Chap 97-Insincere

 

Kwaaaang—!

Each time the ashen sword energy and crimson flames collided, the earth screamed and trembled.

Richard Benett tore through the relentless waves of fire, pushing towards Lagriel.

‘Damn it, how did it come to this?’

It was right after he had saved Isaac Bennett, that useless descendant.

Instead of being grateful to the benefactor who had saved him, that bastard…

He urged him, saying there was someone he needed to save immediately, that perhaps the entire Terra was in danger.

It was infuriating, but what could he do?

The world was in danger, after all.

In the first place, he thought there was no way anything could go wrong when someone like him stepped in personally.

That was until he encountered the Medici Family.

…

“You came all the way here to save your daughter?”

Richard’s cold voice echoed across the ash-covered battlefield.

“Yes, Richard. Camilla is a strong candidate to inherit the Dukedom.”

Cassandra answered calmly.

“Shouldn’t you be at the lighthouse, Richard? Why are you here…”

As she cautiously asked, Richard’s eyebrows twitched.

“Do I have to report everything to you?”

At his words, filled with displeasure, Cassandra immediately lowered her head.

“I misspoke.”

Richard ignored her apology and began to pressure Cassandra.

“Your family dared to attack our family.”

“That’s… because Duke Bennett abandoned his duties as a Duke and only protected his adopted daughter. It was an unavoidable choice for the sake of humanity.”

A snort escaped from Richard’s lips.

“I see. That’s possible.”

He paused for a moment.

Then, his red eyes stared at Cassandra as if piercing through her.

“But…”

“Why… do I sense Karen’s aura from you?”

At those words, a cold sweat ran down Cassandra’s spine.

She tried to maintain a calm expression and made excuses.

“What are you talking about… How dare I possess her aura…”

Chwaaaaaak—!

Before Cassandra could finish speaking, Richard’s sword slashed through the air.

An invisible sword energy tore through space and flew towards her heart.

An unavoidable strike.

At the very moment she thought it was all over.

Kwaaaaaaaaang—!!!

A massive wall of flames blocked Cassandra’s path, swallowing the sword energy.

Explosive heat spread in all directions, melting the earth.

And from within the flames, a figure blazing with hatred revealed itself.

“Long time no see, Richard.”

…

Puh-uhk—!

Lagriel’s fist collided with Richard’s sword, and once again, a massive shockwave spread in all directions.

Richard, pushed back by the impact, briefly turned his gaze to check on Isaac.

‘…Damn it.’

If he had known this would happen, should he have just pretended not to know him and let him go?

Richard momentarily regretted it.

The situation was not good.

Isaac was being unilaterally pushed back by Cassandra.

He himself was fighting Lagriel, a strongman of the same level 9, so he didn’t have the luxury to pay attention to other things, but he couldn’t help but worry.

‘Karen’s aura was felt from her… as expected.’

Richard’s eyes sank coldly.

Karen Medici.

The progenitor of the Medici Family and a comrade who fought in the same era as him.

She was… defeated…?

Cassandra, who was presumed to have absorbed Karen’s power, was already far beyond the power that a mere level 8 could produce.

Isaac would not be able to defeat her in that state.

Moreover, the Medici Duke’s daughter, who had been near here until just now.

She had vanished in an instant, without even he noticing.

He had a bad feeling.

Chiiiik—!

“Ugh…!”

In a moment of distraction, Lagriel’s flames grazed Richard’s shoulder, burning his flesh.

“Haha! Richard! How dare you look away with me in front of you?”

At Lagriel’s mocking laughter, Richard gritted his teeth.

Ignoring the pain, he swung his sword again.

The ashen sword energy and crimson flames clashed fiercely, again and again.

Just as Richard and Lagriel were about to clash once more.

In the sky, a massive golden hole tore open as if being ripped apart.

Huh?

At the sudden phenomenon, Richard, Lagriel, and even Cassandra, who was pushing Isaac back, stopped fighting and looked towards it.

