The Black Magician Viscount Jimnerus's Undead Legion
Viscount Jimnerus the black magician's undead horde expanded its territory without restraint. The army of the Baikal Kingdom fought to the bitter end with everything they had, but it wasn't enough. Facing an army that never tired, needed no supplies, and grew stronger with every battle was a nightmare even to contemplate. And so, the Baikal Kingdom vanished into the dustbin of history, swallowed by the undead legion.
The army of Divinaty, which had massacred the Jimnerus Church, got caught up in the mess nearby as well. All of them, including three inquisitors who fell under my curse, became martyrs.
I surveyed the situation, pondering how to take down Viscount Jimnerus, but no good ideas came to mind. Could all the forces of the Western Continent stop him? No matter how I thought about it, humans had no way to cope. If the Beast King gathered every monster from the Great Forest and the elves lent their power, there might be a slim chance—but I didn't even know where the Beast King was, and the elves wouldn't emerge until the undead horde reached their barrier.
Meanwhile, something else was brewing in the south. An upheaval had struck the Hughes Empire, which dominated the entire southern half of the Eastern Continent. It had actually started quite a while ago. The trigger was a mercenary from an orphanage. One day, this mercenary gained a mysterious and immense power. The power grew steadily, and as it did, so did his influence. From leader of a mercenary band to low noble, then high noble—he rocketed up the ranks in just a few years, finally sparking a coup d'état.
Success makes it a glorious revolution; failure brands it treason. It was unprecedented in continental history for a lowly mercenary to become emperor of an empire in mere years. And just as this mercenary-turned-emperor held his coronation, the Baikal Kingdom fell.
The new emperor, upon hearing the report, headed almost alone toward the border with the fallen kingdom. At the frontier of the Hughes Empire—now rechristened the Eugene Empire after its new ruler—the emperor appeared out of nowhere.
The border erupted in chaos, naturally. They were already on high alert, mustering forces from all around, and now the emperor showed up solo. Even I, who had been observing the unchecked expansion of the undead horde, happened to be at the Eugene Empire's border fortress and witnessed it.
I'd heard the intel a few days earlier: the new emperor wielded tremendous power. Seeing him, I understood why.
[What a mess of fragments everywhere.]
Emperor Eugene had a massive soul with a golden halo, just like Viscount Jimnerus—and embedded in it was a small fragment. The same condition. I just didn't know what his ability was. Rumors said he wielded godlike omnipotence. Whatever it was, I'd find out soon enough.
Both Viscount Jimnerus and Emperor Eugene possessed fragments from unknown outer gods. Nergal was the god of plague and healing, so not him. Why were these outer god fragments suddenly popping up everywhere? I had no clue. I'd probably get an explanation from Kutula when I returned.
Emperor Eugene rode out alone toward the border fortress, without a single attendant—like it was a casual stroll. Far off, the undead legion of hundreds of thousands was already visible. I trailed behind him. But every so often, he'd glance my way. He couldn't see me, but he sensed something off. Just in case, I kept my distance.
Soon, as a wave of undead surged madly toward him up to a hundred meters away, Emperor Eugene's power finally revealed itself.
"Vanish, you worthless husks unfit even for corpses."
With those words, every undead in sight disappeared. Not really—they shattered into hundreds of pieces and rained down in a clatter. Even undead couldn't survive being sliced into hundreds of chunks. In an instant, the hundreds of thousands were reduced to that.
[What the hell?]
I cursed involuntarily. What kind of power was this? True omnipotence? With ability like that, he could unify the Eastern and Western Continents, not just rule the Eugene Empire. Who could stop him?
A roar of cheers pierced the sky from the border fortress. Emperor Eugene ignored it and slowly urged his horse onward. Then, suddenly, he turned toward me. Sensing danger, I dodged reflexively—but something grazed the edge of my soul.
[Aaaargh!]
I screamed. That's what it felt like to have your soul sliced. A tiny part of it, but Emperor Eugene's authority had cut my soul. Clutching the pain, I fled far from him. A terrifying power. I hadn't expected it could sever souls.
But on the flip side, maybe he could take down Viscount Jimnerus. Sure, it'd be jumping from wolf to tiger's den—but he'd seized the empire relatively peacefully, so he probably wouldn't mindless slaughter like the undead horde.
I followed from maximum distance. Emperor Eugene repeated the scene several times after. Endless undead swarmed; he lured them in as far as possible, then shredded them. Realizing this wouldn't do, he picked up speed. Carving through the sea of undead, he looked like a scene from myth.
