Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The Beast

Every warrior answered the high, clear voice. The knights’ formation, some holding lances and others swords, formed a sharp wedge with a pointed tip and a wide base.

Haa! Haa! Charge! Charge!

The flames pouring out from under the city walls were rapidly dwindling. The knights ran over the scorched earth.

Even under the dark clouds, the silver armor of superhumans maintained its luster.

Those who could sense mana, which only a few could, and who had mastered the art of sublimating mana into magical power, raised their physical abilities to the level of monsters.

Humans who were not humans.

The monsters also charged towards the humans, who had boldly rushed out of the city gates without fear. Those with bows and arrows shot them right away.

“A barrier to protect against projectiles!”

As the light-haired female knight at the forefront thrust her sword forward, a blue protective film appeared. Her earrings were bright.

Thud, thud! The arrows bounced off the protective film without piercing it, and the knights ran forward without hindrance. The distance between the group of monsters and the sharp wedge of knights was rapidly closing.

They were rushing towards each other, and neither side stopped. The monsters charged forward with only instinct and a single command in their dim consciousness, while the humans threw themselves forward to protect their families, city, and comrades.

A collision. A roar. A scream.

The cavalry trampled over the monsters, then advanced. The monsters, whose skin was already dark and thick even in the dim light, looked even darker, and the knights in blue light stood out among them.

The female knight at the forefront was the most dazzling among them. The woman swung her pale hair and stabbed a monster with her sword.

Compared to the other large knights, she was small in stature, but the blue flames that occasionally rose around her body showed that she was a superhuman who had awakened her magical power.

Russell, who was smoking a cigarette on the ramparts, could see it all.

And then the Lord’s voice reached his ears again.

━That child’s name is Zeona. My daughter. Isn’t she brave?

“. . .Your daughter?”

Russell didn’t bother to look at the lord. He watched the light-haired knight wield her sword through the monster’s gaps.

She had a good posture, as if she had learned how to use a sword somewhere. Even on horseback, she seemed to be able to split the heads of the monsters steadily, and if she survived, she might even make a name for herself.

━Yes. Even as a child, she preferred wooden swords and scarecrow dolls to dolls or sewing. She loved reading stories about warriors who defeated dragons the most, and she dreamed of becoming one.

Russell chuckled. As he did this, a puff of cigarette smoke escaped and dissipated into the air.

━It may be funny, but no matter how absurd a dream is, it’s in a parent’s heart to want to protect it. That’s why I’m asking you for one more favor in addition to leading the mercenaries.

Russell guessed what the lord’s request was.

“But how long have you been watching me?”

━Just as you can’t say that you know someone well just because you’ve seen them for a long time, there are also people who you can definitely know just by looking at them for a moment. You are the latter. You are one of the finest warriors I have ever seen. Don’t worry about the reward.

In addition to killing monsters and earning money, he was also protecting a knight who had fallen into a fairy tale. It didn’t sound bad.

Waaah!

As Russell turned his head at the sound of a cheer, he saw infantry and mercenaries following the knights and running out of the city gates.

Charge! Kill the monsters!

The cavalry had split the group of monsters in half. The monsters no longer looked like an army or a group. They were dying from the blades of lances and swords, as well as the wizards’ spells.

━Will you do it?

“Yes.”

━So, when exactly are you going to go down there?

“Now.”

Russell, who had spoken, dropped down from the ramparts. The lord and wizard watching him were surprised, and the blond priestess raised her blue eyes.

Albert projected a mirror image, revealing Russell standing unharmed on the ground. He twisted his ankles and started walking forward.

Albert said it in a bewildered voice.

“He could have just taken the stairs.”

“He might have thought he was running out of time. It’s a method I’ve thought of occasionally. I’ve never tried it before, though. He’s a man who knows a man’s romance.”

“Isn’t the romance of being a man dead?”

“Haha, Albert. I read it in a magazine somewhere, but what do you think was the most common last word spoken by men?”

“. . . . . . .”

“‘It’s okay; I’m not going to die.’”

