Ch.289EP.62 – What Is a Knight’s Cause to Fight? (12)

…According to records, as recently as 300 years ago, Wales was just one of many ordinary territories.

It wasn’t fertile land where crops grew well, nor was it rich in resources, and it didn’t even have a river flowing through it.

Though not abundant, it clearly had the potential to develop through commerce or other means, just like other territories.

That’s the natural progression for territories and their people.

However, at some point…

“A massive fog enveloped all of Wales, and they say a miracle occurred.”

“Then that fog…”

Overnight, the land became fertile, towering trees sprouted densely across the territory, and they say a great waterway cut through the earth, creating a river with glistening ripples.

A miracle—there was no other way to define this sudden phenomenon.

A blessing from fairies or from the Light of Radiance.

Without such explanations, the phenomenon was inexplicable.

But in reality…

“My ancestor didn’t see this as a blessing, but rather as something ominous.”

The bloodline of Modred has possessed the [Spirit Eye] for generations.

The mystery and blessing of Modred, received when the founder Sir Modred fell in love with a powerful spirit.

Thanks to this blessing, only Modred could see the true essence…

“Wait, what? He had a romance with a ghost?”

“Ahem, keep this a secret. The ghost was from Britain, so it would be troublesome if rumors spread.”

“…Is the birthplace the issue here?”

“She was beautiful.”

“…Ah.”

“They say she was the most beautiful woman in the land.”

“Well, that can’t be helped then.”

“……”

“Understandable.”

“……Ahem.”

…Yes, because they possessed the mystery of the [Spirit Eye], they could see through it.

They could be certain that the phenomenon from 300 years ago wasn’t a blessing but mischief… No, that’s not right. It was a [curse] and a [forced contract] far worse than mere mischief.

And a contract with a particularly malicious entity at that.

“‘The Wandering God,’ that’s what we call it.”

“Wandering?”

“You could also call it the Exiled God.”

A land deity is like a native who has lived in that land for a long time.

The first tree to take root in an area, or a naturally formed mountain.

Or plants and animals that possess mystical qualities.

Such beings, after accumulating dignity and age over a period of time that humans can barely comprehend, become what we call land deities.

Of course, not all beings that accumulate dignity become land deities.

Just like Mount Vulcan, which contains the mystery to become a god but doesn’t become one.

Perhaps the purer natural existences are, the more they avoid gaining consciousness.

…However, occasionally, there are gods like this.

Gods who have been abandoned or driven away by their worshippers for various reasons.

Usually, these are evil gods who have committed atrocities and naturally perish after losing their followers. But sometimes, some of these gods barely survive and suddenly settle in a new land.

In other words…

“It’s a shameless being that occupies someone else’s home without it being its own.”

“No business ethics at all.”

“Because it’s a god.”

“……”

It’s absurd.

Making a “contract” without the homeowner’s permission.

“The Wandering God, no, that ‘pest’ gave blessings as a form of rent. Even though we never needed them.”

The pest was extremely arrogant.

Even though they never begged for anything, the pest said:

– Here, take it. Don’t thank me too much. I can do this. Just receive it, praise me, and offer your faith.

– Be more grateful. Just be moved by it.

– Why are you angry? I gave you what you needed.

The Wandering God that settled in as it pleased and the Margrave at that time quarreled, and in the process, the Wandering God seemed to get offended…

– Who dares to drive me out? How impudent!!

And so a famine occurred.

The once abundant land was gone, and drought and pests appeared out of nowhere, causing tremendous chaos.

By the time countless people were dying of starvation, the Margrave led a subjugation force and proudly fought against the Wandering God, and after days of battle without sleep…

“They succeeded in defeating it, or rather, sealing it.”

“Sealing…”

Sealing, not annihilation.

In the end, one could say they failed to completely eradicate it, but even this was an achievement that the heroes of Avalon would admire.

Even if it had fallen and become a wanderer, a god is still a god.

And they had achieved victory against such a god.

…However,

“‘What meaning is there in a victory filled with wounds…’ That was the last words my ancestor left.”

Someone might say:

Why fight with a god and cause trouble? Can’t we just get along?

But this is said without understanding the situation at the time.

