Saint Maria and the Swamp Monster -2-
-Boom!! With a single kick against the water's surface, ripples exploded across the previously still swamp, propelling my body forward as if I were flying.
I'd quantified the mana platforms I'd used back when fighting Flamma and refined them into a movement technique that let me skim across the water with minimal mana expenditure. I'd never had much occasion to walk on water before now, but in a place drowned like this, it was proving damn useful.
-Splash.
Like that, I soared over the water for ten minutes before finally reaching my destination. Sure, the Daradul Great Swamp was the size of a decent Earth nation, but with my insane physical stats, getting to the central lake was a breeze.
I halted just short of the lake itself and scanned the surroundings.
"Hmm..."
Mosquitoes that could drive a man mad, venomous snakes, the various critters lurking beneath the swamp's waters, and the eerie, shadowy vibe from the local flora—it all looked no different from the rest of the Daradul Great Swamp I'd passed through so far.
But what I was sensing went way beyond mere visuals.
-Rustle.
My hyper-sharpened senses gathered every scrap of alternative data from this swamp. And my conclusion?
"Demonic beasts, as expected."
The site of Saint Maria's remains, as the old priest had told me, was crawling with a massive demonic beast force. I didn't count exactly, but there were roughly three huge clusters, each one packing at least ten thousand heads.
'What the hell? This many right in the heart of imperial territory?'
The deeper you went into the Daradul Great Swamp, the fewer humans you saw—practically none—but even so, this was a lot.
'On second thought, given the swamp's sheer size, maybe it's not that many?'
Still, it felt like they'd scraped together every last beast from the swamp's interior.
'No wonder the adventurers griped about the numbers thinning out before I even entered. I figured it was just folks from the Forest of Beginnings flooding in and culling them naturally, but nope—they'd all gathered here.'
'Hmm... breakdown...'
One cluster of lizard-like reptiles, one of insects, one of frogs and salamanders. That made three.
And finally, 'Near the remains themselves, there's a smaller group—but another cluster.'
These seemed like elites: fewer in number, but each one a cut above the rabble in the other groups. And there was a lingering aftertaste of something unpleasant, sticky—not your standard mana or morale.
'Demonic energy.'
Probably some evil ritual in progress.
'Hmm... what to do...'
Did I even need to think about it?
From what I could sense, nothing here measured up to me or my Living Death servants. Even the ones in the center were just a notch below the rest—barely worth noting, their presences faint as hell.
Sure, they might be masking power with some special ability, but I'd cross that bridge when I came to it.
"Come to think of it, the girls have been itching to test their new evolved powers..."
Kangjang and Dena especially were buzzing with excitement to unleash their Supreme Undead might.
Plan decided.
"Come forth."
-Whoosh!!
At my command, four blue flames ignited in midair.
-Fwoosh!!
The pale blue flames flickered, then rapidly expanded in size.
The grown flames took on the shapes of four figures.
"Auu!!"
"Uue!!"
"Huaa~"
"Dau!"
The blue flames vanished completely, revealing my darling Living Death servants: Kangjang, Dena, Mari, and Masa.
And then—
-Fwoosh!!
"Nya~"
My shadow swelled up into a humanoid black silhouette, which swiftly transformed into the adorable catgirl Nero. Unlike the others, Nero was more like a living shadow, able to slip between dimensions within it, so she didn't need storing in my [Necromancer King's Domain].
"You all know the plan without me spelling it out, right?"
I'd already shared the intel via our mental link. No need for crude words between us.
"Auu!!"
"Uue!!"
"Huaa~"
"Dau!"
"Nya!!"
All five affirmed it.
"Good. Total annihilation. Leave nothing."
Normally I'd order them to recover corpses intact for undead conversion, but this was their first multi-war front. No holding back—just wipe 'em out.
With orders given, I layered on a few extra precautions.
'I trust my Living Death girls completely, but you never know what shit might hit the fan.'
[Advanced Magic Duration Extension] [Advanced Skill Effect Extension] [Advanced Magic Grade Enhancement]
I chanted the incantations. These spells burned extra mana but boosted the power and duration of all magic and skills from here on out.
