Chapter 9: The Hour of the Dog and the Wolf (2)
The Six Monarchs who served the emperor.
The Six Monarchs were the emperor’s greatest military assets, and my younger sister Seraphia was the witch who reigned among them as the “Monarch of Frost”.
Kai was the most loyal knight protecting the Monarch of Frost, as well as her “Knight of Death”.
A Death Knight.
A Death Knight was an Undead created by resurrecting an exceptional knight after his death.
In other words, everyone believed Seraphia had resurrected Kai, the loyal knight of her house, as a Death Knight.
That was what everyone in the coalition army believed.
I had believed it as well.
But we were wrong. Seraphia had not resurrected Kai as a Death Knight.
In truth, I had learned this from Ian.
It happened immediately after Ian’s decisive battle against Seraphia, the Monarch of Frost.
More precisely, it was after the shocking news that Ian’s frozen left arm could not be restored had swept through the coalition army.
According to Ian, Seraphia had actually tried to grant Kai eternal rest.
From the beginning, Seraphia had never intended to resurrect Kai as a Death Knight and exploit him.
If Ian’s words were true, one question naturally arose. How, then, had Kai been resurrected as a Death Knight?
Ian answered that question like this—
—The question itself is wrong.
—What?
—Kai wasn’t resurrected as a “Death Knight”.
Naturally, I asked him what kind of bullshit he was talking about.
Ian answered—
—He became a Lich.
A Lich.
Kai had not become a Death Knight.
He had become a “Lich”.
Death Knights and Liches were both among the highest-ranking Undead monsters.
In that respect, Death Knights and Liches did not seem very different, much like dogs and wolves.
But just as there was a decisive difference between dogs and wolves, there was also one between Death Knights and Liches—
“Will.”
A Death Knight was an Undead created when a Necromancer resurrected an exceptional knight to serve as their minion.
The Death Knight’s own will played no role in that process. Most were resurrected by someone else, regardless of their personal wishes.
But a Lich was different.
A person became a Lich solely through their own will.
They transformed themselves into an Undead. Therefore, no one could be forcibly turned into a Lich.
Whether their intentions were good or evil, or whether circumstances had left them with no alternative, becoming a Lich was possible only through their own will.
Nor could anyone else assist them.
The moment even the slightest trace of another person’s will became involved, the result would no longer be a Lich but a Death Knight.
Therefore, becoming a Lich required exceptional magical knowledge. After all, the individual had to transform themselves into an Undead.
There was a reason the belief that “Lich equals a powerful mage” was accepted almost as an established law.
Naturally, that raised another question.
How could Kai, a knight, become a Lich?
Had Kai secretly studied magic?
Ian said that was not the case.
Kai was a knight who knew absolutely nothing about magic.
I sought out the Archmage, one of the coalition army’s champions, and asked her whether a knight who was not a mage could become a Lich.
The Archmage answered—
—No.
It was a firm answer delivered without even a moment’s consideration.
However, even the Archmage could not explain what had happened.
—I don’t know either. I have no idea how something like that could be possible….
Perhaps Ian had simply been mistaken. That was the only plausible explanation and answer.
However, neither the Archmage nor I believed Ian had been mistaken.
Ian was the Hero and the emperor’s only opponent.
There was no possibility of Ian making a mere “mistake” about something like that.
Kai had unquestionably become a Lich despite being a knight.
That left only one answer.
Was it not said that no law existed without a corresponding phenomenon?
If a phenomenon occurred that contradicted an existing law, then the problem did not lie with the phenomenon.
It suggested that the existing law itself was wrong.
However, rather than denying the established laws, the coalition army’s Archmage focused on the emergence of a new phenomenon.
In particular, she proposed expanding the concept of “will”.
—As you know, Liches transform themselves into Undead through their own will.
A powerful mage wished to become a Lich.
While possessing that desire, the mage used their exceptional magical knowledge to become one.
However, that will—
That simple desire alone was not enough to become a Lich.
What actually transformed the individual into a Lich?
—Ultimately, it is “magical knowledge”.
