126th Episode
In the books available to the public, there was only fragmentary information written about Templars.
Thus, Ray mistakenly thought that Templars were simply sturdy knights who knew a little bit of combat skills.
However, only after experiencing it firsthand did he realize that techniques based on divine power could be even more magical than magic itself.
A spear consecrated with a bit of prayer performed sniping from 4 km away, leaving him utterly astonished.
Techniques based on divine power were more illogical than magic and thus closer to what commoners often referred to as ‘miracles.’
Zzzzzt!!!
A chain of light surged from the spear and bound Ray before he could properly respond.
For a moment, Ray felt as if his body were floating, then soon found himself plunging into some dark pit.
Darkness enveloped all directions except for the luminous chain that alone shone brightly.
As if carved out of an abyssal space, Ray’s eyes twitched faintly.
The chains binding Ray weren’t particularly bright where they touched him but grew increasingly radiant as they extended outward, surrounding him in a dazzling web.
Crack!
Ray tore off the first chain binding him with sheer force.
Reaching out to grab the next chain right in front of him, burns arose along with blisters forming on his palms.
The holy chains reacted to the sins covering Ray’s body.
From childhood, when others might have been sucking their thumbs, Ray had already accumulated hatred and taken lives.
Ray had disposed of many people.
In Phillip’s County, those judged to have inherently evil natures beyond reform were always eliminated by Ray.
It didn’t matter how grave their sins were.
To avoid the potential harm they might cause in the future, Ray shed blood, believing it to be his duty.
Not even Jimy or Philip Count fully understood how much blood Ray had seen.
Sins buried in the silence of the dead gradually revealed more of their substance.
Feeling the burning sensation in his hands, Ray’s gaze darkened deeply.
This is not the sin I bear.
This is the sin you’ve imposed on me. You imposed it, and you forced it upon me.
Therefore,
You do not have…
“the right to judge me.”
Crackkk!!
The chain broke apart.
The anger that had quietly settled in Ray’s eyes now flowed through his entire body, tinged with a bluish light.
With every step Ray took forward, brighter chains blocked his path.
This divine barrier churned according to its predetermined mechanism, attempting to burn away Ray’s sins.
Once again, Ray reached out his hand.
The chain that came into contact with Ray’s grasp emitted heat in resistance but soon began melting away.
Ray continued tearing through the chains obstructing his vision.
The holy chains, imbued with divine power, crumbled instantly upon touching Ray’s grip.
As he kept walking toward the source of ever-brightening light, the vague outline of the outside world started to appear.
Before him stood a lion-like beast made entirely of chains.
The sacred creature, materialized from the willpower of long prayers to consecrate the spear, charged at Ray.
Haaaaaa!!
Ray wielded no weapon.
He merely extended both hands, grabbing the beast’s jaws and tearing it apart.
The severed beast scraped against the ground with a metallic sound.
Finally reaching the boundary of the barrier, Ray struck the chain guarding it with irritation.
Pakgagagk!!
The divine barrier shattered.
Basking in the sunlight pouring down from above, Ray looked up.
Three Templars stared at Ray with stunned expressions.
Ray instinctively muttered a curse.
“Ahhh, shit.”
Grinding his teeth, Ray extended his hand into the air.
“You bastards keep praising that moron, but here’s the truth—I’m the one he sent, you fools.”
*
The three Templars quickly arrived at the location where the divine barrier had been activated.
For superhumans, whether mounted or not, a distance of 5 km was easily traversable.
Albert, who arrived first, swept his gaze over the ground.
The horse Ray had ridden was wandering alone, and the staff lay rolling on the ground.
It was natural that Ray would have been dragged into the barrier without time to react.
Albert easily located the artifact Ray had stolen.
Albert promptly secured the artifact tightly to the consecrated spear.
Although reinforcements from the Osiris Countdom were soon expected, the forces that had stolen the artifact could launch a surprise attack at any moment.
Moreover, there might not just be one person trapped inside that barrier.
Therefore, it was necessary to move the artifact to a safe place first.
Chaaak!!
When Albert launched the spear tied with the artifact into the sky, it disappeared in the direction of the Manor.
Preparations had been made beforehand, obtaining consent to mark the Osiris Countdom steward with a sigil, and these thorough preparations proved highly beneficial.
Now all they had to do was hold out until reinforcements arrived.
Those trapped within the barrier wouldn’t be able to escape anytime soon.
That was what Albert thought, but—
Jjjeek!
“…?!”
The divine barrier was gradually breaking apart.
All three Templars turned their heads simultaneously to inspect the barrier.
Within the dark space, the silhouette of a person became clearer.
As the lion-shaped chain creature lunged toward Ray near the edge of the barrier,
it was immediately torn apart afterward.
“…?”
The Templars couldn’t comprehend the situation.
No matter how extraordinary one’s martial prowess might be, such an act should have been impossible.
The holy creature stepping into the divine barrier possessed overwhelming resistance to all techniques based on mana, even if only for an instant.
And yet, the creature had been torn apart in one swift motion?
While the Templars were shocked, the figure growing clearer grabbed the final chain guarding the boundary of the barrier.
Chi-chi-zik
It’s burning. The ‘chain’ is burning.
The holy chain meant to burn sins… is being burned by a human’s grasp.
Tuck!
The sound of a shield falling echoed behind Albert.
Albert realized Thomas had dropped his shield but had no mental capacity left to reprimand him.
The burning chain finally snapped.
