The curse of the clown Devil was over.
No matter how high a devil was, it couldn’t withstand the reinforcements of the Holy Kingdom of Avilius.
Under the guidance of Julius Hul, the strongest paladin on the continent, the barrier shattered, and the magi was purified completely.
In addition, various measures, such as collecting information and understanding the situation, were carried out in an instant.
Thus, the conclusion was reached.
A Dungeon exploration, 127 people in total, 1 dead, no injuries.
However, the problem was that no reward was obtained.
As a result of that, Perry Martinez sighed.
‘I thought it was a gamble with a high win rate…’
Right, Dungeon explorations were a gamble.
There are many cases where only a lot of undead monsters were guarding the core of the dungeon, or on the other hand, cases where artifacts were barely discovered.
However, this was a dungeon that was created within the last 100 years or so.
And for magic barrier type dungeons, even ancient dungeons which were relatively young were known to have a lot of loot.
And their result was horrible.
This was a dungeon in which they had spent such a lot of money as well as time and effort for attacking the Devil, and the only thing they found was a curse!
What was even annoying was that Perry couldn’t even get the honor of killing the devil.
‘I can’t help…’
Devils are born in Devildom. No exceptions.
Even the ones which appeared in the past were the ones who crossed over through the dimensional gap created by the chaos of the continent.
That was why the Holy Kingdom prevented wars between nations.
Only by reducing the chaos, would the risk of opening gaps between the dimensions reduce, and only then would the devils never appear.
For the same reason, it was necessary to thoroughly hide the news that a devil appeared after 150 years.
In the end, the Rabat kingdom was unable to obtain any honor or materials.
“Sigh.”
Perry sighed again.
Fortunately, Julius Hul promised consolation money. Of course, it wasn’t sure how much that would be. It would be good If it was a lot, but if it was less, then nothing could be done.
Who would dare speak against the Holy Kingdom? The greatest power on the continent.
‘Furthermore…’
The old magician slowly closed his eyes. And remembered the moment of his rescue.
The strongest paladin appeared with a white halo around his back.
Truly amazing. Because even Perry, who had prided himself, was stiff.
But that wasn’t what shocked him. Because everyone knew Julius Hul.
Rather, he looked closer at the people standing behind him. Because he knew some people.
‘… I definitely thought he was dead.’
Among them, Perry Martinez shook his head, remembering the old man who exuded a snarky air.
Mumbling quietly, he wrote a letter to the king of Rabat.
It had been a week since they escaped from the dungeon.
Fortunately, nothing happened.
There were some people whose hearts were falling apart, but the high-ranking priests dispatched from the capital of the Holy Kingdom, had tremendous holy power.
After completing the purification of the mind and the healing of the body in an instant, they immediately began to investigate the Devil’s den, and the exploration was able to escape from it.
‘Everyone seemed dissatisfied.’
Airn Pareira nodded, thinking about the request, which was close to a threat from the Holy Kingdom.
He understood enough.
Those who would have spent a lot of resources on the dungeon exploration were in a situation where they didn’t get any honor, so it was natural for them to feel unfair.
Of course, Airn didn’t care.
It wasn’t because he wanted to get anything that he fought the devil and raised his sword.
‘Even I gained a lot.’
First, he defeated the Devil, the enemy of his previous life.
Peace on the continent was also peaceful right now, but right now, he felt at ease because the personal revenge was done.
He had achieved growth.
Through the strengthening of the bond with the man in his previous life, his sorcery sword was more powerful, and through the teachings of Ignet Crescentia, he laid a higher foundation.
‘In retrospect, it means that I have obtained a much larger amount than what the dungeon could give me.’
After contemplating, Airn opened his eyes.
He saw the figure of Ilya Lindsay diligently practicing the sword. It was neither flashy nor sharp.
Yet, it looked different to him as a swordsman and sorcerer.
The ‘Hero’s Sword.’
No, watching her attune the Hero’s Sword into her body, Airn too swung his sword.
Woong!
Wooong!
Just like he thought about it last time, making the Sword of Heart was difficult.
It was as if a person who hadn’t moved their entire lives was being asked to do a difficult movement.
Just like how a swordsman who had barely felt Aura didn’t think about its operation, Airn continued to train step by step in order to become familiar with the Hero’s sword.
Wong!
Pour your heart into the sword.
Whoong!
And achieve harmony among the two.
Woong!
Add an aura to it and add the energy of the five spirits.
As a hot fire was added to the metal, Airn’s sword gradually smoothed and sharpened.
However, as time passed, his expression darkened.
The tip of the sword began to shake little by little, and his breathing and posture started giving out cracks and gaps.
He knew why.
Airn, who held the sword, sat down and looked at his heart.
‘I, I came here to see Ignet.’
Right.
The reason he came here was to meet Ignet.
He still remembered what she said in Derinku.
‘A kid with a piece of steel which he can’t handle.’
Right,
And he was enraged at those words.
The moment he completed the sword through his previous life, Ignet’s face popped into his mind to the extent that he wanted to show his growth to her.
Airn had strong feelings for her.
Unlike before, he wasn’t being swayed by the Iron stake in his heart. He proudly showed the sword.
