Chapter 165: Critical Point (2)
On the way back to the holy land after finishing the deal with the cult.
Inside the carriage that she was riding with Eileen, Naias had a dissatisfied expression on her face.
She had no choice but to hand over her blood to the cult that threatened her with the saintess.
Moreover, she had to give Peter some strands of her hair along with her blood under the pretext of data.
Despite gaining a great advantage, Naias’s complexion was not bright after completing the humiliating deal.
“Ugh…”
The distance of the sword.
The sense of energy.
The agility of movement.
The level of the apostle named Peter that she examined with her dragon eye was really nothing special.
Before he could show any ability through his magic, Naias was confident that she could kill him.
She felt that she could easily knock him down even if he used his full power and she used the power of the dragon.
However, she had to endure one-sided threats from such an apostle.
It was because Peter, the apostle, pressured her by showing an attitude that he didn’t care if the deal fell apart.
And in the end, she had to let him go without even touching him.
“If we meet again… I will definitely…”
In the end, Naias was the one who had her information stolen.
It was a humiliating time.
But this time, it couldn’t be helped.
The life of the saintess Eileen was in the hands of the hidden apostle.
She had to follow Peter’s words to save Eileen.
But next time, it would be different.
“I will surely bring down that man with my own hands.”
Then, she would surely punish the apostles of the evil god with her own hands.
With that determination, Naias grabbed Eileen’s hand that she was facing.
Eileen looked surprised as her cold hand like an icehouse was grabbed.
Naias expressed her doubt at Eileen’s cold hand, but she didn’t forget to offer her a word of consolation.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
“Huh? Yes.”
“I don’t know what kind of punishment the temple will give you… but I think you can rest for a while.”
Eileen’s health had deteriorated a lot after being tortured severely.
Now, recovering her broken health by resting in the holy land was a priority.
Hearing Naias’s words, Eileen spoke to her in a subdued voice.
“Are you… going straight to the holy land?”
“That would be best. Or do you have any place you want to go?”
Maybe there was a place she wanted to visit before returning to the holy land.
Thinking that, Naias asked her, but Eileen just lowered her head quietly.
Their relationship was awkward, so they still couldn’t talk properly.
Or maybe she had heard some bad rumors about Naias.
As she watched over Eileen with concern, Naias sensed something strange in the air.
‘This is…’
I felt a powerful surge of energy beyond the carriage with my dragon eye.
Something threatening was flying towards us at a fast speed.
As soon as I sensed it, I quickly picked up Eileen.
I opened the carriage door and jumped out with her in my arms.
“Na, Naias…?”
“Shh.”
Right after I got out of the carriage in a hurry.
A light arrow pierced the spot where the carriage was.
Kwagwagwagwang!
A storm of light swept over the place where the carriage was.
Kwajik!The carriage exploded and fragments scattered.
The flying wooden shards showed how dangerous Eileen’s situation was.
“Naias! The carriage…!”
Eileen screamed in shock at the sight of the shattered carriage.
The light arrow that flew out of nowhere had completely destroyed the carriage we were riding.
It was strange not to be surprised by the urgent situation.
Among the scattered fragments, my dragon eye looked at someone beyond them.
I saw a group of people coming towards us from a distant place.
‘The cult? No, the attack just now was clearly…’
My eyes, covered with scales on one hand, followed the hooded man who was approaching.
The man who climbed over the trees had a bow that was very familiar to me.
A graceful bow that emitted a blue light.
The magic weapon Astra, which was only given to the hero of hunting, was in his hand.
There was only one thing that meant.
‘Did Sion Gong attack us?’
Sion Arius, the hero of hunting.
He had targeted us and launched an attack.
And even now, as he moved with the hooded people, he was aiming his bow at me.
I quickly raised my arm at the sight of Astra vibrating with light.
“—-Astra!”
Kwaang!
The light arrow that burst out with explosive power was caught by my hand.
My hand that caught the flying arrow trembled violently.
The weight of the arrow shot by the hero of hunting with murderous intent was not light at all.
Pajik.
My hand, which raised its magic power, broke the light arrow completely.
“Everyone! You were here!”
Sion’s voice came closer enough to hear.
Bang!
Another light arrow flew and stuck right in front of Eileen.
Eileen stepped back without knowing it at the sight of the arrow stuck in front of her eyes.
I hugged her and shouted at Sion with a sharp voice.
“Sion Gong!”
“Long time no see, Naias!”
Sion greeted me with a cheerful voice.
But contrary to his attitude, he pulled the string of Astra again as soon as he finished his words.
A light arrow flew towards me.
Kwajik! Kwaang!
I moved my hand to deflect the light arrow.
