Chapter 29: The Ghost Knight
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 29: The Ghost Knight
The Ghost Knight incident unfolded more simply than expected.
Spectral bodies poured from a rift that had split open in the sky, inflicting physical damage across the Imperial Capital.
As seen previously with Mayer, spectral bodies weren’t typically entities capable of exerting such a powerful influence on the material world. After all, even a continental-class hero like the Knight of Dawn hadn’t been able to suppress him instantly. The appearance of a single entity that powerful had been an anomaly.
So, even if a swarm of spectral bodies poured out, it shouldn’t have been an overwhelming disaster. Normally, at least.
However.
“—This is no ordinary matter.”
Simple didn’t mean it was trivial.
Noel looked up at the sky, her voice stiff.
“If a rift of this scale has formed, the entire Imperial Capital will fall within its range of influence.”
“…You seem strangely familiar with this.”
Aiden knew how this would unfold thanks to his knowledge of the original story, but Noel also seemed unnervingly accustomed to the situation.
“It was one of the tactics used during the Alliance War.”
Noel paused for a moment before continuing. Her eyes sharpened, holding a rare, skin-crawling hostility.
“…It was a method frequently employed by the Magic Kingdom.”
Those words alone were enough to understand her reaction. The battle where the Lord Protector died had also been against the Magic Kingdom. It was no wonder she harbored no goodwill toward them.
And it was clear her hostility ran deeper than that single reason.
“Mr. Aiden. Would you please take Stella and leave this place as quickly as possible?” Noel asked, her expression solemn as she drew her sword.
Pure White Qi flowed along her blade, clearly visible. He had seen that battle-ready posture once before—when she confronted Katya.
In other words, the current situation was just as critical.
“This is going to be a rough job,” she said. “To seal a rift of this size… I’ll have to put quite a few things on the line.”
Her voice carried a grim resolve that made the expression of Stella, who was carrying Aiden on her back, instantly change.
“Dame Noel! Do you intend to handle this alone?”
“I have to find and pull out all the ‘roots’ causing the rift.”
The ‘roots’ were structures installed by the magician, containing the source of the mana. The rift couldn’t be closed without finding and destroying each one, and Noel was the only one here with the necessary speed and agility.
“It’s too dangerous! No matter how strong you are, Dame Noel, you could be gravely injured if something goes wrong!”
“Hey, wait a second—”
“It’s not that difficult. I just have to find and destroy them.”
“But the rift will open completely soon! If you go in there without even knowing where the roots are, you’ll take the full brunt of the aftermath when it opens—”
“Just listen to me for a—”
“Stella.”
Noel cut Stella off with a faint, clear smile.
“‘Knight’ isn’t a title we earned to run away at times like this, is it?”
“Please, just let me get a word in—”
“There are citizens over there. We must go and protect them.”
“…”
“But, Dame Noel…!” Stella called out her name anxiously.
A swirl of sorrow filled her eyes, a silent plea asking why Noel always had to make such sacrifices, why she always tried to shoulder everything alone. In response, Noel met her gaze with the resolute expression of a knight on a noble mission.
“If you understand, then leave this place, Stella. Protecting Mr. Aiden is your top prior—”
“Listen to me, will you?!”
“…”
“…”
The two knights fell silent, cut off by Aiden’s fierce outburst. They had probably never seen him shout like that, veins practically popping on his forehead.
“Sorry to interrupt your very serious conversation,” Aiden said, “but first of all—”
He pulled something out from his coat. It was one of the stakes Stella had been diligently driving into the ground earlier, but this one was clearly marked, as if it served a distinct function from the others.
“—we have other things to worry about besides closing the rift, you know?”
“Mr. Aiden? What do you mean—”
Noel tilted her head, but before she could finish her question, Divine Power was already rising from Aiden’s body.
The stake in his hand was essentially a detonation switch. It would allow him to trigger the abilities stored in the other stakes at a time of his choosing.
As his Divine Power flowed into the stake, a window popped up before his eyes.
— System Message
▶ Bestowing ‘Divine Power’ upon the target ‘Wooden Stake’.
▶ The effect of ‘Divine Power Operation: Delayed Release’ is activated.
▶ The same type of supernatural ability is bestowed upon all objects linked to the target!
As the text scrolled by, colorless flames flared up in all directions. They erupted from the exact locations where Aiden and Stella had spent all night planting stakes.
Where the light touched them, dark, blackened structures crumbled to ash.
Those were the ‘roots’ of the rift Noel had mentioned.
…They had appeared in the exact locations where Aiden had instructed Stella to drive the stakes. In the original game, the roots of the rift always spawned in fixed locations. He hadn’t run around all night installing these for nothing.
