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Chapter 13: Chapter 12: Duel Trial (3)

"...Gah!"

Randolph twisted his body in fright. This time, he was truly caught off guard.

And then...

"Ah!"

The crowd let out a sigh.

Randolph\'s chest was slightly torn. Red droplets of blood seeped out, staining his clothes.

It had missed.

And by quite a bit.

The priests who were watching shook their heads.

"How unfortunate..."

"Such a shame."

It was a strike aimed with all his might, targeting a crucial opening. It was a remarkable technique, worthy of being called a master stroke.

But the skill was far too unrefined. Any regular knight could have unconsciously avoided it.

One of the Jestarad knights murmured in dismay.

"As expected, there\'s no such thing as a miracle..."

Karnak had tried.

From early morning, he had thrown himself into training, sweating blood all day long, to the point where it was hard to believe he was the same scoundrel they once knew. He had put in repeated effort after effort.

Even those who had no favorable feelings toward him began to harbor hope, seeing how he gave his all within the given time. But the result was no more than a shallow cut, like that of a cat\'s scratch.

"Hah, haha..."

Randolph chuckled bitterly as he raised his sword.

"Not bad. For someone of your level, you\'ve done your best."

The knights turned their heads away.

This was reality.

No matter how hard one tries, before overwhelming skill, there was nothing one could do.

"The world is truly..."

One of the knights murmured sorrowfully.

"...brutally unfair."

***

Boras was quite satisfied.

\'Lucky.\'

He was incredibly lucky.

\'It\'s not easy for things to go exactly as expected like this.\'

Unfair? In what way?

Karnak had tried his best for a month, but any regular knight puts in that much effort. And they do it for decades.

Moreover, his opponent was Randolph, the strongest knight in Deventor.

A man born with talent, who had risen to his position through rigorous training since childhood.

If someone like him were to lose his life to a hastily learned skill, it would only prove that effort was meaningless.

\'Indeed, it wouldn\'t be right to call something like that unfair.\'

Boras faintly smiled.

\'The real unfairness starts now.\'

** *

"Ah, this is just..."

Randolph was dumbfounded.

"They say even a cornered rat will bite a cat. To think I\'d end up in this situation."

He had allowed Karnak, someone he considered beneath him, to land a strike. Moreover, he had even drawn a bit of blood.

While it wasn\'t a big deal, it was enough to irritate Randolph. He could already imagine his fellow knights mocking him over drinks for days to come.

"I\'m going to be the butt of jokes for a while. Damn it."

He was just about to finish things off.

Karnak, with his head lowered, spoke in a small, almost whispering voice.

"Your opponent put his life on the line, and you\'re only worried about being mocked? I\'m glad I don\'t have to feel guilty."

"Hmm?"

For a moment, Randolph was puzzled.

\'Guilty? Who would feel guilty toward whom?\'

Karnak grinned.

"To be honest, I don\'t really know what that feeling is either."

Suddenly, something surged from Randolph\'s entire body.

Fwoosh!

Startled, he looked down at himself. From the slight tear in his clothes, a dark shadow erupted. The darkness quickly spread, forming a massive shape that engulfed the surroundings.

"W-What is this?"

Seizing the opportunity, Karnak thrust his sword forward.

"Taaah!"

Of course, he was immediately kicked away.

No matter how panicked his opponent was, there was no way he could overcome a trained knight.

Thud!

The problem was that Karnak was sent flying more than five meters away by that kick.

"Hah!"

The entire audience gasped in shock.

To send a grown man, clad in full plate armor, flying with a single kick?

This was a feat of strength impossible for any human who had not awakened to the use of aura!

"What\'s with that strength?"

"And that black thing?"

"It looks like... the shape of a demon..."

The astonishment rippled through the entire arena like a wave.

A priest\'s shout echoed out.

"N-Necromancy!"

***

Shouts rang out from all around.

"Necromancy?"

"Is that what necromancy is supposed to look like?"

"My God! How could such an evil force come from Sir Randolph?"

Randolph was in a state of extreme confusion.

"Necromancy? Who? Me?"

Necromancy? He had only heard of it; he didn\'t even really know what it was.

So why was something like that surging from his body? And why did his strength suddenly increase?

Gripping his sword, he looked around frantically.

"No, I, uh..."

As if in response to his movements, the black energy surged even higher, forming dark wings and coating his blade in shadow.

