Chapter 128 : Chapter 128

Chapter 128: Evan (5)

Griselda was originally from Karagas, a city in the western part of the empire, not Iberito.

And there, she was the most famous prostitute.

Voluminous blonde hair, snow-white skin, an outstanding figure and green eyes that sparkled like sapphires.

Her charming appearance captivated the hearts of numerous men and among the mercenaries and adventurers active in the west, there was no one who did not know her name.

It even reached the point where murders were committed to win a night with her, so Griselda's fame soared to the sky in Karagas.

But nothing is eternal before time, and beauty is but a fleeting moment.

Skin that loses its elasticity and sags, wrinkles that cover the face, hair that becomes dull, and eyes that lose their vitality.

A prostitute who has lost her beauty has no commercial value and men no longer sought Griselda, who could not prevent her aging.

The old Griselda missed the past.

The time when men worshiped her, women were jealous of her and everyone praised her beauty.

Then, one day, she heard a rumor from a mercenary who had been a long-time client.

“If you miss the old days so much, why don't you go south? They say there's a witch there who doesn't age.”

Griselda sold all her belongings and left for the south.

Did her desperation get through?

Griselda was eventually able to find the rumored witch.

It was just as the rumors said.

The witch, as fresh and vibrant as a young girl, was a stark contrast to her own shabby self.

Griselda gave all the wealth she had accumulated to the witch and became her apprentice, learning her visions.

It was a forbidden art of buying youth in exchange for life force.

Griselda, who had killed countless people and finally regained her past beauty, also killed the witch who had been her teacher.

“Only I can possess eternal beauty. Hehe.”

She settled in Iberito and as the number of people who praised her beauty gradually increased, a religion for her was formed in Iberito.

That was the background of how today's Church of Truth was created.

The headquarters of such a Church of Truth was located deep in a mountain, like a bandit's hideout.

However, the surrounding wall was not a wooden fence but granite and the buildings inside were also built of brick.

It was like a small, miniature version of the nearby city of Iberito.

In the center was a large temple.

It was the building where Griselda resided.

At the same time, it was also a sanctuary where the believers served the witch, so even though it was late at night, the believers of the Church of Truth stood guard around it with lanterns.

Nevertheless, something happened.

Because several believers who were on guard on the east side were found dead.

It was an intruder's attack.

So a security alert was issued throughout the headquarters, and the believers gathered at the temple.

No.

They were supposed to gather.

Clank, clank.

Instead of the believers who were supposed to gather, only one person approached the temple, breaking through the pitch-black darkness.

And he made a sound of clashing metal pieces every time he moved.

Naturally, the noise pierced the silence of the night and attracted the attention of all the believers on guard.

“What's that bastard?”

“Hey! Stop right there……”

The believer who was shouting a warning was horrified when he saw the figure that emerged from the darkness.

As expected, it wasn't a believer.

The figure, illuminated by the firelight, was clad in iron armor from head to toe.

It was a bizarre sight.

But what horrified the believers was something else.

“……Blood?”

His body was all red.

As if he had just come from a scene of slaughter.

And the place the man in armor had passed through was where the believers' residences were.

“……”

The believers were not fools, and they quickly grasped the situation.

“It's an enemy!”

“An intruder trying to invade the sanctuary! Die!”

“Let's tear off his skin and offer it to our goddess!”

A total of twenty believers, holding spears, charged at the man in armor.

But half of them had their steps bound as soon as they charged.

Because of a sudden storm of cold air.

“Kraaak!”

Hard, sharp ice crystals made holes of blood in the believers' bodies and even if they managed to block it, the believers struggled as their bodies slowly froze.

Just then, a sword that had been secretly approaching, hidden in the shadows of the night, cut their throats.

Swish!

Stab!

“Keuheuk!”

One of the believers fell, dropping the lantern he was holding.

The lantern that fell on the floor shattered, spewing fire and oil in all directions.

A crimson firelight spread around, illuminating the man who had been hiding in the night's shadows.

