Mistaken for a Catastrophe-Level Ghost Story Employee 112

Chapter 112

When those golden-glowing eyes turned dull.

That small change alone was enough for me to roughly guess what he was feeling right now.

‘This guy… is angry.’

I’d ended up doing something that would provoke his temper.

To be precise, I’d boldly pinpointed and voiced the exact reason he’d be furious.

The Black King’s low voice reverberated through my ears.

【……I was mistaken. I overestimated you.】

【A fool who can’t even foresee his own death is of no use to me.】

【Even the air I waste on you feels like too much.】

Tick—!

The Black King flicked his fingers again.

But this time, it wasn’t just the same black servants as before.

Something else began to writhe around his throne.

Squelch—

The thick black liquid, just like the black servants, revealed itself beside the throne and gradually took shape.

By the time its form was fully realized—

Thud—

Thud—

Thud—

Three figures clad entirely in black armor appeared.

Each wielded a different sword
They stood with their backs to the Black King.

And faced me.

Unlike the black servants from earlier, these three began to speak.

【Only for the King.】

【Only for the King’s revival.】

【Only for the people.】

The Black Knights.

‘As expected, he brought them out.’

Unlike the Black King’s servants, these were entities with danger levels comparable to an A-grade nightmare.

The Three Black Knights.

Each was named after the type of sword they wielded.

The Greatsword Knight, carrying a blade over twice the size of an average grown man.

The One-Handed Sword Knight, wielding a rapier that defied the weight of his heavy armor.

The Shield Knight, gripping not a sword at his waist but two massive shields in both hands.

Together, they were called the ‘Black Knights.’

And perhaps…

If I had accepted the Black King’s offer earlier…

‘Would I have become the Fourth Black Knight?’

No, without a doubt.

The Black King summoned his knights and, at the same time, opened his heavy mouth once more.

【Kill him.】

Thud—!

The moment the Black King spoke—

Whoosh—!

A massive greatsword shot toward my head.

At an alarmingly fast speed.

!

It moved so quickly that the thought of dodging didn’t even cross my mind.

That colossal blade would crush my skull in an instant.

If I tried to evade… I’d be too late.

But.

‘No need to dodge.’

I raised the white object in my hand directly into the path of the descending greatsword.

When the massive blade clashed against the white object—

Squelch—

【……A pillow?】

“Your blade must be quite dull. Can’t even cut through a single pillow.”

I had blocked the greatsword’s strike with nothing but a white pillow.

Of course, it wasn’t an ordinary pillow.

It was a special pillow crafted by our ‘Dream of Toys.’

If this pillow could block an attack from a high-ranking entity, then stopping the assaults of all the Black Knights here wouldn’t be too difficult.

But.

As I said before, I don’t have time to waste like this.

“It seems I’ll have to decline the gift you’ve offered me for now. However…”

I reached into my employee ID card and pulled out three small keychains.

‘If you have yours, I have mine.’

I tossed the keychains into the air and finished my earlier thought.

“Don’t worry. Since you went through the trouble of preparing a gift, I’ll make sure our cute little helpers take good care of it.”

The three small teddy bear keychains soared upward, then rapidly grew in size before landing on the ground with their signature adorable footsteps.

Pat-pat.

The grand entrance of our teddy bear trio.

They all crossed their arms, standing firm against the Black Knights.

‘Reliable.’

I whispered softly, just loud enough for the bears to hear.

My instructions were simple:

Tie up the Black Knights’ movements, and no matter what, under no circumstances were they to defeat one specific knight—even if the other two fell.

“Got it.”

Thud—!

Thud—!

Thud—!

After receiving the bears’ salute, I slowly walked toward the Black King on his throne.

Thud—!!

Of course, the Black Knights weren’t just going to stand there and watch.

Whoosh—!

The greatsword came at me again, faster than before.

This time, the speed was even more ferocious.

I could feel it in my bones, that first strike hadn’t been his full strength.

Pat-pat-pat—!

Thud—!

!!

Another stuffed arm shot out from behind my shadow, intercepting the greatsword mid-swing.

The one who blocked it was our first teddy bear.

Even the Greatsword Knight seemed stunned that his attack had been halted by a teddy bear.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

With those light words, I continued forward.

Behind me.

The rapier thrust aimed at piercing my heart was stopped by our second teddy bear.

The Shield Knight’s attempt to crush me with his twin shields was thwarted by our third and final bear.

Step.

When my footsteps finally halted…

Only three steps remained between me and the Black King.

I bowed politely before him once more.

“I promise you a proper reception.”

【……You’re full of surprises.】

“It’s all thanks to other customers who’ve been kind enough to spoil me.”

I answered his sneer with a smile and a light flick of my finger.

Tick.

Bzzzt.

A mass of static manifested behind the Black King’s back.

It would’ve been great if this attack could finish him off, but.

【You, too, are nothing more than a remnant of the old King.】

The Black King didn’t even try to evade the static I’d created.

Not because he’d given up.

But because he deemed it unworthy of dodging.

Squelch—

A familiar sound reached my ears as a mass of black liquid oozed from behind the throne.

Without hesitation, the liquid surged into the static I’d created.

The noise and the black liquid tangled together, and before long—

Gulp—

!

The Black King’s liquid had swallowed my static whole.

【You act so arrogantly, as if you could pierce the heavens, just because you’ve stalled my knights.】

Click—

With a single snap of the Black King’s fingers, black liquid began bubbling up from the ground beneath me.

!

I immediately leaped away.

A second later, and I would’ve been swallowed whole.

But that—

Was only the beginning.

【Where did all that arrogance go?】

Black liquid erupted from every step I took.

Like the Black King’s servants, a single touch would mean the end.

But now, getting close to him was impossible.

‘So this is an S-grade…’

I hadn’t underestimated him.

From the start, I never thought I could fight an S-grade nightmare on equal footing.

If I’d had that kind of power, I wouldn’t have been dragged here in the first place.

I wouldn’t have been helpless.

If I’d been stronger…

I wouldn’t have fallen victim to the Black King’s noise.

Crack—

With a clenched fist.

Squelch—

!

Just as black liquid surged from the ground where I was about to land—

The Black King’s cold gaze locked onto me.

【Just disappear.】

With those short words—

Bzzzt—

Gulp.

I was swallowed whole by the black liquid.

From a distance, the fox girl screamed.

【No!!】

Halt—!

As if reacting to her distress, even the teddy bears froze momentarily.

In the face of an unbearable reality, despair gripped everyone—except one.

【How dull. Not even worth calling a warm-up… What a pathetic farce.】

The Black King was ready to end this pointless spectacle.

But—

【That fox cub… It’d be a waste to just kill her.】

He looked at her with keen interest—the same girl who had burned his servants away like kindling.

He even wanted to make her his own.

【…Having a pet by the King’s side wouldn’t be so bad.】

As he mused about turning her into his pet.

▒

?

A strange noise flickered past his ear.

It was too deliberate to be an illusion.

▒▒▒▒

The mysterious sound continued, asserting its presence.

Amidst the inexplicable noise, a distinct vibration brushed the Black King’s ear—

Bzzzt—

A familiar man’s voice.

Spoke directly into his left ear.

“Who… do you… think… you’re… dealing with…?”

—

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