Chapter 144 – Chapter 27: Queen
On the first day of arrival at the first base, Silvan regained consciousness. His condition was better than expected because his magic power had been charged by the crystal. However, it was just up to there. For the time being, stabilization and medical care were essential.
As soon as Silvan woke up, he got up to look for Felicia, and Carack and Sepira had to call In-gong and Felicia hastily. Silvan was terribly agitated for many reasons.
There were three reasons for Silvan’s agitation. One was naturally his worry for Felicia, while the other was Sepira’s cut wrist. Silvan had cut her wrist in order to stop Famine’s power, but he still felt sorry when he saw it. It was as expected from Felicia’s twin brother. Just like Felicia, he was overflowing with care for others.
The third and biggest reason for Silvan’s agitation was the fairy. His right eye had always been covered, but he now stared at In-gong and Felicia with both eyes.
“It is really amazing.”
Silvan blinked several times. Despite not doing anything, he was able to see the world through the fairy. Sometimes the fairy would give his right eye a golden colour, but otherwise, it was just an ordinary eye.
Silvan could feel the flow of powerful magic power. His body was filled with magic power, but there was no magic power leaking out.
It was all thanks to In-gong. In-gong had conquered the fairy for Silvan and set a limit. Thanks to that, the output of the fairy fell dramatically, but it prevented the magic power from running wild.
“Hyung will be able to use more magic power once you become better at handling magic. But make sure to pay attention. The nature of the fairy itself hasn’t changed. So, once the fairy opens up, the magic will run wild again.”
Basically, In-gong had locked the big water tank with a broken faucet and put aside a bucket. The bucket would become bigger when his use of magic power improved, but that didn’t fix the broken faucet. Silvan had to refrain from opening the fairy until he learnt how to open and close the faucet forcefully.
However, even if it was in a limited state, he could still use the fairy. So, this was a big development.
“Shutra’s power… it is really amazing. Really amazing.”
Rather than explaining Conquest, he had just told Silvan that it was a special power. Although Silvan was a little exaggerated, he was trustworthy, like Felicia. However, the fewer people who knew the secret, the better. In-gong might tell him someday, but it didn’t need to be right now.
Silvan smiled widely at In-gong and Felicia, then he watched Felicia with a burning gaze.
“Felicia, Oppa will become stronger for you. I will also study the magic I had put aside. Magic warrior… No, I will be reborn as a true magic swordsman. Starting today, please call me Magic Swordsman Silvan.”
His voice, which was full of determination, was nice, and his face was handsome as well. However, Felicia made a disgusted expression while Carack laughed. A few days ago, he had been discussing a magic warrior with In-gong.
‘I was right.’
‘Yes.’
In-gong smiled awkwardly as they talked with their eyes. Then Silvan glanced at In-gong and declared,
“Shutra, thank you again. For saving Felicia, Sepira, Delia and I… as well as getting revenge on the crew members’ killer, I really appreciate it. I will never forget this. From this day on, I am both Felicia’s knight and your knight. I will serve you for the rest of my life.”
There was deep sorrow as well as gratitude in his solemn voice. In-gong didn’t hate this Silvan. How could he hate this human aspect of him?
Then Silvan suddenly turned back toward Felicia and frowned. He spoke to In-gong with a complicated expression,
“Well, please understand that Felicia is more of a priority.”
In-gong figured that was the case. He laughed and nodded.
“I understand, Hyung. Please take care of me in the future.”
The most precious thing to Silvan was Felicia. In-gong accepted this fact about Silvan and had no complaints. Silvan was Felicia’s knight before he was In-gong’s, and Felicia was precious to In-gong as well.
As In-gong and Silvan exchanged warm glances, Carack said to Felicia,
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“There is no use talking to fools.”
Felicia replied while covering her face with a fan. He couldn’t help but notice the red ears which peeked out from above the fan. The situation had a mixture of both warmth and embarrassment.
Delia, who had been outside for a while, came back with a report. It was a reply from the Demon King’s Palace.
&
“It is as expected.”
In-gong handed the message to Silvan after reading it.
The Demon King’s Palace had ordered them to return.
Felicia stretched her shoulders as she felt the increased tension.
“There are many sensitive issues. And aren’t things in the south almost finished being organized? These days, it seems like the north is really noisy. Maybe we will be sent on a support mission to the north.”
Evian, the territory which In-gong was responsible for, hadn’t been the only one attacked. In the north, where there was always a small battlefield, there had already been several big fights. After the barbarian king had been killed, they no longer needed to worry about the eastern barbarians of Evian. Meanwhile, Silvan had cleared his area.
Moreover, the attacks of those with the purple aura, which had been the reason for placing the royal children in various places, was presently concentrated on the north. As the situation got worst, it was natural to think of going to support the north.
‘The problem is who we are going to support.’
Among the five children of the demon king in the north, except for Chris, all of them were from different factions. It would be difficult if he was going to support Baikal, Zephyr or Anastasia.
In-gong cut off these thoughts for now. It wasn’t just to support the north that they were ordered to return to the Demon King’s Palace.
The Death Knight was attacking all over the Demon World. Meanwhile, the War Knight had given strength to the eastern barbarians. Additionally, the Famine Knight had driven Silvan and Felicia to the brink of death.
There needed to be a briefing on these three things. It wasn’t clear how much information the Demon King’s Palace had about the Four Knights of the Apocalypse, but the strikes from the Death Knight and War Knight were directly damaging the Demon World.
Felicia turned toward Silvan.
