Chapter 39
Gawain (2)
Gawain began to run rampant. Divine power erupted ceaselessly from his body.
The entire cavern was blanketed in pure white light. To a demon, it was no different from a sealed chamber filled with deadly poison.
Johan writhed in agony.
Not even Kazan’s Corrupted Ring could protect him completely.
Several strands of divine light were touching Johan’s body.
A horrendous burning sensation assaulted his skin.
‘I won’t last long.’
If this continued, he might melt away and die.
He needed to escape the cavern as quickly as possible, but there was something he had to do first.
He had to plant a Dream Fiend in Gawain.
It was an authority that infiltrated its target’s subconscious and disrupted their mind. Johan intended to use it on Gawain just as he had used it on Baron Grian shortly after possessing this body.
Suppressing the pain, Johan began condensing his demonic energy.
Black smoke slowly rose from his palm and took the form of a tiny fairy.
It was a Dream Fiend, a creature capable of controlling a sentient being’s subconscious.
To use a Dream Fiend, one needed a perfect understanding of the target it would infiltrate.
That condition posed no difficulty for Johan.
Having thoroughly read the novel, he knew not only Gawain himself but also every secret surrounding him and even his political circumstances.
Johan commanded the Dream Fiend.
‘Hide somewhere safe. Once Gawain’s rampage ends, make your move.’
He couldn’t attach the Dream Fiend to Gawain in his current state.
The creature would never withstand that vast amount of divine power.
Only after Gawain’s rampage ended would the Dream Fiend be able to fulfill its purpose.
Avoiding the divine power, the tiny black fairy soared toward the cavern ceiling.
The moment the Dream Fiend concealed itself, Johan spread his wings.
‘It’s about time I got moving too.’
The concentration of divine power continued to rise. It was now difficult even to keep his eyes open. Without Kazan’s Ring, Johan would already have been reduced to a handful of ash.
He immediately launched himself forward, desperately beating his wings to escape the cavern.
Gawain’s sense of self was gradually fading. Amid his clouded consciousness, only an unpleasant sense of déjà vu welled up.
‘...That feeling from before.’
An overwhelming sense of omnipotence filled him. At the same time, he began to be engulfed by crushing helplessness.
Two sensations that should never have been able to coexist struck him simultaneously.
Just like back then.
Just like the day he had pierced his mother with the Holy Spear.
With the power to do anything, he would fail to protect anyone.
Gawain was powerful, yet utterly helpless.
‘I-I have to stop. No more.’
He was afraid. The image of his dying mother kept resurfacing in his mind.
—My son, this is not your fault. Your mother does not resent you.
His mother had not blamed her child, but the child had found himself unbearably accursed.
—Do not cry. Steel your heart. All of this is a trial, so please overcome it and use your power for humanity. Never forget that you are the child chosen by the Great Saint.
Gawain had no confidence that he could honor his mother’s final wish.
He could not control his power.
Whenever he tried to protect someone or felt hostility toward another person, he invariably lost control.
Each time, an irreversible tragedy occurred.
Gawain had no choice but to become someone who avoided everything.
He always ran away. He played the part of a carefree idler and turned his eyes from every conflict. His entire life had been devoted solely to preventing himself from going berserk.
Today, all those efforts had crumbled.
“...You pathetic fool.”
He had allowed himself to be manipulated by a demon.
“Damn it.”
Leaving behind nothing but despair, his reason went dark.
***
“He couldn’t have gone far!”
“Search every inch!”
It was deep into the night, yet the surroundings were as bright as dawn.
Divine light flared everywhere.
Groups of clergy who had gathered from every region had completely surrounded the area.
They had come to investigate the strange phenomenon in the southwest—and to execute White Horn.
As far as the latter objective was concerned, their success was practically assured.
White Horn was a rat trapped in a barrel.
A sacred containment formation encircled dozens of kilometers around the area, while countless clergymen searched within the barrier with their eyes peeled.
The only potential variable was the possibility that White Horn’s overwhelming strength might annihilate everyone assembled there, but even that was highly unlikely.
The Twelve Luminaries were on their way.
They were superhumans who had transcended the limits of humanity. Each and every one of them was among the Church’s greatest weapons against demons.
The Order understood the gravity of the present situation, which was why it had dispatched the Twelve Luminaries.
The moment a Luminary arrived, White Horn would meet his death.
Victory was assured.
Then, without warning, an anomaly occurred.
“...W-What is that?”
Pure white flames surged from the middle of a hill within the barrier.
They were holy flames of extraordinary purity.
“It’s a Luminary! A Luminary has arrived!”
There was no other way to explain divine power of such intensity.
Someone spoke with a puzzled expression.
