The Warmth of a Skeleton
He's not human.
Once she realized her opponent was the Grand Sage, Selina gave up all resistance. He was, without a doubt, the man who stood at the absolute pinnacle of humanity. She believed the only escape from his grasp was death. To stop him, even a Lord of the Abyss Palace would have to appear. Naturally, the Death Knight who reminded her of Lucas came to mind—and her imagination soon became reality.
"These women are my acquaintances. I wish to slaughter you all, but I shall show mercy. Flee while I am still letting you live."
Thanks to him appearing like a savior, Selina survived. As expected of an Abyss Palace Boss, he calmly met the Grand Sage's fierce glare. He didn't draw his sword merely to fight the Grand Sage, but to save the witches. Was he doing this out of some fleeting affection? Or for his lieutenant, Charlotte? What if there was another reason?
...That back.
The sight of his back from ten years ago rose like an illusion. A man saving witches from the Empire—he was the spitting image of him. Even the sword she had doubted was the Holy Sword, scattering its brilliant light exactly as it did in her memories.
Whoosh!
It was then that a reagent bottle flew toward the Grand Sage.
"I saw the corpses of countless monsters on my way here. Surely, it was your doing. If I am correct, drink this elixir."
"...What trickery is this?"
"There is no victory more shameful than defeating an exhausted foe. If you wish to challenge me, do so at your absolute best."
"..."
"I wonder if you will truly prove to be a worthy rival."
If it were poison, there was no way the Grand Sage would drink it so easily. A strange light flickered in the Grand Sage's eyes as he looked at the bottle, assessing whether it was poisoned. Selina knew of the Grand Sage's famous Mystic Eye. The Eye of Penetration could instantly discern if it was poison or if there was some other trick. Therefore, if it had been a poisonous scheme, it would have been nothing but a foolish trick.
Pop!
To her astonishment, the Grand Sage downed the elixir in a single gulp. In other words, it wasn't a shallow trick; it was a genuine elixir.
That was real?
No matter how powerful an Abyss Palace Boss was, his opponent was still the Grand Sage. In a situation where he should be on high alert, such reckless bravado could cost him his life.
"Monster of the Abyss. You have made a decision you will regret."
For the first time, Selina agreed with the Grand Sage. Reckless pride was the shortcut to ruin. This was a truth that applied even to a Lord of the Mugan 7-gung.
*Whoosh!*
A brilliant, multi-colored magic circle erupted at the Grand Sage's feet. It was the legendary 9th Circle multi-attribute magic spell, Cataclysm. Selina's face paled with despair. The moment Cataclysm was unleashed, they were all destined to be vaporized, leaving not even ashes behind. As if he were the only one unaware of this, Bargore showed a thoroughly bored reaction.
"A pointless expectation."
"What?"
"I am saying you are boring. I expected you to be a worthy rival, but..."
"Bwahaha! You've lost your mind! A dying bastard putting on such bluffs—"
*Splat!*
"...Huh?"
Unconsciously, Selina's mouth fell open. A single syllable. She couldn't utter anything more. Yet, even that was enough to describe the situation. Selina stared blankly at the spot where the Grand Sage had stood. Even as she watched, she couldn't believe it.
The Grand Sage. The man who stood at the pinnacle of humanity had exploded like a bug. At the very least, a bug had to be stepped on to die. But the Grand Sage had exploded without any physical contact, killed by Bargore's gaze alone. Everything he had said and done up to this point, along with his current calm demeanor, clicked perfectly. To him, the Grand Sage's death was an entirely natural outcome.
Bargore sheathed his sword and swept his gaze over the surroundings. Though an undead naturally possessed no facial expressions, his blank face carried a suffocating weight.
"This is why I find it boring."
*Gasp.*
Only when she ran out of air did Selina finally remember to breathe. It hadn't been reckless pride. On the contrary, it was the Grand Sage who had paid the price for his own arrogance with his life.
"Charlotte. Isabella."
He was the only one who remained completely unfazed. Amidst the overwhelming atmosphere, there was no response for a long moment.
"...Yes, Master."
"Y-Yes!"
Once the two snapped out of it and replied, Bargore pointed at the Margrave.
"Secure him."
There was no real need to secure him, as he was already standing there in a daze, completely frozen. Leaving the Margrave to the two of them, Bargore approached Selina with the Holy Sword in hand.
"You are bleeding heavily."
His gaze lingered on Selina's shoulder and both ankles. Blood was flowing freely from the wounds. Just then, the orange glow of the Holy Sword shifted to a pure, brilliant white. The moment he pressed it against her wounds, they began to rapidly knit together. By the time Selina even realized what was happening, her wounds were completely healed.
"Rest."
Bargore moved toward the injured children. Selina stared blankly at his retreating back, biting her lower lip. She, who had felt nothing but disgust for humanity, was now feeling warmth from an undead. No, she had felt this profound warmth from a human once before. And those two were, in fact, the exact same person.
He had returned. The man who had turned the entire Empire into his enemy for the sake of the witches.
Ah, Lord Lucas.
It really was you. Just like ten years ago, you have shown us mercy and saved us once again.
Selina's face flushed with vivid joy. Yet, even as her heart swelled, a seed of doubt sprouted in a corner of her mind. Did he actually realize he was Lucas? Generally, the undead forgot their past lives, but that wasn't true for all of them. High-tier undead like Liches remembered their past lives, so perhaps he knew as well. If so, wouldn't he also recognize that the young witch was Charlotte?
Is he hiding his identity despite knowing, or does he truly not know who he is...?
