I Picked Up My Father Who Left Home 93
At first, the knights were handling the demons without much difficulty.
However, as time passed, the knights began to struggle.
This was to be expected since the demons that appeared in the imperial palace were many times stronger than the ordinary demons they had encountered before.
Moreover, the number of demons was overwhelming.
While there were only three knights, the demons numbered at least more than ten.
The knights couldn’t understand the situation.
It was shocking enough that the demons appeared so suddenly, but for such a large number of them to show up all at once was even more surprising.
Originally, the knights were watching over Jeshuan and Lia not to protect them from the demons’ attacks but to prevent Lia from being in danger due to Jeshuan’s unstable condition.
Meanwhile, Jeshuan’s expression as he watched the battle between the knights and the demons was not good.
He could see it clearly—the knights were being pushed back.
At this rate, they couldn’t rely entirely on the knights for their safety.
They were barely holding on for now, but if this continued, the knights would eventually be defeated.
Therefore, they had to leave this place and call for reinforcements.
With that thought, Jeshuan tightly grabbed Lia’s hand.
“…It seems like we’ll need to go and bring other knights.”
Jeshuan’s expression was grim as he spoke. The situation was more serious than he had expected, and they would need to return to the main palace to summon reinforcements.
He wasn’t looking forward to the people they would encounter on the way.
However, it was impossible for just three knights to deal with the suddenly appearing demons. Sending Lia alone was also worrisome.
Thus, they had to go together.
He needed to stay by Lia’s side to prevent any unforeseen incidents.
“I’m fine, let’s go,”
Lia agreed to Jeshuan’s suggestion without hesitation. She also thought it was the best course of action.
Besides, it wasn’t a good idea for her and Jeshuan to stay in this place any longer.
The demons that avoided the knights’ attacks could potentially attack them.
If she got hurt, Cassian would be worried, and Jeshuan also had someone who would worry about him.
What they needed to focus on now was their own safety.
With Lia’s words, Jeshuan immediately moved.
Since they had made the decision, there was no reason to delay any longer.
But Jeshuan’s plan didn’t go as he wanted.
Just as he and Lia were about to leave, the demons’ gaze suddenly turned toward them.
Even as they were being attacked by the knights, the demons didn’t take their eyes off them.
The knights were clearly the ones fighting the demons, yet the demons were directing their murderous intent toward them instead.
‘…What is this?’
Jeshuan felt an unknown sense of foreboding under the demons’ gaze.
At first, he thought they were targeting both of them, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that the demons were specifically focused on Lia.
He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he got the feeling that the demons were after Lia.
With that thought, Jeshuan quickly stepped in front of Lia, blocking her from the demons’ sight.
He used his entire body to shield her so the demons couldn’t see her.
“Jeshuan?”
“It seems like… calling for reinforcements won’t be so easy after all.”
“What? What do you mean…?”
As soon as Lia expressed her confusion, one of the demons, having dodged the knights’ attacks, charged toward her.
The moment Jeshuan noticed it, he quickly gathered his energy.
Although he had awakened as someone with abilities, he had never properly used his abilities.
This was because he always lived with the risk of losing control, so he had to be extremely cautious in using his powers.
Even when he stayed still, his energy would rage. In such a situation, using his abilities could easily lead to an uncontrollable rampage.
But now, he had no other choice. He was the only one who could stop the demon charging at them.
One of the knights hurriedly tried to intercept the demon, but the demon’s speed was faster than the knight’s.
In an instant, the energy Jeshuan released turned into a sharp sword that sliced through the charging demon’s body.
The demon’s body was severed into pieces and scattered on the ground in the blink of an eye.
However, there was no time to relax. There were still more demons left.
Furthermore… as one demon started targeting Lia, the other demons also began to focus solely on her.
They ignored the knights attacking them and moved toward where Lia was.
“Lia, don’t leave my side no matter what.”
Though it would have been safer to evacuate her for her own safety, the situation did not allow it.
With the demons targeting her, sending Lia away alone could lead to even greater danger.
“…Jeshuan.”
Feeling anxious, Lia tightly grabbed Jeshuan’s sleeve.
Jeshuan was physically weak. He was always in pain.
