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Chapter 17
‘No way… Did this come from higher up?’
And then—
The drawback and cost of a skill I’d momentarily forgotten came crashing back.
Game Category [Post][Strategy]
[Useful Skills Guide (Long Read)]
◆ No.23 “Child Actor”
…
When you’re a child, your stamina is low, which makes you especially vulnerable to cultist skills.
But with this stat, you can conserve stamina.
However, the critical downside is…
You get stunned after a certain period of time.
In the skill’s lore, it’s like you’ve been borrowing your strength through “performance”—and now the cost has caught up.
It’s the price of the buff, so deal with it.
Stun—meaning she fainted.
‘Ugh, seriously? Passing out in real life because of this is too much.’
She was left completely defenseless.
Even so, I closed my eyes in peace.
Because I was in the arms of the one person in this world I could trust most.
‘I leave it to you, my handsome sunfish!’
(Note: “Sunfish” refers to how fragile yet endearing her guardian is.)
…But wait.
He’s not going to lose control… right?
What color were Dad’s eyes just now?
Silence fell over the garden.
Derrick, holding Nemesia in his arms, stood at the center of a quiet standoff with the surrounding Holy Knights.
“U-Um, is… is the candidate okay…?” Bennett asked hesitantly.
Derrick turned his gaze toward the boy. Bennett froze on the spot.
‘T-Those eyes…’
Bennett knew plenty about the Church’s fallen hero.
But those ghostlike, dead eyes—cold and terrifying—completely paralyzed him.
Derrick quietly recalled what had just happened.
He had only gone a few steps away to fetch some water…
And the next moment, he saw Nemesia being swallowed by a massive portal-like hole.
“Candidate! Nemesia!!”
He’d run as fast as he could—but still failed to reach her in time.
“Haa… haa… haa!”
He gasped for breath.
It wasn’t the first time he had failed to save someone he cherished.
“Captain, ggh… go on ahead without me!”
“Don’t talk nonsense—grab on!”
It was the day he and three others from the Azure Knights had been trapped by an Evil God’s anomaly: The Rain of the Warped Field.
They had safely evacuated the citizens outside, but two of his subordinates had died.
One remained, dangling from a cliff just before escaping.
“Haha… At first, I was annoyed having to serve a captain ten years younger.”
“Philip! Damn it, don’t let go! I said don’t—!”
“Still… serving under you made it all worth it…!”
At just sixteen years old, Derrick had become the Church’s youngest hero.
He dedicated over thirteen years of his life.
Though his sacred power and combat skill allowed him to face corruption unafraid, they didn’t stop his spirit from crumbling inside.
That day, in a space warped by an Evil God’s anomaly, he let go of his subordinate’s hand.
He didn’t even notice the monster that attacked from behind as his right-hand man fell endlessly.
That was the day Derrick became a corrupted knight.
And now, once again, he had failed to protect someone.
His vision blurred.
It felt as if he were back under that black rain.
Smack!
He struck himself hard across the face.
‘It was a door. Like a black portal—a door.’
Nemesia had definitely gone underground beneath the Church.
Not through an official entrance.
There were occasional rumors of people going missing after mistakenly triggering a hidden door to the underground.
But even the Church didn’t know the true conditions to activate it.
Derrick didn’t hesitate.
‘I can feel her presence.’
Thanks to their bond, he could sense Nemesia’s location—because he was her guardian.
Even now, her presence was slipping further away.
It didn’t matter that they hadn’t officially signed a guardian contract under Church authority.
‘This time… I will not lose her.’
With a look on the verge of tears, Derrick ran.
Determined not to fail again.
And now, in the present—
No one in the garden dared speak.
It was like walking on thin ice.
“Vice Commander…!” a knight finally called out.
There was a reason none of the White Paladins dared make a move.
Whatever the case, the man before them was once a living legend.
And since he was appointed at such a young age, everyone here had served under him.
Even though he was now corrupted, the Church hadn’t discarded him.
Because he had retreated into solitude, locking himself in a prayer room to contain his affliction, none dared approach—except one.
“Oh my, I thought you were still underground. When did you show up?” Usher said with a lazy grin.
He’d just been told the candidate was trapped behind rubble underground, and mobilization orders had gone out.
‘Bunch of morons.’
Clearly, the underground branch had botched things.
He’d even heard they were prepping to clear the rubble around the portal device after the cave-in.
But now the girl who was supposedly trapped showed up through the portal—
And with some scrawny boy in tow.
That boy was nervously clinging to her, eyes wide with fear.
‘Tch. Could’ve had her in my hands…’
So why wasn’t Derrick treating this like a surprise?
It was almost like… he knew she’d come through the portal?
Usher narrowed his eyes, a strange thought forming in his head.
Unbelievable… but—
He could feel a stormy, savage aura radiating from Derrick.
“H-He’s going berserk…” someone whispered in horror.
“But hey, at least you showed up.”
“…”
“How incompetent do you have to be to let a precious candidate almost die underground, huh?”
A black vein bulged on Derrick’s forehead—dark, corrupted energy surging.
Delicious.
“What? You’re quick now, huh, former hero? Too bad you couldn’t run fast enough to save your subordinates back then. Maybe a few would’ve lived~”
“…”
“How about you finally give up that seat? Before you ‘accidentally’ kill another innocent person.”
Crack.
The sound of Derrick grinding his teeth echoed through the air. Usher’s eyes gleamed with twisted joy.
He subtly activated his special ability—Persuasion.
A divine gift from the Evil God, allowing him to brainwash the weak-willed.
‘Come on, go berserk! Let loose!’
“Oh, maybe you want to give those dead subordinates a companion for the afterlife?”
Szzzzzt.
Dark, corrupted energy crackled visibly around Derrick.
“Haha! I heard one of your fallen knights’ sons slapped you at a funeral without a body!”
Derrick’s sword darkened with ominous energy.
Usher’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
‘Once he loses control—she’s mine!’
That candidate was far more tempting than he’d first thought—clearly the most promising.
And if Derrick exploded? He’d be disposable.
The Church would have no choice but to put him down.
That would work beautifully in Usher’s favor.
Derrick raised his sword.
Usher’s ability expanded, swelling like a balloon—
BOOM!
Derrick slammed his sword down.
“Gahhhhhh!”
The brainwashing aura Usher had been operating covertly burst apart.
Everyone within a 10-meter radius of Derrick was blown back.
A massive crater cracked open beneath them—except the ground beneath Derrick and Bennett remained untouched.
Among the fallen White Paladins, gasps and murmurs spread.
“H-He… resisted the berserk state…?”
Yes.
Corrupted Holy Knights were like ticking time bombs—prone to snapping at the slightest provocation.
Everyone knew Derrick had come this close to losing it. They’d all been ready to draw their weapons.
But Derrick had stopped himself.
Even Bennett, standing closest, was stunned by what he witnessed.
‘So it’s true…’
Controlling yourself as a corrupted knight was nearly impossible.
Only Derrick, the former noble hero, could manage it.
That’s why the Church couldn’t throw him away.
And why he locked himself away in solitude.
Drip.
Derrick wiped the blood from his lips.
It was the backlash from suppressing the corruption. He spat the dark blood and then gently adjusted the sleeping girl in his arms.
His precious child.
“…I won’t waste time on pointless games.”
He dismissed the whole scene and moved to leave.
Stumble.
He faltered for a moment, and a nearby White Paladin reached out instinctively.
“L-Let me help you, Sir Derrick—”
Smack!
“Don’t touch me.”
The knight froze, staring into Derrick’s raw, feral gaze.
