Chapter 247

Chapter 247: What is a Knight’s Death?

The demon who had been called Peri Yurei had reached a skill that far surpassed his prime.
He was certain he had reached the apex of what was known as a Sword Expert.
However, he was by no means a Sword Master.
Breaking the wall from Expert to Master was not something achieved simply by the body growing stronger.
Even so, he thought it would be easier than before.
If he trained a little more, he believed he would undoubtedly reach it.
In that sense, something welled up within Urey’s hollow emotions.
That man.
That man, currently cornered and dying, was performing an aura technique that only a Sword Master could wield.
“Single-Point Focus.”
A method of concentrating the aura within the body, which normally envelops it completely, into a single point.
Gathering what is scattered is a difficult task, akin to collecting spilled water.
Furthermore, since all the aura protecting the entire body disappeared, the risk of death was extremely high.
It is no wonder it is called a Sword Master’s aura.
“That…”
In that brief instant, he awakened and executed the technique of someone who had reached the realm of a Sword Master.
To think he blocked his famous sword with a ceremonial sword.
It was a chilling feat, though not threatening.
He knew the price that had been paid to block that single strike.

“You… blocked it.”

Urey could not answer.
William spoke further to Urey with a trembling body.

“Please, the promise…”

His words did not reach the end.
His head soared into the sky, then rolled across the ground.

“Did you really believe I would spare you if you blocked 10 times?”
“Stupid bastard.”

The demons chuckled and burst into laughter.
Urey saw William’s head rolling on the ground.

“Why…?”

Urey asked.

“Why did you act on your own?”

The demon shrugged and replied.

“He was going to die anyway, wasn’t he? Telling him would have just been a waste of time.”

Urey nodded slightly at those words.
He did not get angry.
As the man said, that was William’s final flash.
He would have died even without his head being cut off, so the form it took did not matter.
Whether William ascended to the Sword Master realm or displayed some technique, before death he was a trivial existence.
Everyone is the same.
In a drought there is famine; after a storm only despair remains; before overwhelming power, promises are mere fences easily jumped over.

“Stupid bastard.”

To be born and to die is the natural order;
For us, trapped in this cycle, only emptiness remains;
Life is that insignificant.

“What the hell?”

A demon tilted his head, questioning.
The corpse that remained motionless did not fall.
They kept watching just in case, but the headless body stood firm.

“Did I cut too cleanly? It seems his body still believes it’s alive?”
“Can we call him Swift Speed Alpael from now on?”
“Swift Speed my foot, let’s call him Quick Shot.”

Even as meaningless jokes flew back and forth, William’s corpse remained upright.
The demon who had severed the head frowned and stood in front of him.

“Come on, just fall already.”

He gave it a slight push, and William’s body tilted.
Then something surprising happened.
William’s headless corpse staggered, then regained its balance and stood up straight again.

“What the hell?”
“It wasn’t just me, right? What is that thing?”

There was no mana felt binding that body.
It was neither undead magic nor a miracle of a god.
It was a crystallization born solely from the tenacity that humans possess.

“William…”
“You who lost your head, what are you trying to say?”

The sword resonates.
It flows to the heart, then shatters.
The emptiness he had felt in his heart was shattering.
Suddenly, something from the depths of his memory surfaced.
It was a certain moment in the Duchy of Urey.
When he secretly inspected the knight training grounds, an incident occurred on the drill field.
Beatings disguised as swordsmanship training were an everyday occurrence.
But even that had a baseline that was maintained.
Making someone fight without giving a new sword to a person whose sword had broken was not allowed.
Above all, three people surrounding and beating one was unthinkable.
Seeing that, Urey felt possessed by something and wanted to interfere, so he went down.
Their conversation now echoed clearly in his ears.

“You are supposed to be practicing the Order’s swordsmanship, what are you doing!?”
“We are sorry!”
“Again! Bastard! If you can’t do it right this time either, will we do it again!?”
“Yes!”

