I Became a Dark Knight in the Game

54 – Inheriting the Top (3)

“That’s right, young master! Of course not. If it was known that you were aware of the former head of Tushkin’s corruption in advance, Jaren and Arsika would definitely make a fuss.”

“But if I only found out about the former head’s identity today by chance, Jaren would be suspicious. We need a plausible explanation for how we discovered the Abyss…”

“Don’t you get it yet, my friend? You brought the priest. Not just any priest, but the Saintess! You might have been able to deceive the eyes of ordinary priests until now, but you can’t fool the Saintess’s gaze, can you?”

“Aha!”

Somehow, it seemed like he could hear the sound of Mazar Gabi collapsing while clutching the back of his neck, but Kriel didn’t care.

He was rummaging through the remains of Tushkin Gabi.

“What are you doing?”

“Armed? Morgina?”

“Over there.”

Morgina was saying something to the guards and Mazar Gabi. From what Kriel could hear, it was a contingency plan for when a member of the family turned into an Abyssal Corruptor. Given her position as a Saintess, she seemed well-versed in such procedures.

“And you?”

“I’m searching through Tushkin Gabi’s corpse.”

“I can see that. But why are you doing it when he’s already clearly dead?”

“I know your skills well.”

“Huh?”

It was a story from when Kriel was still a mercenary. Armed was treated as a kind of ‘final solution’ in the mercenary group she led. If a monster was unusually tough or a goblin village’s defenses were strangely strong, they would just blow it up.

The corpses were often too damaged to receive proper bounty rewards, but the effectiveness was undeniable.

“The actual power is much weaker than a proper spell, but Tushkin wasn’t even a demon, just a beast. Normally, he should have died instantly from the explosion.”

“What? But he survived and transformed into that strange liquid monster?”

“That’s what’s strange.”

The Abyss could perform miracles, even bringing someone back from death. But such feats were impossible for a mere beast. Resurrection, whether in terms of time or lethality, was a domain reserved for demons with considerable experience.

If it were in the Abyss’s direct influence, the story might be different. But the Gabi estate was prime real estate, not the heart of the Abyss.

“There might have been external interference or some kind of artifact involved.”

Normally, Kriel could find an Abyss-tainted artifact just by passing by, but now the entire garden was covered in Tushkin’s ashes, making it hard to pinpoint anything specific.

“Most of the rings he was wearing seem to have been destroyed in the explosion…”

Armed rolled up her sleeves as she spoke. Morgina, who had finished her conversation, also seemed puzzled and joined the search with a shovel and sieve. Kriel and Armed each took one as well.

High-ranking individuals digging. The guards and Mazar Gabi, curious about what was happening, also grabbed shovels.

As Mazar Gabi sifted through his father’s ashes, he heard a metallic clink against the sieve.

“I found something! I don’t know what it is, but I found something!”

Mazar Gabi pulled out something covered in ashes. It was a metal ornament engraved with geometric patterns. Originally, it would have been connected to a metal chain, forming a necklace, much like the emblem of a great warrior that Kriel himself wore.

Kriel received the pendant from Mazar Gabi. Although it had become very faint due to being swept up in the explosion and absorbed by Tuon, the echo of its power remained.

“The original form is a tree shape.”

Tree shape. Regeneration. A fragment of an old memory flashed through Kriel’s mind. It was a memory from when he played the Tirnanog RPG.

It was a post discussing the appropriate item settings for each character on one of the few community sites for the Tirnanog RPG.

“The Steel Branch…”

A mid-to-late game item suitable for warriors. He couldn’t remember the detailed options other than that it granted excellent health regeneration.

But there was another reason Kriel remembered this.

[The Steel Branch? Isn’t that the artifact that the ancient dwarves mass-produced when they tried to replicate the blessing of the World Tree?]

At Orisin’s words, Kriel suddenly recalled memories from the Western Army. He remembered carefully looking around whenever he was deployed on solo missions, wondering if there were any remaining ruins.

He was honestly a bit envious of the other knights who wore the Steel Branch. For some reason, such luck never came to Kriel.

