I Pull Out Excalibur

43 – Devil Knight Verheigen (1)

It’s chaotic.

That was the first thought that crossed Nagine’s mind as he entered the Central Guild. As usual, Nagine, who came to the Central Guild to carry out a request, tilted his head. Today, the guild was unusually noisy.

“What’s going on?”

Nagine asked a nearby adventurer.

He was an adventurer who had participated in the recent cleansing battle in the Dochenberg Forest and had a certain reputation. Nagine, who had received hostile looks from him before, was now different.

He had been recognized as a colleague.

Since the day he fought the crimson troll and the moment the rumors spread throughout the city, no one doubted Nagine’s abilities. He had proven his skills through achievements.

“Oh, it’s not Ivan.”

The adventurer greeted Nagine with a nod.

After exchanging casual greetings, Nagine pointed to where people were gathered and spoke.

“Why are people gathering over there?”

“Oh, a significant request came in from outside.”

“A significant request?”

“Yeah. Something about a route where a criminal expected to flee through near Cambria?”

The adventurer said.

“The next head of the Shulhauser family and the nobles in the vicinity of the Shulhauser family’s territory have poured requests in groups… The bounty is no joke.”

“What kind of request is it that made everyone rush there and then shake their heads after reading the details?”

He laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s a request we can’t handle. Especially since the ‘Atanga Knights’ also commissioned the request… I’ve said enough.”

…Atanga Knights?

Nagine narrowed his eyes. That name was something he couldn’t just let slide. After escaping the underground city, the first thing Nagine sought information about was Atanga.

The knights that Iban belonged to.

The place Iban had always longed for.

A group formed by those who gathered to uphold honor and pride, preserving the old principles of knights. The moment their name was mentioned, Nagine could guess the content of this request. The reason Atanga’s knights moved was usually one.

“···Is the wanted criminal a knight?”

“Yeah. The charges are no joke. Go check it out.”

Najin nodded and moved toward the gathering crowd. Request notices were posted there. Requests from numerous nobles and, among them, the request from the Atanga.

Amidst the adventurers, Najin checked the contents.

[Wanted – Bernhagen.]

It was a wanted poster. Beneath the drawn portrait were his crimes and peculiarities, densely written.

Former head knight of the Shulhauser family.

Armed with a sword.

A skilled swordsman rivaling Sword Seeker.

Crimes – Murder of the Shulhauser family’s lord. Homicide of servants, family soldiers, and knights belonging to the Shulhauser family. Turned the mansion into ruins and fled overnight…

Up to this point, the crimes were substantial, but the sentence that followed was so striking that it made the preceding crimes forgettable.

[Peculiarities: Presumed to have made a contract with a demon.]

A contract with a demon.

The being associated with malice, intermediation, and considered an enemy of humanity was none other than a demon. Contracting with a demon was a serious offense under imperial law, and demon contractees were to be immediately executed without exception.

But… a knight, a person, contracted with a demon?

This was the moment when one could understand why the Atanga’s knights had stepped forward. It was an action that tarnished the honor of a knight, trampling upon pride.

“A knight… contracted with a demon?”

Merlin’s voice echoed in Najin’s ears, trembling with faint anger.

“What kind of lunatic is this? A knight made a contract with a demon? Joined hands with a demon? A knight? A knight…?”

Merlin repeated the same words several times, as if finding it unbelievable. Then, she let out an exasperated sound. Najin’s shoulders twitched.

“A knight! Sworn to slay demons!”

“For centuries under the name of King Arthur, countless knights have slain demons, and now a knight is making a contract with a demon? This absurdity of nonsense…!”

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Merlin exhaled sharply.

The weight of the name “knight” had changed over the centuries, but there was a line that should not be crossed. For Merlin, it was a situation that could not be accepted.

“First, try to calm down.”

“Hoo, hoo…”

At Najin’s persuasion, Merlin slowly took a breath.

While Merlin regulated her breathing, Najin assessed the atmosphere among the surrounding adventurers. As heard a while ago, those who had gathered with a single-minded focus on rewards were now checking the contents of the request and biting their tongues.

An unbearable request.

It seemed like a request that should not be touched.

