Wounded Paladin – Chapter 306

Chapter 35: Holy Knight vs. Hero ⑦

The Guardian Sword Rifire shattered into countless pieces. In that moment, time felt like it was moving in slow motion.

Ah, yes. Those days I spent alone. I was deeply consumed by loneliness… My only companion was Rifire.

Every Labyrinth I had conquered until now was impossible without Rifire.

Rifire—Rifire—Rifire—yet there was no time to indulge in sentimentality.

Right now, the dark aura, a manifestation of Prince Ryuguin’s abilities, filled the space around us, pulsating as it twisted and warped all phenomena, dyeing everything in Ryuguin’s colors.

It was then that I finally realized. Rifire had shattered, transforming into countless fragments. Their brilliance—the shards—lingered in the air.

“Rifire, you—”

The suspended shards began to swirl, and then—

“Yamadaaa!! For humans, knowing when to give up is crucial!!!”

Prince Ryuguin thrust his arm forward with vigor, as if to empower his dark aura. Confident of his victory, he curled his lips into a crescent shape and let out a triumphant laugh. However, two of the shards of Rifire, large enough to be seen, shot forth at the speed of light towards Ryuguin—

“Guuuuuuuuuuuh… how… could…”

They pierced him deeply.

“It… hurts… it hurts…”

With that, several shards flew towards us—one struck Mika, another hit Ange, one pierced Eris, and one found its mark in Puffy. The largest shard, however, impaled me. The shards of Rifire that lingered in the air emitted a dazzling light, spreading outward at an incredible speed beyond the barrier created by Sena and Sensei.

“Whaaat!?”

I was jolted by Ryuguin’s frantic voice.

“Why, why, why!? It can’t be happening!? It can’t be happening!! It can’t be happening!!!”

I looked around. The dark aura, a skill of Prince Ryuguin, had completely dissipated.

☆The two shards of the Guardian Sword Rifire within Prince Ryuguin’s body☆
They had acquired the effect of my skill, Skill Defender, and further amplified it to its limits due to the nature of the Holy Sword (Amplifier). Currently, those shards had entered Prince Ryuguin’s body, dissolving and mixing at a molecular level, making separation impossible.

The first shard sealed away Prince Ryuguin’s skill, “Kneel and Offer All (Women),” for life. The second shard sealed away his skill, “Bow Your Head and Offer All (Achievements),” for life.

“Why!? Why!? My power!! Ahh!! Ahh!! Ahh!! Aahh!! Why!? Why is it that I can’t use it anymore!!”

His scream echoed hollowly.

And then, another sound. A sobbing voice reached my ears. The owner of that voice was Puffy. She knelt, covering her face with her hands, weeping bitterly. It’s okay. Don’t worry. Just forget it. Countless comforting words flashed through my mind.

But it wasn’t over yet.

Ryuguin stood there like a specter, tearing at his hair. His bloodshot eyes revealed that he had lost his sanity. No, perhaps he had never been sane to begin with.

“Yamada, because of a mob character like you, my plans are ruined. You envied the talent given to me by God and deliberately tried to drag me down. Don’t you feel ashamed for attacking someone outstanding out of jealousy?”

“The one who should feel ashamed is you. You’ve lived a parasitic life! Don’t you feel ashamed of that?”

Ryuguin reacted sharply to my words.

“You don’t understand anything!! I have every right to do this!! There were indeed privileged people back in Japan!! I am a ‘Hero’! What’s wrong with me doing the same as them!!”

“That’s not it.”

“This mob bastard! What’s different about it!!”

“Can’t you see? You’re just pretending not to understand.”

“What… are you talking about?”

“You’re just an ordinary, unremarkable man. You have no abilities and have accomplished nothing. All you’ve done is drown in alcohol, chase after women, and manipulate others to satisfy your own vanity—nothing more.”

“Shut up…!”

“No matter how grand your words may be, your essence remains unchanged. You might think of yourself as a person of worth, but you can’t do anything of significance.”

Your pompous tone and grandiose behavior are now laughable.

“You can’t control yourself and continue to inconvenience others; you’re just a petty villain lost in your desires.”

Ryuguin’s face turned crimson, his shoulders trembling.

“Shut up!!”

Deep down, he knows the truth.

“Did you enjoy playing the hero? You led an S-rank party without ever standing before an enemy. I’ve heard that because of you, they were on the brink of annihilation. You even shifted the blame onto Eris. That’s a new level of shame. In the Seeker community, they’re laughing at you, calling you ‘the cowardly hero with a small mind.’”

“Shut up, I said!!”

“Did you enjoy your little business venture? Everyone’s talking about you. You have no experience or talent in management, yet you meddle like a common fraud!”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup!!!”

“Is ‘shut up’ all you can say? Or maybe… you’re just flustered because I hit the nail on the head?”

Ryuguin’s face turned as red as a post, and he could only groan, unable to even utter “shut up.”

“Then I’ll say it as many times as I want. No matter how much you arm yourself with grand words, your insides are completely empty. You’re nothing but a good-for-nothing fraud. ‘Hero’? What does that even mean? ‘Holy Knight’? That doesn’t matter at all. What truly matters is—”

I was choked up as memories flooded back.

That’s right. I’ve always lived like that.

“What truly matters is the solid core within our hearts that makes us who we are.”

I could see Ryuguin grinding his teeth, muttering, “…shut up.”

“You have no core. Every action you take is for yourself, and the most important thing is you. What you’re doing is nothing but a self-indulgent display, wrapped in vanity and devoid of purpose.”

“Shut uuuuuuuuuuuup!!”

“Is the next word going to be ‘shut up’? Fine. You won’t apologize. That’s just who you are. So this is where it ends.”

As I moved to restrain him, he suddenly said,

“I hate violence.”

His demeanor had changed completely—

“So I didn’t really want to use it.”

Ryuguin murmured softly.

“I will escape from here and absolutely retrieve the shards that pierced me, reclaiming everything. So, my final skill (Ultimate Skill) will—”

I unleashed a ring of Light Magic to bind him. However—

“Limit Break.”

He declared.

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