Chapter 123: Silent Knight
Kael took back his longsword and threw it into the liquid chest as he stared at the woman who stood before him, the one who appeared in that strange vision with Mr. Handsome.
Then, the corpse of the disgusting creature fell onto the wooden floor.
He wasn't expecting to meet her like this, not so suddenly and not in a situation like this either. He had wanted to find her, to uncover the meaning behind that strange vision which he suspected to be something that might happen in the future, something that took place within the seal as well.
Of course, that was nothing more than his own theory, a thought born out of his confusion. But now that she was standing right in front of him, he had no idea what to even ask her anymore.
The woman tilted her head slightly as if studying him. "Strange… you look oddly familiar to me. Have we crossed paths before, kid?"
Kael blinked, his brows twitching at that word. "Did she just call me a kid? Seriously? In what possible way do I look like a kid to her?"
The woman stepped forward, her movements composed and heavy, and looked toward the body of Celeste... or at least it seemed that way since her eyes were hidden behind the narrow slit of her helm.
Her voice carried a slight concern. "Isn't she the guild receptionist, Celeste, if I'm not mistaken? Is she alright?"
Kael sat back with his hand behind him and scratched the back of his head slowly. "Yeah, she's Celeste, and she's fine… mostly."
The woman nodded and turned her head toward him again, studying him in silence. Her navy-blue armor was just as he remembered it from that vision. It had a resemblance to the armor worn by the Knight Orders, but at the same time, it was clearly different. The emblem on her breastplate showed two swords clashing together, carved in intricate detail, and the sight of it somehow brought a wave of familiarity to him.
The woman let out a quiet sigh. "You still haven't answered my first question yet, kid."
Kael blinked again and let out a slow breath. "Oh, that. Yeah, we've met before, about a year ago or so I think. You saved me from an orc back then… though I doubt you'd remember something like that."
She touched her chin and tilted her head slightly as if trying to recall something from the past. "Oh, I remember you now. You were quite brave that day. You even stood up to that creature when you barely had a weapon to hold. And now, too, you're standing your ground again. You've got enough potential to become strong, that's for sure. Forgive me for interfering in your battle so suddenly. I was passing by when I heard a scream of a woman, and I couldn't just ignore it. When I arrived, I saw that thing attacking you, so I simply acted without thinking."
Kael instinctively raised a hand, forcing a polite smile on his face. "Ah, don't worry about that. I was about to lose my temper anyway, so you saved me some trouble. But, um… would you please stop calling me a kid?"
She chuckled softly, a sound that carried amusement. "But you look like one to me."
He stood up, brushing the dust off his clothes while narrowing his eyes slightly. "Do I? I'm not so sure about that. But just to be clear, I'm nineteen years old."
Her tone remained calm and steady. "Even so, you're still a kid, at least to me."
Kael sighed and looked at her with quiet irritation. The way she spoke reminded him too much of that vision. She had talked exactly like this back then... openly, freely, without any sense of suspicion, as though she was trying to tell him everything she could. It made him wonder if the woman standing before him now had already met that handsome man from the dream or if that moment had yet to come.
"That's highly unlikely," he thought silently, his eyes locked on her. "If I remember correctly, in the vision she spoke so easily without holding back, which means she probably met him not long before that moment. That must be the reason why she looked so calm. But now… I don't know what I should even say to her. I wanted to find her, yes, but what can I even tell her now? That I saw her in a strange vision inside a seal? She would never believe something like that. I'm not an oracle or anything like that."
Eventually, he turned his gaze away and kneeled beside Celeste's motionless body. Blood still clung to her clothes and pooled beneath her, though his healing magic had already sealed most of her wounds. Her breathing was steady, but weak, and a small part of her skin was still visible through the torn edges of her dress, pale under the sunlight.
While he thought silently, the woman's head moved around the room, examining every corner carefully before she finally spoke again. "We should get out of here as soon as possible. This place wasn't safe even before, with that dungeon nearby, but after today it's going to become suicidal to remain here."
Kael turned his head, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Why? What's going to happen today?"
The woman was silent for a long moment. Then she replied in a cold tone, "A Dungeon Break... is about to happen."
Kael froze, his eyes widening slightly. A Dungeon Break?
It wasn't that he had never heard of such a thing before, but it was something that happened extremely rarely. Dungeons were among the most mysterious and incomprehensible places in the entire world. There were countless strange regions scattered across the lands, like the Silent River or the Forest of Death, but those were places that people simply avoided. Dungeons were different. They could be explored, studied, mapped, and yet no one had ever discovered what truly lay behind their existence.
