Ch.266Chapter 266: The One Who Seeks to Reclaim

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The response from Night Haven was swift after Liliansis Proxian’s sudden disappearance, leaving behind only a single note.

Iriana Lanos hastily assembled carefully selected personnel to reclaim the Holy Sword, rushing out of the fortress before Princess Lukius could even stop her.

Both Iriana herself and those who tried to dissuade her—Lukius and Nighthart—knew that a day’s rest wasn’t enough to properly recover her exhausted body.

Yet Iriana didn’t halt her steps as she left the fortress, and the two who tried to stop her couldn’t bring themselves to forcefully restrain her.

Because they understood the gravity of the situation.

The Holy Sword being stolen was already a disaster, but if something were to happen to the Sword Saint who wielded it, the Empire would completely lose the delicate power balance it had maintained against the Demon Realm.

They knew that to prevent the worst-case scenario—where demon armies would endlessly pour into the Central Continent, disrupting the long-standing peace—they needed to secure the Sword Saint’s safety by any means necessary.

So as they watched Iriana’s retreating figure leading the recovery team, the two could only pray.

They prayed for Liliansis Proxian who had rushed out to save Cal Lanos.

And they prayed for the safe return of Iriana and the entire Holy Sword recovery team who had gone after Liliansis, hoping that not a single one would be harmed or killed.

Of course, for this wish to come true, the recovery team pursuing Liliansis would need to move quickly.

The very person who had thrown the fortress into chaos was now climbing the middle slopes of the Dragon Claw Mountains north of the fortress at an astonishing speed.

Despite the steep mountain path that would make ordinary people pale just looking at its incline, let alone climbing it…

Liliansis scaled the mountain rapidly, her body shimmering with golden battle aura, as if such steep terrain posed no significant challenge to her.

With each step she took, the mountainside grew steeper, yet—

*Tap! Tap-tap-tap!*

Her pace actually quickened, her footsteps so fierce that even the biting seasonal winds felt like a warm breeze in comparison to her intensity.

Despite maintaining such a relentless pace without even showing signs of labored breathing…

“…”

Her expression as she silently climbed the Dragon Claw Mountains was precarious, as if it might crumble at the slightest touch.

Her face was already damaged from biting her lower lip to keep her mouth shut, lest any emotions burst forth at the slightest crack.

The corners of her eyes, which should have remained unaffected by the fierce winds she herself created, were visibly red and swollen from holding back tears that threatened to spill at any moment.

It was a strange contrast—such savage footsteps paired with an expression not of ferocity but of fragility.

Her face was an absolute mess, enough to evoke sympathy from anyone who might see her.

And then, as if to make her already disheveled appearance even worse, disaster struck.

Her accelerating footsteps, which seemed like they would never slow down, finally faltered when her toes caught on a rock that even her rough yet precise movements couldn’t avoid.

*Crash!*

She lost her balance and fell.

Thanks to the unseasonal winter rain that had been falling for days, making the mountain path wet and slippery,

The fall made quite a noise, though it didn’t raise any dust.

And while her superhuman body, trained to its limits, prevented her from suffering any significant impact…

“…Ugh.”

As she rose from her fall, Liliansis finally broke her silence with a faint groan, and changes began to manifest in her.

As if a dam holding back her suppressed emotions had burst,

Tears flowed freely and abundantly from her eyes.

“Uh… hic…”

Sobs that were just one step away from becoming full-blown wails began to escape from her lips, which she had been biting to keep silent.

Amid this breakdown of her expression and the tears bursting forth,

The only thing that remained unchanged was her determination to continue her journey across the Dragon Claw Mountains.

Perhaps the fall had snapped the taut string of her mental fortitude?

The ferocity that had characterized her steps earlier was now completely gone as she continued forward, not even taking time to wipe the tears streaming down her face.

“Must… go… quickly… hic.”

As her tears grew heavier, her tightly sealed lips began to release tearful words, and her expression twisted further with sorrow.

This was happening because her emotional turmoil prevented her from properly utilizing the breathing techniques necessary to harness her battle aura and maximize her superhuman body.

Anyone who might witness her pitiful state would undoubtedly wonder:

What was driving her footsteps so urgently toward the other side of those mountains?

What sorrow could be so profound that it would disrupt even her breathing techniques, affecting someone who wouldn’t feel pain from a mere fall?

Surprisingly, the answer to this question came sooner than expected.

“Cal…”

It came in the form of a name that escaped softly from her lips as she desperately continued her faltering steps.

