Chapter 235 Until Then

Until Then

"Lay…land…"

Like a camera zooming in on a certain spot, my vision is focused solely on Brianna. I ignore the Paladins and the Knights who come along with her as I pin her with my gaze. Disbelief, shock, fear, terror, and dread; it is crystal clear she doesn't wish to be anywhere near me.

"You are…that man in Brontes," she mutters in realization.

"It has been some time, Brianna." I intended to say it as neutral as possible but it came out spiteful, which is not a problem. "Are you going to save your Hero? Look at you—how loyal."

"I am saving you—from the hole you have entered! Killing is not the way, Layland. You have to wake up!"

Blinking my eyes in amusement, I scoff and then motion for Genelos to heat Brianna and company a little bit. As a Demon, I am extremely good at hypocrisy, deceit, and manipulation. Brianna is also good at them but she is embarrassingly lacking compared to me. I can smell what she is trying to do from miles away—it disgusts me.

Burst!

"Watch out!"

"A Dragon!? How can a Dragon be here!?"

"Move out of the way!"

"Everyone, stand behind me!"

I have heard that Brianna is a Holy Maiden. She is one of the few Heroes who are lucky enough to obtain such a legendary Class. What comes with the Class is presented before me. She uses Divinity instead of Mana to protect the Knights and the Paladins behind her.

The Divinity doesn't belong to her—I can tell. There is not a single semblance between her presence and the Divinity. It is something that the God of this world lends to her. It is a privilege that not just anyone can get. You have to be loved by God to earn the right to use his Divinity.

Hence, the Holy Maiden got the moniker God's Daughter. I am sorry for the God of this world but one of his daughters, this time, is a harlot.

Whoosh!

Hot wind sweeps over the battlefield as Genelos' fire is blocked by Brianna's Barrier. Genelos keeps spraying his fire for a few seconds before retreating. He is irritated but he is well aware of his shortcomings. His fire will never be able to penetrate the Barrier, so keeping hovering before Brianna will only give the people behind her a chance to attack him.

Swish! Swish!

As soon as Genelos retreats, Mana Swords of different colors decorate the sky, further proving that he made a great choice. Brianna deactivates her Barrier soon after and this is the time when I strike.

She widens her eyes the moment she finds me a few feet away from her; my daggers are just a hair's breadth away from decapitating her. Alas, the chivalry of the Knight behind her managed to save her. Pulling her back as he jumps forward—replacing her, he takes my swing.

Swoosh!

My daggers trisected his body and carved a twin trench on the ground. Blood spurts out of the body, painting the ground red. In horror, the people take a thousand frantic steps back. Brianna is put in the middle of their formation; guarded like a fragile, priceless treasure.

"Layland, let's talk through this!"

I blink my eyes in surprise at the stupidity of the harlot. "Do you still think the art of sermon will somehow salvage the situation?" I sneer, "Hmph! I didn't know you were a joker."

Kicking the ground, I dash at her. Some of the Knights and the Paladins she brings with her step forward, preparing to intercept my attack. I grin and, simultaneously, my vision gets darker and narrower. The world, however, moves slower—in other words, I have become faster.

By the time one of my daggers severs the jugular of the closest Knight, the others have still yet to relocate Brianna. They are panicking, afraid for their Holy Maiden's safety. I can see the question in their eyes. They are wondering just how bad of a nightmare I am.

Slash! Slash!

My daggers cut through the air swiftly. Four bodies are cut into pieces in the blink of an eye. As I see the blood hovers in the air for a brief second, my grin widens and my heart beats faster. My vision got narrower and darker yet again.

When the butchered bodies reached the ground, Brianna has been successfully relocated. I dash at her again, prompting a Paladin and a pair of Knights to rush at me.

The only Paladin in the group takes out his Lasso of Judgment. He lashes at me, intending to strangle my neck with it. The idiot thinks his lasso is any stronger than my daggers; he is extremely bewildered when they cut it. I throw one of my daggers at him, piercing his head with it.

