Chapter 838

The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

I’ve Made Up My Mind. (1)

The Holy Empire’s forces had noticeably diminished compared to when they first arrived.

It was the toll they’d paid for crushing the final resistance of the Julien Mercenary Corps.

Where once there were four Transcendents, now only one remained.

Only about a dozen knights were still alive.

That alone spoke to how formidable the Julien Mercenary Corps had been—and how fiercely they had fought, to a degree no one dared to speak of lightly.

Yet the Holy Empire still held the upper hand. Even so, they had been unable to finish things properly and were forced to return here.

They had their reasons. They too had felt the sudden surge of darkness.

And then they saw it.

The battle between the newly-emerged Adversary and the dragons.

And finally, the Saintess sacrificing herself.

Pope Borisco spoke in a trembling voice.

“We—we’ve succeeded in the sealing.”

He had rushed here, unsure of what had happened.

If anything had gone wrong with the sealing, he had planned to assist the dragons—or break out of the barrier and mobilize the Holy Army.

But now, with the new Adversary gone and the seal successfully in place, he could finally breathe.

“Phew… Now all that’s left is to clean this up.”

Everyone had hoped for the sealing of the Demonic Abyss.

But they couldn’t reveal the whole truth.

If it came to light that the Hero and the Saintess had been betrayed and sacrificed, there would be an uproar.

So they needed to craft a plausible story. They already had a prepared excuse, but seeing the transformed Hero gave them an even better idea.

“The Hero was tainted by the Lingering Thought of the Demon God and became the Adversary, but everyone here banded together and defeated him. And through the Saintess’s noble sacrifice, the Demonic Abyss was sealed.”

At Borisco’s murmur, the Cardinals nearby nodded.

The horrific truth they had just witnessed allowed for a far more perfect story than the one they had originally prepared.

And since it wasn’t entirely false, their consciences didn’t ache too much. Of course, they would have to hide the part where they used the Saintess’s companions as hostages to force her compliance.

But one thing still weighed heavily on their minds.

“Astion… Lionel… To think they’re still alive.”

As long as those two lived, the truth couldn’t be buried.

They hadn’t finished off the mercenaries properly in their haste to return, but they could take care of them on the way back.

The ones who remained were all badly injured and exhausted, after all.

But those two wouldn’t be so easy.

They had also looked exhausted, but they were heroes who had won the war against the Demonic Abyss. There was no telling how much strength they still had left.

‘With our current strength…’

Only one Transcendent remained after the mercenaries’ final rampage. A few knights were left, but victory was no longer a guarantee.

Borisco, who had paused in thought for a moment, spoke to the knights with a dark expression.

“I will carry the conversation for now—ambush them.”

Those two, possessed by rage, would not be persuaded. So they had no choice but to strike them down with an ambush.

The Holy Empire’s knights nodded heavily.

They had betrayed and killed comrades they had once fought beside. The only path left to those who had cast off honor was to finish this properly.

Footsteps: soft, steady.

Borisco approached Ghislain and Lionel.

He opened his mouth in a voice that trembled slightly.

“Just hear me out for a moment.”

“…….”

Ghislain and Lionel stopped walking.

Even the faintest breath put everyone on edge.

Thinking he could not miss the opportunity, Borisco poured his words out quickly.

“The sealing is finished now. I don’t say I know your hearts, but the Saintess’s sacrifice was a necessary thing. It’s regrettable that the Hero was swallowed by darkness……”

“…….”

“We did this not for personal desire but for the world. So put down your personal feelings. The living should live on in the stead of those who are gone.”

“…….”

“There’s no need for us to fight among ourselves anymore. You can spend the rest of your lives as heroes of humanity. I will mobilize my entire Holy Empire to make that happen.”

“…….”

“Calm yourselves for a moment and let us talk. The Julien Mercenary Corps will receive ample compensation, and we will grant whatever you ask.”

“…….”

“What do you say? Let us step outside and have a deeper conversation—”

Kwaaaang!

Swoosh!

Ghislain closed the distance in an instant and drove his sword into Borisco’s chest.

The Holy Empire’s knights flinched but did not move forward.

Ghislain had pierced Borisco’s chest but had not killed him—he had planted the blade without finishing him.

“Guh, gag…….”

Borisco coughed blood and still emitted Divine Power, but with the sword lodged in him his wound would not heal properly.

Thud.

