Black Lotus and White Marigold -12-
Flamma's power wasn't limited to just conjuring black flames. It could also imbue weapons or magic with black flame properties. That's why, when the Shadow Walker detonated, the explosion birthed a surge of those black flames.
Roarrrrr!!!!
The brain—the vital core of any living creature. The head of that colossal red dragon, housing its brain, was engulfed in the explosion and black flames, vanishing entirely. The dragon died so pathetically it couldn't even scream in agony.
Thud!!
With its command center gone, the dragon's massive body collapsed onto the broad platform, sending vibrations rippling outward like an earthquake. No matter how mighty, any thinking, regenerating creature without auxiliary brains dies when its head is obliterated.
Dimension Gate (Gate)
Woooong!!
A circular spatial gateway linking distant realms formed in front of me, tall enough to accommodate my height plus one more head, wide for four people abreast.
I strode toward the headless dragon corpse visible beyond the gate.
"Let's go."
"Au!!"
At my command, Kangjang and the undead followed behind me.
Once the dragon's massive corpse loomed right before us,
"Uoooooh!!"
Thud!!
I kicked the lifeless dragon's body mercilessly. Rage boiled in my mind.
"You bastard!! How dare you kill Shadow Walker No. 4!!!"
That's right!! I was seething with fury at this ruthless enemy who dared slaughter(?) my beloved subordinate.
"Au!! Auu!!!"
Thwack thwack!!
Stoked by my anger, Kangjang too savagely stomped the dead dragon's corpse.
Thud thud!!
"Shadow Walker No. 4 was a good guy!! Sure, he was shadowy with no presence, always lurking creepily, bald as a shadow, just another faceless one among the Shadow Walkers—but he was a good guy!!"
"Uuu!!"
I unleashed my merciless wrath upon it too. The aftermath cracked its insanely tough scales, even shattering them like cookies.
How dare you touch my comrade!!!
"Hoo…."
"Uuu…"
Anyway, with that desecration of the dragon's corpse, we avenged our fallen subordinate.
"Urgh… Rest well, Shadow Walker No. 4… Be happy in the afterlife."
"Au.."
Wink
For some reason, amid the glow of the luminescent moss on the cavern ceiling, I glimpsed an illusion of Shadow Walker No. 4 smiling at us, thumbs up.
Drip
"Alright, ritual complete. Time to get to why we're here?"
"U~!"
After 0.1 seconds of mourning, Kangjang and I left the undead on the platform and headed to a small hole in the floor near the castle gate behind where the dragon had slept.
"A… aaah…"
A Geist materialized before it, invisible until now. My eyes locked on the figure cradled in its arms like a princess.
There lay a beautiful blonde woman. But half her body was horrifically burned, as if scorched by fire.
"Found you."
The Hero Princess.
"Oh, Kangjang—know who this is?"
"U? Uuu!!"
Kangjang's response: she knew intellectually but had never met her. Undead, unless self-converted via ritual or exceptions like vampires, stem from corpses without ties to the original's life. Memories were like reading a book or watching a movie.
"Hmm."
Hearing that, I examined the corpse the Geist gently set down.
The one who'd preserved Kangjang's body, come here with original Kangjang—Borshijin Langfang—to conquer this witch's tomb. The previous Hero, the Roman Empire's first princess: Zhan Ark Caesar.
The letter by Kangjang said she was alone now, heading deeper into the tomb. I suspected as much. And here she is.
Even as a Hero, her talents unawakened, the dungeon's monsters overwhelmed her.
I inspected the corpse closer.
Beautiful.
Alongside Kangjang, she'd been called the black-and-white roses of two empires for her stunning looks. Milk-white flawless skin, pale soft blonde hair (undeniably magnificent in life, now lifeless) braided in a single line down her back. Her breasts were overwhelming—a step below Kangjang's, but still busty enough. A slender waist, and unlike Kangjang's cat-like beauty, she had a puppyish charm suggesting a lively, sociable personality in life.
And above all.
"My god, I thought this was just legend…"
"U?"
Sprouting from Zhan Princess's golden hair like antennae: a single ahoge. The ultimate idiot hair. Impossible in reality.
It might seem odd at a glance, but it blended with her beauty, adding an eerie charm.
