Thud-!
A knight collapsed right in front of Evan as if he had lost consciousness.
Many knights around him had fallen as well.
All of them were wielding the power of the dead.
“Next.”
Evan said curtly, aiming the Sacred Sword of Akkrat at his next opponent.
Everyone inside the prison was backing away cautiously, watching Evan’s every move.
Whenever they disappeared with Evan and reappeared, they all lost consciousness just like that.
To their eyes, the sight was utterly bizarre.
One of them couldn’t hold back and shouted, “P-please spare us! Why are you doing this?”
Fear quickly spread, and the others began to struggle desperately as well.
“We’re innocent! How can you kill innocent people like this!”
“You madman! That reckless bastard’s lost his mind—this is a massacre! Let us out!”
Evan looked at their pleading and spoke firmly, “Killing? They’re still breathing perfectly fine in here. Anyone would think it’s real.”
As Evan said, those who disappeared and came back still had breath.
But the death the knights spoke of wasn’t physical death.
It was the power of the dead.
To them, the power of the dead fading away in real time felt like death itself.
The fear of losing the power they possessed.
But their bodies were restrained by special Mana Handcuffs, so they couldn’t even resist.
“P-prince, please show mercy.”
One of them rushed forward, knelt before Evan, and begged.
Evan smirked slightly and replied, “You all put on quite a show, huh? Pretending to be the true masters of your bodies…”
They still didn’t know exactly how much Evan had realized about the power of the dead.
They only guessed that he had some inkling from seeing their power vanish.
So they kept up the act, stubbornly denying everything.
“W-what? Act?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Evan took a breath and spoke slowly, “You really thought I wouldn’t recognize you phantoms? Especially since Velled was already dealt with by my hand?”
[Attention]
A moment of silence fell over the prison.
They said nothing, frozen like statues.
Evan looked at them and continued, “Aren’t you curious? Where your phantoms went.”
Raising his sword higher, Evan pressed on.
“This life you enjoy is over. Now it’s time for you to quietly fall into hell.”
They swallowed hard.
Their faces twisted more than ever before.
“P-please, let us go.”
The one clinging to Evan continued to grovel.
Evan asked him, “Then tell me about the power of the dead you know. Exactly how you came to possess such power. Or tell me about anyone who knows or is involved with you.”
Maybe they knew something about the information Velled had shared.
Evan’s goal was to pressure them with fear.
That was why he had conducted the judgment openly from the start.
For those who had always escaped death, the judgment of their souls was an inescapable prison.
“Alright, first three to answer.”
Evan folded down his fingers one by one.
Everyone glanced around nervously and started whispering.
Hesitant, their mouths dry, they swallowed with difficulty.
“If none of you speak, I’ll send all of you to the place where your leader already ended up. You have nowhere left to turn.”
Just as Evan was about to fold another finger, “P-prince! I have something important!”
A man suddenly jumped out from the crowd and fell prostrate before Evan.
“What’s this?”
Evan looked down at him and asked.
The man moved his hand, still restrained by handcuffs, and pointed to his inner pocket.
“Please check my inside pocket! There’s something Velled entrusted to me! He ordered me to take it and run immediately if anything happens.”
Evan’s expression showed interest.
He roughly searched the man’s inner pocket and pulled out an item.
“What is this?”
A translucent key.
It seemed to be made of a special material, neither metal nor wood.
It felt like touching the air.
When Evan asked, the man shook his head.
“I’m not sure either. But I saw Velled frequently carrying this key around.”
“Oh?”
Evan had found a clue to move forward.
He immediately checked the key’s info window.
[Grade: ??]
[Type: Consumable Item]
[Durability: 1/1]
[Effect: A key that can open the door to the Archive.]
[Note: A repository of knowledge that does not exist in this world. Its origin is unknown, and the very existence of this place is doubtful.]
Evan tilted his head while reading.
‘Archive? Never heard of it before.’
The description was strange.
To say it didn’t exist at all would make sense, but why specify it as a repository of knowledge that doesn’t exist in the world?
Still, Evan shook his head.
‘Velled said he came and went frequently. So it must exist somewhere.’
His eyes began to gleam.
This smelled like a hidden piece of the puzzle.
Why Velled possessed such absurd power and knowledge.
Maybe it was because of this place.
‘Since it’s a knowledge repository.’
Evan asked him just in case.
“Do you know where Velled went with this key?”
The man hesitated, glancing around nervously, then slowly spoke.
