Chapter 118
It was a catastrophe that struck suddenly in the dead of night.
All available forces rushed out to confront the demonic beasts.
Knights clad in white armor and blue capes wielded their holy swords, while the holy priests supported the knight order using sacred power.
The sight of sacred light illuminating the darkness was grand enough to instinctively evoke faith.
They appeared capable of repelling any evil with ease, but the reality was far from it.
The sacred power that purified evil had its might halved before the demonic beasts.
Because their abilities were far less effective than usual, they were barely managing defense, let alone purification.
Those attending the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly also joined the battle with their private soldiers, but the strength they added was negligible.
This was due to the strict limits on the number of people allowed entry into the Holy Empire.
Even if all ninety-nine participants scraped together their remaining private soldiers, excluding the minimal escorts, the total barely reached a few hundred.
In contrast, the number of demonic beasts was too vast to count, making the struggle inevitable.
Samid, attending the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly as the protector of Princess Aran from the Skaya Kingdom, also boldly led his mercenaries into the fray to exterminate the demonic beasts.
However, Samid only came to realize starkly how utterly ignorant he had been.
His arrogant assumption that demonic beasts were nothing more than ferocious animals at best was completely misguided.
Samid stared at the demonic beasts before him with eyes filled with terror.
These beings, defying the natural order, evoked an instinctive revulsion that made his limbs freeze stiff.
When his body refused to move as he willed and he floundered, the demonic beasts seized that instant without fail, burrowing in to attack.
Even the top-tier mercenaries hired by the Skaya Kingdom with its overflowing wealth invested without restraint were only gasping in the face of demonic beasts they’d never seen before, unable to launch proper attacks.
In a frenzy, he swung his sword wildly, and when he came to his senses, he was already separated from his mercenaries.
Completely surrounded by demonic beasts, Samid’s face turned ashen blue.
His hand gripping the sword trembled uncontrollably.
From his throat escaped a voice choked tight with fear.
“Huh, huff… S-save me…”
With his last hope, he turned his eyes toward the direction where sacred power flashed.
But they were barely managing to handle the demonic beasts right in front of them.
If even the Holy Empire couldn’t repel the evil, there was no one to rescue Samid.
It was utter despair.
In the end, Samid dropped his sword, and the demonic beasts lunged as if they’d been waiting.
Sensing his death, Samid squeezed his eyes shut.
He braced for the horrific pain that would assail him.
Yet, for some reason, nothing happened.
Instead, a warm splash of blood sprayed across his face with a whoosh.
Drenched in the demonic beast’s black blood, Samid cautiously opened his eyes.
He saw a pitch-black sword that seemed carved from the night itself.
The owner of the black blade wielding it… was someone chillingly beautiful.
He already knew who this man with gleaming red eyes was.
It was because there had been an incident involving the man’s family before the prayer assembly.
But even without that incident.
Samid would have inevitably learned about the man.
From the moment the man first revealed his face in the Holy Empire, everyone had been curious about him.
It took less than a day for all those attending the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly to learn the man’s name.
Unconsciously, Samid murmured that name.
“Kierne Basilian…”
At that, the long eyes curved into a sly arc.
The brief contact of their gazes was quickly severed.
Count Basilian lightly leaped forward, swinging his sword.
The demonic beasts that Samid, his mercenaries, and even the holy knights and holy priests had struggled desperately against were swept away like toys under the count’s blade.
Each swing of the sword caused the demonic beasts to vanish miserably.
Count Basilian felt no fear.
He didn’t freeze at the demonic beasts’ roars; instead, he burst into laughter as he wielded his sword.
Samid, who had been staring at the count as if entranced, flinched in surprise at the boy who suddenly appeared before him.
“Are you alright?”
The boy holding a deep navy sword extended his hand to Samid, who was slumped on the ground.
It was the eldest son of the Basilian count family.
Samid grasped the hand instinctively, and the boy lifted him up with one hand while thrusting his sword straight out with the other.
“Kieeeek!”
The demonic beast let out a scream as it was sliced apart with a slash.
