Chapter 46: Something That Can Never Be Inherited (12)

The blue dragon exuded a freezing chill, making the surroundings feel as though flesh itself would freeze.

Frost spread across the ground, and every breath released white mist into the air.

The dragon remained motionless, aware of the warrior’s skills through prior encounters.

It simply observed, cautious and silent.

Moreover, the flames of sanctity had severed Fran’s connection to demonic energy, causing backlash within his body.

If the dragon wouldn’t move, then the first step would come from this side.

The warrior flung off his tattered cloak and charged toward Fran.

How much had Fran’s body recovered while Laura and Sera were being moved to safety?

Perhaps not only his wounds but even his abilities had been restored during that brief time.

Still, the warrior didn’t hesitate to swing his sword—for Sera and his comrades.

Would this method work?

With strength in his grip, the warrior’s sword cut downward in a wide arc, slicing through the air with a resonant whoosh.

Fran swiftly dodged, catching his breath as he avoided the blow.

The warrior had expected his attack to fail.

The flames of sanctity had left his own body battered and bruised.

What mattered was a clue—something to confirm his assumptions.

True to his prediction, Fran refrained from using dark magic.

Fran avoided the attack not by blocking but by evading with his body.

Even after that, there was no counterattack through dark magic.

This confirmed it: Fran could not currently wield demonic energy.

“You…!”

Why couldn’t Fran use his demonic energy?

The answer lay in the lingering effects of the sanctified flames that Sera had unleashed.

As long as those effects remained, sacred water was a valuable weapon.

Fortunately, the warrior had secured some while moving Sera.

“Looks like the elders weren’t wrong. Firepower reigns supreme.”

The embers of the sanctified flames still burned within Fran’s body, consuming the demonic energy.

The only option was to keep pouring fuel onto the fire.

Perhaps due to the chaotic circumstances, Natalia felt deeply uneasy watching the distant battle unfold.

Although Laura’s strategy had freed the warrior and Sera from the spatial prison, the situation was rapidly shifting, and Natalia couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t for the better.

Her hands were already soaked with sweat.

Under the cold wind of the open sky after escaping the prison, Natalia countered Cain’s attacks with her well-trained reflexes, grabbing his body with one hand and throwing him aside.

But Cain’s body bore no wounds, as though nothing had happened.

Natalia had fought countless foes before, but this was her first time encountering something like this.

Cain didn’t simply feel sturdy; his presence seemed to embody the collective resentment of countless souls, crying out for existence.

Despite having delivered effective strikes, Natalia found it difficult to believe she could win.

“What’s wrong? The fight isn’t over yet.”

With a cracking sound, Cain realigned his dislocated joints and gripped his sword.

As a dragonkin, his race naturally possessed magical abilities.

His blade left trails of black flames wherever it passed.

Cain’s sword aimed straight for Natalia’s neck.

She quickly adjusted her stance, angling her blade to block the attack.

With a subtle twist of her wrist, she countered, targeting Cain’s neck.

She felt the sensation of piercing his flesh and even saw blood spray like a fountain.

But when she refocused, Cain’s body was unscathed, as if none of it had happened.

This infinite loop had been repeating from the beginning.

Even if the warrior and the saint returned, this cycle wouldn’t break.

Well, the warrior seems to be struggling.

“Ha! Is that so?”

The clash between the warrior and Fran continued.

Unlike the warrior, whose magical energy was confined to the Mesmerizing Eye, Fran had restructured his entire mana network for dark magic.

This made Fran far more susceptible to the sanctified flames, putting the warrior at an advantage.

Yet Cain, who swung his sword without concern for his master’s predicament, showed no hesitation in his attacks.

“Are you really turning your attention away during combat?”

“Gah…”

As Natalia briefly glanced toward the warrior’s direction, Cain cast a few dark spells and swung his sword sideways, slashing Natalia’s waist.

Black spheres surrounded her, cutting off any retreat.

A magic swordsman who excelled in both magic and swordsmanship typically struggled to balance the two, making most avoid the path altogether.

But Cain was no ordinary warrior.

“As a knight, you must realize you can’t cut through magic with a sword.”

“… So it’s dark magic, after all.”

In terms of pure skill, Natalia, blessed by the divine, had the upper hand.

Her relentless strikes proved that much.

But her opponent wasn’t merely a swordsman; he wielded dark magic fueled by demonic energy.

No matter how much she stabbed or slashed, Cain’s body simply reverted to its original state.

“I hold no grudge against you. I just don’t want to see more of my comrades die in vain.”

Cain had lost comrades in the war against the Demon King and in countless dungeon battles.

Yet, without divine intervention or a way to lift the dragon’s curse, what meaning did those deaths hold?

“To those who risked their lives, there’s no such thing as a meaningless death.”

“No, their deaths were in vain.”

Losing comrades was always a sorrowful thing.

No amount of preparation could make it easier.

Tears would always fall.

Still, the living must continue forward, mourning their deaths but never halting or condemning them.

Yet the man before her, who introduced himself as a general of Edirne, dismissed his comrades’ sacrifices as meaningless.

Suppressing the rising disgust within her, Natalia steadied her stance.

Her injuries weren’t severe.

Moving too much would worsen her condition, but she had no intention of stopping.

She focused her breathing, calming her mind.

Around Cain, numerous traces of demonic energy were visible.

