Chapter 95 : Chapter 95
Chapter 95. Trickery
Shaferia couldn’t hide her bewilderment.
What was happening before her eyes was far too sudden.
The round table she had been riding on suddenly dropped.
It was falling deeper underground.
A dull grinding noise exploded as the edge of the table scraped against the walls.
Kwa-dududududuk────!
Chunks of stone shot out in all directions.
Violent tremors struck her entire body.
Shaferia gripped the table’s handle tightly and lowered her posture.
Her expression had stiffened.
She was tense and anxious.
A panicked voice burst out.
“Baron!”
Yohan’s expression remained utterly calm.
“We’ll arrive soon. Please bear with it a little longer.”
It seemed like this was a familiar occurrence to him.
Shaferia felt a flash of resentment toward Yohan.
“N-Next time, please give me a warning!”
If she had known about the drop in advance, she wouldn’t have acted so disgracefully.
“I’m telling you now. Brace for impact.”
No sooner had he spoken than a tremendous shock struck her entire body.
The noise pounded in her ears.
A cloud of dust billowed around them.
The round table touched the ground.
They had arrived at their destination.
Shaferia exhaled heavily and looked at Yohan with eyes full of blame.
“…I really thought I was going to die.”
“Just a moment, Lady Shaferia.”
Yohan’s expression looked somewhat off. The face that had been so composed until now had subtly stiffened.
“What is it?”
No answer came from Yohan.
Shaferia quickly followed his gaze.
The darkness ahead was profound.
There wasn’t a single trace of light.
Yohan spoke in a low voice.
“It seems there’s a problem.”
At that moment, two crimson lights flickered in the distance.
The glow, as red as human blood, felt like the gaze of a demon.
It had the power to freeze a person in place.
Alertness filled Shaferia’s expression.
“…W-What is that?”
Was he saying a demon was living beneath the lord’s manor? As someone visiting the Forbidden Archive for the first time, Shaferia was deeply confused.
Yohan replied in a tense tone.
“I believe it’s His Highness. Most likely.”
Shaferia’s pupils widened.
She stared intently at the red glow.
“You mean the Third Prince?”
“Yes. It seems the corruption has advanced faster than I expected.”
The Third Prince, Gawain, had become a demon.
Shaferia was shaken by the revelation, but she didn’t allow herself to freeze.
She immediately drew her sword from her waist.
“Put away that feeble blade, Shaferia. I have no business with you.”
The voice came from directly ahead.
It was cold, yet somehow calm—it gave Shaferia a strange sense of déjà vu.
She stammered out a reply.
“Y-Your Highness! Are you… are you the Third Prince?!”
In the distance, the red glow blinked once.
“Yes. We meet again, like this.”
His voice felt a bit closer than before.
Shaferia involuntarily took a step back.
“Are you all right? I heard you were afflicted by a demon’s curse.”
The red glow blinked again.
It had grown slightly larger.
A chilling laugh echoed.
“A curse? A curse, you say? Shaferia, it seems you too have been deceived by that wretched man.”
A sharp chill crept across her skin.
Shaferia swallowed hard.
“A wretched man? What do you—”
The red glow blinked again.
A black silhouette began to take shape.
The distance between the light and Shaferia had clearly shrunk.
“I mean the man standing next to you.”
Shaferia gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.
“…Your Highness, please don’t come any closer.”
The red eyes vanished without warning.
Shaferia quickly scanned her surroundings.
No presence could be felt anywhere.
Yohan whispered quietly.
“Lady Shaferia, when I give the signal, run straight ahead. With all your strength.”
Shaferia nodded.
At the same time, she felt a sickening sensation on her shoulder.
A black hand slid over her upper arm.
A voice, icy enough to make her shiver, whispered right beside her ear.
“I’ll say it again. I have no business with you. So go back.”
Shaferia’s expression turned to horror.
Yohan shouted.
“Now!”
He grabbed Shaferia’s wrist and took off running.
Together, they sprinted toward the Forbidden Archive at full speed.
A burst of laughter rang out behind them.
“How do you plan to escape? From me?”
As they ran, Shaferia shouted.
“Sir Yohan! Is there a way?!”
Yohan bit his lip and replied.
“Even if there isn’t, we have to find one! We can’t let His Highness, in that state, be unleashed upon the world!”
When someone fell into demonic corruption, their strength scaled with their original power.
Gawain had already been a transcendent being.
For someone like that to fall meant catastrophe.
If he were to manifest on the surface, the world could truly be destroyed.
Shaferia knew this all too well.
She spoke in a desperate voice.
“I’ll do anything I can! Just tell me what to do!”
Yohan looked around quickly in all directions.
He swallowed hard.
“It’s too dark! I can’t find any usable sacred relics!”
“Please wait just a moment!”
Shaferia pulled a small orb from her bosom.
She tossed it into the air.
A white flash exploded in midair.
The surroundings lit up brightly.
“Well done, Lady Shaferia!”
