Knight of Death.
He was an enemy of humanity, but what I felt towards him was closer to gratitude.
He had his reasons, but he was soone who respected my life and offered advice that allowed to live more passionately.
“The Corpse Lord… is dead?”
More shocking than his tattered appearance was the confession he made on the way to our destination.
The fact that soone as dangerous as the Demon King had vanished was enough to shock everyone on the ark, including myself.
“The word ‘dead’ is misleading. Those like are revived undead, borrowing the mories of the living.”
“But still, you said she was devoured by Gorgon Zola…?”
“Yes, it was sothing no one expected. Even I, who witnessed it, couldn’t believe it…”
With a clatter, he sank to the ground, covering his empty eye sockets with his bony hand.
As if trying to avert his gaze from the haunting mories of the past…
“…The one I knew was an exceptional human being.”
But despite himself, his voice continued to leak out.
A voice steeped in deep sorrow and complexity.
“Even in an undead body, she could feel love, express loyalty, and pursue ideals… But that also ant she lacked the coldness and ruthlessness required of a ruler.”
“That’s ridiculous… If the Corpse Lord was like that, why did she massacre so many people?!”
A soldier shouted, having listened to the conversation.
Along with him, the crowd’s eyes were filled with resentnt, but the Knight of Death responded with a voice devoid of feeling.
“Even if I explained, could you, the living, truly understand?”
“Wh-what?!”
“Whether her reasons were human or not, it doesn’t change the atrocities she and her followers committed in this world.”
His emaciated eyes beca visible as he lowered his hand.
The sailor who had shouted was about to react, but what he faced was far from shaless arrogance.
“…So don’t bother trying to understand.”
Yes, he had resigned himself.
“The undead rulers have left an indelible scar on the living and, in their downfall, have unleashed uncontrollable disasters. That’s all you need to know.” ꞦÀNộꞖΕ𝐬
About the sins they had committed.
And how he was trying to accept the death of his lord, who fell for so unknown reason, and the reality of the unleashed disasters.
“What state is Gorgon Zola in right now?”
I could chastise him for his despair, but if it weren’t for him, we might have been wiped out by that monster we encountered earlier.
For those of us focused on imdiate survival, the task now was not to express resentnt but to learn as much as we could.
“It’s simply hungry.”
The Knight of Death answered my question.
“A predatory disaster that consus the living and traces of the dead… Wherever it goes, there are always the living and the dead, and in its wake, only emptiness remains.”
“So basically, it eats anything and everything, whether it’s alive or dead?”
“Yes, it’s a being that can truly be called the ‘Infinite Devourer of Void.’”
It followed an insatiable hunger, consuming everything, leaving behind not even a grave, let alone life.
Such a predator that would use everything it consud as nourishnt was considered an unprecedented calamity, even in this world full of disasters.
Unlike the Corpse Lord, who at least had so purpose, this mindless, rampaging entity was a disaster that could destroy our hos at any mont.
“Hero, we’re about to arrive…”
As the atmosphere froze with realization, Sanson slowly approached.
Realizing that we’d reached our destination at his call, I looked out of the ark and began to take in the view of the place he’d pointed out.
As I initially expected, it seed to be a ghost town with nothing but ruins left. But the blue lights scattered here and there indicated that soone was alive in that place.
No, more precisely, the undead who had once been alive.
“…Co to think of it, this vessel is quite damaged.”
As he recognized the place and stood up, the group showed signs of hostility, but he paid no attention and simply walked towards the exit of the ark.
“If you need repairs, I’ll lend you a place. Rest as much as you can.”
“…Why do you keep helping us?”
Even though the Corpse Lord was gone, he was still soone who was hostile to humanity when she existed.
Could it be that he was trying to pretend that everything that happened before was just the Corpse Lord controlling him?
“If you need to hear that to trust , you can leave.”
No, he didn’t bother to explain.
He simply accepted the doubt and resentnt as he had before and offered advice to face reality rather than seeking forgiveness.
“Whether you leave this place without proper repairs or trust to take care of you for a while… If I’m not forcing you, the decision lies with the one leading your group.”
As he headed towards the exit of the ark, I silently followed his back.
“…I hope you make a wise choice.”
No matter how far he had fallen, no matter how little I understood his intentions.
“The life you enjoy is sothing that, once lost, can never be regained.”
The yearning for life he showed when he saved .
I could still feel it even in this mont.
The ark had indeed suffered significant damage from the previous attack.
We needed a safe place to complete the unfinished repairs, and his knowledge of how to avoid that monster made his cooperation indispensable.
So, none of the others opposed my decision, choosing instead to trust him for now.
I was personally relieved that this reprieve had been granted.
How to face what would happen in the Empire from now on…
I needed to seriously consider how I would accept the fate that Airi would face, as rilyn had ntioned.
“H-Hero! Look over there!”
Just as I entered the Knight of Death’s territory for that reason, Sanson, beside , quickly pointed ahead.
