Chapter 41

Crow's Nest

"Huff…! Huff…!"

After driving back the horde of undead that had attacked the Wall,
Great Raven Knights Order Corax, Ian, and the Watchers were running across the snowfield.

"Is that really true?! Young Master Klein is alone…!"
"He told us not to worry, but there's no knowing what happened. Hurry!"

At Ian's words, Corax's footsteps through the snow became more urgent.

A massive undead horde numbering in the thousands.
Had Ian not arrived in time, even inside the Wall they would have suffered enormous casualties.

Yet beyond that attack, the information the knights had brought was even more shocking.

"A diversion… If that's really true…!"

Beyond the Wall lay the civilian residential district.
Most of the knights, Watchers, and sentries guarding the Wall had been born and raised there.

'If the necromancers targeted the rear with that in mind, the soldiers would've had to…!'

Thinking that far, Corax shook his head and forced the thoughts away.

The worst-case scenario.
One he did not even wish to imagine.

Young Master Klein, whom he had confined in a separate chamber, had foreseen it and warned them.

"Please… Don't let us be too late…!"

He knew Young Master Klein's swordsmanship was extraordinary.
And that he wielded the unfamiliar power called necromancy.

But Corax still could not reassure himself easily.

'No matter how exceptional he is, he can't overcome overwhelming numbers. And if the enemies are this troublesome…!'

Remembering the undead that had crossed the Wall, Corax clenched his teeth.

Ordinary weapons were ineffective against them.
Only blades imbued with mana could cut through undead flesh.

Even a scratch from their claws caused severe poisoning.
And even if they were killed, their corpses exploded, spraying rotten blood everywhere.

With thousands of such creatures charging in, every knight remaining at the Wall had already exhausted themselves.

Only Corax, Ian, and a few Watchers had been able to belatedly move to assist Klein.

"Commander! Over here!"

A Watcher carrying a crossbow shouted as he pulled aside a patch of brush.

"There was a tunnel in a place like this?"
"Damn… If things went wrong here…!"

The tunnel located where Klein had instructed them to search.

The moment he confirmed it, Corax felt his vision go white.

"The smell of blood… Dead blood."

"Tch!"

The first to leap into the underground passage was Ian.

"It's dangerous! We don't know what's inside—!"
"What could possibly be in there?! Nothing but one half-dead brat!"

Cutting off the Watcher's warning with a roar, Ian plunged underground.

"Kh…?!"

The instant he entered the passage, an overwhelming scent of blood struck him.

Forcing down his growing anxiety, Ian ran deeper into the underground tunnel.

"You better not be dead, you damn nephew…!"

Repeating those words over and over, Ian eventually heard the faint breathing of a boy.

"You're… later than I expected."

Hoo.

Only after hearing that voice did relief finally wash over him.

Klein, leaning against one side of the cave wall, called out weakly to him.

Ian checked the surroundings through the fluctuations of mana and involuntarily sucked in a breath.

"You blocked all of this… alone?"

Fifteen gigantic patchwork undead.
Twenty beast-like monsters the size of wild dogs.
Roughly a hundred zombies.
And even twenty necromancers controlling them.

"My head was burning too much… so I overdid it a little. I used too much demonic energy…"

At that point, Klein's head slumped to the side.

Ian hurriedly caught his body, seeing the boy's shoulders rise and fall with faint breathing.

"Ian, are you alright?"

The one entering the tunnel after him was Commander Corax.

"Gasp…!"

Holding a torch as he stepped into the underground passage, Corax lost all words at the sight of the sea of blood before him.

"He fought forces nearly equivalent to an entire company… by himself…!"

If it came down to a one-on-one duel, Corax believed he could defeat Klein.

Even if Klein mixed necromancy with swordsmanship, Corax possessed the mana and sword skill to break through them all.

But if he were asked to face the undead horde Klein had confronted here?

He could not answer confidently.

'Even if I had been here in Young Master Klein's place, I could never have held them all back.'

He was a knight.
Breaking through enemy formations was possible, but fighting an entire army alone was not.

And even if it were possible, the enemy would never allow it so simply.
They could distract him with a handful of monstrous creatures while directing the rest of their forces toward the civilian district.

But Klein was different.

His fighting style was that of a one-man army.
A method perfectly optimized for large-scale battles, capable of single-handedly stopping an entire military force.

If it had not been him, the civilian district would already have…

"When he wakes up, we're going to have a lot to talk about. Don't you think?"

Ian stood, carrying the unconscious Klein over his shoulder.

"…Yes. I believe so."

After staring at the battlefield for a long while, Corax finally answered.

There was no longer any trace of the hostility Corax once held toward Klein in the gaze he directed at the limp boy.

When I opened my eyes, the familiar herbal scent of the temporary infirmary tickled my nose.

"You're awake!"

Along with Pie's urgent voice, I heard someone hurriedly run out of the room.

"Ugh, my head…"

Grabbing my throbbing head, I slowly pushed myself upright.

My vision was blurry, as though covered by a black veil, while the haunting voices of the dead relentlessly pounded at my skull.

It was the side effect of handling more demonic energy than my body could withstand.

'Looks like I really did lose my temper.'

I retraced my memories and recalled why I was lying here.