Three cadets feeling euphoria while beating a man covered in blood and bruises.
The beating disguised as training had already lost its justification.

“His Grace the Duke has arrived!!”

At the thunderous shout of the knight standing beside him, the beating finally stopped.

“You are still slacking off!!”

They lowered their swords, put their hands behind their backs, and lined up.
The man who had been beaten also staggered and stood up next to them.

“What were you doing?”

Urey asked.

“We were doing mental training.”
“What kind of mental training?”
“If we can resolve to die for His Grace the Duke…”
“I see.”

Urey nodded as if understanding, then spoke.

“All of you, down.”
“Huh?”
“DOWN!!”
“Y-yes, down!”

Thus began the punishment training.
The man who had been beaten was no exception.
The one leading the punishment training was Urey.

“Down on one, up on two. One.”
“One!”
“One!”

There was no two.

“Those who collapse will be considered dead. Endure to the brink of death. This is an order.”
“Yes!”

Time passed.
After 10 minutes, 20 minutes more, they finally collapsed at the limit of their strength.
But the cadet who had been beaten was still holding on.
Urey’s expression crumpled.

“You on the ground, get up.”
“Get up!”

Three men standing up hastily.

“You three.”
“Yes!”
“What is a knight?”

They recited the textbook definition of a knight.

“A knight resolves to die, serves God, is loyal to his lord, and protects the people…”
“Bastards like you!!”

Urey roared.

“Dare you disobey my order and collapse!?”

Even the knight who had shouted was startled.

“Anyone can say they resolve to die! Before death, humans become cowards! Are we such humans!?”
“No, sir!”
“Your actions were nothing like that at all! On the battlefield, you would be the ones to flee! That is what you were!”
“We are sorry!”

Crisp apologies.
But Urey’s heart had already turned away.

“I will give you three three hours! Leave right now! Return to your homes and tell them clearly that you stained the name of Urey, understood?!”

Three men standing motionless, unable to accept reality.

“What are you doing!? Leave!!”

Only then did they scatter.
Amidst all this, the beaten man remained on one.
His arms trembled, but he did not collapse.

“You.”
“Yes!”
“Didn’t you learn to state your rank and name?”
“Cadet, Wi, William!”
“Say it while maintaining the position. If you collapse, you will be expelled like them.”
“Yes, understood!”
“Why did you come here to become a knight?”

He replied.

“My only life! I came to dedicate it to my country!”
“With such a trivial mindset?”
“For His Grace! I can gladly give my only life!”

He was proving it with his own body.
Even his tearing muscles were clearly visible, yet he endured.

“Listen! Anyone can die! Even spearmen sent to the front lines on the battlefield can do that!”

The man staring at the ground raised his head.
Urey still vividly remembered the look in that cadet’s eyes as he watched him.

“A knight’s death is!”
“…A stepping stone to carry forward the will.”

William had not forgotten the memory of that day for a single moment.
A spark ignited in his useless heart.
The confusion persists.
Agony shakes Urey’s heart.
Urey asked.
To be born and to die is the natural order;
For us, trapped in this cycle, only emptiness remains;
Life is that insignificant,
Why must we suffer such pain?
He answered.
However, the reason we advance toward the void
Is because there is a country that knows of my death,
Because there is a belief that a future exists.
Even if an ashen emptiness settles at the end of death.
The scattered seeds will one day bloom.
Walking the future must be done with these two legs, not with God’s will.
If my only life becomes a path to the future,
Gladly,
“I will shatter like jade.”

His confused mind finally finds order.
Hot tears flow from Urey’s eyes.

“Ha, this dog-like thing, just fall already…”

That demon couldn’t finish his words either.
A crimson flash enveloped him, and his head flew into the sky.
An ambush no one expected.
They wondered if there was a hidden attacker, but the attacker was clear.

“Captain Urey?! What the hell is this…?!”

Before the words ended, Urey’s sword severed another demon’s head.

“Son of a bitch! Did you betray us?!”

