163. full contract

***

next Saturday morning.

Lekil Forest is one of the deserted forests known to be inhabited by many monsters in the empire.

Shashak! Shasha shak!

Now there were figures moving rapidly through the dense thickets of Lekil Forest. All of their appearances were gorgeous and radiant.

ㅡ!

Through the sparse sunlight shining through the forest, the golden armor gave off a strong presence.

That meant that they belonged to the ‘Imperial Knights’.

“statement!”

And when Teruan, who was at the forefront, opened his mouth firmly, the people who followed him began to expand their encirclement toward a single goal, as if forming a large capture party.

A form of heavenly desire to completely eliminate the possibility of missing the target at all.

The existence engulfed in the darkness sped up and tried to escape, but even that eventually had its limits.

Shashak!

good!

It’s been a while since the sound of kicking an old tree and brushing through a bush reverberates dozens of times. The existence enveloped in darkness was besieged by the Imperial Knights.

good! Chachak!

Let’s remove the variable itself for the Imperial Knights who arrived later to escape to the double-triple boundary. Teruan moved slowly.

Chubuck.

The iron sound of the joints of the heavy armor resounding, and Teruan’s eyes fell into a deep sleep.

“Are you an apostle who took on a human form? I never thought you would hide your presence like this.”

In Teruan’s gaze, which vomited silence, he still only saw a figure wrapped in darkness, but he couldn’t even recognize its distinct appearance.

It felt very terrifying to him.

The fact that this apostle had raided the cadets of the central academy and was openly living and breathing within the empire.

‘At this level, it should be seen as an apostle of a higher rank than I thought.’

When the first common-class cadets survived and put together various information, it was surprising, but the word apostle itself was reliable.

However, even so, it was assumed that he was an apostle with weak power enough to be classified as the lowest class. Facing reality like this now, it didn’t feel like that at all.

He was a secret and dangerous apostle who had been able to evade the pursuit of knights under his command, including himself, for several days after he had been following the trail.

Even if he couldn’t do that, he had to be considered a high-ranking apostle.

Smooth.

As the apostle, who had been enveloped in the mist of darkness, spread the darkness as if amplifying it, Teruan wielded his sword against the apostle, manifesting his unique golden mana.

ㅡㅡㅡ!!

Then, the unique golden mana that symbolized the Imperial Knights exploded and covered his entire body, and Teruan was not the only one engulfed in golden mana.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ!!

Golden mana burst out simultaneously from most of the imperial knights who surrounded the apostles, covering their entire bodies.

It was like an amazing sight that deserves to be called a grand spectacle.

Waves of splendid golden light illuminate the dark forest, where the light coming in from the huge old trees is cut off.

It meant that the level of each individual knight was never low, and everyone was watching the apostle with bright eyes.

There was not a single person who was frightened by the darkness emitted by the Apostle.

Then, the darkness emanating from the apostle could not even expand its range. As if being blocked by golden waves, the darkness only encroached on the apostle’s surroundings.

“…An apostle without intelligence.”

The time when Teruan competed with a calm voice and a sword.

The apostle suddenly began to act.

Chew!

The mane of darkness bursting out around the apostle surged in all directions.

Chae Chaeng! Wedge!

The time when the imperial knights, wrapped in all directions as if they were shingles, broke off the darkness that had rushed into each of them.

Teruan was advancing toward the apostle like a surprise attack.

‘It’s meaningless to kill them all at once.’

If he tried to kill them, he might have been able to kill them before actually sieging them. But then, at most, the meaning of chasing and chasing for several days hopes for the light.

So, you have to dig up ‘information’ that will be a little bit of a clue.

There must be a clue to something just by the fact that there are apostles in the empire. It was necessary to clearly distinguish whether or not he had crossed the frontline barrier and entered the empire.

ㅡ!

When Teruan, engulfed in golden light, appeared in front of the apostle while walking through the vegetation, he intentionally lowered his sword.

Even if it was difficult to capture the apostle, the reality had to be confirmed. First of all, the idea was to split the darkness that enveloped the existence.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ!

As Teruan drew his sword diagonally, the golden aura tore through the darkness at once.

And that was the moment.

As if the darkness was being torn apart by the golden light, the gunfire of darkness burst out explosively.

“…what!”

As Teruan expressed her mana with a straight face, the darkness disappeared as if it was swallowed up by golden mana.

And at that time, the apostle was already shooting out to the other side as if to resist Teruan’s mana.

ㅡ!

Like a meteor, an apostle that pierces through the vegetation blocking the way at once.

It was no longer shrouded in darkness. It was in the form of a ‘human’.

“Never miss it!”

When Teruan, who had braced himself in the air, shouted loudly, the Imperial Knights were already flying towards the apostles.

***

“Cool!”

Blood gushed out and ran down Vermian’s mouth.

But there wasn’t even time to catch up. Even though she accepted the danger that Letea, the apostle of sacrifices, warned of, and even the spirit god who allowed her body, she could not shake off the imperial knights even a bit.

And the result was this.

‘…Does this mean the power of the imperial family?’

The potential of the Imperial Knights, which I had only heard about through rumors.

