– Crackle crackle...
The Shadow Corridor, which stretches across the entire world, suddenly began to quake violently.
The tremor was so intense that every black mage currently using the corridor felt it. Naturally, a brief panic broke out—was it an intruder?
Fortunately for them, it wasn’t caused by any invasion.
“U-Ugh...”
“...Hmph.”
“......”
To be precise, it was caused by Whitney, Ember, and the Death Knight, who had just used a massive amount of black mana to teleport from near the Ringaarden estate to the Northern Continent.
“Urghhhh...”
As soon as they arrived, Ember stumbled and clutched her mouth, finally giving in to a round of dry heaving on an empty stomach.
“My whole body’s twisting... It’s like waking up after drinking way beyond my limit the night before...”
“...That bad? Sure, it was a long-distance jump, but it shouldn't have been that rough.”
The Death Knight tilted her head as Ember, finally finding her balance against a nearby glacier spire, mumbled weakly.
“W-What? You’re not even affected? Are you even human?!”
Ember snapped in protest, glaring at her.
“...Co to think of it, maybe you're not,” she muttered, eyes narrowing.
The air turned cold behind the Death Knight’s mask.
“What do you an by that?”
“Haha, why so scary all of a sudden? I was just joking...”
“...A joke?”
“There’s a rumor, you know? That if the Death Knight were human, there’s no way she could have such overwhelming black mana, or control so many undead at once. So they say the Death Knight isn’t even human—”
“—That’s enough.”
“...Y-Yes, ma’am.”
To be honest, the hierarchy between Ember and the executive black mages hadn’t been clearly established yet.
In principle, Ember—with her title of “Sole Demon King Candidate”—should be addressed with the utmost respect.
But it seed neither the Death Knight nor the other executives had any intention of recognizing her so easily.
“Ember, watch your mouth. I’m not as soft as the others.”
“Got it, got it. I’ll be extra careful, especially around you.”
“...Tch.”
Still, Ember wasn’t exactly the type to fold easily under pressure.
“Hehe, what’s with the overreaction? Getting all touchy over a little joke—that’s why you’re not popular, you know?”
“......”
“Sotis you gotta respond with a little wit, you know? Haha...”
In truth, she wasn’t trying to pick a fight—Ember just lacked a proper sense of tact. That part of her personality could be both a weakness and a bizarre strength.
“...Isn’t that right, Mr. Whitney?”
“......”
“Whitney?”
As if expecting him to back her up, Ember turned to Whitney. But as she looked over, she tilted her head in confusion and stepped toward him.
“Hey?”
She waved her hand in front of his face, which remained perfectly still.
“...Is he dead?”
“......”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s dead.”
And honestly, she wasn’t completely wrong.
While Ember and the Death Knight were both superhuman beings, capable of brushing off the nausea of continental teleportation, Whitney’s physical body—aside from his Dominion and white magic abilities—was still that of an average young man.
Actually, due to lack of exercise, it was probably below average.
Sure, his experience with chronic illness had given him high pain tolerance—but this was a different beast. The magical nausea that ca from having your entire body twisted in transit was far worse.
So there was no way Whitney had endured that unscathed.
“......”
In short, Whitney had been unconscious—on his feet—the mont they arrived.
“Hey, could you please stop joking around and say sothing already?”
“......”
“You’re starting to scare now...”
Ember began to break out in cold sweat as her concern grew, bouncing on her feet nervously.
“...Step aside.”
Just then, the Death Knight brushed past her and stepped toward Whitney.
“Wait, hold on—”
“We’ve reached our destination. We don’t have ti to waste. The dragons might already be aware of our presence.”
Standing directly in front of Whitney now, the Death Knight reached out and grabbed him by the collar with a scowl.
“I don’t know what ga you think you’re playing, but you need to start moving. Now.”
“W-Wait a second—”
“I’m not here to play along with your pacing, you arrogant brat...!”
Ember tried to stop her, but the Death Knight wouldn’t be swayed.
If Whitney’s unconscious state was revealed now, his carefully constructed façade might collapse in an instant.
But, naturally, there was no way that would actually happen. As always, Whitney would escape the situation with bizarre luck and coincidence—
‘...Wait. He’s really unconscious?’
—except this ti, Lady Luck didn’t seem to be smiling on him.
‘This guy... He passed out from this?’
The Death Knight’s mind began racing.
And then, she reached a conclusion no one else had yet considered.
‘...This bastard’s been bluffing the whole ti, hasn’t he?’
