[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-knight-who-eternally-regresses":3,"chapter-a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-606":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","A Knight Who Eternally Regresses",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},428313,689,"Chapter 603: Did You Sleep Well?","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-606",606,"\u003Cp>“I will cut the walking fire.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid had spoken those words from inside the mirror, and the moment Esther heard them, she transformed into a leopard and ran.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she had been an actual leopard, her stamina would have run out quickly — leopards were not built for long runs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she was a witch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And witches could run all day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, Cross Guard was not that far if one sprinted at leopard speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily, she had been near the Fen-Hanil river rather than at the Border Guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That made it even closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She sprinted toward Cross Guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the river?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She crossed it using the spell Del Grecher’s Promenade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thin sheets of ice formed beneath her paws as she ran, becoming stepping stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To cast her spells, she had to return to human form — but her physical strength remained the same, making her much faster than any normal human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So she crossed the river, transforming back and forth between leopard and human as needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though it consumed both magic and stamina, it was worth the speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Am I too late?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That thought did not give rise to hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you stop just because you're late, then that’s where it ends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esther kept running.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The traces left behind by Apostle Anella, who had cast the walking fire, were still vivid — detecting them and running toward them was easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she crossed the river toward Cross Guard, she instinctively changed direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A great witch could read the traces left by spells.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was no coincidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was tied to Enkrid — which meant cutting it off ahead of time was the correct move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judgment and action came simultaneously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No need to wait for the stars to rise and read their constellations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The magic in the air was thick and heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, she saw the place where the spell had been cast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were a hundred corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be precise, there was a pit of ash — the remains of people caught in the flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A forbidden... annihilation spell.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It truly had been the walking fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A forbidden spell, and not just any — a spell of annihilation, one that would not end until everything around it had been destroyed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she approached the pit, a twin-headed dog with human-like faces lunged at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she had already sensed its presence — no hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Drumuller’s Scythe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esther waved her hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gesture looked meaningless, but it gathered wind and formed blades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thwack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The twin-headed monster was split cleanly from crown to torso by two heavy wind-blades, cut into three chunks as black blood and entrails sprayed the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with its body cleaving apart, the creature staggered forward a bit before collapsing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esther’s eyes turned toward one side — where a camouflage spell had been cast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had sensed it with pure instinct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once you sensed such a thing, what came next?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, you attacked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She formed hand signs, guided her magic, murmured ancient runes, and summoned something stored within her own magical realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come forth, Bonehead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an improved version of the flash golem that Enkrid had dealt with before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following her signal, a circle of light was drawn on the ground, and within it, flesh and blood coalesced — forming the flash golem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The golem immediately charged forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the most effective ways to break through illusion magic was brute force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the correct answer — the most reliable one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the golem kicked off the ground and rushed forward, a thin black veil rippled and shattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A voice emerged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How dare you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A woman sprang out from within — her mouth moving with anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esther saw her face, but did not acknowledge her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She kept forming hand signs, her mind focused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Not an ordinary one.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ignoring someone did not mean she underestimated them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She simply judged that speed was more important right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The magic she sensed from this woman was dizzying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was denser than her own — proof that the woman had already reaccumulated a significant reserve of magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Violet spiritual energy rippled over her shoulders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A mere witch...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She spoke the way only one claiming to be a divine apostle would.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esther, forming her signs, recalled her own condition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to Enkrid, most of the curse had been purged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now she was rebuilding her magic domain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had not yet regained her former power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So was she at a disadvantage?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Possibly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that was not reason enough to stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the countless todays, there had been one where Enkrid had contacted her through the mirror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And each time, Esther had run to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Demon God, your sons and daughters who wish to be reborn stand here before you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apostle Anella shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had recognized that Esther was no ordinary witch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She reflexively drew the sword she had prepared for after the walking fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Modified ghouls, stripped of reason, erupted from among the corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each was monstrous — enhanced physicality that made the term “beast” seem too kind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were skeleton soldiers too, formed by reassembled bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Necromancy fused with spellcraft — a sign of Anella’s craftsmanship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their bodies caught fire — monsters wreathed in flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could not be used alongside the walking fire since they would have just burned each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they were devastating against anyone exhausted from stopping it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esther did not allow even a single spark to escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She did not use Bonehead here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brute force was not the right answer now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She reverse-summoned it to recover a bit of magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Del Grecher’s Zone Mark.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Borrowed spells called upon the presence of another being.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, Drumuller was a spirit of wind, obsessed with the act of slashing — a being that found joy in carnage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Del Grecher, however, was a beast who had lived on glaciers and loved to take long walks — a four-legged creature who had once been something else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esther was a genius who could blend borrowed spells with creative ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Burn to ash.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anella commanded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As an apostle of calamity, she had a special talent for handling fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flames on the ghouls grew stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esther responded by invoking a spell she had not yet refined — but had perfected in the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Permafrost.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crackle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the spot where Esther stepped, ice crystals spread outward, freezing everything nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though there was no blizzard, the temperature plummeted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was said that if you walked north past the glaciers, you would find a sky painted in unearthly colors, and a land where your breath would freeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That land was called Permafrost — the eternal frozen ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spells were influenced by the words used to cast them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So it was with Esther’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though she had only frozen a radius of twenty paces around her, everything within that circle was gripped by frost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flames vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The burning ghouls and skeletons lost the foundation of their existence and staggered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You... cast a spell like this without preparation or sacrifice?