episode_0015

As a ferocious sword wind swept in, the Black Knight thought so.

Even if he had just woken up and was only exerting less than 10% of his original strength, this strike was absolutely not something an ordinary person could withstand.

However.

Screech- grind-

He blocked it.

With a golden sword.

He held ‘His’ sword, which had no blade, and blocked his attack.

“You… what kind of bastard… are you?”

From below, he spoke with difficulty.

‘It’s a language I’ve never heard before.’

But occasionally, he heard a familiar word.

A language he could somewhat understand, yet it sounded like a difficult and unpleasant dialect.

Hearing a language he’d never encountered before, the Knight instinctively realized.

A very long time had passed while he was sealed.

“Ποια χρονιά είναι τώρα, επιτέλους? (What year is it now, finally?)”

Agape frowned at the gloomy voice heard through the helmet.

“What did you say?”

‘He doesn’t understand my words.’

Of course not.

Unlike himself, who had traveled across the continent and encountered countless languages, gaining a high understanding of them, that man seemed to lack even basic education.

The ability to understand another person’s words without knowing their language would probably be impossible unless one inherited ‘His’ power…

“It’s Shahlnu Era 892.”

However, a reply came.

Surprisingly, the man answered the Knight’s question, spoken in an ancient language, in the same ancient language.

The Knight, who had been bowing his head in disappointment, lifted it.

And, fearing he might have misheard, he asked again.

“…τι είπες μόλις τώρα? (…What did you just say?)”

A tremor was felt in his voice.

“What did I say? I said it’s Shahlnu Era 892.”

At the returned answer, the Knight’s body froze on the spot.

‘No way.’

It couldn’t be.

“Πώς μπορείς να καταλάβεις τα λόγοι μου? (How can you understand my words?)”

At the question filled with shock, the man’s expression also stiffened. He himself seemed unable to understand the current situation.

“…I don’t know either. It’s clearly a language I’ve never heard before, but the meaning is being conveyed in my mind on its own.”

At Agape’s words, who replied that he felt it strange that his own words were also naturally translated and pronounced in the ancient language, the Knight stared blankly at Agape.

It was certain.

The black-haired man before him had inherited ‘Darkness’.

He had inherited the power of ‘Him’, who had rebelled against the peak of the Golden Age and tried to overturn destiny itself.

Even as he felt certainty in that fact, he simultaneously didn’t want to believe it.

‘Inheriting Darkness’ meant, conversely, that ‘He’ had passed away.

‘He, who always led the charge, cutting down powerful enemies, who had reached divine martial prowess…’

Had passed away.

The Black Knight felt his world crumbling.

Simultaneously overwhelmed by immense sorrow and and fury, he looked at the golden sword clutched in Agape’s hand.

The sword of the Great Knight.

He could not allow ‘His’ sword, which represented an entire era, the Golden Age, to be held in the hands of such a novice.

Even if he couldn’t protect his own lord, he had to ensure ‘His’ legacy wasn’t tarnished.

Engulfed in that sense of duty, the Black Knight raised his sword again and aimed it at Agape.

“You are not worthy to wield that power and sword.”

The Black Knight spoke with killing intent in the ancient language.

“What?”

Agape was momentarily flustered by the sudden murderous words and tried to ask again.

Boom-!

The Black Knight, who had charged with terrifying speed, swung his sword at Agape.

Clang clang clang-

“Ugh…”

He wasn’t particularly skilled with a sword, but clashing blades made him realize one thing.

The Black Knight before him was not in peak condition.

He was probably exerting less than a quarter of his original power.

Yet, despite that, his power and speed were embarrassingly superior in every way, incomparable to his own.

‘Dangerous…!’

Thud-!

The difference in skill was too stark.

Pushed back by overwhelming force, Agape, who was slammed into the cavern wall by a single kick, thought so.

Unless he fled immediately, or was blessed with divine luck and won.

He would undoubtedly be killed by that Black Knight.

“You, I will surely kill with my own hands…”

Simultaneously with the Black Knight’s murderous words, a black aura rose from his body.

‘Cursed power?’

No.

It was a power he had never seen before, but as soon as he saw it rising like a small aurora, he instinctively realized.

That was aura.

A black aura, emitting a black light, which he had never seen or heard of in his life.

The Black Knight, a member of the Bauglir Knights who had led the Golden Age to its downfall in the past, used an aura containing power stronger than any other and charged at Agape again.

“!!!!!!”

Crash—!!!!

He instinctively rolled his body to avoid it, narrowly dodging his charge.

Crumble-

Despite being clearly made of black rock harder than steel, the solid wall cracked from the Black Knight’s charge, and dust rose.

‘Crazy.’

Seeing that, curses automatically escaped his lips.

He simply couldn’t think of any way to win against that.

Whoosh-!

Boom-!

He once again dodged the man’s sword, which was so massive it was closer to a greatsword.

The sharply honed blade felt like it would instantly slice him in half if it even brushed him, but its destructive power was also immense.

Whoosh-!

Clang-!

