Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 157

Chapter 157: The Wind Blowing in the North (5)

 

After riding on the dire wolf for a long time, Takman finally arrived at the hideout in the middle of the night. Upon catching sight of Gilead’s gaze, Takman cautiously parted his lips.

 

“G, Gilead-nim, why did you retreat just now?”

 

“What?”

 

“When we met those guys earlier, I mean. If you had wanted to, you could have killed them all at once━ Ack!”

 

Gilead’s large hand slapped the back of Takman’s head. Gilead coldly looked down at Takman, who was lying face down on the ground, and spat.

 

“Anyway, this punk, are your eyes just for decoration? Huh? Decoration? This punk dares to call himself a wizard!”

 

“Ugh! I’m sorry. Ugh, I’m sorry!”

 

Takman, covered in dirt and dust from the kick, trembled and begged for forgiveness.

 

“Didn’t you see me fighting just now?”

 

“Cough, yes?”

 

“Didn’t you see me and that black-haired guy fighting?”

 

“Yes, yes. That. . . that red-haired woman defeated you. . . . . .”

 

At Takman’s words, Gilead put his hand to his head and sighed deeply.

 

“It’s a shame. Okay, don’t even think about getting involved with those bastards again. It’s annoying.”

 

“Y, Yes. . . . . .?”

 

Takman raised his head with a face covered in dirt, dust, and grass. Gilead, who was among the top five in Odys for his bad temper, was actually saying these words directly.

 

“Despite being pathetic, Fritz was a capable individual. Despite his bad personality, his swordsmanship and killing skills earned him the rank of captain. But look at him now. What happened?”

 

“. . . . . .”

 

“That bastard died, the rest of them all died, and you’re the only one left. Is your strength just strength? Aren’t all of you guys with awakened magical powers and skilled in martial arts? But you all died to that one guy, do you feel nothing after seeing that?”

 

“I was fighting the witch on the other side of the carriage. She, she was a tremendous wizard! She even used blood magic!”

 

“You’re boasting about losing, you idiot.”

 

“Ugh!”

 

Takman was unaware of Fritz’s strategy, which led to his defeat by Russell. The reason for Fritz’s defeat was not only his distance from the opponent, but also his position on the saddle.

 

It was difficult to keep his mind right in a situation where he could have his heart ripped out by a blood mage at any moment.

 

“Just for a moment, I thought of our boss. That black-haired guy.”

 

“Y, Yes?”

 

Takman, who had been holding his stomach and groaning, looked at Gilead with a surprised face.

 

“R, Really?”

 

“Yeah. He’s a strong guy. You know, the boss is the only one in the organization who can keep up with my pace. But this Russell guy managed to do something similar.”

 

Gilead stopped fighting because he saw Takman alive, but also because he was worried that if he fought any longer, Russell would fully adapt to his speed.

 

‘That bastard. . . He was getting faster and faster.’

 

Even though Russell had been kicked in the jaw, his reaction speed was getting faster as the fight continued. It wasn’t a long fight, but there were things that could be gained from a short fight.

 

Gilead’s mind replayed the fight he had with Russell from beginning to end. He went to the road as soon as he realized that the Fritz’S division members he had ordered to wait weren’t at their hideout.

 

This was because he had previously seen them robbing and killing travelers passing through the pass, and he judged that they would do the same.

 

His judgment was correct, but the results were different. The travelers who were ambushed didn’t even have their carriage overturned, and no one died.

 

Instead, Gilead, who was following them, saw the bodies of his division members split from head to waist, or from their crotch to the top of their head. Clean cuts with no hesitation.

 

The person who killed the subordinates was no ordinary man.

 

He followed the blood, entrails, and corpses scattered on the pass like milestones, and soon he found a black-haired man cutting Fritz’s neck.

 

He had intended to crush him, but the black-haired man noticed Gilead’s approach and pulled his body back. In the crater and pit he had created, Gilead slowly looked at his opponent.

 

He boasts a physique that rivals his own, with a well-balanced body. However, the most perplexing aspect was the magnitude of his magical power. If you haven’t mastered a special technique, someone with a higher amount of magical power can figure out the level of someone with a lower amount of magical power.

 

However, he could not tell. In fact, the more he looked into Russell through his magical power detection, the only image that came to mind was that of a black abyss.

 

The subsequent search was also surprising. The kick to the jaw didn’t cause him to lose consciousness, and he maintained his physical strength and linked technique by transforming ice and lightning into magical power.

 

His senses and physical abilities were at a level that surpassed even a decent knight, while at the same time, he had magical power transformations that a wizard would have done and consecutive attacks that were comparable to magic.

