Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: The Fake and the Trap
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Sahā Village Hospital, hospital corridor.
Rafila finished his conversation with the synthesis workshop chief and returned late.
The workshop chief had always been the talkative type.
As such, Rafila, who had chatted with him at length, showed signs of fatigue.
But his work wasn't done yet.
The most important matter still remained.
'Has Lord Leyzon finished up already?'
It was then, as he visited Pensaldor's hospital room with that thought.
As Rafila opened the door and entered, he saw a woman there.
A woman with silver bobbed hair and a sharp impression.
Yet her face was filled with more fatigue than usual.
"Aegis."
As Rafila called her name, Aegis turned toward him.
She brightened up the moment she saw Rafila.
Suddenly, he realized how deathly quiet the room was.
Looking around, Rafila belatedly noticed Leyzon was gone.
"Where is Lord Leyzon?"
"He vanished into the shadows."
Aegis let out a short sigh.
Her reaction made it clear something unusual had happened.
"Something went down, huh."
"To cut to the chase, the Pensaldor who came here was a fake."
Rafila's face hardened.
Pensaldor being a fake—he hadn't even considered it.
"But Lord Leyzon took care of it."
Unlike before, Pensaldor now slept with peaceful eyes.
Leyzon had indeed resolved it.
"...Rafila, can I tell you just one thing?"
She said that while hunching her shoulders.
"What is it?"
"Whatever you do, don't even think of betraying Lord Leyzon."
Aegis clenched her fists tight, her face like she'd glimpsed the abyss.
"You'll end up crossing an irreversible river."
Aegis had seen it with her own eyes.
Leyzon forcibly dragging out the fake Pensaldor's soul and turning it into an undead.
The sight was so gruesome even she could hardly bear to watch.
That's why she worried Rafila might harbor such thoughts.
"Aegis."
Rafila gave a wry smile.
"Not even if the world splits in two."
Rafila knew Leyzon's actions better than Aegis did.
The more you know, the more you see.
To a necromancer, betrayal was just the process of becoming a subservient slave.
Steel Wolf Guild private room.
Flip—
The only sound filling the space was that of turning pages.
Atop the desk with the open book sat a skull.
A small skull about two hand spans in size.
The skull sat on the desk like a doll with cut strings.
"Time to wake up. You've already been spotted."
A half dark elf spoke to the skull like that.
Blue hair flickered inside her black locks.
The abyss, Leyzon.
The one who created the skull.
Clack—
The skull aligned its jawbone and slowly lifted its head.
Then, red glows emanated from within its sockets.
"Granpin, how does it feel to be reborn?"
Leyzon smiled faintly as he addressed it.
"...It feels utterly filthy."
Granpin gnashed his teeth.
He had become an undead by Leyzon's hand.
Undead, skull soldier.
The simplest undead Leyzon had ever made without much effort.
Smack!
In that instant, Granpin took a hit to the back of the head and rolled across the floor.
A sudden strike from the darkness.
"Hey, kid, that's no way to talk to Lord Leyzon."
Eden appeared there and scolded Granpin.
Granpin struggled to get up from the floor.
His head was only half a normal size.
Which made balancing tricky.
But Granpin boldly raised bony fists toward Leyzon.
"I won't yield to this!"
"Oh? Then where's the Sword Saint?"
"Trapped in the maze's darkness within the abandoned house in Gaibel Barony! Ack!"
He answered Leyzon's question without hesitation, then covered his mouth.
Granpin had become Leyzon's undead as of today.
He could no longer hide his true thoughts from Leyzon.
Undead feel joy in aiding their master.
Those long grown with Tessa and the other four might resist, but...
Newly made undead like him were far more susceptible.
Especially since Leyzon had tweaked Granpin's mind once over.
"I've realized something lately while making multiple undead."
Leyzon could craft undead from souls.
Which meant implanting absolute obedience into the soul was possible too.
"No need for that with the others."
A sinister smile crept onto his lips.
"But with you, Granpin, I've firmly implanted absolute obedience."
Granpin had once been the Ossuary's bell-ringer.
No harm in being cautious.
As a result, Granpin could never defy Leyzon's words.
"From now on, you'll spill everything you know."
Granpin's shoulders twitched.
His eye glows shook violently.
Truth be told, Leyzon didn't expect much info from him.
Unless the Ossuary was babysitting him.
He was just a memory trap erased from the world once.
How much could this guy know about the Ossuary?
But any info on the Ossuary was precious, even trivia.
Leyzon reached out and grabbed Granpin by the nape, lifting him up.
"So I'll shake you down thoroughly later."
"Thank you! No, I hate it!"
He was trying to resist the absolute obedience, but it was too late.
"Pauli, Estelle."
At Leyzon's call, two undead appeared before him.
Two horns sprouting from their heads, gray long hair.
Unlike before, scales dotted their faces, and long tails ended in tufts of fur.
Evoking an Eastern dragon more than a Western one.