“Th-That can’t be. There’s no way they could have arrived from the central headquarters already.”
“They must have been carrying out another mission nearby!”
“What would a Luminary be doing in some remote corner of the south—?”
Before he could finish speaking, a tremendous explosion shook heaven and earth.
Everyone covered their ears.
A piercing ringing reverberated through their eardrums.
But the noise was not the real problem.
The exploding holy flames were devouring everything around them.
“W-We have to get out of here!”
“Take cover!”
The flames swept toward them like a tidal wave. Countless clergymen who failed to escape in time were engulfed by the holy fire.
Screams erupted everywhere.
It was not because they had been burned.
Holy flames did not burn humans.
It was the force of the explosion that battered them.
Crack! Smash!
Shattered rocks and severed trees flew in every direction.
Amid surroundings bleached pure white, young priests and those with little divine power were helplessly caught in the blast.
Casualties with critical injuries began to mount.
The moment the incident began, Yuri, a knight of the Royal Guard, took control of the scene.
She had a protocol for this exact situation.
“Do not move more than ten paces from where you stand! Use whatever is nearby to take cover! Anything will do! Conceal your presence! You must never allow His Highness the Third Prince to notice you!”
Several people who heard Yuri’s voice swallowed groans.
—His Highness has lost control again...
—Is the nightmare of that day repeating itself?
—What was the Royal Guard doing?!
—He must be held accountable this time!
The same tragedy from four years ago was beginning all over again.
That day, the assassins who had infiltrated the Third Prince’s palace, the innocent courtiers and knights, and even the queen known as a sage had all been killed.
And the culprit had been none other than the Third Prince himself.
Gawain, the unfilial wretch.
His rampage was recurring in this very place.
Fortunately, there was one difference from that day.
They now had a way to restrain the rampaging Third Prince.
Knight Yuri immediately sprinted toward the center of the explosion.
The Royal Guard followed close behind her.
‘We cannot allow another tragedy like that day.’
Dozens of elite soldiers plunged into the heart of the holy flames.
**
‘One hour until dawn.’
Johan needed somewhere to conceal himself for a while.
He was currently searching from the sky for a new hiding place.
But he couldn’t find one.
‘There’s nowhere as good as that cavern.’
To think he would encounter Gawain there of all places. Johan had considered it a terrible stroke of misfortune, but upon further reflection, the situation was not entirely unpleasant.
After all, he had managed to attach a Dream Fiend to Gawain. He had gained an opportunity to control the man’s subconscious.
If used properly, Gawain would become a valuable card—
One he could play against Count Staviana.
Moreover, the situation itself was unfolding rather favorably.
Everyone within the barrier was focused on Gawain.
The rampaging Third Prince had tied down the elite forces, while the other clergymen were too busy hiding to concern themselves with Johan.
Almost no one was paying attention to him.
His scheme had worked perfectly.
‘It’s fortunate that they’re only a hastily assembled advance party.’
Once a properly organized force joined them, a diversion like this would no longer work. By then, however, the sun would have risen long ago.
Johan would transform back into a human, and the sacred containment formation would be unable to stop him.
He would be able to stroll straight through the encirclement.
Certain of his survival, Johan landed on the branch of a massive tree.
‘I just need to hold out for one more hour.’
The instant he made that resolution, a thunderous explosion erupted.
In the distance ahead, a pillar of light shot into the sky.
Johan narrowed his eyes and stared at the phenomenon. His expression twisted almost immediately.
“Gawain!”
Gawain was ascending at tremendous speed. Casting off countless chains and shackles, he soared into the night sky.
“He shouldn’t possess the ability to fly yet.”
Johan let out a hollow laugh.
Could that possibly have been a simple leap? His physical abilities were absurd beyond belief.
While Johan was still marveling at the sight, Gawain began whipping his head from side to side in midair.
It wasn’t long before their eyes met.
Johan shuddered. A chill traveled down his spine and spread throughout his body.
The murderous intent and hostility in Gawain’s eyes pierced him like an awl.
“...This is insane.”
Gawain began to fall.
The moment his feet struck the ground, the earth shook. Heavy footsteps began reverberating through the forest.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
The sound drew steadily closer. The trees ahead of Johan toppled one after another as a streak of light raced through the dark forest.
‘Damn it!’
He was coming.
Johan immediately spread his wings.
‘I only need to hold out a little longer. The sun will rise soon.’
He flew into the sky.
A pure white flash instantly shot upward from the ground.
The Holy Spear Espada.
Wreathed in holy flames, the sacred treasure tore through the air toward him.
He had to dodge it.
The instant it touched him, it would leave behind a wound that could never be healed.
No—he might die on the spot.
Johan stopped flapping his wings. Like a gliding bird, he halted in midair.