And the next moment.

The wind that burst out from the hole swallowed everything.

Cassandra couldn’t even scream, and was torn apart miserably the moment she touched the wind.

“Damn it, what is this…!”

Lagriel quickly raised a wall of flames to block the wind, but he couldn’t fully withstand the impact.

Caught in the fierce aftermath, his body was slammed far away into the ground.

‘Now…!’

Richard threw his sword without hesitation.

The sword, cutting through the wind, aimed straight for Lagriel’s heart.

‘Was it too shallow?’

Lagriel twisted his body with animalistic senses, barely avoiding his heart.

The sword, deeply embedded in his chest, seemed to touch bone, but it didn’t pierce his heart.

Then…

Lagriel disappeared without delay.

Like smoke, fleetingly.

It only took a moment for his body to disappear from sight.

‘Escape?’

Richard was taken aback.

The Calamity-Class Monster of ‘Wrath’ was turning its back on the battlefield and running away?

His instinct, wrath, would never allow it.

Except for one case.

When an overwhelmingly strong being appeared, forcing him to suppress his wrath.

The dust slowly settled, and two silhouettes came into Richard’s view.

One was…

‘A cat?’

And…

A girl with black hair and black eyes, covered in blood.

Clang—

From Richard’s hand, the sword fell powerlessly, hitting the ground.

“Progenitor! Are you alright?”

Isaac, who had belatedly rushed over, shouted urgently.

However.

Richard showed no reaction.

His hands were trembling.

His eyes were fixed on the girl, not wavering an inch.

Isaac, flustered, looked at Richard, then followed his gaze to the girl.

Then, he said expressionlessly.

“Long time no see, Yeon.”

“Yeon? Could it be Yeon Bennet…”

“Yes, that’s right. This child is the adopted daughter of the Bennet Family, and the seal of the Evil God, Yeon…”

Thwack!

Before Isaac could even finish his sentence, Richard’s fist struck his face.

His body flew like a piece of paper and was slammed far away.

Richard, with his fist clenched until it bled, shouted as if in despair.

“What… the hell…!”

“What the hell have you done!”

…

‘He flew pretty far.’

I blankly stared at Isaac Bennett, who had been thrown far away and lay there miserably.

Honestly, I didn’t like him because he looked so much like Isaac.

But seeing Isaac get blown away so refreshingly made me feel like a weight had been lifted from my chest.

My favorability towards the gray-haired man instantly skyrocketed.

While I was having such useless thoughts on my own.

The man slowly, very slowly, turned his head and looked at me.

A gaze that seemed to pierce through me.

His eyes contained an unknown emotion, a mixture of anger, sadness, or perhaps all of them.

‘Ugh… it’s overwhelming…’

In the awkward silence, I swallowed hard and opened my mouth first.

“…H-Hello?”

No sooner had I finished my greeting than his body moved like a flash of light.

Before I could even blink, a cold blade was touching my neck.

“Keh… Keh, I can’t breathe…!”

The killing intent that was being emitted crushed my lungs.

In the extreme pressure where I couldn’t breathe and my whole body was constricted…

A subtle pleasure bloomed.

‘What a presence…’

The man asked in a voice as cold as ice.

“You. What’s your name?”

“Yeon… Bennet… I am…”

I barely managed to answer in a suppressed voice.

“Not that. Your real name.”

“Kuh-uh…!”

My real name…?

In my past life, I was an insignificant person.

One of the common losers.

Therefore, my name wouldn’t be valuable information either…

I don’t know why he suddenly wants to know that name.

But there’s no reason to hide it anyway.

The name I used on Earth before coming to Terra.

It’s so unfamiliar now.

But it still remains clearly in the depths of my memory…

When I was a man.

A name I didn’t particularly like.

That name.

“Lee… Ha… Rang…”

The moment that name flowed from my lips.

The killing intent that had been constricting me until just now disappeared as if it were a lie.

