Ch.317105. I Don’t Know This Person.

“Kariel Brendiar.”

In history, that name is not mentioned even once.

However, in unofficial records and documents, it was occasionally mentioned.

Ah, at least that’s how it is in human history.

In contrast, in the fairy folk’s records, that name appears several times.

Especially when discussing the World Tree, it appears quite frequently.

As the human child chosen by the World Tree who might have even married the queen of that era.

And in other countries too, records were sporadically found confirming his existence and activities.

At those times, since the surname Brendiar wasn’t mentioned, not many people deduced that he was from the Imperial family, or before that, the Radiant clan, as they were called.

Still, those who witnessed that era firsthand pointed out that he was a member of the Radiant bloodline before joining the Enzul family, the imperial clan of the Berk Empire.

The Radiant bloodline officially emerged in history through Rueld Brendiar.

But tracing back their lineage suggests a close connection to Saint Kariel, the saint of Irenis.

That’s probably why the claim that Kariel Brendiar was named after Saint Kariel is gaining credibility.

Perhaps they knew that their ancestor was Saint Kariel, revered as the saint of Irenis?

Snap!

Chewing on a long stick-shaped snack, the girl flipped through the yellowed, worn-out book again.

……

The Imperial clan.

While the Enbrave family claims this is groundless and merely a rumor, examining the 16th-century diary left by a daughter of the Elunia royal family, who had ties with the Enbrave family, clearly shows they were aware of this fact.

Then why did they consider Kariel Brendiar, the firstborn of Rueld Brendiar, taboo?

To understand this, we must trace the hero’s journey that spread the fame of the Radiant bloodline across the continent, leading to the narrative of defeating the Demon Lord of Wisdom who invaded the western continent.

While in the East, demon lords traditionally occupied certain territories and coexisted as a separate faction, in the West, demon lords essentially invaded to seize control of continental governance, resembling an all-out war between two camps.

Why did it escalate in such a way?

It was likely because the western continent still had many unexplored territories, making it extremely sensitive to territorial disputes.

There are surely many other reasons, but the demon lords of the western world clearly had some purpose for ruling, conquering, or waging war on the western continent.

However, since no proper information can be found in any records, this is mere speculation.

While demon lords in the East often formed alliances with human dynasties, earth clans, or celestial clans, the demon lords of the western world were essentially public enemies and adversaries to all who belonged to the western continent.

Some theologians have continuously argued that the Anti-Irenis mentioned in the Irenis religion might refer to these beings, but even in the present age, there’s no definitive evidence for this.

“The Demon Lord of Wisdom.”

The days of referring to demon lords with malicious epithets are now long gone.

The being known as the Demon Lord of Wisdom, or the Golden Demon Lord, left behind countless knowledge that began to shine as time passed.

In fields including academics, arts, literature, philosophy, magic studies, medicine, engineering technology… in all sorts of areas.

The entertainment aspect can’t be ignored either.

The knowledge and systems for creating virtual reality spaces through magic also originated from her, they say.

“Hmm.”

And.

Recently, there’s been speculation that Kariel Brendiar might have been the direct disciple of the Demon Lord of Wisdom.

Or perhaps even her lover, as rumors have begun to spread.

It’s half like a romance novel, but it’s curious, if anything, that such novels are gaining popularity.

“Because of the Black Star Order, that story doesn’t make sense.”

It’s probably because they consider Kariel the founder of the Ensia School.

They treat Kariel as a grand mage or a reclusive sage, and there are many instances where he’s classified as a Western immortal.

Additionally, there’s a rumor that the first president of the Explorers’ Association, Duberin, who initially formed the association, was also his disciple.

The Sword King family of Paisran, who spread the sword technique known as the Black Sword Art to the world.

Seeing that they founded the Paisran Sword King Academy, which is related to this… one wonders what kind of being Kariel was.

Even the head of the Black Star River lineage, who was long called the Black Dragon Venerable in the East (though now said to have ascended), was found in records to have once been a disciple of Kariel Brendiar.

“At this point, is he not a human but… a god? A divine human? Or like the immortals of the East?”

And.

Though it’s been less than a hundred years since it became officially known to the world,

The Dark Star Faith, which shares roots with the Black Star Order but has distinctly different teachings and guidance, openly reveres him as a god.

…despite him being a human from just 800 years ago.

Moreover, whether it’s the Black Star Order or the Dark Star Faith, those who inherited his teachings and lineage commonly have records of receiving advice directly from him or encountering him…

‘Is he truly a god?’

One can’t help but wonder.

Or perhaps they hallucinated or heard things in extreme situations.

You know, like those things.

Religious figures or those pursuing some path, like seeing a mirage of an oasis in the desert, unconsciously seeing and hearing what they desire or yearn for… something like that.

“To find out for sure, should I make contact with the Order?”

