Eternally Regressing Knight
Chapter 630: Chapter 630 - The Demon’s Respite
The white-haired fairy had a face that made it difficult to read his intentions.
He silently observed Enkrid for a moment.
If Frogs possessed eyes that could discern talent, then fairies had a sensitivity for detecting lies.
Enkrid spoke with sincerity, and the white-haired fairy recognized it as such—though the method behind it was incomprehensible to him.
Sitting by the wall, the fairy leaned back, straightened his posture, and continued to watch Enkrid with a steady gaze.
Beyond the circular window behind him, Enkrid noticed a few young fairies peeking in with curious eyes.
Some stood a short distance away from the window, staring intently. These young fairies, still untrained in emotional restraint, had their curiosity clearly etched on their faces.
Soon, a few adult fairies—similar in stature but presumably older—approached the children and said something in a language Enkrid couldn’t understand.
Words like
"Puluuw-s"
and
"Dekedo"
reached his ears.
"Come to think of it, it’s strange how easily we’re communicating."
Fairies had their own language, yet here they were, speaking fluently.
The adult fairies said something further, prompting the children to shrink back and retreat. Perhaps they were told not to spy.
Enkrid watched as the adult fairies who had sent the children away then perked up their ears and took the children’s place by the window.
"They chased the children off and took their spots."
That’s how it appeared to Enkrid, and it was indeed the case.
Their excessive interest was undeniable.
On the surface, they appeared indifferent, but their actions betrayed their intrigue.
"An apology might be wise," Fel said quietly from behind.
This was the same man who had previously suggested stitching Enkrid’s mouth shut.
Not someone he felt compelled to listen to.
"It was sincere," Enkrid muttered.
"For now, just drink tea. Hold it in your mouth without swallowing if you must. Please."
Fel, a shepherd of the wilderness, considered himself a fool when it came to social interactions—a misconception.
The true fool was there, sitting before the white-haired fairy.
Enkrid’s approach to slaying demons was straightforward: strike hard and keep striking until it’s dead.
This made Fel wonder:
"Is this due to his talent?"
Perhaps his aptitude for swordsmanship had come at the cost of other skills, much like Ragna, who could see the sunrise but fail to walk eastward.
A gross misunderstanding of course, but there was no one there to correct it.
Enkrid had spoken sincerely, intending to reciprocate the genuineness he sensed from the white-haired fairy. Any necessary clarifications could be made later.
This trivial farce concluded as the fairy gathered his thoughts and began to speak.
"Fairy society is governed by an assembly composed of multiple clans," he began.
While the abruptness of the statement caught Enkrid off guard, he listened, sensing its relevance.
The clan leaders served as council members, and from among them, a chairperson was elected to make decisions after hearing everyone’s opinions.
Within this structure, a particular clan served as the kingdom’s guardians—less akin to monarchs in human terms and more like protectors.
"And I am the head of the Ermen clan," he said.
Though Enkrid didn’t know, the Ermen clan was one of the city’s foundational pillars.
While their strength wasn’t proven through force, their contributions over the years had solidified their prominence.
"Currently, I am the only remaining council member, meaning my decisions represent everyone," the fairy added, leaning forward.
His silver-gray eyes locked onto Enkrid with a sharp focus.
"We will fight together."
His tone was resolute and solemn.
"Suddenly?"
Enkrid realized he was struggling to keep up with the conversation’s pace.
"For what?" he asked bluntly.
"Didn’t you already know?" the fairy replied, tilting his head.
"I know nothing," Enkrid said.
"Then why have you come here?"
"To ask why Shinar left."
"You came just to ask that? Shinar didn’t say anything about duty or the danger to our people?" "She said nothing," Enkrid replied.
The white-haired fairy, Ermen, briefly recalled past events and muttered, "
Shinar, you tried to shoulder it all yourself. You’ve always been like that."
His words were directed at the absent Shinar, spoken with the same calmness as before—accepting the inevitability of events.
"Such foolishness,"
he murmured, his voice tinged with regret.
