Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 29

Chapter 29: The Gate

TL: Potato-tan

Proofreader: Asianpotato

Late at night, Evelyn tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Moonlight, brighter than candlelight, illuminated the room. Evelyn shifted her body countless times, her eyes falling on Lexi, who was sleeping soundly.

As Russell and Shasha left the bath and headed straight for Russell’s room, Lexi looked at Evelyn with sparkling eyes. The look said, ‘Let’s go eavesdrop!’

In a split second, Evelyn found herself pressed against the wall of her room, which was right next to Russell’s. But she couldn’t hear anything (a feeling that Evelyn couldn’t decide whether to regret or be glad about).

Either the innkeeper, who had a bald head, made the walls thick, or some other means prevented the sound from escaping. It was probably Russell’s doing. He was a wizard, despite not looking like one.

Evelyn sighed as she silenced Lexi, who had similarly failed to hear anything and was now spouting nonsense about making a hole with her newly acquired dagger.

Just this morning, it had been a good start to the day, with a delightful breakfast with the Lord and a gold coin. At noon, the princess had confided in her about the palace’s secret spaces and her ancestor, Ludwig, from three hundred years ago, as well as the duel between the knight with the lion’s head helmet and Russell. Quite a few impressive things had happened in one day, and now she was trying to eavesdrop on or watch a couple’s business. Was this life?

Lexi pouted at Evelyn’s dissuasion, took off her jacket as if she were annoyed, and lay down on the bed. A moment later, Evelyn watched in bemusement as the sleeping, dark elf began to snore softly. She shook her head and lit another cigarette.

And then she recalled the words of the princess. She had said that she would listen to his answer later, but that he could go for now.

Russell turned around without hesitation and departed from the swordsman guild after hearing those words. Evelyn followed after Russell, her thoughts in turmoil.

The princess asked Russell whether she would join them. She had neither asked nor requested it of Evelyn or Lexi. ‘Should I be disappointed by that fact?’

‘No’. Evelyn had come to Calisden solely based on the grimoire on the rooftop, which recorded that this city had once been a forest and a dragon’s lair, and on a note from a traveler who had claimed to have seen a dragon flying into the city three hundred years earlier.

Of course, there were also the factors that the university was on break and that she had an assignment that, while optional, would make her professors drop their jaws in amazement with a magical result.

So, while others returned to their homes or estates, Evelyn boarded the airship alone and traveled to this distant city in the northeast.

She had no expectation of actually finding or meeting a dragon. She had just wanted to get some fresh air. She had spent far too many years living a similar life, day after day.

Growing up in a wealthy family and living only in the city, the airship was her first, as were the monsters that attacked along the way. But there was an undeniable difference between the monsters she had only read about in books and the real thing; she had almost died.

If it hadn’t been for the man with the mystical purple eyes, Evelyn would have had her head split open and her brains blown out.

The battle against the army of monsters and dragonkin, which had descended upon the city after the airship, renewed what she had thought would be a fleeting encounter. And with the appearance of the princess, the existence of the dragon, which Evelyn herself had doubted, became certain.

‘What was I to do?’ She didn’t want to give up, but if she could just bring back a dragon scale, her colleagues and professors would look at her with wide-eyed wonder.

Dragons, which had almost disappeared from the world, were still a subject of active research. The question of how they became so powerful and possessed such profound wisdom was one of the greatest mysteries that has persisted to this day.

The Wizards were a group of people who couldn’t bear to leave anything unknown, so they might immediately form an expedition to Calisden.

However, the fact that the dragon had a connection to the empire would be quite a sticky issue for the Magic Tower. It was, after all, the country with the highest level of technology and culture among the civilized nations that mankind had built. Even the Magic Tower, which had returned to being a nationwide organization with many masters, would have to rethink it.

All of these potential future events rested on Evelyn’s lips. In the end, if she just wiped her mouth clean and pretended not to know, it would be out of her hands. According to the princess, the dragon would soon awaken, and as Priestess Elenora had said, it could be a disaster.

Fighting was out of the question. Magic originally belonged to dragons, so it would be like an apprentice attacking his/her master. The saying that the student surpasses the teacher has yet to come to pass for mankind.

Her worries continued throughout the night. Evelyn stared gloomily at the pitch-black sky, which was gradually turning dark blue. Then, a vibration occurred.

“. . .What was that?”

Evelyn got out of bed, where she had been lying. Was it her imagination? No. Lexi, who had been sleeping, jumped up and exclaimed,

“It’s an earthquake!”

Rattle! Rattle! Rattle!

The building began to shake violently. Evelyn lost her balance as she tried to get out of bed and fell backward. She struggled to get up, but only managed to wrap herself in the sheets.

“Get up, Evelyn!”

“Help me!”

Lexi, who moved as if she were walking on level ground despite the earthquake’s shaking, put on her jacket and gathered her belongings. She helped Evelyn get to her feet.

