Chapter 54: Nightmare 7
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 54: Nightmare 7
Death Heaven.
An organization founded by ten necromancers.
While only ten necromancers belonged to the organization, those ten commanded countless subordinates.
Long ago, after being pushed to the brink of extinction by an alliance between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom, the necromancers formed this organization out of a desperate need for survival. Within its shadows, they established ranks and exchanged information.
It was all to ensure they would never be destroyed again.
"If the necromancers hadn't been divided, we would have been the ones to lose."
Those were the words of the Holy Kingdom’s Archbishop after the war ended.
Hearing those words, the people realized just how dangerous necromancers truly were, but they were simultaneously relieved. They believed that no necromancers remained.
Indeed, dozens of necromancers had perished in that war.
However, ten had survived.
No one knew this truth.
Mordor was ranked 8th.
As is the case with most games, Croaka was designed so that you would defeat them one by one, starting from Rank 10. Naturally, the higher the rank, the more monstrous their power.
Among them, the strength of Ranks 3, 2, and 1 existed on an entirely different dimension compared to the others.
That didn't mean the lower-ranked necromancers were weak by any stretch of the imagination.
‘Mordor, the 8th Rank, is currently stronger than me.’
But that didn't mean he was impossible to kill. I had been calculating how to end him ever since that day.
"Is it... is it because I hesitated earlier? I was just flustered back then... I won't be like that anymore. I promise..."
Hearing Johanna’s voice, Loki broke his train of thought and looked at her. She was rambling. It seemed she had misunderstood his intention to go in alone.
"It’s not because of that."
He simply didn't want her to see.
In truth, he had already shown her things he wished he hadn't. He had forced her to witness the sight of dead children being manipulated. Furthermore, Johanna had been forced to kill those children herself. Even though they were nothing more than animated corpses, they looked exactly like ordinary people.
He had already shown her things he didn't want her to see and made her experience things he wished she never had to.
Yet, there was still something left that he refused to let her witness.
"It’s just that this is something I have to do alone."
"But..."
Despite Loki’s firm tone, Johanna wanted to stop him. She hadn't known that necromancers still existed, but she knew enough about their reputation.
Those who manipulate the dead to fight.
The true horror of a necromancer is that they force you to fight your fallen comrades. During the war, many soldiers had committed suicide. Their suicide notes often spoke of the sheer horror of butchering their own friends with their own hands.
Because of that, the worst-case scenarios kept flashing through her mind.
A scenario where Loki died and the necromancer took control of his body. A scenario where that puppet version of Loki tried to kill her.
Just imagining it made her body tremble. She was terrified.
"I’ll go with—"
Thud.
Suddenly, her vision was obscured. She felt something covering her face and reached up to touch it. She pulled the object away to see what it was.
"This is..."
A white, smiling mask.
It was the mask Loki always wore. She stared at him with vacant eyes. His face was hidden deep within the shadows of his hood.
Creeak.
The door opened.
"I’ll be back. Keep the mask for me until then. I’ll definitely come back for it."
Creeak.
The door closed.
Johanna stared blankly at the door, clutching the mask tightly in her hands.
* * *
The first thing I checked upon entering was the child's location. That child was not among those who had been turned into corpses and manipulated earlier.
"To think you’d make it all the way here. I suppose I shouldn't have trusted those pieces of trash."
I looked toward the source of the voice. An old man stood there.
"Mordor."
He was the one who had done that to the boy and the girl.
"You know my name. Who sent you? Was it Betzdo?"
Betzdo was the 10th ranked necromancer of Death Heaven.
None of the necromancers got along. They had only joined Death Heaven because the 1st rank was overwhelmingly powerful. They didn't possess a shred of camaraderie.
I wanted to ignore his words and kill him right then and there, but I forced myself to speak to keep from getting too emotional.
"No. I don't take orders from corpse-fucking bastards like you."
At my words, Mordor clicked his tongue.
"Tsk, ordinary humans are so pitiful. The end for all humans is death. And we necromancers grant a new beginning to that end. Therefore, it can be said that we necromancers are the true masters of humanity."
