The legendary achievements of Sched Lester were always based on reason.

He maintained cool rationality even in the most extreme situations, making the most reasonable and best judgments in times of crisis.

A leader you could entrust your life to.

Someone you wouldn’t doubt to make better judgments than yourself.

But.

Bang-!

“Kyaak!”

“Ugh!”

Eclas lowered his body against the strong wind blowing in the darkness.

‘Damn, what’s going on!’

The sharp gust of wind swept through the group like a blade cutting through flesh.

Screams and wails mixed together.

It was a moment when everyone regretted coming to Ideana.

“Where is Lord Sched Lester?”

Eclas asked towards the knights who were faintly visible in the darkness.

But the knights didn’t answer.

In a normal situation, Sched would have given orders even in the darkness.

To lower their bodies, or how to organize the troops in the dark, or to comfort people so they could calmly assess the situation.

But after the order to gather around the carriage, he had said nothing.

And then came the consecutive massive shockwaves.

The previous ones were impressive, but the shockwave that just came was different.

The blue flash shining in the darkness split the darkness as if a meteor was falling from the sky.

“What was that just now….’

The sound of carts overturning and trees crashing down was heard amidst the fierce waves.

Screams and groans were the same.

It seemed some people were trapped under overturned carts or injured.

However, it was difficult to accurately assess the situation due to the darkness that had fallen like a deep night without a single star.

People were scared and trembling in the dark.

“My lord is in a situation where he cannot give orders.”

The voice of Knight Carlyle was heard nearby.

“That shockwave just now, it’s clearly not normal….”

Carlyle gritted his teeth.

It was fortunate that he was alive and not far away, but it was unfortunate that he had drawn his aura.

Carlyle had followed Sched for a long time, but he had only seen him use his aura when facing other Sword Masters or hunting giant beasts.

Yet he was using his aura now.

That alone was enough for the knights to understand how threatening this darkness was.

As their eyes gradually became accustomed to the darkness and their vision cleared, no one dared to go towards where Sched was.

If they recklessly intervened, they might get caught up and have their necks or limbs cut off.

And the judgment of Carlyle and the other knights was a wise choice.

Even if they jumped into the fight, Sched Lester wouldn’t have enough leeway to consider them.

He probably would have cut down anything that got in the way.

If he could kill the man in front of him holding Riana in his arms.

Sched stared clearly at the enemy beyond the darkness.

Even the thick darkness was useless before the aura.

“Kugh…!”

The heretic staggered back from the recent attack.

Plop, blood dripped to the floor.

One left arm was missing.

“Damn it….”

The heretic looked at Sched.

Somehow, Riana Serpens was now in Sched Lester’s arms.

Sched Lester’s eyes gleamed with madness as if going berserk.

The heretic clutched his severed arm.

But Sched, as if not giving him time to compose himself, swung his sword with overwhelming force.

“Damn it…!”

The one-armed heretic barely clung to life, chewing on curses.

Bang, bang, his knees buckled and staggered under the oppressive force.

‘The situation isn’t good…’

The difference in skill was clear.

The heretic realized that staying longer would only be disadvantageous for him.

“It’s a shame… but let’s meet again next time.”

The darkness that had momentarily cleared became thick again.

Everything became pitch black without a single point of light.

His arms instinctively tightened around Riana to protect her.

All his senses were on high alert in the darkness.

But soon the darkness lifted and everything became blindingly bright.

The heretic was nowhere to be seen.

And Riana’s figure in his arms became clear.

At that moment, Sched’s head cooled down.

“Riana…!”

A pale face drained of blood.

The wound where she had been pierced wouldn’t stop bleeding.

There was no time to think about chasing after the heretic.

Sched placed her on his knee, embraced her, and pressed on her stomach to stop the bleeding.

Bright red liquid flowed through the gaps between his fingers as he covered the wound.

His hands, which had been glowing blue just moments ago, were now stained red with blood as if they had never been otherwise.

Riana’s breath gradually became shallow.

No. I didn’t come here to let you die like this.

I didn’t find you just to send you off so miserably.

It was a moment of carelessness.

I was just a bit slow to react because I had never experienced black magic before.

