Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: Selection's Gasdal (4)
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In the mirror created by Gasdal, the horrors unfolding in the White Kingdom were laid bare.
“Ugh, uwaaack! What the hell are these things!”
“U-Undead! Undead have appeared!”
“Kwaaaack!”
Thousands of skeletons were attacking the people.
Not only the mercenaries and explorers who had come for the ruins, but even the citizens of the White Kingdom were being massacred.
Domenico stared at the scene in a daze.
“No way…… This can’t…… This can’t be happening…….”
Domenico had once fought a black mage in the past.
The skeletons that mage commanded numbered fewer than five. Even those were incomplete, and the black magic would often dispel if they strayed too far.
Back then, Domenico had been low-class, yet he easily slew the black mage.
But what was this?
Thousands of skeletons had been summoned simultaneously. And even from this distance, the black magic held firm.
It was a sight he was witnessing with his own eyes, yet he couldn’t believe it.
“Collaborators…… Yeah, you had collaborators. You filthy bastard! You brought in other black mages behind our backs!”
At Gasdal’s signal, the black mages hidden in the White Kingdom had unleashed their magic.
That had to be how they summoned and maintained so many skeletons.
By Domenico’s common sense, no single black mage could pull this off alone, so multiple ones made perfect sense.
“Collaborators?”
Gasdal tilted his head at Domenico’s words, as if he couldn’t comprehend why such nonsense was coming out.
“Come to think of it, I never properly told you my level.”
Gasdal had only introduced himself to Frieze and Domenico as an exceptional black mage.
So both Frieze and Domenico had pegged him as a high-class black mage at best.
“I am a Grand Black Mage.”
Domenico’s eyes widened as if they might pop out.
“What…… No way…….”
Even Domenico, who had lived his life as a knight, knew well what a Grand Black Mage entailed.
A realm comparable to Master Class. Beings who had transcended humanity.
“To me, this is child’s play. Still don’t believe it? Shall I summon more? I could double the number of skeletons.”
Though lacking in raw combat power compared to Master Class, Grand Mages achieved feats in other fields that were utterly astounding.
Like building bridges overnight that spanned continents and islands.
Or sinking entire lands to create vast lakes.
Thinking of such tales made Gasdal’s display understandable.
Domenico bowed his head.
Against a Grand Black Mage, there was no chance of victory. It was a hopelessly despairing situation.
That was when it happened.
“Go! Smash these filthy monsters to pieces!”
“Follow Sir Duplis! Let’s save the people!”
Through the mirror, a group of knights could be seen rescuing people.
Centered around the high-class Duplis, the other knights banded together, toppling skeletons.
Domenico felt a glimmer of hope in that sight. But the hope was short-lived.
“Looks like there are still some lively ones left.”
Gasdal tapped the ground with his staff again.
Skeletons then sprang up around Duplis like bamboo shoots after rain.
Hundreds of them instantly surrounded the knights.
“With a high-class here, let’s put in a bit more effort.”
Gasdal tapped the ground once more, and the skeletons turned pitch black. They charged with glowing red eyes.
“Ugh, uwaaack! They’re not getting cut!”
“S-Skeletons withstanding aura?!”
The knights began to be pushed back by the skeletons in an instant.
At that moment, Duplis stepped forward. As he swung his sword, skeletons were sliced apart in a flash.
“Sir Duplis!”
“Impressive as always!”
Before the knights’ admiration could fade, the skeletons regenerated.
“B-Block them!”
“Don’t fall back!”
The fierce battle resumed. Duplis and the knights pressed the skeletons relentlessly.
But the tide favored the skeletons. They kept regenerating no matter how much they were destroyed.
Domenico watched the scene with dark eyes.
The skeletons regenerated infinitely, while Duplis and the knights’ mana was finite.
If the fight dragged on like this, defeat for Duplis’s side was a foregone conclusion.
Grit.
Domenico ground his teeth.
He couldn’t let Duplis die like this. Somehow, they needed to link up and combine forces.
