Chapter 159

<-- Necromancer -->

159 – Necromancer 2

– Gruuu…

A corpse that ought not to move slowly rises, aligning its stiffening joints and bones.

Sssss…

The unnatural cold that could extinguish Elpride’s flames must be due to the frosty breath exhaled by that one.

Chik, chik.

As the sound of the floors and pillars freezing over filled the air, the silence was broken by a single word from Hippolyte.

“…Her name is Delphina. It seems we shouldn’t be fighting amongst ourselves right now.”

“I agree. That thing… it’s Undead, right? A deceased being emanating such cold—never have I seen an entity like this before! I feel like I’m freezing to the bone!”

The city of Kolkata floats near Pluto’s Underground Maze, serving as a base for adventurers. The mazes that appear here are all of a high level, thus Kolkata’s adventurers are naturally seasoned experts in these labyrinths.

Even so, if the leader of a party made up of veteran Silver Tier adventurers has never seen a being like this, it’s only natural to feel tense.

“Lord Pluto…!”

While everyone else was frozen in place, Paranoi came rushing ahead, bowing down to Ismail.

“I—I did not betray anyone…! I was only pretending to deceive those fools…! It’s true, I swear!”

-Hhuuu….

As if responding to Paranoi’s rambling confession, the unnaturally moving corpse exhaled a cold breath.

Flash.

And then its eyes flicker, glowing with an eerie and terrifying blue light. It raises its withered palms upward.

-Gruaa…

“Lord Pluto…!”

“Move, Nymph! That isn’t Pluto!”

At this instant, the Silver Tier adventurer Delphina ran swiftly and grabbed the hood at the back of Paranoi’s neck tightly.

“Hyghh!”

As a result, Paranoi cried out, apparently having her throat constricted, and was thrown backward.

However, thanks to Delphina, Paranoi managed to evade the undead’s attack.

-Gruuuuu!!!

The reanimated corpse of Ismail, glowing with eerie blue light, roared in apparent anger that its attack had missed. The voice that echoed throughout the square was so loud it made one want to cover their ears.

“Hhiiiii-!”

Paranoi, terrified, scrambled on all fours to flee and hid in a corner.

She resembled a long-legged lizard running and looked quite comical, but no one laughed at the sight.

Swish, click.

Previously, Hippolyte was standing relaxed in face of the Silver Tier adventurers, but now she gripped her sword with determination, lowering her stance into a charge-ready position.

“…A zombie with blue lights in its eyes. This must be a Royal Guard.”

To Hippolyte’s words, Delphina, who also readied her own sword, reacted.

“Royal Guard? What’s that?”

“A group of elite soldiers who protect Pluto’s Skull Throne. I’ve only heard of them in rumors; this is my first time seeing one.”

-Graaaa!!!!!

The undead, making an incredibly loud cry, staggered its body before suddenly rushing forward, akin to a truck accelerating at full speed.

The undead’s target was none other than Elpride, who had been checking the pulse of an unconscious comrade in the corner.

“Elfi! Be careful!”

Delphina shouted to warn her companion.

Elpride leaped back immediately and swung her short wand to strike the undead Ismail’s skull.

“Who do you think you are, you errand boy of Hell, to dare touch anyone!”

A heavy thud echoed as if a truck had collided. The eerie and sinister undead Ismail crashed down, falling face-first into the ground.

-Gruuuu… Ju, juu… Hiduu…

However, this was short-lived. With disturbing creaks, the undead adjusted its misplaced bones and joints and stood back up.

Elpride gritted her teeth in frustration.

“Tough, huh? Let’s see if you can withstand this! Hell’s Flame!”

With a brief incantation, flames began to flicker at the tip of Elpride’s wand.

Whoosh, whoosh…

The flames grew larger, becoming not just red but a fierce blue. Delphina screamed in panic.

“No! If you use that here, everything will collapse, Elphi! Hey, you’re Gold Tier adventurer, right? Don’t you have a better way?”

“Then set fire around! It needs to boil my bl**d!”

“What do you mean by that? Ugh, what madness is this? Royal Guard! Why is such a high-level Undead in the city underground?”

While Delphina shouted in anguish, Elpride canceled her incantation for the flames and decided to counterattack with her wand, dodging the undead’s swinging arms.

Gruru, kaaraa!

“But why does this thing only seem to attack me?”

