Saint Marigold

18.

A scream erupted from the crowd.

“Black Armor was Bess Wayne!”

“My money… my money…!”

Lancel’s master, Bess Wayne, was, without a doubt, a madman. A crazy human born solely for fighting.

—That guy’s got a killer touch!

Seeing Bess Wayne, drenched in blood and roaring with laughter in the middle of the enemy lines, was enough to make even allies lose their nerve.

A knight born only for battle.

The Empire’s greatest swordsman, Bess Wayne.

Lancel’s longtime master.

“Lancel Dante. I apologize in advance. I can’t quite control my strength. I have a disease where I get itchy if I fight elegantly.”

Kugugugung.

The ground shook around Bess Wayne.

“As it happens, I’ve received permission to kill you. You must have really rubbed someone the wrong way.”

“The permission of the person involved isn’t necessary?”

“Of course not.”

He approached, dragging his Bastard Sword across the ground with one hand.

“Stopping me and surviving is also your choice.”

Kwaang-!

Bess Wayne’s foot took its axis.

Power concentrated on his toes, following his thighs, which swelled as if about to burst.

The hard dirt cracked, and even the gravel underneath was practically lifted.

“Geeeueuk!”

A suppressed shout escaped from his mouth as he leaped.

Bess Wayne’s eyes, gleaming madly, bore down on him.

“Try to take this, Lancel Dante!”

“……!”

It was purely reflex that reacted to the blade tearing through the air.

Lancel blocked the Bastard Sword with his blade held at an angle.

Kaaang-!

Sparks flew, obscuring his vision. He felt his grip tear and blood splatter.

The impact traveled down his arm, shoulder, spine, and all the way to his knees. His strength alone was beyond human standards. He was practically a monster.

The reason Lancel chose him as his master wasn’t anything grand. Because he was strong. Probably the strongest human with a sword on this continent.

Kagagang-!

Lancel’s blade, which had been deflecting the impact, twisted at a subtle angle.

The tip of the sword aimed precisely for Bess Wayne’s shoulder.

“Unity of offense and defense, not bad!”

For a normal opponent, this would be a situation where they should quickly avoid the sword and retreat.

But Bess Wayne was the opposite.

He brazenly let the blade graze his shoulder.

Even if it was a blunt weapon for matches, it was enough to leave a wound, but he didn’t even hesitate.

“Hehehe, it stings, feels great.”

Bess Wayne gripped the hilt and swung it upwards diagonally. The blade flew at an angle Lancel couldn’t avoid.

Suaak-!

The Bastard Sword passed, scattering blood. A long wound remained, stretching from his chest to his shoulder.

“Now you’re just like me.”

“…….”

Lancel stared at his wound with a dumbfounded expression. It was in almost the exact same location as the wound on Bess Wayne.

‘You’re still a madman, Hyung.’

Right. Bess Wayne would choose to trade blows rather than dodge and fight.

The answer he gave when asked how he survived on the battlefield while doing this as naturally as breathing was quite a sight.

—I gave them a chance to kill me, but no one could. That’s all.

A knight devoid of fear.

Bess Wayne was that kind of human.

“As expected, you have the skill to crush my disciple’s pride, Lancel Dante. Damn it! I’ve come to like you! I’ll kill you honorably with all my strength.”

“…….”

Bess Wayne smiled at Lancel’s indifferent expression.

“I like it. I like it a lot. Especially the fact that you’re not afraid of dying.”

He seemed to feel they were kindred spirits.

Lancel wanted to deny that. If he had only one life, he would have been afraid of death.

“Here I come, Lancel Dante!”

Swords clashed, and explosions rang out incessantly.

With each clash, wounds accumulated on each other’s bodies. It was a battle close to attrition.

“Amazing. To achieve this much at such a young age. I wonder who taught you the sword.”

‘I learned it from you.’

Kaaang-!

The blade vibrated, and the impact spread throughout his body. He felt the damage gradually accumulating.

