Chapter 223

223rd Episode

Uncle d*ath Knight

223rd – Uncle d*ath Knight #3

What are you…?

Lord of Hell, Gegas.

Monsters lurking in the darkness, aiming for Luna.

These bastards trying to disturb my comfortable life.

The moment one of them got too close, glaring at me with a massive face, I felt an intense heat rush to my head.

Without much thought or hesitation, I swung the club I had been holding until just moments ago straight into its face.

“You son of a b*tch, Gegas!”

A wooden club roughly 1.2 meters long and 15 cm in diameter above my head swept down, drawing a large arc.

The target of the terrifying speed wasn’t the creature’s jagged teeth or the broad forehead of its oversized head, but rather its philtrum.

That’s right. The philtrum.

“d*e, you b*stard!”

BAM-!

KREEEEEEEEEEK-!!

When the club hit its philtrum, an odd vibration and shockwave surged through me that didn’t feel like I had struck a living thing.

Terrified, the giant manticore stumbled back, rolling on the ground. It had been caught off guard, having been struck full force in its weak point, the philtrum.

There was no way it wasn’t damaged.

Honestly, it wouldn’t have been surprising if it had died instantly, but perhaps its durability matched its massive body. It would have been better if my strength had been a bit stronger.

KREEEEEEK! GREEEEEEK!

The colossal manticore, thrashing about, found itself dangling on the edge of a cliff, as if about to fall down the slope below.

GRRRAAAHHH! How, how did I even climb here! I can’t fall like this!

With its massive paws, about the size of a small car, grasping the cliffside, it furiously clawed at the rock wall.

If it had fallen, it would have been perfect. But as I was thinking this, a skeleton knight standing off to the side, shield raised and spear aimed aloft, called out.

“Let’s drop it into the abyss! I’ll take the right forepaw, you take the left, Hassan!”

The skeleton knight seemed intent on targeting the creature’s forepaws to send it plummeting down the cliff.

I, too, agreed with his thinking and charged toward the manticore dangling on the edge.

ROAAAARRR!

The manticore opened its massive mouth and roared.

Its mouth, opened wide to reveal three rows of sharp teeth, was terrifying beyond belief. I can confidently say it had the strangest teeth I’ve ever seen.

The real problem, though, wasn’t the monstrous fangs as big as my torso, the awful breath, or the ear-piercing screech.

SWIIISHHHH-.

Lurking inside its mouth was a snake-like tongue that lunged toward me.

WHIIIISSSHT. SLAP!

Thanks to the thrashing tongue, it was difficult to target the forepaws.

However, my evasion skills, honed from dodging Elpride’s whip strikes, were quite considerable, so I didn’t get hit by its tongue.

Still, the side that attacks and the side that keeps dodging – over time, the odds clearly turned against one. One hit would be fatal, so I shouted back.

“Agumon, you take the head!”

GEERRRROOOO…

From a corner where it had been curled up asleep, the bone wyvern rose again with glowing blue eyes and lunged at the manticore’s massive head.

“Brat! If I crush you, that’s all!”

GEERRRROOO!

Due to the manticore’s giant head, even the formidable bone wyvern was struggling, its bones breaking from the tongue’s strikes.

Still, it was enough to give me an opening.

I seized the chance and delivered a powerful blow to the manticore’s left forepaw.

BANG!

EEEEEEEEEEK-!

Though it knew that letting go would mean falling into the endless abyss, the beast refused to retreat even as its forepaw shattered and bled.

Are you kidding? I want to get out of this pit too! Me too, I want to s*ck the sweet honey of this world. I want to climb up to the surface and taste fresh flesh!

And it was chewing on my Agumon. Judging by the red veins bulging on its plain face, I could see how intensely it was attached to this world.

No doubt, even from my position with a strategic advantage, I felt somewhat uneasy.

I too, I want to get out of this pit! I want to see the vivid wind, the warmth, the winter snow, the cool falling leaves!

“Lord Nox!”

I consumed 10 action points to don the Night Armor. With 55 action points remaining, it would undoubtedly withstand at least five strong attacks.

I have to knock this one down, no matter what.

With that mindset, I struck forcefully toward its claws.

