Chapter 135
Chapter 135
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: The Accompanying Being
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A point separated from Mountain Path Village, the stronghold claimed by the Marias Tribe.
The kingdom army's tents stretched out long in the base camp that came fully into view. Not only were sentries posted, but sturdy barricades made from locally sourced materials stood ready as well.
It was hard to believe this base had been constructed in just a few days—it was that meticulously and solidly built.
But the soldiers' morale was dismally low, far beyond the ordinary.
The eyes of those who came to greet me were hollow, their bodies drained of strength.
The sight instantly evoked images of an army without rations, but since the kingdom forces were fighting on their own territory, supplies shouldn't be an issue.
"You're here."
Gloria Grace, the red-haired Royal Guard Captain, greeted me flatly.
The aides beside her merely bowed their heads briefly—no grand welcome ceremony.
In truth, what came to mind more than that was our decision from the royal banquet last time to drop formalities upon seeing her face.
"I heard there was an assassination attempt on the way. You alright?"
"Rebels who fled into the forest sent them. No problem."
At my words, several knights ground their teeth as if trembling with rage. The fact that the traitorous nobles who had defected to the Marias Great Forest had gone so far as to send assassins was more than enough to fuel their fury.
"Let's get straight to the point. I heard you lost to the great warrior."
Grace and the other knights flinched visibly. Especially those around her—they made no effort to hide their discomfort.
This was a battlefield.
They knew the military hierarchy far better than I did.
It seemed they hadn't yet realized I was a special existence personally endorsed by His Majesty.
[Kieeeek!]
[Kwaaak! Kyaaak!]
[Spare me! Please spare meeee!]
I manipulated my mana just enough to let only the screams of the ghosts wandering inside this tent be heard.
It was an application of necromancy I'd learned from the Black Necromancer—something only I, who could see all the dead, could pull off. A kind of atmosphere-setting trick.
She called it the [Art of Pretending to Be an Ominous Man].
The knights startled at the sudden screams echoing inside the tent and turned to stare at me.
"Is defeat so humiliating that I have to tiptoe around you all?"
It was a warning of sorts.
A firm declaration not to overstep my position carelessly.
Knights of the Royal Guard wouldn't miss that, and they all bowed their heads deeply, saying nothing.
"I'll apologize. I'm sorry. Us martial folk are sensitive about wins and losses by nature."
Gloria, who had done nothing wrong, stood and bowed deeply to me.
Seeing that, the other knights flinched again, averting their eyes as if dizzy.
'She did that on purpose.'
Gloria had taken the lead herself to ensure the knights wouldn't treat me lightly—showing them that if they failed in decorum, she would bear the shame personally.
"Alright, apology accepted."
As I brushed it off cleanly, Gloria lifted her head. I thought explanations would follow right away, but no.
"Saintess Lucia will arrive here in about two hours. I'll explain then. It might take a while."
……Understood.
"We'll assign you a separate tent, but we can't give personal ones to the maid and the boy."
"I don't expect that much. They can stay in mine."
"Then Walter will guide you right away. Wait there a bit."
A knight named Walter stepped forward. He saluted dramatically, then courteously escorted me.
"Please follow me, Necromancer."
The treatment had certainly changed.
I followed him to the massive tent already set up for me.
I called in Pindenai and Owen, who had been waiting, and we went together.
Walter, who had guided us to the tent, saluted once more and backed away carefully out of the tent.
"They're strict on discipline, huh?"
Pindenai stuck out her tongue in wonder, murmuring to herself. While she and Owen unpacked, I stepped back outside.
The enemy base wasn't visible from here, but I could still sense a strange aura.
A sensation beyond mana.
The feeling of vast nature glaring this way was akin to the pressure from the Mountain Lord in the North Wedden Mountains.
'As expected, the guardian deity Horua is intervening.'
He wielded power similar to the Mountain Lord's but couldn't unleash its full might outside the Marias Great Forest.
He was probably combining forces with the man called the great warrior.
'So, what is their goal?'
They came under the pretext of revenge for the great chieftain and Setima villagers, but that rang hollow.
They surely wouldn't throw themselves against a colossal beast like Griffin over mere sweet talk from exiled kingdom nobles.
There had to be another reason for this war, though I couldn't quite grasp what.
Time passed like that.
She'd said two hours, but it was already late, and soon the sun had set, night fallen.
Finally, the carriage carrying the saintess arrived at the base.
And then.
"Woooaaah!"
"It's the Saintess!"
"Saintess Lucia!"
"God is with us! We will triumph in this battle!"
The masses welcoming Lucia. Soldiers who had just moments ago looked haggard, weary, and brutalized by war now cheered toward the saintess.
It made clear why King Orpheus had dispatched Lucia here specifically.
"Wow, total opposite from the master."
[This level of difference in treatment is ridiculous.]
"To me, Necromancer is the best!"
Pindenai, the Black Necromancer, and Owen each showed their reactions.
We were in similar positions as saintess and necromancer, yet the treatment around us was worlds apart.
I didn't feel envious or anything.
Suddenly, Stella slumbering within me came to mind. She was probably still sleeping soundly.
I could only hope the battlefield's fervor and the screams of the dead wouldn't disturb her rest.
"It'll take a bit. Let's wait at the command tent."
Even Gloria, the knight captain, awkwardly guided me amid the reaction.
I didn't particularly mind, so I followed her, instructing Pindenai and Owen to return to my tent for now.
Shortly after.
Lucia entered amid the soldiers' cheers, smiling awkwardly.
