Ch.196Free Knight (1)

Mourning, the fifth star Najin obtained.

A word that means to move the body of the deceased to where it should rightfully be buried. It was a word used similarly to funeral, burial, or interment. But looking at the star rising in the sky, Najin interpreted its meaning somewhat differently.

The place where one should rightfully be buried.

It didn’t simply mean a grave. Najin considered it “the end one should rightfully meet.” A proper death. A desired end. Giving someone an end they could be satisfied with. That was what Najin thought of as mourning.

The Outer Continent where proper death is not permitted.

Thus, a land where the dead roam freely.

A place like hell where even rest is not allowed.

The meaning of the Star of Mourning in this land would certainly not be small. Najin gazed at the star shining in the sky in silence. Feeling a heaviness as if something were pressing on his insides, Najin firmly pressed his heart as if it were suffocating.

Still, I can’t get used to it.

Every time he parted with someone he had formed a bond with, every time he witnessed their end, Najin felt his heart grow heavier. Perhaps it couldn’t be helped. After all, Najin had essentially buried their existence in his heart.

Squeeze.

Najin adjusted his hair tie.

The sacred relic left by the Lonely Star.

Najin couldn’t know exactly what power was contained in this sacred relic. He had only vaguely grasped it. Najin tied his hair tie a little tighter, then exhaled a long breath.

Hero, Viola Ordina.

Performer, Violet.

After taking one last look at the tombstone with the two names inscribed, Najin turned his back and walked away.

2.

After obtaining the fifth star.

Najin had learned a few things.

-Usually, you become a transcendent when you have about six stars, right?

First was the relationship between stars and transcendents.

-Not all transcendents have six or more stars, but those with 6 or more stars are all transcendents. Ah, not all of them? There have been some exceptions over the past millennium, but they’re countable on one hand.

“What about me?”

-You’ll probably be an exception. You still have a long way to go before becoming a Sword Master, right?

Usually, when one has about five stars, they’re either approaching transcendence or becoming a transcendent in most cases, but Najin was an exception. This was because the speed at which he accumulated achievements far outpaced his growth in mastery.

-There was someone who had 10 stars but wasn’t a transcendent. Though there was only one such person in history.

“Who was that?”

-Galahad.

It was a name Najin knew.

Galahad of the Knights of the Round Table.

The knight who was said to be the strongest of the Round Table aside from Arthur. A knight so powerful that it was said he could fight and win against all the remaining Knights of the Round Table.

“Really? In fairy tales, he’s described as a transcendent.”

-He wasn’t a transcendent, but he was stronger than transcendents, right? He was ridiculously strong.

“But why?”

-Well, it’s a bit complicated to explain, and it was an exceptional case. Galahad could never become a transcendent.

Najin tilted his head.

Merlin muttered, “How should I explain this?” while stroking his chin.

-Perfect and flawless, a human who gave up being human, a manufactured being, a kind of stage prop…

After pondering which word would be appropriate, Merlin made a complicated expression and shook his head.

-Well, it’s a bit complicated to explain, and even if I did, you wouldn’t understand. Anyway, what I was trying to say is that while accumulating achievements naturally leads to becoming a transcendent, that’s not always the case… Do you understand?

Najin nodded.

Humans must achieve the sublimation of their souls to become transcendents. Najin had accumulated achievements comparable to a transcendent, but his soul had not yet fully matured. Najin himself felt this way.

-Well, it’s a matter of climbing steadily, right?

The road ahead is long, but as they say, the longer the road, the more you should take your time. Didn’t the Helm Knight also say? Being in such a hurry won’t make things work out.

Najin tried not to become impatient.

That was the first piece of information he had learned.

The second piece of information came through the mouth of a person who sought out Najin.

“Pleased to meet you, Najin. I am Soles, an attendant of Master Gerd, the First Horn of the Empire.”

The person who introduced herself as Soles.

She had somehow managed to find Najin in this vast Outer Continent. It was surprising even for Najin. The woman who suddenly appeared showed Najin the emblem of the First Horn of the Empire and introduced herself saying, “Master Gerd sent me.”

“According to the original schedule, I should have met you 11 days ago, but your traces suddenly disappeared from this area, which delayed my visit. I apologize for this.”

Soles bowed her head and then looked straight at Najin.

“If it’s not too presumptuous, may I ask where you were in this area?”

“I went into a Constellation’s tomb for a while.”

“Ah, I see. My abilities don’t reach that far.”

“May I ask something as well? How did you know where I was and find me?”

“It’s a confidential matter so I can’t explain in detail, but it’s a method using the mystery and masterpiece I possess.”

