Chapter 636 - A Blunt Edge
That's right.
Enkrid had no intention of listening to the ferryman.
The chair, made from bone, faintly glowed in the darkness.
The light was distinctly different from sunlight or moonlight—an eerie glow.
The blonde hair of Shinar, who sat upon it, blended poorly with the unsettling light, making it look dull.
"Come in. Let me introduce you. These are my companions." As Shinar spoke, she extended her hand behind her.
Before anything could be seen, the smell hit first.
The stench of rotting meat, bodily fluids, excrement—the foul odors seemed to have gathered in one place.
An ordinary person wouldn't have been able to endure the smell without pinching their nose.
Still Enkrid chose to block his sense of smell.
The more one hones their senses, the better they also become at dulling them when necessary.
After blocking his sense of smell, Enkrid stretched his neck and took in the sight that Shinar proudly displayed, with Brisa raising the glowing stone higher behind him.
As the light source moved higher, the range of vision increased.
It still didn't illuminate everything, but it was enough.
There was a troll, an ogre, and a ghoul.
The troll, riding a two-headed werewolf, didn't roar or drool.
They just stood there, waiting.
They seemed to be waiting for Shinar's command.
"My companions... that was a joke," Shinar said.
Her voice rang out like a tuned piano key.
"I've decided to become their queen." It was a lie.
Fairies don't know what lies are.
They learn deceit only after they've been battered by the world's harsh realities.
Shinar had learned that lie.
Which meant it was an amateurish one.
What would Krais, a born liar who enjoys trickery, think if he saw Shinar now?
"What did you think of me all this time?" Enkrid mused.
Could it be that she was about to laugh?
It wasn't exactly a funny moment, yet the thought was strangely amusing.
It was hard to suppress a laugh, but it wasn't something to laugh at either.
Why was that?
It must be because of the fairy whose specialty was emotional restraint.
Their habit of absorbing everything around them naturally led them to adopt certain attitudes.
This must have been a result of unconscious influence.
It wasn't anger, though.
"Now, do you want to fight my children?"
The troll, ogre, and ghoul, unique creatures, stepped forward in front of the throne where she sat.
"...Who is whose child?"
Arcoyris, who had been listening from behind, stepped forward.
His face betrayed his emotions as the fairy in love with Shinar couldn't hide his feelings.
His face showed discomfort, his eyes wrinkled, brows furrowed, and his lips trembling.
Everything spoke of anguish.
Though not as distorted as a human's expression, it was clear.
"There's no need for this," Arcoyris murmured.
His voice was quiet, but in this room, no one could miss it.
"I can't leave you as the devil's bride." Arcoyris spoke again.
The fairy's resolve was clear.
What was different from before was the light in his eyes.
A light of hope.
Who gave him that light didn't need to be asked.
In the darkness, the blue-eyed man drew his weapon.
Chirring.
The True Silver sword absorbed the glowing stone's light and emitted a pale glow, like moonlight.
People sometimes referred to True Silver as a metal that resembled the moon due to the mysterious light it radiated.
If anyone saw the light from Enkrid's sword now, they would undoubtedly agree.
"You shouldn't have come here," Shinar said.
Enkrid lifted his sword indifferently.
He placed the blade between his eyes, focusing.
He confirmed the approaching monsters.
His thoughts accelerated, and his insight was triggered.
The future unfolded before him.
"Take care of the ghoul. Fel."
From behind the monster's body, something resembling soot appeared.
It was a sign of a cursed spirit that had enhanced the creature's natural abilities, though Enkrid's group didn't know that.
Even if they did, it wasn't a matter of great concern.
Enkrid, with his accelerated thoughts, drew a line toward Shinar, planning to approach directly.
Grrr.
The monsters' mouths emitted a sound like boiling water.
Thud!
The werewolf, with its back legs, stomped on the ground and lunged forward.
The troll riding it also charged.
The beast tried to swing its claws with extended nails.
It was fast.
However, its straight-line approach made it easy to predict.
The speed and strength weren't comparable to the fairy knight's sword but still fierce.
Enkrid opened his left foot outward and simultaneously channeled an extreme amount of Will into his sword.
The True silver blade screamed as if it was speaking through his palm.
It almost felt like it was about to tear apart his body.
Enkrid slashed diagonally with all his Will channeled into the strike.
Technically, it was a simple diagonal cut.
If viewed from a swordsmanship perspective, it could be described as a strong downward strike from the middle guard.
But what mattered was that the entire Will Enkrid possessed was put into that sword.
To the eyes of everyone, including Shinar's, the blade vanished for a moment.
The sword sliced through the air, creating a ripping sound.
Bang!
The sound exploded where the blade passed.
Before it even reached the ears, Enkrid's sword had already sliced through the troll and werewolf, sending them flying apart.
The air was filled with the sound of the monsters' bodies splitting open and the black blood spilling out, soaking the ground.
The floor wasn't damp before, but after Enkrid's strike, it was covered in monster blood.
Enkrid exhaled sharply and swung his sword again.
The blade, making a half-circle in the air, reached the ogre's position.
The ogre raised its arms, attempting to shield itself with its forearms.
Its eyes appeared from between the raised arms, glaring at Enkrid as it charged.
It was a pathetic sight.
Enkrid felt his Will replenish, even as he felt the weight on his shoulders, the sensation of a heavy, suffocating swamp around him.
"Heavy."
The weight pressed on his shoulders and limbs, as if the air itself was trying to crush his veins.
But it was bearable.
After all, hadn't he just endured something similar moments ago?
