Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 258

“I finally found you.”Lexion’s voice echoed hoarsely in the pitch-black cave.

Even though he must have heard it clearly, the owner of this huge lair did not even raise his head and remained silently immersed in meditation.

Lexion, who had been staring at him quietly, slowly started walking.

.

The sound of footsteps, not deliberately hidden, penetrated the darkness.

As if he would not tolerate even a single ray of light, Nikephoros had been building his lair deep underground since ancient times.

It seemed that his bad taste had not changed over the years.

“Hey, can’t you hear me?”

Lexion snapped.

But the back figure buried in the darkness still didn’t move at all.

He took on the familiar appearance of an elf.

That was also one of the things that had not changed since the old days.

He was someone who didn’t like humans since the past, so, he decided to polymorph into an elf.

But Lexion always thought that it wasn’t a very good look.

He sat cross-legged in the middle of the hallway, his hair scattered in all directions like fine silk.

His blond hair, much finer than that of ordinary elves, sparkled as if it had not yet been able to shake off the light from outside.

It was too much light for him who revered darkness.

As he thought about it, he suddenly became irritated.

“Answer me, Nikephoros!”

Lexion snapped with annoyance.

Only when his name was called did the figure flinch.

Only after a moment of silence did the answer come.

“I don’t understand why you’re so impatient. Isn’t it too shameless to expect to be treated as a guest when you just barged in without permission?”

It was a neutral, beautiful voice.

Lexion burst into laughter.

“Do I look like I want to be treated as a guest right now?”

“Whether you like it or not, your current behavior makes me think that’s the only way.”

Finally, Nikephoros turned his head slightly and looked at him.

His gloomy green eyes looked particularly out of place against his pale, almost white skin.

The lips that held a beautiful smile moved naturally with an artificially created goodwill.

“It’s been a while since we last met, so should I treat you to some tea, Lexi?”

“Don’t call me that. It makes me want to kill you right now.”

Lexion growled ferociously.

Nikephoros let out a short sigh and slowly got up.

“That’s too much. You don’t seem to be very happy to see your own kind after such a long time? You came all the way here to see me, but you’re really rude.”

His long, flowing hair swayed with his movements.

Nikephoros, who had been moving leisurely, finally came face to face with Lexion.

“Or maybe you have some other business?”

Lexion coldly retorted to the light question.

“I wonder why you keep making a fuss about something that’s already over.”

“What’s over?”

Nikephoros tilted his head as he followed his words.

“You tell an interesting story, Lexion. My work has never stopped.”

“What?”

Nikephoros’ eyes, with their green pupils, curved like crescent moons.

Nikephoros continued speaking leisurely, a bright smile on his lips.

“While I am still alive and He exists as darkness… our sacred struggle has never ended.”

“So, you’re going to keep doing this until your body rots and falls apart at the end of this long life?”

On the contrary, Lexion’s face was distorted miserably, unable to hide his discomfort.

“So that’s what you did to Belatian? To be mocked by humans even after death?”

Nikephoros smiled brightly and spread his arms wide.

“It was what Belatian wanted. Truly an honorable life.”

“Honor? Don’t make me laugh. It’s just a terrible curse.”

The blood-soaked, bright red eyes captured Nikephoros’ appearance.

The golden dragon hummed happily as he looked at himself reflected in those eyes.

“If it is a curse, then I must accept it sweetly. It is my fate.”

“…”

He was already in a state of incoherence.

Lexion’s eyes turned cold.

“…You’re not in your right mind. You were like this before, but it’s gotten worse since I last saw you.”

“You’ve lost your cuteness, unlike when you hung out with that rookie hero.”

Nikephoros, who rested his chin on his hand, wiped the smile from his face and tilted his head to the other side.

“Have you been abandoned by any chance?”

“Abandoned? If I was abandoned, I would have done the abandoning. I hate being clingy like you.”

A dry laugh broke out.

Nikephoros, whose face had become expressionless, stared at Lexion.

Lexion also glared at him quietly without avoiding eye contact.

After a long period of cold silence in the pitch-black darkness, Nikephoros finally opened his mouth.

“…You smell like human.”

It was a somewhat random remark.

Of course, there was no answer in return.

But Nikephoros paid no attention and continued speaking slowly.

“Now that I think about it, our cute kid was talking to me a while ago. It seems like there’s a really interesting kid around you.”

.

Lexion’s eyebrows furrowed.

That small reaction brought a smile to Nikephoros’ lips again.

“My child must have been really high on medicine because she woke up from a short nap and started telling me everything in detail.”

“…”

“I wanted to give him a hard time somehow, so I hinted a bit. What do you think? The surprise attack failed because you found it first.”

Nikephoros, who was touching the corner of his mouth, let out a small laugh.

“It may be a bit too much of a grave for a child with a bad temper, but there’s nothing we can do about it. We have to give the next great hero a death he deserves. That is also the will of our saint.”

The green eyes, filled with ridicule, narrowed into narrow slits.

Lexion, who had been staring at him silently, spoke again after a long time.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it won’t be that easy.”

Nikephoros tilted his head as if he didn’t understand what he was saying.

“Hmm?”

“You’d better be too soft, Nikephoros. I can guess what you were hoping for when you suggested unleashing those disgusting things in the wilderness…”

A cold voice came from Lexion, who was laughing.

