Chapter 457: Now, You Can Shine (1)
Melchior quickly widened the distance between them, spinning around to look back.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Moments later, a group emerged from the burning forest. At a glance, Melchior recognized who was approaching.
"Count Fenris."
Melchior's lips curled into a lick as he looked at Ghislain, who was radiating such an intense aura that it sent shivers down his spine.
"You've finally come."
Neigh!
Ghislain pulled the reins of the Black King to a halt and spoke.
"Gillian, take the knights and head for the castle. Kill every remaining foe you find."
"Understood."
Gillian galloped off with the knights.
Even as Melchior watched them pass, he made no move to stop them. Instead, he stepped slightly aside, as if to let them pass more easily, even extending his hand as if pointing them in the right direction.
Though his brows furrowed in displeasure, Gillian cast him a brief glance before spurring his horse onward.
Once Gillian and the knights disappeared, Melchior tilted his head to one side, cracking his neck, and grinned.
"Sending off all your subordinates? Confident, aren't you? Or maybe you think two of you are enough to handle me?"
Belinda, who had remained by Ghislain's side, continued to glare at Melchior.
His face was wrapped in bandages, obscuring his features. Yet, identifying someone wasn’t solely about their face.
Their gaze, lips, demeanor, and voice Belinda recalled each characteristic, comparing the figure before her with her memories. Finally, she closed her eyes and said,
"So, you really are alive, Melchior, the traitor."
Melchior raised an eyebrow, his gaze narrowing as he looked at her.
"What? Traitor? Do I know you?"
Belinda slowly opened her eyes, a single tear rolling down her cheek.
"I could never forget the one who betrayed Lady Annette and attacked her."
At that name, a surge of energy erupted from Melchior. The murderous intent in his eyes, partially visible through the bandages, was unmistakable.
"You know her? Who are you? Where is that woman now?"
"She passed away. From the injuries you inflicted during that fight."
Melchior hesitated for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter.
"Ha, hahahaha! She's dead? She actually died? Hahaha! That means I won, doesn't it? Hahaha!"
Melchior was ecstatic. The one who had left him in this miserable, half-dead state had ultimately perished because of him. The grudge and fury he'd harbored for over twenty years seemed to dissolve.
As Melchior laughed maniacally, Belinda sneered at him.
"Won? You think ambushing her with hundreds of assassins and still suffering a crushing defeat counts as winning? You were utterly humiliated, weren't you? Isn't your laughter just a mask for the relief you feel now that a threat is gone?"
At her words, sparks flew from Melchior's eyes.
"You… How do you know that? Who are you to know such details?"
Only a few within the ducal faction and the Salvation Church knew about his disgraceful past. It was impossible for an outsider to know.
Melchior stared intently at Belinda, and his eyes widened in sudden realization.
"Could it be… Belinda?"
"Glad to see that you still remember."
"Hahaha! You little brat! You're still alive!"
Clang!
Two daggers appeared in Melchior’s hands as if by magic.
"So, the little girl managed to survive, huh? Did Annette take you and run?"
Belinda didn’t respond. Instead, she focused her cold gaze on him, drawing her mana.
As her robes fluttered, dozens of daggers attached to her body floated into the air, writhing like snakes.
Seeing this, Melchior chuckled again.
"Your techniques look a lot like hers. You must’ve learned something while hiding away. Killing you today will wipe away all traces of my shameful past. Come, both of you."
The two stared each other down, their auras crackling.
Amid the tense atmosphere, Ghislain, awkwardly listening to their exchange, finally spoke.
"Belinda, you really knew him? And who’s this Annette?"
Belinda bit her lip. She hesitated for a moment before, as if steeling herself, she looked at Ghislain with sorrowful eyes and replied.
"Lady Annette was my mentor and the leader of the organization I belonged to. And…"
Ghislain pressed further when she paused.
"And?"
"She was your mother."
"…What?"
Melchior’s head snapped toward Ghislain. Ghislain’s expression mirrored his disbelief as he stared at Belinda, astonished by the revelation.
