I Became the Dark Knight in the Game World - Chapter 11

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

◈ I Became the Dark Knight in the Game World ◈

Chapter 11: A Demonkin's Sudden Death (1)

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"Then why did you make us wait thirty minutes? Weren't you originally planning to storm in together and overwhelm them with sheer numbers?"

"That was the plan at first."

Kriel stared at the monastery gates as they drew closer. A dark, murky presence churned within the monastery. If he opened the Gate of the Soul and accepted the Abyss's power right now, he felt as though celestial vitality would surge through his body.

'Celestial, my ass. More like a psychiatric ward.'

Kriel laughed off his body's urge.

"The situation inside the monastery doesn't look good. The Abyssal corruption seems fairly advanced."

"Abyssal corruption? So it's transformed into an Otherworld?"

An Otherworld was a place where laws different from those of the ordinary world held sway. When powerful supernatural energy exceeded a critical point and saturated a confined space, it could transform into an Otherworld.

Not every Otherworld was created by the Abyss, of course. There were plenty independent of it, such as a dragon's nest or a faerie land where fairies gathered.

Still, in this age, the power most capable of creating an Otherworld was unquestionably the Abyss. Otherworlds created by the Abyss were called Abyssal Domains.

"Sending too many people into an Abyssal Domain without thinking is a poor choice. They're all Saints, so they won't be bewitched by the illusions the Abyss shows them, but while they're wandering around inside, the one responsible could escape."

Morgina's eyebrow twitched. What Kriel had just said was practically a declaration that he would make sure the Saints did not spend even thirty minutes wandering through the Abyssal Domain.

"So you were planning to destroy the Core of the Abyss alone?"

"I've handled similar things a few times. You were there too, weren't you?"

Morgina had fought alongside Kriel several times in the Western Army. When the army had been isolated in an Otherworld trap prepared by ancient dwarven automata, Kriel had gone alone and taken the mechanical general's head.

"You lunatic obsessed with chivalry..."

"This isn't chivalry. It's rational division of roles. What can I do when I'm the best at tracking the Abyss's traces?"

In Kriel's judgment, exploring this Abyssal Domain was not especially dangerous. The monastery's Divine Power concealed the Abyss's presence well.

Put another way, the Abyss's presence was faint enough to be hidden by nothing more than the blessing of a monastery with no notable holy relics.

If he ignored every Monster that came at him and ran straight for the Core of the Abyss, thirty minutes should be enough.

As Kriel considered how to find the Core of the Abyss faster, he felt the Horn Dagger at his waist vibrate. The moment he drew the blade, Orisin spoke.

[Uh... Even to me, charging into an Abyssal Domain alone sounds a little insane.]

For the first time, Morgina thought the horse-head had said something sensible.

* * *

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Kriel gripped the heavy circular door knocker and struck it. There was no answer from within.

He seized the knocker again and pounded on it as though trying to crush it.

Then he sensed someone moving inside.

"Who's there?"

Morgina looked at Kriel. He tried to convey his intention by moving his lips, then belatedly realized his helmet covered most of his face. Instead, he raised his index finger to tell her to stay quiet.

"I am a wandering priest of Eve Kaha, who covers the eyes of the dead with crow's wings. I stopped by to borrow a roof for a while."

The voice beyond the door fell silent for a moment.

"Turn back. Our monastery is currently sealed. We are in a special prayer period, meant to offer prayers with the purest of hearts. To preserve that purity, we have forbidden contact with the outside, so I can only apologize to our guest."

Kriel thought for a moment. The foul presence of the Abyss writhed beyond the door. It spoke like a pure priest, but whatever was making that voice was not a priest. It was an Abyssal Monster that had devoured a priest's memories.

Tap. Tap tap.

Morgina poked Kriel with her finger. A mace wrapped in a red haze was already in her hand.

With a sigh, Kriel nodded.

* * *

"What is this?!"

Satranak stared in shock at the man and woman who had suddenly smashed through the door. The corpse he had been controlling until moments ago took a mace blow to the face, its connection severed as its features caved in.

The monastery doors had been protected by powerful spells.

What he had recited through the priest's corpse had been half true. He had used the Divine Art employed during the special prayer period to erect a barrier that prevented anyone from entering the monastery.

