Gert recalled the past.
Though the memory was as hazy as a dirty glass window, he could still remember fighting that devilish flower long ago.
He hadn't won.
From the start, it was never a being that could be killed.
Though it had manifested on the surface, its true essence resided beyond the phenomenal realm, where no sword could reach.
'I shall issue you a command.'
A voice suddenly passed through his mind. Gert's eyes flickered.
That was why. Because of that, he had to fight for a long time under the command given to him. It was his sole reason for existing.
'Gert, my most loyal knight.'
Back then, he might have been filled with some emotion.
But now, he had no heart.
Like a withered body with only bones remaining, his soul too had worn down to the point where he was nothing more than a wind-up doll, repeating the actions assigned to him.
But precisely because of that, he could perform that one task superbly.
The Grand Library was collapsing completely.
Perhaps it was better this way. Once a sanctuary that contained all the knowledge of Adelvine, it had turned into a den of corruption that destroyed human souls after being tainted by black magic.
It was all because of a profane book whose origin and arrival no one knew.
[Eradicate.]
He tore apart the tentacles bursting through the outer walls. Each time he swung his sword, bundles of tentacles were sliced at random, and thick petals writhing beyond them convulsed and bled.
A greedy mouth that lay beyond recognized Gert.
It formed a furious expression upon seeing its long-lost nemesis. Jagged teeth clashed and created a horrid noise.
Dark fog sprayed out in all directions.
Gert felt the wicked energy seeping in.
The devil's flower could control beings dominated by demonic energy, and Gert too was ultimately a product of black magic. His body began to move on its own.
But.
A character embedded in his core blazed red like blood.
「Fate (Fate - Order)」
Gert clenched his teeth. Unable to withstand the pressure of his jaw, several of his teeth crumbled.
Gert exploded with black energy, and the demonic aura invading him dispersed.
Dragging his sword along the ground, he once again approached the devil's flower.
The Grand Library was now utterly in ruins.
Floating above the wreckage was a monstrous flower.
For reasons unknown, he could sense an immense life force contained within it. This entity, reborn through countless human sacrifices, was now more vibrant than ever.
From memories worn thin and nearly erased, Gert recalled one old scene.
The people of Adelvine, as if enchanted, had walked into that being of their own will, offering their bodies. With each human body torn and crushed between its teeth, the devil's flower glowed crimson, as if bathed in blood.
One child, holding their mother's hand, entered as if going on a picnic.
"Gert!"
Someone shouted from behind, but Gert did not register it.
He pressed forward, cutting down the tentacles swarming from all directions. At one point, teeth on a tentacle struck him, crushing his ribs. But he didn't care.
Limping on a cracked leg, Gert continued onward.
"Slow down!"
Humans attacked the devil's flower.
With its attention divided, the devil's flower could no longer focus solely on him. Gert silently advanced toward the center of the flower.
Suddenly, a human rushed to his side.
"Sir Gert, aren't you fighting a bit too solo? Still, your momentum's impressive. Hahaha!"
It was a large man.
Gert stopped abruptly. It had been a very long time since he was last called "Sir."
Old memories began to rise from the depths. Memories he hadn't recalled since becoming a Death Knight. They were too full of color, too dazzling to keep within his pitch-black self.
'Sir Gert, aren't you always too stiff-faced?'
'Sir Gert is always so serious.'
'Sir Gert is a knight I can trust.'
'Sir Gert actually looks cute when he smiles.'
It wasn't a good sign.
Such memories hindered the mechanical execution of his mission.
He had to wander Adelvine for a time bordering on eternity. Perhaps a mission with no end. To fulfill it, he had to erase his emotions completely.
The past only corroded his blade.
But before he could think any further, the large knight swung his sword.
"I'm with you!"
With the two of them pressing forward, the resistance lessened greatly. Each time their swords struck, tentacles were torn to shreds.
Now, they were close to the mouth at the center of the devil's flower.
Tentacles surged from all directions.
At some point, the tentacles completely engulfed them, cutting off all outside light.
They had to fight the invisible tentacles in the dark.
And then—suddenly,
There was a sound of something being pierced.
"Huh?"
Gert looked down.
His core had been penetrated by a bright red tentacle.
"Sir Gert?"
The character "Fate (Order)" that had been burning atop his core slowly began to lose its light. At the same time, the life force he harbored started to pour out rapidly.
[I'm… fine.]
Gert swung his sword, trying to cut the red tentacle. But it quickly retreated. It was a different entity from the usual tentacles.
Gert tore out his own rib bones, wrapped his hand around the core embedded inside him.
He had to stop the life force from leaking.
As time passed, his strength rapidly diminished.
He ground bone into powder and smeared it over the core. He barely managed to plug the hole in it. But he couldn't fully restore it.
The damaged character never returned.
There was no longer a "Fate" (Order) on his core.
Gert's glowing eyes dimmed.
[It's… dangerous.]
He lifted his head.
A being born from darkness could not resist the wicked scent emitted by the devil's flower.
Now that his only safeguard had vanished, he would be controlled by the devil's flower like any other human.
[Run… away.]
Gert spoke.
His vision blurred. Each of the tentacles surrounding him now appeared different.
The corpses of those who had died to the devil's flower had been compressed into the form of tentacles, staring at him. From all directions, they screamed at him to die already.
The ground he stood on, the sky spread out above him—none were exceptions.
Everything was made of the bloodied bones of the dead.
Suddenly, an eyeball surfaced in his mind. The moment its gaze fell upon him, Gert could no longer resist.
