The Mad Necromancer's Stage
I lowered my gaze to the chair. The grotesque, gory aesthetic of it pleased me more than I cared to admit.
I sat upon that bizarre throne of bone and crossed my legs in an imperious manner. Resting my chin on my hand, I looked down at Licht, who knelt before me.
So this was it. This insane bastard—this deranged necromancer—was mistaking my Blood Flow Acceleration for the high-level blood magic of a vampire.
Just like Eltemia had.
He stared up at me with an expression of pure ecstasy, like a fanatic granted an audience with his god. I could see exactly how lost he was in his delusion.
I felt the weight of Eisen and Eltemia’s stares boring into me. Their eyes burned with betrayal. And Lise… bound by the undead, watched on with eyes full of despair.
I ignored their gazes, layering the most arrogant expression I could manage onto my face, and spoke.
“...So you’re saying this little production you’ve prepared is a stage made just for me?”
My voice came out cold and languid, dripping with mockery. Licht’s shoulders twitched once, but he quickly bowed his head even lower and answered in a voice thick with reverence.
“Ooooh, most exalted one. Though these are but crude toys—mere commanding entities—this humble servant has carved away at his very bones to prepare a banquet of blood and despair worthy of your greatness. I beg you to graciously enjoy this insignificant entertainment.”
“Heart and soul, you say.”
“Please…”
“For a mere academy student to command commanding entities on this scale is rather interesting, I must admit.”
I began to probe him gently. A question disguised as praise. I watched as uncontrollable delight spread across Licht’s lowered face.
He believed I was a vampire. Being praised by a creature of darkness, acknowledged by one of its own—he seemed to relish that more than anything else in the world.
To stir that twisted vanity just a little further, I kept my languid mask firmly in place. I tapped my fingers against the bone chair’s armrest and continued.
“It is truly strange.”
“Pardon?”
“The underground dungeon beneath this academy-managed forest… the terrain should have been terribly ill-suited for commanding entities. No matter how talented one might be, it should have been impossible for a mere human to awaken this many at once.”
“Ooooh, as expected of you! It is precisely as you say. Awakening them through ordinary means was impossible.”
Licht’s eyes sparkled like a child’s. Craving more praise, he began to boast proudly of his accomplishments.
“That is why I trapped the children here from the very beginning—to turn them into commanding entities.”
“...Oh?”
“I visited this place many times, twisting the dungeon’s structure little by little. I placed necromancy beads throughout to corrupt it gradually, until finally I transformed the entire dungeon into a space perfectly optimized for necromancy.”
“Hoo. So you created an artificial Distortion. That explains why the space was writhing so grotesquely.” “Exactly!”
In other words, he had induced a Distortion through necromantic techniques.
After long years of research, Licht had invented a method to trigger Distortions, and he had succeeded—at least when limited to commanding entities. The proof was already unfolding before my eyes.
“Then the Distortion from two years ago—the one where so many students died and you alone survived—was no coincidence either.”
Licht let out an ecstatic gasp, like an artist whose masterpiece had been discovered, and clapped his hands. His face was genuinely moved.
“Precisely! They became wonderful nourishment to birth my first children. Are they not utterly adorable?” “…I see.” “The academy pitied me and even called me a genius. Fools.”
He spread both arms wide in pride, gesturing at the surroundings. Pointing toward the horde of skeletons and ghouls that filled the chamber, he broke into a broad, delighted grin.
Eisen looked as if blood might pour from his eyes at any moment from the sheer betrayal. Which made sense. After all, he had been one of those fools.
Licht continued to joyfully recount his achievements, but one part of his story refused to add up.
There’s no way he did this alone.
The sense of wrongness that he couldn’t possibly have accomplished all of this by himself kept nagging at me.
I could accept that he possessed the intellect to cause a Distortion. But no matter how insane or brilliant he was, how had he smuggled the necromancy beads inside? How had he bent the academy’s schedule to his will? How had he even managed to arrange the group composition exactly as he wanted?
What kind of power did he possess to make all that possible? It was clearly beyond the authority of any student.
“Magnificent.”
I leaned my upper body forward slightly, projecting an air of solemn dignity. Looking directly into Licht’s eyes, I whispered.
“But tell me, little one—how exactly were you able to accomplish all of this?”
“...Pardon?”
“How did you drag me onto this stage? If you’re about to claim you manipulated the entire academy with nothing but your own talent, spare me. Who is the one backing you? Who helped set this stage?”
Licht’s ceaseless chatter finally stopped. His eyes changed. Wariness flooded into them.
“...One moment.”
Did I get caught?
Licht tilted his head at an angle and slowly rose from his kneeling position. He looked at me and asked.
