The Paladin of the Sacred Kingdom Part I

by Kugane Maruyama

  “Yes, Your Majesty!”

  Neia raced back to where the paladins were to find several bufolk collapsed at their feet. They couldn’t have come through the gate, so they must have been trying to escape the source of their fear—the King of Darkness—and jumped.

  When she reached the knights, she quickly relayed the king’s instructions. Then she raced back to him.

  And when she arrived, he said, “Okay, let’s go, then,” and set off down the street.

  Neia’s question of why no more bufolk had rushed over after they broke down the gate was immediately resolved.

  She could hear multiple screams. It was almost as if the city itself, inorganic though it was, was shrieking.

  “Wh-what’s…?”

  “The result of having the undead I sent in spreading fear. It’s possible that hostages will get trampled in the panic, but…we’ll just have to let that go as a tragic accident.”

  She saw several frantic—probably, judging by the expression—bufolk running toward them. They looked like a collection of little animals being chased, and she almost felt sorry for them.

  They must have been awfully frightened to come running toward a being even more powerful than those undead without realizing it.

  “Hmm… No humans around? In that case, Max Widen Magic: Fireball.”

  The shot of fire that flew from the king’s hand landed right in the middle of all the bufolk, creating a huge, fiery explosion for just an instant. When it disappeared, bufolk corpses littered the ground.

  “It might be best to wait here, but…it seems the enemy ringleader is nearby. Apparently, he’s holed up in the central square of this city resisting the high wraiths’ fear, so I’d like to go on ahead… What do you think?”

  “I think it’s best to do whatever you think, Your Majesty.”

  “You do, huh? Then let’s go.”

  As they walked, she could hear screams coming from all around as if people were being tortured. And it seemed like the subhumans weren’t concerned with sanitation—there was rotting garbage and excrement everywhere. Neia frowned instinctively.

  “…By the way, Miss Baraja. What do you want to do about that?”

  When she looked in the direction he was pointing, she saw naked humans.

  Their hands, men and women alike, had been nailed to trees. They seemed to have frantically tried to escape the fear, which left their arms covered in blood.

  The subhumans must have tried to make a barricade out of humans.

  They were slumped and exhausted, as well as emaciated, but there didn’t seem to be any immediate threat to their lives.

  The point of this raid was to save people. Even if Neia followed the king, she couldn’t do anything. So staying back to help these people and get them to a safe place seemed like the right course of action. But one thing worried her.

  What would she do if they were attacked by subhumans during the evacuation?

  Ha. Why am I hesitating? Our commander would just save them. If I can’t do that… It really all comes down to…power, doesn’t it?

  “You’re unsure. Then let’s just leave them for now. There don’t seem to be any subhumans around here. They’ll probably be safer here. Let’s go!”

  “Yes, Your Majesty!”

  Though slightly reluctant, Neia followed the king to the square. She didn’t understand how he knew the way, but she figured he must have been using some magic or something.

  Soon they came upon the square, which was like a marketplace at the heart of intersecting roads.

  “Mm. So we weren’t able to get through this without any sacrifices.”

  When she turned toward where he was looking, she saw that there were human corpses mixed in with the subhuman dead. They must have been trampled in the panic caused by the fear.

  “…It couldn’t have been helped.” Neia figured he was joking, but if they had brute forced their way into the city, there would have been far more losses. All things considered, the taking of the city with the king’s overwhelming power had probably kept sacrifices to a minimum.

  He shrugged slightly without saying anything and then gestured with his chin toward the center of the square.

  The subhuman there was larger than all the others.

  He had the curled horns of a goat and silver body hair. His impressive physique made him look like someone it would be wise not to mess with.

  The ends of his horns were encased in ornate golden caps set with jewels, and he wore a green breastplate with a turtle-shell-esque pattern. Wrapped in a rust-red cape that seemed to be made out of processed animal fur, he carried a large shield set with two large yellow jewels in the center with his left hand and a bastard sword with a faintly yellow blade with his right. He was the embodiment of an imposing warrior’s brave spirit.

  He was one of those most fearsome subhumans—one with training. And he was probably a king or had some other sort of comparable standing.

  If Neia had been alone, she would have definitely run away.

  “Hmm, hmm, I’m exceedingly curious which item is suppressing his fear.”

  The King of Darkness’s amused remark must have referred to not only the subhuman’s armor and weapons but also the rings on his fingers, the necklace that covered everything from his neck down to his chest, and maybe the accessories hanging from each hip that were made from what seemed to be three human baby skulls each.

  The subhuman, watching the King of Darkness with his green eyes, glared at Neia once they approached.

  “A new undead challenger and behind him…a necromancer?” Partially concealed behind his large shield, he was most likely on guard against eye-based attacks that monsters like medusas had. “You’re no slouch, coming into this city and driving my tribe this far into a corner… Wielder of horrifying magic and manipulator of the enemies of all living things, let’s hear your name.” The bufolk pointed his sword at Neia.

  “N-no, hold on. You’re wrong. It’s not me!”

  “…What?”

  When she looked to the King of Darkness for help, he put a hand to his chest and looked back at her.

