Damon and Shreckheimer headed straight for the imperial palace. Shreckheimer had pulled a black robe over himself,
leaving only his two eyes peering out. It was, of course, more than enough
to draw the attention of the guards, but not a single one stopped them. The one accompanying him was
the First Prince of the Krosen Empire, so who would dare block their path? Yet Damon’s face was thick
with irritation. Having to return each and every salute from the guards was no small annoyance
to him.
After passing through the main gate, Damon grumbled as though complaining.
“Damn it… Don’t those bastards’ backs ever hurt?”
Shreckheimer, following behind him, answered Damon’s words.
“You are as easygoing as ever. As I recall, Lord Damon has not changed at all
from five hundred years ago.”
“My appearance has changed plenty.”
“By the way, about that girl earlier.”
At Shreckheimer’s words, Damon slowly turned his head.
“You mean Juliana?”
“Yes. That girl’s appearance truly resembles someone else’s. Had I not been careful, even I
might have mistaken her. Do you not think so?”
Damon snorted coldly.
“The only thing similar is her face. Other than that, there is not a single point of resemblance
between the two.”
“Is it because of vicarious satisfaction?”
Damon’s gaze slowly shifted.
“In my eyes, that girl seems to care for Damon very…”
“Enough. I will permit no more. She is merely a girl I keep around to pass the time,
nothing more and nothing less. So refrain from making pointless leaps of logic.”
When Damon cut him off coldly, a bizarre light flared within Shreckheimer’s eye sockets.
“You still love the Saintess.”
“Isn’t that too obvious to need saying?”
Damon grinned and, without delay, turned his steps toward the prison. His attitude made it clear
that he would allow no further questions. Shaking his head, Shreckheimer hurried after him.
The place where the Death Knights were imprisoned was a massive prison located beneath the imperial palace. Since it was mainly
used to confine criminals guilty of high treason, the prison’s defenses were sturdy beyond imagination. Three sides
were made of stone walls, and at the entrance to the prison, iron bars as thick as an adult’s forearm were packed tightly
together.
However, most of the prison was empty. The cobwebs covering the iron bars seemed to show, in stark terms,
just how far the imperial authority of the Krosen Empire had fallen. Damon and
Shreckheimer entered the prison under the guidance of an imperial guard.
Thud, thud.
The sound of their footsteps echoed against the stone walls, creating the illusion
that many people were walking together. Damon slowly looked around. When he felt the silence
flowing from within the empty prison, a bitter smile rose to his face.
‘If Krosen’s imperial authority had been strong, Duke Ferstein and his subordinates would be filling this prison
by now. They might already have vanished as dew upon the execution ground, too…’
There were a considerable number of prison cells lined up. From that alone, one could tell that the power
of the old Krosen emperors had been quite formidable. Even by the most conservative estimate, the prison was large enough
to hold several hundred people. Perhaps bored of walking, irritation appeared on Damon’s face.
“How much farther do we have to go?”
At those words, the guard knight guiding them bent sharply at the waist.
“We will arrive after just a little farther, Your Highness.”
“Very well.”
At the curt answer, the guard knight barely managed to calm his trembling heart and began guiding them
once more.
As the party walked between the cells, a large door appeared before them. The door, entirely cast
from steel, had all sorts of geometric shapes embossed upon it. As Damon examined the patterns,
his eyes gleamed.
‘A magic circle that fundamentally blocks spatial movement. A great defensive magic circle of about the Sixth Circle is engraved here,
and a lock has been applied in a limited manner…’
From the situation, it seemed to be a prison built for the purpose of confining mages. To restrain
Death Knights, who could use not only physical power but dark magic as well, it was an exceedingly suitable
prison. When Damon stared silently at the prison door, the knight who had guided them approached and
knocked on it.
Knock, knock.
The answer came immediately.
“What is it?”
“I have brought His Highness Crown Prince Alcaris. Open the door at once.”
“Please wait a moment.”
However, what opened was not the door but a small window set into the upper part of it. Through it,
a pair of sharp eyes appeared and scrutinized the party from head to toe. It was an exceedingly meticulous
watch. Apparently their identities were confirmed, for soon the sound of a lock being undone could be heard.
Clank.
At the same time, seeing light shine from the magic circle engraved on the door, it seemed the magic circle was
being released in sequence. When the door opened, Damon entered without hesitation. At the same time,
the knights’ reports rang out inside the prison.
“We greet Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
The first thing that entered Damon’s eyes after entering the prison was a line of knights
standing in formation. Heavily armed knights were all kneeling on one knee, bowing their heads.
Judging by the difference in attire, those positioned on the left seemed to be the Krosen Knights, and those
positioned on the right appeared to be the Duke Knights. Three or four young mages of about the Fifth Circle—
young, at least from Damon’s point of view—who were presumed to have released the magic circle were also bowing
their heads respectfully.
The Death Knights were imprisoned just behind them. That place received the greatest power from the magic circle.
The Death Knights were fixed to the floor in the shape of a large 大 and were wound tightly
in massive iron chains. Since they were wrapped so thoroughly that their torsos could barely be seen,
Damon smiled bitterly.
‘If they were human, they would have been crushed to death long ago.’
