Barbarian in a Failed Game

Chapter 025: Darkin Subjugation (5)

[Behold. This perfect body.]

A voice, soaked in ecstasy, penetrated Aries’ ears.

An appalling stench emanated from Darkin, who admired his body as if it were a great masterpiece of art.

It was… a mass of filth, no different from a conglomerate of thousands, tens of thousands of malice.

‘A dragon?’

Darkin’s appearance was that of a mix between a young boy and a dragon, indicating that this was no ordinary magic at hand.

The children of the True Dragons from the mythological era, the transcendent species known as dragons.

Unlike the completely extinct giants, there had been talk that the lineage of these eternal beings had partially continued even to this era.

Such an entity’s form had been borrowed by a necromancer proficient in necromancy and human modification….

“Could it be? Has he grafted part of a dragon into his own body?”

Jerome muttered in disbelief.

[Correct. You scum of the Tower. I have succeeded in grafting part of a dragon into my body! A feat even your vaunted Gold Tower hasn’t accomplished—I, Darkin!]

A tail made of bone, responding to Darkin’s wrath, thumped the ground with a forceful strike.

Thud───.

A heavy vibration spread from beneath the feet of the group.

The power was unmistakably formidable. A blow that could shatter a fragile mage’s body in one hit, though perhaps a paladin might withstand it.

[I originally planned to complete the ritual using that woman and the priests of Nordic…! But things have gotten a bit twisted. Some stupid barbarian got dragged here in their stead, causing a ruckus. He’ll be dead soon enough. Unluckily, to compensate for the insufficient sacrifices, all my beloved apprentices… have perished…….]

“This, this person must be mad!”

Jan stepped back in horror, grasping the meaning behind Darkin’s words. The necromancer had replaced the lacking sacrifices with his own apprentices!

“All necromancers are indeed insane! How could anyone…!”

“Be quiet, Jan.”

“Ma, Master.”

Jerome stepped forward, having silenced his disciple.

“Interesting. You appear to have grafted a dragon’s body onto yourself…. but you still retain your humanity. That’s usually impossible. The difference in essence would normally lead to rejection, causing necrosis, or one would lose their mind, unable to withstand the dragon’s aura.”

[It’s possible for me. Darkin Perayas can do it!]

“It seems so. It was good that I came in person.”

Jerome recalled a recent event, gathering mana.

He had crossed the empire’s borders with the magus from the Tower, having heard of an auction of an ogre corpse in the eastern part of the Argon Kingdom, and his disciple Jan had followed, wishing to learn about his missing junior within Argon’s territories. During this time, an unusual message arrived at the Tower’s branch in the Argon Kingdom.

A letter, along with Eliya’s insignia, from a monastery in the western part of the kingdom claimed, ‘Darkin Perayas is a master of necromancy and human modification, possessing several magics not even found in the Gold Tower.’

The collection of ‘knowledge on handling the human body’ was an extremely confidential piece of information shared among the master and magus of the Tower, and the imperial royal family.

‘Initially, I was puzzled how a remote monastery knew about the Tower’s internal affairs to send such a letter….’

Given that a precious paladin of the Church, capable of verifying the information, had vouched for its credibility, skepticism was not an option.

Hence, Jerome took action.

For a Paladin of the Pantheon, the largest religious force on the continent, having a bit of unknown information wasn’t unusual, besides being a fairly reliable figure.

“My mind has changed about necromancers.”

And now.

Having personally witnessed Darkin Perayas’ magic, which was an unknown category in the Tower’s knowledge pool. The technology of grafting parts of a transcendent being’s body onto a human? Such knowledge did not exist in the Tower.

“It seems we must abandon the idea of moderation. Jan.”

“Yes, yes! Master.”

The five Towers of the spectrum each specialized in different realms.

Red for heat-based spells, Blue for its opposite. Green mages were called Druids, and Gold, Alchemists.

Seen from one angle, the Gray Tower’s realm was simple but broadly encompassing.

“Just lend me moderate support.”

“Yes sir!”

The concept of ‘manipulation’ itself. That was the realm of the Gray Tower.

Mana coalesced in Jerome’s hands, swiftly taking the form of a spear.

A translucent spear, enshrouded in gray currents, soon revealed itself – a lower-tier spell of the Gray Tower, ‘Spear of Destruction.’

Yet the number was notably significant.

One, two, three, four…… rapidly, more than twenty ‘Spears of Destruction’ floated in the air behind Jerome.

“Words are unnecessary. I need your research, and the paladin there desires your head.”

A single spear could exhibit more than double the power of a typical thrown spear, and there were twenty, conjured in the blink of an eye by Jerome – reflecting his prowess as a mage.

Proving why he was a mage with just one move, Jerome spread the spears wide and waved his hand.

“Let’s see if you truly possess the power of a dragon.”