Astonishingly, he moved with purpose—straight toward Viscount Jimnerus, it seemed. The more I watched, the more amazed I was. Was it really omnipotence?
Crushing millions of undead and ascending the sea of corpses, Emperor Eugene finally confronted Viscount Jimnerus. Before his authority, the powerful high undead guarding the viscount were no different from common zombies.
"What are you?"
Viscount Jimnerus asked with a dumbfounded expression. I would've reacted the same. He'd gained the power to command millions of undead, only for some unheard-of being to smash them effortlessly solo.
"Eugene Theodore, Emperor of the Eugene Empire."
"I am Jimnerus Kragel, as you see—a black magician."
Surprisingly, they exchanged names casually.
"Why not join hands with me? You and I could—"
Jimnerus Kragel's words cut off. His body was already splintering into thousands of pieces. For a black magician guilty of history's worst atrocities, it was an anticlimactic end.
"World conquest? I can do that alone."
Emperor Eugene's hollow soliloquy echoed in the void. Ignoring him, I rocketed full speed toward Jimnerus Kragel's soul rising to the sky. Both he and Eugene could harm me, so I'd kept my distance—no choice now. I barely caught up, absorbing Jimnerus's soul and the unknown fragment. I felt myself grow stronger.
Looking down, Emperor Eugene was already heading back alone. His retreating figure seemed a bit lonely.
I didn't follow. Intriguing, but too dangerous. Even if I revealed myself via letter or something, he could turn that power on me anytime. My instincts screamed warning.
With Jimnerus defeated, the remaining undead began losing power. On my way back to Kutula, the scenes were pure devastation. But it wasn't my place—or within my power—to fix.
I tested my new abilities, born from absorbing Jimnerus's soul and fragment, on the undead stragglers. At my level, I couldn't handle many. Even if I could, I had no desire to.
Thus, I wrapped up affairs on the Eastern Continent. A longer, bigger ordeal than expected. Finally, I headed back to meet Kutula.
Arriving at the Ktolari Viscountcy, I saw Viscount Maice training a new heir. Then I descended deep underground to meet Kutula again.
[Mission complete.]
[I know.]
[I spotted two more things that looked like outer god fragments. I absorbed one.]
[I know that too.]
Kutula seemed aware of everything, even from this abyss. Just how far did these godlike beings' powers extend?
[Are outer god fragments really that common?]
[No. What you saw is all there is for now.]
Some relief, at least. If humans with such powers overflowed, the world wouldn't survive.
[Emperor Eugene's power was beyond me. Won't that harm the world if left alone?]
[What can you do about what exceeds your power? This world belongs to Juno anyway. He'll handle it.]
True. I'd forgotten the sole god, Juno. I cleared my mind. Do what I can; accept what I can't. If I'd wanted, I could've taken out villains and saved countless lives by now. But I hadn't.
As I sank into deep thought again, Kutula's voice snapped me out.
[Time for your reward.]
[Yes.]
He'd promised a name. I didn't know what a true name meant, but I'd find out.
[This is my gift to you, though I didn't create it.]
Kutula spoke cryptically like an elf. As I opened my mouth to ask what he meant, a surge of energy emanated from his body.
[Nameless soul, I bestow upon you a name. Your name is 'Record'.]
A sharp ring pierced my mind, and something etched into my soul. No pain, but an eerie sensation. It took a while to recover.
[What does it mean?]
[You'll understand in time.]
Kutula gave no straight answer. No matter. I'd lived fine without a name. This could only be a bonus.
[No next mission?]
[None. I've expended much power usable in this world. I need rest.]
[How long?]
[About a century, in this world's time.]
A long nap. Not long for immortals like him, maybe. Would I grow accustomed to such timescales?
[Record, we shall meet again. Go.]
I waited for teleportation like last time, but nothing happened.
[Not sending me back like before?]
[Just go.]
[Yes.]
What could a soul like me do against a god's word? Grumbling inwardly, I flew for hours to reach the surface.
What next? Return to Veners to check on Ether? Or scout the Dragon Mountains as planned? I decided on the mountains.
The Dragon Mountains felt like the Great Forest from the entrance. The difference: towering trees there, sheer rock faces here. Neither impeded me.
The monsters inside were much like the Great Forest's—different species due to environment, but several times stronger than those outside.
Days later, I reached the deepest part. Like the Great Forest, strong monster domains existed. The Dragon Mountains' apex predator was the Black Drake—so massive it was hard to call it a mere drake. No wonder people mistook it for a dragon.
But my goal wasn't monster-watching; it was finding a dragon. I'd checked dozens of promising peaks already—nothing. Now, the final one: the tallest, home to the last Black Drake.