WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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◈ I Became the Dark Knight in the Game World ◈

Chapter 44: A Staged…? Duel (2)

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Kriel was quietly confident. Mazhar Gabi had more than enough money to hire any ordinary fighter.

But Kriel was a knight far beyond what an ordinary fighter could handle. And hiring a knight required not only money, but prestige.

After all, it meant accepting someone as the master to whom one would offer one's sword, even if only temporarily. A true knight did not serve an unworthy master. The head of the Gabi Trading Company might have been different, but Mazhar Gabi's reputation was not enough to command knights.

[No, hey. Not every knight in this world is as obsessed with chivalry as you are. Pay them enough, and one might show up.]

“Nonsense! A knight who does not follow chivalry cannot be called a true knight.”

Orisin was about to fire back. What would Kriel do if Mazhar brought a warrior or mage instead of a knight?

But Orisin never got the chance.

[Truly correct. You shameless horse head, have you still not realized the universal truth that a knight without honor is no knight at all?]

Having spoken needlessly and been attacked from both sides, Orisin decided to keep quiet.

Still, from what they had seen so far, Kriel was more than strong enough as a (Dark) Knight. Unless someone like a knight commander appeared as his opponent, victory was practically guaranteed.

* * *

The ducal house of Argetlam was an ancient family, and its long history seemed to linger in most of the duchy's buildings.

Remarkably, the courthouse had a separate “duel chamber” for Trial by Combat. It had existed since the days when Trial by Combat was actively practiced. The chamber resembled a miniature circular arena with a courtroom's raised platform added to it.

Kriel and Armede had arrived first and were waiting for Mazhar Gabi. The Religious Judge, looking livelier than before in anticipation of watching a fight, stood at the judgment seat, where the judge's seat would normally be.

Since it was a secret trial, there were no spectators. Still, Priest Daucrius sat in the stands as a witness. He wore a broad smile, making no effort to hide his anticipation, dried meat in hand.

The judge checked the time.

“Ten minutes remain until the duel begins. If Mazhar Gabi, or Mazhar Gabi's Champion, does not arrive within ten minutes after the scheduled start time, the defendant's side will win this trial.”

Rumble.

Mazhar Gabi appeared, throwing open the old gate.

“That won't be necessary.”

Kriel studied Gabi's attire. No armor, no weapon. Mazhar apparently did not intend to step forward himself. Was he planning to forfeit and at least minimize the hiring fee?

“Plaintiff Mazhar Gabi. Do you intend to participate in the duel?”

“I hired a Champion. Come in!”

Click.

Footsteps echoed down the courthouse corridor. Kriel was surprised by how quiet they were. There was no sense of weight behind them.

If the person wore armor, they would have needed a weight-reduction spell for those footsteps to make sense. A warrior capable of using such equipment would warrant caution, but he could not let his guard down even if the person had simply come lightly dressed.

‘A mage?’

Mazhar's Champion appeared beyond the doorway.

Plain black priestly robes. Yet they gave an impression of purity rather than shabbiness. Though the robes were quite loose, the brisk steps and clean lines of the body suggested that the figure beneath had undergone considerable training.

What stood out most was the black veil over the priest's head. The dark priestly robes and thick black veil made the outfit look like mourning clothes.

The moment Kriel saw Mazhar's Champion, he felt an indescribable sense of foreboding.

“Hey, Gabi! Isn't that cowardly?”

“What do you mean, Lady Armede?”

“You couldn't find someone who could fight properly, so you're trying to attack his honor as a knight! As if a frail priest could fight!”

Kriel cautiously extended an arm to stop Armede. The presence he felt from that priest was far too unusual for someone to be called frail.

“I would not use such a lowly method.”

The judge asked Mazhar's Champion one last time whether they intended to resign from the position even now. The priest answered with a silent shake of the head.

“Oho,” Priest Daucrius said in low admiration.

“I thought the Saintess had agreed too easily. What a brilliant plan!”

So she had come in person to deal with the heretic. Daucrius sensed that this fight would be even more entertaining than expected.

‘No, wait. I told Sir Kriel to fight and win for our Church, didn't I?’

Priest Daucrius sank into deep thought. Whether the Champion defeated the Saintess or the Saintess defeated the Champion, would that not be a loss for Eve Kaha?

Soon, though, he realized that Eve Kaha's defeat either way also meant Eve Kaha's victory either way, so Daucrius stopped thinking about it.

“This is truly faithful to the original meaning of Trial by Combat! The one whom Eve Kaha cherishes more shall prevail!”

Daucrius regretted not buying beer on his way here.

* * *

“Both parties, step forward to the first line.”

At either end of the arena, made from solid flagstones, were lines engraved into the stone. They marked the distance between the duelists.

When the combatants' weapons had differing ranges, such as bows and swords, the starting distance could be adjusted to make the duel as fair as possible. Neither side had expressed any wish to adjust the distance this time, so the duel began at the standard line.

