Danger Rating : A+ ~ ?
Size : ?
Found in : ?
-AKA 'Death Knight'.
The result of a noble knight's strength and spirit being devoured by the Abyss.
From beyond the gates of death, they draw infinite amounts of nether mana until their bodies are tattered and their souls worn out.
However, there is still nothing known about what happens when a being who fails to repay the debt passes through another gate behind the Death Gate.
Death Knight.
A noble knight who rose to the rank of superhuman died and was transformed.
The power they possess varies so greatly from individual to individual that it is meaningless to calculate the risk rating.
This is due to the varying degrees of strength and mental power of the knight who becomes a Death Knight, as well as the circumstances and process by which they are transformed into Death Knights.
Once it appears, it is certain that it will take on a Danger Rank A+ or higher, but no Death Knight has appeared in the last hundred years.
...But Vikir had an intuition at this moment.
He had a hunch that CaneCorso in front of him was definitely more than just an S-ranked Dangerous Monster like Madame Eight-Legged or Basilisk.
[I had crossed the threshold of death and entered it].
CaneCorso spoke of his own death with boldness.
He walked alone in a remote place where no one else in the world recognized him.
But he never regretted it, even to the last moment of his life.
For in exchange for his lonely death, he had gained access to the very core of the Supreme, a height no human being had reached in centuries.
"...It is a level that can only be reached by experiencing death."
Vikir swallowed hard when he heard the requirements of the 9th form.
The 6th Form. A state that can only be reached by transcending all emotions.
The 7th Form. A state that can only be reached by reclaiming emotions that have been abandoned.
The 8th Form. A state that can only be reached by wielding a sword as if reborn, and fighting over and over again in a series of desperate battles.
And the 9th was the inaccessible zone at the core of the supreme realms that only those who had experienced death could ascend to.
After excluding and rejecting emotions to the extent that he had no one to love in his entire life, Vikir ascended to the 6th, and his reunion with Camus led him to the 7th.
And finally, Vikir's devotion to CaneCorso led him to 8th form.
But somehow, Vikir still didn't understand the 9th form.
'You mean I have to be reborn and die again to rise above the Swordmaster? What a ridiculous way to train.'
Even as a Vikir who had reached the 8th form, it was hard to believe.
But now there was a human who had reached the 9th form. And then, surprisingly, he threw away his life.
CaneCorso, now a Death Knight, spoke with the darkness deep in his eyes.
[This is why I said it was impossible for you to ascend to the 9th Form in your lifetime. This realm defies all normal human understanding, empathy, understanding, faith, common sense, probability and causality. A being who has not experienced death can never set foot here].
"...."
[Ah, you certainly seem to have a lot of regrets about life, though I suppose you're not old enough to have even contemplated death yet].
CaneCorso spoke while sitting on the iron throne.
[You are not ready.]
He drew a line with a single word.
It was the line that separated this side from that side, this world and the afterlife, differ.
As CaneCorso shook his head in disappointment, Vikir asked.
"What do you mean by ready?"
[To ascend to the full 8th form and become a Tower Lord].
Vikir couldn't understand what he was saying.
However, he had one more question.
"...And what about the 10th form? Have you realized it is impossible to reach the 10th form? Does it even exist?"
[Of course, it actually exists. However, even I, the Tower Lord, have not yet realized it].
CaneCorso spoke in a heavy voice.
[Did I say that you have to experience death to get to the 9th Form?]
"That's right."
[To reach the 10th form, one must die and wake up].
Hearing CaneCorso's words, Vikir opened his mouth halfway in disbelief.
There was a realm that could be reached by death, and then there was a realm that could be reached by death and rebirth.
It was bad enough that he had to die to reach the 9th form, but to reach the 10th form, he had to die and be reborn?
"It doesn't say you have to die, it says you have to be dead, and then you have to wake up. What kind of nonsensical logic is that...."
Vikir frowned, unable to understand.
Then CaneCorso smiled faintly.
[I don't understand the meaning of that either, I'm still stuck at 9th. How am I supposed to wake up when I'm already dead, and I may never reach 10th].
For him, not reaching the 10th form is the same as not reaching rest.
CaneCorso had died and become a Death Knight, but he didn't know how to escape death and become human again.
Nor did he intend to.
So he would have to spend the rest of his life here, the rest of his incredibly long life, alone?
At an age when he should be tombstones on his own grave, he would be tombstones on other people's graves?
Vikir suddenly questioned the purpose of this great tower.
And CaneCorso, as if looking into Vikir's mind, began to speak.
[This 'Grave of Swords' is the resting place of a great Baskerville].
His words were astonishing.
The Cradle of Swords was the place where the Baskervillian ancestor who created the Baskervillian style of swordsmanship that Vikir had learned was born.
And the place where he died became the Grave of Swords.
[His birth was the birth of the sword, and his death was the death of the sword].
Vikir nodded silently.
Perhaps the 'Lurking Ambush' swordsmanship he mastered was also his creation.
CaneCorso said.
[This is 'his' grave and also the final destination for those who pursue the ultimate intention of the sword.]
He added at the end.
[A true Baskerville will come here at the end of its life.]
All Baskervilles are born in the Cradle of Swords.
But only the greatest of Baskervilles, the truly great Baskervilles, can close their eyes in the Grave of Swords.
[The end of all great Baskervilles is the same: they come from "his" cradle to "his" grave, and so will you].
And since children from the Cradle of Swords are destined to end up in the Grave of Swords, this is where Vikir will end up as well.
But Vikir snorted.
"I have much to do outside. I'm not coming back to this desolate, idle place."
[Lots to do? Hehehe – life is not so great as you think, it's just an expression between a problem and an answer].
Humans go through a lot of milestones in their lives. Births, coming-of-age celebrations, coronations, weddings, funerals, etc.... How many things are there to do?
It's one long equation(方程式) that connects the question of birth and the answer of death.
[At this age, you'll soon forget about all that bullshit].
CaneCorso merely stroked his beard.
And then.
Thung-
The tower shook once.
The Grave of Swords began to shake.
"...What?"
Vikir was suddenly caught off guard by a strong wind that blinded him.
Soo-Shusssssss...
Beyond the swirling storm, the figure of CaneCorso was gradually fading away.
'I will see you again someday.'
Those were CaneCorso's last words.
At the same time, Vikir noticed white grains of sand mixing with the storm.
The sands of the salt desert were somehow filling the tower.
Tsutsutsutsutsutsuts...
And then the wind calmed down.
"...!"
Vikir found himself standing in a desolate desert.
The Grave of Swords. The great tower had vanished without a trace.
It was like a long dream.
...But what happened to Vikir was no dream.
For suddenly, two solid saplings were in his hands.
Wraith Tree. A strange plant that had taken root behind the Iron Throne.
It was a black mage's exclusive artifact that Pomerian had longed to possess.
"...Not a dream."
The aura that boiled from his body was clearly proving that Vikir had risen to the higher ranks.
Swordmaster of the Baskerville 8th Form. Now he could actually fight Hugo and not lose.
"...."
Vikir looked up.
He wanted to thank Canecorso, but the man he was supposed to be thanking had already disappeared beyond the salt storm, along with the Grave of Swords.
There are no mirages in the sunny desert, let alone illusions.
Vikir bowed his head stiffly toward the Iron Throne that he had so vividly faced just moments before.
Then he turned away, holding the roots of two wraith trees firmly in his hands.
Towards the Baskerville and Colosseo Academy.