Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 93

Chapter 93: Flight

 

The night sky was dark. Clouds drifted rapidly across the sky. The earth plunged into even deeper darkness as the clouds blocked the starlight and moonlight. The hills and ridges that blocked the horizon looked like huge waves frozen in place.

 

In the darkness, where it was hard to see even an inch ahead without a torch, the plains that had been cold all night exuded a cold air. A group of horse riders galloped across the cold ground.

 

They were able to navigate the darkness well, even without a single light. The darkness seemed to pose no difficulty for their vision.

 

There were nine of them. All wore black cloaks and hoods. Their faces were invisible, but in the darkness, two red lights shone around them.

 

Their horses were also different from ordinary horses, with red and fierce eyes. A group of riders stopped in a corner of the wilderness.

 

The sound of crickets chirping loudly in the darkness stopped abruptly.

 

“Foorook, foorook.”

 

Dried sweat covered the horses’ skin, yet they trotted lightly, seemingly capable of running. The muscles, which looked like earthworms, twitched violently.

 

Thud.

 

The leader dismounted his horse. The others did not dismount but kept an eye on the surroundings.

 

The leader was also wearing a cloak and hood, so his face was not visible. However, he had a large staff in his hand. The brown wooden staff featured a hook-shaped tip, strung with iron rings at its center. It looked like a magic staff.

 

The staff-wielding figure dropped to one knee and examined the remains of the skeletons. The bare bones had already been picked clean by various predators.

 

The marks on the bones would have allowed an ordinary tracker to determine that a large sword had struck him.

 

An excellent tracker would have been able to determine that one person killed the dozens of corpses, and a slightly better tracker would have been able to confirm that the process had been extremely quick.

 

However, the staff-wielder knew more than that.

 

“Um━”

 

An indistinct word flowed from his mouth. Then the iron rings hanging quietly on the staff shook and rattled.

 

“Oom-Saveni. . .”

 

He exuded an ominous and sinister energy that flowed low to the ground. Countless insects that had been hiding in the bushes and grass trembled and fell to the ground, dead. Soon, the energy reached the skeletons.

 

“. . . . . .”

 

The staff-wielder stood still, accepting the memories that flowed into his mind. Because quite some time had already passed, he could not know much.

 

Nevertheless, he was able to find out who had killed them and where they had gone. He muttered.

 

“Good material.”

 

The staff-wielder did not get back on his horse. Then the others also dismounted and prepared to camp.

 

He knew that even though the horses could run, running any further would make it difficult to move properly the next day.

 

Their camping arrangements were simple. The man with the strange energy stuck his staff in the ground and sat down casually, not far from it. There was no blanket or sleeping bag.

 

The eight black cloaks also sat in a circle around him. They didn’t care about the skeleton corpses lying around them or the cold air flowing from the ground. Then, one of the black hoods opened its mouth.

 

“Meal. We. May?”

 

A rough and abrupt voice. The staff’s owner nodded at the voice.

 

Then the eight black cloaks, except for him, took something out of their pockets and chewed on it. It was not the sound of chewing, something falling on the floor, or ordinary smoked meat.

 

In the darkness where there was not a single light source, the sound of something tough being bitten, torn, and stretched out quietly replaced the chirping of crickets.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

His predictions hadn’t been far off. Russell, after enduring a noisy night, had pacified the two grumbling people in the morning as soon as it arrived and opened the door. Calia instantly disappeared into Russell’s shadow.

 

“Hello?”

 

The person who knocked on the door was an elderly man. He was leaning on an old wooden staff.

 

Behind the old man was Sherin, whose facial swelling had not yet subsided. Russell thought the two men looked alike. The old man replied,

 

“I am Shehoben. I am this village’s village chief.”

 

“I’m Russell. A traveler.”

 

“I heard about what happened yesterday. My foolish son only told me this morning.”

 

When the village chief glanced at Sherin, he looked embarrassed and lowered his head.

 

“I came to greet you to thank you for protecting our village and killing the monsters, even though it was late.”

 

“They were the ones who came after us, so it was our duty to take care of them. It’s not something to be thankful for.”

 

“I’d be very grateful if you thought so. Are you leaving the village today?”

 

“I think so.”

 

“Hmm. After breakfast, there will be a morning prayer service and a funeral at the church in the center of the village.”

 

“A funeral?”

 

Russell, who had asked back, soon nodded. It must have been for those who had lost their lives to the bandits the day before.

 

Many people believed that if priests did not give them a proper funeral, they could rise up as evil spirits or undead. And it wasn’t a completely wrong story.