It wasn’t difficult to guess the reason.

The opponent was a skilled swordsman, possibly even close to the Sword Seeker level, and there were suspicions of a contract with a demon. It was a request that required skills far beyond the ordinary.

“At this level, only a White Horn rank should come…”

Murmurs among the gathered adventurers.

The words made sense; to face such a giant, adventurers needed someone from the pinnacle of the adventurer city, at least a White Horn rank.

But they wouldn’t step forward either.

Adventurers thought that way.

This request was too dangerous, and there was nothing good about getting involved with demons. The magic emitted by those related to demons could consume human minds, devour souls, and sometimes manifest as curses.

And that wasn’t all.

Those connected to demons often practiced mysterious sorcery—types known as the powers of demons. In other words, unknown variables interfered with the battle.

Adding variables to the danger.

If life was precious, it was right not to take on such a request. Of course, the content of the request wasn’t limited to just extermination. Killing knights who had made pacts with demons was the duty of the Atanga Knights. Most requests involved investigations such as delaying time or finding clues.

“Simply too risky, are they trying not to get involved?”

Najin read the atmosphere of the adventurers while touching her chin. Najin had no sense of duty to kill demons as Arthur’s descendant or responsibility to punish knights who had made pacts with demons.

To carry such heavy burdens, Najin had just embarked on her journey.

But aside from such things, Najin found this request intriguing. The Atanga Knights, to which half of her belonged, and the existence of demons fascinated her.

“Merlin.”

Najin muttered to herself.

“When I reach the pinnacle of Cambria, the next place to go is undoubtedly the Demonic Realm, right?”

Demonic Realm (魔境), the land of demons.

It was adjacent to the battlefield of stars, the place Arthur headed to after leaving Cambria, and the stage where Arthur truly began to be called a hero.

-That’s right.

“I’ll have to face demons there.”

-It will be so.

A moment of contemplation.

It didn’t take long for a conclusion.

“It’s okay to experience it in advance, right?”

Najin chose.

Najin took a big step forward. Merlin also affirmed Najin’s choice. With Merlin’s voice proclaiming, “That’s right, that’s it,” Najin moved to the front of the adventurers gathered in front of the bulletin board, pushing through them.

“······.”

All eyes were fixed on Najin.

As the adventurers’ gazes focused on him, Najin reached out his hand. Towards the request letter that everyone had just been admiring, too afraid to touch or make a move towards.

And then, swish.

Najin tore the request letter with the emblem of the Ahtanga Knights from the bulletin board. His actions conveyed a single meaning. He was accepting the request.

Some laughed in disbelief as they looked at Najin, others murmured that it was reckless and not worth risking their lives, and some clicked their tongues. But none of them laughed at Najin.

The sight of someone who willingly took on a dangerous request without hesitation.

It reminded them of their past selves, overflowing with confidence and enthusiasm, when they first set foot in the city of opportunity, Cambría. It was truly the appearance of an adventurer, worthy of being called an adventurer.

2.

“Aren’t you embarrassed, Bernheigen!”

Someone shouted out.

The voice resonated heavily, piercing their eardrums, and Bernheigen slowly opened his eyes. Due to the contract he made with a demon, his vision was blurry and he could only see properly with one eye.

The enchantment hadn’t fully taken effect yet.

His eyes, now starting to turn black, were unfocused. Bernheigen blinked his eyes several times, looking ahead.

“You’ve sent so many after me.”

There were pursuers after him.

There were knights from the nearby territory, with whom Bernheigen, a member of the Schutzer Guard, often interacted, and mercenaries. Bernheigen narrowed his eyes.

There was no sign of the Ahtanga emblem.

They haven’t caught up with me yet. After all, I chose the furthest route from the Ahtanga Knights’ base as my escape route. Bernheigen let out a long breath.

“Embarrassed? Why should I be embarrassed?”

“You have dishonored the pride of a knight.”

The knights who pursued him shouted. The mercenaries aimed their bows and loaded their crossbows at Bernheigen, and sparks flew from the knights’ swords. In front of the shimmering sword blades, Bernheigen let out a laugh.

Thud!

The knights charged forward.

