Chapter 134: The True Filial Son Is Born
When the 2nd round of Moonlight swept across the world once more and sunlight returned to everyone's eyes—
The Knights stood dumbstruck, gazing at the sky, trembling uncontrollably.
That terrifying power, as though it would shatter the world of the spirit entirely, filled their hearts with utter despair.
Knight Commander Mark, who had been leading the Knights and watching from the side, slapped himself hard across the face while still seated on horseback.
In an instant, he snapped back to his senses.
He stared blankly at Viktor's back.
In his chest, it was as though a 10-story building had collapsed in an instant—boundless, overwhelming shock.
He was now infinitely grateful that, upon receiving the Delin main household's Wanted Notice, he had not acted rashly and sent n to capture Viktor.
That would have been a one-way trip with no return.
Mark's lingering fear refused to subside. Viktor was absolutely not an existence that Knights like themselves could oppose.
Even if every single Knight in the Northern Frontier mobilized at once, they might not even be able to touch the hem of this terrifying Mage's Coat.
At this mont, an absurd thought even surfaced in his mind.
Since Mages are this powerful...
It's probably not too late to change jobs now, right?
Viktor's Coat swayed faintly.
His gaze fell on the already half-dead Devotee.
Moonlight was a special Magic Viktor had learned from Auréliane.
Unlike the 6 elental schools of natural Magic, Moonlight had no tier—its power was determined entirely by the user's soul intensity and Magic Power volu.
And Viktor's Magic Power volu...
Only a Calamity could probably tank 2 hits of this skill.
Not to ntion that Jaxiu before him was, in his own right, a Goddess Devotee of a relatively modest level.
This kind of void-born entity generated through faith didn't even qualify as a normal Boss unit.
And yet, it had not died.
To be precise—Viktor had deliberately left it one last breath.
The writhing monster strained its throat, shrieking at Viktor:
"Guu—"
"Kill——"
The chaotic voice had grown impossibly faint. Viktor walked slowly to the side of the black mass of flesh.
The enormous black body had filled the entire Delin Manor, its height rivaling the Silver Barrier.
Viktor's expression didn't change. He raised his head and looked at the grotesque mass of flesh.
He observed the disorderly giant maws scattered across its surface, mixed with streams of green viscous liquid.
Within the depths of those great maws, several forked tentacles slowly writhed.
Scorched under the blazing light, they thrashed all the more frantically.
"Are all followers of your Goddess of Justice as dim-witted as you?"
The mont those words fell, the black mass of flesh suddenly swelled—as if it had been provoked.
The tentacles surging out instantly tore the giant maws in two. Black blood began trickling down its surface, lunging violently toward Viktor.
Gwen gripped her longsword, the ground beneath her feet slowly shifting as she gathered force.
She was ready—the mont Viktor found himself in trouble, she had to join the fight without a second's delay.
But Viktor, faced with the ferocious assault, remained utterly unhurried.
In an instant, a green radiance blazed to life behind him. Countless thick vines erupted from the earth in a flash, coiling around the black tentacles, locking them in a stalemate.
Imdiately after, red patterns blazed across the back of his Coat—and a Lava Arm grew from it, rising upward.
The great hand spread open into a palm, and with fierce precision, delivered a resounding slap to the part of the mass of flesh that could loosely be called its face.
Boom!
At once, the surrounding storm shuddered violently. The imnse force sent everything in the vicinity flying.
Even the Silver Barrier creaked and groaned under the howling gale.
One slap landed—and the black mass of flesh plunged into a silence like death.
"Honestly."
"So things just don't know when to settle down until they've been slapped in the face."
The force that single slap brought wasn't just enough to quiet it.
It was enough to settle everyone present.
At that mont, all eyes were on Viktor.
On him, standing amid the ruins of the Delin Manor, facing that imnse, terrifying abomination.
They seed to have already grown accustod to the shock Viktor brought them.
Now, only a single question remained in the hearts of those present.
What exactly was the creature before them?
Why had this monster suddenly appeared after Viktor killed Jaxiu?