Witnessing the barrier breaking apart, Albert murmured.
“My goodness…”
Ray, who had broken through the barrier, faced the Templars.
Fortunately, his robe covered his head, so his face remained hidden.
Even as Ray repeated curses and irritations, the Templars hesitated to make any rash moves.
The claim that “I’m the one that moron you praise so highly sent” wasn’t completely absurd, and if Ray were lying, that too presented a problem.
An entity capable of breaking through the divine barrier in such a manner must at least approach Lord-level strength.
If the opponent were at the Lord level, they couldn’t inflict even a scratch with their current forces.
Even with reinforcements arriving, that fact wouldn’t change.
On the other hand, Ray was also perplexed.
‘Why aren’t they attacking?’
Ray anticipated that the Templars would attack the moment he emerged from the barrier.
Since there was no time to waste here, Ray had planned to cast ‘Wind Cutter’ the moment they attacked.
But the Templars stood frozen, swords still sheathed.
After briefly pondering, Ray decided to vent the irritation he’d been suppressing.
“You’re so incompetent that I’ve been dragged here and am running around like crazy, and you can’t even help, let alone hinder me?”
“…”
“Just pay attention! Didn’t El-Lam appear in your dreams and tell you to stop boasting? Huh?!”
“…”
As the Templars’ eyes darted around nervously, dust rose far away.
It seemed reinforcements from the Osiris Countdom Manor were approaching.
Clutching his head, Ray asked with glaring eyes.
“Where’s the artifact? The artifact.”
“…”
“Where’s the artifact?!”
“…G, we’ve already returned it to the Manor.”
Albert stammered in response.
Realizing how the artifact had been returned, Ray scowled and shouted.
“How are these damn clerics of any help?! Help!!”
“…”
The Templars awkwardly watched as Ray grumbled alone.
Ray calmed himself after spewing a few more curses.
First, he needed to get out of here and decide what to do with the Templars in front of him.
“Just leave. Tell the others that you lost me altogether.”
If this offer was refused, Ray would have no choice but to eliminate the Templars.
However, the Templars reluctantly nodded half-heartedly with disgruntled faces.
Seeing their submissive attitude, Ray felt a strong sense of dissonance.
‘They’re acting strange towards me. Could it be… because of the barrier?’
Was it originally a barrier that shouldn’t have been so easily breached?
Could it be that the blessing of El-Lam flows through my body, causing the barrier to break so easily?
Are the Templars reacting this way because they noticed that?
Ray dismissed the various hypotheses that surfaced in his mind.
Sending the Templars away like this was risky, but killing them was also quite burdensome.
Ray turned his back while uttering a bluff he wasn’t sure would work.
“Keep this day’s events silent.”
Ray began fleeing while deploying a magical barrier to muffle his presence, avoiding the incoming reinforcements.
If the Templars betrayed him and pursued, he’d have no choice but to kill them all.
Fortunately, such an incident didn’t occur.
After taking a roundabout route, Ray returned to the Osiris Countdom Manor and collapsed onto the bed with heavy sighs.
It was a mission that only resulted in losses and no gains.
It gave him a headache.
*
“Fortunately, it seems this incident will pass quietly.”
Florya sat Ray down and spoke.
“There was an attack, but aside from a few horses dying, the damage wasn’t significant, and since the Templars… sir, retrieved the artifact, everything’s fine.”
Florya subtly glanced at Ray.
Two days had passed since the attack, and the Osiris Countdom had regained stability.
The Osiris Count announced plans to enhance security by setting up guard posts and increasing knight-level forces along the road to the port.
People spoke of the Templars who thwarted the artifact theft with wise judgment.
That was all.
No one died, and the actual damage was minimal, so the incident didn’t become a major topic of discussion.
Meanwhile, the artifact was delivered to the Tarannis Family, and the agreement between the Duke Matthias family and the Tarannis Family was successfully concluded.
Within a few days, members of the Tarannis Family would board a ship carrying the artifact and depart for the kingdom.
Ray muttered with his chin resting on his hand.
“I feel like I’ve been too cautious lately.”
“W, what exactly do you mean… hahaha…”
Florya felt unnecessarily anxious and laughed awkwardly.
Regardless, Ray continued sighing repeatedly.
“In the past, it wasn’t like this. I used to swing a knife at high-ranking mages pretending to be a kid, infiltrate enemy camps, and even hang you upside down, Florya…”
“…!”
Florya instinctively pressed her hands against her skirt.
“Um, Ray…?”
“As connections grow and people I care about increase, I find myself holding back more often. Back then, I’d charge ahead whenever I saw an opening.”
Ray stood up from his seat.
Whether in the past or now, holding back has never led to anything good.
As Ray’s gaze changed, he dissolved the barrier surrounding the room and moved to go outside, prompting Florya to hastily grab the hem of his pants.
Florya, clinging to Ray, cried out while being dragged along.
“Again, what are you planning to do?”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll make sure Florya doesn’t get hurt.”
“I can’t trust that! How can I possibly trust that? Give me a proper explanation before you go!”
Florya tightened her grip on Ray’s pants with all her might to protect her family’s territory.
Realizing his pants might rip, Ray paused momentarily.
At that moment, the door burst open.
Seeing Flory with her face close to Ray’s groin while holding onto his pants, Alesya screamed.
“My knight!! Will you really keep doing this?! And I said no nobles!”
“This is a misunderstanding.”
Ray cut off Alesya’s words abruptly.
(End of Chapter 1)