Yet those two wandering priests had stormed in without caring about the barrier, then destroyed the corpse without a moment's hesitation.

It was a corpse personally controlled by a Demonkin. Ordinary methods could not distinguish it from the living.

'Then...!'

His presence had been discovered. Satranak was deeply shaken. Had some of his worshippers betrayed him?

He suppressed the turmoil rising within him. His master had bestowed grace beyond what he deserved upon him, allowing him to seize this monastery and turn it into the Abyss's territory.

The Abyssal Domain's endless darkness would blind them, while its space, expanded beyond reality, would wear them down.

If they were truly Saints who had come to kill him, they could drive away the Abyssal Domain's darkness with Divine Power. They would cut through the domain, reach its deepest point, and destroy the Core.

But that would take a long time.

Satranak snapped his fingers. Demonic Nature from the Abyss infused the priests' corpses. It was an improvised force made up mostly of Monsters, with even Demonic Beasts being rare, let alone Demonkin, but within an Abyssal Domain, they should be able to hold the Saints back.

After taking the bare minimum emergency measures, he looked at the mummy with a blade embedded in it. The Demon Weapon still needed time to completely absorb the corpse's soul.

The gaunt blade was filling out, regaining its sharpness. Judging by the speed, it needed around five minutes.

'Only two Saints have arrived. Two are nowhere near enough to escape an Abyssal Domain in five minutes.'

Satranak decided that soul was worth investing five minutes in.

It was a gamble, but one with extremely high odds. Even if he gave them fifty minutes instead of five, it would be difficult for only two people to conquer the Abyssal Domain.

* * *

"Receive Eve Kaha's blessing!"

Morgina's mace smashed the skull of an approaching undead. So I had stepped forward as the Champion in the Trial by Combat to protect things like that.

The mace wreathed in red light was a Divine Art unique to the Church of Eve Kaha. It recreated a weapon by adding Divine Power to one's own blood.

If anyone asked why the Church of Eve Kaha currently had no Champion, they only needed to look at Morgina. How could someone wielding a mace in each hand and drumming on skulls be a Saintess?

"Where next?"

Whatever Morgina's personality was like, her ability was truly exceptional. If I had needed to fight the Abyssal Monsters, I would still be brawling with them by now.

In terms of sheer destructive power, I was superior to Morgina, but this was a matter of compatibility.

Unless power of the Abyss equal or superior to its own, or Divine Power, was used against it, the Abyss would regenerate stubbornly no matter how many times it was destroyed. Its regeneration had limits, but breaking it apart until it reached those limits was still work.

That was why I had originally planned to head straight for the Core without worrying about the other Abyssal Monsters.

Using a Dark Knight-exclusive skill made it easy to defeat mere Monsters rather than Demonkin, but it was enough to activate it once before the Core of the Abyss.

But with a Saintess who could use Divine Power as freely as water beside me, there was no reason to avoid fighting the Monsters. If Morgina brought down her mace and the Monster was wrecked, why bother?

Once I confirmed that every Monster had been properly defeated, I focused my senses toward the Abyss. Ignoring the temptation I had grown used to, I traced its presence.

Beyond the darkness, I felt the Core of the Abyss pulsing.

"Let's go to the left corner first. The next five forks are all traps."

"Then what?"

I drew my sword. Morgina had made our advance easy until now, so it was about time I did some work.

"We need to go down. It'll be faster to break through."

* * *

Unlike Morgina's mace, the blade in Kriel's hand did not ripple with red energy. What he would use now was pure Fighting Energy.

An eerie glow, reminiscent of bleached bones, gathered around the blade. Rather than illuminating the surroundings, the radiance concentrated on the sword seemed to absorb even the last remnants of light within the Abyssal Domain.

Holding the greatsword in a reverse grip, Kriel aimed its white-tinted tip at the floor of the Abyssal Domain.

Then he drove it down.

From tip to base, the entire blade pierced through the Abyssal Domain in a single instant. Thick darkness, like blood, erupted from where the sword had entered. Kriel adjusted his grip and pulled upward as if making an upward slash.

A massive crack was carved into the Abyssal Domain. Without hesitation, Kriel threw himself into the formless, shifting darkness.

Footnotes:

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