Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Logos Gorge

TL: Potato-tan

Proofreader: Asianpotato

 

Russell twisted as soon as the headache hit him—the result of the headless knight’s sword strike. Despite his lack of vision, the dullahan tracked Russell as if it could see, swinging its sword.

 

Russell blocked the downward strike with his axe, then brought up his greatsword in his right hand. The dullahan hastily rolled backward, avoiding the greatsword. It wasn’t a complete dodge, however, as a long gash opened up from its abdomen to its chest.

 

Russell shook both of his wrists. He had felt it earlier: the axe wasn’t working very well. The vicious axe, which could tear apart and freeze life energy, was strangely ineffective against the undead.

 

The frost and chill emitted by the axe did little to combat the corpses’ inherent coldness and death energy. In fact, they seemed to absorb some of the frost and grow stronger.

 

Russell’s immense mana and strength allowed him to smash them to pieces regardless, but it was more of a waste of mana and strength. So Russell tucked the axe into the back of his coat and gripped the greatsword with both hands.

 

The dullahan, having rolled backward, rose up. Suddenly, the dullahan extended its left hand into the air, and a head soon appeared. It was the head that Russell had sent flying earlier.

 

“You can bring it back. That’s convenient.”

 

The dullahan trembled with rage at Russell’s mockery.

 

“Don’t think you’ll die easily!”

 

Screech!

 

As if in affirmation of the headless knight’s words, the three or four wraiths flying in the sky let out a deafening shriek. The Paladins and Ulca, who were fighting fiercely, staggered, covering their ears. The wraiths’ evil mana, as well as the sound itself, shook their eardrums and minds directly.

 

The wraiths’ screams grew louder, not softer. The corpses also began to add their own low, mournful voices. A single, desperate hatred for life filled the air.

 

The world seemed to fill with sound, creating the illusion of an echo. Russell’s eyes blazed.

 

Something vast erupted from Russell. It was a roar so large that it could have come from a giant. Mana infused the roar.

 

When it first appeared, it was like a vocal version of the shockwave dragonkin Karugon had unleashed to wipe out the soldiers and mercenaries. A hemispherical shockwave erupted, scattering the wraiths’ shrieks. The shockwave also pushed back the other corpses, including the dullahan.

 

It didn’t have the holy energy to turn the wraiths or other corpses to ash, only to push them away. But even that was a great feat. Russell growled.

 

“Damn, that’s annoying.”

 

He kicked off the ground and leaped. The wraiths didn’t even have time to scream before Russell was among them. His greatsword flashed dozens of times in the blink of an eye, tearing the wraiths apart.

 

As he finished off one of the wraiths, the shrieks that had paused in surprise at his roar resumed. The cursed sound, which affected only the living, distorted their vision, caused auditory hallucinations, and destabilized their balance. But Russell wasn’t the only one here.

 

“I will proclaim the church’s will, sing the sanctuary hymn, and raise the banner of destruction once more!”

 

The Paladins’ duet echoed across the battlefield, blood pouring from their ears. Golden currents of energy surged like waves, scattering the wraiths’ screams head-on while spreading horizontally.

 

Like ripples from a stone dropped into a lake, waves of holy energy surged forward, engulfing countless undead and setting them ablaze.

 

AWOOOOOO.

 

A low howl echoed. Ulca, now in therianthropy, loomed over the corpses with her enlarged form. Her rough gray fur shimmered faintly in the silver light.

 

Gold and silver dominated the battlefield. The nearby corpses burned to ash, and even the powerful undead, filled with death energy and dark mana, retreated hesitantly.

 

“Haap!”

 

Hailyn threw his shield, which accurately struck one of the flying wraiths. The mana-infused shield struck the wraith squarely, causing it to fall to the ground, ablaze with gray flames.

 

“Kreung!”

 

Ulca’s haunches, now resembling hind legs, propelled her into the air like a spring. However, the wraith Ulca had targeted had seen the deaths of the previous two and was flying high. Ulca leaped incredibly high, but it was still far from reaching the wraith in the sky.

 

The wraith made a twisted smile and let out a sigh of relief. The wraith was a spirit, so this was nothing more or less than an expression of mockery toward a physical being. However, its expression soon transformed into a five-part division no longer resembling a smile or anything else.

 

Thud and Ulca landed on the ground. Her right hand held five claws that glowed in the moonlight. And that light didn’t just shine on Ulca’s claws.

 

Boom! Boom! Boom!