Estelle Aragon.
Right beside her.
A diamond crown blazed fiercely.
With a fluttering cape and now wielding a golden staff, a majestic ant.
Pauli Poatriche.
Both had successfully evolved to expert form.
"This time, you two are coming along."
"Yes, just leave it to us."
"Whatever the load, we'll handle it!"
The serene Estelle and spirited Pauli.
"Let's move out!"
Finally, Syria appeared, clinging tightly to Leyzon's arm.
Leyzon turned with his four undead in tow.
He opened the window connected to the back of the building and stepped out.
The night streets were eerily quiet, devoid of even a single ant.
No matter how much they bolstered security, medieval nights were frightening.
So the midnight streets being silent was natural.
This made them even less conspicuous.
Leyzon cloaked himself in darkness.
Then, via Bone Broom, he shot up into the sky in an instant.
The moment he reached a point beyond human sight.
"Estelle."
At Leyzon's call, Estelle, who had followed, transformed.
Now in her complete draconic form, Estelle snorted.
That alone pushed away the surrounding clouds.
Granpin, dangling from Leyzon's hand, gaped in shock at Estelle.
Granpin too was versed in necromancy.
Thus, he couldn't close his mouth at Estelle's realm.
Could you even call an abyssal undead an undead?
It transcended undead entirely.
Leyzon mounted Estelle with the undead.
"To Gaibel Barony."
The territory where Serin Night Guild Master, the bastard child Aegis Gaibel, was born.
They're heading there.
Gaibel Barony is famous for its vineyards.
The wine produced from its quality grapes is top-notch.
Thus, Gaibel Barony is renowned as a wealthy domain.
High above Gaibel Barony, in the clouds.
A sudden ashen dragon appeared.
The death-bringer, death dragon.
At its arrival, sensitive birds abandoned their nests and fled.
Death dragon, Estelle Aragon.
Among Leyzon's undead, she boasted the fastest travel speed.
Thanks to Dragon Scales [Special]'s acceleration and Air Severing [SS].
As a result, Leyzon arrived at Gaibel Barony before night ended.
"Estelle, head back."
"Yes, take care."
Leyzon left Estelle and vanished into the shadows.
Above Gaibel's streets, quiet as a graveyard.
Thud—
Moments later, Leyzon appeared cloaked in a robe.
Several presences writhed in his shadow.
But no one noticed.
Leyzon walked through the night streets.
Soon, he arrived at an abandoned house.
A now-unused ruin.
Webs spanned everywhere in the abandoned house, plants overgrown.
This place was once the nest of a man grieving the loss of his beloved and the woman who secretly loved him.
'Why didn't the Ossuary bother burning this place down?'
The Ossuary had erased the 29th White Lion Knight Order Captain Siron's memory from the world.
'Moreover, the Ossuary anticipated Siron might leave something behind.'
Leyzon lifted Granpin.
Granpin dangled silently from his hand.
Granpin, the trap set by the Ossuary, was proof.
Yet the Ossuary hadn't torched potential traces.
What was the reason?
'A weakness of the ability used?'
Leyzon's eyes narrowed.
Powerful skills come with equal constraints.
Skills embodied ancient primal powers.
Meaning those original powers had the same limits.
A world-scale memory erasure.
Could it truly have no penalties?
Besides, the Ossuary couldn't wield full power within the empire.
'He's a prophet. The transcendent evil can't fully extend its power in the empire, so it can't exert its full strength.'
In exchange, the Ossuary's ability might carry restrictions.
'It can erase recorded memories from the world. But it can't directly erase traces. High chance that's the constraint.'
So it waited for time to naturally erase them.
'Just my speculation, though.'
It was the most plausible explanation.
That made setting a trap in this abandoned house make sense.
"Granpin, besides you, where else did the Ossuary set traps?"
"Everywhere related to the former White Lion Knight Order Captain. Same for his old territory. No, not there!"
As expected, some constraint was in play.
This abandoned house was one such spot.
"Looks like it couldn't pinpoint the exact traces."
Leyzon muttered that and stepped into the abandoned house entrance.
The dilapidated ruin gave off an eerie vibe.
The Sword Saint was inside.
Leyzon clicked his tongue thinking of him.
"Guy's a total direction-ditz too."
Of all places, a maze.
Leyzon placed his hand on the worn doorknob, exasperated.
Opening the door revealed an ordinary house corridor.
But the ominous aura wafting from within couldn't be hidden.
Leyzon didn't step inside.
"Pauli."
Instead, he summoned his undead.
Pauli popped up on Leyzon's shoulder.
Pauli's eyes gleamed with fierce determination.
Once an expert tied to a fortress that built a whole castle.
The mobile black fortress.
Pauli Poatriche.
"Dismantle all this."
"Haha, leave it to me!"
Demolition tools sprang from Paulli’s arms in unison.
Leyzon had never planned to navigate the maze intact.
Forcibly demolish it, and done.