The Death Knight's Vengeance
Noman gasped for breath as he looked around. Is this the end?
The streets of Wiseville burned. In the battlefield filled with screams and terror, only a pitch-black demon stood tall. Jordan, the Gluttonous Demon. He was the vile fiend who had revealed his true form after devouring the life energy Hanna had absorbed.
Jangcheok. Sion. Hajun.
Noman gazed at his fallen comrades with calm eyes. Sion, struck by the curse. Jangcheok, who had lost an arm trying to protect him. And Hajun, who had collapsed for some unknown reason. No one was left to help Noman fight.
He had always been a coward by nature. He hated anything frightening or violent. Yet ironically, he had always dreamed of shining brilliantly in front of others.
After surviving the Spriggan village... I thought I'd become someone special.
Noman let out a self-deprecating laugh. There had been chances to quit being an explorer. But the one who had signed up for another dungeon mission, dreaming of glory once more, was none other than Noman himself.
If I'd known it would come to this, I would've just stayed in my room reading books.
One by one, his companions fell to the demon. Now it was Noman's turn.
Strangely, he felt no fear.
Seori, if you're still out there somewhere... lend me a warrior's courage.
Noman took a slow, deep breath. There was no way out. It was time to die without disgrace.
"Aaaaargh! You damned demon bastard!"
Noman gathered every last ounce of courage and swung his whip at Jordan. For a brief moment, a warrior's valor filled his body. The whip struck Jordan squarely.
「Hmm?」
The demon seemed to pause, but only for an instant. He casually yanked the whip away. Noman had tried to attack, but instead lost his weapon.
「What is this? Some kind of performance?」
Jordan's body split into thin strands. Like unraveling ropes, his flesh divided into multiple tendrils that shot out and seized Noman's limbs.
The plea for mercy rose to his throat, but he couldn't bring himself to speak it. His opponent was a demon. Begging wouldn't save him.
"Kgh... kgh... I'll have my revenge! I'll take revenge from hell!"
Noman cried out, voice trembling.
「Ahh. The sweetness of fear.」
Jordan slowly caressed Noman's body. True to his name as the Gluttonous Demon, he intended to devour not only Noman's flesh but his very soul.
"I... I... damn it!"
Noman shouted.
"Someone help! Help me! There's a monster here! It's eating me!"
At that moment, the tentacles gripping Noman's body began to retreat.
Noman's eyes flew open in surprise. Could it be the patrollers?
Many patrollers had fought to quell the chaos in the village. Though they still had much to do, Noman's efforts in driving off the giant insects had given them some breathing room. It wouldn't be strange for a group of patrollers to appear to aid the explorers.
But what Noman saw was something entirely unexpected—a knight in black armor.
"...What is that?"
Noman muttered aloud in confusion. Even in the midst of Wiseville's turmoil, no one could have simply ignored someone dressed so conspicuously. Yet the knight had appeared as naturally as if he had always been there. It was a sight that defied understanding.
The black-armored knight raised a massive black greatsword. Blue flames blazed in his eyes.
「Disgusting.」
Jordan's voice scraped like metal. For the first time since arriving in Wiseville, he sounded irritated. The Gluttonous Demon instinctively recognized that this being was not something he could consume. A body emptied by death. A corpse that only moved through artificial means. An undead.
「How dare a filthy corpse intrude upon my feast.」
The black-armored knight opened his mouth. A blue ghostly light rose like mist.
「Keh, keh-heh-heh...」
「Hmm?」
「Kahahahahaha! At last... the time for vengeance has come!」
The black knight burst into laughter. Jordan stared at him blankly, unable to comprehend.
「So you're an undead. One who cannot die even in death. An existence that belongs to no one's mouth.」
「Indeed! Vile demon! This body is a Death Knight—one who has returned from death!」
At the knight's declaration, Noman, who had been listening nearby, recoiled in shock.
"D-Death Knight?"
Having some experience as an explorer, Noman quickly understood the knight's identity. Death Knight. The knights of death who wandered ancient tombs.
Come to think of it, Hajun...
Noman looked around frantically for Hajun, but he was nowhere to be seen. The ominous obsidian greatsword he had been carrying had also vanished.
Noman observed the Death Knight.
...He was holding the same obsidian greatsword Hajun had used.
The knight pointed the greatsword at the demon.
