Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: The Brutal Final Boss and the Wicked Hero
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The path to the trap that had begun as a rebellion and morphed into a revenge operation.
Hana headed to the City of the Dead.
The armed subjects who awaited them upon arrival had whipped them until they foamed at the mouth.
"Why serve a heaven that neither shields us nor accepts our blood? Heaven has abandoned us, so we shall choose a new heaven to survive!"
A rebel squad leader, mocking Hana's apparent weakness, shouted those words.
Hana and her retainers kept their distance, observing the rebels' condition.
They looked a bit pale, but their cheeks had some color, and their voices carried a vitality that almost tricked the ear.
Without prior word from Duke and Rex, she might have mistaken them for living citizens.
Even now, with some doubt lingering, anyone unaware would have taken them for genuine citizens without question.
But Hana kept her cool.
Maintaining the standoff, she extended shadows toward their feet.
Shadow magic infiltration reacts differently to living beings versus inanimate objects.
Like Duke's telekinesis, if the target resists with mana, the shadowed space becomes unusable.
Unlike telekinesis, where hierarchy gaps don't matter and willpower decides the outcome, shadow magic's results hinged purely on realm differences.
Yet Hana's shadows penetrated the citizens' shadows without resistance.
Their emotional hierarchy felt like 1st to 2nd realm via emotion magic, but the shadows slipped in like into tree shade.
'Ah...'
She sighed inwardly.
A hint of repulsion would have offered slim hope.
But the feedback from the infiltrated shadows confirmed it.
"My subjects."
She spoke solemnly.
"All hands, observe silence."
Her retainers bowed their heads wordlessly in silence.
Hana, among them, pulled her hat low and clasped her hands before her waist in prayer.
"Our thanks to the heroes who fought valiantly until the end."
Normally, fear of death would have bent them to threats and sparked rebellion.
Yet this city's citizens had chosen death instead.
As they mourned those whose rest was defiled, the one who mocked their deaths directed from behind the citizens.
With the necromancer's command input into their minds, the citizens drew their bows with unfocused eyes.
The corpses linked to the necromancer released their bowstrings in perfect unison, without a fraction of error.
A hail of arrows rained down on Hana and her retainers.
Yet they did not cease their silence.
Just before the arrows reached them,
Slash.
A chilling sword intent radiated from Hana.
The arrows lost momentum and fell limply to the ground,
And belatedly, the citizens' forms began to crumble.
The heads of the leading undead rolled across the ground like potatoes after a bountiful harvest.
In a dark room far from that gruesome scene,
The necromancer, viewing Sneria's domain forces through the corpses' eyes, grasped what had transpired in that instant.
'What was behind that woman just now...'
A gaunt, robed figure forged of shadow had swung a massive scythe.
An average superhuman wouldn't have even noticed.
'As expected.'
The Tartarus hero, Hilli, slowly licked her purple lips.
It was a technique she'd seen during the Empire days.
A stance from the Black Wing School, a one-successor lineage.
Known lost when its sole heir died on the battlefield,
'So it was here.'
That was the magic drawing her, who had hidden after the Empire's fall and bounties from myriad kingdoms, to this city.
Skeptical when Sneria's lord was said to wield shadows, but seeing it confirmed.
'That magic is mine.'
The Black Wing School synergized perfectly with her Tartarus School.
She could hide among corpses, or stash that cumbersome army in shadows.
A flush rose on Hilli's pale makeup.
'I can't wait to rummage through that woman's brain.'
Turn her to a corpse, rifle her brain for the shadow magic manual—Hilli's cold heart throbbed hotly at the thought.
'First, shake her spirit.'
She wasn't one for fair play, even in flattery.
She preferred rattling foes' minds, exploiting traumas and weaknesses.
That was the mindset for Tartarus magic users.
Hilli provoked Hana through one undead's mouth.
"How scary~ So caring for citizens was all hypocrisy? No hesitation slicing them when they hindered rule."
"..."
Hana didn't reply.
Hilli sensed faint anger and hesitation in Hana's stiff expression, pressing on.
- Mommy... Mommy... Where are you...
- My lord. It hurts...
- Why did you abandon us?
- Save us. Please!
The corpses' wails chorused from Hilli's fingertips.
For extra sting, severed necks spurted blood from stumps.
Undead like these were convenient.
Unlike others, they bled and didn't rot much.
Ideal for pricking guilt.
Those with humanity crumbled easily before this.
But Hana's expression unchanged.
It evoked "iron-blooded woman."
If anything, she seemed angrier than before—perhaps imagination.
Then, Hana addressed the undead bearing Hilli's consciousness.
"Stupid."
"?"
In that instant, killing intent bloomed behind Hilli's true body.
The Empire's hero was bisected before she could react.
From behind the cleaved hero, Hana and retainers emerged.
As Hana appeared behind Hilli's body, her clone facing the undead ahead dissipated belatedly.
She spoke coldly to her retainers.
"It's not over yet."
