The Knight Who Devours Magic - Chapter 33

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 33. Konnel
Beneath a sky brimming with moonlight.
In a quiet clearing within the forest, Muno slowly extended his hand into the empty air.
Only four days had passed since he’d laid waste to the band of highwaymen on the road, and his wounds had healed completely.
The wound that had pierced clean through his back and belly now left barely a scar.
Marveling at his own recovery—a recuperation he scarcely believed—he concentrated once more to test his strength.
‘Reduce the volume as much as possible…….’
Slithering softly.
The moment his will took shape, the bulky armor-like protective plating that had risen to his shoulders shrank down to encircle only his wrist.
Precisely half the surface area it had been when first awakened.
‘Good. Now again…….’
The instant he thought to expand it, the plating rose back up to his shoulders,
Slithering softly.
and the same held true for the remaining plating on his arms and legs.
Even so, he felt no resistance whatsoever at the joints where his limbs moved.
The Leather Armor he’d taken from the bandits felt far heavier by comparison.
‘The shape-shifting is completely free. Then what about this…….’
Clink-clatter.
From the limb plating—no, the black metal that deserved to be called limb armor now—chains slithered forth of their own accord.
The chains extended at his will without him needing to exert any particular force, hovering in the empty air to form a wall of links around him.
There was nothing strange about it.
This black metal armor and these chains were no different from his own body.
‘Actually, they’re not just no different—they’re literally part of me. Ever since then…….’
For a moment, the terrible pain from childhood flashed through his mind—when his father had tried to sever the chains with a Slayer Weapon.
When he and his father saw the half-severed chain link heal slowly over the course of several days, like a cut wound closing, they were forced to acknowledge that these chains were part of his body.
The realization that he would have to live with chains exceeding five meters draped across his limbs had felt utterly hopeless.
How many tears had he shed in secret back then.
‘Thank goodness I can control their size now.’
Muno slowly moved the other body that surrounded him—the chains.
The sensation of the air against the chains and their weighted ends felt far clearer and more vivid than before.
His senses now extended all the way to the final link at the chain’s end.
‘Maximum length roughly twenty meters. More than double what it was.’
Thud.
Seeing the chain’s weighted end, moved with only a light touch, leave a deep impression in the ground, he couldn’t help but smile.
‘The force behind it is more than double as well. This ought to be enough for striking alone.’
He couldn’t test it recklessly, but as the length had increased and the power grown stronger, it seemed the durability had increased proportionally.
‘Maybe now even a Slayer Weapon wouldn’t cut through so easily……?’
And.
Thud.
The physical strength felt through his lightly moving feet.
Not only had his pure physical abilities grown, but his sense of movement had sharpened as well, and both the armor and chains that constituted another body had been strengthened in many ways.
Now he had confidence he could easily subdue two of his former selves if they came at him together.
With a natural smile blooming on his face, Muno drew the Great Sword slung across his shoulder.
Thud.
The moment his stepping foot pressed forward, the earth yielded slightly beneath him.
Whirrrrring.
Uuuuuhhhhh.
The Great Sword, swung like lightning, tore through the air before him.
Chaaaaaack.
Thwack-boom.
The chains extending toward the phantom opponent struck the empty air at middle distance with devastating force.
At the same moment Muno charged forward and leaped skyward in one motion.
Thud-crack.
The weighted ends of all four chain strands struck the ground in unison, launching his body to a height his physical strength alone could never reach.
Whirrrrring.
His body shot upward to some twenty meters above the earth in an instant.
‘Perfect, absolutely perfect!’
With the full moon floating directly overhead feeling nearly within reach, he broke into uncontrollable laughter.
“Ahahahahaha!”
Thwack-thwack-thwack-boom.
When the Great Sword swept through empty air with nothing but raw strength—the weightless void offering no purchase for his center of gravity—it split the air with brutal grace.
Thud.
Snap-snap-snap.
The four chains bounced off the ground before his body even landed, launching him skyward again.
By bending and gripping nearby branches and trunks, they allowed him to move in three dimensions through empty space itself.
“Yes, yes, yes, yes!”
A sense of omnipotence—as though he could do anything at all.
Each movement sent electric thrills through his nerves, a sharp exhilaration that burned through every nerve ending.
In this moment, he’d forgotten that he was hunting the Heretical Order, his sworn enemy; forgotten his worries about an uncertain future.
How long had he wandered in this trance?
Clap, clap, clap.
Applause echoed from the corner of the clearing.
‘Damn.’
He was supposed to stand watch, not get lost in this midnight acrobatics routine—he’d gotten far too caught up in the moment.
Muno hurried to stop his sword, his body dropping back to solid ground.
Clink-clink.
Thump.
As he retrieved the chains, he tried to land as quietly as possible, but the unfamiliar weight of his expanded Leather Armor caught him off balance, and his feet struck the earth with an audible crack, leaving deep impressions in the soil.
Muno imprinted that clumsiness in his mind, then bowed his head to his companion, whose rest he’d just disturbed with his carelessness.
“My apologies. I got carried away and made too much noise.”
“No, no—I wasn’t sleeping anyway. That was quite a show.”
Unlike Muno, Klam’s complexion was still pallid, yet he smiled faintly.
“But that’s not just a magic-use Artifact, is it?”
The words made Muno flinch.
He’d been uneasy anyway about keeping secrets from the man who’d saved his life.
‘Should I just tell him the truth?’
In that moment of internal conflict—
Klam continued, his tone one of genuine admiration as he looked at him—or rather, at the Leather Armor covering his limbs.
