Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Shadows of Betrayal
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The day after the flame-headed one departed.
Leyzon gathered his four undead.
He shared with them the information he'd gathered from the Resonance World.
Once they'd heard everything, the undead all wore complicated expressions.
"Tessa...?"
"This is unexpected."
"An outrage that defies heaven and earth."
Eden, Estelle, and Pauli all reacted with clear displeasure.
They were Leyzon's creations.
To them, Leyzon was their creator god.
Betraying him was utterly unthinkable.
"Eung?"
But Syria's reaction was different from the others.
"Syria, do you know something?"
"Ah, well, you see..."
Syria pressed her chin at Leyzon's question.
"Not that I like saying this, but Tessa liked you just as much as I do, Leyzon."
Syria showed a slightly offended reaction.
Syria prided herself on liking Leyzon more than anyone in the world.
Having to admit Tessa was on the same level irked her.
"Do I seem like someone who would betray you, Leyzon?"
Eden, Pauli, and Estelle gave Syria strange looks.
Syria bared her fangs at the three of them.
"Syria would never betray me."
Leyzon intervened before the four could start fighting.
Syria immediately leaped into Leyzon's arms.
"Right! Even if the world crumbled, I'd never betray you, Leyzon!"
The other undead looked at Syria with weary eyes.
It was like watching a big sister put on a show for her father.
Syria paid no attention whatsoever to the other undead.
"That's why it's so strange that Tessa would betray you."
Leyzon crossed his arms and fell deep into thought.
Syria mimicked him, crossing her arms too.
Betrayal was just a hypothesis, after all.
Tessa might have some other goal.
But one always had to assume the worst.
If Tessa, who cherished Leyzon as much as Syria did, had betrayed him...
Then there had to be a reason just as compelling.
'Could it be.'
Leyzon's thoughts converged on one point.
Tessa was a ghost bride.
Moreover, she was the only undead with the ability to read souls.
'I'm just the one who took over Leyzon's original soul.'
The original Leyzon had left a single letter in the Resonance World long ago.
A letter revealing there was a traitor in the Resonance World.
That was proof the real Leyzon had existed.
'Maybe Tessa is...'
Perhaps she was trying to find the real Leyzon through the Transcendent of Malice.
A bitter expression settled on Leyzon's face.
Tessa was the youngest among his undead.
The baby of the family always tugged at the heartstrings, whether you liked it or not.
For that youngest to deny him as a fake and set off in search of the real one...
It stung more than it should have.
To Tessa, Leyzon was nothing more than a shameless thief who'd stolen a body.
"Got it. Still, everyone stay cautious if Tessa approaches. We don't know what she'll do."
Leyzon instructed the undead to be on guard going forward.
To the undead, Tessa was family.
They nodded, but it would weigh on their minds.
Leyzon wanted to avoid undead fighting each other at all costs.
'I hope nothing comes of this.'
He would have to figure out how to regard Tessa, assuming the worst.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
At that moment, urgent footsteps echoed from outside.
As Leyzon turned toward the door, a knock came.
"De-Depths!"
The voice belonged to the monkey, Harban.
He'd been connected since the Resonance World days and was now active in Sahā Village.
He was also the first to report the Resonance World issue.
"Come in."
Wondering what it was this time, Leyzon called him inside.
Hurban rushed in and immediately dropped to his knees.
"Depths! Please, bestow that love upon me too!"
Hurban begged Leyzon fervently.
Leyzon looked down at him with utter disbelief.
A madman.
Who in their right mind volunteered to become undead?
Leyzon nearly kicked Harban for talking nonsense but paused.
Then he pressed his chin, lost in thought.
Living beings could be turned into undead.
This was a major advantage for Leyzon.
It let them evade the empire's grasp.
'Honestly, I'd rather turn Rafila and the others into undead if possible.'
Leyzon now had quite a few imperial acquaintances.
He wanted to turn them into undead too, if he could.
That way, they could grow stronger without imperial restrictions.
But suddenly suggesting it wouldn't make them understand.
Having a successful example beforehand would help.
Leyzon's eyes landed back on Harban.
'Necromancers have all paths to power blocked by the empire.'
For imperials to grow stronger, they needed the Pioneer Association.
To reach hero level, they even had to go through the imperial family directly.
Leyzon was caught by this too.
That's why he'd considered turning himself into undead.
'My undead creation skills aren't there yet.'
He'd realized this while passing through Haron, Carmen, and then Piran and Pirshirann.
His undead creation proficiency had risen over time.
Betting it on himself was still risky.
The more experiments beforehand, the better.
A sinister smile crept across Leyzon's lips.
Hurban had come begging to be turned into undead of his own accord.
There had to be others among the necromancers like him.
Depths was the idol of necromancers.
He had plenty who'd die at his word without question.
'Meaning, plenty of test subjects.'
Leyzon had no reason to refuse.
A chilling smile formed on his lips.
Plus, he could solve his most annoying problem.
"Hurban, undead creation requires a lot of materials."