Could that dark magic be what made Cain’s body immortal?

“This body, offered to dark magic and the form of a dragon, has already forsaken life. Did you truly think a human blade could cut through me?”

“Ugh…”

“I’ve grown tired of this game.”

Deeming the knight incapable of cutting through magic or dark magic, Cain began to transform his body.

If Fran was the blue dragon that created a deadly frost, Cain was the black dragon who wielded the power of the dead.

His body, crafted from dark magic, pulsed with energy as he reveled in its strength and began to concentrate his power.

“Do you really believe there’s meaning in the death of your comrades? Listen to their voices of resentment!”

A cacophony of thoughts flooded Natalia’s mind, the bitter voices of her departed comrades ringing in her ears.

Though she knew it wasn’t real, knew it was nothing more than Cain’s vile dark magic, it felt like being trapped in an inescapable swamp.

This was the power of a dragon—a race hailed as the gods’ greatest masterpiece.

Confronted with such overwhelming strength, there was little Natalia could do.

After all, her only skill was wielding a sword.

Though her swordsmanship surpassed the warrior’s, in every other aspect, she was a mere shadow of him.

The warrior, blessed with even a small amount of divine power, would have easily dispelled tricks like this.

Why was she so weak?

From the fortress to this very moment, Natalia was painfully aware of her own inadequacy, a burden that had weighed on her endlessly.

“I will become a knight who can cut through magic one day!”

The voice calling out to her belonged to her first comrade, who had long since passed.

Natalia was a mere trainee when she lost this friend during a goblin subjugation mission, a comrade who had died due to a careless mistake.

Was this an illusion or the spirit of her departed friend?

She couldn’t tell, but that didn’t matter.

What mattered was the promise—a knight who could cut through magic.

Her cherished comrade had entrusted her with fulfilling that dream.

“Right, I can’t just give up here.”

“Useless resistance…”

Gripping her sword tightly, Natalia rose to her feet.

Her leg muscles tensed, ready to propel her forward at a moment’s notice.

Whether it was magic or dark magic, she felt a newfound determination to cut through it all.

What was she so afraid of?

If she didn’t fit in with the warrior’s party, she would simply become someone who did.

That was the path of a knight.

She was the chosen of the sword, blessed by divine grace, and a comrade to the warrior.

Thus, there was nothing in this world she couldn’t cut.

Without hesitation, Natalia’s sword slashed cleanly through Cain’s neck as he basked in his dragon-like power.

“Impossible… with human strength, I…”

Cain’s face hit the ground, his expression frozen in disbelief.

Protected by dark magic, he couldn’t fathom what had happened.

Blood flowed freely from his severed body, and he vanished without even a final scream.

“Ha… Ha-ha… how absurd…”

Natalia’s body was battered and covered in wounds.

She hadn’t even been able to use the dark magic she’d learned, as every attempt had been canceled.

One of her eyes was gouged out, leaving her vision half-blinded.

It was a total defeat for Cain.

This wasn’t due to the sacred flames or holy water, as those resources had long since been exhausted.

Besides, neither was potent enough to interfere with his magic casting.

No, the warrior was simply too strong.

Despite the strain of controlling the enhanced Mesmerizing Eye, his strength only grew as the battle progressed.

It was an incomprehensible phenomenon.

“Tell me, who’s behind you?”

“Do you think I’ll beg for my life?”

“No. You’re going to die regardless.”

Cain’s dragon form had already faded.

His prized staff was broken in half, reduced to mere scraps of wood.

In a hopeless situation, the warrior pointed his sword at Fran’s neck.

Fran had no intention of revealing any information about Diana from the start, but the warrior’s resolute demeanor left no room for doubt.

This wasn’t the stance of a typical hero but something deeper—something darker.

“Ha-ha, do you really think you’re a good person, warrior?”

“Even as you trample over your comrades’ feelings? Are you so thrilled to be with the one you love that it fills you with strength?”

“If you don’t shut your mouth…”

“Or what? You’ll kill me anyway, won’t you? What’s the matter? Afraid I’ll tell Sera about your filthy relationships with Natalia and Laura?”

There was no need to listen any further.

If Fran lived, he could expose the past the warrior wanted buried.

The secret of what had happened with Natalia and Laura, something disgraceful, something that could never see the light of day, had to remain hidden.

“Ha, I get it. That’s what love is, isn’t it? Something you’ll hurt others for, something you’ll bury your ugly past to keep.”

“Shut up.”

Fran looked up at the warrior with a blissful expression, offering no resistance.

The warrior didn’t hesitate, swinging his sword downward to deliver a decisive blow, intending to end everything.

But the sword never reached Fran’s neck.

“Ah… I don’t think I can keep my promise. But instead, I’ll give my heart to her.”

With a wet squelch, Fran plunged his own hand into his chest, tearing out his heart.

Blood sprayed like a fountain as he lay back, raising the still-beating organ in both hands as if offering it up like a blooming flower.

Listening to the sound of his own heart beating, Fran smiled.

“Yes, this is enough. I’ve confirmed that the warrior is no saint. I’ve glimpsed the depths of his darkness. I don’t know how far it goes, but Diana will undoubtedly succeed in corrupting him.”

That is, as long as the warrior doesn’t die by Fran’s hand.

Having already forsaken his life, Fran’s body began to transcend its limits, merging with pure demonic energy.

The time for his final, desperate act had come.