Chapter 653: Exhaustion

“Leave this place.”

Those were Joanna’s first words after waking up on the worn-out bed.

She wasn’t asking for help but telling him to leave the Central Continent.

Oliver’s deep, emotionless eyes flickered in surprise at this unexpected statement. He stared at Joanna with those shaken eyes.

Joanna’s condition, upon closer inspection, was indeed terrible.

Her limbs were broken and set with splints, and her once well-groomed, beautiful face was now mangled, covered in bandages and gauze. Her once pale skin was now discolored and bruised.

There were more damaged areas than there were undamaged ones.

Perhaps, if it weren’t for the Warlock’s Eye that could see through emotions, Oliver might have thought she was speaking nonsense due to her injuries.

But that wasn’t the case. Despite her severe injuries, Joanna’s mind was intact and she knew exactly what she was saying.

She was genuinely telling Oliver to leave.

Even though the Pied Piper had taken her brother.

Her heart was a storm of unspeakable sorrow, grief, and pain, yet Joanna suppressed the urge to ask for help and told Oliver to leave.

Really. It was truly an unexpected statement.

“…Are you serious?”

Oliver fell into deep thought after hearing Joanna’s words, and then he asked abruptly, not from the mind but from the heart, unsure yet hopeful.

“Would it be okay if I really left?”

Oliver asked again, and Joanna remained silent.

But it didn’t matter. For Oliver, an answer wasn’t necessary.

Even if her mouth did not speak, her emotions answered for her.

Oliver let himself sense those emotions, and surprisingly, he confirmed that Joanna was sincere.

Despite the tragedy that had befallen her, she genuinely wanted Oliver to leave.

Even though she wanted to ask for help, she wished for him to leave.

A contradictory emotion that didn’t make sense. After confirming this, Oliver requested of those nearby.

“Everyone… Could you give us some space?”

Yareli and Rosburn, who had been watching with seriousness, looked surprised by this sudden request, but Kevin and Pandora seemed to guess at something and took their hands, leading them out.

Thanks to that, Oliver and Joanna were left alone without any trouble, and Oliver used his power to thoroughly seal the space, creating a perfect closed room.

In that state, Oliver asked Joanna once again.

“Would it be okay if I really left?”

“…”

Repeated questions, repeated silence.

To break the silence, Oliver brought up another topic.

He couldn’t explain why, but he felt like he wouldn’t regret it if he did this.

“Knight, do you remember? What The Burned One said in the New Continent.”

“…”

“They said to you, ‘False Holy Knight, the false family you protect at the cost of turning away from the lamb will meet a terrible end.’”

Joanna remained silent.

“They said the woman who raised you will become a being neither dead nor alive, consumed by the most furious rage. And your false siblings will be lost in the deep forest, with no one to help them… Do you remember?”

Once again, Joanna remained silent, radiating an indescribable pain and sorrow.

Still, Oliver didn’t stop and kept speaking.

Just as he had pressed her for help when seeking aid for Rosburn in the past.

Even though she had already lost everything and was in agony.

“I think that moment has come. I’ve never seen anyone as angry as the Pied Piper.”

Oliver reminded her of The Burned One’s prophecy.

Yet again, Joanna remained silent.

“But are you really okay with me leaving? Do you seriously think you can handle the Pied Piper?”

“Holy Father…”

Just as the pressure was increasing, Joanna finally spoke, her lips whispering a prayer.

“I now take up the weapon and shield You have given me and swear at this moment.”

“…”

“I will be the shield that protects humanity, and the sword that destroys evil. I will protect the weak and the righteous and destroy chaos, demons, and evil.

I will be the light that banishes the darkness. The trumpet that heralds the dawn. The armor that protects the world. The shield that safeguards Your children.

Even if I am worn down like an old shield, even if I am broken like a shattered sword, I will not turn away, I will not run, I will not give up.

I swear this, from this moment until the end of my life.”

Silence.

Oliver was at a loss for words after hearing this prayer. The heavy silence took the place of words.

