Chapter 38
Gawain (1)
More than a dozen chains hurtled toward the airborne Johan.
They were manifestations of divine magic intended to capture him.
In his demonic form, Johan could have easily evaded chains like those.
The problem was the Book of Calamity.
‘It’s far too cumbersome.’
Flying while carrying a person-sized mirror made his movements slow and awkward.
“Don’t let him escape!”
“Hit him with everything!”
Before long, the clergy began employing consecrated arrows and even enormous nets.
The air became filled with countless weapons.
Alternating between gliding and ascending, Johan narrowly avoided the attacks.
‘This will never end.’
The enemy’s numbers continued to increase while his stamina gradually dwindled.
Those currently gathered were mere small fry, but overwhelmingly powerful individuals would soon join them.
Johan, in his present state, had no means of handling such opponents.
He might have to abandon the Book of Calamity and focus solely on escaping.
The instant that thought crossed his mind, the Book of Calamity began trembling in Johan’s arms. It continued convulsing as it transformed into black smoke.
It crumbled into powder as though weathering away.
The scattering black particles were absorbed into Johan’s body.
Immediately afterward, crimson words filled his vision.
The same phenomenon that had occurred when he sacrificed Betra and evolved was happening again.
‘I don’t have time to read it.’
Escaping took priority.
Once the cumbersome Book of Calamity disappeared, Johan’s movements became noticeably faster.
He began effortlessly evading the weapons rushing toward him.
He finally had enough freedom to gain altitude.
Johan spread his wings wide.
His figure shot into the air.
A black shadow raced across the night sky.
“Capture him!”
“Do not let him escape!”
The desperate shouts gradually faded into the distance.
Johan folded his wings and descended to the ground.
The circumstances made it impossible for him to continue flying.
Clergymen were stationed everywhere, while a divine sealing formation encircled the entire surrounding area.
He had been completely surrounded.
There was no opening through which he could escape.
It was the greatest crisis Johan had faced since possessing this body, but a solution existed.
‘I’ll wait until morning.’
When the sun rose, Johan would transform into a human.
In his human form, the encirclement would mean nothing to him.
No one would even question why he had come there.
The Order had raised its signal beacons, and it was only natural for a noble to answer the summons.
Indeed, many nobles were voluntarily making their way there.
Johan would simply become one of them.
As long as he could endure until morning, his survival was assured.
Johan immediately entered the cave before him.
From what he had observed in the sky, it was the most suitable hiding place nearby.
It was a cavern located deep within a dense sea of trees. Because it was completely enclosed, searching it would not be easy.
Even if they somehow discovered him, morning would probably have arrived by then.
‘I’ve bought myself at least a few hours.’
After entering the cave, Johan surveyed his surroundings.
Not a single ray of light entered the cavern, but his demonic eyes could clearly distinguish every object.
Clusters of stalactites hanging from the ceiling dripped mineral-rich water.
The stalagmites rising from the ground resembled sharp teeth.
Damp air enveloped his entire body.
Johan felt as though he were walking inside the jaws of a beast.
Perhaps this was the sight he would have witnessed if Kaiaze had devoured him.
He chuckled and dropped heavily onto the ground.
“This is exhausting.”
The past few days had felt like an entire month.
From the moment he touched the original Book of Calamity until now, incidents had occurred without giving him even a moment to catch his breath.
His biological mother had suddenly regained her senses, Kaiaze had manifested in the mortal realm, and the Order was now pursuing Johan.
Everything had begun with one event.
His contact with the original Book of Calamity.
That single event had caused this entire disaster.
When he thought about it, it had happened because of Ilea’s suggestion.
He had no intention of blaming her, but there was one thing he wanted to know.
Had she anticipated the current situation?
Probably not.
If Ilea had expected Kaiaze to manifest, she would certainly have remained at Johan’s side.
But she had left to obtain a copy of the Book of Calamity.
In other words, even the witch had possessed no information about Kaiaze.
At least, that was what the circumstances suggested.
Even so, he could not shake his vague sense of unease.
‘I can never tell what she’s thinking.’
Johan fell into thought for a moment.
He recalled the past.
Even before Johan had touched the Book of Calamity, Ilea had appeared convinced that he was an Apostle.
What had that conviction been based on?
‘She did provide reasons that were persuasive in their own way.’
At the same time, he could not help thinking that those reasons had been somewhat flimsy.
What if Ilea was concealing a decisive reason?
Johan shook his head.
‘She has no motive to do that.’
To Ilea, Johan was her heart.
No one would play games with their own heart.
Johan decided to stop speculating.
It was only causing pointless suspicion to build within him.
Rather than agonizing over it alone, it would be better to ask her directly later.
Just as he cast aside those thoughts, Johan’s sensitive hearing detected an unfamiliar noise.
Step. Step.
They were slow footsteps.
Johan sprang to his feet and immediately turned toward the source.
At that moment, a flash erupted from deeper within the cave.
With a sharp sound cutting through the air, a long beam of light shot toward Johan.
‘Damn it!’
Johan quickly twisted his body.
The radiance grazed his cheek and slammed into the cavern wall.
An explosion erupted behind him.
Fragments of stalactites and stalagmites flew in every direction.
Johan remained motionless, his gaze fixed directly ahead. Black blood streamed from the gash on his cheek.
Slow applause echoed through the cave.
“I didn’t expect you to dodge that.”
A pure-white silhouette approached him.
Johan narrowed his eyes.
Only then did the intruder’s appearance become visible.
“Not bad.”
The owner of the gentle voice was a knight clad in white sacred armor.
He stopped and made a small gesture.
A radiant spear rose from behind Johan and returned to the holy knight.
It was the weapon that had attacked him.
The moment Johan saw the man holding the sacred spear, his expression twisted.