Khahahaha!

Frederick, the lord, laughed out loud, and Albert looked at him with pity, while the blond priestess let out a sigh of relief, unnoticed by Russell.

They saw a dark elf, who had fallen down with him, walking alongside him in the mirror. When she said something to him, Russell shook his head.

Elenora recalled the oracle she had received from the Grand Church. The oracle was ominous, warning that a horde of monsters and evil would soon cover the world. The oracle foretold that a storm of chaos would sweep the world, with a creature with violet eyes at its center.

Her blue eyes deepened.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Zeona felt alive. Every time Zeona swung her sword, it wounded or cut a monster’s neck, causing it to die.

The proof of life is nothing special. ‘I confronted the murderous intent that was attempting to kill me, broke it, and ultimately killed it. That was one of the easiest ways for me to know that I was alive.’ That’s how Zeona felt.

“Ahahaha! Come on, monsters! Become the cornerstone of my honor and glory by dying for Zeona!”

Her swordsmanship and magic skills were noteworthy, yet her innocence had the most profound influence.

A dwarf blacksmith crafted the armor that protected her upper and lower body, while a dark elf blacksmith crafted the sharp sword in her hand.

Not only that. She adorned both ears with long hexagonal crystal earrings and hung a necklace of the same shape around her neck. It was a relic necklace that Albert, the lord’s aide and wizard, had found for her.

The relic’s light deflected the arrows and other projectiles that flew from afar, and the sword easily cut through the monsters’ thick skin and armor. Her armor also blocked the monsters’ blunt swords and spears.

Zeona slaughtered the monsters almost unconsciously. She felt as if she had become a legendary knight in a story.

She was a superhuman knight who wrapped her body in magical artifacts and crushed the army of monsters with her own strength!

Suddenly, Zeona remembered what the master of the swordsmanship guild had told her.

That was when she first produced the flames of magical power from her sword. The guild master had warned her in a stern voice when she was briefly excited and jumped up and down because she had manifested her sword energy.

‘My lady, it is true that you have excellent talent in swordsmanship and magical power. However, you should not underestimate the power of the monsters outside. Although humans have gained strength comparable to monsters with magical powers, real monsters possess truly immense physical strength. For example, take the dragonkin. They are born with powerful physical abilities and magical organs because they have inherited the blood of a great being. In addition, the magical abilities and combat techniques they have accumulated over hundreds of years easily overwhelm human archmages and masters. So if you ever meet such a monster, just think about saving your life. It is meaningless if you do not survive.’

Zeona laughed.

“Huh. I’m not afraid of monsters like that.”

The sword in her hand was light, and the skins of the monsters that rushed at her were like butter. Zeona increasingly mistaken the weapon’s sharpness and the ancient relics’ strength for her own.

U-oo-oo-oo-oo!

Suddenly, a roar shook the entire battlefield. Zeona turned her head toward the sound’s source.

It was a giant bull with horns and a black humanoid body. The hands resembled those of humans, but the feet were the hooves of a cow. The skin was dark brown, and the terribly swollen muscles and blood vessels were bulging out.

At least 3 meters tall. The minotaur’s long-handled battle axe swept away the crawling creatures. It didn’t matter if they were small goblins, hobgoblins, or orcs. He was staring straight at Zeona.

White steam poured out of his large nostrils. Zeona felt a thrill at the fierce red light, which shone fiercely even from a distance.

“Huh.”

When she looked around, she saw that she was the only one left riding a horse. She found the other knights scattered, engaged in battle with large monsters like trolls and variant goblins.

It wasn’t that the knights had fallen, but that she herself had become separated from them. As proof of this, several knights were looking around and searching for Zeona. Then, they soon discovered Zeona facing the minotaur head-on, and they screamed loudly in response. “My Lady! Come back!”

The light-colored-haired knight, Zeona, didn’t even listen. She turned her horse’s head with a chuckle.

“You have a skull that would look perfect as a decoration in my room. You’d be better off in a lady’s room with your ugly body than as a decoration. Let’s go, Ista!”