“Artifacts may be used. The victor shall be decided when one party admits defeat or becomes unable to fight. Keep in mind that this is not an ordinary duel, where the first person to wound the other wins.”

From the judgment seat, the judge looked over both fighters. A sharp tension surrounded them.

“Ready.”

Three, two, one.

“Duel (Duel), begin!”

For some reason, the pressure coming from his opponent was immense. Kriel calmly raised his greatsword beside his forehead and pointed it at the priest. It was a stance meant to intercept an incoming attack.

He watched the priest raise their right hand to their mouth, then swing it down toward the lower right.

Vivid droplets of blood scattered through the air. The veil hid what exactly had happened.

Still, Kriel could have wagered his entire fortune that the priest had drawn blood by running their palm across their fangs. Red Divine Power gathered among the scattered droplets, taking shape.

A crimson mace.

“Damn it!”

Kriel hurriedly poured Fighting Energy into the Mark of the Great Warrior. Fighting that person without armor would be reckless.

But he was too late. Leaving a crimson afterimage behind them, the priest closed the distance in an instant. The mace came crashing down. Kriel tilted his greatsword, knocking it away.

As the sound of their weapons colliding for the first time rang out, Kriel began putting on his armor. He had no idea why they were rampaging here and now.

“What are you doing...”

Before he could finish, the veiled priest attacked again. This time with their left hand. At some point, they had drawn blood there as well, and another mace was in that hand.

It differed from the weapon in their right. The right-hand mace was straight and rigid, while the left was a flail, its weighted head connected to the handle by a chain.

The onslaught continued. Two red trails swept through the air from the priest's hands.

The right hand drew straight lines. It held enough power not to be overpowered even by Kriel's greatsword, meeting strength with strength.

The left hand, in contrast, drew curves. That did not mean it was gentle. The flail's weighted head bristled with vicious spikes, exploiting every gap while Kriel's greatsword faced the straight attacks from the right.

The straight lines and curves twisted together without pause, eventually becoming a crimson storm. By the time Kriel had blocked five strikes aimed at his vital points, his armor was fully equipped.

“Hmm...”

The Religious Judge considered whether to report an Abyss incident at the terrifying sight, but Priest Daucrius raised a hand to reassure the judge, who kept quiet for the moment.

The veiled priest saw that and cracked her neck once to either side. The sharp sound echoed through the chamber.

Divine Power shimmered behind her like a halo and began to take shape.

Crows.

They were the same crows that had relentlessly tormented Orisin in the Holy City of Temlis. By now, even Orisin could not fail to recognize them.

[Oh, fuck?]

The Divine Power crows rushed at Kriel. Their flapping wings came at him from behind, above, and below.

The gust from his greatsword scattered their forms, but he could not destroy them all. A crow that drove its beak into Kriel's armor exploded the next moment.

The armor was excellent enough that the impact was not severe, but the mist-like remnants were enough to obstruct his vision. Ordinary smoke would not have been able to block Kriel's sight.

But these were crows made of Divine Power. The spread of Divine Power, which stood opposed to a Dark Knight, was enough to obscure Kriel's vision.

Kriel heard Morgina's approaching footsteps. He also heard the mace cutting through the air. He formed his stance to match the sounds. The flat of his greatsword precisely struck the mace aside, and after briefly releasing the sword, he raised his right gauntlet to block the flail's weighted head, sending it bouncing away.

“Wait, Morgina!”

Kriel called the veiled priest by name.

Morgina answered from behind her veil.

“Hey. I was planning to take it easy for a while, then lose to you on purpose if I could.”

Mazhar Gabi's face twisted strangely. It was an expression caught between bewilderment and disbelief.

“Seriously, you're not wearing that armor to protect her, are you?”

‘I made that armor for you.’

Morgina swallowed those words before they could leave her mouth.

“You charged at me like you were courting death, so...”

He did not begin by talking about “love.” Morgina felt greatly relieved.

Knowing Kriel's rigid personality, if he had truly stepped forward to protect a fiancée he loved, he would not have said, “I put on armor because you came at me seriously.” He would have said something like, “I must win for the happiness I share with the one I love.”

‘Then the chance of this being a fake engagement incident, just as I expected, has gone up...’

At that moment, Morgina saw Armede's face behind Kriel.

The way Armede looked at Kriel was painfully familiar.

It was the same look Morgina saw in the mirror every day.

“Haah, right. Even in chivalric novels, knights tended to lack fidelity below the belt. They went around sowing romantic scandals while calling it romance. No. Is the other side the one taking this lightly?”

Whatever Kriel felt, Armede was sincere. Morgina could not let Armede feel at ease so easily.

“What?”

“Heh heh.” A clear yet chilling laugh rang out.

“Your lady has come to keep your fidelity in check, you bastard!”

Author's Note

I had to take a call for a while, so this got pushed to tomorrow.

It is not much of a consolation, but I made this chapter a little longer!

Footnotes:

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