Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 124

Chapter 124: The way to leave

TL: Potato-tan

Proofreader: Asianpotato

Russell closed the door and turned around after sending Jess downstairs. He noticed that he was now only wearing his underpants, and his upper body was bandaged.

“I treated the wound on your chest. It resembles a fist mark. Did that monster do that to you?”

“Yes. It was quite painful.”

It really was. The monster struck him just as he was about to thrust his greatsword through its defenses. If Russell hadn’t arrived in time and the rest of the group had been absorbed by the devil, a monster that no one could have stopped would have been born.

“Your clothes are over there.”

Irrucil pointed to a black shirt and coat that were neatly folded. Russell removed the bandages.

Fortunately, all the wounds seemed to have healed. There were no other wounds besides the faint fist mark. Ever since he opened his mana, Russell’s body had gained regenerative abilities that rivaled those of trolls and werewolves. Even with those regenerative abilities, it was fortunate that the wound Geliotos had inflicted had healed within a day, before it could become a serious problem.

“This coat is amazing. It has the ability to transform into armor and features an internal subspace for storing items. Where did you get it?”

“It’s a long story. Let’s go downstairs. We need to eat.”

“Right. What about kid?”

“I’ll wake her up and bring her with me. You go down first.”

Irrucil nodded slightly and hopped out of bed. Even though she had stayed up all night, there was no sign of fatigue in her light movements.

“Don’t be late. If you’re even 5 minutes late, I’ll think you ran away again.”

“What will happen then?”

“This time, I’ll bash your head in and carry you home in a sack.”

Russell chuckled.

“Am I an object?”

“I wish you were. I could carry you around in my pocket.”

After saying something nonsensical, Irrucil left the room. Russell shook his head and woke up Aellasis.

“Wake up. I know you’re not sleeping.”

“. . .Since when?”

“Since I woke up.”

Aellasis sat up groggily. She had definitely slept last night. Her hair, which was always smoothly parted, was now as wild as a lion’s mane.

“Ugh. I feel a little awkward for some reason. . .”

With his hand, Russell gently stroked Aellasis’s hair. She purred like a cat, allowing her head to rest in his hand.

Within a minute of calming her hair, Russell got up and put on his coat.

“Let’s go downstairs.”

“Yes.”

They opened the door and walked down the stairs. The sun had risen, but it was still early morning, so the restaurant was lit by lanterns. The faint smell of oil and food mixed together, creating a strange aroma that was hard to describe.

There weren’t many people, but their expressions were bright. Yesterday’s bulletin board had a detailed account of the battle on the plains two days ago, so the merchants could resume their trade smoothly and the mercenaries could receive their pay.

The staff who had been up since dawn were wiping down tables with dry rags and shaking awake the drunkards who had been drinking until the evening and had passed out.

“Russell, over here.”

Jess, Irrucil, and Farrell were sitting at a large round table. The waiter had already taken their order and was placing bowls of stew and plates of meat on the table.

Russell swiftly finished his meal and carefully considered his words as he gazed at Hailyn. He sorted through the memories he had gained two days ago by forcibly rummaging through Kelpag’s mind and picked out only the memories that Kelpag had experienced relatively recently.

“It seems that Sir Hailyn succeeded in tracking down the devil who taught the orcs how to create the red crystal, or rather, the Stone of Life, and how to use it.”

“As expected. . .”

Russell nodded and continued.

“As you know, that devil was Geliotos. Sir Hailyn found clues in the radical physical enhancements that occurred within the Orc tribe, and the rituals that the Orc shamans performed, gathering people together. He realized that the Orc tribe was Geliotos’s pawns. But Kelpag got caught in the middle of it.”

“. . .So?”

“Fortunately, he wasn’t killed or captured, but he must have had a hard time overcoming both the rituals and the evil magic, so he seems to have used a portal spell to escape in the middle of the battle.”

When Russell encountered Kelpag, he had given all his magic to Geliotos. If Russell had encountered Kelpag when he was in perfect condition, along with the other living orc shamans, he might not have been able to escape unscathed. Although magic disruption was possible, if he was overwhelmed by sheer numbers, he might have had a disadvantage.

Jess muttered.

“A portal spell. . . One of the divine magic spells we use is a portal spell, but its success rate is not as high as other portal or teleport spells. This spell has nearly become obsolete, even within the church. However, if it had been Sir Hailyn, he might have memorized it after studying some ancient texts. He was a man who loved to study.

