927. Ascension
“Do you know who that blonde is?”
It hadn’t even been two days since he returned. Krys was chasing the identity of the man who had punctured Encred’s stomach. It was one of those habits born from anxiety.
Even if he didn’t know who his opponent was, he would gather bits and pieces of information to figure it out.
Someone who could single-handedly face Encred and Ragna and win by a landslide?
‘Is that possible?’
Although he was a member of the Knights of Christ, he wasn’t particularly skilled in combat. However, he knew full well how difficult and challenging the task he’d just been contemplating would be.
‘Even if Lionesis Oniac doesn’t come back alive.’
No, he was a great man who established and organized swordsmanship, but I don’t know if he actually had outstanding skills.
‘Would it be okay if I become a Knight of the Dawn?’
The Knight of the Dawn is one of those tales told more by children than by history books. It’s one of those heroic epics that bards love to sell.
It’s said that in a time when the world was dark and devoid of light, a single sword split the sky.
‘That’s a bit too much.’
Even if it was just a story, it was an exaggeration.
Kreis had read many books and spent a long time listening to rumors. Even if he wasn’t the Knight of the Opening, he could imagine several other knights who could subdue those two simultaneously.
‘Like a dragon catcher.’
He was said to be a knight who slew an evil dragon.
It was a time when dragons existed, so he was no different from the protagonist of a bard’s tale.
‘How about someone like King Suin?’
The Suin King is the Suin who led all the Suin who were living as slaves throughout the world and established a nation in the remotest region.
He is the only great person who actually existed in history.
‘It’s the oral history of the people.’
Dunbakel, the only beastman of the Knights Templar, is so unknown that even his existence is likely a story only told to a select few among the beastmen.
Nevertheless, the existence of the beastman king has been confirmed by numerous historians across the continent.
‘So, to deal with those two at the same time, wouldn’t it be possible only if it were a myth or legend?’
That was Christ’s conclusion.
“We’ll see each other again, right?”
That’s why I’m asking Encred this.
“I see.”
“Okay. Then what about the preparations?”
“I did it this morning too.”
He trains without wasting a single day. That was his only preparation.
Kreis accepted the challenges, including the blonde and the devil, and spoke.
“Let’s fight without me.”
Isn’t it the kind of situation where you immediately want to escape the city and hide in some remote corner of the country?
“You’re picking on every other demon in the world, and now you’re even bringing out a ridiculous swordsman? Huh? Why are things so brutal for us? You didn’t stab the face of the goddess of fortune, did you?”
Talking too much is a sign of anxiety. Kreis knew this about himself. He took a deep breath and repeated to himself.
“Well, if you know but don’t prepare, then it’s just a waste of time.”
Christ was crying. Encred chuckled, finding it amusing. Isn’t he just talking to himself and answering to himself?
“Don’t laugh. This is serious.”
Christ remained the same. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth again.
“I think our job is to assess various possibilities and prepare, even if we don’t know the answer.”
* * *
Encred had found a way to proceed after several conversations with Christ. If you know, prepare.
No one knows the devil better than a witch. Esther had actually warned him of such a presence several times, so he asked her.
“Do you know how to kill a demon?”
There are many demons left in the Demon Realm. Truly many.
Esther, transformed into a leopard, scrawled words on the dirt with her claws.
‘Wait a minute.’
Esther, who had been living as a leopard for several days, returned and immediately sought out Encred. That was now.
“female.”
Encred raised his hand in greeting to the witch who had been waiting. No matter how cold and sharp the wind, if someone is by your side, you can share warmth with them.
“Shall we take a walk?”
Encred spoke again.
Judging by the darkening sky, it seemed like it would snow in the early morning. Rain predictions were sometimes wrong, but perhaps from his experience in the military, he was always right about snow.
Snow flurries were the enemy of every soldier.
He remembered making excuses to Shinar and avoiding shoveling snow. It was a fond memory.
“Okay.”
Esther answered and approached.
The two set off against the backdrop of the city night. There were several routes to the training ground. The two chose the longest. It wasn’t the city center, but a long, winding walk around the outskirts.
