Crunch—. Crunch—.
My whole body twisted with grotesque sounds.
It felt as though my flesh were being stripped away, my bones melted down, my nerves forged anew.
Words like agony or pain were luxuries compared to this suffering.
All I could do to resist it was writhe.
Not even a scream escaped my mouth.
As if it had sensed that, the red liquid coiled around my entire body writhed fiercely toward me.
Like a child who had gotten hold of a toy.
The Red Blood was enjoying my pain.
‘So this is Red Blood?’
This was not something like energy.
If I had to describe it, it was a life-form living in symbiosis with me.
Like a starving wolf, or a crow pecking at a corpse.
The Red Blood that had seeped into my body greedily devoured my life force.
Seeing its ravenous greed filled me with fear.
‘Did I misjudge this?’
Was I not ready to handle this power?
No sooner had that thought crossed my mind than the Red Blood’s movements grew more vigorous.
It must have realized its prey was beginning to give up.
So this is how I die—.
The moment I thought that, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
‘I’m sorry, Senior Rena. Everyone. I couldn’t save you.’
Please resent me.
Just as my consciousness was sinking into a deep mire—
[A knight is simply that sort of person.]
The smiling face of an old knight flashed past.
‘Master!’
The face of the master I had forgotten flashed like lightning in the darkness.
Sir Renfield.
My master, and a true knight.
And the man who led me to dream of becoming a knight.
The moment I saw his face, forgotten memories rose one by one to the surface of oblivion.
A former knight moved into our village.
He was not the dashing knight from stories.
He was an old man, aged and sick, who looked as though even leaning on a cane was difficult for him now.
The neighborhood brats, myself included, were disappointed by that and often played pranks on him.
But that day, I never imagined he would step forward.
Honestly, not even in my dreams.
When I close my eyes, I can still see that scene.
On a stormy day, a pack of starving orcs attacked the village.
The village men who usually acted so proud all fled, one after another.
And Sir Renfield faced that pack of orcs alone.
Holding an old scythe instead of a sword, wearing a farmer’s clothes instead of armor.
Covered in blood, Sir Renfield protected the village.
The next day, I went to him as he lay in bed and asked.
[Why did you fight instead of running away?]
Without the slightest hesitation, Sir Renfield answered at once.
[A knight is simply that sort of person. A breed that cannot abandon a life he can protect, no matter what pain stands before him.]
To the young me, Sir Renfield looked cooler than any knight in any story.
That day, my dream became to be a knight.
‘What am I doing?’
Master said it too. A knight is one who endures.
And I’m thinking of dying here?
No sooner had that thought ended than my vision grew clear again.
Crunch—!
As I regained consciousness, the pain that twisted my whole body swallowed me once more.
As though it still had more it wanted to eat, the Red Blood continued to writhe greedily.
I felt like I might faint again, but I gritted my teeth.
‘I will become a knight.’
And the greatest knight I know would never yield to pain as paltry as this.
‘If this pain is my pack of orcs…’
Then I will not give up. I will stand against you.
Just as Sir Renfield did!
Enduring the pain that was rebuilding my entire body, I commanded the Red Blood.
“Stop eating so damn much!”
Was it surprised that I had spoken?
The Red Blood writhed violently.
A brief silence followed.
Then, just as the Red Blood was about to rampage again—
“I said stop!”
Once more, it fell silent.
Looking at the Red Blood, I raised the corners of my mouth and said,
“I’m giving you an order! What, you don’t have ears, so you can’t hear me?”
Seeing it look almost frightened made me laugh.
Ignoring the pain gnawing away at me, I burst into loud laughter.
Perhaps disgusted by that sight, the Red Blood no longer mocked me.
Instead, as though submitting to me, it slowly began changing my body into something sturdier.
The starving wolf was gone.
All that remained was a loyal hunting dog.
Satisfied by that fact, I slowly fell asleep.
**
I woke to the sound of birdsong announcing the morning.
Was it because I had suffered through pain all night?
My head felt empty.
I want to sleep a little longer like this.
Just as I was about to close my eyes again—
Warm morning sunlight slipped through a crack in the ceiling and brushed my face.
Wait, morning?
‘Roll call!’
The instant I opened my eyes in shock—
A wave of countless red dots poured into my brain.
“Gaaah!”
At the sensation of my brain catching fire, I hurriedly shut my eyes, but afterimages still flickered.
Pressing down on my throbbing temples, I slowly opened my eyes.
Then the wave of red dots appeared again.
I endured it and examined them.
At first, they looked fixed in place.
But when I looked closely, I realized that was not the case.
‘They’re all moving little by little.’
When I looked at the closest red dot, I saw a tiny flying insect nearby.
When it flew off, the red dot moved along with it.
‘Am I seeing life force?’
Then would I have life force too?
When I suddenly lowered my gaze, a red flame was burning in my chest as well.
A flame far more brilliant than any other light.
As I looked at it, I felt that I had grown distant from an ordinary human.
‘At this rate, I’m closer to a monster.’
Letting out a hollow laugh, I placed my hand on a nearby stone stair.
No, I tried to.
Crack—.
The moment I set my hand on it, the stone stair collapsed like a sandcastle.
In that utterly shocking situation, I looked down at my hand.
It felt as though I had touched not stone, but a rotten tree branch.
Just as I stood there bewildered, red energy writhed at my fingertips.
‘Is this an effect of Red Blood too?’
I really might be closer to a monster.
Suddenly, I recalled the image of the Blood Lord I had seen in the illusion.
When he fought, he could not be called human.
