06 — Struggle Against the Newly-Dubbed Lich Knight

06 — Struggle Against the Newly-Dubbed Lich Knight

Half a year had passed since my reunion with Lumina. In that time, my direct superior had shifted from being Granhart to the pope herself. Anything I needed to conquer the labyrinth, aside from additional personnel, was immediately provided. I also started buying entire potloads of food from my favorite store when I came up for my monthly supply runs.

I had just finished today’s training and was drinking my Substance X while mentally preparing myself for tomorrow’s task: the battle that would decide it all.

I’d had some ideas about who my next opponents might be, so Cattleya had passed along information from the pope regarding those potential adversaries. One was a paladin captain with immense magical power, and a wielder of both healing magic and a mighty greatsword. The other was a templar captain whose unparalleled spearmanship had carried him through the ranks. The paladin captain and I probably shared a fighting style, but I felt no desire whatsoever to meet the templar captain.

That said, I wasn’t afraid. Blades had lost their edge for me after all the cuts and bruises I’d suffered from Brod. My fights with adventurers had dulled the tips of spears. And on top of all that, I had healing magic. Sure, it hurt, but as long as I avoided any hits to the vitals, I could heal anything almost instantly, so I wasn’t afraid.

“Those first steps are always the hardest, though.”

The Valkyries were the only ones who let me train with them. The other seven knight regiments treated me like chopped liver, and my bit of community service at the slums hadn’t helped my reputation. Complaints flew in from clinics all over the city, but one perk of working directly under the pope was that I didn’t have to respond to them.

Ever since the incident in the slum, Granhart and Jord had been avoiding me like the plague. Actually, just about all my human interaction, other than Cattleya and the usual serving lady from the dining hall, had essentially evaporated. And I was keeping it that way. I wasn’t charismatic or strong, and I didn’t have an impressive position to hide behind, so the more people I involved myself with, the more trouble I’d be getting both them and myself into.

“Man, I’m still such a wuss,” I sighed in frustration. “I can handle the lack of attention. It’s just the whole assassination and physical assault thing that freaks me out.”

But kicking myself would get me nowhere. I focused my mind on what awaited me tomorrow. What was more effective against a team of two, cleansing magic or Area High Heal? Would they even let me close enough to try the latter?

Unease filled my mind as I visualized the battle in my head. And then a thought came to me. Taking too much illusionary damage in this labyrinth would probably lead to my “death.” And that “death” would probably hurt as much as actually dying. An image of my corpse flashed across my mind and the pope’s words rang out in my head.

“Oh, Luciel, death should not have taken thee!” she would surely say. And then she would revive me with a sober expression, or perhaps she’d smile. Regardless, I’d be utterly ruined. I’d have even less of a place at the Church than I did now, and that was saying something. This was all, of course, assuming I wouldn’t straight up bite the dust.

According to Cattleya, there were two paladin regiments and one templar regiment in particular that had it out for me. I was genuinely considering making, like, a hundred adventurer friends to protect me once this labyrinth ordeal was done with. But then again, my relationship with Nanaella and Monica probably made me a target for some of them too.

I sighed. I was less than a day out from one of the most important battles of my life, and my brain just would not stop chugging. I braced myself for a sleepless night, filled with plenty of tossing and turning, but my Angel’s Pillow quickly carried me off into a pleasant slumber.

The next morning, I dashed through the labyrinth and stopped in front of the boss door on the fortieth floor.

“Feeling good. Got my weapons and armor. Magic bag’s good to go. Barrier magic is up. I’m all ready. Just Substance X left now.” After a quick run-through of my mental checklist, I downed my usual mug. “Phew, man, that does not hit the spot.”

I steeled myself and opened the door.

“Sure is dark in here,” I muttered as the door slammed shut, sealing itself behind me.

Then I saw the undead figure before me and froze.

My newest enemy had a massive greatsword and spear crossed over its back, both nearly three meters long, while the monster itself towered at a similar height. Where its full armor didn’t protect it, only thick bone could be seen. If it were up to me to name such a beast, I would have dubbed it something fittingly sinister. It was no “knight of death.” It was a master of the undead. A “lich knight.”

Its fighting style, the use of both sword and spear, was the very same that I myself had attempted.

“Way to be original. But unfortunately for you, I know all about the disadvantages of fighting that way.”

What I was about to witness was surely the perfected form of the Sword-and-Spear Style. The lich knight was above me in every way. I knew that, but I challenged it nonetheless.

The knight’s blade tore through the air, creating a whirlwind. It would thrust its spear at me not once, but three, sometimes upwards of five times, in rapid succession, at inhuman speeds made possible only by its lack of sinew and tendons...just like this one manga I vaguely recalled reading in my past life.

