Chapter 247 - What a Knight's Death Means (Summer Bonus Illustration 1)

The Demon once called Perry Yurei had grown far more powerful than he had ever been in his prime. He was certain he had reached the very pinnacle of the sword expert stage. But he was by no means a swordmaster.

Breaking through the wall between expert and master required more than a stronger body. Still, he thought it would be easier now than before. With just a little more training, he believed he would surely reach it.

And so something stirred within Yurei's emotional emptiness. That man. That cornered, dying man was manipulating aura in a way only a swordmaster could.

'Single-point concentration.'

A method of concentrating the body's aura in one place, going beyond simply enveloping the entire body. Gathering what had already spread was about as difficult as scooping up spilled water. Moreover, it stripped away all the aura protecting the body, making the risk of death immense. There was a reason this use of aura belonged to swordmasters.

'He managed that...'

In that brief instant, he had awakened and performed a technique belonging to those who had attained the swordmaster's realm. To think he had blocked Yurei's masterwork blade with a ceremonial sword. It was chilling, but not threatening. Yurei knew what he had paid to block that blow.

"I... blocked it."

Yurei could not answer. His body trembling, William continued.

"Please, keep your—"

He never finished. His head flew into the air, then fell and rolled across the ground.

"Did you really think we'd let you live if you blocked ten strikes?"

"Idiot."

The Demons snickered. Yurei looked at William's head rolling on the ground.

"Why..." Yurei asked. "Why did you act without my orders?"

The Demon shrugged in reply.

"He was dying anyway, wasn't he? Talking any more would only waste time."

Yurei gave a slight nod. He felt no anger. As the man said, that had been William's last flare of life. He would have died even without losing his head, so the manner of his death hardly mattered.

Whether William reached the swordmaster's realm or displayed some remarkable feat, he was insignificant before death. Everyone was. Drought brought famine, storms left only despair, and before overwhelming power, promises were no more than fences easily stepped over.

"Fool."

To be born and pass away was the natural order. Trapped within that cycle, all that remained to them was the void. Life was so utterly meaningless.

"What?"

One Demon looked puzzled. The corpse stood motionless, refusing to fall. He kept watching to make sure, but the headless body remained firmly upright.

"Did I cut too cleanly? The body seems to think it's still alive."

"Will you call me Alphael the Swift now, then?"

"Swift, my ass. I'll call you Quickshot."

Even as they traded inane jokes, William's corpse stood tall. The Demon who had beheaded him frowned and stepped in front of it.

"There now. Down you go."

He gave it a shove, and William's body tilted. Then something astonishing happened. The headless corpse stumbled, found its footing, and straightened again.

"What?"

"I wasn't the only one who saw that, right? What the hell is that?"

There was no mana controlling the body. This was neither undead sorcery nor a divine miracle. It was the embodiment of nothing but human tenacity.

"William..."

What are you trying to say without a head?

The sword rang. Its resonance flowed into his heart, shattering what lay there. The emptiness he had felt within was breaking apart.

Suddenly, something surfaced from the far reaches of his memory. It had happened once in the Yurei duchy, on the drill grounds, while he was secretly inspecting the knights' training camp.

Beatings disguised as sword practice were commonplace. But even those were supposed to stay within bounds. Forcing someone to fight with a broken sword without giving him a replacement was forbidden. Above all, three men surrounding and beating one was unthinkable.

At the sight, Yurei went down as though drawn by something, wanting to intervene. He could now hear their conversation clearly.

["You're supposed to use the order's swordsmanship! What are you doing?!"]

["I'm sorry!"]

["Here we go again, you little shit! Get it wrong this time and we'll do it all over again!"]

["Yes!"]

Three cadets were taking pleasure in beating a man covered in blood and bruises. Any pretense of training had long since evaporated.

["His Grace the Duke is here!"]

Only when the knight beside Yurei thundered did the beating stop.

["And you're still laughing and fooling about?!"]

They put down their swords and lined up with their hands behind their backs. The man they had been beating staggered to his feet and stood beside them.

["What were you doing?"] Yurei asked.

["Training our resolve, Your Grace."]

["What sort of resolve?"]

["Whether we are prepared to die for Your Grace..."]

["I see."] Yurei nodded as though he understood. ["All of you, down."]

["Pardon?"]

["Get down!"]

["D-down!"]

Thus began their punishment drill. Even the man who had been beaten was not exempt. Yurei conducted it himself.

["Lower yourselves on one, push up on two. One."]

["One!"]

["One!"]

There was no two.

["Anyone who collapses will be considered dead. Hold until you're at death's door. That is an order."]

["Yes!"]

Time passed. Ten minutes, then another twenty or so, until at last they reached their limit and collapsed. Only the cadet who had been beaten still held on.

Yurei scowled.

["Those of you who collapsed, on your feet."]

["On our feet!"]

The three men sprang up.

["You three."]

["Yes!"]

["What is a knight?"]

They recited the textbook definition.

["A knight is prepared to die, serves God, remains loyal to his lord, and protects the people—"]

["And yet you dare!"] Yurei shouted. ["You dare disobey my order and collapse?!"]

