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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Lord Fourth
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Clang!
‘Hmm…’
Benedict was perplexed. He had intended to subdue the Saintess quickly, but he had been fighting her for several minutes.
He was holding back, afraid of injuring her too severely. He had to subdue her without causing lasting damage, but it was proving to be more difficult than he had anticipated.
Benedict’s lifelong training as an assassin was useless against her. Poison, curses, projectiles… the Saintess simply winced, then healed herself instantly with divine magic.
He had no choice but to subdue her with his sword. But…
Clang!
Steel clashed against steel. The sword aura Benedict generated couldn’t penetrate Ophelia’s golden sword; it simply bounced off.
‘Why?’
Benedict frowned. He had a hunch. The Saintess’s sword, created from divine power, was equal in strength to his sword aura.
And the Saintess, empowered by her Mark, easily surpassed his meager sword aura.
But what he couldn’t understand was how she was wielding the sword so skillfully. It wasn’t just basic swordsmanship; she was fighting like a trained knight.
“Are you scared, you wimp?”
“….”
“A grown man intimidated by a woman?”
Ophelia raised her middle finger. It was a petty taunt, but Benedict scowled. He, the leader of the Shadows of God, was unable to defeat a mere Saintess in a one-on-one fight.
It was humiliating.
He had intended to capture her without causing too much harm, but the Saintess was stronger than he had expected.
“This isn’t working.”
Benedict crouched down and pulled two daggers from beneath his cloak. The Pope had given him permission to break a few limbs if necessary.
Capturing the Saintess was the priority.
“Please understand.”
Benedict lunged, seemingly vanishing from Ophelia’s sight.
“Ugh!”
Thud!
One of the daggers struck her barrier, and Ophelia stumbled, but she quickly regained her balance and swung her sword.
Benedict’s other dagger deflected her attack.
Thud!
Another impact on her barrier, and Ophelia lost her balance, falling to the ground. Benedict seized the opportunity.
He tore through her barrier with one dagger, its blade imbued with sword aura, and plunged the other into her thigh.
Thud.
Ophelia didn’t even scream. Benedict twisted the dagger, severing muscle, bone, and nerves. Even the Saintess’s divine magic would take time to heal such a severe injury.
“It’s time to give up.”
Benedict, breathing heavily, sheathed his daggers. The sword Ophelia had summoned dissipated, her concentration broken by the pain.
“You are an asset of the Holy City. You must obey His Holiness. So…”
“Fuck off.”
Ophelia glared at Benedict, her face contorted in pain.
“I am my own person. I decide what I do.”
“….”
“So… you should worry about yourself. Doesn’t the back of your head feel… itchy?”
Benedict tilted his head, confused, then his instincts, honed over years of being an assassin, kicked in.
He ducked, and an arrow whizzed past where his head had been.
“This is…”
The arrow had come from the annex. A green-haired elven woman was watching him from the second-floor balcony. The Shadows of God were the Pope’s intelligence agency.
They knew the powerful figures of the continent better than anyone. Benedict recognized her.
“Erwin, master archer of Binheim? Why…?”
Erwin, a chieftain of the Great Forest, had no reason to be hostile towards him.
No, that wasn’t true. He had just stabbed the Saintess. It would look like he was trying to harm her.
But before Benedict could explain, a fireball struck him.
Boom!
Black smoke filled the air. Benedict, unable to dodge, was sent rolling across the ground, covered in soot.
“Cough! What the…?”
As Benedict coughed and sputtered, a mage appeared before him.
“Emily… Vallière…?”
Why was the future Archmage here? As he struggled to understand, a knight emerged from the smoke. The same knight he had fought a few days ago.
“…You…”
“Nice to see you again, bastard.”
Elliot, the heretic, stood there, sword drawn.
He lowered one shoulder, holding the sword at an angle, just like the Saintess had moments ago.
The Imperial Knights, as befitting a national organization, handled various incidents within the Imperial Capital, especially those beyond the capabilities of the city guard.
The commotion in the annex of the Grand Conference Hall was such an incident.
A disturbance in the quarters of the Holy City’s delegation, just three hours before the Continental Alliance meeting, was a serious matter, possibly involving the Demon King’s army.
The Imperial Knights, fully armed, rushed to the annex… and…
“Captain…?”
One of the knights in the lead said, dumbfounded.
