TLWD 09

Chapter : 9. The Hour of the Dog and the Wolf (2)

There were six Lords who served the Emperor.

Among them, my younger sister, Seraphia, reigned as the “Lord of Frost,” a witch and the Emperor’s greatest force.

And Kai was the most loyal knight who protected that Lord of Frost—known as the “Death Knight.”

Death Knight.

A Death Knight is an undead version of a once-excellent knight resurrected after death.

In other words, people believed Seraphia had resurrected Kai—once a loyal knight of the family—as a Death Knight.

…That’s what everyone in the Allied Army believed.

And I believed it, too.

But it wasn’t true.

Seraphia didn’t resurrect Kai as a Death Knight.

Actually, I only found this out from Ian.

It was after Ian had just finished a deadly battle against the Lord of Frost, Seraphia. This happened after shocking news had spread throughout the Allied Army—that Ian’s frozen left arm could never recover.

According to Ian, Seraphia had tried to give Kai rest.

She never intended to resurrect Kai and use him like a puppet.

If Ian’s story is true, it raises a question:

Then how did Kai become a Death Knight?

Ian answered this way:

“The question itself is wrong.”
“What?”
“Kai didn’t come back as a Death Knight.”

Of course, I asked what kind of nonsense he was talking about.

Ian replied:

“He became a Lich.”

Lich.

Kai wasn’t a Death Knight. He was a Lich.

Both Death Knights and Liches are high-ranking undead monsters.

So in that sense, they’re like “a dog and a wolf”—not much difference at first glance.

But even between dog and wolf, there’s a fundamental difference.

That difference was will.

A Death Knight is resurrected by a necromancer who controls the dead. The knight’s own will doesn’t matter. They are resurrected against their will, as a servant.

But a Lich… is different.

A Lich becomes undead through their own will.

They turn themselves into an undead being—no one can help them. The moment someone else’s will intervenes, it’s no longer a Lich. It becomes a Death Knight.

That’s why becoming a Lich requires deep magical knowledge.

Because they have to do it themselves.

This is why people commonly associate “Lich = powerful mage.”

So naturally, a new question appeared:

Kai? A Lich?
Did he learn magic?

Ian said no.

Kai was a knight. He didn’t know the first thing about magic.

I even went to the Allied Army’s Grand Mage to ask:

“Is it possible for a knight to become a Lich?”

The Grand Mage said:

“No.”

Without a moment’s hesitation.

But he couldn’t explain why Kai was a Lich.

“I don’t know how it’s possible either…”

Maybe Ian was mistaken.

That was the only explanation left.

But neither I nor the Grand Mage believed Ian was mistaken.

Because Ian is the Hero—the Emperor’s only rival.

There’s no way someone like him would make such a mistake.

So Kai really did become a Lich as a knight.

Which meant there was only one possible answer.

If an event breaks a known law, then maybe the law was wrong.

The Grand Mage didn’t deny the law but instead focused on this new phenomenon. He proposed an expanded idea of “will.”

“As you know, a Lich becomes undead through their own will.”

A powerful mage wants to become a Lich.

They use their strong will and deep magic knowledge to make it happen.

But just will—or desire—isn’t enough.

To make yourself into a Lich?

“In the end, it requires magical knowledge.”

But what if it was enough?

What if willpower alone, without any help from others, could make it work?

“Every phenomenon in the world relates to the world’s will. That includes magical events. If someone can interact with the will of the world…”

At that point, I stopped listening—my head hurt.

Why do mages love explaining things so much?

What I roughly understood was this: it all came down to loyalty.

Kai’s loyalty as a knight—that iron will twisted the laws and made him undead.

“But whether that’s even possible… I’m not sure.”

Even the Grand Mage didn’t fully believe what he was saying.

That’s how impossible it was.

But if his words were true…

Then Kai became undead through a will powerful enough to bend the laws.

As the top knight of the Whitewolf family, he chose to continue protecting his master, Seraphia—even rejecting death.

“He’s insane.”

In other words, he’s a madman.

A Death Knight still gets to rest in death.

But a Lich? A Lich rejects rest.

A Lich is a cursed being—what awaits them is only eternal suffering.

Kai must have known that.

And yet he never hesitated.

Mad with loyalty.

Mad with knighthood.

That’s the man standing before me now.

The knight who threw the Allied Army into terror.

The knight who must be killed—alongside Seraphia.

“What is your purpose?”

The commander of the Legion of Frost, Kai, asked.

Adrian was still in Kai’s grasp.

Kai replayed what had just happened in his mind.

Adrian’s glowing red eyes.

They didn’t seem human—more like a monster’s.

And in those eyes, Kai saw Adrian’s desire.

It was definitely hunger.

One of humanity’s primal desires. But this wasn’t the kind of hunger one should ever show toward another human.

It wasn’t a misunderstanding.

