110. the way they walked (4)

It was empty, but they were definitely in contact. She was there through the cold glass wall, where you couldn’t feel any warmth. A pale light was shining through the glass tube, and Christine floated with her mouth slightly open, wearing the expression of someone sound asleep.

“I’m just sleeping comfortably.”

Maxim muttered, sweeping the glass wall. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be encased in that unpleasantly viscous green slime. Maxim looked at Christine inside for a while, and then suddenly faced his own reflection in the glass.

“… I had blood all over my body like this.”

Maxim laughed lightly. His face was a mess, smeared with the blood and mucus of the monsters he had dealt with upstairs. In addition, the blood of the wizards he encountered as he descended underground splattered to the extent that his skin was barely exposed. The low laugh continued, then stopped. A single tear streamed down the cheeks of Maxim’s eyes, who stopped laughing.

“It’s the tears I shed because I laughed. for laughing.”

Maxim, who kept muttering words that could not be heard, stole his eyes. His hands, which continued through dozens of battles, could not be cleaner than his face, so Maxim’s face was just dirty as if it had been painted over with other stains. Maxim shook his head and rose from his seat. He hadn’t escaped safely with Christine yet. First I had to get her out of that vat.

Maxim drew his sword. The right hand could no longer be used, and was not to be used just in case. He repeated that he could feel the weight of the sword in his left hand at the pulse flowing through his bloodstream, and that he could not feel it. Maxim raised his left arm. So that she doesn’t even touch me. Maxim drew his sword.

The fluid filling the tube drained out. Christine fell to the floor, very slowly. Maxim quickly reached out and caught her as she fell. His right arm hurt as if it would break off, but Maxim looked at Christine first without a single frown.

Mac is beating slowly. I removed the mask covering her nose and mouth and checked her breathing. Even breathing, although it was a slow flow, was clearly present.

“I don’t know what to say when I wake up later and see myself naked again.”

Maxim took off his cloak and wrapped it around Christine’s body. I wanted to carry her and quickly leave this damn dungeon, but my right arm wouldn’t listen. Maxim let out a long sigh and carried her on his back. Christine, who was carried on her back like that, was so light that she doubted whether she was carrying a person on her back.

“… Let’s go.”

Maxim’s breathing became regular. He defeated all the enemies he could kill and climbed up, but he did not know what other enemies might be waiting for him. Maxim just wanted the escort knights, who started investigating late, to discover this dungeon and come down to rescue him.

“Damn it… .”

I passed the hallway stained red with the corpses of wizards. The blood of the mages who had been decapitated and entrails poured out was forming a pool. Among them was the soggy, blackened blood of a warlock.

Climbing the stairs, he passed a pupil full of monster corpses. Occasionally wriggling, he would slash his sword or stomp on anything that showed signs of life. The demonic beast that was trampled poured out new blood every time.

little bit more.

Maxim rebuked himself. There was too much blood shed while dealing with witches and wizards. Feeling dizzy and dry mouth. It’s still fine. can walk Maxim climbed the stairs with his hand on the wall. It felt like the coldness of the stone flowed through my hands and into my heart, constricting me.

little bit more.

There was light at the end of the stairs. The pupils of the old wizard’s lab began to show. He had to circulate the remaining mana in his pupil to restore his body and move again. If he collapsed in the middle of the dungeon for no reason, no one would find him and Christine.

“for a moment… , I need to rest.”

Maxim muttered as he reached the end of the stairs. It will be fine if you sit down and rest for a while in the lab. Climbed all the way up the stairs. Maxim took a deep breath, raised his head, and then froze.

“this.”

It wasn’t his own voice.

There was a knight at the end of his gaze. Armor with familiar colors and familiar patterns. I set myself up again in my blunted consciousness. I forcibly pulled my sticky eyelids open, raising my heart rate and turning mana. Mana showing the floor was scratching the bottom of his heart roughly. Now, mana will not be able to restore the body, but Maxim knew. The fact that if I don’t turn mana right here, it’s the end.

“There was something I was looking for… .”

Benning’s knight raised his visor. Light green eyes, more like those of a beast than those of a human, radiated. His eyes were full of curiosity, looking at Maxim and Christine on his back.

“Looks like you caught a bigger fish than I thought.”

Maxim tried to retest the knight’s ability. If only I could sever that head with one shot.

‘… impossible.’

Realizing that this was impossible, Maxim gritted his teeth. The knight hadn’t shown any signs of fighting yet. He just turned his head from place to place, stroking his chin to see what was so interesting.

“Hmm, the count was right. You said there was no reason why you couldn’t find the wizard’s corpse… , I never thought the wizards would have kept it hidden like this.”

The knight muttered to himself, then grinned and raised the corners of his mouth.

“There, a member of the escort knights. Do you know who the person you are carrying on your back is?”

Maxim did not answer. I had to conserve my energy to answer that question now.

“… Did the king send someone as if he knew… If not… I wonder if the knight over there is a unique person… .”

