Barbarian in a Failed Game

007. Dark Mages (1)

“Wake up, mage.”

“Ugh…”

“I said wake up. Can’t you hear me?”

In the virtue of modernity, one tries to solve problems through dialogue first.

Khan sighed deeply as he adhered strictly to this principle, attempting to wake the unconscious dark mage. And then—

Swipe──!

“Gah!”

“Guess you can’t understand with words alone.”

A palm as large as a pot lid wrapped around the cheek with a thrilling smack.

Struck by the impact, the dark mage rolled off the chair, bursting into tears like a baby bird fallen from its nest.

“Haah…”

Already aggravated, Khan found himself cursing at the unexpected task of interrogation.

It made sense. Being a regular office worker, he had no innate talent for torture, nor did he take pleasure in inflicting pain on others.

“But still, I have to try my best.”

Thinking about all the hardships, he felt he had to do it, if only to not feel wronged.

The day he resolved to capture Darkin.

He immediately left the territory of Count Cherno and contacted the intelligence guild. Whether the higher-ups had issued a direct order or not, the information brokers were oddly uncooperative, but he managed to shake them down thoroughly.

Using the information he obtained, he gathered a list of ‘renowned warriors’ who had received requests similar to the way Eliya approached Khan.

Among these candidates, he went to check on those who were nearby. After three failed attempts…

The effort finally led him to capture the dark mage before him.

“The so-called Steel something something mercenary group was already dead, but… well, they’d probably appreciate me beating this guy up on their behalf.”

“If you don’t answer my questions properly, it won’t be fun for you. Instead of my palm, you’ll get intimate with my axe. Name.”

“Arsen! It’s Arsen!”

“Alright. Dark Mage Arsen. Why did you attack those mercenaries? Who directed you to do it?”

“No, it wasn’t…! I just wanted to make servants out of their corpses!”

“You’re lying.”

Creak.

The chair screamed as Khan stood up, grasping his axe. The blood-stained blade made the dark mage’s complexion turn deathly pale.

“Darkin Perayas. You roam around by the damned corpse-plunderer’s orders. You thought I wouldn’t know?”

“……!”

“Since you lied, you won’t feel wronged.”

Khan slowly raised the axe, making sure it was in full view of the dark mage’s sluggish reflexes.

The mage’s expression twisted in real-time, soaked in terror. It seemed like an intense internal battle was raging between the loyalty to his master and the immediate fear of the axe embedding into his skull.

“Just die.”

Khan’s axe descended towards the dark mage’s head without a hint of hesitation.

Until that moment, the mage continued to ponder, then shouted as if having a seizure.

“Wait…! I’ll tell you everything! I’ll tell everything!”

Bang─!

*Gasp*

“Lucky you.”

Khan retrieved the axe that had precisely missed, landing between the legs, and smacked his lips in disappointment.

Naturally, it was a deliberate miss, but the dark mage, having just faced a life-death crisis, was not in the state to recognize that.

Soaking his pants, he simply waited for Khan’s next question.

“This should be enough.”

“I’ll ask again. Name.”

“Ericson… I studied under the master for about seven years.”

A completely different name from the previously blurted out Arsen popped out, as naturally as breathing a lie.

‘Such a sly mage.’

This is why one should never trust the words of mages.

Khan intensified his conviction and continued his questioning.

“Including you, how many of Darkin’s disciples are roaming outside?”

“I don’t know the exact number… but almost all of them should be out. About ten, seventeen perhaps.”

“Where are they headed? Do you know?”

“Not all of them… but I did share targets with the brothers I’m on good terms with, for cooperation.”

“Tell me everything.”

Realizing his life was in Khan’s hands, Ericson readily supplied the information.

Typical of a mage, betraying without hesitation.

“How skilled are these ‘disciples’? Similar to you?”

“Well, that’s…”

“No need to say. You and others are either on the same level or slightly better.”

“Ugh!”

Ericson’s face contorted with humiliation. Perhaps he was reluctant to acknowledge his inadequate skills.

From the point he wet his pants, it seemed there was little room left for shame anyway.Compared to the fool before him, Eliya’s skills appeared to be quite high among his disciples. Indeed, if there had been just a few more disciples of his level, they wouldn’t have even dreamed of carrying out the purge.

“This is the last one. Darkin Perayas. Tell me the location of that bastard’s hideout.”

