Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Necromancer
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Sniff sniff!
A ball of white fur sniffed around, then hopped along through the swamp.
Radiant Anubis.
Normally, it hid under Park Chan-woo's pant leg, but the moment they entered the fog-shrouded 'swamp' area thick with poison mist, it grew excited and started moving.
'It's reacting to something.'
Park Chan-woo tilted his head.
There was nothing here that Anubis should react to.
All that filled the air was the foul stench of rot.
The only things visible were the sticky mires.
Even he couldn't advance easily in this situation.
'No clear info on the swamp.'
There was no solid information to go on first.
All Park Chan-woo knew was that a 'miracle' had happened here.
But one thing had become clear the moment he set foot in the swamp.
The swamp's poison was quite potent.
Now he understood why information on this place was so scarce.
If it paralyzed the body and induced hallucinations, no one who crossed it would remember clearly.
'It's designed so people witness the miracle.'
From the start, the bastard planned to perform a 'miracle' here.
To have terrified people face his feat and praise him.
Otherwise, there'd be no reason to lead people into a poison-mist-choked swamp.
So.
'...He must've already made a contract with a Creator as his Incarnation.'
He didn't know if the contracted Creator was one of the 'Great Nine Lords,' but the bastard had definitely formed an Incarnation contract with a Creator.
He couldn't have set all this up alone.
Moreover, for the 'Beast God Abyss' organizer to hand over an entire area like this suggested a high-ranking Creator... no, a 'Named Creator.'
Or perhaps the 'Beast God Abyss' organizer was his contractor.
Either way, the bastard intended to pull off this miracle with the Creator's full backing.
'Born a villain, huh.'
Park Chan-woo shook his head inwardly.
There had never been even a slim chance he hadn't formed an 'Incarnation contract' yet.
Any lingering emotions vanished because of it.
In the early to mid-stages when the Abyss overwhelmed humanity.
Many had been saved by him.
So, he'd harbored a faint hope.
Maybe he hadn't made the Incarnation contract at first.
But... if he'd been an 'Incarnation' from the beginning, there was no need for words.
It meant everything he'd done was calculated.
Setting up the miracle, showing it off, trying to lead people.
And in the end...
'...He opened the worst Abyss.'
Just thinking about that moment made his teeth grind.
Park Chan-woo cleared his thoughts.
"Anubis. Do you know the way?"
He asked the Radiant Anubis, which was leading ahead like a guide.
Radiant Anubis advanced without a single pause.
It moved as if it knew the destination.
But the swamp was a maze.
One where paths shifted every moment.
Park Chan-woo had marked dense bushes or trees along the way, and occasionally those marks reappeared.
If it knew the path, why loop back?
'It's avoiding something.'
...Anubis was dodging dangers.
They hadn't encountered anything in the swamp so far, reinforcing the idea that Anubis was deliberately guiding them along safe routes.
That's why it circled back sometimes.
No matter his 'Non-Existence' trait, it only erased his presence—it wasn't true invincibility.
He was vulnerable to the area's inherent aggressive traits.
Like the poison mist that affected him just by stepping in, or traps and barriers.
Non-Existence prevented conscious detection, but automatic threats could still pose a danger.
Hop hop hop hop!
Park Chan-woo followed behind Radiant Anubis as it wiggled its fur busily.
How much longer did they walk?
'...!'
Something in the distance made him stop.
There, far off, was an 'altar.'
An altar was a structure needed for grand rituals.
But the beings before it were far from ordinary.
A monster in a black robe, emanating black magic while maintaining a 'barrier.'
And
"Grooook, grooook!"
"Grrraaawrk!"
Hundreds of green-skinned 'fierce poison zombies' lurked around, emitting chilling groans.
'A Necromancer.'
One who governs death.
The monster closest to death itself!
And judging by the number of summoned fierce poison zombies, it wasn't ordinary.
This was a beast that could devour even a boss monster from a high-tier dungeon Abyss.
Those who directly wielded death in the Abyss were rare, and even at the same level, their status and hierarchy were on another plane.
Park Chan-woo focused on the altar behind the Necromancer.
'...There's a treasure chest on the altar.'
He could see it clearly.
What the Necromancer was guarding.
A treasure chest on the altar, emanating blue light.
That must be the provision the Creator prepared for that trash bastard.
'Definitely on another level from the other provisions.'
The previous ones, guarded by mere monsters or hidden, were no match.
It felt like the entire swamp was made just to protect that chest.
What could be inside?
He was terribly curious, but
'Can't get past.'
The barrier guarding the Necromancer and altar, and the swarming fierce poison zombies.
All counters to him.
Devices Non-Existence couldn't bypass.
Forcing his way would shatter his body against the barrier.
Hop hop hop!
Yet Radiant Anubis didn't stop.
Park Chan-woo watched it calmly.
As much as the death-governing Necromancer.
No, even more so—'Anubis' was deeply tied to death.
Hop! Hop!
Anubis nimbly evaded the fierce poison zombies and reached the barrier's edge, then started hopping in front of the Necromancer.
Light flickered in the Necromancer's pitch-black eyes.
"What... are you?"
A hint of confusion colored the Necromancer's voice.
"How did you awaken my sealed soul?"
It couldn't comprehend the situation.
Naturally so.
The Necromancer was tasked with guarding the altar, erecting a barrier against unauthorized intruders.
But that wasn't its will.
Its soul sealed by someone.
Its body forcibly fixed and used solely to protect the altar.
Yet some white furball had awakened its sealed soul at the barrier's edge.
Soon, the Necromancer's soul realized the cause.
"Ah... You're the one who calls death. That's how you awakened my soul. But a divine being that guards the temple of death and guides souls—why are you in a place like this...?"
