Chapter 78
Chapter 78
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Hideout (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-Kyeng!
With a fox-like cry, Miya charged at the skeletons and swung her hand.
A frail body with long, slender fingers.
To the eye, Miya looked like nothing more than a young girl or boy.
But the moment those thin five fingers struck a skeleton's torso, the bones shattered and scattered into pieces.
Without pause, Miya attacked the other skeletons. With a few swings of her hands, dozens of skeletons turned into mere piles of bones.
-Kyeng! Kyeng!
Miya looked at Demian with a relieved expression. Demian shook his head slowly.
-Kyeng?
The piles of bones gathered again, reassembling into skeletons. The restored skeletons picked up the weapons scattered on the floor.
'That's the annoying thing about skeletons.'
Among necromancy spells, skeletons were on the higher difficulty end. Unlike zombies, they required binding a soul.
Once the soul was bound, a skeleton could operate semi-permanently. Even if destroyed or damaged, it repaired itself.
'Disgusting black mage bastards.'
In Demian's eyes, he could see the souls bound to the bones, continuously supplied with black mana. It was a truly nauseating sight.
-Kyeng!
Miya charged at the skeletons again. The skeletons responded by advancing with shields raised.
This time, instead of fingers, she slammed down her fist. Her cute little fist crashed onto the skeletons' heads.
With a crisp sound, the skeletons' bones completely crumbled. The shattered bones scattered across the floor.
'Good instincts. She instinctively figured out how to deal with skeletons.'
The most effective way to fight skeletons was to smash their bones into tiny pieces. The smaller the pieces, the weaker their self-repair ability.
-Kyeng!
Miya darted around, smashing skeletons. Shattered bones sprayed across the floor.
But plenty of skeletons remained. As they fought them, the broken ones repeatedly reformed good as new.
No matter how much they fought, the end was nowhere in sight—an endless hell.
Yulan hadn't placed skeletons in the hideout for no reason.
'This won't end. Need to think of another way.'
It was then that Demian thought this. Suddenly, Miya's gaze turned to the ceiling.
There, a flesh golem in human form held a staff.
Miya kicked off the wall and reached the flesh golem in an instant. Before it could flee, she kicked its torso, shattering it to pieces.
At the same moment, the skeletons' movements stopped. With the black magic dispelled, the skeletons collapsed back into bones.
-Kyeng!
Miya descended with a triumphant look, like a fox that had succeeded in the hunt.
"Excellent."
At Demian's praise, Miya's expression grew even more smug.
Then, with a heavy thud, the ground shook. The flesh golems guarding the door advanced toward the two.
With the first line of skeleton guards breached, the flesh golems were activating.
The moment she saw the flesh golems, Miya's face turned fierce again.
"Can you handle them alone?"
Miya nodded at Demian's question. She lowered her body until her chest nearly touched the floor, then dug her ten fingers into the ground.
Pushing off with both hands and feet, she shot forward like an arrow.
Arriving right in front of the flesh golem, Miya leaped into the air. She smashed her knee into its face.
With a gruesome sound, its face caved in completely, and the flesh golem staggered.
Landing on the ground, Miya wrapped both hands around one of the flesh golem's arms.
Her body spun, twisting and tearing the arm clean off.
'That's no ordinary power output.'
The strength pouring from Miya's small body was beyond imagination.
'But her body is too fragile compared to her output.'
With every attack, Miya's skin peeled from her limbs, and her muscles tore visibly.
Even accounting for her regeneration ability, it was clear her physical durability was too low relative to her power.
Just as Miya tore off the arm and moved to continue her assault, the adjacent flesh golem kicked her body.
Miya flew and slammed into the wall. Blood spurted from her mouth.
-Kyeng!
Due to her inexperience, she'd let her guard down. The price was steep. Even as the flesh golem approached, Miya couldn't think to dodge—she just vomited blood.
'Should I help?'
Demian pondered this when
the blood spilled by the flesh golem began gathering toward Miya.
Miya's skin started absorbing the blood. The more she absorbed, the faster her body regenerated.
"...What the hell?"
Even Demian was shocked enough to speak aloud. But what came next was even more astonishing.
Rising to her feet, Miya extended one arm to the side—and suddenly, it swelled enormously. It resembled a troll's arm.