“…What is that?”

“The oath a Holy Knight takes when swearing to become one. It’s a vow to protect the world in the name of the Father in Heaven.”

“…Beautiful.”

Oliver shared his honest feelings.

Joanna smiled faintly, a smile tinged with sadness, seemingly satisfied with his reaction.

“I think so too. It’s the most beautiful phrase in the world… But in the end, I couldn’t keep that promise.”

Joanna revealed a deeply hidden emotion. It was guilt.

“Even though I made that vow myself, I couldn’t keep it.”

“…That was—”

“—An excuse.”

Joanna confessed, though each word seemed to cause her great pain, like chewing on glass. Still, she did not stop.

“The city agreement, the lack of evidence, the political issues. They were all excuses. As you said, if I had the will, none of them would have been a problem.”

‘Just to ask, if you couldn’t get the Church’s help, couldn’t you have done it alone? All it would take is the will of the Holy Knight.’

‘I don’t understand. Isn’t a Holy Knight supposed to be the shield that protects humanity and the weak? How can they be punished for doing their job? Even if they aren’t punished, what’s the point of keeping the position if they aren’t doing their duty? I don’t understand any of this at all—’

Oliver recalled the words he had once spoken in the temple.

Back when he had asked if she could help Rosburn alone if everything else failed.

Looking back, those words were right, but they were also words he could say only because of his ignorance.

Words that only someone like Oliver, who didn’t know the world and had nothing to protect, could say.

But, ironically, it was only now that Oliver could truly feel the weight of those words.

“I didn’t truly want to become a Holy Knight. I just wanted to enjoy the benefits of being one. I wanted to be praised by my siblings and make their lives more abundant. It seemed like I was doing it for others, but it was purely selfish reasoning.”

‘Your siblings might be hungry, they might be poorly dressed, they might even be sold to a mine. But they won’t die… But the child in Martel might die.’

Once again, Oliver reflected on the words he had spoken before.

Could he say the same thing if he were to return to that moment, now that he knew the children of Ark Orphanage?

Could Oliver have confidently helped if he had been in Joanna’s position?

Everything was uncertain.

“Back then, I—”

“—You weren’t wrong. It’s an undeniable fact. I turned away from those far away to protect those close to me, using God’s name to fill my vanity. I claimed to act for my siblings, but it was really about my own desires. I should’ve chosen a different path if that were the case. This is not a position for that. But I twisted it to suit my wishes and turned away.”

“I am no different now.”

Oliver admitted, relieved after hearing that Rosburn was safe.

Joanna shook her head.

“No, you are different. You are not a Holy Knight, nor have you made any vows. Even if you leave, there is no sin, and no one can blame you.”

“Aren’t you worried about your siblings?”

Oliver recalled the day he spent at Ark Orphanage.

The children who proudly spoke of Joanna with smiles beaming on their faces.

Suddenly, Oliver wondered.

Had he known those children, could he still have insisted Rosburn be saved at all costs?

“If my child is hungry and I take food from another to feed them, is that right?”

“…”

“This situation is no different… I heard what you did after leaving the New Continent. Creating jobs, gathering Dark Sorcerers under your wing to stabilize order, and establishing schools to bring Dark Magic into the light. Do you know how many people have been helped by you?”

“…I didn’t do it for them. I did it for myself.”

“What matters is that people were helped. There’s no reason to be criticized just because there’s a bit of self-interest involved. If people are condemned for that, all acts of goodness would disappear.”

“…”

“Be proud of yourself. You’ve already done enough. So don’t try to take on everything. You’re just human in the end. You’ve already done plenty.”

Just human…

“So don’t feel guilty about the current situation. The burden of this situation should be carried by the Pater Church and the leaders of this land. It’s not yours to bear. So leave, for your people.”

“…Are you serious?”

“I swear on my siblings.”

Joanna responded. Her emotions were genuine.

