Chapter 17

"I was ordered by the pope to kill you."

"Stop lying. I never had any connections with the pope!"

He shrugged, "Of course you have. Your mother, the former Saint, is the pope's daughter."

My eyes widened in his revelation. That means my thoughts were right!

I couldn't figure out who wants Krynt's death because he has never gotten himself into anything questionable. This is why I thought that it has something to do with his birth history. This also answers why Krynt is highly compatible with divine power.

"She fell in love with that low-ranking paladin and ran away. The church hunted them by the order of the pope to avoid tarnishing his reputation and sullying the church's prestige." Raphael said with contempt.

"... Your mother and father hid you very well. However, their efforts went to naught the moment you came to the capital. You should've stayed in the countryside, that way, the pope wouldn't know your existence.

My hands trembled in rage. I could believe what I heard. He, he ordered the death of his daughter for his reputation? What kind of horrible parent is that?

No wonder the Saint choose to run away, she must be felt suffocated for having a father like that, and tired of being tied to the church.

Of course, Krynt couldn't help but feel surprised. His questions regarding the truth behind his birth were finally revealed and brought closure to him. He felt sad, knowing that his parents suffered a tragic fate despite their love for each other.

However, the betrayal of his friend devastated him the most. Raphael is his first friend, and he couldn't accept the fact that the things he showed him were all lies.

Resentment is evident in his eyes as anger, hatred, and sadness swelled in his heavy heart. Regardless of his feelings, Krynt kept his composure and didn't allow his emotions to overtake his judgment.

The Raphael, who is standing before him, was no longer a friend but an enemy.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Hyaaah!"

I sprinted toward Raphael and swing my sword against him.

Both swords collided in the air and made a sound.

Clang!

He didn't avoid my attack, instead, he took it and blocked it with ease. However, I didn't give him time to strike back and wielded my sword again.

I turned the angle of the sword and aimed at his side.

Pam!

He managed to block my attack again. I backed away because of the rebound.

Raphael smiled at Krynt as if he was mocking him.

Krynt never won a spar against him, that's why he was confident that he'll be able to kill him easily. Raphael wanted to play with Krynt because it was quite entertaining to see him trying.

Taking this opportunity, Raphael charge forward and swung his sword.

Pam! Pam!

For the consecutive strikes, Krynt managed to block his attacks yet in the next moments the sword strikes his chest.

Slash!

The sword tore his breastplate, leaving a wound on his chest.

Raphael reinforces his strength and concentrated his power on his fist and punches his abdomen.

"Guuak!"

Krynt's face contorted in pain, it feels like his insides were twisted and rearranged. Not only that but he also got thrown away because of the impact of Raphael's attack.

Crash!

His back crashed against the tree leaving a dent on its trunk.

"Urk!"

* * *

Sid clenched her jaw, she doesn't like where this is going. Raphael is overpowering Krynt and if this fight drags any longer Krynt will be at disadvantage.

It would be a lie if she said that she wasn't terrified of this current situation. Of course. She has already experienced things that are more terrifying than this. For example, her encounter with the demon and dying helplessly in his hands.

However, this is different because he's fighting a human where lives are at stake. And it would be stupid if she'll let Raphael live.

Sid strengthened her resolve because if Krynt dies. She will repeat that painful experience of death once again.

"I am Krynt, and Krynt is me," Sidereae chanted.

I rose to my feet and cast a healing spell to recover my health and stamina.

I didn't waste a second and rash toward Raphael, and as soon as I closed the distance I didn't hesitate to activate a skill using my divine power, "Holy Sword!"

Thrust!

A stream of Divine light was released as I thrust the sword forward. The sword quickly stretched out, aiming for Raphael's neck, but he managed to dodge it. However, he couldn't avoid it completely as he reacted a second later to receive damage to his shoulder.

"You...!" Raphael hissed angrily, seeing his bleeding shoulder.

He grits his teeth and attacked me, "Ha!"

I quickly step back and used Quick Pace to increase my movement, allowing me to dodge his rapid swings.

"You damn rat!" He started to get annoyed, he couldn't accept that Krynt is evading his aggressive attacks like a slippery eel.