The unbidden movements of his Will naturally protected him, making it easier to endure.
The ogre's arms had a gap.
If necessary, he could pierce it.
But there was no need to.
A clean cut was all it would take.
With the sensation of crushing stones beneath him, Enkrid felt the weight pressing harder.
But still, he pushed through, swinging his sword again, resulting in another thunderous sound.
Bang!
The second strike was complete.
Fwack!
The sword cleaved through the ogre's head and torso, severing them.
The ogre, whose brain and organs spilled out, struggled briefly before collapsing with a loud thud.
In the meantime, Fel had also slain the ghoul.
Judging by the ghoul's burnt arm, Luagarne hadn't just watched.
After a brief silence, Shinar spoke with unexpected commentary.
"You've become dull, Enki."
Though she said "dull," it wasn't a remark about his swordsmanship.
The strike from earlier was the most powerful he'd shown so far.
His swordsmanship and Will usage had clearly advanced, thanks to Shinar's influence, who had taught him techniques that formed the basis of his current skill.
"You've become dull."
Still, Shinar concluded so.
Without waiting for a response, she spoke again.
"If you wanted to be a knight and move forward, you should have ignored it. You're dull. So dull that you won't be able to sever anything."
Enkrid wiped the blood from his sword and ran his left hand through his hair.
The blood from the two monsters he had slain stained his hand, thick and sticky.
Do fairies have a bath culture?
Or do they wash in clean lake waters?
Monster blood, foul-smelling and unpleasant in texture, made Enkrid long to wash up as soon as possible.
"Shinar Kiraheis," Enkrid called her name.
Everyone's ears perked up, anticipating what he was about to say.
Was it a reply to the comment about being dull?
Or would he ask what she was doing?
Enkrid was always the kind of person who overturned expectations, and this time was no different.
It was a statement no one, including Bran and the group of fairies watching, could have predicted.
"Why did you leave?"
This was the very question they had come to ask in the first place.
"..."
Shinar's elegant voice, like an instrument, briefly ceased functioning.
Darkness and silence seemed to merge, as the quiet seeped into the dark cave.
Fairy Brisa raised the glowing stone slightly higher, and as its light spread, the visibility expanded.
Shinar's expression remained unchanged.
But Enkrid sensed a hint of surprise, and she spoke again.
"You didn't seem to hear anything I said a moment ago."
"I came to ask because you didn't write the reason for leaving in the letter.
Do you think it's that easy to leave the Madmen Knights?"
A smile, something close to it, appeared on Shinar's face, followed by a sharp remark.
"…You crazy bastard."
"You're smiling?"
The one who was surprised by Shinar's smile was Arcoyris.
It wasn't just them—everyone, including Bran, was shocked.
"So, you can smile. You don't need to do this anymore. Shinar, let's go back." Bran said. Shinar wiped off the faint smile and shook her head.
"I'm cursed."
Anyone else would have scoffed if they had heard that, especially Esther, who had ridden of her own curse by standing by Enkrid's side. "So go back. Enki. This isn't a place for you." Enkrid looked into Shinar's eyes.
They were dull.
It was as though someone had spilled the paint of despair.
"Please, go back."
It seemed like the paint would drip down, but it stayed within her eyes.
"Tell me why. That's why I came."
Enkrid's words suddenly came out again.
Fel, overhearing this, wondered who would win against such stubbornness.
Lua, as usual, thought, 'It's just Enkrid being himself.' Shinar gazed at the man standing before her.
Blue eyes, black hair, a man marked with scars from battles.
Without paying attention to his scars, it would be hard to guess what kind of life he led.
She had thought about this before when Enkrid had bathed and she had seen his body.
The scars and the marks on his flesh told the story of his life.
He wanted to become a knight.
'You're dreaming in vain.'
He had probably been criticized for it.
'I'll protect those standing behind me.'
'Protect your own life first.' Everyone must have laughed at him.
Amidst the ridicule, a flower bloomed.
Shinar didn't want that flower to wither because of her.
So, she wanted to tell him everything.
She wanted to give reasons, to explain everything and make him understand.
She wanted to tell him everything about how she got here, about her long and painful journey through life, without hiding anything.
Normally, she wouldn't want to.
Everyone has their secrets, after all.
But right now, she also wanted to send him back.
No, she had to send him back.
"I must become the demon's bride. I have to."
Shinar spoke again, but standing before her was a stubborn man who had climbed above knights with no talent and sheer determination.
Yes.
Enkrid wasn't going to listen.
"Tell me the reason."
He repeated the same words once more.
"If you marry me, you'll be cursed. So, you can't be here." The power drained from Shinar's words.
On the surface, Enkrid appeared indifferent. "Is it your dream to become the demon's bride?" Is this really what you want?
Shinar instinctively knew.
This man would not retreat without seeing the end.
Was her ending incomplete?
Or did she secretly hope for this outcome?
Although she had pretended that she wanted him to leave, was she actually waiting for him to come back for her?
Had her weak soul pushed things this way?
'Is this the moment to curse my soul?' Shinar's eyes closed.
She felt an irresistible pressure pulling her, dragging her into the abyss deep within her soul.
Unwanted memories surged from the depths of that abyss.
***
Thud—
Like everyone, Shinar had had a childhood.
Thud—
Her first memory after becoming aware of her surroundings was the sound of a hammer.
And then,
"Shinar."
Her parents, who appeared indifferent on the outside but were extremely caring inside,
"Here again?"
And a sister who cared for her.
Yes, there have been times like that.
***
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Many thanks to my friend Tulips for proofreading the chapter :)
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