Adrian had clearly intended to slaughter the soldiers and eat them.

Kai had instinctively drawn his sword, aiming for Adrian’s neck.

He didn’t even consider subduing him—his instincts screamed that Adrian had to die.

Then Seraphia’s voice broke through:

“Sir Kai…!”

Seraphia considered Adrian her beloved family.

Even if he was the disgrace of the Whitewolf family, he was still her one and only brother.

Killing him would be betrayal against that loyalty.

Kai barely managed to sheath his sword and instead reached out to grab Adrian’s arm.

But…

CRACK!!

Adrian’s strength as he tried to shake Kai off was unnatural.

It wasn’t human.

This wasn’t strength a disgraced noble could possibly have.

Kai instinctively raised his aura.

Without it, he would’ve lost his grip immediately.

Even so, he could only barely hold him.

Subduing him was out of the question.

That meant Adrian’s strength was on par with someone using aura.

Kai’s eyes trembled for a moment.

Luckily, Adrian wasn’t looking at him.

Adrian stared at a turkey dish on the floor, then finally lifted his gaze.

Adrian’s blood-red eyes stared upward.

They no longer shone, but they still looked ominous.

And they had focus.

And within those focused eyes, Kai saw something.

A beast.

A monstrous presence curled up inside Adrian.

Right now, it was being suppressed by an unknown force, but if something were to trigger it…

It would be unleashed.

Kai felt it then.

Terror.

But not the kind he’d feel toward another human.

Kai was a man who would give his life for Seraphia without hesitation.

Normal human fear meant nothing to him.

So this fear he felt from Adrian?

It wasn’t human.

This was something else.

Something beyond humanity—beyond all living things.

A primordial terror of something that sat above all life.

It was brief—but enough.

Kai realized in that moment, he had been overwhelmed.

“Leave the Count’s domain immediately.”

Kai shouted on instinct.

Adrian’s red eyes looked straight at him.

“What if I don’t?”

Adrian yanked his hand free with force—and this time, Kai couldn’t stop him.

…He had been overwhelmed, even if just for a moment.

Adrian stepped back a few paces.

“What is your purpose?”

Kai asked again, but Adrian didn’t answer.

He simply rotated his wrist, checking its condition.

“I asked you what your purpose is.”

Only when Kai raised his tone did Adrian finally look at him.

But he showed no fear—no intimidation.

Even trained soldiers would find it hard to withstand this pressure.

Yet Adrian didn’t even flinch. On the contrary, he pushed back with his own pressure.

“Since when can a mere knight give orders to a lord?”

“You are not the lord of—”

“You know I still hold the authority of acting lord.”

“……”

Kai stayed silent.

Because Adrian wasn’t wrong.

But that didn’t mean he had to accept it.

Kai’s blue eyes stared into Adrian’s red ones.

The two locked eyes.

Neither looked away.

Their tension grew heavy.

The air in the trial grounds grew icy.

Like the stillness before a storm.

Suddenly—

Adrian chuckled.

“So the stray mutt we raised among wolves really thinks he’s a wolf now?”

“……”

“Don’t fool yourself, Kai.”

You’re still just a stray dog.

“It was the Whitewolf family who picked you up. The Whitewolf family is your master—the one you owe your loyalty to.”

Not that wretched Seraphia.

With that, Adrian walked past Kai and left.

Kai didn’t move.

He couldn’t.

If he had moved even slightly…
If Seraphia hadn’t been here…

CRACK!!

Kai would have definitely killed Adrian right there.

Right after I left the trial grounds—

◆ Kai’s favorability toward you has dropped like a rock!

◆ Kai’s favorability is now at [Hatred]!

◆ Characters in [Hatred] state will actively try to destroy you!

◆ Kai will definitely kill you if given the chance!

◆ Unlike [Anger], which fades over time, [Hatred] gets worse the longer it goes on!

◆ If you don’t want to die, raise Kai’s favorability as soon as possible!!

A bunch of translucent messages filled my vision.

Then came the wailing sirens:

WEEE-OOO! WEEE-OOO!

Noisy. Really noisy.

It sounded like the world was ending.

Especially that siren. It was making me dizzy.

Well, in any case—

I must’ve seriously pissed off Kai.

I waved my hand like shooing a fly to get rid of the messages.

Then—ZAP!

A jolt of pain made me grimace.

It was my wrist—where Kai had grabbed me.

I checked the damage.

The bone was fractured.

“That monster…”

He really was a monster.

I wouldn’t be able to use my wrist for weeks.

Luckily, I could regenerate.
But right now, my body was totally out of nutrients.

“I need to get to the cafeteria and eat something.”

Just as I turned to leave—

◆ Favorability Quest [“Don’t Be Mistaken—This Alliance Is One-Time Only”] has begun.

“A favorability quest?”

…What the hell is this now?