Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: 54. The Unforgiven (3)
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It wasn't as if no one had tried speaking to him while he wandered the ruins of Adelvine.
But none of their words ever reached Gert.
"Great knight, how did you fall so low!"
"Gert! Pull yourself together! This isn't who you are!"
"They say he was an outstanding knight before he became a Death Knight..."
"Spare me."
"I don't want to die."
"I'll go back, so stop!"
"You cursed bastard!"
All of it was meaningless.
Because he had sworn to bear it all.
But this time was different.
"You're the trash who destroyed your own country. A murderer who slaughters innocent lives. That's you. If you have any conscience left, try defending yourself, you skull."
Of course, Adelvine had fallen because of him.
But he had his reasons.
What did this black-haired human know?
"I'm not done talking. They say you were a fine knight when you were alive? So how'd a guy like you end up like this? Did black magic blind you so bad you couldn't see straight? Was clinging to life that important, even if it meant this? Aren't you ashamed?"
It wasn't because he'd been ensnared by black magic.
He hadn't become a Death Knight just to survive.
There was simply a task he had to complete, even if it meant bearing all this pain.
And now, all his sacrifices were being mocked by this black-haired human.
"Hey, you skeleton shit. Who the hell are you to go around killing people? Does Adelvine belong to you or something?"
"Your Highness, enough."
"I haven't even started. Look at him. Can't even make excuses. Everything I said is true. You conscienceless pile of skeleton trash."
It wasn't that he couldn't make excuses.
Nor was he speechless because it was all true.
Excuses were simply a luxury he couldn't afford.
True honor didn't require anyone's recognition. It meant silently fulfilling the fate laid before him, without seeking understanding from others.
Even in death, he was a knight.
At that moment, the black-haired human continued.
"Hey, Gert. When your parents had you, they must've slurped down some seaweed soup and..."
Gert's resolve wavered.
For the first time in ages, he recalled his parents' faces—watching as he was knighted, telling him with no regrets to become a great knight.
Even as a Death Knight, the filial piety buried deep within him remained unchanged.
In the end, Gert couldn't hold back and spoke.
[Words... too... harsh.]
The black-haired human's expression shifted at his halting words.
It was the smug grin of someone who'd found a weakness.
"What's harsh about it? I was just saying how touching it is to think of your parents enjoying that seaweed soup after you were born. Why so defensive? Hit a nerve? What, are you a bad son?"
[Wait.]
"Shut up, shut up. You wrecked your country, disrespected your parents, and now you're a lonely Death Knight with no friends."
[Listen... to me.]
"If you've got something to say, spit it out. But you know what? All those innocent lives you killed and your parents who suffered because of your ingratitude probably had plenty they wanted to say to you too. Right now, you're..."
The black-haired human talked too much.
His relentless barrage made it hard to respond, given Gert's sluggish speech.
[Can't... keep... up.]
"Me neither. Seeing you chokes me up so bad I can't get the words out! What the hell are you..."
In the end, the black-haired human's companion intervened.
"Your Highness. Hear him out for a moment."
"No way I'm listening to some ungrateful bastard."
"Whether he's ungrateful or not, shouldn't we at least hear him? Give him a chance to speak."
"Jared, you seriously think this skeleton deserves to be heard?"
"The right to self-defense is basic. Just once."
"Fine. Whatever."
The black-haired human crossed his arms, glaring as he stepped back.
Gert nodded slightly in thanks to the man who'd spoken up for him. He rarely interacted with humans, but this knight had fought for him, earning his gratitude.
[Thanks... human.]
"No trouble at all, Sir Gert."
Gert bowed politely in return.
A faint memory stirred. In the old days, everyone had shown him such respect.
Perhaps that's why.
Humans all have moments when sentimentality overtakes them.
Gert explained courteously.
[You all... will die.]
The black-haired human exploded again.
"See what I mean about this skeleton? I give him a chance to talk, and he says we're gonna die? Hey, you, get over here."
"Try to hold back. We need to hear the Death Knight out to the end."
Gert closed his eyes.
He was no longer swayed by the black-haired human's sharp tongue. He simply conveyed what rose from within.
[Reason... why you must die... I'll tell you.]
Jared had quickly positioned himself opposite Yuri, defending Gert.
It was the classic good knight, bad knight tactic.
The more Yuri's verbal abuse continued, the more resentment built in Gert, naturally drawing him closer to the supportive Jared.
Coaxing and soothing until he opened up.
Gert slowly spoke.
[Black magic.]
All eyes turned to him the moment those words emerged.
Gert raised his sword straight.
[It all... began... there.]
The last remnant of his plate armor—the breastplate—crumbled away.
Exposed was the Death Knight's core pulsing between his ribs. The ominously crimson glow throbbed like a heartbeat.
[Because of that... I became... a Death Knight.]
Yuri glanced sideways at Pierre, whose face betrayed clear unease.
Keeping him in his peripheral vision, Yuri focused on Gert's tale.
His speech was too halting to follow directly; inferences and guesses filled in the gaps.
Adelvine had been a peaceful kingdom.
Then one day, a royal mage fell into black magic.
No one knew at first.