At just the right moment, Boras shouted.

"Demonic wings! That guy is trying to escape!"

It was only then that the priests of Alium snapped back to their senses and quickly sprang into action.

"Judges! Restrain him at once!"

Armed battle priests surged into the arena. These were the ones who had been on standby to carry out the execution after the Duel Trial.

"In the name of Alium!"

"Deliver the judgment of justice upon the unholy being!"

Holy light flashed from all sides as spears and swords flew toward Randolph. In his confusion, Randolph began to wail.

"Aaaaahhhh!"

***

A black giant rampaged.

"Aaahhhh!"

Each time, the battle priests were sent flying in all directions.

With each swing, they were hurled several meters away, a scene far beyond what any ordinary human could produce.

"This is true necromancy!"

"You demon!"

Fueled by their hatred for necromancers, the battle priests relentlessly pressed Randolph.

Swinging his greatsword wildly, Randolph wailed and wailed again.

"Aaahhhh!"

What is this? What the hell is going on? Why is this happening?

He wanted to scream out in frustration, but his mind was paralyzed, and the words wouldn\'t come.

All that poured out were his raw emotions, erupting into a roar.

"Urrgh!"

But that outburst didn\'t last long.

The black energy, which had flared up like a seizure, quickly diminished. At the same time, Randolph\'s monstrous strength faded away.

"He\'s weakening!"

"Seize him now!"

Even so, they still couldn\'t capture him.

Even without necromancy, Randolph had always been the strongest knight in Deventor. With his innate power, he continued to rampage like a wild boar, lashing out in his fury.

"Aaaahhhh!"

In the end, the battle priests abandoned their attempts to capture him and switched to eliminating him.

From all sides, blades aimed at Randolph\'s vital points.

Without his armor, Randolph couldn\'t fend off all the attacks.

Blades pierced and cut him repeatedly.

He was slashed and slashed again.

"Aaaargh!"

With a final, desperate cry, Randolph eventually lost his life in the middle of the arena.

Watching Randolph take his last breath, Karnak let out a bitter smile.

\'I didn\'t expect things to go this smoothly.\'

Originally, he thought Randolph would be subdued and dragged to the temple.

If that happened, there was a risk of the truth being discovered, so he had instructed Boras to step in and kill him before that could happen...

\'I didn\'t realize that guy would be so incapable of controlling his temper. Well, I guess I can understand.\'

Randolph, driven to the brink by the injustice that gnawed at his very bones, had rampaged like a wounded wild boar, forcing the situation to be resolved here and now.

\'Still, I have to do what needs to be done. Ugh, this hurts...\'

After being sent flying five meters, even the best armor couldn\'t prevent the lingering aftereffects. Thanks to Boras\'s relentless drilling, Karnak had managed to perform a proper landing technique just in time, or else he might have broken something.

Staggering as he got to his feet, Karnak shouted out.

"Priests of Alium! What is the outcome of this Duel Trial?"

The priests, who had been standing around Randolph\'s corpse in confusion, now wore grim expressions.

\'A Duel Trial? Is that really the issue right now?\'

\'A forbidden curse, a seed of unspeakable evil, has sprouted here!\'

But then they realized—it \'was\' important.

This was a sacred trial in the name of Alium. Concluding it properly was also a priest\'s duty.

A judge, forcing himself to remain composed, raised his right hand and began to declare.

"The duelist from Deventor has committed an unforgivable sin by bringing such foul evil into this sacred Duel Trial! This is a heinous affront to the Goddess herself!"

The priest\'s voice echoed throughout the arena.

"I hereby declare Baron Karnak Jestarad the victor!"

There was no cheering.

Only a heavy silence hung in the air.

Everyone stood in fearful awe, silently staring at the corpse in the arena.

***

The Viscount\'s family of Deventor was in an uproar.

A knight of their house had been linked to necromancy—concerns about the copper mine were now the least of their worries.

The main temple of the Church of Alium sent priests directly to the Viscount\'s estate to conduct a thorough investigation, searching for any further traces of necromancy.

In Randolph\'s quarters, they discovered a handkerchief with necromantic symbols, undergarments stitched with sinister charms—clear evidence that he had consorted with the dark forces.

Randolph\'s younger sister insisted that these were items she had purchased from an unknown traveling merchant and that they had nothing to do with Randolph, but this only heightened suspicion toward her.