  “I’m impressed you could tell. Yes, this is my master.”

  “N-no! P-please wait a second! Your Majesty!”

  What is he talking about? He really has no sense for jokes.

  As Neia flailed around in a panic, he smiled at her.

  “Hmm. Feeling better?”

  “Huh?”

  “Okay, that was a stupid joke.” With a motion befitting a king, he flapped his cape and faced the subhuman. “I’m the one who sent the undead after you. I’m an undead ruler, Ainz Ooal Gown, King of Darkness, from the country northeast of here, the Nation of Darkness. What’s your name?”

  “I’m Buser, Mighty King Buser… Tell me, King of Darkness, what is that girl for?”

  “She’s my servant. So what’s your deal? Do you want to be killed? Or do you want to throw yourself at my feet? I’ll let you choose whichever you like better.”

  “On my honor as a king, I say bending the knee one time is plenty.”

  Buser held his sword across the front of his shield. He slowly curled his body into a stance that pointed his horns forward like a goat’s.

  “Hmm… Then I’ll play with you a bit. Miss Baraja, you can just watch. By the way, you goat. You seem to have a lot of enchanted items equipped, but I don’t sense any magic from those accessories at your hips. Are they special in some way?”

  “Hoh-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! It’s called fashion, you bag of bones.”

  “Hmm… You remind me of a subordinate of mine.”

  Listening to their conversation from behind him, Neia was shocked to think he had a subordinate like that.

  “They’re nicely shaped, don’t you think? I selected these exquisite pieces with utmost care from my pickings in this city.”

  “…Ah. I see. I understand how you feel. Fashion is apparently quite important. My maids drove that point home for me… Now then, let’s begin.
Create Greater Item.”

  When the King of Darkness cast the spell, a black sword appeared in his hands.

  Why is His Majesty using a weapon?

  He was an arcane caster—and a supremely adept one at that.

  That meant normally he would only use a weapon if he was stuck in a fight without enough mana. Some arcane casters didn’t even carry a weapon simply because they were heavy.

  Why had the King of Darkness chosen to fight with a sword?

  Is it because he used up so much mana on his way here? That’s really bad… The whole point of him coming was to fight Jaldabaoth…

  He had cast Fireball several times, plus frozen a lot of enemies in their tracks using magic, not to mention summoned a ton of undead; that all took mana, so it was possible he was running low.

  It must cost a lot to summon those undead…

  She had no idea how strong high wraiths were, but they had to be much stronger than regular wraiths. Summoning a bunch of them had to require an awful lot of mana.

  For example, when a priest summoned an angel, one spell summoned a single being. Or several weaker ones. With that in mind, he must have been using quite the high-tier spell—maybe a six.

  A tier-six spell…

  Neia swallowed hard.

  Tier six was an unprecedented realm. The Holy Lady could use up to only tier four. This was two levels up from that.

  It was simply unthinkable, but for the King of Darkness, perhaps it was possible.

  If he used a tier-six spell to summon high wraiths, I get why it would use up so much mana. But if that’s the case, shouldn’t I be helping him?

  Neia looked at the king from behind as he confronted the subhuman. His opponent, whom she could see over his shoulder, looked strong; Neia didn’t feel like she or any number of people like her could help at all. But the King of Darkness exuded a proud sovereign attitude; it was clear he had no intention of starting a fight he couldn’t win.

  Maybe he’s a magic swordsman–type arcane caster?

  There were pros and cons to raising one’s skills in both sword fighting and casting. The main pro was the diversity of tactics that became available, while the main con was the risk of failing to be truly proficient at either skill set.

  So what was the King of Darkness’s case?

  The two combatants watched each other closely as they slowly began to move.

  The distance between them closed until their weapons were within clashing distance. Buser was the first to attack.

  “Shield Rush.” Holding his shield out in front of him, he charged.

  The King of Darkness blocked it head-on with his sword.

  It appeared that absorbing the entire impact of someone so large charging at full speed was impossible—the king was knocked quite a ways back. Well, it was hard to tell since he landed so neatly on both feet, but it seemed like he had been sent flying.

  It was surprising to see the King of Darkness, who had crushed a bufolk’s skull with his bare hands, get knocked back, but being made of bones must have rendered a full block impossible. Neia had heard of the advanced martial art called Fortress, which could completely neutralize all impacts, but only especially strong warriors could acquire it.

  Both of them charged at once, and their swords clashed.

  The pace of their exchange was so furious, even Neia couldn’t follow it. Her vision could only register the slight pause as the blades collided.

  If she joined the fight, she had no doubt she would be cut down with a single blow.

  The rapid clashing of steel on steel created a metallic racket.

  Their skills were well matched, and with each collision of blades, they were performing both offense and defense.

  Should she be astounded at Buser swinging his mighty sword with a single hand? Or should she be in awe of the King of Darkness swinging a huge sword with two hands despite being a caster?

  She had never seen a fight at this high of a level, and she was sure there was no opening for her to get involved.

  She slowly moved behind some cover, so as not to be in the way. She had to at least avoid being taken hostage.