They appeared in places where the density of mana rose beyond its natural limit, creating an explosive reaction that tore a rift into another space. Once one appeared, adventurers had to enter it within a week to secure the first floor, otherwise, the monsters inside would begin to spill out, attacking anyone and anything nearby. That was exactly what had happened to this side of the town once before when the people failed to react in time. Many had died then, and those who survived had long since abandoned their homes, leaving only silence and ruins behind.
Regardless, the dungeon worked in an ecosystem of its own, creating new monsters for new challengers even after the previous ones had defeated the boss and providing magic stones as rewards. It went on like a cycle, repeating endlessly, maintaining a balance that no one dared to disturb.
But when that natural ecosystem was broken, either by some external force or perhaps due to a sudden drop in mana density, everything inside the dungeon started to change. The once orderly structure began to twist in chaos as the separate floors merged aimlessly with one another, the endless cycle broke altogether, and even the teleportation circles that were meant only for humans started to activate for monsters as well.
As a result, all kinds of creatures from different floors gathered in one place, giving rise to a new ruler among them known as the Dungeon Keeper. Under its command, the monsters no longer remained confined within the dungeon; instead, they began to march outward, attacking nearby towns and villages. That was how a Dungeon Break usually happened. Of course, such a phenomenon didn't occur overnight... it often took weeks, sometimes months, for the full chaos to unfold.
Kael let out a deep sigh. "Of course, now, all of it makes sense... just what exactly are these goblins doing here in this abandoned area. They must've come from the dungeon."
He gave a low chuckle afterward. "Well, let's get the hell out of this place as soon as we can."
He moved closer to Celeste and gently pulled her into his arms as his gaze softened for a brief moment.
Together, the blue-haired woman and the young man holding a woman in his hands began to descend the stairs, this time keeping their senses sharp and their guards up. When they reached the first floor, the woman took the lead, stepping forward to open the door that stood before them.
Kael called out from behind her, "Are you sure we should just walk out like that? Don't you think we should at least check the outside first, just to make sure it's safe?"
The woman glanced over her shoulder, her lips curling into a smile that seemed far too calm for the situation. "Don't worry... I'm here."
Kael blinked, confused by her words. "What the hell does that even mean? Is she being arrogant or what?" he thought to himself, but of course, he didn't dare say it aloud.
He had already learned not to test her patience, especially after what he had seen earlier. When she killed that goblin, he hadn't even sensed her presence approaching, nor had he noticed her sword move at all. In fact, when he saw her, the weapon was already sheathed, which could only mean she was either unbelievably fast or possessed some kind of special element that concealed her actions completely.
The woman grasped the door handle firmly and pulled. However, instead of simply opening the door, she ended up ripping the entire thing off its hinges with a harsh creak.
Kael blinked a couple of times in disbelief.
Then, without the slightest hint of surprise, the woman casually tossed the door aside as though it weighed nothing and turned her head to him with a dark smile. "You didn't see anything, right?"
Kael immediately shook his head. "See what? The door? Oh, come on, it was already half-broken when I got here... actually, I think I was the one who fixed it before with a kick, so maybe it just came loose again. I guess that's on me."
She nodded in satisfaction, her expression softening or so it seemed. "You're such an understanding kid, I like it."
Kael's brow twitched. "Why the hell does she keep calling me a kid again?" he muttered under his breath but decided it was better not to argue.
As the woman walked forward, he followed behind her out of the abandoned house, still holding Celeste securely in his arms. When he halted after coming outside, his eyes widened.
"Ugh... just my fucking luck..." he hissed between clenched teeth.
Before them, dozens of hobgoblins roamed aimlessly through the broken streets. Some were attempting to break into nearby houses, others wandered around restlessly, but the moment Kael and the two women stepped outside, every single one of those creatures froze in place, their glowing yellow eyes turning toward the three of them. Each of the humanoid monsters clutched a jagged weapon, their expressions full of bloodlust.
Kael's gaze drifted to the blue-haired woman beside him, who looked strangely calm, her eyes fixed somewhere to their left. At first, he didn't understand what she was looking at, but then he saw it too... just a few meters away, accompanied by several hobgoblins, was a creature that towered above them all.