But
Even with all that, one factor marred her allure: the massive burns claiming her left half, screaming how she'd died.
She'd undoubtedly perished by the dragon.
At least as a divine power user, her body wasn't more damaged.
Like Kangjang, her holy power was depleted; otherwise, the Geist's touch would've harmed it.
Anyway, Zhan Princess's state was pitiful.
But
"It's okay now. I've got you."
Living Death
Masterpiece Undead
Woooong!!
Preparations began for a new comrade.
And finally, the spell.
Raise Immortal
Woooooong!!!
Like with Kangjang, black energy poured from my hand onto Zhan Princess's corpse.
Info flooded my mind again: the undead to create, its form, materials to add. I set them all.
Doom Knight
A superior Death Knight species. Form: erase the burns covering half her body, restore original. Material: "Dragon."
The colossal red dragon slain at my subordinate's sacrifice—the beast that drove Zhan Princess to death—would nourish her new life.
Crunch!!
At my word, the distant dragon corpse was sucked into hers.
Absorbing the dragon would realign her distorting form.
"Now…"
Woooooong!!
"Awaken."
Life had fled her once-vibrant flesh. Her heart stilled, warm blood cooled and pooled. Her body withered, protected only by lingering holy power—God's former blessing—warding total decay.
But worse than bodily decay was the absence of her soul, the essence defining existence.
….
A vast spiritual essence and power, the soul, had fled with death. In the cold shell remained fragments of the triad—body, mind, soul. Her true mind ascended with the soul to heaven; what lingered was dregs: negative, dark remnants. Defilements, obsessions, impurities, lingering thoughts—not healthy psyche.
That was 'her'.
A footprint left by the original's passing, an echo of her voice. Now, she drowned in a vortex of negative emotions, going mad.
A… aaahhh…
The void from soul-loss, maddening deprivation. Faint residual warmth from fading holy power. Terror of impending decay.
But worst: A.. aaah Langfang… sorry… aaah.. sorry..
Her original's final agony: guilt over her dearest friend's death due to her arrogance and misjudgment tormented her. Regret, self-loathing, suicidal despair. Pain her true self could've overcome—but she was mere remnant, powerless.
Yet she couldn't writhe; her body was dead. Even alive, a remnant couldn't control flesh.
Trapped in this prison of rotting meat, she screamed silently amid mental torment and death's dread.
It ends now.
The empire's flower, the lauded Hero, confident once—gone long ago.
Yet still: A.. someone… please…
Knowing she was remnant, that dissolution was natural order: Aaah.. please…
She yearned for salvation. Help me… someone.. please save me..
An impossible wish in a godless void, defying laws.
But her wish
"It's okay now."
was granted.
"Because."
Something warm, comforting enveloped her body. A familiar, reassuring aura—like the brink of death she'd felt last.
Aaah… aaahhh… so warm…
Vitality surged into lifeless flesh again.
And she sensed her mind merging into something vast, newborn.
Aaah…. happy…
No pain, no discomfort—joy even. It reborn her fading self, like reincarnation.
Liberation, salvation from craved torment.
"I've got you."
The aura's source—a godlike being—extended a hand.
Thank you.
She grasped it willingly. Her mind fused as a fragment into the newborn entity.
"…."
In that moment, the reborn—dead yet alive—opened her eyes.
"Oh, success."
"Uuu!!"
Her first sight: her absolute lord, beloved, loyal, awed master—the root of her being.
Next: a kin sharing her master, stirring thorny familiarity and inexplicable longing.
Swish
Sensing something kindred, her kin approached warmly, rubbing against her.
The newborn grasped her situation.
Timidly, she spoke her first words.
"Ueh~♥"
"You too, huh?"
Not words, but she needed no human tongue.
Her bond with her master transcended such trivia.
"Anyway, congrats on being born."
Pet pet
Her master approached, stroking her head.
"Ee~♥"
A simple touch melted her mind and body.
"Huh? This thing actually moves?"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!
The ahoge atop her head wagged wildly like a happy puppy's tail.
"Anyway, time for a name?"
Superior Death Knight, shortened to
"You're Dena from now on."
"Uehh~♥"
Dena's story was just beginning.