“Silvan, I think we need to move separately from the Black Flame Dragon. Do you know why?”
Apart from Silvan and Sepira, the Black Flame Dragon only had three crew members remaining on it. It was impossible to fly at the highest speed for a long time, so it would take a considerable amount of time to return to the Demon King’s Palace using the Black Flame Dragon.
They had to use the transportation formation to return to the palace in time.
Silvan looked grouchy, but it was only for a second. Felicia smiled softly and reassured him,
“I know it is heartbreaking for you, as the captain, but it can’t be helped. I will ask Aunt Alita to look after the ship for a bit.”
Once In-gong and Felicia returned, Alita’s mission to support the two of them would have ended. Alita was family, so they could entrust the Black Flame Dragon to her.
“Okay, let’s get ready to go back. Once Caitlin arrives, we will all return to the Demon King’s Palace.”
The return order had also gone to Caitlin, who had remained in Evian. This was the reason why Felicia had expected they would be sent to support the north. If it were for the purpose of protecting the land, there was no reason for Caitlin to return.
Felicia headed to the communications room to tell Caitlin to join them in Karamis, while Silvan was pushed by Sepira into resting.
In-gong sat alone on the deck of the Black Flame Dragon and thought about the future.
Just a few days ago, he had defeated the Famine Knight.
War, Death and Famine—
They were beings hostile to Conquest and defeating them wouldn’t be an easy task. The Famine Knight was both strong and weak. It was a bit strange, but that was the only way he could express it.
In-gong divided the strength of the knights into two. One was the knight’s own strength, while the other was the added power of Conquest, War, Death and Famine.
The Famine Knight, Gerard Moonlight, had been strong. After being imprisoned for 20 years, he had been weaker than his prime, but he had still been strong enough to defeat Silvan in such a weak state.
On the other hand, the power of Famine wasn’t that strong. Once In-gong emanated the power of Conquest, the power of Famine could barely be used.
Why? Was it because it he had only been the Famine Knight for a short time? If so, how long had the Death Knight and War Knight been knights? Why was the time difference between knights so big?
The clue was the fight from 1,000 years ago. There had been a fight, and Watcher Ainkel had lost her life. Starting from 1,000 years ago, the elder dragons hid themselves from the Demon World.
Conquest, War, Death and Famine were existences which fought the elder dragons.
‘If the fight continued…’
In-gong came to a conclusion.
The Death Knight or War Knight might have lived as knights for 1,000 years. It was indeed a very long time.
‘What are they doing? And why have they resumed their activities now?’
The Four Knights of the Apocalypse were those who craved destruction. If so, their actions were meant to cause the end of the world.
An attack on the Demon King’s Palace… Killing guardians in various places and turning those areas into desert… Were these actions related to the end of the world? Or did they just want to destroy the Demon King’s Palace and turn the Demon World back into a crucible of confusion?
‘I remember the words of the sword duke.’
Threats to the Demon World existed in the past, present and future. He had to become strong enough to defeat them.
It was indeed a simple answer. Just thinking about it caused his heart to beat wildly.
“Yes, this is the right answer.”
‘Become strong.’
If he won the confrontation, then all the problems would be settled. Although it was a story for the future, it might be possible to find out why In-gong came to this world and if there was a way to return.
In-gong decided to think about things after arriving at the Demon King’s Palace. His merit level would increase greatly, so it was the perfect timing to do the things he had postponed. Additionally, it was good since all the other children of the demon king, except for those in his faction, were away from the palace.
In-gong would use this opportunity to collect information from the library as well as find the various hidden events and items in the Demon King’s Palace. He hadn’t been able to do it previously because his merit level was too low.
‘Next, there are things related to magic and the churches.’
In-gong’s eyes burnt with ambition as he planned his tour of the Demon King’s Palace.
Then three days later in the afternoon, Caitlin arrived at the first base in Karamis.
&
“Shutra is amazing.”
Caitlin’s eyes shone like lanterns as she heard about how In-gong saved Felicia. She gave him the bright smile he loved so much.
“Ah, this is it.”
In-gong nodded with satisfaction while Green Wind grumbled.
‘It is the same. There is nothing different with my version. Master is strange. Fool. Hateful. Not amazing.’
He could only hear her voice since she wasn’t in a solid form, but he could imagine the face she was making. Her grumbling was cute, so In-gong couldn’t help smiling, which caused Felicia to frown.
“Shutra is good, but sometimes, you are a pervert.”
“Right. Sometimes you laugh while I am telling you a story. Even your training seems painful, but you just give a scary laugh.”
Felicia’s expression changed as Carack spoke. It was similar to how she looked at Silvan.
Felicia’s reaction was a burden, but Caitlin and Nayatra’s reactions made it more difficult for In-gong. Nayatra was looking at In-gong with very intrigued eyes. No, what was that gaze? Why was she blushing?!
While In-gong was panicking, Silvan spoke with a smile on his face.
“Well, he is still Shutra. Hyung understands. I am your knight. People have different tastes. I still respect you.”
What type of taste was he talking about?
In-gong tried to defend himself, but the mood wasn’t good. Furthermore, Caitlin laughed and dealt the final attack.
“Shutra, do you want to be hit with aura again?”
He would rather die!
In-gong sighed and said to Carack,
“Let’s go back now—to the Demon King’s Palace.”
The same afternoon, the transportation formation at the first base was activated. Their destination was the Demon King’s Palace.
&
“The schedule for the court gathering has been set.”
