< 67. The dead return, but do not falter. >
*
-You fool. Why are you acting so sentimental? Why aren’t you thinking? What on earth…?
‘Ah, come on. Please shut up, Faijashi. My head hurts.’
Fernandez was contemplating whether to cast a banishment spell on the grumbling Faijashi. Once the Bronze Throne’s function was fully restored, wouldn’t it be better to banish Faijashi first? Could he even banish him? After all, they were beings split from one soul.
The Royal Castle was eerily silent, without a single torch. Fernandez followed the flow of magic revealed by his arcane vision.
-Thud, thud.
His heart was pounding heavily. He had lost too much blood, his head was dizzy, and his body was growing cold. He realized he was dying. It was a familiar feeling, but at the same time, it was terrifying.
As he crossed the Royal Castle, Fernandez was grasping the nature of the magic spread throughout the city centered around this castle and the spells shaping it.
The madness of Parfett. The Necropolis Conclave were all outstanding necromancers. Fernandez sifted through memories of his past life, recalling them.
It was an easy task. Being outstanding meant there were many moments of either conflict or cooperation with them. That meant he was already familiar with their magic shaping and spell characteristics.
‘They’re gathering power.’
-…Yes. It’s a large-scale necromancy. Even prepared for a very long time.
‘Does that mean they executed this long-prepared conspiracy the moment I coincidentally arrived in this city?’
-No way. Moria’s death is likely the biggest reason.
At the end of the direction pointed by his arcane vision, a corridor with dark green magic flowing through it was visible in the distance. Fernandez smiled faintly and gripped his dagger.
‘They’re more clumsy than I remember. For something prepared for so long.’
-It must have been triggered earlier than they originally planned. The spell isn’t complete, so they’re buying time like this.
-Groooan…
At the end of the corridor, corpses were walking out from between the pillars. Fernandez quickly checked his physical condition and loosened his wrist lightly. He missed his right hand, but there was nothing he could do. At least the bleeding had stopped.
It was time to test the blessing Shield had bestowed upon him. He didn’t know why Shield had acted directly, but it wasn’t bad.
Divinity was flowing through his dying body. Fernandez felt strength coursing through his entire being.
*
“Your Highness! Take care of yourself!”
“Shh! Stop! We can survive. You won’t die here.”
Vicente bit his lip tightly and swung his sword roughly, cutting down the approaching corpse. A heavy weight settled on the tip of Vicente’s sword. The head floated in the air for a moment before falling to the ground and rolling.
-Sssss…
Then, the corpse’s head instantly emitted dark green smoke and melted away. Magic surged from the smoke and seeped back into the old king on the throne. The old king sat on the throne, leaning on his cane, and laughed at them.
-Clang!
-Crunch!
From the massive sphere floating in the center of the Audience Hall, corpses were walking out one by one. The knights and princes in the hall were fighting valiantly against the corpses, but there was no end to them. Moreover.
‘They’re using swordsmanship.’
They weren’t just mindless walkers or ghouls. They wore ancient armor, staggering, but their swordsmanship, though clumsy, was clearly systematic. The knights were almost slaughtering the corpses, but there were just too many of them.
-Screeeech…
Suddenly, a strange scream came from within the sphere. The prince shielded the injured knight behind him and pointed his sword at the sphere. Red eyes flickered inside the sphere. Soon, a massive hand stretched out, tearing the sphere and crushing the surrounding corpses.
“…What!?”
A giant clad in black armor roughly tore through the sphere and walked out. The black armor he wore clattered noisily. The air around them grew heavy. A chilling sense of crisis pierced the prince’s heart.
“…Your Highness. I’ve seen that armor before.”
“I think I know it too.”
The knight, who had been silently swinging his sword beside the prince, whispered during a brief lull in the battle. The prince swallowed hard as he looked at the patterns on the black armor. It was an ancient armor with a clear family crest embedded in it.
“It’s the Church of the Underground Burial.”
[Pay your respects, young mortals. Are you not of that kind? Show proper respect as you look upon your ancestors.]
The knight moved his chained arm and slowly drew a massive greatsword. Red eyes burst from within the knight’s helmet. Vicente’s instincts were signaling death.
“Executioner Pedro…”
[Yes. Your hero. Haha!]
In history books, or in heroic tales and epics, countless heroes were recorded…
What if their corpses had been dug up by someone? Executioner Pedro was a Knight of the Round Table from the era of King Yuriko the Pioneer. His story was one of the epic poems most beloved by the children of the Dane Kingdom. His tale was also immortalized in a mural in the Audience Hall corridor.
The knights hurriedly stepped between Pedro and Vicente, their eyes filled with determination. They raised their swords and whispered to Vicente.