"...Body transformation?"
Miya lunged again, striking the flesh golem that had attacked her with her troll hand. One blow reduced its body to fragments.
-Wooorrr!
The fallen flesh golem tried to resist. Miya immediately crushed its head as well.
-Kyeng!
Miya let out a relieved cry. The enlarged arm had already returned to normal.
Miya scampered over to Demian. He examined her body and asked,
"How far can you transform?"
At his question, Miya transformed both arms.
"What about more?"
Miya shook her head. That seemed to be her limit.
"You accelerate recovery by absorbing blood, and can transform into parts of the creature it came from?"
The flesh golem Miya had fought was made from two trolls.
What she'd absorbed was troll blood. That's why she could transform her arm into a troll's.
"Incredible."
If Demian's guess was right, this was no ordinary ability.
Had Corpseplay succeeded in taming her in his previous life, humanity would have one more catastrophe.
"Good work. Let's head inside."
Demian moved deeper into the hideout with Miya.
* * *
After advancing some distance, they reached a fork.
"Treasures, herbs, plant poisons, creature poisons...."
As expected of a warehouse used by numerous black mages, there were various types.
Demian headed to the treasure warehouse first.
Inside was a space about 20 pyeong, with gold coins and jewels laid out.
"The amount is... underwhelming."
Unfortunately, there wasn't much. Just five pouches of gold coins and one pouch of jewels.
"Someone already looted it... What's this?"
Demian spotted a chalkboard on the wall.
Jan 10 - Agito: Took 50 gold.
Feb 28 - Mustang Fury: Took 150 gold and 10 sapphires.
Apr 25 - Rebecca: Left 80 gold coins and 5 golden statues.
Aug 10 - James: Took 70 gold and 4 diamonds.
The records showed Yulan members taking treasures.
But at the very bottom was an unwelcome name.
Nov 1 - Corpseplay: Need to make a masterpiece but short on funds, so I'm taking it all.
┗Agito: Hey you bastard! What are we supposed to do if you take it all!
┗Mustang Fury: Return it nicely while I'm asking!
┗Rebecca: Corpseplay! Do you want to be cursed?
Demian clicked his tongue briefly. No wonder the warehouse was empty—it was Corpseplay's doing.
"What a useless bastard."
Grumbling, Demian stored the remaining treasures in his subspace.
Next, he visited the herb warehouse. But only a few ingredients remained here too.
Nov 1 - Corpseplay: Short on materials for the masterpiece, so I'm taking them all.
┗Agito: This damn lunatic!
┗Mustang Fury: Do you know how much those herbs you took cost!
┗Rebecca: You... I'm really going to kill you%$#$%^$%.
"...."
Demian stared at the chalkboard in disbelief.
"At least the others might have something left."
Demian checked all the warehouses, but the situation was the same. Corpseplay had taken everything.
"What the hell did this guy need all this for?"
Dumbfounded, Demian headed to the final 'treasure warehouse.'
As expected, hardly anything remained.
Dec 1 - Corpseplay: Even what I took isn't enough. Need money for the Nine, so I'm taking it all.
┗Agito: @#$@#%@$@#.
┗Mustang Fury: %^&$%^#$#.
┗Rebecca: @#%#%#%#.
Reading Corpseplay's note, Demian turned to Miya. She was nodding emphatically.
"Nine... That was your old name, right."
No wonder her performance was so overpowered. There was a reason.
She must have been made using all the wealth Yulan had amassed, allowing such capabilities.
'Still, this regeneration and blood absorption doesn't make sense.'
As Demian pondered,
-Kyeng! Kyeng!
Miya tugged at Demian's clothes. In the corner of the warehouse sat a box that hadn't been taken.
Since Corpseplay left it, it was probably worthless.
Still, to check what it was, he approached the box.
Caution) Item sought by He Who Shall Not Be Named. Keep safe until the promised day.
"...He Who?"
The "He" Yulan referred to could only be Dorgo.
A item Dorgo wanted. Curious, Demian opened the box.
"...."
The moment he saw what was inside, he couldn't help but be stunned.
A handle rough like carved obsidian.
A crossguard like entwined thorny vines.
A blade, broken and only a tiny fragment remaining.
"Erebos...."
Before him was the magic sword Demian had used as a Death Knight.