Ch.180Knight Demon (1)

Najin had finished preparing to depart for the Outer Continent.

There were several matters to handle on the continent, and he had taken care of most of them during his three-week stay in the capital. He had told the current Empire’s Best Swordsman about the former Empire’s Best Swordsman and requested cooperation, and Gerd had accepted Najin’s proposal.

Leave the rest to me.

You do what you need to do.

That’s what Gerd had said, and as if to prove those weren’t empty words, he was stirring up the entire Empire. The continent would be fine in his hands.

‘As for the Order…’

There had been some progress. Najin caressed the hilt of his sword, recalling his conversation with the Lighthouse Keeper.

The Lighthouse Keeper Eurypylus was clearly a powerful figure. He was a being with military might comparable to the entire Empire, an existence that served as a counterbalance. Whether to clash with him or cooperate remained unknown. As Eurypylus had said, they would only know when the situation arose.

But Najin always had to assume the worst.

A confrontation with Eurypylus. Imagining such a scenario, Najin exhaled deeply. The road ahead was still long. But the direction was clear. What needed to be done remained unchanged.

‘Shall we go?’

-……

‘Merlin?’

-……What.

‘Did I do something wrong? What’s the matter?’

-I’m not angry.

Najin tilted his head at Merlin’s oddly sullen appearance. Merlin had been like this ever since they had said goodbye to Dieta that morning, but since she wouldn’t say what was bothering her, Najin felt frustrated.

-That girl.

‘Dieta?’

-I don’t know. Anyway, that girl… never mind. Forget it.

Despite having mentioned her name multiple times, Merlin still referred to Dieta as “the merchant” or “that girl.” Merlin glanced at Najin’s nape, grumbling. It was where Dieta had buried her face when they had embraced lightly to say goodbye before leaving.

-……

After silently staring at that spot, Merlin suddenly climbed onto Najin’s back. He felt no weight. With her chin resting on Najin’s shoulder, Merlin gestured. Let’s go. Though he didn’t understand why she was acting this way, she seemed to be in a better mood.

Just as they were about to board the carriage.

Someone was waiting for Najin in front of it.

Two crossed swords with a shield drawn above them. A man wearing armor engraved with this unique pattern waved at Najin. He had a refreshing impression, and his face was familiar to Najin.

“Sir Argo?”

A Knight of Atanga, Argo. He was someone Najin had encountered during the Fallen Knight subjugation.

“It’s been a while, nameless boy.”

2.

“My reason for seeking you out is nothing special. I’ve come to make you a proposal.”

“A proposal, you say?”

“Yes. It reminds me of the past. When you were still a mercenary in Cambria… though I suppose it’s hardly the past, being only half a year ago.”

Argo looked at Najin as if in disbelief.

“Back then, you accepted a request from Atanga to subjugate the Fallen Knight Bernhagen, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“This time is similar. We’ve discovered traces of a knight demon we lost track of long ago in the Outer Continent. I’d like to propose that you help subjugate this demon. What do you say?”

Knight demon, not Fallen Knight.

Najin tilted his head.

“Knight demon? Is that different from a Fallen Knight?”

“A Fallen Knight is a knight who has made a contract with a demon. A knight demon is different. It’s a demon that devours a knight’s corpse and imitates the knight. There was once a large-scale subjugation operation on the continent that failed to eliminate it.”

Argo briefly explained about the knight demon, and as Najin listened quietly, he gasped at a certain point. He couldn’t help it.

“When I was still a Sword Expert, I pursued it with my seniors and colleagues but lost track of it. Several Knights of Atanga lost their lives to that demon, and one became a criminal due to an incident that occurred during the pursuit.”

As he spoke, Argo listed the names of the knights who had participated in the operation.

“Marschel, Yurik, Heblit, Oswell…”

And.

“Ivan.”

The moment he heard that name, Najin’s breathing faltered. Argo, being at least a Sword Seeker, could notice this disruption, but he pretended not to notice and naturally stroked his chin with his eyes closed.

With his eyes closed as if reminiscing about the past, he said:

“I’m ashamed to say that the ‘Knight Demon Pursuit’ remains a stain on the Knights of Atanga. There are few operations that failed so miserably, and what makes it worse is that the cause of the failure came from within.”

So, he added.

“Finally, an opportunity to wash away this stain has arrived. That’s why I wanted to make this proposal to you. Would you like to join me?”

The moment Ivan’s name was mentioned, the answer was as good as decided. Najin nodded.

“Having the word ‘knight’ before ‘demon’ doesn’t sit well with me. Wouldn’t it be better if we removed the word ‘demon’ from there?”

“That’s just like you. I’m glad we understand each other.”

Najin and Argo faced each other and grinned. After shaking hands lightly with Argo, Najin boarded the carriage with him.

“By the way, it seems you’ve been quite active in the Outer Continent. Your reputation precedes you. I heard you even had a fierce battle with a Demon Lord who possessed 10 stars… can I believe that?”

Argo pulled out some preserved food from his pocket. Offering the snack to Najin with a gesture, he hinted that the journey to the Outer Continent was long, so why not share some interesting stories? Najin chewed on the jerky and willingly opened up his bag of tales.

“After entering the Outer Continent, the first person I met was Graf, a knight from Kurtan.”

“A knight from Kurtan… Ah, there’s one knight from Kurtan in Atanga too. He’d be pleased to hear about this. So? What happened with him?”

