#039

“We’re all dead.”

“Shh, don’t say that! You’ll jinx it, Sheon.”

Sheon, who had quickly become an official knight of the Marquess’s family from a mere training knight in the span of a week, looked out the main gate with a hollow expression. They had barely managed to deal with the onslaught that threatened to break down the gate, and while they had managed to create a palisade by interlocking sharpened stakes, it looked like it would collapse soon.

There was no hope.

It had been three days since they last slept properly. The remaining knights were all on rotation duty due to the relentless, ceaseless tide of ‘those things’ that kept pushing forward, day and night.

They had heard about strange occurrences in the mountains two weeks ago. They should have investigated then. One of the overseers who went to the mine had reported it, but Marquess’s brother, Pellar, had ignored it. Only when the situation grew increasingly bizarre did they send a messenger to the capital, but this is the result.

Well, even if they had known, it would have been the same. Who could stop such a disaster?

They had used a rescue magic that emitted light for the first time in an unprecedented emergency, but the Marquess hadn’t shown his face yet. They had prayed for a Guardian Dragon, heard of only in legends, to miraculously appear and eliminate ‘those things,’ but it was in vain.

Numerous elite knights in the Marquess’s territory had died. Even more training knights had died, but because the relatively fewer elite knights disappeared so quickly, only the training knights were left.

The commoners living within the castle walls were skilled in processing salt, and were treated as somewhere between nobles and commoners. Many knights had died to protect these valuable technicians of the territory, and to save the collateral branches of the Exion family.

No matter how skilled one was, it was useless against overwhelming numbers. It would be impossible unless a dragon appeared. Philip, who had patrolled with them until yesterday, was taken during the day. He had been chosen for the vanguard tasked with securing food.

With all surviving residents of the territory sheltered within the castle, food was rapidly dwindling. The knights ate only two pieces of bread and water all day. Two pieces was a luxury. The countless gold coins of the Marquess’s territory were useless at such a moment.

The castle, which had relied on the profits from the mines instead of agriculture and livestock, found it difficult to be self-sufficient. They had heard that in the very distant past, they had cultivated sloped fields using the mountains and eaten fruits. It was a past event, now too long gone.

“Huh?”

Sheon squinted. He heard a presence somewhere.

“Anton, don’t you hear anything?”

“There are plenty of ‘those things’ around, of course you do.”

Anton replied in a listless voice. Sheon quietly scanned the outside. He only saw the things that repeatedly charged forward despite being impaled on the palisade. He tilted his head and idly gazed at the high walls of the mansion. He quickly grabbed a torch, but saw nothing.

It was then that a shiver ran down his spine.

Something touched the back of his neck.

“Don’t move.”

It was a sword. The touch was undeniably that of a cold, sharp blade. Sheon dropped his sword. He was still a training knight. Not an elite knight, so there was no need to be ashamed. He quickly raised both hands.

“Anton…?”

He called out in a trembling voice, and a reply came.

“Sh-Sheon.”

“Turn around.”

Sheon slowly turned around. Purple eyes, shining in the darkness, intensely stared at him.

“Eek.”

He was momentarily terrified. The man’s body was completely drenched in blood.

The dark red liquid covered his face and clothes. He was tightly gripping Anton’s neck with one arm, and holding the sword to Sheon with the other. Anton’s longsword had fallen to the ground.

He hadn’t heard a sound, when did it happen…?

“Lord Cullen, aren’t you scaring him too much?”

“If you scream unnecessarily, those things might rush in.”

He wasn’t the only one in the darkness. Someone in black clothes, as if blended with the night, walked out from behind him. His identity was unrecognizable due to the black hood that covered his face.

“Rest assured, knight.”

The owner of the robe, who had restrained the fearsome man, spoke. He slowly lowered his hood. Sheon’s eyes widened. The long silver hair falling down and the red eyes shining within it were utterly unfamiliar.

“I am a Servant of the Goddess. I have come here to save you.”

As the priest revealed himself, the man released Anton. Anton stumbled and rushed towards Sheon, grabbing his arm.

“Are-are you really the High Priest?”

Anton stammered. Then, in the blink of an eye, the priest held his sword to Anton’s neck again. The man’s face, now visible in the moonlight, could finally be seen properly.

They were strange eyes. Beneath the hair the color of the night sky, his eyes were like jewels.

But above all, he was the most handsome man Sheon had ever seen. His sharp jawline, dark eyebrows, and the refined eyes beneath them were magnificent. Even more so than Lord Silfir.

“Be quiet. Where is Pellar Exion?”

Sheon looked at the High Priest with anxious eyes. Though he had never seen him before, the red eyes and silver hair he had heard of made him certain it was the High Priest. Glancing at the robe, he could see the temple’s emblem.

But he was afraid of the fearsome, handsome man beside him. He felt like he was letting an enemy in.

“Rest assured, knight. We are envoys from the Imperial Palace, here to help Duke Exion. Please guide us to the person in charge here.”

