Chapter 129: Chapter 131

Demalo’s breathing became rougher. He persisted and never gave up. His body had long reached its breaking point.

“You are very…… persistent.”

Montras could not help but admire Demalo’s perseverance. But what was irritating was irritating.

Montras was baffled as to why he was holding himself up like this.

‘He should have passed out earlier.’

Obviously, he should have fallen like everyone else. But why was this man not collapsing?

Montras had a theory pop into his head all of a sudden.

“In no way, are you a Mokenya survivor?”

He has long since forgotten the name of his hometown, Mokenya.

Demalo’s eyes trembled wildly. He immediately realized why his opponent was bringing up the name.

He most likely has a connection to what occurred in Mokenya.

A rotten smell began to hover at the tip of Demalo’s nose at that moment. The stench of a dead body. The stench of death

The nightmares from that time came back to him despite his belief that he had forgotten everything.

Demalo’s eyes, which had only been following Montras’ movements, began to show a faint emotion. It was fury. Montras grinned in response.

“I see. You’re a Mokenya survivor.”

“You. Do you have any connection to the disease that swept through Mokenya?”

“Aren’t you already certain? You were fortunate; I can’t believe you survived; as a result, my poison has no effect on you.”

Demalo’s enormous force moved swiftly toward Montras. Montras repelled his attack quickly and fired back.

Demalo moves with greater accuracy than before.

However, it’s so obvious.

Montras laughed. Finally, his sword sank into Demalo’s gap. He then squeezed the power of chaos with all his might, allowing the poison to be released into his body.

Demalo could actually be knocked out by simply striking his vital areas. But Montras wasn’t satisfied with that. He wanted to inflict severe suffering on anyone who dared to impede him in any way.

A painful murmur soon followed.

“Cough!”

However, it came from Montras’ mouth, not Demalo’s.

“You let your guard down.”

Slowly, Montras turned his head to face the attacker who had stabbed him from behind.

“…… Ivan Hamilton. You’re alive?”

“That’s funny; you thought I’d die in that kind of situation.”

“My brothers—”

Ivan’s lips twitched. He responded to Montras’ query with a pinch of salt.

“I came here after I finished everything else.”

Ivan glared at Montras with cold eyes as he slowly withdrew the sword he had inserted into his chest, and Montras closed his eyes, admitting he had failed.

Flop.

Montras’s lifeless body landed in the scorching sand. Only after confirming that he had completely lost his breath did Ivan take a breather he had held back. Likewise, his state was appalling. He only showed up now because of Montras’ irksome power.

When he was first poisoned, he quickly blocked it with his aura, preventing the poison from spreading throughout his body, but that didn’t mean he was safe.

Perhaps at this rate.

“Grand Duke, are you okay?”

Ivan turned to Demalo’s voice and examined his condition. Demalo also didn’t seem to be in great shape. No, he was a bigger mess than he was.

“I don’t think now is the time to be worried about me; Adelia would be shocked to see you.”

At Ivan’s remarks, Demalo grinned.

“Isn’t that the same for the Grand Duke?”

“…….”

Ivan stopped talking because he was correct. He was unable to fulfill his promise to Adelia. Death didn’t frighten him but making Adelia unhappy did.

‘The best thing to do is not die.’

With a quick click of his tongue, Ivan asked Demalo.

“What about the others?”

“Bishop Berg and Viscount Adelia have entered the sacred ground without incident.”

Ivan was relieved. It doesn’t matter as long as she’s safe.

“And… Lord Piero and Lord Orca…….”

Demalo simply averted his gaze after failing to complete his words. Following Demalo’s gaze, Ivan turned his head.

At the end of his gaze were two people with dark skin who had collapsed. Ivan, who was also dyed black from his neck down, understood why their skin was turned dark.

This was a very annoying ability.

Ivan helped Demalo lean against the white stone pillar that marked the entrance to the holy area. He checked on Lensley and Melinda right away.

Ivan looked at the two without showing any emotion, but his fingertips betrayed his impatience. The two were Ivan’s special subordinates. Before they became his subordinates, they were his good friends.

Demalo exhaled heavily and asked, “Are they still alive?” Ivan slowly stood up without responding. From Ivan’s demeanor, Demalo could already deduce the answer.

“No.”