Seeing him now, about to face the demons to protect her, made her feel uneasy.
She wished she could help, but there was nothing Lia could do.
She was not someone with abilities, nor had she learned any form of swordsmanship or combat skills. In the current situation, the only thing she could do was rely on someone’s protection.
“I’ll be fine. After all, I am someone with abilities.”
The reason he was physically weak and always in pain was precisely because he was someone with special abilities.
More accurately, he had been born with a power so strong that his body couldn’t fully handle it.
There was no way he would fall to mere demons like these.
The only thing that worried him was… his condition after using his energy.
But there was no other choice.
If he stood by, fearing a loss of control, Lia could be seriously injured by the demons, not by his rampage.
Although the knights were doing their best to protect them, this wasn’t something they could resolve on their own.
Already, two of the three knights were gravely injured.
Even though they were trying to fend off the demons despite their injuries, it wasn’t proving effective.
The only person they could rely on now was Jeshuan.
Gradually, Jeshuan began releasing the energy he had been suppressing.
The demons hesitated slightly at the release of his power. However, their murderous intent toward Lia remained unchanged.
The demons focused solely on Lia, watching only her.
After a brief pause in response to Jeshuan’s energy, the demons all charged toward Lia at once.
The injured knights, trying to block the demons, only ended up getting hurt even more and became completely immobile. The one remaining knight who had been in better condition was also seriously injured.
The once quiet garden was now filled with the loud roars of demons and an overwhelming sense of tension.
The only ones still standing were the five remaining demons, Jeshuan, and Lia.
‘I have to protect her. No matter what, I must protect Lia.’
Jeshuan now had something to protect.
To protect it, he was willing to take on some risk.
Grinding his teeth, Jeshuan faced the demons.
The more Jeshuan used his powers, the more it felt like his insides were twisting, but he had no choice.
He felt a nauseating sensation, and blood rose up from his throat, but he forced it back down.
If he collapsed now, there would be no one to protect Lia.
However, Jeshuan was reaching his limit.
The threat wasn’t just the demons.
He could handle the demons with his powers, but the real problem was the violent energy tearing through his own body.
Every time Jeshuan used his powers to fend off the demons’ attacks, his energy simultaneously attacked him as well.
And the more he used his powers, the more intense the energy became.
Because of this, his concentration wavered for a moment.
One of the demons took advantage of that brief lapse and targeted Lia.
By the time Jeshuan noticed the demon’s movement through his blurred vision, its sharp claws were already inches away from Lia’s body.
“No!”
Jeshuan shouted in what sounded like a desperate cry.
In that moment, a solid barrier formed around Lia.
The protective barrier was activated by the artifact she was wearing, which detected the danger.
Thanks to that, the demon’s attack on Lia failed, and she was unharmed.
But they couldn’t let their guard down.
The demon targeted Lia again.
The artifact Lia wore only provided a protective barrier. It could block the demon’s attacks but couldn’t eliminate the demon.
Jeshuan quickly gathered his energy and eliminated the demon targeting Lia.
There was no time to waste.
For both his and Lia’s sake, he needed to finish off the demons and end this situation as quickly as possible.
That was the best Jeshuan could do at the moment.
Jeshuan stopped holding back his energy.
His own body suffered from the impact, and he sustained internal injuries, but he didn’t care.
The pain didn’t matter. He was too used to it.
Focusing solely on defeating the demons without regard for his condition, the situation was resolved relatively quickly.
There were no more living demons.
Lia was unharmed, and the dangerous battle seemed to have come to an end.
“Jeshuan, are you okay?”
The ground was littered with the gruesome remains of the demons, but Lia’s attention was entirely on Jeshuan.
At this moment, her concern for Jeshuan far outweighed the fear of the situation they had just been through.
Jeshuan’s health had never been good. Facing the demons in such a condition must have taken a toll on him.
Lia was deeply worried about what this would do to him.
And somehow, Jeshuan didn’t look well.
Although he didn’t seem to have any visible injuries, something about him appeared unstable and precarious.
“Don’t come any closer!”
Jeshuan stopped Lia from approaching him. His voice was filled with desperation. At the same time, there was a strange hint of despair in it.
