I Became a Dark Knight in the Game

52 – Inheriting the Top (1)

Armed’s obsidian spearhead hit Tushkin’s right shoulder. The bone armor that had been covering his skin shattered, and the obsidian dug into the red muscle.

It was unfortunate that the bone armor’s strength was not ordinary. The obsidian shattered upon impact with the armor, but it did not lose its momentum, and as a result, Tushkin Gabi’s shoulder was embedded with hundreds of pieces of obsidian shrapnel.

Groaning in pain, Tushkin quickly made a decision. For some reason, the bleeding from his shoulder was not stopping. It was better to cut it off from the shoulder blade and attempt regeneration.

But the two people were not going to stand by and watch. Kriel and Morgina charged at the enlarged Tushkin.

Tushkin was a merchant, not a warrior. That was why he made a misjudgment. He recklessly enlarged his body to overpower Kriel and Morgina.

His body, too large for the room, caused inconvenience in movement, and with an excessively wide surface area, he could not avoid the strikes of the two skilled warriors.

Even while being beaten, Tushkin Gabi fiercely resisted. He had a lot to say about the last charge, if nothing else.

At times, it was true that loans were given to the bug-like wizards of the Abyssal Prevention Society under truly generous conditions. But wasn’t it their own fault for not repaying their debts on time?

Blocking Kriel’s club with his right arm – which bent in a direction it shouldn’t have – Tushkin vented his frustration.

“Are you crazy, Armed? You should blame your members’ ruined sense of economy, why is it my fault!”

Tushkin’s indignant anger echoed. Armed replied coldly.

“If you lent money knowing those b*stards had their heads in the clouds, it’s intentional. Do you know how much I struggled to clear it to keep our society’s credit rating from dropping!”

“Isn’t it your fault for gathering such a bunch of losers─”

The truth was so sharp it almost pierced Armed’s core. But Armed, being an excellent wizard, was not swayed by the desperate nonsense of an Abyssal creature.

“Shut up, old man! I’ll kill you!”

Calmly expressing her opinion, Armed loaded a magical catalyst from her pocket dimension.

The catalyst she newly took out was an ancient item that had retained its form through thousands of years, a piece of history that had been passed down since before the establishment of the Count of Ket.

It was a material that formed the foundation of many civilizations and had been used as a tool of struggle since ancient times.

“What are you trying to do…?”

It was a stone.

Tushkin, bewildered by the fact that the secret weapon Armed had taken out so confidently was just a stone, couldn’t react to Morgina’s attack. Even though his body had grown larger, it still retained a human form. Morgina was someone who had become adept at turning a fully satisfied being into a fully dissatisfied one.

Morgina smashed Tushkin’s shinbones with the maces in her hands.

Tushkin collapsed with a scream. In the meantime, Armed finished her preparations. She untied the hairband that held her ponytail in place.

The hairband in Armed’s hand had somehow become a sling. It was a backup weapon she had chosen during her mercenary days when she often ran out of magic.

The sling, loaded with a stone, began to spin with a menacing sound. When the acceleration reached its peak, Armed threw the stone with all her might.

“Dodge─!”

It was hard to understand why they were being told to dodge just a stone, but it was not wise to disobey a wizard’s command on the battlefield.

Kriel immediately grabbed Morgina, tucked her under his arm, and ran towards Armed.

The moment the stone hit Tushkin.

An ominous flash flickered inside the stone, soon becoming a brilliant halo that engulfed the stone.

The halo soon turned into a fireball. The stone, which had transformed from a fist-sized rock to a face-sized fireball, finally exploded.

The scorching heat swept through nearly three-quarters of the room. Tushkin’s room, which was as large as the combined interior area of an ordinary commoner’s house, was instantly reduced to ashes along with most of its luxurious furniture and its owner.

Beyond the shattered wall, the garden was visible. The floor was the same. One wrong step and they would fall to the first floor. Kriel looked at Armed with an incredulous gaze.

“You can admire your fiancée’s abilities.”

Armed shrugged as she replied. The two weaknesses of her signature explosive magic – the massive consumption of magic and the long chanting time – were overcome by a trick she had prepared. It was a type of throwable magic scroll that used pre-engraved magic on stones.