Strictly speaking, a Death Knight was not considered a high-tier entity. Thinking of it that way, he might truly be unaware, but it was hard to be certain either way. Selina stared blankly at Charlotte. One thing was certain: Charlotte did not know his true identity, nor did she know of their tangled past.
"..."
For Selina's part, she wished Charlotte would remain ignorant of this truth forever. If she found out, she would undoubtedly break down mentally. Though Charlotte would likely find out someday, Selina could never bring herself to say it.
"Eek!"
Whenever I drew close, the young witches flinched in terror. It was honestly quite hurtful. I came here to heal you, so why are you looking at me like you've seen a ghost?
This damn dog-ugly skull face. I need to get some plastic surgery done on this thing later.
After some trial and error, I finished healing all of the children's wounds and turned around. The Margrave was still staring blankly at what used to be the Grand Sage. Since the man had exploded without leaving even a corpse behind, it looked as if the Margrave was just staring at the dirt.
"Hold him so he cannot move."
I approached him, raising the Holy Sword. His eyes showed he had already resigned himself to death. Honestly, I wanted to just let him go. He wasn't the one who had tried to kill me, and I was reluctant to take lives in the first place.
If I thought about it, the Empire had already lost two Heroes and now the Grand Sage. If the Margrave died here too, things would spiral completely out of control. But if I let him go, he might return as a major threat, fueled by a desire for vengeance. Besides, the most important thing for me right now was leveling up. Killing him would grant me an astronomical amount of experience.
I had to choose the right time and place to worry about my humanity. The only thing I could do was kill him as painlessly as possible, with a heart full of apology. My own safety was far more important to me than the chaos of the Empire.
Though I am worried about Calandas.
I trusted that Cecilia would handle it somehow. To ease my guilt, I let go of the Holy Sword. Floating in midair, the Holy Sword tilted horizontally and shot forward like an arrow.
Slash!
With a clean cutting sound, the Margrave's head rolled onto the ground.
*Thud.*
The headless body collapsed limply. I offered a silent prayer for him in my heart. This, too, was just my selfishness trying to preserve a shred of my meager humanity.
My level on the status window had changed to 74. I had gained two levels by killing the Margrave, but I couldn't bring myself to rejoice.
"Thank you, Boss."
Charlotte had approached me before I knew it. It seemed she was thanking me for saving her aunt and her people. Looking at her characteristically calm, expressionless face made my own heart feel at ease.
"Retrieve the corpse with Isabella."
"Yes, Boss."
While the Margrave's corpse could be turned into a Dullahan, the Grand Sage's body was a lost cause in many ways. Still, depending on Charlotte's progress, it might be useful, so it was best to collect whatever was left. I turned my gaze to Selina and spoke.
"As you have seen, even the Frozen Lands are not entirely safe."
"..."
"Come to the Tomb of Faith. I shall guarantee your safety."
Due to this incident, Selina's level indicator had turned a deep green. Judging by the color, she should have readily accepted the invitation, but for some reason, she seemed to hesitate.
She must be worried about the children.
But really, there was nothing to worry about. Although they kept their distance from me, most of the children had light green level indicators. I had saved them and healed them, so there was no way they hated me. They were only keeping their distance because of my appearance; their hearts were already favorable toward me.
Just then, Elin, who had been standing among the children, waddled over. Approaching me, she looked up blankly before wrapping her arms tightly around my leg.
"..."
Her tiny head was so adorable that I unconsciously reached down and patted it. Seeing this, the children who had been keeping their distance began to gather around, hesitatingly.
"Um... Mr. Skeleton. Can I touch your horns just a little bit?"
A young girl asked, her eyes sparkling. I leaned my upper body forward and lowered my head so the little one could reach.
*Fiddle, pat.*
"Whoa..."
After that, they bombarded me with all sorts of requests: give them piggyback rides, let them touch my sword, do "vroom-vroom" (I had no idea what that was), and so on. My mind spun from the sheer variety of demands. Unable to refuse their innocent pleas, I found myself granting every single request, feeling rather pathetic about my own situation.
"How insolent..."
Charlotte gritted her teeth as she watched the children climbing onto my neck, shoulders, and head. Judging by her glare, she looked ready to slaughter them all, children or not. Terrified, I quickly waved my hand to signal that it was fine. Hey, if they're cute, we can let it slide, right?
While I carefully set the children back down on the ground, Charlotte and Selina were talking. Charlotte seemed to have deactivated her disguise magic, as her pupils had returned to their magic-circle state.
"I became a Demone through the Boss's grace. Of course, it is an honor simply to serve him without any reward. Yet, the Boss looks after his subordinates with the utmost care."
"The benefits are amazing too! If you all come, my blood-suck—I mean, it'll be incredibly fun!"
If Charlotte sounded like a cult recruiter, Isabella was looking at the witches as literal blood packs. Seriously, I was going to lose my mind.
"Ahaha... Hold on a moment. I need to ask the children what they think first."
Selina excused herself from the two and stepped away. After speaking with each of the children, she walked back to me with a smile.
"They all say they would love to. May we trouble you for a place to stay?"
"As much as you like."
That was all that needed to be said. After retrieving the corpses, Charlotte opened a portal. It had only taken a long time to get here because we had to travel by carriage without a portal anchor; returning would be instantaneous.
"Um, by any chance, Lu..."
Selina trailed off. I wondered who she was talking to, only to realize she was looking at me. Even when I tilted my chin to encourage her to speak, she kept hesitating for some reason.
"Ah, no, it's nothing."
In the end, she brushed it off. The thing people hate most is when someone stops talking mid-sentence. ...Well, not that I'm a human anyway.