Clang—

The man dropped the sword he was holding once again.

‘…Seriously, why does he keep dropping his sword when he’s a swordsman?’

He just stood there blankly with a face that was even more shocked than when he first saw my face, like before.

“Um… are you okay…?”

When I cautiously asked, he shook his head slightly as if he had finally come to his senses.

Then, he suddenly pointed at the cat… no, Anaide, who was sitting quietly next to me, and started shouting.

“Don’t you people… don’t you have any conscience…?”

“…Sorry.”

At those words, Anaide drooped her shoulders and mumbled powerlessly.

At that pitiful sight, something suddenly welled up inside me.

“Hey! Why are you yelling at my kid!!!”

…

I looked at Cassandra, now a cold corpse due to Anaide’s magic, with a heavy heart.

‘Is this really the end?’

“…It’s so futile.”

The face that looked exactly like Camilla’s was telling me that she was Camilla’s mother.

“What exactly was it that she was trying to obtain, even sacrificing her own daughter?”

“Who knows? It must have been something trivial.”

Anaide, who had returned to her cat form next to me, chattered.

I inadvertently stared at her cute appearance, and she shyly averted her gaze.

“You said you would do as I say, right?”

I turned my head and looked at the two men.

The gray-haired man who resembled Isaac.

He was none other than Richard Benett, the progenitor of the Bennet Family and a level 9 strongman.

It was shocking when I first heard it.

But considering that he was a swordsman who could stand against Lagriel and that he looked exactly like Duke Bennett.

It would have been stranger if he wasn’t Richard Benett.

Richard nodded silently.

“Yes. In the first place, the reason I came down here was because Dorothy said there would be someone in our family who needed help.”

“Hmm… are you sure that’s me?”

“Dorothy said… you would know right away just by looking at you.”

“Considering that, you almost stabbed me with your sword earlier…”

“Ahem,”

At my words, Richard coughed and turned his head.

“Then Richard, please chase after Lagriel.”

As if he had expected it, he nodded again.

“And Duke…”

I turned my head again and looked at the corpse of the Medici Duke.

“The death of the Medici Duke. If we use this, we can gather even more faith of malice.”

“Th-that’s…”

“You know what to do without me having to tell you, right?”

“…If you go any further than this, I might not be able to protect you anymore.”

“Ha. Since when were you worried about me?”

I scoffed and shook my head.

“I just need to gather a little more. I can feel that there’s not much left.”

“But…”

Just as he was about to say something more, Richard quietly raised his hand to stop him.

“Enough. You started this story, so you should finish it.”

Anaid glared at Isaac, as if something was bothering her.

“…I understand.”

Isaac eventually bowed his head and agreed.

“I can feel presences. It seems the professors are coming.”

The aura of Mana spreading from afar.

“Camilla… I’ll try to find her somehow.”

Soon they will arrive here.

I took a moment to catch my breath, then said quietly.

“Leave quickly. There’s no point in showing them that you were with me.”

Richard and Isaac looked at me with complicated expressions for a moment, then concealed their presences and disappeared into the darkness.

‘As expected of the same family, even their expressions are the same.’

“Anaide, please leave now too.”

“…Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

At my words, Anaide drooped again.

The expression Nabi always made when she was at a disadvantage.

But not this time.

If she, who had returned to her cat form, stayed by my side, she might be in danger.

No, she definitely would be.

“I’m okay.”

I quietly took a breath and nodded.

“Really.”

…

Richard chased after Lagriel’s faint presence, running through the darkness.

But his mind was filled with thoughts of the black-haired girl he had just met.

“Teach me swordsmanship? What a presumptuous brat.”

“Hmm… I don’t take disciples. Instead…”

“I’ll allow you to watch me train.”

Richard stopped running for a moment, took a deep breath, and covered his face with his hands.

A very small voice escaped from his lips.

“Master…”

Lee Harang.

Truly.

Such an insincere name.