Chapter 9
Seeing Dullahan dismount, Leon took it as confirmation that his guess had been right.
"As expected, a knight of honor."
Leon summoned a sword from thin air. It was an iron sword, old but imbued with a sturdy aura.
He had no armor. After years of ceaseless warfare, the armor forged for him by Heto, god of iron and smithing, had finally been destroyed.
Looking at Dullahan, holding a greatsword in one hand with its head tucked at its waist, Leon offered a word of consideration.
"You may set your head aside. Your swordsmanship is surely meant for a two-handed sword. A true duel cannot be held if you wield it with one hand."
"Um... Your Majesty."
Hari approached cautiously.
"What is it?"
"That... Dullahan won't die unless its head is cut off."
"And?"
And? How on earth did he intend to defeat Dullahan without cutting off its head?
"It makes no difference. What determines the victor is a knight's honor."
No, that's what I'm saying—it won't die! Leon brushed Hari's words aside and watched Dullahan hand its head to a Skeleton and take up its sword in both hands.
"I am the first knight of Ariana, Goddess of Light and Justice; Grand Duke of Dragonia and Lionheart King. I grant an honorable knight permission to challenge me."
It was just as his anachronistic introduction and haughty declaration came to an end.
Despite its clanking armor, Dullahan closed the distance in an instant and brought its greatsword down in a crushing slash.
A dizzying crash rang out, but Leon wasn't even scratched by the greatsword. The blades pressed against each other, locked in a contest of strength.
"H-his strength is evenly matched?"
As Manager Kim recovered his footing, Hari inwardly disagreed.
Leon wielded an ordinary longsword. Dullahan's, on the other hand, was a greatsword twice its size. Even with the advantage of striking down from above with its full weight behind it, Leon didn't budge in the slightest.
'How can he be that strong...'
Leon was overpowering Dullahan in sheer strength. If anything, Leon was the one at ease in that situation.
Dullahan gripped the blade and tried to bring it down with all its might. But at that instant, Leon twisted his sword to deflect the blade and instantly engaged Dullahan in sword grappling, aiming for its chest—its heart.
"One."
No one needed to be told what that declaration meant. Dullahan took two steps back and spun around.
Its greatsword, carrying all its weight, swept through the air with a gale-force rush. A blow powerful enough to smash through any defense.
At first, it seemed Leon caught the blow with his blade, but he pressed down with the pommel instead. His longsword, driven deep into the ground, stopped the greatsword in its tracks.
-······!
The next moment, Leon's foot struck Dullahan in the chest. It was less a swift kick than a push with his foot. Yet, for some reason, Dullahan's stance crumpled, and it fell on its backside.
Leon immediately leveled his sword and spoke.
"Two."
The Hunters who had watched the whole sequence couldn't understand what had just happened.
Leon's kick had looked like little more than a light shove. And yet Dullahan's stance had collapsed.
Anyone watching might have thought Dullahan had gone easy on Leon.
"What on earth just happened?"
"......Amazing."
"Hari?"
In the midst of it all, Hari was the only one who understood what had just happened.
She had studied the sword for a long time, a promising kendo talent since childhood.
When people talked about boxing or swordsmanship, it might seem like all you had to do was punch well or swing a blade well, but every martial art emphasized certain principles.
The subtle art of shifting one's stance and center of gravity, anchored in the lower body like roots.
Even a light jab or a wrist strike thrown as a feint began with the lower body's center of gravity.
What Leon had done was disrupt that center of gravity.
'At first glance, it looked like he'd focused his strength in his right leg as he kicked, but the real trick was his left foot, planted on the ground. He used mana to send a sharp, air-splitting crack through the ground, creating tiny tremors within a 2.5-meter radius.'
A technique that shook the ground through nothing more than a change in foot placement. It was a double-edged sword, disrupting the opponent's stance while also throwing one's own off balance.
Leon had performed it with complete ease, breaking Dullahan's stride.
With its center of gravity thrown off, all the kick did was nudge someone who was already standing right at the edge of a cliff.
He had naturally performed the subtle principle behind such an intricate technique in that brief moment.
"Get your stance back."
Dullahan clanked as it rose again. The same thing happened after that.
* * * *
The death knight Dullahan was a knight who pursued honor and glory.
But it had been cursed by a necromancer and made commander of an undead army.
Now that the necromancer's control had vanished, all it could do was hole up in this strange place and repel intruders.
Repeating that tedious task, it had once again led its army to drive off the intruders.
This time, there were a few fairly strong humans among them, but none were particularly impressive.
"Excellent!"
Except for one man.
The man who called himself Leon Dragonia Lionheart.
He had boldly demanded a knight's duel.
It had been a very long time.
A knight who treated it as a knight and challenged it to a duel.
But there was a good chance this was a ploy to turn the tide against a bunch of weaklings. Anyone would have thought so upon hearing the proposal that it dismount.
But Dullahan would have been furious at anyone foolish enough to say such a thing, telling them not to sully a knight's honor.
Look at him.
Look at that knight.
The bearing of a veteran who had crossed countless battlefields, and his upright posture. The star-bright eyes of one who pursued honor and renown.
He was the very pinnacle of honor that knights aspired to.
The king of knights, whom all knights should revere and challenge.
How could anyone look at him and think he was resorting to some trick?
"Three. Will you continue?"
-······.
The third time it had been struck. Anyone watching might have said it was unfair, since the armor would have blocked the blow anyway.
But Dullahan knew. If this man had wanted to crush it, he could have done so at any time.
