Ch.577Unexpected Reunion

Several minutes of experimentation later, the Grave Eater collapsed in its final breath, its body reduced to a slime-like, gelatinous mass.

[So, did you figure anything out?]

‘No, not at all.’

I shook my head as I put a cigarette between my lips. I’d hoped that poking and prodding would yield answers, but I was completely wrong.

Despite spending a good ten minutes, all I discovered was not the cause of the regeneration being blocked, but merely the method to block it.

‘It’s clear that my attacks are the only ones effective… but I can’t figure out why.’

The type of force made no difference. Whether I struck with my bare hands, slashed with Durandal, used heroic deeds, or employed Karma of Murder—the result was the same.

Even weapons I threw directly with my own hands could block regeneration, regardless of what they were—javelins, arrows, or rocks.

In original game terms, it was as if all my attack skills had a purification effect added to them.

Conversely, secondary damage caused by the aftermath of my attacks had no effect. I tried attacking the ground around the monster to make rock fragments hit it instead of striking its body directly… but it regenerated from those wounds just fine.

Since I couldn’t determine the cause even at the end, I decided to just accept that I had some kind of constantly active blessing that only had a purification effect and nothing else.

I could ask Lacy about it later. She would know more about this sort of thing than I would.

—-

After my monster combat manual was implemented in the field, the knights’ casualty rate reportedly decreased by nearly thirty percent. I suppose all those evenings spent recalling memories and scribbling with a quill had paid off. At least one thing had been properly verified.

Achieving zero casualties would have been the ideal outcome… but that was unrealistic. If battles could be won without any deaths, monster outbreaks wouldn’t be considered threats in the first place.

Anyway, Leopold rewarded me generously for my contribution in drastically reducing the Imperial Knights’ casualties.

“True silver?”

Leopold’s reward was enough true silver to forge three longswords and still have some left over. Apparently, they had just recently restored the true silver production facilities that had been buried during the palace collapse.

“That’s right. You already have that sword, so you don’t need it, but it would be helpful for your knights.”

“Indeed it would.”

It wouldn’t mean much to Millia and Nigel who used holy artifacts as weapons, or to Leonore who already possessed a true silver longsword… but among my companions, there was exactly one person who would definitely benefit—the one who kept breaking his weapons day after day.

It would be a temporary measure until he got his hands on a holy sword.

When Leopold asked what type of weapon would be best, I described a greatsword for Demian.

A greatsword longer than a person’s height, as wide as a torso, and as thick as an arm. Not a weapon designed to fight humans, but one meant to fell dragons or giants.

“Hmm… a blade that size would be difficult to forge from pure true silver alone. It would need to be mixed with black iron. Would that be acceptable?”

“That’s fine. If it’s made according to my specifications, it won’t be thin enough to break even with some black iron mixed in.”

A slightly lower purity wouldn’t be an issue. An arm-thick piece of metal combining true silver and black iron could block even a dwarf’s cannonball. Any creature capable of breaking that could easily snap a pure true silver sword as well.

And so, the amount of true silver sufficient for three longswords was poured entirely into a single greatsword.

Demian should thank me a thousand times and it still wouldn’t be enough.

I helped him develop his skills to reach master level, matched him with his childhood friend who was destined to either fall into corruption or die, gave them a room in a luxury mansion for their honeymoon, and now gifted him armor made from the Were Eater’s hide plus a weapon containing three longswords’ worth of true silver.

Nowhere else in the world would anyone provide this level of support to a mere master.

—-

Leopold’s purpose in summoning me to the imperial palace wasn’t simply to bestow the true silver sword. If that were the case, there would have been no need to meet in person—a letter would have sufficed.

After discussing the reward and various matters regarding the empire’s current situation, Leopold placed a document before me and explained why he had summoned me to the palace.

“The Carmine Dungeon. I believe you’re familiar with the name. Isn’t that right?”

A curious coincidence, I should say. Leopold’s main point concerned the very dungeon I had been thinking about days earlier. I was genuinely surprised to hear that name from his lips, but I nodded nonetheless.