[Madness of the Dead] [Mana Corpse] [Impure Focus] [Morale Reinforcement] [Death Spirit Voodoo] [Dark Focus] [Chosen One's Valor] [Tomb King's Command]
-Vrrr!!
Dozens of buff spells and skills layered onto my body, wrapping me in an omnipotence beyond compare to anything before. I'd only gone this hard against the starving beggar demon; these chumps were too low-tier otherwise. In games, this was standard pre-fight prep.
And finally:
[Stock Magic: Magic Recital]
Despite the name, it lets me double up on all current buffs—magic or skill, ignoring cooldowns—for one extra cast.
Game-era staple for mage builds.
As my buffs settled—
-Vrrr!!
"Vrrrr!!"
"Uueeeee!!"
"Huaahu~"
"Dauu...!"
"Nyanyanyanya-nya!!"
My Spirit Fusion skill—amped up further upon becoming a Spirit Channeling Master—shared the buffs flawlessly with my Living Death girls. Aside from Mari's giddy grin, they all roared like they couldn't hold it in.
Our effective combat power just jumped 1.3x.
And then:
"Come forth."
-Fwoooosh!!
Blue flames erupted behind me, birthing an undead legion of thousands of mid-tier undead and dozens of advanced ones. Crafted piecemeal via Death Spiral.
They were meat shields for if we needed a tactical retreat against surprises—thirty thousand fodder to hold the line and protect the girls if shit went south.
-Vrrrr!!
"Auu!!"
"Uue!!"
"Huaa~"
"Dau"
"Nya!!"
True to their demigod Supreme Undead status, as they unleashed their power for battle, black halos bloomed above their heads.
-Rumble rumble boom!!
Just their power output made the air quake and the swamp shudder like an earthquake.
-Rumble!!
The once-still, gloomy swamp waters trembled in terror.
"Kweeeeh!?"
"Grrr!!?"
"Kieeeek!!"
The distant demonic hordes had noticed us.
"Alright, let's go."
-Bang!!
-Fwooooosh!!
With that, we all blasted off like sprinters, massive water pillars erupting where we'd stood.
'Been a while since I cut loose.'
The first Living Death to hit enemy lines was—
"Hehe~"
Mari.
-Vmmm.
A shimmering blue spatial rift rippled behind her as she popped into existence above the demonic cluster. She'd teleported the instant I gave the order, beating everyone else here.
"Oh my~ Looks like I'm first?"
Per my plan, she'd drawn the farthest cluster from our start point. The other two hordes went to Dena and Masa, who couldn't teleport, so the quickest traveler got the long haul.
"Garrgrrrk!?"
"Burrrr!!"
"Gagurrk!!"
The beasts below reacted to her sudden aerial appearance. This group was mostly amphibian types—frogs and salamanders.
"Gekgek!!"
"Buuuu!!"
"Kweeeek!!"
Not just giant normal amphibians, either. Plenty of bipedal frogmen and newtmen too.
"Gekgek!! Something appeared in the sky!!"
"That creepy aura earlier too—what the hell!?"
"Gek!! Intercept!! Intercept!!"
Intelligent demonkin were mixed in, barking orders. Her arrival threw them into chaos, their slimy, moss-crusted, mucus-slick skins gleaming disgustingly. Enough to trigger primal revulsion in anyone.
"Ahh~ So many frog and salamander pals. Way too many for no reason."
But Mari just kept her usual sloppy smile through the grossness, letting out a soft chuckle.
"Well then."
Shadows crossed her face in an instant.
"Shall I trim the numbers a bit~?"
-Vmmm!!
-Gooooh.
Violet mana gathered in her left hand—beautiful, dreamlike, yet chillingly eerie—forming a geometric magic circle.
This wasn't Abyss Lich Mari's Auroraya Fantasia magic. It was straight from her original, the Black Rose Witch Hecate—a spell so feared in this world it had been taboo-erased. Now vastly empowered by Abyss Lich might, it completed in her hand—
-Flash!!
-Vrrrr!!
Pew!!
Dreamy violet mana floated up, shaping into... countless soft petals wrapping a massive purple rose.
The dense bud of tiny petals—
-Bloom!!
-Whoooosh!!
-Flutter flutter.
Myriad purple rose petals rode the wind, drifting and dancing down to earth like a hypnotic ballet. The sight of the sky filled with them put Earth's cherry blossom festivals to shame—pure beauty and illusion.
