Chapter 69: The False Saintess (7)
The morale of the knights and holy knights soared high, as if it could pierce the sky.
Almost as if on cue, a dimensional rift split open. From within, an endless stream of monsters began pouring out.
With blood vessels bulging in their necks, the knights charged forward with a thunderous battle cry. One moment of hesitation from the startled monsters was all it took—the knights’ blades sliced clean through their necks.
Despite being swiftly cut down by the joint forces of knights and holy knights, the number of monsters was no joke. Their sheer size alone was at least twice that of the ones they had faced before.
Because of that, unlike previous battles, there was no room for mercy in the knights’ swordplay.
Wooooong…
Even Abel, standing at the frontlines, no longer had the luxury of holding back. One after another, white magic circles appeared in the sky without a moment’s delay.
Spears rained down from those circles, forming a wall of magic that held back the monsters.
Some of the monsters’ corpses, lingering just moments before turning to dust, blocked the advancing wave—just enough for the holy knights and knights to slash through them in perfect coordination.
Their synergy left no openings. And yet, monsters still slipped through, rushing all the way to the guard team. Most of them were smaller, harder to spot. Sylphi quickly scanned the field and shouted toward me.
[Twenty in total, Contractor!]
“I know!”
Wind wrapped around my legs.
With my body feeling almost weightless, I took a deep breath—then launched forward, kicking off the ground hard as I dashed toward the monster horde.
My rapier flashed in the light, neatly severing a monster’s neck. The unnatural breeze covering me smoothed out my movements, letting me link attacks as effortlessly as flowing water.
“Haaap!”
Even though countless monsters were being slaughtered at the frontlines, the number targeting me kept increasing. I clicked my tongue in frustration, tightened my grip on the rapier, and braced myself.
At first, I couldn’t understand why the Holy Kingdom and Empire would form an alliance just to fight a bunch of monsters.
But now—facing them like this—I had no choice but to understand.
Unless beings of immense power gathered like this, there was no way to stop such a monstrous force.
Even Abel, an archmage, was practically annihilating the monsters ahead—yet they were still pushing in this strongly…
[Contractor! Snap out of it!]
Sylphi’s cry broke my trance. I stopped wildly swinging my rapier and looked around.
I was far ahead—way farther than I should’ve been. Realizing this, I felt a jolt of panic.
“Sorry, I lost my focus for a moment.”
[No, it’s my fault. I should’ve noticed the situation first in a place like this.]
Sylphi muttered like he was scolding himself, and for once, I didn’t know what to say. He was always so calm, and yet now he was rambling in a fluster.
Maybe that’s why—even the wind surrounding me trembled uneasily. The blue wind coiling around my arm flickered for a second… then vanished.
I let out a sigh and flicked Sylphi on the forehead.
[Ack! What was that for?!]
“That’s payback for teasing me before, Sylphi.”
I smirked, and Sylphi frowned deeply, glaring at me with sharp eyes as he protested.
[Is that really something to say right now?!]
“Cool it. Now’s the time to stay calm.”
[…Ah.]
At my words, he closed his eyes tightly and fell silent. Sylphi let out a long breath and started taking deep breaths—just like I usually did.
Then, he bowed his head.
[Sorry, Contractor. I shouldn’t be shaken too.]
“If you understand, that’s enough. You’re okay now, right?”
[Yeah.]
Well, it was the first time I’d ever seen Sylphi so flustered—so I figured we could just move past it. Honestly, seeing Abel like this was a rare sight in itself.
“Let’s go.”
Sylphi nodded silently. As if responding to him, the wind began to swirl wildly in all directions.
“Winds, arise.”
With my single command, the blue wind wrapped tightly around my entire body. Gripping the rapier in my right hand, I looked ahead.
At that exact moment, a golden light began to infuse the blade.
Turning my head, I spotted Yuruf smiling at me while holding her staff. I smiled back with a grin, then kicked off the ground with force.
Crack! The earth split beneath my feet, and the world around me shifted in an instant.
As I retreated backward, I methodically slashed through the surrounding monsters. Even when green blood splattered onto my face, I ignored it and kept stabbing and slashing with the rapier.
My sword form, which had been so sloppy when I first began training, was now surprisingly sharp.
‘The basics of rapier combat are thrusts and slashes.’
A piece of advice I had heard from Arin so many times it nearly made my ears bleed. She had always taught me that relying solely on thrusts would never bring out the rapier’s true strength.
She also once said that if I combined that form with Sylphi’s wind, I’d become a monster even seasoned Swordmasters would struggle to face.
I wasn’t at that level yet—not even close—but compared to how I started, I’d improved immensely.
