The Knight Who Devours Magic - Chapter 8

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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 8. Pursuit
Muno stepped out of the Training Ground and exhaled in relief.
‘I didn’t hear that. No, I definitely didn’t hear any of it.’
His mother’s nagging about party etiquette and choosing a suitable bride still grazed the edges of his mind.
‘Ugh…….’
Grinning and laughing with strangers, making false gestures of politeness—it truly wasn’t suited to his nature.
‘Fighting would be better than this.’
Just then.
A sharp throb.
“Ah, damn…….”
The pain in his left side, where the blade had pierced through, surged anew and swept away his idle thoughts with a spike of anger.
‘I should have snapped Ilai’s neck when I had the chance, that bastard…….’
Entertaining that useless thought, he examined the wound and found the blood flow already considerably reduced.
Despite the blade having run clean through him, it was already healing of its own accord.
At this rate, it seemed he’d be fully mended by morning.
‘……Clearly, this isn’t normal either.’
This wasn’t the recovery speed of an ordinary human.
Even by the standard of a Body-Reinforcement Master, it was abnormal.
‘I’ve heard some specialize in rapid recovery.’
But his nature wasn’t of that sort, yet his healing was this extraordinary.
Moreover, when he’d successfully executed Wind Cutting, the energy he’d expended seemed to be something other than heat—something altogether different.
‘It must be Demonic Power.’
The power of demons. More precisely, the distorted, anomalous force that warped this world in unnatural ways.
His body contained not only an unnaturally superior healing capacity but also this special energy alongside it.
– Body-Reinforcement Technique is interference with physical evolution. Even one whose mind has evolved—well, that’s just brain evolution in the end.
– But you’ve consumed a spiritual entity from an entirely different dimension, a demon. What you’ve done clearly transcends the limits of Body-Reinforcement Technique.
– So be all the more careful. Don’t let the Mages discover you. And…….
‘……don’t let that power consume you.’
Crunch.
Even with his fist loosely clenched, he felt tremendous power thrumming through it.
His body, once already formidable, had now evolved to a degree whose hidden potential he could scarcely fathom.
“……Well, in any case, this is good.”
Honestly, even in his past life, before arriving in Drasen Territory, he’d endured far too much misery.
This fantasy world’s existence was hardly comfortable compared to his previous life—in fact, it was burdened with inconvenience at every turn.
Yet if there was something good about this world, it was that by training his own will, he could gain superhuman strength.
And the power he’d obtained now was so extraordinary that even his father, a formidable Body-Reinforcement Master, claimed to know nothing of its source.
‘The shortcut to the life I desire lies within myself.’
So rather than worry about warnings of being consumed by that power, he found himself purely elated by his strengthened form.
The only thing he needed to be careful about was that murderous impulse that had surged so violently when Ilai attacked him.
Even now, whenever the pain of his wound crept up again, the urge to turn back and kill Ilai would surface.
But compared to the power he’d gained, that was merely a trivial side effect.
‘As long as I control it well.’
Unlike others, he was already accustomed to dividing his consciousness in two—such a thing posed no real difficulty for him.
The Demon Devourer trait was the greatest trump card, granting him something he’d yearned for since his past life.
‘This time, unlike in my previous life, I won’t have to end as a powerless man.’
That realization filled him with profound satisfaction.
The freedom to choose his own path.
In this world, raw power would be the foundation that made such choice possible.
From now on, until Rian became the official heir, he would cultivate his strength through training and find how to repay the family’s favor.
After that, he intended to travel and see this vast world.
‘A human life truly begins with a journey…….’
Travel experience.
That was one of two great distinctions between Han Munho and an ordinary person.
In his past life, he’d yearned for it but never achieved it—now, after a long journey to see the world, he would set his next life’s goal.
For that to happen, even a Coming-of-Age Party he could endure, but an engagement absolutely not——.
‘Ah, this isn’t the time for such thoughts.’
The trace of Demonic Aura suddenly grew faint, and that long chain of musing, starting from the wound, scattered like wind.
“Focus.”
Pat.
Muno gave himself a light tap on the cheek, then concentrated his mind once more on the trace of Demonic Aura.
He’d escaped the Training Ground like a man fleeing a fire, but the traces Muno followed were no false lead.
The trail of Demonic Aura streaming from Ilai’s head laid bare the exact path the knight had taken.
‘The spell hasn’t been active long. If a Mage truly exists, they’re close. Focus.’
He had to complete the pursuit before the traces faded entirely.
Muno’s body tore down the path Ilai had marked.
Toward the Inner Castle’s Training Ground—but only through those sections where no eyes would fall upon him. Whoever had planned this ambush knew the castle’s bones well enough to exploit them.
