Chapter 66: The Apostate's Shadow and the Pontiff's Blade
Diary of the Damned
Bennett's finger paused on the frost-edged parchment. "Look—it mentions Lady Hester."
Darnell's resistance crumbled instantly. The loyal retainer of House Hester leaned closer, his breath fogging the dead knight's journal as they read together:
January 6th: Today I encountered Lady Hester, an elegant vision amidst this frozen wasteland. When a vile mage dared question her devotion to the Holy See, I struck him down without hesitation. Such arrogance! Even sorcerers must bow to the sanctity of our faith. Her generous donations prove her piety—may the gods bless her.
Bennett's brow furrowed. "Sir Goephate never realized her curse. He departed too soon to witness the rot festering beneath her prayers."
The Northern Purge
Darnell turned the brittle page, ice shards scattering like broken vows:
January 11th: The summons came at dawn. Three Eighth-Rank Knights mobilized. Trialmaster Murray himself delivered the Pontiff's decree: eliminate a "corrupted soul" bearing the sacred seal. No trial. No mercy.
January 14th: We cornered the target at first light. When I saw his face... By the Flame, I sheathed my blade. Forgive me, Holy Father.
Bennett's pulse quickened. "Who warrants such force?"
The Prodigy's Fall
Darnell's gauntlet trembled against the journal. "Hussein al'Sahir. The Phoenix Blade. The man who scaled Mount Aegis at twenty to retrieve the Holy Flame's ashes."
Revelations of Betrayal:
Unmatched Ascension
25: Youngest Eighth-Rank Knight in two centuries
26: Attained Ninth-Rank—decades ahead of peers like Sir Luke (promoted at 40) and Sir Kael (40)
30: Appointed Triarch Commander of the Sacred Knights, a title last held by Saint Roland
Pontiff's Decree
40 Sacred Knights deployed, including three Eighth-Rank elites
Trialmaster Murray authorized to "erase all traces of his existence"
Lady Hester's donations retroactively branded "heretical offerings"
Frostblight's Hand
The bisected Fourth-Rank Knight's missing Sacred Emblem later surfaced in a frost wolf's jaws—a hallmark of the Obelisk Cult.
Anatomy of a Apostasy
Darnell paced like a caged beast. "Why? Hussein had everything—the Pontiff's favor, the people's adoration, a clear path to sainthood!"
Bennett studied the journal's final sketch: a knight kneeling before an icebound obelisk, spectral frost etching "HE SAW" into his blade. "Perhaps he uncovered what the Holy See buried."
Critical Dialogue:
Bennett (tracing the sketch): "What if his 'heresy' was asking why Lady Hester's donations turned poisonous?"
Darnell (kneeling): "Questions get men killed. Answers get them erased."
Semel's voice (from the frost): "The Obelisk remembers what the Holy See burns."
Echoes in Ice
The journal's last page held a fragmented hymn—identical to the melody Lady Hester hummed before her curse (Chapter 64). Bennett deciphered the margin notes:
"Hussein's final words: 'The Flame lies. Only the Frozen Light reveals—'
—Text dissolves into frantic scribbles—
Darnell recoiled. "Frozen Light... that's the Frostblight heresy!"
Chapter 67: The Apostate's Gambit
Bloodstained Revelations
The diary's next pages bore rust-colored stains—Sir Goephate's final entries, written even as his lifeblood seeped into the parchment.
Darnell's breath hitched as Bennett read aloud:
February 13th, Day of Radiance:
One month of pursuit. The Trialmaster vows not to leave Frostpine Forest without Hussein's corpse. The others grow weary, but I feel him near. How long can a wounded man outrun forty Sacred Knights?
February 19th, Day of Shadows:
Traces near Great Circle Lake. No contact with other teams. Trialmaster Murray's third unit remains silent. Gods forgive my doubt—even saints falter when hunting their own idols.
Bennett paused. The entry's final line hung like a dagger:
"Sir Luke and Sir Kael sacrificed their lives to wound him. We cannot fail."
Darnell's blade clattered to the snow. "Two of the Triarch Commanders… dead? By Hussein's hand?" His voice cracked. "This isn't heresy—it's annihilation."
Hollow Triumphs
Bennett's fingers trembled—not from fear, but exhilaration. A single knight slew two Ninth-Rank peers? Either the Holy See lied about his rank… or Hussein breached Saint-Class.
The diary's grimmest entry awaited:
March 1st:
Found Trialmaster Murray's unit. Ten corpses. Ten.
The Trialmaster's head… gone. That demon left it as a joke. We'll tear his throat out with our teeth if—
The text devolved into jagged scribbles.
"Even the Trialmaster fell," Darnell whispered. "The Holy See's hierarchy crumbles."
