Chapter 38 : In the End, He Still Wins
In the End, He Still Wins
Barkal was struck by the Black Knight's brutish halberd and fell backward.
The weapon that had beheaded the hydra landed accurately on his torso.
It was a fatal wound.
Even a barbarian who had become an apostle of Thrag would have no choice but to die from such a mortal injury.
Yet, he did not die. That much was certain.
The "Skeleton Exoskeleton" that had been wrapped around Barkal right before the strike had not been dispelled.
Although the halberd was embedded in his body, the "Skeleton Exoskeleton" had absorbed some of the impact.
Even so, it was a critical wound.
Barkal, collapsed, could only twitch and could not stand up. Meanwhile, the Black Knight was approaching him.
* 【Using Hardened Blood.】
The monster that climbed up from the Abyss was terrifying, but saving Barkal came first.
I scattered the blood stored in the "Blood-Colored Awl" and used 'Hardened Blood'.
Crimson bullets cut through the air and flew toward the Black Knight.
* 〈Thrag despises ranged attacks.〉
Hey, all of these are powers you gave me! And besides, nothing even worked, so why are you being so petty!
With a tremendous noise, "Hardened Blood" exploded.
The sparks and blood drops scattering in all directions were a spectacular sight, but there seemed to be no damage.
It didn't matter. My purpose was simply to draw the monster's attention here.
"Over here!"
I sprinkled the blood once more.
The blood leaving the "Blood-Colored Awl" flew in an arc through the air.
Some of it, unaffected by 'Hardened Blood', flew past the Black Knight and sailed toward the horizon, but I didn't care.
Better, in fact.
But this guy.
Even with all this, he's not looking over?
I raised my right hand. Just as expected, the "Rune of the Abyss" began to shine on the back of my hand, and the Black Knight shifted his gaze to me.
Ah, sir Black Knight, you finally look this way?
"I'm running away."
Saying that to Serena, I immediately started running backward. The roaring sound of trampling earth gradually drew nearer.
With this, I could redirect the Black Knight's attention from Barkal.
Damn it, Barkal.
Why did you have to charge in head-first?
"B-Brother Dmihtan, let me come too!"
"Serena, there's no need to follow. The monster is chasing me!"
"B-but I can't just leave you alone!"
Well, there's that.
To be honest, even though I said that, it was reassuring that Serena followed me.
Despite her gentle impression, she was equal to the human butcher Barkal.
"Is there any way to kill that monster?!"
"I don't think there's a way to kill it!"
As Serena yelled, I shook my head while running. I had no ideas.
Not even Barkal's attacks,
not even the spells fired by Barkatus's devotee, the god of explosions and magic, had scratched that monster.
There was absolutely no way to defeat it right now.
"But I know how to win."
"How to win?!"
By killing the "dungeon master" and closing the dungeon.
If the dungeon closes, the ongoing "Abyssalization" will also disappear. That means that bastard will vanish along with the dungeon.
"But who... will kill the dungeon master?!"
Us.
There was no way I could say that.
From the start, even the hydra, the 'dungeon master', was running away, scared of the Black Knight.
Since the Black Knight was chasing us, there was no chance we'd run into the 'dungeon master'.
So, I had no choice but to say,
"Someone will do it."
Group assignment.
Someone, please do it.
I've done all the research already.
* * *
Those who can't stand up are weak.
The teaching of the "Red Wolf Tribe" that had been instilled in Barkal since childhood echoed in his mind.
His vision was blurry.
Why did I fall?
Barkal remembered: it was the attack of the Black Knight, whom he'd recognized as a "strong one," that had brought him down.
As his consciousness wavered, childhood memories surfaced as shards.
"Bloodkin."
An all-too-familiar silhouette appeared before Barkal.
Unlike Barkal, the man did not wear a "skull helm".
He was a barbarian with a physique similar to Barkal's.
"Darsan, my bloodkin."
The barbarian named "Darsan" slowly approached Barkal. The smile he wore was the warmest Barkal had ever seen on a blood relative.