"Long time no see, Deus. And Gloria."
Saintess Lucia, with her still-striking silver hair, greeted us with a demure smile.
If anything, her hair color was similar to Pindenai's, but their auras were polar opposites.
One was a beast, the other a girl.
That summed it up perfectly.
"Especially you, Deus. Thank you for what you did at Elia Convent. I heard all about it from the abbess."
"Yeah, no big deal."
At my response, Gloria looked exasperated, but Lucia chuckled as if it were natural.
Then she stepped closer and whispered—though everyone in the tent could hear anyway.
"Has Lady Stella found repose?"
"Yeah, she must've been exhausted, so she'll sleep for a while."
"I see. That's a relief."
Lucia smiled brightly and bowed slightly in thanks. I accepted without attaching much meaning.
Thump.
'Hm?'
For a split second, something surged up from my chest. But if asked whether I'd changed, no.
It wasn't my emotion—someone else's crashed over me.
And it felt like nothing less than petulance.
'……Is she sulking because it's another saintess?'
Not oblivious, I put a bit of distance between me and Lucia to avoid riling the fidgeting Stella further.
Lucia tilted her head, wondering what was wrong, but anyway.
"Now, let's hear the briefing."
A bit late, but Gloria began her explanation. The situation itself was simple.
They'd fought the Marias Tribe for subjugation but lost, retreating to establish this base at a distance from theirs.
Simple, but heavy with implications.
"The others aren't much of a threat, really. They're skilled warriors, but laughable compared to us. The key is…… Great Warrior Valkzar."
Gloria's voice cracked slightly. A sign of how hard-fought it had been.
"That guy's a total monster. I couldn't even last a few exchanges before losing. First time I've seen someone so perfectly suited to the 'one-man army' label."
"One-man army……."
Lucia mulled the words, her expression subtle. A layman in combat, she knew her childhood friend Gloria's strength well—seeing her so deflated must be a first.
"Strategies and tactics mean nothing against him. He doesn't use mana but some other power, and when those red wings on his back flare out, his mobility is beyond imagination."
Horua's wings.
As expected, Horua, who had abandoned the Marias Great Forest, seemed to have descended directly upon the great warrior.
……!
[Eh?]
"Wait a second."
Suddenly, the saintess, Black Necromancer, and I all turned our gazes outside the tent. The knight captain noticed a beat later.
And then the tearing screams poured in.
We rushed out, greeted by a fierce man with copper skin and savage tattoos.
Flames like a scorching wave enveloped him, burning wings evoking the mythical Icarus.
And their owner, Great Warrior Valkzar.
Behind him, warriors mounted on lizards waged a mobile assault against the knights.
Valkzar's bellow echoed across the entire camp.
"Among you! Which is Necromancer Deus Verdi! Come out and face my spear!"
Called out specifically, all three pairs of eyes turned to me.
[W-Wait a moment. Don't react—hide for now.]
"Come back with me. You're not a warrior; no need to fight."
"Get behind me."
The Black Necromancer and Lucia tried to shield me, while Gloria drew her sword to stand as my barrier.
Pindenai, who had just emerged from the tent, was rushing this way too.
But I gently pushed Lucia aside and answered.
"I am the necromancer, Deus Verdi."
The hunter's gaze locked on precisely. Our eyes met, and Valkzar snorted, slamming his spear's butt into the ground.
"If you're so exceptional! Clash with me in martial prowess! This great warrior shall gauge your worth!"
"Absurd!"
At the call for single combat, Gloria panicked and tried to stop me.
But my gaze was fixed solely on him, and his on me alone.
So my feet stepped forward. Ignoring the Black Necromancer and Lucia's shouts, I passed Gloria with a casual "it's fine."
Finally, Pindenai.
She raced up to me, hesitated, then sighed and hurled her axe into the ground with a whack.
A signal she wouldn't interfere.
"You're confident you'll win, right?"
At her question, I glanced at Valkzar and snorted.
"Just a weakling borrowing power."
Pindenai burst into laughter at my assessment, nodding vigorously.
"You're one to talk, weakling yourself. If he comes, give him a massage or something, master. Tell Owen to sleep outside the tent."
……Ease up on that talk in front of Owen later.
Subtle gazes poured from behind. Gloria and Lucia, who had just been worried, now eyed me strangely.
"And in front of others too."
"But this is my fun."
Her words alone deflated my morale a bit. Ignoring it, I strode confidently toward the stage.
I stood before Valkzar, who glared with his flaming wings spread.
"The spirits of your ancestors, guardian god Horua. Quite the illustrious company you keep."
…….
Standing before him reversed the atmosphere.
Valkzar's eyes, bold until now, trembled faintly.
No need to do anything.
The ancestral spirits clinging to him were already quaking in fear, trying to flee, and Horua's power, being feeble, was being pushed back.
Perhaps because he was the borrower. Or maybe due to senses honed like a beast from the great forest.
Valkzar seemed to sense something, grinding his thick lips as he demanded.
"And you—pray tell, what accompanies you?"
"Nothing special."
I'd kept Dina's monster-sorcerer soul separate, but she alone would barely merit a scoff from him.
But.
"A former saintess turned starlight, and……."
An existence none here could dare touch. The sleeping monster that had coincidentally come to dwell within me alongside her.
Valkzar had sharp instincts.
Too sharp.
Empowered by Horua's aura, granting senses near-prophetic.
And that became his fatal mistake.
"The Archdemon of Mutation, no doubt."
Thus, he'd detected the aura of Archdemon Belica slumbering within me alongside the saintess.