The demons’ judgment was swift, and they immediately attacked Urey.
But his body surpassed even his prime, and among the demons, he was unmatched.
Even with only three remaining attacking simultaneously, Urey annihilated them in an instant.
Blood scattered, and the sounds of massacre calmed with the night.
The headless knight still guarded that place.
The heart of the man who abandoned his lord for his conviction endured until the end.

“You… saved me.”

There was no longer any emptiness on Urey’s face.
Emotions welled up in his chest, and warm streams flowed from his eyes.

“I…”

Urey tried to keep speaking, but no words came out.
Even as he spoke, he thought.
“Could he hear his own words without a head?”
Even if he could hear, he didn’t want him to.
He, who remembered his own figure shouting grand words only to surrender before death.
He didn’t want him to feel this pathetic figure of his.

“It’s shameful…”

He was unbearably ashamed of himself.
He wanted to take his own life right then and apologize.
But he must not.
Since he was saved by William’s hands, he had to accept his will.
That was the duty he had to fulfill as someone who lives.
Urey’s eyes shifted silently somewhere.
The eyes of a child watching all this from the bushes.
They trembled like hidden weasel pups.
One of them was different.
Anger and hatred were felt in those eyes.
Someday, that child would come to plunge a sword into his heart.
Urey looked away.
He did not have the qualification to save them.
He silently picked up the helmet rolling on the ground.
It was William’s.
What should he do now?
He had awakened from the emptiness demons feel, yet he still retained the form of a demon.
He could not live as a human, nor live as a demon.
He became a lone wolf.
He raised his head.
The stars were visible through the dense trees.
Urey asked those stars.

“Where should I go?”

The stars did not answer.
This time 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 is fine.”
“Just not here.”
“Just not here…”

William’s rebellion concluded when the moon had heavily inclined toward the west.
Ferda received a report of where William was and headed there.
One of the searchers who came to meet him spoke.

“We found what appears to be William, but…”

“Appears to be”.
Hearing those words, Ferda knew his body was not intact.
Entering the bushes, those who saw his corpse could not hide their astonishment.
Ferda could understand why they reacted that way.
It was a scene where one could roughly grasp what had happened.
Five demon corpses dyed the area red with scattered blood.
And in the center stood a headless corpse on two legs.
Beneath that corpse were children.
The children wept silently.

“How long has it been like this?”
“Since we found him. He hasn’t moved an inch.”
“…”
“We thought he had gone stiff like that, so we tried to retrieve the children, but the corpse moved on its own…”
“Moved?”
“Yes. It brandished its sword and chased us away.”
“…”
“We thought perhaps it’s a Dullahan the demons created, but we can’t get close.”

Dullahan.
Given it came from a necromancer’s lair, that assumption wasn’t far-fetched, and superficially it looked exactly like one.
But Ferda felt it from its two legs.
The utopia he had admired most was right here.
Ferda carefully approached that body.

“It’s dangerous, Regent-nim.”
“Don’t make a fuss.”

Ferda told them quietly.

“Show proper respect to the dead.”

Ferda stood in front of him.
William pointed his drawn sword at Ferda.
However, he did not threaten like he did with the soldiers trying to take the children.
His body felt it was Ferda.

“William.”

The captain of the refugees, and the captain of security.
Ferda had believed he would one day cause an incident like this.
He betrayed his lord to lead refugees, and being unjust, even aided the Princess’s deviation.
He believed this incident was also something he would do.

“Should I have stopped you?”

Ferda asked his chest.
The Dark Circle did not move.
It responded that he would have regretted it more had he stopped him.
There was something unknowable until the brink of death, only known through death.
Ferda understood it through that death.
“I am not the Lord of Hestia Village, nor the Regent of the Grand Duchy of Valdrova.”

“In the name of Ferda Valdrova, I promise.”

“I am the Prince Consort of Valdrova.”

“I will bring every single one of the children you saved to Hestia Village without exception.”

The hand wielding the sword trembled slightly.
An action as if hesitating for a moment.
Ferda continued speaking.

