Chapter 36 : Chapter 36
Chapter 36. Eye of Truth Tarania (1)
Blanc lay in bed for a whole week.
Small wounds engraved all over his body, internal injuries sustained from forcibly manifesting his mental world, and on top of that, a penetrating wound from the dagger that was the Warlock's final strike.
They were excessive injuries for a fourteen-year-old boy to bear.
It was Edwin, Blanc's teacher and a knight of Tolome, who rescued the dying Blanc.
When Edwin, who arrived as part of the rearguard, reached the deepest part of the mine, the scene he saw was truly hell itself.
Countless corpses were rolling around, and amidst them, the knights of Tolome were sprawling in a mess, gasping for breath.
And in the middle of them were Blanc and Stefan Tolome, who was slumped over him.
Edwin, appalled by Blanc's miserable condition, carried him on his back and ran out of the mine as if flying, pounding on the door of Tigor Baum's mansion.
"Are you coming to your senses now? Baron Blanc."
"Sir Edwin……."
Blanc tried to force himself up, but Edwin stopped him.
"You have been unconscious for a full week, so you must not move unreasonably."
"Where is this?"
"It is Baron Tigor Baum's mansion."
"Where are the other knights…… and Rakshar? Is he alive?"
Rakshar was found with the most severe injuries among the group.
It seemed he had met with misfortune at the hands of the Warlock while trying to protect Blanc until the very end.
Since he could not wield Aura, he had no choice but to resist with his bare body.
"His injuries were severe, but…… he survived somehow thanks to the unique regenerative ability of a Half-Werewolf. It was fortunate that a full moon was out when we brought him out of the mine."
Rakshar had been beaten so terribly that no one thought he would survive, but the energy of the full moon seemed to have amplified his vitality.
"Then the rest of the knights……."
At Blanc's question, Edwin smiled bitterly.
The advance search party had suffered damage close to annihilation.
Even the surviving knights were all seriously injured, so it was safe to say that the entire advance party had effectively lost their combat capabilities.
Moreover, the knights who volunteered for the advance party were those overflowing with spirit and a sense of justice even among the Tolome knights, so it could be said to be a painful loss for the family as well.
The only fortunate thing was that all the knights who charged in until the end survived. And that they had rescued Stefan Tolome, whom the knights had targeted.
Although he was not rescued with his body intact, he was alive.
Blanc sighed in relief upon hearing that the knights who fought with him and Rakshar were alive.
"Is your left shoulder alright?"
"My left shoulder?"
At Edwin's question, Blanc looked at his left shoulder, which had been pierced by the Warlock's dagger.
Bandages were wrapped around his shoulder, but dark red scars were engraved on the places the bandages did not cover.
Just then, a maid arrived to change the bandages.
As she unwrapped the bandages one by one, the wound on Blanc's left shoulder became visible. And the strangely shaped dark red scar surrounding that wound was also visible.
"This is……."
"It is a brand."
Someone answered from over Edwin's shoulder.
"……Who are you?"
It was a one-eyed woman.
Wearing an eyepatch over her right eye, she exuded a very strange atmosphere.
The eyepatch on her right was one thing, but her left eye also seemed strangely unfocused, as if she were looking at something far away rather than what was right in front of her.
"My introduction is late. Baron Blanc Cadmus. I am Knight Tarania, belonging to the Torch Knights."
Tarania bowed politely to Blanc.
"The Torch Knights?"
Why would someone from the Torch Knights, not the Tolome Knights, be here?
"I brought her here. Baron Blanc."
Edwin explained to the puzzled Blanc as a new figure suddenly appeared.
Seeing the terrible situation inside the dungeon, Edwin realized that this matter was related to a Warlock and quickly contacted the nearby Goddess Religion.
Since Edwin, who was somewhat well-known in the Felix Kingdom, wrote a letter saying it was a serious and urgent matter, the religious order also noticed the severity of the situation and requested help from the Torch Knights along with their priest.
Since Blanc was the sixth knight directly appointed by Aselheit, the Torch Knights, which could be called Aselheit's knight order, also took this matter seriously and sent the best personnel they could.
That person was Tarania, who was right in front of him.
"Please look at this. Baron Blanc."
Tarania took out a thick and old book from her bosom and opened it for Blanc.
"What is this?"
"It is a passage written about the Warlock Tiday Barton, who is known to have been active 200 years ago."
"Tiday Barton……."
Warlocks were existences who offered their souls to demons and borrowed power from them.
The method of borrowing power was similar, but how that power was exerted varied widely depending on the individual.
Some Warlocks summoned demons directly, while others raised the dead or spread plagues.
The Warlock named Tiday, who was active 200 years ago, was a famous Warlock who invoked fear in people as Tiday the Soul Collector at that time.
"If you look here……."
Tarania pointed to a part of the book with her finger.
"It is a crest."
"Yes. This crest is engraved on both Lord Stefan Tolome and Lord Blanc Cadmus."
Indeed, as Ronbrando said, the scar engraved on Blanc's left shoulder was very similar to the picture drawn in the book.
"It is said he branded his dependents with this crest."
The knights who fought the Warlock until the end knew well that something ominous resided within Stefan's body, and that the Warlock plunging the dagger into Blanc was an attempt to take over his body.
The knights reported this to Edwin and Tarania, and upon receiving the report, Tarania judged that there was a high possibility that the Warlock named Tiday was still alive within Stefan or Blanc's body.
"Then inside my body?"
"The possibility is high."
Tarania's inorganic eyes scanned Blanc's scar.