The knight seemed to be thinking about something quietly, then asked in a smirking voice.

“Oh, isn’t your name Arsene Bern? The Count has mentioned your name quite often.”

Maxim twisted his expression. As expected, the Count was already paying attention to himself.

“Then there must be a knight who should follow you… Adelin, haven’t you met the blind knight?”

every time we met Despite Maxim’s unresponsive attitude, the knight did not stop talking.

“then… , I wonder if Adelin was hurt. Well, it seems that your skills are better than I thought.”

The character of the knight has changed. Maxim took a breath. Glancing at her, he checked Christine behind her and carefully set her down beside the stairwell. Christine was still sleeping with her eyes closed, breathing lightly. Maxim meticulously wrapped around the tattered cloak before raising his head again to face the knight.

“Look, isn’t there any reason for us to fight like this? Judging from your body, it looks like you came up from a pretty fierce fight down there. You don’t want a fight right away, do you?”

Did Emile Bordain, the Count himself, and all the people in Benning have the knack for laughing like that? Maxim thought that while looking at that fishy smile.

“Let me ask you a question.”

“As much as you like, do it.”

“Do you feel the pain now? I mean, do you feel that kind of pain that gnaws at your soul?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? pain? Are you asking that question because of the pain you feel?”

Maxim exhaled heavily and asked, and for the first time, the knight’s expression changed from a smile to something else. A look as if this person is talking nonsense right now. Seeing that frown, Maxim was relieved in a corner of his heart and grabbed the hilt.

“It’s fine if you don’t know.”

The sword was drawn out. Aaron’s sword came out smoothly without resistance. Even though he had cut countless beasts and wizards, there was no blood on the blade.

“You will regret it.”

Benning’s knight raised his lips while saying that. Before I knew it, there was a sword in that hand, but it had been smeared with a black solid liquid, as if it had cut something before reaching this place.

“Well, if you had obeyed my words obediently, that would have made the picture weird.”

Maxim was gathering strength. If you give up the first attack, you will lose. I can only write with my left hand.

“Well, start. My predecessor is-”

bang-!

“-I will yield.”

The moment I blocked it, the swordsman was shaken. Benning’s knight erased the complacent expression from his face. Arsene Bern’s sword attack was much stronger than expected. Before I tried to put both hands on the sword I was holding with one hand, the sword shook like a haze.

“!”

It wasn’t just the sword that shook. With the presence of a sudden stab in the side, the knight rotated his body and swung his sword. However, the blade could not cut anything and only cut through the air. Maxim’s footsteps pierced the knight’s breathing.

Maxim’s blade was ferocious. The blade of the sword pierced through the cracks in the armor, aiming for his life. The knight tried to block the sword attack by striking his sword, but Maxim’s sword, which was in disarray, continued to attack without lagging behind the knight’s sword. No, on the contrary, they had a slight advantage.

“this-.”

The knight stuck out his tongue at Maxim’s demonic appearance as he constantly wielded a sword while shedding blood. Where does this dying guy get his strength from? Maxim’s face shakes again. It was a strange method. It was blurry and I couldn’t catch it. It was as if the sword wind generated by the sword attack was hiding that figure.

Maxim’s presence appeared from behind this time. The knight leaned forward without a moment to think. The blade of the sword went right where the neck had been. Maxim’s piercing gaze met the knight’s gaze. The knight tried to turn his foot, but his footsteps tripped on something.

foot?

When the knight looked down in embarrassment, Maxim’s foot caught his own. The knight raised mana explosively. The overturned center maintains equilibrium with the power generated by the knight. Maxim, who was unable to completely break his balance, clicked his tongue slightly as if in dismay. Even in a tangled posture, the knight pushed the blade of the sword. An attack aimed at Maxim’s motionless right arm.

“I’ll take that arm first.”

The knight smiled in repentance, but the blade of the sword did not touch the feeling of the cut.

“… !”

Maxim’s right hand grabbed his wrist, which was moving. The knight twisted his body, but his right arm held the knight with power uncharacteristic of a broken arm. Deadlock. Maxim raised his left arm holding the sword wide as if he was feeding his bow. The sharp edge of the sword foreshadows death.

“this… .”

stab again. The condensed sword strike passed through the knight’s helmet. It was because the knight rolled on the floor, freeing his body from Maxim’s hold. The knight whose helmet had been taken off lifted his face red with humiliation and wrinkled his expression as it was.

“-bloke!”

short flagship. Maxim’s sword attack was connected from stabbing to cutting. Benning’s knight deliberately brought his body closer to the blade. Maxim’s slash was blocked, and the knight shoved his shoulder and sent Maxim flying. Maxim didn’t resist, and bounced off the wall, bleeding helplessly. The bleeding in the affected area was getting worse.

“There must be a reason the Count mentioned it that way.”

Benning’s knight held the sword with both hands. Even though Maxim staggered, he stood up. The knight’s expression contorted again as he looked at the figure standing there, almost like a corpse.