Two high-class knights might just stand a chance against a Grand Black Mage.
“Ugh, uwaaack!”
Domenico clutched the spear piercing his body.
With a desperate heave, he pulled himself free. His riddled body thudded to the ground.
“Urk, grrr…….”
Domenico forced his body to move, trying to flee as far from Gasdal as possible.
“Stabbed by a wraith spear, you won’t last long.”
Even as Domenico fled into the distance, Gasdal didn’t pursue.
“In the end, you’re still in the palm of my hand.”
Gasdal clicked his tongue in disdain at the fool.
* * *
Domenico didn’t stop walking despite the pain.
He planned to escape this place somehow and rendezvous with Duplis.
Suddenly, strength drained from his entire body.
His legs refused to move any further. His body collapsed to the ground.
I have to go. I have to move somehow.
It was just a thought in his head—his body wouldn’t obey. Life slowly faded from Domenico’s eyes.
Moments later, someone appeared where Domenico had fallen.
“So it’s come to this.”
Demian Haksen.
He looked down at Domenico’s corpse and spoke.
Demian had pursued Gasdal the moment the large-scale black magic activated.
And there he found Domenico collapsed on the ground.
A soul rose from Domenico’s corpse. The soul that was now Domenico didn’t realize his change for a while.
“I-I…….”
“You’re dead.”
Demian said coldly. Domenico stared at him in disbelief.
“……Lady Frieze is gone.”
Domenico said in a dazed voice.
“Gasdal, that man, killed the young lady. I…… I couldn’t do anything…….”
“Are you begging for my pity?”
Demian said with a contemptuous look.
“I told you. You brought hell upon yourselves. This is just the price.”
Frieze and Domenico hadn’t only colluded with a black mage—they’d handed over people flocking to the ruins to Gasdal.
They’d made the wrong choice and committed heinous sins. Now the consequences were returning.
“If you hadn’t gotten in my way, you could’ve at least stopped Gasdal from unleashing large-scale black magic.”
Even Demian couldn’t underestimate a Grand Black Mage.
Give them the slightest opening, and who knew what they’d unleash. That’s why he’d tried not to give any time.
“Do you know what’s happening right now? The skeletons Gasdal summoned are killing people.”
“……I saw. He showed me himself.”
Domenico looked up at the sky and sighed.
“……What Gasdal demanded at first were the souls of citizens. The young lady opened the ruins to outsiders to avoid sacrificing them.”
Domenico covered his face with both hands and lamented.
“We’re the ones who sinned, so why must the citizens die…….”
“Pathetic. You fed explorers to Gasdal, yet you fret only over the citizens.”
Demian sneered. Domenico fell silent.
That was when it happened.
A massive magic circle unfurled in the sky. At the same time, souls across the entire White Kingdom began getting drawn into it.
“W-What is that…… How can a human wield black magic on this scale……!”
Demian wasn’t particularly surprised.
To a Grand Black Mage, such magic was trivial.
“Ugh, uwaaaah!”
“K-Kept getting pulled awaaay!”
Shouts came from behind. The souls of White Kingdom knights and soldiers who had secretly followed Demian were being dragged toward the magic circle.
“C-Can’t…… hold out……!”
Not just them—Domenico’s soul was being pulled too.
“Tch.”
Demian clicked his tongue briefly. What happened to them wasn’t his concern.
But letting their souls fall into Gasdal’s hands wouldn’t be good.
Demian loosened his bracelet slightly, releasing a bit of black mana.
He cast protective black magic on the souls present.
Thanks to that, the White Kingdom knights, soldiers, and Domenico were no longer pulled away.
As Demian used black magic, Domenico asked in shock.
“Victor, you…… Don’t tell me you’re a black mage?”
“Don’t lump me in with that trash.”
Demian said with displeasure.
“I can just use black magic. Doesn’t make me a black mage.”
Domenico blinked at Demian’s words.
His face said he wanted to argue that being able to use it made one a black mage.
