The Undead Blacksmith's daily life (Solo leveling/Dark Souls SI) Chapter 24

“AAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

The load and pain-filled roar of the Knight of Gwyn was the only warning that Jinwoo had before the knight lunged into the air at blinding speeds.

Even for the fledgling Shadow Monarch, the speed at which Artorias moved was too much.

Fortunately, he was not alone.

“Arise”

The colossal blade of Artorias met a similarly colossal blade of Jinwoo’s loyal knight, Igris. The Shadow’s power barely holding back the corrupted Knight’s power for a second before cleaving right through the former Blood Red Commander.

However, that second was all Jinwoo needed to move out of the way and make his way behind Artorias, aiming to plunge his dagger into the gaps he could see in the deteriorated armor of the Knight of Gwyn.

Yet, how could it be so easy to harm the famed Knight who willingly plunged into the darkness of the Abyss for the sake of his lord?

The power of the Dark erupted from Artorias as he roared to the heavens in rage and agony, his soul’s constant agony through the corruption of the Abyss doing nothing to dull his combat instincts.

With the powerful eruption of the dark energy, Jinwoo was forced to leap back from Artorias, giving him a moment to breathe before dozens of Ice Bears' shadows, Knight shadows, and Ice Elf shadows swarmed Artorias.

All the while, the Chosen Undead, the Dark Lord of Humanity, the Kindling of the First Flame, Stood to the side with his hands resting on the pommel of his own version of the Greatsword of Artorias, which was placed vertically into the ground.

Originally, James wanted to take on Artorias himself and allow Jinwoo to resurrect the knight after the fight. However, the young Shadow Monarch refused.

He wanted to test himself against the dark knight that, according to his uncle’s words, had pressured James a lot of times throughout his loops.

Jinwoo wanted to prove to himself that all of his efforts, all of his hard work, paid off. That he could at least take on the monsters that caused his uncle so much suffering, even if he knew he was not yet ready to face the truly dangerous creatures like the gods of Anor Londo.

However, he soon realized just how much of a gap there was between himself and beings like Artorias, much less his uncle, who had originally blocked Artorias’s attacks effortlessly as if it were child’s play before Jinwoo asked to take on the monster by himself.

Artorias swung his greatsword horizontally, directly killing several of his shadows before lunging up into the air again, aiming his sword at the biggest threat in the area.

Jinwoo himself.

With the power of the Dark acting as a scaffolding for the corrupted knight, he changed directions mid-air and lunged towards Jinwoo, causing the young Shadow Monarch to barely dodge the attack as cold sweat soaked his back.

At first glance, Artorias’s attacks seemed wild and unskilled, especially with the way the corrupted knight swung it around like a club rather than a sword. Combined with his hunched posture and beast-like moments, any novice hunter would underestimate him.

However, to Jinwoo’s eyes, Artorias’s guard was iron-clad.

No gaps to exploit, no wasted moments. Every move was precisely calculated, and every attack was perfectly aligned to be lethal to the extreme.

Jinwoo did not know if it was pure instinct or if Artorias was just that skilled before being corrupted, but the young Shadow Monarch could not help but feel like he was facing Igris all over again.

And he could not help but feel excited and scared at the same time.

“Arise.”

Once again, the slain shadows arose from his shadows as his mana dropped considerably to regenerate their bodies.

Igris led the charge this time, naturally taking command of Jinwoo’s shadows while the Shadow Monarch himself equipped the twin daggers that his uncle made for him, shooting off with his extreme speeds to move around the enemy, trying to find the opportunity to land a killing blow.

But once again, the Knight proved why he was one of the four knights of Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight.

Igris plunged at the knight, his broadsword aimed to pierce Artorias’s chest, the former blood red commander’s speed far beyond anything that even an A-Rank Hunter could handle.

Yet, the Knight of Gwyn easily dodged the attack by bending back unnaturally.

The power of the Dark surged within the corrupted knight and concentrated in his arm.

A backhand blow, containing the immense power of the Dark, landed straight on Igris’s helm, obliterating the shadow’s head and returning it back to Jinwoo’s shadow.

However, during this time, Jinwoo’s other Shadow, Tank, the Alpha Ice Bear, roared and charged at Artorias, forcing him on the defensive and pushing him back.

