The aura radiating from Ghislain lost its red hue, growing ever darker and deeper.
"A lunatic who's lost even the enlightenment he once achieved—how can you call that a superhuman?"
This was the flaw that the Salvation Church had overlooked. They believed that when Melkir unleashed his power, he would become overwhelmingly strong.
However, a superhuman is one who establishes their own unique world within their mind and manifests it. Melkir, having lost his reason and his world, could no longer be considered a superhuman.
"Losing your skills, your enlightenment, and your will, and simply wielding bloated, chaotic mana? That only makes you weaker."
For an ordinary knight, such physical enhancement might have been useful. After all, it would increase their physical abilities severalfold.
But not for a superhuman. A superhuman is one who commands time and space through their principles. Without that ability, they cannot stand against another superhuman.
Melkir could not even wield an Aura Blade anymore. The so-called Crusader transformation merely granted immense raw strength.
"Your experiment was a failure. Not that you'd know, but it failed in my previous life too."
The transformation guaranteed death as its outcome, leaving no room for further experimentation. Even the priests of the Salvation Church hadn't realized this truth.
"Graaaaaah!"
Melkir didn't understand Ghislain's words. He only roared, fixated on destroying the target in front of him.
Ghislain's fist smashed into Melkir's face once again.
Boom!
Melkir tried to endure, but Ghislain didn't stop. Over and over, he pounded Melkir's face and body.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Crack!
Eventually, one side of Melkir's face caved in. Even his body, reinforced by the black energy, began to crumble under Ghislain's superior strength.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Melkir's arms broke, his legs twisted unnaturally. He was no longer capable of counterattacking.
Even falling was not something Ghislain allowed. His fists relentlessly battered Melkir's body at incredible speed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The black energy sustaining Melkir's body scattered and dissipated with each blow. It could not withstand the force of Ghislain's strikes.
Crack.
Ghislain pulled his fist back, and an intense aura gathered around it. In the brief moment of respite, Melkir staggered and began to collapse.
But before he could fully fall, Ghislain's fist came crashing down on his face like a lightning bolt.
Boom!
Melkir's head was driven deep into the ground.
"Grrrr…"
A flicker of clarity returned to Melkir's eyes. But with his face completely caved in, his life was quickly slipping away.
The only thing barely keeping him alive was the tenacious black energy clinging to his fading life.
Fully regaining his senses, Melkir slowly opened his mouth.
"J-just… a moment…"
His teeth were completely shattered, making even his words incomprehensible. With a look of fear, he gazed up at the figure before him.
A man shrouded in black energy, his red eyes glowing.
'Why… why does this guy have the Salvation Church's final form for a Crusader…? And why is my mind clear again? Wasn't I supposed to lose my reason?'
Melkir's thoughts didn't last long. Ghislain, whose overwhelming violence had even restored his opponent's sanity, raised his fist once more.
"Looks like I avenged my mother by accident. Not bad. Actually, this is a pretty good situation. I've avenged her and gotten rid of one of the duchy's superhumans."
Ghislain smirked, his red eyes glinting. He didn't particularly harbor a grudge against Melkir, but he was, after all, the one responsible for his mother's early death.
That said, it was undeniable that, because of Melkir, his mother had met his father, and he had been born. For that reason, Ghislain decided not to prolong Melkir's suffering and to finish him cleanly.
"This is going to hurt a bit."
Boom!
His fist flew toward Melkir's fallen face once more.
Crunch!
Melkir would not rise again. His face had been completely crushed and driven deep into the ground.
"Phew…"
Ghislain let his mana settle, straightening his back as he stood.
Though it looked like an easy victory, his entire body ached. He had used more than half of his mana. The monstrous strength of a so-called Crusader was not something to be dismissed lightly.
"I bet Tenant would've enjoyed a good fight with him."
Ghislain chuckled to himself. Even without his enlightenment, Melkir might have been a decent match.
Of course, the properly enlightened Tenant would've won in the end, though not without a struggle.
"Bean, come here."
The Black King had retreated far away, avoiding the shockwaves of the battle. By now, he was used to such scenes.
He was leisurely chewing on grass nearby, as if he hadn't even considered the possibility of his master losing.
"Let's go."
Although Ghislain had sent Gillian ahead, he needed to check for himself to be certain.
He mounted the Black King and rode toward the lord's castle.
***
The assassins who had evaded the encirclement used the cover of darkness to infiltrate the castle. The ordinary guards couldn't stop them.
But once inside the castle, their problems began. With knights and soldiers stationed everywhere, they could only move in hiding.
Swish!
Blending into their surroundings, they tried to avoid detection, using shadows from pillars, ceilings, and various objects to traverse the darkness.