At those words, Hilli's halved body rolled its eyes.
"Not fooled, huh~?"
"..."
"Fought our school during the resistance in Empire days?"
Hana silently morphed her scythe into a spear.
Then to her retainers,
"All hands. Fight with resolve to let this woman leave alive no more."
Hilli burst into mad laughter.
"Who says! A mere 5th-realm lowlife bitch! Thanks, instead! Coming to my lair your—"
Hilli couldn't finish.
Before her eyes, Hana and retainers' realms rose uniformly by one.
Hana to level 60, retainers to 4th realm.
A bead of cold sweat trickled from 6th-realm Hilli's brow.
"Huh?"
Only then did Hana's lips quirk up.
"Deception arts? I've done them to death for centuries."
With that, Hana's offensive began.
While Hana battled Tartarus's Hilli,
Duke observed from the southern fortress via Rex's ability.
[Stay calm.]
Offering advice as well.
[Their deaths are tragic, but now suppress sorrow.]
In the original, Hana faced that necromancer under worst conditions.
Unaware pre-battle they were corpses, guilt plagued her as she slew them.
Mentally worn by wails, barely slaying Hilli with retainers' aid via pincer, only to be ambushed by feigning-dead Hilli.
And original her was 5th realm, freshly level 50.
Thus toyed by 6th-realm Hilli, forced to devour retainers.
Even unable to devise killing the endlessly reviving Hilli, forced to devour that filthy woman too.
But in this world, Duke allowed no such possibility.
[Examine the blood closely. Not living blood. You didn't defile their rest—set guilt aside.]
[Close ears to wails. Mere husks. Your citizens wish revenge and cheer you on.]
[For Tartarus School, bodily death is but process. Her soul lingers—keep watch.]
Hana maintained mental fortitude, treating Duke's resonant voice in her mind as ASMR.
Unlike original, her realm 6th too, reaching unilateral domination:
"Aaagh!"
"No whining. This is the market's vengeance."
"Don't bullshit! 5th realm, right! Brains of lords said so!"
"I have this illness where levels rise on waking."
"Damn bitch! Die!"
Hana dove into shadows, effortlessly dodging Hilli's strike, drawing shadow thread to sever her ankle.
Not just Hana—retainers hounded Hilli relentlessly.
Though realm gap prevented solid hits, they could tangle chains on arms to hinder.
"You rat bastards!"
Retainers brushed off Hilli's curses.
Compared to that knight's greatsword—deadly on hit—Hilli's rusty whip was light, slow.
As Hilli's body chipped away, impatience grew.
'They know Tartarus School's weakness.'
Tartarus:
Realm between life and death.
Heroes anchoring souls there don't die bodily.
But ways to kill exist.
One: Mince body till mana depletes.
Two: Sever soul's anchor to this world.
The latter flings unanchored souls from boundary to underworld.
Hana aimed for latter.
'Searching my anchor since earlier.'
Like eldritch life vessel.
Anchor hidden somewhere bodily.
Hilli slyly shifted its essence to organs real-time, evading detection, but
This way, like fellow disciples, swept to underworld soon.
'Can't let that happen!'
How hard-won this freedom.
This manual.
When one of 13 Reverse Heavenly Stars stormed Tartarus heroes' HQ, massacring master and sisters, Hilli alone hid in manual vault, stole some, fled.
Piled corpses with those to reach 6th realm.
Bountied by all kingdoms, yet untouchable.
To die here...
'No!'
She bore mission to revive fallen house.
Recalling duty, she gritted teeth for final struggle.
"Kyaaah!"
Hilli's body morphed to black cat with four eye pairs.
"I—!"
But meeting Hana's eyes silenced her.
Impassive as iron mask through battle, Hana smirked at her cat form.
Hana snapped fingers like long-awaited.
"Forehead."
That word chilled Hilli's spine.
Calamity Cat state locked anchor to forehead.
Though head resisted average 6th-realm strikes, irrelevant,
'Smirking?'
Hana's smile brought dread.
Affirming it, Hana clasped hands prayer-like before chest.
Behind, robed reaper emerged, palms together.
"Underworld Soul Guide"
⟨ Mingbu Inhonsa ⟩
Envoy guiding souls to underworld.
Responding to true name, reaper dropped scythe into shadow, shed robe.
Beneath, long-haired woman emerged.
Whirling robes, pale hand drew wakizashi.
Dark hair like shadow linked her to Hana.
Soon, inky wakizashi in Hana's hand.
Assuming draw stance, she murmured,
"The living to this world, the dead to the next."
Hilli gasped.
Black Wing School's pinnacle.
The Living to Yang Realm, the Dead Return to Mingfu
No effect on life, but severs lifeless matter regardless conditions.
One technique to wring wails from all necromancers' throats.
'But that's...'
Undeniably 7th-realm pinnacle.
Hana's realm too low to master.
'Failure demands offering life to reaper.'
Judgment simple: Draw succeeds—reaper strikes foe; fails—beheads caster.
