It was a snowy night.
It was a quiet night where you could even hear the sound of snowflakes falling to the ground.
Vlad, who was sitting alone on the wooden fence of the stable, hugged his cloak and watched the snowflakes gently falling.
"Here, the snow arrives a bit late."
If it were his hometown, Soara, this would be the time when the snow would be piling up.
However, in Valetta, a city in the central region's interior, the snow was just beginning to fall, making him realize how far he had come.
"Is it delicious?"
Neigh-
Noir, who had his head buried in the trough, expressed his contentment at Vlad's words by snorting happily. Although it was a winter scarce in food, Noir's trough was filled with large grains of corn.
"You're lucky too. After all, today is Liberation Day."
The abundance of food that Noir ate today was not just for the upcoming mission.
As Vlad had just said, today was also Liberation Day, commemorating humanity's liberation from the most perfect dragon.
Today, in honor of the country's founding king, a saint recognized by the church, and the Sword Master, who was also a knight of knights, was a day when everyone, including humans and livestock, enjoyed a plentiful dinner.
"My mom used to say that my birthday was around this time."
[Really?]
And it was said that the day Vlad was born was probably around this time.
Although he was very young to remember clearly, the boy from the alleys recalled being born in a snowy winter.
"Anyway, they are kidnapping children again. Do they have some kind of problem with those kids?"
Vlad, who was scratching the ground helplessly with a branch, remembered what the Count had told him and let out a heavy sigh.
Count Arnstein had said that there was an unknown monster wandering the outskirts of the city and territory, kidnapping children, and when Vlad heard this, he could feel he had come to the right place.
Just like in Moshiam and the foggy village, the same was happening here in Arnstein's territory.
[There must be a reason they are taking only the children.]
There must be a reason.
But Vlad would never understand it, no matter the reason given to him.
"Whatever the reason, I can't accept it."
Vlad, who had been lowering his head silently, suddenly lifted it and looked towards the houses below.
Among the illuminated houses, some remained in darkness.
"Especially for those in those dark houses."
It was a day when everyone should be happy, but there were people who would be even sadder because it was such a day.
Vlad, who knew their feelings well, patted Noir's back and exhaled a deep, silent sigh.
There was a village where everyone held their breath.
***
A small village where only a few dozen families lived.
But today, the reason why the villagers held their breath and locked themselves inside their houses was not simply because the night was deep.
Crash!
Suddenly, a crash broke the silence in one part of the village.
It was the sound of a small house collapsing.
It was the house of the only herbalist in the village, and in it lived a child who had just turned four.
"No! My son! My son!"
In the bright moonlit night, a woman screamed desperately at the stranger who was taking her son away.
The child the man was holding was now the only treasure the poor couple had, a kind of hope that allowed them to keep living.
-······.
However, the man's eyes as he looked at the crying woman were simply cold.
Perhaps because of the moonlight, his blue eyes shone coldly as he turned his head and continued on his way without hesitation.
The child's sobs could be heard from the tattered backpack the man carried on his shoulder.
¡Kwaang-!
"…I finally found you."
And there were knights who followed the cries and came.
With a crash, a knight burst through the door illuminated by the moon, smiling.
"Finally, I can see your face."
Though he was out of breath from running so hard, Pablo had a cold smile on his face that was hard to hide.
This was because the tragedy he had not been able to prevent until now was in front of him.
"Why don't you put the child down first?"
-······.
Pablo of Arnstein.
His world began to flow from his closed left eye.
His world, of fiery golden color, was also the world that created the possibility of Vlad of Soara.
"Then I will only kill you halfway."
A long time ago, today, the Sword Master, a knight among knights, killed the most perfect dragon.
To honor him, who was where he should be, the knights of Arnstein did not hesitate to hide in this ramshackle village.
***
¡Hiiiiiiii-!
Stop him! Don't let him pass!
Block the way even if you have to use your bodies!
The horse with eyes blazing blue kicked fiercely.
The horse that the man rode seemed to realize the gravity of the situation and ran wildly, but Pablo didn't hesitate to walk himself into the storm.
"Haaa!"
Crash! Bang!
Even though the strong blows of the hooves shook the ground, Pablo advanced without hesitation because he held the wall that protected the crying child.
Pablo's firm determination to protect the child was unstoppable, both in Deirmar and now.
"I told you to get down first!"
Pablo's swordsmanship was neither flashy nor fast.
It was simple and basic, but its threat lay in the shield that blocked all the enemy's intentions.
Slash!
Hiiii!
Despite the violent blows, Pablo raised his sword.
Finally, the horse, frightened by the movement of the gleaming blade, reared up, and the tense balance began to collapse.
"Now!"
"Go in!"
The unknown man's sword was just one, but there were more knights charging against him.
To prevent a family tragedy that could happen today, some people used their whole bodies to block the path of the sword, while others began to block the horse's way.
"Sir Pablo!"
