After closing the distance, Rem punched Roman in the jaw. The hand gripping the axe left an afterimage as it struck and withdrew. The jaw was a vital point.

A clean hit should’ve caused Roman’s brain to rattle and his body to collapse—but he endured it. He completely ignored the shock of the blow.

And it didn’t stop there. Roman twisted his body halfway around and swung his elbow, the one holding the greatsword.

Thud.

Rem didn’t panic. He didn’t need to.

He simply raised his arm to block it and then kicked Roman’s legs out from under him. Roman staggered sideways and collapsed.

“Tough bastard. You sure I shouldn’t just take a leg?”

Rem ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ asked again.

“If you’re going to reattach it yourself, then go ahead.”

Enkrid replied firmly. And thought:

But why is Roman even here?

And alone, no less?

Is there trouble in the city of Oara? No, there isn’t. He received regular reports from there.

If Oara was struggling to handle the remnants of the Gray Forest—the demon zone—he had planned to intervene himself.

He had assigned Kraiss to look into that area so much that the man even voiced complaints.

"I only have one body, you know."

In short, the city of Oara wasn’t what it used to be. Not quite like a capital protected by imperial highways, but—

It’s surpassed the level of an ordinary frontier settlement.

It was also a legacy of Knight Oara, which meant Crang was keeping a close eye on it personally.

So then why?

He had a vague idea, but the answer was right in front of him, so there was no need to speculate.

“He’s not even passing out.”

Rem’s flat voice rang out.

Enkrid didn’t know much about this parasite-type monster. But he could guess the situation by what he saw.

That brown lump stuck to the top of his head.

That must be the true body. His pupils were dull and unfocused—he looked unconscious and controlled.

“Think he’ll return to normal if we tear that thing off?”

Enkrid muttered aloud. Rophod responded to the musing.

“Fifty-fifty, I’d say.”

If he had only heard that Roman had died, would he have just accepted it? Or been bitter?

What was certain was that Enkrid wouldn’t waver over something like this.

If he can be saved, then save him.

Do the best you can.

That was the answer he had arrived at, from what the Ferryman had shown and made him endure in past cycles.

The Ferryman had forced him into cruel hypotheticals. Urged him to remain in the present—not dwell in a future of despair.

He had been a conductor orchestrating anxiety.

Composing a melody that started with the overture of loss, climbed through the middle section of resentment, and peaked in the climax of despair.

"Will you only regret it once everyone around you is dead? Will you beg to return to the past when that time comes?"

Throughout that ordeal, the Ferryman had shown a persistence unlike anything before. And Enkrid...

"It's called Vortex. What do you think?"

...had focused on his swordsmanship more than ever. Training so fiercely even in his dreams, that he never once wavered. If anything, what the Ferryman showed made him stronger.

If anyone had been watching this relationship from the outside, they might’ve asked—

Was the Ferryman testing him?

Enkrid had sensed it too, but that was all.

There was no reason to argue, or to act differently just because he noticed.

Alongside his training, he simply came to a conclusion:

Do the best you can.

It was just a feeling, but Enkrid felt he had learned that mindset from the Ferryman. As if the man had pushed him toward this point.

Of course, he never said that aloud.

The thought passed quickly. Enkrid spoke up.

“Jaxon, Audin.”

The ultimate meaning of Enkrid’s reborn orthodox swordsmanship—based on Lua Gharne’s tactical form—was walking the best path possible in the present.

This time was no different.

Remove the parasite.

Jaxon could make surgical cuts as if peeling skin. And Audin was the only person in the company with divine power.

“Rem, hold him down.”

A moment ago, Rem had been targeting vital points with wild, bone-breaking axe strikes—but now, his movements softened.

Instead of a brutal blow, his axe coiled like a whip, snagged Roman’s greatsword, and yanked it to the ground. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Thunk.

He pinned the greatsword to the earth with his foot.

After that, it was easy. Jaxon slipped in and cut the parasite off.

“The Lord watches over us.”

Audin placed a bare hand on Roman’s head. Blood that had been spurting from the dozen holes left behind by the parasite was forced back by a surge of white light—and stopped.

That was the end of it. Roman collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Audin caught him by the neck with one hand.

It looked like support—but could easily snap his neck if needed.

“Kept him alive just to kill him now?”

Rem muttered at the sight. Audin chuckled.

“A secret technique that combines restraint and support.”

“Yeah, sure. Secret technique my ass.”

Rem scoffed. Next to him, Ragna yawned so wide his jaw cracked. No tension at all.

“What should we do about those?”

Pell gestured to one side.

Creatures similar to the parasite that had possessed Roman were wriggling out of the brown forest. What looked like trees had been their bodies all along.

The brown masses crept forward, slithering like sentient mud.

“What do you mean, what do we do?”

Rophod scolded Pell. The monsters had to be eliminated. That was the mission, wasn’t it?

“They’re my fiancé. I feel sick.”

Shinar playfully whimpered and ducked behind Enkrid. Rem looked like he was about to curse, but held back. Enkrid noticed.

“You’ve grown, Rem.”

He said with admiration. Rem glared.

“Ugh, can you just shut up for once? Why do you never stop talking?”

Rem wasn’t exactly one to talk, but Enkrid was the leader of this group. He soothed Rem’s irritation by answering with a wordless look.

You’re one to talk.

Rem ignored him.

As they stared at the horde of parasites, Rophod and Pell stood side by side to face them.

Let your guard down for a second, and you’d become a host. That’s how dangerous these monsters were.

“Should we ride this out?”

“Light it on fire?”

“Yeah.”

They weren’t threatened.

“Be careful with fire.”

Shinar replied. It’s not easy to shake off events that affect your mind. For her, fire was still a dangerous thing.

