Before the Black Knight departed with Lyrin toward the city of Nolav, he stood before her without uttering a single word.
Lyrin was exhausted; her legs trembled, and her body still screamed in pain from the hellish training that had lasted until the morning sun rose.
She lifted her head, voice slightly cracked:
Lyrin:
"Are we… going to rest a little before—"
She didn't finish the sentence.
The Knight pulled out a small glass vial containing a thick black liquid… moving slowly, as if it were a breathing creature.
Lyrin:
"What is that?"
He didn't answer.
He opened the vial and poured the liquid directly over her head and shoulders.
Lyrin froze for a single second…
Then screamed with everything she had left:
Lyrin:
"What is this?! The smell… it's awful!!"
The hot blood slid down her skin like living darkness.
Its scent was a blend of burning, rot, and the cold of endless graves.
She tried to touch her face, but the Knight grabbed her wrist firmly.
Black Knight:
"Don't touch it."
Lyrin struggled to understand:
Lyrin:
"Why?! We're entering a city! Do you want me to walk in looking like… like a corpse crawled out of a swamp?!"
He leaned closer, his voice near her ear:
Black Knight (sharply):
"This is monster blood… do not think about wiping it off."
Then he straightened, his voice even colder:
Black Knight:
"And this… is a lesson."
Her eyes widened:
Lyrin:
"How is THIS a lesson in any way?!"
He turned away, as if the conversation was over:
Black Knight:
"The path to the Titans won't spare you.
Nor the people.
Nor the truth.
Monsters aren't the only filthy thing in this world."
She froze.
She didn't know whether to scream at him… fear him… or spit the black blood right in his face.
She whispered to herself:
Lyrin (internally):
"I thought he was just cruel… he's insane…"
Black Knight:
"I heard that."
She jolted.
Lyrin:
"Nooo! Sorry! I didn't mean— I mean— it was an internal comment! Internal!"
He didn't respond, simply picked her up onto his back despite her protests… and dashed toward the city.
Entering the City of Nolav
Lyrin mumbled angrily:
Lyrin (internally):
"Damn you… Black Knight… do I have to be humiliated every single day?"
He ignored her.
He sprinted suddenly, the wind slapping the faces of the guards at the gate like invisible blows.
The four guards froze.
A girl covered in black blood.
The Black Knight carrying her.
And her mask—thanks to his ability—displaying the face of a woman everyone in the kingdom recognized:
Princess Eliana Arvin.
Lady of the Northern Armies.
A legend of physical combat.
No one had time to think.
The Knight shouted, his voice shaking the very air:
Black Knight:
"Help my princess! She's severely injured!"
Lyrin nearly choked:
Lyrin (internally):
Princess?! What is he saying now?!
The first guard dropped to one knee:
Guard:
"Princess… Eliana?! That's… impossible!"
Another shouted:
"Request permission from the king immediately! Emergency!"
A royal horn sounded—highest priority within the kingdom.
The massive gate began to rise, the giant chains groaning as if they hated what they were being forced to do.
The Guard Captain rushed out, stunned:
Captain:
"Black Knight… what happened? How was the princess injured?!"
The Knight stepped forward, voice steady:
Black Knight:
"We were attacked by three fused creatures resembling the Chimera myth.
They destroyed an entire kingdom… and only we survived."
Faces turned pale.
Black Knight:
"The monster's blood is devouring her. We need royal treatment now."
The Captain bowed deeply:
Captain:
"Royal order! Clear the way!"
The Knight entered with Lyrin still in shock.
Lyrin (internally):
"Three fused beasts?
A whole kingdom destroyed?
His princess?!
What is—"
She leaned toward him and whispered sharply:
Lyrin:
"Why are you doing this? Why is the mask changing my appearance? What—"
He didn't look at her.
Black Knight (with chilling calm):
"I did not create an excuse. I spoke the truth.
The northern kingdom was destroyed."
Lyrin:
"What?!"
Inside the Royal Palace — The Great Council Chamber
Ten commanders from different fantasy factions gathered.
The Black Knight placed Lyrin on the royal healing platform.
The black blood slowly faded under the healers' magic.
The ten commanders were:
(…same list, translated professionally…)
Shock filled the room as they learned the northern kingdom was gone… humanity was extinct…
And the Black Knight had been hiding this truth.
Syril Dantas:
"Three hybrid creatures only?? How could they wipe out an entire kingdom?"
Valera Crest:
"That black blood… was extremely potent. Do all monsters possess such blood?"
Eleanor Vale:
"Tell us—were there any survivors?"
Black Knight:
"There are no other creatures left in the kingdom. All were annihilated."
Whispers spread through the room.
Marissa Lynd (whispering):
"If even lesser creatures like lizardfolk, werewolves, fairies… were all wiped out…
The Titans must have created something foul—
A beast with Chimera attributes."
Draix Haron (dark smile):
"Then we must tread carefully. Very carefully."
Black Knight (cold):
"That creature… is stronger than anything you imagine."
Silence.
Then the commanders spoke one by one—
(each commander section translated exactly as your text)
The Black Knight Shows the Gem
The Knight slowly raised his hand.
Between his fingers, smeared with remaining black blood, appeared a blue-violet gem glowing with indescribable light.
The light wasn't merely shining—
It was pulsing.
As if the gem were alive.
Valera stepped back:
"What… what is that light? This isn't ordinary magic."
Thalor narrowed his eyes:
"That energy… I've never felt anything like it."
Galin—terrifying orc warrior—took a step back:
"I've never seen a stone… make me afraid."
The Black Knight looked at them all, voice low but striking every nerve:
Black Knight:
"This… was the final card of the Northern Kingdom."