Since most of the publicly known information is either absurd or speculative, it’s hard to know what to believe.

And even if one were to believe it, so what?

“It’s not like I can see his face directly.”

And I can’t just fly there on an airship.

I briefly recalled that the founder of the Heaven-Defying Family in the East was a disciple of the Black Dragon Venerable, who was Kariel’s disciple. Could there be a connection here too?

The Heaven-Defying Family was infamous in the early 15th century as the century’s great massacre demon who defeated, slaughtered, and annihilated historical Eastern dynasties, numerous divine achievement families, and divine beasts.

Later known as the Heaven-Defying Demon, he became the son-in-law of the Bright Demon Emperor of that era, but instead of entering as a live-in son-in-law, he formed his own family.

That was the beginning of the group known as the Heaven-Defying Family, or the Heaven-Defying Sect.

In reality, they were closer to a faction, an armed group with certain beliefs and ideologies, or a religious group, rather than a prestigious family.

“He’s also someone who’s always mentioned when discussing the world’s strongest.”

Heaven-Defying Demon Cheonjaha.

The century’s martial artist who single-handedly turned the world upside down, traversing the East and Central continents.

In an era where divine arts were favored and divine achievement families originating from divine beasts and immortals were prevalent, he established the concept of martial arts, leading to the era of great martial arts techniques.

In the present day, there’s an arbitrary distinction between Eastern martial arts and Western magic and magical arts.

“It’s not even funny anymore.”

Ironically, in the 22nd century, martial arts dominate in the West, while magic is mainstream in the East.

She was of the type who had learned modern magical arts that combined the advantages of martial arts, magic, and modern engineering technology.

She possessed knowledge that could certainly establish a school, but due to limited learning opportunities and circumstances, she was currently in a neither-here-nor-there situation.

“Eliya. How long are you planning to stay here?”

Just then, a young man entered through the open door, urging her with an anxious face.

“What’s the problem now?”

She habitually smoothed her reddish hair, which had scattered white strands, and asked briefly.

“It’s almost time for the corpses to move.”

“…Haven’t they always been moving? What’s new about that?”

“The problem is… there’s a factory, a nest nearby.”

“What? I thought there wasn’t any around here?”

“We were late in figuring it out. I just found out while exploring.”

“Seriously!”

Only then did she rise from her seat with irritated eyes.

A factory, of all things.

“We came all this way…”

“You’ve collected everything you need, right?”

“I’ve gathered everything required for the request. But… who knows when we’ll be back in this area?”

One might think it’s not difficult to just carry a few books, but adding weight and bulk to an already precarious situation…

The book she was just reading appeared to be a handmade hardcover from the late 19th century.

It was written by a professor of archaeology and history, who apparently published several books officially, but wasn’t particularly famous even in his time.

“What if we just stay quietly here and move when it’s daylight?”

The black-haired young man shook his head at Eliya’s suggestion.

“From what I’ve observed of the local ecology, it seems nocturnal monsters are mainly active. Looking closely at this house, there are occasional signs of their intrusion. Plus… if there are sentient beings, we’d be helplessly caught in their trap, wouldn’t we?”

“…Then it’s already too late to move now?”

“That doesn’t mean we should just die here, right?”

Despite the serious content, he didn’t seem particularly tense.

He’s probably exaggerating a bit to maintain vigilance, given his cautious nature.

Still, there must be a reason for him to speak like that.

“Alright. It’s a shame, but… can’t be helped.”

Eliya took out a rectangular device from her pocket and began taking photos of several important pages.

Click! Click! Click!

Busily taking photos and turning pages.

After doing this for about 5 minutes, she reluctantly stuffed the book into the desk drawer, her eyes filled with lingering attachment.

‘If I get another chance…’

The two descended from the second floor, first checking the outside through the window, then quietly left the house.

There were numerous similar houses in the vicinity.

Just by crossing the wooden fence, one would find many buildings with the same structure.

A village within a city.

If one were to drive along the road, they could enter the city center, but that’s all in the past now.

With the city now a death zone where no species, let alone humans, can survive, who would dare venture there?

…Unless they were obsessed with exploration.

The two moved quietly, first attaching a teleportation balloon to a spatial box and releasing it into the sky.

This saved them the trouble of carrying that bulky luggage.

Now they just needed to get themselves out safely…

They were about to mount the bike they had brought, which they had just pulled out from near the house’s garage, when:

“?!”

Suddenly, the passive mode of their crisis detection protocol registered a third-party gaze, physical approach, and closing distance simultaneously in their minds.

Crash!

Naturally, the automatic protective magic activated according to the protection system, but the impact was beyond what was anticipated.

“Ugh?!”

She was thrown with the bike and slammed against a nearby streetlight.

…This instantly depleted three of the layered protective spells she had prepared.

Impact reduction.

