Terminally-Ill Genius Dark Knight

192: The Ashen Wolf [1]

“Young knight, what is your name?”

Hair as beautiful as if obsidian had been melted and reforged swayed softly.
A voice dropped before Paracelsus.
It had a strangely enchanting charm to bewitch people, but at this moment, he couldn’t allow himself to be captivated by it.

The woman before his eyes was his enemy.

Chaeeng!

Paracelsus deflected the sword that came at him along with Ulysses’ question and replied.

“I am Paracelsus.”

“Interesting.”

Ulysses spoke as though she genuinely found it amusing.
However, the knights and students present found it peculiar. It was odd for someone at the level of a Sword Emperor to speak of finding enjoyment in the swordsmanship of a mere fledgling.

In truth, Ulysses wasn’t particularly impressed by Paracelsus’ swordsmanship. Though it was quite exceptional for his age, it was nowhere near enough to rival someone of Ulysses’ caliber, nor was it refined. His technique was riddled with openings, marred by unrestrained anger.

However…
What truly intrigued Ulysses lay elsewhere.

“Paracelsus… Paracelsus, huh… How amusing. Does that mean you possess talent worthy of being bestowed a name by him? A talent that surpasses even his? That obstinate man proclaimed it so to someone like you, a mere fledgling?”

A name.
Yes, that was it.

Ulysses was now pondering the name Paracelsus.
The name originally belonged to Celsus.
The name Paracelsus had been derived from him.

——————————————

The [Conqueror of the East] and the [Ashen Wolf].
Among the many nicknames attributed to Paracelsus, the two most famous were these.
Of course, there were also criticisms regarding these presumptuous nicknames.
Most of the reasons were. He was too young to bear the name of Conqueror, and no matter how talented he was, there was no way such a monstrous individual could be wasting away in this eastern remote place.

Occasionally, just as great talents emerge from nowhere, a remarkable, prodigious knight would suddenly appear, but… they argued that the time for such occurrences had long passed.

Naturally.
It was a given that the young men of the continent would dream of becoming knights of their nation, serving their lords, and earning recognition for their loyalty, perhaps even gaining a noble title.

But such grand dreams were relegated to the era of the once-prosperous Catalyu Kingdom.

What were knights of recent times like?

They were often scions of distinguished families, taught by exceptional swordmasters, wielding weapons crafted by master craftsmen. They sparred with each other, debating who was stronger…… or who had connections to more prestigious families.

Therefore, the knights and mages gathered in taverns or guilds.
Or common folk that look over them couldn’t believe it.
That a genius had arisen who could overturn all these inequities and ignite a flame that might consume the entire eastern region.

Paracelsus.

He was a genius.

From birth, he possessed overwhelming talent, laden with innate skills. These abilities were honed and awakened by none other than Celsus.
The creator of the ancient swordsmanship [The Living Sword], and a legendary healer.

Through a chance encounter, the untamed Paracelsus crossed paths with Celsus, and they formed a master-disciple relationship.

Two years ago,
The beginning of this relationship was when Paracelsus was just beginning to make a name for himself.

——————————————

[Side Story – The Origin of the Name]

I wanted to become a doctor.
Though I never met him, my father was said to be a kind military doctor who treated the poor.
My mother, admiring him, married him and bore a child.
I, Paracelsus was born.

But I cursed the fruit of their love for my entire life.

The War of the Five Nations.
A war that broke out in the vast eastern continent plunged me into an unprecedented era of chaos.

It was all sparked by a mythical object, the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’, also known as the “Elixir.”

Both my father and mother died.

I was the only survivor.
Along with the helpless children of the orphanage.

So… I had no choice but to pick up the sword.

——————————————

At first, I had no name.

Greyish-blue, or perhaps ashen.
That was what they called me at the abandoned orphanage.
A delicate and frail childhood spent under the apron strings of a nanny.
But for me, every moment was a fierce struggle in an endless competition.