Realizing the reason for his shock, I saw the crowd approaching us and understood.
“P-People? They’re really people, right?”
“Survivors from the outside!”
Yes, they were humans, just like us.
Hundreds of people were appearing before us, having just set foot in this city.
In a place I thought was solely for the undead, living people were welcoming us.
“Look, survivors! There are survivors!”
“You… You’re not undead, are you?”
The mbers of the ark were just as astonished as I was.
As I began to talk with them, I quickly realized why they had remained here and were still alive.
“So… you’re saying that while fleeing the riots, you were helped by the undead?”
“Yes, that’s right. They ca to us when our group was wiped out, and we were surrounded by monsters. At first, we thought they were going to eat us… but as you can see, they’ve made it so we can live here without any trouble.”
The undead offering assistance?
With suspicion, I looked around and saw undead wandering through the ruins of the city.
The undead, radiating the unique blue aura of the Knight of Death, continued their activities.
But what they were doing was repairing buildings or cleaning the streets—ordinary tasks—not the brutality we’d co to expect from the undead who attacked humans.
Their actions were so natural and unhesitant that it was hard to believe it was just an act.
Even the ark’s mbers, who looked on with unease, seed to accept the scene, while those who had been living here focused their attention on us.
“B-By the way, we have a few questions for you outsiders…”
“What’s the current state of the Empire? Are the riots still ongoing?”
“The Imperial Army took my family.”
“I’m worried about whether my ho is safe…”
Having been here for so long, it was natural for them to be curious about the outside world.
Since I also needed to exchange information, I left the survivors in Sanson’s care, assigned the rest of the ark’s mbers and the demons to continue repairs and guard the area, and took so ti to explore the city.
Thanks to the survivors who had arrived earlier, our wariness had eased, but…
What is this familiar feeling I’ve had since entering this place?
“This place…”
Just as I was trying to dig into the source of that déjà vu, Flang, who was exploring the city with , began to furrow her brow.
Her reaction seed to mirror mine, as if she, too, felt familiar with this city.
“Flang, have you been here before?”
“Yes, I’m part of the Empire… but I’ve had interactions with other countries as well.”
So she served wherever there was a stronghold of humanity.
With that reasoning, it made sense for her to feel familiar with places that were once considered human territories.
“This place was definitely the country called Briton.”
But what caught my attention was the na that followed.
That na was enough to help identify the source of my déjà vu.
“…Briton?”
“Yes, before I fell asleep, it was a relatively new nation. The Empire saw potential in it at the ti and was trying to build a friendly relationship…”
Flang began explaining what she rembered about the country called Briton.
But most of her stories were quite different from what I was feeling.
Of course, that was because she was active over a hundred years ago, while what I knew was from about half a century ago…
Right before disaster struck this world.
‘I greet the fourth successor of the great nation, Briton.’
Yes, I had definitely been here before.
Or more precisely, another persona within had…
‘Tacchia Pheloi. I, Briton IV, hereby appoint you as a hero at this very mont, in this very place.’
“…Master? What’s wrong?”
Flang looked at curiously as I pursued the echoes of my mories.
I turned away from her, preparing to follow the increasingly clear mories into the city.
“Flang, I’ll leave the ark to you. I need to go sowhere for a bit.”
“Huh? Master, w-wait…!”
Flang called out to urgently, but I deliberately ignored her, focusing on following my heart.
I had no hesitation because my mories assured that it was safe to stay here.
With the powerful Corpse Lord no longer in control, I believed that the one leading this place would not harm humans.
“Yes, this place…”
Following that certainty, I arrived at the center of the city, at what used to be a castle—or rather, a place that once was a castle.
The castle had suffered from external attacks and the passage of ti, leaving most of the upper floors destroyed.
From the entrance, the terrain in the center of the castle was vaguely visible.
“…You.”
I slowly walked towards what used to be the throne.
The one who had brought us here and then left without further interference.
To confront the one who had beco the lord of this land.
“Why have you co here? I told you to rest…”
“…Boudoin Briton.”
Yes, I knew the person before .
The pounding of my heart told that the person before was not soone I could just let pass.
“Are you the fourth king of Briton?”
“…How do you know that na?”
He, too, seed completely surprised that I would know his true na.
Before the surprise could settle, I attempted to manifest a weapon before him instead of answering.
A signature move that only one ‘hero’ could use in this era.
“That’s… Tacchia’s…?”
“What exactly happened in this land after I died?”
To the puzzled king, I voiced the question that had been burning in my mind.
Though I lost my life in battle that day, I had intended to live a new life if I survived. I wanted to know why this land had fallen into such a pitiful state.
And further still…
“What happened in this land that…”
“You, who were called a wise king… What could have happened that turned you into an enemy of humanity?!”
My father and the one who might have beco my new lord—how did he et such a tragic end?
What unresolved regrets drove him to appear before now?
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