“Of course. It’s a dungeon I explored. I thought it had been completely buried in a landslide. Has some problem arisen?”

“Indeed. And quite a serious one at that…”

Leopold sighed faintly and pointed to the document on the table.

“Read this first. It’s a report from the knights controlling the area around the dungeon.”

…So something did happen after all.

I lowered my gaze and skimmed through the report.

As expected of a report submitted to the imperial family, the handwriting was impeccably neat, but slightly irregular script and a few ink blots betrayed the urgency of the person who had written it.

—-

– Continuous aftershocks throughout the Carmine Forest following the Great Shift. Security forces strengthened due to concerns about monster appearances.

– Three days after the initial aftershock. Tremors intensified. Cracks appeared in the ground around the rocky mountain. Judged to be the work of monsters. Preparing for monster combat.

– Twenty minutes elapsed. Collapse at crack site. Circular ground subsidence approximately ten meters in diameter occurred.

– Seconds later, monster presumed to be the cause of the collapse appeared. Undead type similar to a Deathknight. Armed with a longsword.

It seemed the Deathknight I had buried had finally managed to break through all the rocks and escape. I thought it would be immobilized under the rocks, unable to move.

After staying quiet all this time and only emerging now, it appeared that the Great Shift had caused the ground to rise and fall, creating enough space for it to move its arm and swing its sword.

– Attempted extermination according to anti-undead guidelines, but insufficient. It was an individual incomparably stronger than ordinary Deathknights. Master-level knight, Sir Podrick, fought but perished after three exchanges.

– 70% of the extermination team annihilated. The monster’s sword is presumed to contain the power to pulverize objects it touches. Target’s threat level classified as special class. Decision made to retreat.

– No pursuit as expected. Target is advancing slowly toward the imperial capital, showing no interest in us.

That was the extent of the report.

—-

“Hmm…”

I furrowed my brow and let out a quiet groan. If I hadn’t been in Leopold’s presence, I would have immediately lit a cigarette.

“Have you finished reading? If so, let me ask you—is the undead monster mentioned in the report the same Deathknight you faced?”

Leopold asked with a questioning tone.

I couldn’t answer immediately. Based on the report about the sword’s power, it seemed to be the same one, but…

“I’ve also read the dispatch report submitted by Lady Faelrun, but I find it hard to believe that the Deathknight you fought then is the same creature that slaughtered Sir Podrick.”

…It was too strong to confidently identify as the same monster.

The Deathknight I faced was a formidable opponent that I found difficult to defeat, but it wasn’t at a level that could slaughter a master in just three exchanges.

Leopold seemed to share my doubts. His expression suggested he was wondering how Frider and I could have possibly survived if the creature was that powerful.

What did we write in our report back then? I think we wrote that we fled when the dungeon started collapsing during our battle with it. It was so long ago that my memory was hazy.

“I can’t be certain based on the report alone, but the attack method seems identical. Back then too, it swung its sword and shattered parts of the dungeon.”

In truth, I was the one who destroyed the dungeon, not it, but its sword was certainly capable of such destruction. More precisely, it seemed to be the effect of the seal engraved on the sword.

“The Deathknight I encountered was strong, but not strong enough to instantly kill a master-level knight. Either the sword has passed to a different monster… or it has grown stronger since then.”

“I see… Well, you should understand by now why I’ve summoned you.”

Of course I understood. Sending more master-level knights would only increase the casualties, so he wanted me to go there, destroy it, and come back.

“It hasn’t shown the typical ferocity of undead monsters, and apparently only walks without attacking unless provoked first… but we can’t just let it approach the capital. Isn’t that right?”

“Indeed. It may be docile now, but we can’t know if it will remain peacefully strolling around. I’ll go and kill it.”

I nodded to Leopold and stood up. I could roughly guess why it was approaching the capital. It was probably looking for me.

After all, an unexpected visitor had collapsed its home and stolen a valuable treasure—even a human, let alone a monster, would be furious enough to give chase.