‘At this rate, three minutes at most.’

No matter how experienced Lancel was, there was a limit to the body of a twenty-year-old.

The accumulated Magic Power, the attached muscles, and the stamina were all those of a rookie knight who had not yet matured.

Compared to Bess Wayne, who had lived a life accustomed to war for decades, he was nothing more than a minnow.

“What are you doing! You’re getting slow! Is that all you’ve got! Lancel Dante!”

As proof, Bess Wayne didn’t become slower than before; instead, he flew around even more vigorously, as if he was just getting warmed up.

“Don’t let my excitement die down! Make it more fun! Hurry! Please!”

His blood-soaked pupils gleamed in the sand dust.

Kaaang-!

Lancel, who had been parrying the relentlessly swung blade, staggered back a few steps. He felt his knees weaken and his muscles twitching.

He had reached his limit.

“This is the end. But don’t be sad, Lancel Dante! The knight who dies in the arena becomes an honorable man, and his name is left behind, as is the law of the Empire!”

Lancel clicked his tongue.

‘Is it okay for me to die now?’

Of course, it seemed like it would be okay.

Judging from Marigold’s momentum now, Church of Marigold branch number 200 would eventually be achieved. Probably.

If not… then he’d just start over.

“If I die, will you give my family some reward money?”

“Interesting guy. Good. I’ll do what I can.”

“You seem like a good person.”

“…You’re really a guy I hate to kill. If it weren’t for my lord’s orders, I would have let you live and made you an even more interesting guy.”

Lancel faced Bess Wayne, who was approaching while sighing repeatedly, with half-closed eyes.

That was when it must have been.

An unknown power slowly began to surge from within him.

Among the spectators who were exclaiming.

“Euaaaak! Hiiiik!”

Baron Ibil Shen kept screaming.

Seeing the two people slowly getting soaked in blood in the arena made it impossible for him to sit still.

Marigold clasped her hands together with anxious eyes.

“H-How is it going? Is Saint doing okay?”

“What should I do, Mary? Lancel is losing!”

“Yes?”

“He’s going to lose like this. No……”

Baron Ibil Shen’s voice trembled.

“Maybe he’ll die here.”

“…….”

Marigold froze with her mouth agape. Die?

“Why is Bess Wayne, who was said to be missing, suddenly… Even Lancel can’t handle a monster like that… That crazy bastard kills people in practice matches…”

Baron Ibil Shen’s voice was filled with fear and despair. Marigold instinctively knew that his words were not unfounded.

Lancel Dante dies?

Marigold felt as if all the sounds of the world were fading away in an instant. Silence came to her dark world.

He dies.

Lancel Dante.

He dies in front of her.

“Haa… haa….”

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Her breathing became rapid.

Her heart beat incessantly.

The death of Lancel Dante. Within that short phrase, Marigold felt a huge trauma rushing in, even though she had never experienced it before.

‘He dies, Saint dies, Lancel dies.’

Thump.

—Lancel.

Thump.

—Master.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Fragments of memories swirled in her mind in an instant.

—My… rain… story… Marigold… us again…….

—I will… definitely… find… you…….

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

The memories stopped there. She felt a part of her head boiling and lightning flashing. The fragments of memory scattered like sand.

She didn’t know why Lancel existed in her memories. It was too disjointed a combination to connect. Lancel in her memories was always in the same place, but always in a different form.

But she knew one thing.

Marigold didn’t want to lose him.

‘Don’t die.’

She clasped her hands so tightly that the blood drained from them.

Light slowly began to flow from Marigold’s body.

“M-Mary?”

“Hmm.”

He felt the fatigue that had been accumulating in his body gradually receding. His trembling limbs had regained their strength.

“This is really amazing.”

Lancel felt an overwhelming sense of liberation, as if he were in a state of ecstasy. It was as if he were ascending to the sky.

It was as if the whole world was being dyed with light.

“……You……?”

Only then did Lancel witness the look of shock on Bess Wayne’s face as he looked at him.

