Chapter 128: The One Who Was Not Forgiven (3)

It wasn’t that no one had spoken to him while he wandered through Adelein.

But their words never reached Gert.

“Oh, great knight! How could you fall so low?”

“Gert, regain your senses! You’re not that kind of knight!”

“They say he was an exemplary knight before becoming a Death Knight…”

“Spare me.”

“I don’t want to die.”

“I’ll be back, so stop!”

“Damn you!”

All in vain. Because he had sworn to carry all of that.

But this time was different.

“You’re trash who destroyed your own country. A murderer who killed innocents. That’s what you are. If you have any conscience left, justify yourself, skeleton!”

Of course, Adelein had fallen because of him. But he had his own reasons.

What could that black-haired human possibly know?

“I’m not finished. They say you were a decent knight in life? How did you end up like this? Did dark magic blind you? Did you want to live so badly that you became that? Aren’t you ashamed?”

It wasn’t because of dark magic. Nor because he wanted to live.

There was simply something he had to do, even if it meant bearing all this suffering.

And yet, all his sacrifices were now being scorned by that black-haired human.

“Damn skeleton! Who are you to kill people? Is Adelein yours or what?”

“Your Highness, please, that’s enough.”

“I haven’t even started. Look at him! He can’t even answer. Everything I said is true. You’re a damned skeleton without conscience or dignity!”

It wasn’t that he couldn’t justify himself.

Nor that he didn’t know what to say out of shame.

It was just that, for him, justifying himself would be a luxury. True honor doesn’t require others to acknowledge it.

He needed no one’s understanding. Only to quietly continue the mission imposed upon him.

He was still a knight, even in death. And then, the black-haired human kept talking.

“Hey, Gert! When your parents had you, I bet—”

Gert’s heart stirred.

He remembered the faces of his parents, whom he had long forgotten. Those who, upon seeing him knighted, told him without hesitation to become a great knight.

Even though he had become a Death Knight, his filial devotion remained intact, buried deep within.

At last, Gert couldn’t hold it back and opened his mouth.

[You… talk too much.]

Then, the black-haired human’s expression changed. It was that classic look of someone who had found a weak spot.

“Talk? Why? I was just saying how touching it was to think your parents had seaweed soup when you were born… Did you feel called out? Are you a bad son or something?”

[Wait.]

“Shut up, shut up! You ruined a country, you were a bad son, and now you’re just a wandering Death Knight skeleton!”

[Listen… to what… I have to say.]

“Go ahead and talk! But you know what? The innocent lives lost because of you and your parents, who suffered from your disgrace—they probably had a lot to say too! And now you…”

That human talked too much.

His constant ranting left no time for response, especially since Gert’s body didn’t allow him to speak quickly.

[I… can’t… keep… talking…]

“Me neither! I run out of words just seeing you! What kind of…?!”

In the end, it was one of the human’s companions who stopped him.

“Your Highness, let him speak.”

“I won’t listen to a bad son like him.”

“Bad son or not, let’s at least give him a chance. Let’s grant him the right to speak.”

“Do you really think, Jared, that it’s worth listening to what that skeleton has to say?”

“The right to defend oneself is a basic right. Let’s give him just one chance.”

“Tch, fine.”

The black-haired human stepped back with crossed arms, glaring sharply.

Gert nodded slightly at the human who had defended him, a sign of gratitude.

Although he usually avoided humans, this time he genuinely felt thankful toward that knight who stood up for him.

[Thank you… human.]

“No need to thank me, Sir Gert.”

Jared bowed respectfully.

Suddenly, Gert was flooded with old memories. In the past, everyone had spoken to him like that—with respect.

Perhaps that’s why… All humans, at some point, are swept up in nostalgia.

Gert spoke gently.

[You will… die… by my hand.]

The black-haired human erupted again.

“Did you hear that?! We give him a chance to speak and he says we’re going to die! Hey, come here!”

“Calm down. A man—no, a Death Knight—should be allowed to finish speaking.”

Gert closed his eyes. He was no longer swayed by the ranting of that black-haired human.

He only conveyed what he felt within.

[I’ll tell you… why… you must die.]

***

Jared, quickly picking up on Yuri’s intention, moved to the opposite side and defended Gert.

It was a tactic known as “the good knight and the bad knight.”

The more Yuri continued his verbal attacks, the more Gert’s anger built up, which naturally made him feel a certain affinity toward Jared, who defended him.

Thus, through flattery and pressure, they got him to open up and speak. Gert slowly opened his mouth.

[Dark magic.]

As soon as he uttered those words, all eyes focused on him.

Gert straightened, raising his sword firmly.

[It all… began… there.]

The breastplate, the only part remaining of his full plate armor, crumbled.

From the center of his ribcage, the Death Knight’s core was revealed, beating powerfully. A menacing red, it pulsed like a heart.

[That’s why… I became… a Death Knight.]

Yuri cast a quick glance at Pierre. He wore a noticeably disturbed expression.

Watching him out of the corner of his eye, Yuri focused back on Gert’s account. Since Gert couldn’t express himself properly, he had to piece together the story through intuition and deduction.

Adelein had once been a peaceful country.

Until one day, the palace mage fell into dark magic. At first, no one knew.

Unlike normal magic, dark magic could manifest completely unexpected powers, allowing the mage to kill people night after night without being discovered.

The entire country fell into ruin. Years of failed harvests followed, wild beasts began attacking villages, and rumors spread of demons appearing at night to abduct people.

