Chapter 88
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Vatican's Paladin (1)
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Surrounding the house like sentinels on guard, the Necromancers who commanded an array of summons—zombies, ghouls, and even a few dullahans—erupted in cheers at Kang Sa-hu's arrival.
“Oh! He’s here!”
“We’ve been waiting for you, the greatest Necromancer in history!”
Kang Sa-hu blinked in bewilderment at their fervent welcome.
Ella hurried over to him and beckoned for him to dismount.
As soon as he slid off the Hell Hound, she explained the situation in a hushed voice.
“Once the Draugr was complete, it started emitting an ominous aura. We tried our best to conceal it, but we couldn’t hide it for two straight days. The locals got spooked by the energy and confronted us.”
“I see.”
Having grasped the situation in a few concise words, Kang Sa-hu stepped forward before the gathered Necromancers.
“It seems there was a slight issue with the magic I was preparing. Please bear with me just a moment longer, and I’ll resolve it right away.”
“M-Magic, you say?”
“As expected of the ultimate Necromancer! What kind of spell could it be…!”
It was an excuse he’d improvised on the spot, but bolstered by his title as the greatest Necromancer and his calm demeanor, the Necromancers gradually settled down.
Feeling the weight of their gleaming eyes fixed on him, Kang Sa-hu suppressed his unease and entered the house.
Inside, the air was thick with mana of an entirely different density from outside.
For an ordinary Necromancer, it would have been so viscous and heavy that even breathing would have been affected the moment they stepped in.
Normally, Kang Sa-hu would have suffered the same adverse effects from that mana.
But since the source was his own summon, the Draugr, the dense mana instead invigorated his body and sharpened his mind.
Scraaaape...
The troll-turned-Draugrs, standing motionless like mannequins in the house, all pivoted toward Kang Sa-hu in unison.
Their pitch-black eyes, devoid of sclera or pupils like those of Death Knights, fixed upon him.
As Kang Sa-hu’s gaze sharpened in response…
Like candles igniting in a roaring blaze, their obsidian eyes flickered to life with the same radiant glow as his.
[My master.]
Fifty-five regular trolls and four elite trolls.
A total of fifty-nine Draugr units knelt as Kataku had, gesturing in worshipful reverence.
Kang Sa-hu surveyed his completed summons, his eyes gleaming even fiercer.
Death Knight Kataku.
Fifty-nine Draugr trolls.
With sixty powerful summons now under his command, Kang Sa-hu turned to the tasks he’d been postponing.
He issued orders to the trolls excluding Kataku, and they each sliced off small chunks of their own flesh.
The wounds regenerated seamlessly—muscles swelling, flesh knitting back together, skin smoothing over—as if nothing had happened. Relieved at the sight, Kang Sa-hu summoned the orcs next.
-Chit-chit-chik
Sixty warrior orcs appeared, along with the orc shaman, the boss monster from the gate they’d come from.
At Kang Sa-hu’s command, the trolls handed over the flesh they’d carved from themselves to the orcs.
The orcs glanced warily at the trolls before obeying Kang Sa-hu and chewing down the meat.
Uluk-buluk.
-Chiiiiiik!
As the orcs devoured the troll flesh and absorbed its power through Devourer’s predation ability, their bodies began to transform.
Bones realigning, muscles growing tougher and denser, bodies swelling in tandem.
Their overall silhouettes bulked up larger than before, and the aura they exuded grew palpably stronger.
“Good.”
Having granted the orcs access to the trolls’ regenerative powers, Kang Sa-hu reverted all his summons to soul cores.
Now that they were Draugr, unsummoning the trolls consumed far more mana than before, but compared to Kataku, it was a drop in the bucket—no real burden at all.
When Kang Sa-hu emerged after tidying up, the Necromancers stared at him with eyes wide as saucers.
“Wh-What was that?”
“The energy suddenly surged, then vanished in an instant?”
“Th-This is true Necromancer magic…!”
Ignoring their awed whispers, Kang Sa-hu opened his mouth to wrap things up.
“The magic has been fully resolved. I apologize for the unintended concern I caused you all.”
He bowed his head in apology, prompting the Necromancers—who had been gazing at him in admiration—to flinch and wave their hands frantically.
“No, not at all! Quite the opposite—we got to witness the potential of Necromancer magic firsthand. It was thrilling!”
“Higher pursuits naturally come with risks shadowing every step!”
It was a situation ripe for misunderstanding as a near-catastrophe, but the Necromancers seemed excited instead, faces flushed at the realization that their magic could wield such power.
That remark jogged Kang Sa-hu’s memory of the recent plague afflicting the Necromancer Society.
Necromancers awakening as Hunters and abandoning the arduous path for easier Hunter skills.
Understanding their excitement over anxiety in this moment, he could see why.
Awakened Hunters pinned their hopes and pride on skills.
These Necromancers needed power and pride from their grueling path as well.
“……”
His thoughts reached that point, and unusually for him—who would normally stop there—he continued speaking.
“The magic I was experimenting with at home is meant for monsters emerging from gates, so it had to be powerful.”
As he resumed, the crowd perked up their ears, hanging on his every word.
“Awakening as Hunters grants skills that are undeniably easier to use than Necromancer magic, with power that grows noticeably fast.”
Mention of skills’ convenience darkened the Necromancers’ faces.
