The Golden Knight (1)
After the fog cleared, Moshiam was a place full of deep scars.
The strong walls collapsed and the square that was the center of the city was swept away without a trace.
What greeted the Northern Allied Forces, who rushed to meet the disaster that occurred in Moshiam, was the sight of a city that had collapsed so miserably that it could almost be described as half-destroyed.
“…So this scene is the work of just two people?”
Steelworker quietly scratched his eyebrows as he looked at the city with all kinds of debris flying around.
“Does that make sense?”
It was a report that was difficult to accept easily.
Even if the military came in and destroyed it, they wouldn’t have been able to do it to this extent, and that was done by just the two of them.
“And one of them is Bayezid’s son?”
“…According to the testimony of Günter, the head of the Order of Knights of the Orthodox Church, that is so.”
After hearing Volkov’s report, Steelworker burst into laughter as if he was dumbfounded.
However, no matter how hard it may be to believe, there will be no room for doubt since the Commander of the Knights of the Northern Orthodox Church was clearly testifying.
“I have no idea how to accept this.”
Timur, who was stepping on the remains of a building, looked down at the square of Moshiam in the distance.
A golden tree stands alone and firmly on top of the miserable wreckage there.
It was the only thing that stood out clearly in this city that had lost all color.
Gunter, the leader of the Holy Knights, was testifying.
There was a knight who created his own world in a city where everything was distorted.
Now, his name will surely be remembered by even the most powerful people in the North.
The knight’s name was Vlad of Shoara.
※※※※
“So what about Bishop Pierre?”
Vlad was sitting on the window sill drinking tea.
It seemed difficult to lift even a teacup with trembling hands, but the look in his eyes had completely returned to its original color.
“Iknow, right. “I don’t know where you went.”
“Weren’t you together until the end?”
“It was like that.”
Nibelun,
who checked the fumigation machine he used for the last time, answered as he put the magic tools into his backpack.
Vlad began to look suspiciously as he looked at the backpack, which was too big to fit in, but was easily sized up.
“When he saw the Allied Forces coming in, he disappeared to go to the bathroom, but he hasn’t come yet.”
“It jumped out.”
Vlad frowned after pouring down the tea he was supposed to savor and drink in one go.
He looks like wood and stone, but he acts like a fox.
I felt it during the indulgence incident, but he was also a person who should not let down his guard.
“I would have needed that person to know the true story.”
As Vlad said, it could be said that the impending situation had been resolved, but even now, nothing had been found out about the person who actually caused this situation.
Not only the purpose of ruining the city like this, but also her name.
Nibelun rummaged in his arms as he looked at Vlad, who was pursing his lips in disappointment.
“Actually, something like this had fallen under the tree.”
“What is this?”
Nibelune, a wizard who pursues mysteries.
Originally, wizards considered the mysterious clues they discovered to be treasures and did not easily show them to others, but Nibelun did not do that to Vlad.
“I’m not sure, but it doesn’t look out of the ordinary.”
What Nibelun handed over were fragments of something that looked like pieces of glass.
The pieces, which looked like broken beads, looked familiar without me knowing why.
“I’m investigating for a while. Is it okay to take it without permission?”
“What falls on the ground doesn’t originally have an owner?”
“Well, that’s true.”
It was truly a beastman-like answer, and the understanding of someone from the back alley.
“I don’t know what this is?”
“I could only feel that something was there. “It was broken so cruelly.”
There was no way he would have known he was looking into it, but Vlad, who was still bored, looked at the pieces of glass in the sunlight.
Inside the sparkling piece was a bright blue color.
[It’s a seed.]
“Hmm?”
A broken piece of glass containing a mysterious light.
Kihano, who looked at it through Vlad’s vision, immediately figured out the identity of the fragment.
[Look at the world. Other knights might not, but you would be able to recognize him.]
Ordinary knights might not, but Vlad, who has been influenced by the world of Quihano, might be able to recognize him.
“…….”
At his words, Vlad quietly closed his left eye and looked at the piece of glass he was holding through his inner world.
Vlad’s world is now firmly established to the point where it can be extended out into the world.
“huh?”
The shards of glass seen into that world contained a single scene.
The sight of waves crashing over the deep blue sea.