‘No way…’
Unusual purple hair cut down to his ears, pitch-black eyes, and most decisively, an excessively ornate spear shaft.
Only one person came to mind.
Gawain de Artelga.
He was one of the protagonists of the original novel, the third prince of the Kingdom of Artelga, and a Guardian Holy Knight of the Holy Kingdom.
His appearance and aura matched the original description so perfectly that Johan could not possibly fail to recognize him.
Even after carefully examining the man to make certain, Johan’s conclusion remained unchanged.
‘It really is Gawain.’
The moment he became certain, his head began to throb.
The greatest crisis of his life had been surpassed yet again.
Gawain was a monster in every sense of the word. Unlike the hardworking Shaperia, he was an almost fully realized genius like Ilea.
At this point in the story, he might even surpass Ilea in combat power.
Johan had encountered someone so powerful that he could not even hope to oppose him.
A hollow laugh escaped him.
‘I’m truly exhausted.’
The cheek grazed by the sacred spear suddenly began to sting even more.
It was a wound that would never heal.
Any injury inflicted upon a demon by the sacred spear Espada could never be treated.
The situation was terrible in every respect.
Gawain spoke languidly.
“That’s a curious look. Do you recognize me?”
He was perceptive as well.
“Of course I know you.”
The indolent genius. The restless wanderer. The debauched libertine obsessed with wine and women. The disgrace of the Artelga royal family. The accursed parricide.
Johan knew Gawain well enough to recite countless epithets attached to his name.
Gawain scratched his head.
“Have we met before?”
“No. I’ve merely heard a few things about you.”
“I suppose I’m rather famous even among demons.”
“Very much so—as the embodiment of laziness. You’re a holy knight, yet you have little interest in exorcising demons, don’t you?”
“You know me surprisingly well. To tell you the truth, I came here intending to hide away and waste some time. This cave seemed suitable, but I never expected someone to have arrived first.”
Johan’s luck was truly abysmal.
Of all possible hiding places, he had chosen the same one as Gawain.
‘Nothing is going my way.’
Johan waved his hand dismissively.
“Now that you know it’s occupied, you can find somewhere else. Leave.”
Gawain stared at Johan in disbelief before bursting into laughter. Tears even formed at the corners of his eyes.
It was the innocent laughter of a boy his age.
“You’re an amusing creature. You’re White Horn, aren’t you? The demon who supposedly dragged Apostle Beris away like a dog.”
“White Horn?”
Come to think of it, the clergy outside had also called Johan White Horn.
“Yes, White Horn. You’re rather famous yourself.”
Without Johan even knowing it, he had acquired a new epithet.
Johan touched his white horn.
“Well, I suppose they are referring to me.”
Gawain released a long sigh.
“To think I would encounter you in this cave. It seems we’re both unlucky.”
“We can simply go our separate ways. What’s the problem?”
“That’s impossible. I have a position to uphold.”
Gawain slowly raised his divine power.
Brilliant white light began shimmering around him.
Johan clicked his tongue.
‘…It seems he won’t let this go.’
Even Gawain had to fulfill his duty after encountering a demon.
He could not simply reach a casual compromise because dealing with it was bothersome.
Pointing the tip of his spear at Johan, Gawain spoke.
“Let’s end this quickly.”
A sense of mortal danger consumed Johan.
Though he did not show it, extreme tension surged through his entire body.
Even if Johan died and returned to life, he still could not defeat Gawain in his current state.
He would have to use his head.
While buying time through conversation, Johan had devised a plan.
He would make Gawain lose control.
Gawain was still young and could not perfectly control his power.
Its overwhelming output frequently caused his foundation to collapse.
Whenever that happened, a horrifying disaster followed.
Such as his tremendous power swallowing his own mother.
Gawain, the accursed parricide.
He was the sinner who had killed the queen of Artelga—his own biological mother.
Staring at the sacred spear pointed toward him, Johan spoke.
“That’s the spear you used to tear your mother apart.”
Gawain immediately froze.
A coldness settled over his perpetually relaxed expression.
“What a trite attack. You sound like every other demon.”
“It isn’t an attack. I’m merely curious. Why haven’t you discarded that spear?”
“Whether I discard it is none of your concern.”
“Allow me to guess. You intend to atone by coating your mother’s crimson blood with the black blood of demons.”
Gawain tightened his grip around the spear.
“It seems I’ll have to tear out your tongue.”
At that moment, he kicked off the ground.
A brilliant white flash raced through the darkness.
The distance between them disappeared in an instant.
The spearhead was already before Johan’s eyes.
Just before it shattered his skull, Johan flew upward.
His black silhouette soared into the darkness.
Red eyes flickered against the cavern’s high ceiling.
The demon’s sinister laughter echoed throughout the cave.
“If it isn’t atonement, then is it for the sake of repentance? Do you keep that spear beside you so you can remember the day you tore your mother apart and wallow in self-pity, never allowing yourself to forget your sin?”
The air began to quake.
An immense amount of divine power erupted from Gawain.
The cave grew brilliantly bright.
Johan paid it no heed.
Kazan’s Corrupted Ring continued protecting him from the divine power.
He continued speaking.
“Stop struggling. You could never forget that day anyway. How could you possibly forget her face, smiling even as it turned deathly pale? Her voice comforting you and saying that everything was all right? Her blood-soaked hand caressing your cheek? The warmth fading from her body in your arms? Even the silence that eventually surrounded you? How could you ever forget?!”
Maniacal laughter thundered through the cave.
“Neither atonement, repentance, nor self-pity can grant your mother peace! How pitiful! Nothing in this world can bring salvation to either mother or son!”
Gawain’s divine power exploded.
The surroundings erupted in white flames.
The dark cavern was dyed entirely white.