Chapter 4
Every one of his senses screamed at him to be wary of this suspiciously powerful presence, but he paid them no mind. Instead, he gritted his teeth and pressed on even more stubbornly toward its source. If the Pope’s flesh had already rotted away, killed by another’s hand, then it was only fair that he be the one to sweep away the bastard’s legacy—his holy power, his very soul—with his own hands.
And finally.
Crash— boom! With a tremendous sound, the final door was blasted off its hinges. Dust, accumulated in the stifling underground, billowed up in a cloud.
As the dust settled, revealing the source of the intense energy…
The resolute vow of a knight vanished in an instant, like a bursting bubble.
“…Je…ina…?”
The stunned murmur echoed in the now-silent cavern.
At the man’s muffled voice, the woman raised her head. Simultaneously, the raging aura that had been shaking the very foundations of the underground snuffed out as if it had been strangled.
The woman’s form, vividly clear even in the darkness.
Without his even realizing it, the sword that was his lifeblood clattered to the ground. His eyes, filled with utter confusion, shook uncontrollably.
At the same time, a halo of light shimmered around the woman, then unfolded like magic into a spectrum of natural colors. Her appearance was so stunning it could make even the knights, who had been tensely raising their guards against the changed atmosphere, lose their senses.
“Magic…?”
For them, magic was something that existed only in history books.
The knights, looking around in a daze, finally noticed the woman and their captain, who was staring at her, utterly transfixed.
And that woman was…
“A witch! It’s a witch! Captain, it’s dangerous! Get back!”
“Captain!”
A witch. Beings known to enchant people, leading them inevitably to their deaths…
“Hey, that’s ancient history! Are you guys reciting lines from some old history book? Get with the times. You big, dumb brutes are all the same.”
Well, opinions were certainly divided.
“…Don’t tell me you’re already enchanted? This bastard’s eyes have gone completely blank! He was always useless around a pretty face… Dilton, you crazy bastard! If you can hear my voice, answer me—!”
“Ah, would you let it go? So what, are you saying the Captain is also enchanted by a witch? You’re fine, so the Captain, the strongest among us, is under a spell? Even the Captain, who’s a Sword Master?”
“The Captain was at the very front, wasn’t he!”
“And since when have you ever seen the Captain even glance at a woman?”
“Well…? But she has black hair, right? Black eyes… and her face is really… hmm, hmm…”
Knight Jerad’s face, who had been trying to shed his uncouth image, instantly turned bright red. The woman was wearing shabby clothes, little better than rags, but she was beautiful from every angle. She looked just like a fairy from the myths he’d read as a child… Jerad, startled, quickly averted his gaze.
Dilton snorted, watching Jerad. But he, too, with the tips of his ears turning red, kept sneaking glances at the woman.
“…But it’s true, I’ve never seen the Captain act like this either… I don’t know, man. I guess even the rock-solid Captain sees a beauty. Let’s just shut up and wait for the next order until it comes down.”
Their gazes simultaneously turned and froze on Ronius, who was standing rigidly.
Ronius took a step forward, awkwardly, like a child taking its first steps.
Whatever his subordinates were chattering about behind him, it didn’t reach his ears. Only the frantic pounding of his own heart was beating wildly inside them.
In the light, her form became even more distinct.
To his knowledge, there was only one person with such a deep, radiant black hue. Mysterious, pitch-black hair cascaded down in waves, and her night-sky eyes shone innocently.
Was this an illusion enchanting him? Even if it was an illusion, he didn’t want to lose it. He couldn’t lose it. His hesitant steps unconsciously quickened.
Could she not see him clearly from over there? Her black eyes quietly rolled, searching for the source of the sound.
The closer he got to her, the more a powerful magical force violently pushed him back, his red cloak fluttering and whipping in the air.
Creak— Clank, clatter, clang— His iron armor, which never budged against most attacks, was shattering and falling away from his body piece by piece. The defenses that had sustained him were gone, but even so, Ronius desperately endured the gale-like force.
“Captain!”
“Ugh, heuk…!”
The knights tried to follow their superior, but even an elite unit was mere paper dolls tossed in the wind before the vast, unfurled magical power. Merely standing their ground was a struggle, let alone approaching.
An increasingly intense wave of energy pulsed around the woman…
Now, even his uniform was losing its function as clothing.
The impeccably tailored uniform of the Imperial Knight Captain, which once clung to his sturdy frame, was now in tatters, unrecognizable. Only shreds of fabric barely clung to his broad chest.
Soon, even those remnants were ripped away.
But he paid no mind to his gradually exposed body or his rigid, straining muscles.
Instead, he pushed forward, channeling Aura throughout his entire being. His thighs, tempered through a lifetime of training, trembled violently.
“Ugh…”
And finally, as Ronius reached the final boundary…
A sharp light flashed, and a storm swept through the cavern.
The tremendous force that shook the entire underground sent every single knight who had been holding formation behind him sprawling flat on the ground.
“Cough, cough! Ah… damn, is everyone… okay?”
Dilton coughed out as he pushed himself up. The other knights gradually regained their senses, one by one.
The power that had violently shaken the cavern had, at some point, subsided.
“Cough… All clear here!”
“Riot! The rear?”
“Rear is all clear, Vice-Captain!”
“Then…”
Once they had finally gathered their wits and bodies and looked up…
“…!”
“Huh? Wha—what?!”
“Eeek!”
Gasps escaped them involuntarily.
“Hey… th-th-that… I mean…”
Jerad’s jaw hung slack with a dumbfounded expression as he rubbed his eyes fiercely with his iron-hard hands.
“What’s wrong? Let me see too… Gasp…!”
Unable to contain his curiosity, Riot, who had peeked his head through the ranks, reacted no differently. Like Jerad, he rubbed his eyes mercilessly, doubting what he was seeing.
They were faced with the starkly exposed form of their superior. The sight of Ronius, now completely and utterly naked, left them all in stunned disbelief.
And there, right in front of their captain’s fully exposed… vital areas… was the woman, her eyes gleaming mischievously.
In the bizarre and tense atmosphere, the burly men were at a complete loss, their faces flushing red.
And then, the woman suddenly raised her hand…
“Uh, uh…!”
Without any warning whatsoever…
In the blink of an eye…
“Wai…!”
“I’ve finally found you!”
She exclaimed brightly…
“Huuhk!”
…and grabbed the Captain’s precious family jewels.
“Gasp! Captain!”
“Uuugh…”
Dilton’s body trembled as if he could feel the pain just by watching.
“Hah…! Th-That… what… what do we do?”
Just moments ago, they thought nothing could be more mortifying, even if they staked their entire knightly careers on it…
But now, the knights’ jaws hung open, slack to a degree incomparable to before.
A national war hero…
The iron-blooded knight, Ronius Calreo de Xtion…
The Captain who never faltered on any battlefield… the eternal idol of all knights, our Captain…
“Aaawk!”
A thick, muscular b*****k clenched tightly upwards, accompanied by a pained and agonized groan.
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