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Chapter 44
Splat! A spray of crimson bodily fluid splattered across the ground.
The onslaught of alien monsters, which had charged endlessly, suddenly slowed. Perhaps their numbers had finally begun to dwindle.
Bwooooo—
A sharp horn blast echoed from behind them.
It was the signal of the invaders’ retreat, and at last, a sigh of relief escaped from the fortress that had held the line without fail yet again today.
Knights and soldiers, who had fought for three or four days straight while leaning against the fortress wall, began to relax as they watched the enemy withdraw.
“It’s over.”
“Damn monsters, give it a rest already.”
Like puppets with their strings cut, the exhausted knights and soldiers collapsed one after another, panting heavily.
There was no room to rejoice over surviving. At this point, it was just routine.
And so, another brutal battle—one of countless—came to an end.
At the very frontlines, the one who had cut down the most monsters and created mountains of corpses stood alone.
A man, whose dazzling appearance seemed ill-suited for the battlefield, removed his gloves soaked in blood and monster fluids.
His violet eyes, which seemed unusually red today, were lost in deep thought.
“Shouldn’t you consider returning, at least once?”
What troubled his mind was not the endless waves of monsters, nor the piles of unresolved issues threatening to explode at the northern fortress.
“This isn’t a suggestion—this is my final piece of advice, as your friend.”
“If the lady collapses one day and never wakes again…”
“Are you sure you won’t regret it?”
On any other day, he might have ignored such intrusive thoughts. But today, they lingered more than usual.
Even after cutting through tens of thousands of monsters, that voice wouldn’t disappear.
“What are you doing, spacing out like that?”
Duke Valer of Halbern turned toward the voice that pulled him from his thoughts.
The knight, soaked in blood and monster fluids just like him, looked thoroughly exhausted from the prolonged battle.
“Jaren.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Do you think I should go back too?”
A sudden and unexpected question.
Difficult to interpret in context, but Jaren quickly caught on through intuition. Not that it made answering any easier.
“Well, that’s your choice, isn’t it? Just like I followed you to see the dragon.”
“…Yeah.”
Caught off guard, Jaren pouted before glancing sideways at the Duke, who had returned to his brooding silence.
Lately, Duke Halbern had been in a foul mood. The northern fortress, already gloomy by nature, felt even more stifling as a result.
‘So this was the reason?’
“Well, even the knights of the Saren Order have been wondering, though none dare to speak it aloud. I mean, your trip to the North was so sudden.”
Those now violet-blue eyes turned to Jaren.
“Our lord vanished for several days, reappeared suddenly with a kid, then went to the palace, and without a word, departed for the North. We all got dragged along and ended up stuck here too.”
Even so, no one voiced a single complaint. That was a testament to how much trust Duke Halbern had earned from his knights.
“I see.”
Duke Halbern removed his uniform as if bored.
Though it was imbued with all kinds of magical protections, it was now drenched from rolling around the frontlines for several days.
“Jaren, do you hate this land too?”
“Well, who could possibly like it? This damned place.”
Jaren hesitated for a moment, then decided to spill everything while he had the chance.
“Some guys are seriously worried that they’ll have to spend the rest of their lives here.”
Still, there was no response.
Not even a word.
Those glowing purple eyes turned skyward. A pale blue moon quietly shone down upon them.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Do you remember what the fortress keeper said? That the monsters became more aggressive after we arrived.”
“Oh, that? Isn’t that something people always say? As far as I can remember, the northern monsters were always insane.”
“But it’s accelerating.”
“Come again?”
Not waiting for a response, Duke Halbern turned his gaze to the distance.
The northern fortress was the only passage between the desolate land known as the Abyssal Rift and human territory.
All other routes were blocked by natural fortresses and magical barriers, impenetrable even to the strongest, most resilient monsters.
“How many years has it been since we got stuck here?”
“Six, maybe?”
Six years.
A long time—or a short one, depending on perspective.
“Maybe it’s about time.”
Time to go back.
“??”