 

Hailyn, Jess, and Ulca turned their heads toward the source of the loud noises.

 

Russell and the dullahan were fighting with swords. It was clear who had the upper hand. The blade of Russell’s greatsword, Nahilnir, glowed with white runes. The light from the runes became silver currents that enveloped the dark blade, relentlessly chipping away at the dullahan’s longsword. The dullahan groaned.

 

“That light is. . .!”

 

It was the moonlight rune that Managarmar had carved. It had finally begun to glow. Russell grinned. ‘Now it’s finally useful.’

 

Nahilnir, Russell’s greatsword, slashed and swirled in the moonlight. Russell, with his black coat, black hair, and black sword trailing a silver light, resembled a great artist painting a white picture in darkness with a giant brush. However, for the dullahan facing him, it was the ultimate in horrific surrealism.

 

The longsword’s blade chipped before shattering. Russell didn’t know the forest ranger named Simaren, nor did he know the dullahan that had killed and possessed his body. All he knew was that this headless knight’s swordsmanship and agility were surprisingly good, but nothing more.

 

He didn’t know if that was the skill Simaren had originally possessed or the skill the dullahan’s soul had brought with it. And Russell didn’t care. This guy was trying to stab him with a sword. That was enough.

 

Clang!

 

The dullahan’s sword screamed and broke completely. The two halves of the spinning white blade showed the dullahan’s terrified face on one half and Russell’s expressionless face on the other.

 

“No!”

 

The greatsword cut the dullahan’s body in half. It was a clean cut from neck to groin. The headless knight’s severed body erupted into gray flames. It was the manifestation of moonlight, leading the undead to their demise.

 

Cawwwww!

 

The dullahan’s flesh burned away, and the flames spread to the head he held in one hand. The dullahan, which had let out a final death cry, soon became nothing more than charred ash. Russell crushed it with his foot, and it shattered with a light crunch.

 

Heeheehee.

 

Screech.

 

The sound of horses and wraiths grew distant. It was the sound of the last remaining dullahans and wraiths fleeing the battlefield. As soon as Russell’s sword split the dullahan that held Simaren’s head, they fled without looking back.

 

Russell had thought about chasing them, but he had to give up when he saw the corpses running toward them like madmen. They were charging recklessly, not caring about their own bodies, as they carried out their last imprinted order.

 

“These crazy fools!”

 

“Ugh!”

 

“Hailyn!”

 

The corpses’ kamikaze charge overpowered even Ulca and the Paladins. Furthermore, Hailyn was kneeling on one knee, coughing, likely due to overexerting his holy energy. Russell turned and swung his greatsword at the corpses.

 

Before they could even reach the great sword’s blade, the corpses crumbled to moonlight.

 

The corpses were about to crush Ulca and the paladins, but Russell swung his sword like a storm, clearing a path and saving them. Ulca and the Paladins, with Russell’s reinforcements, also dragged their heavy bodies forward and slaughtered the corpses.

 

By the time they had turned all the corpses to ash, dawn was already breaking on the other side of the forest.

 

“Haak, haak, haak. . .”

 

“Huk, huk. . .”

 

All four of them were dirty, covered in ash and blood. Ulca, whose therianthropy had receded, was kneeling with her hands on her knees, catching her breath, while the two paladins sat against a rock, panting.

 

Russell didn’t show any signs of fatigue, but he was gasping for breath. He rubbed his eyes and wiped the blade’s ash and corpse bits off. Then he shook his coat, brushing off the ash.

 

Russell looked up at the sky. He couldn’t see any blue sky, only grayness. Only light and dark divided the clouds, and the sun’s position remained unknown.

 

“Can’t the undead move in sunlight?”

 

“Yes. We don’t have to worry about the corpses anymore.”

 

Hailyn, who was sitting down, answered Russell’s question. He was pale, suggesting he needed some rest. Russell said,

 

“Ulca.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“How much farther to the gorge?”

 

“Hmm. Like I said yesterday, once you get here, you’re almost there. We’ll arrive in two hours.”

 

“Then let’s rest until morning and have an early lunch before we leave. Hailyn and Jess haven’t even gotten a proper night’s sleep.”

 

“I agree, I agree. . . Hoo.”

 

Jess raised his hand with difficulty, then let it fall again. Hailyn couldn’t bring himself to disagree.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

“Elenora’s letter of introduction, you say?”