“That damned pest used up a hundred years’ worth of Wales’ land vitality in advance. It might have been fine 300 years ago, but from the next generation onwards, they would have had to live in starvation. There wouldn’t even be a blade of grass to eat.”

Using the word “blessing” so shamelessly would make anyone sick, but there was also sufficient reason to fight.

They couldn’t let their territory become a dreadful land of death.

But what was even worse was the curse left by the defeated god.

Namely…

“The contract with the god still continues to bind us.”

“……”

The fertility forcibly given by the pest.

Even though they never wanted it, the fertility given to them [established] a contract with the god.

They were bound by a constraint that humans could never break, unless they completely annihilated the god, a being that humans couldn’t even harm…

“From the beginning, that cursed pest intended to use all the people of Wales as sacrifices to manifest itself.”

*Crack!*

It was an outrageous act.

Even though they never wanted it, they were forced into a contract. Because of this, countless people of Wales would have to become “living sacrifices” for this purpose at any time.

It was a truth that couldn’t be tolerated and deserved anger.

But what was even more terrible and malicious was…

“The contract with that pest can’t be forcibly broken, even if you flee to the end of the continent.”

No matter how forcibly it was made, a contract with a god is sacred, and this was a curse that humans couldn’t escape.

People born and raised in Wales could never escape it, and even if they went to another region, they couldn’t escape this curse.

The curse would continue endlessly to their descendants until the contract with the god was fulfilled, and a cruel fate that they didn’t even know about awaited them for generations…

“It’s a terrible thing indeed.”

That’s why Modred fought endlessly against the god.

To annihilate the god.

And so, every time the god’s seal weakened, roughly every 60 years, generations of Modred’s bloodline and knights fought endless battles in the secret cave where the god was sealed.

“At some point, the world began calling this secret cave, where the pest is sealed, the cave where Modred’s treasure is hidden. But there’s no treasure, only the most terrible pest in the world sleeping there.”

And throughout the past years, there have been no cases of inflicting meaningful damage to the pest.

Just as despair was beginning to rise…

“That incident occurred.”

60 years ago, one of Modred’s bloodline was suddenly born with excessively powerful medium abilities.

Spirits gathered unexpectedly, and to protect him who was born with powerful medium abilities, they began eliminating elements that could threaten Modred.

People frequently went mad or suddenly died.

It was as if seeing the excessive loyalty of ghosts protecting their “king,” and the Modred of that time realized that this was truly an anomalous phenomenon.

What they ultimately discovered was…

“It’s a cruel thing to say, but for that pest, the people living in Wales are just one of the conditions that need to be met for its manifestation, but the most important thing is the [vessel].”

“So the pest is pretending to be a god.”

“That’s right.”

Just as saints convey the words of God, the insect chose Modred’s bloodline as saints who could use its power.

Those with extraordinary bodies and talents, and even mysteries suitable for it.

…It’s laughable. Even though they are enemies trying to kill each other, the pest shows an obsessive affection towards Modred as if it doesn’t matter.

But do you know what’s even more terrible?

“That affection is twisted.”

The pest was extremely jealous.

It didn’t want its vessel to share love with anyone or become close to anyone.

So if a candidate chosen as its vessel seemed to have someone they cared about, a curse would occur.

They would die, fall ill, or suffer mysterious accidents…

Because of this, the man who was chosen as the vessel at that time took up his sword to kill the pest with his own hands, and thus succeeded in wounding the pest for the first time.

Later known as the strongest knight and medium in Modred’s history, that man’s name was…

“Me.”

Ganok Douglas de Modred.

He was the man who was evaluated as the first to break the pest’s curse with his own power.

Of course, he wasn’t proud of it.

“Nevertheless, I’m just a pathetic grandfather who passed on that curse to my granddaughter.”

In reality, he wasn’t proud of his achievement.

In the end, he just survived, but nothing was resolved.

Rather…

“By surviving, my granddaughter became the next vessel and the target of that cursed curse, so I only feel guilt.”

A Modred born with even superior talent than Ganok, who was chosen as the vessel.

Ganok was already said to have the best medium qualities in Modred’s history, but someone with even more excellent qualities than him?