That was a bad decision, you may think. Well, I do agree, if I didn't have a huge advantage over them, that is. It doesn't take me more than half a second to appear before the Paladin after my dagger pierced his head. I take it out and then spin my body to kill the bewildered Knights.

As I stop spinning, I immediately locate where Brianna has been relocated this time. I found her in less than a second but my feet don't budge despite how badly I wanted to dash at her.

"Keuh!" I grit my teeth in irritation.

"Wake up, Layland!"

"How many times have I told you, bitch? Talking—"

"It's me—Luxia!"

I stop retaliating instantly. Luxia's voice pulls me out of my muddled thoughts, allowing me to properly register my environment. I can now hear the sound of the surroundings that I previously tuned out. My vision gets wider and brighter ever so slightly as my mind retains its calculative state.

Everything happens in a split second. I managed to pull myself out of the dark, mindless state.

"You are going to lose your target."

Thanks to Luxia, I managed to prevent a loss. As I turn around, I find a Knight kneeling beside Mark, ready to lift him. Brianna and her goons have been planning this all along. They are bright enough to use my rage-driven state to their advantage.

Unfortunately for them, their simple plan is bound to fail. I am not fighting alone this time; I have my Spiritual Partners and the girls with me.

I dash at the Knight and arrive at his side in a second. Brianna and her goons widen their eyes but they can't do anything. Teanosvera is binding them with his shadow, meanwhile, the girls put their blades against her neck. They can only take a hitched gasp as they watch the scene before them.

"Markus, watch your—"

Slash!

The Knight named Marcus has his head severed as he turns his head toward his Holy Maiden to heed her call. His head rolls on the ground, stunning the crowd to silence as they look at his clueless face.

"Well, now, let's listen to me for a second." I put my hand on Rexorem's hilt, causing Mark to moan in pain as its blade is embedded in his stomach. "What about making a deal with me? I know what you want and I can give it to you under one condition."

Brianna and her goons give no response.

I laugh throatily and stare at Brianna disdainfully. "I know you want to live so badly, unholy slut. Stop being a hypocrite."

A drop of sweat trickles down the side of her face as she gulps dryly. With absolute nervousness, she asks, "What are you proposing?"

"Now, we are talking." I grin. "Look, I know you want this bastard to be alive. You wouldn't have entered here and sacrificed those Knights and Paladins if you didn't, would you?"

She nods her head reluctantly.

"First of all, let me ask you who else, other than you, know about me?" I wait for a few seconds before adding, "You don't have to stay silent. I know this encounter is not a coincidence."

"We…we were speculating. When Abigail and Gabriela disappeared, we speculated that they went to meet you. None of us knew for sure if it was true—that's why we have been looking for them. When we heard that they were in Axheria, Mark and I created this plan…"

"Oh, wow. Your desire to kill me is immense, eh?" I remark with a grin. "So, what about these Bounty Hunters."

"It was just a coincidence. They were looking for Shadow but they encountered us here, so we asked them to cooperate. They agreed immediately because we told them you were far more valuable and dangerous."

"So, let me get this straight. Should I leave both of you alive, will you be the only people who know about me?"

"…Yes."

Clap!

"All right. Let's make a deal."

I pull Rexorem out of Mark's stomach and then grab his forehead. I cast the Geas Spell and whisper to him the command he should obey. As the Geas materializes, I throw him at Brianna and tell the girls to retreat. I keep Teanosvera binding them, however, as I still have something to say.

"Mark will die when any of your remaining friends figure out about my identity. Do your best to cover up today's encounter and keep your mouth shut."

Mark is the only bastard who is not afraid of me. The Geas will make sure that will be soon. He will live paranoidly from now on, fearing that Brianna will betray him. He will think about killing her but he won't dare to, so he will make sure to keep her in check.

Brianna will feel pressured to live under his scrutiny, so she will find a way to get rid of him or the problem itself. She has two choices: kill Mark or send the rest of her friends to me to kill them.

"Well, it has been nice to meet you. See you next time." I am expectant toward her choice; hopefully, she will act quickly enough. "Until then…marvel at my shadow in your nightmare."

Teanosvera envelopes us with his shadow, taking us out of the subdimension.