==========

Level Up Event! Marigold awakens Divinity. Mastered White magic ‘Beginner’.

※White magic Beginner – Blessing – Wing of Angel has been activated. All abilities of the target are increased by 1.5 times for 5 minutes.

Only after seeing that message did Lancel realize his condition.

A huge, wing-shaped light soared from his back and revealed its majesty to the top of the sky.

No one could even breathe for a few seconds while the effect lasted.

‘She’s doing something amazing. Marigold.’

Only Bess Wayne, gaping, remained in front of Lancel, who had completely regained his strength.

“A boiling guy… there was another one besides me?”

It seemed as if a huge heat was emanating from Lancel.

“I just run a little hot.”

Lancel raised his sword and muttered.

“Come on. I can still fight. Not for long, about five minutes.”

“If I wait for five minutes… is it over?”

“Are you going to wait?”

“No way!”

The two clashed once again.

Kwaaang-!

An explosion erupted that was hard to believe came from swords colliding.

A chain of shockwaves that was hard to believe came from swords meeting. An intangible shockwave swept across the floor, carrying a cloud of dust like a wave.

Bess Wayne’s face trembled as he saw a bluish light forming from Lancel’s sword.

“You, that…….”

“It’s all thanks to the Saintess’s grace.”

Lancel walked step by step. A brilliant radiance bloomed from his entire body, adorning the path he passed.

Bess Wayne felt a sense of pressure from that sight. It was as if some huge existence was approaching.

With each step, the air seemed to compress and engulf him.

It was an emotion he had never felt before.

“…Maybe I should go to church more often.”

“Welcome, brother.”

The swords clash.

Kaaaang-!

Bess Wayne’s hilt left his hand and flew far away, embedding itself in the ground.

“…….”

When he came to his senses, the tip of Lancel’s sword was pointed at his Adam’s apple.

The only emotion he had shown led Bess Wayne to defeat. He wore an expression of disbelief.

With his weapon gone, the victory and defeat had already been decided.

“Winner… La, Lancel Dan… te…….”

==========

※The effect of White magic, Wing of Angel, disappears.

Lancel felt something holding his mind together snap, and he collapsed to the ground.

That day, Lancel’s name exploded throughout the Empire.

The newly born Empire’s greatest swordsman. The knight of the great Saintess. The one blessed by God.

-Lancel Dante of the Saintess Church!

All the spectators who witnessed the miracle could not hide their excitement.

19.

After that day.

Lancel was lying in bed, witnessing the ‘System Notification’ obscuring his vision.

==========

[Emergency Alert!!!]

—1 Church of Marigold has been dismantled.

—2 Churches of Marigold have been dismantled.

—3 Churches of Marigold have been dismantled.

.

.

.

—16 Churches of Marigold have been dismantled.

※Karma rises again by the number of dismantled churches.

The churches were disappearing.

The number of churches, which should have increased to 200, had now decreased to 130. It had happened in just one day.

‘It was faster than I thought.’

It seemed that the Pilgrimage were quite enraged.

But it was okay. It wasn’t like he didn’t know this would happen.

As the Fourth Prince said.

The Martyrdom Church was a necessary existence for this Empire and the Imperial Family, and the new wave of the Saintess Church was not suitable to replace it.

Lancel recalled the one person behind all of this and clicked his tongue bitterly.

‘My lord. Have you chosen the path of tyranny again?’

Why she gave strength to the Pilgrimage, why she brought Bess Wayne to stop Lancel’s victory.

Lancel knew.

But that was that, and this was this.

Lancel was going to open Marigold’s eyes. He had to remove the veil that covered her eyes so that he could move forward. It wasn’t a situation where old ties would catch his eye.

“Deliver these to their respective locations.”

“What is this?”

“This?”

Lancel hesitated for a moment at the Thieves’ Guild Master’s questioning gaze.

“Hmm.”

What should he say?

In the end, Lancel came to a conclusion with one word.

“Last will.”