Chapter 324: Come and Strike (42K First Update)

"Kill, kill me…"

Theresa shivered after hearing Herbert's emotionless, icy words, instinctively shrinking back, letting out a panicked cry.

"M-my lord! Have I done something wrong?"

"Are you really going to kill me? Why? Why…"

Herbert silently watched her every move, bit down lightly, slowly shook his head, and said calmly, "No, you haven't done anything wrong. All the fault lies with It—you were merely used by It."

"It is inside your body."

The girl is innocent; the sin lies only with the Depraved Desire.

The snake-girl asked, "Didn't you say my appearance is because of a curse?"

The boy nodded, "In a sense, being used by It as a vessel for descent is indeed a kind of curse."

The girl fell silent, then pressed on with difficulty, "Didn't you say before that I looked beautiful? Was all of that a lie!!?"

The boy shook his head, "That was no lie. Even now, in my eyes, you are still very beautiful."

Tears of grievance welled from the girl's eyes, falling like crystalline gems.

"But if that's so, I've done nothing wrong and I'm not ugly—then why!!?"

"Why?"

"Why did you lie to me?"

"Just because I look like this!!?"

She pressed her questions in agitation, leaning toward Herbert on her own, but halfway there she suddenly came to her senses and recoiled in fear as if she'd been shocked.

Endless fear dwelt in her eyes as she curled up uneasily.

Herbert silently gazed into her eyes and said softly, "Because if I don't act, you're going to completely turn into a monster."

A… true monster.

Theresa trembled, bit hard on her own lip, and said shakily, "I-I'm not a monster, I'm not…"

Hearing this answer, Herbert closed his eyes, let out a long breath, and slowly drew the longsword at his waist.

Clang…

The motion of drawing the sword was extremely slow, his wrist as though pressed down by a great mountain, refusing to let him draw it.

But even so, he still lifted the blade inch by inch, slowly raised the tip, and pointed it at Theresa.

However, just before the sword tip pierced the girl's body, it was first pressed against a thin chest.

"My lord!"

Quinna, who had already given up hope, found her feet moving on their own, placing herself in front of Theresa—in front of Herbert's sword!

Herbert's expression didn't change, the blade didn't move, and he said lightly, "…Move."

!!!

Facing that sharp blade head-on, her whole body couldn't help but tremble, feeling as though she were facing an iceberg.

A will cold and sharp as a blade came howling like a gale, nearly freezing her soul solid.

Wh-what on earth is going on?

Doesn't this lord worship the Sun God? How could he have such a contrasting temperament?

"…Hah!"

But Quinna wasn't frightened off by Herbert. She bit through her tongue to force herself alert, struggling to convey her own thoughts.

"My lord! I know the monastery's rules, but please reconsider."

"Theresa is a kind child! She risked her life to save me!"

"My lord, please believe me—she hasn't done a single bad thing along the way, really! I secretly checked, and she truly is good!"

Quinna's words were utterly sincere, without a trace of falsehood, moving everyone who saw her.

But after hearing her plea, Herbert still merely shook his head lightly.

"My lord…"

Seeing that Herbert was unmoved, Quinna knew she had no choice but to go all out.

She took a deep breath, ignored everything else, and, staking her life, shouted a sentence that was gravely treasonous for a Holy Knight.

She said:

"In this world, not every monster is evil!!!"

Words laden with intense emotion shattered all the repression, plunging the place into a deathly silence.

The surviving powerhouses, hearing this, all sucked in a cold breath and shook their heads at Quinna's "bravery."

What is this person saying?

Saying such things to a Holy Knight—isn't that deliberately provoking him!

"Oh?"

"Hmm?"

In the field, Elisa and Swanny, after hearing Quinna's all-out roar, both glanced at her with considerable surprise.

This was the first time the two of them had heard such words from a member of the Mist Monastery other than Herbert.

Rather novel—no, extremely novel.

But after gazing deeply at Quinna, Herbert still silently shook his head.

No… no!

"Why can't you understand!!?"

Quinna forced herself a step forward, letting the sword tip pierce into her own skin, and said through gritted teeth, "My lord!!?"

"A Holy Knight's blade should never be pointed at the weak! It should be hacking at evil instead!"

