Chapter: 256
Karl watched Lucy moving casually ahead.
Right now, the battle was a several-versus-one fight.
The opponents were a well-organized group of monsters.
Since they were both raiding the dungeon together, ordinarily, he should have been standing next to Lucy. But Karl didn’t do that.
Because Lucy, his master, had commanded him to watch her back.
There was no anxiety in Karl’s eyes as he observed the battle. He knew Lucy wouldn’t lose against a group of that caliber.
His expectations were not wrong.
It took less than a minute for Lucy to wipe out the monsters.
She effortlessly deflected the attack from a giant skeletal wielding a massive axe, disrupting its center of gravity.
Then, she kicked it to trip over, blocking the incoming movements of the waiting enemies.
Running over the sprawled skeletons, she took down the wizard at the back.
Seeing Lucy taking out the monsters one by one, Karl nodded.
As expected of our lady. Much better than those rookie knights who don’t know how to relax their shoulders.
Those guys could wield their weapons decently, but when it came to an actual battle, they would fumble.
But our lady is different.
She assesses the opponent’s power before charging in and adapts optimally to the variables that arise during the fight, showcasing a level of skill that could be called that of a seasoned warrior.
Who would think she is just someone with only a year of combat experience?
As Karl endlessly praised Lucy in his heart, darkness suddenly converged beneath her.
Since he was out of the battle, Karl could immediately capture the situation and instinctively tried to rush forward.
“Fool, how many times must I tell you to stay put?”
Blocking him was a voice that echoed in his head.
It was the fox that Lucy always carried around. The guardian of the forest scolded Karl.
At that condescending tone, Karl halted in his tracks.
At that moment, Lucy immediately dealt with the energy beneath her.
Concentrating her divine power at her toes, she crushed the corrupting energy. The sudden threat disappeared just like that.
“Did you really think your master would get hurt by such a trivial matter?”
“I know that, but…”
“Then why are you moving?”
“…”
“Tsk.”
With a sound as if to scold him, Karl let out an awkward smile.
He knew too. That Lucy wouldn’t face any danger here.
He had been by Lucy’s side since she first entered the dungeon.
When he supported Lucy during her knight training, when she entered the Academy Dungeon, and even when she recklessly raided the nearby dungeons, he had always been there.
Always.
Forever.
Karl knew Lucy’s abilities better than anyone. He knew that Lucy Allen was nearly omniscient when it came to the dungeon.
That’s why when Lucy said she would lead, Karl had no worries.
He knew his master wouldn’t act recklessly. She speaks frankly about what is possible and what isn’t.
So her urging him to follow because it was the most efficient choice was just her decision.
Karl was well aware of all this rationally, but his body couldn’t help but react.
When Lucy was in danger, the memories of Menestel flooded back.
The pitiful sight of him not even being able to serve as a meat shield. The dagger stopping right in front of Lucy’s face. Her pale face, trembling hands visible beneath.
Whenever he tried to sleep, Karl would re-experience that scene.
The difference from reality was that miracles didn’t exist in his dreams.
Was it because he had seen such a scene countless times? Whenever Lucy seemed to be in danger, he would instinctively move before thinking.
“You look like a foolish guy who can’t even do what he’s told. Thanks to you, I have to stay away from that fragrant and soft hair and sit on your disgusting shoulder instead.”
Snapped back to reality by the grumbling voice, Karl looked at the fox glaring at him with what felt like genuine annoyance, tightening his lips.
This dignified fox was definitely something special and an asset to Lucy.
After all, it was thanks to her that Karl had survived. How could he deny that?
Yet sometimes, when he heard what the guardian of the forest said, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was really okay to have someone like her beside his lady.
Regardless of her prowess, it was clear she was a pervert he wouldn’t want to associate with.
“Who’s the pervert? It’s a scum that uses tricks to satisfy its own desires by deceiving others.”
“Th… that’s not an excuse!”
Even though Karl knew Lucy wouldn’t issue groundless orders, he defied the command, all to dupe Luca.
He passionately asserted that no malicious intent existed there, but the fox didn’t believe him for a second.
“Oh really?”
“Yes! Absolutely!”
“When you were treated like a dog, could you swear you didn’t feel at least a bit happy?”
Karl couldn’t honestly respond to that. Excluding his time with Lucy, he was the epitome of a straight-laced knight, unable to utter a lie.
“Uh… I believe I should focus on what my lady commanded!”
So Karl hastily changed the subject.
As Lucy said, once Luca fell to the darkness, the possibility of him being engulfed by it again was significant.
So, his role was to prevent the sloppy junior from causing trouble. He wouldn’t think about anything else!
It looked obvious to anyone, but the fox simply stared at Karl in disdain, as if questioning what good it would do to push for something so evident.
While one person and one creature engaged in this conversation, Lucy took strides forward.
Although it was a route completely different from the one she had come before, neither Karl nor Luca doubted her steps.
Both knew too well that she wouldn’t get lost in the dungeon.
After roughly thirty to forty minutes had passed, a door leading outside the dungeon finally appeared.
But there was more than just a door.
Before it stood a gatekeeper guarding that door.
“Ah, it’s you again.”
