Barbarian in a Failed Game

008. Dark Mages (2)

The paladins of the Pantheon Church are unique. Given that knights are monsters capable of easily dispatching a hundred ordinary soldiers, it might sound obvious. However, paladins are special in a slightly different sense. While knights become so by swearing an ‘oath of loyalty’ under the name of their god, having honed their skills and physiques to the ultimate limit, paladins gain a power comparable to knights without extensive training by inviting the blessing of the god into their bodies. Even someone who has never held a sword in their life could, upon becoming a paladin, turn into a human mixer, stirring up chaos effortlessly. However, harnessing the power of a god within one’s body required a rare innate quality, making such individuals a rare sight.

“And of all people, it had to be him….”

Amid farming items after subduing a necromancer, what could possibly appear?

“I understand there is much room for misunderstanding. But what you’re thinking, it isn’t like that….”

“…Do not be deceived by your wicked tongue. Your faithful servant shall not heed the whispers of demons, but instead, swear to project your will onto this land.”

Following this dizzyingly complex prayer, the paladin was enveloped in a brilliant aura of pure white, the ‘Divine Armor’ radiating even brighter.

“Ah, come on!”

The paladin, showing no intention of understanding the predicament, promptly shut their mouth.

Thud!

The paladin’s sword, now significantly faster after merely a few words, skimmed the ground as it dashed forward.

Instead of retaliating, Khan, feeling a sense of humiliation, leaped backwards.

The thought of losing to the paladin before him did not cross his mind. Yet, if asked whether he could kill them, that was a different story altogether.

The opponent was treated specially even within the circles of the Pantheon Church. Beyond right or wrong, the aftermath had to be considered.

‘If rumors spread that a paladin has died to a barbarian heretic, there will be hell to pay.’

More importantly, the reason the church’s paladin appeared at the site of a necromancer, disguised in common rags…

‘It’s not even worth pondering deeply about.’

“Darkin Perayas.”

The sword, almost upon him, halted abruptly in mid-air. As expected. Sighing in relief inwardly, Khan spoke,

“If you are after that individual as well, we could be of significant help to each other, Paladin.”

“What do you mean?”

“I too, am in pursuit of him. The chaos here is because I’ve dealt with one of his disciples. You’ve misunderstood the situation.”

“Evidence.”

“In the direction I came from, lies the body of a necromancer. You will find signs of Darkin’s preferred method of body snatching intact on the corpse, which should clarify things.”

She remained silent, pondering the veracity of his words. Meanwhile, eyes as deep as the night sky stared intently at Khan, as if trying to pierce through his soul. Khan met her gaze, displaying his innocence.

“God. That’s an uncomfortably piercing look…”

Despite this, locking eyes for an extended period with a youngster felt like a different form of torture for a man in his thirties. On Earth, he might have already faced legal consequences.

Clank-.

The sound of the sword being sheathed allowed Khan to relax his tense posture slightly. It seemed, even for a paladin, this one was somewhat reasonable.

“Explain. In detail.”

Later, if the opportunity arises, it seemed necessary to drill some traditional Korean Confucian etiquette into her head.

***

Following Khan’s lead to where Ericson’s corpse lay, the paladin spoke in a faintly emotional tone.

“A necromancer.”

“Indeed. Specifically, a dead one.”

“Ericson. A disciple of Darkin.”

So, it was the Pantheon Church after all? Realizing she had identified Ericson’s identity and appeared at this location from the very beginning, Khan let out a low exclamation of admiration.

Even in the Argon Kingdom, far removed from the Church’s headquarters within the Empire, the ability to identify and track the movements of a necromancer in secrecy was impressive.

This was a moment that made Khan keenly feel the vast influence of the Pantheon Church, which had followers across the entire continent.

“I found him just after a party called something about steel met their end. So, I split open his skull with an axe. You misunderstood, thinking I was cleaning up the scene.”In fact, I was in the middle of farming items, not cleaning up the scene, but there wasn’t much of a difference, so it wasn’t exactly a lie.

“I had to dig up information.”

“Worry not. Due to constraints, I couldn’t learn about Darkin Perayas, but he seemed eager enough to live, spilling all the information about his executioner comrades.”

“…Why?”

“What do you mean why?”

The Paladin tilted her head at Khan’s question, looking puzzlingly reproachful despite her expressionless face, which made Khan’s eyes widen in confusion.

“A Dark Mage. Why target him?”

“Ah. Is that what this is about? No special reason. They marked me as their prey first. Plan to turn me into an undead, so I heard.”

“I see.”

“Such a succinct answer, refreshing.”

If it weren’t for the Paladin… Khan’s lips puckered in regret as he moved the topic to the real issue at hand.

There was a reason he had gone to great lengths to persuade her, whether she was a noble, a knight, a beautiful mage, or indiscriminately exercising force.

“Is it the will of the Pantheon Church you’re hunting Darkin Perayas, or is it your own initiative?”

“The latter. And I’m receiving support.”

“The Pantheon Church is supporting your initiative?”

Instead of answering, she nodded.

‘The juvenile Paladin has more authority than I thought.’

The implication of an organization supporting an individual’s rogue actions without complaint was significant.

Especially when that organization was the Pantheon Church, one of the most influential on the continent.

Either her value was that substantial, or the church also regarded Darkin Perayas’s past misdeeds as a thorn in their side.

“You’ve located some of Darkin’s disciples. With the church’s intelligence, verifying this should be quick. Am I correct?”

“…Yes.”

“Then, I’ll pass the information to you. There should be an Inquisitor from the church in the kingdom. Better them handling it than me. But, there’s a condition.”