The creature stood nearly three meters tall, its body layered with thick, corded muscles. Its skin was deep green streaked with patches of black, its fangs jutted out upward from a grotesque mouth, and its two orange eyes glowed with burning hatred. Strands of black hair hung around its face, and it wore nothing but a half-torn leather bottom. In its hand, it carried a jagged steel battleaxe that looked heavy enough to cleave a man in half with a single swing.
The blue-haired woman chuckled softly, her voice carrying a hint of amusement. "A Goblin King, huh? What an unexpected turn of events."
Kael had nothing to say to that. A Goblin King wasn't exactly the kind of monster one would fear that much, considering it was only an A-Rank creature. Then again, he had nearly been killed by Hollow-Tongue not long ago, so he was hardly in a position to talk. He couldn't help but regret nowadays since he had to face enemies with his weakest form, though it wasn't as if he couldn't fight now if he truly wished to. The truth was, he simply didn't want to.
"I think I should take these things seriously from now on. Because of my lazy behavior, Celeste had almost lost her life," he thought with irritation to himself.
Before he could dwell further on the thought, a gauntleted hand suddenly hovered in front of him, and the woman stepped forward with calm determination, her face fixed straight ahead. "Stay back. I can handle them all."
Kael took a step back while still holding Celeste close in his arms, his eyes fixed ahead. The woman was walking forward with a quiet, measured grace, every movement composed, her long, silky soft blue hair fluttering behind her not wildly but in perfect rhythm with her steps. She looked almost like a silent knight heading toward war, except for one thing: her sword was still sheathed, and her hands rested calmly at her sides, showing no sign of fear or hesitation.
Around her, the hobgoblins had spread out across the spacious stretch of the abandoned road, half-circling her with careful precision. They were no longer attacking in confusion as before; their movements were in unison now, guided by the commands of their King. A-Rank monsters often possessed a certain level of battle intelligence, and the Goblin King was no exception. That was their advantage and, in a way, her disadvantage.
Still, Kael wasn't particularly worried. He knew this woman wasn't someone to underestimate. She was dangerous, far more dangerous than she appeared. Because in his strange vision, he, or rather Mr. Handsome, was severely injured and covered with bandages, and the injury must've been given by a demon since they were hiding from them, but she seemed unscathed back then which meant she either escaped the demon while carrying him no less, or she must've killed the demon by herself. Someone like her wasn't exactly weak.
Moments later, the hobgoblins lunged forward together, their jagged weapons glinting under the sunlight as they aimed directly for her armored figure. She finally halted, and for a second, Kael thought she was going to draw her weapon, but she didn't. She simply stood there, unmoving, her gaze fixed straight ahead as though nothing was happening.
"What the hell is she thinking..." Kael's brows tightened.
The creatures were almost upon her now, their weapons slicing through the air with brutal force, about to tear through her armor and body from every direction.
"She wouldn't be able to draw her sword in time… why is she acting so arrogant? Curse her!" he thought.
He braced himself, expecting to see her armor pierced and shattered in an instant, but what followed left him speechless. The weapons never connected. It was as if time itself had slowed down. He caught a glimpse of the smallest movement... her shoulder shifted slightly, her hand finally reaching toward the hilt of her sword.
Then, a shockwave erupted from where she stood, powerful enough to make Kael blink instinctively, the force made his shirt tousle. For a split of a second, he didn't see anything. But when he opened his eyes again, what he saw almost made him forget to breathe.
The hobgoblins were frozen in midair, their attacks halted unnaturally, and within the span of a single second, countless dark lines began to appear across their bodies. In the blink of an eye, each of them was sliced apart, their limbs and torsos breaking down into countless fragments no larger than a human elbow.
Black blood sprayed across the ground, forming a dark pool around her feet, but the woman stood unharmed amidst the scattered corpses. The tip of her elegant katana rested against the cracked road, her head tilted slightly to the side as though listening to the faint echo of her own strike.
Then, without hesitation, she began walking toward the Goblin King. The creature, upon seeing the fate of its kin, roared furiously and charged forward, its massive axe gripped tightly in one hand.
A few steps away from her, the creature suddenly stopped, twisting its wrist to pull the axe behind its back before bringing it down with a single powerful motion, this time with both hands. The battle axe descended with terrifying speed, aimed to cleave the blue-haired woman clean in half.
The impact struck the road like a thunderclap, shattering the stone and sending debris flying everywhere. The shockwave hit Kael, forcing him to shield Celeste as small stones pelted against his body. The spot where the axe landed was a mess of cracks and rubble, a massive crater left in its wake.
