The Lich's Resurrection
Thwack.
The moment Oliver’s cleanly severed head rolled across the floor, Benjamin’s eyes bulged. His breath hitched, and thick, purple veins bulged across his face as if they were about to burst. This reaction wasn't due to the death of his disciple witnessed before his eyes.
“……!”
Benjamin couldn't even manage a small groan before his head slumped forward. At the center of his tilting vision, piercing through his chest, was a black sword. It was the blade of their target, Kim Ilshin.
‘What is this…….’
It felt like he was trapped in a chaotic, illogical nightmare. The cause and effect between events didn't connect smoothly. For any event to occur, there must be a cause. Yet, in Benjamin’s memory, there wasn't a speck of evidence that could have led to this. Because of that, no deduction was possible.
‘Why is this brat here? Did the plan leak? No, that’s impossible. Then did he track us? For what reason? Did he notice the existence of the mark? How on earth? ……Impossible. It’s impossible…!’
His incoherent thoughts didn't last long.
Crunch!
The sword twisted without hesitation, delivering death. The old man’s unfocused corpse slid and collapsed into a pool of blood.
Ssssss……
The steam rising from the Hyeonwol confirmed Benjamin’s death. The Hyeonwol, which greedily devoured life force, let out a low hum. Oliver, with his head severed, and Benjamin, with his heart pierced. The situation seemed to have concluded. However, Kim Ilshin did not lower his guard. He knew well that this was not the end.
He retreated, keeping his eyes on Benjamin’s fallen corpse. He fully unleashed the energy he had been concealing for a surprise attack and activated his Muryeong-si.
Clang!
He deflected a flashing hidden weapon with a swift strike. The shattered fragments of the weapon looked like shards of bone. It was the same technique Oliver had used during their sparring match. But the power was different.
After deflecting the bone shards that followed, he looked ahead. A violet flame soared up to the ceiling. The source of that ominous omen was Benjamin’s corpse.
‘Phase 2 begins.’
The battle against the assassin sent by the Red Heaven Cult, [Black Mage Benjamin], consisted of two phases. And the gap in difficulty between the two was immense. Benjamin in Phase 1 was merely a high-level black mage. It meant he was an ordinary human who would die if his heart was pierced. However, Benjamin in Phase 2 was different. Having experienced death once, he would be reborn as an immortal existence, a Lich, through black magic that used his own soul as the price.
Whoosh—
Then, the burning flames vanished in an instant, like a candle being blown out. The sight of Benjamin beneath them was different from before. The skeleton, stripped of everything but bone by the flames, slowly floated into the air.
Flash.
Violet flames rippled in the hollow eye sockets of the skull. Benjamin’s bodiless gaze was fixed on Kim Ilshin.
“I will stake my soul to kill you, you wretch.”
Benjamin’s voice, emerging from the clattering skull, revealed intense vengefulness. That declaration wasn't the empty talk usually spouted by small-time thugs. The black magic Benjamin used to transform himself into a Lich shared similar properties to the restrictions that had been placed on Kim Ilshin’s body. Evolution into a Lich using high-level black magic. The price for that was complete annihilation. Furthermore, there was one condition included in that content: Benjamin’s annihilation would occur immediately after Kim Ilshin died. Therefore, the current Benjamin was effectively an immortal being until Kim Ilshin died.
“Tremble in fear and die.”
His suddenly arrogant tone was laughable. It was an arrogance born from the firm belief that he would never die. Of course, it was a welcome development for Kim Ilshin.
He kicked off the ground before Benjamin’s transformation was complete. The mana of the Dark Moon Divine Art gathered at his sword, which he held slanted downward. He didn't need to generate much. A handful was enough. The role of the Dark Moon Divine Art was still only to grant the ability to strike the opponent’s origin directly.
‘Not yet, anyway.’
In the future, he would need to research ways to utilize this lethal power more effectively. But for now, it was more than enough to deal with a guy whose only feature and strength was ‘immortality.’
“Are you insane…!”
A magic circle appeared at Benjamin’s gesture. Rumble! A barrier of sharp bones rose indiscriminately from beneath the ground. Kim Ilshin approached as closely as possible, and when the barrier rose to his chin, he fixed his center of gravity forward and leaped.
