Chapter 81 - Chapter 12: Legend #7
The founder of the lycanthrope royal family was the one who first discovered the Moonlight Extract.
Originally called the wolf king, he gathered the scattered lycanthropes and set up a kingdom.
Just like the fierce jungle of the Demon World, the wolf king faced numerous challenges.
Many foreign enemies invaded them and within the lycanthropes, many challenged the wolf king for the throne.
The wolf king responded to all these challenges. He broke the heads of those aiming for the thrones and crushed the outsiders threatening the lycanthropes.
Then one day, he faced the biggest challenge of his life. The red dragon, Castian, invaded the lycanthropes’ territory.
The wolf king succeeded in defeating the ferocious red dragon at the end of a desperate struggle that lasted seven days and seven nights.
However, the wolf king wasn’t unharmed. His heart was destroyed and he was on the verge of death when he discovered a light splitting the night sky. At some point, the king stopped and saw a white flower blooming in front of him.
The wolf king didn’t think much of the discovery as he hadn’t found the Moonlight Extract; it had selected him.
The wolf king took the Moonlight Extract. It dissolved into his chest and became the new heart of the wolf king.
The wolf king, who had obtained the heart of the moon, continued his new life. He gave himself the surname, Moonlight, after it saved his life.
The wolf king’s blood became the royal family of the lycanthropes, but afterwards, unlike the wolf king, no one was able to obtain a new heart from the Moonlight Extract.
This was the legend of the Moonlight Extract.
The true efficacy of the Moonlight Extract had only been enjoyed by the original wolf king, who had been considered the strongest lycanthrope ever.
The royal family of the lycanthropes had considered it as a legend. Until now, the Moonlight Extract had just been a mysterious herb with significant healing powers. They had thought the wolf king had exaggerated the story after he had taken the Moonlight Extract and it had healed his wounds.
However, that wasn’t the case.
The legend of the Moonlight Extract had never been exaggerated.
[Protagonist Correction has enhanced the performance.]
[Protagonist Body is responding to the power of the Moonlight Extract.]
The essence of moonlight melted into In-gong and his Protagonist Body accepted the power entirely.
The circulation of his aura, which was dull and broken, stopped moving. It stopped in one place and the calmness of the moonlight’s power settled into it.
Conquest.
If the power of Famine was to drain everything, Conquest was to dominate.
The starting point in the circulation of aura was all the same, like the heart that delivered blood to the whole body.
In-gong’s aura heart already existed. Now, the Moonlight Extract settled next to that heart. The Moonlight Extract joined with his aura to create a new heart.
Two hearts, two starting points...
This was true efficacy of the Moonlight Extract that no one had seen since the original wolf king.
The circulation of his aura began again and it sprang from two starting points.
This was accepted by Divine Sura Authority. Divine Sura Authority, which was made up of Divine Beast Authority and Sura Heart Law, now started at two points.
The light gushing out from In-gong’s body started to subside. Chris, who was focusing on the flow of aura, couldn’t hide his wonder. He formed fists as he imagined the effect of aura that originated from two starting points.
Moreover, this change didn’t only happen to In-gong.
Caitlin had also accepted the power of the Moonlight Extract. It was clear that In-gong’s change had an effect on Caitlin.
Compared to In-gong, it was weaker. It was like the power of moonlight had gathered in In-gong’s body while the power of starlight had gathered in Caitlin’s body.
Caitlin’s aura responded to In-gong’s aura. Just like the stars in the night sky shone in the moonlight, Caitlin’s aura started to follow In-gong’s aura.
Instead of moonlight, a pure white aura surrounded In-gong. Caitlin’s dark blue aura twined with the white and the two different coloured aura wrapped around the two people.
Green Wind raised a hand and stepped back. It was the same for Daphne. Green Wind and Daphne had done all they could do. Now, they could only watch the miracle of the Moonlight Extract.
In-gong and Caitlin, who were floating in the air, started to descend slowly. The two auras around them turned into a soft glow and disappeared.
The hearts of new auras lay in the bodies of the two people.
Chris couldn’t say anything while Felicia just sighed with relief. She touched the calm faces of In-gong and Caitlin gently.
&
In-gong opened his eyes to darkness. Before him stood the golden-crowned, white woman.
She was close but far away. In-gong stood face to face with her but couldn’t communicate. This wasn’t referring to the manifestation of her voice that was heard in every crisis, but that she couldn’t have a proper conversation.
Famine Knight.
Gerard Moonlight, he held the power of Famine in his hands.
However, the power of Famine he had wasn’t strong yet. The original source of Famine was stronger still.
In-gong could tell because he had faced the power directly. Gerard was still an incomplete knight and it was the same for In-gong as well.
Conquest and Famine.
The source of power that the man with a spear had given off was Death. The man with the spear wasn’t the Death Knight, but it was obvious that the Death Knight had given the power to him.
The only one left was War.
In Knight Saga, Gerard hadn’t been a Famine Knight.
Conquest, War, Death and Famine were all forces that hadn’t existed in Knight Saga.
