.’
‘Sir Rakshar is too large to use the horses here, and Sir Sten is not good with horses, so it has to be me, doesn’t it?’
“…”
Jerome was an inexperienced youth, but he was a clever person who knew when to step forward.
His courage and cleverness had already been proven when he retrieved Pallard Cadmus' remains from the pile of rubble.
“Now!”
Hansen prayed that the young squire who had sacrificed himself would be able to see tomorrow’s sun safely.
The old knight, steeling his heart through a brief prayer and reflection, hid himself in the darkness and quickly assessed a safe path.
Kiiieeeek-!
Kaaaaak-!
But things in the world do not always go as planned.
“In the end, they show up.”
Hansen, who knew this well, as white as his hair, nodded and drew his sword.
“I will break through.”
At Hansen’s words, not only Rakshar and Sten but all those who held swords drew their weapons.
Watching the slowly approaching void beings, Hansen quietly spoke to Rakshar.
“...If the worst comes, take Lady Ciella.”
The gray werewolf, hearing Hansen’s words, could not help but recall that day when the mansion burned.
That day when he had carried the young Blanc and a frightened Emilia on both shoulders and leaped over the mountain.
“…”
Instead of answering Hansen, Rakshar drew his claws and bared his fangs.
A bluish moonlight settled on his shoulders.
The night of the full moon.
The werewolf howled at the void beings rushing toward them.
***
“Gasp! Gasp!”
Jerome ran with all his might, unable to even wipe away the sweat streaming down his face.
“Damn it!”
The horse Jerome had been riding was already torn to shreds, its form unrecognizable.
“Over here! You sons of bitches!”
Nevertheless, Jerome continuously announced his presence to the creatures approaching with their black tongues flicking.
Kiiiiii-!
A voice that sent shivers down one’s spine just by hearing it echoed from within the dark forest.
“I might die today.”
Despite foreseeing a desperate future, Jerome was merely calm.
From the moment he met his lord, Blanc Cadmus, and chose the sword for him, he had been prepared that a day like this might come.
Because his lord was one who would fight off many things and rise to the top.
However, Jerome had only prepared for death; he had not yet given up on everything.
“...!”
Jerome, feeling a damp and rough breath on the back of his neck, quickly rolled forward, dodging the attack of the hideous thing that tried to bite his neck.
“Not yet!”
Jerome, who agilely controlled his body with a firm curse, sprang up like a spring using the momentum from his roll.
A powerful movement, emanating from his youth, was felt throughout his body.
“Kiaaaak-!”
The void beings, having missed their cornered prey, bared their teeth, not hiding their anger.
Jerome did not know it, but they had a reason to be angry.
Playful things were gathering around Jerome under the moonlight.
They were disappointed that Jerome couldn’t see them yet, but they didn’t want him to be hurt by the malicious teeth.
“Kiaaaak!”
The small, young ones were doing what they could for Jerome.
They tied grass to grass to trip the void beings and moved pebbles to make them lose their balance.
They sent dust into their eyes on the wind and gave a little push to the fleeing Jerome’s back.
“Gasp... gasp...”
Although no one here noticed the struggles of the little ones, Jerome was successfully escaping from the pursuing void beings with their help.
But no matter how much he ran, there was a limit.
It was impossible for Jerome, who had just entered the threshold of knighthood, to forever escape from the malice of the void beings that surpassed human limits.
“...Just one of you.”
Jerome, sensing his end, turned his back and raised his sword towards the things rushing at him.
“You sons of bitches!”
Jerome, thinking he would take at least one with him if he was going to die, calmly extended his sword, but.
“Keok!”
The problem was that Jerome was alone, and they were a pack.
Before he could even extend his sword, a void being that had secretly slipped out of the darkness struck his side.
“Kiiieeee…”
The void being flicked its pitch-black tongue and bared its teeth, trying to bite Jerome’s neck.
“Ugh... ugh...”
Jerome was holding its face with both hands, trying to hold on, but his stamina was already depleted.
“Kikikikiki-!”
The void-stained being let out a hideous cackle, seeing Jerome unable to resist properly.
Jerome, feeling his end, looked up at the sky.
The full moon in the sky was shining a bright moonlight.
And from the center of the full moon, a sword was shooting down.
“...!”
THWUUUUCK-!
It accurately pierced the neck of the void being that was about to bite Jerome and got stuck in a tree far away.
No, it pierced through it.
“…”
“…”
Not only Jerome but also the void beings were flusttered by the sudden appearance of the sword that fell from the sky.
“Sob... hic.”
Jerome, quickly coming to his senses, threw off the corpse of the void being that had been on top of him and got into a stance.
“What... is this.”
It was an unbelievable sight.
The sword, stuck in the tree after piercing the void being, was still trembling from such a powerful force.
Jerome turned his head and looked in the direction the sword had come from.
There was a man walking from under the brightly shining full moon.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but the situation looks serious.”
His hair, reflected in the moonlight, was brown.
And behind him, figures in armor walked out.
“Thank you... thank you, Goddesses...”
Jerome, recognizing the crest on their armor, couldn’t help but shed tears.
The ones most needed at this moment were standing there.
“Help me-! I am Jerome of the Cadmus Knights!”
Jerome shouted loudly towards them.
Because he had no doubt that they would help him, and Norington.
The knights who heard Jerome’s words flinched.
“Noel, Aubert.”
Two knights moved at the quiet command of the brown-haired swordsman.
Behind them, men who had drawn their respective weapons quickly ran towards Jerome.
“Help me-!”
In the blink of an eye, they surrounded Jerome and formed a defensive line.
“Damn- what is all this mess.”
“Assess the situation first.”
“Why is its tongue so black.”
“It might be poisonous.”
Two knights who looked exactly alike grabbed Jerome and pulled him towards them.
“Hiek-!”
A sharp sword flew in behind Jerome, who was momentarily out of his mind.
“Snap out of it, man.”
Aubert said to Jerome with a frown.
“Explain the situation.”
Noel asked, calming Jerome with a composed expression.
“Norington... Count Lacie attacked! Things stained by Evil are attacking us!”
Jerome explained the situation, though he was rambling.
Noel and Aubert, who heard his words, looked at the man standing behind them.
“Let’s go.”
At the command of the man who had sent the sword flying, the knights unleashed their presence.
At their presence, the void beings began to shrink back, flicking their tongues.
“I have some bad memories of things stained by Evil. So, understand if I’m a little rough.”
Aubert sneered and charged fearlessly towards the void beings.
The knights followed Aubert’s charge.
The crest of a golden lion was on their chests.
Jerome, watching all this, felt as if he were dreaming.
Everything seemed slow, and in the splashing black blood, he saw something sparkling.
‘When are you going to see us?’
And there were the voices of children whispering and giggling in his ear.
It was a night where everything had gone mad.
“Lead the way, Jerome of the Cadmus Knights.”
But there was a voice that pierced through Jerome’s clouded mind.
Jerome blankly turned his head and looked towards where the voice had come from.
A middle-aged man standing under the moonlight.
His left arm, swaying powerlessly in the wind, had nothing.
“Guide me to Count Blanc.”