Chapter 6: Death Knight (1)

A news flash I’d overheard at the warehouse cafeteria a while back suddenly flashed through my mind.

[Next up! News regarding the massive earthquake that struck Busan the other day. The cause has finally been revealed, drawing widespread attention. A super-high-tier magical beast, the “Death Knight,” first observed during a dungeon break near the Western Pacific, was advancing through Japan toward Korea. Its rampage was halted by “Swordmaster” Cheok Junseong, who happened to be dispatched to Jeju Island. It was later revealed that this entity’s danger level was A+, making it an even hotter topic. In an interview, Cheok Junseong stated that he clashed with the Death Knight for three days and nights, engaging in 3,021 exchanges, resulting in a draw. The Death Knight, which fled after the battle, has yet to be located…]

The Death Knight.

A monster among monsters, capable of twisting space-time itself to create an instance dungeon. 

A supernatural entity that could collapse mountains with a single slash and part seas with one stroke.

According to Hunter Studies 101, the Death Knight is defined as follows:

1. A knight who, in life, reached an extraordinarily high level of prowess on the Lokpia continent, only to fall into corruption just before death and be resurrected.

2. Its soul and body are held as collateral, drawing immense magical energy from the nether dimension, far surpassing its living capabilities.

3. The magical energy borrowed from the nether dimension comes with high interest. When repayment is due, even the soul and body combined are insufficient. Failure to repay results in the soul being forcibly reaped by the Reaper, and the body disintegrates.

4. It retains its living appearance and abilities but loses all memories.

5. Its danger level is determined by how much of its former strength and skills it can wield, as it possesses little intelligence.

6. Rarely, some Death Knights are believed to retain their memories and intelligence.

7. However, there have only been seven recorded instances of Death Knights retaining memories and intelligence.

In short, among hunters, it’s considered a natural disaster in monster form.

And now, that thing is standing right in front of me…

At that moment.

[Rooooar!]

The Death Knight let out a roar.

A piercing screech, like nails scraping a chalkboard.

A sound that felt like it could tear through eardrums and sever every auditory nerve.

Then, its black helmet tilted, and a crimson glow flashed from within the visor.

Ding-dong!

<Death Knight> 

– Danger Level: A+  

– Location Discovered: 10,000 meters below the Mariana Trench, Western Pacific  

A knight of death resurrected through dark magic.

Once known as the “Sword Demon of Ravianglily,” a proud knight, it has now fallen into a cursed, armored wraith wandering the netherworld aimlessly.

First Crowmen, now a Death Knight.

Featherback’s journal seems to contain detailed information on nearly every magical beast.

It’s a guidebook for warehouse keepers, so why is this kind of information necessary?

And who the heck was Featherback to know all this stuff so well?

Questions piled upon questions.

But.

“Argh! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”

I turned and bolted as fast as I could.

There was no time for leisurely thinking in the first place.

At the same moment.

[Seven Demon First Strike: Gluttony Slash, Beelzebub]

A crescent-shaped slash hurtled toward the spot where I’d been standing just seconds ago.

BOOM!

A black sword aura tore into the ground, ripping it apart as it surged forward.

A ferocious blast of air pressure whipped around in all directions.

…!

I ran with all my might.

There were two ways to survive this place:

1. Defeat the Death Knight and clear the dungeon.

2. Hide and survive until the gate reopens (at least 24 hours!).

Both options were near impossible.

“How am I supposed to deal with a monster that even an A+ rank hunter couldn’t defeat!”

At that moment.

[Seven Demon First Strike: Gluttony Slash, Beelzebub]

Another black crescent sword aura came flying.

BOOM! Crack!

One of the seven massive blade-mountains on the horizon shattered and collapsed with a thunderous roar.

As I ran frantically, a thought struck me.

Wait, how am I still alive?

Under normal circumstances, I should’ve been torn to shreds the moment I encountered the Death Knight.

For a high-danger A+ rank monster radiating such murderous intent, it was strange that my limbs were still intact.

And another thing.

BOOM!

It was odd that such a devastating slash kept missing me.

To an A+ rank Death Knight, my movements should be as slow as a crawling beetle.

Yet it kept swinging and missing, which meant something was definitely off.

I glanced back at the Death Knight.

Taking a moment to observe, even just a little, I started noticing things I hadn’t seen before.

…!

The Death Knight’s black armor was dented and shattered in places.

The dark blue crystal embedded in the center of its armor was cracked, on the verge of breaking.

