episode_0038

Luna Secundus.

Somewhere in the wasteland, a hidden sanctuary of the old prophets, once dominated by the Army of Death.

On the eve of the coup, the old prophet and Agapé were speaking alone.

“What do you think of Mulfen?”

It was the old man’s question.

It seemed like a thoughtless, casual remark, but having been by his side for ten years, he knew better.

He knew it was a statement made after complicated causal relationships and plans had been calculated and coordinated, and something had been analyzed with the prophet’s extraordinary brain.

‘The prophets’ brains are brilliant.’

As they had to read as many possible futures as they could, the prophets’ brains were no different from colossal computing devices.

Giving up on understanding his true intentions, I, as the overall commander of the coup, stated my opinion.

“The fall of Mulfen will be impossible.”

“Mulfen’s forces are also included in the expeditionary army. That will create a power vacuum.”

He was saying that its fall wouldn’t be impossible.

Listening to the old man, Cerebus, I corrected myself.

“The fall of Mulfen will be impossible until the expeditionary army returns.”

“……”

Only then did the old man fall silent.

He gazed down at the wasteland, which could be seen from below the ancient fortress, reminiscent of a temple.

As he looked at the dead land with his uniquely empty purple eyes, he opened his mouth again.

“I’d like to hear your thoughts.”

“The sword of House Oleg is perfect.”

“There is no such thing as perfection.”

I did not deny that statement.

However, among the countless swords I had seen, none were as perfect as the sword of House Oleg.

“A sword…”

The old man muttered.

Although he used the word ‘sword,’ the meaning contained within it was not a mere ‘sword.’

It was the knight’s spirit, conviction, pride, and the strength and martial arts created by them.

Agapé must have been referring to all these elements combined.

Thinking that far, the old man wanted to hear Agapé’s thoughts.

“I’d like to hear your thoughts.”

“Impurity’s spear is the strongest.”

But they are fundamentally arrogant, power-crazed people.

After a long struggle, Impurity overcame the curse of arrogance, but ultimately failed to overcome the curse of lust for power, becoming consumed by it, their conviction not solid.

Considering that aura is created from the inner world, this was undoubtedly a huge flaw.

“And?”

“Valium’s shield possesses the greatest innate power to protect on the continent.”

They are full of loyalty, and true to their symbol as ‘shields,’ they act with the sole purpose of loyalty to the Emperor.

Because they are so solely loyal to the Emperor, their conviction is simple but firm.

But they are arrogant.

It has been a thousand years since they bore the honor of being the Emperor’s guardians, ruling the continent’s strongest empire.

And as the creators of the continent’s strongest Imperial Knights and Imperial Guard, they are fundamentally arrogant to the heavens.

“The sword of House Oleg had no such flaws.”

For their family, for their city, for their citizens.

They had taught knights solely for these reasons, and the knights had grown by inheriting Duke Oleg’s spirit and swordsmanship.

Because the Duke knew the fatal flaws of Impurity and Valium, he meticulously educated the swords and knights he created to prevent such flaws from appearing.

And because he had personally witnessed how much effort the Duke put into creating the most perfect sword, a sword made by him and countless loyal knights under him.

He held Oleg’s sword in such high regard.

“Therefore, even if the walls of Mulfen are breached, the knights who received the Duke’s teachings will resist to the very end.”

“……”

“They will fight to the last moment, waiting for the day the expeditionary army arrives, buying time.”

“With Gram’s capacity, where our forces will be dispersed once the coup begins, it will be impossible to break their fighting spirit.”

“That’s right.”

“……”

The old man, looking at the sun-drenched wasteland, put his hands behind his back and gazed at the empty sky.

I, cursed to see no moon, sun, or anything but clouds in the sky, couldn’t tell what Cerebus was looking at.

“The moon is truly beautiful.”

At that remark, I realized what he was looking at.

Why he was suddenly saying this, I thought it was quite out of the blue for a moment.

The purple eyes, fixed on the sky, turned to face behind him.

The old man, making eye contact with the prosthetic eye beyond my helmet, spoke.

“I’m not a knight, so I don’t know much about such things.”

Impurity’s spear, Valium’s shield.

Dustyhes’ sword, now extinct, and Oleg’s sword.

Spear, shield, sword. I know they carry many meanings, but to my ears, it just sounds like a list of weapons representing families.

“But conviction.”

If, as you and many knights have said, the power of knights originates from it, and power is no different from its foundation.

“I wish to refute your assertion.”

The bright sunlight shone into the ancient fortress.