Hearing this, Najin suddenly recalled the conversation he had with Gerd.

“I have a way to send you news wherever you are.”

“I’ll contact you if I have information to share.”

So this person was that method.

It seemed right. Soles cleared her throat with a “hmm hmm” and began to speak.

“After a month of investigation, we’ve succeeded in discovering meaningful information related to the Empress of Bliss. I’d like to share that information with you.”

Najin’s eyes immediately narrowed.

It was a reflexive response to the word “Empress of Bliss.” Najin nodded, and Soles began her report.

“In the 500-year history of the Empire, there are 781 incidents where records have been unnaturally erased, and 754 of them were records related to the Empress of Bliss. We’ve succeeded in outlining about 200 of these by comparing them with records from that era.”

Soles did not specifically report that during this process, the foreheads of the Empire’s historians had greatly receded, that there had been sacrifices of numerous strands of hair. It was a necessary sacrifice.

“What greatly helped with this information was the minutes left by ‘a knight order that took a horned helmet as its symbol.’ The name of this knight order has been erased and is impossible to restore, but according to the records they left…”

It must have been the Golden Horn Knights.

Najin bit his lip firmly.

“Currently, it is nearly impossible to confront the Empress of Bliss within her domain.”

“…Impossible?”

Najin recalled the information he knew about the Empress of Bliss. The Empress of Bliss basically lives holed up in her domain. She is extremely reluctant to show herself outside and does not try to take the stage herself.

Black curtain.

Literally, the Empress of Bliss is like a black curtain.

A being that operates from behind the stage. She only reveals herself at moments when her victory is certain, and with over a hundred stars as spare lives in her grasp… she is a being who never risks her life.

‘If it’s the main stage of such an Empress of Bliss, and the domain where she hides, it will certainly be difficult.’

While he had expected that, the information about the Empress of Bliss’s domain that he heard through Soles’s mouth exceeded Najin’s imagination.

“In the domain of the Empress of Bliss, there are multiple overlapping forbidden zones solely for her.”

Forbidden zones.

Places that weaken, wear down, and break uninvited beings. Soles said that there are dozens, up to a hundred such forbidden zones in the Empress of Bliss’s domain.

“Facing the Empress of Bliss with her 10 stars in such forbidden zones is nearly impossible. For that to be possible, a constellation on par with the Round Table would need to intervene… but that’s naturally almost impossible.”

“Then what should we do?”

“In the past, the knight order that left these records used ‘a method to draw the Empress of Bliss outside.’ But the recently injured Empress of Bliss will certainly be more cautious, so Master Gerd has judged that it will be difficult to draw her out.”

Then what method should be used?

“Master Gerd has suggested a method to dismantle the forbidden zones.”

The method Gerd chose was a direct approach.

“Among the forbidden zones covering the Empress of Bliss’s domain, there are ‘central’ forbidden zones. If those forbidden zones are broken, the remaining forbidden zones will naturally collapse, and the path to the Empress of Bliss’s domain will open.”

“How do we break those forbidden zones?”

“It’s simple. Kill the constellation who created the forbidden zone, the master of that forbidden zone.”

Soles spread her fingers wide. With her thumb folded, showing four fingers, she said:

“The Empress of Bliss has four constellations called apostles, or Jesters. They are the Empress of Bliss’s most powerful jesters and the center of the forbidden zones.”

“Court jesters.”

“Yes, court jesters. The existence of two of them is unknown, but the other two have been identified.”

She folded two more fingers and,

folding each of the remaining two fingers, she said:

“One is the Demon Lord of Mourning, Carpediem.”

Najin felt he knew who the other one would be.

“The second is Quixote, Star of Contempt.”

The jester knight Quixote.

That terrible being was engraved in Najin’s memory. As Najin gripped his sword hilt tightly, Soles cleared her throat with a fake cough.

“This is a message from Master Gerd.”

She imitated Gerd’s voice and said:

“I will kill Carpediem. You track down Quixote, Star of Contempt. Quixote has a part that could be called a ‘weakness.’ Find that point.”

Soles extended her finger and pointed to the ground.

“Somewhere in the Outer Continent, there is a place called La Mancha. There will be a clue there.”

La Mancha, Najin mulled over the place name.

“That’s the end of the message. Next is an item that Master Gerd told me to deliver…”

She handed Najin a wooden box that she took from her bosom.

After opening the box, Najin blinked, then burst into laughter. Indeed, it was exactly what Najin needed. Najin nodded.

“Yes, please tell Master Gerd thank you.”

