Chapter 21

The Genius Knight Who Devours Memories

Chapter 21

Mushurin.

A twenty-five-year-old from the north, and the only female company commander in the White Wolf Knights.

Whenever an incident occurred, the Knight Commander handled it personally, and because of the difference in rank, she had little direct interaction with Rohan, making this the first time the two had spoken alone.

After moving somewhere quiet, Mushurin asked Rohan.

“Why did you say we would be annihilated?”

Rohan answered calmly.

“The enemy will deploy a mage.”

“What?”

A mage.

Mushurin’s eyes widened at those words.

Because the existence of mages carried enormous significance within the Empire.

Mushurin shook her head.

“That won’t happen. If they did that, they would become enemies of the Magic Tower and be captured in no time.”

Moreover, the use of mages in war was strictly controlled.

The moment magic was introduced into warfare, the scale of destruction became immeasurable.

Because of that, the Magic Tower, which oversaw mages, prohibited them from participating in wars.

It was also an unspoken rule observed by both the Empire and Noxis.

Mushurin’s eyebrow twitched.

“Besides, how do you know that?”

“I heard it.”

“...”

He heard it.

‘I heard it, I happened to see it.’ When reviewing the incident reports, Rohan had always given explanations like those whenever he was involved.

The leadership was not naive enough to believe all of it was mere coincidence.

‘But he was always right.’

And yet the results had always proven correct.

Rohan had exposed Hans as a spy and rooted out the other spies connected to him.

Those were undeniable facts confirmed through investigation.

Rohan himself did not know it, but Mushurin, as Fourth Company Commander, had personally investigated the spies’ belongings and confirmed that they really had been enemy agents.

“You seem to have quite a lot of secrets.”

“...The Noxis soldier I crossed swords with clearly...”

“That’s enough.”

Mushurin cut Rohan off.

‘Because that isn’t what matters.’

Two things mattered to Mushurin.

First. Was the source of the information trustworthy? Yes.

Second. Was the information worth using? Yes.

Rather than wasting time arguing over a story that would only be brushed aside with ‘I heard it,’ confirming the information and preparing a response took priority.

“So, what do you know? Tell me everything.”

“Hallucinations.”

“Hallucinations?”

It was this specific.

She had countless questions, but since she knew she would not hear the truth anyway, she set them aside for the moment.

Instead, she focused on the information obtained from Rohan.

“Hallucinations. Hallucinations, huh. That could be fatal inside a gorge.”

A gorge was naturally enclosed on both sides. It was also highly vulnerable to ambushes.

If the troops fell into hallucinations there, it could create enormous confusion within the unit.

“It probably won’t be an ordinary hallucination.”

“Yes. I suppose not. A hallucination cast by a mage. If what you’re saying is true, this is serious.”

Serious enough that they might have to reconsider entering Niagara Gorge altogether.

Mages generally wielded one or two mysterious powers.

And those powers surpassed imagination.

Then unbelievable words came from Rohan’s mouth.

“I’ll stop the mage.”

“What...?”

The information was one thing, but he would stop the mage?

Mushurin was dumbfounded by the statement.

“You? How?”

“I have the power to create a large explosion.”

“Yes, I saw it. But what does that have to do with this?”

“Even if I can’t determine the mage’s exact position, I can force them to stop casting.”

“...”

For the first time, the corner of Rohan’s mouth, expressionless until now, twisted slightly.

“...And if I’m lucky, I might even kill them.”

Mushurin found the sight extremely strange.

‘He looks like someone desperately hoping that happens.’

And...

‘Like he’ll actually make it happen.’

She had the feeling that Rohan truly would.

Mushurin organized what Rohan had said.

In other words, Rohan intended to infiltrate the enemy position, cause an explosion, and disrupt the magic.

It was so simple that calling it an operation almost felt embarrassing.

The problem was how he intended to do it.

Mushurin did not hide her doubt.

“How do you intend to infiltrate?”

“The gorge has a narrow field of vision. The more soldiers there are, the more blind spots they create for one another. I’ll use those gaps.”

In the end, he was saying he would infiltrate directly from the front.

Rohan added.

“If I use a Noxis uniform, approaching them should be somewhat easier.”

“That’s too dangerous. In the end, you’re still breaking through from the front, and a disguise will only work for a very short time.”

The corner of Rohan’s mouth rose slightly.

“It’s fine. I can do it.”

How could he be so certain?

Mushurin found it strange, yet his attitude also inspired a peculiar sense of trust.

“And after that?”

“Who knows.”

“...”

Mushurin gave a faint laugh.

Who knows.

For some reason, the answer almost made her feel as though Rohan were evaluating her.

“We’ll have to conduct a rescue operation.”

Mushurin trailed off.

She said that, but was this really a viable operation?

Of course, if it was possible, there was no need to even calculate the gains and losses.

One soldier stopping a mage by himself? Judging from the scale of the explosion, he might inflict even greater damage than expected.

‘And the loss if it fails isn’t particularly large either.’

Her hesitation was brief.

If Rohan failed to reach the enemy position, they could simply return to the original plan.

If he succeeded, they could remove a mage from the battlefield.

‘Though I don’t think he’ll die.’

For some reason, Rohan simply gave her that impression.

Mushurin nodded.

“Fine. Show me what you can do.”

“Thank you.”

“But you must return alive. If anything goes wrong during the infiltration, don’t overdo it and return immediately. Regardless of whether you succeed or fail, that is an order.”

Mushurin turned to leave.

“If you need to prepare anything, hurry. We’ll reach the gorge soon.”

____________

A short while later.

Mushurin gathered the company members in one place.

“What I’m about to tell you is not confirmed information.”

The soldiers turned their gazes toward her.

