The Ruler of Deathland
I am the Ruler of Deathland.
Thud.
No sooner had the words left Prince's mouth than Meilin's legs buckled beneath her. Her eyes flickered, losing focus, and she collapsed flat onto the ground.
"Meilin!"
"Ugh!"
This time it was Dick who went down, hands clamped over his mouth. Camibarez, being a vampire, held out to the very last, but eventually her eyelids slid shut and she too lost consciousness.
[Hm.]
Now only Simon remained standing.
[You're holding up well. Have you grown used to the smell of corpses?]
Damn it all! So that was the problem.
The horse corpse Prince had brought with him. Simon immediately kicked it into the running water of the sewer drain.
Some kind of toxic gas had been seeping out of that carcass.
[Well, I suppose it's no fun if everyone drops this easily.]
Simon, his face rigid, smacked Pier's avatar twice.
Pier, that's him, right?
[What?]
The moment Pier's avatar laid eyes on Prince, its eye sockets flared wide and it bellowed.
[PRINCE!!]
The voice rang out thunderously through the sewer. Prince rolled his eyes toward the Pier avatar clinging to Simon's uniform.
[So it WAS you! You knew, and you still dared to attack us?]
[You haven't changed one bit, and I've had more than enough of it. Pier.]
Prince swept back his bangs as he replied.
[Spare me the nonsense and rejoin the Legion! This one is Richard's son!]
[Oh, I'd gathered as much. The resemblance is striking.]
Prince clutched his own neck and creaked with laughter.
[There are plenty of zombies up there, aren't there? I'd estimate it takes you at least twenty minutes to punch through them and make it down here. Before then—]
The corner of Prince's mouth curled upward.
[I'll tear your contractor to shreds.]
Killing intent rolling off him, he strode forward with heavy, deliberate steps.
An utterly unscripted one-on-one with an Ancient Undead.
Simon swallowed hard and released his Skeleton Archers, spreading them out around him.
If I go down, the rest of my team is done for too.
Prince lowered into a crouch.
"......!"
Then, with no wind-up whatsoever, he was simply there in front of Simon, fist already drawn back.
BOOOOOM!
Simon wrenched his head aside just in time. Prince's fist tore through the air where his face had been, leaving a savage wake behind it.
When the shockwave from the blow slammed into the sewer wall, something like a shriek of tearing metal erupted from the stone.
One clean hit and I'm finished!
But a counter chance had come.
Simon instantly drove power into his left foot and lifted his right heel, twisting his hips as his right fist came around—a counter punch driving into Prince's face at the perfect angle.
CRUNCH!
A dull, meaty sound rang out, like flesh caving inward.
He thought he'd landed it flush.
But.
"......!"
Prince was smiling, utterly unbothered.
Whoosh.
A fist came flying from the opposite hand this time. Simon dropped to the ground in a near-fall, forcing the punch to whiff past him.
You have got to be kidding me!
Simon stared at his own fist. Even with Jet-Black wrapped around it, his knuckles throbbed and ached as if he'd struck a massive boulder.
[Pathetic.]
Prince showed no shock, no stiffness at all. Simon gritted his teeth and flung his arm out.
Thwip!
An arrow flew in and buried itself in Prince's shoulder. Prince turned his head to regard the shaft protruding from his body.
Thwip! Thwip!
One in the shoulder, one in the thigh, then more punching through his arm and chest.
Yet Prince kept advancing as though the arrows meant nothing to him. A few simply bounced off, deflecting away on impact.
Guh! What the hell is his durability?
Severing his mental link with the archers, Simon immediately tore open a subspace at the front line.
Slish! Thunk!
The moment the two Skeletons emerged from the subspace, they swung their weapons. A spear plunged into Prince's abdomen; a sword cleaved at his neck.
[What do you think you're doing?]
But the weapons wouldn't bite.
The Skeletons strained and groaned, forcing every ounce of strength they had into their arms, and it was useless. Prince casually flicked his arm as if swatting flies, and the Skeletons burst apart into scattered bone.
What kind of monster is this......?
A chill ran through Simon's gut. This was an Ancient Undead.
With Pier and Erzsébet constantly rolling around at his side without a shred of dignity, it was easy to forget—but these were beings who towered far, far beyond human comprehension.
[Is that truly all, Legion Commander?]
Prince smirked and raised a leg, intending to stomp Simon into the ground where he lay sprawled. Simon smiled back up at him.
