During his wandering through Adelbine, Gerth was not entirely without voices speaking to him.
But their words never reached him.
“Great knight, how did you fall so far?”
“Gerth, snap out of it! You’re not that kind of knight!”
“They say you were a fine knight before becoming a Death Knight…”
“Save me.”
“I don’t want to die.”
“Stop! I’ll come back!”
“You cursed wretch!”
All of it was meaningless.
Because he had sworn to bear it all.
But this time was different.
“You’re trash who destroyed your own country. A murderer who harms innocent lives. If you have any conscience, try to defend yourself, skeleton.”
Of course, Adelbine fell because of him.
But he had his reasons.
What could that black-haired human possibly understand?
“I’m not done. You say you were a decent knight before becoming a Death Knight? How did you end up like this? Enchanted by dark magic, blinded to everything? Did you want to live longer at any cost? Aren’t you ashamed?”
It wasn’t because he was bewitched by dark magic.
He didn’t become a Death Knight out of a desire to live.
There was simply a duty he had to fulfill, even if it meant carrying all this pain.
Yet all his sacrifices were being insulted by that black-haired man.
“Hey, you skeleton bastard. Who the hell are you to kill people? Is Adelbine yours? Huh?”
“Prince, please stop.”
“I haven’t even started yet. Look at him—can’t even defend himself. Everything I said is true, you conscience-less skeleton trash.”
It wasn’t that he couldn’t argue.
It wasn’t that he was speechless because it was true.
It was just that even excuses were a luxury he couldn’t afford.
True honor isn’t about being recognized by others; it’s about silently carrying out your given fate without seeking anyone’s understanding.
Even in death, he remained a knight.
Then the black-haired man continued.
“Hey, Gerth. Your parents probably ate seaweed soup when you were born…”
Gerth’s heart wavered.
He remembered, after so long, the faces of his parents who told him to become a great knight, saying they had no regrets when he was knighted.
Though he had become a Death Knight, his deep filial piety remained.
In the end, Gerth couldn’t hold back and spoke.
[Your words… are too harsh.]
The black-haired man’s expression shifted.
Usually, when someone finds a weakness, they smile like that.
“What’s harsh about it? I was just saying thinking about your parents eating seaweed soup when you were born makes my heart ache. Why so sensitive? Are you an ungrateful son?”
[Wait.]
“Shut up, shut up. You’re a Death Knight skeleton who destroyed his country, disrespected his parents, and lives alone without friends.”
[Listen to me.]
“Say what you want. But you know what? The innocent lives you killed and your parents who suffered because of your unfilial behavior probably have a lot to say too. And you right now…”
The black-haired man talked too much.
His constant accusations made it hard for Gerth, whose speech was slow by nature, to respond.
[I… can’t… continue…]
“Me neither! Seeing you makes my chest tighten so much I can’t speak! What the hell are you…”
Eventually, the black-haired man’s companion stopped him.
“Prince, please listen for a moment.”
“I don’t want to hear from such an ungrateful son.”
“Whether he’s ungrateful or not, we should hear him out. Let’s give him a chance to speak.”
“Jared, do you really think this skeleton’s words are worth listening to?”
“Everyone has the right to defend themselves. Let’s just give him one chance.”
“Fine, alright.”
The black-haired man crossed his arms, glared, and stepped back.
Gerth gave a slight nod of thanks to the human who intervened. Normally, he avoided contact with humans, but this time, he felt grateful to the knight who fought for him.
[Thank you, human.]
“You’re welcome, Sir Gerth.”
He bowed politely.
Gerth suddenly felt old memories stirring. In the past, everyone had shown him such respect.
Maybe that’s why.
Everyone, at some point, falls into a moment of sentimentality.
Gerth kindly explained.
[You… will… die.]
The black-haired man flared up again.
“Look at that skeleton. I let him speak, and now he says he’s going to die? Hey, come here.”
“Please be patient. You have to hear a person’s—or rather, a Death Knight’s—words to the end.”
Gerth closed his eyes.
He was no longer swayed by the black-haired man’s rhetoric. He simply spoke what his inner vision compelled him to say.
[I will tell you… why I must die.]
Jared, quick to catch on, stood opposite Yuri and defended Gerth.
It was the classic “good knight, bad knight” tactic.
The more Yuri’s verbal abuse continued, the more Gerth’s anger built up, naturally drawing him closer to Jared, who defended him.
By coaxing and soothing, they managed to get Gerth to open up.
Gerth slowly spoke.
[Dark magic.]
The moment he said it, all eyes turned to him.
Gerth stood tall, sword in hand.
[It all… began there.]
The only remaining piece of his plate armor—the breastplate—crumbled away.
Revealed beneath his ribs was the pulsating core of the Death Knight. Its ominous, fiery red glow beat like a heart.
[I became a Death Knight because of it.]
Yuri glanced sideways at Pierre, who looked visibly unsettled.
Watching him out of the corner of her eye, Yuri focused on Gerth’s story.
Since he struggled with language, she had to rely on guesses and assumptions to piece together the whole tale.
Adelbine had been a peaceful country.
Then one day, the royal mage fell into dark magic.
At first, no one knew.
Unlike normal magic, dark magic unleashed unimaginable powers, allowing the mage to kill people nightly without being caught.
The entire country fell into ruin.
Famine persisted, wild beasts attacked villages, and rumors spread of demons kidnapping people at night.
The people of Adelbine drowned themselves in alcohol and drugs.
Amid the chaos, Gerth, a knight sworn to the king, searched for the source of the turmoil.
