Chapter 221
Chapter 221
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 221
Chapter Title: Night Raven Knight Commander
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Night Raven Knight Commander.
Sword Ghost, One.
His appearance had withered dramatically compared to before.
His already gaunt frame had shriveled even further, and wrinkles now creased his face.
It was the price of consuming the Devil's Fruit.
"It's worse than just aging ten years."
A man sat leisurely in front of him.
Crackle—
The sound of the bonfire burning drifted through the air.
Warmth lingered in the room.
His name was Abyss, Leyzon.
The man now facing One alone.
"Did you wake up?"
One's body twitched at the question.
It had taken a full day for him to regain consciousness.
The toll of the Devil's Fruit was that severe.
"I'll give you credit for pulling out your best card the moment you saw me."
One had known at a glance that he stood no chance against Leyzon.
So he'd boldly swallowed the Devil's Fruit without a second thought.
There was no other way to face Leyzon.
"And for not choosing to run, either."
If One had used the Devil's Fruit and fled for real, things would have gotten messy.
But One hadn't fled.
Because he had orders to capture the Gray Mage Tower Lord.
Commands from the Imperial Family came first, above all else.
For One, failure meant death—nothing less.
He was essentially a being driven solely by orders.
That was One.
"……."
One offered no response to Leyzon's words.
As if he'd been born without vocal cords, he said nothing at all.
Leyzon stared at him for a moment, then clapped lightly.
"I figured you wouldn't talk to me."
It was obvious—he'd sooner die than utter a word.
"So at least hear me out."
Conversation didn't have to go both ways.
He relayed verbatim what he'd told Three.
One already knew the Imperial Family's recent troubles all too well.
He had to know they served nobles pulling strings behind the throne, not the Emperor himself.
Leyzon laid it all out, point by point.
But One stayed silent to the bitter end.
Finally, after Leyzon finished speaking.
One opened his mouth at last.
"Kill me."
A single, simple phrase.
That was all he had to say.
Leyzon gazed at him wordlessly.
"You could still become the Emperor's sword—the one you wanted to be?"
One's head lifted for the first time.
He stared at Leyzon intently.
His eyes demanded to know how Leyzon could possibly understand.
"Come in."
At Leyzon's call, someone opened the door and stepped inside.
A man with hair streaked in yellow and black stood there.
He eyed One with a reluctant grimace.
"Ugh, One. Sorry it had to come to this."
His identity: Two.
The second sword of the Night Raven.
He was the one who'd shared One's story with Leyzon.
No signs of coercion marked Two.
Leyzon had brought him along but made no threats.
Instead, he'd earnestly shared the same words he'd given Three.
Two chafed under the current Imperial Family more than anyone.
They were the Night Raven, acting on the Emperor's direct commands.
Dirty work or not, they took pride in their role.
But the Night Raven now? No pride left.
Crows flapping pathetically under sly foxes.
That's why Two had pleaded with One time and again.
The Night Raven had gone wrong. It needed fixing.
But One always stayed silent.
He moved only when orders came.
Two hated that about him.
So One had guessed the situation the instant he saw Two.
Two had chosen to side with Leyzon.
Better to right the Imperial Family's course than bow to nobles.
"One, at the very least, we should choose who we follow ourselves."
Two wanted to convince him.
One wasn't just any Night Raven Knight Commander.
His skills and unwavering dedication set the standard for all.
They wanted him to lead the Night Raven still.
"One, you've dreamed of it your whole life. Becoming the Emperor's sword."
Two had known One the longest.
They'd even overheard his silent dream once.
One wanted to be the Emperor's sword.
Even if it was just a pipe dream, there had been a time he'd wished for it fiercely.
Back when he was a Night Raven trainee, raised from childhood.
Another trainee had smuggled in a fairy tale book.
The Emperor's sword and heroes shining in those pages.
To a young boy, they dazzled beyond words.
Just Imperial Family propaganda, of course.
But back then, it had been cool enough to fuel dreams.
"Ha, haha."
That dream had shattered long ago, though.
The final training: killing a fellow trainee.
The day he'd slain the very trainee who'd brought that fairy tale—with his own hands.
His dreams had crumbled to dust.
Two knew One's dream because they'd been trainees together.
"Guess we've forgotten how pointless dreams like that are for us."
