Since the Empress was the one who ordered him to become an Imperial Knight in the first place, she should be the one responsible for smoothing over the current situation and solidifying the cooperation with the Temple.
Perhaps, with the power of prophecy she was said to have possessed during her time as the Saintess, she might have seen this coming.
Zavad swung his sword at the man standing before him with a sneer.
Clang!
As the silver blades of the two leaders collided, making a brutal sound, various metals began to fill the wide corridor with sharp, crashing noises.
Spears and swords clashed, cutting skin and spilling blood.
Both groups radiated fierce bloodlust toward each other, seemingly with no intention of lowering their weapons until one side was destroyed.
And naturally, the end of one of these groups would begin with the loss of its leader.
Every time Zavad swung his arm, the trajectory of his sword was cut short by the silver blade blocking it.
Every time Baha twisted his wrist, a dark and solid momentum, like a shadow, pushed its way in.
In terms of physique, Zavad held the advantage, and the power radiating from his entire body was immense.
However, Baha was a person who could no longer feel pain or fatigue due to a body saturated with drugs.
Even if his muscles tore or his bones twisted, he didn’t slow down at all.
Zavad felt as if he were fighting a giant snake monster rather than a human.
Baha used his limbs beyond their normal range of motion as if he had no bones.
He even occasionally dislocated his shoulders to swing his arm and forcibly extend the reach of his sword.
Every time Zavad was slow to respond to the range that shifted erratically, nicks and cuts began to appear on his collar.
“You jumped in so confidently… it’s a bit disappointing if this is all you’ve got.”
“…….”
Baha let out a chuckle and stuck his tongue out to lick his lips.
His skin, coated in drugs, tasted bitter. His mouth, dry from the side effects of the medication, produced little saliva and was always peeling.
At first, the drugs provided endlessly by the Nameless were like his reinforcements.
But now, he didn’t know when his heart might stop from shock without them, so he had to inject more than the required dose every day.
Without the medicine Simon delivered, he couldn’t even move a single finger properly.
His body was no different from a living corpse.
‘This body will soon be completely broken and won’t even move with drugs. It doesn’t matter. A life that could end at any time—isn’t it enough to just enjoy it while I’m alive?’
He always lived chasing fleeting pleasures.
There were many times when everything felt dull, but after discovering Ranshel, he learned to enjoy even the boring moments.
Isn’t there beauty in waiting?
How thrilling would it be to play with him until the very end and then cut off his final breath with his own hands?
‘To do that, I’ll have to remove the nuisance.’
If he finished off Ranshel’s target here, wouldn’t Ranshel, having lost his goal, target him again?
Baha grinned and twisted his arm backward to thrust his blade into Zavad’s thigh.
He avoided a fatal blow by reflexively parrying Baha’s arm with the back of his sword, but a fairly deep wound was left on his thigh.
Blood dripped steadily onto the floor—drip, drip.
While not a life-threatening injury, it restricted his movement.
He would no longer be able to evade attacks with quick footwork.
A snickering laugh escaped Baha’s lips.
The sound, which had briefly been as bright as a child’s, gradually turned into a screeching noise like that of a vengeful ghost.
“What are you going to do now? Hmm? Want to leave a parting message?”
“…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to deliver it.”
‘To Ranshel.’
The moment he added that with a mocking voice—
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing rang out again, but this time it wasn’t from the contact of two blades.
It was the friction caused by Zavad plunging the sword he held into the hard marble floor.
His hand slowly let go of the hilt.
For a knight, letting go of a sword was as good as admitting defeat. A look of disappointment appeared on Baha’s face.
‘Is this all he is?’
For someone who started with such momentum, it was a pathetic ending.
Baha exhaled and readjusted his grip on his blood-slicked sword.
Since there was no more fun to be had, he just needed to end Zavad’s life.
However, instead of lowering his empty hands after plunging the sword, Zavad slowly moved them behind his back.
On his back, a massive greatsword—shaped like a shield—was fastened to a scabbard held by a leather strap across his chest.
It was a unique greatsword, slightly shorter than his height, but broad enough that the blade covered his entire back.
Baha knew Zavad was carrying something on his back, but judging by its shape, he assumed it was a shield and didn’t pay much attention.
A sword that large was bound to be slow because of its weight.
Zavad would likely be cut in half before he could even finish a single swing.
But Zavad didn’t hold the greatsword to block like a shield.
Instead, he gripped it with both hands and lifted it so the blade was centered in front of his body.
‘Does he still intend to try something?’
Laughter leaked from Baha’s mouth again.
“If you’re going to carry something that bulky and ignorant, why not just be a shield-bearer?”
“I’d use it as armor if necessary, but well. I don’t see any opponent here threatening enough for that.”
“…I like your pride, but shouldn’t you admit reality? What’s going to change just because you switched weapons?”
At that moment, a strange smile touched Zavad’s lips.
Baha looked at his utterly calm face and scoffed, tilting his head from side to side.
But suddenly, Baha felt something was wrong.
Wasn’t the voice talking to him far too peaceful?
There wasn’t a single tremor in the two forearms holding that massive greatsword, and even though Zavad was standing on a wounded thigh, he was as stable as someone who didn’t feel the weight.
Baha’s face gradually hardened.
If Baha’s movements, which manipulated his bones at will, were like a snake, Zavad was like a giant stone mountain.
An overwhelming pressure that felt as if, no matter how much a snake coiled and squeezed, Zavad would simply crush the snake’s entire body instead of suffocating.
“…The Archbishop gave you the role of the gatekeeper for the hall. That means you are his greatest military force.”
Zavad’s breathing was not disturbed at all.
It was as if he hadn’t been using his full strength when dealing with him before.
“Therefore… if I can fully understand you, I can gauge the skill of all the soldiers under the Archbishop.”
“…”
“With a normal sword, even the members of the Imperial Knights cannot surpass you. I will at least admit that.”
‘But I, who stand at the top of them, will not be surpassed.’
After murmuring that, Zavad shifted his weight to his uninjured foot and readjusted his grip, his strength so great that the hilt creaked.
His muscles expanded, veins bulged beneath his skin, and a terrifying aura began to boil from his entire body.
‘…That’s dangerous.’
Baha judged immediately.
His body, tempered by long training and real combat, screamed a warning before his reason could.
‘I must pierce the heart that moves that body and end his breath right now.’
Baha gripped his sword as instinct dictated.
He intended to twist his shoulder bones as before to dodge Zavad’s blade and aim for the inner vitals.
The silver arc of his strike was as sharp as ever.
However, despite appearing blunt, Zavad’s greatsword sliced through the air with ferocious speed.
In that short moment, Baha gave up on evading and chose to clash.
Again, the two blades struck each other violently.
Cr-crack!
