How A Mythical Holy Knight Lives As A Villain (Novel) - Chapter 52
Chapter 52
Read it only at Utoon.net!
Discord
Thud!
The ground shook with each step he took.
Though his size wasn’t particularly large compared to other Black Orcs, his mass was different. It felt as if you’d need to bring an equivalent volume of steel or tungsten to make a fair comparison.
“Ooooh!”
The orcs shouted in reverence at his appearance.
Thump. Thump.
The apostles felt their hearts pounding like never before.
The most powerful enemy the apostles had faced so far was…
‘Pride.’
The youngest of the apostles, Pride.
She was the Pride of the Lord.
She was more complete than any other apostle Go Johan had ever gathered.
Though she was a fragment of the Great Demon, she was incomparable to Kim Se-hyun. A large mass, like a tumor, had taken root within her, and from her, six horns had sprouted.
Thud!
Now, she was like Kartul.
“…Estimated level.”
As a player, Lee Jae-kyung naturally tried to quantify Kartul’s strength in terms of level.
“900.”
An overwhelming number.
The air was being crushed, emitting strange noises.
Go Johan had to retreat for three years to recover after facing Pride, such was the strength of this enemy.
[The Avatar of Ogurak, Kartul, descends.]
[The Hexagonal Demon, Kartul, manifests.]
[The Black Land activates.]
Whoosh!
In an instant, the entire ground began to turn black.
On it, the skin of the Black Orcs became even darker, and the Red Orcs began to be tainted by the black hue.
“Ogurak! Ogurak!”
The madness and power were so intense that even the apostles flinched.
“……”
Thus, Kartul revealed himself.
Whoosh!
As he raised his fist, the dark clouds filling the sky scattered.
“Ogurak! Ogurak!”
The orcs shouted even more fervently.
“Shut up.”
Finally, Kartul’s voice rang out for the first time.
The hand that had been raised toward the sky, along with the greatsword it held, rotated.
“…?”
Confused expressions.
Whoosh!
A wave of blood followed.
Whoosh!
A storm that seemed to tear through flesh accompanied it.
Go Johan, the apostles, and the numerous orcs around them were left with only their lower halves.
Even those were cut down like trees by the storm that swept through.
“Fools… fools!”
Kartul shouted.
It was in the Trabanian Orc language, but being the Hexagonal Demon, his meaning was fully conveyed.
“How can you be so foolish…”
The face revealed within Kartul’s cracked helmet was sorrowful.
“Chieftain! We…!”
The High Priest, who had survived the chaos despite losing an arm, shouted.
“Once again, for the glory of the orcs! And for the Chieftain…”
“Shut up.”
The High Priest’s head also flew off.
“What is this situation?”
Lee Jae-kyung said, seemingly bewildered.
“Well, I did think it was strange.”
Chuckle.
Go Johan curled his lips into a smile.
“That foolish orc, though foolish, was among the wiser of the orcs.”
“…So it has come to this.”
Kartul spoke as if he were the Go Johan of the past.
“My foolish kin have corrupted me and my god.”
Kartul’s sorrowful emotions were clearly evident.
“…No.”
Kartul had been staring at one place since his appearance.
“Now I have no choice but to admit it.”
Go Johan.
“It’s been a long time, Phantom Knight.”
“Kartul.”
While Kartul had shown only anger toward the orcs, he smiled at Go Johan.
It was the same for Go Johan.
To someone who didn’t know Go Johan, the scene might have looked like a reunion of old friends.
“I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
Kartul said.
“Neither did I.”
Go Johan replied.
Both of their appearances had changed significantly from the past.
But those who had reached their level could clearly see what lay within.
“You’ve changed a lot.”
“So have you.”
They walked toward each other.
The apostles watched the scene with concern.
“…Chieftain.”
The orcs, seemingly discontent, began to step forward.
And then.
Whoosh!
Kartul’s greatsword moved again.
“Fools, vermin.”
The orcs who had moved were all cut in half.
“Can you forgive their rudeness, Phantom Knight?”
“It’s fine.”
Another step.
“I’m a mess. Last time, I could stand proudly before you, but now…”
With the greatsword in one hand.
Clang!
He struck his own horn.
But the horns, symbols of the demon, did not break even under Kartul’s strength.
“What a pitiful sight.”
It was as if he wanted to convey that this wasn’t his will.
“I was curious. The you I saw was someone worthy of recognition, even among the foolish orcs.”
Kartul, the chieftain who had risen with a million orcs.
He was.
-This is a holy war. All things of the continent, in the name of Ogurak, I will punish your indulgence and carry out the will of the god.
A paladin.
Though the god he served was different, even if it was a god tainted by evil, he was a paladin.
“What happened?”
As the two slowly approached, everyone around could only watch.
“…In the end, you were right.”
In the Trabanian Orc War, Go Johan faced Kartul.
And shouted.
-You followers of an evil god!
The god they served, Ogurak, was an evil god.
“By dying on your blade, I realized. The soul I had offered to the god would never find freedom.”
Step, thud.
“My god was not the being my kin and I had thought.”
