I, Reincarnate as the Leader of the Villainous Knight Order - Chapter 151: Battle with the Evil God

Chapter 151: Battle with the Evil God

Jest’s father—the dragon known as “Kuro”—passed by me silently, as if to say I was of no interest.

That is not my father. It’s just a dragon made to look like Jest. I kept telling myself that, forcing down the rising unease.

—

“Justin, are you okay?”

I realized Jest was looking up at me with concern.

“Yeah. I’m glad you were able to help your father.”

“Mm-hm!”

“Master, Jest. We can’t say we’ve helped him yet; the Evil God is still undefeated.”

Jeanne’s gaze remained fixed on the crumbling statues around us. Behind us, I could hear Ernest shouting instructions as he wrestled with the confusion caused by Kuro’s presence. And then, the last statue finally collapsed.

“The Evil God’s coming out! Vandière! You’re out of range of the Saint’s barrier—get back!”

At some point, a holy barrier had been set up in front of our party.

“Jest, Jeanne, let’s get to where the Crown Prince and his group are.”

“Mm-hm!”

“Understood. But it’s already here.”

We had barely covered a hundred meters when Jeanne muttered under her breath. At that moment, a feeling of dread and terror unlike anything I’d ever known seized me. I reacted instinctively, enhancing my body’s strength to grab Jest and Jeanne under my arms. I rushed them toward Ernest and the others.

“Haha, you could have left us and run… Sometimes I feel like you treat us as if we’re human.”

“It’s not that… Just because you’re dragons doesn’t mean you’d be safe from the Evil God’s attacks.”

The truth is, I know I unconsciously treat them like humans because they look so similar. Jeanne and Jest smiled cheerfully at me. They should really stop doing that right now. As we reached the others, the Saint hurried over as our line of defense.

“Captain Justin! I’m so glad Jest and the others made it on time! I’ll do my best to protect everyone!”

Completely unaffected by the Evil God’s overwhelming presence, the Saint flexed a barely-visible muscle, trying to show her strength. Orel, stop it. Now’s not the time to think the Saint looks adorable. But in the next instant, voices around us shattered the lighthearted mood.

“What on earth is that!?”

“A girl…?”

“No way… is that the Evil God!?”

Turning to follow the knights’ gaze, I saw not the elegant goddess from the illustrations but a single girl. She was standing there with her eyes closed. A chill ran down my spine, instinctively warning me: this is dangerous.

But why does it take the form of a girl, not a woman? I had that question, but it was quickly lost when her closed eyes opened—not revealing pupils, but pure black darkness.

“Gah, what is that!? That’s disgusting!”

Simon’s reaction was understandable. Darkness poured from her eyes, expanding and swallowing her form, growing ever larger. With it, the temperature in the cave plummeted. It made our breaths turn white. The tension in the air became palpable. Ultimately, the Evil God transformed into the same black dragon we’d seen before—just like Jest’s father.

“Curse it! There aren’t enough sacrifices! Why has the Ancient Dragon—the offering—vanished!? This is incomplete!”

A voice echoed throughout the cave, neither distinctly male nor female. Apparently, the girl form had been due to a lack of sacrifices, preventing full maturation.

“Hmph. By absorbing most of Kuro’s power, it’s become little more than a mockery,” 

Jeanne spat, glaring at the Evil God with unmasked hatred. I’d never seen her display such open disgust before.

“Saint! Restrain the Evil God’s movements! Paladins, maintain the barrier! Knights, coat your swords in holy water!”

Following Ernesto’s command, each of us moved as planned. The Saint clasped her hands together in a gesture of prayer. The dragon form of the Evil God had been poised to take flight. Suddenly, it began thrashing as though bound by invisible chains.

“Paladins, continue to guard the Saint! First and Third Order, follow me!”

With Ernest leading, we all charged toward the Evil God. It was just as it prepared to unleash a dragon’s breath attack.

“Brace yourselves for a breath attack!”

At my warning, the front line of the First Order sprang forward. They cast a barrier spell, while the Third Order members positioned themselves behind it. A distinctly noble style of fighting, unique to the First Order. However, what the Evil God unleashed wasn’t quite a dragon’s breath—it was more like a jet of pure darkness.

The darkness engulfed the barrier, swallowing the front-line knights. When the darkness dispersed, a few knights had dropped to their knees. Some of them even collapsed. All of them were out of focus, muttering to themselves or panicking as if trapped in a nightmare.

“It’s over…!”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…!!”

“Stop it! Nooooo!”

“Get a hold of yourselves!”

Despite Ernest’s command, those with lower magical strength seemed to be more affected. If the Third Order had been in the front, it would have been a disaster.

“Whoa, that black stuff is bad news. Captain, let’s charge before it comes again!”

Of course, it was Simon who spoke up. But it wasn’t just him; my entire squad looked eager and ready.

“Your Highness! Let the Third Order take the lead! Those affected should return to normal once the Saint purifies them!”

To be honest, the First Order is a liability in their current state. Breath attacks usually have a cooldown, so we should have at least a few minutes before it tries the same move. After confirming Ernest’s nod, we of the Third Knight Order charged forward.