Immediately after.

Twaaang──!!

The ‘Spears of Destruction,’ launched like arrows, enshrouded Darkin’s form.

*The first to react was none other than Aries, not anyone else. As Jerome’s spell rushed in, she kicked off the ground with the tip of her foot.

Even a single one of those spells, powerful enough to crush an iron shield, there were more than twenty. It was almost a disaster for any ordinary dark mage to cope with.

However, Aries was confident.

‘It won’t work.’

The appearance that reminded her of a dragon was not for nothing. When the level of the enemy is uncertain, striking all at once is the right answer.

Boom!

With a loud noise, the bare body of Darkin clashed with the ash-gray spear. The outcome was exactly as Aries had predicted.

“How futile.”

Having blocked all the spells with his bone wings, the damage to Darkin was merely being pushed back a few steps.

Flare!

Aries’ sword, imbued with ‘Holy Fire,’ scattered brilliant light.

Taking advantage of the obscured vision from blocking Jerome’s spells with his bone wings, the pure white sword slashed down from above.

Clash!

But Darkin, without even using his eyes, swung his tail to deflect the sword, as if he had eyes suspended in the air.

Aries’ body floated in the air.

It was a position impossible to dodge, and Darkin’s tail moved again, shooting through the air as if to pierce her small body.

“Hyaap!”

It was Jan’s spell, manifested along with a disheartening shout, that saved her. An intangible wave collided with Darkin’s tail, twisting its trajectory.

“O Divine Justice!”

Seizing a brief moment, Aries unleashed the ‘Cry of Radiance.’

The holy power, usually confined within the vessel of her body, now overflowed, spreading in all directions. Her holy armor and the Holy Fire shone even brighter.

No sooner had her feet touched the ground than Aries engaged in hand-to-hand combat. From below to above. From above to below. The pure white slashes carved multiple trajectories simultaneously.

For a dark mage to attempt close combat with a paladin was tantamount to suicide. Yet Darkin did not retreat but met the slashes with his fists and tail.

Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!

It was an unbelievable clash between a paladin and a dark mage. Darkin read and parried each sword strike, which was too fast for an ordinary person to even recognize.

Aries’ expression hardened slightly.

The scales covering Darkin’s skin were as hard as a dragon’s, suggesting. Moreover, his strength and speed were on par with Aries.

‘No. He’s stronger.’

It was only because he didn’t know how to use his body properly that they were evenly matched.

Aries instinctively felt that if she couldn’t defeat Darkin here, he could truly become a monster.

“It doesn’t even itch, paladin wench!”

Darkin launched a surprise attack, stabbing like a spear with his tail. Aries couldn’t even think to block with her sword and had to step back.

Normally, in a fight between a spear and a sword, the distance between the combatants decides the outcome. However, such common sense did not apply to Darkin.

“Die!”

Suddenly, his tail grew, ignoring the previous distance, and lunged in a highly effective surprise attack.

Splat!

Blood splattered. Although the holy armor avoided a fatal wound, the abrasion on her shoulder smeared with dark magic hindered the use of holy power.

As Aries used ‘Light of Healing’ to remove the dark magic and wound, Jerome, as if to assert his presence, spit out a spell.

“‘Grasp of Arcesis'”

Darkin’s movement, as he tried to pursue Aries, forcibly stopped. An unidentified force began to press down on him from all directions.

“Take this…!”

Jan, Jerome’s disciple, manifested the same spell on top of the existing one.

Feeling as if the space around him was crushing him, Darkin involuntarily crouched down.

‘Opportunity.’

Aries’ eyes flashed as she twisted her waist. The Holy Fire flowing along her pure white sword concentrated at one point. The wrathful flame soon became a divine punishment.

‘Judgment Strike’

The lightning bolt flashed, whitening the huge hollow. As if a god from the pantheon was meting out punishment, the holy paladin struck down the wicked dragonkin with lightning. Thunder roared!

Boom─!!!

The thunderous roar shook the entire cave. Even the two mages who had been binding Darkin from behind flinched at the force. Such was the might of the paladin, favored by the Goddess of Justice.

Yet, despite it all,

“My head rings.”

“It’s impossible!”

Darkin did not die.

His bone wings, having taken the brunt of the lightning, were half shattered, and a deep gash marked his back, but the golden scales covering his skin were still intact.

“This strike. I remember it. Was it fifteen years ago…? The first time I was chased by a paladin, I received the same attack and was seriously injured.”

Aries’s eyelids fluttered spasmodically as she regulated her breath from pouring all her might.

“That person’s skills were as extraordinary as yours. At that time, I had no choice but to flee helplessly, but fortunately, I survived. And I dedicated five years to revenging against that person.”

Darkin’s eyes gleamed with a hint of amusement as he suddenly recounted an old story.To deal with him, they had taken three hundred humans hostage. There was no reason a paladin would be swayed by hostages, but foolishly… He played right into the ridiculous hostage drama. Just like you, girl.