Interrogations extended to her, the other knights, their families, and even the servants.

Though they were eventually cleared of suspicion, it was not without considerable suffering...

"I heard they went through quite an ordeal."

Hearing Karnak\'s explanation, Boras smiled wryly.

"I feel a bit sorry for Sir Randolph\'s sister. She probably had no idea what was going on."

He said he felt sorry, but his expression didn\'t seem to reflect that at all.

Karnak tilted his head in curiosity.

"Is feeling sorry the normal human response in situations like this?"

"Probably. Most people seem to act that way."

After having caused suffering for more than a dozen people, that was all he had to say.

It seemed these guys still had a long way to go before becoming truly human.

Nevertheless, Karnak laughed cheerfully.

"It turned out really well. I was terrified when I was told to risk my life the moment I got back."

Using necromancy in front of the priests would inevitably get him caught. Even Karnak, who had mastered necromancy to the highest degree, had no immediate way to avoid detection.

So, he decided to change his approach.

\'If I\'m going to get caught, I might as well use it! But let Randolph take the fall instead of me!\'

It was, after all, a fight in a distant arena.

It was inevitable that sinister darkness would erupt from the tangled combat.

Given those circumstances, Karnak could covertly use necromancy and make it seem like Randolph was the one responsible.

"The problem was that the opponent had to bleed for the necromancy to be cast naturally, but it was worth the effort."

Recalling the training he had undergone, Karnak felt a sense of satisfaction.

Boras suddenly asked.

"Won\'t the church suspect anything? This can\'t be the first time you\'ve used this tactic, right? There have been necromancers before."

"I\'m probably the first."

"Huh? Really?"

To make it look like someone else was using necromancy while hiding your own power in close quarters?

"Such a sophisticated maneuver is something only I, in my current state, can pull off. Most people couldn\'t do it."

Even the Karnak of the past wouldn\'t have been capable of it.

It was only possible because he had reached the pinnacle of his craft, to the point of being called the Death King.

"There\'s no precedent for this, so it shouldn\'t be an issue. However..."

As he spoke, Karnak\'s expression subtly hardened.

"There\'s something that doesn\'t quite make sense."

"What is it?"

"This whole thing went too smoothly."

Objectively speaking, Randolph was someone who had no need to rely on necromancy. He was already recognized as a knight with a bright future ahead of him.

On the other hand, the one who benefited the most from this situation was, without a doubt, Karnak, who had narrowly escaped death.

"No matter how unprecedented this tactic is, this should have made me suspicious."

Even if they didn\'t openly accuse him, it would have been normal for them to at least conduct an investigation.

"So I deliberately suppressed my necromantic power and prepared myself for an interrogation..."

But the church didn\'t suspect Karnak.

In fact, they didn\'t even send anyone to the Jestarad family.

They were entirely focused on overturning the Viscount Deventor\'s house.

"It\'s almost as if they accepted Sir Randolph\'s involvement with necromancy as a given."

Puzzled, Karnak tilted his head.

"Why? Why would someone like Sir Randolph, who had nothing to lose, resort to necromancy, and why isn\'t anyone questioning it?"

***

The Gesselan Great Temple of the Church of Alium, responsible for the northern diocese of the Kingdom of Yustil.

A middle-aged priest was bowing deeply before an elderly man in his sixties. The elder wore ornate ceremonial robes adorned with gold embroidery.

The old man asked, "Have you confirmed it beyond doubt? This is a grave matter. Even the slightest mistake is unacceptable."

Nodding, the middle-aged priest took out a small glass vial from his robes.

"I have served as an Inquisitor for three years now. I\'ve gained much experience during that time. I can say this with absolute certainty."

Inside the vial, a faint darkness briefly stirred.

It was an extremely weak force, but one that any devout follower of the Goddess would be unable to overlook.

"This is not the work of an ordinary necromancer. The attributes are an exact match."

With conviction, the middle-aged priest continued to speak clearly.

"It is the fragment of the Transcendent, the death that will bring about the world\'s destruction, as foretold by the Goddess."

Holding up the vial containing the darkness extracted from the body of Randolph, the knight of Deventor, his expression hardened.

"There is no doubt—this is the Darkness of Doom."

The archbishop, who took the vial, let out a deep sigh.

"The power of darkness has spread this far already..."

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