Ch.6666. Sianella’s Male Knight (3)

“Damn it.”

My expression automatically crumples.

A strong impact traveled up my wrist along with the clash of blades.

That damned bastard’s strength, enhanced by Magia, makes it impossible to tell if he’s human or an orc.

How could an ordinary person overcome an orc’s strength? If I hadn’t borrowed the power of Mana, I would have faced irreversible consequences.

“This is driving me crazy.”

How on earth can incidents keep happening non-stop for three days and nights?

Deep inside me, intense resentment is bubbling up.

Unfortunately, there was no time to cool down my anger.

Even now, the throbbing pain in my hand warns me not to waste time venting and to move quickly.

After deflecting the sword, I immediately checked on Adelheid’s safety.

After all, she had been in a situation where a sword could have been plunged into her back.

I thought I’d see her startled by the sudden ambush.

She seemed off from our first meeting.

Adelheid was crazier than I had imagined.

“You—”

Her characteristic expression of boredom shattered, and the new emotion that appeared was…

“You can handle Mana.”

Not confusion or trouble, but that of a scholar exploring the unknown.

It was interest and pleasure.

Perhaps because she has not only human blood but also that of a giant lizard mixed in.

Far from feeling a sense of crisis in this insane situation.

As if she doesn’t properly grasp the situation, she just stares intently at my profile with her dragon eyes, smiling.

“If it were merely awakened Mana, you couldn’t have deflected the sword of that Magia-infested lowlife.”

To make matters worse, she continues to ponder about my Mana rather than figuring out how to overcome this situation.

It’s obvious that focusing more on Adelheid would only bring me stress.

I spoke to Sione, who was looking at me with a worried expression.

“Lady Sione, please take care of Her Highness the Princess.”

“Are you saying… you’ll stop that person?”

“Yes, in this situation, who else but me could stop them?”

At my words, Sione bit her lower lip hard.

She bit it so hard.

I could see blood seeping from her lips.

She must be frustrated that she can’t help me in this situation.

Sione, who always stayed in the background, even thinking of helping me.

Finding it somewhat admirable, I slightly raised the corner of my mouth.

“…It’s dangerous. I’ll try to stop them, so hand over your sword and stay behind to protect Her Highness.”

Adjusting my stance with my sword in middle guard, I shook my head at Sione’s words.

“The more dangerous it is, shouldn’t I, as your male knight, try to stop them?”

“But—”

“Trust me. I’ll protect you just like when I caught the Arachne.”

At the mention of Arachne, Adelheid raised even her heavily drooping mouth corners with interest.

Sione tried to maintain a cold expression as much as possible.

However, she bit her lip even harder, and I could see a small drop of blood falling along her delicate jawline.

I had no luxury to give them more attention.

I faced the assailant who was emitting a ferocious aura after my sudden counterattack.

“Damn that princess… it was the perfect opportunity to stab her in the back… how dare… how dare you! A lowly bastard daring to interfere with my mission!”

A woman sending me intense hatred.

Not even a real Demon, just a pathetic person possessed by Magia.

I’ve already received worse killing intent than that when raiding A-rank or higher Dungeons before, to the point it was sickeningly routine.

That level is nothing. I snorted at her.

“I’ll kill you and achieve our great cause through the martyrdom of me and my comrades!”

She lowered her body and rushed at me quickly.

The tip of the sword, prepared to stab Adelheid’s back, was now imbued with murky Magia and aimed at my neck.

Then my heart tightens with the characteristic repulsion and thick killing intent of Magia.

Park Shin-woo… no, Ray. Get a grip.

A blade swirling with such dark Magia is dangerous even with just a graze.

“Hup!”

I held my breath and gripped my sword with the blade pointing skyward.

Just as I had seen.

The dagger, dispersing malicious black energy, thrust toward my Adam’s apple.

Whoosh.

Beyond simply blocking her attack.

In an instant, I twisted my body to dodge sideways while slashing upward with the intention of cutting her wrist, but…

Clang!

Unfortunately, what I felt in my hand was not the sensation of cutting through fabric, but a strong repulsive force created by solid iron colliding.

“…I was planning to cut your wrist.”

“How…!”