As Elpride mentioned, the undead Ismail relentlessly targeted her. Though she avoided the attacks well, using her agility as a fairy and her skills as a high-tier adventurer.

“Hhuu, huuu…”

Elpride’s movements appeared unnatural and awkward in some places, just like before.

It seemed as if she had a thorn in her foot, making her actions slower and her balance out of whack. Her breathing was also irregular.

“Hooo.”

On the surface, it might not have been noticeable, but having had a long-standing grudge with this foe, I could tell something was wrong.

Elpride’s body, indeed, was not functioning normally.

In contrast to Elpride, who was getting increasingly sluggish, the movements of Ismail attacking her seemed to become smoother over time, in an unnatural way for a corpse.

-Hidra, I am Hidraaaaa! I am—yes, I am the evil queen of Sodomoraoooh! Humans should perish under my hands!”

Even more bizarrely, the undead opened its mouth and began howling. Its roar was like a scream collected from the depths of a hellish cave, echoing in the air and disturbing the atmosphere. It felt like it was squeezing one’s heart.

But this moment of the undead’s distraction was my opportunity.

I picked up the unconscious Luna and hid her behind a pillar that seemed safe.

“Hheuuheu…”

Luna showed no sign of waking up amidst the chaos. She must’ve been hit quite seriously by a stone thrown by the thief.

Behind me, Delphina and Elpride were barely holding off Ismail.

“An undead that talks! It gives me goosebumps! We were never told we would be facing something like this! This job clearly exceeds our scope!”

“Delphina, concentrate! I’m going to start an incantation, protect me!”

“Are you insane? Elphi, this thing is the creature that put out your flames! We can’t fight something like this! I’m going. You take care of the unconscious ones!”

Clang, clang clang!

The undead Ismail swung its razor-sharp nails, and Delphina blocked with her long, sharp sword. Her expression clearly showed she was reaching her limits.

“Won’t last long! If we get hurt, the costs will outweigh the benefits, so this mission should be terminated here…!”

Shouting at the hesitant Elpride, Delphina started carrying the unconscious teammates under her arms and began running away without a backward glance.

“I—I am the ruin of the intermediate world! I am the dragon Hydra atop the mountain—!!”

“Flame Wall—!”

As if chasing after them, the undead and the Elpride who made a wall of fire so they couldn’t come after.

Ismail swiped his arms and extinguished the flames, but Delphina, Elpride, and the rest of their companions were already gone from sight.

-Gruuuuu!

The angered undead growled, then its gaze turned toward Hippolyte.

“The young’uns have fled. Now it seems only we remain. You hiding behind that pillar, Hassan of Samaria!”

Me? Are you talking to me?

“Even with my face hidden, you seem to have recognized me!”

“Recognized? Do you take me for a fool? Anyway, I’ll try to hold this thing off somehow. You go and find the necromancer who raised this undead! They must be somewhere in this area!”

“Hold it off, are you sure? We haven’t even—”

“I understand your concerns, it’s nighttime after all. But as a precaution, I usually take sunbaths for three hours a day. It’s unfortunate, but I’ll have to use up all my stored energy now.”

Whoosh…

Hippolyte’s sword began shimmering with strange golden light.

Taking sunbaths for three hours every day?

Is Hippolyte’s life really that leisurely? Is her skin that red not from nature but from sun tanning?

My mind, trying to escape this terrifying situation, conjured up various irrelevant thoughts as a defense mechanism.

But soon dismissing those thoughts, I decided to honor Hippolyte’s suggestion and search for the necromancer controlling the undead, as I already have significant experience with cultists and necromancers in Pluto’s mazes.

Didn’t we capture all the cultists in the battle? Yet here might be a remnant of them hiding in the underground market with ill intentions.

Thus, while Hippolyte valiantly fought the undead with her peculiar golden light sword, I scoured the vast plaza, searching for the enchanter.

However, there was no trace of an enchanter, nor any magical circle resembling an enchanter’s spell.

What the hell?

“Hey, Paranoi! You know anything?”

In the corner of my eyes, I spotted Paranoi quivering in a corner.

“Hey, Paranoi!”

“That voice—is it Hassan-sama? I—I didn’t betray anyone…! Not Lord Pluto, it—I mean, even though I did betray Lord Pluto, but not you, Hassan-sama!”

“What rambling is this now!”

Paranoi seemed to be in a state of panic. Hence, I slapped her cheeks lightly, left and right, trying to snap her out of it.