He firmly planted his right foot forward and swing his sword while changing the trajectory midway, "Thunder!"

Lightning emits from his sword as it collided with Krynt's sword.

Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

"Holy Shie-- Ackk!"

My face crumpled as electricity entered my body, "Gaahh!"

I forced my body to move, separating myself from his attack.

"Gasp...gasp!"

I activated healing to recover, but before I was able to heal myself Raphael came after me, "Holy Shield."

"Pierce!" Raphael cast and energy pooled at the tip of his sword.

Crack!

His sword pierced through, creating a hole in the shield. And just before the shield broke, she quickly activated a skill,

"Release Light!"

Light balls materialized in the air and repeatedly fired at Raphael.

"Krynnnttt!" He roared angrily and activates his shield.

Beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Sid can only maintain this skill for a short time, that's why she needed a decisive move to end this battle.

When the Release of Light is starting to fade, Sid darted toward Raphael and attacked him with rapid sword swings.

He was only able to defend himself because of her fierce attack.

Sid wanted to finish this tiring fight already and decided to gamble all her power on her next move.

She took a deep breath, "Hooh."

A bluish-white light radiated from her and focused her mind on covering her sword, similar to an aura.

Wong! Wong!

Her grip tightened around the hilt, and Sidereae kicked the ground. With the push from her feet, she strode forward to Raphael.

"I hope this works," she prayed as she released all her strength in a single attack.

"Divine punishment!"

She thrust her sword, and a blinding light blasted from it.

"GAAAAHHH!"

Raphael let out an agonizing scream. His flesh was pierced and torn apart as light entered his body, burning every single cell in his system.

Crackle! Crackle!

Thud!

Sidereae fell to her knees, gasping for air as he watched the burning figure of Raphael. Her body was trembling, she had no strength left to move after using all of it in her attack.

As the excitement of battle ended and adrenaline left her system, her suppressed emotions came back like a flood.

An unexplainable feeling took over, and her stomach hurl at the crisped body before she realized that she just killed a human being.

"Urk...blerrgghh! Ugh!"

Tears streamed down her eyes as she vomited.

"Gasp...!"

She quickly took the waterskin from her waistband to wash her mouth with water.

"Gulp, gulp!"

After washing the nasty taste of puke in her mouth, she immediately guzzled the water until it was emptied.

"Fxxk! What the hell is this?!" I sobbed. I knew that it was self-defense, but the feeling of killing someone is repulsive.

"Krynt what shall we do now?" I asked, realizing that this is also his first kill.

My heart feels heavy as sadness occupied my chest. Krynt must be weeping at Raphael's death. Even though he betrayed him, he was still his friend.

It took me some time to calm myself from crying. I still couldn't accept how things ended up, but I managed to regain my composure thanks to Krynt's strong mentality.

"Time to go."

* * *

Mathieu woke up in the middle of the night, after hearing cries coming from Sid.

"Sid?" He softly called her.

He got up from the futon and moved to the bed to see her.

"Sid," He called once again and lightly tapped her cheek to wake her up. Her forehead was damped with sweat and her cheeks were soaked with tears.

Mathieu dried her tears and wiped her forehead carefully, "It's okay, Sid. It's just a dream, don't cry." He whispered and kissed her forehead.

He smiled seeing her face ease and her crying stop.

He was about to turn back when he noticed something on her hand.

"Hm? What's this?" Mathieu took her hand to see it.

There was a strange pattern embedded on the back of her hand, and it emits a faint glow. He tried to touch it, however, it quickly disappeared as if it was never there before when his finger pressed against it.

* * *

"Is that the new dreamer?"

"Yes. I heard she's a Lirrian."

"Really? Now I understand why Master is happy. Lirrians dreams are always been remarkable, he must be elated to taste their core again." The dream fairy chirped energetically.

"Hm?"

"What, what is it?"

"That boy, I get the feeling that he's looking at us." The dream eater answered while looking at the blonde-haired boy standing by the window.

"Hahaha! That's impossible, a human couldn't possibly do that." The dream fairy laughed while holding her stomach as she finds it funny.

"I guess, I am mistaken." He murmured, with his eyes curiously gazing at the boy.