But Hana drew her inky wakizashi without hesitation.
Shing.
"Ah."
As blade shyly emerged, Hilli sighed.
Reaper, head bowed weeping till now, met Hilli's eyes.
That froze Hilli.
As if shadow pinned somewhere.
"Spa—"
No time for last words—reaper drew.
Blade passed; Calamity Cat's head split, cleaved essence rolled out.
Essenceless cat stilled.
"...Is it over?"
One retainer muttered obliviously; others glared murderously.
"You idiot."
"Sew your mouth shut."
Fortunately—or not—the cat moved no more.
After thorough corpse check, they confirmed Hilli's death.
"My lord. The body?"
"Recover and burn outside city. No space for filth on this sacred ground."
Hana ordered retainers, heading aboveground.
Sneria's lord, vanquisher of wicked Empire hero, resumed mourning the city.
[Though chest burns like wildfire, fury chokes—yet time to vent not yet. Dedicate that wretch's head as offering to honor their spirits. Your duty.]
Recalling Duke's battle counsel, she bowed head.
"Now, belated funeral."
Paying respects to departed, she buried myriad emotions.
Revenge complete, Hana hurried to Duke.
Absolutely, positively not awaiting that "formal contract" post-victory.
...Honestly, faint anticipation existed.
That 80% bit her secret.
While Hana rushed south,
Ashes of once-Hilli, meticulously burned, rode wind to wasteland.
Soon, ashes gathered atop wasteland into woman's body.
Ash-forged soul threw a tantrum.
Tartarus School secret art.
Wraith of Ashes
Using pinch of bodily trace as anchor, escape underworld once.
But pulls only soul consciousness—most realm left behind.
Thus 6th-realm Hilli's wraith dropped to 4th.
Venting on wasteland goats till goat-corpse hill, Hilli calmed.
[Right. Back to square one.]
Realm lost, but manual knowledge intact.
Plus harvest from final battle.
'Opfir's stone tomb, right.'
Normally, read memories only from dead brains, but straining reads living surface memories.
Hard-gleaned info limited to intensely recalled surface,
And price: soul's right half melted—but worth it.
'Why Sneria lord knows Opfir's stone tomb location, no idea.'
Prime harvest.
Coincidental, of course.
Post-battle thoughts: return to Duke; Tartarus School Empire-era; city funeral.
Duke, Empire, funeral.
Those keywords fleetingly evoked Opfir's tomb—read by Hilli.
'Beyond manuals.'
Opfir's corpse to necromancer worth more than Tartarus grandmaster's knowledge.
Magic from body one thing, but revive to former prowess...
'I could be new Empire's emperor.'
Imagining puppeteering Opfir, Hilli's sane left half cackled madly.
[Onward, this stone tomb.]
Thrilled, she unlocked Opfir's stone tomb.
Dispelling barrier, opening door—dense mana afterglow poured out.
Sensing it, Hilli knew.
'Even dead, this mana!'
Definitely Opfir's tomb.
Clutching pounding chest, she entered.
Her worst choice.
As Hana, distracted returning, skimped confirming Hilli's death,
(Though vigilance wouldn't spot anyway.)
Hilli too dropped guard entering tomb.
Ash wraith crossed threshold; subtle alarm magic signaled Duke.
'Hm?'
Duke, dozing greatsword-propped on south wall, lifted head.
'This bitch?'
Duke's mind spun faster than ever.
Seconds later, scenario set.
'Perfect—no final boss for this event.'
Damn bitch hands me bait.
Duke yanked greatsword from wall to subspace, summoned similar-built knight.
"Brief errand. Mind subbing for me?"
"Pardon?"
Like east front, Duke clocked out south for outing prep.
'Opfir fine.'
Appearing three+ places problematic.
Thus couldn't follow Hana.
But stationary two Dukes, Opfir-appearance at one? Militarily sound—Duke's mind confirmed.
'You enter your tomb yourself.'
Duke headed to fake Opfir tomb where Hilli was.
Meanwhile, Rex lounged peacefully in office.
Tasks done, idling—sudden red alert in vision.
"What?! Dragon in domain!?"
Rex hastily checked red alert.
System shoved status at his face.
"????"
Rex puzzled what happened, but unaffiliated heroes barred location/vision share.
"What? Why?"
One fact Rex could confirm...
"Why suddenly back to Opfir!?"
Duke's status changed to Opfir.
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Opfir
[Titles]-------
- <Serpent that Swallowed the Empire>
- <13 Reverse Heavenly Stars>
Others inaccessible
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One info flashed in Rex's mind.
'No way...'
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'Heeeek!!!!'
Rex convulsed; Ari, cleaning opposite mansion, rushed to office.
"G'narhl k'thalu vrakk! Zai r'luhhor ai nafl kadishtu!"
(We all plunge into ruin!)
"Huh? Master? What's wrong!"
"Aaaah!!!!"
Rex's fit lasted two hours, till Opfir reverted to Duke and misunderstanding cleared.