True Death for the Necromancer
"Are you serious? No, that doesn't make any fucking sense. How the hell am I supposed to kill Hallidery? That sounds like bullshit. Wouldn't it make more sense if I held off the enemies while Aljes takes him down?"
Yoahim snapped back at the absurd suggestion, and Bille chuckled before replying.
"It's not bullshit, sir. I just didn't explain enough. I'll hold off the enemies, while you kill Hallidery. Of course, alongside Sir Aljes."
Then say it right from the start. Yoahim let out a sigh of relief. If Aljes was joining in, killing Hallidery wasn't impossible. Aljes was a powerhouse on par with Hallidery himself. If it came down to a duel between commanders rather than full armies clashing, Yoahim couldn't imagine the Death Knight Aljes losing.
Necromancer versus Death Knight. In close quarters, Aljes has the edge, obviously.
Of course, Hallidery could wield black magic too, and considering how he'd blasted away a greatsword with a spell earlier, it wouldn't be an easy win for Aljes.
"But why drag me along? I'd just be dead weight."
Yoahim was strong. In the Withered Land, where powerhouses were everywhere, it didn't stand out, but that didn't change the fact. At level 47, with his stacked abilities, his actual strength rivaled level 60s.
Even so.
Compared to Hallidery or Aljes, I'm nothing. Even tagging along with Aljes, I'd just get killed without doing shit.
The gap with true elites was too vast. Yoahim had no intention of jumping into Aljes and Hallidery's fight just to die like a dog.
"No―. You― will― kill― him."
Aljes stared straight at Yoahim and declared.
"Me? How? And why the hell should I be the one killing Hallidery?"
"I'll explain that part."
Bille cut into the conversation.
"As you know, Hallidery is an extremely powerful necromancer. Lord Alzahar trusts his abilities, which is why he entrusted him with Levia Castle and its mana spring."
Yoahim nodded silently. He knew full well how formidable Hallidery was as a necromancer—no explanation needed.
A guy who can raise hundreds of undead at once...
With his own level 4 Necromancy skill, Yoahim could never pull that off.
If we're judging by skill level, Hallidery's at 7... no, higher.
Raising hundreds wasn't even his full power. Gauging his Necromancy level, it had to be near 8. Considering the skill maxed at 10, that made him a monster.
"In the Withered Land, Hallidery is the strongest necromancer after Lich Alzahar. He fled here from the Goda Empire after committing crimes, met Alzahar, and formed a master-disciple bond. With his master's aid, he's honed his necromancy to the point where he's just one step from transcending death."
Transcending death. Yoahim could guess what that meant without asking. When he'd scoured that cave for Kakar's relic, he'd faced the black mage Dellyon, who tried becoming a lich using a holy artifact. Having experienced how dangerous even a level 73 like him was, Yoahim shuddered at the thought of a level 112 Hallidery achieving lichdom.
Bille nodded as he continued.
"Like his master Alzahar, Hallidery seeks to become a lich. He's even crafted an imperfect phylactery."
A lich stores their life force in a small container—the phylactery. Even if the main body is destroyed, unless the phylactery is smashed, the lich revives after a set time. That's why anyone facing a lich must find and destroy the phylactery before revival. Naturally, liches hide theirs meticulously.
If Hallidery had made an imperfect one, it meant he was truly just one step away.
"Hallidery's phylactery is incomplete, so he can't revive on his own even if his body dies. But with Alzahar's help, he can. Alzahar will surely revive his disciple and powerful ally, so we must eliminate even that tiny loose end."
Yoahim, who'd been listening quietly, tilted his head.
"So? What does that have to do with me killing Hallidery? If the phylactery's the issue, just find and smash it. Wait—do you want me searching for it while Aljes fights?"
Even if Aljes beat Hallidery, failing to find the phylactery would make it a half-victory. But Bille shook his head—no.
"To a lich, the phylactery is their most guarded possession. It's their life itself. They'd hide it in the safest place possible. Where do you think that is?"
Yoahim furrowed his brow after a moment's thought.
"No way... Alzahar?"
"Exactly. Alzahar holds Hallidery's phylactery. Partly to keep it safe, but also as a leash. Even master and disciple can betray each other."
"Then killing Hallidery means nothing. Alzahar would just revive him right away."
"That's why you must kill him, Apostle. You are Kakar's proxy. No lich can truly transcend absolute death, no matter how they claim otherwise. Not even the mightiest lich can defy Kakar's will."
Bille pointed at Yoahim.
"Of course, you can't wield the power to obliterate a full lich yet. But Hallidery's still bound to human flesh. Shatter that body, and you can grant him true death."
Kakar was the god of death, and Yoahim her apostle. No matter how grand a lich, they bowed to gods. Thus, if Yoahim—as Kakar's apostle—claimed Hallidery's life, it would be final, phylactery or not.
That explained why Yoahim needed to go with Aljes to finish Hallidery.
"Guess I have no choice, then."
Yoahim nodded, and Bille grinned, flashing white teeth.
"Glad you understand. We've delayed enough already—shall we resume the march?"
Yoahim glanced at Aljes, who nodded readily. After regrouping the troops and linking with the main force, Yoahim rode beside Aljes with Bille, Leon and Sasha right behind, chatting with the other dark elves.
To them—orphaned from their tribe, hiding their identity as mercenaries—their kin were a longed-for sight.
"How many troops do we have now, anyway?"
Yoahim asked, glancing back casually. Even roughly, Aljes's force numbered thousands. Undead bolstered by demons and dark elves, all radiating fearsome aura under the Death Knight's command.
"Around six thousand."
Not a small number. With aura-enhanced undead, demon knights, and dark elves who could take on ten foes each, they could handle double the enemy.
"What about Tilia?"
"Lady Tilia's leading scouts to support each unit. She's probably the busiest among us."
Yoahim grunted at Bille's explanation. Supporting units meant other battles were raging too—not just Aljes's force.
"Looks like we're not the only ones fighting."
"Right. Lord Haellagos aims to wipe Alzahar's faction from the land entirely this time. Lord Gellios and Lord Billad have each taken armies and marched out."
"Halbert?"
"Lord Halbert's handling admin in the city. But if full war breaks out, he'll march with Lord Haellagos."
Haellagos had split into three prongs to strike Alzahar's forces. Nibbling at mana springs to pressure him, then massing for a decisive blow.
"Think we'll win?"
"We will. I trust Lord Haellagos. And I'll do my part to ensure victory. He took us demons in, taught us, fed us, gave us homes. Our lives are his in return."
Demons weren't inherently evil, despite the name. Just as Raello created humans, Kakar created demons. But humans feared Kakar's children, dubbing them demons.
After the war of faith, dark elves blended into human society via conversion. Demons couldn't. Humans rejected them even if they converted.
So demons wandered, more persecuted than dark elves, until settling in the Withered Land—untouched by humans due to its devils and monsters.
Safe from humans, they fought monsters instead. To survive the harshness, they shed dignity, turning feral.
Haellagos had redeemed them, restoring their humanity.
"We'll win. Even if it seems we'll lose, we'll make it victory with our lives."
Thus, demons were loyal to Haellagos—willing to discard life like trash for him.
"And I won't forgive those who betray him. The ungrateful fools who forget who gave us villages and civilization don't deserve to live."
Bille ground his teeth.
To him, Haellagos's demons siding with Alzahar were traitors who all deserved death.
"Ar―rived."
At Aljes's voice, Yoahim looked up. First came the sturdy walls.
"Hmph. You came all this way without valuing your life."
Then Hallidery.
"Die, then."
And right after—a massive fireball hurtling straight at them.