The mage felt as if he were utterly exposed under the Dark Knight’s gaze. As though he was stripped bare.
He was overwhelmed by Kriel’s aura and unconsciously took a step back. An inexplicable feeling of helplessness consumed him.
Even if he resisted the knight now, there was no future in which he could escape alive.
Long before he embraced the Abyss’s blessing, the mage had encountered many powerful figures. Some he had bowed his head to, others he had avoided entirely and walked around them from a safe distance.
His life had been a string of humiliations and defeats. Yet, never before had he experienced such overwhelming despair.
…No.
It wasn’t the first time. There had been one other moment when he was certain that he could never oppose a particular being.
But that being who had looked down upon him then was the exact opposite of the Paladin standing before him now.
It had been the demon who bestowed the Abyss’s blessing upon him. The mage recalled the words spoken by the sword held in the grip of the Paladin.
Then, he replayed in his mind the Dark Knight’s simple yet precise remarks that had so easily pierced through his rank.
There was only one conclusion to be drawn from all of it.
A demon…!
Not just any demon, though. This was someone who had walked freely in the Holy Kingdom, boldly posing as a paladin, and who had even been appointed as a champion by one of the religious orders.
It was proof that he possessed a power capable of perfectly deceiving the eyes of the priests. All while dressing so unmistakably as a Dark Knight!
Perhaps this being had surpassed the level of a mere demon and was on the verge of stepping into the domain of devils. If that were true, then it made sense why the demon sword in the Dark Knight’s hand had spoken of a “rightful master”.
A being who had accumulated enough abyss power to ascend as a new devil. Such a being would indeed be the most powerful spawn of the Abyss in this age.
The Dark Knight let out a “hmm”. It sounded like a sigh, as though he was lamenting something pitiable and pathetic.
Of course, the meaning behind Kriel’s sigh held no trace of sympathy or pity for the demon mage.
It was merely a reflection of his own sadness at being mistaken for a demon just because he had created a certain atmosphere, coupled with regret over his class choices.
When an intelligent being like a human succumbed to the Abyss, its threat level was typically ranked half a step to a full step higher than that of a non-intelligent being of the same level.
A human that had become a demonic beast was equivalent to a demonic beast that had become a demon, and a human that had become a demon was considered on par with a demonic beast that had become a devil.
This was because intelligent beings inherently possessed the higher intellect that regular monsters could only develop after reaching the level of a demon.
But for Kriel, it was different. Just as he found fighting devils easier than dealing with demons, he preferred facing Abyss creatures with intelligence over those without. Intelligent ones were easier to deceive.
Had it been a wyvern leader behind the horde instead of a human mage, Kriel would already have been dancing in battle. But since it was this misguided mage mistaking his identity, Kriel decided to use him as much as possible to swiftly resolve the situation.
Before speaking to the mage, Kriel reminded himself of the principles of the Tirnanog chivalry:
The Abyss can and should be deceived!
“If you’ve realized your own insignificance, why don’t you act accordingly? Truly, I am disappointed.”
The memory of his military days came to mind. Whether it was on Earth or in Tirnanog, wasn’t it the habit of superiors in the army to express their disappointment in their subordinates?
Drawing on those countless examples, Kriel delivered his act convincingly. The mage hesitated, then stumbled backward and fell to his knees.
“I have failed to recognize the one who walks the darkest depths. I beg you…. for mercy, please show mercy!”
“Mercy? Have you realized your own mistakes?”
“I stepped upon this sacred ground, not knowing it was already under the rule of a devil. That was my first offense. And my comrades are absent from this place, that is my second offense.”
Ah, so he had comrades. Kriel nodded his head knowingly. The mage took it as a sign of mercy granted by the devil.
“Please, spare me a path to survival. Even if I have disrupted the plans of someone so great, I will dedicate my lowly self entirely to furthering your grand plans.”
“You have drawn far too much attention to yourself.”
“I have a solution in mind! A way to take up a position in the heart of the gateway city without raising anyone’s suspicion!”
At the moment the mage was about to speak further, Kriel waved his hand to silence him. The mage quickly closed his mouth and bowed his head to the ground again.
“What are your comrades doing?”
“We were planning to assassinate the court mage of the gateway city. We intended to target him on his journey home….”
That was enough. Kriel gestured for the mage to rise. The mage lifted only his upper body while still kneeling, knowing full well that he was not permitted to stand and look Kriel in the eye as an equal.
“You asked for a way to survive?”
