Side Story 22. Mihail’s Past (1)

A dry desert wind blew in.

Mihail, who had just turned fifteen, gazed at the golden waves of sand dunes with eyes more barren than the endless Sahar Desert.

It was summer, with the sun shining intensely.

As befitting the hot season, the light reflected off the sand grains shone beautifully as if ablaze.

Would the light reflected on the water scales of the Nilda River sparkle more, or would the light reflected on the sand grains of the Sahar Desert be more dazzling?

While having these useless and frivolous thoughts, Mihail sensed someone’s presence and turned around. There weren’t many skilled enough to come alone to this place where the durahan legion frequently appeared.

“Master.”

“My, my. How long has it been since you were accepted into the knighthood, and you’re still calling me Master?”

“There’s no one watching, so what does it matter?”

Mihail laughed playfully.

Long ago, on the day the calamity began, Mihail became an orphan like many others with similar stories. Thanks to his innate holy power, he was fortunate enough to find shelter at a temple, but for a six-year-old who knew nothing of the world, that place was far from easy.

Why were there so many corrupt priests?

The child with platinum blonde hair, beautiful from the start, suffered many injustices. Had he not met his master, he would likely have grown up with a twisted and broken personality.

<Hey, you there. Your holy power seems quite useful.>

That was their first meeting.

Mihail was eight years old at the time. It was also the day he escaped from the hellish temple.

<Why is a tiny thing like you so frightened? Did someone hit you? Was it me? Hmm?>

At the rough manner of speech, young Mihail had shrunk his shoulders even more.

<Listen, Carlisle. Leave that child alone. As you said, his holy power is exceptional and helps purify corpses.>

<Priest, we lack knights to destroy the undead. I’ll take this boy and raise him.>

Carlisle, the Holy Knight Order Commander.

In an era where the undead ran rampant, he was one of the knights everyone looked up to. His words carried enough weight that the temple had no choice but to hand over young Mihail.

Recalling the past, Mihail let out a small chuckle.

Back then, he thought he was being dragged into an even worse h*ll. What could be more shameful and disgusting than attending to corrupt priests? Yet Mihail had been needlessly afraid. The world was a far more terrible and dark place than his small mind could imagine.

And the person who made him love that world,

Was his master standing before him.

“How does it feel to be vice commander?”

Carlisle asked with a playful smile. It closely resembled the smile on Mihail’s lips.

“D*mn good.”

“That… modifier is… somehow.”

Carlisle frowned, seemingly at a loss for words. Mihail giggled with narrowed eyes.

“I learned it from you, Master.”

“You copied me so much that I’ve completely reformed myself. Why do you only learn the bad things and not the good……”

Carlisle grumbled while sweeping back his navy blue hair that had a slight purple tint when it caught the light. At that exact moment, Mihail, mirror-like, swept back his platinum blonde hair with one hand.

It wasn’t intentional, but somehow his expressions and actions had become identical copies.

They say people imitate what they like. And that by imitating, they grow to resemble it.

In that context, Mihail liked his master so much that he wanted to absorb everything about Carlisle and make it his own.

“Artificially changing is not great.”

Even down to the snippy tone.

Mihail shook his head with a mischievous look in his eyes.

Carlisle, who had been narrowing his eyes with an irritated expression, soon let out a deflated laugh as if there was nothing he could do.

“Honestly, when I first picked you up, I had no idea you’d grow up to be this insolent.”

“You have to love even this part of me.”

“……Won’t you give in even a little?”

It was something Carlisle had once said to young Mihail.

That the world isn’t made up of only goodness. The dirty and the clean, the ugly and the beautiful, the cruel and the generous.

All these things exist in the world we live in.

<Now, which will you choose?>

<……. >

<Will you hate, or will you love?>

<……. >

Though he hadn’t answered that day, a great wave stirred within Mihail. Teardrops formed in his teal eyes, which had been staring fixedly at the floor with a barren gaze, trying to kill his emotions.

Though he’d never mentioned it aloud, the memory of that day was engraved deep in Mihail’s heart.

Reflecting on it often, he came to marvel at the greatness of God who created such a complex and profound world.

Yes.

Mihail had chosen the latter. He came to love this world. Terribly and desperately.