"Do you suspect me?"
"I suspect everything in this world."
The Torch Knights sent the optimal talent to take responsibility for and resolve this situation with all possibilities in mind.
"I trust only my eyes."
When Tarania took off her eyepatch, a blue gem was embedded there instead of an eyeball.
Eye of Truth Tarania.
That was what the Torch Knights called her.
***
Tarania investigated Blanc in various ways.
Investigating whether something wicked resided within the body using holy water or holy relics was basic.
She made Blanc recite prayers or asked questions using magic tools that distinguished truth from falsehood.
This verification process was applied equally to everyone who returned alive from the Warlock's dungeon, not just Blanc.
'It reminds me of old times.'
Watching the verification process Tarania was conducting, Blanc thought it was similar to the contamination check performed when fighting the Void in his past life.
Because among the personnel who returned after encountering the Void, there were occasionally those who collapsed after some time, having brought a massive darkness inside them.
Therefore, Blanc was certain.
That there was no such thing as a Warlock in his soul.
Blanc was a swordsman who had already reached the realm of being able to manifest his mental world into reality. Furthermore, he had a soul toughened by facing countless Voids in his past life.
He was a person who had seen the Void Tree, the center of the Void, with his own eyes and overcame it without being devoured, even among the warriors of the Liberation Front.
"Please look into my eye."
Tarania took off her eyepatch and opened the eye embedded with the gem wide.
'Hoh.'
Blanc felt as if her focus was moving within Tarania's blue gem embedded instead of an eye.
"This eye is……."
"I will not accept questions regarding my eye. Baron."
Tarania preemptively blocked Blanc's question with a firm response.
It was a curiosity he hadn't felt in a long time.
Blanc felt his soul becoming dry due to the excessive sense of duty he shouldered through the fight with the Void and his regression.
The only times he felt human emotions so far were annoyance when young Iselin did something absurd.
However, now he was feeling the emotion of curiosity toward the woman with a blue gem embedded instead of an eye in front of him.
The blue gem looking at Blanc glowed faintly.
It was a familiar feeling.
It felt similar to when the Warlock named Tiday, whose name he now knew, pierced him with the dagger.
Of course, it was a much softer feeling than that.
"How is it?"
"……At least there is no energy related to black magic hiding in your eyes…… However."
"However?"
Tarania lifted a finger and pointed at Blanc's scar.
"There is Demonic energy residing here."
Blanc moved his gaze following Tarania's long finger.
The dark red wound he thought was a scar was glowing faintly.
***
After receiving certification from Tarania of the Torch Knights that he was not dominated by the Warlock, the first action Blanc took was to request command over the 100 rearguard personnel arrived in the Baum territory from Edwin.
Nominally, as Blanc was the standard-bearer of the search party, he had enough authority to make such a request.
And Edwin, the party accepting the request, was on Blanc's side, so he answered that he would do so without hesitation.
As a result, the soldiers of the Tolome family were setting up camp in the middle of the Baum territory.
Although they did not take particularly threatening actions, they were stationed in the middle of the Baum territory following Blanc's order, delivering a silent message to Baron Tigor Baum.
"Thank you for removing the evil thing lurking in our territory. Baron Blanc."
Baron Tigor was bowing repeatedly to Blanc while wiping sweat continuously with a handkerchief.
Although they were both barons, Blanc was currently in a position leading Tolome's soldiers, and since those soldiers were sitting in the middle of the Baum territory holding a knife to his throat, it was a situation worth bowing for.
Baron Tigor placed a pouch on the table.
The pouch, put down with a clinking sound, looked thick to anyone's eyes, but Blanc was only looking out the window while sitting on the bed without even glancing at it.
"Baron, this is my small token of sincerity……."
"I cannot believe it. That a Warlock existed in those peaceful-looking mountains."
The mountains Blanc spoke of referred to where the Baum Mine was located.
"Th, that is something we truly! Also! It was a darkness we could not notice at all! However, since the brave lions of Tolome stepped forward and removed it……."
"Eight knights of Tolome died. They were valuable combat power that should not have died in a place like this."
Blanc shook his head and did not hide his somber demeanor.
"I also think it is truly regrettable."
"We must search the mine where the Warlock was thoroughly. Another darkness we haven't found might be lurking."
"Do not worry about that! We will definitely take responsibil……."
Baron Tigor tried to say to leave it to them while thumping his chest.
But after meeting Blanc's eyes, he shut his mouth like a mute who had eaten honey.
"The soldiers of Tolome will have to handle the investigation of the mine. Of course, it is not that I do not trust Lord Tigor, but that place is like a grave for my comrades."
"Y, yes. I fully understand."
The ownership of the Warlock's dungeon inside the Baum Mine belonged to Baron Tigor if one were to argue.
It was a natural story. It was a dungeon located on land belonging to his territory.
However, it was Tolome who discovered it. It was also Tolome who conquered it.
Tolome could also sufficiently claim ownership of the Warlock's dungeon.
Therefore, Baron Tigor intended to give a generous share of whatever came out of the dungeon and cater to Tolome's mood.
Moreover, since the person Tolome put forward as the standard-bearer was a fourteen-year-old boy who knew nothing of the world, he thought they could smooth things over sufficiently, but.
"And I request that the Baum Mine be closed for a certain period for investigation."
"Until when…… Do you mean?"
"Until we think it is sufficient."
That was a miscalculation.
The boy in front of him was not naive. He was a boy as sharp as the sword he possessed.
Also, he was a cruel negotiator.