“Neither the next great hero nor the crazy kid next to him seemed to be in their right minds.”

That ill-tempered child was a madman who breathed blasphemies as if he had been touched by God.

Besides, the next great hero was someone who could handle that crazy guy completely.

Nikephoros still did not know their true identities.

“…”

Nikephoros furrowed his brow, wondering what he had read into Lexion’s laughter.

Lexion burst into laughter at the sight.

“There is no one as naive as Khan. Your shady tricks will not work. This is advice from my experience.”

Behind-the-scenes tricks just wouldn’t work.

It was only recently that he realized it for himself.

“…”

Now Nikephoros was looking at him with a face that was almost expressionless.

In the green eyes immersed in darkness, only a sense of eeriness lingered.

The joy that had been present until just a moment ago had been completely erased, as if it had been a lie.

“Then…”

Nikephoros spoke without emotion.

“I guess I can just check it out with my own eyes. If they’re too much of a bother, I can just tear them apart and kill them.”

“I’m sorry, but that won’t work. I’ve already called dibs on that rude little brat.”

Lexion curled his lips into a twisted smile.

“I will tear him to pieces with my own hands. I cannot let a crazy old man like you take him away from me.”

A murderous magical power began to rise from beneath Lexion’s feet.

The next moment, Lexion roared loudly and swung his long, outstretched claws ferociously.

But they were blocked by Nikephoros’ splendid golden magic.

!

A heavy rumble shook the cave as if it were going to collapse.

When Arendt, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped walking, Richt and Arthur, who were following behind, also stopped walking.

“Why did you stop? …Ah.”

As Richt approached Arendt, he could see why he had suddenly stopped.

The scale hanging from the end of the leather strap was rapidly losing its luster.

Soon, the black scale that had shone like a finely cut jewel lost its luster, and even the tip that had been pointing in the direction began to crumble.

“I think he’s nearby.”

“I see.”

As Arendt spoke briefly, Richt nodded to Arthur.

Arthur met his senior’s eyes and wordlessly drew his sword.

Richt also drew his sword and prepared for an attack that could strike at any moment.

Arendt, having confirmed that his seniors were ready, began to walk forward slowly.

The more steps he took, the faster the scale crumbled.

Seeing it crumble to dust didn’t seem like a very good sign.

‘I recall that he said that it disappears after one use.’

.

The scale that had barely maintained its shape suddenly turned into dust and scattered into the air.

The remaining leather strap swayed in the dry wind blowing from the wilderness.

His steps naturally stopped.

“…”

He felt an enormous presence from the front.

The distinctive smell of an animal carried by the wind alerted him that something was there.

Arendt raised his head and looked straight ahead, and for a moment, was at a loss for words.

“…”

It was definitely a place where there was nothing just a moment ago.

An animal that appeared at some point, lying on its belly within arm’s reach, was quietly watching Arendt.

The black-furred beast was so large that even when lying down, it was about the same height as Arendt.

With its thick forelegs and hind legs, long tail, and pointed ears, it looked at first glance, like an impossibly large dog.

But he could instinctively tell that the being was not just some big beast.

The tips of his high-set ears were slightly rotten, and his eyes, directed at Arendt, were cloudy, like those of a corpse.

With each inhale and exhale, an old, foul smell came out of the giant dog’s body.

And more than anything, the ominous magical power felt from him gave off a similar sense of intimidation as when Lexion turned the dormitory upside down.

Arendt stood there blankly for a moment, then regained his composure and asked indifferently.

“…Are you Stellar?”

“…”

The black dog blinked and sighed slowly.

A black magical energy rose up and instantly enveloped the giant beast.

As the magical energy that had been drifting around the spot like smoke disappeared with the wind, a young man dressed entirely in black lightly landed on the ground, as if replacing the large dog.

“Apologies. This form is best suited for restraining them.”

The calmly speaking Stellar didn’t look much different from when they first met.

The stench that had been stinging his nose had also completely disappeared.

Before Arendt could say anything else, Stellar blurted out:

“There are two of them. They are strong. Be careful.”

“What?”

“I would like to stay here and help, but I am sorry. I must go to the master now.”

Stellar, who spoke quickly, seemed somewhat anxious.

Arendt’s face hardened.

“Did something happen to Lexion?”

“Possibly.”

Stellar nodded.

Arendt had an intuition.

Before long, the knights who had scattered in all directions were now looking this way, drawn by Stellar’s sudden presence.

Some who saw Arthur and Richt draw their swords had already entered a battle stance.

Arendt turned to Laius.

Laius met the eyes of the apprentice knight and nodded silently.

Only after confirming it did Arendt turn back to Stellar.

“Go ahead.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

After saying just one short sentence, Stellar suddenly disappeared.

An eerie silence fell, like a moment of tense silence on stage before moving on to the next scene.

With movements that showed no sense of urgency, Arendt drew his sword.

“I mean, nothing we need to do changed.”

The laid-back voice was a bonus.

From the moment Stellar disappeared, an unidentified magical power began to cling to the dry air and float around.

The knights who sensed the coming of war tightened their grip on their swords.

Almost simultaneously, a giant summoning circle appeared on the dusty ground, emitting a dazzling light.