Ghislain brought his bloodied hand to Borisco’s head.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know what you were thinking?”

“J-just a moment……. cough!”

“You were going to manipulate everything that happened here and pin the blame on the Julien Mercenary Corps. You probably saw Julien change anyway.”

“N-no… we…….”

“No matter what you say, it doesn’t matter. I have already made up my mind.”

Ghislain smiled grimly right in front of Borisco’s eyes.

“The Holy Empire will perish. And you will be the ones who were tainted by the Lingering Thought of the Demon God and betrayed us at the last moment.”

“What are you saying…….”

“The previous Pope was the same, so the story will fit perfectly. Now the Holy Empire’s high priests will all be suspected of being tainted by the Lingering Thought of the Demon God.”

Borisco’s face turned deathly pale at those words. The other Cardinals were the same.

The Holy Empire’s authority had already suffered greatly when the previous Pope became the Adversary. Doubts had arisen about whether the rest might be tainted as well.

Although those suspicions had nearly faded after fighting together in the Great War, if such suspicions resurfaced, the Holy Empire would descend into chaos.

But what was even more terrifying… was the idea that they, as clergymen, would suffer horrific disgrace even in death.

“You bastard! How dare you spew such nonsense—”

“You’re the ones who played dirty. Go rot in hell and watch the Holy Empire fall.”

Smash!

Borisco’s head shattered instantly. Any chance of survival through Divine Power was eliminated completely.

Immediately, the Holy Empire’s knights charged at Ghislain. But he rolled across the ground, dodging the assault, then sprinted straight toward the stunned Cardinals.

Slash!

One Cardinal’s neck was severed entirely.

The others hastily released Divine Power to shield themselves.

Kagagagagak!

Ghislain grit his teeth and split through the barrier of Divine Power. Blood poured ceaselessly from his mouth.

Had he been in peak condition, he could have slain them all in one blow. But now, utterly exhausted and drained of mana, it was anything but easy.

“You bastard! Stop right there!”

The Holy Empire’s knights had already turned and were swinging their swords at Ghislain—but Lionel blocked their path.

Clang! Clang! Claaang!

Lionel fended off the knights’ attacks with sword and shield, protecting Ghislain.

He couldn’t block everything—wounds had begun to mark his body—but he still had some strength left.

He stayed close to Ghislain, never letting him fall behind, enduring most of the blows himself.

Meanwhile, Ghislain, his face twisted like a demon’s, was slashing the Cardinals’ throats.

One by one. Slowly, but without fail.

“Guh, gahk…….”

“You demon!”

“How could you do this to us……?”

The Cardinals, always accustomed to issuing orders from behind, could not respond properly and collapsed.

Even their so-called Divine Power, released in a panic, did little but give Ghislain and Lionel a small amount of recovery.

But even with that slight recovery, Ghislain had no room to spare for defense.

He placed his complete trust in Lionel and poured every last bit of his strength into his attacks.

Clang! Clang! Claaang!

As Lionel’s body became covered in wounds, Ghislain finally succeeded in killing all the Cardinals.

The Holy knights, already worn out, grew more disoriented with each Cardinal’s death. Their movements became clumsy, uncoordinated.

Shunk!

One of the knights drove his sword into Lionel’s shoulder. Just as he was about to twist the blade and sever the neck, he froze, seized by a terrifying gaze that felt like death itself.

He locked eyes with Ghislain, who had been hidden behind Lionel.

Eyes like those of a predator fixated on its prey.

Shunk!

Like a streak of piercing light, Ghislain’s blade drove through the knight’s throat.

He immediately grabbed Lionel by the scruff of his neck and twisted their bodies together.

Slash!

Lionel’s chest was grazed by the enemy’s blade—but Ghislain didn’t miss that opening. He thrust again, this time driving his sword through the knight’s face.

Crack!

With a heavy burst of bone and steel, the knight’s face was obliterated.

At that moment, Lionel, enduring the pain, placed his shield behind him.

Clang!

He blocked an attack from another knight aiming for his back. Ghislain spun around and cleaved the knight’s neck.

“Gah…”

As the knight collapsed lifelessly, Ghislain again moved Lionel’s body.

Lionel simultaneously extended his sword and shield in another direction.

His body was torn all over, but he protected Ghislain’s openings until the very end.

Kagagagagakang!

Shunk!