"Why did you leave?"
Seeing that blood relative's smile, Barkal felt a surge of powerful emotion.
"Why did you kill our other brothers and run away?!"
From the wound left by the halberd—
"Because of your actions, we're all forced to hide our faces behind skull helms!"
From his shattered mouth,
blood spurted out, but Barkal didn't care.
"Father gave up one of his eyes! Because of you!"
With simmering rage, Darsan's body began to cool and stiffen.
"And now, not even able to die properly, you wander the land of the living!"
He had grown pale as a corpse and soon took on the form of an undead.
"I will be the one to kill you again. My pitiful bloodkin, await your funeral!"
I, Barkal Wolfroad, will come for you.
Barkal spat out these final words of resentment.
When he stood up, his kinsman-turned-corpse had vanished without a trace.
Instead, a single red wolf was staring at him.
"Thrag, have you come to take my blood?!"
Even at Barkal's words, the red wolf did not move a muscle. But when it blinked, the red wolf grew large enough to swallow Barkal in a single bite.
"I did not lose! I will fight the strong once more!"
Even as its terrifying fangs drew closer, Barkal did not tremble in fear, but continued speaking.
"My god! Mark this well!"
Through the skull helm, Barkal's two eyes blazed like flames.
"You do not dwell in my body."
Barkal said to his god,
"I will be the one to contain you!"
* * *
An unbearable humidity and heat made sweat pour down like rain.
The sweat blurring the edges of my already-shaky vision was extremely distracting, but I was grateful for this situation.
"If, if this wasn't a swamp, I think we'd have been caught ages ago!"
She was right. We weren't caught only because this was a swamp.
It wasn't a great place for a horse to run, as the ground sank with every step.
On top of that, the horse was armored, and the Black Knight wore full plate, so with all that weight they would sink even deeper.
"I-it's here!"
Still, it seemed impossible to entirely outpace the horse.
Responding to Serena's urgent shout, I looked back and saw the massive halberd charging at me.
Fortunately, its foot was mired in the mushy ground, so its speed was slow.
* 【Using the Curse of Boiling Blood.】
Will it work?
* 【Failed.】
I had planned to try and enrage it into stumbling, but it turned out just as I expected!
While I was watching one of my plans evaporate, the Black Knight readied his stance.
Instead of the squelching earth, the Black Knight snapped a giant tree and used it as a foothold. Then, at tremendous speed, he swung the halberd in his hand.
"Hiyaaaap!"
The halberd swung so fast, it was hard to follow with my eyes, but before it could reach me, Serena latched on.
Without missing a beat, she climbed onto the Black Knight's head and instantly executed her specialty—a guillotine choke.
Nicely done! You crazy woman!
"I-it's... no joints...."
While twisting the neck in the guillotine choke, Serena's face began to show bewilderment.
"I don't think it has joints!?"
Did you get the wrong spot? Try again!
As I listened in disbelief, the situation changed.
"Aaaaaaaagh!"
Serena's hands began to melt. Barkal had been struck by this attack as well.
Damn, just what the hell is this? Some kind of aura that triggers on close contact?
As Serena faltered from the pain, the Black Knight immediately reached to grab her with his remaining hand.
* 【Using Skeleton Summon.】
I wrapped the "Skeleton Exoskeleton" around the Black Knight's body. The sudden protruding bones hindered the Black Knight's movements.
Lucky that the "Hardened Blood"
I scattered earlier stayed stuck.
"You, you monster!"
Serena glared down at the Black Knight with wide, fierce eyes.
Smoke billowed from her hands.
She was likely healing the melting damage with "healing magic."
That must be an excruciating pain.
"I—I'll just twist a little more!"
Pride outweighs pain.
It clearly bothered her that her technique hadn't worked, so she locked in the guillotine choke even more precisely.
Hey, crazy woman! I bought you time so you could get off!
As the Black Knight tried to break free from the 'Skeleton Exoskeleton',
I also closed the distance.
The only weapon I could use now was the tiny dagger, the 'Blood-Colored Awl'.