And just like that, Whitney—without even being awake—found himself in the greatest crisis of his life.
“H-Hey, I’m not responsible if you accidentally kill him or sothing...”
If Ember had managed to stop her here, there might’ve still been a chance to salvage things.
But in her current state—practically drunk on post-teleportation nausea—she couldn’t lift a finger.
Even if the Death Knight tried to skewer Whitney’s head with the spear on her hip, Ember couldn’t stop her.
–Ssshhh...
And as they say, words can manifest reality. The Death Knight, after silently glaring at Whitney for a long ti, slowly reached for her weapon.
‘There’s a simple way to verify this.’
Just like soone once called “The Emperor’s Hound”—now a re knight captain under Count Ringaarden—the Death Knight was also the type to act first, think later.
“Wait, what are you— Uuuurgh...”
Too late, Ember reached for her—only to double over again from a new wave of nausea.
“Ughh... No good...”
She gagged once more, forcing her hand over her mouth, and slowly lifted her head.
“We just got here... wasting this much energy already...”
By now, she was sure sothing terrible had happened. Either Whitney’s skull had been punctured, or the Death Knight’s arm had been severed in retaliation... or maybe both.
“...Huh?”
But when Ember finally looked up, her expression turned blank, and then confused.
“What...?”
None of the things she’d imagined had happened.
Whitney’s skull was intact. The Death Knight’s limbs were all in place. No explosions. No dueling auras.
Instead, the Death Knight was just... staring at Whitney.
She had one hand on his collar, the other hovering above her spear—but her eyes were wide with disbelief.
“...What the hell is going on?”
“...Ha.”
And then, as Ember tilted her head in confusion, the Death Knight’s hand dropped limply from Whitney’s collar.
“No way...”
She muttered, her face still dazed.
“There’s no way this... tiline should exist.”
“...Huh?”
“I refuse to accept a tiline this... kind.”
At her bizarre muttering, Ember—who had been tense this whole ti—scratched her head, completely lost.
“If this is real... then what does that make ?”
Maybe she was finally feeling the after-effects of the teleportation? But her words just kept getting stranger.
‘...Well, I guess ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) that’s a good thing?’
The mont her hand, which had rested on her spear, also dropped lifelessly, Ember gave up on understanding.
‘Whatever. No one got hurt. Lucky break.’
If there was one thing Ember had learned when it ca to Whitney, it was that it was better to just accept bizarre occurrences than try to understand them.
“Um, if we’re done here, can we maybe—uh—move on... Ugh...”
Trying to steer the conversation back to normal, Ember started walking toward them, waving her hand—only to freeze and dart toward the nearest bushes, her face pale.
“If I ever teleport like that again, I swear I’ll—blurghhh...”
And at that very mont—
“......”
The Death Knight, still frozen with a dazed expression, slowly extended her hand again.
But this ti, there was no hostility in her movents.
–Ssshhh...
Her hand, cold as ever, simply slid into Whitney’s clothes.
“...Hahaha.”
And after who knows how long—
“There’s no mistaking it.”
The Death Knight, having thoroughly examined his body, finally slumped with a hollow expression.
“...Nnngh.”
Around the sa ti, Whitney finally began to stir from unconsciousness.
***
‘...What the hell.’
As my mind ca back online, the scene in front of was so absurd that for a second I thought I was dreaming.
‘What am I, a horny middle schooler? Why the hell would I dream this kind of crap?’
Because the Death Knight—her hand firmly inside my shirt—was groping my body.
‘Wait, no... This sensation is cold...’
The chilling sensation of her hand against my skin was far too vivid.
I realized, belatedly, that this wasn’t a dream.
‘Wait, was this her goal all along?’
Was this why she insisted on joining us? To do this without anyone finding out?
Or was she trying to turn into an undead?
“...Excuse .”
“...!”
“What exactly are you doing?”
For redia’s sake, I couldn’t let this sexual harassnt continue.
As soon as I spoke up quietly, the Death Knight’s hand jerked away and she stepped back, her eyes narrowing.
“.......”
After shooting a cold glance, she turned around and began walking away.
“You’re just leaving?”
“......”
“Haha. What a weirdo...”
I clicked my tongue, half amused and half baffled.
That’s when her voice ca—abrupt and sharp.
“...Just one question.”
Totally unexpected.
“Why did you go so far as to damage your own soul... just to repair your knight’s mana circuit?”
“...What?”
Wait.
How the hell does she know about that?
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