Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Dream Interpretation is Better Than the Dream (6)
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Smack—
Jingle—
Every time I struck one, the skeletons crumbled in a heap.
Twenty in a single blow.
The necromancer controlling the skeletons must have lost consciousness and released their hold.
This alone was an impressive feat.
It was rare for an ordinary person—who wasn't a knight or a mage—to hold their own against undead like this.
By ordinary standards, that is.
Boom—!
Kaboom—!
Skeletons exploded right where I'd been standing moments ago.
Magic-reinforced bones or not, they shattered into pieces.
It was Parmon's hammering.
"Still, it's a relief."
"What is?"
"I thought you'd say we couldn't break the corpses of the dead since they're vessels for the departed."
"Hah..."
Truth be told, smashing skeletons did feel a bit iffy.
Even if they were monsters called undead, at their core, they were human remains.
"If you had, it would've made dealing with them much trickier."
Smack—
The rattle smashed into a skeleton's skull, sending a pile of bones crashing to the ground.
"This is probably better anyway. Better to smash your own body if it's become undead..."
Smack—
Clatter—
Thud—
"You're fighting better than expected."
I'd never learned any swordsmanship or anything, but it didn't matter.
I wasn't fighting moving skeletons, after all.
Jingle—
Spiritual energy spread outward, freezing the skeletons in place.
That was how I fought.
Stop the skeletons.
Then...
Smack—
Comfort them.
That sent the skeletons toppling to the ground.
Whoosh—
Boom—
"Hot!"
It was Closel's fireball.
The old man approached with a calm expression.
"Is that really 'comforting' them? Looks like you're just beating dead people to me."
"When you hit them like this, you're hitting the necromancer too. It's punishing the culprit... so it should be fine, right?"
Who would refuse having the rotten bastard who turned their body undead get beaten in their stead?
I wondered how he'd gathered only the dead with no lingering attachments.
Jingle—
"Ugh..."
A sharp pain stabbed as the spiritual energy drained.
Skeletons that were hard to stop or wouldn't stop were probably high-ranking undead controlled by elite necromancers.
No need to keep those around.
"Someone—Old Man—give me a hand!"
Boom!
Debris flew past my face.
"I'll catch 'em."
Parmon leaped into the air and shot toward somewhere.
Probably toward where the necromancer was hiding.
The path up to that damned mountain peak was longer than expected.
We could fly with magic, but even that wasn't ideal.
Word was there was a pretty strong one up there.
Flying would expose us to attacks.
Smack—
Thud—
"How long to punch through all these..."
Suddenly, dark, murky mana flew toward me.
This wasn't a curse.
It was an annoyingly persistent spell.
A transparent barrier formed around me, and all the surrounding bones exploded.
Kaboom—
"Phew..."
"Can't block that one?"
"How am I supposed to block an explosion?"
"Strong yet weak."
Mana swirled from Closel.
It was so intense my hair whipped wildly.
And the moment it took shape...
A deafening roar echoed, incomparable to the earlier bone explosion.
Boom—!
If I weren't in a trance state, my eardrums might've burst.
A massive crater formed where the explosion hit.
Somewhere in there, a necromancer was probably reduced to scraps.
"Still using their cowardly tricks."
The necromancers didn't show themselves.
This showed just how much of a pushover the one I knocked out earlier was.
These ones had combat methods as insidious as their magic.
They hid somewhere, sending undead and curses.
Or used filthy spells to inflict damage.
Most battles so far had been like this.
Closel fired another fireball and clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Can't we just collapse the whole peak?"
"There's a living elf up there."
"Urgh..."
"If we can collapse the peak, why not just fly up?"
"That'd get one of us three killed for sure. Probably you."
Suddenly, a chilling malice emanated from the peak.
The emotions from the young elf were transcending mere resentment.
Invisible to the naked eye, but through my spiritual eyes, the peak looked even blacker than before.
At this rate, even if we saved the elf, their mind wouldn't be intact.
"Old Man, just fly up."
"Not joking. Against that level of power, I can't protect you from the sky."
"I've got a long lifeline. Lots to do."
Jingle—
There's a saying: man proposes, heaven disposes.