The people of Adelein turned to alcohol and drugs. Amid this chaos, Gert, a knight who had sworn loyalty to the king, devoted himself to finding the source of the disaster consuming Adelein.

And he finally found it.

A grotesque, deformed creature that crawled like a mass composed of fragments of various species.

He fought it with his order of knights but could not defeat it.

The creature snared the knights with its tentacles and devoured them. Every time its jaws moved, screams and bone-crunching could be heard.

And with every drop of blood spilled, the monster grew stronger. Defeated, Gert returned and reported what he had seen to the king.

The army was mobilized. Gert set out, prepared to risk the kingdom’s fate to destroy the creature.

But it was already too late.

[There… I…]

Gert paused. His crimson eyes glowed. Unable to continue, he lowered his head.

Suddenly, Pierre asked,

“That Grand Library. Is it true?”

Everyone looked at him. Pierre stared at Gert with gleaming eyes.

“Was the monster’s lair there? Did you see it there?”

[There… I…]

“Was it that place?”

[In the… Grand Library.]

Gert clutched his head. Without his plate armor, the Death Knight looked thin and frail.

After a few seconds of silence, he raised his face again.

His eyes burned with a fiery red.

[All… life… must be… annihilated.]

Suddenly, Gert slashed his sword toward Pierre. A wave of cutting energy flew at him, but thanks to a shield raised in time, he managed to protect himself.

Yuri shouted,

“What the hell are you saying all of a sudden?!”

“So it was there, after all.”

“What?”

Pierre’s expression changed.

“You take care of this, prince. Our temporary alliance ends here.”

With those words, he shot off toward the Grand Library. He used magic and disappeared in an instant.

Yuri tried to pursue him, but Ivan and his mercenaries blocked the way.

“If you don’t want to die, stand aside.”

“Shouldn’t we deal with the Death Knight first? Focus.”

“In this situation…?”

“Look at that.”

Yuri turned his gaze. Gert and the others were already fighting. Jose, who had gotten up again, stumbled back into the battle, but the situation wasn’t good.

Ivan gestured with his chin.

“Want us to stab them in the back?”

“Damn it…”

Yuri clenched his teeth. He knew something was up, but there was no way to stop it.

“If you don’t chase Pierre, we’ll help you face Gert.”

As he spoke, a wave of energy from Gert flew toward them. Yuri blocked it with Guilty and shouted, glaring at Ivan,

“What the hell are you plotting?”

“Who knows…”

A slight glint of madness shone in his eyes.

“We’re just following that man.”

***

Pierre opened the doors of the Grand Library and entered.

The thick demonic energy accumulated inside curled around his body.

From the deepest part of the underground, a voice was calling to him.

Pierre smiled.

“So it really was here…”

He began to run, searching for the descending stairs. The malevolent energy intensified with every step. It seemed to resonate with his own dark magic.

Pierre’s steps quickened. After descending several flights, he suddenly felt something pulling him in, as if he were sinking into a swamp.

A thick darkness rose to his knees. Every time he moved, the materialized darkness tugged at his legs.

It was demonic energy so dense it had remained stagnant for a long time.

Pierre knew exactly what lay below. His master, the one who had guided him on the path of truth, had taught him in detail the truth of what happened in Adelein.

“Poor Gert… hehehe…”

Mocking the knight who had even offered the peace of his soul, Pierre let himself fall into the darkness like someone diving into water.

The materialized darkness held him and dragged him deeper.

Flowing with the current, Pierre finally arrived at the deepest point of the Grand Library.

There it was.

“I found it.”

It was a gigantic, fully bloomed flower. The size of a pair of elephants, its thick black-crimson petals rose up around it, and in the center, a circular mouth with sharp teeth slowly opened and closed.

The currents in the darkness converged toward that mouth.

It was what they called the Demon Flower.

But the Demon Flower was dying, having never fulfilled its purpose.

An existence that was meant to be completed by devouring humans as part of a perfect ritual had been starving for a long time due to the knight who, instead of being consumed, had annihilated its prey and absorbed it.

That was why he had to come to Adelein.

“It’s time for you to awaken again.”

Pierre pulled something from his garments. An object surrounded by several scrolls inscribed with magical circles.

As he removed them one by one, a black gem in the shape of a heart appeared. Its surface was dark, but inside it sparkled with a red glow.

Inside it was condensed a sufficient number of lives to revive the Demon Flower, which was in a dormant state. To create it, he had sacrificed numerous victims and refined it with dark magic.

Pierre stroked the gem as he smiled.

“Come on, awaken. Be reborn. And serve that being.”

Gliding over the darkness as if dancing, he floated above the Demon Flower.

Perhaps perceiving him as food, the mouth began to move faster.

Pierre dropped the black gem.

The dark red light descended slowly until it was absorbed into the center of the gaping mouth. It slammed shut with a loud snap.

Thump.

A shockwave spread. The petals began to swell and extended outward.

It was a sudden change.

“It’s done.”

His mission was complete. Pierre turned to leave the Grand Library.

But a tentacle that emerged from beneath the petals wrapped around his ankle.

Pierre’s eyes opened wide.

However, the surprise didn’t last long. His eyes clouded over, and as if possessed, he began to slide down the tentacle, floating like a lifeless puppet.

The Demon Flower opened its mouth again.

Unlike before, when it was dry, now a viscous, blackish fluid with crimson hues shimmered inside. Several toothed tentacles writhed as if they were alive.

Without hesitation, Pierre threw himself in.

The mouth closed.

With the sound of crushed flesh, his final scream echoed.

The Demon Flower, now revitalized, began to radiate an overwhelming energy.