WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: nemui

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◈ The Forgotten Curse Knight ◈

Vol. 1 Ch. 14: Theo's Hero

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The rescue of those who had become Cursed was led by the miners, leaving Theo with nothing he could do. So he ran back to town, searching for Beryl, the Gray Knight.

The pitter-patter of rain had almost stopped, and only a few people could be seen in the streets.

The Gray Knight Beryl's sand-colored hair, dark skin, and gray uniform altered to resemble a wrap skirt should have stood out, but Theo could not find her anywhere in town.

（Maybe she's with Allen.）

"Theo!"

Theo recognized the familiar voice behind him. It was Allen, carrying the wooden sword they had used for their duel earlier. A little behind him was Olivia, breathing hard.

But Beryl was nowhere to be seen.

"Allen, Mom, this is bad. There's a Pain Tail in the coal mine..."

At that moment, something passed through the edge of Theo's vision.

Two black shadows.

Theo cried out, "Ah!" at the exact moment Allen moved.

Allen shoved Theo aside. One of the flying black shadows passed directly before Theo's eyes and gouged out a nearby wall.

（A Blood Tail!）

The other Blood Tail that had passed through Theo's field of vision was embedded in Olivia's side.

Bright red blood dripped onto the ground, pat, pat, and Olivia collapsed.

The Termea's Blood Tail poured a curse into Olivia. The skin visible through her torn clothing turned red-black.

Still sitting on the ground, Theo understood at once.

The two Blood Tails had targeted Theo and Olivia separately. Allen had noticed and made a painful choice to save Theo.

Theo turned toward the direction from which the Blood Tails had come.

Above a roof, Theo could see the head and part of the body of a huge serpent-like Termea. Most of it remained hidden behind buildings and within alleys.

A tail extended from an alley and split into two, with a Blood Tail at each tip.

A Pain Tail with two Blood Tails.

It was probably the same one that had been in the coal mine.

（Why is a Termea in town...!?）

Elbert had entered the coal mine, and Carla should have been watching the several entrances. So how had it slipped past them and reached town so quickly?

As Theo watched the Termea, he noticed its surface was wet.

It was hard to tell after the rain, but wet trails from its dragging body could be seen everywhere.

（Was it soaked by the rain? ...No, did it get outside through somewhere with flowing water? ...That's it!）

The biggest nuisances in a coal mine were water, gas, and Termea.

Groundwater sometimes sprang up during excavation. Since large amounts of groundwater interfered with mining, pumps were used to drain it outside the mine.

That Termea had probably escaped through there. It should have been carried straight out to sea, but it must have climbed onto land along the way and returned to town.

（That Termea can even do something like that...?）

Its physical abilities were on a completely different level from the Second Grade and lower Termea Theo had seen until now.

Allen raised his wooden sword before the frozen Theo.

"You can't, Allen! A training sword can't hurt a Termea...!"

"............"

Even when Theo shouted, Allen did not flinch.

He did not seem to be frozen with fear. Theo could feel the taut tension coming from Allen.

The next moment, Allen vanished from Theo's sight.

Before Theo could even react, Allen had moved beside one of the Blood Tails and brought down his wooden sword.

No matter how much he swung a wooden training sword, it should not have been able to cut a Termea.

Yet unbelievably, Allen's sword had sunk halfway into the Blood Tail.

The Blood Tail embedded in Olivia slid out.

Theo rushed over and supported Olivia's collapsed body.

"Mom! Hold on, Mom!"

Olivia's entire right side had already turned red-black with Curse Marks, all the way to her fingernails.

（If it spreads through her whole body... Mom will become a Termea...!!）

As Theo went pale, Allen raised his wooden sword and shouted.

"Theo, take Mom and run!"

Allen charged at the Termea with only a wooden training sword in his hand.

"Allen! Don't be reckless! Allen!"

The Termea swung both Blood Tails down at Allen.

Allen calmly knocked them aside with his wooden sword.