Russell also knew that Hailyn had extensive knowledge when he accompanied him to kill the great devil, Logos.

“Anyway, Hailyn created a portal and threw himself into it. It appeared that his only option was to perish if he remained there any longer, but the issue was that Kelpag’s ritual had collided with that portal. Kelpag’s memories ended there. There was no way to know right away whether Hailyn was alive or dead.”

Jess became serious and fell into thought. The portal spell was still a very unstable form of magic. If it went wrong, he could end up wandering forever between spaces.

Jess said.

“This time, the devil Geliotos acquired a physical body and descended to the earth, but it is very likely that the process was not proper. Although Sarannen, the druid, and I were present, if it hadn’t been for Russell and Kai, Geliotos would have eventually descended to the surface in perfect form in the middle of the war. Had it not been for Russell and Kai, everyone would have perished, and the orcs would have become a new race of devils.

“I think so too.”

At that moment, a voice intervened. The orc had brown skin, bulging muscles, and wriggling black tattoos. He had a shaved head and black hair that was braided into a ponytail. One of his protruding fangs was fitted with a steel cap. It was Kai.

“What about the other orcs?”

“For that very reason, I brought that up to the Lord. Thank you, Russell.”

“For what?”

“For saving our race, I understand why Vulcan told me to follow you. If you hadn’t been there, it would have been difficult for me to save the orc race from the swamp of demonization, even if I had come here alone. No, it would have been impossible.”

Russell tilted his head slightly.

“You sound as if you’re saying goodbye.”

“That’s right.”

Kai nodded, and Aellasis exclaimed in surprise.

“What? Really?”

“Yes, Aella. I am now a champion for them. Chenpa returned to the forest with his tribe’s warriors. Chenpa sought out Riadun and his tribe, who refrained from taking part in the conflict. He says that they are weak and cowardly orcs, so they must have stayed out of this war and left their warriors and shamans completely behind.”

“What next?”

Kai looked at Russell with a serious expression in response to his question.

“There are still many orcs who have turned into monsters all over the continent.”

“You mean uruks?”

“Yes. There are also a considerable number of orc tribes who do not yet know that Vulcan has returned. There is no assurance that they won’t succumb to the devil’s tricks once again.

“Do you think it’s likely?”

“Very likely.”

Jess nodded.

“I think so too. Devils exploits people’s weaknesses. And they confidently say that they can fill those gaps. The sad truth is that their bragging is true.”

Devils do not lie, but they do not tell the whole truth either. They cleverly hide and distort the truth in order to corrupt others. The byproducts of corruption are the devil’s food.

Kai emphasized.

“This time, my brothers have learned something important. They have learned that it is not enough to simply live hidden in the forest and mountains. They must now come out and face civilization.”

The table fell silent for a moment after Kai’s long and unexpected speech.

“Can I join my brothers?”

Russell chuckled. Kai’s face was stiff, and his back was rigid. By the way he spoke, it appeared as if he was a servant who had been sworn to serve his master for life and was asking permission to leave.

Of course, Russell and Kai were not in a master-servant relationship. Russell had simply accepted Kai’s request to accompany him.

“Who gave you permission to ask that? I thought we had a similar conversation last time. The path is open to everyone. It is up to each person to choose which path to take and who to walk with. If you have walked with me until now, you can also walk alone.”

“. . .Thank you.”

“When are you leaving?”

“Right now.”

“I see. Be careful.”

Russell shook hands with Kai. The champion of Vulcan greeted Aellasis, Jess, Farrells, and Irrucil in turn.

Russell thought back to when he first met Kai. He had never expected that such interesting things would happen when he met him at the Black Barley Inn.

That was why he had gone on his journey. The results always exceeded expectations. Sometimes it brought anger and bitterness, like when a nameless village was massacred, but it also created farewells that were both refreshing and bittersweet, like this time.

“May Vulcan’s protection always be with you.”

“Yes. See you again.”

Kai left the tavern. To gather the remaining tribes and, following Vulcan’s guidance, restore his brothers who had become monsters to their original form.

Aellasis sniffed and said,

“He’s really leaving.”

“We’ll meet again.”

Jess, who had also watched Kai leave, stood up and spoke.

“I will stop by the lord’s mansion for a moment. I need to ask the Lord to stop the search I requested and express my gratitude.”

“What next? Are you going back to the church?”

