162 – The Story of Becoming a Nightmare for Someone -8-
The rain, which seemed like it would pour all night, subsided.
The lightning that questioned Mikhail’s nightmare disappeared, and the raindrops that screamed in the awakening past nightmares closed their mouths.
The situation shifted with the arrival of a man.
The man who mocked Mikhail with sharp words, the priests of the cult who hindered Hannah’s steps, and even Mikhail, standing with a sword, all stood frozen in place due to the appearance of a man wearing a black mask.
“Hmm.”
I asked the man in front of me in a low voice.
“Aren’t you leaving?”
The voices spreading through the falling rain were not directed only at the man.
The followers of the cult confronting Hannah, Mikhail holding a sword, and even Uriah, who was treating Mikhail with protective magic.
It was a message to everyone present here.
The man in front stood stylishly with a dagger in hand. With just one stroke, he could easily cut off Mikhail’s breath.
He believed in his own skills, and I, knowing his abilities in the novel, could understand his hesitation.
The Archbishop in front possessed a power that could not be easily ignored.
He stood still with the dagger in hand.
Mikhail was the same.
With returning strength, he gripped the sword, containing an aura similar to a storm within it.
Growing impatient with the seemingly endless battle, I spoke with irritation.
“It will be troublesome if you continue like this.”
I slowly walked between them.
“You should leave work.”
I walked quietly between them like a lion eyeing its prey. I raised my guard as if ready to pounce and slowly.
I walked between the cult and Mikhail.
The cultist would not remember my presence. Neither the existence of me, nor my voice, would provide any evidence.
The mask I wore was one of the illusions of the cultist that helped blur memories.
It didn’t have a deceitful effect distorting memories. The mask I wore was simply an artifact that exerted power in the fundamental issue of perception.
The ability related to memory was black magic used by the Archbishop standing in front of me.
Well, with just this mask, I could hide my existence, so it was not lacking. Therefore, without hesitation, I spoke to the man in front of me.
Do you want to die?
“If you want to return in one piece, you should leave now.”
The man chuckled and lowered his head.
“Yeah, to stay alive, I have to go back. If not today, it seems I can’t kill that guy.”
“There are ways to not kill him.”
“He doesn’t seem like he’ll spare me.”
The man said, looking at Mikhail.
Mikhail, determined as he avoided the aura like a thorn, resembled the eye of a storm.
The man briefly stuck out his tongue as he gazed at Mikhail, who had grown like a monster.
“He’s already grown that much. Will he leave me be quietly when I see him next time?”
Facing Mikhail, who seemed ready to burst at any moment, holding the sword, I nodded with an intriguing smile.
“Indeed, that seems to be the case.”
“So, if I can’t kill him today, I’ll die….”
“Then I’ll have to die by your hand.”
The man muttered to himself, ‘So that’s why I’m going crazy,’ roughly sweeping his hair.
“Can’t we just let it go?”
“Could you not pretend to be close? It’s our first meeting.”
“…”
“Why. Do you know me?”
“…These days, the young ones have no manners.”
I replied to the man with a bright smile.
“What do you want me to do?”
Personally, I wished the relationship between the two of them would come to an end today.
The man in front of me and I seemed to have a rather unfortunate connection.
“Kid, are you a murder weapon? Why are you so good with the sword?”
“My mom, who left home, raised me. Are you jealous?”
“Ha… this bastard.”
The black magic used by the man, which was related to memory, and his helplessness in the latter part of the novel, where his power escalated to that of a top assassin, made him one of the most difficult beings.
It was a job I couldn’t even kill.
[Q. Protector of Mikhail.]
Due to the sudden appearance of the quest, I was also constrained from killing the man in front of me. The upcoming story and the rewards of the quest were significant.
Although the novel didn’t clearly depict Mikhail’s relationship with the Archbishop of Oblivion, the existence of that man was necessary for Mikhail’s growth.
A moment of silence passed.
The Archbishop and Mikhail looking at me. Feeling the rare attention, my face was warming up.
Continuing like this, I might even dream of a profession as an idol that didn’t exist in this world. With such thoughts, I slowly opened my mouth.
“Shouldn’t you go quickly?”
“Why? No matter how strong you are, I think I’ll have enough time to kill this guy and run away.”
“Would you like to try?”
