Chapter 253
Chapter 253
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP55. - A Knight Does Not Speak Lies (8)
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-It looked just like a scene from some grand play.
The timing matched up too perfectly, unfolding so naturally and urgently that it made you wonder if the actors had rehearsed it to perfection.
Pfsh...!
...But the next moment was more than enough to snap them back to reality.
Iliad, the man called the Sword Saint, sank straight down, vomiting blood, collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut.
Thud...!
He hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt, his fall eerily silent yet impossibly heavy.
"H-He... died..."
It was Barbarian who spoke first, the one who faced reality head-on with those muttered words.
"........."
A profound silence fell over them in an instant.
No one opened their mouth.
Were they silenced by the emptiness of death? Or glancing at the bereaved family? Or perhaps the family themselves, unable to accept reality, choked by sorrow...
Whatever the reason, one thing was clear.
It wasn't a positive silence.
Still...
"...In the end, it came to this, huh."
"A splendid duel. Truly splendid."
Even in the face of their kin's death, there was no sign of blame or resentment toward the knight.
If anything, they seemed to have steeled themselves for this outcome from the start, accepting the situation with remarkable composure.
The Oppen family, renowned house of swordsmanship and honorable knights.
Even if blood had been spilled, if the death came from an upright duel, it was the duty of a knightly house not to condemn it.
They might bear noble titles, but as long as they lived lives balanced on the edge of a blade, they had to embrace death as part of it.
Thus, though they swallowed their grief, they showed no injustice before Iliad's death.
This was a duel staked on knights' lives, and there was no cowardice in it.
There was no room for grievance.
So, what they had to say was...
"Thank you. Thank you, young one. For letting our boy go out like a true knight to the end."
"Instructor, forgive us. We've stained your hands with our family blood in the end. Even so, we hold no grudge. This is the life of those who stand upon the blade..."
Expressions of gratitude were the right and proper response.
Because he had done what they couldn't in their weakness.
They had incurred a debt, and they wouldn't repay it with cowardly resentment.
"Iliad must be satisfied too."
"Yes... surely..."
"-He was truly strong, ma'am. I never dreamed I'd get to fight such a regret-free duel. Arno, you've got a fine master."
"Indeed, Father."
"Sending him to the Academy was the right call."
"Haha, still, it's a bit regrettable. If I'd been active duty, I could've fought even more spectacularly than that."
"You were plenty spectacular, so... Huh?"
"You were already magnificent. Of course, if you'd been on active duty, an even finer duel... Eh?"
"......Hm?"
...In that moment, everyone sensed something off.
What was this?
Why was a voice coming from someone who shouldn't be speaking?
The Oppen family blinked in disbelief, wondering if grief had brought on hallucinations, tilting their heads with identical dazed expressions. And toward them...
"Enjoying yourselves, are you...?"
The knight merely snorted.
Thud!
Lee Han flopped straight onto his back.
All strength drained from his body as he sprawled out like a starfish, gasping for breath.
"A-Are you alright?"
"...I'll be fine after a short rest."
Even as he said it, Lee Han figured he wouldn't be moving for a while.
His whole body felt leaden, dizziness swirling in his head.
The blood loss was considerable, but using his mental energy had brought an overwhelming fatigue.
If he weren't someone with Lee Han's mental fortitude, he'd have passed out—or worse—long ago.
Honestly, he wanted nothing more than a deep sleep right now.
But first...
"Guess I should finish treating that guy before crashing."
The moment Lee Han spoke, Felicia pressed him anxiously.
"W-What in the world did you do?! How is Iliad alive? And what did you do to make him suddenly fine again?! There's never been a case of a demonized human reverting!"
"...Calm down. And ask one question at a time. You're all over the place."
"Ah..."
Felicia seemed to catch his composed vibe and settled a bit, observing his state with an embarrassed look.
"S-Sorry."
She was ashamed of losing her cool.
Well, understandable.
Who could stay calm when a son they'd given up for lost returned to normal?
It was like the dead coming back to life.
So instead of scolding her, Lee Han responded coolly.
"...Sorry to interrupt your relief, but hurry and treat your son. He's not out of the woods yet."
"What?"
"Use Aura or whatever. Leave him like that, and he'll die."
"!!?"
No sooner had Lee Han advised than Felicia placed her hands on Iliad's body. Less than a minute later, she gasped in shock.
"I-It's like this...!"
Whoosh!
Felicia quickly grasped what needed doing and unleashed her Aura.
Vmmm!
A vast amount enveloped Iliad's body like a cocoon, concentrating especially on his chest—his heart—like it was guarding it.
"...What did you do?"
As the mystical Aura surged and everyone else stared blankly, only Derek—curiosity overriding all—asked the question.
Wondering what mysterious method he'd used.
To that...
"Nothing much. Killed him once and brought him back."
"??"
"Well, more precisely..."
-The day before, in the tunnel, Taechang had mentioned it.
About the criterion distinguishing low-level Fighting Techniques from advanced ones.
None other than...
-The reason noble families' so-called prestigious Fighting Techniques are classified as advanced is because they consume monster cores.