Ignoring Domenico, Demian started walking.
“Where are you going?”
Without looking back, Demian answered Domenico’s question.
“To kill him.”
* * *
“Smooth sailing.”
Gasdal looked satisfied at the souls massing in droves.
“Soon, my wish will come true.”
A Master Class Death Knight.
If he obtained that, he’d never again fear Master Class beings.
“Then, He will favor me even more.”
Gasdal’s eyes gleamed.
Dorgo.
The founder of black magic and teacher to all black mages.
Everything Gasdal did was to follow His sacred will.
As he basked in ecstasy thinking of Dorgo, he sensed a presence nearby.
Gasdal turned toward it with a strange smile.
“Oh, you’ve finally come.”
Victor.
The man who had pushed back his clone in the ruins stood there.
“Foolish. To come crawling right to me instead of fleeing.”
“I can’t just walk past trash.”
Gasdal burst into laughter at Victor’s words. He’d felt it back at the ruins—this guy was amusing.
“Since you’ve come to see me, I’ll have to treat you properly.”
Even having seen Victor’s strength in the ruins, Gasdal was relaxed.
The skeletons his clone used were mere low-grade ones. But the ones Gasdal would now deploy were different.
These were his elite main force, nurtured over long years by feeding them souls and memories.
“I’ll show you. My loyal retainers.”
Gasdal slammed his staff into the ground, and the shadows at his feet spread wide.
Soon, the shadows churned violently.
Like a storm-tossed sea, they roiled wildly. From within, skeletons rose.
* * *
Loyal retainers.
As Gasdal boasted, these were unlike any other skeletons.
First, their bones weren’t white but red. Their forms differed too.
The skeletons Gasdal had summoned so far were so uniform in size, it was like they’d been stamped out from a mold.
But these red skeletons varied greatly in size.
From ones as small as boys, to bear-like hulks, even ogre-like behemoths.
Their weapons varied too. Not just swords and spears—some wielded greatswords and maces.
‘Seeing them again like this.’
Demian gazed at the red skeletons, lost in thought.
In his past life, they were infamous as Gasdal’s elite legion.
They were much weaker than back then, but only by past life standards.
“Each of these surpasses a low-class in strength.”
Pride swelled in Gasdal’s voice.
“Do you know what happens when my support is added?”
Skeletons backed by proper black magic from their mage exceed their inherent abilities.
Hundreds at low-class level.
Backed by the Grand Black Mage Gasdal?
Their power was incalculable.
“No…… This…… We can’t win this…….”
Domenico, who had followed Demian, said in a trembling voice.
“Victor, run. At least save your own life…….”
Demian ignored him. Instead, he drew Dawnmaiden.
Seeing this, Domenico asked in disbelief.
“……You plan to fight?”
“That’s why I came.”
Demian said calmly. Domenico’s eyes widened.
Conflict crossed Domenico’s face. Moments later, he spoke.
“Victor, can you make skeletons?”
“Foolish question. Black mages each specialize differently. Not all can summon skeletons.”
“……As I thought.”
“But I can.”
Domenico looked at Demian in astonishment.
“Then turn me into a skeleton.”
Now it was Demian’s turn to be stunned.
“Don’t you know what becoming undead means?”
“I do. A soul tainted by black mana can’t reincarnate and remains in this world.”
Human souls endlessly reincarnate.
But souls corrupted by black mana can’t—they linger in the world.
Slowly losing power until they dissipate.
“Even so, I want to aid your fight.”
Domenico said calmly, his face set with resolve.
“Please, do the same for me.”
“Me too, please!”
It wasn’t just Domenico. The White Kingdom knights and soldiers who followed pleaded earnestly.
“You’ll all regret this.”
Demian said to them. Domenico gave a wry smile.
“This is how we pay the price.”
Demian silently regarded them. Then, slowly, he fully unclasped the bracelet from his wrist.
The black mana sealed within the bracelet was completely unleashed.