"Gek? Gek!?"
"Gurrrk!?"
"What the...?"
No human aesthetics for the beasts below, but even they knew this was off as they prepped to intercept her.
Ignorant, they could only gawk at the petal blizzard blotting the sky.
"N-no!! That's dangerous!! Burr!! D-danger...!!"
A few with magic or shaman sense caught on, shouting warnings or fleeing—but
"No can do~ You've gotta enjoy the flower viewing~?"
-Flash!!
"Gak...!!"
Golden light flared from her eyes, paralyzing them.
And by then—
"G-gegek?"
The petals had descended, touching the amphibians.
"Wh-what!?"
-Whoooosh!!
"Dunno what it is, but chills!! B-block it!!"
They shielded with armor or swung weapons—but useless.
"Wh-what!? My weapon!?"
"Gek!? Through the armor!?"
Petal-shaped, sure, but pure mana at core. No magic or overwhelming physics could stop or deflect them.
Soon, like rain soaking earth, petals hit and sank into their bodies.
-Drip.
"...."
"...."
"...."
"....."
The chaotic horde froze like a paused video. An unnatural silence blanketed them.
Bodies locked mid-motion, eyes swiveling to one spot—the sky, straight at Mari hovering there.
"Now then~ Everyone."
Mari watched with her usual sloppy, bubbly smile, arms spread wide like welcoming guests.
-Saa...
But the mood flipped in a heartbeat. Light around her snuffed out rapidly.
-Vmmm...
Not her signature violet—raw, ominous death spirit energy poured from her, corroding space, air thickening to murk.
-Smirk.
Her expression twisted too. Ominous shadows draped her face—not her sloppy grin, but a chilling smile brimming with malicious anticipation of doom. A true legendary evil witch.
"Die for me and Prince, please."
Her words dropped, and—
"Gekooooool!!!"
"Uwaaaaa!!!"
"NeeEEEee!!!"
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Every last one—talkers or not—screamed agreement from ruptured throats, manic frenzy beyond zealous.
Their faces twisted into grotesque, unnatural grins.
As the eerie chorus ended—
"Hahaha!!"
-Stab!!
"Gekooooool!!"
-Boom!!
They started killing themselves. Literally.
Armed ones stabbed or slit throats; unarmed bashed heads on ground or objects. If not, they mauled each other—or just held their breath.
Yet they died with those glassy, slack eyes and freakish, forced smiles.
And finally—
-Slump.
"Mmm~ Perfect. All cleaned up nice and neat. Plenty of materials left too—Prince'll praise me for sure. Yay~"
As Mari descended, the ground was piled mountain-high with ten thousand corpses, all grinning unnaturally.
"Hmhmhm~ Lalala~"
She hummed a lovely tune, admiring the bodies and fantasizing about her master's praise—until
"Oh my~"
"H-heek!?"
A surviving salamander demonkin, scrambling through corpses to flee.
"A live one?"
"H-heuk..."
It froze in terror at being spotted, quaking on the verge of death.
"Ahh, really~ I dialed it back so the range wouldn't overshoot, trimmed and trimmed... and a bug survives~"
Full power would've blanketed the whole swamp.
"Heek!!"
The demonkin didn't get it anyway.
-Smirk.
Mari's face lit with that smile again—not her feigned "good girl" one for me, but twisted mockery, pure malice spreading.
"Now, get pretty~"
"N-no!! Mercy...!!"
-Vmmm!!
Violet mana flared; spell activated.
"B-belly... B-body..."
The salamander's form ballooned grotesquely—not like a balloon, but like something woody and rigid sprouting inside. Utterly horrific.
-Wriggle wriggle!!
Thick veins pulsed across its swelling skin.
And then—
"Aaa... Aaaaaahhh!!!!"
-Crackk!!
It burst. In its place, a single rose tree, fed by its flesh and bone.
-Bloommm.
Purple roses bloomed from thorny vines, elegant and stunning.
"Oh my, beautiful~ Worthless trash like you can turn lovely after all~"
Back to bubbly sloppy smile, Mari approached the tree.
"Gotta bring Prince a few as a gift~"
And just like that, one demonic horde was obliterated.