It was Gerard.

“Ugh……”

Gerard, who had killed the believer, pulled out his longsword and shook off the blood.

The believer he had killed was the last one.

There were no more believers standing around the temple and around the man in armor, that is, Evan, there were only torn and shattered corpses.

“……No matter how much they're better off dead, isn't your hand a bit too heavy?”

Evan casually ignored Gerard's question and went inside the temple.

“Hurry up. They’ve already gone inside.”

The three of them went inside the temple.

The interior was quite complex.

There was a central corridor and forks in the road here and there and at each fork, there were believers strewn about, as if there had been a battle.

And around that time, the sound of battle was heard.

“It seems they’ve already started.”

The three of them quickened their pace.

I’ll never die!

Die, you sons of bitches──!

A shout mixed with curses informed them that they were getting close.

Inside the altar room they arrived at, two men in leather clothes were surrounded by believers and fighting a desperate battle.

“Come at me one by one!”

“Die! Die! Dieeee!”

The two men, who were clearly fighting in desperation, were the Hellond Four.

No.

The Hellond Two now, I guess.

At their feet, two corpses in the same leather clothes were lying face down and their weapons, attire and appearance were those of Visor and Kron of the Hellond Four.

Visor was dead with his neck cut off and Kron was dead with a gaping hole in his chest, his eyes wide open.

‘That one was hit by dark magic.’

Gerard guessed, looking at the melted skin along the edge of the hole in his chest.

“You cowardly bastards!”

“Hehe. Aren't you the ones who are cowardly for trying to launch a surprise attack?”

Just then, a beautiful, melodious voice was heard from behind the believers.

The three of them turned their heads to where the voice came from and soon they found a beautiful woman in a black dress standing there, smiling.

It was the witch, Griselda.

At the same time, the three of them met in the air.

Without even coordinating, Gerard and Yuria ran toward her.

The place Evan headed was where the Hellond Two were.

With the plate armor covering his body and the killing techniques he had learned through numerous wars, Evan was a person optimized for a group brawl.

With tremendous breakthrough power, he immediately broke down the wall of believers blocking his way and went straight to where the Hellond Two were.

A sight that was hard to believe was created by one person.

Naturally, all eyes in the room were on Evan, who was crushing the believers and the attack on the Hellond Two also stopped for a moment.

“What is that strange thing……?”

Griselda, who was watching from behind, opened her mouth for a moment at Evan's immense power.

Then she lifted her finger and gave a quiet order.

“What are you doing? Kill him right now, twins.”

The twin brothers, Mark and Fork.

They had been cleverly mixed in with the believers and attacking the Hellond Two until now.

The beheading of Visor was also the result of the two of them launching a surprise attack from behind.

The twins' target changed from the Hellond Two to Evan.

Thwack!

Mark's skull caved in from the gauntlet swung by Evan and Griselda's mouth opened even wider than before.

“A complete ogre……”

Griselda couldn't finish her words.

Because of the sudden feeling of cold magic.

She quickly activated her protective barrier, and that saved her.

Kkaang!

When she turned her head at the vibration that suddenly came from behind, a man was smacking his lips as if in regret.

“Your senses are better than I thought. A Slaughter grade is a Slaughter grade, I guess.”

Griselda, whose eyes met the grinning man, Gerard, felt a chill run down her spine.

It was the instinctive fear that she might die.

Griselda shouted urgently.

“What, what are you doing! Protect your god right nowww!”

The believers rushed in.

“The goddess is in danger!”

“Protect the goddess!”

They were fanatics.

For Griselda alone.

They threw themselves like moths to a flame to protect Griselda.

Gerard and Yuria, who were about to attack Griselda in succession, missed their timing due to the sheer numbers, and in that gap, Griselda pulled her body back.

“Fork! Where are you, Fork!”

Griselda looked for the other twin, Fork.

Soon she was able to find Fork.

Dead, with his lower and upper body separated.

“Kkeuaak!”

And a scream erupted.