But they couldn't move undetected forever. Deviating from normal paths, they triggered hidden magic alarms.
Bzzzzzzzz!
A wave of powerful magic pulsed as alarms blared.
The knights and soldiers remaining in the castle began pursuing the assassins.
"Catch them!"
"They're over there!"
"Alert everyone!"
The assassins tried to evade pursuit, but several were eventually caught.
Slash!
"Ugh!"
Surrounded, the assassins were pushed back by the coordinated attacks of the knights and soldiers. While skilled assassins, they couldn't handle such overwhelming numbers.
In desperation, they revealed their trump card—powers that didn't suit an assassin.
Boom!
"Graaaah!"
The assassins who had infiltrated the castle unleashed their life force, transforming into monstrous beings.
The remaining assassins who escaped the encirclement had all been capable of becoming Crusaders. Their comrades had sacrificed themselves to allow them to enter the castle and wreak havoc.
"Fall back! They're Crusaders!"
The soldiers retreated, and the knights engaged the transformed assassins.
But the immensely strengthened assassins overwhelmed even the knights. The few mages of Perdium joined the fray, but even they struggled to contain the monstrous assassins.
Yet, they weren't the only ones in the castle.
Whirl!
Boom!
A thrown axe smashed the head of one rampaging assassin in an instant.
"It's Sir Gillian!"
A voice called out in relief.
Gillian, appearing with a furious expression, charged ahead of everyone, attacking the assassins with unrelenting force.
His daughter, Rachel, was in the castle. Naturally, he fought like a raging lion.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With Gillian leading the charge and the knights of Fenris joining in, the transformed assassins quickly fell. They had been outnumbered from the start.
Not long after, the returning knights and soldiers of Perdium filled the castle, overwhelming the remaining assassins.
The detected assassins were all subdued in a short time. No matter how skilled and powerful they were, they couldn't contend with the overwhelming numbers of knights and soldiers.
Randolph wiped the sweat from his brow and spoke.
"What? Are they all dead? No more?"
Eight assassins lay fallen. Randolph tilted his head.
"Weren't there about ten or eleven of them earlier? Could there still be some we haven't caught?"
The knights' expressions hardened. The magic alarms hadn't gone off again, and the castle was crawling with knights and soldiers who hadn't detected any remaining assassins.
It was possible the remaining assassins were still hiding outside the castle. They would need to conduct a thorough search. If they found them, it would be fortunate. But if the assassins had completely escaped, the castle would need to remain on high alert.
Just then, a battered and exhausted Belinda appeared, shouting. She was panting heavily.
"What about the young lady's room? Rachel! And the marquis and his vassals?"
Randolph, startled, responded quickly.
"Belinda? What happened to you? Are you alright? Where are you hurt?"
"Are the young lady and Rachel safe?"
"Why are you suddenly speaking so informally… uh, yes! They're safe! The knights and soldiers are stationed right inside the room!"
Belinda sighed in relief, but before she could relax, the magical alarms blared once more.
Clang!
The sound of shattering glass echoed.
Belinda's face turned pale.
"That's the young lady's room!"
Whoosh!
Belinda's body disappeared into the shadows, wrapped in darkness. Gillian, momentarily startled by the display, widened his eyes.
It seemed she had crossed the wall.
But now wasn't the time to admire it. Rachel was likely in the room with Elena.
Gillian and the knights rushed toward Elena's room.
As expected, the remaining assassins had scaled the walls to infiltrate Elena's room. The magic alarms installed there had sounded, but the assassins moved quickly.
The assassins spotted two terrified women inside the room. Their target was the blonde-haired woman.
"Graaaah!"
The assassin who broke through the window immediately transformed into a Crusader and charged.
Of course, they weren't entirely unguarded.
"Hold the line!"
Four knights and dozens of soldiers surrounded the two women. Soldiers stationed outside the room burst through the door to assist.
The leading knights rushed to attack first, swinging their swords.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Their strikes had little effect. The knights, unfamiliar with fighting Crusaders, were taken aback.
They tried to draw on more strength to subdue the monster, but it had already broken through with sheer brute force.
Boom!
"Aaah!"
The soldiers were pushed back in an instant. The monster roared and extended its hand. Just a few more steps, and it could snap its target's neck.
But it wasn't just the knights protecting Elena.
Swish!
Suddenly, eight maids dropped from the ceiling, blocking the monster's path. They were assassins trained by Ghislain and Belinda.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
The charge of the monster was stopped there. The maids restrained the monster's body with sturdy wires attached to their daggers and launched their attacks.
Knights, who arrived moments later, poured all their mana into slashing the monster's back.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Under the relentless attacks from all sides, the monster was quickly reduced to shreds.
But there wasn't just one intruder.
"Graaaaah!"