“The sun’s setting. It’s dangerous to be out alone.”

Night was the time when evil energies grew stronger.

If they were unlucky enough to encounter undead rising, it would be more troublesome to deal with them than during the day.

Mihail sighed deeply and sat down carelessly on the sandy ground. The sun that had been scattering sparkling jewels across the desert was already turning red.

“The sunset is beautiful.”

“Not worth risking your life for, is it?”

“What about you, Master?”

Mihail tilted his head to look up at Carlisle. The Holy Knight Order Commander, who commanded the respect of many, looked down at his disciple with a dignified expression.

“I came looking for you.”

“Is something wrong?”

He thought the vice commander appointment ceremony had concluded without issue.

Mihail tilted his head in confusion.

It was then that he sensed something ominous.

“……!”

Thud!

As pain spread across his back, his vision flipped.

D*mn it!

Even though he’d sensed it, he couldn’t dodge. Mihail lost his balance from Carlisle’s kick and rolled down the sand dune ungracefully.

“Urgh…… D*mn you, Master!”

After rolling to a stop and belatedly regaining his posture, Mihail glared at Carlisle with narrowed eyes. The perpetrator, meanwhile, remained composed.

“Tsk, tsk. A vice commander with such poor reflexes.”

“Ha.”

Mihail let out a laugh of disbelief.

Who in the world could dodge Carlisle’s kick? Even to Mihail, an Enchanter, it was a speed that felt fast.

“How unfair to ambush me like that.”

“A person should be consistent. When have I ever warned you before kicking?”

“Even so……”

Cutting off his words, Mihail let out a deep sigh. Truly a consistent master. It was a mystery how he could detect the undead’s energy so keenly, but in any case, he always pushed his beloved disciple toward places where the undead appeared.

Mihail always sensed the evil energy a beat later than Carlisle.

D*mn it.

Cursing inwardly, Mihail turned around.

“How interesting.”

It was the durahan legion.

They had fought them just yesterday, and now they appeared again for two days in a row. Tiresome bastards. Where did they leave their heads when only their bodies rose? Muttering various curses, Mihail drew his sword.

800? No, there must be over a thousand.

After roughly estimating the number of enemies by eye, he immediately closed his eyes.

Carlisle stepped back and folded his arms, watching his disciple respond calmly with pleased eyes.

“You’ve grown strong.”

“I need to concentrate, so shut up.”

Though his personality is foul…… With Carlisle’s muttering voice as the last thing he heard, Mihail swung his sword sharply.

His eyes remained closed.

He was in training. Though it was an irritating training method, it was effective for improving his skills.

Focus on the flow of mana.

Mihail finally came to understand properly how the headless durahan could deliver precise attacks. The existence, position, and movement of living beings. By focusing on the flow of mana, he could sense these things in detail.

Of course, closing his eyes was a recent development; originally, he had struggled even with his eyes open.

Slash! Slaaash!

Mihail’s sword moved accurately and quickly, almost too fast for the n*ked eye to follow. Already, 100 creatures had fallen and turned to ash.

“Finish them all without using enchantment!”

“I know, so please shut up!”

As if I wasn’t already annoyed enough.

Having his peaceful appreciation of the sunset interrupted was irritating enough, but Carlisle’s cheerful shouting made Mihail want to hit his master, regardless of their relationship.

His master should be grateful to the durahan.

If dealing with these creatures wasn’t so urgent, he would have made his master pay dearly for provoking his disciple.

Swooosh……!

It was then that a streak of light cut through the air.

Mihail broke the training rule and opened his eyes. F*ck. It was the chain of light.

With a face that seemed to say “Isn’t this too much?”, Mihail turned his head.

Although he must have felt the sharp glare.

Carlisle was on top of the sand dune, seemingly focused intently on drawing out the undead sleeping beneath the ground. Though he looked serious, his excitement was clearly visible.

This was a training method he had used occasionally since Mihail was young.

Something about needing to grow strong.

Thanks to this, Mihail had become strong enough not to die from most dangers.

But doing this on the day he was appointed vice commander and supposed to be celebrated was crossing the line.

“Judgment’s Crossroads.”

Training or whatever, who cares.

As if to say he’d only been playing along until now, Mihail blew away the durahan legion with a single attack.