The Son-In-Law Of A Prestigious Household Wants A Divorce-Chapter 31: A Knight of Helmont

Thwack!

The butt of Silverna’s spear struck Jonathan. He then fell to the ground, still covering his mouth with his head raised.

“Whatever the reason, I can’t tolerate your behavior right now.”

While exuding an ominous aura.

She gripped her spear tightly. It was clear that she was forcibly suppressing her desire to just swing it at him.

“Kihik! Puhahat!”

“Hey! Stop that already!”

Sharen shouted angrily, prompting Jonathan to tightly cover his mouth with both hands, but...

His gaze was still fixed on the pile of corpses.

It was as if his whole being was dedicated to take in that sight for as long as possible.

And then...

“This bastard—!”

Unable to hold back anymore, Silverna swung the butt of her spear, striking his temple.

With a thwacking sound, he fainted, but...

The unpleasant smile on his lips remained, as if frozen by the cold.

“Just what on earth is going on?!”

The massacre of Andes’ villagers alone was already overwhelming, and now with Jonathan causing a scene, Silverna was already at her wits end.

Holding her head, she looked at Sharen before letting out a deep sigh.

“For now, since he’s Helmont’s man, keep an eye on him, Sharen. The rest of us will go inside and assess the situation.”

“G-Got it!”

Sharen stood by, stepping on the fallen Jonathan with one foot.

The rest of the group headed towards the pile of corpses, with Isaac and Silverna taking the lead.

“Just what kind of madman...”

“As Anna had said, some parts of these corpses have been gouged out.”

Though it wasn’t clearly visible due to the swarming maggots, parasites, and flies, there were traces of body parts like eyeballs or thumbs being dug out in these corpses.

“Ugh.”

Anna stepped back, clearly disgusted by the sight and chose to search the area around the village instead. Meladik stood guard, but he still kept his distance.

This much precaution was needed because of Isaac’s previous words of the corpses being relatively new.

“Why would they do this? Organ trafficking?”

“If so, they would have kidnapped them. Besides, things like eyeballs or fingers are useless.”

“That’s right, but what’s the reason then? Was this a raid and they were torturing those people for fun while looting?”

“That’s possible.”

Isaac glanced around slightly.

“But unlikely.”

Immediately understanding what he meant, Silverna bit her lip.

“There are still valuable things left here, which means they weren’t looting.”

If it was a bandit raid, they’d strip everything of value, leaving the village like a fish with only bones.

But even at a glance, Andes village had everything in place. Only its people were gone.

“Then, why? I don’t understand...”

Silverna struck the ground with her spear butt in frustration.

She was clearly distressed by the mysteries surrounding these deaths.

“Damn, if we had come a little earlier, we might have been able to protect them.”

While listening to her lamenting voice, Isaac was racking his brain.

He was somewhat certain about something.

Sorcery.

If the one mutilating these people weren’t bandits or organ traffickers, then only that came to mind.

Which meant, the culprit’s goal wasn’t to take their possessions, but to use these victims as sacrifices.

Seeing how the corpses are piled up like this, I’m guessing that it hasn’t started yet. Sorcery that involves human sacrifices won’t be an ordinary one.

At the very least, it’ll be worse than the Vassalization that they cast on Pollu—

Wait a minute...

At that moment, something clicked in his mind.

Back in my previous life... Did Pollu...die...?

The reason why they could learn about Blackthorn Family’s betrayal from the White Tiger was due to Isaac’s work.

That led to Pollu joining Reconnaissance Team 5, and got his Vassalization triggered when they got attacked by the Named yeti.

No, he didn’t.

I see. That must be it.

Assuming that this massacre in Andes village didn’t happen in his previous life either...

If there’s anything connecting the two, it’s sorcery.

Does that mean the Transcendent who cast that spell on Pollu is here?

Did Pollu’s death change something? But what?

At that moment, he could feel all the hair on his skin standing up, so he quickly placed his hand on his tachi.

“Silvern-!”

Just as he was about to turn his head and shout her name, from the hillside connected to the village, someone came.

The air instantly grew heavy.

The pure white, innocent northern wind became coarsely polluted, giving an unpleasant, sticky feeling in their throat.

His long hair reached his ankles, his attire like that of a priest.

The book held in his hand was so thick that it was bewildering to see him carrying it with one hand.

His pale skin and the pair of horns on his head clearly showed that he wasn’t a human.

“Is that him?”

Silverna had already fixed her gaze on him. While the others closed their mouths, seemingly overwhelmed by his presence.

“Oh my.”

If the White Tiger was a Transcendent that closely resembled a tiger, this man resembled a demon from the myths.

His teeth protruded outside his lips, adding to his vicious appearance, but his behavior and tone resembled that of a gentleman.

“Reconnaissance Team 5! Oh, how I’ve longed to meet you!”

He even seemed to know of their identities.

“You know us?”

Hearing Anna’s question, the man smiled brightly.

“Of course! Are you not the ones who fought valiantly against my vassal? I’ll have to let you know, that sorcery was quite a troublesome one to set up.”

The man closed his eyes tightly, holding the book to his heart as if grieving for Pollu.

“I was quite surprised when the Vassalization activated at an unexpected time. That’s why I came here.”

“You?”

“Ah, pardon my late introduction! My name is Nortemus! You could say that I’m Pollu’s master!”

Pollu wasn’t supposed to die here, at least that was what happened in the previous life.

But now that he had died, it brought this calamity to them.

I’m going crazy.

Isaac had his hand on his tachi, but he wasn’t sure if he should draw it here.