As they opened the door, something large burst out of the next room. Russell was dressed in a white shirt and pants, with a greatsword on his back. He was carrying Shasha, wrapped in a blanket.

“Outside!”

“No, it’s more dangerous outside! Let’s go to the dining room and get under the table!”

Following Russell’s lead, they went downstairs to the dining room and crawled under the table. Only Russell didn’t go inside. He knelt down on one knee and placed his palm on the floor.

The epicenter was uncertain. No matter how far he projected his magical wavelength toward the ground, it didn’t return. That meant that it was too far for something to bounce off. The vibration had occurred very deep down.

Upstairs, they could hear the sound of doors rattling. Guests screamed and ran outside, fleeing. It was complete chaos.

“Kyaa!”

Shasha screamed. Shasha woke up in the middle of the night, too flustered to dress, wrapped in a blanket, unable to move her arms and legs freely.

“It’s okay. It’ll be over soon.”

Lexi, who seemed calm as if she had experienced earthquakes before, hugged her.

Shelves held framed pictures and candles in candle holders, which fell and shattered. The chairs, positioned on the table with their legs raised, tumbled to the floor.

It was still not dawn, so the dining room was dark, which made the sounds seem even louder. The earthquake continued with aftershocks.

Rattle! Rattle! Rattle!

Soon, the earthquake subsided and stopped completely. Silence fell over the room in an instant. Someone whispered softly. Evelyn was there.

“Is it over? Is it over?”

Russell, who had removed his hand from the floor, replied,

“It seems to be, for now.”

“For now?”

“Yes. Let’s go to the castle. It’ll probably be chaotic there too.”

Lexi picked up Shasha in her arms. Shasha appeared embarrassed to find herself in the arms of a dark elf rather than Russell.

“N, No, it’s okay. I can walk on my own.”

“Not without anything underneath. Stay still.”

“. . .You, you knew?”

“How could I not smell it when you’re reeking like that?”

“M-m-my smell. . . . .!”

Shasha turned to Russell, her face stunned.

“That smell?!”

“. . . . not me. Lexi, stop joking around and take her to her room.”

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

The citizens, startled by the unexpected earthquake, stood outside on the main street, clutching their chests. Calisden was not situated on a fault line, and most of the citizens had never experienced ground shaking before. Only a few old people or mercenaries had ever experienced it.

As soon as the earthquake stopped, the citizens stood up from their prone positions and stepped cautiously on the ground. It was as if the shaking that had just happened was a lie.

While cleaning up the fallen furniture, windows, and debris, the people occasionally looked down at the ground with anxious eyes. Russell and his companions made their way through the crowd and arrived at the castle, where they met Lord Frederick, Albert, and Elenora.

The lord, who had also been thrown from his bed, had unkempt hair and disheveled clothes. Albert, like an elf, was neat and tidy, as was Elenora. The Lord said,

“You’ve come. To the princess. . .”

“Your Highness.”

“Ugh, damn it. Yeah, Her Highness the Princess! Is she okay?”

“Yes, she is. Let’s go.”

“An army of monsters, dragonkin, princess, and now an earthquake. It’s like the year is coming to an end and everything’s going crazy.”

They headed straight for the princess. The six of them arrived at the annex, where the princess was staying. The princess was also awake, but she received them better than the lord. The five remaining members of the Order of the Knights of the Dawn were also waiting behind the princess.

The story began immediately.

“Ismenios is awakening. This earthquake is the result of that. You believe me now, don’t you, Lord?”

“I would be a fool not to understand this situation, Your Highness. I have it here, by the way. Albert was kind enough to find it.”

Albert took out an octagonal amulet from his pocket. It was an amulet with the symbol of the God of Radiance engraved on the back, as well as a sword and dragon carved on the front. The princess recognized the amulet and gasped.

“A royal token of proof. . . It looks like it’s from three hundred years ago.”

Lord Frederick nodded.

“Yes. My ancestors have been passing it down for generations. Although the reason and effect became difficult to guess at some point, Albert found them, fortunately.”

“What is that?. . . . This?”

Lexi’s question was timely. The lord stroked his short beard with one hand and said,

“A long time ago, my ancestor received this from a knight with a request. The exact record was so old and damaged that it was difficult to decipher, but the man gave him the amulet, along with a great deal of treasure, and told him to return it to someone who would come looking for it someday. It was not a difficult request, so my ancestor did so. And yesterday, I heard from Her Royal Highness that the knight was His Royal Highness Ludwig, a member of the royal family from three hundred years ago.”

Albert handed the octagonal amulet to the princess. Everyone watched in silence, but the amulet simply rested on the princess’s palm, emitting no light or vibrations.

Then, the princess drew a dagger from somewhere on her waist. People’s eyes widened, but the Knights of the Dawn did not move. The princess cut her own palm with the dagger without a moment to spare.