But very quickly—Viktor gave them their answer.
From Viktor's body, boundless Magic Power rose from thin air. Imbued with that Magic Power, Runes were carved one after another into the mass of flesh.
Faintly, rings of radiant Magic Formations began lighting up continuously across the monster's body.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
One after another, differently-colored Magic Formations began manifesting from the flesh without end.
The mass of flesh seed to be struck by so external force over and over, twisting and squirming frantically.
Finally, sothing resembling a stone churned and pulsed from deep within the black flesh—until at last it was heaved out from one of the great maws, accompanied by green viscous liquid.
"That's—!"
Every Knight imdiately widened their eyes, staring in disbelief at what had been expelled from the flesh.
A lean body, etched with countless wrinkles.
"That's—it's Teacher Angus!"
Mark's pupils contracted sharply. His heart was squeezed as though by a fist, and a wave of dizziness overca him.
That was the Teacher's remains.
And now, it had appeared before him in this manner.
All the Knights snapped to the sa realization at once.
Angus lay there limp on the ground, his body long since stilled.
Kavra's eyes went wide as well—staring at her dead father, she fell into a daze.
That great Grand Knight of the Northern Frontier—had died, just like that, inside his own ho.
In this mont, everyone understood.
Angus's death had not been accidental. He had been swallowed whole by this creature.
But why had Jaxiu known that Angus was dead?
Could it be...
Most of the Knights had already grasped the answer—but not one of them dared to keep following that thought.
Viktor stood with both hands in his pockets, looking down at Angus's remains, slick with viscous liquid. His eyes held not a single ripple of emotion.
"He had it coming."
The truth was now laid bare. Angus's remains were the finest proof of Viktor's innocence.
Viktor glanced at the Devotee and let out a cold scoff.
In order to bring the Goddess they worshipped back into the world once more, the fanatical and obsessive Devotees had stopped at nothing.
The first step toward guiding Gwen close to the Goddess of Justice was to make her uphold absolute justice in her heart—completely and without exception.
To extinguish, entirely, the unstable human elent within her.
Absolute justice should not possess so much as a fraction of the basic desires and morality that belong to a human being.
To favor no individual, to favor no side—to act solely and purely for the sake of justice itself.
The Devotees had begun scheming against Gwen long, long ago.
From the very beginning. From Gwen's birth. From the mont the Heart of Justice first revealed its edge—she had been dragged into their trap by those frenzied Devotees.
Every piece of the plan had been crafted to make Gwen slay her own kin, to extinguish the last remnant of her conscience as a human being.
Heh.
What a laughable plan.
Viktor's eyes carried contempt. He spoke with quiet indifference:
"You've been wanting Gwen to kill you all along, haven't you."
"Very well then—I'll grant you that wish."
The mont his words fell, Viktor didn't spare the mass of flesh another glance.
He simply turned around, and walked toward the earth blanketed in wild grass.
Countless Knights automatically sheathed their longswords and parted to open a path for him.
Afterward, they turned their gazes toward Gwen.
As though she had arrived at a decision, Gwen walked to stand before that wicked thing.
She slowly raised the Silver Blade in her hand.
The Silver Blade glead with breathtaking radiance in the sunlight—pure white and brilliant. A golden-hued sacred force gradually coiled itself around the blade in Gwen's grip.
As if the Goddess of Justice had erged from behind her, taken the form of a spirit, and reached out to grip the hilt alongside her.
Gwen's gaze was resolute beyond asure. She felt a certain heaviness on both shoulders—yet within her heart, there was only perfect calm.
【Atlaes's Holy Sword】
At last, as that sacred light descended, the blade in Gwen's hands ca sweeping down.
A towering golden wave surged forth, swallowing the black mass of flesh whole.
Boom!
Whoosh!
The Devotee, sensing the oncoming danger, had its giant maws and tentacles trembling frantically—desperately trying to resist the sacred assault.
But by now, it was left with nothing but powerlessness.
The blade that symbolized justice ca crashing down. The black body, within that great wave, slowly fragnted. Its consciousness grew dim by degrees.