“Certainly, with such skill, it is worth getting in the way of his success. It was my mistake.”

The bright yellow eyes that looked at the knight behind the blood-stained eyelids were bloody. The knight raised his momentum to shake off the killing spree that captured him.

A guy like this should have just been dealt with right away. To be pushed this far by a guy who was so tired that he couldn’t even use his aura.

As the knight gathered mana, sparks began to rise from the root of the blade. The knight seemed to have forgotten that this was an underground dungeon. The space began to tremble little by little, centered on the knight who had an aura.

right hand.

Maxim forcibly raised his right arm. I should have pierced my throat before I could use the aura. Maxim looked at the aura rising from the knight’s sword with tired eyes. can you win I didn’t feel any despair. Maxim raised his sword and held it. The knight gritted his teeth and glared at Maxim.

It’s a pity that I didn’t ask for more information, but the Count will understand if I take that bastard’s head and that wizard and make it a colonel.

The knight hangs his sword low. The dark green light of the dungeon was added to the light emitted by the knight’s aura, and the space began to glow with a grotesque light. Maxim stared straight into the light with eyes that had not yet turned off the light. The knight spat out words as if he didn’t like Maxim’s expression as he was still trying to figure out how to beat him.

“Good. You seem to want to die slowly, so I will do as I wish.”

Maxim kicked off his seat and pushed up as if sweeping the floor with his sword. With the momentum to crush him head-on, the aura blade was thrust down. But this time, the knight’s sword could not reach Maxim. The knight clicked his tongue as he saw Maxim’s sword sticking to his own blade.

“How long-!”

bang-!

An explosion of enormous power shook the space, bouncing Maxim. Maxim slumped and shivered. I tried to get up, but my body didn’t seem to obey. The knight had been looking at it for a long time.

“no. You die slowly on the spot, and it must be fun to watch me take the woman you rescued.”

A mischievous smile appeared on his lips again. Maxim’s movements intensified even more. The knight of the Benning family kicked the body that was trying to get up while forcing itself to the ground. Maxim was blown away and landed on the wall of the pupil. The knight’s sneer shone over those eyes that continued to look at him without breaking.

“Now then, where… .”

Benning’s knight turned his head to where Maxim had laid Christine. That guy named Arsene was lonely locked up in a dungeon and died, and he successfully completed the mission given to him by the count.

And, looking back, the knight’s body stiffened.

“uh?”

does not exist.

The magician, the magician laid down by that knight named Arsene Bern, wasn’t there… .

“This worm-like bastard from Benning.”

Unlike harsh words, the voice is very thin. In an instant, Benning’s knight turned his head toward Maxim instead of where the voice came from. The expression on the face of that dying knight of the Knights Templar was not one full of despair, but a definite smile. Its mouth was speaking weakly, forming shapes.

You’re late, Christine.

Benning’s knight tried to turn around while smoking the aura again, but screamed in pain as if piercing skewered limbs. The sword fell from his hand and stuck to the floor. The knight twists his limbs in agony, unaware that the sword has fallen from his hand.

“Quaaagh!”

The pupils of the dungeon were filled with brilliant light. The knight opened his eyes in astonishment. Chains of light penetrated his wrists and ankles. One day, a magic she learned from another mage from the same order. The chain of light slowly climbed up the knight’s body and squeezed it. The knight drew mana from his body and tried to resist, but he couldn’t resist the enhanced magic of a genius wizard named Christine Watson.

“aaa!!”

The knight screamed in rage and twisted his body, but Christine twisted the chain little by little with an unchanging expression. At the same time as he felt resistance, a bone twisting sound came from the joints of his limbs.

“Quaaagh!!”

“Be quiet, you’d better die.”

Poudeudeuk, poudeudeuk.

With the sound of muscles and bones being crushed, the knight’s limbs were completely crushed to pieces. Finally, the chain strangling the neck dangled the knight in the air.

“this… bloke… !!”

kuck, kuck. Breathing out, the knight shouted in anger. Christine continued to stare at the knight with those unforgiving eyes, then twisted her hand.

Duduk.

With the sound of something breaking, the strength in the knight’s body was released. Benning’s knight died hanging in the air with his neck broken. Christine snapped her fingers again, and sparks rose from the corpse’s toes and began to consume it. Looking down at the blazing knight’s corpse, Christine clicked her tongue.

Maxim was blinking his eyes as if surprised to see that he was still alive. After processing the article, Christine shook her hands and turned her head to where Maxim was sitting. With a very displeased look on his face.

“Now who is that guy making this… .”

For some reason, Christine’s words cut off in the middle. She seemed to be searching for something to say, her eyes wide open as she looked down at the half-corpse Maxim in confusion. What was in his gaze was not the brown hair he was used to, but a dark-haired knight he had never seen before.

“… By the way, who are you?”

Maxim broke out into a small laugh.