The Mist Vol 5 Chapter 21

Vol 5 Chapter 21

"You're thanking the wrong person. If it weren't for your words, I had no intention of going down there at all."

The Shine Knight answered in an elegant tone, as if mocking, then turned around and disappeared. And as if on cue, that image once again distorted like ripples on a calm water surface when a stone is thrown, and gradually turned pitch black.

Then, when his vision brightened once more, Kapros could see Lord Superior and the Dark Knight standing in front of a middle-aged man lying on a sickbed. This time, instead of a first-person view, his perspective had separated, allowing him to observe the three people.

"How miserable. To be lying here like this at such a time... Cough, cough, ugh..."

"Captain."

As the Dark Knight knelt beside the bed and called out, the man smiled faintly.

"Don't make such a face. It's something that had to happen someday. I'm satisfied that I've held out until now. I'm not worried because you're here to succeed me. I'm only concerned about this country... Ugh, cough, cough!"

The man closed his eyes tightly, trying to suppress the pain as he swallowed the grating sound in his throat. A stream of black blood that he couldn't swallow trickled down the corner of his mouth. Seeing this, the Dark Knight lowered his head, and Superior placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll... step out for a moment. You probably have things to discuss about the Dark Flame Knight Order that are only for you to hear..."

The Dark Knight, who had been staring at the ends of the red hair that flowed down like a tail to Superior's waist, smiled sadly with slightly bloodshot eyes.

"...Alright. Thank you."

After Superior left, the man barely opened his eyes and looked at the Dark Knight.

"You chose to walk this path for that child's sake."

"..."

"But do you know? Love is of no help in preserving one's life."

"I know."

The bloodshot black eyes muttered, looking down as if in despair.

"I know..."

"Yes. I know too. That's why neither I nor anyone else has told that child about our true selves behind our grand facade. Our lives are short even if we live. Knowing this, no one fears our power. Look at my blood. My body is no different from those monsters now, the red of life has long since disappeared even from my blood."

"Don't say such things. You'll get up soon."

"Because we received the seal that abandons humanity through blood, we become infinite warriors who never tire against monsters, but in the end, we just die becoming the same monsters as them... There might be no other end. Cough, hack! Cough!"

"Captain...!"

"You... you... will probably become this country's last Dark Knight. Having received the seal with the blood of the three-headed lion, even if all humans die, there would be few monsters strong enough to harm you. Ha, cough... cough! ...But, ...our history cannot vanish so meaninglessly."

The man, holding the Dark Knight's hand, emitted a final brilliant light from his eyes that had been losing their luster as if dying.

"This is my selfish last request. Please, with your power, ensure that at least our memories are passed down to future generations."

"Captain..."

"...If you promise, I'll tell you the final secret. Who stands at the vanguard of this destruction."

At that moment, the Dark Knight's eyes widened greatly. Kapros too, feeling intense curiosity at what seemed like the timing for something important to be said, tried to focus more on the sound when suddenly, something wicked scattered like flower petals and obscured his vision. After that unknown thing disappeared and he came to his senses, Kapros couldn't help but be surprised again to find himself floating above an unfamiliar castle with a strangely ominous aura.

As his view descended straight down, he saw three people standing in front of the closed castle gate. One with red hair must be Superior, and one with blonde hair in white armor must be the Shine Knight. Then the person holding a large bow with a quiver strapped to his thigh must be...

"...Is this the right place?"

As Superior turned to the side and asked, the man holding the bow, who had been glaring at the castle with an expression as sharp as a well-forged blade, nodded. As the view drew closer, Kapros could see ears that seemed slightly more pointed than those of ordinary people peeking through blue-tinged hair, along with eyes gleaming like those of a murderous spirit.

'What's with those ears? They're too short to be an elf's.'

"Then let's go in."

As if trying to break the unnaturally quiet atmosphere, Superior stepped forward and reached out towards the castle gate, which was too large and firmly closed for one person to open.

"Gravity Field."

Fwoosh!

As soon as the words ended, an invisible force burst from the ground just in front of the gate and enveloped it, and then an amazing thing happened.

Creak, crack, crunch!

As if an invisible giant's hand was grabbing and tearing it forward, the gate was instantly sucked forward, screaming as it shattered and flew out. Just as Superior was about to walk in first, looking at the literally torn-off gate, the Shine Knight stepped forward as if to block the way.

"I'll go ahead."

Superior silently stepped back slightly, indicating his respect for the other's opinion.

And just before following the Shine Knight along with the Electric Knight, the Electric Knight passing by Superior gritted his teeth and spoke.

"...Thank you for coming this far. I don't forget favors."

"Don't think of it as a favor. Your siblings are the urgent matter now."

"..."

As he watched them walk along the path inside the castle gate, Kapros thought about the magic Superior had just used. He had seen Superior use magic before, but because he used it so naturally, there was one fact Kapros hadn't realized until now.

'He didn't draw a circle even once while using those incredible spells.'

The power of magic from a different dimension coming from the supreme level of 8th circle, the delicate control stemming from mental strength, and even the effortless execution of image changes.

In Kapros's case, when drastically changing the image of a spell for a different purpose, he still had to concentrate all his mental energy to the point of exhaustion. Even though the pain he felt was significantly less, it still caused a headache that couldn't be ignored, so one could imagine how difficult this process was to implement, even without having tried it personally.