Step.
“In the darkness, Ogurak spoke. He said I had fulfilled my duty and to wait for the next.”
Kartul’s face twisted.
“The holy war the orcs had waited for did not exist. Everything was…”
“The machinations of demons.”
Nod.
The distance between the two, who had now stopped, was less than three meters.
“And I also realized.”
Smirk.
A deep smile spread across Kartul’s face, and flames seemed to flicker in his eyes.
“That I cannot escape this fate.”
“Seung-ah, uncle, Sion.”
“Orcs!”
“From now on.”
Kartul and Go Johan’s voices rang out almost simultaneously.
“Awaken your instincts.”
“Kill them all.”
And then.
Whoosh!
The battle began with Yoon Seung-ah’s magic without incantation.
The Red Orcs charged at the apostles, and Kim Sion was already clashing with two Black Orcs.
Lee Jae-kyung glanced at Go Johan’s back.
“Sigh.”
He exhaled and swung his sword.
As the wave of blood spread.
Whoosh!
Kartul’s sword also began to move.
At that moment, time seemed to stop.
Only those who had reached that level could perceive the flow of time.
“And you, Phantom Knight, you too cannot escape your fate.”
Crash!
Ogurak’s greatsword struck down at Go Johan.
Everything except Go Johan and Kartul moved as if in slow motion.
Even in that state, the Black Orcs, the apostles, and Lee Jae-kyung moved swiftly.
But compared to them.
Crash! Crash!
Kartul and Go Johan clashed.
“After seeing the true nature of my god, I realized. Your fate will be no different.”
“Nonsense.”
Go Johan, having created distance, tore through space.
[Spatial Slash]
But.
Thud!
Kartul’s sword, embedded in the torn space, forcibly held the severed space together.
Meanwhile, his other hand moved, swinging the greatsword from below.
Crash!
The ground rose, and fragments scattered.
But more threatening than that was the sword energy emitted from the greatsword.
Once, the continent’s greatest mercenary was cut in half after thirty exchanges with Kartul.
The kingdom’s greatest knight, a Sword Master, was cut in half after twenty exchanges with Kartul.
“Do not insult the goddess, Kartul. The goddess is not to be compared to the evil god you serve.”
Crack!
Go Johan extended his hand, twisting space, and deflected the sword energy.
“Do you know? Though Ogurak has been tainted by evil, he is still worthy of being called a god.”
Kartul’s smile.
Crash!
The sword energy that seemed to have passed by returned, aiming for Go Johan’s back.
As he tried to dodge sideways.
“Through his eyes, I saw those who are called gods.”
There, Kartul’s twin greatswords were already compressing the air, falling toward Go Johan.
In that place with no escape, Go Johan had to give something up.
“There.”
Splat!
A spray of blood erupted from Go Johan’s back.
“There was no ‘goddess.'”
“Shut up!”
Crash!
Go Johan’s arms trembled as he blocked the twin greatswords.
Go Johan’s level: 700.
Kartul’s estimated level: 900.
The gap was.
Thud!
Just like when he had taken down Pride, it was a significant gap.
“You’ve weakened.”
“You’ve grown stronger.”
“It’s meaningless power. It’s not mine.”
“As I’ve said before.”
Splat!
Blood spurted from Go Johan’s arm as the greatsword pierced through.
Crash!
Pushed back by the swing, Go Johan staggered, his arms hanging limp.
Drip, drip.
Kartul had become incomparably stronger than before.
“There is no goddess. That’s why you are the Phantom Knight.”
“Nonsense.”
“You’ve also changed a lot.”
Kartul spoke with a hint of regret as he swung his greatsword.
Within it.
Whoosh!
The tattoos covering half of Kartul’s body began to emit a red light.
Whoosh!
Mana surged through the greatsword.
The greatsword, due to its immense weight, was an incredibly slow weapon.
Each strike carried destructive power, but if one were fast enough, it would be impossible to even touch.
Kartul’s twin greatswords defied such common sense.
Even for those who had reached that level, they could be slow.
Whoosh!
But if a single strike could overturn the earth and tear the sky, no matter how fast one was, it would be impossible to evade.
“What are you so bound by? The you I saw back then was freer than anything else.”
Thud.
Something like teeth sprouted from the blades of the twin greatswords.
And without hesitation, Kartul.
Crash!
Plunged them into the ground.
Rumble… Crash!
An earthquake occurred, and fissures opened.
In the slow-motion time, most of the orcs, unaware of the anomaly, fell into the fissures.
Yoon Seung-ah, sensing the signs belatedly, used magic to move the apostles.
Go Johan.
Thud.
Crossed his arms, blocking everything.
“I’m not talking about your appearance. You seem entirely different from the one I knew. There’s nothing left of the warrior I once recognized.”
Kartul’s face showed disappointment.
Drip, drip.
Go Johan’s arms and upper body were torn apart.
He moved his arms, which had been defending, and revealed his face.
Only then.
Smirk.
Kartul smiled.
“Ah, now you seem like the one I knew.”
A strange smile spread across Go Johan’s face.