“However, there is a possibility the enemy has deployed a mage. The magic they are believed to use is illusion-type.”

A brief disturbance spread through the group.

A mage. That word alone stiffened the soldiers’ expressions.

But it did not last long.

Entering the gorge without knowing a mage was present and entering while prepared were entirely different matters.

Mushurin slowly looked around.

“Find the contradictions.”

Rohan narrowed his eyes.

“No matter how elaborate an illusion is, it cannot be reality itself. There will always be something that doesn’t fit.”

Rohan engraved those words into his mind.

‘Contradictions.’

He had never experienced magic directly, but he did not feel particularly nervous.

Instead, Rohan’s mind was filled with a kind of anticipation.

‘Can I take magic too?’

If he killed a mage, could he use magic through their memories as well?

There was only one way to find out.

‘To do that, I absolutely have to kill them.’

Magic itself possessed tremendous value.

If he could obtain that ability, it could be a great help toward Rohan’s goal of killing Reinag.

After locating the site of the explosion, Rohan took a relatively intact Noxis coat.

He would need it for the infiltration.

Soon, the march began again.

The closer they came to the gorge, the quieter the formation became.

As they moved, Rohan organized his thoughts.

‘How do I infiltrate?’

The method was simpler than expected.

Rohan now possessed the memories of twenty reconnaissance soldiers.

The geography of the gorge, and even the secret routes only they knew.

‘Even the mage’s location.’

All of it was already in Rohan’s memory.

And the gains did not stop there.

‘Infiltration methods.’

Reconnaissance units fundamentally carried out scouting and infiltration missions.

Because of that, their training methods differed greatly from ordinary training.

Rohan consciously took a step.

Instead of using his heel, he placed the ball of his foot on the ground first.

Rustle.

The sound vanished.

Just changing the way he stepped had made his presence disappear.

Johanna’s eyes widened when she saw it.

“What was that just now?”

“What?”

“Your footsteps. That was a step used to conceal your presence.”

Rohan shrugged.

Johanna, a former assassin, seemed to immediately understand what he was doing.

There was no need to answer.

After thinking for a moment, she pointed toward Rohan’s feet.

“If you’re going to use that in the gorge, shorten your stride. The ground is uneven, so taking large steps will actually make noise when you have to regain your balance.”

“What?”

“And whenever possible, approach from above their line of sight. People look up far less often than you’d think.”

After saying that, she looked forward again.

‘Why?’

It was surprising enough that Johanna had spoken to him first.

But for her to even give him advice about a technique, Rohan was slightly surprised.

He tilted his head for only a moment.

“...We’re here.”

At someone’s quiet murmur, Rohan raised his head.

A massive gorge opened before them like a mouth.

The cliffs rising on both sides were so tall that one had to tilt their head all the way back to see the tops.

The path between the cliffs was long and narrow.

Even sunlight barely reached inside, and the deeper it went, the darker it became.

Rocks jutting out here and there and trees growing from cracks in the cliffs obstructed the view.

Rohan narrowed his eyes.

‘Niagara Gorge.’

The battle was beginning.

______________

Caw―!

Along with the cry of a crow, Myuria of the Black Dawn Knights opened her eyes.

The vision she had been sharing returned.

As planned, the White Wolf Knights were entering the gorge.

Everything was proceeding according to plan.

Except for one thing.

‘The reconnaissance unit hasn’t returned.’

Varkan’s reconnaissance unit.

Even the soldiers assigned to support them from the rear had gone completely silent.

‘Could the operation have been exposed?’

Myuria quickly shook her head.

That was impossible.

‘They’re under a restriction.’

A restriction had been placed on them so they could not reveal information about the operation.

The moment they tried to disclose anything, their heads would explode.

Even if the enemy had captured the reconnaissance unit, they had no way to extract information.

Above all, if they had discovered the existence of the mage, they would never be entering the gorge this calmly.

‘No problem.’

The operation continued as planned.

Before long, the vanguard of the White Wolf Knights entered the designated area.

Myuria’s gaze turned toward the robed mage.

The farther magic traveled, the less efficient it became.

And the wider its range, the shorter its duration.

This was the most appropriate moment.

Myuria raised her hand.

‘Now!’

The signal was given.

The robed mage brought both hands together.

A low chant flowed out.

Wooooong― The air trembled faintly.

‘You’re all dead.’

The corner of Myuria’s mouth twisted upward.

Soon, the White Wolf Knights would see one another as enemies, or as objects of fear.

Their comrades would appear to be Noxis soldiers.

The shouts of their allies would sound like enemy cries.

While they cut and stabbed one another, Noxis would only need to finish them off with ease.

But.

“...?”

Myuria’s smile stopped.

Nothing happened.

No.

‘The soldiers definitely reacted.’

They drew their swords and guarded their surroundings.

Some looked suspiciously at the comrades beside them.

But that was all.

Not a single one swung their sword.

Far from killing one another, they were actually maintaining formation.

Those reactions were impossible unless they had prepared for the illusion in advance.

‘The operation was exposed?’

But how?

Myuria wore an expression of incomprehension.

The restriction should still be active.

‘Something’s wrong.’

At that moment.

Sensing something strange, Myuria instinctively turned her head.

Toward the mage.

And.

“...”

A small figure entered her sight.

Someone wearing a Noxis coat was rapidly approaching by moving between the rocks and trees.

The figure was small.

And its movements were unnaturally quiet.

Myuria’s eyes widened.

For a brief moment, a face appeared beneath the hood.

A familiar face she could never forget.

‘It’s you?’

The corner of her mouth slowly rose.

The brat who had killed her crow and ruined her eye.

Apparently... that brat held the answer.

Myuria charged toward Rohan.