Chapter 191:

Chapter 191:

“Isaac!!”

Edelred ran up in horror.

The knights of Georg’s army, who had been watching the duel, also came to their senses belatedly and hurried over. Isaac lifted Lianne to show that she was safe. However, Edelred, with a pale expression, opened his mouth to say something to Isaac.

“Please be quiet, Your Majesty.”

Isaac warned in a low voice.

“A duel is a sacred event. Unless you are directly involved in the fight, any cheering or jeering from the ‘crowd’ is considered an indirect factor by Elil. You were the first to interfere, Your Majesty, and it was Lianne who was distracted by it.”

Isaac quickly retorted, effectively silencing Edelred. Before Edelred could think of a rebuttal, the knights of Georg’s army had already approached.

One of the knights from Georg’s army, with a complicated expression, looked at Isaac and then spoke.

“Congratulations on your victory, Holy Grail Knight.”

Isaac recognized that this knight was second in command at the Elil Fortress after Lianne and had accepted the outcome of the duel.

“Your name?”

“Lavad Georg, I am the centurion of Elil Fortress.”

Isaac, judging by his appearance and age, guessed he might be around Lianne’s younger brother’s age. Knowing he was reliable enough to entrust Lianne to him, Isaac had left her in his care. They too had experience dealing with many injured, and thus, recognized that Lianne’s condition was not critical.

“Thank you for showing mercy.”

“It was merely Elil’s whim that favored me today.”

Isaac humbly brushed off the praise. Even as the knight of Georg’s army accepted the outcome of the duel without question, Edelred found himself increasingly at a loss for words. Isaac whispered to Edelred as if to soothe him.

“Whatever sweet nothings you might have whispered, Lianne wouldn’t have heard you. But you succeeded in alarming her, so it ended with just minor injuries. In fact, Your Majesty, you saved Lianne.”

Edelred’s expression became complex once more.

Even so, this duel would linger long in his heart. But as the angels say, the world is not so soft, especially not for a completed being like Lianne.

Realizing that even if Lianne woke up, she would say the same thing as Isaac, Edelred finally gave up on arguing.

It was foolish to contest the already determined outcome of the duel.

“I apologize for intruding so abruptly, Holy Grail Knight.”

“Not at all. But thanks to you, it seems things went according to plan.”

“Plan?”

Isaac, watching the receding figure of Lianne being carried away, spoke,

“Blood and violence can breed love. Having received Your Majesty Edelred’s confession in a state of vulnerability and devastation, it will linger long in her memory.”

Originally, Isaac’s plan had been to incite conflict and turmoil only to create an incident that would reverse the atmosphere and foster a mood of reconciliation. Though the intervention of the Immortal Order had twisted the path, Edelred’s untimely intervention had enabled a dramatic event.

It was all thanks to Edelred.

Edelred’s face reddened at Isaac’s words.

“I never agreed to such a plan....”

“Hush. It doesn’t matter how genuine it was. At any rate, we couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome than this. Let us hurry to the Holy Land now.”

Isaac looked around Elil Fortress. He had hoped that the Aldeon army would hold off Villion long enough, but if Villion decided to give up, they couldn’t detain him for long.

Edelred, realizing that their real destination was now just ahead, issued orders to the other knights.

“From here on, only the Holy Grail Knight and I will proceed. The rest of you are to stay and guard this place.”

“Yes.”

***

The knights left at Elil Fortress treated Lianne with bewildered expressions. All the basic emergency treatments had already been administered by Isaac, so all they could do was pray for her swift recovery.

Of course, their prayers were indeed effective miracles of healing.

Even yesterday, they had been blocking the way for Edelred and Isaac, and now they were conflicted about letting them go just like that. But it was Lianne herself who had dueled with the Holy Grail Knight Isaac. Who could refuse to accept the result?

Right before the duel, Edelred had made a remark that was quite concerning, but that was a matter for the parties involved to resolve.

Lavad directed the soldiers,

“Move the general to his room. Prepare water for cleaning the wounds....”

“Huff, huff, huff.”

Lianne, sweating profusely, looked down at Villion, collapsed on the ground. It wasn’t fatigue but rather the severity of her injuries that prevented her from swinging her fists any longer. Just then, Lavad hurried over and stopped her, concerned not for Villion but for Lianne.

“General. I will see to it that Villion Georg is detained separately. You need to rest now...”

“Yes...”

The pain in Lianne’s chest was intense as she struggled to rise with help. In that moment, she caught sight of the dagger embedded in her chest and Villion holding it.

Lavad screamed in horror.

“It’s an assassination!”

Amidst the furious cries of the knights, Lianne twisted a smile.

“Uncle, it seems you’ve learned too many wrong things in the Dawn Army...”

“I’m sorry, Lianne.”

Villion twisted the dagger, widening the wound. Lavad shouted and drew his sword, moving to strike Villion, but a cavalryman who had sprinted over kicked Lavad down. The cavalrymen began to overpower the remaining soldiers.

No knight present could stand against these cavaliers, already beyond the brink of death.

“I thought you would understand.”

Villion caught the collapsing Lianne and whispered,

“But there’s no time to persuade you now. Now, I need your sword and the swordmaster.”

***

Lianne’s body completely collapsed onto the ground.

It was the vain death of the swordmaster and the leader of the Georg rebels. Villion felt regret even as he realized he had crossed a line that could not be retracted. He had tried so hard to avoid just such a situation.

Now that things had come to this, he must eradicate the seed of the Aldeon royal family at all costs. Otherwise, all his sins would be rendered meaningless.

“Lord Villion, we have subdued the remaining soldiers.”

“Make sure there are no unnecessary casualties.”

“Yes.”

Villion, now essentially an apostate, still believed he was a follower of Elil. It might have been mere deceit, but even as an undead, he would continue to believe. To him, faith was not about heaven but about a philosophy of how to live on earth.

His plans would benefit from more corpses, but he had no desire to shed unnecessary blood from those who had stood by him until yesterday.

Now, only Edelred remained.

Villion reached for Lianne’s sword, the holy sword Lumiarde, lying beside her.

As soon as he touched Lumiarde, a terrible chill overwhelmed him. Like Kaldbruch was given to kings, Lumiarde was meant for guardians of the Holy Land.

Villion was not worthy.

However, he had the strength to endure the chill emanating from Lumiarde.

Crackle. The black gloves Villion wore emitted a strange light, beginning to suppress the chill from Lumiarde. It was a relic he had obtained on an expedition with the Dawn Army. Villion was confident that the gloves could resist the chill from Lumiarde as he grasped it.

Suddenly, everything centered around Lumiarde began to freeze. A massive ice formation rapidly enveloped his hand and arm, and Villion, in panic, struck it. However, the ice did not even scratch.

“Ice? No, crystal!”

While everyone watched in shock, the crystal completely engulfed Lianne’s body. Villion realized that Lumiarde hadn’t attacked him, but had acted to protect Lianne.

Then Lianne’s eyes opened.

At the moment their eyes met, every knight in the Fortress felt an oppressive force. Villion, closest to this intensity, could not breathe and stumbled to his knees.

Lianne’s eyes shone a mystical deep green.

Instinctively, Villion realized that the figure before him was not Lianne but an angel.

An angel had taken residence within Lianne’s body.

“You’ve come this far already.”

–TL Notes–

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to read more than 25 advance chapters or support me, you can do it at /Akaza156