After sweeping his gaze over them, Damon looked at the knights standing at the very front, who seemed to be their commanders,
and opened his mouth.
“I have come to retrieve the Death Knights.”
At those words, two knights rose while maintaining their courtesy. According to Damon’s eye, they were knights
of considerable skill. Perhaps because the skill possessed by the Death Knights had been taken into account,
it seemed that men who ranked at least among the top five in their respective knight orders were commanding
the guard knights.
“Your duties are now all complete. Leave the Death Knights to me and withdraw.”
Perhaps because he had already received orders from Duke Ferstein, the leader of the Duke Knights responded without
a word of protest.
“We shall do so.”
However, the commander of the Krosen knights still seemed unable to feel at ease.
“W-will you be all right? These Death Knights are tremendously powerful beings. If, by any chance,
Your Highness’s safety should be threatened…”
Damon slowly shook his head.
“There is no need to worry. I already have them perfectly under my control… Though they are cursed
beings, these Death Knights will play a great role in the Third Racial War to come.”
After casting him a worried gaze for some time, the commander of the Krosen Knights had no choice but to yield.
Though the robed man seemed somewhat suspicious, he did not have the courage
to refuse the Crown Prince’s command.
“I shall carry out your order.”
He turned his head and gave an order to his subordinates.
“Our mission is over. We withdraw.”
The Duke Knights were already preparing to withdraw. The members of the Krosen Knights, having gathered their equipment,
each offered Damon their respects and moved toward the door. Seeing them glance once at
Shreckheimer with suspicious eyes as they left, it seemed their doubts had not completely faded.
Clank.
When the last guard knight left, Damon closed the door. Although his body was not in perfect condition,
casting a lock on the door was not difficult for him. Soon, only
Damon, Shreckheimer, and the Death Knights remained inside the prison. As Damon leisurely turned his head,
an expression of sudden realization appeared on his face. He had forgotten to receive the keys to the chains
binding the Death Knights.
“What a mistake…”
With an incredulous expression, he turned around.
“No helping it. I’ll have to tell them to get out on their own.”
Because Damon had regained his senses, the Death Knights were able to recover their original power.
However, at the moment, they could not move by their own strength. They were trapped atop a holy magic circle
specialized in blocking the mana of darkness, and the chains wrapped tightly around their bodies were,
at a glance, custom-made products used for capturing ogres. In a situation where they could not properly display
their strength, the chains were so massive that even Death Knights would not dare think of breaking them.
Looking at the pitiful state of the Death Knights, a faint smile rose to Damon’s face.
“Have you all been well?”
In Helbertron’s eyes, which had been staring at Damon for some time, a strange gleam flashed.
“That is the face I saw on the Northwood Plain. But it does not suit you at all.
At the very least, a villain ought to have an appearance befitting one.”
Damon’s face crumpled at once.
“You damned bastard. To insult me even in a situation like this…”
“Stop spouting useless nonsense and release us.”
“Shut up.”
With an irritated expression, Damon walked toward the core of the magic circle. He had already analyzed
the magic circle’s structure in its entirety. He did not know who had designed the magic circle, but
it was certain they were human; an ordinary human mage could never match Damon’s accomplishments.
Not unless they had overcome the limits of their lifespan… Approaching the magic circle that served as the core,
Damon slowly nodded.
“Fortunately, it was designed semi-permanently, so temporary deactivation is possible. In my current
physical state, it would be difficult to completely dispel a magic circle of this level.”
“You damned bastard. Hurry up and release us.”
A shout that seemed to belong to Primberg rang out, but Damon paid it no mind.
Rather, he glared fiercely at the Death Knights.
“You noisy bastards.”
After spitting that out briefly, Damon stretched out his hand and touched one part of the magic circle. It was precisely
the point where the flow of mana intersected. When he infused mana into his fingertip, that portion began
to slowly be erased. The engraved pattern of the magic circle was being filled in as it was. Accordingly,
the movement of mana circulating along the magic circle was gradually slowing. Damon carefully
cut off the flow of mana moving around the magic circle.
Pazzzt.
The magic circle, which had been shining dazzlingly, shot out a single ray of light and then lost its effect.
The holy power that had been binding the Death Knights’ strength also vanished. Damon raised his hand and
wiped away the bead of sweat running down his cheek.
“It’s done. Undo the chains yourselves.”
“You rotten, decaying bastard.”
A curse reflexively burst out, but the Death Knights obediently began undoing the chains. No matter how
sturdy the chains were, once the holy power had disappeared, they no longer had the strength to bind
the Death Knights. With a chilling light, Death Blades formed on their gauntlets. Then the chains
snapped powerlessly, like rotten ropes. They were displaying a secret technique difficult for even
a decent Sword Master to imitate.
Snap, snap, snap.
The Death Knights who had cut the chains rose one by one. They soon walked toward the wall
to recover their weapons. Though they had been bound for several full days, their movements
were as swift and agile as before.
Perhaps because they were not magic weapons, the Death Knights’ weapons had been placed carefully upon a table.
They were top-grade artifacts that any knight would covet, but the disciplined
Krosen knights had merely laid the weapons neatly out on the table.