My Villains Episode 287
53. Midnight Sun (6)
Riding a ghost warhorse, Luke looked around the army while being guarded by the knights.
Dozens of banshee and ghoul spirits flew over the monastery, scattering despair. The snow-capped mountains and cliffs were filled with frozen corpses, or followers who had dedicated their bodies and souls to him.
“Hmm.”
As a true seeker of the Golden Gate, Luke had long forgotten his personal worldly values. However, as I looked back at the soldiers shed blood and sweat, a sigh of satisfaction escaped my lips.
He slowly rode his ghost steed and rode out in front of the army.
Setenni Ora Monastery, the first holy place of Gwangmyeonggyo, was emitting a five-colored glow with soot and scars engraved on its outer walls. Even that pitiful bluff would come to an end with a single command from himself.
The appearance of such a monastery was like a pebble in front of a huge wave, and Luke fell into a strange sentiment.
Luke, who lost his parents when he was five years old, was taken in by a ‘reputable’ scholar who was a friend of his father’s. The scholar’s residence was Alzenberg University, and Luke had been in and out of the library since childhood, running errands for his adoptive father.
In addition to his innate intelligence and persistent spirit of inquiry, thanks to a seemingly plausible environment, Luke quickly learned to read and studied through books. Literature, theology, Spacht, as well as law, mathematics, medicine, and other foreign languages, he accumulated all sorts of knowledge by self-study.
It was around that time that I came across Yeonggeummun. Teaching that seemed abstract but had clear logic was what Luke was most eager for at that time, and he was easily fascinated.
Finally, Luke, who was working as a librarian after his adoptive father died of an unknown disease, left the city and headed to the countryside. He was deeply immersed in his own Younggeummun, and needed to get away from the influence of Gwangmyeonggyo in order to comfortably cultivate himself.
In a small and poor village with no church, but with a beautiful rye field on an autumn evening, Luke worked as a mortician like other monks of the Younggeummun.
The ignorant and ignorant villagers did not let go of their obsession with a life wrapped in hope, even in a life full of hard labor and all sorts of dangers.
Luke tried to teach them how to let go of their pain and attachments, but the stubborn villagers seldom listened to him.
In the end, Luke decided to create an environment where the villagers could realize the truth for themselves.
At first, we released bugs and fungi in the rye field. Poverty followed by a poor harvest made life sharper.
Then they made dolls out of the bones and hid them all over the village. Those with xie jiao symbols were reported and burned. The weakened bond made thinking flexible.
In the end, the children were taken. In a situation where short-lived happiness turns into eternal misfortune, the villagers finally let go of their obsession.
When the village fully accepted his teachings, Luke felt the thrill of being struck by lightning. It was the most valuable sense I could feel as a seeker.
Since then, Luke has followed that sense throughout his life.
“It seems like that task was just yesterday…
His journey, which started with a small achievement, has achieved a great achievement before he knew it, and the sacred ground of Gwangmyeong Bridge was placed under his feet in a precarious situation.
Luke quietly closed his eyes to ponder the indescribable and profound feeling.
It was then.
Ugh, Luke-!”
A booming voice cut through the strange echoes of the fluttering curtains of light, the screams of the banshees, and the meaningless growls of their followers. It was a voice so loud that it could not be thought to have been made by a human being.
Luke, who was about to smile at the familiar voice, hardened his mouth at the words that followed.
“You old dog!”
In the middle of the monastery’s castle stood a tall man.
It was a handsome man in plate armor who stood on his two feet on the battlement with his eyes pierced and cut through the wind like a sailboat’s bow.
It looked like it would fall 7 to 8 meters down if you took a wrong step, but the man raised his voice and continued to scream as if nothing had happened.
“It was only three days ago that I opened my mouth saying there was nothing more to do here. Three days ago! If a bastard who is old enough to open his mouth, all the X-arms will be rotten!”
The old man, nicknamed the king of death, silently closed his mouth at the bloody swordsman or the man called the red knight.
After clearing his mind like that, Luke waved his staff lightly and raised his mana. He raised his voice in a way similar to when he used the ‘Proclamation of the Abyss’, a type of black magic.
“Nice to meet you, Phoenix-kun. Some of the troops on the fortress
were visibly agitated at the voices coming from all directions. If Phoenix’s shout was like the roar of a beast, Luke’s greeting was like a ghost’s whisper.
“The vulgar talk is still there. Old memories come to mind. ”
“Where are our memories, you crazy bastard-!”
“Who would have known that you, who were uncharacteristically polite and sincere for a young person, would suddenly change in an instant. With her face distorted, Phoenix swears, saying, ‘That’s a complete
asshole,’ and then inhaled.
“Stop the bullshit and tell me why you came back!”
“Why did you come back?”
