Vlad still remembers Jorge's eyes shaking helplessly as he lost his gaze.
Even the sobbing of the prostitutes and the foul smell of the bloody chunks that fell on his head.
The man who destroyed his nest like that left without even looking back.
Yes, I brought that man here.
"Godin."
A familiar man was seen through the gap opened by the knights.
His demeanor was a mess, but the sword he held still shone as brightly as ever.
"So, you've crawled all the way here, brat."
Finally face-to-face, Godin was faintly smiling.
Just like when he introduced himself with a false name.
But unlike before, the sword he wielded now pointed directly at Vlad.
"Say your name, knight of Gaidar."
"....What?"
He now stands as a knight, not a boy from an alley.
Now facing the blue moon, Vlad finally spoke the words he had long held within.
"Your name. Say it. Right here, right now."
The anger that had been harbored for so long, now a longing, was seeping out.
He wanted the truth, not the false name from that day.
Now that we are facing each other on an equal footing, I have the right to hear those words from you.
"Very well. As you wish."
Godin nodded as if understanding everything conveyed in Vlad's eyes filled with strange longing.
Although it was a brief encounter, Godin liked this side of him.
Indeed, it would have been good if Godin had taken Vlad back then.
"Godin of Gaidar."
"Vlad of Shoara."
Finally, the true name Vlad can hear from his lips.
As Vlad hears that name, he clenches his fist tightly.
Finally, he has arrived. Here.
The man who was as distant as the moon in the sky is now right before his eyes.
"The knight only takes a fair price, Godin, isn't that what you said?"
Now, the two people are facing each other with their true names, not as the boy from the back alley and the knight with a false name.
As Godin and Vlad exchange names, they simultaneously close their left eyes as if they had made a promise.
"There's something I haven't received from you yet."
A broken nest cannot be fully restored.
So today, I will shatter the moon.
By killing you. Godin
That will be my fair price for that day.
※※※※
Kwaaaaah-!
In the midst of the battlefield where countless knights clashed, there was a space where the most spectacular duel unfolded.
Explosions of blue and white, resembling that color, glared at each other.
'So fast!'
Speed that surpassed anticipation.
Though it was undoubtedly a simple, straightforward path, Vlad's strike was fast enough to surprise Godin.
"Huaaaap!"
Vlad splendidly seized the initiative.
And never let go of the momentum you have gained.
As the voice instructed, Vlad succeeded in seizing the initiative and began rushing towards Godin, shaking the advantage he had gained to his heart's content.
'He's covered again.'
While his steps were flexible, concealing countless moves, the descending sword was simple and clear.
A single strike filled with a definite intention, unlike its unpredictable movements.
Truly a contradiction.
There was no trace of the reckless strikes from before, filled with childishness.
"······!"
Vlad could see Godin's world with his closed left eye.
Where he was looking, what he was aiming for.
'Now!'
And even where there was an opening.
The sharp insight learned from the Imperial Sword was guiding a path towards the space untouched by the blue moonlight.
Kkagagagang-!
"Argh!"
A charge without hesitation, filled with certainty.
The afterimages of the aura exploded loudly along with him.
Everyone here was engaged in a struggle for life and death, yet there was a light that made them impossible to turn away.
"I told you back then."
"······!"
What the sword held and glared at was a beast.
Two swords, growling loudly.
Within those close blue eyes, a strange madness that could not be contained as a human began to emerge.
"I will kill you for sure!"
It was as if Vlad was shouting to behold him.
There was a sound in front of Godin that he could no longer ignore.
"Die!"
Though his weary body gasped for breath, his steps were light.
Because the opponent he faced was Godin, Vlad was able to focus on the battle by immersing himself in a deeper world than ever before.
So much so that he doesn't even notice that the light forming on the tip of his sword is gradually changing from blue to another color.
Kwaaah-! Thud! Thud!
Wild sparks were flying out between the sword containing stars and the one bathed in moonlight.
A blonde knight who didn't hesitate to consume himself.
The world he had wanted, hoped for, and genuinely wanted to reach was now before him.
"Is this all you've got, brat?"
"Don't call me a brat!"
Looking back now, what was left behind were just traces.
From the name given by the true priest to the sword he now wielded, all originated from someone's traces.
"But at least you shouldn't call me a brat."
Among them, one trace was deeply engraved.
It was both a wound and a scar, the most painfully embedded memory in Vlad's world.
"Because now, we're facing each other."
"······!"
Rose's Smiles. Nest of the boy.
The vibrant red roses that once filled that place.
Vlad remembered the neck of Burleigh rolling around, and the gaze of Jorge, trembling weakly.
"At that time, I couldn't do anything."
From Vlad's sword, a distinct figure began to emerge.
The world that had been contained within him expanded outward.
Now in a form that anyone could recognize.
Along with that, his left eye slowly begins to open.
"It's not now."
There was a ray of aura flowing down like a tear through the world that Vlad was finally able to see with his own two eyes.
Golden.
That color was the brilliant golden hue that Vlad had carried since birth.