The long black hair spilling from its helmet was singed and severed, and overall, it looked utterly battered.

That’s it! It’s injured!

It must have sustained significant damage from its battle with Swordmaster Cheok Junseong.

For a super-high-tier monster like a Death Knight to still not have killed me, that had to be the reason.

If I play this right… if I try really, really hard, I might survive!

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

If its injuries were so severe that even an undead’s monstrous regeneration couldn’t heal them, there was hope.

…Or so I thought.

The Death Knight drew its second blade and swung.

[Seven Demon Second Strike: Greed Slash, Mammon]

A massive, blunt greatsword, heavy as a club.

The surrounding air trembled violently in an instant.

And then.

BOOM!

An aura hot enough to melt nearby metal surged forward in the form of a slash.

A hole burned through the midsection of another blade-mountain, which began to melt slowly.

…

I stared blankly at the scene, sprawled on the ground.

How had the Swordmaster managed to face such a monstrous being?

And what kind of place was the Lokpia continent, where creatures like this roamed?

Either way, it was a world beyond my imagination.

At that moment, the Death Knight began to take slow steps forward.

Step—step—step—step—

Its gait was unsteady, as if it might collapse at any moment.

The glow from its helmet burned even redder than before.

This was truly the end.

I was firmly caught in death’s grip, with no escape through tricks or luck.

Just then.

Ding-dong!

<The warehouse usage restriction has expired.> 

<The “Open” skill is now active.>  

<Would you like to open Morgue’s Magical Warehouse?> [Yes/No]

The cooldown for the “Open” skill had finally ended.

Open! Open open open open open option open!

I frantically mashed the YES button.

Then.

Vrrrrr—

A black rift formed above the Death Knight’s head, and the air began to split apart.

Beyond the rift, the entrance to Morgue’s warehouse flickered into view.

A majestic, imposing door appeared out of nowhere in the air.

Even the Death Knight seemed momentarily taken aback.

[…]

Meanwhile, a new notification appeared before my eyes.

Ding-dong!

<The warehouse keeper may borrow items from the warehouse after reviewing their information in the guidebook!>

<Would you like to borrow …?> [Yes/No]

Was it because of the crisis? It felt like the warehouse was giving me a hint.

There was no time to read each message carefully.

I hurriedly mashed the YES button.

Anything, just come out! Hurry! Please!

As I mentally screamed my consent…

Ding-dong!

<You have agreed to retrieve …!>  

<Borrowing … from Morgue’s Magical Warehouse!>

The warehouse doors began to creak open.

Rooooar!

A dark, heavy air poured out from the open entrance.

The overwhelming storm of magical energy made even the Death Knight stagger.

Then, something plummeted from the rift like a comet.

Thud!

An object bound in chains and restraints.

A grotesque monster, its flesh half-melted by acidic liquid.

[Rooooar!]

Ding-dong!

<The Immortal Pseudo-Dragon>  

– Storage Number: MRG-682

– Storage Grade: Safe  

“The Immortal Pseudo-Dragon,” also known as “The Iron-Eating Pseudo-Dragon.”  

The 72nd dragon recorded in the apocalypse, possessing powerful regenerative abilities and drastically enhanced physical capabilities when consuming metal.  

Its intelligence is nearly nonexistent, but its temperament is highly aggressive and violent, requiring caution during containment and storage.  

This is what it lent me!?

To defeat a monster, I’d summoned another monster.

Fight fire with fire, poison with poison.

There’s a saying about using heat to combat heat and poison to counter poison, right?

I shouted at the pseudo-dragon.

“Whatever, I don’t care! Go, Pseudo-Dragon! Tackle it!”

[Rooooar!]

The beast roared and positioned itself in front of the Death Knight.

Of course, it didn’t actually tackle as I commanded.

I bit my lower lip, watching the Immortal Pseudo-Dragon face off against the Death Knight.

To think I’d feel relief seeing that monster.

It should at least buy me some time.

I prepared to flee.

The Immortal Pseudo-Dragon was the weakest beast stored at the entrance of Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.

A “Safe” grade entity.

It couldn’t possibly match an A+ rank Death Knight.

If it could hold the Death Knight off for five minutes… no, even one minute, that would be enough.

I could use that time to escape as far as possible and hide.

With that thought, I turned to run.

…Or rather, I tried to turn and run.

Crunch! 

BOOM!

Until I witnessed the Death Knight being knocked back by a single tail swipe from the Pseudo-Dragon.