I Became a Dark Knight in the Game

1 – The Wordless Horse and the Silent Knight (2)

The farmer, who was watching the knight’s back while comforting his daughter, felt something strange.

It was still supposed to be daylight. Although the night in the forest came quickly, in his experience, there was still some time before the sun completely set.

However, the forest was rapidly darkening. As if someone was stealing the light.

A black mist-like thing spread where the sunset had disappeared. And beyond it, two red lights like will-o’-the-wisps appeared.

It was the mountain spirit. The farmer tightened his arms around his daughter.

However, there was one thing the farmer had not noticed.

Something resembling the black mist spread by the mountain spirit was also flowing from beneath the knight’s feet.

*

It came.

I faced the Baikon with its glowing red eyes. For ordinary people, its form would only appear blurry until their eyes adjusted to the darkness, but the eyes of a dark knight saw well in the dark.

It was one of the few useful traits of the dark knight profession, which had a cool name. They could also see spirits well. Although there was the minor problem that the spirits could see them well too.

The Baikon seemed to realize that I was looking at it, and it didn’t come too close, keeping a certain distance.

It seemed somewhat confused. Originally, the dark knight was the commander leading the forces of darkness. The most suitable steed for them was the Baikon.

It might think that I had brought a sacrificial offering to make a contract with it. To protect the father and daughter, I had somewhat followed the form of such a contract.

The father and daughter within the circle were, in a ritualistic sense, under my protection. The moment the circle was broken or they stepped outside, they would become the Baikon’s prey.

Conversely, if the Baikon didn’t want to antagonize me, it couldn’t take them away at will.

[What a strange thing….]

A resonant, low voice. It was a good voice for a man-eating demon.

[Despite setting up an altar of the abyss, even in a simplified form, the offering has no dark power. If I hadn’t seen you myself, I would have thought it was a trap set by the holy knights.]

Krrrk. A sound that could be either a sneer or a laugh echoed through the misty forest.

[You are indeed a greedy one for power. Were you so stingy that you couldn’t spare even a drop of dark magic to bless the offering?]

“Blessing? It’s nothing more than a shackle to keep them from escaping. You’re overrating a mere ritual.”

The truth was different. Although all sorts of sinister powers are lumped together and called ‘dark magic,’ the power commonly used by dark knights had a common trait.

The more you use it, the easier it is to go insane.

I wanted to live healthily with a sound mind.

[Hoho. Then by what means did you bind them?]

“Love.”

[Love? That’s an interesting answer! Explain further.]

I took a step forward. The Bicorn was greedy but clever. If I weren’t a dark knight, or if I hadn’t piqued its interest in this way, it would have fled as soon as I approached.

“I said I would spare only one member of the family. I warned them that if they tried to escape, even that one would die. How touching is this family love.”

[Indeed, you are right. Love is their shackle. You are greedy and cunning!]

The Bicorn admired. My emotions were still normal enough not to be pleased by the praise of a man-eating demon. I glanced at the father and daughter behind me. They were still in place.

It was fortunate that I had warned them in advance. They would think all this conversation was just a hallucination.

“I possess the power and intellect befitting you. Come to me.”

The Bicorn cautiously approached me. If it bowed its head and I offered them as a sacrifice, the traditional contract between a dark knight and the steed of the abyss would be established.

Finally, the Bicorn lowered its head as if to bless its horn. I solemnly nodded.

And swiftly drew my sword and swung it.

*

The farmer was horrified by the gruesome conversation he heard from outside the circle. The voice was too vivid to dismiss as mere hallucination.

If the knight hadn’t warned him in advance, he would have believed it to be true. From the first time he saw him, the knight had a suspicious appearance, so he might have thought he was acting as he looked.

The reason the farmer wasn’t fleeing with his daughter was the knight’s prior warning and the unexpectedly kind demeanor he had shown on the way here.

The knight approached the mountain demon. The demon slowly bowed under the knight. Was this also an illusion? Should he flee now?

As the farmer hesitated, the knight drew his sword.

The black greatsword fell towards the demon’s crown. It moved with lightning speed, impossible for a mere peasant’s eyes to follow.

