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Chapter 111: The Second Awakening (4)

It was the first time in this life that Henry’s physical and mental strength was pushed to the limit. Henry thought that he had passed out when he saw the white light explode in front of him, but he was wrong. The white light soon slowed everything around him.

‘What the…?’

Henry felt as if he were dreaming. Everything inside the Chest was moving in slow motion, and Henry saw Benedict’s eyes glaring at him with a killing intent.

Thump.

Henry could feel his heart beating, but not from fear or excitement.

Thump.

Another beat.

In the space that was almost motionless, his heartbeat was enough to capture Henry’s attention. However, something felt strange. The heartbeat wasn’t coming from his chest but from somewhere further down.

Thump.

‘Wait, this isn’t my heartbeat…!’

It wasn’t coming from his chest but from his stomach, between his waist and lower abdomen. Henry closed his eyes. Since time was moving slowly anyway, Henry decided to leave his body as it was and let it flow along this strange phenomenon.

Henry focused. The pounding in his stomach began to grow clearer and more frequent. He felt a sense of warmth and comfort that reminded him of the first time he’d drawn a circle on his heart. It felt as if there were a warm stone inside his stomach and just as he was imagining putting his hand on the stone…

Flash!

His surroundings flashed brilliantly with an emerald light.

‘This is…!’

The stone in his stomach turned into a green jewel. It was as large as a jade bead, making it similar to a Chintamani stone.

‘Can it be…?’

Henry could instinctively realize what this was.

It was a Core.

It was also called the Night Heart. Unlike wizards who drew a circle on their heart to use their mana, swordsmen substituted the mana inside their body with Aura from the Core in their stomachs. Once the Core had turned into a fine jewel, its beating grew clearer than when it was in its stone form.

Chzzz!

Now that the Core had fully awakened, it began to perform its role like a gear in a machine. The emerald light started to spread throughout Henry’s body. It felt as warm as a hot bath, and the exploding mana calmed down. The Core started to wrap around the cracked blade to replace the fading mana.

Flash!

When the Core’s energy finally reached the tip of the sword, the slowed-down space regained its original speed.

“Ahhh!”

When the time inside the Chest returned to normal, Henry was still screaming. However, his mind was clear and the smoke from his body had disappeared.

“...!”

Their swords were still pushing against each other. Benedict’s eyes widened in surprise because, in the blink of an eye, Henry seemed to have changed into a different person.

“What the…! Cough!”

Blood gushed out from his mouth. The blade that had just been overpowering Henry little by little suddenly came to a stop as if it had been blocked by a boulder. It felt like he was being pushed back. Benedict shifted his gaze to the blades in disbelief.

“...!”

Benedict’s feeling was right. His blade was caught in the split in Henry’s blade, and Henry was pushing back. Benedict’s hands and arm muscles shook. He had a feeling that he would never be able to move forward no matter how hard he tried.

“...This is it.”

At Henry’s quiet warning, Benedict\'s fighting spirit plummeted as though he had fallen off a cliff. He could see his end.

“No…!”

“Yes.”

Crrr!

A streak of green light flashed diagonally from top to bottom. Henry’s blade grew strong like the horns of a huge rhinoceros and destroyed Benedict.

“Argh…”

Cough!

A huge wound from his left shoulder to his right pelvis appeared. However, perhaps due to his last shreds of pride, Benedict tried to keep himself upright by driving his blade into the ground for support, but…

Slice!

Drip drip…

Henry mercilessly beheaded Benedict. Benedict’s head rolled on the ground, his desperate eyes looking at Henry with fear.

Shhh!

At the same time, the green Aura wrapped around Henry disappeared.

Clank.

Henry threw his sword, whose split blade looked like a pair of tongs, to the ground. He had also reached his limit. With the duel over, Henry could finally relax.

Henry muttered Klever’s name as he lay beside Benedict\'s decapitated body.

“Klever…”

Henry’s vision went black.

* * *

“What do you mean?”

“...It’s just as I said. Benedict disappeared without a trace.”

“What do you mean ‘disappeared’? Are you saying Benedict ran away or something?”

“That’s…”

Shortly after Benedict’s death, Mordred searched for Benedict. He was stunned when he realized that Benedict was gone. No matter how much he searched the palace, Benedict was nowhere to be found. Mordred hurriedly left Shahatra with the men he had brought before things got even more complicated.

