I Became a Dark Knight in the Game

50 – Gabi Merchant Guild (5)

As Mazhar assured, no one stopped Kriel’s party from visiting Tushkin Gabi.

The mansion’s servants only cast sympathetic glances at Mazhar without blocking the way, and it seemed that Mazhar’s two siblings had not returned to the mansion.

In the depths of the mansion, where Mazhar led them, there were two heavily armed wizards. They were both the security personnel guarding the ailing Tushkin and the medical personnel to provide emergency care in case of sudden situations.

“Prince Mazhar.”

“How is my father?”

“He briefly opened his eyes and drank some water. He fell asleep again.”

The wizards looked at the party following Mazhar with a slightly wary and tired expression. They had seen Armed before, but it was their first time seeing Kriel and Morgina.

Morgina’s attire was quite a typical priest’s garb, so most of the wizards’ wariness was directed at Kriel.

A person carrying three swords would be considered a dangerous element anywhere.

“They are the personnel I called for treatment.”

“You must leave all weapons behind.”

Kriel obediently laid down his three swords. He could hear Tuon’s whining in his ear, ‘A sword and a knight are inseparable!’

Even after laying down all the swords, the inspection was not over. The wizards cast various spells used to filter out assassins. Metal detection spells, poison detection spells, and even abyss detection spells, which were almost meaningless but used out of habit.

Kriel was once again impressed by the warrior necklace he received from Morgina. It felt like his whole body was being compressed while wearing it, but to think it could suppress the risk of being drawn into the abyss so effectively.

“Please enter.”

It was a short but annoying inspection process. Mazhar opened the door to where his father was lying.

The old man’s complexion was pale. His skin clung to his bones as if it had melted, and the veins visible underneath showed no elasticity.

Instead of a rosy hue, a pallor close to that of a corpse lingered. Tushkin’s eyelids fluttered once. But the eyes beyond the eyelids looked more like the unfocused eyes of a dead fish than those of a living person.

‘In terms of lifelessness, he resembles my appearance the most.’

It was a serious matter. Considering that Kriel often heard people say, “Are you undead?”, it was indeed a big deal that a living person looked like that without being tainted by the Abyss.

If he had been tainted by the Abyss, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal. It would have been his fault for crawling into the Abyss on his own.

“I will check the pulse.”

Morghina, who was being polite in front of others, sought permission from Mazar before checking Tushkin’s pulse. Armed was holding a pendulum that looked like a processed jewel and was carefully observing its oscillations as he walked around the room.

Kriel was looking at Tushkin Gabi. So far, he hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

Mazar was sitting in a chair in one corner of the room, waiting for the diagnosis. His posture suggested he was accustomed to resignation and waiting.

“Prince Mazar. Is there any special artifact on the patient?”

“Ah, yes. First of all, the clothes my father is wearing have the effect of enhancing vitality, and each ring he is wearing contains magic for fever reduction or pain relief. All the fabrics used were consecrated to mitigate the curse of the Abyss.”

“May I attempt a blood draw?”

“What? Wh-what are you saying? Such a barbaric act on a patient…!”

“Mazar.”

Armed, who was inspecting the corners of the room with the jeweled pendulum, turned his head. His indescribable feelings towards Morghina remained, but his sense of duty as a professional took precedence.

“You might have forgotten because of the destructive acts she showed during the trial by combat. She’s a saint. She’s not an amateur who would kill someone by drawing just a drop or two of blood.”

Oh. Kriel was inwardly impressed. They kept bickering for some reason, but in such matters, they supported each other.

In a way, it was the positive function of the Abyss. No matter how bad the relationship between people, when faced with the Abyss, they would shout, “Temporary alliance!” There was a tacit agreement in society that nothing was worse than the Abyss.

Mazar, who was conflicted, nodded. Morghina shaped a sharp scalpel with her blood. She took Tushkin’s right hand and carefully pricked the tip of his index finger.