Neigh!

Her beloved horse whinnied and began to gallop. It kicked away or jumped out of the way before it kicked anything that got in its way.

Soon, there was nothing standing between Zeona and the minotaur.

Under the dark clouds, the monstrous bull giant appeared to be infinitely low. The wind hitting her face was filled with the sound of rain. Every time Ista trampled on the ground, she felt the vibration transmitted.

The exhilaration. She felt as if she and the monster were the only ones in the world. The illusion was that the background around her was gradually disappearing, and she could even see the pores of the monster’s skin getting closer.

Zeona heard the sound of the axe and raised her sword high.

‘Did I scream? Did I cry out?’

Her vision whirled around and around. Why was the sky beneath the ground? Her body felt infinitely light. It felt as if her blood, flesh, muscles, and bones had vanished in an instant.

Kwaang!

Intense pain. The blood, flesh, muscles, and bones that seemed to have disappeared reappeared in an instant and insisted that they were still there. She screamed at the endlessly changing intersection of heaven and earth. ‘Just stop it. This dizziness will make me fall over.’

Before she knew it, she realized that she was lying face down.

“Ugh.”

Uwek. Things that came from within burst through her lips. A mixture of saliva and blood saturated the ground. It was sticky, with a lot of red blood.

She felt the rough texture of dirt on her cheek. ‘Where did the helmet I was wearing go?’

The roar of monsters. The roar of humans. “My Lady Zeona!” ‘Someone is calling me.’ “Get up, my lady!” ‘Yes. I have to get up.’

“Gulp, gulp! Keuk, heurreurr.”

‘Is this my voice? My nanny would be terrified if she heard this. Even without that, she complained all the time that I didn’t act like a lady.

“Eeeeeeee!”

‘The sound of a horse. I raised my head. I could see a creature with four legs flailing on the ground. It tried to get up, but soon after, there was a monster trampling on its belly.’

The minotaur, breathing heavily, swung down the axe he was holding.

The horse’s neck snapped off with a creak. The four legs that had been kicking towards the sky straightened up and trembled, then soon collapsed.

‘Ista. On my 13th birthday, I received a horse as a gift. My friend.’

“Keuk. Haaaaaaaaaaaak.”

‘I got up, bracing myself on the ground. No, the moment I thought I got up, I fell again. My limbs didn’t listen to me. My arms trembled more violently than when I had swung a wooden sword at a scarecrow doll all day long.

‘I could hear the sound of the minotaur walking, thumping, thumping. He was coming slowly, as if he thought he had caught his prey. Me, me as prey? I lost? Me, Zeona?

“Haaaah!”

‘At one point, I was standing. My legs were trembling, my chest and stomach hurt, my cheeks were bitter, and the sword in my hand was heavy.

‘When I brought my other hand to my ear, I couldn’t feel what I should have felt. The earring was broken. It must have thwarted the minotaur’s attack.’

Judging from the fact that she was standing without any major external injuries, it seemed to have succeeded in blocking it, but it didn’t seem to have blocked the horse and the shock of the fall that followed.

‘When I touched my neck, the necklace was still there. How many more times will this protect me?

‘Suddenly, I raised my head and saw the minotaur standing in front of me. He seemed to have been waiting.’

“Ha. You monster.”

Zeona raised the magical power within her body. Her body was covered in a blue flame of magical power, the same color as her hair. Her hair fluttered as she rose against gravity. Her sky-colored eyes shone.

However, because of the side effects of forcibly raising her magical power, blood was about to rise from inside her again. She swallowed it down hard and glared at the minotaur.

Since there was no shield hanging next to Ista’s saddle, she held the longsword with both hands and faced the monster.

The knight and the minotaur confronted each other. The wind stopped. The surrounding monsters blocked the knights’ attempts to flee. There was no obstacle within her and the minotaur’s radius.

U-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo!

“Hwaaaaap!”

The minotaur’s huge axe and Zeona’s sword clashed. Surprisingly, she endured the force. Even the master of the swordsmanship guild had admired her talent for swordsmanship, which made it possible.