The Necromancer recognized Anubis.
Anubis, guardian of the temple of death, held a far higher rank than any Necromancer.
Even as a cub, it dwarfed a mere corpse-mover.
Hop! Hop!
"You want me to dispel the barrier? I'm sorry. My body no longer obeys my will. It's bound by a powerful contract. This barrier can only be crossed by the permitted one or my kin. Even if you're the cub of a divine being, unless you've matured into an adult...?"
The Necromancer's soul spoke regretfully.
Then it muttered to itself.
"...Ah. Why do I still guard this altar? Even as they place abominations upon it, insulting us. It's agonizing. I want to follow my dead comrades... follow them..."
A voice thick with regret.
Hearing it, Park Chan-woo thought.
'A barrier only the permitted or kin can cross.'
He wasn't permitted.
And even recognizing Anubis, it insisted the barrier couldn't be crossed.
Not a normal barrier.
One requiring an adult Anubis meant its defense was beyond 1,000—utterly impenetrable.
'No ordinary Necromancer after all.'
Who was it?
He had a guess.
The Necromancer had always guarded the altar.
Examining it, he pieced together its origins.
'...Orcish.'
Faint hieroglyphs on the altar.
Most related to 'orcs.'
Crude metaphors typical of orc art.
'Death, life, reproduction. An altar embodying three origins. That Necromancer guarding it was an orc high priest.'
And the priest himself had erected the barrier.
The altar was for their god.
Yet atop it sat not an offering to their deity, but a treasure chest.
An insult mocking the priest.
Park Chan-woo erased his presence as much as possible.
Countless zombies stood before him.
A force that could tear him apart in an instant if detected.
But he stepped forward without care.
With 'Non-Existence' active, the fierce poison zombies couldn't perceive him.
Thus, he waded through the horde and stood boldly before the barrier.
Then, slowly, with a solemn expression, he opened his mouth.
"Chweeek!"
"...!"
Now.
Park Chan-woo swiftly crossed the barrier.
He hadn't expected to use the 'Chweeek Belt' this way, but in that instant, both the Necromancer's body and soul recognized him as an 'orc.'
"Wha—when did you get there? No, more importantly... I just heard a kin's cry...?"
Park Chan-woo inwardly sighed in relief.
The chance was one-shot.
Failure would've been highly dangerous.
But without trying, nothing changes.
Even after he entered the barrier, the Necromancer's body didn't react.
All its functions were tied to summoning fierce poison zombies and maintaining the barrier.
Park Chan-woo eyed the treasure chest on the altar.
Magic flowed around it like an electric field.
Touching it recklessly would draw blood.
"Do you know how to open this chest?"
When Park Chan-woo asked, the Necromancer's soul replied.
"...I do."
"Tell me, and I'll be grateful. You're not guarding it out of love, right?"
"Grant me rest. Then I'll open the chest."
"By destroying the body?"
"Find the 'Life Vessel' and shatter it."
"...Where?"
"I don't know. But it's somewhere. Destroy it, and I'll finally find the peace I crave."
Park Chan-woo stroked his chin.
No wonder its magic reserves were so vast.
This was a lich-form Necromancer.
Liches hid their 'Life Vessel' containing soul and life force in secret spots.
As long as the 'Life Vessel' endured, they lived eternally.
Of course, he had an idea where it was.
'That bastard has it.'
So this was the miracle.
The bastard planned to shatter the Life Vessel and kill the lich.
With the lich dead, the barrier would vanish.
A perfect setup.
Designed solely for 'that bastard' to claim.
'...What to do.'
Should he hunt the bastard now?
But killing him carried huge risk.
He wasn't sure which Creator he'd contracted with.
If truly one of the 'Great Nine Lords,' even attempting it was suicide.
He'd need hundreds of Coins minimum to try.
Unlike regular Creators, 'Named Creators' didn't let their contracted Incarnations die.
They bonded with only one favored human.
And if the Incarnation died, their pride demanded vengeance.
Hop! Hop!
That was when.
Anubis started hopping outside the barrier again.
"The divine being requests the barrier's removal."
"How?"
"Lower the staff my flesh holds."
Park Chan-woo did as the Necromancer's soul instructed, lowering the staff.
The barrier enveloping the altar vanished completely.
Hop hop hop!
The moment it did, Radiant Anubis leaped onto the Necromancer's head.
"What are you—"
Whoooosh!
That instant.
Pure white light poured from Radiant Anubis's body.
The light soon formed a bud, slowly unfurling petals to bloom.
Watching the scene, light gleamed in Park Chan-woo's eyes.
'...So that's why it's Radiant Anubis.'
He finally understood the description's meaning.
Orc High Priest Yan was equally stunned.
"Th-this is the power of a guide!"
No, Yan's reaction surpassed Park Chan-woo's by far.
It trembled violently, eyes wide in disbelief.
A fully bloomed flower of light atop its head.
It had summoned its life, sealed in the Life Vessel.
Something only an adult Anubis could do.
"Calling death, guiding it..."
But Anubis was inherently a divine being that calls and guides death.
A cub wielding guiding power was surprising, but not unnatural.
The issue was what followed.
Now, 'Radiant Anubis' was devouring the death it had summoned.
Crunch!
Nom! Nom!
...It was eating the fully bloomed 'Flower of Life.'
"The devourer of death..."
Far from Anubis's role.
Anubis couldn't consume the death it called and guided.
Its mission was solely to summon and guide death to the 'Temple of Death.'
Bound to the temple, it must never consume life or death.
Such acts were impossible, and attempting them revoked its qualification.
One who calls death, guides it, and devours it.
Only one being could do all that.
"N-no way... you...!!"