Inheriting the Novel

Chapter 84 : Dark King (2)

Dark King (2)

[That's only how it is at this point in time.]

'Did he really need to add that kind of comment?'

What mattered was that, at least right now, I had surpassed Fabian. That fact was what truly counted.

I was in high spirits.

Though I'd had to slug through endless hardship to get here, it felt like my long effort was finally being rewarded.

'... But if I hesitate even for a moment, I'll be overtaken again in an instant.'

It could even be said that I had only barely caught up by pushing the cheat-like powers of "Setting Addition" and "Synopsis" to their limits.

Fabian was an overwhelming genius with innate talent.

If I wanted to keep outpacing someone like him, who continually evolved without end, I would have to persist in endless effort, never growing complacent.

'Such an outrageous cheat.'

That was what I was thinking as I followed behind Damian, when I started to feel the air get stifling as we descended lower and lower.

Thanks to possessing Divine Blood, my breathing was only somewhat labored, but the others' conditions looked far more serious.

Logan Deoric didn't seem much affected, but the knights and soldiers following him looked utterly miserable.

"Are Riya and Maria okay?"

"Oh my, are you worried about us?"

At my words, Riya replied with a light smile.

From the look on her face, it was as though she was just out for a stroll.

"I'm protected by Dragon Tongue, so I'm fine. And I'm protecting Maria as well, so you don't need to worry about her."

Looking more closely, I saw a hazy barrier enveloping both Riya and Maria.

It appeared that barrier was keeping the death energy at bay for them.

Even if Riya could manage, I was worried about Maria, who was more or less a normal person, so I felt a bit relieved.

"Well done, Riya."

"Hehehe. Being praised like this is a bit embarrassing, but... it's not bad."

Despite everything, Riya was smart and would act in line with my intentions right away.

Sometimes I worried she'd reveal her dragon nature, but moments like this proved I didn't need to stress too much.

"It will not be as before."

Upon reaching the entrance of the seal, Damian gave one more warning and then went inside.

Nodding, I followed after him, and a bizarre fissure came into view.

Seeing it, Logan exclaimed in horror.

"W-what in the world is that?!"

Boom, boom, boom!

The space vibrated as if it were a heartbeat.

Cracks appeared in thin air, shedding sparkling motes of light, and from those cracks, black liquid was pouring forth.

For an ordinary human, simply touching that liquid would be fatal.

'It's so clear even without using the Eye of Insight.'

As expected, I couldn't help but tense up.

Now, the resurrection of Dark King Lugal truly was at hand.

A sticky, oppressive energy swept over my entire body, making me tense up automatically.

"Didn't you say you wanted to know the cause that blackened the sky? That's it, right there."

Damian kindly explained to the shocked Logan.

"Long ago, there was Dark King Lugal Necris, once called one of the Seven Heroes with me — a monster who became a lich and tried to destroy the world—he's sleeping here now."

"W-what are you saying? Are you really... Damian...?"

"I do not lie. I have always guarded this place to stop Lugal, who turned into a lich."

It sounded like a legend brought to life.

Damian's voice was calm, but in this closed space, everyone could hear him clearly.

"That can't be... It makes no sense. Damian? Lugal? How could something so absurd be true?"

But Logan could say nothing further to accuse me of staging all this.

The presence leaking from the shattering fissure was far too overwhelming.

It was impossibly large in scale for a mere count of a kingdom to have arranged.

"It really might be Sir Damian..."

"You never know. Maybe that death knight is lying..."

By now, half of the Deoric family soldiers were convinced by Damian's words.

What they saw before their eyes lent credence to his claim.

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!

Then, the cracking fissure fully shattered, leaving a pitch-black hole.

It was as if a Demon King had appeared, the sheer power radiating from within.

「Da... mian...」

I'd thought Damian's voice was like metal scraping, but compared to Lugal's voice now, it was nothing.

The sound boomed through the vast chamber, sending chills down my spine and making me want to cover my ears at once.

「This time, you've gathered much more trash around you.」

A black cloth unfurled in midair, revealing a bizarre figure.

Golden chains and all sorts of artifacts tightly wound over a black robe.

And between the folds of the robe, protruding pure white bones proved that Lugal was indeed a lich.

"Lugal, this is the end."

Damian muttered quietly, drawing his sword.

At once, his blade erupted with a sword aura — or rather, sword force — incomparably stronger than mine.

「Khhh! This is why I hate you. Always acting as if I'm nothing, as if I do not matter at all.」

From beneath the robe, jewel-bright purple eyes gleamed in the skull.

Immediately after, Lugal's body was wreathed in death energy and slowly floated into the air.

"What are you doing? How long are you just going to stand there and stare?"

"Ah!"

I snapped Logan from his stupor as he stared blankly at Lugal, causing him to startle and draw his sword in a panic.

He must have realized it too. That a single mistake here would mean instant, meaningless death.

"Everyone, draw your swords! Attack the evil spirit at once...!"

「You're noisy.」

With a dismissive wave, Lugal unleashed a violet radiance at the Deoric family soldiers who were just about to draw their weapons.

KWA-ANG!

"Uwaaagh!"

The Deoric family soldiers shrieked in terror, cowering from the sight.

It wasn't even magic.

It was merely a wave of magic power, but saturated with Lugal's potent death energy, enough to melt an ordinary human on contact.

"Riya!"

At my call, Riya immediately recited the Dragon Tongue.

In response, the blast of magic force that had been flying toward us sharply weakened and was compressed into a thinner stream.

I struck down at the concentrated magical blast with my sword.

KWA-AAANG!

「...!」

Lugal's magic was shattered and scattered instantly by my slash.

Considering the power it had been projecting, it vanished almost anticlimactically.

