Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Sisters

TL: Potato-tan

Proofreader: Asianpotato

“Wh, what? Wh-wh-wh. . .”

Lyos’s rebuttal trailed off. Then, a fist slammed into his lion-head helmet.

BAM!

Lyos dropped his sword and flew backward. Russell released Lyos’s sword, which he had been holding with his left arm. CLATTER! The sword clattered to the ground.

Lyos, who had been rolling around on the floor, immediately got up. He looked surprisingly unharmed. He had arched his body backward just before Russell’s fist connected, minimizing the impact. There was no visible damage to his helmet, either.

“You son of. . .!”

“Hey.”

Russell cut off Lyos’s curse. Lyos, who had looked up involuntarily, shuddered.

Russell’s eyes gleamed coldly. He stabbed the claymore he was holding into the ground. The great sword effortlessly cut through the flagstone.

“I don’t spare those who try to kill me twice.”

Russell’s tendons stretched like rubber bands. Lyos understood that the incredible speed was creating an optical illusion, yet he had no control over it.

Russell’s fist dug into his side. Even though he was wearing armor, it was a blow so violent that he couldn’t help but gasp.

The barrage of blows didn’t stop. Fists rained down on him like a hailstorm, striking his face, neck, chest, and stomach indiscriminately. Then, a blue light emanated from Lyos’s lion-head helmet, which had been taking the brunt of the beating.

“Kuaaaah!”

Lyos blocked the blows for the first time. Lyos pushed Russell’s right fist away with his left palm and deflected the blow with his right hand by pulling his elbow inward.

Russell noticed that Lyos’s armor had changed. A blue light shone from the lion’s eye sockets, and a faint aura emanated from the armor. An eerie glow emanated from the gauntlets, their tips sharpened like a beast’s claws.

Lyos growled like a beast.

“You bastard. I’ll definitely kill you.”

Russell chuckled.

“Try me.”

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Albert said to the princess:.

“Your Highness. Shouldn’t we end the duel?”

The princess shook her head.

“Leave it be.”

Albert nodded and stepped aside. The princess looked down with cold eyes. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Lyos immediately launched his next attack. With his appearance now more lion-like than before, he extended his claws like a real lion and slashed at Russell.

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

He spun around to dodge, and five blades slashed the ground where he had been standing. Russell observed that Lyos’s gauntlet fingers had sharpened tips, resembling claws.

Lyos swung his arms, howling. Russell met each of his attacks head-on or dodged them, gradually backing away.

Russell’s hands and feet began to move in strange patterns. They were the result of the training he had undergone since he was old enough to walk.

Martial arts were initially developed to fight monsters that threatened humans, but were later refined through countless experiments to combat humans who had acquired similar bodies to monsters.

Russell’s body displayed without hesitation the techniques he had mastered and accumulated from the past to the present.

He pushed down or deflected the gauntlet that had transformed into a lion’s claws, redirected its path by hitting it from the wrist, and slipped through the narrow gaps like a sheet of paper. He received the oncoming shoulder and knee attacks with teeth and pushed them away.

Lyos’s straight-on attacks were similar to the simple attack patterns of monsters. Russell countered the sharp claws and teeth with human techniques.

In the end, it was Lyos who became increasingly clumsy. His own body parts obstructed his outstretched arms in some of his movements, primarily due to the tingling sensation he experienced whenever Russell’s hands and fists struck him.

Russell had infused his defenses with electricity, which infiltrated Lyos’s body and caused his magical circuits to relax and contract.

Attacks that stimulated the circuits, the channels through which magic flowed, made it difficult to control the flow of magic, just as electrocution makes it difficult for a rat to control its muscles. Ultimately, the body served as the medium for the emission of magic.

Soon, Lyos lost his balance because of his completely twisted steps, and Russell’s leg swung around and kicked him in the chin.

The sturdy silver armor protected a heavy leg, yet it lifted Lyos into the air with ridiculous ease. Then, Russell’s hand grabbed his neck.

