EP.130 The Business Trip Has Arrived, Nightmares Are Here (4)
There is a certain cycle.
In every cycle, humanity faces a dark age.
As if someone had promised, this time always arrives. Even those heroes who have survived for a long time meet their deaths during this time. Some do survive, but they become crippled.
Humanity refers to this period as:
“The Era of Extinguished Flames.”
The brilliant flames that once blazed no longer exist.
As the fire goes out, darkness descends. Until a new spark arises, humanity must confront the darkness.
Cold and terrifying darkness.
The most recent dark age arrived over twenty years ago. There are those who remember that time. One man closes his eyes and recalls that period.
There was a warrior known as Indomitable.
There was a warrior called Immortal.
They were beings that shone brilliantly.
No one imagined their deaths. And, as always, despair arrives outside of imagination.
‘They all died.’
The Indomitable knelt before the Gletus.
The Immortal was slain by Death’s Blade. The walls protecting humanity crumbled one after another. Thus, a period of chaos came.
Countless territories were buried in darkness.
Several nations perished.
Large and small villages burned and vanished, countless in number.
The flame that would later illuminate the era arose long after the towns had been turned to ashes. In the Era of Extinguished Flames, humanity had to confront the darkness without a guiding light.
An era of turmoil.
An era of chaos.
An era of darkness.
Such an era creates heroes. Many became superhumans during that time. A great many. The man who recalls the Era of Extinguished Flames is also one of them.
“······.”
The man opened his closed eyes.
He looked at the blade in his hand. The bloody blade seemed to reflect his own life.
Sword Demon, Draka.
A superhuman of the Era of Extinguished Flames.
The lord of Belriata, turned to ashes overnight.
“It’s noisy outside.”
He murmured.
His cool, even tone echoed in the room. One of the knights following Draka spoke.
“It seems a new guest has arrived at White Night Castle. They say there’s a banquet. Will you be going?”
“I don’t like noise. I don’t think I’ll enjoy being in such a place.”
“Then I shall inform the Duke accordingly.”
Creak, the knight opened the door and stepped out.
Silence returned to the room as Draka tilted his blade. The reflection in the blade showed his own eyes. In them burned an everlasting flame.
…the Era of Extinguished Flames has ended.
New heroes have emerged. There are heroes shining more brilliantly than ever. They have repelled calamities, severed the neck of the Black Dragon, and repeatedly vanquished the Ancient Lich.
A new flame ignites.
A brilliant blaze illuminates the darkness.
Forgetting the darkness, people live in the light.
However, not everyone is so fortunate. Ghosts that have endured the Era of Extinguished Flames can never forget the darkness.
Rustle.
Draka lowered his blade.
“It’s only a matter of time.”
Only the cool murmur floated in the room.
Leaning against the crackling sound of the fireplace, Draka closed his eyes.
2.
The banquet was like any other, and similarly, the banquet at White Night Castle was no different. A feast was prepared, and amidst a suitably boisterous atmosphere, people relaxed.
‘Well, that’s certainly true…’
I glanced around.
The large framework of the banquet was intact. It didn’t stray from the basics, but… words fail to describe how different it felt.
“Wooaah!”
The warriors’ cheers rang out.
In the center of the banquet hall, with food spinning on a skewer, they began to swing their swords with abandon. They tore at the meat as if it were sushi.
“Catch!”
“I’ll carve it, you catch it!”
Large dishes of meat were stacked one after another.
Though each piece was cut into different shapes, they were all in bite-sized portions. The warriors moved them directly to the table.
“Thank you.”
The nobles in formal attire smiled as if this was familiar. There was no sign of bewilderment. If anything, I was the bewildered one.
“Hey, Lac.”
“Yes? Professor?”
Lac, who was tearing at meat beside me, tilted his head. He seemed to find nothing odd about it.
“Is it always like this?”
“Yes, it is.”
For the umpteenth time since arriving in the North, I received the same answer from Lac. I rubbed my temples and sighed.
‘What kind of place is the North, after all…?’
It was scenery that was hard for someone with exceptionally common sense like me to understand.
“Hmm…”
Anyway, it was a highly avant-garde scene. I averted my gaze from the cheering warriors. Paying attention to such things would only hurt me.
‘That meat looks delicious. I should just eat.’
Just as I thought so and picked up my fork.
“Lady Rania!”
“Damn, you startled me.”