“I apologize.”

“This doesn’t make any sense…”

Mordred wasn’t the only one who was bewildered. Arthus really wanted the power of Janus, which was why he had personally kidnapped Venus and Selene from Eisen’s mansion. Now, he had come across this unbelievable news. Arthus felt disheartened.

Arthus touched his forehead, feeling a throbbing headache, and said to Mordred, “If Benedict really has run away, that’s a problem. Find Benedict as soon as possible.”

“...I understand.”

“And… Of course, I believe that you must have handled it well, but you didn’t leave a trace behind in Shahatra, right?”

“I definitely handled it.”

“...Alright.”

If Benedict really had run away, it was necessary to find him before anyone else did in order to keep his mouth shut.

After Mordred left the office, the other side of the office grew distorted and a tall man with a pale complexion appeared.

Arthus quietly said his name as though he were sighing. “Ah, Lord Dracan…”

The man was Dracan Rotique. He arrived on time, just as he had promised.

As Arthus sighed, Dracan asked how he was doing.

“Is something worrying you?”

“That is… I just heard from Sir Mordred that Benedict is nowhere to be found.”

“...Benedict?”

“Yes.”

“What in the world…” Dracan’s expression started to stiffen. Dracan needed the death-related power of Janus, as it was essential for the Chimera research that he had been preparing for a long time. Of course, the research had begun on Arthus’ orders in the first place.

The Stop Spire was a secret group created for the needs of the Three Great Families and Dracan was the head of the Stop Spire. He had accepted the position for a simple reason: with Arthus’s support, he could do research that wasn’t possible under imperial law. Dracan could freely conduct dark and cruel research that were crimes against humanity.

Dracan was most attached to the Chimera research.

“Duke.”

“Yes?”

“How much longer are you planning to make me wait?”

The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

Dracan was angry that he couldn’t get the power he longed for. A wizard’s curiosity was so intense that it sometimes made them lose their composure.

“Hmm.”

Arthus looked at the enraged Dracan in silence. Dracan spoke once again with a murderous aura. “Isn’t this exactly the opposite of what you promised me? How much longer do you intend to keep me waiting?”

His murderous aura grew stronger. His disappointment made him lose his temper and forget that Arthus was his superior.

“You’re quite enraged right now.” Arthus closed his eyes at Dracan’s loud voice, then slowly opened them, then…

“...!”

Dracan felt chills down his spine.

Arthus’ eyes had changed, and they were like those of a beast.

“D-Duke…”

Fear made Dracan’s temper cool off as if he had been doused with cold water. Arthus blinked once again and his eyes returned to normal.

Thud.

Dracan fell to the floor, his legs were shaking as he felt an overwhelming fear. Arthus smiled and said, “I fully understand how you feel, but please be careful next time, Lord Dracan.”

“I-I apologize, duke…”

“Haha, and don’t worry too much as I have something prepared, just in case.”

However, Dracan couldn’t pay attention to anything Arthus said, and now that he’d been given a reprieve, he left the office as if he were running away.

* * *

Although Herarion had confirmed Henry’s motives through La’s eyes, he still couldn’t help but feel anxious while waiting. Confirming someone’s motives and knowing the results were completely different things.

Herarion walked back and forth inside the barracks all night. Then, he sat down with a half-hopeless, dropping his head.

Soon, the darkness in the desert reached its most intense. It was darkest right before the sun rose.

‘Could it be…’

Only bad thoughts kept popping up in his mind. No matter how competent Henry was, his opponent was Benedict, the desert’s best warrior. Just as his negative thoughts were about to reach their peak…

Meow.

“A cat?”

He raised his head at an unfamiliar sound to see Henry, who was torn up like a rag, and his family members, who didn\'t have a single scratch on them, lying side by side.

“What the hell!”

He was so startled that he jumped like a spring. As soon as he confirmed his family members were fine, he immediately examined Henry.

‘This is bad!’

He placed his ear against Henry’s chest. Herarion instinctively knew that Henry was dying. Herarion couldn’t let him die like this.

Swoosh!

Herarion was shaken by relief and gratitude and felt other complex emotions. La’s light spread throughout the barracks, released by Herarion’s earnestness. It embraced Henry.