When the Black Knight saw the dagger in my hand, he glanced away from me and shifted his gaze to Serena.
Understandable. No one would think such a tiny dagger could penetrate full plate.
Fwip.
But the "Blood-Colored Awl" slipped through the Black Knight's armor with absurd ease.
Seriously.
I was only trying to draw his attention.
Well, I did succeed. The Black Knight even locked eyes with me.
"Graagh...!"
* 【The Black Knight of Famine is staring at you.】
As our eyes met, searing pain as if pressed with a hot iron radiated from my fingertips.
It's melting!
My hand is melting!
* 【Using Hardened Blood.】
I desperately tried to shield my skin with 'Hardened Blood', but the pain persisted.
In the meantime, the Black Knight's body moved.
I thought he would prioritize Serena, but instead he raised his halberd to strike me down.
Wait, time out.
"Brother!!"
Lightning fell from the sky. It was Barkal.
Barkal dropped like a bolt of lightning and drove his "Erindal" axe into the Black Knight's shoulder.
Boom──!
A thunderous explosion and shower of sparks. Once again, no mark was left on the Black Knight's armor.
But it wasn't ineffective. The Black Knight's massive body shook.
At the same time, the Black Knight's heavily armored horse staggered, unable to regain its footing.
Tremendous force.
He had become even stronger after coming back from the brink of death.
"Krurrrk...!"
Looking closer, Barkal's state was strange. His eyes were bloodshot, and red steam was faintly rising from his body.
So that's the "Thrag" three-piece set.
Boiling Blood.
Hardened Blood.
Mad Blood.
Using these three "powers" causes red steam to exude from the user's body.
Looks like "Thrag" was the one who saved the dying Barkal.
Well, he is Thrag's apostle, so I suppose he deserved another chance.
"Barkal!"
I called out to him. Bloodshot eyes darted to me.
"We'll throw him into the swamp!"
I pointed to the ground-turned-swamp and told Barkal.
Even with the "Thrag" three-piece set, black Knight couldn't be wounded.
But we could shock him. With that shock, let's force him into the swamp and buy ourselves some time.
"I won't throw him in! I'll kill him!"
Barkal refused.
The three-pieces' influence had made him emotional. There was no way he would listen to me like this...
"No! I will follow my brother's words!"
Huh? He's listening?
"Uwaaaaaaaah!"
With a bestial roar, Barkal began swinging the Erindal axe.
Chest.
Waist.
Shoulder.
Each consecutive strike shook the Black Knight's body, pushing him steadily into the swamp.
During this, the Black Knight tried for a counterattack.
"Uaaaaaah!"
Serena's guillotine choke wasn't finished yet.
With each attempt to spin his body, Serena tightened the choke, sapping his momentum.
This time, as he tried to remove Serena, I took a stance, ready to leap into his grasp if needed.
Then, the Black Knight's gaze shifted to me.
I knew it.
He's most wary of me.
It was only natural.
The only thing that could wound his body was the 'Blood-Colored Awl'.
And in the meantime—
"For blood and honor!"
Barkal's Erindal struck home.
The Black Knight's body floated up and fell, along with his horse, into the swamp.
With the sound of heavy armor thrashing, the Black Knight struggled. The more he did, the deeper he sank.
"The fight isn't over yet!"
Barkal tried to dive at the Black Knight in the swamp.
"Calm down!"
"Damn it! I will listen to you!"
Rarely cursing, Barkal nodded.
We couldn't kill the Black Knight like this, but we could stop him from moving.
Or so I hoped, but almost immediately, the Black Knight stabbed his halberd into his own horse and used it as a lever to regain his balance.
Then, using the corpse of the horse, he began to climb out of the swamp.
He glanced once at the spot where the "Blood-Colored Awl" had pierced him, then shifted his gaze to me.
* 【The Black Knight of Famine targets you.】
So what if you target me?
I was only planning to run away now anyway. What can you even do, mute?
Moreover—
* The dungeon's master has died.
With the dungeon closing, what can you possibly do now, fool.