Hearing the words of the old man with his pristine white robes and white beard, I once again realized he was a prophet and asked him.

“Is that, too, a future you read with your precognition?”

“Are you saying fate ruined Oleg’s sword?”

I stared at him without a word, but Cerebus murmured softly as if that was answer enough.

“So that’s it…”

Flutter.

His robes, so long they almost brushed the ground, fluttered.

“By becoming a fallen prophet, I learned the hidden secrets of this continent, and I massacred countless prophets, stealing a treasure hidden in their sanctuaries.”

The old man said, turning around.

“And using that treasure, I recently distorted the precognition of all prophets, except the Moon Prophet, showing them only plausible fake futures. The prophets will probably only realize their precognition was wrong after the coup begins.”

These were things Cerebus had already told me when I first heard about the coup plans.

“And when I say all prophets, that includes me as well.”

“…Is that truly so?”

“Yes.”

Thump. Thump.

“But I am relatively free. Even though my precognition is useless for now, I have observed the future where our Gram can succeed in the coup using the power of the treasure.”

“……”

“And based on the observed future, I conceived a great undertaking to succeed in the coup.”

Perhaps until this empire falls into our hands, the prophets will not be able to use their precognition.

With those words, Cerebus brought the topic back to the main point.

“When I said I refuted your assertion, you asked me if I said this because I saw the future with precognition.”

That’s right.

But if you ask if fate ruined Oleg’s sword…

“Well.”

The future I saw is just one future where Gram succeeds in the coup.

While distorting the prophets’ precognition, I didn’t have the leisure to see other futures with the power of the treasure, so I can’t answer that.

“Nevertheless, if you wish to believe that fate ruined their sword, then believe it.”

“……”

“But does fate necessarily need to ruin their sword?”

Well.

As someone who is not a prophet, you don’t precisely know what fate and precognition are, so you might think it’s entirely possible.

“Fate does not interfere in such ‘trivial’ matters.”

“Then why do you think Oleg’s sword has weakened?”

At that, Cerebus offered a faint smile.

“Listening to your words about Oleg’s sword, it seems perfectly flawless, as if the adjective ‘perfect’ could indeed be attached to it, just as you said.”

Yes, if your words are true, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it perfect.

“But will Oleg’s sword, which seemed so perfect when you were in the knight order more than ten years ago, still maintain its perfection?”

“……”

“There is no such thing as perfection.”

“If you had said that a few years ago, I would have readily admitted it and given up on Mulfen.”

“But not anymore.”

“You might think others are looking at House Oleg with the wrong perspective, but you are no different.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Just as others think of the Oleg of the past, a family of scholars, are you not recalling the Oleg of more than ten years ago?”

“……”

I couldn’t deny that.

After being exiled to the penal legion, I had never seen a knight from House Oleg again.

Furthermore, the sword of House Oleg I was recalling was only what I had seen in those days.

“I’ll say it again.”

There is no such thing as perfection.

Moreover, unlike Impurity or Valium, which have been built up over a thousand years, if Oleg created a perfect sword in just one generation, it’s even more so.

“Remember this.”

No matter how splendid a building is constructed, none is more prone to collapse than one completed in a short time.

Furthermore, if it’s a perfect building without flaws, a huge hidden flaw that we cannot see often appears.

Such things usually collapse with even a small breeze.

Go to Mulfen.

And with your sword, clash against theirs and gauge them.

“Then you will understand what my words mean.”

***

Cerebus never spoke idly, but that didn’t mean his words were trustworthy.

Honestly, the old man’s words were not entirely reliable.

‘It was Cerebus’s worst habit to always mix in lies or hide the truth unless an ‘oath’ was made.’

So, although he spoke as if fate hadn’t interfered.

Given his habit of constantly lying, there must have been some degree of fate’s interference.

Yes, if Duke Oleg and his family’s sword had weakened.

Perhaps it was weakened because of that.

“……”

Beyond the dust cloud raised by the earlier strike, I looked at Mulfen’s city wall.

A mighty roar echoed.

The city wall had collapsed.

Even Mulfen’s wall, said to be harder than steel.

The Duke’s figure, who tried to block the final blow, had vanished, and the soldiers in front of him had also disappeared without a trace.

Thump.

Just then, El Cid, who had been watching from afar, approached.

“Are you perhaps overexerting yourself?”

“I’m fine.”

“Still…”

Hissing.

Her gaze turned to the armor, from which steam was rising.

Even as the armor was preventing the unstable body from collapsing, using such immense power was causing it to emit heat and prevent the body’s breakdown.

