episode_0037

*12th, 2:40 PM. Correction of the previous episode, arrow shot.

037

An empty field in Chungnam’s Yookseongsan.

“Haah, haah, haah, hoo, hoo, Lord Roksanne, this way.”

Roksanne, accompanied by the security personnel Kim Deok-oh, was attacked by an unknown assailant while walking the path of asceticism.

The assailants had more than half of their faces covered with black masks.

It was a mixed group of two men and one woman.

Approaching stealthily like predators eyeing their prey, they launched their attack in a swift and calculated manner, indicating that they were no mere amateurs.

It seemed like they were accustomed to shedding blood with their hands.

Especially the man at the forefront.

The man’s graceful twin swords were like two snakes, swiftly passing through Kim Deok-oh’s left shoulder in the blink of an eye.

The man, with a dry and indifferent gaze, simply flicked off the blood on his sword as if he were used to harming people.

“Ouch. The wound… my left arm isn’t moving well…”

Kim Deok-oh is a former hero.

Given that he was assigned as a lone escort by the church, it could be said that his skills were quite decent.

However, he couldn’t withstand the fierce attacks of those villains.

Having fought against some villains in the past, he could somewhat respond, but the man wielding the twin swords was different.

That man was the biggest problem.

Of course, that didn’t mean he was the most powerful here.

In fact, in terms of power and destructiveness, the woman with the staff and the man with the longsword behind were stronger.

But the man’s strength didn’t stem from sheer destructive power.

Mixing feints and real attacks, wielding the sword in an irregular rhythm, and skillfully pressuring from outside the field of vision.

His strength was not the flashy and fierce kind of superhuman ability, but a sharp and subtle type of strength unique to swordsmanship.

A well-crafted dagger-like villain was more formidable than villains who mindlessly wielded their powers.

“Who sent you?”

That’s when it happened.

“Are you Seong Yura?”

“…”

Roksanne, who seemed to be protecting the injured Kim Deok-oh, walked towards him with a calm expression.

Despite trying hard to disguise himself as someone else in case of emergencies, it seemed to be of no use.

After all, they were attacked like this.

“Am I the target?”

He knew to some extent that Seong Yura’s reputation wasn’t good and that she was causing trouble for Roksanne, but he never thought it would go this far.

Even if Seong Yura held Roksanne dear, weren’t they both followers of the same god and candidates for sainthood?

Surely she wouldn’t go as far as assassination.

This was clearly crossing a line. As a human being and a clergyman, he couldn’t tolerate it.

“If I’m the target, leave this person alone.”

But who could dare to judge Seong Yura?

It was clear that if anyone dared to accuse Seong Yura, who wielded immense power and influence in the church, everyone would discreetly turn a blind eye.

The forces that had supported Roksanne had already crumbled like a sandcastle under Seong Yura’s influence.

It was unknown how fortunate he was to have been able to receive support as Kim Deok-oh’s escort.

That’s how dire the current situation in the church was.

In a church rampant with corruption and malfeasance, all Roksanne could do was pray to God and exercise patience.

“This person has nothing to do with it.”

“…”

The man with the twin swords, Matteo Evans, calmly looked at Roksanne without saying a word.

Has nothing to do with it…

Unfortunately, there was no denying the words of the young nun.

Because Mateo’s goal was never Roxanne, but Kim Deok-oh.

“……”

Mateo quietly raised his sword.

He slowly poured magic into the blade.

The blue glow flickered.

There was no more time to waste.

Now that he knew Kim Deok-oh’s level.

If he cooperated with his teammates, they could easily kill him.

‘…?’

But in that moment.

‘A presence?’

A subtle presence was detected in the bushes.

It wasn’t an animal, but a human presence.

Could there be more unknown troops?

“Who’s there!”

Silence.

The bushes remained still.

Mateo glanced at one of his teammates, Park Soo-young.

She seemed to understand and decided to use the spell she had memorized in advance.

“Wait, what are you guys…”

“Fire Ball!”

Roxanne, taken aback by their sudden actions, hurriedly raised her voice, but it was already too late.

As soon as Park Soo-young shouted the activation word, the spell was cast.

A large fireball rushed towards the bushes.

As the blazing flames and heat reached the nearby bushes, they slowly caught fire.

Just as the flames were about to spread inside the bushes.

With a sharp sound of a blade, the intense flames scattered in an instant, evaporating like weak steam.

“What? What happened?”

A short breath escaped Park Soo-young’s lips.

How did the Fire Ball disappear?

The villains frowned and quietly observed the unfamiliar man who appeared from the slightly burning bushes.

A slight tension lingered among them.

The unfamiliar man wore a hat, protective gear, a large backpack, and carried a black recurve bow on his back.

He appeared to be in his late teens or early twenties.

The man held a seemingly ordinary sword and gazed coldly in their direction.

‘Who is he?’

He might be one of Roxanne’s escort troops, but she also seemed puzzled.

It seemed that he had no connection to Roxanne.

Then.

‘Is he a hunter?’

Judging by his mountaineering gear and unique recurve bow, he might be a hunter who hunts wild animals or monsters hiding in the forest.

‘Could he have blocked the Fire Ball?’

It was hard to see as he was hidden in the bushes.

But whether he blocked it or not, Mateo had to kill the witness, so he looked back at Park Soo-young.

It was a signal to attack.

Park Soo-young quickly used a lightning spell.

“Lightning!”

Crackling!