Even though he made a contract with Leteia, he made sure that the Imperial Knights would never keep an eye on him. I had been carefully handling the sacrifices for several years.

However, the accident at the academy last time brought about a huge aftermath, and in the end, the tail was caught.

Even though the imperial knights dispatched were only one of many knights, their potential was terrifyingly huge.

[Vermian. Looks like we’ve come this far]

Leteia’s voice, resonating in her head, was completely subdued.

The apostle’s suggestion that even Letea’s spiritual spirit, which had been uttered a moment ago, was now the last, touched her heart.

Even so, he denied the will of the apostle.

While kicking off the visible vegetation at once, he forced himself on the strength to show the floor.

‘I can never die like this.’

If it were to die alone… I might have accepted it, saying that it was my karma and sin.

But I couldn’t.

I had a family to carry now.

It was impossible to die in this place. The fact that I entered this sinful path, and the fact that I laid down all my pride and heart, and accumulated countless bad karma.

In the end, everyone is on a path to save Beatrice.

A warm life for a moment to a child who has not seen the light of day.

It was to see the light.

And.

‘I haven’t yet been able to show Beatrice the light of the proper world.’

It’s only been less than two years since I’ve lived a normal life.

For the child who suffered for decades, that’s too bad.

Really… it wasn’t enough.

A little more the child needed to enjoy.

Happiness in this world, that you can live and breathe normally and promise tomorrow.

—-!

ㅡ!

I managed to dodge the golden arrows and auras fired from behind, but I couldn’t dodge them completely.

A golden arrow grazed the forearm as if it almost pierced it, and a large cut was formed on the aura on the thigh, and blood gushed out.

“Kuk!”

Each of them reached a level just below me after reaching level 8, or there were some beings equal to me.

Even if they escaped the encirclement with a momentary wit, they would be captured sooner or later.

tight.

I made up my mind, biting my lip to the point of bursting.

The mindset of giving up everything… … .

In the end, I had no choice but to recall the last move.

“Letheia. Make a full contract…”

[In this situation]

A weak voice resounds like a mockery in my head.

Even Leteia’s power was noticeably weaker than before I made the sacrifice.

Is it because the distinction between good and evil has become blurred after signing a contract with the apostle and accumulating bad karma? The voice sounded very strange now.

good!

As I spurred on the old tree with all my might, it was now difficult to even hide my existence.

“There is no more time. And I have no intention of dying like this.”

Even as he spoke firmly, blood continued to flow from the corners of his mouth.

If you sign a perfect contract, you have to give up being human, but at least it was better than dying and everything ending.

…Even if I became non-human, I had to do what I had to do.

Beatrice still needed Leteia.

[You’re going to completely allow it, then let’s go ahead with the complete contract]

It was a moment.

■■■■■■■!

A strange energy surged from the exhausted body.

An unprecedented power that cannot be explained by anything else.

At the same time, a thick, dark thought that was not mine at all burrowed into my head as if it were attacking me.

“… … !”

As soon as his eyes widened and he instinctively slammed the vegetation, a force that was distinctly different from before burst out.

Quaang!

The part where the old tree stood completely exploded, and it accelerated at a speed of a different dimension.

The rapidly expanding field of vision gave me a new experience, and it felt as if my whole body would explode from the bubbling heat.

But there was no bird to feel even that absolute power.

Dark thoughts in my head. It was such a deep hatred, resentment, and, at the same time, the wrath of the world.

“Turn it off!!”

Even as I shuddered at the terrible sensation that took over my whole body, it seemed as if my vision was slowly being swallowed up by darkness.

I couldn’t let go of my consciousness even when I realized that it was Leteia’s fundamental thought.

‘never… … .’

I will not be consumed by this thought.

Even in the midst of thick thoughts that swelled up like they were about to burst, they somehow held on to my consciousness.

Anything was good.

You don’t have to lose me right now.

ㅡComplete contract.

The enormous power that I will gain by handing over my all.

Among the forbidden contracts, one of the absolutely taboo was ‘union with an apostle’.

Leteia becomes me, and Leteia also becomes me… .

My mind continued to fill with negative thoughts as I felt the energy slowly pursuing me and I rapidly drifting away.

Murder, denial, suspicion, grudge, hatred… … .

Destructive urge to destroy everything in sight.

I continued to think of myself in the waves of emotions that seemed like my existence would be completely swallowed up.

The image of my younger brother lying in bed and unable to even lift a hand.

“… Ha ha!”

Then, while breathing heavily, the sight that had been dyed in darkness instantly regained its original vision.

Before I knew it, I was in a space I had never seen before.

He could no longer feel the presence of the imperial knights chasing him.

I only exist because I am among the thick vegetation.

[Is this the power of human will? The amplification of power from the contract is completely beyond imagination]

Leteia’s voice resonated in her head, echoing more directly.

I lifted my arm in a daze to the point where it felt like a thought I had recalled, and I saw the blackened arm.

“Are you now ‘me’?”

I mumbled blankly and felt that even my voice had changed.

[You’re asking something out of the ordinary]

The laughing voice sounded like I was laughing.

And I realized.

…at last now.

I have completely given up on being human.