“…”
I shrugged my shoulders in response to the man’s provocation.
“Go ahead. I think it would be amusing.”
If I could, I would have done it earlier.
Mikhail only fell with a fatal blow in the novel, so I wasn’t afraid. There was an excellent healer nearby, and it wouldn’t turn out like that.
The man pondered for a long time, looking down at his dagger.
“He’s a scary one.”
The man shrugged off the weight pressing on his shoulders and snorted.
“Where did this monster come from?”
“I commuted from home.”
“Right. Where is home?”
“It’s in a peaceful place.”
In response to the casual question thrown out for retaliation, I chuckled lightly and casually replied.
After a brief hesitation, the man nodded, tucked the dagger in his hand into his pocket, and turned around.
“Let’s go.”
The man’s voice, speaking softly towards the priests confronting Hanna.
“We’ll be the only losers if time runs out.”
“Good choice.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“The Royal Knights… called, right?”
“Isn’t that obvious? Because of what happened at the academy, it seems the Knight Commander really wants to see this sect.”
“Hastania…?”
I chuckled and shrugged my shoulders at the man.
The Lord of Hastania must know that communication is impossible with some people.
-Thud.
-Thud.
-Thud.
Stopping his departing steps, the man grinned slyly and said, “Still, leaving like this feels regrettable, doesn’t it?”
The man swiftly swung the sword towards Mikhail.
Mikhail, eyes wide in surprise at the bending blade, stood dazed, and Uriah, after shouting ‘Mikhail!’ in alarm, quickly erected a shield, but it was insufficient to block the man’s attack.
A sharp blade aimed at Mikhail’s chest.
“It’s over.” With the man’s exhilarating laughter and chilling voice, the question reached his ears.
“Do you want to die?”
“…Wow.”
The man looked at his missing right hand, expressing disbelief.
“He’s insane.”
The loyalists shielding the Archbishop in front of me. The sounds of flashing blades and clashing filled the man’s ears without ceasing.
I grinned slightly, wiping the blood off the sword, while the man spat a chuckle, looking at the bloodstains on his face.
“hahahaha, damn it…”
I walked slowly towards the man, dispersing an aura, while he awkwardly smiled at his fallen subordinates.
“Why won’t you listen when I tell you to go?”
“I didn’t expect it to be this much.”
Black smoke began to emanate from the man’s body.
I nodded silently, observing the man’s magic.
“Oh…”
The man’s name was ‘Yung.’
He held the title of ‘Archbishop of Oblivion’ among the priests.
In line with his position, he was a dark wizard who edited and adjusted people’s memories, an officer of the heretical sect known as the Archbishop of Oblivion.
He possessed the deceptive ability to leave people with the worst nightmares and, at the same time, the greatest joy.
It was merely about editing the memories the target had, but the impact was enormous.
Of course, he was a guy who didn’t like doing complicated things, not limited to manipulating memories about himself or his benefactor, but he was a guy who used the technique of reversing the target’s memory back to the beginning as the worst trick.
In the past, this guy had used dark magic on me, and he had also failed due to the prepared contingency plan.
The possessor always had to have an item that could protect their body, so it was a magic that could naturally be blocked.
Now, it wouldn’t be able to penetrate my resistance. There was no need to worry.
The man smiled at me.
The branches of magic extending from him slowly began to engulf everyone in the forest and started to reach out to erase his own existence.
I numbly intercepted the approaching cloud of magic.
“There seems to be a lot of fine dust.”
Amidst the smoke that emanated with a slight cough, I watched the man running away.
‘Today ends here.’
-Ding
I nodded at the faint alarm sound, signaling the end of the battle.
*
In the forest of Hamel where the man had left.
A heavy atmosphere lingered.
I began to take off my mask. The gaze of women enchanted by the sight of my sweat-drenched hair flowing gracefully.
“…doesn’t seem to fit.”
Once again, they looked at me with suspicious eyes during this dramatic moment.
I shrugged my shoulders and said,
“How did you like the masterful mad movie of the coolest butler in the world?”
Their expressions spoke volumes.
Hannah was rolling her feet as if she wanted to hug me right away, and Yuria blinked her reddened eyes while looking at me.
And Mikhail.
“Don’t act all high and mighty.”
As always, he disliked me.