At this point, with her only remaining family, her siblings, abducted by the Pied Piper, she was still thinking of others and helping relieve Oliver of guilt, urging him to truly leave.

“Ha… Ha, ha.”

Faced with this reality, Oliver let out a laugh.

An ordinary yet distant laughter.

It was incredibly strange.

Just as arrogant as Derek once was, from the Tower of Magic, who had crossed the sea and lost his life for the orphans, Joanna, who had once turned away from another child for her siblings, was now declining help for strangers.

It was somewhat amusing.

But the funniest thing here was none other than Oliver himself.

Being the one who had practically grilled Joanna, and now that she was urging him to leave without guilt, he felt relieved and pleased.

The whole situation was laughable, so Oliver laughed. Especially at himself.

He thought he had learned about the world and people, but it was all the arrogance of a fool.

Just like when he told Merlin that the most important thing was his choice before heading to Wineham, he hadn’t changed at all.

He had turned away from the most important matters and spoke as if he had braced himself.

He hadn’t progressed at all. In fact, he had regressed.

The proof was that Oliver still hesitated.

“Knight…”

“Yes, Oliver.”

“Are you really not asking for my help because someone else needs me, or is it because, after I passed out while fighting The Burned One—”

-Thud.

Joanna moved her broken arm to grab Oliver’s hand.

It must have been painful to move even a little, but it allowed Oliver to feel her hand.

Her once strong arms, which wielded a heavy mace freely and held a shield as strong as a castle wall, were now incredibly fragile.

They seemed like they would break with just a little pressure.

Joanna squeezed that fragile hand as she spoke to Oliver.

“You are only yourself. You are Oliver… Just remember that.”

“…I’m tired.”

Leaving the words he once said at the temple, Oliver stood up and left the room.

“Is the conversation over?”

Once he stepped out, Kevin, who was waiting downstairs, spoke up.

Oliver responded to Kevin’s question.

“Yes, Professor.”

“What did she say? Did she really tell you to leave?”

“Yes, she told me not to worry and to leave.”

“How do you feel?”

“…Relieved, yet uneasy… It’s complicated.”

“Life is complicated.”

Kevin passively reflected, emanating a strong sense of empathy.

In fact, his feelings must have been complex as well.

For despite not showing it outwardly, Kevin deeply grieved and pitied Derek’s death.

Considering that Derek was one of Kevin’s researchers, it was somewhat understandable, but it wasn’t entirely a given.

Derek had, after all, initially viewed Kevin’s class with contempt because he was a Red One.

And before that, Kevin, who had once been a test subject at the Tower of Magic, had no reason to hold nice feelings for anyone.

He was lucky enough to become Merlin’s disciple, a Mage of the Tower of Magic, but before that, Merlin and the Tower were his enemies.

Kevin hadn’t gone into all the details due to the weight of his story, but Oliver knew that Kevin’s family and friends had met a tragic end as subjects in Merlin’s experiments.

Yet strangely, Kevin showed sadness over Derek’s death.

Oliver didn’t quite understand it, but at the same time, he did.

The heart doesn’t always follow one’s will.

As Kevin said, the world truly seemed complex.

“But you still have to make a decision. What will you do?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

Despite having just had a deep conversation with Joanna, Oliver still hesitated.

The very existence of the Pied Piper and their promise, not to mention the overwhelming rage he held, haunted Oliver.

What exactly made him so angry?

Just as Kevin was about to say something to the still-undecided Oliver, Oliver raised his hand.

A gesture that he hadn’t finished saying what he needed to say.

Seeing this, Kevin paused, and Oliver used the moment to call out two entities.

“Eve, Pandora.”

“Yes, Dave.”

“Yes, Father.”

The two artificial spirits of the World Tree responded to Oliver’s call.

Oliver asked them for help.

“I need to investigate something. Could you two help me out?”

“What are you asking about?”

Eve and Pandora asked simultaneously, their voices tinged with a sense of readiness, as if they understood something.

“The Pied Piper. I need to see his past. That’s the only way I can make my decision.”