The Adventures of an Overpowered Knight in Another World Chapter 735- The Divine Oath, the Fall of a Hero and the Truth (7)

Back in the dark castle, Reinhardt pushed Aurelia behind him and looked at Mammon and the sky above them cautiously. Due to their fight, the ceiling of the castle was blown apart, giving them a clear view of the northern plains.

And right now, what Reinhardt saw above in the sky wasn’t the monotonous gray sky but a huge, dreadful skull. That’s right, the clouds above had somehow divided, forming a huge skull.

Within the empty cavities of the skull, two fires slowly burned. No, calling them fire would be wrong, as they were actually malice given form. Hatred so old and boundless that merely looking into them caused one’s soul to tremble.

An instinctive chill crawled down Reinhardt’s spine.

Danger.

For the first time since reaching Level 10 and obtaining the class of Divine Paladin, he felt an unmistakable threat to his own life. As if whatever that thing was, it possessed the power to kill him.

What is that? he muttered to himself, his golden eyes narrowing as he looked at the skull.

And that horn...

His gaze shifted toward the black bone horn still held in Mammon’s hand. For some reason, it looked familiar.

He searched his memories.

Somewhere... he had seen it before. Or perhaps... not seen. He couldn’t recall. The strange sense of familiarity gnawed at the edge of his consciousness.

Yet before he could pursue the thought, the effect of the Heavenly King’s previous action had already started to show.

What Reinhardt failed to notice was that behind him, Aurelia had suddenly become motionless.

The instant the horn was sounded, the warmth inside her sapphire eyes disappeared. Every trace of emotion and life vanished at this moment, replaced by an eerie crimson light that quietly bloomed within her pupils.

If one observed carefully, one would notice that the light in her eyes was actually the reflection of the gigantic skull hanging above the sky.

At this moment, almost instinctively, or perhaps acting on some command, Aurelia took a step forward. A strange aura began gathering around her.

It was faint at first, barely noticeable. But as she slowly stepped closer to Reinhardt, the unseen power growing within her became more terrifying by the second.

Meanwhile, Mammon simply stood there, watching and waiting for the curtain to fall on his arch-nemesis’s life.

Noticing the sudden change in attitude of the Heavenly King, Reinhardt’s instincts screamed.

Something was wrong.

That smile... it was not the smile of someone who had escaped death. It was the smile of a predator, watching carefully as his prey fell into a carefully prepared trap.

Reinhardt’s eyes sharpened. Then, as if sensing something, he abruptly turned around.

"Aurelia?"

It was then that he noticed her abnormal behavior. She had somehow moved until she was only a few steps away. Her head remained lowered, and her movements were unnaturally stiff.

Most disturbing of all were those vacant eyes of hers.

"Aurelia?" he cautiously called out. "What’s wrong?"

But there was no response.

"Look at me. You’ve already been saved."

Still seeing no reaction, he tried to reach out and shake her out of her stupor.

"Aurelia!!"

But the moment he reached out, her body stepped back as if escaping him. Then, a slender hand struck toward his throat.

Reinhardt instinctively leaned sideways. The fingers narrowly missed his neck.

Reinhardt looked at Aurelia with shock.

What was going on? Why would Aurelia suddenly attack him?

Before he could think, another strike followed immediately. Then another.

What was peculiar about the situation was that even though Aurelia was just an ordinary person and lacked combat techniques, her movements carried astonishing speed.

Reinhardt continuously retreated, not counterattacking. Of course, he tried his best to stir her awake.

"Aurelia, what are you doing?! Dammit, come to your senses!"

The only answer he received was another relentless attack.

Reinhardt dodged, his voice becoming increasingly anxious.

"Aurelia, it’s me, Reinhardt. Can you hear me?"

Seeing that nothing was working, his brows furrowed. His gaze snapped toward the grinning Heavenly King.

"This... this is your doing, isn’t it?"

Reinhardt spoke with hatred.

Mammon threw his head back.

"Hahahahaha!"

The Heavenly King laughed so hard tears nearly formed.

"Excellent. This is the first time I have seen the mighty Divine Paladin look so helpless!"

Reinhardt ignored him. Condensed holy energy gathered around his hand, trying to purify whatever malevolent magic was controlling her.

