I Became a Dark Knight in the Game

25 – Fighting to the Death is Easy, but Lending a Path is Hard (4)

Kriel was assigned a small room. The border guards had been guarding a place that had no real meaning of defense, as they had not had to worry about attacks from the Holy Kingdom or the Abyss for many years.

The room assigned to Kriel was proof of that. In the old days, the border guards’ organization was more than twice as large as it is now, but the long peace naturally led to military reduction. The luxurious private room that should have been used by a commander-level officer was empty for that reason.

“When the inspectors from the capital occasionally come, they use it as a lodging. It’s not a complete waste of money.”

The current commander of the border guards left with those words. He intended to discuss how to deal with the wyverns and whether they would attack again tomorrow. It was too late now, and it would be wrong to deprive a warrior who had fought such a fierce battle of his rest time.

After confirming that the commander’s footsteps had faded away, Kriel drew out the horned sword.

[Wow. I thought I was going to die of frustration.]

[Do you feel the mercy of your master who usually draws me halfway out of the scabbard?]

[I thought it was a strange expression of a peculiar taste to reveal the ‘horn’ at your waist, but I must cancel that….]

“What kind of crazy talk is that?”

Kriel shook the horned sword in disbelief. Orishin let out a strange scream.

“So, master.”

Tuon changed its appearance. A girl with ash-gray hair, blue eyes, and a Gothic-style dress.

“Do you believe their words?”

“What’s there to believe or not believe.”

The commander’s explanation was simple. The torture wizard had left the city, and the sudden appearance of the wyverns had blocked the city’s entrance. The wyverns had been causing havoc for almost a week.

He didn’t know which thoughtless Abyss species had come down to this city to mess around, but judging by the incident alone, it was quite a common occurrence.

It was almost routine for the Abyss to use tricks to conquer the city and the world.

“Isn’t it strange? The timing is too coincidental. I think the missing torture wizard is suspicious.”

Hmm. Kriel nodded. It was a reasonable suspicion. Kriel himself judged that the wyverns’ attack was carried out at too opportune a time.

“But even so, what can we do? We can’t just go and catch the wizard who has left.”

Kriel could roughly anticipate the contents of tomorrow’s meeting with the commander. The commander would likely send envoys to nearby cities to request support while the wyverns remained unseen. And Kriel himself would be tasked with escorting the envoys.

It was a reasonably rational approach. Although Kriel possessed courage and strength, he was just one knight. To find and eliminate the source controlling the wyverns, a mage or priest would be necessary.

“I am the Demon Sword.”

“So.”

“Gratuon had the ability to consume corpses and add their strength to his own. The power he absorbed was not just physical strength, but also included memory and magical power on an essential level.”

[Too long. Summarize in three lines!]

Just as the explanation was about to become lengthy, the flying Ori interrupted Tuon’s words. Tuon intended to suppress Ori with his usual phrase, “I don’t listen to those weaker than me,” but Kriel’s mouth opened instead.

“Um. Could you explain it more simply?”

Sympathy for Ori.

Tuon looked at Kriel in deep shock at his master’s favoritism.

“…?”

Kriel was bewildered by Tuon’s sudden gaze, filled with a strange resentment. What did I do?

“…I inherited Gratuon’s ability. If I behead the wyverns, I can find out where the connection leads. With the added power of the master’s dark knight, we can surely track down the mage controlling the wyverns.”

A neat three-line summary. Kriel found Tuon’s proposal attractive. He had thought he would have to spend a few more days for the gateway city, but a much quicker solution was presented.

[But is this right?]

“What else is the problem?”

Tuon replied in a sullen voice. Ori was flying around the ashen girl, teasing.

[Honestly, feeding blood to the Seven Demon Weapons is not a healthy act. Unless that thug saintess is around, is this really okay?]

“I am not Gratuon.”

[Then?]

“I have become greater.”

[Not more dangerous?]