“Yes. I truly didn’t know that one favored by the Abyss would reside in this region. Though my comrades’ abilities may be lacking, our resolve is unwavering!”
“Is that so? Come closer.”
The mage slowly crawled forward. The Dark Knight raised his ashen cross sword, and the mage trembled slightly as it was lifted.
“Do you recognize this sword?”
“My knowledge is too limited….”
Kriel infused the blade with energy. A cold, radiant light coiled around the ashen blade. A chilling aura emanated from the sword, one that seemed like the desolate winds of the underworld itself.
An ashen blade with a blue radiance.
For someone immersed in the Abyss, it was impossible not to recognize such a weapon. The mage’s mind raced through the list of legendary armaments.
“One of the Seven Demon Swords!”
“You have confessed your sins and sought judgment. In return, I will deal with you truthfully. I am the rightful master of this blade.”
The rightful heir to the legacy left behind by the Demon King. In other words, this man was a candidate for the new Demon King. Reverence surged within the mage’s heart.
The cold, glowing ashen blade lightly tapped the mage’s left shoulder.
The gesture resembled that of a knighting ceremony. The mage felt a surge of relief at having survived and a swelling joy at being accepted into the grand plans of the Abyss.
Now the blade would move to his right shoulder and it would be time for the blessing. It was a sacred blessing of some kind, whether it was blood, spirits, or something to strengthen the dark power of the Abyss.
As Kriel moved the blade to the mage’s right shoulder, he began to speak.
“I have a question for you.”
The mage searched his distant memories for words that would suit the formal occasion. Devils were powerful yet fickle, and their moods had to be appeased as carefully as possible.
“P-Please, ask your question.”
“You asked me to grant you a path to survival, so I will ask about the path. Before you lies an easy path and a difficult path. Which will you choose?”
Was this a test of his loyalty? As soon as the thought occurred to him, the mage answered without hesitation.
“I will follow any difficult path, no matter how it is!”
“Is that so? I prefer the easy path.”
“Huh?”
Kriel swung Tuon without further warning.
***
The guy was tougher than expected.
Initially, I had planned to decapitate the mage as soon as he got close. But after assessing him at such a short distance, it became clear to me that simple brute force wouldn’t be enough to sever the neck in a single stroke.
Perhaps because the man handled wyverns, his skin had taken on a texture similar to that of draconic creatures. A swordmaster or similar expert might have laughed and said, “Watch me slice this like butter,” while showing off their cutting skills. Unfortunately, my swordsmanship wasn’t quite at that level.
Left with no other choice, I stalled for time by pretending to show off one of the Seven Demon Swords, distracting the mage with meaningless chatter while channeling energy into Tuon. Thankfully, the head came off in one clean blow.
If the mage had survived the strike, regenerated, and counterattacked, things would have become far more complicated. Fighting a mage in their own lair was never a wise move.
[Hey, by the way, what did that mean?]
“What do you mean?”
[That thing you said about liking the easy path.]
“It is nothing much. It’s from the words of an ancient sage who said, ‘The path of resisting injustice and dying with dignity is far easier than the path of accepting and compromising with evil’.”
[Wow. That’s a very knightly thing to say.]
In this case, it wasn’t exactly the knightly spirit but rather the mindset of a scholar. Not that it mattered. Orishin wouldn’t have understood if I started talking about scholars, so I didn’t bother correcting him.
At some point, Tuon had slipped free from my grasp, taken on a humanoid form, and returned holding something.
“Take it.”
“Huh?”
It was the severed head of the mage.
“To claim credit for an achievement, you need proper evidence, don’t you think?”
Since there was nothing wrong with that statement, I nodded my head reluctantly.
Instead of just barging in and claiming I had taken care of the wyvern’s mastermind without proof, showing them the head of this mage with his hardened, draconic skin would definitely be far more convincing.
I needed to return quickly and report to the commander of the Border garrison. If the mage’s words were true, the court mage in the gateway city might also be in danger.
***
As soon as I arrived in the gateway city, I received one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.
The good news was that the court mage had returned unharmed.
He said that he had been on his way to his family estate in a hurry after hearing that his estranged younger brother had been found dead, but when a band of lesser abyss creatures attacked him, he guided them to the “right path”.
And by the “right path”, he meant the path to the afterlife.
He managed to return safely to his family estate, only to discover that there had been no news about his younger brother at all. Sensing that something was amiss, the court mage hurried back to the gateway city as quickly as he could.
The bad news:
“Ah… my brother…!”
The abyss creature I had killed and turned into a corpse was none other than the court mage’s younger brother.
He was a corpse now.
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