“Why are you so curious about that?”
“It’s important.” “Why? Why does it matter?” “Because I need to know the intention behind summoning me. The audacity of daring to manipulate me as you pleased.”
“...Ah.”
Licht’s eyes grew complicated. He seemed torn between caution and worship.
If I let him sink any deeper into thought, he would surely reach an unwelcome conclusion. After all, what reason would a transcendent vampire—especially one of high bloodline—have to care about human affairs? Weren’t we all the same inferior species to such a being?
Since he had already begun to sense the contradiction, it was only a matter of time before his thoughts arrived there.
Tsk.
Just a little more prodding and I might have learned who was holding Licht’s leash. I clicked my tongue inwardly at the missed opportunity.
But for the sake of the final act, I leaned back deeply into the chair and let out an exaggerated laugh.
“Kuhahaha…!”
While Licht flinched and staggered backward in surprise, I raised one hand and pointed toward the dungeon ceiling. I performed exactly as the protagonist of some theatrical play might, acting out the image he so desperately desired.
“Darkness always harbors fascinating truths, and only the blood scattered beneath a blood-red moon can be called the purest art. I was simply curious about the name of the foolish inferior race that dared deceive this great ruler of the night while surrounded by this acrid scent of blood and the decaying feast of death. Is that so strange?”
Licht’s pupils trembled. Seeing this, I adopted an even more solemn expression and continued.
“No, it is not strange. I merely wished to offer praise to a mortal beneath me. I intended to breathe life into one who seeks to understand death. Speak of the moon, and you speak of truth. Speak of the night, and you speak of time.”
Fortunately, Licht’s eyes began to fill once more with deep reverence. He let out a heavy sigh of relief.
“Aah, truly you are the exalted one. This lowly being could never hope to fathom your profound and cruel will… I bow my head in apology.”
I didn’t miss that fleeting instant. I had no intention of letting the opening slip away.
“But what can I do?”
I rose halfway from the chair as I spoke. Gripping the cane with both hands, I pressed its head firmly against my own heart.
I crushed down. Hard enough that it felt as if my bones might shatter. I slammed it against my heart with brutal force.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
My blood flow accelerated violently.
Blood and oxygen began raging through my entire body. My skin flushed crimson in an instant, radiating intense heat.
Licht stared at me, convinced beyond doubt that this was the manifestation of a vampire’s blood magic. His eyes widened in awe and his body trembled with ecstasy.
“I am not a vampire, though.”
Licht’s euphoric smile froze. His mind seemed to have stopped working entirely.
The moment I saw that stupefied expression, I kicked off the ground and charged.
My body, having shattered its limits through Blood Flow Acceleration, placed me before him in the blink of an eye. Just as I had done when I sent Eisen flying, I gripped the cane tightly with both hands, drew it far back behind my shoulder, and shouted.
“Str… ike!!!”
Rotating my waist like a batter swinging for a home run, I smashed the cane toward Licht’s upper body.
Kwaaaaang—!
A deafening roar tore through the air as thick clouds of dust exploded outward.
But perhaps because he had already witnessed this attack once before, Licht instinctively summoned a thick bone shield and barely managed to block it.
He had sensed my sudden hostility and reacted in the moment. However, he couldn’t fully withstand the impact. He was sent skidding across the floor before crashing hard into the distant wall.
“Kuaaaaak!”
After being hurled several meters, he slammed into the stone.
Wow. He really is tough.
Licht raised his head. The joy and worship had completely vanished from his face. What remained was pure rage, betrayal, and resentment.
“You crazy bastard…!” “That actually surprised me. Truly.” “Then who the hell are you…!”
His voice came out low and menacing, like a growl.
Looking at his distorted face, I put on the same refreshing smile he usually wore and answered in a cheerful tone.
“Me? Just your average genius student.”
“...That doesn’t make any sense! That appearance…!” “You don’t believe me? Why won’t you believe what I say?”
“How could a human who isn’t a vampire use blood magic in the first place?!”
Watching him shout with veins bulging in fury, I moved. Before he could react.
The instant my figure seemed to vanish, Licht instinctively brought the bone shield in front of himself.
Good decision.
Unfortunately, his prediction was completely off.
“You’re too slow, senior.”
I whispered the words into his ear while pouring every ounce of strength into my grip. Licht desperately tried to reposition the bone shield, eyes darting wildly.
But there was no way a mere necromancer’s reaction speed could keep up with Blood Flow Acceleration. He was already far too late.
Thuuuud—!!
The impact that traveled through my hands was beautifully clean and heavy. The only disappointment was how quiet the sound was.
Licht coughed up another mouthful of blood as he flew backward, limbs flailing helplessly through the air.