“He often visited the Avila Ruins Zone beyond the Talin Border.”
“Beyond the Talin Border…”
Evan racked his memory but couldn’t recall clearly.
He thought he’d better check the map again.
Evan put the Archive Key into his inventory.
Then pointed with his hand and said, “Good. I like you. Go stand by the entrance over there.”
“T-thank you!”
The man happily walked towards the prison entrance and stood there lightly on his feet.
“You bastard!”
“Traitor!”
“Pathetic fools. You’re worthless, so you don’t even have this.”
They began bickering among themselves.
“Quiet! There’s still a chance. Now, two more.”
Evan unfolded his fingers again.
“Oh, and if you give me useless info or lies, consider it instant judgment.”
Evan glanced around at their faces before starting the countdown once more.
He still hadn’t uncovered the masterminds behind these guys.
He needed to know who those people were.
‘Is there anyone here who knows them…?’
As Evan’s countdown was about to end, one man stepped forward.
He was a big guy with bulky muscles.
“I have several tasks from Velled. Once the occupation of the knight order is finished, I was supposed to head to the Arta Forest base to deliver them.”
He said so, then slammed his fist hard against his stomach.
“Ugh!”
He vomited something out.
A small glass vial containing a rolled-up scroll.
‘A thorough guy indeed.’
Evan lightly struck the glass vial with his sword, shattering it.
At that moment, the rolled-up scroll expanded greatly.
It was a magically treated scroll.
Evan picked it up and said to the man, “You, go stand where that guy is.”
The man smiled quietly and walked away.
Evan unfolded the scroll and read the contents.
[This is to inform you that the Talin Knight Order has been successfully occupied. This place belongs to us, so don’t trespass elsewhere… (omitted) … This door will be kept open regularly, so you can enter the password…]
The general content seemed to be about a territorial dispute among themselves.
They were not allies, but not outright enemies either.
Just a mutual non-aggression pact over a shared goal—the invasion of Kerthen County.
Velled’s message was both a warning and an offer of limited assistance.
Of course, the help was less out of goodwill and more because it served their interests to have control over Kerthen County.
‘The core message is that they’re opening a gateway into the county.’
This alone showed that these people were trying to cross not just the Talin Border, but the border zone as well.
‘I’d better report this to the higher-ups.’
If this was true, the other border areas were in danger too.
If the enemy was targeting them, they needed to raise their defenses.
‘I wonder how they plan to strike.’
And if they found out Velled had failed, they would prepare even more meticulously.
While reading, Evan noticed two special marks made of mana at the bottom of the scroll.
‘The first looks like Velled’s mark. And the other one…’
Evan frowned.
‘That’s the symbol I saw in the documents when Hilton was dealt with.’
The mark of the Nervan Cult.
If they were involved, it meant the Nervan Cult was moving.
‘What exactly is going on? And it seems my entanglement with the Nervan Cult won’t end easily.’
After pondering, Evan put the scroll back in his pocket.
It wasn’t too late to think after finishing with these guys.
“Now, the last one.”
Evan began the countdown again.
***
“W-why! This isn’t what you promised!”
“When did I say anything else? I only told you to go stand there. Who said you’d be released?”
“W-what! Grrk!”
The man who handed over the Archive Key collapsed.
At the same time, chains wrapped around his body.
“Ahhh! Let me go!”
He was pulled into the cracked floor.
[You have judged Jeden the Hypocrite.]
[Jeden’s soul has fallen to hell and been bound for eternity.]
[Judgment completed successfully!]
[Holy Power increased by 17]
At the same time, other messages popped up in succession.
[Branch Quest: Revealed Conspiracy completed.]
[Go see the Mediator of the World to receive your reward.]
It was the message Evan had long awaited.
‘Finally, the quest is complete?’
Everything was finally over.
After the judgment, Evan returned to his original location.
He saw the knights who had not yet awakened.
He decided to leave their disposal to Andre.
[Sacred Sword of Akkrat has disappeared.]
The sword in Evan’s hand transformed into light and vanished.
Since the quest was complete, it had immediately disappeared.
‘It was a pretty decent buff. The Holy Power boost at the end made its power considerable.’
Evan felt a tinge of regret, having enjoyed the Sacred Sword’s effects thoroughly.
Still, he was satisfied with the large increase in Holy Power thanks to the Judgment of the Wicked quest.
Holy Power was essential for dealing with the Nervan Cult and other evil forces going forward.
‘Let’s see how much it has increased.’
Evan opened his status window.