Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Fragment of the Immortal King (2)
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I locked eyes with the black mage guarding the entrance.
He was a friend who had provided great help in gathering information alongside Jeraph.
[Hello? Nice weather we're having today, isn't it?]
I greeted him warmly, but all I got in return was a cold shoulder.
The moment I spoke, he turned tail and fled without so much as a backward glance.
[Hey, ignoring me like that hurts my feelings.]
To soothe my unexpectedly wounded pride from his icy reaction, I glanced at my trusty companions traveling with me.
[Kuhuhuhu...]
Clatter— clatter—
The passage, darkened to pitch black by the deathly aura emanating from the undead, echoed with eerie wails and the glowing eyes of hundreds.
The silhouettes flickering into view were all far from ordinary, their sturdy forms radiating an imposing presence.
'Hmm... my friends do look a bit scary.'
But no matter how intimidating my friends appeared, I couldn't forgive judging people by their looks.
What mattered was the inner self, after all.
And I was confident in mine.
'Of course. My skull's quite handsome enough. The bones are sleek and well-proportioned.'
[Kihihihik—]
"Gah—! When did they get here?! Get lost!">
Boom—!
The fleeing black mage was soon surrounded by ghosts bursting from the floor at the building's entrance, forcing him to fight rather than run.
Truth be told, I had no intention of letting him go from the start.
I planned to wipe out every black mage and minion in this village.
I immediately commanded all my undead subordinates.
[Kill every human in this village. Don't let a single one escape.]
I didn't worry about any innocents being caught up in it.
My 'Life Detection' as an evolved Demi-Lich covered the entire village, even sensing the black magic power of every being inside.
There were no innocents among the living in this village.
[Kieek—!]
Clack, click!
Hundreds of undead behind me surged past the black mage at the entrance and into the village.
They would encircle the outskirts first, then push inward to prevent any escapes.
Roar— boom!
"Urk... Me... dying in a place like this... to scum like you...!"
Trapped in the midst of the undead, the black mage thrashed desperately, unleashing every spell he had.
And I adjusted my undead to let him expend all his abilities.
It wasn't out of consideration. Rather...
Roar—
[Hmm... like this? Not too difficult.]
I muttered while gazing at the black flames dancing atop my hand.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Wicked Wisdom grants absolute understanding and talent in Black Magic. While it bestowed perfect comprehension and aptitude for black magic, it didn't directly impart the 'knowledge' needed to wield it—I still had to learn that separately.
I'd dismantled the barrier at the secret passage entrance by direct contact and understanding, but other black magics were different.
[Groooar—]
Splatter—!
And here was an excellent teaching aid.
I absorbed every bit of practical knowledge like a sponge, watching the undead get shredded by his black magic.
And Wicked Wisdom didn't just let me mimic—it revealed improvements, applications, and derivative abilities.
"Grah... Cough!"
I thought I'd given him plenty of leeway, but he overexerted himself and collapsed vomiting blood.
'Well, I've sucked up all I can anyway. No need to drag it out.'
I glanced at the black mage as he was buried under charging undead, organizing my thoughts.
'Killing Jeraph by surprise really was pure luck.'
Facing someone of that level as an Elite Skeleton would've been impossible.
Jeraph was on par with that mage, so without the element of surprise, I'd have been smashed to bits.
'Alright, preparations are mostly done. Time to welcome our... no, deal with the thief who stole this house?'
Kaboom—!
The barrier enveloping the entire building shattered, sending something flying toward me and exploding into pieces.
One of the undead I'd sent earlier—and the strongest among them—a Death Knight.
"You... how dare you...!"
An elderly man with a twisted, trembling face—Malcolm—entered the building.
He wore a black robe from who-knows-where and gripped a skull staff.
I looked behind Malcolm.
I'd assigned all three of my Death Knights to buy time, but only fragments remained—they'd all been defeated.
I'd suspected as much when the links severed, but it was still regrettable.
Even in poor condition, Death Knights were rare top-tier undead.
It hurt to expend them just on stalling, but there was no choice.
Scanning the village earlier, I'd gauged this old man's power and realized my undead could only buy time.
I needed the interval to familiarize myself with black magic before facing him directly.
[Hello, Village Chief? Long time no see. How have you been?]
"What?! Who the hell are you?!"
[Me? It's me. Don't you recognize me?]
Had he already forgotten my face and voice? How disappointing.
I scratched my skull with one hand and continued in my mana-resonating voice.
[Hmm, if you don't remember... I was only supposed to stay two days to help with village chores before leaving, right?]
"Two days...? You're... Hans! You were definitely an Elite Skeleton—how?!">
[Figure that out yourself. Anyway, I've ended up staying longer than expected. So I figured I'd help out with the village chores a bit more.]
"Help? You turned everything to shit and now spout this nonsense?!"
Malcolm gnashed his teeth and shouted, but I stood tall.
[Garbage cleanup. I'll give this whole village—full of non-recyclable waste—a thorough spring cleaning. Oh, no need to thank me. We folk have to help each other out, right? Hahaha!]
Saying it aloud filled me with pride, and I let out a hearty laugh.
Who knew volunteering felt this good?
I should start some back on Earth too. With an avatar, of course.
"...You. How the hell did you claim that 'Fragment of the Immortal King'?"
'Ah, that's it? I wanted to provoke him more.'
As Malcolm surged with black mana, poised to attack, I prepared my spells and pushed his buttons one last time.