But what if the impossible became possible?
What if desire and will themselves could perform every necessary function?
—Every phenomenon in this world is connected to the “Will of the World”. Magical phenomena are no exception. Therefore, if someone could interact with that Will of the World….
She continued explaining one thing after another.
My head began to hurt, so I stopped listening.
Why did mages enjoy explaining things so much?
From what I roughly understood, the answer was “Loyalty”.
It was the will contained within the Loyalty possessed by the knight named Kai.
That will had ultimately twisted the laws of the world and transformed him into an Undead.
—But even I don’t know whether something like that is truly possible….
Even the Archmage seemed unable to believe her own explanation. That demonstrated just how impossible it was.
But what if everything the Archmage said was true?
Kai had transformed himself into an Undead through a transcendent will powerful enough to distort the laws of the world.
As the Chief Knight of House White Wolf, he had rejected even death so he could protect his liege, Seraphia, until the very end.
“He’s insane.”
In other words, he was a madman.
At least a Death Knight could eventually find the rest of death.
But a Lich could not.
A Lich was an unholy being who had personally rejected the peace of death. The only thing awaiting a Lich was the ruin of eternal suffering.
Kai must have known that.
Nevertheless, he had not hesitated.
A madman obsessed with Loyalty.
A madman obsessed with Chivalry.
That was the man now standing before me.
He was the knight who had plunged the coalition army into terror and whom I absolutely had to kill alongside Seraphia.
* * *
“What is your objective?”
He was Kai, the Commander of the Frost Legion.
Adrian remained trapped within Kai’s grasp.
Kai reflected on what had happened moments earlier.
Adrian’s eyes had radiated a crimson light. Those eyes had contained no trace of reason and resembled those of a monster.
They certainly had not belonged to a human.
Kai had also seen the desire reflected within Adrian’s eyes.
It had undoubtedly been “Appetite”.
It was one of humanity’s most primitive desires, but it was never a desire that should be directed toward another human.
Kai had not imagined it.
Adrian had clearly intended to slaughter and devour the soldiers.
Kai immediately tried to draw his sword and sever Adrian’s head.
He had not even considered subduing him. His instincts had merely screamed a powerful warning that Adrian had to die.
However, Seraphia had followed him there. Her voice abruptly restored his reason.
“Sir Kai….!”
Seraphia considered Adrian a precious member of her family.
Although he was merely the count’s delinquent son, she still cherished him as her one and only brother.
Killing Adrian would have contradicted Kai’s loyalty toward Seraphia.
Kai barely managed to return his sword to its sheath.
Then he quickly extended his hand and narrowly managed to catch Adrian by the wrist.
But….
Creak!!
The strength Adrian exerted while attempting to shake off Kai’s hand was extraordinary.
It was impossible to regard it as human strength.
It was certainly not strength that the count’s delinquent son should have possessed.
Kai instinctively drew upon the power of his Aura. Without it, Adrian would have immediately broken free.
Even with Aura, Kai could barely maintain his grip.
Completely subduing Adrian was unthinkable.
That meant Adrian’s raw strength was comparable to Kai’s Aura-enhanced strength.
Kai’s eyes trembled for an instant.
Fortunately, Adrian was not looking at him.
Only after glancing at the turkey scattered across the ground did Adrian raise his gaze.
Adrian looked upward with blood-red eyes.
They were ominous, like a pool of blood, but the earlier glow was gone.
Adrian’s eyes were now firmly focused.
Within those focused eyes, Kai saw “something” lying dormant inside Adrian.
It was something ferocious, curled within an enormous body. An unknown force currently suppressed it and prevented it from rising.
However, it seemed as though even the slightest catalyst would bring about its horrifying liberation.
When Kai confronted it—
He felt fear.
It was not the fear one felt toward another human. Kai was prepared to sacrifice his life for Seraphia at any moment.
Fear directed toward another human could never truly frighten him.
Therefore, whatever lay dormant within Adrian—and perhaps Adrian himself—could never be called human.
The Natural Enemy of Humanity.
Something that reigned above every living creature.