“……I see. They had no tolerance.”

“Tolerance?”

“Yes. I’m a Mokenya survivor. At that time, I believe I came into contact with that poison.”

“Was the plague in Mokenya also connected to them?”

Demalo grinned sourly while leaning his head against the pillar. His consciousness grew farther and farther. It was difficult for him to maintain his focus, despite his best efforts.

‘I want to see her face for the last time.’

Ivan sat down next to Demalo. He was also nearing the end of his rope.

Though he was incapable, he wanted to dispose of his colleague’s body.

When their consciousness began to fade, they heard the voice they eagerly waited for.

“Ivan! Demalo!”

The two men with their eyes closed lifted their eyelids with difficulty. They smiled at Adelia as she ran hysterically.

Nevertheless, they were able to see the face of their most precious person thanks to this resilient lifeline that held up until the very end as they had wished.

Ivan slowly moved his lips.

“It’s difficult to say that I kept the promise perfectly, but can I still say that I kept half of it?”

***

Waiting for Bishop Berg and the Pope to regain their consciousness, Adelia managed her troubled mind.

About 30 minutes have passed. The first person to regain consciousness was Berg.

“Um… Why am I lying down?”

Berg looked around in a sleepy haze, then jumped up in surprise when he saw Adelia.

“Have you woken up?”

“Adelia-nim! I’m so sorry!”

“There is no need for an apology. Because of Vishna, you became unconscious.”

“The God, Vishna……? Are you saying that Vishna did it? When on earth……”

“She’s been here since the beginning, using the Pope’s body, but now she’s gone.”

Berg expressed regret that he was unable to meet Vishna by looking at Adelia with pitying eyes. Adelia shook her head and sighed.

He might not have regarded her in that way if he had known what Vishna had told her to do.

“Your Holiness is safe, of course; now, if you come to your senses, let’s go; I brought the relics; fortunately, the Pope had it.”

“Whoo…… now it’s time for His Holiness Severance to wake up, thank God, so our journey wasn’t in vain.”

“Ugh…”

Berg went up to the pope and looked at his condition. Severance, who had been lying down just in time, flinched and opened his eyes.

“Your Holiness,s, are you okay?”

Slowly, Severance’s hazy vision became clear. Adelia confirmed that the Pope’s eyes were originally green. Vishna, as expected, was embedded in his body from the start.

“……Aren’t you Bishop Berg?”

“Yes, that’s me, Bishop Berg.”

Severance briefly exchanged glances with Berg and Adelia before nodding. He appeared to have a general understanding of the circumstances. He soon began to slowly stand up.

“I unintentionally made you anxious.”

“I think it’s better to leave here quickly for now, the situation outside is quite unfavorable, and it won’t be too late to talk about it after everything is over.”

Severance nodded as Adelia continued. Berg left the temple, supporting Severance.

***

A stinging wind engulfed the three people as they left the sacred ground.

Despite her vision being blurry, Adelia scowled and tried to look straight ahead. A startling sight soon caught her attention.

Ivan and Demalo had pale skin, and Lensley and Melinda were lying next to them looking lifeless and having black faces.

Her heart began to race. Adelia sprinted after Ivan and Demalo as her complexion darkened.

“Ivan! Demalo!”

In response to her sobs, Ivan and Demalo opened their eyes. Ivan opened his mouth soon.

“The promise… It’s difficult to say that I kept it roughly, but can I still say that I kept half of it?”

Ivan’s voice was as shaky as a flame that seemed to extinguish right away. Adelia wanted to scream at him for being a fool, but she couldn’t bring herself to. For the time being, their treatment comes first.

“Bishop Berg, are you able to heal them?”

With a serious expression, Berg knelt down in front of Ivan and Demalo and assessed their wellbeing.

“Although it’s not my area of expertise, I’ll try my best.”

Adelia bit her lip as she nodded. She then cocked her head to look at Lensley and Melinda.

Pope Severance was with them. He gave them both a serene look before slowly turning to face Adelia.

He was speaking to Adelia with his eyes. They had already stopped breathing. Adelia felt a pull under her feet at that precise moment.

‘Ah… This is how it transpired.’

Is this the loss that Vishna mentioned? if not…

Adelia took another look at Ivan and Demalo. Berg used his divine power to heal them, but there was no improvement.