 

“So, that guy is as strong as the boss. . . . . .”

 

“This punk.”

 

“Ugh!”

 

“There are things you can say and things you can’t say. What is the point of comparison between the boss and that guy? He reacted almost equally, but if he had been facing the boss, that guy would have had his neck cut right away. Got it?”

 

“Yes, yes!”

 

Leaving Takman rubbing the back of his head, Gilead walked towards a hut in the middle of the forest. The hut was a simple wooden structure.

 

However, the stone towers erected at regular intervals around the hut, as well as the magical power flowing shallowly on the ground, clearly demonstrated that the hut was not an ordinary building.

 

“Connect the door.”

 

As Gilead spoke the keyword while opening the old wooden door, a dazzling light came out from inside. Takman looked at the light and the wave of magical power flowing around the hut with a mixture of admiration and surprise, despite the pain in his head.

 

“I didn’t know there was such magic.”

 

“You can only use it once a month. The lower ranks don’t need to know.”

 

“Then, why. . . . .?”

 

“Why do you think I saved you? Tell me everything you know.

 

“Ah. . . . . .”

 

At the moment when Takman’s eyes filled with questions, Gilead’s hand grabbed Takman’s neck and lifted him up when his eyes filled with questions.

 

“Ugh, cough! G, Gilead-nim. . . . . . !”

 

“In addition to using the identification card to locate them, I need to learn about the abilities of the other bastards. You must have a lot of useful information in that head of yours.”

 

“Cough, what is that. . . . . .!”

 

“Please don’t die. Die after you spit out everything you know.”

 

Gilead entered the door with Takman’s neck still in his hand. Soon, the wooden door creaked and closed.

 

At the same time, the stone towers collapsed, and the magical power flowing on the ground lost its strength and disappeared. There was no sign of life in the dark forest hut.

 

Only two dire wolves that had lost their owners wandered around the area and disappeared in search of food, leaving only desolation in the forest.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

Irrucil had a dream.

 

It was a dream from her early childhood. She looked about 14 years old. Irrucil felt herself running somewhere with short arms, legs, and small hands.

 

It wasn’t the first time she had a lucid dream, but it was the first time she had experienced a scene from the past so vividly.

 

Knock, knock, knock.

 

After running through the wide marble hallway for a while, her younger self stood in front of a door. It looked big and tall from her young perspective. But it wasn’t hard to grab the doorknob.

 

“Huh?”

 

Clank, clank.

 

The doorknob did not turn. It was locked from the inside. Young Irrucil promptly knocked on the door.

 

“Little brother! Are you in there?”

 

She had come to meet Russell. It wasn’t hard to guess. All the statues, pottery on the shelves, and paintings on the walls were all things she had put there or decorated herself.

 

Some were placed by servants, but this painting was drawn by her. She sketched a side view of a young Russell, illustrating his immature skills. As a baby, Russell’s chubby cheeks and small amount of hair were clearly his.

 

“Little brother? Russell? Aren’t you in there? Your big sister is here!”

 

Knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock.

 

“Go away, sister.”

 

“What! You were in there!”

 

Irrucil watched curiously as her younger self knocked on the door with her finger and called Russell in a small voice.

 

She possessed a remarkable memory, and Russell shared a youthful voice with her.

 

Creak.

 

In the end, Russell, unable to bear the constant knocking, opened the door. It’s Russell, eight years old. He is still shorter than her, has no muscles, and has a thin voice.

 

Irrucil felt an urge to hug him without knowing it. It appears that her younger self felt the same way.

 

“Ouch!”

 

Young Irrucil hugged him without thinking, and Russell struggled. Irrucil, who was 14 years old, was taller and more mature than her peers, so she could easily lift Russell to the floor.

 

“Phew. Stop it, sister. Stop it. Why are you here?”

 

“Of course I came to play. The weather is nice, so how long are you going to stay in your room?”

 

“. . . . . .I can’t yet.”

 

Eight-year-old Russell avoided young Irrucil’s eyes.

 

“Why not?”

 

“. . . . . .Not yet.”

 

At that moment, Russell turned his head and met Irrucil’s eyes. Then something strange happened. Russell’s eyes sparkled for a moment, and young Irrucil’s expression became dull.

 

“Come later. Then I’ll play with you.”

 

“Later. . . . . . when?”

 

Irrucil looked in surprise at her younger self, asking the question stupidly. ‘Did this happen?’ But what surprised her more was Russell’s reaction.

 

“In three days, by then, I think I’ll be able to see it.”

 

“Three days later. Okay.”