Bennett was already digging through snow. "The Pontiff's edict! Goephate's grave might—"
The Icebound Viper
A corpse twitched.
Darnell lunged forward as a pale hand erupted from beneath a dead knight's body. The figure that emerged wore tattered sacred vestments, his left arm bearing a scar where the Holy Emblem had been flayed away.
Hussein al'Sahir smiled, bloodied edict in hand. "Looking for this?"
Bennett froze. The man before him radiated lethal calm—a wounded lion still capable of slaughter.
Anatomy of a Massacre
Key Revelations:
The Triarchs' Fate
Sir Luke (Ninth-Rank) and Sir Kael (Ninth-Rank) ambushed Hussein at Glacier Spire (Chapter 66 foreshadowing).
Both slain; Hussein sustained mortal wounds (explaining his current frailty).
Trialmaster's Hubris
Murray's unit butchered near Great Circle Lake—heads displayed on ice spikes (linked to Obelisk rituals in Chapter 65).
Pontiff's edict recovered by Hussein: "Burn all records of Triarch Commanders' deaths. Let history remember them as martyrs to frostblight."
Hussein's Ploy
Hid beneath Goephate's corpse to evade pursuers.
Despite visible weakness, his aura paralyzes Darnell (Saint-Class pressure hinted in Chapter 61 visions).
Blade at the Abyss
Darnell raised his sword, arm shaking. "Y-You're just one man!"
Hussein chuckled, frost swirling around his fingertips. "And you're holding a butter knife."
To Bennett's shock, the legendary knight began coughing blood—yet his smile held. "Tell me, scholar… does my 'corpse' buy your silence? Or must I add two more graves tonight?"
Critical Dialogue:
Bennett (stepping forward): "Why kill the Trialmaster? Revenge?"
Hussein (wiping blood): "Murray knew what they did to Lady Hester. What they turned her donations into."
Darnell (gasping): "The cursed reliquaries…?"
Hussein (tossing edict): "Read. Then decide whom to stab."
The Unholy Ledger
The Pontiff's edict contained two orders:
Public Decree: "Hussein al'Sahir, corrupted by frostblight, to be purged."
Sealed Addendum: "Destroy all Triarch records. Initiate 'Phoenix Protocol'—burn every knight who witnessed Luke/Kael's deaths."
Bennett's hands trembled. They're erasing their own commanders to hide failure.
Hussein leaned against a pine, breath labored. "Now… little grave-robbers. Choose: die as heretics? Or live as liars?"
Darnell's blade lowered. Bennett met the knight's glacial gaze.
"There's a third option."
Chapter 68: Storm of Betrayal and Starlight
Clash of Titans
The air crackled with tension as Hussein al'Sahir raised three fingers—a gesture as lethal as any blade. A golden arc erupted from his hand, slamming into Darnell's sword with the force of a collapsing star. The blade shattered like glass. Darnell hurtled backward, blood spraying across the snow as his body crumpled against a frost-rimed pine.
Bennett's heart lurched. A third-rank warrior obliterated in a single strike—even gravely wounded, the continent's strongest knight remains a force of nature.
"Darnell!" Bennett roared. Instinct took over. Twin wind blades streaked toward the seated knight, followed by a hastily chanted Vertigo Hex.
Hussein's lips curled in contempt. A flick of his finger dispersed the wind blades like smoke. The hex, however, shimmered midair before rebounding violently. Bennett barely registered the spell's recoil before his world tilted.
Thud.
He collapsed into the snow, mind reeling. I just got knocked out by my own magic. Gods, I'm the punchline of every tavern joke now. Where's that damned old mage? Semel—where are you hiding?
The Lion's Gamble
Hussein staggered upright, blood seeping through his bandages. "A mage? How quaint." His foot pressed Bennett's chest with mountain-like weight. "Pity. I've always hated your kind."
The knight's palm descended like a guillotine.
Black mist erupted from Bennett's pores.
In a blink, Bennett vanished—reappearing three meters away. The air itself writhed, coiling around Hussein's limbs in serpentine gusts.
"Binding spells?" Hussein laughed, golden aura flaring. "Child's play!"
The knight's muscles bulged. Chains of wind snapped like rotten rope as his combat aura ignited—a corona of light that scorched the surrounding snow to steam.
Hussein's Manifested Blade
Aspect
Detail
Form
Condensed golden combat aura
Speed
Mach-break projection
Threat Level
Soul-piercing intensity
The golden blade streaked toward Bennett's throat—only to freeze inches from his face.
A silver mirror materialized, its surface rippling like moonlit water. Light blade and arcane shield dissolved into shimmering motes.
"Defensive wards?" Hussein's eyebrow arched. "You're full of surprises, boy."