Blood welled up from the cleanly cut wound, and she let a drop of blood fall on the amulet. A drop of blood seeped into it. The princess nodded as if she had confirmed something.

“The key. If there is a key, then there must be a lock. This key will guide us. Let’s go.”

After leaving Elenora in charge of healing, the group left the annex.

The dawn has now receded. The sun, rising from the east, was just beginning its daily journey. The princess held the amulet like a compass, pointing it here and there, and then she stopped at one of them and walked. The group followed her.

They soon found themselves in what could be considered a small forest behind the castle.

As they listened to the lord explain that this forest was also a place that his ancestors had passed down from generation to generation, saying that it should not be damaged or disturbed, the group stopped in the middle of the forest. The lush trees made way for a clearing in the middle.

“The reaction stops here. This is probably the place.”

And as if in answer to the princess’s words, the clearing began to swirl with a clatter.

To protect the princess, the Knights of the Dawn moved quickly. But there was no attack. It was simply an ancient spell, an incantation, an unsolved puzzle, now fulfilling its promised duty.

The wind blew.

Over three hundred years, maple leaves had piled up, rotted, and then piled up again, dispersing like topsoil. The wind also blew away the maple leaves that had begun to pile up on top of them again.

The maple leaves that began to fall were red, scarlet, and yellow. Occasionally, ginkgo leaves that hadn’t yet shed their greenness flew up with shy faces. Everywhere the eye could see, there were fallen leaves, and they rose upward, not befitting their name. One could hear the wind’s song.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Soon, the whirlwind stopped. Everything that had been flying fell. The maple leaves fell again and spun around as they fell. The last leaf, which was the smallest and lightest, flowed the highest, fluttered, and fell gracefully.

A conspicuously red maple leaf. The last maple leaf floated down to the ground with great fanfare, receiving the attention of the blue sky, the lush branches, the people, and the fallen leaves that had already fallen.

What emerged was a magic circle. Evelyn recognized the runes that made up the circle. However, Elenora spoke first in a calm voice.

“It’s a teleportation circle.”

The princess, who had been standing there in a daze for a moment, replied a little late.

“It must be a circle that connects to where His Royal Highness Ludwig is.”

“Or it could be that we’ll come face-to-face with a dragon.”

“I’d like to believe that won’t happen, but I don’t know. I wonder how much my ancestor expected of his descendants.”

The sudden silence surprised the group, but no one spoke to break it. Right in front of them was a legend from three hundred years ago. Or rather, it was like a door that would let them meet that legend. The princess was the first to break the silence.

“Russell.”

Russell glanced at the princess and asked her a question.

“Today, I said I would listen to your answer. Last night was not long enough, but it was enough time for you to think. Will you accept?”

“I killed Her Highness’s knight yesterday. Is the offer still valid?”

The princess shook her head.

“As I said yesterday, my knight made the mistake first. No one should violate the sacred rules of a duel. Whoever breaks them first has no right to speak, even if they die. Russell, you did what you had to do.”

Surprisingly tough. Russell said,

“I understand. I accept your offer.”

The princess blinked in surprise, as if she had not expected it. Russell smiled as he watched her bright gold eyes disappear and then reappear.

“I’ve never seen a dragon before.”

To that warrior-like and yet somewhat foolish answer, the princess chuckled.

“That’s the most pleasant thing I’ve heard in a long time. I’ve never seen a dragon either, so let’s call it even. Okay, let’s activate this key.”

The princess took the octagonal amulet and stood in the center of the magic circle. Russell was the only one who recognized the moment she carefully placed the amulet down.

The princess had not yet realized that the magic circle, which had been missing a gear for three hundred years, was in a more unstable state than she had thought. She was simply filled with anticipation of meeting her ancestor and the dragon, as well as excitement at hearing Russell’s response.

That was why she was unable to react to the sudden burst of white light as soon as the amulet, which was also the key, touched the ground. The entire magic circle shone white, and the key floated in the air. Like everything swept away by a storm, the princess found herself sucked into the unstable gate in the void.

Recognizing the split second, Russell flashed his inner eye and ran through time within time. In a world where everything lost its color and appeared in black and white, Russell ran through that time, which seemed to have stopped.

An outstretched hand grabbed the princess’s wrist. However, more than half of the princess’s body had already entered the gate, and at the same time, the gate was closing.

If he pulled her out like this, the princess would be split in two, and the end result wouldn’t be very good for either Russell or the princess. So instead of pulling the princess toward him, Russell pushed her in.

Whoosh━!

The princess entered the gate completely, and Russell also disappeared into the gate, which had just begun to close, by a hair’s breadth. The gate’s sudden opening and closing pushed the scattered fallen leaves back outside.

With the falling leaves raining down on their heads once more, Lord Frederick, Albert, the Knights of the Dawn, Elenora, Evelyn, and Lexi stared blankly at the spot where Russell and the princess had disappeared.

Woooosh.

A gust of wind swept across the ground. The magic circle was gone.

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