An expletive slipped out reflexively.
Fortunately, my words seemed drowned in the cheers. I lowered my hand that covered my mouth and looked at the warriors calling my name.
“Wha…at is it?”
I blinked blankly.
The approaching warriors held a plate. It was piled high with meat.
“What else would it be?”
A warrior smiled, revealing white teeth.
It was an innocent smile.
“You shouldn’t be nibbling as the guest of honor!”
Thud! As they set the plate down, the table shook.
I looked back and forth between the mountain of meat and the warriors.
“Uhh…?”
“Please eat. We’ve brought the most delicious parts.”
The most delicious?
Not just a whole pig sliced up?
“It’s our sincerity.”
“All of us cut it out with one heart and one intention, so eat until your belly bursts!”
The warriors stared at me.
Their gazes urged me to pick up my fork.
“It’s a Northern tradition.”
The servant standing nearby whispered in my ear.
“The warriors serve meat to guests who have passed the trials of White Night Castle. The amount indicates how much recognition they have received.”
The servant smiled, nodding his head.
“To be served this much meat is likely a first for you. You should feel proud.”
“Uhh, yes…”
I picked up the fork and speared the meat.
The warriors stared at me, seemingly waiting for me to put it in my mouth. The pressure was intense.
“Oooooo!”
As soon as I bit into the meat, the warriors erupted into cheers again. I felt like covering my ears.
‘So noisy, damn it.’
Jumbled thoughts raced through my mind, not knowing whether the food was going in through my nose or mouth, as I stuffed my face with meat.
“How does it taste? What does it taste like?”
“It’s… good.”
“The guest says it’s delicious! Bring more meat!”
“Ooooo…”
Just great, really.
“Wait a minute, let’s finish what’s already here first…”
As I tried to stop the rushing warriors.
The warriors suddenly halted in their tracks. They then took a step back, making way as someone approached me.
“Hello, Lady Rania?”
She was a graceful woman.
She gave a slight smile and greeted me. Her thin-lidded eyes were red, reminiscent of Lac’s eyes.
“Lac, you must be tired from your long journey.”
“Thanks to Sebas, it was comfortable, Mother.”
The person Lac referred to as his mother.
And the woman who sat next to the Duke of the North.
“This is Failia, the lady of the North.”
The servant whispered in my ear.
I stood up to correct my posture. She was someone to whom I should show proper respect.
“She said she wanted to have a chat for a moment.”
She darted her eyes toward the master of White Night Castle sitting at the end of her gaze.
‘Eryhal von Grace.’
The Duke of the North was calling for me.
3.
Eryhal von Grace.
The guardian of the snow-capped mountains, draped in the fur of a white bear he has skinned… His forearms displayed numerous small scars. It seemed he had wielded weapons for an eternity, as calluses were present on his palms.
‘The Duke, not so much a ruler… but a warrior’s visage.’
Everyone who met Eryhal thought just that.
Eryhal himself had no intention of denying this fact. It was indeed true.
‘He swung his sword more than enough.’
He swung a great sword made of the indestructible metal of the North until it shattered. It was necessary to restore the chaotic North.
And because of that,
Due to being the heir of the Grace family who had honed their senses to their limits, he could recognize certain things.
“······.”
Eryhal looked at the girl standing across from him.
The ‘guest’ that Lac had mentioned, the one regarded as the most powerful in Apuria. Seeing the girl, Eryhal couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘A monster indeed.’
Up close, her level was apparent.
Some might express a monster using terms like “superhuman”… but Eryhal’s eyes instinctively grasped the scale of her strength.
A blood-soaked beast.
An individual who has arrived from a distant place.
A warrior who has refined herself while polishing her skills.
Though she was said to be a mage, the aura she emanated was that of a seasoned warrior. There’s no way someone firing magic from a distance would give off such a vibe.
Eryhal rested his chin, questioning.
“Are you truly a professor?”
“Yes?”
The girl tilted her head at Eryhal’s question.
“The atmosphere you bear doesn’t seem like that of a professor. It feels like you’ve roamed broader fields, haven’t you?”
“I… have traveled a bit.”
“Travel, you say…?”
Eryhal smirked, chuckling softly.
“If you say so, it must be true.”
He gestured.
“Please, sit.”
The girl sat down, and only after Lac and Failia were seated did Eryhal finally open his mouth.