Enkrid lightly tapped the table with his fist, a gesture to draw attention.
It worked, and Ermen’s gaze shifted back to him.
"Could you explain the situation?" Enkrid asked.
"It’s a grim tale—worse than sprouting potatoes. But if you truly wish to hear it, I will tell you." He began his explanation.
"In our city, there’s a cave that spawns monsters. And in that cave lives a demon." The fairy society was in decline, like leaves withering and falling to the ground.
Their end felt inevitable.
"Nowadays, even children help craft arrows, and some fairies have left to roam the continent as mercenaries."
In any society, children represent the future.
Yet here, even they were burdened with tasks to sustain their crumbling world.
This decline stemmed from the demon in the cave, though it wasn’t the only source of their misfortune.
They faced oppression from the empire’s fairy kingdom and a schism with the druids.
But the demon’s presence was the root of it all.
The demon made its demands clear:
"Bring me my bride."
Shinar wasn’t the first to be chosen.
Many fairy knights had ventured into the cave, only to fail and die.
Their deaths unleashed waves of monsters upon the city, forcing the fairies to endure great losses.
Each attempt to slay the demon ended in failure.
Only when a fairy was sacrificed as the demon’s bride did peace return—a cursed reprieve.
For years, the demon continued to spawn monsters, slowly eroding the fairy’s strength.
"Becoming the demon’s bride means becoming its plaything until it tires of you. And so, our cursed peace settled over us," Ermen said, his voice heavy with bitterness and grief.
Enkrid listened intently, ignoring the passage of time and his growing hunger.
Once Ermen finished, he summarized and asked for confirmation.
"To summarize, she became the Demon’s bride inside that cave?"
"She went to beg for a reprieve from the demon, yes. In the end, she couldn’t break the curse." The white-haired fairy nodded as he spoke.
A demonic mark had been etched into Shinar’s spirit.
She likely suffered from nightmares and, at times, heard the demon’s whispers.
It was a scar carved during her childhood.
If Shinar were to find a mate and consummate their bond, the demon’s curse would weaken.
However, her partner would inherit the curse instead.
Was that how it worked?
Was this why, despite teasing him endlessly about being her fiancé, she didn’t dare to get closer?
"When she was young, the demon whispered to her, saying she was cursed. Some ignorant fools pushed her into that belief as well. In the end, those very people left this place. Even if it meant losing their vitality, they left to survive."
Enkrid caught the faint metallic scent of blood amidst the forest’s fragrance.
A smell one wouldn’t easily find in the fairy city.
"Apologies, but I must leave now. Your timing isn’t ideal."
The white-haired fairy rose at a measured pace, neither hurried nor sluggish.
In the three deliberate steps he took, Enkrid sifted through the information the fairy had shared, sorting, interpreting, and grasping the essential points.
A demon appeared and burned the city.
Later, the demon created a cave in the forest, the fairies’ sanctuary, as its lair.
The demon demanded a bride every few decades.
To defeat the demon, the fairies exhausted their combat-ready forces.
Those known as fairy knights perished in the fight.
Misfortune snowballed, and all of it seemed to stem from the demon’s greed for the fairies.
Even without seeing the demon, Enkrid felt he understood its lust, obsession, malice, and insidious greed.
The cave was a minor labyrinth, from which monsters continually emerged.
When the bride entered, the monsters ceased to appear.
The demon living within was truly vile and cruel, reveling in the slow death of an entire city.
A hazy image formed in Enkrid’s mind.
A demon with Shinar at its side, cackling.
Perhaps its long, crimson tongue licked her expressionless cheek.
Beyond organizing information, Enkrid’s mind painted a vivid picture.
All this while the white-haired fairy took just three steps.
His ability to grasp the essence of a story and process it was extraordinary.
Even Krais had acknowledged it multiple times.
And it wasn’t just Krais.
Anyone who knew Enkrid recognized this trait.
He discerned the core issue and understood the dire situation, the threats, and dangers.
Yet if he believed his course of action was right, he didn’t hesitate.
That was the nature of Enkrid—the so-called madman.
