Chapter 165: Knight Lord
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 165: Knight Lord
“What do you even eat to stay alive, Iris?”
“Are you curious about me now?”
“That’s quite a leap in logic.”
I was currently carrying Iris in my arms, flying with my wings to finish this errand—or whatever it was—as quickly as possible. For someone so tall, she was incredibly light. It might have been because of her high heels, but even then, you need the base height to reach her stature; the top of her head was only slightly lower than mine.
It was deep into the night, and since Calax had fewer streetlights and shorter buildings than Roanmarie, the light didn't reach the sky. Unless someone spent all day staring at the heavens and noticed the starlight being momentarily eclipsed, I wouldn't be particularly conspicuous.
“I eat normal food. I told you that before.”
“But you didn't accept the souvenirs I brought back from Roanmarie when we returned to Calax.”
“Did I? I don't really remember.”
In any case, we arrived at the magic item shop. The location wasn't bad, but I had no memory of ever seeing Iris actually serving a customer.
“Do you usually even take customers?”
“Occasionally. Only the ones I want.”
“So you handpick them? Then I’m... ah, never mind.”
Thinking back, Iris had the Necrophilia skill. From a human perspective, there’s hardly a sexual preference more villainous than being a corpse-fancier, but surprisingly, Iris wasn't even human.
She was a True Ancestor Vampire with the racial traits of a Succubus. However, she didn't drain energy or blood, and she was perfectly fine in the sunlight. For all intents and purposes, she was just a long-lived human or a slightly eccentric Elf.
“You don't only take customers who match your... tastes, do you?”
“If I did, I’d only be serving the Undead.”
“Fair point.”
I set Iris down, and she returned to her usual spot. I had chosen the latter between entering some unknown labyrinth called Melbatos to hunt a boss and simply moving Iris back to her house.
“You said I need to consume a Necro Species monster with a higher grade than a Lich, right?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“What kind are there? Melbatos? Is it far?”
“Far. South of Hechituk.”
“That is the most unhelpful explanation for someone who doesn't know where Hechituk is.”
“The southernmost tip of the surface world.”
I knew Calax was located in the northwest. On the surface world, which was shaped like a reversed 'L', Roanmarie was in the northeast. It seemed Hechituk was in the south, slightly closer to the east.
“Can't we just use a Gateway?”
“I suppose so.”
If we used the latest technology, a Teleportation Gateway, a journey that would take three or four months could be finished in a five-minute click.
“Anyway, if I bring you here, I don't have to go to Melbatos, right?”
“Correct.”
Iris waddled up behind the desk and disappeared into the storage room, rummaging through the back. After a long while, she emerged empty-handed.
“Come here and help me move this.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
I stepped behind the desk and into the storage room. As usual, the left wall was filled with her collection of female toys. She wanted me to take down a box from the very top shelf of that cabinet. I hoped she wasn't asking me to pull out something weird.
With a mix of suspicion and doubt, I reached for the box. It was surprisingly heavy. As was often the case with Iris’s belongings, it was an old item likely under a Shrink Magic or a Preservation Magic. It wasn't particularly shocking.
Thud!
“It’s heavy. What is this?”
“Open it.”
I didn't feel anything specific from the box itself. It was a well-made container, crafted from a base of deep black wood and reinforced with sturdy metal. Judging by the layer of dust, it hadn't been touched in a long time.
Click.
“It’s open.”
“You told me to open it.”
“It’s not something that opens easily.”
“Is that so?”
To the naked eye, it looked like a normal lock. Calling it a lock was a stretch; it was just a metal latch to keep it shut. Regardless, the moment I released the mechanism and lifted the lid—
“Ugh... what is this...!”
“Hold steady. It’s not something to make such a fuss over.”
“There you go again...!”
I had once been exposed to the mana of an Umbra Valkyrie after consuming its eye. Her mana had the property of causing pain the moment it touched you, and when I was struggling to endure it, Iris had told me not to make a fuss then, too.
This wasn't exactly like that, but... even with my elevated grade, I felt an intense, overwhelming presence—the lingering will of some entity—coursing through my entire body. I had a hunch, and it was right.
“A Mana Core...!”
It appeared to be the Mana Core of a Necro Species monster far superior to a Lich. It felt like I’d need fifty Haunted Centurion Armors to match this. It was, quite literally, monstrous mana.
“Just... what kind of creature did this Mana Core belong to...?”
“I believe he was the strongest among the undead knights.”
As the box opened fully, the wood and metal container that had held it instantly rotted away. With a clatter, the wood decayed first, causing the outer metal plating to fall to the floor. Soon, the metal also crumbled, losing its shape and turning to dust.
“W-Why is this happening...?”
“The box itself was a magic circle designed to preserve him. Now that it’s released, the magic is broken.”
“I see...”
Looking closely, it wasn't just a Mana Core. There were a shield and a sword, both seemingly under Shrink Magic. The dark navy cloth spread beneath them appeared to be the remains of a cloak or a surcoat someone had once worn.
It was a set that seemed to contain everything a single individual once was. Thanks to the cloth, the items didn't roll away even after the box rotted.
“They’re heavy.”