Kriel was impressed by Ori’s point. It wasn’t so much the insight of the content itself, but rather the fact that the usually nonsensical talking head was suddenly making sense.

“You actually think properly!”

[No. Isn’t it strange that I don’t care when I’m just a head because of the abyss?]

Despite Kriel’s praise, Ori grumbled for a while. But eventually, the topic returned to Tuon and killing.

[You shouldn’t feed blood to the Demon Sword. It’s common sense. Isn’t that why you insisted on using a greatsword against the wyverns?]

Tuon looked at Kriel again with a shocked expression. However, Kriel only sent a question to Ori.

“Does it have such a function?”

[The Seven Demon Weapons, in terms of rank, surpass even demons and are closer to demonic artifacts. It’s a rare case where rank and power don’t correlate due to long-term exploitation.]

Such madness. Did the cult leader grandmother express that as ‘it’s okay if used well’? Kriel suspected that the leader of the Eve Kaha cult might actually be ignorant or mistaken.

[If you had used the cross sword, those wyverns would have lined up and waited, saying ‘please kill me’?]

“I didn’t know that…”

Kriel looked at Tuon. Tuon was puffing out his chest as if to boast, ‘I’m this great.’ The shock from hearing Kriel’s reasoning for not using him on purpose had already disappeared somewhere.

[So, I think it’s right to use it as little as possible like now. I don’t want to see you cursed before my curse is lifted.]

“That’s a vile slander! I am loyal to my master. Unlike you, a fickle sword.”

[Considering the list of Gratuon’s masters, isn’t it you who lacks loyalty?]

“I repeat, I am different from Gratuon. I am a better sword.”

Watching the unproductive argument, Kriel closed his eyes and recalled the words of the Eve Kaha cult leader. Not in the ambiguous form of ‘it’s okay if used well,’ but in a more precise sentence.

If Kriel himself did not obey the abyss, the sword would not obey the abyss either.

Of course, he had no intention of obeying the abyss. Even if the blood-stained demon sword tried to devour its master, Kriel was confident he could subdue Tuon.

It was not confidence derived from possessing the skill to handle the demon sword, Tuon. Kriel knew better than anyone that skills were not omnipotent.

It was the confidence of a knight who had defeated a demon possessed by Gratuon.

“Let’s do as Tuon suggests.”

The ash-gray girl crossed her arms sternly and looked at Orishin with a confident smile. It was the composure of a victor.

Orishin, who felt no competitive spirit as a sword towards Tuon, lightly ignored the declaration of victory. Instead, he only posed a question to Kriel.

[Really? It looks very dangerous…]

“There are innocent people suffering. How can I discuss my danger in the face of the people’s danger?”

An unconscious answer, created by practicing lines for the nobility status, popped out. Orishin nodded with his mouth agape.

[Wow. I understand why the gangster saintess acts like that.]

*

Damn it. The wizard cursed. It was because of the news sent by his accomplice.

A holy knight was tracking the traces of the abyss. It didn’t matter much what achievements that knight had made in the west. What mattered was the pursuit itself.

According to the wizard’s plan, this matter should have been over in just a few days. If his colleagues had coordinated properly. By now, there should have been a shout in front of the gate city’s gate, ‘Clear the way, we have something to find.’

Whether the gate city accepted that demand or not, the wizard’s own wish would have been fulfilled. But the awaited news did not come, and a sudden disruptor appeared.

Moreover, the disruptor’s ability was unusual. To slaughter a demonized wyvern so easily? The wizard could defeat it with long preparation and utmost effort, but the resource consumption, including demons, would be enormous.

‘Damn it. Why were they so slow?’

The wizard once again condemned his colleagues. If those lazy b*stards had finished the job on time, they could have taken over this city as the abyss instructed.

No, it was time to revise the plan again. The wizard intended to temporarily withdraw from the gate city and go into hiding.

*

“I plan to visit the wyvern’s nest.”

At the morning meeting of the border guards, Kriel calmly declared.