This knight, an idol to all knights, had taught it a lesson and restored its honor.
And so Dullahan, a knight, could not help but be moved.
Was this knight, this Lionheart King... treating it, fallen into undeath, with honor?
It possessed the powerful abilities of a death knight.
The death armor that reduced all physical damage by up to 80%.
The evil-eye spell circle its head could use.
The Bone General, who could rally the Skeleton soldiers, and more.
These were the powerful abilities it had gained upon becoming a death knight. But it didn't want to use a single one of them.
It wanted only to be a knight, upright and without sorcery, crossing swords with another.
It wanted to cross swords with this man again and again.
Just as it once had, when it had roamed the world honorably and crossed blades with renowned knights—a life it had long since forgotten.
"Ten times now. Your swordsmanship grows more refined with each exchange. Have you managed to recall your memories from life?"
Ah.
O honorable knight.
Dullahan understood this knight's intent.
He had treated it not as a wretched servant of a necromancer, but as a knight, and returned to it the days of its glory.
"Will you continue, knight?"
Dullahan had the Skeletons bring its head over. Then it knelt on one knee and offered him its head.
It was a complete surrender, placing its fate in Leon's hands.
"Excellent. I am overjoyed that you have reclaimed your honor."
Leon laid a hand on Dullahan's head, which it had offered with both hands. Then he spoke in a solemn voice.
"I shall pray for you. If you have a god you worship, may that god grant your soul peace. If not, may the goddess guide you at least to the edge of her garden."
How long had it spent in slaughter?
How long had it repeated battles without honor?
"May I meet this fine knight at the banquet of the gods."
Dullahan was moved by this knight, who treated it as a knight despite its fall into undeath, prayed for it, and blessed it.
"Let there be light."
Light shone from Leon's hand. Dullahan sensed that the warmth was guiding it. At the final moment, it made every Skeleton collapse and bowed in reverence to Leon.
-Glory to Leon Dragonia Lionheart!
Its soundless reverence echoed through the dungeon.
* * * *
The dungeon boss, the death knight Dullahan, had fallen.
Normally, that wouldn't be the end. Even after defeating the boss, if there were still lesser monsters, they needed time to calmly clean them up.
"He kept his promise..."
"H-he really ended it with a duel."
At the final moment, Dullahan had brought down the undead army of its own will.
It had accepted its end, bowing before Leon as if worshiping him in sincere gratitude.
"W-what was that light just now? I think he said, 'Let there be light.'"
"......Wasn't that divine power?"
No Awakened possessed divine power. Even survivors, though they claimed the gods existed, had never revealed proof that they were real.
But the power with which Leon had just purified Dullahan in an instant could only be explained as divine power—the natural enemy of undead and demons that people had only seen in novels and manga.
"Uh... If you had a skill like that, you could've used it from the start."
Hari couldn't say it outright, but she voiced what everyone was probably thinking.
"Had I done so, that honorable knight would have met its end as an undead."
To help Dullahan regain its memories as a knight? To make it accept death of its own accord?
"A knight is, by nature, one who follows honor and renown. Honor comes from one's actions, and actions from carrying out one's will. A noble knight would naturally have done the same."
Hari couldn't fully understand Leon's words. She had a lot she wanted to say.
An uncertain possibility.
The damage if it failed.
Irrational actions and illogical claims that didn't account for risk.
But she didn't think she needed to say any of that aloud.
This man would act that way as if it were only natural, even knowing all of it.
This was not reason, but emotion.
Not logic, but instinct.
Not rationality, but a flower blooming amid the unreasonable.
Everyone knew that, and so could not imitate it. That was why it was a beautiful flower.
"Hmm, shall we go claim our spoils now?"
"Uh... yes?"
"After a battle, one should naturally claim the spoils. Lead the way. You can decide for yourselves which things are valuable."
That day, as they closed the dungeon, the Hunters from the Association came into possession of unexpected spoils.
[Dullahan's Cloak]
[Dullahan's Greatsword]
[Necromancer's Orb]
As well as mana stones and other loot hastily collected after the dungeon boss died.
"Wow! Look at this orb! I can tell at a glance it's brimming with mana! We could sell this for a fortune—"
"This is a profane trinket belonging to worthless vermin. Such an object will only cause discord."
-Crack!
Correction.
[Dullahan's Cloak]
[Dullahan's Greatsword]
Other mana stones and such.
There had been a minor disturbance while claiming the spoils, but the Honam Plain Gate had been cleared successfully.
Not only had the plain polluted by miasma been purified, but they had witnessed the tremendous miracle of the blessed rice, and perfectly cleared a Scarlet-ranked Gate.
The Firebird Guild and Lee Yongwan, who had watched it all, left with gritted teeth. For now, it was time to celebrate this joyful occasion together.
The only problem arose from an entirely unexpected quarter.
"Um... Your Majesty. Y-you have to pay taxes."
"Ahem! How can a king pay taxes to another country's king?! These are entirely my spoils! Taxing them would violate proper order!"
"N-no, you don't have to pay in cash. You can pay the tax with mana stones from the loot..."
"A king does not count coins. Why would a king discuss what his underlings should be doing?"
"Then, Your Majesty! What are we supposed to dooo?!"
"There is no need to report this to your king. It would be best simply to respect each other's honor."
"Y-you really won't pay even a single coin in taxes?"
"Enough about coins. It is beneath my station."
The Hunter Association employees looked at Leon stubbornly insisting on rank, and all thought the same thing.
''This bastard... Isn't he even worse than the Firebird Guild?''