The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 71

[Hidden Quest Discovered.]

[‘One Drawn to the Natural Order’ in progress….]

As soon as I arrived at the altar where the sun statue was enshrined, the status window appeared.

‘What is this?’

It was a quest I had never seen before.

Originally, after breaking through the maze of these ruins and discovering the altar, the quest ‘The Great Tomb Raider’ would be completed.

But now, an entirely unfamiliar quest had come.

‘I don’t even know the conditions to clear it….’

After pondering for a while, I gave up.

There’s no use in clinging to something I don’t understand.

For now, the goal right in front of me is more important.

A long, chapel-like space stretches out.

At the far end, there is a large altar.

On top of it, the objective of Eliza’s trial.

The enshrined sun statue stands there.

The moment I took a step toward it.

Rumble…

The door of the chapel opened.

‘Huh?’

I turned around, startled.

A man entered, panting heavily, glaring at me.

“…Hazel? How did you get here?”

I asked in confusion.

‘Why is he here…?’

Hazel had entered this hidden ruin.

And even broke through the maze.

How in the world?

Could it be the imperial family…?

“…Judas.”

His gaze, as he called my name, was fixed elsewhere.

On the altar. On the sun statue.

“Ah, sorry. I found it first.”

“How… How did you….”

Unlike him, who had struggled to get here, I arrived with ease and leisure.

The method was simple.

At the midpoint of the ruins, there’s a five-pronged path.

There, by pressing, turning, and pulling stones in a specific pattern on the wall, a teleportation magic is activated.

It’s a variation of teleportation magic.

Normally, such magic is used as a trap in ruins like these, but at that moment, it functioned differently.

It worked as a shortcut, taking me directly to the chapel where the sun statue is hidden.

“Well, you know….”

But explaining all that would be troublesome.

I’m not good at lying, but I had no choice but to evade.

“It just happened… You know about teleportation magic, right? I triggered something—whether it was a trap or not—and it brought me right to the sun statue.”

“…….”

He clearly didn’t believe me.

So I decided to change the subject.

“By the way, how did you know to come here?”

Hazel stared at me for a moment, then smirked.

“I knew you were clueless and dull, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad. How do you think I got here? I followed behind someone who knows this place well—you.”

He was implying he had been tailing me.

“I didn’t notice that.”

“And you, how did you know about this place… Urgh!”

Hazel suddenly groaned and fell to one knee.

He clutched his stomach, as if injured.

“What’s wrong?”

“I got hurt while breaking through the maze…. Could you take a look at the wound?”

I strode toward him.

“Where….”

Pretending to examine the wound, I kicked him in the face with all my might.

“!”

But Hazel rolled back and dodged it.

My foot, cutting through the air, slammed into the wall.

“You’re quick.”

As I pulled my foot back, I grabbed my sword and shield.

Hazel wasn’t flustered by my surprise attack.

He just spoke calmly, as if annoyed.

“You’re annoyingly perceptive when it comes to the unnecessary.”

“If you’re going to act, do it properly. Since when were we ever on such good terms that you’d ask me to check your wound?”

That’s not the only reason.

Ever since Hazle arrived here, the survival expert had been frantically warning me.

Saying it was dangerous.

Saying the person in front of me was trying to kill me.

So, I attacked Hazle first, but failed.

Hazle grabbed the sword strapped to his back.

One hand went inside his cloak.

‘Hazle’s weapon is a two-handed sword. Why is his hand going inside his cloak?’

I don’t know what it is, but there’s no reason to leave it alone.

I kicked up debris from the ruins.

Smack!

The stone fragments flew sharply.

The target was Hazle’s shoulder and arm.

Just before they hit, Hazle pulled his hand out from his cloak.

The object in his hand glittered gold.

At that moment, Hazle was smiling.

“Thank you for saving me the trouble.”

He blocked the stone with the item in his hand.

After the collision, the golden object shattered into pieces.

Fragments of the golden ornament scattered randomly.

However, the shape it formed on the ground seemed intentional.

As if it was drawing something.

‘Is that… a magic circle? An artifact?!’

Right after, a surge of magic spiraled around Hazle.

The result appeared quickly.

Three people, ashen from head to toe, emerged.

Their faces and bodies were covered in tattered gray robes.

I knew who these robed figures were.

‘Imperial mages….’

Originally, Hazle was an imperial knight.

That still doesn’t seem to have changed.

‘Why was he at the training grounds of Eliza? Was it espionage?’

I pulled the panting Yuel closer.

If it were night with the moon out, things might be different, but right now, it’s daytime.

I can’t fight alongside Yuel.

One of the mages spoke.

“The target?”

Hazle jerked his chin.