The Border Guard, seen from afar, appeared to be surrounded by three large roads, and they were walking along the cobblestone path that ran along the outermost edge of the city. It wasn’t a time for people to pass through, but a patrolman carrying a lantern would have been obliged to check this area.
The one they encountered was one of those patrols.
“Glory.”
A team of three—one rookie, sharply disciplined, and two soldiers worthy of being called veterans.
The reasoning was that three would be better than two. As Kreis said, they were the ones who realized Abnayer’s vision.
Kreis was the kind of guy who would tell anyone anything, regardless of its importance, so I’d heard a lot from him.
“Good work.”
Encred nodded and passed, but the recruit couldn’t take his eyes off Esther. Her
black fur coat, strangely reflective, seemed to dazzle anyone. Her face, shadowed by the lantern light, would be a sight to behold in daylight. Her
blue eyes and sharply contoured nose—by any standard of beauty, she was a beauty rivaling that of a fairy.
‘goddess?’
The new recruit thought.
“eyeball.”
A woman resembling a goddess muttered. One of the veteran soldiers pulled the new recruit’s shoulder.
“Do you want to be blind?”
There was no playfulness in those words.
“You shouldn’t look at black flowers for too long, Banpun.”
The new recruit, tense with tension, followed his two seniors into the darkness. Encred asked, stepping away.
“You didn’t really gouge out a few soldiers’ eyes, did you?”
“I never did.”
For something like that, didn’t you see a very clear fear? Esther continued, thinking for a moment.
“I was blinded for about two days.”
Esther is a witch, but she doesn’t cast spells on just anyone. Her actions have a valid reason, Encred believed.
“It was really fun.”
Esther ran a hand through her hair and smiled. It was a smile brimming with insidiousness, no matter how you looked at it.
Of course, if a normal man saw that smile, he’d probably give his life for it.
‘I can’t understand all of their actions, though.’
I’ll figure it out.
Esther probably has her own standards.
Encred walked, shaking off his thoughts. Esther walked beside him.
The two walked in silence for a while, looking around.
“kyung.”
The two encountered another group. They were members of the Gilpin Guild, self-proclaimed night watchmen who guard the city at night.
Recognizing Esther and Encred, they paused, bowing instead of saluting.
“effort.”
Encred also passed them by without a trace. They were also a group of three. This group had long since become Krys’s private intelligence guild. It was natural for them to operate in a similar formation to a patrol,
though their route would be different .
After they passed, a few faint sounds of people approached and then retreated. They must have been the people Saxon was bringing.
“Know your opponents to know how to deal with them.”
When there was no sign of any movement from the surroundings, Esther spoke. Encred was walking, keeping a small stone wall to his right.
There was no need to ask who they were. Esther spoke again without waiting for a response.
“Can you see the stars?”
Although the sky was overcast, a few stars peeked out from time to time. The lack of any surrounding light made the stars even more vivid.
“Show me.”
Encred glanced at the sky and answered.
“Once upon a time, several wizards gathered together and built a tower.”
A story I had heard somewhere continued.
“The name of the tower was the Tower of Wisdom.”
The wizard who built the tower all dabbled in magic, summoning the Lord of the Demon Realm and the twelve Balrogs.
This event opened a gate to another world, threatening the world with destruction.
“Their wish was to become stars in the sky.”
Esther said, stretching her right index finger toward the sky. Encred’s gaze was directed not at her finger but at her eyes.
“Ascension, the devil’s purpose is no different.”
The demons are already semi-immortal. Will the master of the ghosts ever die when his lifespan is up? Then why do they live? For what purpose?
“Becoming a star in the sky is called ascension.”
That’s the devil’s goal. They want to ascend to heaven with everything they have.
“None of the countless wizards who boasted of their wisdom knew how to ascend. Do you think demons knew that? If they did, they would have done something already, regardless of whether the continent was a sea of blood. The fact that they didn’t does not mean they don’t know how to ascend either.”
After Esther stopped talking, she took two more steps and asked.
“So, what are we going to do now? These guys want to become stars in the sky. They probably think it’s nothing special to kill thousands of people for various experiments.”