[This? Thanks to you ripping out my heart, Village Chief. So I grabbed a replacement from the warehouse. It's far from enough, but beggars can't be choosers, eh?]
Kwarung—!
The moment I finished, black thorns erupted from the floor toward me.
I reacted instantly, erecting a shadow barrier to block them.
And as I counterattacked with a barrage of the black flames I'd just learned...
"Finger of Death">
Pew—
A black flash shot out in an instant.
The split-second after Malcolm's voice rang out, it pierced my shadow barrier and mana shield around me alike—my right arm flew off entirely.
[Tch... Old timer, doesn't chanting every spell name embarrass you?]
"No idea what you mean. Call of Hell">
'Show-off old geezer.'
From what I'd grasped of this place's magic system, structure mattered more than chanting incantations.
If it was just a focus ritual, fine.
Clatter, clack—
[Groooar...]
Fiends crawled from beneath Malcolm's feet, tangling with my undead minions.
Lumpy, clay-like aberrations and bony frames bared teeth to destroy each other.
We traded blows while bantering nonstop.
"Even after taking the 'Fragment of the Immortal King,' that's all you've got? Do you even know what that is?! It wasn't meant to just half-ass a Demi-Lich from one Elite Skeleton. Guidance of Spirits!">
[Oh yeah? It was incomplete—what do you want me to do? I made do with it. If it'd been you, forget it!]
"Forcing an immature fragment into that lowly husk... all my efforts down the drain. After everything I've done...! Chain Bone Explosion!">
Wails filled the battlefield as black flames and bone shards erupted everywhere.
Our argument raged on amid the chaos.
'Hmm... like slathering an endgame enchantment on a beginner's wooden sword. Kinda feel bad?'
Lie. I didn't feel bad at all.
"I don't know how you survived its corrosion, but I'll dismantle your body piece by piece for experiments! Broken Ectoplasm">
I hurriedly raised black barriers to block the explosive aura.
But his constant insults soured my mood.
The gall of him—anyone could see who the real victim was here.
And tacking spell names at the end grated too!
Plus, only the last one's naming scheme differed—pick a consistent style!
Still, I'd grown accustomed to his high-tier black magic now.
After losing my arm to the opener, we'd exchanged blows countless times with no further damage.
I'd learned all I could from Malcolm. Time to end it.
Kwaang!
Black thorns surged from the floor toward Malcolm.
His black flash shook my barriers in response, but I no longer fell for familiar attacks.
After one more spell exchange, I pointed at Malcolm with irritation and grudge, declaring boldly.
[I'll kill you and avenge Alfred.]
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Hans's sudden words left Marcos momentarily flustered.
'Alfred? Avenge? Did he know someone in the village?'
He couldn't remember every name from the villagers sacrificed a year ago.
He hadn't even known them to begin with.
Unless it was a subordinate he'd sent to scout suitable ripening grounds.
'If he already knew villagers, that means he infiltrated knowingly from the start... Connected to that Heinz guy earlier? What does he know and how much?'
His mind raced, complicating things, but that wasn't important now.
Whoosh— boom!
'He's adapting to my black magic faster!'
Not just defending—his counters were rising sharply in level.
Soon, even I would struggle to hold out.
'How does an ignorant fool who knew nothing of magic suddenly gain power and grow this fast?!'
No normal person could evolve into a black mana-rich Demi-Lich and progress so rapidly.
'Unnaturally fast learning. The fragment's power?'
Marcos, unaware of Wicked Wisdom's effects, could only assume that—but it wasn't wrong; that skill came from the 'Fragment of the Immortal King' too.
'Can't waste more time here! Pour everything, even if it costs other sacrifices!'
"Pact of Ruin!">
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ As I pressed Malcolm, I sensed an abrupt shift.
The fierce village battle tipped decisively one way.
All the black mages resisting my undead had perished on the spot.
Only their black mana-wielding minions remained.
But conversely, Malcolm's black mana surged massively, absorbing those mages' souls.
"Crown of the Unholy, Sanctuary of the Dead">
A black crown formed on Malcolm's head, the ground beneath blackened, spawning undead.
'Ah... phase two? New spells are nice, but let's wrap this up.'
I watched indifferently.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The entity has gained enlightenment through knowledge. Acquired skill Black Magic. Malcolm seemed to think he had a reversal chance, but it was far too late.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ As expected, Malcolm's desperate struggle didn't last.
"Cough... Gahack!"
I absorbed all his black magic, then repaid the spell that took my right arm—blasting a hole straight through his chest.
"Urk... Like this... so anticlimactically... If only... my undead were still...">
Not wrong.
His other black magic was advanced, but Malcolm specialized as a necromancer leading undead.
If not for his greed to complete the 'Fragment of the Immortal King' quickly—sacrificing hordes of high-tier undead—it would've been a tough fight.
I surveyed my battered undead around the battlefield's end.
Then squatted before Malcolm's corpse.
[Old man, your undead were impressive.]
"Keurk— Kahak!"
Malcolm vomited blood and breathed his last.
His bulging eyes wept blood from sheer resentment.
[Tsk. Karma's a bitch. Should've been nicer.]
Just then, the village battle concluded, silence descending.
No living remained in the village.
I rose and looked up.
The fierce combat had blown off the entire ceiling, revealing a starry night sky twinkling beautifully.
[Alfred... are you watching?]
Your revenge is fully settled, so rest easy now.
At that moment, a shooting star streaked across the sky—like Alfred's final farewell.
Or not.