"Protect the weak, destroy evil! That is what we should be doing!"

She forced herself to endure the trembling of her legs, lowered her head with great difficulty, and said in a shaking voice: "Please, you must think it over a little more!"

Quinna was far too weak; being able to speak these words had already taken every ounce of her strength, and she could collapse to the ground at any moment.

Falling backward would still be fine—at worst she'd just hit the ground harder and look a little more wretched.

But if she happened to fall forward, she was afraid the blade would pierce straight through her chest.

Faced with the threat of death, Quinna bit down on her lip and raised her head with great difficulty.

She lifted her hand, trembling as she grabbed the blade, letting the sharp, icy metal cut into her palm.

Scalding fresh blood flowed and dripped down along the blade, staining her tattered lapels red.

Quinna stared at Herbert and pleaded in a low voice: "Please… think it over a little more!"

The female knight's appearance at this moment could only be described as wretched—wounded all over, covered in filth, like a dirty vagrant worn down by the ravages of war.

But at this very moment, everyone seemed to see a dazzling light shining from her.

It was the light of will.

No one could ignore the intense will radiating from her.

It was—defying the powerful, giving everything to protect the weak! No matter what humble origins that weakness came from!

This was the will of a legendary holy knight.

At this moment, Quinna had faintly found her own path to legend!

If this crisis could be resolved smoothly, then there was a high probability she would advance to legend in the future.

And just as Quinna was in this transcendent state, Herbert

The youth before her spoke.

He asked:

"So, you… are you questioning my courage in the face of evil?"

Quinna:!!?

The female knight was jolted sharply out of her transcendent state, her spirit shaken, and she stared at the youth before her in panic.

Herbert's eyes shifted slightly; he stared at the woman's flustered gaze, shook his head faintly, and said softly: "And, just after witnessing this battle? Just after I destroyed Her avatar?"

"You, as a witness to that scene, are questioning my courage?"

!!!

"I…" Quinna was at a loss for words. Realizing she had misspoken, she pressed her lips tightly shut.

Yes, what was she saying?

In the face of such a powerful being who could face Miss Xie Shen's avatar alone and drive it back directly, she was actually doubting his will?

Doubting the will of a legendary, even epic-level holy knight?

Quinna took two steps back, dropped to one knee with Knees Heavy, lowered her head, and said weakly: "I'm sorry, please forgive my careless words…"

Herbert lowered his gaze, walked past Quinna, and said softly: "It's all right, I forgive your rudeness, but now, step aside."

And the female knight did not try to stop him any further; she only let her shoulders drop weakly as Herbert passed, as if her whole being had been hollowed out.

She had already done her best—truly her best.

Herbert walked step by step, and the Whisper God murmured within his heart.

【"Herbert, are you really going to do it? Perhaps she truly doesn't know?"】

"…"

【"She is hiding within her soul, watching your every move, just as She sees you looking like this."】

【"Are you really going to play along with Her wishes? Letting Her pull your strings?"】

"…"

Herbert kept walking, shook his head faintly, and offered no explanation.

"Hey, want me to do it for you?"

Elisha's words finally made Herbert's steps pause for a moment; he turned his head to look back toward the voice.

The Young Lady vampire pouted, squinted as she watched Herbert's expression, and said with great understanding: "You are a holy knight, after all—you probably can't do something like this, right?"

"If you can't do it, just let me handle it for you!"

This kind of dirty work—better not let Herbert do it.

Elisha would not kill the innocent wantonly, but she had little love or pity for the innocent either.

Killing Teresa would make her a little uncomfortable, but only just a little—there would be no other feelings at all.

As long as Herbert was not affected, the Young Lady vampire simply did not care whether another innocent soul would be added to her hands.

"Lord Herbert, perhaps there is another way."

Swani shook her head and said softly: "You don't have to force yourself to go this far, and if it truly must be done, you don't need to do it yourself."

They were bodyguards; they had come precisely to handle these inconvenient tasks for Herbert.

And faced with the two monster girls' concern, Herbert smiled faintly, shook his head slowly but firmly, and said softly:

"No, I'll do it myself."

"This is something I should do, and only I can do."

Herbert declined the kind intentions of Elisha and the other, and walked step by step until he stood before Teresa, who had already raised her head in despair.