My face was filled with murderous intent as I looked at Sion.
“Sion Gong… what are you doing?”
“This? Sorry, but I had orders to capture you.”
I couldn’t understand what Sion meant by saying he moved by orders.
I was the hero of harmony, and Eileen next to me was the saintess of order.
Who on earth ordered him to capture us?
It didn’t make sense considering our positions.
“Orders? Who gave you such orders?”
“Who else? There’s only one.”
“Don’t tell me…”
Someone’s face flashed in my mind.
The holy emperor, Highfright II.
The supreme ruler of Crossbridge and the one who controlled the movements of the six temples.
He was the only one who could give direct orders to Sion, the hero of hunting.
Sion opened his mouth and confirmed my guess.
“The emperor himself ordered me. He said you joined hands with the cult.”
It seemed that he found out about the blood trade.
It was just a deal to get back the saintess, but the emperor must have judged that I betrayed the holy land.
He misunderstood that I colluded with the cult.
I moved according to the trust to save the saintess, and I never sided with the cult.
“You’re mistaken! The temple of harmony didn’t join hands with the cult…”
“You’re going to say it was a simple trade?”
“That was… necessary to save Eileen! Someone had to save her!”
“What are you going to do with a vampire in the holy land? I might be fine, but what about others?”
Vampire.
I felt like my mind stopped at that word.
I was born as a dragon and lived a long life, but I had no memory of ever facing a vampire.
The progenitor of vampires was sealed by the heroes.
It was a long time ago, so I had no chance to meet him.
But Eileen, whom I was protecting, was a vampire?
My blank eyes looked at Eileen in my arms.
“Vampire…?”
“That guy, he’s being controlled by the progenitor of vampires. Don’t tell me you really didn’t know?”
Eileen’s body temperature was abnormally low for sure.
Her complexion was too pale for a human.
But I didn’t think she could be a vampire.
There was only one vampire in existence on the ground right now.
The strength left my arm that was holding Eileen.
“Eileen is a vampire…”
“Is it because you’re an ignorant race that you never thought of that possibility?”
Sion pointed at Eileen, who was sitting on the ground, with his finger as he looked at me.
Eileen avoided his gaze as she met his eyes.
“Anyway, that’s why Eileen Asnoff is exiled.”
“She’s exiled?”
“Yes. It was decided by the approval of the elders’ council and the imperial court, so there’s no turning back. And you should know that it’s useless to argue with me about it.”
I staggered up from my seat, feeling drained.
The scales that covered one of my arms had already hidden inside.
I felt empty.
The saintess I rescued with the revelation was a vampire.
Why did the goddess of harmony give me such a revelation?
I looked at Sion Arius, who was wearing a hood, with a blank stare.
“What did I do this for…”
“I wonder that too.”
He smiled and put one hand in his pocket.
Flap.
A round disc came out of his cloak.
An unidentified energy flowed from the disc he was holding.
“So… did you come to execute me and Eileen?”
“Well, that’s not my mission. It would take a long time for us to take down Naias, right?”
Squeeze.
He clenched the disc hard.
At that moment, light burst out from the disc and started to form a cage around Eileen and me.
I looked around with a bewildered eye at the light pillars that rose up in an instant.
The light that stretched to the sky was making a cage to trap us.
I asked Sion about his identity as I felt a strong divine power restraining me.
“What is this…?”
“Belzer’s Dream Labyrinth. A holy relic that creates trials that repeat between dreams and reality.”
There were many holy relics in Crossbridge that were managed by the imperial court.
It seemed that Sion had obtained permission to take one of them out.
The imperial court had approved the use of the holy relic to bind me.
Crack.
I gritted my teeth at the sight of the imperial court using a holy relic to lock me up.
“It won’t work on heroes who have magic weapons, but you don’t have one, so I can hold you for about a month. You’re a dragon, so you won’t die from starving for a month, right?”
He was right.
Dragons who gained spirit could survive without eating for a long time.
Eileen would also be able to endure without food for a long time if she was a vampire.
The emperor’s goal seemed to be to keep Eileen and me here for a while.
“You’re going to keep me here?”
“It seems that His Majesty is preparing something important, so it would be better if you stay here for a while.”
“Do you think the temple of harmony will stay still?”
“Unfortunately, Laiteria is also imprisoned right now. I hope everyone can settle this peacefully.”
I looked at the sky.
The cage that surrounded us was completed by now.
The barrier made by the power of the holy relic was not easy to destroy even for a dragon.
It would take at least a month to break it.
Sion waved his hand at me in the cage and said,
“Talk to His Majesty after the trial is over.”
Sion’s figure split into two in my eyes.
As he turned around and waved his hand, I lost consciousness with his last sight.
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