Unlike before, he didn’t hesitate in front of her. He fully spoke what he meant.
Seeing Ignet’s surprised face, he thought it was refreshing and was able to gain confidence through it. Until he entered the dungeon.
‘… it didn’t last long.’
Airn closed his eyes.
What happened within the dungeon clearly came to his mind.
The energy of the swordsmanship which took down the clown.
The strong figure, who, alone, prevented the clown from destroying everything.
Even with fatal injuries that no ordinary person could handle, she taught everyone else the Sword of Heart.
“…”
He knew these emotions of his were meaningless.
Didn’t Bratt tell him? Heroes have no ranks. Whether strong or weak, just walking on that path was worth it.
… he didn’t know. Right now, he wasn’t sure.
Recalling the gazes of paladins falling on Ignet, Airn opened his eyes.
And then saw a familiar figure standing in front of him.
“Mr. Georg.”
“It has been a while, Airn."
“…”
“No, is it strange to say it’s been a while? But it is our first greeting after the reunion… I don’t think it is wrong.”
Georg Phoebe politely extended his hand. Airn, who contemplated for a moment, reached out.
After exchanging a strong handshake, he asked if he could sit, and Airn nodded.
Ilya stopped practicing with her sword and looked at them.
Georg opened his mouth as a minute passed.
“Can I ask you a favor?”
“… what kind of favor?”
"I want to ask you about what happened during the year and a half after our meeting.”
“…”
“I know it could be a rude question. But I couldn’t stand it anymore because of my curiosity.”
He was being sincere.
When they met at the banquet hall, he knew Airn had grown strong, and that his heart was stronger.
Even his commander changed after she had seen him, and that was another reason for his curiosity to bloom.
“The commander changed.”
“…”
“A very small amount only, but it is definite that she changed. Maybe… maybe because of Airn Pareira. But I don’t know if I am sure about it.”
“About what?”
“I don’t know what influence you had on our commander.”
“…”
“Our commander is a consistent person. And she always has been, even from the time we first met.”
Georg recalled the past.
Even ten years ago, when he met her, and now when she was a commander of Black Knights, she still used her mercenary way of speaking. And so did he.
Like a person who was complete from the beginning, Ignet never wavered and didn’t change.
And now, she has changed.
Her confident expression and attitude were still there. However, something strange was added between it. Georg could feel it.
Ignet didn’t look at him, but for the past 10 years, he didn’t look away from Ignet for even a moment.
So, he felt a little annoyed. A bit bittersweet too.
He didn’t like that it was neither him nor Anya who brought on the change.
But…
‘I can’t deny that she is opening up her heart slowly because of him.’
And that was why Georg came here.
Georg obviously knew that he was inferior to his commander. He didn’t have the skills or the eyes of Ignet.
He couldn't feel what Ignet felt from Airn right away, so he had to listen about it directly from Airn to understand.
If he didn’t do it, he thought he didn’t have the right to follow his commander.
“… it is the reason I came to find you.”
Georg frankly spoke.
Airn watched him and then looked up at the sky.
There was nothing to be done.
They didn’t share a good relationship, but most of the uncomfortable feelings between them had disappeared.
He could see just how big of a heart this man had for Ignet, so he decided to speak.
But before that, he had something to ask.
He looked at the man with his sorcery eyes and said.
“I will tell you.”
“Than…”
“If you tell me what you are hiding first.”
“…”
“About Ignet, about the Devil… you are hiding something, right?”
A gleam in Airn’s eyes.
An intuition stronger than ever, his sharp sixth sense, looked inside Georg.
The vice-commander of Black Knights began to sweat at those words.
… he knew that he shouldn’t say it.
But he couldn’t help but say it.
It was as if this young man knew everything from the beginning. It seemed that he asked the question only to confirm.
Finally, with a sigh, Georg Phoebe opened his mouth.
“It is very likely that the clown is alive… according to the Holy Kingdom.”
Clack!
The door to the conference room opened. There was little anger on the faces of some of the paladins sitting there.
It was a gathering place for the big people. To enter such a place without prior permission was impossible.
And a door opened to such a room, and 2 young people entered with a flying cat.
Among these three individuals, the blonde-haired man said.
“I heard that the clown isn’t dead.”
“…”
“In addition, I heard that not a few devils and demons are hidden all over the continent, and the subjugation team will be formed to exterminate them?”
“So?”
“I will say it outright. Please put us in the subjugation squad.”
“Why?”
It wasn’t a friendly voice.
It was natural. This young man came in without permission and was making demands.
Airn continued to look at the bald man who asked him that question.
‘He is strong.’
The status of a swordsman couldn’t be judged by their aura.
However, it was one of the indicators, so Airn was able to grasp the strength of the swordsmen here.
Surprisingly, this old man had a better aura than Julius Hul.
‘Who is he?’
An appearance that seemed higher than those in the room.
However, it was not formidable enough to rival Karakum.
The man got up and said.
“Come out.”
“Huh?”
“You seem to be confident in your skills, so come out and show me.”
“…”
“You have at least that much courage, right?”
A cold gaze.
Airn, who received it, nodded.
“I do.”