People scheme, but heaven decides the outcome.
Among the hardships of a shaman's fate, one silver lining.
Heaven occasionally takes my side.
My shamanic duties had only just begun; my fate couldn't end yet.
"...This should be fine...?"
Honestly, it was like offering myself to the spirits on a platter.
"Gotta save the life even if I get scolded a bit."
Jingle—
I shook the rattle just in case. No anger from the spirits.
Meant I wasn't fated to die soon.
Instead, a vivid image flashed in my mind.
So that's why that prophecy came out back then...
"Old Man, I won't die. Let's go."
"...I'll trust you have a way."
Closel and I floated toward the peak.
"What about Parmon?"
"He'll make it. Same as us if he's alone."
Whoosh—
Mana enveloped us, accelerating our speed.
At this rate, we'd reach the peak in no time.
As long as nothing interfered...
"So, what's the plan?"
"Hm..."
"Don't say you don't have one. A big spell's already incoming."
He was right.
A massive energy surged from the peak.
Like concentrated death.
A black magic blade hurtled toward us.
"Death Blade... At least 6th Circle..."
My body spun wildly, crashing toward the ground.
We dodged the spell once, but it wasn't over.
The magic curved, chasing us.
"Buy me just a little time!"
"...Think that's easy?!"
We dodged again by a hair's breadth.
Not just the spell—another problem arose.
Dead wyverns had become undead and filled the sky.
Fewer than ten, but a big issue right now.
"...Can't comfort those, huh?"
"Yeah..."
"Gonna climb higher for a bit."
"No! Keep going straight!"
The old man hesitated briefly, then turned toward the peak.
Wyverns ahead, magic behind—we were boxed in.
I sensed him preparing mana too.
But it wouldn't be needed.
Because...
"Chris!!"
A voice called from afar as the magic exploded.
Boom—
"Hah..."
"Told you it'd be fine."
"Knew she'd come? Couldn't sense her with all the spirits."
The wyverns' wings shredded apart ahead.
By a massive bird-shaped spirit.
"Yeah. My benefactor. Prophesied one at that. No wonder she gave me that seed reading..."
Irene's voice came from atop the spirit.
"I followed the branch's sway! Hurry!"
Irene blocking incoming magic looked precarious.
Her energy was far weaker than when we first met.
The World Tree's erosion had progressed significantly.
With interference gone, we reached the peak instantly.
It was already a scene from hell.
Explosions rang out; the ground overturned.
Scattered undead and necromancers showed how fierce the battle had been.
"Death Knight...!"
An undead blocking Parmon's hammer.
A chilling aura of death emanated from the Death Knight in blackened armor.
But something else caught my eye.
The sword in the Death Knight's hand.
I'd seen it before.
In my dream, the sword piercing Parmon's heart looked exactly like that.
The old man never used swords, so I'd wondered about the one in his heart.
Who knew it'd be this one.
"Oh no..."
I scanned around urgently and sighed in relief.
The location differed from my prophetic dream.
If I'd died to the World Tree's curse...
This would've happened due to these invaders in the elf forest.
Everyone was fine except Irene.
"Can you... save that elf alone? That one's a real powerhouse."
"..."
The young elf stared vacantly into space, lost.
Their mind might already be broken.
Seeing that endless hatred and despair...
Jingle—
Fortunately, a faint soul still lingered.
Wounded, but not shattered.
"Need to lift the curse."
"...Only you can."
"No. Killing that guy will free them."
"Won't be quick. I'll drop you near the elf."
Rumble—
Mana erupted from Closel.
The old man's body vanished, and so did the necromancer near the elf.
Flash—
Rumble—
Was what those two were doing even human combat?
Lightning whipped; winds split the earth.
Flames pierced walls of fire; earth surged up.
Less like humans fighting, more like natural disasters clashing.
The clashing energies made my head spin.
"Chris! I'll hold them off—take the child!"
Irene blasted undead heading for the young elf and gestured for me to hurry.
Jingle—
I launched myself without hesitation.
Had to lift the curse before the elf's soul faded.
The moment my hand touched the elf's body, I realized.
"High Elf..."