Ch.53Intermission

# The War with the Empire, which lasted about six months, ended in victory for the elves.

This news reached neighboring kingdoms that shared borders with the Empire, and they mobilized all their intelligence networks to find out what had happened.

What they discovered was shocking.

The appearance of Elven Knights after hundreds of years. And the story of how the Minotaur, who had been rampaging through the Sylphin Kingdom, sided with the elves in the war against the Empire.

As a result, those who heard about the deaths of lords in territories near Elvenheim and along routes to the Empire—territories now without rulers—began to salivate with greed.

And the final news from the Empire made everyone who heard it shocked once more.

The Empire’s proud Masters, Magic Corps, and thousands of knights had all perished, and the Minotaur had shattered the Imperial Palace with a single blow from its lightning-wrapped arm.

Upon hearing this news, neighboring kingdoms began advancing toward Imperial territory with greedy intentions, while Imperial lords who had escaped harm either joined these kingdoms or declared themselves kingdoms.

The peace that had lasted for ten years faded away as humans began warring against each other.

* * * *

“Thank you for your hard work, Sir Khan.”

“It’s sad that we must part ways like this.”

In front of the collapsed Imperial Palace, I stood with Mary and the former Elven Knights.

It felt a bit lonely having to part with the Elven Knights after spending nearly three months together, but all meetings eventually lead to partings.

When I expressed my gratitude to them for treating me—a monster—so well, they replied that they were thankful to have witnessed such impressive behavior from a short-lived species and a monster.

As we were about to say our simple goodbyes and part ways, Commander Rune called us over.

“Here, I’d like to give this staff to Miss Mary. I used it when I was young. It’s an artifact that increases magic efficiency and reduces mana consumption—quite useful.”

“Eek—!! If it’s from when the Commander was young, that’s at least 600 years… Ack—!”

Commander Rune struck down Rian, who was making snide remarks beside her, and pulled out what appeared to be a very old staff from her spatial storage.

Despite its age, the mana within hadn’t disappeared, as a very faint blue energy swirled around the staff.

“Thank you. But… isn’t it too big for me?”

“Try holding it.”

Following Commander Rune’s instruction, Mary grabbed the staff that had been planted in the ground, and it transformed to match her height.

“It has a magic spell that automatically adjusts its size to the user. It should be sufficient for Miss Mary to use now.”

“Thank you so much for giving me such a precious item…”

Mary hugged the staff tightly and bowed her head in gratitude. Commander Rune gently stroked her with one finger.

Then, meeting my gaze, she pulled another item from her spatial storage.

“Here, this should be useful for Sir Khan.”

“Moo—?”

What she produced before me was a very tiny axe.

It must have had a size-adjustment spell on it as well, because as soon as it left her hand and came to me, it transformed into a five-meter axe suitable for my size, with chains attached to the handle.

“I obtained this weapon from a kingdom I destroyed quite long ago… I don’t remember its name. Anyway, it was used by a Master from that kingdom. It has a size-adjustment spell, good durability, and an automatic retrieval spell, so Sir Khan should be able to use it well.”

“Mooer—! (Thank you!)”

Recognizing the joy in my bellowing, Commander Rune smiled at Mary and me, then led the Elven Knights away from the Empire, saying we might see each other again someday.

We greeted each of them as they waved goodbye to us, and remained standing there until all the Elven Knights had departed.

“Where will you go now?”

“Mooerrr— Moo— (Well, I’d like to go somewhere with strong opponents.)”

“Then let’s head to the forest first! Monsters would suit Khan better than humans!”

Nodding at her words, I placed her on my head and left the Empire.

* * * * *

“This should be enough… to give that guy a good hit. No, not just a hit—I might even be able to kill him…”

At the site of the final battle between the Empire and the Elven Knights, a human was methodically placing corpses into his spatial storage.

Green flames flickered around him—evidence that he had killed all the priests who had been purifying the area with holy power.

The commotion might have alerted the Empire, but the Imperial capital was already preoccupied with arson, looting, and rape as people struggled to survive.

The capital’s security had deteriorated to the worst possible state, and even nobles couldn’t survive without private soldiers—it had become a living hell.

Thanks to this situation, he was able to kill the priests and collect the scattered corpses without being discovered by anyone. Unfortunately, most of the bodies had already been purified and were unusable.

Fortunately, the bodies of the Sword Masters hadn’t been completely purified due to their strength in life, so he thought he could resurrect about twenty of them.

‘Hmm, but… how did that bull bastard ally with the elves?’

He had only one question: whether the elves would help when he attacked the Minotaur. If the Minotaur had managed to bring the elves to his side, he would never be able to win.

But soon he shook his head and gave up thinking about it. He would find out eventually when he got there, and if he became intimidated by the elves’ presence, he wouldn’t be able to reclaim what had been taken from him.

With that thought, he finished collecting all the corpses, including one that uniquely had only a hole in the middle of its forehead.

‘Well… I should go there next. That’s where I’ll find the final piece to deal with that bull bastard.’

Having made up his mind, he set off toward a place where, according to ancient myth, a legendary being had fallen. Only the green flames that bloomed where he had been remained, flickering as if bidding him farewell.