And eventually, he found it.
A grotesque monster, a twisted amalgam of various creatures, moving like a rolling mass.
He led the knights in battle but could not win.
The monster snatched knights with its tentacles and swallowed them whole. Every time its jaws moved, bone-crushing screams echoed. And with every drop of blood spilled, the monster grew stronger.
Defeated, Gerth reported what he had seen to the king.
An army was assembled.
Gerth set out, risking the kingdom’s fate, to kill the monster.
But it was already too late.
[There, I…]
Gerth stopped speaking. His red eyes flickered. Struggling to continue, he finally lowered his head.
Suddenly, Pierre asked.
“That’s the Grand Library, right?”
Everyone looked at him. Pierre’s eyes gleamed as he stared at Gerth.
“Was that the monster’s lair? Did you see it there?”
[There, I…]
“That place?”
[At the Grand Library.]
Gerth clutched his head.
The Death Knight, stripped of his armor, looked gaunt and weak.
After a long silence, Gerth raised his head again.
His eyes blazed red.
[All… life… must be… eradicated.]
Suddenly, Gerth swung his sword at Pierre. The blade’s energy flew toward him, but Pierre barely blocked it with a shield.
Yuri shouted.
“Why are you spouting nonsense all of a sudden?”
“So this is the place after all.”
“What?”
Pierre’s expression changed.
“Fight your own battles, rookie prince. This temporary alliance ends here.”
With that, Pierre dashed toward the Grand Library. Whether by magic or speed, he vanished in an instant.
Yuri tried to follow, but Ivan and his mercenaries blocked her path.
“If you don’t want to die, step aside.”
“Shouldn’t we focus on the Death Knight instead?”
“Right now…”
“Look over there.”
Yuri turned. Gerth and the others were engaged in battle. Jose, who had gotten back up, staggered as he joined the fight, but the situation looked grim.
Ivan gestured.
“Want us to attack from behind?”
“Ugh…”
Yuri gritted her teeth.
They were definitely scheming, but she had no good counter.
“If you don’t chase Pierre, I’ll help you deal with Gerth.”
As Ivan spoke, the sword energy Gerth unleashed flew toward their position.
Yuri raised her shield to block it, glaring at Ivan.
“What are you trying to do?”
“Who knows.”
A faint madness flickered in his eyes.
“We only follow him.”
Pierre opened the Grand Library’s doors and stepped inside. The thick, stagnant magical energy wrapped around him.
From deep underground, a voice called to him.
Pierre smiled.
“So this is the place…”
He ran toward the stairs leading down.
The evil aura grew stronger, as if resonating with his dark magic.
Pierre’s pace quickened.
How many stair landings had he passed? At some point, he felt as if he were sinking into a swamp. Pitch-black darkness rose up to his knees. Every time he moved, this tangible darkness seemed to grasp at his legs, pulling him back.
It was a dense, stagnant miasma that had gathered over a long time.
Pierre knew exactly what lay beneath.
The master who had guided him along the path of truth had taught him in detail about the events that had unfolded in Adelbine.
“Poor Gert… heh heh…”
Mocking the knight who had even sacrificed his soul for peace, Pierre leaned into the darkness as if immersing himself in water.
The tangible darkness supported his body and drew him deeper.
Drifting along with the current, he eventually reached the innermost depths of the Grand Library.
There, it awaited him.
“Found you.”
A colossal flower, its petals fully unfurled.
Its size was roughly equivalent to two elephants combined, with thick, dark red petals towering around its edges. At its center, a circular maw lined with sharp teeth slowly opened and closed.
The currents within the darkness converged directly toward that mouth.
It was the so-called Devil’s Flower.
But the Devil’s Flower was dying, unable to fulfill its purpose.
It should have been completed as a perfect ritual by devouring more humans, but instead, it had been starved for a long time by a knight who annihilated the very life it was meant to consume—and absorbed it himself.
That was why Pierre had to come to Adelbine.
“Now, it’s time to awaken once more.”
Pierre withdrew something from his cloak.
It was an object wrapped in several layers of scrolls inscribed with magical circles.
Peeling them away one by one, a black gem shaped like a heart was revealed.
Its surface was dark, but a red glow flickered within.
Condensed inside was enough life force to revive the Devil’s Flower from its dormant state. To create it, countless sacrifices had been offered and refined through dark magic.
Pierre caressed the gem, smiling.
“Rise. Be reborn. And serve Him once again.”
Like a dance, he flowed through the darkness and hovered above the Devil’s Flower.
As if recognizing him as prey, the flower’s mouth began moving faster.
Pierre placed the black gem down.
The dark red light slowly descended, then was drawn into the wide-open maw’s center. The gaping mouth snapped shut in an instant.
Thump.
A pulse spread outward.
The petals swelled, expanding in all directions.
It was a sudden transformation.
“Success.”
His mission was complete.
Pierre turned to leave the Grand Library.
But then, a tentacle snaked out from beneath the petals and coiled around his ankle.
His eyes widened.
Yet his surprise was short-lived. His vision blurred, and as if entranced, he began to drift downward along the tentacle. His movements were limp, like a puppet.
The Devil’s Flower opened its mouth again.
Unlike before, its interior glistened with a dark red, viscous liquid. Several toothy tentacles writhed as if alive.
Without hesitation, Pierre threw himself inside.
The mouth snapped shut.
With the sound of bones crushing, his final scream echoed through the chamber.
The Devil’s Flower pulsed with renewed vitality, radiating a sinister light.