The Knight Who Devours Magic - Chapter 54

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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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Episode 54. Who?
“A moment ago you looked like you were about to vomit, and now you’re eating just fine?”
Crunch, crunch.
“…Well, I need to survive first.”
I laughed off Chloe’s reproach lightly.
To be honest, the more I ate, the better it tasted.
Come to think of it, I’d heard that back in Korea, people used to eat snake meat a lot in the old days—there must have been a reason for it.
My gaunt body was slowly swelling a little at a time.
Most people wouldn’t have noticed, but Chloe, a 4-Star Knight with exceptional dynamic vision even among her class, was watching Munno with a strange expression.
“That’s… Dracen, isn’t it? A side effect?”
“…Yes.”
“I’ve seen it happen with Lian before, but it’s still remarkable.”
The Knights of Trian seemed to know almost everything about the Gluttony Body Technique.
But.
‘My father was in the Knight order back then—that’s at least ten years ago. Wouldn’t you have been around twenty at that time?’
Considering that the standard for a regular Knight in the Trian order was usually 2-Star, it meant that Chloe before me had become a 2-Star Knight before or around the age of twenty.
Well, considering that she looked to be in her early thirties now and was a 4-Star Knight, she was definitely a prodigy.
Just like Karina.
‘Trian really does have talented people.’
As I was newly struck with admiration while looking at Chloe.
“That weapon of yours seems incredible too. It’s an Artifact, right?”
Cough.
I nearly choked at Chloe’s mention of the armor covering my limbs, but I just averted my eyes and nodded vaguely.
“Yes, well. For now, anyway.”
“For now?”
Oh no.
I felt a twinge of anxiety for a moment, but Chloe simply laughed it off with a snort and moved past the subject.
“Right. Keep eating while I talk. The encouraging thing is that the two of us have a good chance of catching that Witch.”
“Of course!”
Crunch, crunch.
“The problem is, there’s no time to waste. That Witch flew away, but we have to chase on foot.”
Gulp.
“…I’m going to get indigestion at this rate.”
“Either way, we have to chase after her and finish this, don’t we?”
“…That’s true enough.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“…Weren’t you supposed to come up with one?”
At my words, Chloe’s expression turned savage again.
“Do I have to do all the thinking? Is your head just for decoration?”
Ahem.
“For now, we’ll just have to run after her. Her condition wasn’t normal to begin with, and since her ankle is broken, she can’t have gone far.”
“Her ankle?”
“When she was trying to escape, I tried to grab her, and she severed it herself.”
“Huh. That works in our favor.”
Mages are far more vulnerable to physical trauma, after all.
“We absolutely have to catch and kil—”
As I absent-mindedly answered Chloe’s muttering, something felt off.
Even though the target was supposedly a Witch, here we were—two Knights chasing after a single woman, plotting to run her through with our blades.
It felt like the kind of conversation two eerie murderous stalkers might have.
‘Am I….’
Cough.
“…What?”
“No, nothing.”
I was newly reminded that in this world, there is no gentle system called law to protect one’s life, as there had been in my past life.
‘If I don’t kill, I die in this world.’
I thought my fate was wretched, whether in my past life or now, but there was nothing to be done about it.
Moreover, now that woman could threaten my entire life not just with magic, but with her tongue alone.
What would happen if knowledge of my ability reached the Mage Empire through her words?
Like the priests who serve gods, mages are fanatics who worship demons—creatures they call Outer Gods.
To them, the ability of the Demon Devourer would be a blasphemy against their god.
In other words, it was blasphemy.
‘…armies might march down on us, and it wouldn’t be surprising.’
It was an extreme scenario to imagine, but if it came to pass, it wouldn’t just be his own life at risk—his family’s as well.
If such a thing truly happened, what was he supposed to do then?
For the sake of his family…
“…hey. Hey!”
“Y-yes!?”
“…what are you thinking so hard about?”
“Oh. Ah. No, that’s not it. What did you say?”
“I said we should get our bearings, then head to the nearest village or city to find horses.”
“…that sounds like a good plan.”
“But first, get your body back to normal. Eat.”
Chloe thrust another skewer of meat toward him, but—
Munno flinched and recoiled before he could accept it.
The smell was unbearable.
“What is this? It smells…rank.”
“Puma meat.”
“…is it safe to eat?”
“Your father would eat any meat without hesitation.”
“I’m not like him—I’m quite sensitive to smells…”
“Eat.”
“…yes.”
Right, that wasn’t what mattered here.
To catch that Witch, recovering his strength was the priority.
But the moment he grimaced and reached for the puma meat skewer, something strange caught his eye.
“Huh?”
“What?”
“Damn!”
Crack—crack—crack.
“Grrr.”
His entire body swelled with muscle again, fangs bared, as Chloe narrowed her eyes slightly and shifted her grip on her dagger—
Yet despite her readiness, Munno’s gaze remained fixed on the clear sky above.
“It’s vanishing! It’s vanishing!”
“What?”
“The Witch’s magical trace—damn it!”
Grrgh.
With a bestial cry, he lunged forward to chase the fading trace, only to collapse again mid-stride as his stomach let out a loud gurgle.
Thud.
Crash—bang—bang.
“Hagh?”
In the moment his ungainly frame shifted back with a sharp crack to what might have been his normal build, or perhaps even thinner—
Chloe sighed and thrust the meat skewer toward him once more.
“…just recover first.”
“B-but the trace…”
“Recovery comes first. We can pursue afterward.”
“I can’t wait! Other mages are one thing, but she’s different! That ‘Veil’ of hers—I can pierce through it normally. But if she makes up her mind to hide… it’s nearly impossible.”
Why hadn’t he thought of this sooner?
If that woman—the one whose Demonic Energy his Demon Devourer senses couldn’t even detect—was being tracked, she would certainly take immediate countermeasures.