When I look back on that time, I can’t help but recall all kinds of nightmarish stories. Though I lack the words to describe it fully, a few memories are clear.

First, I was an orphan.
Being an orphan abandoned by their parents in the ‘Salvatore’ orphanage wasn’t particularly unusual, but I will explain in advance to avoid troublesome explanations later.

I will say this again.

I am an orphan, and my education is lacking.
Therefore, I may not be very accustomed to narrating the events I experienced. I can only describe them plainly, as if tracing the path I have walked,
like the feeling of passing through an underground sewer.

— Hey, ash brat! What are you doing wandering around? Picking fights again?

— Yep, still a worm, huh.

— Don’t cause too much trouble! Otherwise, she will cry again! Hahaha!

The she they pointed to was none other than the girl I often fought within the orphanage.

Her situation was a little better than mine.
Her name was Aeloi, a somewhat odd name with a hint of alcohol to it, but at least she had one. Unlike me, she knew the fate of her family. They had died, and she understood that no one was coming to find her, though it was a bit of a problem itself, but it definitely made her better off than me.

“Don’t bother me.”

“That’s my line! And stop picking fights everywhere! I’m the one who has to treat you afterward! We’re already short on supplies, and if you keep making doing that…!”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

This girl often started fights with me. Usually, it was because she claimed I wasn’t doing my share of the orphanage chores. I found her nagging annoying and often ran off.
Perhaps she didn’t like that, as she eventually took to keeping an eye on me.

That’s when I made a decision.
I would leave this wretched orphanage….

Anyway, looking back on my life at that moment, I couldn’t help but think, how could there be so much to do in this miserable Salvator Orphanage? Even the youngest children worked hard, with jobs brought in from here and there.

The handsome boys were sold off as playthings for wealthy nobles or armed with rusty swords and sent to hunt monsters.
The girls did mostly static tasks like mending clothes, selling various items, or latching onto passing travelers, hoping to secure a way out.

Among the boys, I was the latter.
By thirteen, I was nearly 5.5 feet tall. No lecherous noble with peculiar tastes would show interest in someone like me.
My fierce eyes didn’t help, either.
At the time, I was still rather lean, but after years of wielding a sword in training, my frame had grown too large to ignore.
Now, I look like a giant to anyone who sees me.

Even nobles with eccentric preferences didn’t want me.
My ashen hair, heavy with a sense of defeat, played a role as well.
I wasn’t called ash brat for nothing.

Still.

People treated me relatively well.
The adults often called me ash-head or ash brat, but just being given shelter and food in a place like this was better.
Other orphanages had long since shut their doors.
Thanks to that, I could spend my spare time continuing my sword training

Training, though, was nothing more than setting up a large log and chopping it with a sword instead of an axe. Still, wasn’t it better than doing nothing at all?

Time passed, and the six-year-old abandoned child grew into a thirteen-year-old, nearly a full-fledged adult. Around that time, a major event occurred that would change my life.

A nearby noble with a high opinion of himself decided to search for something out of fear of dying from illness and disease.
That something was none other than the legendary object called the [Philosopher’s Stone], one of the fragments said to shape the world.

— To all who seek the Philosopher’s Stone, Count Kses has promised a massive reward!

Soon, a large-scale expedition force was organized. Despite my young age, I was already taller than most adults and skilled enough with a sword, so I volunteered for the expedition.

After many twists and turns,
I finally learned how to properly wield a sword for the first time in my life.
The prestigious knightly order that had separated from Catalyu Royal Guard.
I joined the Polymorph Knights.

This was both a new beginning,
and the start of my tragic childhood.

….Ah, I suppose I should add one last thing.

Aeloi.
That girl, her last words to me are still vivid in my memory.

— Why do you have to go off picking fights! Please…. can’t you just stay here?

— Why would I? Isn’t this exactly what you wanted? Participating in this will bring food support to Salvator, won’t it?

