Episode 134
Princess Arina blinked, her vision slowly returning to normal after what felt like an impenetrable fog had clouded her eyes. She looked at Zeke standing before her, disbelief etched across her face.
“Sir Zeke? How… how is this possible?”
Zeke replied in a calm voice, “Your Highness, I am actually a healer by class.”
Though he had since transitioned to an immortal class, he chose to keep things simple for now.
Princess Arina was taken aback by his revelation, then slowly nodded. “Being Laura’s son, I suppose it’s not entirely surprising. But… being a healer and performing miracles are two different things.”
“What you call a miracle, I considered ordinary healing,” Zeke said, genuinely puzzled.
Arina shook her head. “Restoring lost sight isn’t something ordinary healing can achieve. If all healers had such power, there wouldn’t be any sick people left in the world.”
Zeke nodded, realizing he had never encountered another healer in his past life to compare his abilities with. ‘I just assumed if I could do it, others could too.’
Arina slowly stood, reaching out to touch Zeke’s face, tracing his nose, chin, and eyebrows with a smile. “Now that I can see, you do resemble Laura.”
She returned to her seat, her eyes filled with wonder as she took in Zeke and the surroundings of the mansion.
“When did you lose your sight?” Zeke asked.
“When Sir Favre led me out of the Order, I was just a child. Escaping the Holy Kingdom was grueling, and I fell severely ill. After that, I could no longer see.”
Zeke was shocked. ‘The escape of the Luverne bloodline from the Holy Kingdom was nearly fifty years ago…’
He looked at Arina, still unable to believe her age.
“Look at this, Sir Zeke,” Arina said, opening her palm to reveal a glowing magic circle in the air.
“What is it?” he asked.
“It’s the latter part of the Light Magic Tome you brought. It’s the essence of Luverne magic.”
“The latter part must be quite different from the first,” Zeke observed.
“The first part contains basic magical formulas. As you know, even if one knows the formulas, only those of the Luverne bloodline, specifically those who inherit the light magic, can use them.”
“So, you’re the only one who can use light magic?”
“For now. But with the latter part of the tome, things will change.”
“What do you mean?”
“The latter part contains a mechanism to freely transfer the light magic formulas.”
Zeke was astonished. “Does that mean you can pass on light magic to other members of the Luverne bloodline?”
“Exactly. And we can also imbue items with light magic, though it requires rare materials.”
“Incredible. Then you could provide the Rose Knights with artifacts imbued with light magic, like the Holy Knights of Luverne in the past.”
Arina nodded with a smile.
Zeke, recalling something, drew his orichalcum sword. “This was forged from Sir Favre’s orichalcum hammer. It has three light magic spells on it.”
“That’s a rare treasure, usually reserved for the Arch Paladins of the Holy Kingdom. I doubt anyone but you could wield it, given the current lack of holy knights like Sir Favre.”
“Perhaps it’s because I’m a healer class that I can use it.”
“That might be part of it, but even among the Luverne bloodline, handling such a powerful weapon is difficult. Orichalcum is known as the metal of the gods, and it chooses its wielder.”
Zeke tilted his head, puzzled. ‘Really? I never thought much about it.’
He sheathed the sword and asked, “I heard from the craftsman Gollin that the Luverne dynasty knew how to forge orichalcum. Is that true?”
Arina shook her head. “Our ancestors might have known, but that knowledge hasn’t been passed down.”
“I see.”
Zeke felt some of his long-standing questions were finally answered. He posed one last question to Arina.
“What are your plans for the Rose Knights?”
Arina’s expression darkened slightly. She spoke slowly, “The Holy Kingdom and the Rom Empire are hunting and imprisoning the Luverne bloodline. We intend to rescue them.”
“Why would they do such a thing? The Luverne bloodline doesn’t have the power or justification to overthrow a kingdom or empire.”
Arina looked at Zeke. “To find someone who can perform the miracle you did.”
Zeke was taken aback. “You mean they’re capturing every Luverne they find, hoping to discover a powerful healer?”
“Miracles that can cure any disease are coveted by those in power.”
Zeke felt a chill run down his spine. In his past life, he had avoided being caught in the healer hunts because he was expelled from the academy and worked as a hitman in the south. Not being of the Luverne bloodline, he had escaped their notice, but if he had realized his healing abilities sooner and used them openly, he might have been mistaken for a Luverne and captured by the Order.
‘I thought my past life was the worst, but it could have been even worse.’
The thought of being imprisoned in the Order’s dungeons, forced to heal the ailments of the powerful for life, was horrifying.
Zeke refocused on Arina. “You’ll need strength to rescue the Luverne bloodline.”
Arina nodded. “Justice without power is meaningless.”
Though she appeared delicate, her eyes and voice were gentle yet strong.
Zeke made her an offer. “I’d like to help the Rose Knights achieve their goals. How about we form an alliance?”