Although the power was weakened compared to properly chanting the spell, it had advantages worth the trade-off. As long as she had enough time to recover her magic and stones from her hometown, she could make as many as she wanted in advance, and they would explode as long as they hit the target without chanting.

Kriel was about to say something, shocked that the wizard’s ultimate weapon was a mere stone.

Thud!

The door, weakened by the concentration of psychic energy on the stone throw, was smashed open, and the wizard guards hired by Mazar burst in.

“Sir! What on earth is going on…!”

The state of Tushkin Gabi’s chamber was appalling. One side of the wall had blown away, letting the wind in, and all the furniture in the room was shattered, most of it reduced to ashes by fire.

Most importantly, the head of the family, Tushkin Gabi, was nowhere to be seen.

It was clear that something terrible had happened here.

The two wizard guards exchanged glances. Mazar quickly approached them to explain.

“Calm down, everyone. The people I brought are not enemies of the Gabi merchant group.”

“…We trusted you, sir!”

“Huh?”

“It has been a long time of disgrace and patience. Jaren and Arsika have no interest in the future of the Gabi merchant group, only blinded by wealth.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Although Tushkin Gabi was a good person, his very existence had become a shackle binding the Gabi merchant group. We support your bold decision, sir.”

What the hell are these guys talking about?

Mazar was bewildered. So these people were now…

“We will keep silent about what happened here. If we say that Tushkin Gabi was contaminated by the abyss, no one will dare to question your actions, sir.”

They thought Mazar Gabi had eliminated Tushkin Gabi and was taking the first step to seize control of the chaotic Gabi merchant group!

“No! No! My father was truly contaminated by the abyss!”

“Indeed! We believe your words, sir!”

“This is not the time for this. Jaren and Arsika might use this as an excuse to do something. We need to spread the rumor that Tushkin Gabi was influenced by the abyss.”

“If we absorb their forces while they are detained for investigation, you will become the head of the Gabi family, sir…!”

Just as Mazar Gabi was about to collapse, clutching his neck, ashes flowed in with the wind through the broken wall.

However, it was clearly an unnatural movement. All the ashes that had been Tushkin Gabi poured out of the wall at once.

“What the hell?”

Morgina’s divine power crows rushed at the ashes and exploded, but only scattered them temporarily; the movement did not stop.

The ashes that fell beyond the wall gathered together, forming a sticky, amorphous liquid monster. Starting from the ground, it grew to a size that could overlook Gabi’s chamber on the second floor, emitting a chilling, wordless cry.

[Mazar─!]

With that cry, facial features were etched into the liquid monster’s form. Though severely distorted and constantly melting, it was the face of Tushkin Gabi.

“My goodness! Was Lord Tushkin really a Seed of the Abyss?”

“I thought it was just an excuse the young master made up after using explosion magic to destroy the evidence!”

“I said it’s not!”

[I always thought you were weak. Jaren inherited ambition from me, and Arshika inherited my schemes. Only you were a weak, spineless chaff, a brat who only inherited your mother’s beauty!]

A vibration that shook the entire mansion spread. Others couldn’t easily sense what it was, but Kriel, who was closest to the abyss, could read Tushkin’s actions.

It was laughter.

[So you brought an assassination squad to plot against me! I underestimated you! You are indeed the child most like me! You are more than qualified to become my new vessel!]

“Ugh, ah…ugh…”

Mazar was on the verge of collapsing, unable to withstand the excessively high blood pressure. Tushkin’s momentum was too fierce for Kriel to protect Mazar while fighting. Kriel handed Mazar over to the wizard guards.

“Take your employer and flee. We’ll handle that person.”

The wizard guards grabbed the gasping Mazar and began to exit the room. Within seconds, one of them threw something to Kriel.

“Take these! The greatsword was too heavy to carry!”

It was Tuon and Orishin. Kriel put down the red club and grabbed the two swords.

As soon as he grasped the swords, power surged through his body. What he had learned since falling into this world was not club fighting, but swordsmanship.

Ah, this cool and heavy sensation.

“It’s time to return to being ‘Knight’ Kriel.”

[Hey. But isn’t a horse the essential item for a knight, not a sword?]

Kriel remained silent.