「I am the Necromancer Nern! The vengeful spirit of the Crafolt Kingdom you destroyed! Though my flesh has vanished, I have never once forgotten my revenge! Across hundreds of years, at last! The time for demon hunting has arrived!」
Blue flames erupted from Nern's eyes. The ghostly fire unique to the undead, burning with life energy itself.
「A Necromancer? How revolting for a mere corpse to prattle on so.」
Jordan swung his hand. A demonic curse poured toward Nern. The curse [Severe Hunger], which paralyzed victims by inducing starvation.
No matter how strong a human might be, they were powerless before a demon's curse. Gray mist coiled around Nern's body.
But—
「Keh-heh... You call that a curse?」
Nern was completely unaffected. He had summoned the body of a Death Knight. As an undead with immense resistance, Nern's curse simply faded away harmlessly. The curse [Severe Hunger], which preyed on the fear of starvation in living hearts, had no effect on an undead who had long since lost all desire for food.
Jordan exploded in rage.
「How vulgar, just like a walking corpse. Do you truly not know the joy of gluttony? Have you lost the pleasure of a feast!」
「Find that sort of thing among the living! My tongue rotted away long ago. The only pleasure left to me is the thrill of hunting demons!」
As the Gluttonous Demon, Jordan despised an undead who could not appreciate the pleasures of fine dining.
「I'll tear off that armor and devour your entrails!」
「Fool. I have no flesh!」
Kyaaaaaaaak!
With a fierce battle cry, Jordan lunged at Nern. His body, like black ropes, twisted and surged forward. The finely split flesh was as sharp as hundreds of spikes.
「Kahahahahaha!」
Nern swung his greatsword with astonishing speed. The demon's body was sliced apart, splattering tar-like black blood. But this was exactly what Jordan had anticipated. From the beginning, he had planned to sacrifice part of his body to penetrate Nern's defenses.
The remaining flesh writhed like tentacles and approached Nern. Nern dropped his greatsword and grabbed Jordan's body with both hands.
「Yes! This is it! Demon blood! It's overflowing!」
Blue flames erupted from within the helmet. Nern and Jordan became entangled, tearing into each other's bodies. Jordan's form pierced through Nern's armor, but beyond the armor lay only cold death. Meanwhile, Nern's powerful grip savagely tore at Jordan's slender body. The demon's black flesh snapped with a sickening sound, gushing an astonishing amount of blood.
Unable to withstand Nern's strength, Jordan screamed and reformed his body into one.
「Kaaaaak! You vulgar monster! Disgusting walking corpse!」
「Kahahahahaha! Quite the tongue you have, demon!」
The moment Jordan reformed, Nern raised his hand like a blade and struck down at what he presumed was Jordan's head. Flesh split open, and the demon spewed black blood.
「Aaaaaargh!」
Jordan swung both arms like windmills. His razor-sharp hands were deadly weapons in themselves. Jordan's arms sliced through Nern's armor.
「Yes! Struggle all you want!」
But Nern didn't flinch. As an undead, Nern felt no pain. Losing armor wouldn't stop him.
Nern picked up his greatsword and swung it at Jordan. Jordan twisted desperately to dodge, but he couldn't escape an attack that ignored all defense.
「Got you!」
Nern stomped on what he guessed was Jordan's leg.
Crack!
The Death Knight's greave drove deep into the ground. Nern held the greatsword in one hand and grabbed Jordan's head with the other.
「Let go! This...」
「Heh-heh. Any last words?」
Jordan was completely flustered. This terrifying Death Knight shrugged off grievous wounds, was immune to demonic powers, and above all, showed no mercy.
「...」
Jordan had always tempted humans with the promise of longevity. If they offered their bodies, he would grant them long life. But his opponent was an undead. A monster who had already transcended the boundary between life and death.
Jordan fell silent. He couldn't think of a single move.
「If you have nothing, then I'll speak for you.」
Nern shouted.
「Death to demons! Glory to the Crafolt Kingdom!」
He began carving Jordan's body into pieces with the greatsword. With his foot pinning the demon's leg and his hand gripping the head, Nern sliced Jordan apart like a musician playing a string instrument.
「Kaaaaaaaak!」
Black demon blood sprayed endlessly. Jordan, who had consumed vast amounts of life energy, did not die easily. But that didn't matter. If he wouldn't die easily, then Nern would simply keep cutting until he did.