It was the price for using black flames during the penal legion days, flames that covered his entire body in char.

‘Still, it’s a nuisance.’

At least in the past, using aura didn’t strain his body.

Now, merely using a little too much aura, not even flames, caused his armor to overheat and prevent his body’s collapse.

‘I need to find a solution soon.’

Cerebus said he would find a way, so this problem would surely be resolved someday.

While thinking that, El Cid’s worried expression, looking at me from beside me, finally caught my eye.

“You didn’t necessarily have to use your strength; the wall could have been breached anyway.”

The long, horizontal scar on her face twisted.

‘It could have been breached, yes.’

But with no idea when the expeditionary army would arrive, I couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

Cerebus had outlined all the grand undertakings, but he hadn’t fully disclosed their contents to us.

Even though he said he saw a future where the coup succeeded, we couldn’t just rely on those words and delay.

When I told El Cid that, she was speechless.

“That…”

A rare look of bewilderment crossed her face.

As if debating what to say, she hesitated for a moment, her lips parting, before speaking again.

“Still, next time, please command me. Even if a Sword Master was defending the wall, I am not so weak that I couldn’t breach a wall defended by an old Sword Master.”

‘Is she worried?’

Perhaps. They were intensely loyal to their former master, so they would naturally worry if something happened to my well-being, having inherited his power.

For subordinates of one who harbored the former calamity known as ‘Darkness,’ these Black Knights were more loyal than any knights I had ever seen in my life.

‘El Cid also suffered great loss when Morgoth died.’

As the vice-commander of the knight order, she rarely showed weakness, so I had momentarily forgotten, but I realized again that she was not so different from the other knights.

“I will keep that in mind.”

When I spoke in a short but considerate tone, her expression finally softened.

“Thank you for understanding, Your Excellency.”

“Indeed.”

Thump. Thump.

Stepping past her, I looked once again at the collapsed wall.

‘I used more strength than I intended, but now the wall is defenseless.’

Before they could regroup, I quickly ordered them to cross the wall and secure the city.

“Tell Lerei to move the troops.”

With that command, the undead soldiers began to advance.

***

‘Your Excellency.’

‘Why couldn’t you protect him?’

‘Your Excellency.’

‘This battle is dangerous.’

‘Your Excellency’s help is needed.’

This is just a meaningless death.

Even if the entire knight order is mobilized, we won’t win this battle.

‘It’ll be fine.’

Because everything is prepared.

Because I, too, decided to participate in the battle.

‘So, it’ll be fine.’

‘…….’

Your Excellency.

Everyone has fallen.

“……!”

The voices from the past striking my mind made my eyes involuntarily snap open.

“Ugh…”

A violent headache seized me.

When I put my hand to my head, my palm was drenched in blood.

‘Did I injure my head?’

I used aura to gauge the extent of the injury.

‘Fortunately, it’s not too serious.’

It would be a fatal wound for an ordinary person, but even though old, this body had reached the master realm.

This much would somehow heal with natural regenerative power.

‘By the way, how far did I fly?’

Familiar scenery unfolded around me.

Houses and shopping streets on Mulfen’s main thoroughfare, and even the fountain in the wide plaza.

Looking at the debris around me, it seemed I had flown all the way to the residential area.

‘I flew quite a distance.’

It was a blessing that I had a Sword Master’s body; if my level had been even slightly lower, I surely wouldn’t have survived.

Thinking that far, the scene I had seen just before losing consciousness suddenly came to mind.

‘Where is Yuri?’

Yuri.

Just before the knight in golden armor unleashed his strike.

I clearly remember being pushed aside, then vanishing into the powerful wind pressure before losing consciousness.

The Grand Duke, having thought that far, felt a sudden chill and began to look around.

“Yuri! Can you hear my voice?”

He urgently dug through the debris around him.

“Answer me, Yuri!”

When Yuri’s figure didn’t appear after digging through the debris, the Duke used aura to extend his perception.

“Yuri! Where are you?!”

Just as he was calling Yuri once again.

Thump. Thump.

Not too far away, Yuri’s aura was detected.

The Duke urgently ran towards it.

“Yuri!”

Creak.

Crash!

He lifted the debris where Yuri’s aura was felt.

‘Please, please…!’

Memories of the past, seen in a dream, flashed by.

Knights looking at me with worried expressions.

Knights calling out to me.

And the faces of knights who could no longer be seen.

As all their faces flashed by, the Duke, filled with desperation, lifted the last remaining debris.

Thump!