“Chak!”

Russell’s large hand caught Lyos’ neck as he struggled. Russell slowly straightened his slightly bent knees and back. Then, Lyos’s feet, which had been on the ground, gradually rose into the air.

“Ugh, let go! I said, Let go!”

Lyos’s feet and fists pounded on Russell’s arm and torso. Despite the formidable attack from Lyos’s still activated armor, Russell remained unflinching. He tightened his grip.

CREAK CREAK CREAK

The armor around his neck creaked and distorted. Lyos was horrified by the armor that gradually choked him, and he struggled even harder.

He tried to pry Russell’s grip open with his gauntleted hands, but all he felt was the overwhelming sense of lifting a mountain.

Russell didn’t stop. Lyos gazed at the death that was approaching him.

“P, Please spare me.”

Russell stared at the lion-head helmet. He could see a man crying and snotting inside the helmet. Lyos was begging and crying.

“Spare. . . . me. . . . I was. . . . wrong. . . .”

“You should have known when I let you off the first time.”

Russell pulled his arm, and Lyos’s face naturally came closer. Lyos looked at the indigo flames that filled his vision with a fearful face. What came out of his mouth was now more like a scream than words.

“Ugh, ugh. . .”

“Twice is too many for me.”

Russell applied more force.

THUD.

Lyos went limp.

“. . .Whew.”

Russell released Lyos’s neck. A claw brought Lyos’s body down to the flagstone, exposing his completely constricted neck.

The hall was silent. No one could even breathe.

Russell reached into his pocket to take out a cigarette, but then he remembered that he had thrown the pouch containing it outside the arena and sighed again.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

The duel ended with a knight’s death. Everyone present was shocked because they had not expected one of the duelists to die.

However, the princess, who they had thought would be furious, did not impose any particular punishment.

“My knight was the first to break the duel rules. It is the master’s responsibility to take responsibility for the subordinate’s mistakes. I will not hold Russell accountable.”

The princess said so and turned around. As she turned, the princess said,

“Russell. I will hear your answer next time.”

The princess then left the swordsmanship hall. She was followed by Elenora and the Knights of Dawn, who had recovered the body.

Lord Frederick and Albert quickly cleaned up the mess.

“I guess that’s enough for today. I enjoyed the duel.”

Russell, who had expected a scolding, was relieved when it ended so easily. He had expected a big fight with the princess, but she was too calm for her knight to have died.

Albert then approached and said,

“Are you curious as to why nothing happened?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m not.”

“Lyos Veilron. The Veilron Viscounts are one of the Empire’s powerful nobles. And they have been one of the First Prince’s factions for a long time.”

‘The faction of the First Prince. But why would he put the second son of his family among the princess’s knights?’

“It’s a gesture that they’re not completely in line. That they can be on your side at any time. Viscount Veilron is a cunning old fox. Even though he’s on the prince’s side for now, things can change. Maybe he wanted to install the princess as empress and his son as her consort.”

Russell looked at Albert intently.

“You seem to know a lot about the political situation.”

“It’s my job to keep my ears open for a lord who doesn’t know much about the outside world.”

Russell nodded slightly. He had killed him twice in a fit of rage because he had tried to kill him, but if what Albert said was true, he might not have to worry about it that much.

Of course, it wasn’t a small thing to kill the son of a viscount of the Empire. . . But what could he do? The empire was far away from here, and the continent was vast.

And even if they came for revenge, it didn’t matter. If they tried to kill him, he would just kill them back. And Russell didn’t think he would lose.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

The princess was back in the annex. In the living room, a shroud covered Lyos, revealing only his pale face after he had stripped off his armor. The princess looked down at the body and chuckled.

“Viscount Veilron will be furious.”

The Knights of Dawn were silent. A woman, clad in a wolf-head helmet, emerged as one of the knights and spoke.