But the decisive reason Kriel remembered that artifact was not envy of the other knights. It was because of the stories those knights told.

“Yes. And it was also something the hero wore.”

[Huh?]

“Oh. I’ve heard of it too. One of the three heroes who defeated Balor, the warrior, wore a tree-shaped pendant carved from steel. Was that a mass-produced item?”

[It was mass-produced because they were ancient dwarves! They probably can’t mass-produce it now. Unless the unquenchable fire of the Mountain Kingdom still remains?]

Kriel traced the faint power. He could clearly feel the effect of accelerated regeneration that it originally had.

However, along with that, he sensed the aura of the abyss. It felt as if the magic circuit that granted the accelerated regeneration had been completely removed and replaced with an identical structure that operated with the power of the abyss.

“They corrupted the artifact with the abyss.”

“…It’s a sinister item. Will you take it?”

Kriel shook his head. He flicked his fingers, sending the steel ornament flying. Mazar easily caught it.

“Isn’t this decisive evidence of your father’s corruption by the abyss? It will be your last trump card to inherit the merchant guild.”

“Hmm, that’s… No, I have no desire to inherit the guild!”

“You can pass it on to your brother or sister. Either way, it will be more useful for you to have it than me.”

Kriel shrugged and added.

“But, in the end, you’ll end up using it.”

“Why do you think so?”

“It’s a given that Zaren and Arsika will attack you as a parricide. To fend off that attack, you’ll naturally submit this as evidence. The moment you successfully fend off the attack, most of the Gabi family will already be on your side.”

“Huh?”

Is that so? Will it happen like that? Gabi, who was bewildered, shouted as he was led to the office by two wizard guards.

“Thank you! I’ll send you the reward soon, so please wait a moment! Let’s talk over dinner!”

Gabi said that and threw something. It was a gold coin. Not a copper or silver coin, but a gold one. Quite a big spender. Kriel chuckled and replied.

“The payment is already sufficient.”

“That’s the down payment! I’ll give you a bonus separately!”

*

In the darkness, the demon rose. His brows furrowed involuntarily.

“Again?”

He was not the demon who should be in this place. Originally, he was supposed to fight necessary battles in appropriate places rather than secretly plotting behind the scenes like Satranak.

The reason why Griquenkos’ Fang, Jieoparluk, was presiding over communication with demons, deviating from his original role, was simple.

It was because Satranak, who originally held this role, had died a sudden death in a corner of the Holy Kingdom.

Jieoparluk decided to temporarily act as Griquenkos’ priest until a new demon was born.

However, during the short period he was acting as the priest, Griquenkos’ power was facing strange misfortunes.

Satranak’s sudden death was just the beginning. Even though they dispatched demonic beasts to trace the traces of the Seven Great Demonic Diseases, the werewolves, confused, gave up the pursuit.

The strange rumor that Gratuon had split into two. Jieoparluk understood that the detestable priests of the Holy Kingdom had created a new sealing method.

However, since the Seven Great Demonic Diseases had the potential to eventually release themselves into the world no matter what seal was attempted, Jieoparluk considered this loss as a sunk cost, albeit with a sigh.

And next was the Dragon Guard of the Gateway City.

He was the one who boasted that he could devour the Gateway City using his brother. He seemed to have a knack for tormenting humans, so Jieoparluk expected that if he killed his brother and took his heart, he might reach the level of a demon.

One morning, the connection with Griquenkos was cut off, and suddenly, he was found dead, dismembered.

And then there was Tushkin Gabi. He had been slowly nurturing his demonic nature since the Demon King War. Although his demonic nature was not deep compared to the years he followed the Abyss, he was a rare talent in that he had perfectly legitimate authority within the Empire.

While waiting for the regular report, the demon revealed that ‘his fate had been severed.’

There were already three. Not mere abyss initiates who had barely reached the level of monsters, but followers who should have played their roles in Griquenkos’ plan.

What is this?

What is happening?

Jieoparluk barely held back a sigh. There was someone requesting an audience with Griquenkos’ apostle now.

The one who had corrupted the Hero’s legacy.