Chapter 30
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Chapter 30
It was ambiguous. Like the matter of the birthday banquet. It seemed as though he possessed memories, yet even if I assumed he had none, there was a reasonable explanation for his every strange action.
Or perhaps I was unconsciously giving more weight to the possibility that he had no memories because I desperately wanted him to have forgotten. Perhaps I was searching, without even realizing it, for evidence of his amnesia.
I truly didn't know. The confusion was suffocating. I closed and opened my eyes slowly.
"...Thank you for holding me in such high regard."
"Still, exercise caution. Demonic beasts are not like humans."
"Yes, I will be careful."
I bowed my head slightly as I answered. He stared at me intently before stepping back.
"Then, return and rest comfortably."
"But, Commander."
He stopped mid-retreat and glanced back, inviting me to speak. I hesitated, biting my lip slightly before finally asking my question.
"Why didn't you light the lamp when you returned to the barracks?"
"..."
"Did I perhaps disturb you while you were sleeping?"
"...I wasn't attempting to sleep, so you need not concern yourself."
He answered with an odd expression and turned away completely. It was a clear dismissal. I hesitated before bowing to his retreating back and left the barracks.
The moment I returned to my own quarters, I collapsed onto the simple cot. The lamplight flickered, casting strange shadows across the ceiling. Those wavering shapes were so ambiguous it was impossible to discern what created them.
What shadow was Yurien's ambiguous demeanor cast by?
My head was too muddled to think clearly, so I closed my eyes. The Demonic Sword, which had been holding its tongue out of consideration, suddenly began chattering away.
[Telling you to be careful of demonic beasts when he's weaker than you? If he knew you'd completely annihilated an entire node by yourself, he'd be terrified, wouldn't he? He's really pathetic, isn't he?]
"Don't speak carelessly about Yurien. Better yet, don't even speak his name."
[But it's the truth! Why! Stingy human!]
"Shut up, Demonic Sword."
[My master always tells me to shut up. It's so sad.]
"If you'd stop whining about killing people every single day, maybe I'd be kinder to you."
[...Hey, if you were kind to me, that would actually be weirder. Let's just keep things as they are.]
"Pervert."
The Demonic Sword grumbled at my jab. I lay there moving sluggishly, peeling off my clothes. Removing my makeup was incredibly tedious. Why hadn't mages invented some magical tool to remove makeup? It might sell better than mana transmission devices.
I dragged myself up and removed my makeup. I put on my nightclothes and changed my gloves to plain silk ones before lying back down on the cot. Before sleep took me, I asked the Demonic Sword in passing.
"The accumulated killing intent—it won't be satisfied by demonic beasts, will it?"
[It would certainly be better than killing nothing at all...but you know, right? The killing intent that makes up my essence is fundamentally the emotion humans harbor toward other humans. That's why my shell only hunted humans when it controlled you. You already know this—why ask?]
"Just wondering."
[So let's just cleanly kill Ian, yeah? He deserves to die anyway! Let's just do it—whoosh! It'll be easy! Once he's dead, you'll feel relieved too, won't you?]
"Enough. Go to sleep."
[Tch.]
I closed my eyes. I worried I might have another vivid dream like before, but that night's dream was remarkably hazy. It was a dream of dancing with someone in a banquet hall filled with brilliant colors.
A wish that had never been fulfilled, yet one I desperately desired, bloomed secretly in the dream where reason had fallen asleep.
* * *
The condition of White Raven Gorge was dire. An ominous aura emanated from the entrance itself. From within came the occasional sound of metal scraping mixed with the cries of beasts—a horrific cacophony. Despite the daylight, fog hung thick. A stench drifted along with the mist.
"The battle must have been quite fierce."
"They poured boiling oil on them. With so many dying in agony, monsters are bound to proliferate. I'd expect plenty of ghouls and skeletons. Do you think Red Caps will appear too?"
Baraha Islaf answered Echinacea's question. Soon they came to a halt at the gorge's entrance. Baraha gave Echinacea's shoulder a light pat.
"Come back safely. Don't stray from the Commander's side."
"Yes, senior."
The Suppression Unit split in two—Commander Yurien de Harden Kirie led the right flank, while Giosa Owner Teresa commanded the left. Vice-Commander Baron remained at the Tent Camp with a small contingent of squires to guard it. Consequently, his own squire Baraha Islaf stayed behind as well.
'It should be fine...?'
Under normal circumstances, Baraha Islaf would die during this monster suppression. But as Echinacea, I couldn't determine exactly what incident had claimed his life. All I knew was that it happened on a night when rain poured and lightning split the sky.
At least I'd return to camp before nightfall, so it should be fine. I bid Baraha Islaf farewell and joined the cluster of knights on the right flank.
I wore a black dress with a wide-brimmed hat adorned with feathers. Not funeral black, but a smooth fabric with a subtle violet sheen—deliberately chosen so that even if monster blood splattered, it wouldn't show. I'd selected the dress to be practical.
Since the expedition wouldn't be long, my luggage consisted of only a small bag containing some dried meat, water, and miscellaneous tools. Normally such things would hang from a belt at the waist, but that would look ridiculous over a dress. So I'd wrapped the belt around my thigh, beneath the petticoat, securing the bag there instead.