As her pace slowed and her emotions churned, even her sturdy physique seemed to weaken.

*Haa- Haa-*

Unable to maintain the breathing technique needed to gather her battle aura, Liliansis exhaled roughly as memories from a few days ago surfaced in her mind.

When she had barely suppressed her regret at not being able to accompany Cal when he ventured outside the fortress to find his sister.

When she had hurriedly followed Cal after receiving the princess’s considerate permission, telling her it was fine to go along.

When she had swung her sword with all her might against the demonic entity who called himself Imperfectio, who had suddenly appeared and posed a grave threat to everyone present, including herself.

She had gained a decisive advantage, but due to Imperfectio’s counterattack, which defied her understanding…

The last scene she remembered before her consciousness faded as she tumbled onto the cold wasteland floor came flooding back.

The Holy Sword, which had approached her on her 17th birthday asking her to save the world together, had fallen into Imperfectio’s hands with pitiful ease.

And as if the Holy Sword wasn’t enough, he had taken someone even more precious to Liliansis than the sword itself, disappearing into the distance…

*Crack!*

Blood trickled from her lip as she unconsciously bit down hard—a memory that simultaneously filled Liliansis with both intense emotion and profound sorrow.

An ordinary person would have been overwhelmed by such memories, writhing in agony and unable to do anything but collapse.

But she was different from ordinary people.

Liliansis momentarily halted her forced march, quietly closed her tear-filled eyes, and then…

“Hoooo…”

She exhaled deeply, releasing the heat that had built up in her chest while trying to regulate her ragged breathing.

One might think it wasteful to spend time regulating her breathing in such an urgent situation.

But this was Liliansis’s chosen path—rather than forcing herself to continue with faltering steps,

she decided to properly compose herself before resuming the fierce pace she had demonstrated earlier.

*Shaaaa*

With each breath, golden energy reminiscent of light began to shimmer around her body like a heat haze.

Perhaps due to the battle aura, her ragged breathing instantly stabilized.

The redness in her eyes, which had been as bloodshot as a rabbit’s, quickly faded as she slowly opened them.

It was a moment where her effort, unwilling to waste precious time by merely standing still, showed clear results.

After completing her breathing regulation, Liliansis’s gaze turned toward the distance.

The mountain peak, which had been barely visible due to volcanic ash even from the highest point of the fortress before entering the range, now appeared relatively clear.

Of course, reaching that point wouldn’t bring her to the person she was seeking.

The Demon Realm—the Obsidian Palace—was located in the plains beyond, after descending the steep other side of the mountain range.

It was a daunting distance just to think about, but instead of voicing her weakness aloud,

“Just a little more…”

She quietly repeated to herself that just a little further would bring her to the Demon Realm where Cal was being held captive.

*Tap-tap!*

She chose to continue her fierce pace, determined to reach that place as quickly as possible.

Though she no longer possessed the Holy Sword that had earned her fame as a Sword Saint,

*Woong!*

The wave-like fluctuations of golden battle aura, though not abundant, clearly indicated one thing:

It would give her absolute advantage in any confrontation with demon-tainted beings she might encounter while traversing this mountain range.

She had unleashed the battle aura dwelling within her body primarily to avoid interruptions to her journey.

However, this fluctuation of battle aura produced a result that even Liliansis herself didn’t anticipate.

Not far from where she had briefly paused,

“Holy shit!!”

A deep voice, presumably belonging to a man, exclaimed in shock.

*Kwung!!*

Then, from the direction of the voice, a dark red energy symbolizing demonic power fluctuated as someone revealed themselves.

The figure that appeared was a man.

More precisely, a being that appeared to be a human man.

He was a rather handsome man wearing a dark red suit without any winter clothing despite the cold, looking quite neat at first glance.

However, a shallow scar etched on his right cheek added a certain roughness to his otherwise refined appearance, giving him a rugged yet dignified charm.

The dark red, savage battle aura that emanated from his body from the moment he appeared revealed that he was a being tainted by demonic power from birth.

“To think that while I was chasing after that half-blood bastard who scarred my cheek, hesitating whether to enter the Demon Realm, I’d encounter the Sword Saint passing by…”

…Though his imposing appearance was undermined by his pitiful complaining, instantly diminishing the dignity his looks might have conveyed.

The man’s name was Rust, once known as one of the twin pillars supporting the Obsidian Palace alongside Adorator, a great demon.

However, he was a demon who, blinded by the splendor of human civilization, had abandoned even the divinity he had acquired, wandering the human world in pursuit of pleasure—commonly known to humans as the Devourer.