“okay! Did you use a trick to get me into this trap!”
Luke, who had a puzzled look on his face for a moment, burst into laughter.
“You can’t believe that, no, that’s not it. I’m not lying.
It’s just a change of plan. ”
“Busssing!”
“Really, Phoenix-kun. ”
Luke tapped the Ghost Steed under his staff. The warhorse, engulfed in blue and cold flames, slowly moved forward. The Death Knights, Headless Knights and Skeleton Knights followed.
“As the popular saying goes, I am a necromancer. It deals with death and communicates with spirits.”
He glanced over the wall with a calm expression, as if he had just come out. And he spoke with a smile.
“Thanks to you, I was able to see it. The sight of a large and radiant soul abandoning the body and ascending to heaven.”
It was pointless that Phoenix pretended nothing was wrong with his arms crossed, but the middle-aged man who served as the commander next to him distorted his face at once.
Luke, who was convinced by this, added more confidence to his words.
“I count that the saint is finally dead. Isn’t that right, Lord Kabar?”
Only then did the cathedral knight realize his mistake and quickly calmed down his expression, but already ominous whispers and commotion were spreading among the soldiers.
“Looks like you’ve ruined your eyes while you haven’t seen them— well, that’s okay!”
As if it wasn’t a big deal, Phoenix crossed his arms and opened his mouth as he looked down at the castle.
“so! What do you want! Ah- if you want to check the saint’s condition, I’d like to tell you to look at this divine barrier and get out of it!”
Poinix’s superhuman voice seemed to be getting weaker, so Luke had to listen with his eyes narrowed.
But apart from that, Luke couldn’t hold back his burst of laughter.
“under. Poinix-kun is so sad about pretending to be confident. Phoenix
puffed up his chest with an angry face as if he was about to shout, but Luke, who borrowed the power of black magic, easily intercepted his words.
“One thing I want. It’s just destroying the monastery. The only reason I came here is for that. “
If you destroy the Holy Land, you will be chased by all the priests on the continent!”
“It is not so different now. And this is the place that Gwangmyeonggyo, full of lies and hypocrisy, dares to call a sacred place. it should collapse There was a moment of
commotion above the monastery’s castle. The cathedral knight tried to dissuade Phoenix as if further conversation was meaningless, and Utequai and other mercenaries blocked him, saying that the conversation was not over.
To Luke, who was watching him closely, Phoenix asked a question with a slightly cautious expression.
“So… are you saying this trap wasn’t aimed at me!”
Like his expression, the momentum in his voice had also faded.
Luke burst into laughter at the sight of the ignorant, rampaging kid becoming very calm.
“Heh ha! Could it be that Phoenix-kun thought I was going through all this trouble just because of you? If you think so, you have overestimated yourself.”
Laughing at Phoenix, who was biting into humiliation, Luke continued.
“While you wandered around remote places and gained a modest reputation, I swept across the two countries, dealing with the electorate, father, and hero. After all kinds of difficulties, a great cause is just around the corner, but it’s foolish to get caught up in the favors of the past.”
Phoenix had a clear expression of anger on his face, but he didn’t swear.
He hesitated for a moment, as if pondering something, then sighed briefly. Then, after glancing sideways at the cathedral knight and the soldiers following him, he opened his mouth reluctantly.
“…If you are not bound by the favor of the past, then there is no reason for me to fight you… The
knight of the cathedral opened his eyes, as if those words were completely unexpected.
“Sir Phoenix! What does that mean! No way-”
Phoenix didn’t even look at the cathedral knight who was talking about something.
As Phoenix’s voice gradually faded away, Luke, who slowly drove the ghost warhorse, was approaching a place about 50 meters away from the wall. It was within reach of an arrow, but there was a death knight by his side. That’s why I was able to comfortably appreciate the complex examinations that lie in his handsome face.
“I want to ask you too. What does that mean, Phoenix-kun?”
“It’s not as huge as your army, but I have comrades and subordinates.”
As if representing the shame and humiliation he felt, Phoenix’s voice was shrunken unlike the first time. But Luke could easily sense that there was something unreasonable about that voice.
“It’s a pretty strong party. If you risk your life and fight hard, I might be able to blow off your head
.”
“My neck? Ha arrogant. No matter how hard I struggled, I would have been swept away by this army and drowned. “
You don’t want to see for yourself what will happen, do you? They said there was no need to bleed each other while being bound by resentment.”
“You traitor-!”
As the cathedral knight let out a bloody roar and drew his sword, Utequai with a chain over his shoulder took a step forward and blocked his path.
“The story is not over. Be still.”
“A knight of the Silver Prince begged for his life from an evil necromancer! Don’t you know no shame!”