Ghislain didn’t let any opening slip by. Though he took a few wounds himself along the way, he grit his teeth and continued slaughtering the knights.

At the center of the battle, soaked in blood and the stench of steel, the two of them threw their bodies into protecting each other’s lives.

One by one, slowly but surely.

The Holy knights fell, pitiful and broken.

At last, only one Transcendent and two knights remained on the Holy Empire’s side.

“H-how… how can this be…?”

Their eyes quivered with disbelief.

The two were utterly exhausted. They couldn’t even fully dodge the knights’ attacks—that alone showed how depleted they were.

The advantage had clearly been on the Holy Empire’s side. And yet, instead of finishing the enemy, they now stood on the verge of annihilation.

“What are you waiting for? Go on, finish it,”

Ghislain chuckled, staggering. Lionel had already discarded his sword and now held only his shield.

Both were drenched in blood, barely able to stand. Even so, the Holy knights did not dare to attack.

If they rushed in—they would surely die.

Fear was already choking their breaths.

The Holy Empire’s last Transcendent spoke with a trembling voice.

“L-let’s stop here. Let’s settle this matter outside, through proper means.”

At that, Ghislain and Lionel both gave dry, bitter chuckles.

Stop here?

After killing their comrades, after driving Julien and Deneb to their deaths…

And now he dared say “stop”?

How could anyone utter such words?

Ghislain staggered forward.

His blood-soaked steps dragged as he muttered in a low voice,

“There’s no such thing as an easy ending, is there?”

Shlak!

Ghislain closed the distance in an instant and slashed.

The knight hastily countered, slicing a long gash along Ghislain’s side—but Ghislain swallowed the pain and split the knight’s skull in two.

Crack!

As the knight’s head split apart, another blade targeted Ghislain.

Claaang!

Lionel’s shield shattered under the force—but that was enough.

Shunk!

The moment of hesitation as the knight broke through the shield was all Ghislain needed to drive his sword into the man’s throat.

And then, the Holy Empire’s last remaining Transcendent charged in, seizing that brief gap.

“Die, you monsters!”

Fwoooosh!

Aura Blade burst vividly from his sword.

The Transcendent poured out every ounce of his remaining strength. He too was drained, mana depleted. This would be his final strike—meant to sever both their heads in one blow.

With their mana nearly spent, success seemed certain.

But then…

Claang!

Ghislain’s sword, carrying no visible energy at all, blocked the strike.

The Transcendent’s face went blank with disbelief.

“How…?”

He could have understood if Ghislain had at least used mana to block. But no—the other blade carried nothing. Nothing but steel.

Slide…

Ghislain’s sword split the Aura Blade. Then it split the enemy’s sword.

It was as if his sword moved in harmony with the natural order of the world—calm and inevitable.

Slice…

And so, Ghislain’s sword passed gently across the Transcendent’s neck.

The Transcendent still wore a dumbfounded expression even as his head fell.

Thud!

At the same time the Transcendent’s head hit the ground, Ghislain’s knees gave out.

“Gahh!”

Blood spilled from his mouth in a constant stream.

He had used the Power of Will he had been saving to face a Transcendent, but his body could no longer endure.

Thanks to Astion’s elevation in rank, he had managed to survive even after fighting this far—but he would need a long period of recovery.

“You okay?”

“Not even close…”

“Didn’t think I’d ever hear you whine.”

Lionel gave a faint, worn smile as he supported Ghislain.

He himself was on the verge of collapse, but for now, he was in slightly better shape than Ghislain.

Rumble…

The sky darkened further, swallowed by the encroaching darkness from all directions.

A sign that the time allowed to this land was coming to a gradual but inevitable end.

The two leaned on the faint remaining light and headed toward the direction where the mercenaries were.

They had to check—just in case any had survived.

And when they finally arrived, both Ghislain and Lionel widened their eyes in shock.

Far more mercenaries had survived than they expected. It was nothing short of a miracle.

Some sat exhausted, tending to their wounds. Others lay motionless, breathing heavily, too weak to even rise.

It was certainly something to be grateful for. But neither Ghislain nor Lionel could bring themselves to smile.

Instead, they tensed, forcing strength into their battered bodies.

Ghislain narrowed his eyes and muttered,

“They didn’t run.”

Standing around the surviving mercenaries…

Were Ilaniel and the Elf Elders, wearing grim, hardened expressions.