"Well done!"
And when a determined knight entered and twisted the man's right arm and picked up the crying child, Pablo, who had been waiting for the right moment, gritted his teeth.
"What do you think you're doing here?!"
Clang!
Pablo, who could no longer contain himself, clashed sword and shield with all his might.
Then, Pablo's world that appeared was like the solid wall of a castle.
Although the enemy was riding a horse, in a dead-end situation like this, having your feet on the ground was advantageous.
"I'll show you what it means to half kill!"
Clang! Clang!
Sword clashed against sword, but the sound heard was like the sound of a cannonball firing.
Although Pablo was fighting an opponent on horseback, it would have been more advantageous for him to be on the ground in a situation like now where there was no way to disperse.
-Only halfway, you said.
Despite the danger, the mysterious man remained calm.
-Do we have such vain threats?
"What?"
Pablo sensed a sinister signal in the man's words.
"We?"
The mysterious man who had been acting alone.
However, the people emerging from the darkness with laughter were clearly not just one, but many.
-Not only you can set traps.
"…!"
The mysterious man laughed while the knights, surprised, retreated.
As he removed his hood, the man's head rolled, showing a smile towards Pablo.
"Damn bastard!"
Under the clouds that obscured the moon, unidentified men began to arrive running.
All of them lowered their heads and, looking at the Arnstein knights fighting on the ground, began to mock them with fierce kicks and flying swords.
"Close formation! Protect the children and their families!"
The knights' cries were filled with the blood that spurted out.
They thought they were hunting, but they were the hunted. Pablo tried to gather his world with his closed eye.
Crack!
Ugh!
-······!
At that moment, a headless knight was violently thrown by a spear that flew suddenly.
The throw was so strong that the spear stuck in the ground was still trembling.
-Who are you?
A small village situated on the plain.
The noise of strong horse hooves began to be heard beyond the wooden fence that the village's residents had barely raised.
The Arnstein banner, the Imperial Guard banner, and even the Northern banner, which was small but had numerous patterns embedded in it.
Seeing the dust approaching on the horizon, the headless man had no choice but to hurriedly remove the spear from his subordinate's body.
"Did I hit him?"
[You hit him. For sure.]
"It was my first throw, but it went well. It was worth watching Sir Volkov do it before."
It was a man with impressive blue eyes.
The bulging muscles of his shoulders made it clear who had thrown the spear that had just flown.
Swoosh!
Clang!
"Guess he didn't like the gift I sent."
The knights around were surprised to see Vlad casually accepting the spear that came flying from afar.
Although he was showing the most impressive powers, the senses of the dragon's blood simply accepted even the current situation as if it were natural.
"The enemies are escaping!"
"Damn it! Don't let them escape!"
The commander of the Arnstein knights felt relieved seeing the intruders escaping from their knights, but on the contrary, he was growing more and more impatient.
"Run! We can't lose them again!"
If they lost them now, other children would disappear.
But despite his cries, the intruders were already mounted on their horses.
"Damn! We can't let them ride!"
Although dozens of knights charged, they knew they couldn't catch them.
The Arnstein territory was a land full of fertile plains and a place with no obstacles to block them.
"…"
Suddenly, a yellow flash appeared in the village.
Vlad could recognize at a glance from whom that familiar light in his eyes came.
[Pay your debts.]
"I know."
Despite chasing the headless knights, the gap was widening.
When the knights behind grew tired of the ever-widening gap, there was a black shadow that left the formation in peace.
"Anyway, my life has always been about paying debts."
From the sword given to him by the old man to the tears shed by the girl.
Vlad knew that the path he had walked was filled with debts to pay.
Finally, the clouds dissipated and the blue moonlight illuminated the wide plain, pointing to a single path.
Vlad looked at the light shining brightly, as if he could simply run through that place, and tightly grasped the reins he held.
"Let's go!"
Heeeeeeeeee-!
A son of the prairie who inherited the lineage of the unicorn.
The horns of Noir, gradually rising through the worlds they encounter, began to pass through the banners of the central region.
"That…"
The commander of Arnstein and Rodrigo were stunned by the speed.
-······!
"Do we know each other?"
The Headless Knights were astonished to see Vlad like this.
Although they had escaped death, they couldn't help but retreat before the horse with the shining horn.
"I can't know if we know each other without heads."
"You…"
"I am Vlad of Soara."
The heartbeat he heard was similar to that of those without color.
The aroma of tea floating in the wind was similar to what the woman in black usually drank.
But the smile he gave was chilling, different from hers.
"I came in place of Pablo of Arnstein, whom you defeated."
The sword was crying.
Now it's his turn to use the sword to kill the roaring dragon.
"Go find your lost heads!"
He hoped tonight would be a quiet night where no one cried.
Vlad, who had his eyes set on the darkened windows, wielded his sword and sincerely hoped that would happen.
He believed that only then would he receive his just reward.
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