Fwoosh—
A green flame suddenly burst into the air and engulfed a monster trying to ambush me. It turned to ash in seconds, scattering to the ground.
Turning my head, I saw Arin standing there expressionless, holding a one-handed sword. Concerned, she looked at me and asked,
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
“That’s a relief.”
Unlike Arin, who was slightly out of breath, the spirit floating around her—Pii—was waving both hands with excitement. Seeing that, Sylphi sighed and floated even closer to me, clearly exhausted.
[Ughhh…]
[Go away. I don’t have the energy to deal with you today.]
Sylphi groaned, clearly fed up, and turned away from Pii. Considering how much he’d been tormented by her during our training the past month, I couldn’t blame him.
[Then tomorrow…?]
[I’ll think about it.]
[Yesss!]
[I didn’t say yes!!]
Despite the grumbling, Sylphi couldn’t bring himself to outright reject her. I figured maybe their relationship wasn’t so bad after all. As that thought crossed my mind, Sylphi gave me a sideways glare as if he couldn’t believe I’d think that.
“Then, I’ll return to the subjugation team now,” Arin said.
“Yes. Good luck out there, Master.”
“Ahem… same to you, dear disciple.”
She must have been pleased by the title, “Master.” A slight smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She waved briefly in encouragement, then turned and headed back toward the frontlines.
Pii, looking a little reluctant to leave, waved at me a few more times before also turning away. I took a deep breath and returned my focus to the battlefield.
When I turned my head again, Yuruf had somehow appeared right next to me.
“Is she your master?” she asked curiously.
“Oh—yes. She’s my spirit arts mentor.”
“The one who’s captain of the Black Raven Knights, right?”
That’s right. Arin, captain of the Black Raven Knights. Thanks to the long-standing collaboration between the Holy Knights and our order, her reputation was well known even among their ranks.
The title she bore, “Knight of Verdant Flame,” was fitting. Just like her name, Arin stood at the front, reducing monsters to ash in a blaze of green fire.
Hearing others speak of the mentor who taught me spirit magic gave me an odd sense of pride, like their praise was mine too. Although, this was a battlefield, and I had to keep those feelings in check.
“Yeah. But… aren’t you a bit too far up front, Yuruf?”
At my worried question, she shook her head and pointed at Karl, who was standing nearby.
“It’s fine. I have Karl with me.”
Her tone wasn’t condescending like before. It was gentle, like how she spoke to me. Hearing that, Karl raised his voice a bit, trying not to sound too pleased.
“Yes. I’m here as well, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
Had he undergone some kind of revelation after our last talk? His attitude toward Yuruf had changed noticeably.
Even Sylphi was stunned, his eyes going wide as he glanced back and forth between them.
[…What happened between them?]
‘No idea…’
I had given some advice, sure—but whether that led to any emotional shift in Yuruf, I couldn’t say. Still, she seemed to be in much better shape than I’d expected, and that alone was encouraging.
Wooooong…
A deep hum echoed through the sky. The sound of wailing spread from the dimensional rift, causing both me and Karl to raise our guard.
Moments later, a massive whale emerged—flying through the air.
Its body was pitch black, and its glowing red eyes rolled in every direction. I watched in stunned silence, while Karl’s arm began to tremble.
“T-That’s…”
“What is it?”
“Why is a Whale of Oblivion here…?”
Whale of Oblivion.
I’d never heard of such a monster.
Come to think of it, wasn’t it odd that monsters from another realm even had names in the first place? But before I could finish that thought, I noticed the Holy Knights’ morale had visibly dropped.
“No… this can’t be.”
KUUUOOOHH!
A thunderous roar slammed into us. It wasn’t just noise—it was paralysis. My body froze in place, unable to move.
Only Yuruf had the presence of mind to cover her ears—allowing her to move freely.
The Whale of Oblivion’s red eyes flashed, and it locked onto us, charging straight toward our position.
Its gaze met mine—and my mind went blank. The same overwhelming pressure I had felt when facing a disaster-class monster at the hunting festival.
I tried to force myself to move, but once frozen, my body refused to obey. Like prey before a predator, I was completely paralyzed with fear.
Thud.
A small, rough push shoved me hard. With surprising force, I was thrown forward.
I turned my head with every last bit of strength—and saw Yuruf smiling at me faintly, divine light glowing in both her hands.
Just ahead of her, the whale’s enormous jaws opened wide.
“Thanks for the advice… Yde Unnie.”
“…Huh?”
With those final words, Yuruf was swallowed whole by the whale—without a single trace left behind.
---The End Of The Chapter---
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