I Became a Dark Knight in the Game

44 – A Rigged…? Duel (3)

“Wait, a lady?”

Orisin exclaimed inwardly, “Finally!” Though his attitude was somewhat rough and his words harsh, from a step back, it was clear that Morigina was expressing her affection for Criel in her own straightforward way.

Even that crazy chivalry maniac blockhead—as Morigina called him—should be able to notice if she was this direct.

“Did you get married in the meantime?”

“What?”

“Of course, the analysis that the religious veneration of sacred beings in chivalry transferred to a longing for real noblewomen, forming courtly love customs, is convincing. But there are two problems if you want to call yourself a lady.”

[Truly a chivalry-obsessed b*stard…]

Orisin muttered. He could deeply feel why Morigina called Criel that.

“First. It depends on whether it’s the Holy Kingdom’s standard, the United Kingdom’s standard, the Empire’s standard, or another country or race’s standard. But a lady usually means a married woman.”

“Let’s go with the Holy Kingdom’s standard. On our side, it’s judged by dignity and honor, not marital status. What’s the second?”

In the chivalry of the Holy Kingdom, mainly upheld by paladins, the definition of a lady did not include marriage. The reason was simple. There were many female clergy who did not marry due to doctrine, and paladins who wanted to serve them as their ladies.

“The second is a problem in the same context as you mentioned.”

Criel calmly looked at Morigina. On the surface, it looked like a demon commander was giving a final ultimatum to a priest.

“Where is your dignity─” “Fine. I’ll kill you.”

*

[You crazy b*stard! You claim to be a noble knight!]

“What’s the problem!”

Criel shouted as he breathlessly blocked Morigina’s fierce attacks. It was an unknightly, unrelaxed shout, but the noise of swords and maces clashing was much louder than Criel’s voice, so this informal shout didn’t leak out.

[Is it chivalrous to criticize others like that!]

“Among comrades, it’s okay to be a bit informal with each other!”

[What did you say?]

[The master sees Morigina not as someone to be protected or a lord to whom loyalty is owed, but as an equal comrade. And among comrades, excessive courtesy is rudeness. A certain degree of disrespect is an expression of closeness, isn’t it?]

Criel nodded in satisfaction. Although it was not clearly visible due to the black horned helmet, Orisin could easily imagine the satisfied expression beyond the helmet.

[You knights! Why do you always bicker, but only agree on strange things like this!]

*

It was an intense fight.

Mazar Gabi almost lost his mind when his champion said, “I actually came to fix the match.”

A champion he had contracted for a large sum of money turned out to be a fraud. Can a priest do that? (The official answer from the Priest-King was, “Depending on the sect, some degree of priestly ‘wit’ is ‘broadly’ recognized.”) But now, he was in a completely different state of mind.

The seemingly endless black crows looked like deadly bombs. Amidst the storm of crows autonomously targeting Criel’s gaps, two even more deadly red lines swayed.

Every time the end of the chain mace bounced and struck the flagstone, the floor of the arena crumbled with a crunching sound.

The ferocity of the fight made it impossible to guess that the two people fighting knew each other. Or perhaps, one could think they knew each other. They must be mortal enemies to fight so fiercely.

Daucrius cheered.

“Oh, goddess! The winner is on your side!”

Armed was somehow more concerned with what the woman named Morgina had said than the fight itself.

A remark that seemed to suggest some connection with Criel’s armor, and the bold declaration of “Criel’s lady.”

Moreover, the woman’s background was even more problematic. Mazar Gabi, who had brought Morgina, seemed unaware, but the blood-red divine power summoning the crows was the sacred blessing (祝願) that the Eve Kaha sect specialized in.

A saintess of the Eve Kaha sect had shouted, “I am your lady” to the sect’s champion. Seeing Daucrius clapping and watching the fight, it seemed the Eve Kaha sect had no celibacy doctrine.