The Holy Spear passed directly before his nose and soared higher into the sky.
A sharp whistle followed in its wake.
He had avoided it by the narrowest of margins.
Before he could feel relieved, an enormous presence launched itself into the night sky.
Johan turned his gaze to respond.
It was already too late.
All his eyes caught was a pure white afterimage.
From higher in the sky came a scream-like roar.
“WHITE HORN—!”
Johan threw his head back.
Holy flames were descending upon him. His vision turned white.
‘This is dangerous—’
Baaaam!
A fist wrapped in divine power struck Johan squarely in the face.
A pure white ripple spread across the night sky.
Johan plummeted in a straight line and crashed into the ground.
“Kurgh...!”
Black blood burst from his eyes and mouth.
His back ached as though it had been shattered.
He felt as though he might lose consciousness.
‘No. I have to stay awake.’
After everything he had endured to survive until now, he couldn’t allow himself to be defeated so meaninglessly.
Johan forcibly pushed his upper body upright.
“Where is he...?”
Before he could finish speaking, a flash erupted between the trees to his left.
Johan instinctively leaned backward.
Swoooosh!
The Holy Spear grazed past him and embedded itself in a boulder to his right.
Fragments of shattered stone sprayed in every direction.
Johan did not remain frozen either.
Summoning every last ounce of his strength, he began to run.
A precipice appeared ahead of him. If he could only make it beyond the cliff, he would be able to buy some time.
Since Gawain couldn’t fly, he would have to take a long detour.
Even with his physical abilities, he couldn’t leap across the ravine.
Johan kicked off the ground and spread his enormous wings.
Just as he flew over the edge of the cliff, the sound of something tearing through the air came from behind him.
A chill ran down his back.
He looked over his shoulder.
The Holy Spear was hurtling toward him.
Johan’s expression twisted.
‘I can’t dodge it. In that case...’
He twisted his body in midair.
Crunch!
Black blood sprayed through the air.
The enormous shaft of the spear had buried itself in the joint of his wing.
Its holy flames burned the demon’s flesh.
Demonic energy and divinity tangled chaotically together.
Johan’s red eyes flickered madly. With each flicker, they lost more of their color.
‘The sunrise...’
Even as his consciousness faded, his gaze drifted toward the night sky.
The pitch-black heavens were beginning to brighten with a bluish glow.
‘I’ve made it through the worst of it.’
His black wings folded limply.
His reason gradually faded as drowsiness overtook him. He did not resist it and closed his eyes.
Johan’s body slowly fell into the ravine below.
***
“Sir, are you awake?”
Beyond his blurred vision, he could make out the silhouettes of two people.
An old man and a young girl.
Their clothes were shabby, and their faces were grimy.
‘...Where am I?’
Bracing himself against the floor, Johan slowly sat up.
“Here, have some water. Please take a sip.”
He accepted the cup offered by the old man and looked around.
A small fire burned in the middle of the room. A wooden door stood directly ahead, while one corner was occupied by old bedding.
This appeared to be a private home.
“Who are you? Why am I here?”
Johan still couldn’t properly comprehend the situation.
The old man answered.
“My grandson found you lying by the river, sir, and brought you here. It is embarrassing to admit, but we are wandering slash-and-burn farmers.”
Only then did Johan’s mind clear.
‘Gawain!’
He had fallen into the ravine while fleeing from Gawain, and these people had rescued him.
‘I survived.’
Johan breathed a sigh of relief.
“You cared for me despite never having met me before. I owe you a great debt. I promise I will repay this kindness.”
He intended to reward them handsomely. As the heir to an enormous territory, Johan could provide these farmers with whatever they lacked most.
The old man waved his hands dismissively.
“You owe us no such debt, sir. You haven’t even been lying here for half a day, and we certainly didn’t do it in expectation of a reward.”
The instant the old man finished speaking, Johan’s expression stiffened.
‘Wait. Half a day?’
He sprang to his feet.
Startled by Johan’s sudden movement, the old man asked,
“Wh-What is the matter?”
If he had been unconscious for nearly half a day, that meant the sun was about to set again.
‘This is bad!’
Johan hurried outside and threw the door open.
His expression turned to one of horror.
The sun was sinking.
Sunset had begun.
Several residents turned to stare at Johan when he abruptly emerged from the house.
The old man spoke from inside.
“It’s already getting dark, so why don’t you stay for the night—”
Johan couldn’t hear him.
The impending tragedy consumed his every thought.
He would soon transform into a demon.
Everyone before him would witness it.
What was he supposed to do with all of them?
Johan could not find an answer.
As he stood there frozen, the sun disappeared completely.
Pitch-black darkness descended upon the settlement.