Aries had been calmly regulating her breathing, but at those words, every trace of expression vanished from her face. It wasn’t that she’d become calm. She was extremely angry.

*Crack—*

“What a joke. Seeing a lapdog of honor bark like a human. Aren’t you just puppets who can do nothing but slice down the enemies of the pantheon?”

“Shut up.”

With lips tightly pursed, completely unfitting the foul language she spat out, Aries extended her holy fire into a whip-like length and swung it fiercely. Darkin, with a loud scoff, easily brushed aside the whip of holy fire.

Advancing while receiving the sharp sword strikes with his bare body was Darkin, and Aries, even with injuries, would immediately summon a ‘Healing Light’ and return to peak condition.

It was like watching a fight between a paladin with a body as strong as steel and an undead continuously regenerating.

‘Something’s off.’

Jerome, overseeing the battle from behind, did not forget to meticulously analyze the combat with the cold logic unique to mages while supporting Aries with a well-timed spell at an appropriate moment.

Then suddenly, he felt a sense of incongruity.

Darkin, rampaging as if he possessed the body of a dragon, was fundamentally a dark mage. He was supposed to be specialized in necromancy, but it was certain he would be proficient in various other dark spells as well. Certainly capable of directly using spells in combat.

The sense of incongruity stemmed from there.

‘He hasn’t used a single dark spell since the battle started.’

Why would that be? There was no reason for him to not utilize his strongest cards, right?

“Master…!”

Jan screamed. From the passage they had come through, the presence of numerous entities was rushing in like a tide.

Jerome immediately recognized the source of his unease. Darkin had intentionally refrained from using dark magic. Subtly hinting at using his own disciples and the demon worshippers as sacrifices in conversation, insistently engaging in close combat as if to flaunt his physical prowess, and taunting the paladin to deeply draw them in – all of these processes.

‘It’s a trap…!’

It was nothing but Darkin’s strategy to make them forget that his real strength was ‘an endlessly reviving undead army.’

“Jan! Get away from the passage!”

“Master……!”

Aries, noticing the anomaly too late, tried to push Darkin away, but the more she did, the more persistently Darkin entangled her feet.

[Where do you think you’re going!]

Defending recklessly and beginning to use dark magic in earnest, Darkin’s fierce attacks were not easily shaken off even by Aries, and it was clear that Jerome and Jan would be inevitably surrounded by the undead appearing from behind.

‘It’s a difficult situation.’

Jerome felt that way.

Could that young paladin possibly take on Darkin alone without magical support? Especially now that Darkin began to utilize dark magic in earnest?

Jerome sensed the moment of choice had arrived.

Whether to engage in the uncertain battle. Or to bet on the almost certain chance of escape. What to put on the scales were the lives of Jerome and Jan, and the goal of the mage’s tower.

‘There’s nothing to ponder.’

Deciding, Jerome drew up mana. The numerous undead would soon burst through the passage. Aligning the timing to unleash the maximum levels of spells!

Boom──!

Chimeras, forced through the narrow passage like water breaching a dam, poured out. Jerome’s concentration broke at Jan’s voice, just as he was about to complete the spell.

“What the….?”

The chimeras were already in pieces, mutilated beyond recognition.

“Fucking hell. There’s so many! Taste my warhammer, you monsters!”

Jerome doubted his ears at the crude swearing from an unfamiliar voice beyond the passage.

*Squelch-* *Squelch-*

And then, the monster appeared.

Covered in dark red bodily fluids, making it hard to discern its original form, but it was clear it was as huge as an orc. Moreover, the ax it held was crusted with what seemed to be bits of the chimeras.

[You are…! How did you…?!]

For the first time, Darkin displayed an emotion akin to shock, temporarily forgetting to fight the paladin in front of him, his attention stolen.

Amused by that reaction, the monster covered in dark fluids smirked.

“I told you. I’d twist your neck for you.”

[How did you get here…! You were supposed to be dealing with the beast of the deep!]

That’s old news. Khan, about to wipe the fluid off his face with the back of his hand, smeared it even more, realizing it just made him dirtier and scowled.

“That monster had its head busted open long ago. Dickhead.”

Next is your turn. As Khan was about to say that, his expression suddenly changed as if he saw something strange. That guy. Why does he look like that? Never seen such a form before?

‘No, wait, golden scales? That’s…’

Khan’s expression stiffened slightly. The Western Great Mountains, True Dragon, golden scales. Lines from the myths that led him from the East to this place circled in his head.

“…Darkin, you.”

What did you find in the Western Great Mountains? His voice, intending to ask, was drowned out by a loud shout coming from behind.

With a desperate guide declaring.

“Here comes the warhammer of Ron─as─back─up─!”