CRACK!

When I shattered one of its claw fingers, I felt its body shift backward.

The claw it had driven into the cliff like a pin probably broke under the weight and slipped. Perhaps if I destroy all its claws…

“Skeleton knight! Destroy the claws! Just breaking the claws will do!”

Claws, understood.

Thus, the skeleton knight and I struck its claws with all our might and shattered them completely. The manticore thrashed around, resisting.

In the end, it fell into the abyss below.

Why, why meeeee-!

As I watched the manticore disappear into the depths with its echoing scream, the skeleton knight came over, weapon ready, and looked down.

To subdue a full-grown manticore in one hit. That club wasn’t ordinary, I already guessed as much. It appears to be a weapon blessed by the goddess.

The knight seemed interested in the club I was holding. Actually, warriors often showed interest in my club, so I’ve gotten used to it by now.

According to them, it felt like they were receiving some kind of chaos damage that ignored defense.

Of course, this was a three-part combo attack – the club’s abilities, my skill in striking vital points, and my physical strength.

You’re more skilled than I thought. Have you received divine favor? It’s quite an unusual form of blessing I’ve never seen before.

The knight then examined my armored form.

I was worried he might ask to touch it, but fortunately this skeleton didn’t seem interested in blue aesthetics and didn’t reach out.

He simply knelt and caressed the shattered bone fragments of Agumon.

Since it was expelled into the abyss, it will take at least ten years for it to reappear. We should at least have some peaceful nights ahead. Though, the cabin is completely ruined.

“Wasn’t that Gegas something you knew? Can you tell me about it?”

The Lazy Molleg. It wanted to use me as its medium. Even though I was just bones, it seemed my body once called a hero was quite useful to it.

“Aha.”

I recalled that the Gegas were after the named monsters to use them as some kind of vessel.

In any case, you’ve helped me. If all the remaining seeds had been stolen, I would have lost my mind and fallen to monstrosity. I’m still pretty tired now… I’m going to sleep.

The skeleton knight pulled out a chair from the shattered cabin and sat down like a boxer after eight rounds.

He soon became completely still.

Looking at him now, he really looks like a skeleton that’s been left abandoned after d*ath.

Is he really just sleeping?

It was the first time I learned that undead slept. Or maybe this skeleton is special.

Alone, I was unsure what to do next. My purpose was to defeat the named monster d*ath Knight.

Should I bash his skull now while he’s off guard?

But such a thought disappeared right away.

Humans are surprisingly sensitive to malice.

If you get a feeling someone dislikes you or intends harm, you can sense it through some kind of instinct. Even I, who have lived in this savage world saturated with malice, have some skill in detecting it. And this one, though he looks like a skeleton, is actually a pretty decent guy.

If he were just an inarticulate corpse, I would have smashed his skull without hesitation.

But after going through this ordeal together and having that conversation about mothers, I didn’t feel antagonistic toward him.

Ah, you slept well.

“Don’t wake up so soon, sir!”

…

“Then, take care, Agumon.”

GRRROOO…

I waved goodbye to the revived Agumon. It rubbed its face against my thigh as if regretful to part ways with me.

Swoosh, swoosh.

Looking at it now, it reminded me of a big dog I used to keep at home.

Spotty.

A great golden retriever.

Whenever the family would go out, it would always mope around feeling lonely.

Even though it always knew we’d eventually return, it was an animal that felt loneliness deeply, so leaving it behind wasn’t easy.

Through that experience, I came to understand deeply that not just humans, but other living beings also have thoughts and emotions.

Swoosh, swoooosh…

I couldn’t avoid acknowledging that this undead bone wyvern glowing with blue light possessed certain emotions just like that great golden retriever.

I used to think of necromancy as simply manipulating soulless robots, but watching this made me realize I was mistaken.

This art is about handling life.

Were those raised goblins of mine similar too?

Summoning them carelessly and dismissing them recklessly…

Thinking about this made me feel apologetic to them for doing something improper.

Swoosh, swoooosh…

GRRROOO…

But the bone wyvern continued to act like it would follow me, so I had to firmly tell it:

“If you come out here, I’ll have no choice but to annihilate you. The outside world isn’t ready to accept you yet, Agumon. You should stay in this digital world, and I’ll go to the real world.”