Tink—

『Paranoi’s negative faith has been nullified.』

『Task value +10』

『Current task value: +62』

Just slapping her, not even massaging her cheeks, and those words appeared.

And her negative faith was nullified?

Come to think of it, when I slapped Daphne’s cheek for the first time, I also removed her negative faith.

Does that mean whenever I slap someone’s cheek, their negative faith gets nullified? Weird.

Anyway, the important thing now isn’t that.

“Hey, are there any necromancers nearby? You, being a cultist, can’t you feel mana or something to find them?”

“Hu, huuu, my face hurts…”

Paranoi, massaging her reddened cheek and making a sad face.

Didn’t I hit her too hard?

I feel a bit bad, but there’s no time to feel guilty now.

“Paranoi, is there a necromancer around here who raised this Royal Guard or whatever?”

“The Royal Guard—is the royal guard of the king, the messenger of hell’s doom, not something just any necromancer can control! If there is someone who can control it, they must be beyond our strength!”

“Hmm, what should we do?”

“Well, there is a method. Hassan-sama, since you are Hassan-sama, perhaps you could nullify someone’s necromancy?”

“Me?”

“Your pendant—the Black Star of Karan, only someone compatible with hell’s power could wield it without penalties. Surely, you can do it—! Um, the method is…”

Paranoi started muttering something.

The method she referred to was quite straightforward.

It was to wrest control of the undead, who might be under someone else’s control, away from them. And that required a fairly complex incantation and spell circle.

“Hu, Hassan! Where are you!”

Then, from afar, Luna rose, seemingly regaining consciousness. The fact that the first thing she looked for after waking up was my name was quite touching.

“Luna! It’s me! Perfect timing! Help me out!”

“Do, Thief Boss!”

“Not Thief Boss, it’s me!”

After removing the mask, Luna finally relaxed her shoulders.

“I really thought you were the real thief! It fits you so well. You look exactly like a sly and cold back-alley Thief Boss!”

“Is that a compliment? Anyway, that’s not important right now.”

My eyes looked at Hippolyte who was fighting against the undead from afar.

Swoosh, slash!

Hippolyte cut off the undead’s thigh, causing it to fall.

-Thatuuu!! I am!! The humans must dieee-!!

“Cut its head, crush its heart, and it still rises! It would make a good sandbag for the Mars Guild.”

Watching her overpower an undead made me feel proud, but I could see the golden light from Hippolyte’s sword was gradually fading. Though she hadn’t said anything, if that light runs out, all of us might be done for.

“Lu, Luna, help me out…! Draw five-pointed stars inside a larger star, and place the runes of Gaia at each point…”

“I, I’m good at drawing circles!”

With that, we two small women started drawing magical circles with chalk on the ground. By the time we were almost finished with the relatively small circle, I shouted bravely.

“Hey, you undead b*stard! Over here!”

I wasn’t sure if my provocation would affect the undead resurrected from d*ath.

-Gruuuu…

But the undead immediately turned its head toward me and started marching toward me—my provocation was unexpectedly effective.

“Do, does that mean we lure it into the magic circle?”

“Yes…! Then, Paranoi and I will chant the spell to transfer control to Hassan-sama!”

I understood.

But how could we possibly lure such a terrifying undead into that tiny magic circle that’s just enough for one person to stand in?

“Hey, you stupid piece of sh*t! Come over here! Come and stand here! Or I’ll really k*ll you!”

I threatened the undead with a sense of “all or nothing.” Threatening a creature already dead with d*ath—though I thought it was a pretty weak line, with the situation being so hectic and alarming, I couldn’t think of anything better.

-Hu, my, body…

But, had my cruel threats worked? The undead, which I had anticipated would rush toward me attacking wildly, obeyed and entered into the magic circle.

sh*t!

This was truly the moment where my back-alley threats skills, practiced over time, were shining!

————————= Author’s Notes ————————=

Ms. SYEL! Mr. Kadeom! Mr. Lancer! Mr. Matted Wild Boar! Mr. Gimmossek! Ms. Yayayeah! Mr. PotatoServer! I have received the sponsorship coupons you sent. Thank you very much…!

There were also many anonymous donations of manuscript coupons…! They are always greatly appreciated… sniff…

I’m also grateful for all the recommendations and comments… Last episode, the comments approached nearly 500, and it shocked me to bits! It must be the most comments I’ve received in my life…

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