# Chapter 51
“So it was you who was evil all along!”
“Ugh, Le…vi!”
Ion couldn’t even properly speak as his breath was cut off.
Just as Ion’s consciousness began to fade from Levi’s grip, he heard the sound of arrows flying again. Whether his neck was being strangled or whatever else was happening, his only thought was that he needed to protect Levi first. Ion stopped trying to remove the black hand and instead stretched out his arms as if to embrace Levi.
But it was the arrow making a sharp sound that reached Levi first.
“…Ack!”
Levi let out a pained groan. At the same time, the hand strangling Ion’s neck momentarily lost its strength. Only then could Ion’s arms finally embrace Levi.
“Levi! Are you alright?!”
Ion, holding Levi, grimaced at the sight of the arrow deeply embedded in his back. Even though it had struck from behind, it was aimed precisely at the heart, meaning an ordinary person might have died instantly.
Ion, whose expression showed more pain than if he himself had been hit, quickly grabbed Levi’s arms when Levi forcefully pushed him away.
“Let go! Let go—!”
“Your wound will open, Levi!”
“I don’t care!”
Levi was desperately trying to push Ion away while vehemently rejecting him. That’s when the man in the black robe intervened, pulling Levi back into an embrace from behind. If it had been a simple test of strength, it might have been different, but since Levi was also pushing Ion away, he couldn’t resist.
As if waiting for that moment, several arrows rained down. They had remained quiet while Ion was holding Levi, but strangely, the moment the two separated, the attacks resumed as if they had been waiting.
The man barely avoided the arrows while holding Levi. Even in the midst of this, Levi was more concerned about the arrows lodged in the man’s shoulder and arm than the one that had struck him.
“Your wound needs treatment. You’ll die at this rate.”
“I’m fine.”
The atmosphere didn’t seem like Levi had been forcibly dragged along by the man. The two even appeared close enough to provoke Ion’s jealousy.
Ion, who skillfully dodged the arrows that rained down blocking his path, reached out toward Levi once again. However, Levi was faster. Drawing the longsword from the man’s waist, Levi swung it toward Ion with killing intent.
“Ugh—!”
Blood splattered from Ion’s chest and face. He had barely managed to step back and twist his body at the last moment; otherwise, his chest would have been split in two.
Ion took deep, ragged breaths at the realization that Levi had truly tried to kill him. Even when his neck was being strangled earlier, it hadn’t felt real, but now, seeing the deep hatred and sense of betrayal in Levi’s eyes, his chest felt numb and throbbing.
The snow-white mask that had been cut away by Levi’s sword slid down Ion’s chin and fell to the ground. The face staring back with a long wound on his cheek, as if in a daze, was indeed Grand Duke Verdit himself, the man Levi knew.
Pointing the tip of his sword at Ion, Levi quickly calmed the confusion in his mind. He coolly assessed the surroundings, analyzing the situation.
‘The attacks stopped when we got close. They were only targeting us.’
What could be the answer in this situation?
The master of those archers trying to kill them was Grand Duke Verdit.
The very person who had tried to kill him and Raziel days ago, and who was now trying to confuse them with his pathetic acting—a vicious human.
Levi’s hand holding the sword trembled slightly.
Even back then, when Raziel and he were being targeted, strangely, there remained a desire to believe in Ion. Though he knew Ion had been kind and affectionate only to find his backer, he couldn’t forget his gentle voice and beautiful smile, which only troubled his heart more.
But now it was different.
Looking at that face pretending to be concerned for him, he could hardly bear the disgust. How could someone look at him with such eyes while calmly wielding a dagger and shooting arrows?
‘I really can’t trust humans.’
Kalvern was the same. Like Grand Duke Verdit, he too had acted kindly, only to use him thoroughly and then abandon him to die or live as fate decreed.
“Step back.”
Raziel’s voice reached his ears. Looking over his shoulder at him, Levi saw that the blood flowing from his shoulder and arm was considerable.
“Give me that sword and run toward the edge of the forest immediately. They’re after me, the emperor, anyway.”
Raziel’s jet-black eyes looked at him pleadingly, and his left hand, instead of his injured arm, tried to take the sword Levi was holding.
“No.”
Levi firmly said, grabbing Raziel’s arm. Then he retreated with him.
“Raziel, you come out too. I can’t leave you behind.”
