Chapter 99…
Elliot stared, stunned, at Dante’s retreating figure.
‘Is he even human?’
From the back, riding his horse back toward Rittergut, Dante looked exactly like a peer of his—no different.
But this very morning, the way Dante had acted seemed to far surpass mere humanity.
Yes — it was literally divine might.
Something someone like him could never hope to approach.
“…Did you see that?”
“I did.”
“What the hell was that…?”
“Can that even happen?”
The other cadets had apparently seen it too. All wore the same expression as Elliot, only able to mutter words of disbelief.
It was only natural. How could a human, with a single sword, slice apart a being tens of meters in size? When Dante swung a second blade, even the shape was utterly destroyed, smashed to pieces.
‘I thought that was only in old tales.’
To be honest, all the Empire’s talk of “swords of the realm,” “ducal swords,” and “sword authorities” had always felt like exaggeration. A little better in combat, a bit more mana control, slightly more stamina—those differences inflated into legend. Of course one would think that. How could humans split mountains or part seas? Those were stories made to idolize great knights: fabricated, exaggerated, false.
But that wasn’t the case.
He had seen it with his own eyes. Dante was like the protagonist straight out of those stories.
“Is everyone alright physically?”
Dante asked quietly.
“Ah, yes.”
“Thankfully there are no serious injuries.”
“Me too…”
None of the cadets were hurt. At most they had small scrapes from branches or injuries from falling.
“When we return to Rittergut, all of you will go to the infirmary.”
“It’s—”
“Go get checked.”
His voice cut in, firm as if he would accept no dissent.
“Understood.”
Reluctantly the cadets nodded.
Elliot kept his lips tightly pressed together, then finally could no longer hold back his curiosity and spoke.
“By the way, what the hell was that huge thing just now?”
Everyone pricked up their ears. They hadn’t shown it outwardly, but everyone had been curious.
Dante said nothing for a moment, then sighed and answered.
“It was a monster called a Behemoth.”
“A m-monster?”
Their eyes went wide.
“Do such huge monsters really exist?”
The monsters they knew were at most goblins or orcs. They’d heard rumors of giant monsters, but honestly had thought such talk was nonsense. But tens-of-meters-tall monsters?
“Have you never heard of the monster waves that happened in the duchy?” Dante asked.
“I’ve only heard it as a rumor sometimes,” someone answered.
Dante nodded and continued.
“In that place, those things would appear several times a day. Every time one showed up, hundreds or thousands died.”
Everyone’s faces hardened at Dante’s words.
“There were even Behemoths so powerful you could barely call them that.”
Elliot could not believe it.
“But in the end, the duchy won…?”
How could they possibly win if such things came out several times a day?
“How do you think they won?”
Dante asked. No one could answer—no matter how they thought about it, victory seemed impossible.
Dante let out a short snort of laughter.
“Those who make the impossible possible. With their power, they barely managed to win.”
“W-who are they?”
“Knights.”
“Ah…”
“You should know your knowledge is still narrow. Try to see the world more broadly. What you know is only a tiny portion.”
With that, Dante said nothing more. Not until they reached Rittergut.
“Could you send a single letter for me?”
“To where?”
“To Aquitas.”
The staffer flinched at Dante’s words and nodded quickly.
“Of course. Give it to me.”
Dante left a letter to be sent to the marquisate at the Rittergut office, then stepped outside.
On the surface it seemed peaceful. Nothing obvious seemed to be happening. But Dante knew. Under this calm surface, something was going on.
‘I couldn’t uncover it after all.’
As soon as he returned, Dante had gone straight to Kaizel and reported what had happened in the Mursi mountains. Naturally, Kaizel had been stunned and furious, vowing to find out what had happened.
But… nothing could be discovered. Those who had sent Dante and his cadets to the mountains had long since vanished, and no one even remembered who they had been. It felt as if they’d been possessed. Even after secretly and thoroughly inspecting Rittergut from within, nothing turned up.
“Huff—.”
Frustrated, Dante started to pace. He had no particular destination—just walking to ease his annoyance.
“Oh, there you are.”
Someone hailed Dante. “I heard there was a big incident recently. Are you okay?”
Whether it was concern or mockery was unclear. The speaker was Gideon. He approached Dante with the instructors he always kept around.
“They say Mursi found Behemoths in the mountains and took them down. Is that true?”
Dante’s gaze turned to him. The motive behind the question was obvious.
“You know that Behemoths are among the most powerful monsters on the continent, right? It takes two or three elite knight orders working together just to barely hunt one…”
He snorted. “And you claim Sir Dante and only seven cadets killed three of them.”
His tone dripped sarcasm.
“Who would believe such nonsense?”
Dante sighed softly. He’d been quiet for a while, and it seemed Gideon had been waiting to pick at him.
“I never asked you to believe me,” Dante replied.
Gideon’s brow twitched.
“Sir Dante didn’t learn etiquette from his mother when he was young, I suppose. Oh—didn’t she die recently?”
At the ridiculous provocation, Dante nodded.
“Yes, that’s right. I killed her.”
Gideon stiffened—“W-what the—”
“For accuracy, she died at my and my father’s hands. Want to know why?”
Even though Dante’s eyes held no emotion, Gideon swallowed and averted his gaze. Dante clicked his tongue at the pitiful sight.
“I didn’t ask you to believe me. I don’t want it. Do your own job properly.”
How could these supposed instructors, wandering around gossiping about others, have even passed the qualification exam?
“How dare you—!”
“How dare I what.”
Dante cut him off. Gideon’s face trembled.
“You should choose your next words carefully.”
Dante was already irritated; push him further like this and he wouldn’t bother restraining himself. Being ostracized in Rittergut had been punishment enough in a previous life. Gideon fell silent and only glared.
“If you have nothing to say, get lost. Don’t block my path.”
Dante pushed Gideon lightly aside by the shoulder; he slipped to the side, defeated. Passing Gideon and his cronies, Dante warned them.
“Never speak of my mother again. Next time it won’t be like this.”
He felt burning looks behind him but ignored them. Not worth engaging.
“Tch.”
He clicked his tongue after walking a bit. He realized he’d handled it too emotionally out of frustration. ‘I should have just ignored him.’
Gideon was now certainly Dante’s enemy. He wasn’t clever enough to do anything overt, but he’d likely scheme from the shadows. That annoyed Dante—he had enough to worry about without entanglements like that.
‘No choice.’
What’s done is done. The important thing was not Gideon. They had to find clues.
‘Should I start by watching Kaizel’s surroundings?’
Kaizel had been the one to send Mursi to the mountains. He might not be the villain, but he could be connected. Apart from that, there weren’t many leads.
‘…Alright.’
Deciding that, Dante headed toward Kaizel’s office.
“…What happened here?”
“They escaped.”
“Escaped? Who on earth—!”
A man dyed in red from head to toe cried out in alarm.
“We haven’t discovered who yet. Sorry.”
Gnash—! “After all the effort put into this, find them. You must find them.”
“They couldn’t have gone far. They’re probably still somewhere inside Rittergut.”
“It’s not the area that matters. It’s who’s nearby.”
He trembled with anxiety and shouted.
“You must find them within a week. Only then can we carry out his plan.”
“Understood.”
The subordinates rushed off in a hurry. The red-clad man sighed alone.
“After all the ten years I poured into this, why now…”
He ground his teeth.
“When I find out who it was, I’ll tear them limb from limb and offer them as a sacrifice.”
Cursing, he turned and passed through a collapsed wall and went outside. It was the underground library.
