Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Ludwig Dracas of Hyperion

TL: Potato-tan

Proofreader: Asianpotato

The Black Knight added. 

“May I inquire as to the age of this descendant?”

Julia turned her gaze briefly to Russell before replying with a demure demeanor. 

“. . .17 years old.”

Russell looked down at her with slightly surprised eyes. How naive. Somehow, she seemed lively.

The Black Knight seemed to think so too. He nodded his head.

“A younger descendant than I had anticipated. Descendant, as I mentioned earlier and as that man pointed out, is merely a recreation of the past in its entirety. It is a place where my regrets and yearnings have endured eternally. I understand that your heart may not comprehend, but it is futile. Grieve no longer. We have long since finished our mourning for them, and we don’t need to continue.”

“. . .I understand.”

Julia replied firmly, her voice filling with determination as she listened to his words.

Russell removed his hand from Julia’s shoulder.

“Are you Ludwig?”

The Black Knight nodded.

“Yes, Master of the magic eye.”

“Did you create this labyrinth?”

“I did not create it alone, but. . .I did lend a hand.”

“I see.”

Russell nodded similarly. Then he strode forward and punched the Black Knight in the face with his fist.

BAM!

A tremendous sound sent the Black Knight flying, crashing into the ruins of a building. Julia gasped as her hands covered her mouth.

“Russell!”

“The second vowel of my name is not that long.”

Julia stared at Russell with wide eyes.

“What is the meaning of this? Why did you strike His Highness Ludwig?!”

“I believe I mentioned that I would punch anyone I met who created this place.”

‘Was that what he meant?!’ Julia rushed to the location where the Black Knight had flown off. Just then, the Black Knight stood up from the rubble, unharmed. His armor and helmet were without a single scratch.

“Haha. This is quite exhilarating. I haven’t experienced anything like this in a long time. No one has ever knocked me down like this when I was alive.”

Russell, who was rotating his sore wrist, growled.

“If you wish, I will make sure you remember it even in death.”

Ludwig let out a hearty laugh.

“My apologies. But would you understand if I said that I had no choice?”

“That depends on your reasons and purpose.”

“Very well. Then, I suppose we should get out of here.”

Julia missed the opportunity to express her anger at the two’s peaceful conversation. Should she accuse him of lese-majesty for striking an ancestor? But would that still apply to an ancestor who had been alive for three hundred years?

Ludwig raised his greatsword and slammed it into the ground. The long, obsidian blade pierced the earth, and darkness spread out from him in waves. His gray cloak fluttered wildly despite the absence of wind. The great sword vanished into the ground, seemingly absorbed by the earth.

Julia watched the spectacle with wide eyes. The black waves quickly covered the ground they were standing on, enveloping the paths and buildings. Julia felt her body sinking into the darkness like a swamp, and she spoke in a trembling voice.

“Your, Your Highness?”

“Do not worry. This is the process of leaving.”

Julia looked at Russell without realizing it. When Russell nodded slightly, she felt a strange sense of reassurance and confusion.

From his eagle-like perspective, Russell, who was also sinking into the darkness, kept his ‘eyes’ open and watched as darkness gradually consumed the imperial capital.

The darkness that had engulfed all of Hippolias finally reached the dragon’s leg.

The golden-scaled dragon watched silently as the darkness slowly covered its body.

The dragon no longer exhibited the anger and madness that had previously been present. The dragon gazed at the Black Knight, the origin of this darkness, with sorrowful eyes before succumbing to the darkness.

Russell felt his own vision darken as he witnessed the scene, and he closed his eyes.

And then he opened them.

“Welcome to my home.”

Julia looked around in astonishment.

She had wandered through the labyrinth of fog and crossed numerous terrains, but this was the first time she had seen such a space. No, there was probably no such place outside the underground labyrinth.

A fantastical color, a mixture of golden and violet, filled the sky, visible only at one time of day. There was no sun, moon, or stars, only glowing clouds.