A long, grayish-white sword.
An air of a warrior wafted from his movements.
A clean and serious voice that didn’t suit a skeleton.
Karl recognized that skeleton’s identity.
He wasn’t foolish enough to forget something that happened less than an hour ago.
Garad.
One of the heroes who saved the world.
One of the knights whose name Karl admired.
“What? You bony dog. You’ve given me a shield, and now you’re trying to gift me a sword too?”
“If I had my way, I would, but right now that’s impossible. Shamefully, I’m being controlled.”
“Wow, that’s really pathetic. And you still call yourself a hero?”
“But what can I do? This is the reality.”
At Garad’s gestures, Karl hastily drew his weapon.
He was not yet an opponent his lady could confront.
He was a foe they could only barely stand against if the three of them pooled their strength.
“Use all your might.”
As Garad swung his sword down from above, darkness filled everywhere except for where Lucy stood, swallowing Karl and Luca in a black haze.
Damn it. Lady!
As Karl desperately tried to escape the fog, the scenery around him shifted.
Choking on the scorching air.
Alsatine sprawled in the distance.
And Lucy, terrified, visible a few steps ahead.
A dagger launched toward her neck.
Karl, watching the horrific scene in a daze, closed his eyes.
Not because he didn’t want to see that dreadful sight he had repeatedly viewed in his dreams. He was simply sure this wasn’t reality.
Of course, it wasn’t.
His lady was one favored by the gods. She was surely a person whom the great Lord Jushin protects.
Someone like her wouldn’t end up in such a wretched state.
The absence of a miracle signified that this wasn’t real.
Don’t trust your sight.
Don’t trust your touch.
Don’t trust your smell.
Don’t trust your hearing.
For a knight, what he must believe in is only his own instinct.
His eyelids closed.
The scorching air.
The nauseating smell of the volcano mingled with the scent of blood.
The sound of a human doll collapsing to the ground.
With all of that raced past him, Karl sensed a killing intent headed somewhere.
Thus, he swung his sword according to his instincts.
Clang!
With a clang of metal against metal, the surrounding scenery transformed.
Dark-colored fog.
The struggle between past heroes and those becoming heroes beyond it.
The treacherous dagger aiming for the girl’s back.
And his own sword, blocking it.
Seeing the irrationally furious gaze of Luca, who had lost all sense, Karl grinned brightly.
As expected of my lady. You predicted all of this.
Then, what I must do is simple. I’ll teach this foolish junior the might of the Allen family as my lady instructed.
“Buy some time! I’ll make him come to his senses!”
While a few sword strikes exchanged, the fox’s voice rang out, but Karl refused that suggestion.
“There’s no need for that. We have our own way of doing things.”
“Our own?”
“Yes. The knights of the Allen family, when someone loses their senses, beat them until they return to reality. It’s their fault for having such a weak mind.”
Karl was thinking again of following the tradition of the Allen family. Just to show his inexperienced junior the senior’s might.
Hearing that, the fox sighed as if in disbelief and jumped off Karl’s shoulder.
“Do as you please.”
“Yes!”
Alright! Sloppy junior! I’ll let you feel the glorious tradition of the Allen family!
It’ll be a glorious experience, so be grateful!
*
From beyond the fog came the sound of metal clashing.
As I anticipated, Luca was swallowed by darkness, and Karl blocked him.
I didn’t know how the situation was progressing, but if it’s Karl, he would be able to hold on until the sloppy fox helped him regain his senses.
“Got time to look elsewhere?”
A sword lunging toward my shoulder. I deflected it with my shield.
In a regular scenario, openings should’ve appeared. But not now.
The skeleton wouldn’t allow such gaps.
Before I could even try to attack, the creature had already retracted its weapon, threatening me again.
Attack, attack, and attack.
An involuntary complaint slipped out about it moving as it pleased, but I didn’t attempt an attack.
Charging in recklessly would surely turn me into a target among numerous blade paths.
“Where did that previous confidence go? Hiding behind a shield, not knowing when to come out, you’re starting to sound like a bug hiding in the shadows.”
While the skeleton relentlessly continued its attacks, it taunted me.
What a deranged skeleton.
It must have tucked away the words I hurled at it during the trial.
A hero with such a narrow mind?
If a girl plays around, you should graciously let it slide.
But this one really couldn’t taunt to save its life.
Maybe its style is grounded in chivalry?
“Puhaha!♡ Picking on a little girl and giggling over it!♡ So the hero’s preference is like that!♡ No wonder!♡ They say the more polished a person appears on the outside, the weirder they are on the inside, and it’s true!♡”
“I wouldn’t fall for such tricks…”
“But it’s a bit interesting!♡ How can a skeleton with nothing be a pervert?♡ Ah!♡ It must be soothing its emptiness by unleashing its desires!♡ How pathetic~♡ Even if you chatter, your void will only grow larger!~♡”
“…”
“Hey♡ hey♡ may I ask something?♡ Doesn’t it bring guilt to pretend to attack while satisfying your own desires due to an evil god?♡ Huh?♡”
The skeleton, with its mouth shut, swung its sword once more.
That sword surely held more power than before.
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