Another one charged in right after. The knights, now prepared, gathered all their strength to attack the monster. The maids protecting Elena did the same.
The second monster was subdued, and everyone instinctively let their guard down.
Swish!
Taking advantage of that brief moment, a third assassin shot forward.
"Stop them!"
The knights swung their swords in desperation, and the maids threw their daggers, but they failed to inflict a fatal wound.
The assassin, despite sustaining injuries across his body, managed to reach his intended target.
He had capitalized on his comrades' sacrifices to seize this opportunity.
The assassin extended his hand toward the target.
At that moment, Rachel shoved Elena aside and stood in the assassin's path.
"Rachel!"
Elena's shout rang out as Rachel closed her eyes.
"Tch!"
The assassin briefly turned his gaze toward his primary target, but by then, the maids had already closed in on him.
With no other choice, the assassin grabbed Rachel by the neck with his hand.
"Don't move!"
For the assassin, it was a gamble. He didn't know if taking her hostage would work since she wasn't the marquis's daughter. Still, he refrained from using his poisoned dagger, just in case.
Surprisingly, everyone froze. While Rachel wasn't as important as Elena, she was still a highly significant figure in the Perdium estate.
The assassin's gamble paid off. He tightened his arm around Rachel's neck, panting heavily.
"Step back. Unless you want to see this woman die."
Everyone took a step back. Seeing this, the assassin hesitated.
'Damn it, the target was the marquis's daughter, but who is this woman? I'll just hold out until the leader arrives.'
He was resigned to dying here. If so, he had to ensure the mission succeeded; otherwise, his death would be in vain.
He believed that if Melkir arrived, he could use the commotion to assassinate the marquess or the marquess's daughter.
"Rachel!"
Gillian, who had just arrived, clenched his teeth upon seeing his daughter held hostage. Rachel's face was turning red from the pressure.
Seeing his daughter in such a state, he wanted nothing more than to rush in and crush the assassin's head.
But Belinda stopped him.
"Wait. One wrong move, and it's over."
The assassin was highly skilled. Even the slightest pressure would be enough to break Rachel's neck.
While everyone was at a standstill, unsure of what to do, Ghislain arrived.
"Young lord!"
"My lord!"
From everyone's reaction, the assassin realized that the man who had just appeared was Count Fenris.
Ghislain spoke in a cold, steady voice.
"If you want to die peacefully, let her go. Unless you want to end up like your leader, with your head smashed."
"What? The commander… died?"
"Yes."
The assassin's expression turned to disbelief. Their leader was dead? Was Count Fenris truly that strong?
'He's lying, he has to be lying. The leader was a superhuman. How could he still look this fine after fighting someone like that?'
Ghislain looked a bit messy and tired, but otherwise unscathed. No matter how strong he was, it didn't make sense for him to appear so intact after fighting another superhuman.
Ghislain turned to Belinda.
"She dealt with him."
Sure enough, Belinda was covered in wounds. The assassin swallowed nervously. It was hard to believe, but if it were true, he didn't know what to do.
"What's it going to be? A peaceful death, or a painful one?"
"..."
As he spoke, Ghislain subtly spread threads of mana.
Judging by the assassin's skill, he was at least of high-level strength. Even if his body was restrained, there was a high chance he could still snap Rachel's neck. So, Ghislain carefully lifted a shard of debris that had fallen behind the assassin.
'I'll pierce his head in one strike.'
This situation was different from the others. One mistake, and Rachel could die.
Ghislain was hyper-focused. Everyone else was tense, their attention locked solely on the assassin.
The assassin, too, was trying to think of a way out.
'She's not as important as the marquis's daughter, but she's still a significant figure. Should I kill her and then detonate my energy...?'
As the standoff continued, something unexpected happened.
"Let go of Rachel!"
Elena, who had been saved by Rachel, suddenly grabbed the assassin's arm and clung to it.
Her movements were surprisingly quick, catching even the maids next to her off guard.
The assassin's face lit up with glee. Without hesitation, he swung his free hand to strike Elena.
Crunch!
That is, if the arm holding Rachel hadn't broken first.
"Graaaah!"
Seizing the moment, the shard Ghislain had lifted pierced straight through the assassin's head. At the same time, everyone nearby attacked the assassin.
Slash, slash, slash!
The assassin's body was torn apart, pierced, and slashed from every direction, falling lifeless to the ground.
Thud!
The assassin was down, but no one celebrated. Instead, an awkward silence filled the air.
Everyone stared at Elena with expressions of disbelief.
Elena herself was blinking rapidly, staring down at her own hands.
Ghislain was the first to recover and stammered.
"E-Elena, you…"
"Huh? What?"
"Have you been working out lately?"
[T/L: Please support me and read extra chapters: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]