“Your Highness, please take care of yourself. We must join forces with Sir Paliamain and retake the capital. Sir Ivan, clear the way.”
“Yes, Sir Louis.”
“Take care of His Highness…”
-BOOM!
As the knights adjusted their formation and quickly took their positions, the doors of the Audience Hall shook violently. Silence filled the room. Who was here?
-BOOOOOM!!!
The grand doors of the Audience Hall shook as if they were about to break. The impact was akin to a siege weapon being rammed against them. The old king frowned and glared at the door. A groan escaped his lips.
[He’s here.]
-CRASH!!!
Soon, the doors of the Audience Hall shattered and scattered in all directions. The shockwave swept away the undead soldiers. Dust rose thickly, then slowly settled. One of the nearby walkers was dragged in by an arm that reached out from the dust.
-THUD!
-SLASH!
The dust settled. In its place stood a face Vicente recognized. Eyes weary, messy black hair. A lean but sturdy body. Had he lost an arm? But there was no bleeding.
“Sir Albert!”
“Looks like you were in the middle of playing pretend, Pafteht.”
Fernandez ignored Vicente’s cheerful greeting and stepped forward. The old king rose from his seat, frowning.
[What can you do with that mangled body? You didn’t even run away, and yet you came here?]
“Judicial authority of the Inquisition.”
[What?]
“Authority to execute heretics on the spot.”
-SLAM!
Fernandez swung his fist and smashed the head of an approaching undead. It instantly turned to mush and collapsed. The force was tremendous. Vicente flinched and stepped back at Fernandez’s momentum.
Like a beast on the move, Fernandez took step after step, crushing the undead around him one by one.
“Authority of the Exorcism Corps. Authority of the Church’s Holy Sacraments. By the above authorities granted by the Temple of the Gods, I shall conduct the Inquisition. Necropolis Conclave, the Mad Pafteht.”
[…Were you Baetasus’s dog?]
“Curious, weren’t you? About what I could do.”
Fernandez thought of Baimeer. He was a knight who knew honor. His death was regrettable, but not mournful. There was no reason to be angry or sad. He was neither a king, a savior, nor a hero.
Too many righteous men had been hung on stakes to mourn the death of one. And Fernandez did not regret it. It was necessary. For his victory.
And for that victory, he was prepared to play along with the heroics and hypocrisy if needed. If it was necessary.
Simply saving a prince who would father the future hero-king was easy. Simply disrupting the plans of the Church of the Underground Burial was not difficult. But he did not take a single step lightly.
‘Our plan was to become the hero. And to prevent the war between Phaeirn and the Dane royal family.’
-Well, yeah. Though now it feels like what’s the point.
He naturally took the sword Vicente was holding and walked through the bewildered knights. Executioner Pedro, a knight in black armor, stood in Fernandez’s way.
-You’re fired up, Fernandez.
‘It’s necessary.’
Fernandez retorted to Faijashi’s words and gauged the weight of the sword. The blessing Shield had bestowed was not just a shimmering halo. His blessing was ‘power’. His life force burned, fueling his muscles with strength.
It didn’t matter. His body’s lifespan was being chipped away, and the burning power within it was fueling his strength.
“Let the accused defend themselves.”
[Kill that bastard!!]
-CLANG.
The executioner raised his sword. Fernandez adjusted his stance and crouched.
-THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.
His heart was beating rapidly. His body, already nearing the end of its life, was screaming. How much longer? He could probably keep moving for about thirty minutes.
It didn’t matter. The body was expendable.
*
The murals in the Audience Hall shimmered and moved as if alive. The image of a young knight slaying a swamp monster. A young knight defeating the undead and rescuing a princess. A knight revered as a saint under Shield’s blessing.
-CRASH!
Every time the greatsword came down, sparks flew and the blade was chipped away. But Fernandez stood his ground, not moving an inch, parrying the blows.
Prince Vicente groaned as he watched Fernandez face the executioner alone. The executioner’s strikes seemed capable of splitting mountains, but Fernandez stood firm, deflecting each attack.
-CRAAASH!!!
The ground beneath him shook violently. Vicente’s sword was one of the finest of the era, but it was gradually losing its edge against Fernandez’s straightforward, unadorned swordsmanship. As it did, the moonlight behind him scattered, drawing a brighter halo.
Was this how the Dane King, immortalized in epic poems, looked? Vicente felt the murals in the Audience Hall come alive as he watched Fernandez.
The moonlight cut through the darkness, illuminating the Audience Hall.
-THUD.
Fernandez’s sword pierced the knight’s chest.
![[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/TS-Obsessed-Gamer-The-Ultimate-Return2.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return")