His hazy memories began to turn crimson.
All of them were bleeding.
***
Yuri furrowed his brow.
"This is going badly."
Gert had charged in recklessly and was now battling the devil's flower. Concerned that he was pushing too far alone, Yuri had sent Jose to assist.
With the two working together, their firepower had doubled.
The tentacles were being shaved off cleanly, as if run through a planer.
But they went in too deep. The moment they approached the center of the devil's flower, the tentacles engulfed them, and something happened inside.
Gert's core was pierced.
If it were merely a weakening, that would've been fine—but what Yuri feared had come to pass.
"Cory."
"Yes?"
"Can't we save Gert?"
"Since he's a Death Knight to begin with, it seems I can't protect him. I'm doing all I can, but…"
Cory was shielding the group from the wicked energy the devil's flower emitted. Thanks to him, Yuri's party wasn't being controlled like the mercenaries were and could fight back.
But it seemed his magic had no effect on Gert.
Cory was drenched in sweat as he repeatedly changed his hand signs. But Gert showed no response.
He simply stood there, dazed, sword drooping at his side.
Yuri's eyes crossed into the domain of the heart-soul.
He shouted to Jose.
"Jose!"
"Yes!"
"Run!"
"Huh?"
The moment his words fell, Gert attacked Jose.
Startled, Jose blocked the sword and retreated. But behind him, the tentacles were waiting.
Now that the devil's flower had Gert on its side, it seemed Jose wouldn't be able to hold out. He kept defending, but wounds began to appear.
"Damn it."
Yuri dashed forward. Laurent and Jared followed behind.
"Sir Jose, let's retreat!"
"Instead of retreat, wouldn't it sound better to call it a tactical withdrawal!"
"Tactical my ass, this is a survival-based retreat!"
As Gert attacked, Yuri's group had no choice but to fall back. Yuri slashed through tentacles with Jose as they retreated.
Laurent and Jared blocked Gert.
"Ghh…"
Seemingly struggling with the force, Laurent engaged in a power contest with his sword, twisted the blade to create a gap, then leapt back.
"Jared, let's run."
"Sure."
The two sent a wave of sword energy to halt Gert and turned to flee.
"Let's just get far away from that flower for now!"
"Yes!"
The seven members of Yuri's party dashed through the ruins of Adelvine.
The devil's flower moved slowly, but Gert did not.
He was reassuring as an ally for a brief moment, but now that he was an enemy, there was no one more terrifying.
"Damn…"
"It's hard to escape. He's too fast."
"Then we'll fight. Everyone, be on guard."
"Phew…"
Yuri looked at Gert through the domain of the heart-soul. It would've been nice if he could sever the black magic controlling him, but it seemed to be a different kind. There was no visible link to cut.
The only thing his eyes could see in the darkness was Gert.
"Is this all because that character disappeared?"
The character "Fate" that once glowed from his core was gone.
He didn't understand the principle behind it, but that brand was what had kept Gert from being consumed by the darkness.
Yuri once again looked at Gert through the domain of the heart-soul.
Though the form was damaged, traces of the character still remained. It had merely been pierced through the middle, severing its strokes.
As proof, each time Gert emitted energy, a faint light would flicker before fading again.
"Your Highness,"
Cory said while fleeing with him.
"Hm?"
"The character that was on his core—what did it look like originally?"
Yuri looked at him. It was an unexpected question.
"You… can see it?"
"Yes."
Cory replied.
"I can see it faintly. And…"
He hesitated, then said,
"I'll try to fix it."
"You will?"
"Yes."
As they spoke, Gert had caught up to the rear. His sword came crashing down over Simon's head. Jose intervened and saved him.
The clashing of the two knights' swords created bursts of explosive sound.
Yuri looked at Cory. Cory met his gaze without looking away.
He used to be a boy who couldn't even meet his eyes.
But now, Yuri could read a certain resolve in his pupils.
"Alright."
Yuri used Guilty to carve a character into the ground.
「Fate (Order)」
Cory looked at it and nodded.
"Your Highness. I'll try it."
In the past, he would've only worried about failing, but now he bore the weight of the pressure. Yuri grinned and patted his head.
"Okay, I believe in you."
Cory knelt, stared down at the character, and began thinking.
Yuri turned his head.
The rest of the party was fiercely engaged in battle around Gert. Aside from Jose, no one could withstand his sword strikes.
Each time Gert swung, one person was flung back, and another stepped forward to block, repeating a brutal war of attrition.
Yuri gripped Guilty and stepped forward.
"Right, we came here to bring down Gert in the first place."
The heart-soul slash ignited like flame. He immediately joined the battle.
Just as Jose's and Gert's swords collided, Yuri's sword flew toward Gert's waist.
Gert blocked it with his knee, then kicked Yuri in the chest. Yuri was sent skidding back, leaving a deep mark in the ground. He spat out blood-tinged saliva and rushed back in toward Gert.
The sound of three blades clashing rang out in succession.
***
Cory, looking at the character "Fate," was overcome by an indescribable feeling.
He looked up at Gert.
The faded character on his chest stood out with strange clarity.
For some reason, he felt like he could do something. That kind of feeling came over him.
But he didn't know how.
Cory desperately stared at the character, trying to find an answer.
Suddenly, he saw the Third Prince, who had once saved him, being struck by Gert and tumbling across the ground. His heart grew urgent.
But he tried to remain calm. A mage must never lose composure.
His heart and mana resonated.
A single character.
The magic contained within.
From Cory's mouth, without even realizing it, a word flowed out.
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