"Y-Yes! Of course! I never thought it would be easy!"
Hurban nodded his head vigorously.
He was a fanatic who would die if Leyzon said so.
"Right. Even I can't gather all those materials on my own."
So you need to gather usable materials personally first."
"As expected! I'll procure them right away!"
"Yeah, I'd love to turn you immediately, but circumstances aren't right."
Hurban swallowed tears, his face full of admiration for Leyzon.
"I never knew Depths thought so highly of me."
It had slipped his mind until seeing his face today.
But Leyzon just smiled brightly without saying that.
"So, Harban, aren't there other necromancers who want to become my undead?"
"I think all necromancers do!"
Hurban shouted in a salute stance.
His unwavering energy was still hard to get used to.
"Then gather them. Have them help each other collect materials too. It's tough alone."
"Such consideration. As expected, only Depths cares about us necromancers!"
Hurban jumped to his feet as he said it.
"I'll gather them quickly."
"Good. Once you have everything, pass it on through the Resonance World."
With that, Harban dashed out.
Leyzon watched him go, then spotted Hanok peeking in.
Since arriving in Sahā Village, Hanok had resumed training with Da-seot.
To show off his growth.
"Hanok, what's up?"
"Ah, no. I just wondered if you're planning to turn the world into undead paradise."
Undead paradise.
Hearing that, Leyzon stroked his chin.
Thinking ahead, it might not be a bad idea.
"Hanok, want to become undead?"
"Hiiik!"
Hanok screamed and fled.
It wasn't far off, but for now, he'd let it be.
More importantly, becoming undead fixed one's affinities to darkness types.
'Whether clearing the four great dungeons is truly for the empire...'
Leyzon intended to find out for sure.
And for that, he needed someone well-versed in the imperial family.
Leyzon connected with the person he'd been keeping an eye on lately.
'Sword Saint.'
The only noble Leyzon knew.
He had to get him back to the imperial family.
* * *
The intermediate distribution business operating in Sahā Village.
Since he was in Sahā Village, Leyzon checked on Rafila's business progress.
Two key dungeons remained out of the four great dungeons.
But those two key dungeons had a problem.
Someone had already cleared them.
So there were no more keys left in those dungeons.
'No key means no need to go.'
To address this, he'd set up a meeting.
With the Bloodless Sovereign.
He planned to meet the queen of the underworld once more.
So he intended to stay in Sahā Village until then.
From the reports, Rafila and Da-seot had handled things excellently.
There were occasional slip-ups by Rafila, but quick-witted Da-seot covered them.
As a result, Da-seot and Rafila had grown extremely close.
Lately, they even shared drinks and personal stories.
"Rafila, Ijis might get jealous if she finds out."
Leyzon smiled watching the friendly pair.
Good relations were naturally a good thing.
"No need to worry. Recently, one member of the Desert Wolves seems to have taken a liking to Da-seot."
Leyzon's eyes widened at the unfamiliar story.
He turned to Da-seot, who was helping with the work nearby.
Da-seot glared at Rafila, but Rafila just grinned widely.
She clearly wasn't going down alone.
"Da-seot, keeping secrets from me?"
"No way. I have no such feelings."
A one-sided crush from the other side, then.
"The age gap is ten years. I have no intention of playing the thief."
Da-seot looked troubled.
It was a pretty big difference.
But this was a medieval world.
Women married young, even in their teens.
Da-seot, having trained his whole life, was already thirty-two.
Well past marriageable age.
He wasn't in a position to be picky.
"Above all, I'm Syria's servant."
Da-seot was a vampire's thrall.
He couldn't get intimate with humans because of it.
Leyzon gazed quietly at Da-seot before returning to the reports.
"Right, no need to meddle in a subordinate's love life."
If that was Da-seot's will, Leyzon wouldn't interfere.
"But don't miss your chance."
Da-seot's life had been stolen by the imperial family.
Leyzon hoped he could reclaim it.
"Come to think of it, what name do you use in the Steel Wolf Guild, Da-seot?"
Leyzon realized he'd been calling him Da-seot all this time.
He couldn't keep using the imperial name forever.
Time for a proper one.
"Well, uh..."
Da-seot hesitated.
Rafila answered instead.
"Crow."
A person's name is a crow?
Da-seot bowed his head.
"Pfft, I registered him as that in the Steel Wolf Guild back then."
Rafila couldn't hide her giggling laugh.
He'd named him on the spot, and it stuck.
"Crow. Cool, I like it."
"Sigh, I'll change it someday."
Da-seot sighed at the wave of embarrassment.
Guess he'd call him Crow from now on.
That was when Leyzon thought that.
Scratch scratch―
Leyzon heard the sound of a pen writing a letter.
He opened the telegram letter in front of him.
A reply had come from the person he'd been waiting for.
The telegram was from the Sword Saint.
Bluebird Knight Order Captain Karis.
Her father, the 29th White Lion Knight Order Captain erased from the world.
The Sword Saint had discovered his traces.