Chapter 137
Chapter 137
Knight Commander Ethan (1)
I spent time sitting on a fallen tree. Trusting Winter, I waited for the one called the mastermind. I didn’t know how many people she had taken with her, but the success rate was quite high.
“The Imperial Knight Order is there too.”
All kinds of safety measures had been laid out everywhere. Most notably, there was the Vice-Commander. Since Vice-Commander Sheila had to stay by the Imperial Princess’s side, she couldn’t move.
Because of that, through her Aide, she had given specific orders to take especially good care of us. The Aide, who had a favorable impression of me due to the incident at the sea temple, accepted the order without much resistance.
‘Bereninche is there too.’
There were also many formidable individuals within the Academy. Among them, there were a few who were acquainted enough to help Winter.
Soloven, Rama, the twins, the Petrification Vice-Head, and even Bereninche. If it was Winter, she would have secured at least two of them before making a move.
She wouldn’t be able to kill them completely, but it would be enough to force a retreat. And I was waiting for exactly that.
“Haam.”
It had already been a long time since I had spread Candela around the area. Landmines, essentially. I had set traps that could catch even a fast assassin.
After that, all that was left was waiting. Naturally, it became boring. As I let out a big yawn while waiting, a chill ran down the back of my neck.
“…….”
The direction I had been facing was toward the Academy. But from the opposite side, a chilling malice began to flow.
It was malice strong enough for even me, at quite a distance, to feel. I frowned. The direction seemed to be the Guardian’s dwelling.
“These bastards are such a nuisance.”
They could have just handled things moderately like in the game, but seeing them go berserk just because two Fiendbeasts had died irritated me.
As if that wasn’t enough, they escalated things by releasing poisonous mist. Originally, in the game, those guys would cause chaos in the Academy through abnormal weather phenomena before heading to find the Guardian.
And then they would get utterly crushed. In the process, they would manage to inject poison into the Guardian, but all of them would die on the spot.
“Seems pretty strong.”
I, who had been sitting still, rose from my spot. This level of malice—or killing intent—was not something light.
Whoever from the Imperial Knight Order had gone, it wouldn’t be an easy battle. If this was a feint, then the side at the Academy was more likely the bait.
“…….”
I slowly moved toward the place where I had felt the malice. And when I passed a certain point, I sensed a massive scent of blood that had been trapped there.
“Huh.”
It was a slope leading up the mountain. Not exactly a place where heavy infantry could shine. Still, this was unexpected.
There were countless corpses. Compared to a war, it wasn’t much, but even a rough count put them at around thirty.
Every single one of them had collapsed while bleeding, wearing the military armor of the Imperial Knight Order.
“This is going to make Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess furious.”
Clicking my tongue, I continued walking. I followed the trail of blood as I climbed the mountain.
Unlike the ground soaked in blood, the forest remained beautiful. There had clearly been a clash, yet it was strange how little damage there was to the surroundings.
“An assassin.”
Battles involving assassin-types or illusion-type magicians tended to look like this. Among the two, I leaned toward assassin.
Illusion-type magic could only be used by fairies, and in the current era, only a very small number of magicians—namely the Imperial Princess and the Vice-Commander—could use it.
‘That narrows it down.’
Once I identified the type of enemy, information naturally came to mind. As befitting the name of the organization, most of Magus consisted of magicians.
Among them, there were a few special ones mixed in, but there were only two assassins. At this point in time, there was only one who could appear.
‘Nameless extra, though.’
The first time that guy appeared was during the Duhein Episode. He tried to join hands with the Duhein Family but ended up irritating them and was killed by Nerva—a pitiful character with barely any screen time.
As I walked at a steady pace, I began to hear the faint clashing of weapons and picked up speed. Judging by the loud ringing, it was probably a cave.
‘Found it.’
At the end of the mountain, there was a massive cliff. In the middle of that enormous cliff was a small hole. I realized that this was the Guardian’s dwelling.
There were no particular safety measures, but I immediately threw myself off the cliff. Using a sword created through Blood Magic, I scraped against the cliff as I descended.
“Knight Commander?”