The loud noise of the sword and axe clashing rang out over the battlefield several times. As she blocked and knocked away the axe, she felt confident that she could prevail. She had a chance of winning.

Although she had lost Ista and suffered internal injuries due to carelessness, she thought that she could endure like this and wait for an opportunity. At that time, she would step on the minotaur’s chest, just as Ista had died, and cut off his neck like a decapitator.

Kwaang!

An unexpected force broke her wrist at that moment. The sword that Zeona was holding dug into her shoulder as it broke.

“Keuk!”

Her knees buckled automatically at the blinding pain. Zeona barely raised her head, unable to control her trembling body.

The minotaur’s face was in front of her nose. It was about three times the size of a bull’s head.

It smelled like an indescribable beast. The smell was akin to washing clothes soaked in a horse’s urine bucket for ten days and ten nights in a sewer’s sewage.

Zeona realized that the monster was laughing at the source of the smell. A torn lip and yellow teeth flashed through the gap. A terrible mouth odor. Round, cruel red eyes.

The minotaur was playing with Zeona. The goal was to create a moment of triumph and intoxication.

“You son of a b*tch.”

As she felt the pain of the sword piercing her shoulder, Zeona twisted her lips, and her knees gradually touched the ground. And as if it didn’t like that smile, the monster kicked her. Zeona couldn’t stop it.

The necklace burst out with a dazzling light and shattered, and the protective film that had wrapped around her body shattered with the sound of breaking glass.

Once again, the sky and the earth turned upside down.

Zeona had barely stopped rolling. Gulp! The blood she had been holding back gushed out. Blood flowed down her jaw, neck, and chest. She had no strength at all. The magical power she had felt so full of was nowhere in sight.

As she lay on the ground, she glanced up at the minotaur charging at her.

As if to finish it off, he gripped the handle with both hands, and the gleaming axe blade at the end of it soared into the sky.

Accordingly, Zeona’s gaze went up. Zeona gazed up at the monstrous giant of a bull, its hairy upper body, its muscular arms that seemed ready to burst, the axe he held in his hand, and the black sky above it.

‘Is this the end?

‘As a child, I lost my mother, and I fell asleep every night while my nanny read me a fairy tale about a warrior who defeated a dragon. I was fascinated by the sharpness of the sword, and I was happy to have the talent for swordsmanship and magic. I trained all day long, and I had new, hard flesh grow over the torn flesh. Someday, I wanted to stand in front of my late mother and boast that I had become such a great warrior.’

The axe, which had reached its peak, was coming down. Zeona couldn’t stop it. Her armor turned into rags, the sword she had been holding flew away, and the relic that had protected her lost all its power and broke.

Even so, she didn’t turn her eyes away, looking straight at the axe. She had the illusion that time was passing slowly. In that, Zeona said what she had to say in her own way.

‘Mom. I did well. I killed a lot of monsters that were invading the city. Even without me, the remaining knights will defeat the monsters. So don’t scold me for coming back so quickly. I. Mom, I really, really missed you. And. . . I’m sorry. Dad.’

Kwaang!

Zeona opened her eyes wide. A white line flying from somewhere collided with the minotaur’s axe. The force was so strong that the minotaur dropped the axe it was bouncing off and stepped back.

Clatter! Thud.

The sound of the falling axe and the sound of the deflected white line drove into the ground in succession.

Zeona turned her head and looked at it with a blank face.

It was an excellent sword. A sword is larger than an ordinary claymore. The sword boasted a long, white leather-wrapped handle, a cross-guard beneath it, and a thick, large blade. In her eyes, she saw the engraved pattern of a tree on the blade.

It was a symbol of the dark elf blacksmith, who had refused to engrave it even when she asked her to. The symbol was a tree, its branches and roots symmetrical both above and below. World Tree.

“You’ve come a long way.”

A grumbling voice. The voice’s owner grabbed the great sword and pulled it out.

“How did I end up coming here and finding you in trouble?”