Arina looked surprised. “With the Draker?”
Zeke shook his head. “No, I’m forming a private order called the Black Sword Knights. Think of it as a partnership. If you agree, I’ll provide the Rose Knights with the facilities, operational costs, and information you need.”
Arina was taken aback by Zeke’s unexpected proposal and pondered it for a moment. She spoke slowly, “If I accept, what would be required of us? Would we have to follow your orders as part of the Black Sword Knights?”
Zeke shook his head. “It’s a cooperative alliance. I may request assistance from the Rose Knights, but you can refuse if you deem it unnecessary.”
Arina looked at him, a bit troubled. “This seems too favorable for us. Sir Zeke, deals shouldn’t be one-sided like this.”
She spoke as if gently scolding a young nephew.
Zeke replied, “I never make offers that aren’t mutually beneficial.”
“Then what is this offer?”
“The faction opposing me has allied with those who wield dark magic. To counter them, I need the Rose Knights’ light magic.”
Zeke was thinking of the Abyss, which was linked to Abel’s side, when he proposed the alliance with the Rose Knights. While he could use purification magic where he was, if the demon-empowered minions or beasts attacked their base, they would be defenseless.
He sought to borrow the power of light as a countermeasure.
Arina nodded in understanding. “In that case, we can certainly help.”
She extended her hand, and Zeke took it.
Cloné wept for nearly half a day upon seeing Princess Arina’s restored sight. Arina explained that her eyes had healed after inheriting the latter part of the magic tome.
Cloné clung to Zeke’s hand, expressing her gratitude. “I used to think the only good Draker was a dead one. But I was wrong. Thank you, truly, thank you.”
Zeke managed to calm Cloné, who was overwhelmed with tears and snot.
Princess Arina decided to move the Rose Knights’ base to Agamemnon’s castle in Mycenae. Tempel was too accessible to outsiders, posing a security risk. Mycenae, with its stricter entry procedures and distance from the Holy Kingdom, was much harder for Paladin trackers to infiltrate.
However, as they prepared to move, a problem arose. Zeke received intelligence from Syndicate informants monitoring the Paladins in Tempel, and his expression darkened.
“The Paladins have blocked all routes out of Tempel.”
The Paladin unit, having lost track of Cloné and Zeke’s group, planned to seal off the city’s exits and restrict their movements.
Hearing this, Cloné was furious.
“Damn those paladins! I’ll go and wipe them all out myself!”
Sister Cloné fumed, her breath coming out in angry huffs.
Zeke, after a moment of contemplation, calmed the agitated Cloné and laid out his plan.
“Felix, Liam. Accompany Sister Cloné and escort the princess to Mykene. I’ll distract the paladins and lead them away.”
Princess Arina gasped in surprise.
“No, we can’t let you sacrifice yourself for us, Sir Zeke! Let me help.”
Zeke shook his head firmly.
“I know you haven’t fully recovered your strength since the ceremony. Don’t worry, Your Highness. I can handle them and make my escape alone.”
“But…”
Felix, standing nearby, tried to reassure Arina as well.
“Your Highness, our lord is not someone who can be easily taken down, so there’s no need to worry… Ow!”
Felix, as usual, earned himself a smack.
In the end, they followed Zeke’s plan. He would go ahead to lure the paladins away.
‘Cloné and Liam will be with them, so they should be fine,’ he thought.
Disguised as a mercenary with his hair tousled, Zeke headed towards the gateway to Atlas via the main road.
Traveling through Atlas and Pansthas to reach Mykene was faster than going directly from Tempel to Mykene.
Thus, Zeke planned to draw the paladins away from the path to Atlas.
As he moved among the travelers at the checkpoint, Zeke sensed something amiss.
‘Those guys are the Hounds, aren’t they?’
Recognizing the distinct presence of the Hounds, Zeke clenched his teeth.
Unlike the paladins, the Hounds were skilled in tracking and espionage.
If the Hounds had caught his scent, proceeding to Atlas could be dangerous.
He noticed several disguised paladins scattered around the checkpoint.
Observing them, Zeke realized the Hounds and the paladins were suspicious of each other.
‘Hmm, it seems they don’t know who each other is.’
After some thought, Zeke decided to pit the Hounds against the paladins.
He called out to Richmond in his mind.
‘Richmond.’
Richmond, who was engrossed in studying monster bones and demonic artifacts from the Barbarian lands, was startled by Zeke’s sudden contact.
‘Oh, Master.’
‘We need to coordinate.’
‘What?’
The Hounds and paladins, disguised and waiting for the Rose Society along the road, were vigilantly scanning their surroundings.
Then, suddenly.
Thud! Thud!
A massive beast resembling a giant lizard burst from the forest.
Kaaaargh!
The terrifying roar of the Gurav echoed, shaking the entire gateway.