…

At that, it seemed to stop whimpering.

This place, filled with monsters and skeletal friends of its kind, is more suitable for it than the outside world.

“Sometimes go hunting and pass me some action points. And when you’ve accumulated 200 action points, I’ll visit to see you.”

Swoosh, swoooosh…

Agumon nodded in agreement at last.

Hm…

Watching this from his seated position, the skeleton knight said:

“You’re a bit different from the necromancers I know. I’ve never seen someone who names the resurrected dead.”

“Naming them helps build a connection, doesn’t it?”

Connection? You’re an interesting one. I thought you were unusual since the moment I first met you, but the more I talk to you, the less I understand what kind of person you are.

“Everyone says that.”

But still… Now I’m starting to get confused about what kind of person I am myself.

Hassan from the 21st century. Samaritan Hassan. Necromancer Hassan. Luna’s lover Hassan. Hippolyte’s disciple Hassan. Paranoi’s boss Hassan…

They all seem to be me…

But in a way, none of them seem like me.

At this age to be questioning my own identity… Is it some kind of late spring syndrome or middle-age crisis?

I don’t know.

While I was lost in such thoughts, the skeleton knight spoke:

“It’s going to get lonely again now. The Molleg won’t be coming around any time soon. A fleeting commotion makes the lifetime of silence even more pronounced.”

The knight’s blue eyes were gazing toward the cliff, probably thinking about the giant manticore that fell there moments ago.

If you stay here with me, I can elevate you to the rank of hero within two years. Are you truly determined to ascend to the surface?

Was the knight also reluctant to part ways with me?

He seemed to want to take me on as his disciple. It was quite an attractive offer, but the thought of staying here for two years without going outside was a bit terrifying.

So, I declined his offer and decided to leave this place, where I had no more business.

Still, he was quite reluctant to see me go, continuing to ask me to stay.

Can even skeletons feel the bone-chilling loneliness?

There is an expression “Loneliness seeping into the bones,” after all.

My Agumon, take good care of it.

“Yeah, I’ll do that. Still, come visit from time to time. I’d like to hear stories from the surface. Somehow, I sense a big commotion will happen when I go up there.”

I imagined the scene of the skeleton knight appearing in Sodomora. There would definitely be chaos.

This world isn’t generous with the dead after all.

They’ll surely try to hunt him down everywhere, just as I came here to do.

Yet, after talking and finding out he’s actually a rather gentlemanly figure, I’m unsure if it’s right to reject him simply because he’s undead.

Isn’t he just different in appearance?

Since I’ve been treated like a savage due to my appearance, I could consider this issue with a broader perspective.

Still, I didn’t come to any definitive conclusions.

“I’m really leaving now. And by the way, there may be an all-female party coming soon. Just handle them appropriately and chase them away.”

An all-female party? Are they coming to hunt me? Let’s make some noise then.

The knight didn’t seem to think he would be hunted down.

I also didn’t think this experienced-looking knight would be defeated by some shabby-looking silver rose.

“Oh, and by the way, there will be an elf with white hair and red eyes. Feel free to give her a good smack.”

Smack? Sure, I’ll do that. Goodbye then.

And that was the end of my conversation with the skeleton knight.

As I was about to climb aboard the gondola and pull the rope to ascend,

I suddenly became curious.

“So, mister, what’s your name?”

My name?

“Don’t you think it’s a bit unfair that you’re the only one who knows mine?”

Hmph, that’s true. My name is… But since I’ve become this skeleton, I’ve abandoned names. Would you give me one?

You want me to name you?

Just then, words appeared before my eyes.

“Pluto’s d*ath Knight requests a change of allegiance.”

“It requires 10 action points to release the allegiance.”

“Naming it will confirm the request.”

[Afterword]

Caffuccino! Joijang! Heybody! orz055055! KuandIceCream! NureulPado! Kadeom! PotatoServer! Thank you very much for the support coupons…

And thank you to everyone who sends the manuscript fees, and to all those who leave comments and recommendations…

The illustration of Paranoi received some praise I believe…

---