Shaferia’s eyes widened.
“T-This is…”
The Forbidden Archive came into view.
Countless sacred relics and treasures stood in neat rows.
Every single item was priceless.
The Archive truly was the continent’s treasure trove.
Not even the Empire or the Sacred Nation had a place like this.
Every relic inside scattered radiant light.
That all of this brilliance had been drowned in darkness—just how vast was the malice of demonized Gawain?
Shaferia could only be stunned.
As her jaw remained agape for many reasons, Yohan shouted.
“No time to admire it! Start searching for usable relics immediately!”
Shaferia snapped back to her senses.
She quickly looked around.
Despair followed.
Without divine power, she had no way to activate any sacred relic.
She had lost all her divinity.
“B-Baron. I don’t have the ability to use sacred relics!”
Yohan clicked his tongue.
“Same here!”
Yohan had yet to learn how to wield divine power.
Even with all these sacred relics before them, he couldn’t use a single one.
They were like food in a picture—utterly useless.
A cold laugh echoed through the air.
“Truly, a pair of pathetic incompetents. It’s almost painful to watch.”
Yohan and Shaferia looked behind them.
Gawain, now consumed by malice, was chuckling.
His violet bobbed hair and white skin had darkened slightly, but his appearance still resembled that of a human.
He slowly walked toward them.
Chains clattered heavily around him as he approached Yohan.
Yohan swallowed dryly.
“Lady Shaferia, we don’t have much time.”
Eventually, Gawain would break all those restraints.
That moment would mean Yohan’s death.
He had to subdue Gawain as quickly as possible.
Shaferia frantically looked around.
Still, she could find no usable relics.
Her entire body trembled.
“…I’m sorry. I’m so useless.”
Yohan shook his head.
“Don’t give up. There must be a way.”
He didn’t despair, continuing to think.
Shaferia wasn’t ready to give in either.
“I won’t break either!”
Just then, Yohan suddenly spoke.
“Chanyeongye!”
Chanyeongye was a pentagram sigil made from the Great Saint’s holy blood.
The moment it was branded onto one’s forehead, one could borrow the Great Saint’s divine power, if only briefly.
Shaferia spoke with renewed hope.
“Is there a Chanyeongye here?!”
“I’ll go find it. Please wait.”
Yohan immediately headed off.
When he returned, he held a deep blue pentagram sigil in his hand.
Shaferia’s expression lit up.
She held out her hand to him.
“Baron, please give it to me.”
Yohan shook his head.
“No. I’ll use it.”
Her expression darkened slightly.
“…You do realize, don’t you? You’ll die. From the backlash.”
Chanyeongye converted the user’s soul into divine power.
The moment it was branded onto the forehead, death would begin.
Yohan spoke calmly.
“I know. But I must be the one to do it.”
“Why?!”
“As the Watcher of the Abyss, I bear responsibility for every demonic incident in the south. Even if it costs my life.”
Shaferia cried out desperately.
“No! Think of the greater cause! Baron, you’re someone destined for far more! If you die here, I won’t be able to face the Great Saint! Please, give it to me! I can’t serve the Great Saint anymore anyway!”
Yohan shook his head.
“You are favored by the Great Saint. Someday, you’ll regain your power and protect humanity. Please preserve yourself until that day.”
Gawain chuckled.
“A tear jerking scene. Very entertaining.”
Shaferia ground her teeth.
Suddenly, she lunged at Yohan.
Trying to snatch the Chanyeongye.
But Yohan was faster.
He had already branded the pentagram onto his forehead.
Shaferia’s eyes trembled.
“…S-Sir Yohan.”
Yohan slowly rose into the air.
His eyes scattered radiant light.
A white sacred flame blazed from his entire body.
Shaferia couldn’t take her eyes off him.
He looked like the incarnation of the Great Saint.
A solemn voice flowed from his lips.
“Lady Shaferia, consecrate.”
Consecration meant a soldier who couldn’t wield divine power borrowed strength from a priest or Holy Knight to fight.
Pure divine energy exploded from Yohan’s body.
The surroundings turned pure white.
Shaferia gripped her sword tightly.
“…Sir Yohan, I will remember your name.”
Radiant light infused her sword.
In the blazing sacred flame, Shaferia pointed her blade at Gawain.
Gawain backed away.
“Shaferia, you’re being deceived. By that wicked man.”
Shaferia lunged at him, shouting.
“Don’t you dare insult Sir Yohan! He tried to save Your Highness until the very end!”
Just as she swung her sword, a quiet laugh came from high above.
A sweet voice followed.
“You’re such an easy woman to manipulate.”
Yohan looked up at the ceiling and furrowed his brow.
“…Ilea. Don’t act carelessly. You might be discovered.”
Ilea, riding on a broomstick, smiled with her eyes.
“Sorry, it was just too funny. Still, you agree with me, don’t you?”
Yohan found it hard to deny.
In Ilea’s hands, Belzarak giggled.