But his words didn’t end there.
“However, after hunting enough gates to make the Guinness Book, what I felt was this: against monsters, Necromancer magic deals more lethal damage than skills.”
“Huh…?”
“Necromancer magic more effective than skills?”
Their eyes widened at the unexpected claim.
“Yes. For some reason, even low-rank, simple Necromancer spells outperformed high-rank Hunter skills against monsters.”
He spoke no lies.
All the monsters he’d faced so far.
Even that mighty Phatametos had succumbed with alarming efficiency to Necromancer magic.
The spells used against Phatametos weren’t even orthodox—they were makeshift versions conjured purely from mana.
Yet despite Phatametos’ boasted antimagic resistance, it had no choice but to take them head-on.
Kang Sa-hu was certain.
If he’d relied solely on Awakener power without Necromancer magic?
Even if every renowned Hunter worldwide had been summoned, they couldn’t have driven Phatametos away.
His victory stemmed from dark mana—ineffective against higher mana absorption and resistance—the blood-drinking scythe Demadr, and Necromancer magic.
“…Our magic…”
Sensing the unvarnished truth in his words, the Necromancers murmured, finding hope therein.
Noting the heavy yet budding optimism, Kang Sa-hu quietly escorted his parents away.
He headed back to Necro Castle.
Since he’d brought his parents, they gathered not in the Netherlord’s chambers but in an external reception room of the castle.
The Netherlord greeted them by projecting his will through a flying skull.
[Sa-hu! Why have you brought Seung-hwan and Ella here?]
“I have something to report about the Draugr.”
As the Netherlord’s skull clattered in query, Kang Sa-hu summoned the troll Draugr.
The Netherlord jolted in shock at the sight.
[This is a Draugr?]
Like Kataku, its aura diverged sharply from any Draugr the Netherlord knew, startling him.
A sturdier soul and flesh bound by greater power and spirit.
If not introduced as such, it could easily be mistaken for a living being.
‘Enviable…’
As the Netherlord inwardly coveted the mighty summon, Kang Sa-hu stated his purpose.
“Now that my summons are complete, I plan to return to Korea.”
His blunt declaration stunned everyone, eyes turning to him.
[What?! You complete your summons and leave without lingering? That’s cold! Too harsh!]
“S-Sa-hu! We’ve barely shared one meal! You can’t go yet—stay longer! At least one more meal to ease our hearts!”
They poured out their disappointment and surprise, but Ella cut in calmly and curtly.
“What’s the reason?”
Kang Sa-hu fished a thoroughly shattered phone from his pocket in response to her question.
Without the screen, it was hard to even guess it had been a phone—utterly pulverized.
“As you can see, my phone’s broken. Who knows what’s happening back home without me right now.”
He brought up his guild—where he was leader—the ongoing gates, and even Kang Ji-ye’s need to convince their parents alone.
The mood sobered instantly, handing him the reins.
[W-Well, if that’s the case…]
“No helping it, then.”
Regret lingered in their sullen tones nonetheless.
Kang Sa-hu brushed it off and revealed another goal.
“Also, before I go, I’d like to leave some of my summons here.”
[Huh?]
As the Netherlord yelped in surprise, Kang Sa-hu summoned fifteen trolls and twenty orcs.
“Gates could pop up anytime. And Paladins might come too. These are among my stronger summons: trolls and orcs.”
[N-No, wait a second…!]
The Netherlord and Kang Seung-hwan balked and refused vehemently, but Ella raised her hand, silencing them.
“Sa-hu.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Wondering if she’d refuse too, Kang Sa-hu tensed.
Ella’s eyes sparkled.
“We truly appreciate your concern. It’s true—the Netherlord can’t defend this place alone forever. Even with us Necromancers, there’s no guarantee we’d be much help.”
Kang Sa-hu’s eyes widened in surprise at her support.
He hadn’t expected her to take his side.
Then he recalled how, before the gate expedition, she’d diligently managed his summons and reformed the Necromancer Society. A small smile tugged at his lips.
“Yes, exactly.”
“But…”
She cut him off.
“Even so, I won’t risk putting you in greater danger.”
As he faltered at her sudden pivot, Ella voiced what she truly wanted.
“So, let’s compromise: five large summons and ten small ones.”
She pointed to the trolls as large and orcs as small, capping her stance.
“No refusals.”
“……”
Faced with her resolute expression, Kang Sa-hu broke into a cold sweat and nodded.
After brief farewells,
Kang Sa-hu left the Necromancer Society and set foot in Stonehenge.
“Hoo—”
The dim surroundings hinted at dawn’s first light. As he scanned the area, his expression hardened.
The hordes of monsters that had prowled here lay in mangled pieces, all slain.
But that wasn’t the sole reason for his grim look.
“Oh my. You’ve finally emerged.”
A face he could never forget.
Perched atop a pile of monster corpses, a woman peered down at him with half-lidded eyes, smiling enigmatically.
“I’ve waited so long. Scheming some vile plot in that pathetic hideout again? How pitiful.”
She was a stunning beauty who’d make any passerby glance back.
But to Kang Sa-hu, her face was nothing but repulsive and loathsome.
As viscous light flared in his eyes,
“Seven years, right? Nice to see you again, greatest sinner of all time.”
The green-haired woman, her locks cascading long, flashed a bright smile.