And finally—it dissolved into scattered fragnts, dissipating beneath the light.
The extre faith of the Goddess of Justice had t its end, at last, at the hands of the very blade that represented justice itself.
What supre irony.
The black fragnts beca swirling snowflakes, rising from the ground toward the sky—and slowly vanished.
Sunlight broke through the clouds, passed through the fragnts, and gently fell upon Gwen.
Against her silver armor, it was as if she had been draped in a golden robe—immaculate and sacred.
She gazed at the ruins of the Manor beneath the open sky, her expression solitary and sorrowful.
Gwen sheathed her blade, lowered her head, and closed her eyes.
She raised one hand and placed it upon her chest.
The countless Knights around her made the sa gesture in unison—silent mourning.
Over the ruins of that green earth, it was as though a new justice had taken root and begun to grow.
***
As ti passed, public opinion across the Northern Frontier underwent a sweeping transformation.
Viktor—the na once used to silence weeping children in the dead of night—had now been cleared. In the hearts of the people, he had beco a hero.
And Jaxiu had beco the condemned man who betrayed Angus's rule and killed his own father with his own hands.
In the official account, Viktor and Gwen had joined forces to bring Jaxiu to justice and take his head.
Though every Knight present had witnessed the true scene that day, not one of them spoke the truth.
What those Knights had witnessed that day was a shock that would remain etched in their mories for the rest of their lives.
The position of Delin Family head was left vacant following the deaths of Angus and Jaxiu.
Kavra, as the eldest daughter, did not involve herself in the disputes of a Knight family.
And so, by direct imperial decree issued from the Royal Capital by Emperor Aubrey himself—
Gwen inherited the position of family head and assud Angus's title of Count.
Yet Gwen did not inherit Angus's duty of guarding the north.
She no longer wished to remain in this place, so full of painful mories.
She wanted to return to the Royal Capital—and continue upholding that small piece of justice she carried within herself.
The Northern Frontier fell into chaos without a leader to unite it. And so Kavra chose to remain behind in the Northern Frontier, managing order there for the ti being.
She had also received a mission.
Tied to the Demon incident erging in the Extre Northern Ice Plains—one that required her to personally investigate and verify the information.
***
At this mont, sunlight poured down into the Clavena Manor.
Leah was in her bedroom, standing before the mirror, trying on outfit after outfit.
She seed to be in a fine mood—humming a tune, turning this way and that in front of the mirror.
She tried one set after another, but just couldn't find one that satisfied her.
An Elf sat on the edge of the bed, idly fiddling with a dagger out of boredom.
"You seem to be in very good spirits, Miss Leah?"
"Hm? Do I?"
Leah replied casually, picking up 2 garnts and frowning as she compared them.
"Which one should I wear?"
She turned around, garnts in hand, and asked the Elf.
"Leon, help take a look—which one suits better?"
"You look absolutely beautiful in either one, Miss Leah."
Hearing Leon's flattery, Leah's expression only grew more troubled.
"Miss Leah, is sothing going on?"
Leon looked at Leah's visible struggle and tucked the dagger away, afraid it might nick one of Leah's many outfits.
"Viktor is coming back from the Northern Frontier. I need to get back to the Royal Capital before he returns."
Leah kept humming her tune and turned back to keep choosing.
After all, indecisiveness was the kind of thing that could genuinely drive a person mad with distress.
After a mont, Leon's gaze suddenly sharpened.
She pressed her fingers to her ear, as if listening to so report being relayed to her.
"Mm, understood."
She gave a small nod and lowered her hand.
At Leon's ear, a small, faintly blue-glowing Transmission Crystal was visible.
A compact magical device used for remote communication.
Quite convenient.
Leah turned back around, watching Leon's reaction. She let out a soft sigh:
"What is it? Judging by your expression, I take it I won't be going back?"
"That is indeed the case. I apologize, Miss Leah..."
Leon lowered her head slightly and delivered her report.
"The 'children' have captured a slave rchant. His identity appears to be... rather unusual."
"They need you to go over in person and conduct the interrogation yourself."
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