“…”
“…”
Noel and Stella both clamped their mouths shut, staring up at the rift as it closed, the night sky stitching itself back together.
Meanwhile, Aiden huffed and tossed the stake onto the ground.
“Making such a big deal out of nothing…!”
“…Mr. Aiden.”
“Yes?”
“I was fully prepared to risk my life just now.”
“…”
Under Noel’s strangely aggrieved gaze, Aiden scratched his cheek.
“Well, you don’t have to now, so isn’t that a good thing?”
“…I suppose so.”
That was true.
But still…
“…”
“…”
…Well.
All’s well that ends well.
Regardless of Noel’s embarrassment, he had prepared extensively for precisely this situation.
Still, he didn’t let his guard down, keeping his eyes fixed on the rift. If this was all there was to it, they would have gotten through it easily. But if that were the case, Aiden wouldn’t have prepared so meticulously.
“Actually, like I said, the part we really need to worry about starts now.”
“Pardon?”
“Because this isn’t the main event.”
It was a simple principle. The world he was in was based on the original ‘game.’ That meant there was an indispensable element to any story structured into episodes like Act 1, Chapter 1.
A boss battle.
It was inevitable.
As Aiden smiled bitterly at the thought, ectoplasm began to coalesce around the closing rift with a terrifying aura.
The Ghost Knight… was it?
The event itself was called the ‘Ghost Knight Incident.’ It was only logical that some kind of knight-related enemy would appear.
The ectoplasm descended, coalescing on the ground into the shape of an armored knight.
“—”
Aiden took a deep breath and focused his mind.
Of course, since this was Act 1, Chapter 1—the very first event—he didn’t think it would be overwhelmingly difficult. Still, fighting with his life on the line was not something he was used to yet.
My options are—
Three of Noel’s Skill Copy Tickets, and one of the Prince’s Skill Imitation Tickets.
He had already memorized their skills. He just had to copy and use them appropriately depending on the situation. If he could just use them well to get through this—
[I am steel—]
—or so he had thought.
Until the knight formed of ectoplasm suddenly began to speak.
“—?”
A chill of foreboding slid down Aiden’s spine.
Unless it was an exceptionally powerful entity like the Knight of Dawn, it was impossible for a spectral body to maintain ‘consciousness’ and act like a human.
In other words, whatever was standing there…
…was highly unlikely to be something that belonged in Act 1, Chapter 1.
Something…
…was terribly wrong.
[I am the blade—]
With those words, a supernatural energy surged around the spectral body.
Qi.
Pure white in color.
…Exactly the same as the one Noel wielded.
[I am the scales.]
The condensed energy formed into the promise of a single slash. It was a stance he had seen before—the exact one Noel had taken when she launched a slash at Katya.
— System Message
[‘Skill: Analysis’ recognizes the target.]
[The martial school used by the target matches the characteristics of the martial path ‘One Sword, One Strike’ in your possession.]
[A combat bonus is applied.]
…Sure enough.
The school of swordsmanship the ghost knight used was a perfect match for the martial path Aiden had copied from Noel.
The ghost knight, its slash now fully formed, stared straight at Aiden.
The moment their eyes met, danger screamed through his senses. His Divine Power surged, forming a shield around his body.
Normally, that alone would be enough to survive most situations, but every action he took in the next instant came not from reason, but from pure instinct.
— System Message
[Copying ‘Qi Operation: Defensive Field’.]
[Copying ‘Qi Operation: Hardening’.]
[Copying ‘Qi Operation: Rapid Generation’.]
Under normal circumstances, this was a skill combination he would never use. Noel possessed skills far more valuable. This was a desperate move, burning through his copy tickets just to reinforce a ‘shield’ to block a single incoming attack.
However, a chilling certainty coursed through his entire body: if he didn’t go this far, he would die right here and now.
[Fear not, subjects of the Empire—]
And that instinct was absolutely correct.
[—For I have arrived.]
In the next instant, just as a pure white barrier materialized in front of Aiden, his body was sent flying through the air.
He was sent flying before he could even process what had happened, the slash having already struck him with immense force.
What the…!
He hadn’t even seen the attack coming, and that single blow had shredded his triple-reinforced defensive field like paper.
If he hadn’t burned all his copy tickets, he would be dead right now…!
What on earth is this…?!
This was almost like…
…fighting Noel herself.
And indeed, it was.
The energy the opponent wielded was the Pure White Qi Noel used, the school they employed was the same one Noel practiced, and even the destructive power was nearly identical.
In the entire world, there was probably only one person capable of such a feat.
That is, except for one other person.
“…Theresa?”
In a cracked voice, Noel uttered the name of the Lord Protector.