“A condition?”

Instead of answering immediately, Khan paused.

A Dark Mage, utilizing powers from demons to wield evil forces, was a top priority for the church’s elimination.

If Khan provided the bait, the Paladin before him would undoubtedly hunt down Darkin’s disciples with zeal, eventually confronting Darkin himself as per the prayers memorized and recited endlessly by the church’s followers. But was it the right choice? Could she truly defeat Darkin? Khan was not sure.

He would rather hand the whole mess over to the church and drown himself in liquor, but if Darkin ended up with the Paladin’s corpse…

‘Damn it.’

After meeting the Paladin’s bright, earnest gaze, Khan sighed inwardly before speaking.

“Darkin Perayas. Make sure to take me with you when confronting him. I must see his end with my own eyes.”

“Dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

Khan scoffed.

The barbarian of the Frost Gorge live for conflict, a primitive people not so different from the Greenskins, regarding death on the battlefield as a supreme blessing…

Everyone says so, and yet this silly woman, what nonsense is she spouting?

“I am a warrior of the Frost Gorge. Death does not frighten me.”

Of course, death was frightening.

He was no valorous warrior from the north, but an ordinary man in his thirties.

And to roll around for a fantasy world with no ties to him, only to die a meaningless death…

‘That would be too empty.’

But-.

“This fight became unavoidable the moment his disciple targeted me.”

The same tenacity that never let aggro drop in a game, no matter how far you ran, wouldn’t be much different in reality.

Without a guarantee that the Paladin could decisively end Darkin, it was only right to join forces with the Paladin for the purge.

Above all,

‘It’d be a shame to pass up a free bus ride.’

She ultimately accepted Khan’s offer.

Pretending to be a fearless warrior from the north seemed quite effective. It was during their journey to a manor with a small monastery.

“How did you come to know about the presence of a dark mage around here? Considering you even pinpointed their identity, it doesn’t seem like this was a mere coincidence.”

Khan himself had taken a more brute-force approach, shaking down local informants to surveil the area around a likely target for the dark mage.

If the Church’s intelligence was better than that of the local informants, then perhaps such measures wouldn’t have been necessary.

Depending on her answer, they might reach Darkin Perayas sooner than expected.

“I waited.”

“Huh?”

“At this monastery. Waited until the dark mage would show up.”

“Uh…”

Khan blinked in disbelief.

Waited? Was she suggesting they had been holing up in the monastery, lying in ambush until the dark mage decided to appear?

“…Then how did you know his name was Ericson?”

“I’ve seen similar traces before.”

Although not a mage himself, Khan vaguely remembered hearing that each mage leaves a unique pattern in their spells, akin to a habit.

The ‘traces’ she mentioned must refer to such patterns.

“Previously? So, you’ve been on the tail of these dark mages for some time and not just recently?”

“…….”

He received no answer, but it was enough of a response.

‘So, a paladin that isn’t that much old has been chasing dark mages for a while? And undertaking such foolish endeavors as stakeouts with the Church’s support…?’

What could be the reason? He didn’t need to ponder deeply to have a rough idea.

A personal grudge.

Going on her own to track down Darkin Perayas for personal reasons, perhaps she felt guilt and thus wanted to limit the Church’s involvement as much as possible.

‘That would explain the odd robes and the altered voice.’

No matter how influential the Church might be, what nation would want a figure as significant as a paladin meddling on their turf uninvited?

Her hiding her identity and not seeking the Church’s aid meant converting any issues that might arise from her actions into a personal misconduct rather than implicating the Church—a political gesture, as it were.

‘Though, it’s hard to imagine the Church worrying about the opinion of the kingdom.’

“So I thought of seeking the Church’s help to deal with the dark mage. Turns out, I ended up offering my help instead.”

“…….”

Upon hearing this, she sharply turned her face away, and Khan, sensing a certain embarrassment in her profile, let out a light chuckle.

Her expression and tone might be stilted, but her actions spoke volumes.

“Worry not. I have no intention of changing plans now. Little lady.”

Before she appeared before him, he had intended to finish this business alone.

Moreover, it was improper for an adult to scold a young girl.

“I suppose we can always gather more information by dealing with other dark mages. No need for blame.”

“…Really?”

“Indeed. A paladin need only excel in combat, right? I can handle the thinking.”

“You. Barbarian.”

“Calling a barbarian foolish is a form of racial prejudice. Shocking to hear such discriminatory remarks from a devoted Paladin under the equality of the Pantheon’s grace. It’s lamentable.”

“…Strange barbarian.”

Before Khan could respond to another bout of barbarian shaming, she, with her platinum blonde hair tightly tied, bluntly stated with a stoic face.

“Anointed beside the most exalted in glory. Aries.”

Her words, reminiscent of a verse from the scriptures, belatedly dawned on Khan as an introduction, prompting him to absentmindedly scratch the back of his head.

‘Now that I think about it, we haven’t formally introduced ourselves.’

“Being a simple barbarian, I have no grand titles to claim. Gordi Khan. Just Khan, son of Gordi, will do.”

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have thought of extending his hand for a handshake to a complete stranger, but Khan tentatively reached out his right hand. It only seemed like the right thing to do in such a congenial atmosphere.

“Ahem. I look forward to working with you for a while. Little lady.”

However, as his extended hand awkwardly dangled, Aries stared at Khan for a few seconds before abruptly turning her back on him.

‘Why is she acting like this again?’

Looking at her indignant back, Khan awkwardly wiped his hand on his trousers and irritably followed the paladin who had started marching ahead.

TL’s note:

Look out, we have a loli over here.