All eyes locked onto him.
Syril Dantas:
"A gem? Just a gem… and you claim it's our only chance?"
Draix Haron (smirking with dark sarcasm):
"Are you joking? We're talking about a creature that learned to counter fire, magic, defense, stealth… even arrows."
But the Knight raised the gem before his face, speaking with the calm certainty of someone who never doubts:
Black Knight:
"This is not a gem…
It's a Bond-Breaker."
The word struck the chamber like an earthquake.
Valera Crest gasped:
"…Impossible. That's a legend! It was said only the Titans ever crafted something like that!"
Eleanor placed a hand on her chest:
"I've heard tales of it… a stone capable of breaking magical structures… even physical ones."
Syril Dantas raised an eyebrow:
"You're telling us this stone can… dismantle the creature?"
The Black Knight closed his hand around it, the light vanishing beneath his grip.
Then he said:
Black Knight:
"This stone can do only one thing…
Shatter cursed blood.
Any blood. No matter its nature.
Even Chimera blood."
Silence swallowed the room.
Marissa Lynd bit her lip, stunned:
"If that's true… then we can kill the monster from the inside, not through external force!"
Selena Thorn:
"But… how do we know it actually works?"
Here…
the Black Knight allowed himself a small, cold smile—
a smile as frigid as an ice wall.
And as he turned toward the healing platform, he said:
Black Knight:
"I'll show you."
He approached Lyrin, still disguised as Princess Eliana.
She remained lying down, black blood crawling beneath her skin like threads of smoke.
The healers immediately stepped back when they saw the stone.
Healer:
"Sir! The blood is still active… any mistake—"
The Knight ignored him completely.
He pulled from his pocket a small glass container—the one you named "the vessel"—
and poured a bit of the black blood inside.
The moment the blood touched air… it hissed sharply.
The ten commanders gasped at the sheer darkness of the liquid—
like a shadow that hated the light.
The Knight held the stone over the vessel…
It didn't touch the blood.
Just coming close was enough.
And then—
✦ The Stone's Effect — "Blood Fracture"
A violet light burst from the stone like a living spark…
engulfing the black blood.
The liquid suddenly began to:
tremble…
then tear apart—
as if something invisible were shredding it into transparent layers.
Marissa gasped:
"It's… breaking apart!!!"
Syril Dantas' eyes widened:
"This… shouldn't be possible! Chimera blood doesn't separate!"
Valera whispered:
"The stone… it's severing the magical bonds inside it… unraveling it piece by piece…"
And the black blood that had been attacking Lyrin moments ago…
became nothing more than lifeless black dust.
The Knight lifted the stone again, and the remains of the blood inside the vessel—
once a lethal substance—
had turned into a dead, worthless powder.
He sealed the vessel and placed it on the table.
✦ Proof That Cannot Be Denied
Black Knight:
"This stone… can kill the creature.
But using it… isn't simple."
Neron Valdin asked urgently:
"What is the cost?"
The Knight looked toward Lyrin.
Then said a sentence that left the entire chamber breathless:
Black Knight:
"The stone doesn't reach full power unless the cursed blood before it is weak.
But if we want to raise its level…
to make it capable of destroying a creature of that size…"
He paused.
Even breathing stopped.
Black Knight:
"I must kill… a great number of monsters."
A rumble of shock filled the chamber.
Galin Tork slammed his massive fist onto the table:
"How many do you mean? Ten? Twenty?"
The Knight slowly shook his head.
Black Knight:
"More."
Neron Valdin's eyes widened:
"How many… exactly?"
The Knight lifted his gaze, as if calculating the weight of catastrophe itself.
Black Knight:
"I need to kill monsters with blood similar to the Chimera's…
High-class beasts.
One hundred of them… at least."
Valera Crest gasped:
"One hundred?! That's madness! Those types of monsters wipe out entire villages!"
Thalor Green, voice low:
"Even we—at our level—fight only one or two of those beasts in a full operation…"
Marissa spoke the most bluntly:
"How do you expect one human knight to survive that?"
But they froze when the Knight replied without hesitation—
without emotion—
without the slightest sign of fear:
as if killing a hundred elite monsters was nothing more than another day.
Black Knight:
"I'll survive. I don't have a choice."
He pointed to the stone still pulsing in his palm:
Black Knight:
"The stone feeds on the breaking of blood bonds.
The more cursed-blooded monsters I kill… the stronger it becomes.
The stronger it becomes… the closer we get to killing the Chimera."
Eleanor Vale—who almost never feared anything—asked with a trembling voice:
"And can you… withstand that? Cursed blood isn't just deadly. It consumes the mind."
The Knight looked directly at her.
His eyes behind the mask held no fear.
Black Knight:
"If I can't withstand it… everyone dies."
The entire hall froze.
Selena Thorn put a hand over her mouth:
"…You truly are the kingdom's last knight.
Yet you act like a man sentenced to a duty no one else can bear."
But before anyone could speak—
A weak voice came from the healing bed.
Lyrin—pretending she had just awakened, still overwhelmed, her voice shaky from exhaustion but having heard everything—spoke:
Lyrin:
"You… intend to fight a hundred monsters… alone?"
Everyone turned toward her.
The Knight didn't speak at first.
He stepped closer to her—just one step.
Then said, with a quiet sharpness that pierced straight through her:
Black Knight:
"I'll do it… so you won't have to face them before your time comes."
Lyrin trembled.
And now…
everyone finally understood what they had failed to see from the beginning:
The Knight wasn't merely trying to save the kingdom.
Nor was he simply trying to destroy the Chimera.
He was trying to protect Lyrin—
even if it meant carrying the entire world on his back alone.
TO BE CONTINUED…