“…….”

Ericson suddenly fell silent, causing Khan to frown.

A man who sold out all his comrades, there was no reason he couldn’t sell out his master. Surely, he wasn’t more afraid of the old man than the axe before his eyes…

“A constraint? Perhaps a contract that prevents you from disclosing information about your master.”

It seemed Khan’s guess was correct, as Ericson cautiously nodded.

“Then, I’ve heard everything worth listening to.”

“Th-Then! You wi-will spare me?”

Ericson’s voice brightened a bit.

“What do you take me for.”

With a tone as if saying ‘Dare you doubt me,’ Ericson broke into a wide grin, and Khan smiled back.

‘I forgot to mention.’

He does not negotiate with terrorists.

And certainly not when the other party is a mage. Especially a dark mage.

*

*

*

“Why won’t this smell go away?”

Thirty minutes after very kindly sending Ericson off, Khan, collecting the abandoned gear of the mercenaries, brought the leather gloves to his nose and quickly recoiled from the stench.

The scene was too chaotic to clean up, but he had managed to gather the equipment of the so-called Steel something something mercenary group in one place.

“This should fetch at least ten gold coins.”

Apparently, the claim of being a somewhat renowned mercenary party wasn’t false, as the loot was pretty decent.

It was regrettable that Ericson hadn’t dropped any artifacts or useful items, but one couldn’t always be so lucky.

“Ugh. Time.”

Stripping the last corpse of its armor, Khan stretched his back.

It was getting dark, and he realized he might have to sleep on a tavern floor if he didn’t return to a nearby town soon.

‘That cannot happen.’

The thought of rolling on the floor with barbaric medieval men who hardly bathed was an absolutely unacceptable experience.

He’d rather lie down right on the street…

“The closest town from here should be…. ah, the manor with the monastery.”

‘The followers of the Pantheon Church are a tricky bunch.’

In this world where the power of gods was real, the church’s power was anything but weak.

When priests who could call down the ‘Blessing of the Pantheon’ to grant the bounty of prosperity or heal the sick appeared, even nobles would greet them barefoot.

But from the church’s perspective, barbarian from the north who worshipped their own tribal gods and not the gods of the Pantheon were heretics to be apprehended by the Inquisition.

‘It’s somewhat better than the empire’s side, though…’

An unpleasant encounter was highly likely if he accidentally came across them.

Deciding to rest quietly and leave at the first opportunity, Khan was about to stuff the gathered equipment into his backpack when,

“……Hmm.”

Khan let out a short grunt.

The distortion on his face revealed his agitation, a stark contrast to his usually composed demeanor.

“I didn’t expect we had another guest.”

He slowly turned around, gripping the hand axe tied to his waist.

A mysterious figure, clad in a black robe, was staring at him from a distance.

It was clearly not a normal appearance… and for a brief moment, it even eluded his senses.

Magic or extremely high-level stealth skills – whichever it was, the figure was no ordinary foe.

“Damn it-. Was hoping to rest for the day.”

“……Your deed?”

“What are you talking about?”

Just hearing made him instinctively annoyed. It was as if a beast was forcibly speaking human language…

“Whatever you are, I’m not sure…”

Before Khan could finish, the mysterious figure vanished.

This happened right after the figure saw the corpses of the mercenaries, sliced apart by his hand axe.

“Ah, damn!”

Clang! Crack!

‘Fast…!’

Khan reflexively put the axe forward, pushing the mysterious figure’s sword away with force.

Contrary to the expectation that the figure would be pushed far back, they were merely pushed a few steps back before quickly regaining their stance.

The strength felt through the axe was considerable. The swordsmanship felt genuinely refined as well.

Swoosh!

Especially in terms of sheer speed, Khan found it difficult to claim superiority.

Boom. Boom. Boom!

Three clashes ensued in a single breath; Khan’s hand axe and the mysterious figure’s sword fiercely collided. With superior strength, Khan prepared for the next move.

He hooked the handle of his axe on the guard of the sword and forcefully flicked it outward.With his upper body widely exposed, Khan thrust forward with the tip of his foot like a spear.

Boom! Struck by that impact as if colliding with a speeding carriage, the monstrous figure flew straight and crashed to the ground.

A direct hit.

Even armored, the pressure would have certainly incapacitated the internal organs or caused them to burst—an undeniable blow.