Jess nodded.

“I suppose so. I need to report on this incident, announce Sir Hailyn’s disappearance, and then launch a full-scale search.”

“I see. It was nice meeting you.”

“Likewise, Russell. I wish I had had a little more time to relax. This time around, everything has been extremely busy. Please visit the Grand Church next time. It will be worth seeing.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Yes. It was a pleasure meeting you, Aellasis. See you again.”

Jess also greeted them and left the restaurant. The only people left were Russell, Irrucil, Aellasis, and Farrell. Farrells was unable to follow the rapid-fire conversation, so he shook his head.

“This is unbelievable. You guys are such amazing people, even the conversations you have are intimidating.”

“What are you going to do? I heard that you offered to be a guide.”

“. . .Who said that? Did Irrucil say that?”

Russell looked at Irrucil, and she turned her head away. ‘Aha, so she had forced him to do it.’

“I guess not. Well, my sister tends to get lost easily when she goes somewhere for the first time. She’s smart, but she can’t tell directions when she’s in a strange place.”

“That’s what I’m talking about! Seriously, because of that lady, I got lost, met a bunch of bandits, and last time, there were Orcs and monsters. Ugh, I must have lost three or four lives, I realized.”

Farrells, who had experienced a lot while traveling with Irrucil, poured out his complaints. It was quite amusing to see the aristocratic man with blond hair and blue eyes swear.

Aellasis also laughed out loud and asked if it was really true. Farrells responded in the affirmative, then abruptly turned to Aellasis and inquired.

“Come to think of it, how does Russell carry a dragon around? It doesn’t even look like it’s been born very long.”

“Do you know much about dragons?”

Farrells hesitated, then spoke.

“Well, I know as much as everyone else.”

Russell noticed that there was something hidden in his tone of voice, but he didn’t ask any further.

“It’s a connection I made in the city of Calisden. I was asked by a dragon named Ismenios to take care of her egg.”

“Wow, a warrior who is asked by a dragon. That’s such a corny old story. Even kids would scoff at it if you told them.”

Russell thought so too, but what could he do? It was the truth.

“Sister. What are you going to do?”

“I was going to take you with me. By force if necessary.”

Aellasis’s eyes widened at Irrucil’s calm words.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Our home, our family.”

“Where is that?”

Irrucil looked at Russell and shrugged.

“North. The Asor Duchy.”

“A duchy! I knew you weren’t from an ordinary family!”

Farrells exclaimed excitedly. But Irrucil raised a hand and quickly covered his mouth.

“I thought so, but it seems like it’s going to be difficult. My brother has become too strong for me.”

Irrucil thought back to the battle two days ago. She hadn’t done anything properly. She had only restrained the devil’s body with chains.

On the other hand, her brother, Russell, whom she hadn’t seen in almost 9 months, had grown in strength beyond comparison to what he had been in the past.

He was attacking the devil, holding a white single-edged axe that emitted a chilling aura in one hand and a huge black sword in the other.

It was a violent spectacle that she never imagined she would see from Russell. With a single swing of his axe, the devil’s skin was torn open and retreated with screams.

Russell, who swung his axe and greatsword alternately like an enraged berserker, looked like one at first glance. In addition, he had acquired the lightning attribute at some point, and the way he shattered the devil’s body was a dazzling display of lightning bolts.

‘I boasted to my father that I would bring him back. . . But. . .’

Honestly, she couldn’t say for sure if she could win.

“For the time being, I’m going to follow you. Travelling alone was boring and dull, but it will be different if I’m with my brother.”

“Excuse me? I was with you too. . .”

Farrells raised his hand pitifully in appeal, but Irrucil simply ignored him. Russell chuckled.

In fact, he couldn’t help but wonder if his family would send pursuers after him.

After all, he was one of the most likely candidates to be the next head of the Zahard family. It was foolish to think that leaving a single letter behind would be enough to solve the problem.

‘But I never thought my sister would come herself.’

He had thought that they would send a knight at most. Who would have imagined that his sister, who would automatically become the family’s next head if he disappeared, would come herself?

Just then, a knight opened the door of the tavern and entered. Vandel was there. He must have been in a hurry, because his head and face were covered in sweat.

“Russell, is Russell here?”

Russell stood up from his seat. He could hear the urgency in Vandel’s voice.

“I’m here. What’s the matter?”

“My, my lord. The Lord is in a critical condition. Help me!”

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