In that split second, an opening formed in the Knight of Gwyn’s guard, one that Jinwoo ruthlessly exploited.

The copy of the Dark Silver Tracers forged by James, the original version of which was wielded by another Knight of Gwyn, gleamed in the light of the sun before plunging straight into the back of Artorias, causing the corrupted knight to roar in pain as the powerful poison within the blade started seeping into the corrupted knight

But Jinwo knew that this poison would not slow the knight down for long, thanks to his uncle’s recounting of his countless battles against this knight.

Being the experienced hunter he was, Jinwoo did not give the knight a moment to breathe and took advantage of the temporary weakness.

Once again, he summoned Igris and the other shadows that fell at the knight’s hands and had them swarm Artorias.

However, now that Artorias was slowed down by the poison, Jinwoo could see the tiny gaps in his guard, each one barely lasting a second. But a second was all he needed with his speed.

Soon, the famed knight of Gwyn was riddled with wounds across his body, with his armor slowly falling off with each attack.

A death by a thousand cuts, literally.

“AAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

Suddenly, Artorias roared as Dark swelled around him.

Instantly, Jinwoo recognized what the knight was doing thanks to the briefing he got from James.

Without hesitation, he commanded his shadows to swarm the knight, interrupting the dangerous explosion that Artorias was about to cause.

Because of how he was interrupted while invoking this power, the rebound caused a lot of damage to Artorias, weakening him significantly.

Falling to his knee, the Abysswalker growled weakly, knowing that he had been beaten. But the knight would not give up.

He prepared to get up again, but the noise of heavy footsteps made the corrupted knight look up.

Coming face to face with a being that had seen this far too many times.

However, the corrupted knight did not look at the Chosen Undead. Instead, his gaze was focused on the Greatshield that James held in his hand.

The large grey shield made of Twinkling Titanite gleamed in the light despite having long since lost its magical properties.

Despite its appearance, however, Artorias recognized the shield immediately.

How could the knight not recognize his own shield? The one he had personally sacrificed to protect his companion in the Abyss?

The Cleansing Greatshield. The greatest defence against the dark he could provide to Sif during his corruption.

“Artorias. Your journey has long since concluded. You failed in your duty, yet you were not disgraced. For I took action on your behalf and purged Oolaciel of its corruption and rescued Dusk.”

James stared down at the knight with pity and compassion.

“Rest, Artorias the Abysswalker. You are relieved of your duty.”

With those words, Artorias’s will finally faded.

The great knight of Gwyn collapsed to the ground, finally losing the will to keep going.

Knowing what he needed to do, Jinwoo walked forward and aimed his hand at the corpse.

“Arise.”

Shadows converged, devouring the body and searching for the soul within so that the knight would join the army of shadows.

Yet, much to the surprise of both Jinwoo and James, the shadows found no purchase within the body of the knight.

Jinwoo gritted his teeth and commanded once again.

“Arise.”

Once again, shadows converged, this time, much more aggressively, yet the result was the same.

Just as Jinwoo was about to use his power again, James placed his hand on Jinwoo’s, making his nephew stop.

“It's useless.”

“Why?”

“My earlier hypothesis has been proven right.”

The Chosen Undead looked at his surroundings with a nostalgic look.

“This place is but an illusion. That is why you are unable to resurrect Artorias as one of your shadows. Because he has no soul.”

He stared down at the dead body with a heavy gaze.

“He is an imitation. One born from my memories. Specifically, from the memories of his blade that I carry with me. Just like with the Pendant, which took you to Undead Asylum, and the Astora’s Sword, which led you to the Valley of Drakes, where I first found it.”

“...Then, this expedition was a failure?”

James smiled at his nephew’s words with a raised eyebrow.

“Was it? You tell me.”

Jinwoo sighed exaggeratedly at his uncle’s cryptic words before turning back, his system already fixing the distortion and restoring the dungeon to its original setting.

Yet, Jinwoo failed to see how James suddenly stiffened as the Dungeon started to distort, his senses as an Undead catching a whiff of something ancient, something primordial, in the air.

Something that he had hoped never to feel ever again.