Starborne Vengeance
Semel materialized behind the knight, silver hair whipping in a sudden gale. "No one harms Zach."
Her hands clasped. Meteoric Barrage.
Countless silver streaks rained down—only to collide with Hussein's hastily conjured Aegis Sphere. The knight's sword traced a deliberate circle, warping space itself.
Temporal Paradox Observed
Semel's projectiles: Hypersonic velocity
Hussein's defense: Perceived slow-motion parry
Result: Relativity-defying interception
"Face me properly, mage!" Hussein bellowed as the sky darkened. Ominous clouds churned overhead, lightning threading through their depths.
Semel hovered aloft, eyes crackling with borrowed stormlight. "You wish to see power?"
The temperature plummeted. Ice crystallized midair as she pointed at Hussein. "Come. Test your legend against the stars."
Chapter 69: Chronos' Gambit and the Fractured Star
Divine Retribution
The battlefield trembled as Hussein al'Sahir, the Lion of the Holy See, stood defiant beneath a storm-wracked sky. Lightning forked downward, splitting the heavens—a divine wrath aimed at his heart. Yet the knight raised his blade like a challenger to the gods themselves.
"Come then, phantom!" he roared, golden combat aura blazing.
The lightning struck his sword.
Clang—!
A deafening crack echoed as Hussein's blade cleaved the bolt in two. Half the energy detonated the earth, blasting Bennett backward in a spray of mud and ice. The knight stood at the crater's epicenter, scorched but unbowed, crimson eyes locked on the storm.
"I see you now," he hissed, blood-touched vision piercing Semel's invisibility.
Hussein's Blood Sigil
Ritual
Effect
Ocular Sacrifice
Reveals ethereal entities
Cost
Accelerated blood loss (12% HP)
With a feral grin, Hussein rocketed skyward, sword aimed at Semel's throat.
Ethereal Sacrifice
Semel's defenses rippled—layered barriers of starlight and entropy. Yet Hussein's blade, infused with Void-Devouring Darkness, pierced them all. The weapon buried itself in her spectral arm, black tendrils consuming her form.
"Foolish knight," Semel whispered, agony twisting her features. "You strike at smoke."
Her free hand pressed against Hussein's chest.
Incandescent Purge Activated
Flame Type: Soulfire (ignores physical resistance)
Damage Output: 3rd-degree burns across 40% of body
Hussein's scream tore through the valley as he plummeted, trailing smoke and charred flesh.
Desperation's Edge
Bennett crawled through melting snow, fingers numb. Semel's form flickered above—arm severed, silver essence leaking like liquid mercury.
"Zach... he's too strong," she gasped, regrowing her limb at terrible cost. Her glow dimmed to funeral ash.
Hussein rose from his pyre, a nightmare in burnt leather and exposed muscle. "Half-strength phantoms shouldn't play at war," he spat, triggering Golden Guillotine.
Environmental Destruction Sequence
Trees felled: 27
Projectile velocity: 120 mph
Targeting: Semel's position
The forest itself became artillery. Semel raised trembling hands, shielding Bennett as timber spears rained down.
"Burn with me!" she cried, dissolving into Stellar Conflagration.
The inferno vaporized trees, lake ice, even time itself. Hussein's aura shield collapsed—skin blackening, golden hair curling to ash.
Chronos' Whisper
Bennett's vision blurred. Vivian's forbidden spells... but I have no choice.
Spell Cast: Chronos' Wheel
Tier: Divine Magic (Prohibited)
Mana Cost: 900% of caster's capacity
Side Effect: Cellular desiccation
His youth withered. Skin cracked like drought-stricken earth. Yet the world slowed—flames freezing mid-leap, ash suspended like cursed snow.
"Re... wind..." Bennett croaked, collapsing as his heart stuttered.
Intervention:
A gnarled hand caught time's pendulum.
"You reckless children!" roared Archmage Gorion, Vivian's mentor. His staff flared, completing the spell Bennett couldn't.
Temporal Reversal Metrics
Duration Rewound: 2 minutes, 17 seconds
Mana Expenditure: 4,800 units (equivalent to 8th-circle spell)
Paradox Risk: 89% (barely contained)
Aftermath
Gorion moved through the frozen tableau like an angry deity:
Hussein: Force-fed Elixir of Last Breath (pungent green sludge)
Semel: Anointed with Twin Tears of Luminara (liquid starlight costing 200 years to distill)
Bennett: Dosed with enough mana potions to kill a dragon
Rebukes Delivered:
To Hussein: "Your bravado nearly unmade three kingdoms!"
To Bennett: "Playing with time? You'd make a corpse look wise!"
To Semel: A trembling pause. "You... still haunt these realms?"
His fingers brushed her cheek—a gesture older than the mountains.