Warm light gently enveloped Aurelia. The sacred radiance, capable of cleansing all kinds of negative energy and purifying corruption, flowed into her body.

However, the effect... nothing changed.

Aurelia still remained the same. The light quietly dispersed without achieving its effect.

This caused Reinhardt’s expression to freeze, his heart sinking.

Impossible.

Holy energy had never failed him before. Yet at this moment, it could not purge the malevolent power inside Aurelia.

Seeing this, Mammon laughed even harder.

"Hahahaha... still trying? It’s useless. No matter how many times you call her, no matter how much holy energy you pour into her, she will never wake up."

Seeing his arch-nemesis’s helplessness satisfied him very much.

Mammon slowly spread his arms, his twisted smile widening from ear to ear.

"If you want to save her so much, there is only... one way. If you truly want her to wake up, then let her hit you."

His crimson eyes gleamed with cruel delight.

The moment those words left Mammon’s mouth, Reinhardt’s previously turbulent aura suddenly became still. The murderous pressure exuding from him, causing the entire castle to shake, was instantly retracted, and he became as calm as an undisturbed lake.

Mammon folded his arms and watched from the side.

There was no need for him to lift a finger. The game was already over.

The curse had reached a critical threshold. If Reinhardt did nothing, the terrifying power accumulating inside Aurelia would eventually exceed what she could contain.

When that happened, she would not simply die. Her flesh, blood, bones, and soul would all collapse from the inside. There would not even be a corpse left behind.

But... if Reinhardt accepted the attack, the accumulated curse would immediately transfer into him. The fate awaiting Aurelia would then become his.

It was simply a case of one or the other dying.

There was no third choice.

Mammon smiled contentedly. He quietly waited to see what choice the Divine Paladin would make.

Does he value the woman’s life over his?

Reinhardt slowly looked toward Aurelia. At this moment, his gaze was extremely calm. He was carefully observing every fluctuation of the sinister energy surrounding her.

After a while, his eyes shifted toward Mammon.

"I finally remembered. The power rampaging inside Aurelia... it isn’t yours."

Mammon raised an eyebrow.

Reinhardt spoke calmly.

"It is not magic, but rather a curse. A curse so terrifying that it surpasses the power of a Heavenly King like you."

He pointed at the black horn hanging from Mammon’s belt.

"There are only a handful of objects in this world capable of inflicting a curse of this magnitude. And among the Seven Ultimate Demonic Treasures, there is only one horn said to be extremely malicious and terrifying."

A breeze blew through the ruined throne hall at this moment, as if showcasing the gravity of the words spoken next.

Reinhardt spoke the true name of the item.

"The Fourth Ranked Ultimate Demonic Treasure. Horn of Calamity, Gjahorn."

Mammon’s victorious grin faltered, but only for an instant. Then it returned even wider than before.

"Heh... hahaha. As expected of the Divine Paladin. I didn’t think you would know about this item. I guess humanity still remembers this supreme treasure that has reaped countless lives."

His expression became openly proud as he showed off the horn.

"That’s right, this beauty... is one of the Seven Ultimate Treasures of demonkind. A relic personally created by the Demon Lord himself."

Mammon slowly applauded.

"Excellent, truly excellent."

Then his smile gradually became cruel again.

"If you know Gjahorn, then surely you also know what level of curse she has been inflicted with."

Reinhardt remained silent, but Mammon answered for him.

"It’s the Curse of the Demon Lord."

As he thought...

Reinhardt took a deep breath, as if coming to a silent decision.

Mammon lovingly caressed the ancient horn.

"Gjahorn carries... six hundred and sixty six curses. Every single one is born from despair, and every single one is capable of driving kingdoms into ruin. But among them... there are three curses. The greatest and oldest curses personally crafted by the Demon Lord. And the one sleeping inside your little sweetheart... is Ophiuchus, one of the three great curses."

The moment that name was spoken, the crimson glow inside Aurelia’s eyes intensified. Thin black veins spread across her neck before disappearing beneath her skin once more.

Mammon watched Reinhardt’s reaction with satisfaction.

"Ophiuchus, also known as the Great Devouring Serpent. It does not merely kill. It feeds. From the very moment the curse takes root, a serpent invisible to the naked eye coils around the victim’s soul."