He blocked the unavoidable strike with the golden sword.

Although he couldn’t find a blade no matter how hard he looked, as if it had been sold off somewhere, its durability alone seemed superior to the gladius at his waist, befitting an extraordinary sword.

‘That’s right!’

Gladius!

He hastily drew his gladius.

And, after blocking the Black Knight’s swinging strike with the golden sword-

Clang-!

To pierce the man’s seemingly hard armor, he gripped the gladius with all his might and thrust it into a gap in his armor.

But-

Clank-

“Damn it…!”

“Good try.”

Boom-!

He was sent flying by a single kick from the Knight.

“Kuh-ack…!”

Experiencing the extreme pain of his internal organs being entirely crushed, he spat blood onto the cavern floor.

“Puh-ack… Haa, haa, haa…”

“As one who inherits ‘His’ legacy, your talent with a sword is indeed exceptional. However-”

Clang-

“Your level is too low for your age.”

He aimed the sword, gripped in both hands, at him and charged again.

Clang-

He hastily tried to block with the gladius.

But due to his weakened arm strength, even though he managed to deflect the strike slightly, he couldn’t block it completely.

Slice-

“Kuaaak…!”

Part of his left shoulder was sliced.

Along with the cleanly cut cross-section, the chunk of flesh that was his shoulder muscle fell onto the stone floor, splattering blood.

The Knight didn’t miss that moment.

Thud-

He took a step forward.

Whoosh-

He raised his sword again and swung it fiercely at him.

In that fleeting moment, his life flashed before his eyes.

‘Am I going to die like this?’

He had just thought he found a glimmer of hope, but was he going to die so futilely?

‘What about Kara then?’

Suddenly, the futures he had heard from Roland came to mind.

‘If things continue like this, she’ll be dragged to the battlefield by force.’

At that moment, fear began to surge within him.

The image of Kara suffering, forcibly dragged to the battlefield, and.

Becoming a hero by somehow surviving…

The image of Kara ruthlessly abandoning him in the end.

The contents of Kara’s last letter to him came to mind, and he unknowingly ground his teeth.

Grind- grind-

‘I can’t die.’

He couldn’t die now, not even if it killed him.

At least until Kara survived the battlefield, no. At least until he knew if what Kara said was truly sincere.

He would never collapse, nor would he die.

He would absolutely survive, no matter what.

Whoosh—

A black aura began to rise from Agape’s body.

A power, slightly different from cursed power, much stronger and more refined, like a fundamental essence.

‘That’s…!’

Seeing that, the Black Knight’s pupils contracted.

Clang-!

He instantaneously blocked the swung sword.

Clang clang clang clang clang-

But even though he had taken a proper stance to block, he was pushed back for a long time by an absurd amount of brute strength.

The Black Knight looked at the young man again, surprised by the immense strength and speed, as if he had become a different person.

‘He’s half lost his reason.’

His sclera had turned black, and a ‘black aura’ was rising from his body.

That young man had now awakened ‘His’ ‘Darkness’.

The ‘source of calamity’ that had led the Golden Age to its downfall, that had caused more turmoil than an army of death.

Whoosh—

The unique aura of ‘aura’ grew increasingly ferocious with the density of its immense power.

And at the same time, it began to transform, becoming like the ‘black flame’ that had previously radiated its presence in the center of the cavern.

Just as the previous black flame residing in the cavern had done, the cavern’s ‘light’ was once again absorbed, centered around Agape.

The interior of the cavern gradually began to be enveloped in darkness.

‘I have no choice but to admit it.’

His aptitude for wielding power, and his talent as a swordsman.

Both were so great that they made him think of ‘Him’.

‘No.’

He was even beyond ‘Him’.

Even if his aptitude or talent wasn’t superior, the ‘resolve’ and ‘venom’ that had made the young man like this were…

So tenacious and persistent that it surpassed even ‘Him’, the Great Knight.

That young man possessed qualities beyond ‘Him’.

Clank-

Clang-

A talent had appeared who would inherit ‘His’ legacy.

So, how could he not rejoice?

Initially, killing intent surged with anger, but now the Knight’s eyes were filled with joy.

With the joy that the Knights could serve a new lord.

And with the fact that he had been given the glorious role of being the first to awaken the qualities of the one who would become their lord.

‘The black flame, he can only manifest it in the realm of the unconscious yet.’

No, looking now, he doesn’t seem to know how to use black aura either.

Then he would have to awaken it.

So that he could unleash black aura and black flame, which were more fundamental than cursed power, in the conscious realm.

‘Although manifesting the flame with his own will would be in the distant future.’

With his help, at least the black aura would be able to be manifested freely.

The Black Knight, gripping his sword tightly, slowly walked towards Agape, who was emitting black flame.

Clang-

The Black Knight raised his sword high.

And into it, he poured all the remaining aura within him.

As it was compressed repeatedly, the subtly rising black aura began to transform, very faintly, into a form resembling Agape’s flame, though not quite on par with it.

Whoosh-

Although, unlike Agape’s flame, the power he created was merely similar in appearance, a fake flame no different from a counterfeit….