This monster was incredibly powerful yet strangely human. My usual strategy of Purification and healing magic proved completely ineffective. It simply enveloped my magical energy in darkness and used it to heal any damage the spell had done. Physical damage, though, was permanent. Just like for a human.

“Things are going to keep getting worse at this rate. I would kill for a break right about now,” I panted. “Wait, I just had a crazy idea.”

I went into a corner of the room and lined up three barrels of Substance X between me and the monster. It lowered its stance, moved to the center of the room, and slowly returned its weapons to its back, its eyes never leaving me.

“What is this, some third-rate comedy act? What in the world is Substance X? Not that I’m gonna look this gift horse in the mouth.”

I took a deep breath and analyzed the situation. There had to be a way to win.

How long had I been fighting this thing? I couldn’t even say at this point. I’d stocked up on provisions to last me more than half a year and I was starting to run low.

No one was coming for me. I was alone, and if this kept up, my worst enemy wasn’t going to be the lich knight, but starvation. In fact, my foe was already the least of my worries thanks to a highly advanced healing spell that I’d learned from a grimoire I’d recently found in a treasure chest.

I was now well past the point of thinking that all of this, the labyrinth and the monsters, were illusions. This fight was real. My slowly dwindling supply of food and Substance X was real. My dismembered arms, the holes in my legs, and every twinge of agonizing pain were all real.

I had underestimated the lich knight and it nearly broke me more times than I could count. But I stood back up every time. I faced that monster with fierce determination. All because of three letters. Because of Nanaella, Monica, and Lumina. They gave me the will to live—the resolve to give up on giving up.

“Oh holy hand of healing. Oh birthing breath of the land. Take my energy for an angelic breath and restore this form. Come to me, machinations of life. Extra Heal!”

My left arm, which had been severed along with my shield, quickly re-formed. My leg, currently in pieces all over the room, grew anew.

I forced myself to get some sleep inside the safe zone that I’d cordoned off with Substance X. I had to recover my strength and fill my belly in order to recover the lost blood, which no amount of magic could restore.

Once, when I had lost myself to temptation, I had tried using Extra Heal on the lich knight, hoping that it would save the day. It did not, however. The knight went absolutely berserk, and things quickly got out of hand. It was like a video game boss powering up in the last phase of a fight when his HP was running low. The lich knight would not abide any exploits. Fighting fair and square was my only option. What else was a healer to do?

At some point during the fight, all of my shields ended up battered and useless, so I took out my spear and decided to make the best of things. If I couldn’t defend myself, I was going to at least use this chance to learn the Sword-and-Spear Style from the master himself.

I remembered my first master’s words and repeated them in my head: no matter how strong the opponent, a sword in the neck was still a sword in the neck. I recalled my time in this world, what I was striving for, what I endeavored to be, and every painfully small step that I had taken along the way. Because those steps, however minuscule they may have been, were all a guy like me could manage.

My undead adversary, for all its ferocity, brimmed with a knightly dignity. It was noble, like the hero of a story. My new master couldn’t speak, but I wondered if it could sense my growth and everything that I’d gone through.

I parried its greatsword and kicked the creature away, channeling my magic into my spear. My master wasn’t one to let things go, though, and thrust the end of its spear into the ground, using it to swing back towards me. But I was one step ahead and pivoted around behind it where I thrust out my magically-charged sword.

This dance was one we had practiced together ad nauseam. The knight’s patterns were drilled into me, pain and all. Monsters’ attacks were generally predictable, even from one type to another, and I’d gone through the motions with this one over and over. I knew everything it could dish out.

I felt tears well up in my eyes. Was it grief, knowing that my master was about to vanish from this world? Joy that success was in reach? Pride in my growth?

My blade glowed with magic as it pierced the lich knight’s neck. Its head fell to the floor and its body crumpled. It suddenly burst into miasma, leaving a large stone, a grimoire, a greatsword, and a long spear behind. But that wasn’t all. I found another sword and spear as well, almost perfectly sized for me, as well as its helmet, chestplate, gauntlets, chausses, and greaves, all assembled and standing before me. They had previously been a sinister black but now glistened in a brilliant, pale white.

The lich knight was a monster, but I bowed in reverence.

“Thank you for everything, Master.” Before I could even finish speaking, a rumbling announced the opening of the next staircase. “Oh, for the love of... Could I just have this moment, please?”

My horribly long struggle had at last come to an end. My friends must have been worried sick after not hearing from me for half a year.

“Time to head home. Er, what’s going on?” As sloppy as it was, I had definitely beaten the fourth boss, but when I went to open the door that led back upstairs, it wouldn’t budge. “This couldn’t be because my master died...could it?”

I was trapped, with nowhere to go but down.