Half-thinking he must have misheard, Ghislain stammered,
"My mother… was an assassin?"
"Not just any assassin. She was more like a righteous assassin."
Hearing the phrase "righteous assassin" was a first in my life. Ghislain calmed his swirling thoughts with effort.
Honestly, I didn't have many memories of my mother. She passed away when I was young.
What I did know was that her health had been fragile. Because of that, she didn’t live long.
I still remembered how my father grieved for years because of it.
"So, uh... Are you saying my mom’s poor health was... because of that bastard?"
"Yes. She sustained severe injuries while fighting that despicable man, which shattered her mana core."
"Even after suffering such injuries… She married my father, gave birth to me and Elena, and lived for a few more years? Does that even make sense?"
When a mana core is shattered, living a normal life becomes nearly impossible. The body’s balance is disrupted, and life force constantly leaks away, leaving one weaker than even ordinary people. The usual outcome is a slow, painful decline until death.
If someone was born with extraordinary resilience or managed to store mana and life force using alternative methods, they might extend their lifespan. But such cases were extremely rare.
Yet, Belinda nodded as if it were only natural.
"Of course, your mother was born with divine power. She was truly remarkable."
"Wow..."
Those born with divine power possessed strength and vitality several times greater than ordinary people. I knew this well, having encountered someone among the Seven Strongest on the Continent in my previous life who had divine power.
If my mother was born with divine power, it made sense that she lived for several years even after her mana core was shattered.
"I see. I’ve always wondered why my mother was frail when Elena and I are so healthy. It was because of a grave injury."
My mother’s origins and Belinda’s past, which she shared with her in Ferdium, had always seemed somewhat suspicious. Only now did the secret of her birth come to light, and I nodded in understanding.
"Yes. Truthfully, she wasn’t someone who was inherently frail. She suffered such severe aftereffects from her injury that it’s hard to believe this bastard is still alive. I can’t imagine how he survived."
"Now that you mention it, you're right."
If what Belinda said was true, the fact that he was still alive and unscathed implied some kind of trickery.
Every time he exhaled, dark energy seeped out. It was obvious that the Salvation Church had been up to something.
"That bastard… is he Annette’s child?"
Melchior, clearly flustered, alternated his gaze between me and Belinda before asking.
‘Yeah, he is the remarkable figure who conquered the North and ascended to the rank of Master.’
"H-haha… Of course, it’s fitting for the offspring of the one once called the strongest in the kingdom. Looking at this brat, his hair color and features resemble hers more than the Marquis of Ferdium."
"He takes after Lady Annette a lot."
“Could it be that he became so strong so quickly because, like her, he was born with divine power?”
Melchior’s expression tensed. Those with divine power could amplify their abilities several times over by mastering mana.
Belinda shook her head with a proud look on her face.
"No, the young master wasn’t born with divine power, nor did he learn Lady Annette’s mana cultivation techniques or skills."
"What? Then how did he ascend to Master rank at that age?"
"We taught him nothing. It was Lady Annette’s wish. The young master only practiced Ferdium’s mana cultivation methods and swordsmanship."
"Ridiculous! He must have inherited her secret techniques and power. That’s why he grew strong so quickly!"
"No, the young master reached his position through his own effort. And... stop referring to her as 'that woman'. Show some respect for someone who was your superior, you rude bastard."
BOOM!
Belinda’s eyes flashed, and she vanished in an instant.
Reappearing behind Melchior, she hurled a dagger with deadly precision, but the target had already disappeared.
As she turned around, Melchior’s bandaged face came into view.
"For an apprentice to dare attack me… how bold of you."
CLANG!
Melchior’s dagger lunged for Belinda’s abdomen. She barely managed to deflect it and retreated.
WHOOSH!
Dozens of daggers swirled and shot toward Melchior. It was an attack that dominated the space in an instant, but he evaded them all.
Sssh.
Belinda’s figure grew faint and then disappeared. Melchior’s body followed suit, becoming a blur as he chased after her.
CLANG! CLANG!
The two of them disappeared and reappeared all over the place, continuing their battle. Their movements were so fast that it was hard for anyone to follow.