------!
Even the knights fighting on their respective battlefields.
And Peter, watching from afar, had no choice but to widen his eyes at a single beam of light.
Golden waves began to curve around the tip of the sword as it was swung widely.
"Evade!"
"Everyone, bow your heads!"
Vlad's world began to manifest above the fully developed world.
A dazzling yet sharp wave.
It was like the scene when the moonlight spread out.
I'm here.
I, Vlad of Shoara, am heading towards you.
Now, my firmly established world reaches even toward you, the moon.
"Urgh!"
In front of the unfolding golden wave, the world of Godin began to produce a single rose, splattering red blood.
It was the same wave as his own, but the world was distinctly different in color.
"Hahaha!"
Although they met as enemies, seeing the young world that had chased after him, Godin burst into laughter.
He hadn't intended it, but seeing the world that had grown alongside him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction.
"It's a shame to meet you as enemies."
From the tip of Godin's sword, a blue aura began to form.
The blue moonlight, which was like the beginning of the story, was just as pitiful as it was then.
※※※※
The battlefield was once filled with countless cries, but now, only silence reigns.
Blood splattered and mingled with scattered spears, creating a sticky mess.
"Ugh, huff..."
Vlad could barely lift his head, simply kneeling and gasping for breath, despite feeling the cold blade against his neck.
"But, brat, didn't I tell you back then?"
Although he had instructed Godin not to call him "brat," he could still hear Godin referring to him as such.
Of course.
Vlad had been defeated by him.
"I told you to confirm where you are before moving forward."
There was a lesson he had taught the boy who ran through Shoara's darkness.
Don't panic and take your time.
Know where you are and how to proceed before anything else.
"That's how you find the right direction…. right?"
Finding the right direction mattered more than speed.
That way, one wouldn't stray off course like this.
"Cough."
A single red streak trickled down the blade that touched Vlad's neck.
The bright red blood that had slowly flowed down the sword slowly went down Vlad's neck and reached his cold fingertips.
"I'll still only call you….. by your name. Brat."
As Godin's voice faded like the shaking tip of his sword, Vlad hurriedly lifted his head to look at him before Godin's words were completely swallowed by the darkness.
"..."
Suddenly, the knights of Bayezid surrounded Godin.
The swords stuck all over Godin's body were blocking his every move as he reached Vlad's neck.
Among them, the sword that precisely pierced the heart had an emblem engraved on it that only the head of Bayezid could use.
"...Welcome. Brat."
The moon, which had been in the sky, fell.
Not by Vlad's, but by the swords of others.
"...to the world of knights."
Swoosh-!
Red blood began to gush from the wounds left by the slowly withdrawn swords.
Godin, slowly crumbling amidst the flowing blood.
However, as he looked at Vlad, his face showed no pain or anger, but only a faint smile.
It was a smile that only the victor could wear.
"...I have lost. Godin of Gaidar."
Although Godin might not hear the words he had spoken now, Vlad still uttered the final words that a knight must say.
He admired the blue moon that he had envied and resented.
Vlad just bowed his head again as he looked at the moon that he wanted to reach so badly but was unable to surpass.
The victor stands above, the defeated below.
And now, the blue moon, which he could no longer challenge, would forever remain above Vlad.
Thus, Vlad silently murmured towards the fallen moon on the ground.
※※※※
"Lord Count! Lord Count!"
"······."
A loud cry from a nearby knight.
But even with his shout, Sigmund stood still with a grim expression, as if something had been drained from him.
"Lord Count, we must leave now! The gates of Deomar have been opened from behind!"
Indeed, there were soldiers slowly emerging from behind Gaidar.
The Hainal army has finally gathered its troops and opened the castle gate.
The way they came out together with the black-eyed young man was as brutal as what they had been through so far.
"······Take care of my son. He's the most valuable thing I have left now."
"Understood, Lord Count!"
The battle was lost, but the war was far from over.
Knowing that war was not decided by a single battle, Sigmund had to look forward to what was next.
"······Damn it."
Amidst the echoing cries on the battlefield, Sigmund gazed quietly at the hill above.
The eagle's flag was clearly running proudly just a moment ago, but stopped before anyone knew it.
It seemed that relying solely on that flag had become too burdensome.
"Fall back! Survive by any means necessary!"
This battle was lost.
Life is a series of uncertainties, but he never expected it to unfold like this.
"It hurts to the bone."
However, what bothers Sigmund more than one defeat is his knight, who has now been defeated.
Although he may not have been loyal, the Blue Moonlight Knight clearly had the same dream.
It was with him that he had been able to come this far.
"Lord Count!"
"······Let's go."
You didn't need permission to come in, but you have to leave a lot of things behind when you retreat.
It was Peter's demand, and now Sigmund had to hide his meager appearance to avoid laying down even his own life.
The resentment and swearing of countless soldiers coming from behind.
Beside Sigmund, who was leaving them behind in haste, only a humble army of less than a hundred remained.
[T/L: Read more chapters here: - https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]