"…"

The girl stared at Herbert with lifeless eyes and gave a bleak, bitter smile.

The girl, who had already resigned herself to her fate, did not flee; she only gazed at Herbert's face with an aura of death all over her, as if wanting to brand the features of the enemy who would kill her into her very soul.

The two stared at each other for a while; Teresa was the first to falter, and whispered weakly: "I just wanted to live—what wrong did I do…"

These words made Quinna's body tremble; she clenched her fists and slammed them hard against the shattered stones on the ground.

Elisa's expression subtly shifted; she turned her head away, unable to bear it.

Yes… she was just a child who wanted to live.

What fault did she have?

Only Svan妮 tightly furrowed her brows, staring fixedly at Herbert's profile—she did not believe Herbert could be so cruel.

In Svan妮's eyes, Herbert had always been a knight who spoke harshly but had a soft heart.

His unwavering resolve must conceal some hidden reason.

And as Svan妮 had suspected, Herbert let out a slow sigh when faced with Teresa's dying words—then… snapped his tongue in annoyance.

"Tsk."

He stared at the girl coldly: "Have you finished acting? How much longer do you plan to play this dull game?"

The boy raised his sword without hesitation and drove it straight through the girl's chest, piercing her heart.

"Ah—cough, cough."

Hiss!

Herbert remained unmoved, pressing the blade deeper, lowering his head to meet the girl's pained eyes, and spoke slowly:

"God of Lustful Sin, if this is all the boring, pathetic tricks you can muster, don't blame me for looking down on you."

In response to his sneer, the girl's body twisted as she struggled to raise her hand and press her bloodied finger against the boy's face.

"I—I didn't… I'm not Him!"

"Cough!"

"I just wanted to live…"

Before she could finish, her arm fell limp, her head drooping.

She was dying.

The vitality within her was rapidly fading.

Yet just as her soul was about to vanish completely, her fingers twitched, and her body jerked unnaturally.

"... Pfft ha! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

"I never thought you'd actually do it! You're truly this heartless!"

"Ah~ She was so pitiful."

"Teresa" lifted her head, grinning wide, touching her cheek, and sighed: "Such a innocent, lovely little girl—killed so cruelly by you."

"If you hadn't acted, she could've seen the sun outside one last time~"

Since the situation had already been exposed, the Sinful Lust no longer hid itself.

It stared at Herbert's face, striving to remain calm, and laughed joyfully: "How much longer will you pretend? How much longer will you endure?"

"Killing a defenseless weakling, Holy Knight—is this the justice you cling to?"

It reveled in its own righteousness, asking contentedly: "How does it feel to kill an innocent yourself?"

"You can ignore killing others, treat it as a necessary sacrifice to eliminate evil… but what if the victim becomes someone you know?"

"Killing an innocent child who trusted you—does it hurt?"

It smiled with satisfaction, raised both hands, gently cupping Herbert's cheeks, and leaned close to his ear to whisper intimately:

"Right now… do you want to kill me?"

"Go on, kill me—and kill… her."

"Hehe~"

The Sinful Lust descended at this moment, abandoning its years-long plan, forcibly manifesting in a vessel utterly incapable of channeling its power—its sole purpose:

To disgust Herbert—to the core!

You want to represent justice?

Prove it!

Kill me!

Kill the girl who once cheered for you, who trusted you utterly!

Kill her!!!

"Come on, do it!"

"Kill me—no, kill her! Kill her completely—cough!!?"

Hiss.

The Sinful Lust's triumphant laughter ceased; it released Herbert's cheeks, stepped back slowly, and looked down at the blade already buried in its heart.

"Puff!"

The blade twisted, holy power surging through it, shattering the heart completely!

In response to Herbert's soul-striking question, he gave the Demigod of Lust a decisive, unhesitating reply.

Hesitate? Can't bring yourself to strike?

What nonsense!

"If I hesitate now and spare you, that would be the greatest desecration of her."

Herbert drove the blade deeper, stared into "Teresa's" eyes, rose without wavering, and declared firmly:

"Rather than let you live wearing her skin, I'd rather give her release myself."

"This is my choice."

"And hers."

(End of Chapter)