Wear Me, Boy
"Everyone, get over here!"
"There's only one of them!"
Dozens of pirates swarmed up onto the deck.
The gap in numbers was overwhelming. And yet Finch wore the very picture of composure as he opened a subspace.
He drew out a small potion vial no longer than his finger, popped the cap, and drained the contents in one long gulp.
Burrrp.
A belch rolled out of his mouth. At the same moment, his back began to bubble and churn.
"Kill him!"
The instant the lead pirate swung his blade, a green tentacle erupted from Finch's back, seized the man's face, and slammed him into the deck with a resounding crash!
"...!"
"What the hell is that?"
Squirm, squirm.
The pirates froze. Behind Finch's back, pale-green tentacles reminiscent of a jellyfish's were rising one after another.
"What's wrong?" Finch smiled with a shiver-inducing sweetness. "Is this your first time fighting a necromancer?"
"You little—!"
"Everyone, at once!"
The pirates leapt in together. From behind Finch's back, a dozen tentacles stretched out as if they'd been waiting for exactly that.
WHAM!
CRACK!
Squelch!
It was one-sided.
The tentacles were springy and adjustable in length at will. Even facing down dozens of opponents alone, Finch didn't move a single step from where he stood, lounging in place with every appearance of ease.
He's letting his guard down!
A pirate who had slipped around the tentacles to flank him leveled a crossbow at the back of Finch's head and fired.
With a thunk!, the bolt buried itself in Finch's skull.
"Got him! It's over!"
The pirate cheered.
"Kahaha! All that acting high and mighty, and this is what you—hmm?"
Finch's arm moved. He caught the tip of the bolt where it had punched through the back of his head and was jutting out near his eye, then gave it a sharp yank.
With a pop! the bolt came free, and a few droplets of liquid pattered onto the deck.
Finch's face had somehow turned to green fluid.
"Did that surprise you?"
Plop.
By the time he tossed the bolt to the deck, the fluid had already refilled his face, restoring it to normal.
"Th-that's insane!"
"What kind of monster is this one?!"
CRACK!
Finch's tentacle lashed out like a whip, coiled around the leg of the crossbowman, and hurled him clean over the side of the ship. The pirate's horrible scream echoed across the water like a distant wail before ending in a great splash.
In the meantime, another pirate charged in from the flank and slashed at Finch's waist — but only green fluid dripped out like juice from a crushed fruit, and Finch showed not the slightest flicker of pain.
"What in the world are you—kuhk!"
Finch shot out an arm and grabbed the man's face.
"K-Kyaaaaaaaagh!"
Sssssss!
Smoke rose as flesh sizzled and melted with a horrifying sound. Moments later, the man's head had dissolved entirely, and only his body slumped to the deck.
His fellow pirates, faces twisted in horror, shuffled backward, step by furtive step.
"Getting the picture now?" Finch wore a warped smile. "Do you understand who you chose to make your enemy?"
Finch was overwhelmingly strong. Absorbing every attack the pirates threw at him with his own body, he used his tentacles to fling a dozen men into the sea at once, or coiled them around throats and snapped bone. Now, as he fought, he even scattered puffs of toxic vapor across the battlefield.
Physical assault followed by wide-area chemical warfare. The pirates collapsed one after another, utterly helpless.
"C-Captain!"
One pirate glanced frantically at Gale, his face white with terror.
"We're no match for him! You have to step in, Captain—!"
"Shut your mouth, you dog!"
Gale barked, kicking the pirate in the backside.
"Fight, and fast! Or shall I kill you myself before he gets the chance?"
"N-no, sir!"
While driving his men into the pit of slaughter, Gale — no, Erzsébet wearing Gale's form — was sweating cold streams down her back.
What in the world is this body?
Whatever attack landed on Finch, his body simply liquefied and let it slide off. Between Erzsébet's web restraints and her wide-area piercing attacks, neither was likely to work.
And that wasn't mere dark magic that turned flesh to liquid. That body, she was certain, must have cost an absolutely staggering price to obtain.
First I'll get the Count out and we flee, and then—huh?
In that instant, her vision spun violently and a terrible dizziness washed over her.
She dropped to one knee. But every other pirate around her seemed perfectly fine.
"So the effects have finally kicked in."
Thud. Thud.
Finch was walking toward her, sweeping the remaining rabble aside as he came.
"How does it feel, undead?"
Erzsébet's heart lurched.
Not only had he seen through her disguise — he knew she was undead as well.
"I have an excellent nose, you see."
Finch made a show of sniffing the air.
"The undead carry a very particular scent. And I know you're a powerhouse beyond anything Gale could hope to compare to."
"..."
