Chapter 743: Episode 743

Richard gasped for breath, his expression darkening as the battle dragged on. The problem was the spirits. He had consumed too much mana summoning two spirit dragons to travel to the ocean and back. Right now, he was conserving as much mana as possible by operating only a single fire spirit, but he was still struggling.

’If only I could use the power of the Legion.’

If he called upon the Legion, these dark spirits wouldn’t stand a chance. However, there was a risk that she would discover he was ’Yona’. After talking with her, he thought it was highly likely she was from the Bahila Territory. If she found out that he was the war hero who had devastated her hometown, the infamous Legion Commander ’Yona’, how would she react?

He didn’t really want to know.

"Richard!"

Meanwhile, Anna was taking down the dark spirits with dazzling martial arts, pulling far ahead of him. The beautiful dress she had prepared for today was torn to shreds, but she had simply grabbed the fabric and ripped it further with her own hands, tying the ends to give her legs freedom of movement.

"Are you okay?"

"I’m fine, Ayla!"

Richard swung his arm as he spoke. His sole remaining fire spirit spewed weakened flames, barely keeping the dark spirits at bay. ’I’m getting in the way.’ Richard swallowed hard and raised his voice.

"I’m worried about the children! Ayla, go to them first!"

"What? B-But I can’t just leave you behind, Richard!"

Even as she spoke, Anna continued to strike down the endlessly swarming dark spirits with fierce, precise movements. Watching the spirits scatter like water from a single kick, Richard clicked his tongue in amazement and shouted louder.

"I can at least take care of myself! I’ll be fine, so please go to the children! With this many dark spirits around, the children and volunteers might be in danger!"

Anna bit her lip tightly. Eventually, perhaps deciding that Richard was right, she gave a strained nod.

"I’ll be right back! You have to stay safe!"

"I will! Don’t worry about me. Just protect the children!"

Anna sprinted off, her snow-white hair fluttering in the wind. She broke through the encirclement by stepping on the heads of the dark spirits like stepping stones, then kicked off the ground and shot forward like a streak of light. Watching her grow further away, Richard finally let out a long breath.

’Now I can finally show what I can do.’

A haunting moan echoed as the dark spirits stealthily swarmed toward Richard now that Anna was gone. Without any lingering regret, Richard dismissed the fire spirit, which was a massive mana sink, and opened his subspace. With a low thrum, an ominous black portal opened, and a telepathic will flickered in the darkness.

[Hahahaha! You are in a crisis, Yona! Use me!]

’Karl.’

The Ancient Undead he had brought along just in case, the Plague Beast Karl, urged Richard to unleash him. However, Richard shook his head.

’If you go out, the children and the others will be in danger from your plague. Just rest.’

[Tch!]

Richard pulled out several Legion-type skeletons. They were armed with alloy armor enchanted with defensive magic and held halberds in their hands. The dark spirits charged fearlessly, but they were no match. With vicious slashes, the Legion-type undead swung their halberds, cleaving the spirits in two.

Richard dismantled one of the skeletons and wore it as Bone Armor, threw on a robe, and pulled down a skull helmet to hide his face. ’There don’t seem to be any annoying Priests around either. If I detour my forces as far away as possible and help the people from the rear, there won’t be any problems.’

With monstrous shrieks, the soldiers of the Legion began pouring out of the subspace. Richard took the lead.

’Let’s go!’

---

"Someone is coming this way," Simon said.

Lethe placed her hands on her hips with a puzzled expression.

"Is that not Teacher Anna and Richard?"

"No. It’s not those two."

In the distance, dark spirits were being dispatched with sharp slashes, indicating an ongoing battle. Soon, a white light abruptly pierced toward them.

’A woman?’

It was someone wearing a robe. The hood was blown back by the wind, revealing short, sea-colored hair fluttering in the breeze.

"Lenaaaaa!"

She let out a fierce shout as she charged in and unceremoniously tackled Lethe to the ground. Then, grabbing Lethe by the collar, she screamed.

"I knew you were suspicious from the start! How could you do this! Now you’re even summoning evil monsters to attack me?"

"What! What are you talking about out of nowhere!"

Simon stared in bewilderment as he watched the two of them tangle together. ’A-Aunt Israphel?’ He had heard from Lethe that the Israphel of the past was with Anna, but seeing it for himself was incredibly shocking. To think that the benevolent Saintess of the Divine Sea, Israphel, had been so hot-tempered in her youth.

Her image was completely different.

"I don’t know what your goal was in approaching Anna, but give it up! I’ve already sent a letter to headquarters, and soldiers will be here soon!" Israphel shrieked, her voice rising even higher. "What did you do to Anna? Tell me right now!"

"What do you mean, what did I do!" Lethe retorted.

Lethe pointed past her.

"She is approaching from over there!"

"What?"

Israphel turned her head with a flustered expression. It was true.

The sickening sounds of impact echoed through the air. Although they were a bit far away, they could clearly see Anna breaking through the encirclement and running toward them. Everywhere she went, dark spirits were spectacularly shattered by her punches and kicks. Taking advantage of the distraction, Lethe struck Israphel’s jaw with her elbow.

Israphel groaned and fell backward, allowing Lethe to slip free.