It was the primal fear of life itself when confronted by such an ultimate being.
Kai experienced it for only a brief moment.
Nevertheless, he realized that he had been completely overwhelmed.
“Leave White Wolf County immediately.”
Kai shouted instinctively.
Adrian’s red eyes stared directly at him.
“What if I refuse?”
Adrian violently shook off Kai’s hand.
This time, Kai could not stop him. He had been overwhelmed, if only for a moment.
After breaking free from Kai, Adrian retreated several steps.
“What is your objective?”
Kai asked, but Adrian did not answer.
He merely rotated the wrist Kai had grabbed several times, examining its condition.
“I asked what your objective is.”
Only after Kai released some of his presence did Adrian finally turn toward him.
However, Adrian showed no sign of shrinking back or becoming intimidated.
That was despite the considerable pressure Kai was exerting. Ordinary people would have been unable to endure it.
Even trained soldiers would have struggled to withstand such pressure.
Then how could the count’s delinquent son possibly endure it?
Sure enough, most of the soldiers had already recoiled.
Yet Adrian did not even blink. Instead, he released his own pressure and pushed back against Kai.
“Since when has a mere knight been allowed to command his Lord?”
“You are not the Lord of this county—”
“You cannot possibly be unaware that I still retain the authority of the Young Lord.”
Kai fell silent.
He knew Adrian was not wrong. He simply refused to acknowledge it.
Kai’s blue eyes stared directly at Adrian. Adrian’s red eyes stared directly at Kai.
Their gazes met.
Neither man looked away.
The pressure surrounding them grew increasingly fierce. The tension between them became taut. The air surrounding the Frost Trial Grounds turned cold.
A silence like the calm before a storm descended.
Suddenly—
Adrian let out a derisive laugh.
“It seems that after a pack of wolves took in and raised a wandering stray mutt, you began mistaking yourself for a wolf.”
“......”
“Don’t delude yourself, Kai.”
You are still nothing more than a damned stray mutt.
“The one who took you in and raised you was House White Wolf. The master to whom you owe your Loyalty is also House White Wolf.”
Not that loathsome Seraphia.
After saying those words, Adrian walked past Kai and left.
Kai remained motionless.
More precisely, he was unable to move.
If he moved even slightly—
If Seraphia had not been present—
Creak!!!
Kai would almost certainly have killed Adrian on the spot.
* * *
The moment I stepped out of the Frost Trial Grounds—
◆Kai’s Affinity toward you has boarded the express carriage straight to rock bottom!
◆Kai’s Affinity toward you has entered the [Hatred] state!
◆A character in the [Hatred] state possesses active aggression and will seek to kill and destroy you!
◆If provided with even the slightest opportunity, Kai will undoubtedly kill and eliminate you!
◆Unlike the [Anger] state, which gradually subsides with time, the [Hatred] state will continue growing stronger unless appropriate measures are taken!
◆If you do not wish to die, increase Kai’s Affinity as quickly as possible!!
Translucent messages filled my vision.
Then—
Weee-oooh! Weee-oooh!
A deafening warning alarm rang out in every direction.
“So noisy.”
The entire thing was causing an absurd commotion.
Especially that ceaseless alarm—
Weee-oooh! Weee-oooh!
It sounded as though the world were ending and was loud enough to drive me insane.
Well, judging from the messages—
It seemed I had thoroughly gotten under Kai’s skin.
I waved my hand as though driving away flies, scattering the messages.
Then—
Throb!
I frowned sharply as an electric pain surged through me.
It came from the wrist Kai had grabbed.
When I examined it, I discovered that the wrist bone was fractured.
“That damned monster.”
He truly was a monster.
An injury like this would ordinarily prevent me from using my wrist for several weeks.
Fortunately, I could simply regenerate it.
However, the nutrients within my body were currently completely depleted.
“I should go to the dining hall and eat something.”
Just as I turned to leave—
◆Beginning the Affinity Quest [Don’t Get the Wrong Idea, This Alliance Is Only for Now].
“An Affinity Quest?”
……
What the hell was this now?
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