  They’re swinging like crazy, but neither of them are injured… And like, the King of Darkness is just…too amazing…

  The idea that a caster could be this skilled with a sword blew her mind.

  Is he using some kind of awesome spell?

  All she could think was that he was using some incredible spell she had never heard of.

  But still—

  At this rate, His Majesty will definitely win. Or is that his plan? To prolong the fight?

  Undead didn’t get tired. And being in combat probably didn’t stress them out. Everything worked to Buser’s disadvantage.

  Buser seemed to realize that, too, and his expression gradually twisted.

  If he has an ace move, he’d better—

  Neia was stunned. The King of Darkness had suddenly hurled his giant sword at Buser.

  Then a dome of light encircled Buser as a countermeasure.

  The barrier of light subsided immediately, but the flying sword only grazed Buser’s body as a result.

  Oh no!

  Neia was about to leap out from behind her cover. The king was unarmed, and—

  “Huh?”

  Before she knew it, he was gripping a black halberd.

  Buser must have felt the same way as Neia. His eyes were huge.

  “You didn’t even cast a spell, so how…? And where did the sword you threw go…?”

  “It was merely a silent cast. Don’t worry about it… Now then, my subordinate taught me how to use this thing, but I’m not very confident. Sorry in advance for sucking.”

  The king shifted nimbly into a fighting stance with the halberd, creating indescribable tension.

  Warriors usually specialized in a single type of weapon, such as swords, axes, or hammers.

  The king employed centrifugal force to swing the halberd. He slipped his hand down the shaft to aim for Buser’s feet, which would be hard to defend. It was an attack he could have only pulled off with a long-handled weapon.

  Just as Buser lowered his sword to block it, the halberd jerked up.

  It was a feint.

  He had put quite a lot of strength behind it, but Buser managed to raise his sword instantaneously to defend.

  It seemed the King of Darkness really was better with a sword than a halberd. That is, his attacks flowed with the beauty of martial art, but the motions were slightly awkward, and even Neia could follow them with her eyes.

  After blocking the centrifugal force of the halberd’s arc, Buser jumped back.

  “Sandstorm!”

  The sand spurting from his sword spread into a wall and attacked the King of Darkness. The king must not have been able to see a thing.

  She had her doubts whether he had eyeballs but regardless, having his vision obstructed was an overwhelming disadvantage.

  “Kind Affection, Bundled Seal! Sturdy Arm, Strong Blow!”

  Using a martial art Neia didn’t know, plus a high-level one for increasing the damage of a mighty blow, Buser came charging at double the speed he displayed before.

  His horn caps started to glow in a strange way; they looked almost like shooting stars.

  “Khaaaaa!”

  “Hnf!”

  The King of Darkness received the blow that came down with his halberd and—

  “Ha-ha!”

  —Buser’s jeering laugh echoed out.

  Then came the sound of breaking steel.

  Neia’s eyes grew large.

  “No way! Weapon breaking?!”

  Weapon breaking caused damage directly to weapons, but its effects varied considerably depending on the material the target was made with and how much damage it could withstand. Buser must have used the earlier martial arts to fortify the attack.

  Neia was anxious to help, but when she saw notice Buser’s eyes go large in the next moment, she froze.

  �
�It’s not even chipped!” Buser shrieked in shock. “What is that thing?!”

  Buser retreated in a reversal of his previous confidence, rather than attack again, while the King of Darkness brandished his halberd, tracing beautiful arcs through the air.

  “…I created this with my magic. You really think it would break so easily?”

  “Weapons made with magic should be fragile!”

  “Oh? You seem to have some experience, but stereotyping is dangerous. Sometimes you’ll fight people whose magic weapons you can’t break.”

  The king let go of the halberd, and it vanished. It must have been the same move he had used earlier with the sword.

  Then after he made grasping motions in the air, he was suddenly holding a black longsword in each hand.

  “…Okay, what are you going to do next? That couldn’t have been your fail-safe plan, right?” The King of Darkness took a step forward. “…If you have something up your sleeve, now’s the time for it. I’m not a nice enough guy to let useless enemies live.”

  “Hoh-hoh-hoh! What are you talking about, undead? Bravo for blocking all my attacks, yes. You were truly magnificent. But weren’t you only able to do that because you were focused on defense…? I know you never get tired. So you think that if you just keep fighting, you’ll eventually win.”

  He saw through the king’s plan!

  Neia was worried. Even she had realized. There was no way Buser, a superior warrior, wouldn’t notice.

  “Ah, I see. That’s one idea. A good one actually. But unfortunately, mine is different.” The King of Darkness spread his arms and approached unguarded. The swords in his hands disappeared like smoke.

  “Watch ou—!”

  But faster than Neia could shout, Buser brought his sword down.

  And then…

  “What?!”

  Buser frantically swung his sword again and again.

  “What the—?! What?! What’s going on?!”

  He screamed with each blow—because the king, despite taking each and every hit, was perfectly fine.

  “In that case—!” Buser held up his shield and used a martial art. The king took the full brunt of his shield charge but didn’t stagger backward a single step.

  On the contrary, Buser ended up retreating slightly.