Of course, she wasn’t an ordinary fairy—she was gradually overcoming her past.

“Use it carefully.”

That was her follow-up.

As the parasites, now reduced to mudlike forms, rushed forward, Pell and Rophod cut them down one by one. Then they set fire to the forest that had birthed them.

It wasn’t a large forest. After they burned part of it, the rest collapsed like a rotting heap.

At one point, the colony leader—a giant worm—emerged. Pell swung a blade that mimicked the arc of Enkrid’s Vortex.

A single powerful strike was Pell’s specialty too. Though not quite at Enkrid’s level.

Even after its head was split, the worm lived. In the end, fire was the answer.

“I’ll handle it.”

Lua Gharne stepped forward and lashed it with a flaming whip.

They had cleared a demon zone—and yet not even half a day had passed.

Partly because the zone wasn’t that big. But mostly because their power was beyond standard.

After the cleanup, Audin slung Roman over his back. The party moved on to the next destination.

That is, the next demon zone.

Toward the south, there were many places known as “minor demon zones.” Burning and breaking them down was practically a signal flare to Balrog.

They found a rough campsite and settled in. Roman woke up.

He blinked a few times and then spoke.

“Did you die too?”

He was speaking to Enkrid. There was time to explain the situation.

“Ah.”

Roman hesitated and began to describe his own foolishness.

It was a typical act of rebellion. A desperate attempt to walk the path of knighthood.

“My skills hadn’t improved. Time passed while I stayed in place. I couldn’t wait any longer.”

It was a drastic choice. Having eliminated most of the monsters in the Gray Forest, Roman felt stagnant.

What would it take to surpass this wall? Change. He left alone to push forward.

That’s how he learned that people still lived in territories that belonged to no nation.

He’d gotten there half by luck. Even Enkrid had only barely survived his encounter with that Cyclops.

So, had he fought for those people?

“No, it was selfish. I had this foolish hope that if I kept fighting in demon zones, I’d find a way forward.”

His time in the Gray Forest had fueled that hope.

But walking in the wrong direction without checking your footing leads to a fall off a cliff.

The path to knighthood isn’t a paved road.

The good thing was—Roman, after falling, had been pulled back up by another’s hand.

It was foolish—but no one here couldn’t understand that feeling.

Especially Enkrid. He knew that heart all too well. He couldn’t scold him.

Very few people could speak lightly in such a moment.

“That was stupid.”

Rem said.

“Yeah.”

Ragna agreed.

Jaxon didn’t even care. He was off to the side collecting pebbles and stuffing them into his pouch.

“Do you believe in the Lord? If you had, He would’ve shown you the path.”

Audin added.

Hmm.

Roman’s foolishness was rebuked—not by Enkrid, but by the entire company.

“Sounds like you didn’t train enough.”

Pell chimed in, showing his obsession with training.

“Boldness is good, but there’s no reason to enter a demon zone alone.”

Rophod pointed out reality.

Roman looked around at them.

“Who the hell are these guys?”

“The Order of Knights.”

Enkrid answered.

Roman recognized some faces. It wasn’t hard.

The Mad Order of Knights.

He knew he’d been foolish—and that they’d saved him. He tried to stay silent, but his mouth kept moving.

“My fiancé... if I get left behind in a demon zone, you’d come rescue me, right?”

“Why would you go into one alone?”

“To recapture past joy, of course. When the demon caught me, I kept seeing visions of you coming for me.”

“Didn’t I tell you to go back the moment you arrived?”

“You have to learn to hear a woman’s words in reverse. Also, I’m joking. Do I look like a potato that can’t even sprout?”

A potato that can’t even sprout—a fairy saying. Translated to the common tongue, it meant idiot, fool, moron.

Roman didn’t understand it, but helpful Rophod added clarification.

“Not the sort of thing I wanted to know.”

“Oh, really?”

And then Rem joined in—and so did everyone else. Hearing them talk about him like that made something bubble up in Roman’s chest.

“The parasite got me because my resolve was too soft.”

“Both body and mind, weak.”

“Lacked refined training for your size.”

“A fool is just a fool.”

The gray-headed Rem, the blond swordsman, the towering priest spouting faith, the guy fondling pebbles—they all chimed in.

Then a half-giant woman approached. Teresa, was it?

“Did you have a plan?”

It was likely asked out of nothing more than innocent curiosity.

“You sons of bitches...”

The fury welled up in Roman.

He knew he'd been a fool—but could they not spare a single thought for what drove him to that point? Huh? Just how suffocating must it have been for him to go out there on his own?

Even if the people living nearby were barely human, they were still people.

Why couldn't they hear that?

But he couldn’t shout back—not in his current state. In the end, he let out a heavy sigh and muttered,

“How the hell would a bunch of bastards born full of talent ever understand how I feel...”

As he looked up, his eyes met Enkrid’s.

A man who had cast aside talent like scraps to a dog and climbed to this point through nothing but will and effort. He was a knight now—Roman had already heard the rumors.

But Enkrid wasn’t just a knight.

Whatever the case, watching Roman vent like this, Enkrid thought: maybe this too was part of the path to becoming a knight.

Just because someone’s an imperial knight doesn’t mean anyone can teach them or pull them up.

Normally, it required compatibility—personality, conditions, circumstances.

But Enkrid was different. He could lead even Roman. He could see the path.

It wouldn’t happen overnight, of course—but at the very least, he could mark out milestones and open the way.

It’s possible.

That was what made Enkrid so unusual. The road he had walked was completely different from anyone else’s.

He had built steps where there was no path, scaling cliffs by hand.

Roman, seeing the strange light in Enkrid’s eyes, suddenly felt awkward and blurted out,

“People live in demon zones, you know. Bet you didn’t know that.”