On the opposite leg, I'd strapped a secondary dagger. With such different weight distribution between my legs, maintaining balance should have been difficult, but I'd long since transcended such trivial concerns—it caused me no discomfort. Carrying the sword bare in my hand made me look like some noble lady out for a leisurely stroll with a decorative blade. Though the sword was far too cheap to serve as mere decoration.
I ignored the lingering stares and moved forward. At the very front of the column, Yurien de Harden Kirie was conferring with other knights about something. I stood at a slight distance, waiting.
Once the discussion ended, Yurien de Harden Kirie turned back, and the knights dispersed to rejoin the formation. Unlike the lukewarm gazes of the squires and cadets, the knights either paid no attention to my attire or simply smiled with amusement. Yurien de Harden Kirie's gaze fixed not on my clothing but on my face. As he passed me, he whispered.
"Don't fall behind."
It wasn't a question—merely a statement. Yurien de Harden Kirie moved past me and took his place before the assembled knights, squires, and cadets. His blue eyes swept quietly across their ranks. The soft murmur that had been circulating died away beneath that gaze. Yurien de Harden Kirie opened his mouth.
"The monsters within the gorge are expected to be predominantly ghouls and skeletons. However, Red Caps may appear, so constantly watch your footing. Additionally, should you encounter a Dullahan, squires and cadets are not to engage—report immediately to your commanding knight. If your silver powder runs out, request resupply from your commanding knight's temporary squire. In case of injury, report to your commanding knight and withdraw to camp. We leave no dead. That is all. Any questions?"
His voice wasn't particularly loud, but it carried mana that resonated to the very end of the column. It was crisp and cool—the atmosphere of a finely honed blade. Without raising his voice, every knight focused entirely on him. Respect, admiration, obedience, anticipation—such things flowed among them. Yurien de Harden Kirie accepted their gazes with clinical detachment.
Standing behind Yurien de Harden Kirie, I observed him as though witnessing something unfamiliar. Now that I thought about it, the Yurien de Harden Kirie I'd originally known—the Changtian Knights Commander who came to subjugate the Demonic Sword's demon—had possessed this very atmosphere. Back then, as he approached, I'd felt the sensation of a cold blade being leveled at me. Not the man who smiled so unguardedly yesterday.
When no one raised objections or questions, Yurien de Harden Kirie extended his right hand. A golden pattern gleamed on his palm—the mark of a Holy Sword. Above it, a pure white blade emerged.
A pristine white sword, its hilt and blade forged from a single metal, wrapped in subtle golden patterns. Long ago, a master smith had crafted the blade from human justice itself and inscribed the pattern with human duty—the Holy Sword Langios.
Yurien de Harden Kirie grasped the sword. He neither shouted a battle cry nor bellowed a kiai. The Commander of the Changtian Knights simply walked forward and spoke quietly.
"We now commence the suppression of White Raven Gorge."
His command reached every ear as though whispered directly beside them. The Changtian Knights, divided into two groups, began pouring into either side of the gorge.
The moment we pushed through the mist, a stench assaulted my nostrils. Within that fog-shrouded world, decomposing corpses rose and shambled about, while filthy bones still clinging to scraps of flesh drifted aimlessly. Monsters called ghouls and skeletons. The instant they caught the scent of the living, they shrieked and surged forward.
Everywhere, swords wreathed in mana slashed through the air. When a Master knight swept through, the squires beneath them severed the monsters' vitality, and the cadets finished them off. This was the basic unit structure of the Changtian Knights, organized around a single knight.
Though the ghouls and skeletons were countless, before the Masters they were merely shambling scarecrows. Our advance was steady, and nowhere did danger appear. It was, quite simply, a "suppression." The ashen tide was erased beneath the knights' blades—a testament to why the Changtian Knights were called the mightiest order.
Among them, Yurien de Harden Kirie stood out unmistakably. He had no support unit. He needed none. While a general commands from protection, the Changtian Commander was no mere commander—he was a one-man army.
White mana bloomed above the white Holy Sword. Following the sword's trajectory, mana lingered like a halo, brilliant and pale. Beautiful to behold, yet devastatingly destructive. Monsters touched by that white mana were reduced nearly to dust.
'Mana amplification and demon-breaking. Power that grows stronger when facing evil.'
Following behind Yurien de Harden Kirie, I recalled the Holy Sword's abilities. Langios was one of the Giosa I couldn't use because I failed to meet the Owner's conditions. Still, being famous, I knew its capabilities.
It was only natural that I couldn't become Langios's owner. A Holy Sword refuses itself to one who has committed atrocities. The Echinacea Loaz I was then was a slaughterer—I couldn't even grasp Langios.
Becoming an Owner allows one to store and summon a Giosa through the inscribed pattern, but a Giosa whose Owner conditions weren't met must be carried directly.
A white, beautiful sword I couldn't use. The sword of the only person who believed in me, the Yurien de Harden Kirie who died by my hand. What had I thought while carrying that Holy Sword, which would never accept me as its master?
'He's someone I can never reach. Just like Langios, which never acknowledged me.'
I followed behind Yurien de Harden Kirie with a bitter smile. Behind him, who had no support unit, stood only me. Since Yurien de Harden Kirie swept through so overwhelmingly, being at his rear left me with little to do.
Of course, "little to do" was merely by my standards. Most of the Changtian Knights pursuing the Commander at the vanguard were actually watching me, not him. They'd seen the Commander often enough, but this was their first glimpse of Echinacea Loaz. And they all arrived at the same conclusion.
'A monster found another monster like itself and took her as a squire....'
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org