A small garden with light green grass, a few trees, and a modest house stood directly in front of them. The space was small, but the garden and house filled it up.

When she turned around, she saw the wall of fog that they had entered through. No, the fog itself was surrounding the house and garden in a wide circle.

“Come in instead of standing there blankly. Do you like tea?”

A middle-aged man with white hair and beard, devoid of black armor and a helmet, beckoned to them. His golden eyes sparkled with amusement.

Almost as tall and large as Russell, he was barefoot and dressed in a simple white tunic and trousers. His tunic and bare feet, worn casually, suggested freedom, while his white hair, flowing down to his shoulders and neatly tied back, suggested tidiness.

Julia felt a strange sense of numbness as she crossed the garden. Russell followed slowly behind her.

Small vegetable gardens came into view. Moist soil and grass held the smell of freshness. There were ripe vegetables and fruits at the end of the rows.

After passing through the vegetable gardens, the man in front opened a wooden door. The creaking from the joints indicated a lack of oiling in a long time.

“I apologize. I have not had guests in quite some time.”

“Y, Yes. . .I suppose so.”

Julia replied stupidly as she stepped inside.

The house’s interior was larger than it appeared from the outside. Russell could smell people’s scent as he looked at the furniture, which was not much different from an ordinary house. At least two people

On the table between the living room and the kitchen were two dolls filled with grass and leaves.

A black-painted knight doll adorned one, while a yellow dragon adorned the other. However, it lacked wings, making it look like a lizard.

There were only two chairs at the table. The man glanced at them and rummaged through a nearby dresser.

“Let’s see. . . . . . Ah, here it is.”

A small model chair was what he took out. The model appeared to be suitable for playing house or with dolls. However, when the man tossed the model, it transformed into a large chair.

“Have a seat.”

Julia sat down on the chair, feeling speechless. When Russell was also seated, the man brought a teapot and three teacups from the kitchen and placed one in front of each of them. The man soon poured a clear tea with a fragrant aroma.

“Enjoy.”

“. . .Thank you.”

Only Julia replied and took a sip of tea. Russell did not touch his teacup and crossed his arms. His powerful muscles rippled and flexed with movement. Julia opened her mouth in surprise as she gulped down the tea, and the middle-aged man raised an eyebrow.

“Are you showing off your body? The only person who will blush in this place is my descendant.”

“. . . . . . .”

“D, Don’t tell me you’re after me? You can’t! I have a wife!”

“Pfft! Hahahahahaha!”

Julia, unable to hold back her laughter, lowered her head and giggled. Russell tried to maintain a serious expression.

“. . .Could you give me some clothes?”

“You should have said so sooner.”

The man went into a room and came out with a black shirt.

“Here. Since our builds are somewhat similar, you don’t have to worry about them tearing. I made the colors opposite on purpose. Is that okay?”

Russell took the shirt without saying a word and put it on. He had failed to take the lead in the conversation. He would just have to accept his defeat calmly. So Russell picked up his teacup and drank the tea.

Russell opened his eyes a little wider. The tea that flowed over his lips, warming his tongue and palate, and into his throat spread warmth throughout his body, dispelling the fatigue that had accumulated in his body. Furthermore, it seemed to have the effect of aiding the circulation of his magic power.

Julia had known about this effect earlier, and she had finished her tea.

Ludwig smiled as he watched Russell. He poured fresh tea into Julia’s cup and said,

“Not bad, is it? My wife and I grew these tea leaves ourselves. They can only be grown here. It requires a significant amount of time and effort to cultivate them. Well. We have plenty of time here.”

A brief silence. The three of them sipped their tea without saying a word.

The two men exchanged quiet, searching glances. It was closer to the glances exchanged before a duel than those between a host and a guest.

If there was a difference, it was that Ludwig’s gaze was gentle, like that of a young child, while Russell’s gaze was blazing, as if he could burn everything down.

And Russell was still feeling his ‘eyes’, so he was actually burning.

In the end, it was the lively teenage girl who spoke first, as always.