Yet, Khan did not hastily pursue.

Rolling the handle of his axe within his grasp, he tensed up once again.

‘The impact felt somewhat dull.’

He hadn’t sensed the distinct sensation of bones shattering and organs being crushed even though he had kicked not armor, but bare flesh.

“Huff.”

He steadied his breath quickly.

As expected, the monstrous figure staggered only briefly and seemed unharmed, promptly adopting a fighting stance once more.

This wasn’t something that could be achieved simply by being tough or having a strong body.

‘As I thought. Is it not human, but an undead? A dark knight or perhaps a chimera?’

What monster lay beneath those robes could not be confirmed without a direct inspection.

However, one certainty was that a necromancer with skills surpassing those of the previously defeated Eliya had showcased his prowess.

This minion might have been sent by Darkin Perayas to support his lamentable disciples, or it could be one of the disciples themselves, distinctively skilled.

‘It seems a big fish has bitten sooner than expected.’

That meant the opponent knew far more than Eliya or Ericson. Buoyed by more reasons than ever, Khan initiated the attack.

Bang!

Khan leaped forcefully enough to create a crater beneath him, swinging his axe with the intent to cleave through the defense-oriented monstrous figure’s shoulder.

Crack─.

Astonishingly countered by the monster, it then twisted its wrist downward, adjusting the angle of its blade to plunge into the ground diverting the force.

A strategy very familiar to Khan aimed at deflecting the force of his attack. It wasn’t his first time facing warriors who attempted to use their skills to redirect Khan’s monstrous strength.

Needless to say, those attempts had always failed.

Khan’s strength, honed across levels, was beyond human, causing swords to snap and arms to shatter under the impact of the clashing weapons and axes.

But this time was different.

Khan’s expression hardened.

The monster’s sword did not break, nor did its arm falter in holding the sword.

As a result, unable to overpower the force, Khan’s axe struck the innocent ground instead, and something then grazed his jaw.

“Kuk!”

The pommel of the monster’s swung sword impacted his jaw, momentarily blurring his vision.

But that was all.

“Heuk!”

His consciousness, which had begun to dim, swiftly returned to clarity, igniting his fighting spirit with a flash of gray in his eyes.

It was thanks to the robust body of a barbarian born for combat, steadily increasing stamina stats through leveling up, and instinctively moving back.

Thud─.

Utilizing the now-closed distance within reach, he grabbed hold of the monster’s robe.

The monster tried to back away unfazed, but it was too late; its feet had long lost contact with the ground. Suspended in the air, it soon crashed down with a thud.

Boom──!

The surrounding flora rustled violently in the wind, and a thick cloud of dust completely obscured their figures.

After a moment.

As the dust settled, Khan was seen standing over a newly formed crater, holding the fluttering robe in his hand, clearly displeased.

“Tch. Quite the slippery one.”

Just before landing, the monster had grabbed Khan’s wrist, using the recoil to shed its robe and escape.

Putting aside how such acrobatics were possible…

“Sigh, why so petit indeed.”

Under the moonlight casting a soft glow on platinum hair, mystic eyes resembling the night sky calmly met Khan’s gaze.

“Could it be, just a kid?”

Moreover, not a boy but a girl of startling beauty.

Of course… Khan’s axe did not discriminate, eagerly cleaving through beauties, nobles, and mages alike in a drive for equality.

However.

Khan hooked his axe onto his belt and raised both hands.

“What does this mean?”

The girl tilted her head and asked. It was like hearing pearls roll; her tone might have been stiff, but her voice was undoubtedly pleasant to the ears.

She might have seemed like a demon crawling out of hell before… Perhaps a voice modulation technique was integrated into the robe.

“It seems there might be some misunderstanding between us.”

“…Misunderstanding?”

Khan scratched the back of his head.

How to explain this to prove his innocence to the girl before him wasn’t immediately clear.

After all, it was they who had attacked first.

From Khan’s perspective, a modern man who cherished peace, the girl wielding the sword without question or hesitation was the true barbarian.

But having realized the girl’s identity, it was too late for anything but to resolve her misunderstanding.

With just a glance, wrapped in a holy aura of pure white armor-like presence, possessing physical abilities beyond ordinary humans, and even expertly wielding a sword—thinking how to refer to such a person in this world’s terms, Khan’s lips went dry.

‘A paladin.’