The previous time with the White Tiger, he did that because he believed Uldiran Cardias would be able to finish the job.

But here, there was no one capable of defeating a Transcendent.

Are we out of options?

No matter how much he racked his brain, the answer came in negative.

Though Silverna had grown stronger, expecting her to fight a Transcendent who was also a sorcery-user was too much.

“Oh.”

Knowing the gap between them, Nortemus was acting leisurely, but...

His gaze suddenly fell on a somewhat unexpected man.

“Young Lady of Helmont? I’m sorry, but could you move your foot?”

“Huh? M-Me?”

“Yes. It appears that the man below you is a precious comrade of mine, albeit only half.”

At his request, Sharen looked down at Jonathan in confusion.

But she didn’t move her leg.

Because she felt like if she did, they’d surely lose something.

“I-I don’t want to!”

“Hahaha, this is a little troublesome.”

Nortemus closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened his eyes again, a smile hung on his lips.

“How about this? If you leave my comrade with me, I’ll pretend I didn’t see you. You can pretend you didn’t see me and we can go on our ways.”

“Bullsh-!”

“Be mindful of your words, Cardias.”

Nortemus’ killing intent instantly crushed Silverna’s words that she had been holding back.

“I told you I’d let you live as long as you don’t interfere. This is where you should thank me for showing you mercy without having you beg for your lives.”

There was no bluff or falsehoods in his words, or his appearance, as he clicked his tongue.

He was truly confident that he could easily kill them all.

Then, he turned his gaze back to Sharen, letting out a bright smile.

“Now, my dear Young Lady of Helmont. Could you please grant my request? Otherwise, I’d have no choice but to kill all your companions.”

“U-Uhh...”

Overwhelmed by the pressure, Sharen carefully lifted her foot. At that moment, black sticky liquid formed at the tip of Nortemus’ fingers.

It slowly advanced through the wind before reaching Jonathan.

Finally, it embraced the unconscious Jonathan and brought him to Nortemus’ side.

“Though a half, you are still my comrade.”

Nortemus caressed the fallen Jonathan’s cheek lovingly.

Jonathan’s skin flushed red, his veins started to bulge.

“Now, the deal is done. Ah! Could there be a better day for all of us?”

Nortemus raised both his hands high and shouted with a bright smile.

“I have gained a comrade, and you could save your lives! Truly a time filled with grace and blessing! Let us praise the Lord!”

The thick book he held fluttered in the wind.

Watching this, Silverna quietly asked Isaac beside her.

“If we fight here...?”

“We’ll die.”

This guy is more dangerous than the White Tiger,

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“Farewell, everyone. Especially you, Young Lady of Helmont, I hope you stay safe.”

Nortemus bowed deeply, showing his courtesy.

Meladik and Anna had already taken a few steps back, but...

Silverna stood still.

“Hm?”

Because she saw Isaac standing still.

“The one I thought was the wisest turns out to be unexpectedly stubborn?”

Nortemus let out a smile as he looked at Isaac.

“Did you not say that we shouldn’t fight here?”

He could hear our whisper from this distance?

Inwardly amazed at the Transcendent’s superior senses, Isaac answered.

“If we turn our backs now, we’ll die.”

“...”

Hearing that, Nortemus’ gaze turned cold.

His gentlemanly gestures disappeared, and he put his book close to his chest while relaxing his shoulders.

“How did you know?”

“Transcendents won’t leave humans alive.”

“Hmm, I see you know a little about us. However, just like how each human is different, not all of us are like that.”

“That could be true.”

Exceptions exist, but you definitely are not one.

“A psychopath like you won’t let us go unharmed.”

“Psychopath? Have you ever seen such a kind psychopath?”

Even as his body stiffened from both the tension and cold, Isaac answered without relaxing.

“You don’t believe in God.”

“...”

“Yet you’re wearing priestly robes like a saint, holding a book as if it’s a Bible. Only psychopaths or con artists would willingly pretend to be God’s messengers.”

“Hu...huhuhuhu...”

Nortemus tilted his head back and forth, letting out an eerie laugh.

“Quite.”

Isaac’s figure was reflected in his flashing eyes.

“Wise.”

His low voice echoed like the overture of an orchestra.

And then...

As the atmosphere developed, hinting that something was about to begin...

“Ku...huuuk!!”

Jonathan rose with a groan.

Black patterns—God knows where it came from—stretched across his body.

The whites in his eyes had turned black, indistinguishable from his pupils.

“Ah, my comrade.”

Nortemus greeted him with a bright smile.

“How do you feel to see the world again? I’ve prepared a ritual for you, so that you could sever your ties with humanity with ease!”

Holding the book to his chest, Nortemus elegantly pointed at Reconnaissance Team 5 with his free hand.

As if he was a waiter guiding a customer to their table.

“Covet them. Take them. Prove that you are one of us! O my dear comrade!”

At his words, Jonathan raised his greatsword.

His once neat teeth made a cracking sound as they started to grow, as if he was a vampire of the legends.

“Now! Let’s resist the world together, my dear com—!”

Squelch!

What happened next was a flash, followed by the scene of a greatsword piercing through the book, pointing towards the sky.

Dark red blood dripped from the tip of the sword. Nortemus, who got pierced along with the book, turned his head creakily to glare at Jonathan.

“Com...rade...!”

“I’m—“

Tears welled up in Jonathan’s blackened eyes.

“Not...! I’m not.”

“Comrade!”

“I am—“

Jonathan mumbled, struggling as he sobbed.

“A proud and great... Knight of Helmont.”

At Jonathan’s answer, Nortemus’ face twisted viciously.