A drop of blood fell.

Morghina, who had caught the fallen drop of blood on a silver tray she had taken out from somewhere, adjusted the angle of the tray and carefully observed the movement of the blood drop.

It was at this moment that Kriel felt something strange.

The detection of the Abyss through divine power and Kriel’s detection of the Abyss were somewhat different.

If one were to compare the way priests detect the Abyss, it would be like a chemical experiment. Just as one confirms the reaction that occurs when two specific substances meet, priests find the Abyss through the unique and intense annihilation reaction that occurs when the Abyss touches divine power.

If other impurities were mixed into the experimental environment, the desired reaction would not occur, so the priests’ search for the Abyss required a very meticulous and precise procedure.

On the other hand, Kriel’s detection of the Abyss was similar to a magnet. Just as two magnets either attract or repel each other when they meet, he naturally became aware of the Abyss’s presence when within a certain distance.

Just as a magnet’s magnetism can be nullified by special treatment, Kriel’s detection ability could theoretically be neutralized with special measures.

‘But why now…?’

He felt the presence of the Abyss, which he hadn’t felt until just now. From the moment Morghina caught the drop of blood on the silver tray.

Clues began to connect one by one in Kriel’s mind.

Didn’t they say that Tushkin Gabi’s patient gown was made only of consecrated fabric? It was the same principle as Kriel hiding his presence as a dark knight with the mark of the great warrior.

The presence of the Abyss was felt as soon as it was separated from the body and settled on the silver tray because it was out of the influence of the patient gown.

Kriel walked towards Mazar. Then he whispered softly.

“Speak.”

“What?”

Mazhar couldn’t understand what it meant. But with the abyss right in front of him, he had to move faster than anyone else, so instead of explaining, Kriel raised his fist and ran towards Tushkin.

“Are you crazy! Stop!”

*

Tushkin Gabi heard familiar footsteps. It was his youngest son.

Hearing the unfamiliar footsteps overlapping with his son’s, it was clear that he had brought someone to ‘treat’ him again.

How pitiful.

This father was neither cursed nor sick from the beginning.

Tushkin smiled inwardly with his eyes closed. Mazhar, his youngest son, had committed the unfilial act of not dying when needed, but now he could be forgiven generously.

The demon he served desired chaos, so he had to burn the family to achieve that.

The means to trigger the family feud was his own death. Originally, he had to kill Mazhar in the past to bring about chaos, but now that too much time had passed, the plan had to change.

If Tushkin Gabi, his old body, died, Jaren and Arshika, Mazhar’s older siblings, would start fighting over the Gabi family.

The beginning of the Gabi family’s division was the first step in the chaos that would come to the upper echelons of the empire. Tushkin was given the role of appropriately controlling that chaos by his master.

Tushkin intended to take Mazhar’s body instead of his old one. The plan was to incite conflict between Jaren and Arshika, and use Tushkin’s legacy as bait to plunge the upper echelons of the empire into chaos with Mazhar’s body.

While seeking the right time to seize Mazhar’s body, he realized that the guest Mazhar had brought this time was not very welcome.

Armed, the leader of the ridiculous Abyss Prevention Society. The magician of the society, which he had sponsored to deliberately distort the research direction, was one thing, but wasn’t there even a disgusting priest accompanying them?

A knight with a strangely familiar face was also with them. Probably the priest’s escort.

But even in front of the priest, Tushkin was not afraid. He had already devised a way to hide the grace of the abyss from divine power long ago.

As expected, the priest did not recognize his true identity. The subtle traces left in the blood would also be considered just part of the curse.

It was when he was inwardly satisfied.

The sound of someone rushing in, which should not be heard indoors, pierced Tushkin’s ears.

Judging by the sound, it was clear that someone was rushing straight at Tushkin. Tushkin had no time to react.

Before he could even open his eyes, Kriel’s tightly clenched fist struck the face of the old abyssal being.