"That drug is a reagent I developed myself — one that works only on the undead. I mixed it into the toxic fog and the sea mist and spread it around as a gas. It's colorless, odorless, and useless in small doses — but it accumulates in the body, and the moment it crosses a certain threshold, it takes effect all at once."
Erzsébet rose to her feet. Swaying, but holding her posture firm.
"Troublesome. Troublesome indeed."
Finch scowled.
"My paper states that administering more than 4,760 ppm to any undead renders it completely incapacitated, regardless of type — and then a variable like you plants herself right in front of me?"
CRASH!
Tentacles surged violently up from behind Finch's back.
"For the integrity of my research, you'll have to die. And I'd very much like to dissect that body of yours — my one exception to the rule!"
A dim jet-black glow kindled at her fingertips, and a web of spider silk took form.
Just as the two of them were about to trade blows—
BOOOOOOOM!
Another massive impact shook the hull. A second pirate ship had emerged through the sea fog and rammed them broadside.
"Gyaaaaah!"
"We're falling! We're going to fall!"
The unprotected pirates bounced off the deck and tumbled into the sea, while Finch and Erzsébet held their footing on jet-black. She fired off a line of web and secured Shun safely to a pillar.
"Now what is it this time?!"
Finch whipped his head around.
Three large pirate ships had become a tangled, wreckage-strewn knot, crossing into one another — and on the deck of the ship that had just rammed them, two silhouettes were walking through the fog toward them.
Ah — my lord Legion Commander!
Erzsébet's face lit up. Shun, still bound, let out a great shout.
"Simon!!"
It was Simon and Pier crossing over onto the deck. Finch clicked his tongue.
"Coming all the way here of your own accord. You're digging your own grave."
"I suppose we'll see about that."
Simon replied with a crooked grin.
"Erze, fall back with Shun."
"Yes, my lord!"
[Kheheheheh! Excellent! Is it finally this body's time to shine?]
As Pier hoisted his greatsword onto his shoulder and moved to step forward, Erzsébet threw up an arm to stop him.
"Pier! You must not come any closer."
[What?]
"A reagent that works on the undead has been dispersed across the ship. Even a small exposure will leave you barely able to hold your own body upright."
CRACK!
As if to deny them even a moment to talk, more than twenty tentacles came flying all at once.
The three of them flung themselves in different directions. Wherever the tentacles smashed into the deck, holes punched clean through the planking.
"Junior! You travel with some fascinating undead!"
Finch thrust out his arm. The tentacles veered sharply in unison and hurtled toward Simon.
"Ngh!"
[Out of the way!]
Pier sprang forward and blocked them with his raised greatsword. The tentacles that deflected off the blade twisted in midair, curved back around, and came at Simon once more.
Simon kicked off the ground on jet-black and leapt; behind him, holes drilled one after another into the deck.
"Simon!"
"I'm fine!"
Simon signaled to Erzsébet with a wave of his hand. She nodded and ran to Shun.
[Hmm. Clearly you're right!]
Pier's brow furrowed.
[That strange drug has seeped into every corner of the ship! The space is too cramped — fighting like this, we'll keep soaking up its effects the whole time!]
"Then what do we do, Pier?"
[There is one way. And gods, how I hate it!]
CRASH!
Before any proper conversation could happen, Finch kept sending tentacle after tentacle their way.
His back churned and bubbled, the number of tentacles climbing higher and higher.
Insane!
Simon threw himself aside. He cocked his head and bent his arms and legs into unnatural angles, and by a hair's breadth the pale-green tentacles skimmed past his body.
Sssssss!
They were coated in poison, too. Thankfully, the protective enchantment woven into the Kizen uniform was holding, sparing him from being melted where he stood.
The moment Simon touched down on the deck—
CLUNK!
"...!"
The poison-corroded planking gave way beneath him, and he dropped through to the level below. It was a dust-choked space like a cargo hold, and the smell of rum from stacked barrels stung his nose.
BANG!
THUD!
CRUNCH!
Down here, too, holes punched through the walls and windows as tentacles bored after him with dogged persistence.
Simon ran blindly. When the walls dead-ended him, he simply ran along them instead, and the tentacles followed, punching bang! bang! bang! holes in the wall one after another.
"Hup!"
Simon kicked off the ground on jet-black, caught a ladder that connected to the ceiling, and swarmed up it onto the deck.
"Pier!"
Up above, Pier and Finch were locked in combat.
Pier looked in poor condition — no doubt the reagent — his brow knotted tight, while Finch wore an expression of no small alarm. The tentacles Pier's greatsword had sheared off were not regrowing.
"This is the first time I've seen an undead of such towering intellect. Fascinating!"