“I’ve heard you’re teaching my son.”
He reached out to tousle Lac’s hair beside him.
“Seeing my son’s condition, it seems he must have gained some insight while in the royal capital. To think he has made significant progress in just half a year… it seems my thoughts on sending him to the capital were not wrong. A satisfying outcome.”
Eryhal squinted his eyes.
He looked at the girl sitting opposite him.
“You said your name was Rania van Trias.”
“Yes.”
“If you’re from the Trias family… then you hail from the lineage that raised the Ashen Mage. You must have had an excellent teacher.”
“Yes, he is wonderful.”
Rania smiled faintly.
Eryhal briefly closed his eyes and opened them again.
“Bringing you here is partly to express my gratitude, but there’s a more important reason.”
He thumped the table lightly.
“I have a request and a word of advice for you. Which would you like to hear first?”
“The latter would be preferable.”
“It seems better to explain that first. Speak plainly.”
Eryhal said emotionlessly.
“Beat him.”
“···Yes?”
“I’m talking about my son. Beat him as much as you want. There’s no need to heed the eyes of those around you. I, Eryhal, the Duke of the North, say this: beat him as much as you can.”
Rania blinked, seemingly having a hard time understanding.
Eryhal spoke as if it were quite normal.
“Why would I send my son, who has a strong warrior’s disposition, to be trained in Apuria? He has talent in magic, but his mind is too rigid. With magic in his possession, he is acting like a beast, and isn’t utilizing it properly.”
“···Indeed, that is true.”
Rania saw the validity in that.
Nodding, Eryhal added emphatically.
“Feel free to beat him to instill knowledge. Just like training a beast, you can engrain it into him.”
“···Father?”
“I’m merely speaking the truth.”
And isn’t that the fastest way?
Eryhal’s words prompted Lac to moan. Failia, seated beside him, could only smile wryly.
“Hmm…”
Rania pondered, tilting her head.
As she slightly tilted her head, she started to speak.
“You don’t need to say that; I’m already doing that.”
“So you do know something, Professor.”
“I hadn’t considered teaching him through punishment, though… that feels a bit much, doesn’t it?”
“Not at all.”
Eryhal shook his head.
“There’s a method for each being. My son’s nature aligns better with the latter approach. Gauge the efficient direction, Professor.”
“Oh…”
Rania expressed admiration.
Lac’s complexion turned pale as memories revived. He recalled the times he got beaten senseless during practical tests.
‘That… daily?’
Lac’s eyes began to tremble.
Regardless, Eryhal continued speaking.
“Honestly, it brings me great joy knowing a mage from the Trias family is teaching my son.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t want Lac to only walk the path of a warrior. I know this from experience, and my ancestors also knew it: this path has clear limits.”
“But,” Eryhal said.
“There isn’t just one path.”
“······.”
“Raniel, the Ashen Mage. I once faced him on the battlefield. Seeing that mage, I thought I needed to raise my son in such a manner.”
There is not just one path. In Eryhal’s eyes, there was a direction that suited Lac better.
“A warrior who has reached a certain level can use magic proficiently as well. That’s akin to granting another weapon to a warrior. That’s the direction I desired, yet… it seems the mage assigned to Lac in his youth saw a different path.”
Just then, Eryhal had a moment of peculiar expression. Like he forgot something important.
‘The mage assigned to him in his youth?’
He felt as though he overlooked something, yet deemed it unimportant. Eryhal continued.
“Therefore, directly learning magic from a mage of the Trias family means…”
Just at that moment,
Thud!
The doors to the banquet hall burst open.
“······.”
Whoosh, the wind rushed into the banquet hall.
For a brief moment, silence wafted through the banquet hall.
“Huff, huff…!”
A woman stood, having opened the doors.
She gasped for breath, still maintaining her bowed head. Her fingers, gripping the doorknob, trembled. Finally, she lifted her head swiftly.
“The banquet must begin, shouldn’t it?”
Master of the White Tower, Selly Devela.
Although she maintained her appearance in her twenties, her physical stamina was not up to par. After running up the snow-capped mountains, she continued speaking while catching her breath.
“Am I not supposed to call everyone…?”
An utterly justified remark.
“Ah.”
Eryhal exclaimed, recognizing her.
‘Now that you mention it, I did forget.’
It was a trivial matter that slipped his mind.
On second thought, it seemed not to be a grave issue.