Standing at the entrance of the annex was Alberich, the Sword Saint, the captain of the Imperial Knights.
“What are you doing here, Captain?”
The captain wasn’t supposed to be involved in such matters. He was a Mark bearer and was scheduled to attend the meeting.
The knight approached Alberich cautiously, but Alberich waved him off.
“Return to your posts. This isn’t something the Imperial Knights should be involved in.”
“But we received a report. We should at least assess the situation…”
“I’ve taken care of it.”
“Taken care of it? What…”
The knight frowned, then his eyes widened when he saw the person emerging from behind Alberich.
“O-Owen?”
Owen, the attack dog of the Intelligence, was standing beside Alberich.
“This is an Intelligence matter. The Imperial Knights have no business here. Return to your posts.”
“….”
Even the Imperial Knights couldn’t defy the orders of their captain and the top agent of the Intelligence.
The knight reluctantly turned to leave, but he glanced back at the annex, still hearing the sounds of destruction from inside.
“If you say so, Captain, we’ll return to our posts. But… what exactly is happening inside?”
“Well…”
Alberich hesitated, then chuckled awkwardly.
“Just… catching up with old friends.”
“….”
“Really.”
Of course, no one believed him.
“Ugh!”
Benedict, as expected of an assassin, dodged Erwin’s arrows and Emily’s magic with acrobatic agility.
But I didn’t wait for him to land.
I charged forward and swung my sword.
Clang!
A single clash. But my sword aura was far more powerful. And Benedict was off balance.
His dagger shattered, and my sword cut deep into his side. Benedict’s face contorted in pain and anger.
“You… you coward! Three against one?!”
“Look who’s talking.”
I was dumbfounded. Had he forgotten that he and six others had attacked us with poison and curses just two days ago? I wasn’t going to fight fair.
“This ends now.”
I hadn’t intended to kill anyone. I just wanted to rescue Ophelia and beat up the Pope. Having casualties would only complicate things and burden Alberich and the others who were helping me.
But I had to kill this bastard. He had stabbed Ophelia in the thigh.
“….”
I had to admit, I was furious.
“You bastard… how dare you touch her…”
I channeled all my mana into the holy sword, and its golden glow intensified. Benedict was the first to notice.
“…Wait! I surrender! Please!”
“Too late.”
Benedict tried to back away, his face pale, but Erwin’s arrow was already flying towards him.
His escape route blocked, Benedict leaped upward, but Emily’s magic slammed into him. I slowly approached him and grabbed him by the throat.
Terror filled Benedict’s eyes. I plunged the holy sword into his heart.
“….”
A human shish kebab.
“…Ugh.”
Ophelia gasped, and Emily, who had been raising her staff, flinched as well. Benedict, his heart pierced, died without a sound.
“….”
I pulled out the holy sword, and blood dripped from the blade.
I had done it.
But how was I going to clean up this mess? I had killed a man. In broad daylight, in the Imperial Capital.
“….”
I didn’t know. The Hero’s Mark would figure it out. I sheathed the holy sword and turned around.
I grinned at Ophelia, who was staring at me, dumbfounded.
“Long time no see, Ophelia. Did you miss me?”
“U-uh…”
Her face crumpled, and tears welled up in her eyes.
“What’s wrong? Are you crying again?”
“Shut… up…”
She tried to wipe her tears with her sleeve, but they kept flowing.
I knelt beside her, intending to heal her thigh, but she threw her arms around my neck and clung to me, sobbing.
“Y-you… idiot… bastard… you piece of trash…”
Her voice was choked with tears. Her small fists pounded weakly against my chest.
I let her cry, holding her close.
“I told you I’d be fine.”
“I don’t care! I don’t…”
“It’s alright now.”
I stroked her hair, and she buried her face in my chest, soaking my shirt with tears.
“You’re such a crybaby.”
“I told you to shut up…”
Emily, standing nearby, had covered her eyes, her face crimson.
It was rather amusing.
After a while, Ophelia’s sobs subsided, and she pulled away. And I couldn’t resist saying,
“Ophelia.”
“What.”
“Why are your robes inside out?”
“…Huh?”
“I can… see everything.”
“….”
Slap.
A dry, crisp sound filled the air.
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Hi Lord Fourth here!
I’m still new to translating as this is my second novel to pick up, so if you find some mistakes or inconsistencies let me know about it on the dedicated channel on discord.
yay dubs
Lol the ending of this chapter