“Well… I don’t think he’d be pleased to hear it.”

Najin shared the story with a bitter smile.

The tale of a knight who had fallen to become an undead, a knight who tried to uphold his duty even if it meant becoming an undead, the Knight of Silence, the Helm Knight, and so on. He summarized his experiences in the Outer Continent appropriately.

After hearing the story, Argo exhaled deeply with a “Hmm.”

“You’ve been through quite a lot in just four months, haven’t you? I suppose one would need to experience such events to gain two stars in such a short time.”

Argo nodded.

“That Helm Knight you mentioned, I personally find him admirable. I don’t know much about the Outer Continent, but I’ve carried out operations there occasionally, so I know. How cruel that land can be, and how merciless it can become.”

Anyone who has experienced the Outer Continent even once comes to know, whether they like it or not. That land is not a sacred battlefield where stars clash, but a graveyard where stars are buried.

“For a human who has lost all his stars to survive in that land for 150 years? And to not let go of his honor and pride during those 150 years…”

“Really,” he smiled.

“It’s magnificent. Truly a magnificent story. I’m quite fond of the expression ‘human triumph,’ and isn’t this story fitting of that expression?”

“He was indeed an extraordinary person.”

“While it might seem a bit lackluster after such an inspiring story, I do have a tale to share.”

The carriage jolted with a thud.

“The knight demon. This is about our target for subjugation. The entity name of the knight demon is Orgis. Its ability is simple. It can make parts of the body of those it devours its own… Originally, such demons need to be nipped in the bud. If you cut off the sprout early, it’s nothing special.”

But, Argo continued.

“The beginning was the problem. The start wasn’t good.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Unfortunately, the first thing Orgis devoured was a human integrated with a ‘Masterpiece’.”

Masterpiece. A weapon imbued with mystical power.

Having fought against a black mage wielding such a weapon, Najin knew well how formidable an opponent with a Masterpiece could be.

“Which Masterpiece was it?”

“One you’re probably familiar with. It’s the most notorious Masterpiece.”

Argo held up four fingers.

“No.4 ‘Bookmark’.”

He added.

“It’s famous for causing an unprecedented incident where a child killed a Sword Seeker.”

3.

What is the most useful Masterpiece?

Answers to this question vary. Some might mention No.16 ‘Unquenchable Fire’, while others might speak of No.27 ‘Rugged Cape’.

Then, what is the most powerful Masterpiece?

This question, too, would elicit various answers, comparing the direction of that power and its utility.

But to the question, “What is the most dangerous Masterpiece?” everyone unanimously answers:

No.4 ‘Bookmark’.

The first to discover the Bookmark was a child from a small village. The girl who found the ornate bookmark in an old library considered it her treasure. Without any thought, she took the bookmark home and placed it between the pages of a fairy tale book, then closed it.

Book. Bookmark. Closing the book. Placing between.

Without any intention, the girl fulfilled the conditions to activate the Masterpiece. She had to pay a heavy price for her ignorance. That night, 324 villagers vanished overnight.

A Sword Seeker was dispatched to handle the situation, but he too vanished the moment he approached the girl who was crying alone in the village.

In response, knights were sent in squad units to retrieve the Masterpiece, but the casualties of that operation far exceeded expectations.

It took the lives of 8 knights just to understand the activation conditions of the Masterpiece, another 32 to speculate on its mystical properties, and 28 more knights to vaguely comprehend its mysteries. And even more soldiers had to sacrifice their lives.

The deaths of 324 villagers.

The deaths of 68 knights.

The deaths of 117 soldiers.

At the end of it all, the Bookmark was reportedly retrieved, but…

“That’s a lie. The Bookmark was never retrieved.”

Argo asserted.

“Black mages intervened during the retrieval process. They attacked the soldiers who were already too weakened to resist and stole the Masterpiece before fleeing. Originally, their escape should have failed, but coincidence upon coincidence occurred.”

The black mages fleeing with the Masterpiece hastily summoned a demon to bolster their strength. The summoning should have failed, but due to overlapping coincidences, a demon was summoned, albeit imperfectly. And it was an ancient demon at that.

The ancient demon, Orgis.

If the successful summoning was the black mages’ fortune, then the imperfection of that summoning was their misfortune.

Because the summoning was imperfect, only a fragment was summoned, but the original entity was of such high caliber.

Orgis was not controlled by the black mages. The demon devoured the black mage who had summoned it right there. Additionally, it consumed the corpses of all 68 knights and soldiers who had been killed by the Masterpiece.

In the process, Orgis “coincidentally” swallowed the Masterpiece, and that was the problem. Demons are inherently beings of mystical power. When such a being devoured a Masterpiece imbued with mystical power, a transformation occurred.

Coincidence upon coincidence, and then another coincidence. When coincidences overlap three times, it can no longer be called a coincidence. Inevitably, Orgis transformed into something entirely different.

A demon composed of dozens of knights.

The birth of the knight demon.

“To dare desecrate the corpses of knights and insult their names? It was intolerable. Immediately, numerous knights, including those from Atanga, launched a pursuit, but… well, the result was disastrous.”

Argo smiled bitterly.

“In that pursuit, the knight demon devoured about 30 more knights and escaped. About half of those 30 were from the Knights of Atanga. I have a duty to give those comrades a proper burial.”