Future Knight [EN]: Chapter 49

퓨쳐나이트 49화

After losing all ten Elven Knights to Arcshadow, Elradion was in dire straits.

The match was over.

Now, Nemitz only needed to grant his old friend and his disciples eternal rest.

『Farewell, my old friend.』

『Nemitz…』

Arcshadow’s sword was about to pierce the Elven Knight’s shoulder.

Then…

Something massive crashed down on Arcshadow.

Whoosh Kwahhhh!!

The Arcshadow, along with its cherished disciple rider, was pulverized by the tremendous impact.

A colossal Gigantes [a magically animated giant construct] appeared before them, unlike any they had ever seen.

『Wh-what is that? That giant Gigantes!』

The giant Gigantes didn’t allow them time to be surprised, launching a second attack.

-Die!

The giant Gigantes obliterated the shoulder of the second Arcshadow with a weapon they had never encountered.

It was an unbelievable display of power.

『Gasp! What tremendous power! To smash a Gigantes protected by magic so easily!』

The second Arcshadow, sacrificed before Nemitz’s eyes, slowly crumbled.

The ones sacrificed to the giant Gigantes were both Sword Experts, the highest level of warriors, the two pillars of Arcshadow.

He had lost them in an instant.

Nemitz felt a terrifying rage toward the unidentified Gigantes.

Soon, the giant Gigantes aimed a weapon of formidable power at him.

『You!』

Nemitz unleashed an aura blade [a sword enhanced with magical energy] and severed the Gigantes’ right arm completely.

Then, he swung his sword, intending to split the shoulder where the enemy knight was riding.

However, the enemy’s skill was considerable.

The sword that emerged from his remaining left hand blocked his aura blade.

Without even using an aura sword.

But no ordinary sword could withstand his aura blade.

Because no metal in this world could resist an aura blade.

As expected, the enemy’s sword that blocked his was easily cut off.

Nemitz tried to capitalize on the momentum to cleave the enemy’s shoulder.

But then, suddenly, an enormous flash of light blinded him.

He lost his sight for a moment and screamed in pain.

『Kkeuaaaaak! My eyes! My eyes!』

Kang Chan screamed and rushed to Elradion, avoiding the enemy Gigantes who was wielding a terrifying aura blade.

-Master! Master!

Kang Chan supported Elradion’s Elven Knight, who was on the verge of collapse.

The Elven Knight, once boasting a beautiful appearance, was now battered and broken.

Soon, Elradion’s extremely exhausted voice was heard from within.

『Huk! Huk! Huk! Th-that voice, could it be? Chan?』

-Heeuh, heeuh… Yes, Master…

Kang Chan’s voice, answering, was also extremely weak.

The skin, beginning to necrose [tissue death], was more wrinkled than an old man’s.

It was proof that he didn’t have much time left.

『Wh-where did that tremendous Gigantes come from?』

-Heeuh, heeuh… It’s a long story… F-first, let’s get rid of the enemy in front of us.

『Yes, good!』

Kang Chan knew he had less than 5 minutes remaining.

So he had to quickly eliminate the formidable enemy before him.

Only then could he save his master, Elradion.

Elradion, regaining strength with Kang Chan’s appearance, burned his aura blade with all his might.

Kang Chan also picked up the Elven Knight’s saber that was lying nearby with his remaining arm and ignited his last will to fight.

At that moment, Nemitz’s angry voice, having recovered his sight, was heard.

『You bastard! How dare you play tricks on me!』

Compared to Elradion, who looked like he was about to collapse at any moment, the enemy Sword Master was not tired at all, and his aura blade burned even more fiercely.

『…That guy is much stronger than me. Please be careful.』

-Yes… Master. Heeuh, heeuh…

Kang Chan answered Elradion’s words with difficulty.

Dead blood rising from his throat constantly flowed from his mouth.

Right then.

Ppoooooooo!

A low-pitched horn sounded all around.

『Damn it, is it already dawn? Damn it! Consider yourself lucky! If I see you next time, I will definitely kill you!』

The dawn was rising beyond the horizon.

Dark elves, who live in deep underground where not a single ray of light enters, cannot use their power in broad daylight.

The same was true for the Black Centipedes.

The dark elf’s Gigantes had a function to block sunlight, so it was possible to fight even in broad daylight.

However, they could not continue the war alone without ordinary infantry and Black Centipedes.

Therefore, Nemitz decided to retreat with tears in his eyes.

『Retreat!!』

As Nemitz began to retreat with the remaining Arcshadows, all the surviving dark elves began to retreat at the same time.

As the dark summoners blew their pipes, the surviving Black Centipedes retreated back into the invasion route.

The surviving elven rangers, watching the enemies disappear like the tide receding, knelt down in despair.

The forest, now empty of enemies, was filled with the corpses of elves.

The few surviving elves wept over the deaths of their comrades, whom they had lived with like family, and began to tend to the wounded.