“Something like that is basically a melee-combat-only Artifact. Any ordinary 1st or 2nd Rank Knight wouldn’t stand a chance against it.”
“Ah…….”
“I have no idea where Ryan found such an Artifact. Envious, really—both of him and of you, now that you’ve become its wielder. Those chains—are all four of them one set?”
Relief came with the question, but alongside it, a bitter taste lingered.
‘And yet I’ve become this strong…….’
Still, from the perspective of a 4th Rank Knight like Klam, Muno’s movements—barely 2nd Rank—couldn’t possibly escape his eye.
Even when he’d used Acceleration against those bandits, he’d been compared to Karina.
At least he could be grateful that Klam marveled at the abilities he’d lied about, attributing them to an Artifact.
“Yes… that’s right. It’s all one set.”
“What’s its name?”
“Pardon?”
“An Artifact with that level of performance surely must have a name.”
“That is… well…….”
“Hmm. If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. I’ll just keep wondering…….”
“The… Black Knight.”
“What?”
“The Black Knight.”
Heat rushed to his face as he spoke.
He felt the name he’d improvised sounded terribly juvenile.
At least he’d restrained himself from spouting the first overwrought, teenage-fantasy word that had come to mind.
“The Black Knight? That’s the Artifact’s name?”
“Yes. I named it that way. Because it’s black, you see.”
“You named it yourself?”
“…Yes.”
“It’s a good name. Suits it well.”
Huh?
‘Now that you approve, somehow it sounds even stranger.’
Damn it all.
“By the way, how is your body? You’re not losing sleep because of your wounds, are you?”
As the conversation born from his lie threatened to drag on longer, Muno hurried to change the subject.
“I’m fine. By the time we arrive tomorrow, the visible wounds should be almost healed. Of course, to move as explosively as you do, I’ll need a few more days.”
When Klam’s curious gaze turned toward Muno’s body, he could only respond with an awkward laugh.
“Ah. Ha-ha, I got off lighter than…….”
“And yet you’re healing faster than me, a 4-Star Knight? You said you don’t even have Regeneration.”
“Well, I’ve always had an unusual constitution, I suppose.”
This was why one lie bred another.
Continuing to deceive the one person who treated him with nothing but kindness, Muno felt cold sweat trickling down his spine.
And yet.
“……Let’s just leave it at that, shall we.”
Watching Klam turn away with a faint smile, Muno found himself wondering if perhaps this middle-aged Knight saw through him all along—and was simply pretending not to.
‘He really is someone worth respecting.’
And yet.
“If you’ve got such an unusual constitution, what happens if you split in half? Do you become two people or something?”
He still hadn’t gotten used to this sort of unfunny jest.
Ignoring him was the only answer.
“You should get some rest. You said we needed to reach Konnel before the City Gate closes tomorrow evening.”
“You’re the one who woke me up, and now you won’t even laugh at my jokes?”
“You said you weren’t even sleeping in the first place.”
“That was then!”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means you’re spouting nonsense!”
“Ugh…….”
……So much for respect.
Muno had to restrain himself from smacking the back of that blue-haired middle-aged man’s head as he stood there chuckling to himself.
* * *
The next day.
Clop-clop. Clop-clop.
Now able to ride again, Klam maintained a grim expression throughout their rapid advance.
“Ugh. Still aching all over.”
Though he complained, the fact that an injury that should have left an ordinary person dead or permanently disabled had healed in just five days was proof enough that he too was an authentic superhuman.
“The blood’s not seeping through, at least. It seems to have healed properly. We should pick up the pace.”
“Cruel fellow…….”
“It was you who said we needed to arrive before sunset.”
“Not Knight, then—call me older brother! Good grief, you make me feel the distance…….”
An involuntary laugh escaped him.
“Your personality’s completely different from when we first met…….”
“I told you! I’ve already been more than hospitable.”
“Well, I don’t mind. But are you really sure about this?”
“Of course! When men have walked through life and death together, that’s enough to call each other brother and friend!”
“Then you should use formal speech with my father…….”
“Ah……. Ahem, well. Come to think of it, even among comrades, there has to be a hierarchy.”
Snort.
Klam’s feigned indifference made him seem like a completely different person from his first impression in Trian, but Muno found he preferred this version.
Yet the atmosphere they found upon arriving at Konnel Fortress was far from what he’d expected.
“What……?”
Klam’s brow furrowed at the unexpected sight.
The late afternoon sun was just beginning to set.
The northern City Gate of Konnel, which should have been open at all times by custom, was completely sealed shut.
And the tall stone walls, nearly twenty meters high, bore visible signs of damage here and there.
“I thought you said this fortress served as a trading route between north and south? Didn’t you mention there would be many merchants coming and going?”
“……Something’s wrong. Let’s get closer.”
Neigh!
All trace of the playful demeanor Klam had shown moments before vanished as he urged his horse forward down the empty road.
And.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud.
As they drew near the City Gate.
Suddenly, arrows whistled down from the walls where torches had flickered to life, flying directly toward them.
Thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk.
Though there seemed no intent to hit them, the arrows struck the ground well ahead of their position.
Neigh!
A warning unmistakably clear.
They had no choice but to rein in their horses and stop.
“Open the gate! Klam, Vice-Captain of the Trian Knight Order, has arrived with his company to assist the Investigation Squad!”
Klam raised his Identification Badge and shouted. Only after a considerable silence did a figure appear atop the city wall.
But then.
— Throw down the badge. We’ll verify it.
The response that came from the wall made their faces darken in an instant.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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