I picked up the shrunken sword and shield. Judging by the proportions of the blade and hilt, the sword was a greatsword meant to be swung with two hands. The grip on the shield was small, but it was clearly a massive greatshield. The craftsmanship was so exquisite it could have been ceremonial, but the signs of wear suggested it was very much for actual combat.
“How do you even have something like this...?”
“Just because.”
“Phew... you want me to eat this, right?”
As the trapped mana dissipated and thinned out, it became bearable. Though it couldn't be helped that a chilling aura now permeated the magic item shop.
“If you can.”
“Keep your hands on the table while you talk.”
“Ngh.”
I grabbed both wrists of the toy-obsessed eccentric, Iris, and forced them onto the table. It was a relief her wrists were thin enough to fit in one of my hands.
“I can't guarantee it.”
“Guarantee what?”
“Whether you’ll come back alive.”
“I’m not going anywhere, though?”
“You’ll understand once you eat it. What I mean.”
She wasn't usually one to say things like that. Was the lingering will really that powerful?
“Which labyrinth is this monster from?”
“It doesn't have a name. If it had been named, it would likely have been Stellika's Great Labyrinth.”
“Why doesn't it have a name?”
“Because it was never discovered; it just underwent an opening.”
“A Labyrinth Opening....”
I remembered hearing about this from Theodora. If a labyrinth isn't cleared for a long time, mana accumulates inside until it eventually explodes, and the monsters within crawl out to the surface.
That surge of monsters is called a Labyrinth Wave. If the location is poor or there’s no infrastructure to support it, the Page of Arcana controls entry and forces an opening to close the Labyrinth Portal.
“It must have been 700 years ago. Back when those foolish mages lived huddled together in the east.”
“You seem skeptical of mages.”
“They hate me. I have no reason to like them back.”
“Ah.”
Well, she was a vampire, so it made sense. Besides, high-ranking mages with their noses in the air tended to have a sort of human-supremacist streak. They’d mock Elves for living so long yet only being able to use that much magic, say Dwarves only knew how to tinker with iron, or claim Beastkin were no different from animals.
Even setting that aside, vampires weren't exactly a race welcomed with open arms by ordinary people.
She didn't say it aggressively in public, but that was the reality.
“Wait, 600 years ago? Didn't you say you were 500 years old?”
“I never once said that.”
“You said you watched the early days of Roanmarie.”
Iris, her wrists still held by me, shook her head.
“I only said I watched it. I never said I was born then.”
“Just how long have you lived...?”
“By what standard should I tell you?”
“What... standard?”
“The standard of being conceived and leaving my mother’s womb?” Iris asked, tilting her head slightly. “Or the standard of when I came out to the surface through a Labyrinth Opening?”
“...Were you a monster?”
“It’s surprising you thought a True Ancestor Vampire, a species rejected by humanity, would be born on the surface.”
“Well, that’s true, but....”
I had so many questions for this woman. If she came to the surface through a Labyrinth Opening... didn't that mean she was a monster that lived in a labyrinth? Even so, it felt wrong to call her a monster. Perhaps because she was a sentient being, she just seemed like a normal person to me.
No, wait. She wasn't normal.
“I’ll take that in a positive light, Iris.”
“Thank you.”
“Don't mention it.”
In any case, the Mana Core was the priority. She said it was the most powerful entity among the knight-type undead, and she had previously told me to eat something with a moderate temperament.
“What if my head starts spinning and I lose it after eating this?”
“That would be a shame. Instead, your corpse...”
“My corpse?”
Wait.
“Finish your sentence.”
“Silence is golden. Sometimes.”
“You really are a crazy vampire, aren't you?”
I hadn't even eaten the Mana Core yet, but the more I talked to Iris, the more I felt like I was the one going crazy. Then again, talking normally to a vampire who came out of a Labyrinth Opening might mean I was already insane.
“I hope I can hear more of your story after I eat this.”
“Are you interested in me now?”
“There she goes again.”
Clink.
It was a Mana Core imbued with deep navy mana. Inside, it felt as if a universe was swirling. It was easiest to think of it as a snow globe filled with navy liquid and glitter, then shaken.
“Oh, what was this guy’s name?”
I released Iris’s hands since I was about to eat the core. Freed, Iris rested her chin on her hand and stared at me intently.
“The Knight Lord.”
“Knight Lord....”
“Everyone called him the Knight Lord.”
“That’s a cool name.”
Iris let out a rare, faint chuckle.
After taking a deep breath, I shoved the Knight Lord’s Mana Core into my stomach. I felt nothing as it was stored, but...
“Iris, this—”
Suddenly, my vision went black, and I felt my body collapsing to the floor.
“I’ll be rooting for you. Usurper.”
Those were Iris’s final, cryptic words.
* * *
“This place is....”
Countless corpses clad in identical armor. Various cold weapons thrust into the earth.
A battlefield where torn and tattered navy flags fluttered.
A sunset.
The scent of blood.
The low, somber blare of a horn echoing through the air.
Wooooooo....
Someone was standing at the source of the sound.
“Is that him....?”
Clatter.
A knight weakly let a horn, carved from a buffalo's horn, slip from his grasp.
A navy cloak, a massive greatsword, and a colossal greatshield.
“The Knight Lord.”