"Deal"
"You are being reckless, Prince Klein."
Palliman spoke to me.
Without lowering the barrier that restrained Garrison.
"Do you truly believe a deal can be made between you and me in our current situation?"
With those words, Palliman placed a hand on the floating book.
Kuuung—!
"Kh!"
The divine power Garrison had interrupted instantly returned to its original flow and pressed down on me with crushing force.
"I could kill you this very instant, yet you possess no leverage to threaten me with—"
"Why wouldn't I?"
Cutting Palliman off, I drew my sword.
"What are you doing—!"
Palliman's voice stopped there.
"Well? Does this tempt you enough?"
The cold, murderous blade of Nordvind slid free from my waist.
"…!"
"You…?"
I could feel the cracks in Palliman's composure growing deeper and deeper.
"What you need right now is a technique to increase the purity of the Holy Blood."
Satisfied by the change in his expression, I continued speaking.
"And inside my head is the real method for creating that Holy Blood."
As I said that, I raised the sword and pointed it directly at my own throat.
"If someone like me dies right here, that'd be pretty inconvenient for you, wouldn't it?"
"Ha…!"
Palliman let out a hollow laugh, as though dumbfounded.
"The thing you use to threaten someone trying to kill you… is your own life?"
"Then why don't you try killing me?"
Now he could no longer kill me.
The knowledge of Archimond.
The moment I declared that it existed inside my head, I stopped being an obstacle or a target to eliminate.
Instead, I became the exact opposite.
A treasury of knowledge capable of completing their research.
A priceless asset they would have to obtain no matter what.
"What's wrong? Scared?"
The moment I said that, Palliman's shoulders twitched.
A villain hiding his true face?
A mastermind manipulating everything from the shadows?
'Utterly laughable. What a brat.'
As a public enemy of the continent, I had killed dozens—hundreds—of heroes.
And I had killed even more villains than that, forcing them beneath my feet.
For someone like me, a half-baked schemer like this barely even registered.
No matter how much he tried to act imposing, he was nothing more than another slave consumed by desire.
"Hahahaha…!"
Which was exactly why he couldn't help taking the bait I dangled before him.
"Excellent! Wonderful, Prince Klein!"
Spreading both arms wide as though overjoyed to death, Palliman addressed me.
"I shall spare you! Let us pretend this meeting never happened!"
Then he spoke again.
'How is it that not a single person in that damned Order is sane?'
As I stared at the corners of his lips stretching nearly to his ears—
"Then what will you give me in return?"
"Hmm. What should I ask for…?"
Looking at Palliman, I stroked my chin with one hand, pretending to ponder.
"You would do well to think carefully. Otherwise not only you, but—"
"The central circuit. Construction Formula No. 33 engraved with the Rune of Binding."
To increase the value of bait, one must let out a scent irresistible enough to devour.
At the sudden words that left my mouth, Palliman flinched.
"The Holy Blood synthesis formula… How do you know that…?"
Ignoring the awe in his voice, I continued.
"Increase the number of central connection circuits to five. The purity should rise by around three percent."
This was both the bargaining chip I offered—
and proof supporting my claim.
The structure of the Holy Blood.
Its flaws.
Even the solution.
Everything poured from my mouth on the spot, like a teacher explaining an answer.
"So… that's all it took…!"
Had he already reached the conclusion himself?
The greed filling Palliman's eyes grew larger and larger.
"And one more thing."
Watching Palliman closely, I gestured toward Garrison as I spoke.
"I'll reward your enthusiasm by telling you the weakness of that scripture."
The moment those words ended—
Tuwohk—!
A Skeleton's hand burst from the ground and seized Palliman's ankle.
"What?!"
"Looks like you couldn't guard beneath your feet after all!"
The Holy Relic protecting his body—Tanakh.
A bizarre sacred artifact capable of deploying a barrier strong enough to stop even Garrison's overwhelming strikes, while imposing no restrictions on its user.
And the weakness of that barrier—
Was the ground itself.
"If the barrier extended all the way beneath you, you wouldn't even be able to stand on the ground with both feet!"
"Kgh…!"
The calmness already riddled with cracks finally shattered, panic plainly surfacing across his face.
And in that instant—
"This is the first time I've ever seen you panic, Palliman El."
"Garrison…!"
Already prepared in advance, Garrison drove his fist straight into Palliman's abdomen.
Baeok—!
Garrison's devastating strike landed cleanly.
Tanakh's barrier activated a moment too late, and it lacked the power to absorb the full impact.
Kuwaaaaaang—!
Palliman's body flew more than ten meters before rolling across the ground.
"Kuhak… ugh?! Krrgh…!"
If it had been an ordinary human, their abdomen would have been blown through entirely.
Yet Palliman merely clutched his stomach in pain, showing no serious injury.
'As expected… he's a monster too.'
It was then—
Wooooong—!
Perhaps because it had failed to protect its master.
Or perhaps because it sensed danger.
Tanakh rose into the air on its own, intensifying the barrier surrounding Palliman.
"Tch. It was the perfect opportunity."
The radiance was so intense it could practically be called a miniature sun.