If that’s the case…

“The pest’s eyes would go wild.”

“…That’s correct.”

He gave the answer.

* * *

The rather long tale of the past ended.

…It wasn’t a particularly pleasant story, and even the listener felt dirty after hearing it.

“…After that child was born, the pest began to go crazy and started summoning its army from within the secret cave.”

“I was wondering why there were so many monsters.”

“The pest’s patience has run out. It now intends to resolve everything at once. It wants to lead an army of monsters to devour all the people of Wales and take that child as well.”

“……”

“Isn’t it absurd? A being called a god, albeit a rotten one, is commanding monsters.”

“It seems more like a demon than a god.”

“Haha, that’s why we call it the Great Archfiend. Because it’s a greedy monster that craves desire more than humans, despite being neither god nor demon.”

Yes, it’s called a god, but it’s not a god.

It’s just a malicious evil spirit, a pest that only harms people, with power greater than ordinary evil spirits.

“Killing that Great Archfiend is the ‘long-cherished wish’ of Modred, no, of all of us.”

“Why not ask an Aura user for help?”

“That’s not possible. There are special conditions needed for an Aura user to step in. And at least those conditions haven’t been met.”

“……”

“So, we must resolve this ourselves. This isn’t something for others to step in.”

“……”

He asked Kain and Ihan again.

“…I’ll ask once more, after hearing Modred’s secret history, are you determined to fight that pest? Not only you but also your loved ones could be cursed because of that abominable pest.”

You could receive our curse as well.

So run away now if you can.

Don’t act recklessly.

…It was essentially a threatening question.

As if telling him to run away now.

Ihan…

“You asked me. What my reason for fighting is.”

“…?”

“Some might think I’m stepping up because of some petty sense of justice, or because I feel sorry for that child. But my reason for stepping up isn’t because of a sense of justice or youthful recklessness. I’m not foolish enough to fight for such trivial reasons.”

“…Then, what is your reason for fighting?”

Kain asked out of genuine curiosity.

Wondering what reason made this man so reckless.

And the answer to that was…

“-Self-respect.”

“……”

“To be proud of myself.”

Despite stating such a simple reason, no one laughed at Ihan’s motive.

That’s because…

“Where did you hear that story?”

“?”

“Did you say that without knowing?”

“What are you talking about…?”

“…Haha.”

It was astonishing.

The man probably doesn’t know how deeply his words have moved them.

…Long ago, there was a knight.

Known as the first knight, despite possessing extraordinary strength, he didn’t use that strength to dominate others or indulge in greed, but only raised his sword for the good and the weak—an honorable knight.

One day, a nameless child whose life he had saved asked him:

‘Why did you save me even though you got hurt?’

Why go that far? Why voluntarily face such hardship when there would be no reward?

To such questions, the knight answered without hesitation:

‘To be proud of myself.’

Upon hearing this answer, the nameless child smiled.

It was probably the day he smiled the most in his life, and the moment his heart was most full.

And that day, the nameless child knelt before the knight and pleaded:

‘May I follow you?’

‘Why?’

‘I’m curious. What kind of life would make me proud of myself.’

‘It’s not an easy path.’

‘Even for you, two is better than one, right?’

‘I already have companions, though?’

‘…More is better, right?’

‘…That’s true.’

The man and the child smiled similarly, and the knight gave the nameless child a name.

‘Modred.’

‘What does it mean?’

‘It means [rebellion].’

‘…What kind of name is that? Are you telling me to rebel against you?’

‘Yes, if I ever go astray or walk the wrong path, do so.’

‘You’re saying impossible things to a child. …Still.’

‘-I’ll remember. Even if I die, my descendants will…’

“Remember your heart…”

“…What? Is what I said so absurd?”

“No, not at all. Rather, it’s more than enough reason…”

“?”

“Haha, well, well.”

A conversation recorded in the history book compiled by the great sage Merlin.

The reason why the nameless child could become a knight braver than anyone else.

“For self-respect, hahaha!”

Ah, Modred, our great ancestor…!

It seems we cannot dream of rebellion in this generation either.

That’s because…

‘There is still an honorable knight with self-respect.’

Right here.