The tree standing on the cliff at the end of the sea was looking at the young spirits swimming beneath the waves.
They were spirits that looked like creatures called squids that Haven had told me about.
“This…”
A brief but intense blue memory of fragments.
Vlad, facing that scene, was able to recognize that it was similar to the feeling he felt when he saw the heirloom of Hainal.
[I thought it was an unusual tree, but it turned out to be this way.]
After listening to Quihano’s words, Vlad was able to figure out whether what he was holding was a fragment of something.
The hill of Deermar where the white snake was.
A yellow amber stone that was an heirloom from Hainal.
And in the forest of Dobrechti, where the headless troll stood.
There was always a tree standing in every place.
“…I must catch that woman.”
“yes?”
Just like the trees that held spirits, the upside-down tree also held the souls of children.
Even if the direction was wrong.
Vlad looked at the core of the spirit tree that had been horribly broken and carefully grabbed it.
Knock knock.
“Come on in.”
Even though he was not the owner of the room, the door opened as Nibelun told him to come in.
“Are you feeling okay?”
It was Andrea’s young deacon, Jean, who knocked on the door.
Vlad quickly relaxed his frown as he looked at Jean dressed in pure white robes.
“How are you, Deacon?”
“it’s okay. “I must have done something.”
Although he bowed his head in embarrassment and said that he had not done anything, Vlad remembered Jean resisting the woman’s singing voice.
“I’m here to tell you that the funeral has been prepared. If you are still unwell…”
“No.”
Vlad stood up with a grunt.
Vlad reached for the armor standing next to the bed and smiled at Jean, who was waiting for him.
“This will be the last time we see Justia, so I want to see you off.”
“All right.”
The young deacon approaches Vlad, who says he will go but is still groaning, and helps him put on his armor.
The bright yellow sunlight coming through the window was falling on the backs of the two.
Nibelun, who was quietly watching the two, raised her teacup as she looked at the church in the distance.
※※※※
Daaeeng – Dang –
Moshiam’s bell rang by a paladin neatly dressed in armor.
Although the bell was crushed after falling from the bell tower, it was still performing its original role.
“It’s all blown away.”
“But the first floor remains intact. “That’s a good thing.”
The church was completely destroyed from the second floor onwards, but as Jean said, the first floor, where the chapel was located, was miraculously able to remain intact.
-Get in line slowly!
-Injured people to the side!
Therefore, it was the only place where people could gather.
Allied soldiers could not hide their expressions of surprise at the fact that so many survivors still remained in Moshiam.
“This is Vlad of Bayezid. “Please open the way.”
The soldiers who heard Jean’s words began to look at Vlad in surprise.
Even the residents of Moshiam around them.
“It’s an honor to meet you!”
The movement of the soldiers opening the way was deliberate.
For those who were here, it was only one night, but for those who were outside, it was a long time of two months.
The soldiers who did not know the inside story were now mistaking Vlad as the hero who had protected Moshiam from the devil for such a long time.
“Are you here?”
“nice to see you. “Duke.”
And Timur the steelworker, who was waiting for Vlad in front of the church, did not bother to resolve the misunderstanding.
In order to heal deep wounds, there must be a certain amount of joy.
At a time when the city of Moshiam had collapsed and the prestige of the North had fallen greatly, the only breakthroughs that could calm the greatly shaken public sentiment were the Orthodox Holy Knights and the name of a knight named Vlad.
“I finally get to see the rumored divine of the North in person. Of course, I’ve been listening to Volkov for a long time.”
Vlad recognized the knight standing next to Timur and gave him a small nod.
The person currently accompanying Timur was the javelin-wielding Volkov, whom we had seen in the past in the subjugation of Lindwurm.
“Go in.”
“yes.”
Timur hugged his shoulders without hesitation, but Vlad was not embarrassed at all.
Because Vlad’s mind was already filled with the last image of Justia, who had blocked the sword for him, rather than the noble duke’s willingness.
-Duke Baranov is entering!
The chapel that followed the debris that had not yet been removed was already filled with people wearing armor.
Knights from seven families gathered under the name of the Northern Alliance.
Bayezid and the knights of Hainal, who were already acquainted, were nodding their heads proudly as they saw Vlad coming in with Timur the Steelmaster.