What were the four of them? Why were there four knights to inherit their strengths? What was the purpose of the knights? Why was the Death Knight aiming at Zephyr?
It was almost certain that the Death Knight was an external force as he was hostile to the Demon King’s Palace.
The Famine Knight, Gerard, was hostile to the lycanthropes. Additionally, he didn’t stop there. Famine itself had an enormous hostility toward Conquest.
Were Death and Famine on one side?
Why did Famine express hostility toward Conquest? It wasn’t just because of In-gong’s confrontation with Gerard. The enmity of Famine was rooted in something much deeper.
The white woman... Sadness flashed in the red and blue eyes of Conquest. She reached out her hand slowly and stroked the air like she was touching In-gong’s cheek despite not being able to reach him. Then she opened her mouth slowly,
"Conquest Knight, my one and only hope.”
The white woman’s voice was cut off like she had lost all strength after a few words. She gave another sad smile before melting into the darkness.
In-gong closed his eyes. Like the white woman, he melted into the darkness.
&
Gerard dragged himself across the ground. He had cut off his left arm that couldn’t be used anymore, but he couldn’t suppress the pain.
His remaining arm was touching the ground. He pushed against it and his heavy legs moved a little bit.
"Find him! He is around here!”
“I smell blood!”
The voices of the lycanthropes weren’t far away. Gerard gritted his teeth and concentrated all his power in his right hand. His aura circulation was a mess, so it took a lot of work to collect the power.
Gerard sat on the ground and panted. The soil was wet and cold but that helped relieve the pain.
Gerard counted down. He closed his eyes and focused on his hearing while gathering strength in his right arm.
Kwang!
The explosive power of Divine Beast Authority burst through his right arm. Gerard leapt up and hit the lycanthrope soldier who came close to him. The soldier swung his arm reflexively at Gerard, but it just passed through air. Gerard grabbed one of the soldier’s arms, threw him down and grabbed his neck with one hand.
The neck of the beast form lycanthrope was too large that it was hard to squeeze. However, Gerard used brute force and struck the soldier’s neck with the palm of his hand. There was a terrible sound as the wolf lycanthrope soldier’s neck broke.
“Kukek!”
The lycanthrope solider lost his breath and tried to reach out, but Gerard placed more force on the soldier’s neck.
“Pant... Pant...”
The lycanthrope soldier collapsed and Gerard triggered the power of Famine. He gained a certain amount of strength back, but it was still lacking, like collecting water in a bucket with a hole.
"There!"
"Throw the spears!”
There was no room for his body to avoid them. The spears pierced Gerard and the dead lycanthrope soldier at the same time.
It was hot. Despite being on the verge of death, the pain was vivid.
"Throw!"
Spears flew one after another and pierced his shoulders, waist, thighs and all over his body. Even for the lycanthropes with their huge vitality, this level of injury would cause death.
The lycanthrope soldiers didn’t approach Gerard once. It would take more time to kill Gerard, but they were being careful.
Gerard laughed. Despite his lips cramping from the pain and injury, it was definitely a laugh.
He had spent 20 years in the deepest part of the Grey Tower. It had been a horrible time spent in the darkness where not even the moonlight could reach.
He would die without being able to resolve the resentment and animosity that had built up.
Elaine Moonlight. His sister, she had taken away everything of his; she was a hateful enemy.
Chris and Caitlin, her children.
And the Conquest Knight. The reason for all of this. The person who had blocked him on the verge of victory!
Gerard was no longer looking forward and only darkness could be seen in his eyes.
However, Gerard saw a man in the darkness. He wore robes that were darker than black as he stared down at Gerard.
‘Now, will you accept?’
Famine.
He differed from War or Death. The comparison with Conquest itself was ridiculous.
He was always hungry and his desires were never satisfied. He didn’t just want to choose a knight like the other three.
What he wanted was the incarnation of Famine, the existence of Famine itself.
Gerard laughed at him. He finally released the last strings on his pride and allowed Famine into his soul.
He wasn’t Gerard in the pure sense anymore.
The only thing remaining was Famine mixed in with a black desire that would never be fulfilled.
The power of Famine swallowed Gerard’s heart and his soul was conquered.
The Famine Knight, formerly called Gerard, smiled. Famine found it ridiculous that he had used the term ‘conquest’.
"Drain.”
The whisper was a beginning and an end. The lycanthrope soldiers, who were aiming spears at Gerard, were now in the realm of Famine without being aware of it.
If he had to name it, it was a garden of draining. All things within the range were drained by Famine.
The legs of the lycanthrope soldiers surrounding Gerard hardened. They couldn’t even scream as the cracked land covered them.
The Famine Knight drained everything in his realm and raised his body slowly. Some of the broken bodies collapsed, but he didn’t care. His gaze was looking at a time long ago.
Everything had become warped since the day Ainkel was murdered 1,000 years ago.
Now, it was time to restart. This time there had to be a different ending.
The Famine Knight gazed at the moonlight, then he melted into the darkness.