“Why did you interfere…!”

He simply couldn’t understand Riana’s actions.

You could have just left it alone.

You didn’t need to sacrifice yourself for me.

It felt as if the world was mocking him.

It couldn’t be that after bringing back the woman he thought had died 8 years ago, making him find a reason to live, she would die in front of him like this so soon after.

Damn Ideana.

The land that held no good memories since childhood welcomed his return in an unchanged cruel manner.

“My Lord!”

At that moment, the knights came running from afar.

Sched held Riana, who was growing colder by the moment, close.

“A priest.”

Nothing else mattered.

“Bring a priest immediately!”

He had to save Riana Serpens.

The old Ideana Count’s mansion in Paradel.

Although parts of it were damaged, the white stone mansion still had its ceiling and walls intact.

Sched made it his temporary quarters and moved Riana to the best available room.

He couldn’t take his eyes off the pale face of the woman lying limp on the makeshift bed.

“How long do we have to wait.”

Sched’s voice was low and monotone as always.

However, the priest opened his mouth, sweating profusely at the voice that was colder than ever before.

“Well, strangely, the holy power isn’t working…”

The priest had been by her side trying to heal Riana ever since she was moved.

But his holy power simply couldn’t heal the wound.

The most he could do was to stop the bleeding.

But it still hadn’t completely stopped, and the makeshift bed was soaked with blood.

“Damn it, did the temple send an incompetent novice? Can’t even properly heal a single wound like this…!”

As Sched muttered lowly, the priest bowed his head deeply.

“This wound isn’t an ordinary one…”

“Then find another way to save her!”

Bang, as Sched struck the nearby table, the old table leg broke and it tilted to the side, collapsing.

The priest, his lips trembling as if he might cry at any moment, again put his all into the ineffective treatment.

It seemed that if he couldn’t save Riana, Sched Lester might behead him even though he was a priest.

The priest, already drenched in sweat as if about to collapse, began to heal Riana again.

Finally, unable to watch any longer, Eclas stepped forward.

“Lord Lester. It seems this wound cannot be healed by holy power.”

As Eclas intervened, Sched’s eyes turned to him.

Eclas felt a chill down his spine at the bloodshot gaze.

“I don’t mean to say there’s no hope for Lady Riana…”

Eclas raised both hands to calm him.

Damn it. How far gone must his reason be to open his eyes so wide at such advice?

If he made a wrong move, his own neck might fly off next.

‘He’s not in his right mind.’

Eclas looked at Sched’s trembling hands.

With eyes that looked ready to destroy anything, yet trembling like a baby lamb.

Could the great Sched Lester be so afraid and anxious?

‘What on earth happened…’

No one could know what had transpired while the darkness fell.

Why darkness had fallen on Paradel, what had happened to him, why Riana was injured, Sched didn’t explain.

He was focused solely on Riana Serpens.

Because Sched, who should be giving orders, was in such a state, everyone else was in confusion and anxiety.

There weren’t even simple instructions on where to unpack or how the knights should prepare.

‘First, I need to make him regain his senses.’

Eclas gathered his courage to speak again in the silence where no one dared to step forward.

“I’m not sure, but wasn’t that darkness caused by black magic?”

Eclas was a person with quick wit and good judgment.

Even without Sched telling him, he could grasp the general flow of events.

There are only three mysterious powers in this world that can’t be explained physically.

The holy power used by priests, the aura of Sword Masters, and black magic, the power of heretics.

The darkness that covered Paradel was neither holy power nor aura, so it’s simple to deduce that it must have been black magic.

However… it’s very, very troubling that this power still remains intact here, years after the heretic judgment ended.

Probably everyone else has noticed too. They just don’t want to believe it.

Among them, Eclas was the first to regain rational judgment.

“Black magic is the opposite of holy power. Perhaps it’s natural that holy power doesn’t work on wounds caused by black magic. There might even be a curse mixed in.”

Eclas continued speaking as calmly as possible to pacify Sched.

At this, the priest nodded his head violently as if his neck might break.

He seemed to want to argue that it wasn’t due to his incompetence.

Then Sched’s lips pressed tightly together.

Fortunately, it seemed some reason remained to understand his words.