Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings - Chapter 64.5: The White-Haired Knight

Chapter 63.5: The White-Haired Knight

A man was born as a direct descendant of a certain marquis family.

Vermeil.

Although a relatively young family as marquises go, they rose to prominence and were favored by the royal family due to possessing a special type of magical attribute.

Light, dark, fire, water, wind, earth—these are the six basic attributes recognized in the kingdom.

In addition to these, there are rare attributes such as ice and lightning, considered derivatives of the six basic ones.

However, the Vermeil family possesses an attribute that is different from these rare attributes.

They have the ability to merge two different magical attributes within themselves, creating a completely new attribute.

In the kingdom, individuals with such a rare ability are called “Duals.”

The Vermeil family is renowned for producing these rare “Duals.”

Their unique attribute is “Black Flame.”

Fire and darkness.

A magical attribute that does not exist in nature, possessing the characteristics of both fire and darkness.

“Black Flame,” with the properties of both fire and darkness, burns continuously even underwater, and is not at a disadvantage against light or lightning attributes.

This terrifying and superior attribute compensates for the weaknesses of both fire and darkness.

However, the probability of a “Dual” being born is extremely low.

The Vermeil family has produced these rare “Duals” for generations, maintaining their status as marquises despite their short history.

Not every child born to the family is a “Dual.”

One man, a direct descendant, was born without the “Black Flame.”

He possessed only the darkness attribute.

In the Vermeil family, those without the “Black Flame” are considered failures and sent to branch families.

Ties with one’s parents and siblings end if they do not inherit the “Black Flame.”

However, branch family members still have roles.

If a child with the “Black Flame” is born in a branch family, they are welcomed into the main family.

Their personal desires are not considered.

This is the norm in the Vermeil family, a practice of bloodline improvement over generations to produce those with the powerful “Black Flame.”

Even among nobles, where bloodlines are important, the Vermeil family is particularly unique.

The man born into the Vermeil family and sent to a branch family was not weak.

He had exceptional magical power, talent in magic, and skill in martial arts.

By the age of ten, he saw everyone around him as inferior.

This included children his age, adults, and even the “Dual” members of the main family.

He couldn’t envision losing to anyone in terms of magical power, magic, or swordsmanship.

The only thing he lacked was the “Black Flame.”

For that reason alone, he was relegated to a branch family.

This was unbearable for him.

Upon reaching adulthood, he wasn’t even allowed to enroll in the academy and protested by himself at the main family.

During this confrontation, he faced his father and siblings, who wielded the “Black Flame.”

He easily defeated them.

The main family couldn’t touch him.

After this incident, he was expelled from both the main and branch families.

He then wandered the kingdom.

He survived as a mercenary, using his skills to guard merchants and hunt monsters on bounty.

To him, this life was boring and empty.

He encountered bandits and monsters, but they all fell easily before his sword.

Everything he saw was weak.

He longed to fight true strong opponents.

But he had never met an equal in his life.

He didn’t dislike fighting, but there was no thrill in facing weak opponents.

As a child, everything was new and filled with those stronger than him.

Now, that was gone.

He felt he had grown too strong.

He despaired at the thought that he might not be able to improve any further.

Yet, somewhere in his heart, he still hoped.

He hoped to find someone in this world who could match or surpass him.

Eventually, his steps led him to the domain of the martial Lightless family.

The previous head of the Lightless family was a famous warrior from the war with the empire, and the current head had defeated the previous one to take over.

Deciding leadership by duels, purely based on strength, was highly unusual among noble families.

This extreme meritocracy was rare in the kingdom’s noble society.

The current head of the Lightless family was around his age.

The Lightless family also had the strongest swordsman, known as the Sword Saint.

He wondered if they were stronger than him.

He had fought many recognized strong individuals across the kingdom.

An undefeated knight of a certain territory.

The leader of a 5,000-strong bandit gang.

A giant dragon with impenetrable scales.

A high-level demon that ruled a town from the shadows.

Of the over a thousand battles he had fought, these were the only four that barely stayed in his memory.

They all had fearsome nicknames, but none could stand against his sword.

