Demonkin Instant Death (2)
Morgina, who had been staring blankly at the suddenly torn-open abyss, shouted, "Hey, wait!" and chased after Kriel.
'The depth... isn't that great.'
Morgina scolded him from behind for pulling another crazy stunt, but Kriel let it slide. The abyss seeds were probably banking on them wasting time tackling the core the proper way—what was the point of playing their game?
[Nah. You really are a bit crazy.]
"I was just putting an efficient descent method into practice."
Kriel recalled the structure of the abyss. True to its name, the deeper the erosion by the abyss, the further down it plunged. That meant the danger level scaled with its depth.
The abyss deployed at the monastery was on the shallow side, just as Kriel had predicted.
"Hmm."
"What's up?"
Kriel touched the wall of the abyss. What had once been part of the monastery—this stone wall—had been bizarrely warped and fused by the abyss, now resembling an architectural chimera of garden trees, bricks, and stained glass mosaics jumbled together.
Morgina raised her sacred flanged mace. Red light pierced the darkness.
"Two paths, huh?"
"One leads to the abyss core, the other to the seed's main body."
They'd stored the core and seed separately. Kriel speculated on why the abyss's minions had made that choice.
'Normal priests can't track the abyss like I can.'
Kriel's abyss-sensing ability was abnormal. It was an effect only possible because a Dark Knight was inherently close to the abyss.
Or perhaps because they were the 'same faction,' it made them even easier to pinpoint.
If a holy knight of similar combat prowess to Kriel had been sent instead, they'd probably still be wandering the entrance.
Sensing the weak points in the abyss's surface layer and precisely destroying them to carve a shortcut to the depths—that was something only a being as sensitive to the abyss as a Dark Knight could pull off.
"Splitting into two paths is probably to buy time to escape while we tackle the core."
It meant they valued the seed's main body more than the carefully cultivated abyss.
Kriel thought back to the 'Seven Great Demonic Weapons' that Morgina and Orishin had chattered about.
'Even I don't know about this.'
The Seven Great Demonic Weapons didn't exist in the Tirnanog RPG. According to the lore he'd collected in case it held clues to returning home, they were the final insurance left by Maou Balor, who had foreseen his defeat at the heroes' hands.
Gathering all seven would revive the Maou—a rumor that sounded awfully familiar.
'But seeing how the abyss side isn't using them to revive the Maou and is instead treating them as tools for their own plans, it looks like revival isn't on the table...'
Morgina's voice snapped Kriel out of his reverie.
"So, what now? Split up?"
Yeah, the identity of the Seven Great Demonic Weapons wasn't the priority right now—it was who smashed what.
Whatever they were, they'd be deeply bound to the abyss, so nothing Kriel could use anyway.
"I'll head to the seed and pin the bastard down. The core's yours."
It was the obvious choice if he wanted to build Honor. Punishing those who betrayed the world and threw in their lot with the abyss inherently boosted it.
Satranyak let out a scream like a banshee's wail.
"How?!"
The abyss's depth might not be great, but it was still an abyss. A realm of chaos and darkness befitting its name. A domain of the abyss where warped space and fading senses assailed the mind.
Yet this guy had appeared before him in under ten minutes after stepping foot inside.
"You're sharp, I'll give you that."
It was a shame for Kriel. The abyss's minions often failed to sense him properly. He'd greet them by grabbing his greatsword and lopping off their heads.
'Because of the Champion's mark?'
The mark from Morgina hid his presence as a Dark Knight but also made the abyss's denizens more wary of him. Next time he fought the abyss, he'd ditch it, Kriel resolved, as he leveled his greatsword.
"Grikenkos's fog!"
That instant, Satranyak's assault began.
Fog conjured by demonic power mingled with the abyss's darkness. The instinctive terror of the dark. Grikenkos's fog was magic that reflected that fear.
An illusion spell that manifested the horrors unconsciously imagined while staring into the darkness, tearing enemies apart.
Satranyak knew a holy knight wouldn't be overwhelmed by something like this. But dispelling the darkness and illuminating the fog would inevitably consume holy power.
'They've already burned through a good chunk breaking through the abyss. If I force them to exhaust their holy power, then strike the opening...'
"A Demonkin, huh."
A calm murmur echoed. No fear of the suddenly narrowed vision or encroaching illusions. Not even hostility toward the abyss.
"Perfect."
What was perfect? Satranyak couldn't tell. Instinctively, he prepared his next spell—a spasmodic reaction like a cornered rat biting a cat.
He couldn't even understand his own response. Sure, the holy knight was a huge threat, but with the abyss's home advantage and his abilities, escaping should be a breeze.
How long had it been since his emotions boiled over like this after ascending to Demonkin rank? Maybe the last time he'd faced a great demon—
The black knight aimed his greatsword. Straight at his own heart.
The abyss's darkness and Grikenkos's fog seemed meaningless to him.
Shadows cast by the abyss were fundamentally different from ordinary darkness. They devoured light. Ordinary light without supernatural harmony was simply swallowed.
No holy knight could pierce the abyss's darkness so naturally without holy power.
The moment he realized that—
Kriel's swinging blade filled Satranyak's vision.
Unlike the eerie white of fighting spirit, the red of blood qi clung to the greatsword's blade.
The crimson afterimages lingering in the darkness were steadily cutting off Satranyak's escape routes.
'Sometimes fighting Demonkin is easier than beasts.'
The abyss's minions instinctively grasped hierarchies. Monsters submitted to beasts, beasts to Demonkin—that was why.
Demonkin submitted to demons. So the question: Where did I fit?
If this world were still a game, the answer would be simple: 'Depends on level.' Hierarchy adjusted by level and skill bonuses.
But now that it was real?
The truth: 'Abyss hierarchy doesn't apply to me.'
As a player character, a Dark Knight had the potential to topple the Maou and inherit his legacy.
Separate from that potential, he didn't properly belong to the abyss's hierarchy. He'd need to use abyss skills to build up demonic nature and climb ranks—but he had no reason to, unless he wanted a one-way ticket to the psych ward.
It was like a glitch. Max potential, zero demonic buildup.
Demonkin could sense that 'potential.'
A handy trait for exploiting.
Beasts couldn't feel a Dark Knight's abyssal possibilities—just charged like any foe. If he'd piled up demonic nature with abyss skills, they'd submit instantly.
But Demonkin were different. 'You see as much as you know'—they instinctively sensed the heights a Dark Knight could reach.
The moment he exuded his presence with blood qi or resentment, they felt the same pressure as from the great demons they served.
"Grikenkos—!"
Luck was on his side this time. The Grikenkos that bastard was screaming for was the demon of illusion and wealth. A mental magic specialist.
To overcome Dark Knight skill debuffs, Kriel had stacked Honor like his life depended on it.
Incomplete spells crushed by that pressure couldn't touch him.
The dead rose to walk the earth, and the darkness given voice whispered despair. Amid the horrific blackness loomed the awe-inspiring shadow of a great demon dwelling in the abyss.
Through illusions bewildering the senses, condensed fire and lightning raged.
In the smoke and darkness, Satranyak hid once more.
And it was all pointless.
The red sword aura on the greatsword effortlessly dismantled the elemental magic, reducing it to nothing.
The knight advanced slowly but surely toward Satranyak.
Satranyak couldn't even guess the identity of this one who mocked a great demon's authority with each step.
"Who! Who sent you here! Kromnagha? Arhetet? Have you forgotten the pact of the great demons?!"
The knight gave no answer.