Two had killed their trainee too, just like One, to stand here now.
One let his hollow laugh fade as he eyed Two's denial of that day.
"My answer hasn't changed."
One's gaze shifted to Leyzon.
"Kill me."
The bonfire's crackle was the only sound in the room.
"One……."
Two cried his name, but One stayed silent.
Stubborn to the end, saying only what he meant to.
Leyzon watched him a moment longer, then nodded.
"Fine. If that's how it is."
Persuasion had gone far enough.
One's will was clear—no need to push further.
Besides, Leyzon understood why One acted this way.
'He can't go back having failed his mission.'
The Night Raven handled the Emperor's dirty work.
They knew far too many Empire secrets.
'The nobles must've always seen them as a thorn.'
The nobles had wanted the Night Raven gone for ages.
But as the Emperor's direct arm, they couldn't disband them outright.
So they'd switched tactics.
Overload the Night Raven until they broke on imperial orders.
That's why they hadn't pursued the fifth sword, Crow, separately.
Missions back-to-back upon return.
All of them grueling beyond measure.
'Dissatisfaction bubbling up in the Night Raven—like with Two and Three—for good reason.'
The Night Ravens knew they'd been discarded long ago.
Inwardly, they all hoped for change.
But that wouldn't happen overnight.
What if One returned mission failed?
The nobles would pin the blame on the Night Raven.
Not just One— the whole group.
But if One died and they returned?
Different story.
Knight Commander slain.
The nobles wouldn't press the issue.
Just hand out missions like always.
Leyzon read the situation from One's resolve.
One was upholding loyalty to the last, saving the Night Raven.
Two had fallen silent too, realizing as much.
"But I'm a Necromancer."
Leyzon would honor his wish.
For this life, at least.
"Your afterlife belongs to me."
Brutal truth.
No Necromancer would let talent like One slip away untouched.
One knew it full well.
His life was already forfeit.
No say in the matter.
"Two."
Finally, his farewell to his longtime comrade.
"The Night Raven can still spread its wings."
Two stared at him, face tight with emotion.
As One smiled silently, Leyzon dropped his hand.
Hoping the Night Raven might one day soar, One closed his eyes.
Thud—
One's body slumped lifeless.
Leyzon had planted darkness-wrapped poison in his heart.
A custom fusion toxin, brewed to drop him in one go.
"We'll need proof of One's death."
"……The Night Raven has markers stored with the Imperial Family. The light's out by now—death confirmed."
Just as Crow had said.
Leyzon stepped to One and knelt.
He drew a bag from the shadows.
Thump—
The cozy bonfire space collapsed.
Shadows swallowed everything.
This place had been a shadow realm from the start.
Two swallowed hard at the oppressively eerie void.
Three undead materialized beside Leyzon.
Crow followed in their wake.
"……Five."
"Two, that name's in the past. Call me Crow."
Two gave a wry smile at Five's response.
"Your face looks a lot better these days."
"Everyone changes eventually."
Two nodded at their old subordinate from work days.
That was enough.
Leyzon pulled materials from the bag.
He positioned himself before One.
One's Ascension outstripped Leyzon's.
Even Leyzon couldn't undead-ize him on raw power alone.
But that was pure strength talking.
"Syria."
"Yes!"
A full day had passed since the clash with One.
Undead fusion proceeded smoothly.
Syria's form melted, seeping into Leyzon.
A purple flame ignited above his head.
In fusion, Leyzon shared Syria's Corruption Lv. 19.
His own Corruption level surged accordingly.
This bypassed all undead-ization limits.
One was already a near-perfect knight.
No need to grant him much.
Just redirect the life freed by his death.
Before long, Leyzon completed the undead-ization.
Practice from countless rituals had honed his skill.
A knight before Leyzon slowly opened his eyes.
His face was deathly pale now, his body clad in black armor.
Yet his lithe, agile build remained true to life.
The plume on his helmet fluttered purple.
Dark Knight.
Leyzon, who had reborn One, asked.
"One, from now on, you're Abyss's sword."
He hadn't achieved his dream of becoming the Emperor's sword.
So Leyzon had replaced it with a new one in death.
"……First Sword, One. I will obey any command."
The moment the Sword Ghost was reborn as Abyss's knight.