“Wh-what the hell is that?”

    “Open the gate! Open the gate!”

    The ck Knight appeared even more terrifying than before.

    Sensing something ominous, the transferees screamed and attempted to distance themselves from the ck Knight as much as possible.

    [Fear is fun! Fear is delightful! I’ll eat you all!]

    “......”

    [Are you still going to stop me, human?]

    Dash!

    Seol took the unseemly stance that Toki had taught him.

    However, in this moment, that unseemly stance appeared menacing.

    “You talk a lot for an Abomination.”

    [I’ve made a decision. I’ll eat your blood first!]

    Fwooosh!

    Unlike before, the ck Knight engaged Seol in hand-to-handbat, not using his sword.

    Skid…

    Seol managed to block the ck Knight’s fist by using both arms, but he couldn’t do anything about the residual force that pushed him back.

    [Hahahaha! It’s pointless!]

    Ruuumble!

    Ruuuumble!

    The ck Knight shoved an entire building aside to close the distance between him and Seol.

    Agony's attack was ruthless, enough to evoke a human’s primal fear.

    “Krgh…!”

    Despite the excruciating pain, Seol arose, preparing to retaliate.

    He leaped into the air and unleashed a kick onto the ck Knight’s head.

    aaang!

    The other transferees trembled in fear as the sounds of Seol and the ck Knight's battle echoed throughout the district.

    “Sh-should we help him?”

    “Are you out of your mind? How will you help him? Do you have two lives or something, huh?”

    “Still…”

    aaaare…

    Baaaaaaam!

    One of the onlookers unleashed a fireball at the ck Knight, causing an explosion.

    “I-Itnded…”

    “Get out of the waaaaay!”

    Seemingly furious, the ck Knight hurled debris from a building toward the direction the spell was cast from.

    “Kyaaaa!”

    Grab!

    Fwoooosh!

    Thuuuuuud!

    The ck Knight huffed in anger, scanning the area to locate the magician.

    [Which…]

    Fwirl!

    Seol wrapped his arms around the ck Knight's neck from behind, resembling a snake coiling around a bull's neck.

    [You annoying…]

    The ck Knight quickly grabbed Seol and began striking him.

    Bam!

    “Krgh…”

    [Die!]

    As Seol fell to the floor,nding amidst the debris, the ck Knight swung his arms down violently, attempting to crush him.

    However…

    sh!

    “Haaaaaah!”

    “Haaaah!”

    Karen and Karuna both swung their swords horizontally, deflecting the ck Knight’s arms.

    The two stood steadfastly by each other’s side, responding to the ck Knight’s attacks together. They quickly realized that their individual attacks wouldn’t be effective against the ck Knight and adapted their strategy ordingly.

    [Damn it! It hurts!]

    Seol used that opening to slip away.

    Though the ck Knight did damage him, as long as he wasn’t dead, the Blood of Origin would eventually heal him.

    “Haah… Haah…”

    [...You.]

    Despite the fact that Agony had taken control of the ck Knight’s body, Seol and his summons have been expertly fighting him.

    “Doesn’t this… look like the gent has a chance?”

    “Y-Yeah….”

    Inhale… Exhale…

    BAAAAM!

    [God damn ittttttt! I’ll kill you all… I’ll kill everyone in this city too! Stop me if you can.]

    The ck Knight scanned for Seol, but Seol looked elsewhere, his expression nk.

    Fwoooosh!

    The ck Knight extended his right arm, attempting to grab Seol.

    Seol deflected the attack as best he could and aimed for the opening. As he did, the buildings copsed around them.

    Crumble…

    [Arghhhhh!]

    The ck Knight let out an ear-piercing scream and swiftly moved his left hand, attempting to use both arms to crush Seol.

    However, as he moved his left arm closer, a problem arose.

    SPLAAAAATTER!

    [...Huh?]

    His left arm popped like a balloon.

    The ck Knight was confused.

    [Wh-what?!]

    [Filia used Exceptional Skill: A Bolt Out of the Blue.]

    [Consume energy to increase your next attack’s range by 200% and arrow damage by 400%.]

    “It finally arrived.”

    “It missed, sorry!” shouted Filia from afar.

    Seol simply smiled and closed the distance between him and the ck Knight.

    “It was more than enough.”

    [Guaaaaaaargh!]