“Then…”
“I can only tell that she went south.”
“…we’ve lost her.”
“…”
Munno couldn’t deny Chloe’s assessment.
‘Damn it, what am I supposed to do?’
His chest tightened with the anxiety that his fears from this morning might actually come true.
But then Chloe offered a different approach.
“If we can’t chase her directly, we need to find clues in what’s left behind.”
“…clues?”
“Here. This place.”
The moment Chloe pointed at the gaping cavity in the underground chamber, Munno still couldn’t fully grasp what she meant.
“I’ll bring people worth chasing. Rest while you wait for them.”
“I’m sorry?”
I can’t even chase them myself—what do you mean? Chase who?
Munno was bewildered, but Chloe seemed to have no intention of elaborating further.
“A day and a half to get there, half a day back… that should do it. So just wait.”
“But what if their remnants come again…?”
“You can handle them. If something too strong shows up, you can always hide.”
“Hide?”
“You absorb Magical Aura through those Metal Chains, right? You can’t absorb Detection Magic?”
“Ah…”
The memory suddenly surfaced—meeting Amerus again in Dracen.
Back then, he had absorbed Amerus’s Detection Magic meant to probe the surroundings, disrupting it entirely, and Amerus had never even noticed.
“…Yes, I can.”
He’d forgotten, but that method was indeed possible.
“Why do you look like that?”
“Oh, no. I just realized an unexpected solution to something I was worrying about…”
“What?”
Chloe tilted her head curiously, but Munno had no intention of explaining either.
‘Even if mages chase me, as long their means are magical, I can neutralize it all.’
Even if his ability were to become known to the Mage Empire, he could simply flee.
Especially.
‘I can leave false traces and cross the border.’
If worst came to worst, he could abandon this kingdom where his family lived and slip away to another nation, or even deep within the Empire itself.
‘Then at least no war would break out.’
He’d live as a fugitive from then on—hardly an appealing prospect—but at least he could avoid the worst nightmare he’d imagined.
Of course, he’d prefer that situation never arose at all.
“…Anyway, just wait two days. Focus on recovery if you can. To be honest, I don’t think those bastards will come back here.”
“Yes.”
With his heart somewhat lighter, Munno could nod with genuine vigor.
* * *
“Hah!”
Swoosh!
With a kiai, his arm swept through the air, and a dart-shaped “blade” shot forth from his fingertips like lightning.
It zigzagged through the densely packed trees and struck the nape of a massive fleeing boar, burrowing deep.
Thud.
“Squeal!”
The strike had been shallow.
The boar, spraying blood, leaped instinctively to flee into the forest—before the “blade” lodged in its wound sent black roots burrowing into its veins.
“Ugh…”
The instant the black veins spread toward the boar’s head and lungs, it stumbled forward only a few more steps before collapsing where it stood.
Thump.
And in that moment, Munno was already examining the wound he’d created.
“…The appearance is rather grim. Tch…”
As if cursed by hexing magic, black veins spread across the boar’s neck. Its corpse lay grotesque.
But when Munno reached out, the black veins issued a sharp hiss and pierced back through the skin, transforming into a dart that settled into his palm.
Fresh blood streamed anew from the boar’s body.
Whoosh.
With a light gesture from Munno, the dart-shaped “blade” in his hand reformed into a massive Two-Handed Sword, which settled across his back.
All of this was another achievement gained from hunting the mages in the Cave.
‘Second Spell, “Form Transformation.” Complete.’
A Spell that maintained the power and mass of Mana infused in his first Spell, the “blade,” while altering its shape.
It seemed simple at first glance, but the ability to freely transform the blade from a liquid-metal state into any weapon form would be an enormous advantage in combat.
Just imagining a sword suddenly bending like a whip and striking—how many at his level could even deflect such an attack?
“Excellent.”
His Enhanced Body Arts hadn’t reached a higher tier, so the Armor and Metal Chains remained unchanged in form and volume. Yet his physical abilities had undeniably risen dramatically compared to before entering the Cave.
Enough to keep pace comfortably with a charging boar through the mountains.
‘I think I might actually be faster than a horse in terrain like this.’
On flat ground, it would be different, and endurance would matter—but that was a concern for another day.
Some high-ranking Knights preferred running on foot to riding after all; now he was beginning to glimpse why.

– Typically you reach Class 2 around the time you complete your third Spell. As for what changes… well, you’ll figure it out for yourself.
According to Lasmia, reaching Class 2 in Spirit Arts wasn’t far away now.
‘I’m definitely growing. And fast.’
That thought eased the tightness in his chest, if only a little.
So for now.
“Let’s eat. Pork is always the best.”
Whoosh.
Four thick black Metal Chains shot forward with force, lifting the massive wild boar clean into the air.
The weight — easily three or four hundred kilograms — didn’t strain him in the slightest.
He’d been cautious at first, but over the past two days, only wild animals had ventured near the collapsed cave.
His footsteps felt lighter as he turned back toward the ruined cave.
But then.
– Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud.
A tremor rose faintly from below the mountain, and a dull sound reached his ears.
“Hm?”
He sharpened his senses, sweeping his gaze across the horizon.
Dozens of mounted riders came galloping toward him in a single line.
‘Could it be…’
Thud.
Thinking they might be enemies, he dropped the boar to the ground.
“Ah… Chloe.”
The moment he made out the face leading the dozens of cavalry, the tension drained from him.
In its place bloomed a keen curiosity.
“Who are these…?”
The band of Knights riding beside Chloe, clad in spotless white Armor, were certainly not from the Trian order.

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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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