"Not even close."
Vmmm! Vmmm! Vmmm! Vmmm! Vmmm! Vmmm!
The split second Prince let his guard slip—six subspaces unfolded at once, and Overlord's blades shot out like a pack of hunting wolves.
They rammed into Prince and drove him bodily back, slamming him into the sewer wall. With a thunderous crash the tunnel shook, and debris rained down from the ceiling.
Simon exhaled a long breath and pushed himself up. There was Prince, pinned to the wall by all six blades.
Creak.
Cre-eak.
But even Overlord's blades couldn't cut cleanly through him. All they managed was to hold him against the wall, their edges biting shallowly into the surface of his skin and going no deeper.
[Now that's impressive.]
Prince reached out and gripped the blades pinning his body, one by one. Thick cords of muscle bulged along the boy's thin, slender arms as he twisted a blade sideways through sheer brute strength.
Screech. Screech.
Having forced the lock open with raw power alone, Prince dropped back down to the floor.
Clicking his tongue, Simon had no choice but to recall Overlord's blades.
Truly something.
Simon's eyes glinted.
With his rage, fear, and tension toward the enemy easing just slightly, something odd and instinctive suddenly reared its head.
I want this one.
It went beyond mere rivalry—it was pure wonder.
If he was going to make a living as a Summoning-major necromancer, mastering zombies was non-negotiable. How much easier would everything be with a captain like this leading the zombie division under him?
He found himself wanting to know more.
"Prince."
[Hm?]
"Tell me why, and then we fight. Why do you see me as an enemy?"
Prince's face twisted.
[And why should I owe you an explanation?]
"I'm going to revive my father's Legion. That's why I've been gathering his old comrades. If there's some misunderstanding between us——"
[A misunderstanding?]
Prince sneered.
[What misunderstanding could I possibly have? Is it a 'misunderstanding' that your father got it into his head to chase after the Priests, threw us away like dirty rags, and disbanded the Legion?]
Eyes blazing with fury, Prince strode toward him.
Simon immediately sent Overlord's blades, but Prince didn't even entertain the notion of dodging. Cut by blades or pierced by arrows, he simply kept walking, scattering droplets of black blood across the floor.
[I'm sick to death of being leashed to necromancers.]
Prince declared:
[I will be the king of this place!]
Prince accelerated in an instant, lunging straight at Simon. Simon thrust his fingers skyward.
Fwoom!
Prince caught the blade surging up from the floor with his bare hand and swung his fist. Simon crossed his arms into a guard.
CRACK!
"......!"
The guard shattered in a single blow, and the punch drove straight into his chest. Simon's body skidded back several meters.
Kghaa—!
A searing agony flooded his lungs, like a steel spike being driven through them. His mind snapped wide awake. Guarding was impossible. Evasion—evasion and nothing else.
Run!
Don't block. Don't counter.
Pure hit-and-run.
Simon did nothing but flee, sending blades and loosing arrows from his archers as he went. A flicker of puzzlement crossed Prince's face as he walked calmly through every attack.
Dragging this out without a finishing blow will only be tightening my own noose.
Dodging Prince's blows as though in full retreat, Simon suddenly flicked his palm open.
Exhaust!
The most versatile curse in his arsenal—the exhaustion curse—struck home on Prince's body. But the moment the curse touched Prince's chest, it shattered with a clang!
[Student-grade curses don't work on me.]
Curse immunity too......!
Prince grinned and launched a kick. Simon rolled across the ground to evade it, then sent another blade carving a line across Prince's skin.
"Haah! Haah!"
Fighting blind and desperate, he'd finally hit his limit.
At some point the ring on his left hand had grown hot as a boiling kettle, his breath was backed up to his throat, a wall loomed at his back, and there was no strength left anywhere in his body.
[Looks like that's your limit. Then——]
Prince reached out and seized Simon by the throat.
[I'll kill you now.]
Prince's grip tightened. Even as the pressure closed around his neck, Simon was still forcing out a strained smile.
Prince's brow twitched.
[You still have the leisure to smile?]
"......Die? ......Says who."
Shff.
Sensing movement behind him, Prince whipped his head around.
Camibarez, who had been lying unconscious on the floor, was standing now, swaying on her feet. Her hair rose and floated upward, and streams of Jet-Black, like tears of blood, came pouring down from both her eyes.
"Let go of him. Now!"