And where that path ended was—
‘A residence?’
The Knights’ Residence. Nine mansions stood here, three stories tall—structures better suited to a great city than to a minor holding. Even within the Inner Castle of modest Drasen, these dwellings consumed more space than the lord’s own keep.
A realm unto themselves, separated by his father’s decree—the knights’ private domain.
‘He launched his attack straight from his own home?’
The logic eluded him, but retreat was no longer an option now that he’d come this far.
Then the night watch moved to block his path.
“Halt! Who goes there—ugh!?”
A grizzled soldier had begun his challenge when the torchlight caught the young prince’s face, and his words crumbled into a stammering apology.
Muno recognized him—Rom, a veteran of several recent sorties against the monster-infested lands.
“S-sir, what brings you to this quarter at such an hour?”
“Did Ilai come through here not long ago?”
“What? No, sir. He didn’t.”
The moment Muno spoke the knight’s name, Rom’s composure fractured—though Muno had no time to dwell on it.
A far graver complication stood before him.
“He didn’t?”
“No, sir. Save for Rodney, who holds the night watch, no one has departed these residences for the past hour.”
So Ilai had left without their knowing. Interesting.
“Stand aside. I’ll search myself.”
“I cannot permit it, sir.”
“You cannot?”
“No, sir. The Knights’ Residence is sacred ground—exclusive to the knights themselves. Even your father does not cross its threshold without formal leave. Should you require entry, you must first obtain permission.”
The soldiers sweated profusely, yet their stance remained adamant, forming a wall before him.
“Though, if the young prince commands it—”
“What’s this? Your hair changes color and suddenly you gain sense?”
“This ‘awakening’ business—surely it doesn’t affect one’s head as well—”
He heard every word. Every damned word.
Muno chose not to dignify the muttering soldiers behind him with a response.
Instead, his mind circled back to what Rom had just reminded him of—the peculiar circumstances of Drasen Territory itself.
‘That’s right.’
Tsch.
In the far north of the Airen Kingdom, adjacent to the Northern Mountains—a region half-cursed as a Demonic Domain—Drasen Territory held barely a thousand households, even counting those who tilled the land beyond the walls.
With such meager resources, there was no question of granting individual knights their own estates and retainers, as wealthier lands could afford.
Yet knights were desperately needed, so to enfeoff nine of them, his father had constructed nine three-story mansions—the sort one saw only in great cities—and granted them sovereignty over their own quarters.
Complete autonomy over their private spaces.
But this was no time to ruminate on such arrangements.
“Knight Ilai attacked me in the Training Ground moments ago. I’ve apprehended him.”
“What!?”
“Yet you claim to have seen nothing of him, and now you block my investigation—is that your final word?”
“That is—we—”
At Muno’s sharp retort, the soldiers’ faces went ashen.
The weight of his words had struck them like a sword.
Then a new voice cut through the tension.
“Knight Ilai attacked you, you say?”
Muno turned toward the speaker and saw a massive armored figure emerge from the darkness—a knight of tremendous bulk.
“…Rodney?”
“I would prefer the proper title, young prince. ‘Knight’ Rodney, if you please. It is a courtesy your father himself observes.”
A towering figure of some two meters, massive halberd gripped in one enormous fist.
Muno’s expression froze further still.
“That courtesy is a luxury you’ve forfeited. You cling to your commission from Trian while refusing to swear loyalty to Drasen, yet pocket our gold all the same. I don’t waste honorifics on mercenaries.”
Rodney’s bear-like face twitched at the words.
“I hear your awakening has sharpened your mind considerably. What I did not anticipate is that it would coarsen your character as well. Your new hair color seems to have brought such changes in its wake.”
Another tiresome antagonist. Precisely as Muno remembered.
This one had arrived from Trian Territory roughly a year prior, and like Ilai, whispers of scandal had trailed him ever since.
But whereas Ilai had regularly picked fights with Muno ever since that one crushing defeat, this newcomer—already a 2-Star Knight when he’d arrived in Drasen Territory—had ignored him outright from the start.
Of course, the fact that those two got along wasn’t exactly a secret, so there was no chance of anything pleasant coming from Muno’s mouth.
“And the way you talk to the lord’s son—did you cook this whole thing up with Ilai? Two 2-Star Knights at once would be mildly inconvenient for me.”
At that, Rodney’s face twitched again.
“I don’t know what’s happened, but you’re making a serious mistake right now, Young Master.”
The words came grinding out between clenched teeth, and Muno let out a bitter laugh.
“Me?”
“Yes. If we take your words at face value, you’re claiming to have overpowered Ilai alone—but that doesn’t make sense to begin with.”
It was perfectly reasonable logic, but Muno had no time for a pointless show of force against Rodney right now.