With divine power at that density, forget attacking—even touching it would melt you away instantly.
Paaaat—!
The barrier surrounding Palliman floated into the sky, blinding light flooding the entire area.
"An attack?!"
"No. The scripture is a guardian, not an executioner. It does not harm others of its own accord."
Unlike me, who hurriedly raised my guard, Garrison merely frowned as he explained.
Tuwoooahk—!
At last, when the blinding flash subsided, Palliman was nowhere to be seen.
"He escaped."
With a short sigh, I turned my back.
This really was the end now.
All that remained was recovering the Holy Blood and freeing the people trapped in the wagons.
"At this rate, my body's seriously going to fall apart, just like Arin said."
There were five wagons brought for the Holy Blood deal.
Just me and Garrison weren't enough to move them all.
Kurururur…!
Out of consideration for the mental health of the stationed soldiers, I summoned Death Knights instead of Skeletons.
—Battle?!
—For the honor of Paul Wyvern! We shall fight with every ounce of our souls…!
"Ah, sorry, but it's not that."
The ten knights who had accepted contracts with me.
Looking at them, all fired up and ready to draw their swords at any moment, I pointed toward the wagons.
—You know how to drive horses, right? Go take one each.
And with that abuse of a contractor's authority, accompanied by the Voice of the Dead—
"H-Hey! Over there!"
At the camp of Lady Laia's faction, whose entrance had been blocked by the Imperial Army,
the exhausted knights waiting days without any news of Laia immediately brightened.
"Open the gates! The Lady! Lady Laia has returned!"
Kurururur!
The tightly shut castle gates rose upward, and people entered alongside the leading figure of Laia.
"T-Those people are…?!"
"The missing lords, knights, even administrators…!"
They looked gaunt from enduring countless hardships.
The commanders examining their faces widened their eyes in shock.
The nobles imprisoned within the capital alongside Helian's uprising.
The nobles and administrative personnel who had formed the backbone of Laia's faction were all gathered here together.
"Welcome back, my Lady!"
The frontline commanders who had organized the resistance against Helian greeted Laia.
"I'm sorry for returning so late."
"The fact that you returned at all is enough for us to be grateful. But…"
The commander trailed off, prompting Laia to speak.
"They are the people Duchess Helian imprisoned. They know what has happened in the capital, and they've agreed to help us."
The commanders trembled in astonishment at her words.
"T-They're all really…?"
The nobles Laia rescued weren't limited to those already part of her faction.
The borders governed by Paul Wyvern stretched across the western coast and southern Galramu.
The frontier lords who had long defended the borders against pirates and nomads were among those Laia had rescued.
'To think Helian even imprisoned the frontier lords who maintained neutrality…'
Submit—or die.
Helian's refusal to tolerate fence-sitters had created this opportunity.
If the border lords sided with Laia, they could surround central Paul Wyvern in a single stroke.
All they needed now was time to reorganize and prepare.
The foundation for a comeback had finally been established.
"My Lady."
Gordon's voice came from behind Laia.
"You couldn't find him?"
"Yes. The remaining knights are still searching, but…"
At those words, Laia clenched her fists.
The greatest contributor to this entire success—Klein Leinrant.
And yet after everything, he had suddenly disappeared without a trace.
"The last confirmed location was the very center of Helian's formation. Considering he left alone…"
Laia frowned and fell silent for a long time.
They had overturned a hopeless battle and secured the foundation for a counterattack.
Yet despite accomplishing all that, her expression held no relief.
"Don't die in a place like this."
She remembered the first time she met him.
'Then let's make a deal.'
While facing Helian's threats and overwhelming pressure head-on,
he had boldly proposed a deal and opened a path forward.
He accomplished things everyone else believed impossible as though it were nothing.
Just like now.
A perfect web with no visible beginning or end.
Yet he had wandered in as casually as ever and asked her without hesitation—
'As long as we can get outside, that's enough, right?'
And the moment she answered yes, he rescued her through a method she could never have imagined.
Like the protagonist of some heroic tale.
"I haven't even properly thanked him yet…!"
Tears welled in Laia's eyes as she lowered her head.
Just as she spoke with grief thick in her voice—
"O-Over there!"
A report rang out alongside the voice of a sentry.
"Soldiers are approaching the capital! But the family crest on them is…"
The soldier trailed off as though he had seen something unbelievable.
"Don't tell me…?"
The moment hope crossed her mind, Laia unconsciously moved toward the top of the gate wall.
"M-My Lady!"
Ignoring Gordon's shout, she climbed the battlements.
And there she saw them—
Knights clad head to toe in pitch-black armor.
A procession of wagons behind them.
And seated at the very front, casually waving his hand—
Him.
"Honestly… that idiot…!"
Seeing him lounging there as though he had merely gone out for a stroll, Laia burst into laughter.
"How did this happen, my Lady?! Why is Leinrant returning here…?!"
At the soldier's question, Laia shouted with a far lighter expression than before.
"Open the gates!"
Filled with the hope that, with him here, they could truly win this time.
"That man is Klein Leinrant! Our ally!"
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