    Only now did the ck Knight finally shout in pain.

    Seol pulled back his arm and readied an uppercut to the ck Knight’s chest.

    BAAAAAAAAM!

    [Bwrgh…]

    The ck Knight's massive body was lifted into the air, leaving the transferees watching in awe.

    “Oh my god…”

    “H-He took him off his feet…”

    Seol quickly turned around and shouted at the pilgrims who had just entered through the western gate.

    “Chameli!”

    Chameli stumbled for a second, surprised by what she saw. The ck Knight appeared even more menacing than before.

    “Wh-what is going on… The ck Knight…”

    “Now!”

    “Now…?”

    Chameli was momentarily stunned but quickly grasped Seol’s intent. She reached into her inventory and pulled out an item.

    “So the demon has finally revealed himself!”

    Extinguish Evil.

    It was the Holy Relic of Varanoa.

    "Brothers, sisters! Let us impart our teachings upon this demon!"

    “Yes, vicar!”

    “Yes, vicar!”

    “All together now!”

    [Chameli used Extinguish Evil.]

    [Pirs of light descended from the heavens onto the target.]

    [Divine power is concentrated.]

    [The pirs of light deal a fixed amount of damage, dealing bonus damage if the target has an evil disposition.]

    Glooow…

    The ck Knight shouted after sensing the strange energy.

    [It’s futile!]

    Baaam!

    Seol seized the opportunity to strike the ck Knight before slipping away.

    [Krrrgh…]

    “It’ll be different this time.”

    Glooow…

    BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!

    Pirs of light fell from the sky to strike the ck Knight.

    Fssssssssssss!

    [Guaaaaaaaarrgh!]

    “It might not be the case for the ck Knight, but it’s definitely the case for you.”

    [It’s hotttttttttt! It’s hot!]

    Baaaaaam! Rumbleeeee!

    If the soul within Agony wasn’t deemed evil, nothing in the world would be.

    This was the reason behind Seol’s smile when Agony took over the ck Knight’s body.

    ‘I never expected him to dig his own grave.’

    It was almost as if it had entirely forgotten about Extinguish Evil.

    It was either that or Agony simply looked down on it after experiencing it once.

    “Guaaaaaaaargh!”

    [Insight activates.]

    [Hope Devourer consumes the impact.]

    [Hope Devourer is slightly full.]

    [Hope Devourer digests a portion of the impact.]

    Fsssss…

    [Insight activates.]

    [Hope Devourer consumes the impact.]

    [Hope Devourer is full.]

    [Hope Devourer digests a portion of the impact.]

    [Stop! Stop ittttttt!]

    [Insight activates.]

    [Hope Devourer consumes the impact.]

    [Hope Devourer ispletely stuffed.]

    [Hope Devourer is unable to digest the impact.]

    Kabooooom!

    The ck Knight fell to his knees from the weight of the light.

    Fade…

    And at the same time, the rays of light began to fade.

    “Haah… Haaah…”

    “Vicar!”

    “I’m fine, so… q-quickly… take care of that monster…”

    Thud…

    As Chameli fainted, a couple pilgrims stayed behind to guard her, while the rest charged at the ck Knight.

    “Arghhhhhh!”

    To the city’s residents, the pilgrims d in light seemed like a divine army descending from the heavens to vanquish evil.

    [The ck Knight is exposed to the Abnormal Status: Heatstroke.]

    [The ck Knight is exposed to the Abnormal Status: Anemia.]

    [The ck Knight is exposed to the Abnormal Status: Guilt.]

    Despite his hazy sight, the ck Knight could still make out Karen and Karuna charging at him.

    SLAAAASH!

    Their swords carved an ‘X’ on his chest, one red sh and one blue sh.

    It was an attack that should have been the final blow.

    However…

    Gloooow!

    Thud!

    “Krgh!”

    “Argh!”

    The ck Knight unleashed an attack with his one remaining arm and rose to his feet.

    He wobbled and stumbled. Even a light breeze would have been enough to put him back down.

    The ck Knight, no, Agonyughed.

    [Ha… Hahaha… What a shame.]

    “...What?”

    The ck Knight’s body began to grow further.

    * * *

    Trantor - goguma

    Proofreader - Karane

    * * *

    I hate them.

    The sentiment was pure, like that of a child's.

    I hate them and their colors.