It was a shocking fact.
As everyone knew, eating monster meat led to demonization, and swallowing a core made it inevitable—no exceptions. That was the common 'knowledge.'
Yet Taechang's words shattered that, a bombshell that could rock not just the kingdom but the entire continent.
However...
-Ah, of course, you can't just eat them raw. You dilute and process them into [elixirs]. That's the nobles' secret recipe.
Listen to the whole story, right?
His follow-up explanation made perfect sense.
-As you know, Fighting Techniques were designed for humans to battle monsters and demons, but honestly, it doesn't add up, does it? Exploding life energy inside your body for dozens of times the physical prowess... It's suicide, no matter how you slice it.
A combat method no ordinary human could endure.
Fine once or twice, but repeating it would destroy the body eventually.
Even if the body held, life force depletion might kill you before thirty.
Records showed early users often died in their twenties from these side effects.
...Thus, researchers faced a choice.
Abandon Fighting Techniques? Or find a stable way to use them?
And naturally, people chose...
-To seek improvements, focusing on demonization.
Demonization—or demon sickness—grants superhuman power.
Researchers saw potential there.
-They decided to concentrate it in one spot.
Trigger demonization in just 'one place,' leaving the brain and rest of the body untouched.
The most vital organ, repository of life force.
None other than...
-The [heart].
Heart reinforcement.
Inducing artificial demonization solely in the heart for a strengthened one—that was the path forward, researchers were convinced. After countless experiments and validations, it spread among the powerful, and knightly houses used this data to develop their unique techniques over decades, centuries.
-That's why advanced Fighting Techniques outclass basic ones by miles, giving nobles untouchable power. Even if commoners learned the heart secret, surpassing centuries of trial-and-error, unique noble techniques, and elixir recipes is a pipe dream. Tech gap like steam engines vs. rockets.
This was the secret core of noble advanced Fighting Techniques, leaving first-time hearer Lee Han stunned.
-Crazy bastards exist everywhere, this world or that.
-B-But they didn't experiment on normal people. Mostly on heinous criminals, they say...
-You believe that?
-......
-Not judging. Human progress has its dark side. Still... no romance in it.
-Mm...
Hard to deny it shattered some innocence.
Well, innocence exists to be broken, so whatever. He even forgot about it afterward.
Until today.
"-It came to me, the secret of Fighting Techniques."
"G-Good lord... Such a secret..."
"Even Kunta's shocked."
"It'd cause massive chaos if it got out, so it's best kept quiet."
"Yeah, it'd lead to reckless core-eating, so extra caution needed."
Bear Cub and Bulk marveled in turn, while Wolf Pup and Taechang—who already knew—scratched their cheeks bitterly.
"What an awkward secret, huh."
Lee Han snorted at their guilty looks.
Those guys really lacked 'noble poise.'
"Nobles should act the part—unlikeable and lacking humanity. Tsk tsk."
"Stop hating on nobles..."
"Discrimination, Instructor."
"Quit your whining. Anyway, point is, I'm not here to debate Fighting Technique origins or morality. I'm explaining how I treated the fairy-tale writer."
Lee Han scolded them to cut the nitpicking, and they shut up.
They listened so well, like spoiled brats.
If he weren't exhausted, he'd drill some discipline, but instead, he sated their curiosity.
"My treatment was honestly simple."
A 'hunch' based on faith.
"Frankly, no matter how far gone, I doubted that guy stupidly chowed down on monster meat or cores."
Foolish idiots aside, the Iliad he'd seen was sharp as they come.
So how'd a wise guy like that get demonized?
"If it was a latent infection triggered by poison, even he couldn't fight it off clean. -That's what hit me."
Not sure how, but if monster cells in his heart spread like cancer, demonization made sense.
Aka possession by qi deviation.
His heart-dantian gone berserk—a tragedy, he guessed. And with that hunch...
"I just smashed it dumbly."
"......"
"Well, luckily, I was right."
"......Y-You mean it was a gamble."
"Eh, maybe?"
"......"
"What?"
"......"
His brazen confidence left them speechless.
But as absurd as it was, it was impressive.
'Who thinks like that in this situation?'
Judging so clearly with humanity's enemy before him, devising a cure mid-battle—it marked him as extraordinary.
...Too extraordinary for ordinary folk to grasp.
"B-But, Master. I get the principle, but if you destroyed the heart, how's Iliad still alive?"
A basic question—if you shatter the heart, death follows, right? Lee Han shrugged.
"Split the '경' strike twice. First wrecked the inside, second shielded the outside to hold it together briefly. Heart stopped temporarily, but he snapped out of it, luckily..."
Snap.
"And there's a way to regenerate it, so no issue."
"......"
His finger pointed to the Sword Princess, pouring massive Aura into regenerating her son's heart without pause. His disciples nearly applauded despite it all.
"Instructor truly never breaks a promise..."
"Said I hate lies."
"......Ha."
Arno bowed his head with an admiring chuckle.
Truly...
"...I respect you. Really."
A remarkable man.