Ferocious Jet-Black erupted from her entire body.
"RELEASE HIM!!"
The pinnacle of Ursula family Blood Magic.
FWOOOOOOOOSH!
From every single wound Simon had carved into Prince, fountains of pitch-black blood came erupting all at once.
Prince's pupils wavered, unsteady.
Hemorrhage magic?
"Simon!"
Dick's shout rang out. Snatching a spear flying through the air, Simon drove it straight into Prince's left arm.
Dick's enchantment truly was something else. The spear bit partway into Prince's arm, and with Overflow's magic draining him of blood, the grip on Simon's throat finally slackened.
Simon dropped to the ground, coughing violently.
"Simon, fall back!"
Meilin, who at some point had planted both feet on the sewer ceiling, dropped down while swinging her arm in a savage arc.
A tier of Jet-Black flame magic a whole dimension above Dark Flare.
⟨ Dark Prominence ⟩
KUUUUUUNG!
A fountain of pitch-black flame swallowed Prince's body whole. Surging like liquid, it burned him over and over again, wave after searing wave.
Having narrowly escaped the blast radius, Simon picked himself up, coughing. Camibarez's strained voice came from beside him.
"......Si, Simon! Are you okay?"
"Ah—yeah."
It hadn't been any grand design.
Just minutes earlier, when Prince's punch had shattered his guard and sent him tumbling back, Simon had caught the moment Camibarez stirred awake.
The thought struck him: he had to put her power to use.
Simon did everything he could to hold Prince's attention while piling small wound after small wound onto his body. Camibarez, seemingly reading his intent, quietly readied Overflow and triggered it at the decisive moment.
That Dick and Meilin had recovered from their stupor too, though—that had exceeded even Simon's expectations.
So now we have a window to counter?
But knowing Prince's durability, he was no foe who would fall to this much.
Camibarez collapsed again, the backlash of casting Overflow while in such terrible condition taking its toll. Meilin and Dick, having only just come to from unconsciousness, looked to be in equally wretched shape.
FWAAAAAAAH!
And then—Prince burst out of the flames, his body launching toward Meilin like an arrow.
CRACK!
Meilin took the fist dead-on and was blown backward. Her Kizen uniform flashed bright with its defensive enchantment, but it couldn't absorb the impact.
She let out a strangled kugh! and lost consciousness.
"Meilin!"
Dick charged in, Jet-Black coursing down the short sword in his grip. Simon shouted.
"Dick! Fall ba——!"
CRACK!
Too late. Dick too slammed into the opposite wall and went limp.
[You actually thought you could beat me?]
Even with his entire body horribly warped and smoldering in black flame, Prince was laughing.
[Don't you dare crawl.]
Prince snapped his fingers.
KWA-KWA-KWABOOM!
A massive hole suddenly tore open in the ceiling of the sewer. From it, more than a dozen zombies began descending.
[Devour everything!]
—Uuuuuaaaaaaargh!
The zombies dropped down and charged at Simon. Simon let out a long sigh and drew his arm back.
"Aren't you a bit late?"
[What?]
TCH-CH-CHAK!
Bones came flying out of thin air, aligning themselves along Simon's arm.
[No—!]
CHAK!
And in the very next instant, the Sword of Ruin slid into Simon's hand. With one casual sweep, six zombies were cleaved apart in a single stroke.
[Punching through that many, this fast......?]
"Prince. From this point on, I fight as a Legion Commander—not a student."
Pier's bones came sailing through the air, fitting themselves over Simon's body piece by piece. As the armor neared completion, Simon spoke in a calm, level voice.
"I'll give you one last chance. Will you join the Legion? Or——"
[DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!]
The instant Prince roared and charged—
Whoosh!
Simon's body flickered like lightning and appeared behind Prince. The final piece of Pier's armor—a helm—settled down over Simon's head.
......Damn it!
His neck wouldn't turn. Exhausted from the earlier fight with those brats, his body simply couldn't react in time.
A white sword-stroke came arcing in, tracing a blinding trajectory—
CHUNK!
—and buried itself deep in his neck.
Then Simon stomped his right foot hard into the ground, bellowed a ragged battle cry, and drove the greatsword forward with every ounce of strength he had left.
Flesh split into two, red muscle tearing apart with a wet crunch—and at last.
SHRING!
Simon's greatsword burst free into empty air.
Prince's head was soaring up into the air.