He rotated half a turn in the air and slammed his feet into the ceiling. Immediately after, the mana exploding beneath his soles launched his body over the bone barrier.
Boom!
He landed, shattering the floor without slowing his speed. A clean sword trajectory was visible amidst the debris scattering in all directions.
Crunch!
He didn't miss it and followed through with a slash. A disjointed sensation brushed past him several times along the rough trajectory soaring upward. The sword rose, shattering everything in its path. In the space it had passed, thick bone fragments were falling helplessly.
“Argh!”
A scream of agony erupted from the skull, which was split in half and pulverized. The violet flames, which were rapidly fading, flickered precariously. The magic circle that had been forming in his grasp also vanished.
“H-how……”
A voice filled with doubt came from below. The jaw of the skull rolling on the ground clattered with difficulty.
“I-it cannot be. I staked my life to—”
Crack!
There was no need to listen further; he brought his sword down. Thanks to the Lich’s tenacious life force, he might have been able to endure a strike that would have split his soul in half, but that was all. He didn't give him time to recover. He pulverized the head with a touch like he was mincing vegetables. Only when he shattered the head—the center of his ego—into dozens of pieces did that tenacious life finally end. The violet flame, which had been clinging to a small fragment with nowhere else to go, flickered weakly and then vanished. It meant Benjamin’s soul had been completely annihilated.
Just in case, he gathered the remaining bones, ground them into powder, and washed them down the sewer drain. No matter how much of a Lich he was, he wouldn't be able to resurrect after all this.
‘Clean. As expected, a quick finish is the most certain.’
Black mages were a breed that tormented their opponents with truly bizarre methods. Especially if you got caught in something like a curse or necromancy, it became extremely annoying. So, dealing with them quickly through methods like surprise attacks was the most comfortable way.
“Ended faster than I thought.”
Checking the time, it ended two hours earlier than expected. It was because they had started the ritual faster than planned, considering the state of Oliver’s body.
‘I wonder if she’s eaten yet.’
If he had known this, he would have made dinner plans. Since they ate together every day, it felt a bit lonely to eat alone now. He sent a text message asking her to wait a little while if she hadn't eaten dinner yet, then stepped out of the abandoned house. He had cleared away all traces of Benjamin’s corpse and the curse ritual.
“Hmm.”
The mountain air was refreshing. It was even more so because he had dealt with the enemies that had been bothering him for a while.
“That power, what is it…….”
Bernika, who had revealed herself amidst the dispersing smoke inside the abandoned house after Kim Ilshin left, muttered in confusion. Since becoming a vampire, she had never felt her life threatened to this extent. In terms of tenacious life force, Benjamin, having become a Lich, was stronger than the vampire Bernika. Yet, even he had been annihilated without being able to lift a finger against a single sword strike containing that strange power. She had been wary only of his talent, which seemed to have no end, but he had been hiding something like that as well.
“I must kill him here. I must kill him…….”
Her mind was telling her to chase Kim Ilshin and kill him. However, her body wouldn't move. It wasn't because of a survival instinct. Rather, it was her reason that stopped her.
‘……I might be defeated.’
If it were for her god, she wouldn't regret losing her life. But if she were to die without fulfilling her mission, that too would be a sin. Bernika’s power was not suited for short-term decisive battles. Also, she was stronger in fights involving many, rather than one-on-one, so the situation was not good right now. Perhaps she could be defeated like Benjamin. Kim Ilshin might be hiding something else.
‘I will prepare. Until I can deal with him for certain.’
Bernika judged that choice to be correct. Collect information and stockpile power. Then, rush him all at once and gleefully ravage him. This was Bernika’s pattern, and she would follow that process this time as well.
“Petel.”
The moment she called, there was a man who appeared, clearing away the darkness in the space beside her. It was Petel, Bernika’s thrall. Petel, standing in a neat suit, remained silent with his head bowed, waiting for Bernika’s next words.
“Find out everything about Kim Ilshin.”
“Understood.”
After answering without a moment’s hesitation, Petel disappeared, rewinding the scene of his arrival. Swoosh. Soon, Bernika, shrouded in smoke, looked in the direction where Kim Ilshin had vanished and made a vow. For her god, she would certainly deal with that wretch.