Duke Halbern gripped the hilt of the sword he had casually tossed aside and issued an order.
“Get ready, Jaren.”
“Sorry, what now?”
“To fulfill your wish.”
“…?”
Duke Halbern lowered his gaze.
“Let’s go see the dragon.”
“???”
Jaren blinked in confusion.
‘What the hell did he just say?’
And the master he looked upon was, for the first time in a long while, smiling faintly.
Duke of Myubisk and royal tutor to the crown prince, Master Quaeion, had been deeply impressed by Prince Pession’s rapid progress lately.
“You shine brighter with each passing day.”
“No wonder he’s called a genius.”
“At this rate, I might need to revise his training schedule.”
Perhaps recent events had sparked something in him—there was now a newfound determination in the way Pession wielded his sword.
Sir Jade straightened his back proudly.
“How’s Harun doing?”
“Ah, Harun…”
Watching Harun hesitating in front of his sword, Sir Jade paused his words. Master Quaeion chuckled softly.
“Seems like he’s hit a wall. Well, he’s always been a timid one.”
“It’s not so much fear as…”
“He’s afraid of his own power. Scared he’ll hurt someone too easily. That’s fear, plain and simple.”
Sir Jade looked like he wanted to object but couldn’t bring himself to argue.
“That’s why we sent him to the palace to become a royal guard.”
His temperament was too gentle for the battlefield. But perhaps he was better suited to protecting someone.
“…Though he still has a wall to overcome.”
“You think so?”
“Not that it really matters if he doesn’t.”
Quaeion wasn’t particularly bothered.
“Even if he gives up the sword, so what? It’s a time of peace. Had this been an era ravaged by war, I would’ve insisted he keep training. But in times like these, there’s no reason to shed blood needlessly.”
He had taken up the sword due to family tradition, and naturally, his children had followed suit. But if they chose another path, he would gladly support them.
“What does a sword bring besides the stench of blood?”
“Haha. You make me feel guilty, Master Quaeion.”
“Master!”
Pession came running up, having finished his training faster than expected.
“You’re done already?”
“Yes!”
Chuckling, Quaeion suddenly wore a mischievous grin.
“Is your friend’s muscle-building training going well?”
At first, he hadn’t known who this ‘frail friend’ was, but he’d recently found out by chance.
It was Arellin of Halbern.
‘That won’t be easy,’ he thought. That one was infamous for being terminally ill.
As expected, Pession’s expression turned serious.
“I’ve been training him hard, but… he’s still all soft. Doesn’t seem like he’s building any muscle.”
“Hm, I see.”
Quaeion recalled a recent event—the Second Arellin Health Council—and the conversation that had taken place there.
“I don’t think he’s getting any healthier. What do we do?”
The shocking revelation stunned everyone—after all, they had simply assumed that exercise equals health.
The only one to offer a solution in this unprecedented situation was none other than Master Quaeion.
“He needs proper training.”
“But we’re already exercising him?”
“I mean structured training.”
“Structured?”
Even knights and soldiers didn’t train randomly.
When dealing with someone beyond weak, you couldn’t treat them like a normal person. Quaeion devised a plan assuming the target was at the level of a newborn.
“First, we need to build muscle.”
“Muscle!”
Pession had an epiphany.
“Right! I completely overlooked that!”
And so, everyone put their heads together to create a systematic workout plan.
‘So just exercising isn’t enough, huh?’
“By the way.”
As something else occurred to him, Quaeion added,
“Are you managing his diet properly?”
Pession, who had been looking gloomy, perked up immediately.
“Diet?!”
His eyes widened.
“Yes. To build muscle, he needs to eat a lot of meat.”
“Meat!”
“But not just any meat. I’ll share with you a special muscle-building meal plan. Try it out.”
“Oooooh! Thank you, Master!”
Delighted, Pession beamed. Master Quaeion smiled contentedly.
Looks like I’ve done another good deed today.
“PESSIOOOOOOOON!”
Whose cursed child did this?!
Who dared teach this demon the forbidden knowledge of diet control?!