It didn’t matter.

His original intention was to engrave the ‘image’ for manifesting the flame into the young man’s mind.

The Black Knight, having poured all his strength into his sword, raised it high, brimming with his intent, and charged straight forward.

Whoosh-

“Ά̪͍͕̩͉̰̪̝̟̣̲̿͗̽̔̚σ͕̥̬͚͙̣̞̟͖̜͇̘̓͛̂̚τ̤̱͎̖̥͈̙̍̒̈́̑̿͛̋ρ̝̜͙͈͎̞̀̅́̽̉̀̾̀̔̈́̐̚ο̣̣̤̠̩̭̞̩̩̟̟͗̃̎̈́̅̔͛̓̀́̅σ͙͔̰͇̗͍̮̘̝͓̏̑̂̃̅̍̾̄̔͐̚φ͕̞̗̫̙̟̅̅̽̂̌̅̔ά͈̞͕̜̫̣͍̳̀̎͐̃̉̀̈́̑̍γ͕̝̜͓͉̞̄̀͋͒̒̄̈̏̔̚̚ͅή͕̮̪̭̠͓̗͓͉̙̯͈̒̄̿̇̓͌͗̅́̉̃.”

[Star Cleave]

An ancient technique forgotten in the current era.

The Black Knight’s refined aura blended with the technique, unleashing absurd destructive power.

It was the Black Knight’s first and final strike, swung with all his might.

Agape, who had lost his reason to the immense power, stared at the technique.

His eyes, though devoid of reason, with sclera turned black, stared without blinking, as if to clearly engrave it in his mind.

Until the black slash flew towards him.

Clang-

Agape re-gripped his sword.

Not the gladius, but the golden sword, gripped tightly.

Whoosh—

On the sword that had no blade, a black luminous blade was formed with the manifestation of the black flame.

A ferocious blade appeared on the golden sword, a blade that seemed capable of destroying anything in the world without resistance.

Agape, after momentarily gazing at that blade, charged back towards the rushing Black Knight.

Whoosh━

The two powers collided.

━━━━━━!!

Simultaneously, it unleashed a massive shockwave.

………………!!

Dust rose throughout the entire cavern, and a chilling sound of a blade entering flesh was heard.

Thud━

The dust settled.

Clink-

A silver sword blade, broken in half, fell to the ground.

And with the clanking sound of armor, blood began to drip from the black luminous armor.

Drip- drip- drip-

Looking down at the blood-soaked floor, enough to form a puddle, the Black Knight smiled through his helmet.

“This much━”

Thud-

“This much… is enough, now…”

“…….”

Black aura.

Black eyes, which had clearly imprinted the method for manifesting the black flame, transcending black aura, stared down at the Black Knight.

A sword wound extending from his shoulder deep into his chest.

The massive fatal wound made by the golden sword was an injury that could never be healed without an elixir.

Agape, who had lost his reason, knew this and therefore did not bother to attack the Black Knight.

Grab-

The kneeling Black Knight grabbed Agape’s sleeve.

And by channeling black aura into his body, he reawakened his lost consciousness.

“……?”

His black-stained sclera returned to normal.

Confirming that he had returned to his senses, the Black Knight spoke to Agape.

“Never lose Morgoth’s sword…”

“…What?”

Upon regaining his senses, he suddenly found the Black Knight on the verge of death.

Before he could even properly grasp what had just happened, the Black Knight continued to speak in a clear tone, as if to ensure he didn’t miss a word.

“When the time comes, destiny will guide you to the sealed residence of the ‘Knights’–”

Drip- drip-

Use the strong Star Power comparable to that of a hero.

Or use the prophets’ divinity where they sleep.

Then the sealed knights will awaken from their slumber.

“And if you raise that sword, and manifest the black flame, the purest darkness… they… will… take… you… as their lord…”

Thud-

“My young… lord…”

“…….”

The Black Knight drew his last breath right there.

“What on earth just happened…”

He couldn’t grasp the situation at all.

Clearly, after part of his shoulder was sliced off, the Black Knight had swung his sword at him, intending to deliver a final blow.

‘Then, like the Black Knight, he had manifested something like a black aura.’

The black aura grew increasingly powerful, then began to rise menacingly like the black flame he had seen just before it was absorbed into his body.

‘What exactly is that black flame?’

He knew it was the source of cursed power.

And also the source of black aura, which was presumed to be an even higher power.

“Morgoth’s sword…”

Come to think of it, the Black Knight had referred to this golden sword as Morgoth’s sword.

Since this sword appeared where the black flame had been, was there a connection between this Morgoth person, the sword’s owner, and the black flame?

He wasn’t sure, but circumstantially, it seemed so.

Then, dizziness suddenly came over him.

“Ugh…”

Now he saw that the bleeding from his left shoulder was severe.

After using that power, whether black aura or flame or whatever it was, he had also used up all his stamina.

Overwhelmed by the sudden, intense dizziness and fatigue, he lost consciousness once again.

Thud-