Ghislain, however, tracked everything with his eyes, deep in thought.
‘It’s still too much for Belinda to win.’
Melchior was undoubtedly strong. He only appeared less intimidating because he was fighting openly, but if he carried out a proper ambush, even a seasoned superhuman would suffer a severe blow.
Moreover, his every movement exuded confidence.
‘He’s holding back his full power.’
Whether it was because he believed he could handle Belinda without going all out, or because he was conserving his strength since he had two opponents, he still appeared to have plenty of energy left.
‘Hmm, what should I do...?’
Under normal circumstances, I would have joined forces with Belinda and finished him off quickly. Even though the situation had caught me off guard, this was the man who had inflicted a grave injury on my mother.
But stepping into this fight felt… complicated.
‘It’s rare to see Belinda express this much resentment and emotion…’
She wanted to defeat Melchior with her own strength. She was trying to sever the lingering ties of her past on her own.
Boom! Crash!
Wounds began to form across Belinda’s body. Poison seemed to have coated the blades, as thin smoke rose from the injuries.
Whoosh!
Struggling with the strain, Belinda broke away and put some distance between herself and Melchior.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, Melchior looked at her and smirked.
“Well, well… Belinda, the one once hailed as the greatest prodigy in the history of the ‘Shadow Knights’, and this is all you’ve amounted to after twenty years? Annette must’ve been blind when she put her faith in you.”
“Shut up.”
Belinda bit her lip in frustration. She desperately wanted to end that bastard’s life with her own hands, but overcoming the wall of a superhuman was proving too difficult.
Melchior glanced at Ghislain with a mocking gaze.
“Am I so laughable to you because you’re doing well these days? I was a Master before you were even born.”
“So what?”
“I’m asking how long you’re planning to just stand there watching. Are you going to move only after this woman dies? You seem awfully confident.”
“Belinda seems determined to kill you herself. Isn’t that right?”
At Ghislain’s question, Belinda nodded.
“Yes. I’m sorry, Young Master, but this bastard is someone I must kill with my own hands.”
Melchior chuckled, shaking his shoulders in amusement at their exchange.
“Heh, so you’ll just watch, huh? I guess you’ll regret it after she dies. Fine, keep watching if you want.”
Swish.
Melchior spun his dagger between his fingers, sneering.
He didn’t truly believe Ghislain would stay out of the fight. The moment Belinda’s life was on the line, Ghislain would act. And when he did, Melchior planned to unleash his trump card and strike back.
“Shall we continue?”
Grinning, Melchior’s body vanished, only to reappear suddenly behind Belinda.
“Tch!”
Clang!
Belinda twisted her body just in time to block the attack. The two resumed their fierce fight.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Darkness, conjured by the two combatants, spread across the battlefield.
The assassins’ duel was distinctly different from the battles of knights.
Neither of them drew excessive power. Instead, they focused their sharp energy on a single point, aiming exclusively for their opponent’s vital spots. As a result, there were no powerful shockwaves.
Crack!
One by one, Belinda’s daggers began to chip and break under the strain of Melchior’s aura blade. The strings holding them snapped, and the daggers fell to the ground.
Even though she had absorbed the Dragon Heart and amassed incredible mana, the precision of her focus couldn’t match Melchior’s.
When she pushed too much mana into her daggers, their edges dulled, or the strings snapped.
Melchior’s taunting continued without pause.
“You still haven’t overcome the wall, have you? You can’t even use her secret techniques properly. What on earth were you doing all these years? Slacking off?”
“...”
Belinda bit her lip without responding. No, it would be more accurate to say she didn’t have the chance to respond.
She knew she couldn’t win. She longed to punish this traitor with her own hands, but the chances of achieving that seemed too slim.
Even though she had absorbed the Dragon Heart and her mana levels had reached the realm of superhumans, she couldn’t break past that one critical barrier, preventing her from progressing further.
It was only natural. Belinda understood the reason but didn’t regret it.
‘Because that was my entire life.’
Ghislain watched her with a hint of pity in his gaze.