"Why are you the one here!" Lethe demanded.

Israphel wiped her mouth and glared at Lethe.

"Why do you ask? To keep an eye on you, since you go AWOL from our allied camp every weekend!"

Lethe stared blankly for a moment before letting out a cynical sigh.

"So you were the cause after all."

"W-What? Me?"

"I thought it was strange that information leaked. Including you, only five people know we are here."

She spread out her five fingers.

"You sent a letter to headquarters during wartime and requested troops over something as trivial as this? This incident must have spread as a rumor all over headquarters, and it surely reached the ears of those who already viewed Teacher Anna in a bad light."

Lethe refrained from mentioning that those very people were the ’Secret Society’. Israphel stared blankly at Anna, who was breaking through the dark spirits, and stammered.

"W-What was wrong with my actions? Everything was for Anna’s sake! Because an outsider like you was being a bad influence on her!"

"Do not make me laugh," Lethe said coldly. "We are currently in the middle of a war. You sent a letter to the frontline headquarters during wartime just because she came to do volunteer work? If that is your standard, why did you not report your seniors who go out to play with men every single day?"

"Ugh!"

"For Teacher Anna’s sake? You purely wanted to exclude me and monopolize Teacher Anna! You tailed us to find an excuse and reported it to headquarters! You did not even care how much trouble it would cause Teacher Anna! Claiming you did it for her is nothing but self-satisfaction!"

"Stop it, Lethe!" Simon stepped in to calm the agitated Lethe. He understood how she felt, of course, but it wasn’t good to influence anyone other than Richard and Anna.

Israphel’s eyes trembled violently.

"Lena!"

Just then, one of the volunteers came running over in a panic.

"We’re in trouble! Those monsters are on the other side too!"

"What?"

They were surrounded. Before they knew it, the entire area was swarming with dark spirits. The children from the orphanage hugged each other in terror. The director reassured the children that everything would be fine, but her own expression was grim.

"I’ll go stop them!"

Simon immediately dashed forward. Countless dark spirits were charging at them with their maws wide open. ’I can’t keep fighting barehanded forever.’ Simon slowly gathered jet-black aura at his fingertips.

’If I don’t overdo it and just use a little power to break through the encirclement!’

At that moment, Simon’s eyes widened drastically. Even before he could use his jet-black aura, he felt jet-black aura coming from somewhere else. ’Don’t tell me.’ His gaze shifted.

Alongside the swarming dark spirits, an army was charging out of the darkness, kicking up clouds of dust. A chorus of bone-chilling shrieks tore through the air. They were undead. As skeletons equipped with elaborate gear charged forward swinging massive halberds, the dark spirits were sliced away in chunks and disappeared.

They scattered in formation to build a defensive line, taking on all the dark spirits coming from other directions. And yet, they never approached the orphanage. It was a movement strictly designed to tie down the enemies pushing in from the outside.

’It’s the Legion!’

Simon instantly realized their identity. Cold sweat poured down his back.

’No matter how urgent it is, to use the power of the Legion already! If he does this, Mom will notice!’

A blinding light suddenly erupted from the sky. It felt as if the night had abruptly passed and broad daylight had arrived. Simon and the others shielded their eyes with their arms and looked back.

"So this was all the doing of the evil Dark Alliance after all."

Amidst a feast of pure white light, Anna descended like an angel, having unleashed her divinity.

"And to think the infamous Legion was involved in this. I can never forgive this."

Sensing the Legion’s jet-black aura, she had unleashed her divinity and descended toward their ranks. Simon bit his lip.

’It’s a catastrophe.’

The situation was getting as twisted as it possibly could.

"Ayla?"

At that moment, a voice steeped in shock rang out. Anna, who had been extending her arm to use divine magic, froze and turned her gaze. Amidst the Legion’s undead, she saw a person. A man wearing a skull helmet and draped in a worn-out robe.

’Ah.’

In that moment, Anna felt a terrible sense of foreboding. He was wrapped in a robe, so his physique wasn’t clearly visible, and his face was hidden, but it seemed he hadn’t managed to change his shoes. His shoes, soaked in seawater, were exactly the same. And he had definitely said ’Ayla’.

The alias Ayla was a fake name she had created and used for the first time upon coming here. Above all, the voice that had called out to her. It was a voice she could never forget. Anna opened her mouth and muttered.

"Richard?"

Their gazes met. The Legion Commander’s trembling hands moved to remove the skull helmet. From within the helmet, the grief-stricken face of a man was revealed.

"Ayla..."

She had to deny it. If possible, she wanted to deny the truth endlessly. However.

"You were the Miracle Saintess?"

The reality before her eyes was so despairingly certain. Anna let her arms drop limply.

"You were Yona?"

The identity of the enemy commander she had wanted to kill more than anyone else. Despair and grief intertwined. They were overwhelmed by a mixture of sorrow, anger, confusion, and betrayal. The two of them were left speechless by a shock that felt as if the sky had fallen.

"Yona!"

"Teacher Anna!"

Just then, Simon and Lethe came running over urgently.

"Run! Soldiers from both factions are coming!"

"At this rate, a war is going to break out!"

Snapping back to his senses belatedly, Richard felt a chilling presence. Teleportation magic circles were unfolding all around them.