At the root of every danger lay the demon.
Or more precisely, the labyrinth.
The labyrinth has always been the problem.
Should he blame that cursed place?
In the Gray Forest, he had lost Oara.
Would it be Shinar’s turn this time?
His emotions stirred—a mixture of urgency, irritation, anger, and defiance.
Yet his expression remained unperturbed.
Perhaps even more composed than the fairies.
He simply reviewed and reaffirmed what needed to be done.
"What do you mean by fighting together?"
Enkrid directed his question at the retreating white-haired fairy’s back.
His voice carried the weight of will, like a stone tossed into a lake, rippling outward. "I mean to enter the cave. To kill the demon." Ermen replied.
Whether fairies had a sense of duty or not was unclear.
Yet they did not weigh Shinar’s life against their entire race.
They simply pursued the path they believed to be right.
"We should’ve done this long ago," Ermen added.
Enkrid, now walking beside him, asked, "Is your name Ermen?"
"When one becomes the head of a house, they forgo their name."
"Then why is the city named Kiraheis?"
Enkrid’s curiosity was piqued by the city’s name being mentioned.
Ermen answered with a calmness that hinted at a desire for aid—a plea Shinar had never voiced, depriving Enkrid of the chance to respond.
"Didn’t you know? Kiraheis is the name of the family that has guarded this city for generations. In your terms, they’re the queen’s family."
The fairy added that among fairies, they were called the Guardian Family.
Despite repeating the explanation, his tone remained patient, devoid of irritation.
"A queen?"
A new ripple disturbed Enkrid’s calm.
A queen?
That was truly surprising.
Perhaps he should call her old queen later.
But no, she’d likely blast a hole through him with her Naidyr after hearing such a joke.
That wouldn’t be so bad.
After all, it’d mean she’d returned and was spirited enough to respond to his jokes.
"Where is the cave?" Enkrid asked Ermen.
"If you didn’t come to fight alongside us, I’d advise against going," Ermen replied.
His silvery eyes wavered, betraying unease.
As much as he tried to mask his emotions, how could anyone remain composed in the face of such turmoil?
Fairies, too, were creatures of feeling.
They restrained their emotions, but they didn’t lack them.
Shinar had entered the labyrinth, the cave where the demon dwelled, to protect her people.
Krang had urged her to abandon her duty, telling her not to sacrifice herself for the fairies.
’Don’t lay down your life for your kin,’ he had said.
But Shinar hadn’t heeded his advice.
Respecting her meant respecting her will.
Enkrid understood this.
He now sought to see Kiraheis’ labyrinth for himself.
If he was already here, why not shout into the cave, calling Shinar to come out and play?
As Enkrid followed Ermen through the forest trail, Fel whispered to Luagarne.
"I’m kind of scared."
It wasn’t something his pride would normally let him admit, but the words slipped out naturally.
"You’re not afraid of the demon, are you?" Luagarne asked, though she already knew the answer.
She, too, had felt a few shivers of unease.
"No, it’s the captain that scares me." Fel’s words rang true.
Enkrid exuded a quiet fury, like a cold flame—calm yet blazing.
And amidst it all, his determination bristled like thorns.
Ermen led them along a path that wound through the forest.
Roots jutted out from the ground, and the scenery seemed to sweep past, as if they were riding in a carriage.
Trees ahead blurred and shifted behind them.
"We’re here," Ermen announced.
The path ended abruptly, revealing their destination—a clearing.
A foul stench assaulted their senses, far worse than the reek of animal waste.
It was the kind of odor that emanated from corpses left to rot and fester with maggots.
Perhaps the demon in the cave was one of those foul-smelling types.
In front of the cave stood a large gathering of fairies.
Their numbers easily exceeded a hundred.
Ermen stepped forward and addressed them.
"The demon’s reprieve has ended. No, we’ll put an end to it ourselves." Ermen’s words carried weight.
Shinar had sought to protect them, but her people thought differently.
Rather than lose Shinar, they chose to fight the demon.
That was their resolve.
And Enkrid found their determination genuine.

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