“Ludwig Dracas de Hyperion. . . . . . You are His Highness, are you not?”

Ludwig turned his head away from Russell and smiled at Julia. It was a smile that made one wonder how handsome he must have been when he was younger, despite his age and wrinkled face.

“Yes. Dracas de Hyperion. I wonder how long it has been since I heard that name. And you are?”

Julia straightened her posture.

“My name is Julia Hippolia de Hyperion. A distant descendant greets her ancestor.”

“Oh, please. The ancestor part. Damn, what a strange word.”

“Y, Yes?”

The word ‘damn’ from her ancestor’s mouth flustered Julia. It was more like a curse that a back-alley ruffian would use than a great royal’s speech. However, Ludwig did not seem to care and clicked his tongue.

“Just call me Ludwig. Or grandfather, if you like.”

“H, How can I do that, Your Highness?”

“Call me. Ludwig.”

“W. . . . . . .”

“That man over there speaks well, so why can’t you? You can do it! Lu. Dwi. Gi. Hello!”

His tone had changed from being stern and serious to one befitting a tired street urchin.

However, it suited Ludwig to say it. Was it because his appearance and attire were more suited to a monk in a monastery than a royal?

Julia, on the other hand, hung her head low. Ludwig shook his head.

“Oh, forget it. . . . So. How many years have passed outside? It feels like it has been more than a century.”

Julia looked at Ludwig with a face that was almost suffocating at the question. She glanced at Russell, but he was watching the conversation with an indifferent expression. In the end, Julia spoke.

“. . .Three hundred years.”

Ludwig’s eyes widened.

“Oh. Three hundred years. . . . I had guessed that a long time had passed. But that is quite a long time. But how long are you going to keep doing that?”

Julia did not understand the last part for a moment, but then she realized that he was referring to Russell.

Russell said,

“What are you talking about?”

“What am I talking about? Your eyes, of course. They’re so scary that I could die, so why don’t you turn them off?”

Russell smiled wryly. It was the same thing he had heard from someone a few hours ago. When he glanced at her, Julia lowered her head and stared at her teacup.

“My eyes, as you call them, magic eye. I have caused many uncomfortable situations and even accidents in my life, but my eyes are still useful. Right now, I am more concerned with your current appearance than this strange space.”

Ludwig nodded.

“Yes. I have seen many magic eye in my time, but I have never seen eyes with such a color. Fairy tales only describe them as the eyes of a demon or the devil. So, what do you see in me?”

“. . .I would rather not say.”

Russell turned off his ’eyes’. The fluctuating field of vision vanished, revealing Ludwig and Julia to the naked eye. So were the table and chairs they sat at, as well as the interior of the house they were in.

Ludwig looked at Russell, whose face had been half covered by a will-o’-the-wisp, and exclaimed in admiration.

“Are you popular with women?”

Julia had to cover her mouth with her hand again to hold back her laughter. Russell did not bother to reply to that remark.

“Now, tell me your reasons and purpose. What was that labyrinth of fog?”

Julia, who had been holding back her laughter, raised her head suddenly.

Yes. Why had Ludwig created the strange terrain of the otherworldly realm they’d just experienced? The flower fields, the desert, the snowy mountains, the battlefield, the sea, and other unimaginable terrains were all created by Ludwig.

Ludwig responded as though someone had asked him a ridiculous question.

“What else? It was an interview to select the successful candidates, of course. You have all passed the test admirably. Congratulations. Now the anxiety is over, and the happiness begins. Isn’t that good? Aren’t you happy?”

“. . . . . . .”

“. . . . . . .”

Russell did not reply, and this time, Julia agreed. Ludwig shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t be so rude just because I made a joke. However, the answer to what you just said is all there. The labyrinth was like a sieve. To filter out the weaklings.”

“I understand the reason. What’s the purpose?”

After a moment of silence, Ludwig smiled slightly. However, Julia felt coldness rather than warmth in that smile.