The altar where the sun statue, untouched by anyone so far, was placed.

“It’s certain. Let’s return.”

Just as they were about to do something.

I pulled a dagger from my cloak and threw it.

A throwing dagger meant for emergencies.

A sharp line drawn through the air.

A stone wall appeared, blocking the dagger.

It was magic.

“How bothersome….”

As the mage was muttering, I had already mounted Yuel.

‘Run!’

Even without saying it, Yuel understood.

Swiftly, he dashed toward the altar.

I leaned my body to the side, reaching out to snatch the sun statue.

But….

Boom!

A massive rock came flying, exploding behind us.

Yuel and I were swept up by the shockwave and fell.

“Yuel…! Are you okay?”

I hurriedly checked Yuel first.

Fortunately, he stood up fine and shook his head a few times.

As expected of a spirit beast.

He’s sturdy.

“How sharp.”

The mage’s hood, which covered his face, was slightly torn at the edge.

It was the result of another dagger I threw when I fell off Yuel.

The mage spoke in a voice devoid of emotion.

“But you’re recklessly foolish. You would’ve been better off fleeing. Not that we would’ve let you.”

I had Yuel step back a little and said,

“I’d rather die than run away.”

That’s not the only reckless reason.

The sun statue they’re after.

It’s an item that can grant any miracle.

That means, it’s incredibly dangerous.

If desired, it could even resurrect a sealed evil god.

Though the conditions for its use are strict, if the emperor is behind this, he could easily make use of it.

‘But, what exactly is the emperor planning to do with this sun statue?’

Let me know if any adjustments are needed!

Before the possession, I had stolen the Sun Statue.

Thus, I do not know the Emperor’s true purpose.

‘Whatever it is, at least I must not let him take it.’

The mages nodded.

“As you wish.”

Three imperial mages.

They simultaneously reached out to me.

A gesture aimed at casting attack magic.

‘Here it comes…!’

[Magic Unleashing (Lv.45)]

I gathered all my mana.

I wasn’t certain I could withstand it.

Mages are extremely rare, and they are strong.

Three spells descended simultaneously.

A massive ice spear.

A blazing fireball.

A boulder the size of a mountain.

‘Too big to dodge, too powerful to block. My body will be crushed completely.’

In that case, I’ll go for a direct breakthrough.

I charged toward the ice spear.

My vision filled with the pale blue of ice.

An instinctive fear surged within me.

The ice was large enough to crush a person.

But I trusted in my ability.

The Revelation of Discovery.

I can nullify any one spell just once.

I rammed the ice spear with my forehead.

Crash-!

It shattered noisily above my head.

It broke apart like thin glass, scattering in all directions.

The air around me grew cold.

But there was no pain in my body.

It was a strange sensation.

The sound of the ice spear shattering was deafening.

Huge shards flew everywhere.

Surely, the mages’ eyes and ears were as overwhelmed as mine.

‘But they won’t be certain that I’m still alive.’

I took advantage of that uncertainty.

Beyond the shards of broken ice, I saw the three mages.

They looked relaxed, assuming I was dead.

I immediately charged forward.

In an instant, I emerged from the ice shards.

Before I could even register the change in the air temperature.

“Guhk?!”

I severed one of the mages’ arms.

Hazel immediately swung a sword at me.

Bang!

A heavy two-handed sword slammed against my shield.

I tried to counterattack, but Hazel’s foot pushed me away.

Despite the chaos, he quickly assumed a defensive stance.

Two mages remained unharmed.

Two large boulders still hovered in the air.

Without time to think, they descended.

“Hup…!”

I deflected the first boulder with my shield.

The impact was immense.

Both the boulder and my iron shield shattered simultaneously.

The broken boulder scraped against my body and face.

Through the shards that clouded my vision, the second boulder came flying.

‘Damn…! If only I had my sword aura…!’

I clenched my teeth.

The mana inside me simmered, as if on the verge of exploding.

But there wasn’t enough time to muster my sword aura.

The second boulder was closing in.

‘I’ll roll downwards to escape. I’ll discard the sword—it’s cumbersome—and take their weapons in close combat.’

Just as I was about to act.

Fwoosh! The surroundings suddenly brightened.

A yellow light spread outward from where I stood.

“Ugh…?!”

I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them slightly.

A golden light enveloped everything around me.

What caught my attention even more was the black coat fluttering in the wind.

A red scarf trailing like a tail.

Long black hair flowing like waves.

I stared in a daze at the figure standing proudly, dominating the blazing background.

It’s embarrassing and surprising, but more than anything, I’m happy.

Without realizing it, I dropped the honorifics and called out to the person.

“…Eliza?”