Chapter 27: To the Demon Realm (1)

The First Knight Order, led by Leon.

Known as the sword of Bartenberg, they had taken on a critical mission and spurred their horses onward.

“The last confirmed location was the Haitel Viscountcy of the Varennes Kingdom. We move there with all possible haste.”

They left the Barten House’s territory, passing through cities and villages again and again.

Every place where a Lich had been spotted had suffered significant damage.

It was clear just how much havoc those fiends had wrought.

“These filthy demons, why must they cross the border and cause so much trouble? Unbelievable.”

Adron, the youngest of the Knight Order, furrowed his brow.

The scenery flashing by was nothing but devastation.

It was as if darkness had settled over the land, the earth stained black.

The stench of rotting corpses stabbed at their nostrils, yet there were no bodies to be found.

“Commander! It’s clear they’re gathering Undead troops!”

“You think the Knight Commander doesn’t know that, you idiot?!”

A veteran knight scolded the youngest, who shouted as if he’d made some great discovery.

Though they rode through death and ruin, the mood among the knights was not entirely grim.

“Commander, are you wearing some kind of pheromone perfume? My heart races just looking at you!”

“That’s right! I could swear there’s been a sweet scent around you for weeks now. I can’t help but keep glancing your way!”

The knights at the front teased Leon, who led the way.

“What, have you all fallen for me or something?”

Leon replied with a mischievous grin.

Even as they joked, their eyes and senses remained razor sharp.

Their resolve toward the mission never wavered.

“Commander really must be wearing pheromone perfume,” Adron muttered flatly as he drew his sword.

The others did the same.

The First Knight Order’s gaze locked on the direction ahead, just past one o’clock.

From that way, the dead began to reveal themselves.

“Prepare for battle!”

The knights calmly roused their fighting spirit.

They’d been attacked by these things almost daily.

There was no reason to panic now.

“They’re probably after the Commander again, as usual! Hah!”

Adron joked, “The Undead must have a thing for you, Commander.”

Aura surged from his blade.

Despite being the youngest, Adron was still one of Bartenberg’s top fighting forces.

At just twenty-six, he’d already reached the level of an advanced knight—truly a talent with a bright future.

But now, his expression twisted.

“Damn it, this is going to be rough.”

Dozens of Undead charged at them in a frenzy.

Behind them, hundreds more came into view.

Their pallid, death-stained skin and rotting eyes glowed with an ominous light.

Monsters that were dead, yet not dead.

“Orc, Troll, Ogre… Damn bastards, causing trouble even after death.”

“Adron, if you’re scared, fall back!”

“Who says I’m scared?!”

The knights dug their heels into their horses.

It had been over a month since they’d left Bartenberg by order.

The Undead attacks were more frequent than expected, and the ruined villages were in even worse shape than the reports suggested.

‘It hasn’t been long since these things started moving.’

For the Undead to run rampant under the watchful eyes of Bartenberg, even the Lord himself might not have known things were this bad.

So many places had already been touched by the hand of the Lich.

It was anything but normal.

Leon let out a low sigh.

He didn’t know what the enemy’s goal was, but if they didn’t act quickly, things would spiral out of control.

***

It had been a full month since Leon, who’d taught us the second stage of training, had left.

In other words, there was just one day left until Aaron and I set out for the Elven Forest.

“You really did it.”

A swirl of purple Aura danced before my eyes, pricking my skin with its heat.

Aaron answered steadily, his voice echoing with a deep rumble.

He couldn’t maintain it for long yet, but he had finally managed it.

Purple Aura shimmered at the tip of his spear.

He’d trained in seclusion, repeating his basic forms over and over.

As expected of Gide Meyer’s grandson—he’d nearly entered the path of tempering as well.

“If my Mana Route hadn’t changed and if it weren’t for the Grandmaster of the Knight Order’s training method, I never would have managed it.”

“You would have reached this level someday, even without those things.”

I replied to Aaron’s humility.

In fact, the Aaron I knew had awakened his Aura on a blood-soaked battlefield.

It just happened much earlier now. His potential was truly limitless.

“Let’s go.”

Suddenly, he took his stance.

The Aura at the tip of his spear undulated menacingly toward me.

Leon had called Aaron’s Aura wild and savage Mana.

It was the perfect description.

The Mana shaped by Aaron’s Aura radiated a venomous energy.

“Come at me.”

I too raised my sword.

I hadn’t been idle while Aaron trained.

Goooo—

Dozens of strands of light climbed up my blade.

They intertwined, sharpening to a fine edge.

It was ‘Hulio Aura’, the special technique I gained the day I mastered Mana Control to the advanced rank.

A wave of emotion swept over me.

Who would have thought I’d be able to wield Aura as well?

Though I’d burned through a fair amount of faith in the process, it was still unmistakably Aura.

I pushed aside my swelling excitement and glared at Aaron.

In an instant, his spear’s trajectory came for me.

I swung my sword with all my strength to meet his attack.

Clang!

A deafening crash rang out in the small, private training hall, sending dust billowing.

Clenching my aching hand, I spoke.

“I won.”

“Didn’t I win? Your Training Sword shattered, didn’t it?”

As the dust settled, I saw my Training Sword in pieces.

The blade had completely disappeared—shattered to bits.

Such was Aaron’s specialty, capable of breaking through anything.

It was the result of clashing with Piercing Aura.

“How’s your spear?”