Even the knight who had shouted earlier was startled.

["Anyone can claim to be ready to die! It is human nature to grovel before death! Are we such men?!"]

["No!"]

["Your actions said otherwise! Men who would turn tail on the battlefield! That is what you were!"]

["We're sorry!"]

The apology was brisk. But Yurei had already turned against them.

["You three have three hours! Get out of here this instant! Go home and tell your families plainly that you have disgraced Yurei's name! Understood?!"]

The three stood dumbstruck, unable to accept what was happening.

["What are you waiting for?! Get out!"]

Only then did they leave. Throughout it all, the beaten man remained down at the count of one. His arms trembled, but he did not collapse.

["You."]

["Yes!"]

["Weren't you taught to state your rank and name?"]

["Cadet W-Williaaam!"]

["Keep your arms bent while you speak. Collapse and you'll be expelled just like them."]

["Yes, understood!"]

["Why did you come here to become a knight?"]

He answered.

["I came to give my life for my country!"]

["You came with such paltry resolve?"]

["For Your Grace! I would gladly give my life!"]

He was proving it with his body. Even with visibly torn muscles, he held on.

["Listen! Anyone can die! Even the spearmen driven onto the battlefield's front lines can do that!"]

The man looking at the ground raised his head. Yurei still vividly remembered the look in that cadet's eyes as he gazed up at him.

["A knight's death!"]

* * *

"...must become a foundation upon which his will lives on."

William had never once forgotten that day. An ember caught within Yurei's empty heart. Confusion followed. Anguish shook him.

Yurei asked. To be born and pass away is the natural order. Trapped within that cycle, all that remains to us is the void. Life is so utterly meaningless. Why, then, do I suffer so?

He answered. Even so, we press onward through the void because we have a homeland that will know of our deaths, because we believe there is a future.

Even if emptiness settles like ashes at the end of death, the seeds we sow will one day bloom. It must be these two legs that walk into the future, not the will of a god.

If my one life can be a road leading to the future, then gladly...

"I shall shatter like jade."

At last, his confused mind found order. Hot tears streamed from Yurei's eyes.

"Ha, you fucking thing. Just fall alrea—"

That Demon, too, never finished speaking. A red flash struck him, and his head flew into the air. No one had expected the attack. For a moment they wondered if someone lay in ambush, but the attacker was plain to see.

"Captain Yurei?! What in the world...?!"

Before the words were finished, Yurei's sword severed another Demon's head.

"You son of a bitch! You've betrayed us?!"

The Demons grasped the situation quickly and attacked at once. But Yurei's body surpassed even his prime, and he stood incomparably above the other Demons. With only three left, even their simultaneous assault was dispatched in an instant.

Blood sprayed, and the sounds of slaughter settled with the night. The headless knight still held his ground. The resolve of the man who had abandoned his lord for his convictions endured to the end.

"You... saved me."

Emptiness no longer filled Yurei's face. Emotion surged in his chest, and hot streams flowed from both eyes.

"I..."

He tried to continue, but no words came. Even as he spoke, he wondered whether William could hear him without a head.

Even if he could, Yurei hoped he would not listen. William remembered how he had boasted, only to yield before death. Yurei did not want him to sense how pitiful he had become.

"How shameful..."

He was utterly ashamed of himself. He wanted to take his own life, even now, to atone. But he must not. Having been saved by William, he had to take up his will. That was his duty as one of the living.

Yurei's gaze quietly shifted to the eyes of a child watching everything from the bushes. The children were trembling like baby weasels in hiding. One of them was different. Rage and hatred burned in those eyes. One day, that child would drive a sword into his heart.

Yurei looked away. He had no right to save them. Silently, he picked up the helmet that lay rolling on the ground. It was William's.

What was he to do now? He had awakened from the emptiness Demons were said to feel, but still wore a Demon's form. He could live neither as a human nor as a Demon. He had become a lone wolf.

He raised his head. Stars shone through the thick canopy. Yurei asked them: Where should I go? The stars did not answer.

Next, he asked the moon: Where should I go? The moon did not answer.

This time, he asked himself: Where should I go? He answered. Anywhere would do. Anywhere but here. Anywhere but here...

* * *

William's act of treason came to an end only when the moon had sunk far into the west. Upon receiving word of his whereabouts, Ferda set out for the location. One of the searchers met him on the way.

"We've found what appears to be William, but..."

What appeared to be. Those words told Ferda that his body was no longer whole. As he entered the undergrowth, he found those who had seen the corpse unable to hide their astonishment. He could understand why.

The scene gave him a rough idea of what had happened. Five Demon corpses had sprayed their blood over the clearing, staining it red. In their midst, a headless corpse stood on its own two legs. At its feet were the children, weeping quietly.

"How long has he been like that?"

"He was like that when we found him. He hasn't budged."

"..."

"We thought he'd stiffened in that position, but when we tried to retrieve the children, the corpse moved on its own..."

"Moved?"

"Yes. He swung his sword and drove us off."

"..."

"We suspect it may be a dullahan the Demons created. We can't get close."

