Chapter 210: Beneath the Witch's Smile

Ethan Heart had reaped every possible reward, and his strength had grown considerably. He had even managed to obtain two of the most powerful weapons in existence. One came from Ars, the Golden Dawn Knight, while the other was Dark Sister, a blade reforged by the legendary blacksmith Ganishka.

He had delivered the finishing blow that brought down the Golden Dawn Knight, then defeated Aldrich himself, reducing the latter to a trembling wreck before him.

He had also played the decisive role in defeating Aldebaran, the Lord of Knights, and made countless contributions throughout his time in Old Ashvarn. He was even the one responsible for convincing Jackson, the old hunter, to join their group.

Of course, not everything had gone according to plan. There were certain things he could have handled better, particularly if he’d possessed more accurate information about the enemies and dangers awaiting him.

But considering the information available to him and how little time he’d had to prepare, Ethan realized he couldn’t have performed much better than he already had.

If there had been an MVP award for this expedition, it would undoubtedly have gone to him.

As Ethan recalled the events of the past few months, he swung from one building to another using the Grappling Hook, the first ability of his mechanical arm.

After defeating Aldrich and collecting his rewards, Ethan had decided that returning to his companions was a much better option than leaving the dungeon alone.

‘The people outside must have realized by now that the raid here is over…’

Clearing Old Ashvarn meant that the Mother Flame, which had been on the verge of going out, would now burn brighter than ever before.

What Ethan and his companions had accomplished was more than enough for them to be hailed as heroes, their names immortalized as the saviors of the clan, and perhaps even the entire Arden Empire.

After all, the ruling Arden family would never have withstood the spreading curse, especially if every member of the Heart Clan had transformed into a bloodthirsty monster.

Merely imagining an army of monsters led by the Golden Dawn Knight and Asterion, the Uncrowned Emperor, made Ethan’s heart sink.

They had truly avoided a catastrophe.

‘I want to get out of this miserable place as quickly as possible, but I have no idea what’s waiting for me outside… Joining the others and leaving together is probably the right choice.’

As he made his way through the ruined city, Ethan’s eyes were instinctively drawn toward the dark corners of its streets and the crumbling buildings he had passed countless times over the preceding months.

Now that the curse had disappeared, Old Ashvarn was considerably smaller than it had been before.

Previously, the city had resembled an endless labyrinth, with more buildings appearing whenever someone attempted to escape.

But now, it was even smaller than the Ashvarn located above it.

Many buildings had vanished entirely, although certain landmarks remained, including the clock tower Ethan had encountered in the past and the colosseum where he’d first met Jackson.

The stench of blood had grown even stronger throughout the area, and burning swords stood embedded in the ground everywhere, left behind after Ethan and the others had slaughtered the monsters.

Among them was an enormous golden sword, its sheer size making it impossible to overlook.

‘How strange… I definitely want to leave this place, and yet… I’ve grown so accustomed to this wretched environment that it almost feels like I belong here.’

Ethan was disturbed by the sense of familiarity he felt toward the city.

Only monsters belonged in a cursed place like Old Ashvarn, where the stench of blood and death seeped from every corner.

He decided to ignore the feeling.

Thanks to the speed at which he could travel using the Grappling Hook, it didn’t take long for him to return to the cathedral, where they had fought their final battle.

The first person who came to mind upon his arrival was a drunken old man who had fought alongside him and suffered injuries no ordinary human could possibly have survived.

Ethan knew Asterion was strong. The old man was a genuine monster, and one of his titles was the Red Devil.

But even that devil had only one heart.

And if that heart stopped beating, he would inevitably die.

With the old man’s face occupying his thoughts, Ethan continued forward, only to freeze suddenly at the entrance to the ruined cathedral.

Someone else was waiting for him.

His body tensed slightly at the sight of her standing there alone, but he remained composed enough to immediately adopt a defensive stance, his eyes fixed firmly upon her.

Lowering his center of gravity, Ethan prepared himself to respond to any sudden hostile movement.

The woman standing before him regarded him with curiosity, her face wearing an expression of innocence and indifference.

But in less than a second, her entire demeanor changed, almost as though she’d removed one mask and replaced it with another.

Then she let out a soft laugh.

“Why are you so tense, Ethan? Is there a monster standing behind me without my knowing?”

The woman turned to inspect the space behind her, casually exposing her back to Ethan.

For a moment, he genuinely considered attacking her right then and there.

But he knew better than that.

Only an idiot would fall for such an obvious trap.

“How could I possibly relax when one of those filthy Apostles is standing right in front of me?”

“What a serious accusation.”

Despite the gravity of his words, Schierke merely closed her eyes calmly and took a few steps toward him.

Ethan immediately retreated by an equal number of steps.

“Why are you running away from me?” she asked, a faint trace of mockery in her voice, before pressing further. “Are you afraid?”

In response, Ethan gave her a bitter smile of his own.

“I’d be lying if I said I’m not.”

Afraid?

How could he not be?

If Schierke truly was an Apostle serving one of the Night Lords, that would make her far more dangerous than the bosses of Legacy dungeons, such as Aldrich.

“Then why don’t you run? Or are you confident you can kill me?”

Schierke tilted her head slightly, a faint glow emerging from her crimson eyes.

“I’m not bold enough to turn my back on you and try to flee.”

“Yes, yes. You’re the calculating type and all. I’ve already figured out that much.” Schierke sighed.

Ethan, meanwhile, swallowed slowly as the eyes of his Wise Raven Insight analyzed the woman standing before him.

The girl called Schierke…

She was full of openings.

No matter how carefully he examined her, he couldn’t find anything particularly alarming.

Instead, he saw dozens of opportunities to attack, all of which would likely end in his victory if what he was seeing could be trusted.

But he didn’t trust it.

For two reasons.

The first was that he knew just how dangerous the Apostles were.

And the second was something that had happened during the battle against the Golden Dawn Knight.

“Those strange chains… That was you, wasn’t it?”

“There’s no point confirming the obvious.”

“I see…”

Ethan’s expression hardened.

There was no longer any doubt about the identity of the woman standing before him.

His human hand began glowing with a brilliant, pure blue light, summoning a distinctive black sword that he gripped tightly.

At the same time, he readied his Legion Arm, prepared to use it the moment the need arose.

“Oh, come on! Is this really what you want? I thought you were smarter than this.”

Schierke shook her head from side to side in disappointment, but Ethan refused to back down.

“We won’t know unless we try.”

“Then let me make things easier for you.”

Schierke raised a hand and casually snapped her fingers.

And immediately…

Ethan heard the rattling of chains.