The manager's body curled slightly on the floor, his fingers leaving several broken scratch marks on the old wooden floorboards. As he gradually slipped into unconsciousness, hearing that Seth was going after Zane, he gathered his last ounce of strength to shriek:
“No, no, no! I'm the killer! I'm the killer!”
Unfortunately, Seth was no longer paying him any attention.
With a loud slam, the door shut violently, and the once-noisy tavern fell completely silent. The manager struggled a few times before finally losing consciousness entirely.
On a street near the tavern, under the dark cover of night, Zane breathed softly, not daring to make a single sound lest he be discovered by the Church Knights.
But after walking for an unknown amount of time, a strong sense of unease suddenly welled up in his heart. He could feel that, amidst the darkness, a pair of sharp eyes seemed to have locked onto him.
Having no time to think, he quickened his pace and ran. Finally, just as his stamina was about to give out, he squeezed sideways into a deep alleyway.
His shoulder brushed against the moss on the wall, leaving a streak of damp dust.
He had just turned a corner when his footsteps ground to a halt.
The mouth of the alley ahead was blocked by a shadow. The figure wasn't particularly broad, but the light armor he wore already revealed his identity—a Church Knight.
“Run? Do you really think you can escape?”
A playful smirk played on Seth's face. His sword remained sheathed, his left hand resting lightly on the hilt with loose knuckles, as if capturing Zane was nothing more than child's play.
Zane's back pressed tightly against the wall, his elbow brushing against a rough crack. His voice came out shallower than he had intended:
“H-how did you find me?”
Seth chuckled.
“Are the Church's methods something you mortals can comprehend? Come with me. The manager is still waiting for you back at the tavern.”
Zane gasped inwardly, a surge of anger rising to his face.
“What did you do to the manager?”
“Nothing much. I just severed his legs to keep him from running. As for you, I'll be bringing you back soon to execute you right before his eyes.”
The smile on Seth's face grew wider, but under the shroud of night, it became increasingly terrifying, like a demon from hell.
Zane clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot, as he roared in resentment:
“Damn it! What did we do wrong? Why does the Church treat us like this?! That knight tried to take my sister by force! I killed him—what exactly did I do wrong?!”
He truly couldn't understand why his bright future had turned into this, why despite both being human, those from the Church could look down on them and arbitrarily decide their fates.
What did he do wrong? What was wrong with this world?!
“You never did anything wrong. What is wrong is your status.”
To Seth, Zane's fury was utterly laughable. He looked down on him, speaking as if evaluating prey:
“Your resentment, your unwillingness—they all stem from your status. Not being a member of the Church dooms you to be inferior. And inferiors are meant to be ruled by their superiors.”
“W-what kind of bullshit logic is that?!”
“It's reality, child.”
Children are forever the epitome of ignorance.
In Seth's eyes, the rebellious Zane was exactly that. A sensible adult would never do something as foolish as killing a Church Knight; they would curry favor with them and willingly offer up everything they had.
Zane was speechless at those words. He could only glare viciously at Seth to express his resentment, while Seth raised his right hand, preparing to cast a spell to bind him.
But right at that moment, a voice echoed from the mouth of the alley.
“If inferiors are meant to be ruled by superiors, does that mean the strong can also rule the weak?”
A robust figure stepped in front of Zane, waving a hand to push him behind his back. Then, he looked at Seth, licking his lips, his eyes gleaming with a predatory desire to hunt.
It was as if, in his eyes, this Church Knight was merely a beast of the forest.
Seth lowered his right hand and rested it on his sword hilt. “Gale?”
He hadn't expected someone to actually step forward and try to stop him at this point.
“Seth, it really has been a long time,” Gale sighed.
Seth looked at Gale's right hand and sneered mockingly. “Your right hand grew back?”
Gale clenched his fist.
“Thanks to you, my grip is steadier than ever.”
“You want to use it to kill me? A defeated dog like you?”
“You know very well who the defeated one was.”
Gale scoffed coldly.
In that duel years ago, he hadn't been the loser.
At the end of the duel, Seth had been knocked to the ground by him. Just as he was about to deliver the killing blow, his lover, Asha, had rushed onto the stage and shielded Seth, blocking his attack.
And Seth had seized that very opportunity to launch a sneak attack, severing his right hand.
If Gale hadn't fled quickly back then, he would likely have died at Seth's hands.
It was also after that incident that he completely abandoned his longsword, turning to daily drinking to numb himself, until the appearance of Saintess Lovene finally helped him pull himself back together.
Seth chuckled, not feeling the slightest bit of guilt over his backhanded sneak attack.
“Interesting. Gale, I've already become a Knight Captain over these years. Do you think I'm still the Rank Three I was back then?”
Taking a step forward, he drew his longsword from his waist. The powerful aura of Rank Four erupted within the alleyway. Unable to withstand the immense pressure, Zane turned pale and collapsed onto his backside in the depths of the alley.
“Let me tell you, I abandoned that woman a long time ago. She's probably married to some random nobody by now, but that has nothing to do with me. After all, I grew tired of playing with her long ago.”
“When she was with me, she never once mentioned you, Gale. You never even crossed her mind.”
Seth expected Gale to fly into a rage at these words, but to his surprise, Gale merely raised an eyebrow and calmly retorted:
“Are you saying all this just to provoke me?”
Seth's lips twitched slightly. “What? You don't love her anymore?”
“Whatever she does has nothing to do with me anymore. As for whether I ever entered her heart, I care even less.”
Drawing his own longsword, he gave it a light swing, and his own Rank Four aura flared to life.
“However, your attempt to anger me was already successful.”
“Why?”
“Because of all the things you shouldn't have done, you tortured the Saintess during the Blood-Bestowal Ceremony!”
The moment the words left his mouth, Gale lunged forward. His sword tip sliced through the night like a beam of moonlight, landing precisely where it was meant to.
Clang—!
The sharp clash of blades erupted at the alley's entrance, echoing off the stone walls before being swallowed by the night. Seth's swordplay was significantly faster than it had been years ago, capable of erecting an impenetrable wall of steel.
Unfortunately for him, Gale's swordsmanship was far superior.
Gale's blade slid half an inch along the spine of Seth's sword before he pivoted, slipping into the gap left by the unleashed force. Seth was forced to abort his stance and take a step back, his right gauntlet sliced clean off.
“What? How is this possible??”
He stared with wide eyes, his gaze filled with sheer terror.
Rate on N.U.