It was the sound made by the Hellond Two, who were being butchered by Evan's greatsword.

“There’s nowhere to run.”

Before she knew it, Gerard and Yuria were standing in front of her.

“This is the last one, senior. That's 50 gold right there.”

“Heh. We’re rich now, Yuria.”

Griselda raised her hand.

“W-wait a minute! 50 gold?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Is money what you want!?”

For a moment, Gerard's and Yuria's eyes met.

Gerard nodded.

“Uh. Yeah. The bounty.”

“I’ll give it to you! Much more!”

“How much do you have?”

“Ten million shillings! It’s in the treasury over there!”

It was a lie.

She had no money saved up.

As soon as she got money, she used it to buy people, and she used the forbidden art to maintain her youth with their life force.

It was called a treasury, but inside the treasury, there was only the hatred and skeletons of people who had died unjustly.

“What? Ten million shillings? Really?”

“Th-then! If you save me, I’ll give it all to you!!”

The reason she was telling such an obvious lie was to buy time.

In that gap, Griselda was gathering all her life force to prepare a single vision, and as soon as it was complete, she used it on Gerard.

“Kyahaha! Just kidding! Take this, Lilith's Embrace!”

A beam of light shot out from her outstretched hand.

And it hit Gerard head-on.

“S-seniooor!”

The startled Yuria rushed over to Gerard.

Gerard, who had been hit head-on by the dark magic, was bowing his head.

Yuria places her hand on his shoulder, but.

Thump.

Gerard swatted her hand away.

“Hee. It’s no use, you bitch! Now that man won’t even look at any other woman but me.”

“……!”

“Come, come now. Come to my arms, my prince.”

Gerard walked toward Griselda like a puppet.

Yuria tried to stop him, but Gerard once again roughly pushed her hand away.

“G-Gerard-senior……”

Yuria was in shock and Griselda, who saw the scene, laughed out loud.

And she glanced at Evan.

‘I wanted to use it on that monster, but that iron armor covering his body seems to be an artifact.’

Lilith's Embrace was a curse.

If that armor had the ability to block curses, it would be all for nothing, so she had used it on Gerard as a substitute.

Now that she had used it, it seemed she had chosen correctly.

‘Not only the girl, but even that monster is frozen in place, right?’

Evan had already killed the Hellond Two, but perhaps because of this Gerard guy, he was just standing there without doing anything.

‘Oho! So this Gerard guy was the leader!’

Griselda grinned.

Then she looked at Gerard, who had come before her, with loving eyes.

“My prince. Look at me.”

At her command, Gerard lifted his head and looked at her.

Something felt bad.

Well, it must be because of his gloomy and ugly appearance.

Thinking that, Griselda smiled sweetly and lifted her finger.

“Me, Griselda and that girl standing over there, you know? Who is more beautiful?”

This was a question that stemmed purely from the desire and satisfaction that she had to be the most beautiful in this world.

In fact, from the first time she saw Yuria, she had not liked her.

So she wanted to hear it with her own ears.

‘The words that I am prettier than that girl.’

Even if she had to borrow the power of a curse.

Griselda tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Now. Hurry up and tell me. Me and her. Who is more beautiful?”

“Yuria.”

“Hee. That’s right, correct! Of course, I, Griselda……”

Griselda's expression, which had expected to be chosen, changed belatedly.

“……Wait. What did you say?”

Gerard said.

“I said Yuria. You old hag.”

At the same time, her neck tingled.

‘Huh?’

Griselda suddenly felt the world around her spin.

And.

Thump!

Rolling away…..

Griselda's head, falling to the floor and rolling.

Her neck was cut, but she still had some sensation left and Gerard's low voice reached her ears.

“Are you crazy? Trying to compare a plastic, no, a vision beauty to a natural beauty?”

You’re cut at Karina’s level.

With those last words, Gerard turned around.

‘Karina. Who is she……?’

In her fading consciousness, Griselda finally realized.

That no matter how much a human struggles, in the end, they cannot win against ‘nature’.

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