A sense of crisis, which Armed couldn’t precisely define, began to grow in his heart.

*

Criel thought. If this continues, I will lose.

Originally, priests and the abyss were each other’s ultimate opposites. But in general situations, priests were treated more favorably against the abyss.

This was because the world of Tirnanog itself tried to exclude the foreign substance that was the abyss. A priest, supported by the world, was the natural enemy of the abyss.

Conversely, in the abyss constructed for the activities of the abyss, the power of the abyss was amplified, creating an opposite structure. Purifying such an abyss was also the role of priests, and those who eroded the world to create the abyss were naturally the abyssal beings, making it most accurate to describe their relationship as endlessly intertwined.

Criel did not think of himself as an abyssal being, but the profession of a dark knight had something fundamentally similar to the abyss.

Therefore, it was natural for him to be on the defensive as Morgina charged at him so relentlessly.

[No way. Does she have no limit to her divine power? Even with the title of saintess, using it so recklessly without running out?]

[Master also has remaining abilities.]

Tuon. If I use that, I’ll be expelled from here. The ability Tuon referred to was not the common ability of knights, ‘fighting spirit,’ but rather bloodlust and resentment. Criel had no intention of making such a reckless attack.

Moreover, using it would only put him at a disadvantage due to the nature of the match. Deflecting the explosions of the crows, Criel sought a way to end this fight.

‘Come to think of it, the very start of this duel trial was full of tricks.’

Then it should also end with a trick.

*

쿵─!

Kriel plunged his greatsword into the earth. The blade’s tip effortlessly pierced the rock, defying its nature. The fighting spirit radiating from the blade’s point pulverized the flagstones, scattering them into the air. Rocks, caught in the outburst of energy, flew like shrapnel.

“Good, this is exhilarating!”

Morgina swung the chain mace in her left hand. The rapidly rotating chain transformed into a wall of iron, scattering the hail of stones aimed at her.

No, it was more than that. Pieces of stone, caught in the chain’s movement, were redirected. With a twist of her wrist, Morgina sent them hurtling toward Kriel.

Kriel didn’t bother pulling the greatsword from the ground. He drew his horn-shaped blade. Morgina licked her lips from behind her veil.

Even now, the design was quite well-made. It wasn’t just biased praise because she made it, but it did suit Kriel’s overall atmosphere well.

There was something deeply satisfying about seeing Kriel adorned with weapons she had crafted. Morgina smiled and lunged.

But then her expression hardened.

Covered head to toe in things *I* made, and yet he’s fighting me to protect that pink-haired fellow?

My sincerity was already slightly mixed in, but I figured I could put in a little more effort.

“Shall we rub our bodies together and play?”

The horn-shaped blade Kriel raised was somewhat shorter than a typical one-handed sword. Inevitably, they would have to fight at a much closer range. A somewhat vulgar, yet passionate jest on the battlefield. Kriel retorted simply,

“That’s precisely what lacks refinement!”

The horn blade was shorter than Morgina’s two maces. Normally this would be a disadvantage, but at such close range, that the maces couldn’t even fully swing, the situation changed. Kriel intended to engage in close-quarters combat, and Morgina knew it.

“I prefer playing even closer!”

But Morgina welcomed the approach. She even desired closer proximity. Morgina’s chain mace flew out, wrapping around Kriel’s horn blade.

Morgina’s blood-infused weapons, originally created with divine power, could freely adjust their shape, but that was only theoretical. In the heat of battle, such skillful manipulation was a testament to Morgina’s ability.

[Kiyyaaak!]

Morgina ignored the horse’s scream and attempted to snatch the blade. Knights must be proficient not only in swordsmanship but also in close-quarters grappling. Losing his blade, Kriel would have no choice but to approach with bare hands.

It was a delightful situation in several ways.

‘He wouldn’t pull out the Seven Deadly Horsemen in this situation, would he?’

The scent of each other’s blood while they wrestled would be romantic in its own way.