* * * * *

In a vast space with completely white interiors, a saintly-looking woman and an old man were conversing.

“So according to Archbishop Opasi, the Minotaur that attacked the Empire alongside the elves is the being called Wrath that Lord Uldur mentioned?”

“Yes, it seems so. According to his account, when the Minotaur attacked the Imperial Palace, it grew to about ten meters tall, becoming larger than the palace itself. The only being with the ability to grow in size and emit lightning is that Minotaur, so it must be correct.”

“Hmm… It doesn’t have four horns, but… if its body grows, perhaps its horns could increase as well. Then we should first track Wrath, whose whereabouts we now know. We should also contact each kingdom.”

“Yes, Saintess Lumina. And there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

“Yes, Pope Pelbaion. Please speak.”

The Pope and the Saintess—the two leaders of the Light Order, which worshipped Uldur, the only god humans believed in—were discussing their target: the Minotaur that had invaded the Empire a few days ago.

Known through divine revelation, this being was called Wrath within the Order. Since Lord Uldur called it so, they, as his faithful lambs, called it the same.

The Light Order was preparing for a holy war, seeking to destroy the being revealed in the divine message. They had been continuously working to identify this being and had finally discovered it—a moment of joy that was short-lived.

Saintess Lumina’s face hardened at Pope Pelbaion’s next words.

“Envy has revealed himself. The day after the elves and Minotaur disappeared, we tried to burn the bodies hung on poles to prevent necromancers from getting them… but I heard today that all our believers were killed. They say only green flames flicker there now.”

“Wrath and Envy in the same place… According to Lord Uldur’s revelation, Envy is a necromancer. The elves wouldn’t have tolerated him. Envy must have been there to obtain the corpses.”

“Yes, I think so too. Envy probably collected those bodies to create Death Knights. There were over 80 Master corpses there, and with the Magic Corps commanders, he could create three liches… I don’t know how far our believers purified the bodies, but he could make at least ten Death Knights. Wrath is a problem, but we need to find this Envy as quickly as possible.”

“Yes. But it’s difficult to search when we don’t know his appearance. He must be a skeleton that emits green flames, but we haven’t seen any such skeleton…”

“Many of our believers are working hard, so we’ll find him. For now, trackers are following the traces left there, so let’s wait.”

“Yes, I believe in them. By the way… where is the Doom Knight now? I heard he’s been searching continuously since Sir Bell returned injured six months ago, but there have been no reports for the past three months.”

“The Doom Knight is…”

* * * * *

In the Land of Death, a place where literally nothing could survive, a single knight appeared.

Clank— Clank—

The sound of armor against armor echoed across the land as the pitch-black knight moved forward.

This Land of Death was where a Death Knight and his followers, who had destroyed a kingdom in the past, had been vanquished. But the miasma from the Death Knight and his undead followers had caused the land itself to die.

The sacrifice of a Saintess at that time had prevented the Land of Death from spreading further… but it had already contaminated one-third of the fallen kingdom.

Even now, hundreds of years later, the Light Order was working to prevent the contamination from spreading, and over the centuries, Saintesses and Popes had come to gradually purify the Land of Death, reducing its size somewhat.

However… the miasma emanating from where the Death Knight had died was still contaminating this land.

In a land where such miasma flowed, it wouldn’t be strange for creatures like skeletons, zombies, or ghouls to naturally appear, yet not even the skeletons commonly found in graveyards were visible here.

The Doom Knight who appeared in this Land of Death continued forward. Toward the source of the miasma, he pressed on.

How far had he traveled? Though his body was already nothing but bones, the miasma grew thicker as he approached its source, making even the Doom Knight feel somewhat strained.

Indirectly experiencing how powerful the Death Knight who had destroyed a kingdom in the past must have been, the Doom Knight endured the miasma and continued forward.

There, he found a fallen skeleton. This skeleton seemed to be the source of the miasma, emitting it profusely, and the ground around it was so black it looked like a hole had been punched through space itself.

Upon discovering the skeleton, the Doom Knight moved forward. As if that skeleton was his objective, he advanced, enduring the miasma it emitted.

Finally, he reached the skeleton. That such residual remains could continuously emit this level of miasma for hundreds of years was astounding. It was impossible to imagine what kind of being it had been in the past.

The Doom Knight knelt before the miasma-spewing skeleton and placed his hand on it.

“Keu…eup.”

The miasma remaining in the skeleton poured into the Doom Knight.

The residual miasma began to slowly dissolve the Doom Knight’s armor. The spear on his back hummed, resonating as it absorbed the miasma.

As the armor surrounding the Doom Knight disappeared, his body was revealed to be made of black bones, with only the red light from his eyes and his red core emitting any light.

With his armor gone, only the red light of his core and eyes shone in the current of black miasma.

The red light of the Doom Knight’s eyes and core went out, as if he could no longer endure.

At that moment, his core emitted a purple light and expelled miasma, forming the shape of armor.

Then, purple light kindled in the eye sockets of the skeleton, and the Doom Knight roared.

Aaaaaaah!!!!!!

The Doom Knight’s roar shook the Land of Death, and in response to his cry, various skeletons revealed themselves.

The cores in their chests and the light in their eyes were the same purple as the Doom Knight’s.