“And this doesn’t convince you?”
Muno opened the side of his Training Armor to reveal a wound.
At that confident gesture, Rodney’s eyes twitched again—but then he caught sight of the wound and let out a soft snort of laughter.
“……If a scratch is the proof that you survived an ‘assault’ by a 2-Star Knight, then I could show you a dozen more right here.”
At those words, Muno’s gaze naturally drifted to the man’s own side, and his face twisted.
“Ha…….”
The wounds were nearly healed.
His ribs were still throbbing underneath, though.
‘Damn.’
A sigh threatened, but he was sick of wasting time like this.
The traces of Demonic Aura were fading by the moment.
“You’ll understand the situation once you see it for yourself. I need to check Ilai’s residence. If there’s any falsehood in my words, I’ll answer for it afterward. Move.”
But.
“I cannot allow that.”
“What?”
“You are currently trespassing into a space reserved for knights alone by the lord’s permission, and you’ve defamed Ilai’s honor as well. We cannot simply let this pass with a promise to take responsibility later.”
This stubborn bastard wouldn’t listen to reason.
Even now, the Demonic Aura’s traces were fading away—it felt like a Mage slipping through his fingers right before his eyes.
He couldn’t take it anymore.
‘Tch.’
He’d never liked the man much anyway.
“Take a rest, Rodney.”
Whirrr—!
“Huh!?”
A black Iron Chain unwound from Muno’s ankle and coiled around Rodney’s leg, throwing off his balance—
—and in that instant, Muno’s fist drove straight into the man’s jaw.
Crack!
He’d put enough force behind it to knock him cold.
“How dare you!”
But Rodney, about to stumble backward, somehow kept his footing, and with his eyes half-rolled back, he swung his Halberd down at Muno.
Whoooosh!
A massive axe-blade materialized before his eyes in a heartbeat.
‘This bastard—?’
Clang!
Muno drew his Greatsword and parried the Halberd, then drove at Rodney and drove his knee up toward the man’s solar plexus.
Crack!
“Ugh—”
It connected solidly.
Seeing the strength drain from the hand gripping the Halberd, Muno spun to turn away—
“Uuaaaagh!”
“Huh!?”
Rodney charged after him and wrapped his now-empty hands around Muno’s waist.
Crack.
He bore down with wild strength, his grip tightening around the ribs with crushing force.
The moment pain flared through him, Muno’s mind burned hot again.
— Kill. Kill! Kill!—
That rage welling up from the depths of his chest demanded he pulverize his opponent without mercy.
‘Shut up.’
But instead of burying his Greatsword between Rodney’s shoulder blades as his impulses screamed, Muno gritted his teeth and drove his elbow back hard into the man’s skull.
Bang!
“Ugh—”
With a sound like two massive blunt weapons colliding, Rodney’s body, which had been bearing down on Muno, crumpled to the ground.
Thud.
“Hah…….”
And only then did the soldiers’ screams burst forth.
“M-My lord!?”
“Sir Rodney!?”
“Quiet. He’s merely unconscious. Stand aside, all of you. I’ll take responsibility.”
“But…….”
“If you let the enemy escape, I’ll hold you accountable!!”
Irritation flared, and he barked the words out sharply.
“Ugh, ughhhh…….”
The voice of the man who had clearly fallen sounded again from behind him.
He spun around, startled, and there was Rodney, unsteadily getting to his feet once more.
“Damn it…….”
Was this man actually a bear?
It struck him anew that reaching 2-Star Knight was no simple task.
He was about to raise his hand again when—
“Principles are principles…….”
Seeing the man spout such words with eyes almost completely rolled back, he had no choice but to hesitate.
‘He really doesn’t seem like a villain, does he.’
He felt oddly as though he’d become the antagonist himself.
Click.
“Follow if you can.”
Muno spat out the irritable words and turned toward the residence where he could sense Ilai’s presence.
Whoosh.
And while the soldiers moved belatedly to open the door, he stretched the Iron Chains from his limbs and hooked them straight onto the wall above.
Crack.
The four long, blunt Iron Chains—responding to his will faster than his own limbs could move—catapulted his body powerfully into the empty space above the wall.
“Huh!?”
“What the—”
Muno landed on the mansion roof, ignoring the soldiers’ startled cries, and began rushing toward the building where he sensed traces of Demonic Aura.
Thud-thud-thud.
‘Should’ve done this from the start, damn it.’
Though he’d already made enough of a commotion, the possibility that a Mage might still be present spurred him to move at maximum speed.
But what he found upon entering Ilai’s chamber was—
only a faint Demonic Aura seeping from the fragments of a Crystal Orb the size of a fist.

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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
—————