    One was a zing red, while the other was chillingly blue.

    My erratic mind sometimes painted reality as a dream. In those moments, I would see my reflection staring back at me from within their eyes.

    ‘This is…’

    Hideous.

    It was as if I was cloaked in filth, a mass of ckness.

    I had submitted to the monster known as Agony to ovee life-or-death situations. My days were marked with desperation and dread.

    The only thing left after all of those experiences… was an abomination.

    ‘No! This wasn’t what I wanted!’

    Pure hatred.

    Hatred born from the loss of Karen.

    Hatred born from having Montra taken from me.

    Hatred born from my own self-destruction.

    I used everything as a weapon in my battles.

    All in pursuit of finding Karen once more and unraveling the truth behind Montra's downfall and myself.

    However, the line between my methods and objectives began to blur.

    What was I fighting for? What was I fighting with?

    ‘Why… am I fighting?’

    Where did things go wrong?

    I regretted it.

    Karen, my other half, whom I had longed to meet for so long in the past.

    And even though I should have been next to her… The other Karuna who stood by her side.

    There was no room for me between them, nowhere at all. I despaired and then gave up.

    ‘It’s over. I should just let it go.’

    I hoped to escape from this never-ending pain through that. But as I did, I heard Agony’s voice.

    [You idiot! That’s yours!]

    “...What?”

    [She’s yours! All you have to do is devour him!]

    “She’s… mine?”

    [Exactly! Now, devour him! All you have to do is devour him and be stronger!]

    “Is that really… all I have to do?”

    [It is. All you have to do is listen to me like you always did… This is the only way to get back your beloved sister.]

    “......”

    Yeah… that’s all I need.

    * * *

    [The ck Knight used Harvest.]

    [Fragments are drawn in.]

    Fwoooosh!

    “What the…”

    Woooooosh!

    The ck Knight solidified himself, resembling a massive lump of coal, and began to draw fierce winds toward him.

    “H-huh? Grab onto something!”

    “Everyone, hold on!”

    The strong winds caused everyone, including the transferees, pilgrims, Seol, and his summons, to stumble.

    Rumble…

    Crumble…

    The winds were powerful enough to even rip the walls off the buildings.

    Gradually, the ck Knight unveiled the true powers of the skill, causing everyone to shudder.

    Ring!

    “No! Karuna!”

    There was something off with Karuna.

    The instant the ck Knight used Harvest, he acted like a marite whose strings had been abruptly severed.

    Grab!

    Seol quickly grabbed Karuna’s hands.

    “Krrrrrrrgh…”

    Clench… Clench…

    Slide!

    Karuna’s hand continued to slip away from Seol.

    “No!”

    Seol instinctively released his other hand and reached out, hoping to secure Karuna.

    “Master!”

    Karen quickly noticed Seol releasing his grip and extended her arm to grab his other hand.

    Grab!

    Swipe…

    “Damn it!”

    Though Karen seeded in grabbing Seol, Seol failed to grab Karuna.

    Fortunately, Karuna's body was caught in something, preventing him from being sucked in any further.

    A red line.

    The blood-colored line stretched out, binding Seol and Karuna together.

    ‘Is this because of Lineage…’

    While Seol was able to catch a break thanks to the Blood of Origin, the situation only deteriorated further.

    Snap… Snaap…

    “It’s brea–”

    Snap!

    [Karuna is severed from Lineage.]

    The red line snapped.

    And as Karuna was helplessly being drawn faster and faster towards the ck Knight…

    Jamad summoned himself from Seol’s extended hand, stretching hisrge hand along with it.

    Jamad quickly swiped his hand, catching the severed red line to Karuna.

    “I caught him!”

    “Jamad!”

    “Pull him in!”

    “Arghhhhhhhh!”

    Jamad managed to pull Karuna in, their hands now connected, firmly linking them together.

    [Lineage is formed with Karuna.]

    sh!

    Karuna returned to his senses.

    The moment he woke up, he drew Breath and unleashed a powerful swing.

    Gloooow!

    [Karuna used Moonlight sh.]

    A bright blue wave of energy hurtled towards the ck Knight.

    BAAAAAM!

    Crumble…

    The ck Knight's ability faltered after taking damage, stopping his ability to draw objects toward him.

    However, the situation was far from over.

    The ck Knight had disappeared.