Here, it was more advantageous for them to stay together than to separate. Right now, the archers’ attacks had stopped, perhaps because Grand Duke Verdit was right in front of them, but the moment the two separated, it seemed the arrows would rain down again. Seeing that most of the arrows had been aimed at Raziel, it was clear they were trying to kill the Emperor of Caron as Raziel had said, which made it all the more impossible to separate.
Levi glared at Ion before grabbing Raziel’s arm and immediately launching from his spot.
“Levi!”
He heard Ion calling from behind, but he didn’t stop and ran toward the edge of the forest with Raziel. Arrows poured down as if they had been waiting, and most of them flew toward Raziel again. Levi, not caring if he got hurt himself, swung the sword to cut or block the arrows.
Each time, the arrowheads grazed Levi’s body, creating small wounds, sometimes even piercing through or embedding themselves in him. Levi seemed to have anticipated this, as whenever an arrow hit him, he would immediately cut off the middle part with his sword to minimize the obstruction and continue to block and avoid further attacks.
The appropriate tension and composure actively responded to the combative movements latent in Levi’s instincts. He moved with utmost care, making sure that not even a single hair on Raziel was harmed, even if his own body was injured. He also remained vigilant against Ion, who could chase after them and stab them from behind.
“Levi, wait!”
As expected, Ion was pursuing them. Levi deliberately waited for him to get closer, then suddenly spun around and thrust the sword at him.
“Ugh… ugh…!”
A groan escaped Ion’s lips.
Holding the blade that had halfway penetrated his abdomen with both hands, he looked at Levi with trembling eyes. Ion’s eyes contained questions, confusion, and still, that same gentleness.
“Are you… being used again?”
Levi’s face turned cold at Ion’s words.
“No.”
The cold indifference he had felt when he first met Levi came to mind. Like that time when he first placed his black hand on Ion’s head to kill him—Levi, who was like a cold block of ice.
“I don’t want to be used anymore.”
Levi’s eyes seemed to continue the unspoken words.
‘Now I will move by my own will.’
Levi, who had only been dragged around and used by others until now, finally resolved to decide and move by himself.
The first of these was the denial and rejection of Grand Duke Ion Verdit.
Levi gripped the sword that was stabbing Ion with both hands and drove it deeper. Blood gushed from Ion’s pierced abdomen, and his groans intensified.
Yet, despite this, Ion still firmly held onto the blade. Though blood continued to flow from his two palms, cut by the sharp sword, he refused to let go, as if it were a lifeline.
As soon as Levi realized that he couldn’t push the sword in further or pull it out due to the strong grip of Ion’s hands on the blade, he boldly abandoned the sword. After all, the blade had pierced through the abdomen and internal organs to the point of emerging from the back; no ordinary human could possibly survive. Grand Duke Verdit was said to have recovery abilities, so he wouldn’t die, but judging by his condition, he didn’t appear capable of closely pursuing them.
“Levi…”
But Ion was persistent. Despite his severe injury, he looked as if he would somehow get up and chase after them.
It hadn’t been long since Raziel and Levi had distanced themselves from him. By then, the rain of arrows had also stopped.
“Your Majesty!”
“Are you alright?!”
A group of soldiers holding torches was running toward them from a distance. They were the soldiers guarding the outside of the forest and Raziel’s knights, so Levi could also feel somewhat relieved.
‘I should kill Grand Duke Verdit at a time like this…’
He had been told that the Delos Empire, including Grand Duke Verdit, was Raziel’s enemy. Since they might target Raziel again at any time, it would be proper to kill him on the spot.
Just as Levi was about to run toward Ion, who was sitting on the ground catching his breath with the sword still in his abdomen—
Bang—!
Something flew in and caused an explosion between Ion and them. Levi quickly spread his arms to shield Raziel, ready to take the blast instead. Fortunately, the explosion wasn’t that large, but instead, an immense amount of smoke spread out.
What had appeared to be a bomb was actually a smoke bomb. The thick smoke made it impossible to see ahead, increasing their vigilance even more.
Meanwhile, Raziel’s knights, who had reached his side through the smoke, stood in front of him, pointing their swords in Ion’s direction. Still, there was no sense of killing intent.
When the smoke began to dissipate…
In the place where Ion had been, there was only a pool of red and Raziel’s bloodied sword lying on the ground.