A demon isn’t someone who dies because they have a physical body. That’s what a demon is. Esther finished speaking.
Encred’s mouth opened.
“What should I do?”
Esther also looked into Encred’s eyes. They were like starlight piercing the darkness. The words spoken by those shining blue eyes hadn’t changed a bit.
He was the same person now as when they first met. Nothing had changed.
“We’re going to fight.”
The Demon Lord places no value on human life, and he doesn’t hesitate to incite war and conflict.
Therefore, this man will fight. He will not back down, and he will fight until his life is consumed.
‘And I will be next to him.’
Esther resolved inwardly. Could only a knight’s oath have the power of a vow?
An oath sworn to mana was as valuable as a knight’s. The witch nodded, as if yielding to the demonic power that possessed her.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Dealing with the demon would have been incredibly demanding. Even if she fought with her life on the line, she couldn’t expect victory.
If she didn’t feel anxious, she wouldn’t be human. In that sense, Esther was incredibly human. She felt anxious because she was human.
Starlight illuminated them both. Esther placed her hand on Encred’s heart.
Thump-
Before she transformed from leopard to human, Encred’s heartbeat was her lullaby. Esther’s heartbeat echoed that beat.
“My heart is sinking.”
“Ester spoke.” Encred fell silent, waiting for her to calm down.
The faint fear in her eyes slowly faded. Like salt in water, they dispersed into the blue lake below.
Three times, the two passed the patrols, Gilpin’s Guild, and even a group of Saxon’s men, but on the fourth occasion, they failed to notice the eyes of those watching the city from afar.
The elf’s vision was as sharp as day, allowing her to clearly perceive them from afar. That was why they remained undisturbed.
The scout of Kirhais silently remembered their appearance.
It was a message he absolutely had to convey to the king, who was currently training in the city, risking his life.
* * *
Encred returned, washed, and lay down. Her bedroom was on the third floor of a small castle.
Whenever he was away, Kreis had been renovating the knights’ training grounds and putting in effort into the living quarters. Before she knew it,
she’d created a castle, akin to a small fortress.
Snow began to fall from the window. A gentle breeze blew, bringing the snow down, quietly covering the world.
Encred closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep, dreaming.
“That’s it.”
Who?
I knew it was a dream, but I was speaking with my own mouth, not a voice of my own will.
It was a strange feeling. I even felt like I was gaping underwater.
“I’m done here.”
My mouth opened against my will. Someone, both myself and another, fell to their knees, wailing. Everything I felt and saw had an unreal texture, as if made of grains of sand.
“I can’t choose.”
Frustration and despair seeped into me. All I had now was helplessness. I couldn’t lift a finger. I could only tremble in agony.
And then I died. My life was cut short. When I opened my eyes again, I thought I’d see the boatman, but that wasn’t the case.
“Fuck, am I supposed to stop this?”
It was just like before. A woman’s voice spoke from my lips. Her hands were very large and thick. The feel of her right hand was unusual. Then, something caught my eye. It was a
spear, almost a small pillar. It was long and thick. I could only perceive its shape; the details of the weapon and its surroundings didn’t register in my mind.
‘What is this?’
The boatman’s trick? It was a reasonable suspicion. The “self” and “she” holding the spear were met with waves of unfamiliar monsters and beasts,
and they perished. Each and every one of them deserved a name in the Demon Realm. Their only distinguishing characteristic was their large size. Furthermore, a monster spewing black liquid flew overhead.
‘dragon?’
I saw it for the first time, and it was made of sand grains, but it was hard to imagine anything else from its appearance.
The body was torn apart, limbs falling off. The intestines burst, and something flowed out of the corner of the mouth.
The pain was dull, like a blunt knife being applied to leather clothing, so it wasn’t painful. Everything around me was not only made of sand grains, but even that seemed to be seen through a blurry mirror.
And I died again. I didn’t know the process. I only felt it for a moment. A few dreams flashed past me like that.
I experienced dozens of situations in an instant, and when I woke up, I was leaning against the rocking side of the boat.