 

“Now turn around and go to your room. Or practice.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Young Irrucil turned around and departed. Young Russell, observing Irrucil, shielded his eyes with his hands.

 

Dreams allowed us to see scenes we shouldn’t have.

 

‘Come to think of it, I’ve been weird since I was young.’

 

Then the scene changed without warning. The next moment, she was outside.

 

‘It’s cold. . . . . .’

 

Her breath turned white and subsided. She looked around and quickly realized where she was. The strange magical phenomenon that swept through turned the trees white.

 

Clatter.

 

And demon beasts that had been transformed by magic.

 

‘Scale wolves and crystal bears. Even a white snake.’

 

There was a demon beast resembling a wolf, its thorns replaced with white scales, a bear adorned with crystals on its limbs, and a snake with a body thicker than a sycamore tree.

 

“The tragedy of Cleaven Forest. . . but have I ever been here?”

 

While she was pondering, the demon beasts rushed in.

 

At this time, she had not yet awakened her magical power. She was able to store magical power in her body and strengthen it through rigorous training, but it was impossible to manifest.

 

She pushed the scale wolf’s snout away with the shield she was holding in her left hand and rolled back immediately. Cold ice shards penetrated the gaps in her armor, making her body sluggish.

 

The white-washed trees themselves were emitting cold energy, and her body was gradually getting colder.

 

Roar!

 

With a swing of her sword, she narrowly missed the crystal bear’s body blow, and the white snake that had curled up blocked her body.

 

“Ha, ha, ha.”

 

She was out of breath. Her mouth was dry, and the cold air passing through her airway was as bitter as a blade.

 

Her younger self took off the heavy armor and helmet. The protective and warming spells had already been shattered by the forest’s magic. If she kept them on, her sluggish limbs would make her even more vulnerable.

 

Rrrr.

 

Apart from her body becoming lighter, the cold-attribute magical power constantly tried to transform the young Irrucil.

 

This explains why the unusual magical phenomena in the north is so frightening. In addition to transforming plants and beasts into demons, this phenomenon also causes humans to become addicted to magical power, ultimately turning them into monsters.

 

Numerous wizards and scholars have investigated this phenomenon, but nothing is known for sure. There is no other way than to prepare again and again.

 

Finally, her younger self’s knees buckled. She couldn’t breathe well. It felt like thorns were growing inside her lungs.

 

The growls and footsteps of the demon beasts were getting closer. She could feel death drawing near.

 

“Sister━!”

 

At that moment, a young voice pierced the silence of the forest, which became even quieter due to the falling snow. Young Irrucil raised her head without realizing it.

 

Young Russell, who had grown taller and armed, was running towards her more than when she saw him last time.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

The Zahard estate was impressive and large enough to be visible from a distance.

 

Even as wars raged and demons ran wild across the continent, people’s footsteps continued to head towards the estate. The people on the road to the estate were full of energy, despite the cold weather.

 

Travelers, mercenaries, merchants, and long and short lines of wagons followed them, each wearing thick fur coats and warm clothes, as they entered the city gate.

 

Clouds pushed by the cold wind glowed red in the sunset light. The sunset light overlooks the ground it illuminates for the last time, stopping at the mountain range that starts in the north and wraps around the east and west.

 

The Awnhilnar Mountains are the continent’s white tooth. The Awnhilnar Mountains, adjacent to the Zahard estate, are a demon realm that contains monsters and demons, while at the same time being a barrier that prevents those monsters from going south.

 

As the setting sun’s brilliant light ignited the eternal snow, the white mountains became jagged with blood. For an incalculable duration, these teeth have consumed both humans and monsters.

 

Lahart exhaled through the office’s large glass window as he looked at the distant teeth.

 

“I wonder where they are. No word from them at all, it’s frustrating.”

 

Of course, his eldest daughter, Irrucil, and his eldest son, Russell, were the targets of his soliloquy. It had been almost half a year since Irrucil ran away to find her younger brother, Russell, but there had been no letter.

 

No news is good news, but since there was absolutely no letter or news at all, he couldn’t help but worry as a father. There was no way they would die or get hurt from something like a robbery, but you never know.

 

At that moment, Lahart heard urgent footsteps running to his ear. As expected, the footsteps stopped in front of the office, and there was a knock on the door.

 

“Lord, it’s Gwiheoren! May I enter?”

 

“Come in.”

 

As soon as his permission fell, an old man with white hair entered and greeted him.

 

“What’s going on? So urgently.”

 

“Oh, it’s not anything else! Ah, the young lady and the young master. . . . . . !”

 

“What?”

 

Lahart got up from his chair at the butler’s words.

 

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