I entered deeper into the cave and reached a certain point. A massive cavern that suddenly widened. A lake sat at its center, and in the middle of it stood a lone statue.
It reminded me of Anash at Paillet Lake, the lake within the Poison Swamp. In a place like that, Ethan, the Knight Commander of the Imperial Knight Order, was fighting the Black Robe.
“A guest has arrived.”
My eyes met those of the Black Robe. Chilling crimson eyes. I narrowed my gaze and stared back at them.
At those words, Ethan briefly glanced back.
“This is driving me crazy. How did you even find this place?”
Ethan swung his halberd, and a massive gust of wind surged forward. The crimson-eyed figure pulled back, avoiding the blade of wind that cut through the air.
Ethan, who had also widened the distance, approached me and spoke as if lamenting.
“You were fighting so loudly, there was no way I wouldn’t find it.”
“Hah. Seriously.”
Even in this situation, Ethan let out a hollow laugh at my joking tone.
“Right. I thought I’d seen you somewhere. You’re that piece of human trash from Duhein.”
As I calmly spoke with Ethan, the crimson-eyed one cut in. At the unusual remark, my eyes sharpened.
“Most of Duhein are human trash. I just happen to stand out among them.”
“What? Hahaha! Now that’s a funny one!”
At my words, the crimson-eyed figure burst into hearty laughter. I glanced at Ethan. That guy didn’t look particularly sane either.
“He’s insane. Don’t look at me.”
“Yes, well.”
Ethan shrugged as he caught his breath. I absentmindedly agreed when he implied there was no understanding a madman’s mind.
“Looks like you took quite a hit.”
“Yeah. I was ambushed without any information. A skilled assassin.”
At my words, Ethan growled. His cherished subordinates had been killed all at once. The guilt of not being able to protect them, along with his anger toward the enemy, was palpable.
“We should kill him.”
“……You say that like you have a method.”
“Exactly. I’m curious myself.”
As I spoke calmly, Ethan shook his head. The crimson-eyed one also looked at me with interest, intrigued by my confidence.
“If you’re curious, come at me.”
“Hah? Even that Knight Commander couldn’t kill me.”
I stepped past Ethan and moved forward. As Ethan instinctively tried to stop me, I raised a hand.
“I’ll be the bait. If I fail to catch him, aim for an opening.”
“……I’m sorry.”
Normally, this would never happen, but Ethan silently watched me.
For someone who led the Knight Order, whose duty was to protect students, it was quite a cold decision. I rather liked that side of Ethan.
“It’s probably a matter of compatibility.”
“Compatibility, huh.”
“It’s harder than you’d think for a knight to catch an assassin. On top of that, the Imperial 6th Knight Order stationed at Museion specializes in anti-monster operations.”
“That makes it sound like you have the advantage against an assassin.”
At the crimson-eyed one’s words, I smiled fiercely.
“I’ll say this clearly. I never lose against an assassin.”
At my confident declaration, the crimson-eyed one’s expression turned cold. He reacted as if offended by being looked down on.
I put on the most irritating expression in the world. There was no need to practice. A simple smirk was enough.
I removed the shawl Aro had given me and handed it to Ethan.
“I expect proper compensation.”
“Hah. Treating a Knight Commander like this… I’ll look forward to disciplining you.”
At his joking words, I chuckled and approached the crimson-eyed one.
“What do you think, assassin? You’re not scared of a mere student, are you?”
I heard no voice. Instead, I got an answer. In an instant, a dagger pierced through my back and emerged out the front. I barely avoided my heart by shifting slightly, but it was a severe wound.
Still, as I looked at the blade protruding through my solar plexus, I grinned.
“You’re smiling?”
Seeing me smile despite a near-fatal wound, the crimson-eyed one widened his eyes.
Grabbing the dagger, I slightly turned my head. I could see the crimson-eyed one, now filled with confusion.
“There isn’t much screen time to give to an extra.”
As I said that, I snapped my fingers. Ethan, who had been about to rush in, saw my back pocket glowing brightly and quickly leapt backward.
Having used them to some extent as part of the Imperial Knight Order’s standard equipment, Ethan immediately realized what that light meant.
“What? Ugh!”