While the person before me showed signs of confusion and surprise, it would be best to quickly go for her neck.

The Mana I’m using intensively is wearing out faster than expected.

There’s nothing good about prolonging a fight with a Demonkin.

I can’t foolishly miss such a good opportunity.

‘Somehow I need to gain the upper hand.’

As soon as our swords were deflected by each other’s repulsive force, I gripped the handle.

At the same time, I made the blade, which had been pointing skyward, parallel to the ground.

Abandoning my regret about missing her wrist, I thrust the tip of my sword toward her neck.

Tsuuuuuuu!!

The sound of sharp metal scraping against each other echoed throughout the garden.

And just as my sword was about to reach that fiend.

“A mere man!”

The Demonkin grimaced and deflected the tip of my sword to the side.

Scratch.

I definitely cut her.

But because she tilted her head to the side at that moment to avoid my attack, all I managed was to create a shallow wound.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue in disappointment.

Drip.

Blood flowed from the cheek where the blade had grazed.

Since she had accepted a demon’s power, I thought black blood would flow, but contrary to my expectations, crimson blood flowed from the long cut engraved on her gaunt cheek.

I moved my arm with the intention of attacking with a downward diagonal slash, but…

“You think such an obvious attack will work!”

Unfortunately, the fiend quickly regained her stance and blocked my attack.

Tsk… I was planning to slash her chest.

The Demonkin began to approach quickly, pushing away my sword with the flat of her dagger rather than the edge.

Hearing the sharp metallic sound that stimulated my senses, I once again took a middle guard stance with the back of my blade facing the sky.

As the crossguard attached to the hilt of her dagger approached right in front of me, I caught it with my blade, stopping her dagger from advancing further.

A test of strength between us began.

“Urgh…!”

“If I had my bow—”

I momentarily drew in more Mana and used it explosively.

An instant feeling of exhilaration swept through my body—

“I would have already pierced your forehead…!”

I twisted my sword and struck her neck.

Her vision, which had been fixed on me, tilted.

She died while maintaining that expression of astonishment as she looked at me.

“Hoo… shit…”

After confirming that I had somehow killed the Demonkin without the power of spirit magic, I caught my breath and whispered a curse in Korean.

It was only possible because that bastard was carrying a short dagger.

If she had a sword of similar length to mine, it would have blocked my sword before it could reach her neck.

A considerable sense of exhaustion washed over my body, which had been highly stimulated by the somewhat tense battle.

As much as I’d like to run away from this quest or whatever now, there’s still work to be done. It’s too early to let my guard down.

‘Adelheid.’

I said that Adelheid’s fate, which should have involved a knife in her back, had begun to twist because of me.

Moreover, according to what that damned woman on the ground said, it seems all the demon worshippers here are also targeting Adelheid.

It seems that according to the original history, Adelheid would have been caught up in this incident and suffered quite a bit.

If I want to change the history of this damned world and return to Earth, I need to protect Sione and Adelheid.

‘The royal knights and mages would rush in to protect Adelheid somehow, but…’

Right now, they can’t easily come because of the simultaneous battles with these demon worshippers, so I need to intervene in this incident and protect them until help arrives.

I lowered my sword and calmed the Mana I had been using intensively.

Circulating just enough Mana to use immediately as needed, I turned around to check on Sione and Adelheid.

I saw Sione running toward me with her fine brows furrowed.

“Lady Sione?”

Sione, as if she had no time to answer my question, brushed past me, lowered her stance, and picked up the dagger of the fiend I had killed.

Sione sent such intense killing intent toward someone who had lost their sense of self due to the thick Magia and was rushing toward me that even I was surprised.

Woong—

As the Magia on the dagger was washed away by the power of demon-purging, and the sword began to resonate with her rising Mana…

Thud!

Sione’s dagger was plunged into the enemy’s neck.

“Gack… gurgle…”

As Sione twisted the dagger again, the man collapsed, spitting blood.

Sione, who had somehow stained her blue dress red, asked me.

“Ray… are you alright?”

Sione asking me this was projecting a cool demeanor like her sister.

But I could tell.

How long have I been watching this person? Of course I can notice this.

That my timid master’s eyelids were subtly, constantly trembling.