If that strike had actually hit her, she would have been split in two without question. But as the dust cleared, there was no sign of her at all. She had vanished right before the blow landed, so swiftly that even Kael hadn't seen her move, not that he was surprised about it either.
"Just how fast is this damn woman..." he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
In the next split second, before the creature could even pull back its battle axe, something appeared out of nowhere and hovered just above its neck, moving with a grace that almost seemed unreal. A thin gleam of light flashed through the air as her katana sliced through the creature's massive neck as though it were made of nothing more than paper.
The creature's head fell with a dull thud as its enormous body began to sway unsteadily. Before the corpse could even collapse, the woman vanished and appeared right in front of it, her movements as light as a passing breeze. She walked forward while gently shaking the blood away from her katana, each step steady and composed.
Behind her, dark lines appeared on the creature's body as its hands, legs, torso, and limbs sliced into many pieces, and then those cut pieces finally hit the ground, making a little hill of it with a heavy sound that sent a brief gust against her, though she did not seem to care in the slightest.
None of the monsters bodies turned into ash or left magic stones behind, just like before. Of course, it had to be expected since these creatures were now outside the dungeon, and outside the dungeon, no creatures turned into ash. Worst of all, the dungeon's ecosystem was now broken.
Kael stared at the woman, speechless for a moment, the surprise written all over his face. He had known she was strong; he was certain of that from the beginning. But not even he had expected something this overwhelming. He barely saw a flicker of her whole battle, and even that felt like an illusion. Everything, from slicing hobgoblins to the clean strike that ended it all, happened within a single second.
"Damnation," he muttered under his breath.
The woman came to a halt in front of him, and he let out a long sigh, realizing that this terrifying person was, at least for now, on his side. Last night he had already seen another woman with incredible speed, but at least then he could catch glimpses of her movement or trails of motion. Compared to this one, though, even the Queen's agility seemed almost sluggish. He didn't even know what this blue-haired woman was doing when she fought. She would either stand perfectly still or vanish altogether, and somehow, by the time she reappeared, everything around her was already over.
"I think I'm meeting way too many women these days," he thought bitterly, "and all of them are absurdly strong. What's with that? Why do they keep showing up out of nowhere while I'm still struggling like an idiot? Ah well, no point in thinking about it now."
The woman finally broke the silence and said softly, "Shall we go now."
Kael forced out a smile that barely held together. "Of course."
Inside, however, he groaned. "How do I praise her properly so she doesn't turn into my enemy anytime soon? What kind of words do women like her even want to hear?"
As they walked side by side, Kael turned his head slightly toward her and spoke in a tone that was neither confident nor hesitant, but something awkwardly in between. "By the way, good job out there, Lady. You were… truly impressive. Uh, cool, I guess."
The woman stopped suddenly and turned her head slightly, falling silent for a few seconds before she replied softly, "Am I? I'm not sure about that. But I think... I can't accompany you any longer, nor can I help you leave this place. You'll have to go on your own from here, and I believe you can. I just remembered something important… the real reason I came here. So, goodbye… until we meet again."
Before Kael could even say anything, she sprinted forward at incredible speed, disappearing into the distance as if she had never been there at all.
For a moment, Kael stood there with a blank look, a strange feeling creeping up on him. He felt like he was forgetting something important, something obvious, but he couldn't immediately remember what it was.
Then, after a few seconds, realization struck him, and his face turned bleak. "Oh, right… I forgot to ask her name again, didn't I? How could I possibly forget something that simple twice in a row? Seriously, what's wrong with me? But maybe… I can still catch up and ask her."
Without wasting another second, he tightened his grip on Celeste and dashed forward through the twisting path ahead. However, after a few turns, he saw a wall blocking the way again.
"Damn... not again."
Fortunately, the path curved sharply to the right, and he turned along with it, sprinting at full speed.
That might have been one of his mistakes.
Just a few meters ahead, a woman with long silver hair was walking toward him slowly through the path. Her cold, breathtakingly beautiful face was expressionless and composed as ever.
When she finally noticed him approaching, there was a hint of curiosity in her gaze, but it vanished the moment her eyes dropped to what he was carrying in his arms... Celeste.
Her brows twitched ever so slightly.
Kael halted instantly, almost falling forward but catching himself at the last moment. Then, he forced out a polite smile that looked anything but natural.
"Um, darling. Fancy meeting you here."
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(Chapter Ended)