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anella was truly shocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There existed a forbidden spell known as the Blizzard of Calamity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To cast it, one needed a frozen offering — often a part of one’s own body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet now, she was witnessing a spell of similar force, aimed directly at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The range was not enormous — but still, it was incredible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had no intention of taking it lying down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as she spoke, she gathered magic, formed signs, and chanted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Flame Dancer of Ruin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anella incanted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flames erupted from her body, surging in all directions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One side burned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other side froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoooosh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the wind turned to blades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Scythe of the Freezing Wind.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esther uttered another spell — a refined version of Drumuller’s Scythe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anella’s eyes widened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was casting a different spell now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Permafrost?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To summarize — multiple spells clashed, but Esther won.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Anella died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The difference in raw power was not massive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In mage duels, overwhelming strength was not always the deciding factor — preparation often was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But neither had been able to prepare for each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anything, Esther had been at a disadvantage — she had run here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But her instinct for spellcasting, her creative combinations — those closed the gap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To put it simply, it was genius.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in the early winter cold, spells ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) that lowered temperature were far more useful than flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A true witch bends the environment to her favor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why they said, “No one can defeat a witch in her hut.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Overdid it.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But yes — her body was clearly strained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esther trembled from head to toe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She needed to eat a heat-seed, or surround herself with similar energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very least, she needed a thermal hide cloak like the one Rem always wore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She could not go far in this state — so she headed to Cross Guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finding Enkrid was easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had not given him a spell object for nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She tracked its residue, arriving soon after.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even wearing her heat-retaining robe, her body shook.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The early winter wind felt like it pierced her bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So cold it felt like the first time she had ever experienced cold in her life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Esther?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man standing before her was Enkrid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was unchanged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His blue eyes pierced the dawn, and even though the sun had not yet risen, there was still an undying flame within him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hold me. I am cold.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esther said, just before losing consciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid instinctively caught Esther in his arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her skin was cold — ice cold, like frozen glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her face had gone pale blue, and even frost had formed in her hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lua.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Call the castellan. Bring every heating stone the city has.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Got it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lua Gharne took off running.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid held Esther gently and lifted her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t know what had happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Something tells me this has to do with me.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the feeling in his gut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He laid her down on the bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had once seen someone with frostbite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some lunatic noble had insisted on gathering herbs from the polar wastes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A truly idiotic endeavor — but back then, Krona had been desperate, and there was no choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid had acted as their guide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three of his companions died from frostbite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one who lived had to have his toes cut off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had it not been for a passing cleric, they likely all would have died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You carry the sun inside your chest.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s what the cleric had said to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone else was freezing to death, but Enkrid had managed to endure — and the cleric had noticed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She’ll freeze to death if I leave her alone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lay down on the bed beside her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pulled the blanket over both of them and held her close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bring some hot water, Delma.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wha—? Oh! Yes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The inn’s worker had been up early and seen a strange woman arrive — then watched the hero of the city embrace her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Lover?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Possibly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She hadn’t meant to pry, but the mood was odd — and somehow, she ended up watching from the shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was when Enkrid had called out to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not too hot.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid removed Esther’s robe and then his own shirt, holding her directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with the robe off, her body temperature remained chillingly low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t look at her body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t want to lose his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through that day and night, he held her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lua Gharne helped bathe her in lukewarm water, dried her off, and brought her back into his arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My body temperature is too low. I wouldn’t be able to help her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frokk’s body temperature was naturally lower than a human’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Lua could only worry from the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I brought everything I could find in the city.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The castellan managed to collect a few heating stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this wretched, broke little town — where drugs and gamblers were everywhere — it was still hard to find the things that actually mattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That would change later, perhaps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid held Esther in his arms for two full days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, her body temperature began to rise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A little color returned to her cheeks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And on yet another early dawn, with Esther still in his arms, Enkrid woke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blue eyes — the same color as his own — stared back at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did you sleep well?” Enkrid asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why are we... in the same bed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esther asked, a moment of confusion flashing across her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A brief gap in her memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because there’s no better way to recover lost body heat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t literally carry the sun inside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at the very least, he was the only one who could endure holding her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even just by breathing, Esther chilled the surrounding air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if she were carrying some curse with her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid could endure it — but most couldn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delma wouldn’t even come near, muttering that just being nearby was cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Enkrid, while holding her, had felt Will stirring through his body, trying to resist the unnatural chill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was proof that the cold around her wasn’t natural.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had to be magical — though there was no one to ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So what else could he do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had to hold her through it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not that he was about to explain all that out loud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, Enkrid spoke with his usual calm tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You used to curl up in my lap all the time when you were a leopard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that, Esther stared into his eyes in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>",2268,"2026-05-30T08:28:31.475Z","2026-06-01T04:30:45.896Z",1,"novelbin.me","24b14d8e410d4459684daa2340c346203de28b5b8b38eafccbac4ced1ac05a42","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-607","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-605",882,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-knight-who-eternally-regresses-cover.jpg"]