Right… I heard that absurd nonsense about the Cult of Archimond, blew my lid, and rampaged around like a mad dog.
And then the backlash hit while I was sitting down, and I blacked out…

"C-can you drink this?"

As I struggled to steady my hazy thoughts, Pie's voice sounded beside me, and a cup of herbal tea appeared before my eyes.

"Yes. Thank you."

I accepted the teacup and took a sip of the warm tea.

The tension constricting my body loosened, and a pleasant weariness spread through me.

"U-um…"

While I enjoyed the rare moment of rest, Pie—who had been stammering—suddenly jumped up from her seat and bowed her head toward me.

"Th-thank you very much!"

I stared blankly at her, unable to understand why, and Pie hurriedly added an explanation.

"M-my family lived in the civilian district you protected, Young Master. My mother and little brother…"

"Ah. I see."

Only then did I understand why she was thanking me.

Waving my hand dismissively, I took another sip of tea.

'Normally, I would've probably acted all high and mighty and demanded even more praise…'

With a hollow feeling, I stared into the swirling tea.

Those who turned northerners into undead and attacked the Wall.
They carried my name, worshipped me, and studied my knowledge obsessively.

'If I think about it differently… then perhaps I also bear responsibility for creating people like them.'

I knew it was an excessive leap in logic.

They were merely fascinated by my fame and power.
What lay inside them was completely different from me.

But even so, I could not simply brush it aside so easily.

To the people victimized by them, the name Archimond would remain a wound they could never erase for the rest of their lives.

"…Fuck."

I muttered a curse under my breath as I lowered the teacup.

Creak.

"You've awakened, Young Master."

With the groaning sound of the wooden door, a massive dark figure entered.

Commander Corax of the Great Raven Knights Order.

Accompanied by the Watchers, the vice commander, and several knights, he silently approached.

The sight of those men in black leather armor advancing all at once was overwhelmingly intimidating.

"Alright, alright, I get it! This is because I ran off on my own, right? Fine, do whatever you want now! Imprisonment, exile, whatever—!"

Their eyes looked as resolute as though they were marching onto a battlefield.

Seeing that, I jumped to conclusions and spoke up to that point—

Clank!

With the sound of armored greaves striking the floor, the knights surrounding me all dropped to one knee simultaneously.

No, seriously, what is with these healers and knights acting first instead of talking?
At least explain why you're doing this!

"Thanks to your devotion, the people living in the civilian district remained safe."

Representing the kneeling knights before me, Corax spoke.

"For failing to recognize your intentions and confining you, and for attempting to isolate you due to my own narrow-minded judgment… as commander of the Great Raven Knights Order, I offer my deepest apology."

"…Uh, well, as long as you understand now, that's enough."

I accepted Corax's apology with an awkward smile.

Which basically meant that all the things I'd done—ignoring orders, running off, openly defying commands—would be overlooked.

That alone was more than enough for me.

At least when I returned, Heinkel wouldn't have grounds to hold it against me.

Just as I was thinking that—

Shiiing—!

Suddenly, Corax drew the sword at his waist and offered it to me.

"…And what's this supposed to be?"

Still bewildered, I asked the question, and Corax slowly answered with a hardened expression.

"I know that even apologizing a hundred times would not be enough for treating the savior of the Wall so poorly. Therefore…"

"Therefore?"

At my question, he slowly rolled up the sleeve on his right arm and extended it toward me.

"Please cut it off."

…You insane bastard, what?

Still holding the sword, I blankly looked around the room.

…

Not the knights.
Not the vice commander.
Not even Pie, who had seemed the most sensible among them, said a word.

No—in Pie's case, she was actually clutching bandages and coagulant powder while desperately holding back tears.

'Wait, nobody's stopping this? Do they really expect me to cut it off?!'

In desperation, I looked around for where Ian should have been, but the old man was nowhere to be seen at the exact moment he was needed.

'This is driving me insane. What the hell am I supposed to do here…'

It did not seem like I could simply refuse.

Judging from the atmosphere, if I said no, they looked fully prepared to cut it off themselves.

So after agonizing over the matter while holding Corax's sword—

'…Ah. Right. That'll work.'

A thought suddenly flashed through my mind, and I stood up with the sword in hand.

"Ugh, my head…"

Whether it was because the aftereffects of overusing demonic energy still lingered, or because these insane knights were giving me a headache beyond common sense, my temples throbbed painfully.

Gripping my aching head, I raised the sword high.

Corax slowly closed his eyes, seemingly relieved at last.

And then, the next moment—

CRACK—!

As the sharp blade pierced through wood, Pie squeezed her eyes shut.

Yet when no sound of flesh being cut nor any scent of blood followed, all the knights slowly opened their eyes and looked toward me.

The sword had pierced not Corax's arm, but the wooden floor.

"You think I'd cut off your arm when there's nothing in it for me? You dumb bastard."

While everyone remained speechless from the unexpected turn of events, I crouched down until my eyes were level with Corax's and spoke.

"Forget your arm. Just give me something equivalent in return. Then this matter is settled."

Once I, the person involved, stated it so firmly, even the knights could not object.

"…What is it that you desire?"

Having apparently gathered his thoughts, Corax asked me quietly.

I immediately answered with the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm planning to head beyond the Wall. So I need a guide."