With all the enemies retreating back to the invasion route, Elradion, relieved, went to the Gigantes [A type of large, humanoid war machine] of his reliable disciple who had saved him.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

However, his disciple’s Gigantes remained quietly silent, showing no signs of movement.

Worried, Elradion called out to Kang Chan.

『What’s wrong, disciple?』

Kang Chan’s Gigantes remained silent, even at his master’s call.

『Why don’t you answer! Open the door quickly!』

Elradion’s Elven Knight reached out towards the shoulder armor of Kang Chan’s Gigantes.

Then, Elradion dismounted from the Elven Knight and climbed onto Kang Chan’s Gigantes using the Elven Knight’s arm.

Despite the dizzying height of nearly 6 meters [approximately 19.7 feet], he didn’t care at all.

Elves usually lived in tall trees, so their sense of balance was superior to any other race on the continent.

Elradion knocked on the shoulder armor of the Red Rabbit.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

“Open the door quickly! What’s going on?”

But no matter how much he knocked, he didn’t hear Kang Chan’s reply.

The final moment had come.

In his fading consciousness, Kang Chan felt someone’s voice sounding warm and comforting.

It was definitely the voice of his master calling him.

However, he didn’t even have the strength to say a final goodbye to his master.

His limp arms and legs no longer had any intention of moving.

With his breath growing weaker and weaker, his eyes slowly closed.

The combat suit he was wearing had already returned to its vest form.

‘Jaina, I’m going to be by your side now…….’

Kang Chan accepted death with a smile, thinking that he would finally be able to see Jaina.

He felt as if Jaina would come to greet him as soon as he closed his eyes.

Kang Chan wore a peaceful smile as he faced death.

However, his wish was shattered by a strange sound that began within his body.

Crack! Crrrrack! Creak!

‘Wh, what is this?’

Kang Chan’s eyes widened as an unknown, intense energy began to spread unreservedly throughout his body.

“Kuh!”

A groan filled with extreme pain burst from Kang Chan’s mouth, who didn’t even have the strength to speak.

Within his ruined body, the dormant mana began to rage wildly.

An enormous amount of mana was currently compressed within Kang Chan’s body, which had used the Final Combat Mode.

It was the mana of nature.

The pure mana of nature, drawn in by his mana that had been rotating at an enormous speed, as much as his metabolism rate had been amplified hundreds of times.

They began to flow roughly like a torrent along the mana lines in Kang Chan’s body, where his life force was fading.

Even in his unconscious state, Kang Chan struggled to redirect the rough flow of mana, following the mana cultivation method he had learned from Elradion.

It was almost an instinctive action.

Then, the mana gathered together and gradually began to rotate rapidly through Kang Chan’s body in a steady flow.

Kang Chan fell into a state of complete absorption.

The mana lines that had been blocked until now began to be unblocked one by one by the rough mana flowing through his body.

Even the mana lines that had been so firmly blocked that he had never dared to try to뚫어뚫어 [Korean word, meaning ‘to pierce through’] before.

Perhaps the mana lines had weakened along with the collapse of cells throughout his body.

Kang Chan’s body twitched each time a mana line was뚫어뚫어 [Korean word, meaning ‘to pierce through’].

The rough mana, which was rising through Kang Chan’s neck and head, finally 뚫어뚫어 [Korean word, meaning ‘to pierce through’] through Kang Chan’s head and reached the crown of his head.

At that moment, Kang Chan’s mind turned as white as a blank sheet of paper.

“Hah…….”

A sense of refreshment that he had never felt before spread throughout his body.

Soon, a flower-shaped mana bloomed above Kang Chan’s head.

The fully bloomed mana flower gradually scattered and returned to the mana hole through Kang Chan’s mouth.

After repeating this several times…….

Another strange sound began to echo from Kang Chan’s body.

Pop! Pop pop! Crack!

Along with the sound of bones twisting, the necrotic cells began to revive, imbued with the mana of nature.

A disgusting smell emanated from his entire body as black liquids poured out like sweat.

They were impurities accumulated in his body throughout his life and waste products excreted by the cells.

The bizarre phenomenon, which could not be explained by science, finally ended, and this time his body began to heat up with intense heat.

The clothes he was wearing burned to ashes in the heat, and the hair on his entire body burned with a pungent smell.

The teeth that had been fine fell out, and new teeth sprouted in their place, and baby-like fair skin appeared beneath the blackened and burnt skin.

This inexplicable phenomenon continued for hours.

Kang Chan slowly opened his eyes.

He thought he was in heaven now.

Because his body, which had been filled with burning pain, was now refreshingly light.

The refreshment was something he had never felt before.

From head to toe, his whole body was as light as a feather.

A tremendous power that he had never felt before overflowed throughout his body.

But Kang Chan concluded that this was not heaven.

Because an unbearably disgusting smell was emanating from all directions.