Jordan's body was torn to shreds. Yet Nern didn't stop, rubbing the obsidian greatsword against him. Demonbane. True to its name, the obsidian greatsword drank the black blood and dragged the demon toward death.
「Kahahahahaha!」
Nern roared with laughter. Like cutting rope, he sliced through the demon's slender body with the greatsword. The Death Knight's armor was stained with demon blood, utterly filthy.
The bisected Jordan moved no more. Whether he was truly dead or had reverted to a necklace-like form was unclear. What mattered was that the demon's threat had vanished.
The Death Knight stood for a while, blankly holding the upper half of the torn demon.
Noman, who had been watching the fight, finally spoke.
"H-Hajun?"
It was a question born from recognizing the obsidian greatsword.
The Death Knight responded to Noman's words.
「Hajun, you say... Tell your incompetent companion this: This is how you hunt demons.」
"Y-Yes?"
At that moment, the Death Knight's armor melted away and disappeared. Hajun's form appeared in its place.
"Hajun!"
Noman cried out and ran toward him. Hajun collapsed to his knees, strength leaving him.
#
I squinted at the piercing sunlight. A hospital room with a soft bed. I woke up there. Outside, the sun shone brightly. While I had been dealing with that ghost called Nern or whatever, morning had already arrived.
Demonbane, was it? I never imagined that greatsword had a ghost from the Crafolt Kingdom attached to it. I picked it up because it was a weapon used by a Necromancer, but who would've thought it was the sword once wielded by Nern, the Black Sun.
"Hajun!"
A familiar voice called out. Noman, his eyes swollen, looked at me with tears in his voice.
"You're awake!"
Anyone would think I had come back from the dead.
"As you can see."
"Do you remember fighting Jordan? You turned into a Death Knight and..."
"I don't remember the details, but I can roughly guess what happened."
My memory cut off when I parted ways with Nern. He had been going on about teaching me necromancy or something. In the end, he must have used the Death Knight transformation spell with my body. Though truthfully, even without Nern teaching me, I could use the Death Knight form. I had the Status Window. I could just use that.
"My sword, by any chance..."
"The Striders told me not to touch it under any circumstances, so I left it. They said touching it could kill you. Something's possessing it, right? That Death Knight called Nern..."
Noman rambled on for a while before letting out a deep sigh. It almost sounded like a sigh of relief.
"I'm just glad you're safe. You really... you really almost died."
"Since I'm alive, it worked out."
Noman quietly wiped away his tears. Noman, who still lacked much dungeon exploration experience, had never faced such an intense battle before. This incident must have shaken him deeply.
"When we return to Runen, I'm definitely retiring."
"Retiring?"
"I mean, retiring as an explorer. I'll continue my studies. But I can't... I can't do this kind of fighting anymore."
I nodded. Yeah. Doing this job just for money, without any real purpose, was truly difficult. There were plenty of decent jobs in the world. No need to force yourself to be an explorer.
When I got out of bed, Noman quickly moved to support me. I could walk fine, but it was slightly more comfortable, so I let him.
"Jangcheok and Sion are over there."
Noman guided me. Nearby, Jangcheok and Sion lay in beds. Surrounding them were Jangcheok's children and his wife.
"Hey. Hajun, you up?"
Jangcheok spotted me and waved. With his left arm.
...The only arm he had left.
Noman glanced at me and added, almost defensively.
"We tried to reattach the severed arm, but... it was covered in demon blood..."
"Noman, you handled the bleeding for Jangcheok, right?"
"Ah. Yes. I did all the emergency treatment. Since we have the Seeker Lantern, I figured I should at least do that much."
I checked Sion's condition as well. Sion, afflicted by the curse, had sunken cheeks. When he woke up, he'd probably ask for food first.
Just then, a stranger approached us.
"There you are, explorers."
"And you are?"
A man who looked a couple of years older than me—quite young—greeted us politely.
"I'm Raon, a patroller dispatched from the Strider Guild."
His demeanor was extremely courteous, but a cold, rational light flickered in his eyes.
"I've heard of your exploits, Necromancer Who Summons Death."
"...Me?"
"You helped Guild Leader Mode eliminate the walking swarm of bugs and even defeated the demon Jordan. I heard your and your companions' assistance was crucial in saving Wiseville."
For some reason, I didn't like this patroller named Raon.
"What do you want?"
Raon smiled.
"I just wanted to have a little chat."