Those thick Blood Tails should have carried considerable weight. Yet Allen's arm did not so much as tremble.

Ordinarily, cutting a Termea required a sword made of highly pure Red Steel.

But Allen was holding it off with a single wooden sword.

He understood it all over again.

Allen really was strong.

Probably much, much stronger than Theo had ever known.

Allen had only adjusted their usual training to Theo's level. If he had been serious, he could probably have handled Theo with one hand.

（See? Allen really is amazing... If he just had a Red Steel sword, he wouldn't lose even to that huge Termea!）

The Termea aimed its Blood Tails not at Allen, but at his wooden sword.

A thick needle plunged deep into the wooden blade, and cracks spread from the impact.

With a light crack, the wooden sword shattered.

The Blood Tail's needle targeted the defenseless Allen.

Allen used his incredible physical ability to evade the first Blood Tail.

But the second Blood Tail, which had been waiting for an opening, aimed for Allen's torso as he lost his balance.

Theo leaped forward without thinking.

"Allen!!"

He would not let Allen die here.

Allen was Theo's precious childhood friend, best friend, and family.

Allen was the only person in this town who had ever found Theo.

Elbert was the hero Theo admired, but Allen was one too.

（Allen is my hero.）

If he could, Theo had wanted to become the partner who supported that hero.

He wanted to become a Holy Knight, proudly bear the Lawrence name, and be both part of Allen's family and his partner.

The Blood Tail pierced Theo's chest as he threw himself in front of Allen.

Its thick, sharp needle tore through flesh, slipped past bone, and was about to reach his heart.

"Theo!!"

Amid the searing pain, Allen's cry gave Theo a relief so out of place that it almost seemed absurd.

After all, Allen had called Theo's name.

Allen would surely remember him.

Theo's hero would remember Theo, even if this town did not.

* * *

A girl with red-black wings growing from her back flew around the coal mine, patrolling the area.

Her dull, pure-white hair swayed in the wind. Her deep red eyes were fixed on the mine tunnels.

Bat-like wings spread from her back, and a large scythe rested in her hand.

The winged girl, Carla the Gray Knight, kept watch over every one of the mine's entrances by flying between them.

At that moment, Holy Knight Elbert had entered the tunnels to defeat the large Termea.

However, the tunnels were like a maze, and the enemy might emerge from another entrance.

That was why Carla was standing watch.

Carla's weapons were her manifested large scythe and bat-like wings.

Her fighting style was to fly through the air with those wings and cut enemies apart with her scythe.

However, Carla was not skilled at Physical Enhancement, so she would struggle against a large Termea like this one.

To kill a Termea, its body had to be reduced in volume.

Ideally, a Termea needed to be cut apart in one blow or blown up.

With Carla's strength, she could not cut a Termea of that size in half with a single strike.

Furthermore, in a narrow place like the mine tunnels, she could not make use of her flight or mobility.

This large Termea was simply a terrible match for Carla.

That was likely why Elbert had not let her enter the tunnels and had instead assigned her to watch the entrances.

Carla looked down at the coal mine with a vacant expression, but she never relaxed her guard or stopped searching.

Once battle began, she could properly focus on the Termea.

That day, though, just a little, truly only a little, Carla's attention was on the people who had evacuated.

She remembered the boy who had searched for her mask with her.

He had slightly strong-willed features, blond hair, and a braid.

For some reason, his kindness and the words he had offered tickled at Carla's heart.

To Carla, drifting through those memories, that boy had said:

"Anyone who has you think of them like that must be happy."

Maybe that was true. She hoped it was.

（I wonder if he made it safely back to town.）

Worried about the boy, Carla shifted just a little of the attention she had focused solely on the mine entrances toward town.

That was why she noticed before anyone else.

A black shadow visible between the buildings of the mining town atop the hill.

（That person is in town...）

Her hesitation lasted only a moment.

Carla gripped the shaft of her scythe tightly and flew toward town.

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