A dullahan. Coming out of a Necromancer's den as he had, it was not an unreasonable suspicion, and appearances certainly supported it. But in those two legs, Ferda felt it: the ideal he had most admired was here before him.

He approached the body carefully.

"It's dangerous, Lord Regent."

"Don't make a fuss," Ferda told them quietly. "Show respect for the dead."

He stood before William, who pointed his drawn sword at him. Yet he did not threaten Ferda as he had the soldiers who had tried to take the children. His body sensed who it was.

"William."

The man who had led refugees and served as security captain. Ferda had always believed he would cause trouble like this someday. He had betrayed his lord to lead those refugees, and helped the princess break the rules because the situation was unjust. Ferda had believed he would be the one to do this, too.

"Should I have stopped you?"

Ferda asked his heart. The Dark Circle did not stir. Its answer was that he would have regretted stopping William more.

Some things remained unknowable even on the brink of death, becoming clear only after death came. Through this death, Ferda realized it. I am not the lord of Hestia village, nor the Regent of the Grand Duchy of Valdrova.

"I promise you in the name of Ferda Valdrova."

I am Valdrova's Consort.

"I will take every last child you saved to Hestia village."

The hand holding the sword trembled slightly. It seemed to hesitate for a moment. Ferda continued.

"I will make an example of anyone who tries to harm them, and spare nothing to help them walk the right path. Even if they stray so far they cannot turn back, I will never give up on them. So..."

He placed a hand on William's shoulder.

"Entrust your burden to me."

Ferda felt it beneath his fingertips. The body trembled. The soul resonated. The strength left William's legs, and Ferda carefully caught him.

"Carry him back with every honor. And take the children to a tent."

"Not a cage?"

"That's right."

The soldiers obeyed his decision without complaint. The somber mood made it difficult to say anything. Then Ferda saw a searcher bringing a head over. Its hair color told him whose it was.

"Is that William's head?"

"Yes, sir."

"May I see it?"

"Pardon? Ah, yes..."

Ferda took the head. The face was clean, as though all the gore had been wiped away.

"Did you arrange his expression?"

"No. That's how he looked when we found him. Gave me chills..."

"I see."

Ferda had seen many people face death. Every one of them had died groveling for their life or consumed by fear. This face was different. He had kept his eyes on the enemy to the very end.

Ferda brushed his eyelids closed.

"Rest now."

His face became peaceful at once.

* * *

Dawn broke. Ferda traveled with the carriage bearing the recovered body. When he returned to camp, unexpected visitors awaited him.

"You're back, Regent."

It was King Heodret. He had come in his own carriage. Ferda offered only a slight nod in greeting.

"Did you bring back the escaped children as well?"

"Yes."

"Have them hanged at once. Let's finish this quickly and head home."

"I will not hang them."

Heodret paused at Ferda's words, then asked, "Will you burn them, then?"

"I will not execute them."

Heodret frowned.

"Don't indulge in pointless sentiment. In this war—"

"Many people died. I know."

"Will you disregard their sacrifice?"

"..."

"This could lead to war."

War. Yes, from a rational standpoint, they could kill five people and be done with it. There was no need for more needless sacrifices.

"Do you want war, Your Majesty?"

"And if I do?"

"I will meet you in battle whenever you wish."

Ferda's gaze was chilling enough that the guards put their hands on their sword hilts. Sensing they were about to draw, Heodret quietly raised a hand to stop them.

"As I thought, you don't have the makings of a sovereign. Not when you make enemies like this."

"..."

"Watch your step, Regent. The days ahead will be difficult."

Heodret climbed into his carriage. Contrary to his parting words, a satisfied smile rested on his face.

* * *

Inside Heodret's carriage, the little girl sitting across from him glanced out the window.

"I've never seen anyone stand up to you without a trace of fear before."

She was Odograsado, the Golden Dragon.

"Though I suppose that's why he dared to think of marrying a Crimson Dragon. Ho ho!"

"There have always been men like him. They simply never made it home alive."

"So, do you want to wage war against Valdrova?"

"Be serious. How could I attack the far east with my army? I'm too frightened of the Crimson Dragon, besides."

He made a show of trembling, but Odograsado merely regarded him steadily.

"You say that, but it seems you've taken a liking to him."

"Ha ha! Was it that obvious?"

Heodret sipped his liquor. Though its strength made him grimace, his smile soon returned.

"I'm thirty-eight. In all my life, my wife is the only other person I've ever wanted that badly."

"Pah ha ha! Smitten with a man! You've really gone all the way now!"

"Don't say such disgusting things. My wife is the only person I love."

"If you don't want to hear any more, hurry up and bring me something sweet."

"No. Once you start, you eat nonstop, don't you? You've had plenty already. You'll have to endure it."

"When have I ever eaten like that?"

"I still remember. You took the candy right out of a snot-nosed child's mouth and put it in your own."

"You rascal! Do you not fear the Golden Dragon's curse, you rascal?! Raaawr!"

He snorted at the paltry threat she made with both arms raised.

The war was over. It was time to go home.