“Stand next to me. “You deserve it.”
“…….”
When Timur said he was qualified, Vlad lowered his head without being able to answer.
Vlad was always looking for the right to be proud, but now he felt embarrassed by those words.
Those who are truly qualified are the ones lying neatly in front of me right now.
-Today we stand here to send to His side those who have done noble things.
The person next to him is the only Duke of the North, and the old man in front is the noble Orthodox Pope.
These were huge connections that anyone would want, but Vlad just directed his gaze towards the single coffin lying in front of him.
Her platinum blonde hair, sparkling in the sunlight, had not changed at all since the first time we met.
-We will forever remember those who did their duty even in the face of great evil.
The funeral of holy men and priests performed under the Pope’s officiating.
However, the Pope’s voice, which is slowly spreading, will reach people outside the church.
This place today was for everyone in Moshiam, regardless of who it belonged to.
“……”
The Pope was saying something in front of him, but Vlad was just staring blankly at Justia’s coffin.
A noble paladin who was dying while embracing himself.
Although they did not build many relationships, Vlad received a lot from her, and now he has lost the opportunity to repay those debts forever.
“Let’s go.”
“yes.”
As the engraved wound was deep, the caress he received was as formal as possible.
After the knights of the North finished paying tribute to the dead, the only people left were the Iron Lord and Vlad.
“Don’t be too surprised.”
“yes?”
Vlad, who was climbing the stairs, questioned Timur’s insinuating words, but he just smiled and looked at the Pope in front of him.
“You said you would give it to me, so please accept it gratefully.”
After leaving an unintelligible comment, Timur carefully put down the flowers he was holding and began to bow his head towards those lying down.
“…….”
The priests who were praying for Jean and Vlad and the paladins who were raising their swords towards the wicked woman.
Vlad, who had been laying down flowers for them one by one, finally stopped in front of Justia’s coffin.
“Thank you. Justia.”
Even when Anna wiped away her black tears, she stood behind Vlad.
But now, Vlad had to carefully put down the flower he was holding for her lying in front of him.
The salty taste of the apple she had peeled for me seemed to linger on the tip of my tongue.
“Vlad of Bayezid. “The knight who protected Moshiam.”
Vlad carefully put the last flower he was holding down on Justia and saw the Pope coming towards him.
Wrinkles that appear as naturally as a smile that has been worn for a long time.
“Are you sad?”
“yes?”
Even now, the old Pope was smiling as he looked into Vlad’s eyes that were constantly fluttering around.
“We all have to leave someday.”
The Pope approached Vlad and quietly looked at his chest and spoke.
“We have to leave someday, but the reason we don’t feel empty is because we leave something behind.”
“yes?”
The Pope’s fingertips were already caressing Vlad’s armor.
The place where his fingertips touched was the place where Vlad’s pride had been, even though he had changed his armor.
“Justia said that I must pass this message on to you.”
A knight who saved the lives of children.
The words given as a gift from San Logino were still engraved on Vlad’s chest.
It was a phrase that Justia gave as a gift to the boy who climbed up to the bell tower through the strong rain.
“Even though Justia went to his side, she ended up leaving something behind.”
Chiiik –
Pure white smoke began to rise from the Pope’s palm that covered the words.
“…!”
Vlad was embarrassed as he felt the armor heating up, but the expression on the Pope’s face as he made the transfer was just calm.
“I hope you will become a testimony for all those who have died.”
The dead leave, but those who remain must carry the burden.
Pope Konrad began engraving another message on Vlad’s heart for those who were like his children.
Convinced that their deaths will shine brightly under their current name.
“I believe you will do so, Vlad of Shoara.”
“…Pope”
Vlad’s eyes widened as he looked down at his heated breastplate.
When the white smoke clears, what is visible are two newly engraved words beneath the text that Justia gave as a gift.
A knight who saved the lives of children.
Vlad.
Vlad Aureo.
“Your birth name will be Vlad, but under His name you will be Aureo.”
There was a boy who couldn’t even shout his name properly.
But now his name is always followed by a brilliant word.
The words, with the knights of seven families as witnesses, were a name that would live forever in Vlad’s blood.