 

Hailyn looked up from the stew he was eating. He looked surprised. Russell took the letter out of his coat and handed it to him. Hailyn put down his bowl and accepted it.

 

“You speak to her very familiarly. Are you an acquaintance of hers?”

 

“. . . . . .”

 

Hailyn was so absorbed in reading the letter that he didn’t hear Russell. Jess spoke up instead.

 

“Hailyn is Priestess Elenora’s older brother, Russell-nim.”

 

‘Brother?’ Russell’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Hailyn. Now that he thought about it, he did have blond hair, blue eyes, and handsome features. Russell could see parts of Elenora’s face in his.

 

Hailyn, who had been reading the letter with great interest, soon finished and handed it back to Russell.

 

“Russell-nim. . . May I ask?”

 

Russell nodded. In any case, he couldn’t maintain secrecy, and the information would inevitably circulate. It was better to just admit it. Hailyn nodded.

 

“Are you the famous Dragon Slayer, Russell-nim?”

 

“What?!”

 

“What?”

 

Jess and Ulca exclaimed in surprise. Hailyn replied with a small smile.

 

“I was also traveling around with Jess for about a month, looking for Herokeinin. During that time, we would occasionally hear stories of a dragon appearing in a distant northeastern city, as well as of a warrior who had slain that dragon. The appearances were all different, but. . . I knew that Elenora was nearby, but I hadn’t been able to receive or read any letters from her for a long time. Fortunately, it seems the light guided me here. I have come to meet my sister’s connection, who is also my benefactor.”

 

Was that included in the introduction letter? Russell hadn’t opened and read the letter, so he didn’t know what it said. But it didn’t seem like the right time to read it now, so he just tucked it back into his coat.

 

“Both siblings are members of the church.”

 

“Yes. Elenora and I both lost our parents when we were young and grew up in a monastery. Fortunately, we received a lot of God’s favor, so I was able to become a paladin and my sister a priestess. People are also discussing her as a potential saint, albeit with a hint of exaggeration. Haha.”

 

Hailyn continued to praise his sister’s accomplishments. For over five years, she had traveled far and wide, exorcising demons and healing the sick, and Hailyn’s expression was brighter than before as he spoke of Elenora.

 

After seeing that expression, Jess wondered whether he should change Hailyn’s nickname from ‘Solemn Hailyn’ to ‘Doting Hailyn’. Ulca said,

 

“What does Dragonslayer mean?”

 

“Ah, that’s just a story.”

 

Jess, who had been looking bored, quickly explained. “Oooh!” Ulca exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with interest. Russell grimaced as he listened to Jess’s story, which contained several exaggerations (such as the dragon being over a hundred meters long and its breath completely destroying the walls of Calisden), but he didn’t bother correcting him.

 

With newfound eyes, Ulca looked at Russell.

 

“You’re amazing. . .”

 

Russell said,

 

“Let’s get going. We shouldn’t just wait for the gorge to come to us.”

 

The others also chuckled and got up, tidying themselves up. Everyone was moving around briskly, thanks to having gotten a good night’s rest and eaten a meal. The Paladins could heal themselves with holy energy, and Ulca was a wolf with regenerative abilities of a troll. Russell, of course, went without saying.

 

Ulca took the lead again, followed by Russell and the two Paladins. The crunching sound of snow and fallen leaves beneath their feet was audible.

 

It was close to noon, but the clouds were still thick, obscuring the sun’s position. They could only assume that it was somewhere overhead.

 

At one point, the trees began to grow farther apart. There are now more stones than fallen leaves and snow. And then, suddenly, their eyes opened.

 

“Wow. . . . . .”

 

Jess looked up in awe. A towering, brown cliff stood before them.

 

Tens of thousands of years ago, the earth’s violent conversation formed a cliff. The sheer cliff face looked difficult to climb. The wind blowing along the cliff ruffled their hair.

 

Ulca pointed a finger.

 

“Over there. Logos Gorge.”

 

Three pairs of eyes followed her finger. They could see a wide gap between the two cliffs. It was a wide enough path for not just the four of them but even ten people to walk side by side, but it looked relatively narrow because of the vast cliffs on either side. Hailyn squinted.

 

“To my eyes, it looks like fog.”

 

“I see it too, Hailyn.”

 

Russell and Ulca also saw what they had found. White fog is falling low along the gorge’s bottom. It was hard to believe it was natural. The fog was escaping from inside the gorge. Russell said,

 

“It’s waiting for us, I suppose.”

 

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