The mercenaries released their arrows and pulled the triggers on their crossbows. A storm of arrows and sword strikes surrounded Bernheigen. Yet he didn’t move an inch.

Thunk, an arrow pierced his body.

Slish, a sword blade scratched Bernheigen’s flesh.

But in that moment when he swung his sword, the knights realized. They couldn’t land a fatal blow on Bernheigen, even with their sword strikes. The sword strikes were shallow. Why?

Because his body was no longer human.

As he became the embodiment of a demon, merging with the demon, Bernheigen’s body gained resistance. His lips, which had been torn as he received the sword with his bare hands, curled into a smile. He tightly gripped the sword lodged in his shoulder with his bare hands.

“Honor, pride, damn regulations.”

The knight who had forged a pact with the devil chuckled.

Crack! He shattered the sword with his bare hands and reached out. He clenched the face of the knight in front of him. The strength that crushed even swords was unbearable for a human head.

The knight’s helmet crumpled.

The knight who couldn’t overcome the pain screamed.

Mercenaries shot arrows, and gathered knights swung their swords, but Bernhagen paid them no mind and exerted more force.

Crack!

The helmet crumpled. Blood and something yellow poured out from the helmet’s gaps. No more screams reached their ears. Knights who saw their comrade’s head burst open and die opened their eyes wide.

He’s much stronger than the information suggested.

They realized that Bernhagen was not an ordinary devil contractee. Even the hierarchy of the demon he was known to have contracted with was clearly misrepresented. Amidst the deepening crisis, the knights ground their teeth.

Some felt anger. Some felt fear.

But still, they were knights.

They hadn’t always lived up to honor and pride, sometimes living indulgently, but at least they took pride in being knights.

Different from so-called knights who made pacts with demons.

There was no choice to run away for them. They rushed forward with their swords. They swung the swords, clearing the wounds left by their dead comrades, and thrust the knives into those openings.

“Just a bunch of lingering fools.”

An attack close to obsession.

The mercenaries realized the situation was wrong and fled long ago, but the knights swung their swords until the end. Bernhagen, expressionless, burst their heads, pulled out arms, and stabbed their hearts.

No need to use a sword for all that process.

Bernhagen felt exhilaration in that fact.

Seven knights drawing their swords and ten well-trained mercenaries. Not long ago, it would have been a difficult battle, a fight with slim chances of survival. But now?

Overwhelming them without even drawing the sword.

“What does pride and honor give you? What’s the point of keeping them? It’s just an empty, useless thing…”

In the ecstasy, Bernhagen murmured.

He looked at the knight whose arm had been torn off. Blood gushing out. A complexion whitened by excessive bleeding. But the knight still held the sword.

The last remaining knight.

He rushed over, stepping on the corpses of his comrades, and thrust his knife into Bernhagen’s shoulder. The sword deeply embedded in the wounds diligently opened by the seven knights. However, that didn’t mean victory.

Bernhagen was unharmed.

Even this wound would recover overnight.

He pulled out the remaining arm of the knight. Extending his leg, he smashed the knight’s knee. The knight, now sitting with two arms lost, looked up at Berenheigen as he grabbed the knight’s hair and pulled.

“Why cling to something with nothing to gain from it? My foolish friend.”

Berenheigen chuckled.

He hoped the knight’s face would be dyed with terror and despair, but the knight only grimaced in pain, not succumbing to despair. With a groan, the knight laughed at Berenheigen.

“Because there’s nothing to gain.”

Amidst the foamy blood, the knight’s laughter echoed.

“It’s something valuable. You, who made a pact with the devil, wouldn’t understand.”

That was the knight’s last words.

With a sharp sound, the knight’s head exploded. Berenheigen, brushing off the blood on his hands, disdainfully kicked the knight’s corpse with his foot.

“Boring.”

Berenheigen drew the sword stuck in his shoulder, exhaling heavily. With a sigh, he moved forward. The destination Berenheigen headed towards was Maqye. Until he reached there, he had to move diligently.

Ordinary pursuers didn’t frighten him.

The Atanga Knights, however, were feared.

Specialized in demon hunting, facing them in an incomplete demonic state wouldn’t guarantee victory. Berenheigen quickened his pace.