 

“I’ll stop by if I have time.”

 

The village chief and Sherin greeted each other and left. Russell yawned and turned around.

 

“Aella. Get up.”

 

The young dragon, which was lying on its stomach with its belly exposed, grumbled and got up, turning into a young girl.

 

“Tch. You didn’t give me any blood after all.”

 

“You’re not a vampire. It’ll just make you vomit.”

 

“Then don’t give any blood to that old lady, either!”

 

Calia emerged from the shadows.

 

“I am not an old lady, little girl.”

 

“I’m not a little girl either!”

 

“Aren’t you, with your tiny height?”

 

Aellasis glared at Calia with a resentful expression. There was a difference of more than 15 centimeters in height. Of course, that was not the only difference. Calia pointed to her chest with a mocking smile.

 

“Does baby want to eat?”

 

“Kyaaaak!”

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

After a hearty breakfast of a piece of pork, two chickens, and beer, the group left the inn and headed for the center of the village.

 

Kai sniffed the air loudly. He said, flaring his nostrils,

 

“It looks like it’s going to rain.”

 

As he said, the sky was dark. It looked like it was about to rain. Gray clouds covered the sun and blue sky, creating a gloomy ceiling.

 

Under the cloudy sky, the village was not that big. It just felt big because of the wooden fence that surrounded the village’s border. Based on its size and number of houses, the population did not appear to exceed 200.

 

There was a small church in the center of the village. It was the Lutheon Church, a religion that worshipped the sun god. Russell and his party watched as the priest presided over the funeral inside.

 

The church was dark. The candles on the shelves and walls were the only sources of light. Under the round glass ceiling, the only priest in the church stood in a priest’s robe, holding a sacred object symbolizing the sun, and offered a prayer. The people in front of him bowed their heads and prayed.

 

“Our Sun, who always watches over us, with your warmth, warms our inside and outside, burns away our ignorance with your bright light, lights the path of wisdom and knowledge, and when our fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters leave us, we hope that you will open your wide arms and embrace them at the end of their rest. . . . . .”

 

The bodies had all been cremated to a pile of ash. . Sometimes, due to the power of the full moon and the energy of the underworld, corpses that rise from the ground and wander around often occur.

 

The idea that the large, heavy bodies had shrunk to the size of a small jar seemed to evoke a subtle emotion in the relatives and family members.

 

Then Russell noticed a young boy among those holding the jars. He remembered the boy. A bandit had shot the boy’s father, resulting in his death. The boy’s mother was standing next to him. No more tears flowed from her dry eyes.

 

The mother held the boy’s shoulder tightly with a hard face and looked up at the sky. The boy followed his mother’s gaze and looked up at the sky, then lowered his head. The boy’s eyes met Russell’s.

 

The boy blinked silently, and Russell did not make any particular gesture.

 

Although he had saved them from the bandits, Russell had not spoken to the village people or other groups of travelers during the seven-hour walk to the village.

 

It must have been because of the fear of Russell, who had killed the fearsome bandits without batting an eye, as well as the wariness towards Kai and Aellasis.

 

Before arriving at the village, the boy had tried to approach Russell several times, but his mother had stopped him each time. And now Russell watched silently as the boy bowed his head. The mother next to him said nothing, as if she knew and didn’t know.

 

When the funeral proceedings were over, Russell and his party left the church.

 

The three of them stood out wherever they went. The two giants, as well as the cute-looking white-haired girl in between, were a rare combination.

 

Russell brought Kry, who had been tethered to the stable at the inn, and Kai’s horse. Kai secured his luggage to his saddle and got on. Despite his enormous build, the horse bore his weight without any trouble.

 

The group strolled down the village’s short street and arrived at the fence’s construction site. Sherin, his father, the village chief, and Tebonin were talking in front of it. Tebonin saw them approaching and said,.

 

“Oh, are you leaving?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Well, thank you very much. I hope to see you again.”

 

The village chief who was leaning on his staff and Sherin, saw Russell and his party off.

 

“Go well. I hope we meet again with a good relationship.”

 

“Goodbye. Yesterday was, uh, I’m really sorry.”

 

Russell nodded and rode Kry out of the village. They walked next to a wide wheat field. The early summer wheat was still green.

 

When sunlight occasionally shone through the thick clouds, the wheat turned yellow in an instant. However, it was short-lived, and when the clouds covered the sun again, it turned green.