— In truth, for me that’s not.. it’s just… forget it. Go. Just go.

I didn’t understand her final words.

But my decision had already been made, and I had no regrets. I calmly walked off to join the long procession of knights.

It was only natural.

There was no reason to dwell on complex emotions.
The greatest advantage and disadvantage of Salvator Orphanage was that anyone could be sold off at any time.

——————————————

A year passed.
As anyone knows, a year is a long time.
It’s especially long when you’re constantly replenishing thousands of supplies and exploring underground dungeons. Even the finest knights grew exhausted.
It was no surprise that the arrogant Count, grew increasingly desperate as his illness worsened. In the end, he was forced to halt the search for the Philosopher’s Stone.
He must have concluded that he could no longer endure. After all, there was no guarantee it even existed, and seeking such a legendary object with such slim odds of success was far from an easy task.

Finally, when the rage of others culminated in the start of a coup.

I simply thought, What do I care? and returned to this place once again.

Salvator Orphanage.

But why?

When I returned, there was nothing left but an empty ruin.

It was strange.

“…By now, Aeloi should be pestering me as usual…”

No complaints about why I just came now, no answers at all. Even after knocking on the door Aeloi and dozens of the other girls used to share, only a layer of pilled dust fell, and no response came.

A sense of unease spread slowly through my body like poison. It was a kind of knightly intuition, akin to a reflex.

“This is strange.”

That was when I heard it.
Outside the orphanage, the voices of great number of people shouting in unison.
I quickly ran outside, grabbed hold of a man who looked easy to handle, and asked him.

“What’s going on here?”

“Let me go!”

This, so you’re not going to answer nicely.
I immediately grabbed him by the collar, putting force into my grip, and asked again politely.

“Shut up and tell me.”

“Ugh… the Count… that bastard tricked us! He took mercenaries, saying he’d give us food supplies, but instead, he didn’t distribute anything! Worse, he captured everyone from the orphanage and took them as slaves!”

At that moment, my brow furrowed slightly.

“Took them? What happens now?”

I genuinely asked.
Honestly, I didn’t care what happened.
Whether they were sold as slaves or taken as concubines, what could I do?
This was wartime, and I wasn’t a noble.
As a commoner, wasn’t I taught in the orphanage that this sort of discrimination was inevitable?

At the time, I wasn’t thinking much of it, or rather, I was trying hard not to think about it. That’s probably a more accurate way to put it.

“You… Aren’t you that ashen?”

“And if I am, what about it?”

“Then, you’ll find this even sadder…”

“What are you talking about?”

I tilted my head, confused by the incomprehensible words.
Why would I feel sad?n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

But as the man continued, I started to sense something was wrong.

“Aeloi… that girl… she was taken as a concubine for Count Kses! By force.”

“…Hm.”

I thought for a moment before speaking.

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

But for some reason, a faint sense of confusion rose in my chest. In fact, Wasn’t this natural?
For a girl in this orphanage, the happiest fate was becoming a concubine to a noble family.
That’s why I tried to dismiss it as no big deal.

Even when I heard it was by force, I believed Aeloi life would improve. After all, what other choices did I have? Aeloi’s life could only get better from here.
In truth, she was the most beautiful girl in the orphanage, and her nature was kind and gentle. I didn’t want to admit it, but it was also Aeloi who treated me every time I came back wounded.

But why?
This overwhelming weight in my chest, like a lump of lead—this suffocating sense of loss. Where did it come from? Why was it tormenting me? I kept reflecting on it, but no clear answer came to mind.
It was then.

“Shouldn’t you go?”

At that moment, I realized I’d been gripping the man’s collar for far longer than I should have.
And it was then that I finally understood how wrong I was.

Because of what the man, I came to a realization.
If it wasn’t Aeloi’s own will, no one had the right to decide her life for her. And that I needed to save her immediately.

“So, where is the count Kses estate?”