3.

“Huk, hweek, huuuuuuuuk!”

The knight, Jowell, ran while gasping for breath as if his lungs would burst.

Tak, tak, tak!

He ran and ran without looking back.

It was an undignified and unrefined run, not at all befitting a knight… but Jowell had no time to worry about such things. He focused on running.

‘Why, how did it come to this.’

Jowell thought. How did things get so twisted?

He was originally a knight who had volunteered for the battlefield.

When he turned over 120 and could no longer stay on the continent, Jowell volunteered for the battlefield. Rather than wandering the Outer Continent and becoming a dead man, he thought he would die gloriously fighting against demons on the battlefield.

Even to himself, it seemed quite admirable.

Not only had he fulfilled his duty as a knight on the continent, but he would also serve humanity by fighting against demons after departing for the Outer Continent? How splendid a choice. Jowell was intoxicated with his choice, and with his honorable and proud self.

And some say,

Honor and pride in the Outer Continent are like hard liquor.

Intoxicating when drunk, but painful when sober.

“Hwook, hook, hook!”

It was just as they said.

Running like mad, Jowell looked back. There were giant beasts, dead men, and all sorts of monsters chasing him. Jowell thought he shouldn’t have looked back, squeezed his eyes shut, and concentrated on running.

Why, why had it come to this?

The battlefield Jowell had volunteered for was different from what he had imagined. The battles he experienced there were on a completely different level from those on the continent. Jowell, a Sword Seeker, was a splendid knight who showed his presence and played an active role in any battle on the continent.

But not in the Outer Continent.

Here, he was just a soldier, or even less. In a battlefield where demons ran riot at every opportunity, where dead men who had been transcendents intervened, where monsters rampaged, he was merely an individual.

There was no honorable end there.

There was no beautiful death.

And of course, there was no rest.

He wanted to run away, but there was nowhere to run. Above all, his meager pride that a knight should not do so prevented him from fleeing.

After enduring for a long time, today Jowell, who had gone out exploring with his comrades, encountered a group of beasts and dead men. Terrified comrades. A situation where death was imminent. In that situation, Jowell pounded his chest and shouted in a trembling voice:

“L-leave this place to me and run away!”

“I’ll draw their attention while you report this. What, my legs are quite fast.”

After declaring so and drawing upon starlight, he began to run. The dead men and monsters naturally chased after Jowell, and the situation has come to this.

“Hweek!”

And now, running until his legs might break, Jowell regrets his choice. Why did he make such a choice? To save his comrades? No, probably not. Jowell knows. That he is not such a noble person.

He simply wanted to die in style.

He had seen many who were trampled by demons, shattered by the dead, and met dog’s deaths. Their deaths were worthless and meaningless. And Jowell knew that if he stayed on such a battlefield, he would meet the same fate.

Rather than meeting such a death someday… wouldn’t it be better to die heroically, sacrificing himself to save his comrades?

That was all Jowell had judged.

But as death approaches moment by moment, Jowell feels fear. As the image of being eaten alive by those dead men forms in his mind, Jowell can’t help but sob.

He didn’t want to die.

What good was honor and pride.

What on earth was a splendid end.

Running and running like that, Jowell eventually threw off his armor, and tossed away his sword and shield. To run even a little faster. Just as he was about to throw away even his honor and pride and scream in an unseemly manner.

Tak.

The sound of footsteps came from somewhere.

Jowell raised his head.

There was a young man walking towards him from the opposite direction. The young man held a sword in one hand and a spear shaft in the other. Jowell’s eyes narrowed. He looked at the clothes the young man was wearing.

That outfit, I’ve seen it somewhere.

It wasn’t the clothes worn by knights stationed on the battlefield. Where had he seen such clothes?

“Ah.”

Ah, Jowell sighed briefly.

It was the clothes he had seen in history books during his squire days. The attire worn by the free knights who accompanied King Arthur a thousand years ago. But why would a knight wearing those clothes be here? Wasn’t it something that would only appear in fairy tales?

Was it an illusion he had created to reproach himself for abandoning honor and pride?

Tak.

No, it wasn’t. The young man was approaching Jowell with substance. Looking closely, there were some differences from the free knight’s attire. On his shoulder, he had a shoulder piece resembling a horned helmet and an unknown old military flag tied to it.

Jowell, who had been running, forgot even the current situation and asked the young man a question.

Who are you, he asked.

To that question, the young man answered briefly:

“Najin.”

Free knight, Najin.

Immediately after, Najin brushed past Jowell and leaped towards the group of dead men who had been chasing him.