Sensing something was wrong, the crimson-eyed one tried to escape, but I didn’t let him go. With Lightning Armor activated, I grabbed onto the assassin.
Then the Candela I had prepared in advance exploded. Thirty-five in total. The power was enough to obliterate even a large monster.
“Ah… hot.”
A massive surge of electric current filled the cave. Its power rivaled that of the Lightning Spike of Anaye.
The crimson-eyed one, struck head-on by it, was reduced to literal rags. Of course, I wasn’t unscathed either.
My skin melted from the intense heat, and the blood flowing from my solar plexus evaporated instantly. My eyes must have burned as well, because I couldn’t see anything.
“This is insane.”
At least my hearing remained faintly intact. Feeling the weight of the crimson-eyed one in my grasp, I turned my head toward the voice I assumed to be Ethan’s.
“I thought you had some kind of plan, so I stayed back and watched.”
“It worked out, so it’s fine.”
“……You call this working out. Hah, well. It was something I should have done from the start. I’m sorry. I’ll make sure you’re properly compensated.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“If you survive.”
Though Ethan readily apologized, his expression was complicated. Watching the composed yet soft-hearted Ethan, I let out a small chuckle.
From Ethan’s perspective, it wouldn’t be strange if I died at any moment. The dagger that had survived the lightning storm was still lodged in my solar plexus, and my body was likely grotesquely melted.
“I’m fine.”
At my words, the Circle of Reincarnation, which had been hidden, revealed itself. Ethan’s brows twitched in surprise at the massive wheel that suddenly appeared behind me.
The Circle of Reincarnation spun fiercely, healing my body. Not only the burns but even my melted eyes were perfectly restored.
“……Are you a zombie?”
“That’s blasphemous, Knight Commander. It’s a blessing granted to me by Anaye.”
This was what I had been relying on. The Circle of Reincarnation contained an enormous amount of vitality. I had been making Candela almost every day, and through the process of healing from it, the equivalent of 57 lives had been stored.
When my solar plexus was pierced, one life was consumed. When the Candela exploded, four lives were spent. But I remained perfectly fine.
“To think a mere student caught someone even the Knight Commander couldn’t.”
“Indeed. Seems it’s about time for me to retire.”
“Retirement isn’t allowed. You’re a vital asset Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess intends to use.”
“……So the rumors were true.”
I subtly bit onto Ethan’s neck as he tried to casually bring up retirement. I had no intention of letting him go. A meat shield like this was impossible to find.
A man whose physical durability alone rivaled Soloven, yet possessed even greater combat power.
He was someone who would perform outstandingly in battles against Magus, especially against Fiendbeasts. At the same time, he was someone who would be worked alongside the Imperial Princess due to her trust in him.
“Do you happen to like black?”
“What?”
I cut off all the limbs of the still barely-living crimson-eyed one. Ethan looked puzzled at my question.
“My unit is unified in black.”
Seeing my fierce grin, Knight Commander Ethan let out a hollow laugh.
“You’ve got guts.”
With this, I had drawn Ethan into the Imperial Princess’s unit. This battle provided more than enough justification. He had tried to use a student as bait, and on top of that, it was the student—not Ethan—who had killed the enemy.
“Congratulations on capturing the enemy, Knight Commander.”
“You’re a vicious one.”
Ethan, who understood exactly what I was doing, clicked his tongue and shook his head. It seemed he had been thinking of stepping down from his position this time. It was a much faster development than in the game.
Even the important figure—the crimson-eyed one—who had given Knight Commander Ethan trouble, had been captured in vain due to poor compatibility.
“Thank you.”
“What is this? Quite a peculiar style.”
With a face full of guilt, Ethan handed me the shawl. I thanked him and wrapped it around myself. Most of my clothes had been burned away by the intense heat.
Coincidentally, only my pants remained, now resembling shorts.
“Do you happen to like religion?”
I asked again. Seeing me try to recruit him even in this situation, Ethan’s mouth fell open. From the moment I confirmed Ethan’s presence, I had already come up with an amusing idea.
Using his personality to put him in my debt and recruit him. Most likely, Ethan wouldn’t be able to refuse my offer.