Reaction.

Designated material protection.

Thanks to these, both the bike and her body were unharmed, but the streetlight they crashed into cracked and bent halfway with a crunch!

Eliya immediately shouted:

“Bern?!”

In that brief moment, it wasn’t her who was in a dire situation.

“Aaaagh! Let go?! Get away?!”

Trying to shout something, trying to express words.

But in the end, as his flesh was torn and ripped, he could only let out instinctive screams and howls…

Crash! Zzzzt! Crunch!

By a being that stood on two legs like a wild dog, his entire body was being mutilated, and as even his neck area was torn, he couldn’t even scream anymore, just choking miserably.

“Mongrels with no fear…”

At the growling voice, Eliya’s gaze and the device in her hand turned simultaneously.

She pointed the rectangular device like a weapon.

“……”

What? What’s going on?

Why, why did that appear here?!

“Heh-heh!”

A man with pale skin, no hair, and eyes that were completely black without any whites was glaring at her with a distorted face.

‘Why of all things…’

Eliya Minerdia, a 2-star explorer affiliated with the Explorers’ Association.

She had trespassed into the territory of one of the eleven vampire families, the Videlberg domain, which was a cornerstone of the western continent’s dark underworld, on a mission.

And now.

She had been spotted by a sentinel, a lowly apostle and minion of the vampire, who happened to be patrolling the area.

…That was the only conclusion she could draw.

Of all things.

Really, really unlucky.

“Stepping foot in the domain without permission.”

“–.”

She wanted to shout something in response, but her mouth was tightly shut, and her tongue wouldn’t move.

‘Damn…’

Whether her consciousness was being invaded or her thoughts were becoming not just sluggish but rigid, she couldn’t tell.

Her mind wasn’t working properly…

“I’ll capture you and offer you to our master. A young woman, your blood should be useful.”

“Kuk!”

Green circuits lit up over the device, activating a pre-heated magic formula.

Thunder-flame, a mixture of electric and fire elements, traced an unpredictable path and instantly pierced the sentinel.

“Arrrgh!”

It burrowed into his exterior, not just burning his insides but melting them with extreme heat.

While this would have a 99% fatality rate for a normal human, the creature quickly got up after rolling around.

“Kuek!”

Black liquid poured from its mouth.

But after wiping its mouth and taking a few breaths, it seemed to have recovered, standing upright again and approaching her.

Eliya desperately tried to start the bike, but despite its seemingly intact exterior, it might have been affected by the earlier impact.

‘Why won’t it start?!’

Thump!

“?!”

Without even realizing its approach, she was grabbed by the neck.

“Keuuk!”

Lifted by the grip alone, the pressure on her body was overwhelming, threatening to crush the muscles around her neck.

‘I’m… dying…’

“Insolent woman. How dare…!”

Even this mere sentinel, not even worthy of being called a vampire, was this formidable.

There’s a reason why they occupy part of the western continent and exercise autonomy.

But regardless of such circumstances, Eliya tried to resist in any way she could, feeling like she was about to die.

Crash!

“Ah! Aaagh!”

With her hand holding the device crushed, she should have screamed, but with her neck being strangled and on the verge of suffocation, all she could do was bulge her eyes in shock, which was the best she could manage in her current state.

‘Like, like this…’

Like this, am I… dying?

Me? Really?

‘……’

I can’t… accept it.

That I, that I would die… like this!

Thud!

“Kuhak!”

Instinctively gasping for breath, Eliya clutched her damaged left hand with her right.

‘Wh-what…?’

“Kuaaagh!”

With a miserable howl.

“Who are you?!”

The sentinel growled and shouted, followed by sounds of something breaking and bursting in quick succession.

Then, suddenly, it went quiet.

“Keu…”

Eliya, drenched in pain and bewilderment, forced her eyes open when they were about to close tightly.

With her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw…

The pale sentinel lying miserably, turning to ashes…

“……”

And someone with a black cloak that seemed to blend with the darkness, with black hair, who was just turning his head towards her.

Those two eyes, even in this darkness, were brilliantly beautiful… golden.

Like the eyes of an owl, no, something far more noble and rare.

A mystical and auspicious gaze was now looking down at her.

“……”

A young boy.

Or perhaps a young man?

A boy who appeared to be around Eliya’s age approached her, knelt on one knee, and matched eye level with her as she trembled and suppressed her pain.

“…Are you alright?”

“…Yes. Thanks… to you.”

Eliya took several deep breaths.

With a mix of wariness and relief, she asked in a precarious voice:

“I appreciate your help, but… why are you… here?”

“……”

The boy was silent for a moment.

“Because I promised.”

Finally, as he stood up, he began with those words.

“Is your hand okay?”

At his request, Eliya had no choice but to show him her damaged left hand.

By the way, a promise? What promise?

I don’t know this person…