The Former Holy Knight. Having Lost My Job and Childhood Friend, I Decided to Start a Dark Guild - Chapter 96

The battle had ended by the time the sun set. In place of the sun, a fireball created by Nina’s magic illuminated the corpses of twenty-three former Holy Knights. Commander Cisia of the Holy Knights solemnly cut the crests from their uniforms, one by one.

Nina, raised in a monastery, chanted a prayer before murmuring to herself, “Manina, stop complaining. This is a human custom.” Occasionally, conversations with the Demon Lord Manina slipped from her lips. He probably said something like, “What’s the point of praying for the dead?”

I sat on a nearby rock, wiping my sword with a piece of tanned leather, staring at the enormous mausoleum gate.

If we enter the underground mausoleum and free the captured Holy Knights by tonight, we will have fulfilled our role in this mission.

From there, the political tug-of-war that I’m not privy to will begin. If Sia Seiren and Count Bernard can come to an agreement and jointly suppress Glenn Deeth’s Sun’s People, a temporary truce will be reached. If there are no casualties among the royal knights, there should be no retaliation from the Holy Knights against the Sun’s People, preventing further conflict.

Of course, this is an optimistic outlook. If the controlled Sun’s People, fueled by anger, rush against the Saintess’s barrier, there’s nothing that can be done.

As I sheathed my sword, Cisia, who had finished collecting the crests, approached with an even graver expression.

“Don’t be disheartened,” I said. “The undead they’ve become are something else entirely. You didn’t really behead your own subordinates.”

During the fight, Cisia’s hands were trembling the entire time. She lacked focus, and I had to protect her from the undead several times.

Still, being a Holy Knight Commander at her age, once she decapitated an undead, she discarded her hesitation and struck down the zombies with impressive swordsmanship. Fighting her own subordinates, even in their undead form, must have been incredibly difficult for her as a commander.

Changing the subject, I asked, “Didn’t you say you wanted to talk about something after the battle?”

Cisia bit her lip painfully and, after a brief silence, spoke. “I’ve completely forgotten what I wanted to discuss during the battle. Instead, would you accept this?”

Cisia offered me a bundle of fabric sewn with crests.

“Honestly, I don’t think I’ll survive exiting this dungeon-turned-mausoleum alive. After all, twenty-three elite members of the Bernard Holy Knights couldn’t do anything here. If you make it out alive, please deliver these to their families.”

I shook my head.

“That’s not part of our current mission. You should handle that yourself when you return to Naseem alive.”

Cisia gave a weak smile.

“I see, you were a member of the dark guild Don, after all. Somehow, after spending time together, I started thinking of you as one of my fellow knights.”

After a brief rest, we began our assault on the Nymeria Mausoleum dungeon.

Standing before the massive mausoleum gate, Cisia said, “Glenn has transported the royal Holy Knights underground here and locked them in a room protected by a defense wall. After exiting the mausoleum, the king used his power to break the magical seal, turning this place into a dungeon.”

As we passed through the gate, an ancient staircase leading underground appeared. Relying on the light from Nina’s fireball, we descended.

This mausoleum was built long ago when the Sun’s People not only controlled the frontier lands but all of Bernard’s territory. It seems to be the burial site of the successive kings of the Sun’s People.

The underground opened into a majestic scene. Hundreds of skeletons wandered around a huge king’s statue and sarcophagi. When they noticed us, they attacked all at once.

I unleashed a flurry of slashes, quickly dispatching the surrounding skeletons, but new monsters kept appearing endlessly. Well, I might as well eradicate them all in one go. I readied my sword when Nina exclaimed.

“Don, Manina says bullying weak monsters is something only vile heroes and saintesses do! There’s a better way, what should we do?”

That’s right. We had an expert in this kind of thing with us. I answered while swinging my sword, “I don’t quite understand, but let’s try this effective method you mention!”

As Nina raised her index finger, a pale purple light emerged around us.

“The King’s Aura, the Demon Lord says with this, weak monsters won’t dare attack us.”

Indeed, the skeletons that had been charging at us began to flee. Literally, the Demon Lord’s Aura had taken effect. Watching this, Cisia said, “My goodness, now a Demon Lord? Truly, there’s nothing left that can surprise me.”

As we descended to the second and third floors, we encountered Succubi, Manticores, and even a Medusa, creatures I had only seen in old bestiaries.

A Succubus, provocatively playing with her chest and groin, tried to seduce me. But having spent a long time with Saintess Cecil and constantly being teased by the city’s top courtesan, Sofia Gracier, I wasn’t particularly tempted and quickly beheaded her with a slash. The Medusa, known for turning beholders to stone, attempted petrification, but Nina mercilessly incinerated her with a barrage of gigantic fireballs.

Protecting the increasingly powerless Cisia was my responsibility. Sometimes, I lifted her with my right hand, poured potions over her wounds, and carried her on my back to retreat.

Each time, Cisia protested, “Ignore me, focus on your own fight,” but I had no intention of listening.

When we reached the fifth floor underground, Cisia said quietly, “I can’t believe we’ve made it this far. Being the Don of the capital’s dark guild really is something. A stark contrast to Sheik Sayeed, who’s only interested in money, women, and food.”

Cisia sat down on a broken column.

“But I refuse to be a burden any longer. Go on without me from here. This mausoleum’s fifth level is the final floor. If they’re alive, the Holy Knights should be beyond this point.”

I handed Nina a leather bag filled with water as she expressed her thirst, then turned to the slumped Cisia and asked, “So, what do you plan to do?”

Cisia’s weary eyes met mine. “What do you mean?”

After taking a drink of water from Nina, I said, “Judging from the situation, the only one significantly involved in the detention of the royal Holy Knights is you, the Commander. And the reason you brought us to this mausoleum where our chances of survival are slim is because you believed we wouldn’t make it back alive.”

Cisia, without showing any surprise, stared at me and then finally spoke, “So, you had noticed.”

“Another thing—tormented by your conscience, you intended to die here with us. And now, perhaps, you’re thinking of dying alone.”

Cisia remained silent, neither confirming nor denying.

Annoyed, I punched the armor she was wearing. It shattered instantly, revealing her in cotton underwear. Hanging from Cisia’s neck was a small vial filled with black liquid. I tore it off and threw it to the ground, crushing it. The liquid spilled out, dissolving the stone floor—powerful poison.

With her expression unchanged, I tied Cisia up with a restraint rope and carried her over my shoulder.

“Commander Cisia, from now on, your life is in my hands. You’ll stay like this until we free the Holy Knights.”