Even among Death Heaven, Mordor took immense pride in his craft.
To easily remember the names of the ten necromancers, Croaka players had created keywords to represent each one.
The keyword representing Mordor was—
[Mind].
"Mordor, Rank 8 of Death Heaven... are you really that afraid of Betzdo, who's only Rank 10?"
"You... just how much do you know?"
When I accurately stated his rank, his name, and the name of the organization, Mordor’s expression crumpled. At this point in time, the only ones who should know the exact hierarchy of Death Heaven were the necromancers themselves.
"Don't change the subject. Answer my question. Are you that scared of Betzdo?"
I needled Mordor’s nerves. I needed to buy some time for that.
"Ha! As you said, he is Rank 10 and I am Rank 8. Why on earth would I be afraid of him?"
I knew he’d say that. I let out a smirk and spoke.
"Because... you're weaker than Betzdo, aren't you?"
Just as I said, Mordor was technically weaker than Betzdo in raw power. The reason Mordor held a higher rank despite that was because of a specific, unique technique he possessed.
"You brat! How dare a mere human...!!!"
Mordor slammed his staff onto the ground. As he did, faceless corpses rose from the earth. Mordor spoke with a vile grin.
"Then let us see who it is you have lost."
Faces began to form on the faceless corpses. They took on the features of the children I had met and killed in the back alleys.
"So these children are the ones you cherished among the dead."
This was the reason Mordor was ranked higher than Betzdo, and why his keyword was [Mind]. If one's mental strength was below a certain level, it was impossible to even stand before him.
"I wonder if you can bring yourself to kill these children you hold so dear..."
Whoosh.
I swung my sword. A corpse's head went flying.
"Hmm? What was that?"
I cut down the corpses wearing the children's faces without a moment's hesitation.
"There's no reason I can't cut them down when I know they're fakes."
Anyone fighting Mordor for the first time would have been frozen in shock, but I already knew his tricks. Besides, I had already killed those children countless times in my nightmares. There was no reason I couldn't cut down such pathetic fakes.
"But really, is this all? You're much weaker than I thought."
"You bastard!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Mordor slammed his staff down again, and more corpses rose from the ground. These corpses already had faces. Furthermore, each one radiated a chilling, ghastly aura.
"Nothing spec—"
I was about to say it was nothing special, but I closed my mouth.
"Have you finally realized the terror of a necromancer?"
Mordor seemed to think I had gone quiet because I was afraid.
"Sigh..."
I let out a long breath. I had endured it while talking to him.
"Shut up. I have nothing more to say to you."
I had bought enough time. There was no longer any reason to converse with this piece of shit. I felt nauseous just hearing him breathe.
"Boy, do not bluff. You will never be able to break through these corpses to reach me."
I didn't bother responding. The reason I hadn't brought Johanna wasn't just because I wanted to kill Mordor with my own hands, but more so because I didn't want to show her this technique.
The technique that had turned Vermin into a vegetable in just one minute.
But I didn't plan on using it for only a minute against Mordor. Having consumed an elixir, I had no shortage of mana.
Before using it on Vermin, I had once asked Duke Adelian for permission to test it.
'Ha! You can create something like this with your Innate Magic? I don't know whether to say your magic is incredible or your imagination is. For now, this technique is forbidden. If others see it, they will undoubtedly fear you—or you'll become a target of unwanted attention.'
A technique Duke Adelian had forbidden.
'Is it a threatening technique? Are you really asking because you're curious? I guarantee it. With this one technique, you could kill every single knight in our family at once. It doesn't matter if they're stronger than you or not. This is a technique that triggers human instinct. To be honest, even I was momentarily terrified.'
A technique recognized by Duke Adelian.
It was a technique that utilized illusions, but the name "illusion" didn't do it justice.
Mordor, you gave me nightmares for five months. So, this is what I’m going to show you.
"Nightmare."
Fog enveloped both Mordor and me.
Now then, I’m going to kill you very, very slowly.