 

After passing the field, there was a forest and a path. They didn’t run the horses because the slope was too steep.

 

“Calia. The spell?”

 

Calia appeared to answer Russell’s question. She appeared from behind him, just like yesterday, so Russell had Aellasis in front and Calia behind.

 

“You didn’t give me any blood. I need blood to cast a spell.”

 

“You used it well yesterday.”

 

“I used the blood that makes up my body. If I use it over and over, my body will become smaller.”

 

Aellasis’ ears perked up at that.

 

“Russell, don’t give it to her! Tell her to keep using her own blood. Let’s see if her body shrinks so much and she ends up being as tiny as me!”

 

Russell shook his head.

 

“How much do you need?”

 

“Just a little. A really tiny bit.”

 

Russell silently moved his left hand over his shoulder. Calia quickly grabbed his left hand and stroked it gently.

 

“It’s warm. It feels as comfortable as it did when I was inside of you.

 

“What?!”

 

“The shadow. Drink up quickly and stop teasing her.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Russell felt his slightly cold lips touch his left index finger. But Calia did not bite it; she just put it in her mouth and rolled it gently. A cold tongue, like her lips, licked his finger.

 

As Russell tried to pull his hand away, Calia hurriedly grabbed it.

 

“If you don’t do it quickly, I won’t give you any more blood.”

 

“Sorry, sorry! I’ll do it now.”

 

Soon, a sharp pain came. Calia, who had drunk enough blood, smiled contentedly.

 

“I drank well. As expected, it’s incomparable to other blood.”

 

“Is this the first time you’ve tasted it since waking up?”

 

“A small amount of the blood spilled on your shadow. The bandits and the ferocious wolves were also present. They were all tasteless beggars. Now, wait and see. I’ll make the spell right away.”

 

Calia seemed to be in a good mood, thanks to drinking blood. She immediately got off Kry. Since she had been walking slowly, Calia did not stumble and stood on the ground.

 

Russell and Kai also stopped and looked at her. Calia took out the red pieces she had received from Russell yesterday and chanted a spell.

 

Then the red pieces on her palm trembled and gathered together to form a shape like a compass needle.

 

“I could use the spell itself, but the number of materials was too small. I guess it will scatter as soon as I use it once.”

 

“But you’ll be able to find the direction, right?”

 

“Yes. If you look in this direction now. . . . . . . . . .”

 

Calia’s expression hardened. The spell caused the red needle to veer backwards. It was the way they had come from the village.

 

Kai said.

 

“This doesn’t feel good.”

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

“Ouch!”

 

Sherin, who was yawning while standing at the fence, frowned at the pain in his torn mouth. But his expression quickly cleared. He thought it was fortunate that it was over.

 

Yesterday, Russell’s finger slap had given him such excruciating pain, but he thought it was fortunate that it had been a finger, not an fist.

 

Sherin yawned and looked beyond the fence. The shift was still a long way away. As ordered by his father, he had been on guard since morning.

 

Sherin, who had been looking at the fields outside the fence, the forest that stretched out into the distance, and the plains on the other side to endure the boring time, opened his eyes wide.

 

It was because a group of horse riders were approaching the village at a fast pace. But their appearance was unusual. All of them were wearing black cloaks and hoods upside down, so their faces were completely invisible.

 

“Doesn’t that feel stuffy?”

 

He muttered. Despite their horseback riding, the early summer weather was so humid that the air clung to their skin and clothes, even with the sun hidden.

 

The nine horse riders slowed down as they approached the fence. Only one of them holding a staff approached. Sherin placed his hand on the fence and leaned forward to inquire.

 

“Who goes there? Are you travelers?”

 

The staff wielder remained silent for a moment before speaking.

 

“Did a man with black hair and purple eyes come here?”

 

Sherin knew at once who he was referring to. With a doubtful look on his face, he spoke.

 

“. . . . . .He did, but why do you ask?”

 

“Where did he go?”

 

The one holding the large iron staff didn’t provide any explanations.

 

Sherin swallowed nervously. No matter how he looked at it, the ominous-looking group was asking about Russell, and it seemed like they were going to harm him.

 

He raised his hand and pointed to one side. It was in the opposite direction from where Russell had gone.

 

“He went that way.”

 

The staff-wielder, who had been looking in that direction, turned his head back and looked up at Sherin. The red eyes in the hood smiled.

 

“You’re lying.”

 

He then swung his staff. It was a light action, but the result was not.

 

Bang-!

 

With that one casual gesture, the two-ply fence shattered and flew into the air.

 

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