"I really do love the undead."

I could feel Lugal's gaze fixed on me, the one who had split his magic so easily.

I pointed my blood-reddened blade straight at him.

"Heh."

Maybe finding my defiant attitude amusing, Damian gave a short laugh.

"Lugal, I've always said this. Don't judge people by their appearance alone."

「Damian!」

Flames erupted in Lugal's eyes.

He seemed genuinely enraged, not only that someone he looked down on had blocked his attack, but also at Damian for provoking him with that air of superiority.

"I won't protect you twice."

"Y-you...!"

As I brushed past Logan, leaving him grinding his teeth in humiliation, the Deoric family soldiers looked at me with eyes full of admiration.

'My condition isn't bad.'

Even after losing some blood, I was still going strong.

The bright red Divine Blood covering Genova's blade glinted brilliantly.

"Sir Damian, please focus on attacking that thing. I'll take care of the rest!"

"Alright, Clay. I leave the rest to you."

THUD!

Damian charged at Lugal, who was exploding with magic power.

I followed after Damian, activating the Eye of Insight.

'How many spells is he casting at the same time?!'

As Lugal rushed at Damian, he was casting well over thirty spells simultaneously.

Magic gathered in the air, filling the surroundings with all kinds of formations.

'I'd doubted he could single-handedly wipe out the Kingdom of Darlos...'

Seeing it with my own eyes, I could doubt no longer.

Dark King Lugal truly was someone who could wage war on a nation single-handedly.

'And he's summoning at the same time!'

From the ground, countless Skeletons crawled up; in the sky, shadowy wraiths appeared.

While preparing dozens of spells, he was summoning so many creatures at once.

He was rightly called the Dark King.

I took a deep breath and shouted loudly.

"How long are the rest of you going to stand there?! Block the monsters—don't let them get near Sir Damian!"

"U-understood!"

The Deoric family knights and soldiers responded reflexively to my shout, hurriedly moving to intercept the Skeletons and wraiths.

"C-Clay, you wretch! Who said you could command my soldiers?!"

"Then stop standing around and do something yourself."

"I was going to even if you hadn't said so, you arrogant brat!"

So saying, Logan radiated a crimson aura.

It seemed his desire to redeem his previous humiliations was fueling his formidable momentum now.

[Still, he's not bad.]

'After all, except for Count Ribina, there's none in the Kingdom of Talua who can match him.'

He hadn't reached Swordmaster, but as an advanced-rank Sword Expert, he was right at the pinnacle of that tier.

Logan Deoric was a top-tier knight even among advanced-rank Sword Experts.

"Haaaa!"

Though I joked and teased, Logan Deoric's skill was truly extraordinary.

Each swing of his blade cleaved through clusters of Skeletons and wraiths; his swordplay was nearly a complete form of the Hidden Star Sword.

Even though most of the later techniques were lost, and only a faint trace of that profundity lingered, it was still an impressive display.

[But, hey, where's he going?]

'Huh?'

Logan, after joyfully slaughtering Skeletons, finally closed in on where Damian and Lugal were clashing.

Certainly, his skill as he charged Lugal was enough to make the heart pound.

'... Did I tease him too much?'

[Maybe he wanted to show off a bit.]

Apparently, it really bothered him that I'd shielded the Deoric soldiers earlier, and I'd hurt his pride by constantly needling him.

"How dare you call me trash! Even if you were one of the Seven Heroes in the past, that's all in the past!"

Logan shouted as if for everyone to hear, squeezing out all his strength as he unleashed his signature technique.

"Ghosts of the past will be slain with a—"

「Annoying. Begone.」

"What?!"

As the Hidden Star Sword shone with silver light, shooting across like a meteor shower, a black lance suddenly struck out from the side and shattered it immediately.

Then, Lugal ducked Damian's slash and casually flicked his finger.

KWAANG!

"Kaaaagh!"

With that, Logan's armor shattered and he was sent flying through the air, crashing into the wall at the same distance he'd just run.

It happened so quickly that the Deoric family soldiers could only stare in shock at their lord embedded in the wall.

"Oh my."

Riya watched the unconscious, white-eyed Logan with a sweet smile.

For a moment, she looked like she was considering finishing him off, but when she noticed my gaze, she hastily withdrew her hand.

"... You weren't really planning to finish him there, were you?"

"Oh, of course not. I was just checking if he was alive."

Riya covered her mouth with her hand and laughed softly, looking as she always did.

She seemed entirely unconcerned that Damian and Lugal were having the battle of their lives right beside her.

"By the way, Riya. Now that you've checked, what's your verdict? Can you do it?"

"Hm? Ah, yes."

Riya nodded confidently to my quiet question.

"Clay, don't forget — I am a dragon."

"I trust you."

I gripped Genova firmly and turned away from her.

Then I cast a stern glance at the soldiers and knights, who were watching Logan and me in confusion.

"Don't let any Skeletons or wraiths get near Damian. In five minutes, skeleton Warriors, mages, and Specters will appear from the ten and three o'clock directions ahead."

"T-those are advanced-rank monsters!"

"They'll be summoned slowly, so don't worry."

Using the Eye of Insight, I could clearly see the summoning magic circles Lugal was laying out everywhere.

If the Deoric family soldiers weren't here, Riya would have handled it all herself, but since the ever-generous Logan Deoric had supplied his troops, I ought to make full use of them.

"Alright, everyone, form up and hold your positions!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Deoric family soldiers responded with gusto.

They'd been scared at first, but even amid the heavy death energy, they did not break easily.

'Now, then...'

I took a deep breath and watched the fight between Lugal and Damian.

Their clash had reached a level that could no longer be called just a simple "battle".

And now, it was time for me to join in.