If I had to describe him, he was a monster specialized in slaughter, covered in blood.
‘Don’t tell me I’m turning into a monster like that too?’
If so, could the person I became still be called a knight?
The question abruptly rose in my mind.
I wanted to ponder it, but unfortunately, now was not the time to worry about such things.
When I looked toward the dungeon entrance, light was pouring in.
Judging by the chill in the air, it was not time for morning assembly yet, but even so, only a few hours remained.
The ordinary soldier Ashen would never make it on time, even if he died and came back to life.
But as I am now…
‘Thankfully, Dracul and Thornwood are still equipped.’
No, they were not simply equipped.
Together with the Red Blood, they had become part of me.
‘Can I hide them, perhaps?’
“Disguise my equipment.”
When I gave the Red Blood an order, Dracul and Thornwood changed into the appearance of an ordinary gambeson and spear.
With this, no one, including people like the captain, would know I had obtained the Blood Lord’s equipment.
‘Now then, shall we go?’
After steadying my breath for a moment, I kicked off the ground.
Boom—!
With a thunderous roar, my entire body shot forward like an arrow.
“Haha!”
As I ran, laughter spilled from me.
It had definitely been a very long corridor when I came in, but now it felt about the size of a small room.
Before long, I reached the entrance and put a little more strength into my feet.
When I emerged outside, the sun lifting its head in the east greeted me.
If I maintained this speed, I might just make it in time.
As if mocking that thought, the cliff I had climbed before greeted me.
When I came up, I had to risk my life to climb it.
But now, I did not have time to climb down the cliff by hand.
‘I’m jumping!’
Throwing myself into the air, I rode the wind and shot straight toward the earth.
Before long, the ground rushed up quickly.
I concentrated the Red Blood into my legs and took a landing posture with both feet.
Thud—!
When I landed on the ground, an explosion of sound burst out, and a tingling sensation ran through my legs.
A truly cheap price to pay for jumping from a height that would have turned an ordinary person into paste.
‘No, that isn’t all.’
When I looked at my chest, the size of the flame had noticeably decreased.
‘So the principle is burning life force to use power?’
If so, I must not use this power recklessly.
‘Still, right now is exactly when I need to use it.’
Looking up at the sky, I saw that the sun was slowly revealing itself completely.
At most, one hour remained until morning assembly.
This was not a situation where I could go slowly to conserve life force.
‘Please wait just a little, Senior Rena.’
I’ll make it on time, no matter what.
Leaving behind the forest scenery that flashed past at high speed, I put more strength into my steps.
**
When I arrived at the encampment, I saw the captain just about to begin his address.
Suppressing my presence as much as possible, I succeeded in standing at the very back of the line.
I thought I had acted fairly stealthily, but had the captain on the platform seen me?
The captain, his brow deeply furrowed, pointed a finger at me.
“What is the meaning of this, sentries? I’m certain I said no one left the encampment.”
“M-my apologies.”
Those who had been on sentry duty yesterday bowed their heads under the captain’s gaze.
The captain looked at them and smiled faintly, as if satisfied, but soon returned to a solemn expression.
“Soldier Ashen. For what reason did you leave the camp? Do you not know that desertion can be punished by summary execution on the spot?”
“I apologize.”
“Apologize? Do you think this will end with a mere word like that? By military law, you would have no excuse even if your head were cut off here and now. How do you intend to take responsibility?”
“That is…”
“I permitted it.”
The moment I was about to answer, a clear voice rang out from the line on the left.
When I turned my head, Senior Rena, who had been standing near the platform, stepped forward.
Seeing this, the captain glared at Senior Rena.
“What do you mean by that, Senior Soldier Rena?”
“Ashen has been in poor condition since yesterday. When his condition looked serious this morning, I sent him out briefly to catch his breath and loosen up. He had no intention of deserting whatsoever.”
At her smooth, flowing words, the captain’s eyes narrowed.
He was probably trying to determine whether she was lying.
An ordinary soldier might have shown some sign of panic, but his opponent was Senior Rena.
When she maintained her confident attitude, the captain pressed a hand to his temple as if troubled.
If it had been an ordinary soldier, he would have pressured them to take responsibility at once.
The problem was that his opponent was Senior Rena.
Senior Rena was currently the most senior soldier in this unit.
She had spent far more time with the troops than the captain had.
In terms of people’s trust alone, she was clearly above the captain, so if he treated her carelessly, the other soldiers would react poorly.
In fact, the moment they sensed the conflict between her and the captain, the soldiers began to murmur.
Seeing this, the captain clicked his tongue loudly, then gestured at Senior Rena as though he had no choice.
“Fine. I’ll overlook it this once.”
At his words, the soldiers let out sighs of relief.
Perhaps displeased by that fact, the captain glared at me with an angry expression.
“Soldier Ashen. By military law, I ought to execute you on the spot, but…”
He swept his gaze over the soldiers’ ranks, then continued.
“Shedding blood right before deployment would lower the soldiers’ morale. So this time, and this time only, I will show leniency. But know that next time, not only your head, but the head of that Kurdan wench will fall as well.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed my head to the captain in due courtesy, then returned to my place.
When I glanced toward Senior Rena, I saw her sigh and gesture at me.
That was probably a Kurdan curse, wasn’t it?
I apologized to Senior Rena with my eyes, then looked toward the Red Forest.
Soon, this unit would advance toward that place.
And there, we would face the king of the forest.
If history went as it originally had, everyone would die.
But now, I was here.
‘I will never let anyone die.’
Gripping the shaft of my spear, I moved my feet with the formation.