Having skillfully dispatched the demonic beast, the boy coldly commanded Samid.
“Step back.”
It meant that fumbling around trying to help would only be a hindrance, so stay out of the way.
“Th-thank you.”
Without realizing it, Samid politely bowed and addressed the boy with respect.
However, before his words even finished, the boy had already vanished into the midst of the demonic beasts.
Several others who had recklessly charged in like Samid and faced death were saved multiple times.
The Basilian count family was accomplishing what the Holy Empire could not.
Samid, who had been blankly watching the scene, belatedly began to scramble away in a panic.
It was as he tried to head toward the relatively safe rear where Princess Aran was hiding.
“…?”
Suddenly, something strange occurred.
All around fell silent.
The demonic beasts that had been roaring monstrously quieted as if cut off abruptly.
The demonic beasts that had been rampaging ferociously and charging indiscriminately froze in place, as if someone had stopped time.
Then, they all turned to look in one direction.
They paid no heed even as their bodies were severed by sacred power or their skin sliced by blades.
They simply took the humans’ attacks head-on without any reaction.
Following the direction of the demonic beasts’ gazes, Samid hesitantly turned around.
There stood a large-built man and two boys.
And in the arms of the pretty boy… a baby.
The place the demonic beasts were staring at was the adopted child of the Basilian family.
Chesha Basilian.
At Chesha’s words, the twins couldn’t budge.
They creaked as if struck by an unavoidable arrow.
In the end, the twins ended up heading to the battlefield where demonic beasts raged, along with Chesha.
It was a decision mixed with a bit of competitive spirit.
As Basilians, they had dealt with demonic beasts relentlessly since childhood.
When it came to demonic beasts, they were more knowledgeable than anyone, and recently, both had undergone intense training to hone their skills.
“So, the two of us can protect one little sibling, right?”
“Well… yeah, but.”
“And besides, Sir Theo is here too.”
Ishuel, deeply moved by Chesha’s family declaration, enthusiastically stepped forward to persuade Karha.
He fervently argued, even including Theo, whom he usually treated like a teddy bear and ignored, as an ally, leading them bravely to the heart of the battlefield.
The situation was unfolding just as Chesha had anticipated.
The Holy Empire couldn’t properly handle the demonic beasts.
It was only holding out because Hailon was pushing his sacred power to the limit and even using the Chains of Condemnation.
Otherwise, Hilderd’s sanctuary would have been overrun by demonic beasts long ago.
‘Hailon must be at the very front. Where are Kierne and Belzeon?’
Held in Ishuel’s arms, Chesha diligently craned her neck around.
But with demonic beasts everywhere, nothing was visible.
A demonic beast, sensing their presence, gurgled and turned toward them.
Karha drew both his swords at once and spat out shortly.
“They’re coming.”
Following Karha, who assumed a combat stance, the reluctant Theo also drew his sword.
Karha glanced at Theo, who was trembling with tension, and said.
“Captain of the guard. Back me up.”
Then he sprang forward.
The blades crossed, gleaming under the moonlight, and the charging demonic beast was cut into pieces on the spot.
Having annihilated the demonic beast in one strike, Karha quickly rolled his body to dispatch the nearby demonic beast as well.
For a moment, Chesha forgot the situation and admired it.
His skills had improved tremendously compared to when he faced the slave hunters in the underworld before.
Theo also performed an excellent supporting role, matching Karha’s rampage.
“Hey! Find out where Kierne and Belzeon are!”
Karha shouted as he slashed down a demonic beast.
Theo flinched at the casual way he called the count’s name, nearly getting his arm sliced by a demonic beast.
Karha swept that demonic beast away from Theo.
“Watch big brother use magic, little sib.”
Wanting to show off his skills to Chesha, Ishuel even gave a heads-up as he gathered mana.
It was as he skillfully began drawing a magic circle with deft hand movements.
“…Huh?”
Ishuel let out a bewildered exclamation.
Chesha’s eyes also widened in surprise.
A soft light enveloped Chesha, and then, poof, a small flower bloomed in the air.