Aaron’s spear was split nearly in half.

I frowned at him as he stared at his weapon.

“If I’d put in just a bit more force, your hand would have split too.”

“If I hadn’t stopped my spear midway, who knows what disaster would have happened.”

Aaron, uncharacteristically, showed some pride.

Well, now that he could finally control the Aura that had troubled him, he had every right to be pleased.

‘I should be generous and let him have this moment.’

As I nodded, Aaron’s expression turned serious and he approached.

“Young master.”

. . .

He slowly knelt down and set his spear on the ground.

“Aaron Meyer, intermediate knight of the Third Knight Division of Bartenberg. Though I have yet to become an advanced knight, I have reached the level. As promised, I wish to become a direct knight of Richard von Batenberg.”

It was the knight’s oath we had spoken of by the campfire outside Snowfall.

If time allowed, I would have held a grand ceremony, but time was short.

I helped Aaron to his feet.

“I’ll be counting on you.”

***

“I’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

“Where to?”

The Lord, who had not taken his eyes off the document, asked.

“I’m going to the Phantom Forest.”

“……………You mean the Demon Realm?”

He finally turned his gaze to me.

Judging by his slightly furrowed brow, he didn’t like my answer.

“I forbid it.”

“Why?”

“With your skills, you’d only be throwing your life away.”

“Do you truly believe that?”

“Besides, the Liches have brought darkness with them. In such a situation, the Demon Realm is out of the question.”

“I won’t run into them.”

At this time, the Liches would have gone south, toward the kingdoms of the southern continent.

The Demon Realm, north of Barten House, was in the opposite direction.

“You mean to head to the Demon Realm alone?”

“Aaron Meyer will be coming with me.”

At my words, he narrowed his eyes.

“I told you not to expect support from Bartenberg.”

“As of today, he has sworn his oath and become my direct knight. Now, he is my knight before he is Bartenberg’s.”

So I added, I was simply taking my knight with me.

The Lord looked at me in silence.

He seemed to have a lot to say.

Why was this man, who was usually so composed, acting this way?

“I too have achieved something significant.”

I drew Ice Crescendo from my waist.

A pure white stream of light began to flow from the blade.

“Though I’m still inexperienced, I can now wield Aura.”

“Ohh?”

Seeing the Lord’s slight admiration filled me with a sense of accomplishment.

It felt like all my hard work was finally paying off.

It was fortunate I’d brought Ice Crescendo, just in case I needed to show my Aura.

“Truly, your Aura is woefully immature.”

So much for his admiration.

Still, the Lord soon gave his consent.

In truth, my destination was the Elven Forest within the Demon Realm.

If he’d known that, he would have done anything to keep me locked up at home.

“When I return, I’ll bring back Dragon Heart and Gide as well.”

The Lord’s overwhelming presence, which once left me breathless, now felt familiar. I found myself joking.

He snorted, as if amused, and finally spoke.

“You really came at the right time.”

“What do you mean?”

The Lord produced two large wooden cases from somewhere.

“These are gifts sent by the Dwarves.”

Gulp.

I swallowed nervously.

These were what I’d been waiting for over the past two months.

***

After finishing my conversation with the Lord, I returned to my room and found a letter waiting for me. It was from Mary, back in Snowfall.

[Ho~! Young Master Richard. Have you been well? It’s snowing in Snowfall again today.]

To summarize, she was doing well in Snowfall, praying every day with the faithful.

“She’s really working hard.”

I felt a pang of guilt for making her endure the cold for my sake.

Still, she seemed to be enjoying herself, which was a relief.

Then I noticed a mention of the Main God that I hadn’t seen before.

[Ho-r – Benhire, the manager, is working on developing the village, but since it’s so run-down, he says it’ll take quite some time to turn it into a tourist spot.]

Benhire.

He’d been sent by the Lord to help manage Snowfall.

“Wasn’t he the Barten House’s assistant treasurer?”

He’d spent half his life as an assistant, so I thought he could serve as Snowfall’s manager and financial officer.

So I gave him the 100,000 gold I’d received from Baron Hessen and sent him off to Snowfall.

I couldn’t help but chuckle, remembering how flustered he’d looked when he received such a large sum.

Knock, knock—

“Young master. I heard you called for me.”

Aaron appeared in my room.

“Ah, have a seat.”

I gestured to the chair across from me.

“You lost your favorite spear when you saved me from the Death Knight, right?”

“Ah, you were concerned about that?”

“It’s not that I was worried.”

If Aaron got stronger, I’d benefit too.

I placed the two wooden cases I’d received from the Lord on the table.

One was quite long, the other a bit shorter.

I pushed the longer one toward Aaron.

“This is for you.”

“When I asked the Lord for a new weapon, I mentioned you too. It finally arrived.”

“Y-young master…”

Tears welled up in Aaron’s eyes.

He pretended otherwise, but clearly he’d been upset about losing his spear.

“It’s a Dwarf-made weapon. Consider it a gift to celebrate becoming my direct knight.”

Actually, I hadn’t checked it myself yet. I’d come straight to my room after receiving them from the Lord.

Who would have thought new weapons would arrive the day before our departure? I’d nearly given up hope, so my excitement was doubled.

“Well, shall we open them?”

My heart pounded as I reached for the case before me.

The polished hardwood shone with a fine oil finish, making the box look all the more elegant.

I reached out my hand.