The moment Finch muttered this and spotted Simon climbing back onto the deck, he sent tentacles flying his way. Pier darted in front of Simon in a flash and scattered them with his greatsword.
"I don't understand it! Why would an undead like you serve some green whelp of a boy?!"
Pier snickered, speaking directly into Simon's mind.
[A man stuffed to the brim with inferiority complex, this one!]
Pier! More important — what's that method you mentioned?
Pier's mouth curled up at the corners.
[Boy — wear me!]
...!
Tentacles came flying again. Pier swung his greatsword and cut through them while Simon dropped low to evade.
That was even possible?
Bone Armour using Pier.
Strictly speaking, Pier was a skeleton-type undead.
[The reagent has me too compromised to control my body properly! In this state, protecting you fully is impossible! So take my power and bring him down yourself!]
Simon's heart began pounding wildly with excitement.
The Priest in the Forbidden Forest.
Erzsébet.
Ellen Zeil.
Serne Aindark.
Every opponent too powerful for Simon to handle on his own had been carried through by Pier's help. More precisely, he had simply watched from behind Pier's back.
As Legion Commander, and as a commander, that position was only natural — and yet Simon could never shake the frustration, the thirst, at his own failure to drive a situation to its resolution himself.
But now, that could change.
I can fight with Pier's power as my own.
[But I am an Ancient Undead! Connecting to my thoughts will be harder than you could possibly imagine. One slip, and your mind could collapse first, leaving you a vegetable. Even so — will you do it?]
Simon nodded without a flicker of hesitation.
'Of course. I'll make it happen — no matter what!'
[Ready yourself! The instant I give the signal, you wear me!]
Tap-tat.
Tap.
Simon and Pier, dodging the tentacles, sprinted toward each other at the same moment.
[One!]
CRACK!
Finch's tentacles, fanned out in every direction, came raining down from above all at once.
[Two!]
Pier charged forward to shield Simon.
[Three — NOW!]
CRUNCH!
Pier's body, slammed into by the tentacles, shattered and burst apart into fragments of bone.
Finch's face lit up as though he finally believed his attack had landed — but he was mistaken.
It was a movement calculated to the last detail.
Simon, who had been focusing with his eyes closed, snapped them wide open.
Bone Armour!
Pier's disassembled body flew toward Simon. At the same instant, the link between the two of them activated on the mental plane as well — and Simon successfully connected to Pier's will.
...!
Plop.
A single water droplet fell into a pond.
Simon was nothing more than an infinitesimally small droplet. And Pier was a vast, deep pond.
The droplet was swallowed whole, and slowly Simon's sense of self began to blur and fade.
[Focus, boy.]
Pier's voice reached him.
[Do not be devoured by my will. Concentrate. Maintain your own will within the will of another body.]
Yes.
Just before his consciousness was swallowed and drowned entirely, Simon hurriedly recovered his mind and reasserted his sense of himself.
Focus. Focus. Focus.
Onto the glass-clear, mirror-still surface of the pond, the falling droplet sent out ripples.
The widening ripples soon became crashing waves; the waves became rapids; the rapids became a new current. The pond began to churn like a whirlpool.
Pier's mouth split into a grin that looked fit to tear his cheeks.
[Kheheheheh! Richard's son, through and through! Perfect!]
HAAAAAAAH!
Emerging from the vision, Simon returned to the world as it was.
The countless bones that had formed Pier's massive frame — taller than two meters — hung disassembled in the air, then began attaching themselves to Simon's body one by one.
Clack!
Clack-clack-clack!
Pier's bones wrapped around Simon's body without a single gap, building up his torso and limbs.
Behind his back settled the Shadowless Cloak Pier had worn, and Pier's cracked skull slid over Simon's face, transforming into something like a skeletal helm.
Simon's right eye vanished behind Pier's bone, and a dim green flame blossomed in its place.
Flutter.
The enormous Shadowless Cloak settled fully onto Simon's shoulders.
Pier's finger bones covered Simon's palms and hardened into gauntlets. Only his right arm was armed with Pier's bones; Simon's left hand hung empty.
Bone Armour was a set built from two skeletons. There simply weren't enough bones in Pier's body alone to arm the whole of him, so the helm and arm were equipped on one side only.
Even so.
Thump— thump—
Simon could feel it — a thrilling, electric power coursing through his body, a sensation unlike anything he had ever known in his life.
CRACK!
As tentacles surged in from every direction like a rising tide, Simon walked forward and gripped Pier's greatsword, still planted in the deck.
Ssslick.
As though greeting its true master, the greatsword that once could not be lifted now rose smoothly into his hand.
Pier's voice rang out.
[Let's go, boy!]
Yes, Pier.
Simon smiled and raised the Doom Greatsword before him.