Chapter 17

There was no heavenly dragon, no heavenly kingdom and no heavenly beings, only a black snake.

A snake that eats the sky, heavenly dragons, heavenly realms and heavenly beings, literally everything in the heavens was being devoured.

"Eclipse Shadow...."

A taboo technique that is not allowed to be used. It's not even magic and it's certainly not an art.

There are no categories or distinctions to define its type, only that it's called by the name of taboo.

Nevertheless, monk Jin, coincidentally, had a better understanding of the shadow's identity than most.

Eclipse Shadow had been sealed, guarded and watched over for generations in the temple where he once trained, lest its cursed power fall into the hands of evil and be used for their own ends.

And when the Black Snake appeared in that temple, no one knows what happened.

They were all killed except Jin, who was the only one out of the temple that day, so he was spared.

From their master to his fellow monks, none of them survived. They were all dead and broken. There was nothing but the wreckage of absolute destruction, broken ruins and nothingness that stretched endlessly along the horizon.

"Huh? Who are your sisters and brothers?!"

The owner of the Eclipse Shadow looked up, smiling innocently, it was a blonde girl who looked as innocent as a child.

In front of her, and in front of the Black Snake, strangely enough, no feelings of hatred or revenge boiled up.

He realized that his legs were shaking.

"You're the-"

Sword Saint Zerel spoke with a wary glance. It was a face he had seen before on the surface of the Labyrinth City.

A man, then, who had kept a cold distance, refusing to associate himself with those who tried to help, a blind woman and a little blonde girl.

Monk Jin didn't need to recall the nightmare from his past to recognize them.

He knew them as soon as he saw them, that the man and women were no ordinary beings.

"I thought I said I never wanted to see...again."

The man spoke up. It was a warning. Not for himself, but for them.

"Mu, we must retreat, Leader."

Beside him, Monk Jin spoke in a trembling voice.

"They are a force to be reckoned with, here, and for the sake of the future-."

"As you say."

The man replied.

"Stand down. I have no use for you."

"I'm afraid I can't."

"Zerel!"

But the leader of the Knights' Order, the man called Sword Saint, would not back down. No, he couldn't.

"Identify yourself."

"Why should I?"

"I am investigating this place on behalf of the Continental Society of Adventurers, and in doing so, I am obligated to use my discretion to question anyone whose behavior is suspicious, according to duly authorized procedures."

Sword Saint Zerel mouthed the words 'due process' so the man spoke his identity as well.

"The Black Snake."

"...."

"Does that answer your question?"

The man asked and his voice sounded like a child's play.

Alina the Sword lady swallowed hard and the same could be said for the wizard. Even monk Jin, who had known their identities from the beginning, shuddered with fear again as the name flowed from the man's mouth.

"─Black Snake. An extreme criminal organization of the highest level of danger that has been investigated and red-flagged by thirteen countries on the continent, including the Adventurer's Association."

"Wow, we were wanted, that's the first time I heard it!"

Hearing that, the blonde girl burst into giggles. In a voice that was so ridiculous she couldn't contain it.

"Oh, my God, that. That's very scary."

The woman with the black bandages over her eyes also chuckled coldly. She couldn't have realized how hollow and fleeting the words sounded.

The man between them did not laugh.

"From now on, you are under arrest, Black Snake."

Sword Saint Zerel did not smile either. He drew his sword and beyond the scabbard, a pure white chain glowed white in the darkness of the night sky.

A short silence descended.

"Puhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

At the end of the silence, returning Zerel's resolve, was more mockery.

Unable to contain her laughter, the blonde girl held her stomach and rolled on the floor. She rolled over and over, it was so ridiculous that she couldn't even breathe properly, much less giggle.

"Zerel!"

Seeing this recklessness, the Sword lady Alina shouted.

"Take the other two and retreat, Alina."

"!"

"I'll stay here and do what needs to be done."

What must be done.

"What do you mean, 'do what needs to be done' is to stay here and be beaten to death?!"

Sword Lady Alina shouted in disbelief and Zerel laughed wordlessly.

"It's not justice to look at evil in front of you and pretend you don't see it, let alone an extreme evil like the Black Snake."

He laughed, then replied.

"You stand aside–but someone must prove that I have not cowardly fled in the face of evil."

"You fool!"

"...."

Sword Lady Alina shouted, tears streaming down her face. This fool had been like this since time immemorial.

And she liked his stupid, stupid justice. She liked the foolishly upright and righteous man.

So-

"Alina?!"

-Grunt.

Wordlessly, she drew her blade and stood at her boyfriend's side.

"Looks like I've made a fool of myself."

"Alina, you are...."

For the first time in his life, Sword Saint Zerel's expression showed a hint of embarrassment. For the first time, for a brief moment, an emotion of agitation flashed through him that he couldn't hide.

It was then that monk Jin with his legs shaking with fear, spoke in a trembling voice.

"Justice must be constant."

That day was still fresh in his mind but he faced his fears and nightmares without running away.

"It takes courage for justice to be constant."

The old wizard stood beside him, taking in the words. They were a commandment of the Continental Adventurers' Association.

"Real courage is knowing your fear and going forward to face it."

"The absence of fear is not courage, it is ignorance."

The four members of the Knights' Order, each recited an adventurer's code.

"You call it courageous to ask for a dog's death?"

"I don't think it's courageous to fight because you think you can win, or to run because you think you can't."

"Your beliefs are none of my business."

The man replied in a cold voice. He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and put it to his lips, the embers in the corner of his mouth sparking and igniting.

"Foolishness is just that, foolishness."

– Roar!

At the same time, flames descended on the man and around him, but not just any flames. It was an ice fire, a contradictory flame that was both hot and freezing cold.

Inescapable, it engulfed the area like a barrier, trapping the Knights Order like a ring in an arena.

It was a ring of blue fire from which no one can escape until they die.

Within the ring, several magical blades began to orbit around the man.

<Blade Barrier>

The blades surrounding the man suddenly pointed at the four members of the Knights Order. As soon as they were pointed, they shot out like arrows.

As the blades struck, the area was turned to dust, as if it had been bombed but in the blackness that followed, none of the Knights Order were injured. On the contrary, the blades cut through the scattered debris, scattering chains.

A pure white slash.

– Boom!

A high-level art of the sword family called <Thundersword > that was fast and strong.

The distance closed in an instant. However, the man in front of the Sword Saint attack didn't even raise an eyebrow. Instead, a barrier of crystalline fractal shapes floated in the air between them.

"You're not even scratched after being hit by the Leader's Thundersword?!"

Seeing this, the mage gulped in horror.

'There's actually a barrier that can withstand a direct hit from Sword Saint's sword without a scratch, and the structure of that barrier is unheard of, complex and bizarre.'

He couldn't believe his eyes but it didn't matter what he believed. Faith is unnecessary in the face of truth.

Only then do they realize what an absurd monster they are facing.

The courage and resolve they've just summoned feel like a fleeting hot-blooded moment.

"Oh, Alice wants to play, Alice wants to play!"

The blonde girl was about to join the ring of blue flames when the lady in black smiled coldly at her.

"Let her have her fun."