It was not the warm smile that accompanied a life of faithfulness. Instead, it was closer to the mockery of a guillotine’s blade that an executioner was waiting for.

“Why, it is the arrangement for my wife’s and my deaths.”

“. . .Your wife.”

“Ismen. Ah, that is a shortened version of my wife’s name. Do you think Ismenios is too long? It doesn’t sound like a woman’s name, either. Anyway.”

As he fingered his teacup, Ludwig said,

“She and I created that fog according to the prophecy and waited in her lair. We were waiting for someone to emerge from the fog and bring us peace. According to my descendant, Julia, here, I left the key to the portal that could lead here to the lord of De-Calas three hundred years ago. The prophet did not know when exactly, but she foresaw that someone would come through the labyrinth a long time later. I had hoped that it would be my descendant, but. . .”

Ludwig looked at Julia for a moment. Julia was embarrassed by his gaze, which filled her with regret.

“Unfortunately. As the prophet said, it is the one with ‘eyes’ who will bring us rest.”

“Are you talking about me?”

“That is correct.”

Ludwig’s eyes were clear. There was not a single lie in them.

“At the time, I did not understand what it meant. Eyes that can see the unseen and eyes that can see that which cannot be seen. We designed and set up that complex path while half-believing and half-doubting.”

Ludwig was looking not at Russell or Julia, but at the opposite wall. However, they both knew that he wasn’t looking at the wall right now.

How many lives must have perished during that extended period of time? . . . it does not matter. I do not know, and I do not want to.”

Russell gazed into his eyes. He gazed into the eyes of a man who, for three hundred years, had been unable to murder his wife and himself, and had instead waited for someone else to do so. His eyes were as hard and cold as the eternal snow of the north.

Russell asked,

“Where is your wife?”

“In her space. There is no reason for any wife to have to watch her husband die.”

“Did she agree?”

“Of course. She’s a dragon. Do not judge her by human standards.”

Phew. Russell sighed inwardly.

“Then when shall we begin?”

Ludwig stated it flatly:

“As soon as possible. Even now would be fine.”

“Why.”

“If we don’t, this world will once again have to endure a dragon running wild. She does not have much time left before she regains her senses. Had it not been for some bastard’s evil magic power, she wouldn’t have progressed as far as she has. But in the end, it was because of that that you were able to come here. Fate is a fickle thing. Isn’t it?”

Russell knew that Karugon was the bastard Ludwig was referring to. A dragonkin had come to Calisden in search of the dragon’s traces. A madman wizard had gathered and marched monsters.

The evil magic power that he had shot out on the battlefield, combined with the resentment and hatred, had seeped into this underground labyrinth, further accelerating Ismenios’ awakening. To be precise, it had made the mad dragon go berserk.

Julia, who had not been able to follow the two’s conversation, interjected anxiously.

“Wait, wait a minute. What are you two talking about? Can you explain it to me, too?”

Ludwig looked at his young descendant with a sad smile.

“The fulfillment of prophecy, Julia.”

“Yes?”

“My wife and I have delayed our deaths for too long. Even disregarding the fact that my wife is a dragon, I should have definitely died.”

“W, Why! You’re alive and well! Why do you want to die?”

“Because I must.”

“D, Don’t. Don’t you want to go back to the empire? Everyone will be surprised. My father and my siblings will be so surprised that they’ll fall over. The world has changed so much in three hundred years; so many amazing things have appeared, and. . .”

“Julia.”

“Yes.”

“Do I look like a human?”

Julia nodded.

Ludwig shook his head.

“I am not human. How can you describe someone who has lived for over three hundred years as human? I am just a monster.”

“. . . . . . .”

“The reason I’m still alive is because I’m restraining my wife at the cost of my soul. My life is connected to my wife’s, so I have been fixed in my current state, unable to live or die properly. My wife is enduring while embracing her maddened mind within her restrained body. I don’t want to torment my wife any longer.”

“. . . . . . .”

“I’m sorry for showing you this side of me.”

Julia shed tears.

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