Unlike regular magic, black magic granted unimaginable powers, letting the mage kill nightly without detection.
The kingdom withered.
Famines dragged on, feral beasts attacked villages, and rumors spread of demons abducting people at night.
Adelvine's citizens drowned in liquor and drugs.
Amid the chaos, the knight Gert, sworn to the king, hunted the source of the turmoil.
And finally found it.
A grotesque monster, a mishmash of various creatures' features, shambling about.
He led his knights against it but lost.
Instead, tentacles snatched them up, devouring them whole. Each scream and crunch made it stronger as it tasted blood.
The routed Gert reported to the king.
An army was assembled.
Gert set out to slay the monster, staking the kingdom's fate.
But it was too late.
[There... I...]
Gert trailed off. His red eyes flickered. Unable to continue, he bowed his head.
Suddenly, Pierre asked.
"That great library. Is that right?"
All eyes turned to him. Pierre stared at Gert with gleaming intensity.
"Was that the monster's lair? Did you see it there?"
[There... I...]
"That place?"
[In the great library.]
Gert clutched his head.
Without his plate armor, the Death Knight looked gaunt and frail.
After a long silence, Gert lifted his head.
His eyes blazed crimson.
[All life... must be... eradicated.]
Suddenly, Gert swung at Pierre. Sword ki flew, but a hastily raised shield saved him.
Yuri shouted.
"Why the sudden nonsense..."
"This is definitely the place."
"What?"
Pierre's eyes changed.
"Fight it out yourselves, you green princeling. Our temporary alliance ends here."
Pierre bolted toward the great library. Magic propelled him away in an instant.
Yuri tried to pursue, but Ivan and his mercenaries blocked the way.
"Move if you don't want to die."
"Shouldn't we focus on the Death Knight right now?"
"In this situation..."
"Look over there."
Yuri turned. Gert was clashing with the group. Hose had staggered back into the fight, but things looked grim.
Ivan nodded toward them.
"Do you want us hitting them from behind?"
"Tch..."
Yuri gritted his teeth.
They were clearly scheming, but he had no sharp counter.
"If you don't chase Pierre, we'll help against Gert."
As Ivan spoke, Gert's sword ki hurtled toward them.
Yuri blocked with Guilty and glared at Ivan.
"What the hell are you playing at?"
"Who knows."
A faint madness flickered in his eyes.
"We just follow him."
Pierre pushed open the great library's doors and stepped inside. Thick, viscous mana clung to him like a shroud.
A voice called from deep underground.
Pierre smiled.
"So this is it after all..."
He raced down the stairs leading below.
The malevolent aura grew stronger, resonating with his own black magic.
Pierre quickened his pace.
After passing several landings, he felt like he'd sunk into a swamp. Pitch-black darkness rose to his knees, tangible tendrils tugging at his legs with every step.
Concentrated malice, stagnant for ages.
Pierre knew exactly what lay below.
His master, who had guided him to the path of truth, had taught him every detail of Adelvine's downfall.
"Poor Gert. Heh heh heh..."
Mocking the knight who'd sacrificed even his soul's rest, Pierre leaned into the darkness like slipping into a bath.
The solidified shadows buoyed his body, drawing him deeper.
Drifting with the current, he reached the library's deepest chamber.
There it was.
"Found you."
A massive flower with petals fully unfurled.
As big as two elephants combined, its outer edges bore thick, dark red petals thrusting upward. At the center, a circular maw lined with sharp teeth yawned slowly.
Air currents in the darkness converged straight into that mouth.
It was called the Demon Flower.
But the Demon Flower was dying, its purpose unfulfilled.
Meant to complete its ritual by devouring more humans, it had starved for ages—its prey eradicated, absorbed instead by that knight.
That's why he had to come to Adelvine.
"Time to awaken again."
Pierre drew something from his bosom.
An object wrapped in layers of scrolls inscribed with magic circles.
Peeling them away one by one revealed a black gem shaped like a heart.
Its surface was dark, but red light pulsed within.
Condensed inside were enough lives to revive the comatose Demon Flower. Countless sacrifices refined through black magic.
Pierre caressed the gem and smiled.
"Rise. Be reborn. And serve Him once more."
He glided through the darkness like a dancer, hovering above the Demon Flower.
Did it see him as prey? The maw moved faster.
Pierre released the black gem.
Dark red light descended slowly, sucked into the gaping maw's center. The yawning mouth contracted and sealed shut.
Thump.
A wave rippled out.
The petals swelled, extending in all directions.
Sudden transformation.
"Success."
His mission was complete.
Pierre turned to leave the library.
But a tentacle shot from beneath the petals, coiling around his ankle.
Pierre's eyes widened.
The shock didn't last. His gaze grew hazy, and like one entranced, he swam down the tentacle himself, limbs jerking like a puppet.
The Demon Flower's maw opened again.
Unlike before, dark red viscous fluid glistened inside. Tooth-lined tentacles writhed like living things.
Pierre threw himself in without hesitation.
The mouth closed.
A crunch of bones and his dying scream echoed.
The Demon Flower, now brimming with vitality, emitted a radiant glow.