“Your Highness. It won’t end with just a tantrum. In the worst case, our sponsorship could end. . .”

“I need loyal knights, not wild horses that run wild at any time.”

The Knights of Dawn were silent. The princess continued to stroke the shroud.

“Viscount Veilron is like this. I knew what was in his heart from the beginning. If given the chance, he would have switched sides and put me on the throne, and in return, he would have made his son my consort.”

She knew why he had been guarding her back and challenging Russell to a duel. She couldn’t help but know.

The princess took the end of the shroud she had been stroking and slowly covered Lyos’s face. The white shroud soon concealed the body’s pale and cold face.

This duel had also been unpleasant at first, but later, she had come to think that it might be an opportunity to break one of the chains that bound her.

And in the end, Lyos failed to overcome his intense emotions and broke the rules. He had resorted to deceit, a tactic that, in certain instances, left everyone speechless, even if his opponent killed him. And Lyos died.

The princess straightened her bent knees and stood up. The Knights of Dawn stood up.

“Natasha.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

A female wizard named Natasha stepped forward.

“Tell the Lord to make a coffin. Additionally, apply an ice spell to Lyos to stop his decomposition.

“I understand.”

“Olivia.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The knight in the wolf-head helmet raised her head.

“I apologize for causing trouble to Guildmaster Rephilia, and please give her this pouch.”

Olivia bowed and went outside with the pouch of money that the princess had handed her.

“Benethor. Hatumka.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

A bald man in a martial arts uniform and an unidentified figure, covered in a coat, stepped forward. Benethor was a member of the Knights of Dawn, but no one knew his true identity. Only the princess knew his face and abilities.

The bald man in the martial arts uniform was a man who had mastered the martial arts of the south, and the princess had appointed him to the order of knights because she valued his abilities and character.

Although the two had nothing in common in terms of appearance, they formed a common ground by standing still at the princess’s belated words. After a while, the princess spoke.

“Investigate the man with black hair and purple eyes. Even the smallest thing is fine.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Russell was walking down the city street with his tattered leather armor in his arms. A cigarette was in his mouth. The wind swept away the white smoke that leaked from his lips.

A claymore hung behind his bare upper body, swaying with his every step. Russell felt the diagonally extended blade hit his left waist and hip and thought that he should tighten his loose belt.

The Lord, Albert, and Zeona remained at the Rephilia Swordsmanship Guild. It appeared that there was something to do with Guildmaster Karen.

“Lucy. Where are you going?”

“It’s Russell. Blacksmith.”

“Hmm. The one with my sister?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

He left only Lexi by his side, giggling. She had shown no particular emotional ups and downs, even though someone had died just a little while ago.

And the same was true for Russell. Russell swiftly erased the memory of killing. In this dark world, that was the only way to survive without going crazy.

Evelyn said she had something to see and went the other way. She said she would come to the Breezy Winds of Lanshmoore Inn later, so they could have dinner or drinks together.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t gotten a drink from this dark elf yet.’

Lexi touched her lips when Russell suddenly stared at her.

“Why are you staring at me? Did I get any cookie crumbs on my face?”

“You’re buying the drinks today.”

“Huh? Why me?”

“Don’t you remember betting on me?”

“. . .Tsk, even though you have a lot of money.”

“Didn’t you get paid too?”

As they were chattering, they had arrived in the artisan district. The cheerful sound of hammering began to spread.

Russell and Lexi stopped in front of a blacksmith.

The flag fluttering on the flagpole had the World Tree symbol, the dwarf’s pickaxe and hammer, and the lord’s workshop certification mark adorned the banner fluttering on the flagpole. It was Alicia’s and Philly’s workshop.

“This it?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

BANG BANG BANG!

Lexi immediately knocked on the door. Then, from inside, a beautiful voice called out, “Coming!” Soon, the door opened, and a healthy dark elf with brown skin appeared with a sweaty face.

“Who. . . Oh? Sister?”

“Alicia!”

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