[Krrr-ong─!]

But the demon was faster. It twisted its head and caught the blade aimed at its crown with its horn. The knight’s body was swung by the deflected sword.

[You deceived me!]

The Bicorn’s scream. The knight didn’t miss the opening. His body, tilted by the rebound of the deflected sword, was stabilized by a large step forward with his right foot.

And the blade that had reached for the sky returned to the ground, aiming for the Bicorn’s neck.

Without a moment to speak, the second attack followed. Baikon realized that this knight had no intention of negotiating with him from the start.

Should he flee?

The initiative of the battle had already been taken by the knight. Continuing the fight here would be disadvantageous.

As Baikon’s demonic nature quickly made a decision to preserve his life, something else arose from within him.

Another facet of Baikon’s rationality, which had been preventing him from properly feeding until now. Unlike before, when it had been convulsing to stop him from doing anything, this time it was urging him to act.

The rationality, in league with the demonic rage, incited his body to tear out the knight’s heart.

*

Kriel had a gut feeling that things wouldn’t go smoothly. Baikons were usually cunning, and if not captured or killed immediately, they used their four legs to torment people.

Just as the thought of a chase through the black forest with Baikon made his head spin.

Baikon reacted very differently from Kriel’s expectations. Like a bull charging at a matador, it began to rush at Kriel in a frenzy.

Baikon’s charge, shrouded in the black mist rising from under its hooves, looked like a dark cloud leaving a trail as it rushed forward.

If it had been an ordinary monster, Kriel would have been delighted with its straightforward trajectory and would have immediately beheaded it with his greatsword.

But Baikon was not an ordinary monster. It was too fast. Realizing that Baikon’s charge was faster than his own attack, Kriel pushed off the ground.

It was enough to evade Baikon’s body charge, but the greatsword was still in its path. The sword, colliding with Baikon’s golden horns, was wrenched from Kriel’s grip and embedded itself in a nearby ancient tree.

Kriel had the feeling that Baikon somehow smirked. If it was a creature beyond the level of a simple monster, it would naturally know how to express emotions like mockery.

Once again, Baikon’s body was shrouded in mist. This mist not only obscured vision but also seemed to be involved in the supernatural acceleration from earlier.

Kriel’s judgment was swift. He had to catch it before it could accelerate properly.

The ‘darkness’ handled by the dark knight was largely divided into three. One was the blood energy that could be collected through physical pain. The second was the grudge originating from mental pain. Lastly, the abyss.

The degree to which it gnawed at the mind grew stronger as it progressed. The first time he used blood energy, he saw hallucinations for three days and nights, and when he used grudge, phantom pain was added. He couldn’t even dare to use the abyss properly.

Due to the severe side effects, Kriel had no choice but to use skills based on blood energy if he had to use them.

Most of the blood energy abilities focused on strengthening the body. It was suitable for the current situation, which required faster and stronger power.

He released the accumulated blood energy, which had been accumulated by slaughtering the monsters of the forest, without hesitation. The red energy, refined from the blood and flesh of the monsters, enveloped Kriel’s body.

Boom─!

The red light that rose from the darkness underfoot clung to his armor like a spider web. The thunderous sound echoed with the first step of his charge. Baikon and Kriel collided before Baikon could even start its charge.

Kriel grabbed Baikon’s two horns with both hands. Baikon, trying to pierce him through his armor.

The two forces met in the middle, contending without yielding an inch. Their strength was so evenly matched that only the ground beneath them screamed and cracked.

It seemed that Kriel was the first to be thrown off. His left hand, which had been holding the horns, was released. Baikon, not missing the gap, twisted its body. A rampage with its whole body.

Kriel struggled to twist the trajectory with only his right hand as Baikon lunged to pierce his heart. Just as Baikon’s head was about to rest on Kriel’s shoulder.

The empty left hand wrapped around Baikon’s neck, and the strength in Kriel’s right hand grew even stronger.

Baikon realized that Kriel intended to break its neck.

Now the confrontation had become a battle of strength between the Bicorn, straining with veins bulging in its neck, and the knight, who sought to break its neck by snapping its horn.