As the middle-aged cathedral knight poured out an angry shout, the soldiers who followed him also aimed spears at Phoenix and the mercenaries.
“Where are these rat-sized bastards pointing their knives at!”
Starting with the shouts of a ferocious mercenary, Phoenix’s men also raised their weapons and put their shoulders together.
As if the commotion was invisible, Phoenix was looking down at Luke with a hard face.
“We are leaving.”
“You are leaving?”
“okay. If you don’t go after us, we won’t fight.”
Hearing those words, Luke stared at Phoenix with his brows narrowed, as if trying to hide the truth.
“……It’s my insides that I have nothing to lose. ”
“Even if I leave instead, don’t attack the monastery for a day. Don’t even move the troops.”
“day? Is that a condition?”
“okay.”
Luke quickly recognized the intention behind the condition.
‘Gero is trying to prevent individual defeats.’
I could understand the intention, but it was a proposal with many loopholes, so Luke had doubts.
‘But… there doesn’t seem to be any place for cheating.’
At first glance, Phoenix’s party seemed to be only about 20 people. After escaping the encirclement, the army he commanded was too large to surprise the rear.
At best, all they could do was run away at high speed using a small number, but even then, they would not be able to shake off the knights riding the ghost warhorses.
‘Are you thinking of trying to catch a straw?’
A pretty stupid proposition, Luke thought, if that was really the case.
He is a seeker of the Golden Gate and an excellent necromancer. Her memory was too good to forget the humiliation suffered by Phoenix in the basement of South Harbor. Also, the mission given to him was too heavy to be bound by this promise.
In the end, Luke nodded.
“Yes, but I also have a condition. ”
“What is it?”
“Leave right now. I don’t have much time.”
“If only the zombies to the east get bitten, I’ll move right away. In particular, clean the road so that there is not a single bug.”
Since then, several minor adjustments have gone back and forth between the two.
Meanwhile, the cathedral knight burst into exasperation and shook his hands. However, as a cathedral knight, it was impossible for humans to cut swords with each other before the king of death, so they had no choice but to watch Phoenix’s treachery.
“good. That should be enough.”
Phoenix nodded as he looked down at Luke and the knights who had approached 40 meters ahead.
“I’ll be leaving soon, so I’ll be on the road.”
“Oops, there is one more condition. ”
“What? The story is over. What other conditions are there?”
“It’s not that difficult. I just want you to be polite to me like you were before. ”
“…Yes of?”
“That’s right. In the first place, we are in the middle of making a promise to each other, but if there is no basic courtesy, how can trust be built? Phoenix
at once cursed and refused, but Luke had a stubborn attitude as if he could never yield.
After remaining silent for a while, Phoenix finally lowered his head.
“…I will.”
“I would like the title to be the same as before.”
“Okay… old man.”
Seeing him abandon his pride as a leader with a handful of subordinates, Luke burst into laughter as if he were proud of him. Phoenix’s chin trembled, then he turned and went down the chest wall.
“good. Let’s go back.”
Luke, who had reaped his magical energy, tapped the horse’s rump with his staff in a very merry mood. The Ghost Steed slowly turned its head.
It was then. Amidst
the noise of the son-in
–
law with the voices of cathedral knights and soldiers, and the endless screams of banshee, etc. – strangely, loud footsteps tug at his ears.
Luke looked back as if possessed and found Phoenix, which had just kicked off the battlements and flew up.
“……her?”
For a moment he didn’t understand the situation. It was unrealistic to see a giant in plate armor leaping more than 10 meters with a single leap.
However, to feel threatened, there was still a distance of 20 meters between Luke and Phoenix and the Skeleton Knights.
So, while Luke hardened his body for a while, Phoenix, who started to fall after a long jump, spat out the meaningless word ‘Aello’.
And-
Boom!
With the sound of a leather drum exploding, the armored knight accelerated like an arrow!
“Oh, this-”
Luke was surprised to see the antique-looking longsword in Phoenix’s hand glimmering like the morning star, and raised his magic power.
“Uh-haaaap!”
But before he could react, a roar erupted several times more ferocious than the one he had shown before. The phoenix shot like an arrow attacked Luke.
No, it almost fell over.
Aww!
A two-handed sword emitting black smoke blocked the morning star.
An undead death knight wearing a cape like bat wings and stuffing the inside of his armor and helmet with death stopped Phoenix.
“How dare you—”
Phoenix smiled unexpectedly as he watched Luke shake his hands in relief and anger behind the death knight.
“Look for it, you crazy old man.”
“…♦.what”
Luke’s eyes popped off the floor before he could finish his sentence.
No, it was not. A small human figure rose from the snow.
hooked!
“Broken.”
Facing the assassin’s heartless gaze, Luke fell backwards, blood gushing from his neck.