He hadn’t even needed to use magic.

Now, he was going to face the Sword Saint, rumored to be the strongest ever, and the young head of the dark noble family.

Hoping they weren’t just names, he knocked on the gate of the Lightless family.

*

He was defeated.

For the first time in his life, he experienced a complete and undeniable defeat.

His opponent was the foremost dark knight, the current Sword Saint.

He gave his all in swordsmanship and magic, but still lost.

He had no way to counter the Sword Saint’s exquisite swordsmanship.

His attack on the marquis’ mansion was driven by a childish desire to fight strong opponents.

He had never experienced defeat before, and his sheer power had always resolved everything, leading to shallow, impulsive actions.

After his defeat, he was captured, and execution seemed inevitable.

Noble families could not be lenient with attackers.

Yet, the head of the Lightless family ordered his execution to be stopped and the attack to be covered up.

The head quickly recognized his abilities.

Despite being easily defeated by the Sword Saint, his power was comparable to that of other dark knights.

His strength wasn’t from experience or technique but pure potential.

With more training and experience, he could become unbeatable.

Properly utilized, he could become a great asset to the Lightless family.

The head gave him a choice.

Die here or serve the Lightless family and hone his skills.

After a moment’s thought, he replied:

“I do not wish to serve under someone weaker than myself. I rudely ask to see your strength first.”

It was an arrogant demand for a defeated man.

But he thought it better to die than to serve someone weaker than him.

Despite his first clear defeat, he couldn’t bend his principles.

If he could, he would have accepted his status in the branch family.

The head graciously accepted his demand.

He experienced his second defeat in a formal duel with the head.

The duel lasted half a day.

Despite falling and getting up repeatedly, the duel continued until he admitted defeat.

The head’s decision was to continue until he acknowledged his loss.

After over a hundred falls and being healed when unable to move, he finally admitted defeat as the sun began to set.

That day, he pledged his loyalty to the Lightless family.

Alba Lot Vermeil.

The man who would become the strongest knight of the Lightless family.

It would be another ten years before he became the foremost dark knight.

*

Alba had exceptionally high potential.

As a dark knight, he grew at an alarming rate through experience and training.

His potential had been stifled before due to a lack of equal opponents.

Now, as a dark knight, he faced more dangerous missions, and his power soared like a carp turning into a dragon.

With this growth came a sense of loneliness.

As his skills improved, he could clearly see the prowess of the Sword Saint Carlos and head Rudens, whom he once couldn’t comprehend.

They were once far superior, but the gap narrowed daily.

His growth was unstoppable, reaching a level comparable to the best in both experience and technique.

Soon, he would surpass the aging Carlos.

He would also eventually surpass Rudens.

Rudens, a master of magic with below-average magical capacity, couldn’t match Alba’s overwhelming potential.

As Alba grew stronger each day, he approached the pinnacle of skill and power.

When he reached it, he would easily surpass Rudens.

Rudens was the benefactor who had defeated him and provided an environment for growth.

His loyalty to the Lightless family was genuine.

But he still felt a sense of emptiness.

He feared he would revert to his old self, strong but with no worthy opponents or growth.

A life without challenges seemed unbearable.

Soon after these worries began, a massive magical disaster struck the Lightless territory.

The source was Lightless’s eldest son, Rofas Ray Lightless.

A clear sky turned dark from Rofas’s magical outburst, and the entire territory was shrouded in darkness.

Many residents fell unconscious from the dense magical waves.

Alba witnessed the entire event up close.

The second son lay gravely injured, the wife Karen pleaded in tears, and Rudens struggled to contain the magical outburst.

And high above, a laughing, destruction-imbued Rofas stood.

Before this immense power, Alba knelt.

For the first time, he knelt before a fight.

There was no way he could win.

His instincts told him so.

Everything he had worried about seemed trivial.

He was just a large acorn among many, not the strongest.

The true strongest was before him.

His true master had always been nearby.

Overwhelmed with joy, Alba wept and bowed deeply.

“Oh, I have finally found… my god…”

Alba’s devotion was more like faith or infatuation than loyalty.