A dark lightning bolt poured out like a spear from her staff towards the man.

The threatening sparks crackled as the lightning struck the man.

Even if he blocked it with his sword, the current would spread throughout his body, causing temporary paralysis.

Then they could easily kill him.

“……”

“Huh?”

However, the man effortlessly deflected the lightning with his sword.

No, he didn’t just block it. As the lightning touched his sword, it lost its form and disappeared. What on earth was happening?

“Was he a psychic?”

Mateo muttered quietly.

The man didn’t seem to have the ability to cut through magic.

His movements and shifting of weight were quite different from a typical swordsman’s.

Furthermore, the man seemed slightly out of breath, as if he was already tired.

For a long time, Matteo had been engaging in this kind of activity, so he was confident in his ability to judge situations.

…Unless the opponent was deliberately shrouded in dark smoke.

“You two, restrain that side. I’ll take care of that man.”

After giving instructions to his two subordinates, Matteo attempted to move towards the unfamiliar man.

But then, out of the blue, the man swung his sword.

Swish!

As the sword swung in a circular motion, a considerable amount of mana condensed into a blade shot out like an arrow towards Park Sooyoung.

Park Sooyoung was taken aback.

W-what, that’s a blade skill?

No way, how can someone so young?!

“Air Shield!”

Park Sooyoung hurriedly tried to protect herself with a defensive spell, but with a crackling sound, the opaque shield shattered into pieces.

“?!”

The power was considerable.

Could it really pierce through this shield of air?

Eventually, the blade passed through Park Sooyoung’s right leg, cutting deeply.

“Ouch, agh!”

As blood began to flow from the deep wound, Park Sooyoung felt her consciousness fading. Oh no, I need to stop the bleeding quickly…

“Hoo, hoo…”

Park Sooyoung took out a healing potion and applied it to the wound, but the recovery was slow, as if the potion was ineffective.

She limped towards the man and Kim Tae-oh, feeling unbearable pain in her leg. Endure, I have to endure it.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay, so don’t talk to me.”

One of the nearby members, Lee Han, spoke with concern.

With just a cheap healing potion, the wound wouldn’t heal well. It might serve as emergency treatment, but that was all.

For proper treatment, they needed to go to a place with medical facilities.

“Captain…”

“…”

At Lee Han’s call, Matteo hesitated for a moment.

He wanted to retreat for a while, but he knew that Seong Yura was not a merciful person.

If he made a mistake due to something other than the mission, she would definitely impose a harsh punishment without exception.

Knowing her cruel nature well, Matteo couldn’t help but hesitate.

As a relatively valuable subordinate, Matteo might receive a less severe punishment, but these two were different.

They were useful individuals, but to Seong Yura, they were just replaceable parts.

If it had been a normal mission, they might have been able to get through somehow, but because it was related to Rocksan, they probably couldn’t avoid a high level of punishment.

Especially because Seong Yura was obsessively fixated on Rocksan.

When it came to matters related to Rocksan, Seong Yura reacted more sensitively and nervously than to anything else.

It was obvious that if they returned like this, it was clear as day how she would react.

“Hoo.”

Exhaling slowly, Matteo finally made a decision.

He would restrain the most dangerous man, try to bring him down quickly, and then kill the target, Kim Deok-oh, with the other members.

“It might be a bit risky.”

The appearance of an unidentified man.

Whether it was due to his psychic abilities or the help of artifacts, he couldn’t let his guard down after cutting through magic and using powerful blade skills.

However, he didn’t think he would lose.

Having operated as a human hunter for over a decade, Matteo had a long history of taking many lives.

Among them were powerful psychics and heroes.

Heroes or psychics could wield various powerful abilities and mysteries, but they couldn’t overcome a mere blade.

Sometimes there is a misconception that no matter how much they spew out boulders, stir up storms, or pour out water pillars, the one using the abilities is ultimately human.

Humans, unlike monsters, die when pierced by a dagger.

Whether a hero or a villain, no matter how strong, anyone will die if struck in the vital spot by a mere dagger.

Even if they have brought down a huge monster that twists iron like dough with their supernatural abilities, there are quite a few humans who mistakenly think they are strong.

Forgetting that supernatural abilities are nothing more than tools.

No matter how powerful their supernatural abilities are, they are weak creatures who will die if a knife is plunged into their throat.

“Whether intentionally leading to complacency or not… the movement itself isn’t particularly impressive, so then…”

Matteo was somewhat confident.

Until he suffered a devastating defeat to Vizilante in the past, losing his comrades and fleeing, he had almost never lost to even the strongest opponents… huh?

Suddenly.

“Wait?”

A memory from the past that fleetingly brushed Matteo’s mind.

“That sword… it looks familiar…”

It was a rather unassuming sword, so he didn’t pay it much mind, but the yellow gem embedded in the hilt of the sword triggered a memory from somewhere…

In that moment, a horrifying flashback of a past he wanted to forget surfaced.

– “The scumbags who live off of people’s lives were here.”

A young man from the past, wearing a mask and a hood tightly pulled over his head.

– “Oh, trying to run away?”

In a building reeking of sticky blood and a pungent scent of death.

– “As expected of scumbags, not an ounce of loyalty, huh?”

Mercilessly killing his former comrades.

– “Go ahead, run like a cockroach. Your comrades will either become cripples or die.”

The cruel memory of Matteo being ridiculed as a cripple resurfaced above the surface.