The Successor of Nakron
Kang Yoonsoo grabbed the two by the scruffs of their necks.
He led Shanette and Henrik toward the center of the ice sheet.
The trembling of the ice immediately stopped.
Fortunately, the cracks did not spread across the entire sheet. It merely tilted slightly before settling.
Kang Yoonsoo pulled Shanette to her feet.
He looked at her and said,
“Idiot.”
“…….”
“That’s the most indifferent insult I’ve ever heard in my life.”
Henrik grumbled.
Meanwhile, Kang Yoonsoo thought to himself,
‘If the ice spirit had been here, none of this would have happened.’
If things continued according to the legendary quest, the next step would be raiding the ruins.
At the heart of those ruins were materials capable of creating the ice spirit, Icicle.
‘To do that, I’ll have to face the lord of this place first.’
Kang Yoonsoo extended his right arm.
“Summon fourteen zombie orcs.”
Sickly green zombie orcs materialized.
At that exact moment, a booming voice rang out from the castle.
The fog that had surrounded them suddenly surged away in a violent gust.
An invisible wave of power enveloped the area.
In that instant, a massive black knight leaped down from the stone wall.
Crunch—!
The black knight landed in a perfectly stable stance and stood tall.
Armor completely dyed in black.
Pale skin.
His eyes were pitch black and cloudy.
Yet his towering frame and upright posture were flawless.
The long sword at his waist looked especially antique and fierce.
Death General Caliburn (Boss, Level Unidentifiable) has appeared!
Death General Caliburn.
A top-tier undead had appeared in person.
A monster of this monstrous level could turn them into dust with a single swing of his blade.
“Even if you are a necromancer who toys with life, the dead will chew and swallow your bodies without leaving a single scrap of flesh.”
The low, dark voice sent a chill down their spines.
Overwhelming charisma.
Merely encountering a high-level boss monster was enough to make one’s legs go weak.
“Dead ones, heed me!”
Caliburn slammed a gray blade into the frozen lake.
The thick ice around them shattered into countless pieces.
Crack—!
Undead began to rise from the broken ice of the lake.
Banshees, dullahans, ghouls, zombies.
Thousands of low- to mid-tier undead emerged onto the surface.
Even the skull knights who had just fallen into the water joined the ranks with shameless pride.
The three of them were now completely surrounded by an airtight undead army.
There was no path of escape.
Henrik bit his lip and muttered,
“We’re fucked.”
“Yeah.”
“This bastard is for real!”
Henrik suddenly grabbed Kang Yoonsoo by the collar.
He glared at him with the resentment of someone reuniting with a mortal enemy from childhood.
“You heartless bastard, colder than a damn doll! We’re all going to die because of you!”
“Let go.”
Shanette cried out in horror as well.
“K-Kang Yoonsoo! You have a way out of this, right? We’re really going to die at this rate!”
The undead legion was overwhelming.
Especially the presence of Death General Caliburn at the forefront. His killing intent pouring from those black eyes made one’s knees buckle.
“I’ll handle it. Let go.”
Henrik released Kang Yoonsoo’s collar.
Not because he trusted him, but because he needed even a second to think of a way to survive.
Kang Yoonsoo walked boldly toward the undead army.
The undead growled, looking ready to devour him at any moment.
Before thousands of undead, Kang Yoonsoo looked utterly powerless.
Yet his steps were steady and his expression calm.
As if he had experienced this exact situation countless times before.
Kang Yoonsoo shouted,
“Caliburn.”
“I have no intention of conversing with a lowly intruder. All troops, attack!”
The undead charged forward with terrifying speed.
Shanette and Henrik’s faces turned deathly pale.
At that moment, ignoring them completely, Kang Yoonsoo raised his voice even higher.
“Look at this.”
He lifted his right arm high.
The Ring of Life Oppression on his finger gleamed.
Caliburn’s eyes widened.
“That… that ring…?”
Flustered, Caliburn roared,
“Halt! Everyone cease your attack!”
The undead froze at his command.
Caliburn ground his teeth and shouted,
“That artifact is the Ring of Life Oppression! A personal creation of the last necromancer, Lord Nakron! To dare carry Lord Nakron’s relic… What is your identity?!”
Kang Yoonsoo casually crossed his arms.
“I am Nakron’s successor.”
“W-what did you say?”
Kang Yoonsoo furrowed his brow fiercely.
“Stupid sword-swinging fool. Do I have to say it twice? I am the successor of the last necromancer Nakron, and his one and only disciple.”
“Lies! Lord Nakron took a disciple in his lifetime? He was not one to pass on his teachings lightly!”
Caliburn’s reaction was unbecoming of his lofty charisma.
The Death General was visibly shaken.
Kang Yoonsoo spread open the hand wearing the ring and spoke coldly.
“Then how do you explain this Ring of Life Oppression? Are you saying I stole Nakron’s soul through some trickery?”
“T-that’s…!”
His normally emotionless voice now carried a terrifying sense of authority.
“The hospitality for an honored guest is so terrible it’s almost impressive, Caliburn. Was your reverence for Nakron, who resurrected you, only this much?”