At the High Priest’s gentle words, Sheon slowly began to understand. There were more knights stationed inside the castle anyway. Even if something strange happened, two people wouldn’t be enough.

“Now I see, it’s a bad habit.”

Two people…?

Sheon’s eyes widened at the voice coming from behind the strangers. Beautiful blonde hair, unsuited to the grim situation, appeared, followed by a face like an angel descending from the heavens.

The blue eyes beneath the neat, light brown eyebrows looked at Sheon. The flamboyant face, making it difficult to distinguish if it was a woman or a man, was the most beautiful person Sheon had ever seen.

Perhaps this was the ideal type he had dreamed of? His mind went blank.

“It seems so, doesn’t it?”

“Undoubtedly. Trying to cut off my head whenever they get the chance. It’s a nasty habit.”

“Both of you, stop it. I’m the one who handled the corpses all the way here.”

The fearsome handsome man spoke coldly to the beauty, whom Sheon would have been too awestruck to even speak to. How could he be so rude? Such a tone was unbecoming of someone so beautiful!

Just as the chivalry stirring within him was about to activate, the handsome man again held out his sword.

“Stop dawdling and guide us.”

“Y-yes!”

But as mentioned before, Sheon was still just a training knight. His brief chivalry vanished in an instant.

As Cullen was being guided, he surveyed the castle. The high mountain range served as a long barrier, so the castle lacked sufficient defensive weapons. The path leading in was rugged, and the road had only recently been paved, so it was understandable.

The castle was bustling, as if all surviving residents had been brought inside. Every room on the first floor was filled with people. Unlike Cullen or Kiyen, who were not well-known, Lasano’s very presence was proof of his identity, so they were able to enter smoothly. The problem was before they arrived.

The hole in the castle wall Arne had mentioned was still there. The repaired sections were destroyed by Kiyen’s simple magic. The troublesome part was what came next. There were corpses near it as well. Though not as many as at the entrance to the castle wall, it was enough to leave Cullen covered in blood.

“There are many injured.”

Arne said, looking around. Many knights sat in the hallway, bandages wrapped around them. All of them looked exhausted. The ornate decorations gleamed meaninglessly under the light.

“Is there enough food?”

Cullen asked the knight guiding them, feeling intimidated. The knight, named Sheon, repeatedly glanced at Kiyen and flinched when Cullen looked at him. Cullen didn’t like his gaze.

“Ah, no. We have many problems already.”

He didn’t seem to realize he was addressing Cullen with respect. Perhaps due to Lasano’s status, the knight answered the questions readily.

“With the weekly food supply cut off, and distributed to all knights and refugees, we are running out of food. A search party was sent out due to many complaints, but…”

The knight trailed off. The outcome was predictable. A search party made up of clumsy knights who easily dropped their swords—there was no way they would survive. Didn’t even the elite knights of the Marquess die due to numbers?

“Um, this way.”

The knight stopped. On the second floor, at the end of the spiraling staircase, the entire area was a large banquet hall.

The knight slowly opened the firmly shut door. He cleared his throat. With a cough, the knight shouted as soon as the door opened.

“Lord Pellar, the High Priest of the Aksha Temple…!”

However, his shout was drowned out by the argument echoing through the banquet hall.

“I know you are hoarding food!”

“What are you talking about? Do you not see us opening the castle and making immense sacrifices for you!”

There were dozens of people inside, by rough estimation. They seemed to be having a late meal at long banquet tables pushed together. They were all wearing fine clothes. Though not nobles, they seemed to be the city technicians Arne had mentioned.

“You have only taken us in for three days. While the number of people is large, considering the food always stocked for banquets, the castle’s household, and the rations for the knights, there’s no way it would run out this quickly.”

The room was divided into two factions. Finding Pellar Exion was not difficult. He was the one in the best clothes, with knights behind him and people who appeared to be his family behind them. He bore more of the Marquess Exion’s face than Silfir Exion.

“The food you demand doesn’t make sense! It’s an emergency, how can you expect proper meals? The knights suffering outside cannot even get a proper meal because of you!”

Pellar Exion, with brown hair and streaks of white, trembled his beard and expressed his anger.

“That’s not something Lord Pellar should say. Many here witnessed you having dinner with meat and wine last night!”

The one confronting Pellar was a young woman. The woman with short-cropped blonde hair confronted him with a bold demeanor. Those wearing similar leather attire agreed with her.

“With such large portions of meat, the knights Lord Pellar speaks of wouldn’t have needed to go out to find food.”

This time, a woman behind Pellar stepped forward. The woman with long, flowing brown hair retorted in an irritated voice.

“How insolent. You don’t even consider the grace of my father who took you in when you had nowhere to go. You will regret it when the Marquess returns!”

Lasano, observing the commotion inside, whispered to Cullen.

“Shall I shout on your behalf?”

“No.”

Cullen pushed past the knight and Lasano. He strode inside. Then, he opened his mouth.

“The Marquess is dead.”

His clear voice drew everyone’s attention to Cullen. Under their gaze, Cullen met Pellar’s eyes.

“It’s all because of you, Pellar Exion.”