“Those who try to do harm will be made an example of, and I will spare no support so they can follow the right path. Even if they fall down a wrong path of no return, I will never give up. So…”

Ferda placed his hand on his shoulder.

“Entrust your burden to me.”

It is felt from Ferda’s fingertips.
His body trembles.
His soul resonates.
Strength leaves his two legs, and Ferda carefully received that body.

“Move him with full honors. And take the children to the tents as well.”
“Not to the cells?”
“Correct.”

The soldiers followed Ferda’s decision without complaint.
It was difficult to utter a word in this somber atmosphere.
Then he saw one of the searchers raise his head as he approached.
Seeing that hair color, he knew who it was.

“Is that William’s head?”
“Yes, it is.”
“May I see it?”
“Huh? Ah, yes…”

Ferda accepted the head.
Whether all the rough parts had been cleaned, the face was neat.

“Did they touch up the expression?”
“No. It had that face from the beginning. Eerily so…”
“I see.”

Ferda had seen many humans before death.
Each of them begged for their lives in ugly ways, or died frozen in fear.
His face was different.
He was staring intently at the enemy until the end.
Ferda closed his eyelids.

“Rest now.”

The face quickly became peaceful.
Dawn broke.
They moved with the cart transporting the bodies, and upon returning to camp, unexpected guests awaited them.

“You have returned, Regent.”

It was King Hudret.
He had come here in his own carriage.
Ferda finished the greeting with a slight nod.

“Did you also bring the escaped children?”
“Yes.”
“Hurry up and hang them. Let’s finish this quickly and return.”
“I will not execute them.”

At Ferda’s words, Hudret hesitated and asked him.

“Then, will you burn them at the stake?”
“I will not execute them.”

Hudret’s expression wrinkled.

“Do not harbor useless sentiments. In this war—.”
“Many people died. I know.”
“Will you ignore their sacrifice?”
“…”
“Then war could break out.”

“War.”
“Right, rationally speaking, killing five and ending it is what must be done.”
“There is no need to create more useless sacrifices.”

“Does His Majesty Hudret desire war?”
“What if I do?”
“I will accept it at any time.”

Ferda’s gaze was chilling.
Even the escort knights placed their hands on the hilts of their swords.
At the atmosphere that seemed swords would be drawn, Hudret silently raised his hand to stop them.

“As expected, you lack the vessel of an Emperor. Creating an enemy like this.”
“…”
“Watch your conduct, Regent. The road ahead will be difficult.”

Hudret climbed into his carriage.
Unlike the last words he spat, his face wore a smile of satisfaction.
Inside Hudret’s carriage.
The brat sitting across from Hudret looked out the window and spoke.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen someone who doesn’t fear you and stands up to you.”

It was the Gold Dragon, Odograsado.

“Is that why you thought of becoming the Red Dragon’s husband, huh? Ha, ha!”
“There have always been bastards like that. They just never returned alive.”
“So you want to wage war against Valdrova?”
“Say something that makes sense. How would I attack the Far East with my army? I can’t even face the Red Dragon out of fear.”

He acted as if he were trembling, but Odograsado’s face stared intently at Hudret.

“You say that, but it seems you like him.”
“Haha! Was it too obvious?”

Hudret sipped his liquor.
Even as his face wrinkled from the strong drink, a smile soon spread.

“I am 38 years old, and in my entire life, the human I have desired so intensely is the first since my wife.”
“Pwah-ha-ha! Falling in love with a man, you have really gone far!”
“Don’t say such disgusting things. The only one I love is my wife.”
“If you don’t want to hear more, bring out something sweet quickly.”
“I can’t. Once you start eating, you don’t stop day or night. You’ve already eaten enough, so be content.”
“When did I eat so much?”
“I still remember it. You stole candy from a snotty brat’s mouth and put it in your own.”
“Bastard! You don’t fear the Gold Dragon’s curse, you brat! Waaah~!”

He snorted at the pathetic threat of raised arms.
The war is over.
Now it is time to return home.