That single remark was the finishing blow.
The Death General made a resolute expression, then knelt and drove his sword hilt-first into the ice.
The other undead immediately dropped to their knees as well.
Thousands of undead bowed their heads toward Kang Yoonsoo in reverence.
Caliburn cried out with all his soul,
“Noble successor! Please punish these lowly corpses as you see fit!”
Even as every undead bowed their heads, Kang Yoonsoo’s expression didn’t change in the slightest as he said,
“Punishment will be postponed. Insignificant things.”
His cold voice carried an undeniable commanding power.
Shanette whispered in shock,
“Kang Yoonsoo, you were the successor of the ancient hero Nakron?”
“No.”
“What a filthy lucky bastard.”
Following Caliburn’s guidance, the three entered the black castle.
The interior of the black castle was just as gloomy as the outside.
The grand hall was draped with cobwebs here and there, and a cold air flowed through it.
Grotesque shadows and unknown mists wandered the corridors, accompanied by constant unpleasant moans.
Caliburn spoke in an extremely polite tone.
“Please forgive my rudeness for failing to recognize your esteemed presence. Welcome to the Castle of the Dead. Successor of Lord Nakron.”
The name of the black castle was the Castle of the Dead.
The three sat in the guest room.
Though it was called a guest room, it was appropriately bleak for an undead castle, yet at least it was clean.
A long table had been set out, suggesting they even served meals here.
“Bring the delicacies.”
At Caliburn’s words, banshees and skeletons immediately brought out a feast.
On the long table were bat-wing soup, fresh frog blood, wriggling earthworms, and dishes teeming with spiders.
Shanette recoiled at the bizarre foods she had never seen before, while Henrik grimaced.
“Shouldn’t you at least check whether your honored guests are human or undead before serving them?”
“Shh! They’ll hear you!”
Being treated to a banquet by undead was something one might never experience again in a lifetime, but it was hardly a pleasant one.
At that moment, Kang Yoonsoo stabbed a sheep’s eyeball with his fork.
With impeccable manners, he placed it in his mouth and chewed.
While the other two stared in horror, Kang Yoonsoo said calmly,
“Not bad.”
“As expected of the successor. Lord Nakron also enjoyed these very delicacies in his lifetime.”
Caliburn spoke with deep emotion.
Kang Yoonsoo continued eating the grotesque meal without batting an eye.
Shanette’s hands trembled.
“K-Kang Yoonsoo? Why are you eating that?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Huh…?”
Kang Yoonsoo steadily cleared his plate.
He even brought over a dish full of bugs himself at times.
To raise his intimacy with Caliburn, it was best to eat as enthusiastically as possible.
As a result, Caliburn looked at him with satisfied eyes.
However, Henrik said with clear disgust,
“This guy is more undead than the actual undead.”
Fortunately, the undead soon brought out food that humans could eat as well.
Hardened jelly and ice-cold soup, among other things.
Especially the cold wine that rose with pale smoke gave a refreshing chill that reached the bones.
Shanette carefully selected only the relatively normal-looking dishes, while Kang Yoonsoo and Henrik drank every drop of the liquor the undead had provided.
After drinking the cold wine without leaving a single drop, Henrik licked his lips and smacked them.
“It’s a bit cold, but the taste is killer.”
“Clack clack!”
At Henrik’s praise, the skeletons clacked their teeth together in delight.
It seemed they had brewed the liquor themselves.
After the banquet, the undead cleared away the plates.
Caliburn sat across from the three.
Even in a simple seated posture, the Death General exuded a strange sense of pressure and dignity.
Top-tier undead possessed extremely high intelligence and combat power, so even a necromancer could not treat them lightly.
A Death General would not follow anyone unless they were a master worthy of their loyalty.
The fact that such a being was treating Kang Yoonsoo with utmost respect gave them an idea of just how extraordinary a necromancer Nakron had been.
“You may stay here as long as you wish.”
Caliburn said kindly.
But Kang Yoonsoo shook his head.
“I have business here, Caliburn.”
“What might that be?”
“I intend to release the holy seal in the basement of the castle.”
“……!”
A complex expression crossed Caliburn’s face.
Surprise, emotion, and sorrow all mixed together.
After a brief silence, Caliburn spoke in a low voice.
“The holy seal. Do you understand what it means to release it?”
“Yeah.”
“You may die in the process, successor.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Kang Yoonsoo said quietly.
“Because once that seal disappears, you all will be free.”
Caliburn looked as if he had been struck in the back of the head with a hammer.
The Death General knelt on one knee and lowered his head toward Kang Yoonsoo.
It was the etiquette of a knight pledging loyalty to his lord.
“To be honest, at first I could not believe you were his successor. You appeared far too weak. But now I am certain. That inner soul can surpass outward strength. You are indeed Lord Nakron’s successor, and the one to whom I must pledge eternal loyalty.”
Caliburn bowed to Kang Yoonsoo once more.
The lesser undead also lowered their heads in unison.
Kang Yoonsoo merely wore an indifferent expression, showing no particular emotion.