Episode 379
Episode 379
'Just worthless trash.'
When no follow-up attacks came, the Ghoul King lost interest in the masked mage.
Neither Ogoldos nor Lee Han posed any real threat to the Ghoul King at this point. There were far more pressing targets in this chamber that needed dealing with first.
Let's see how much you're worth.
Dodging the charging berserker's attack, the Ghoul King's body swelled like black mist.
That mist then coiled around the berserker. The sound of crushing bones accompanied the gruesome feast that unfolded.
'He's recovered considerably more than I expected.'
While the berserker was being devoured, the undead mage calmly assessed the situation.
He didn't regret drawing his blade against the Ghoul King.
In the world of undead, if you don't strike when your opponent is weakened, you might never get another chance.
Yet the Ghoul King had recovered remarkably well in that short time.
He must have regained substantial power by consuming his minions around the palace and absorbing their residual mana.
If only we'd arrived a bit sooner...
Despite his regret, the undead mage's incantation flowed smoothly. Poisonous mists burst forth one after another, beginning to fill the space.
Do you think spreading poison will make any difference?
The Ghoul King snorted derisively as he seized and swallowed another berserker.
Having risen from a mere ghoul through countless battles and victories to his current state, the Ghoul King possessed numerous abilities befitting his achievements.
The power to dissolve his physical form into mobile mist, the power to completely absorb his opponents' essence, the power to summon contracted undead...
Though many abilities remained unusable due to incomplete recovery, the Ghoul King was demonstrating fearsome combat prowess with just his remaining strength.
CRUNCH!
Another berserker melted away. The Ghoul King, who had been maintaining distance while evading attacks, had seized an opening to plunge his fangs in.
Even those formidable berserkers were being toyed with like scarecrows when facing the Ghoul King directly.
Yet the undead mage remained composed.
It didn't matter that their opponent had recovered faster than expected. From the beginning, the mage had assumed the Ghoul King would possess superior combat strength.
What makes mages terrifying isn't raw power, but their ability to exploit situational weaknesses with carefully prepared countermeasures.
Since his days serving under the Ghoul King, the undead mage had been preparing magic specifically designed to strike at his former master.
"Is this really going to be okay?"
Lee Han asked in a flustered voice as he watched the Ghoul King tearing through berserkers while moving about the hall.
Troublingly, the Ghoul King seemed significantly stronger than when they'd last met.
'Wouldn't retreating be better?'
-Don't worry. I've been preparing a way to strike the King since my days serving as his subordinate.
'...Then you shouldn't have claimed loyalty...'
Lee Han found it absurd that the mage had professed loyalty earlier while secretly preparing countermeasures all along.
The common sense of the undead dimension was utterly incomprehensible to him.
"What method is it?"
-You'll see when it happens. Buy me as much time as you can.
As he spoke, the undead mage grabbed a berserker and began absorbing its mana.
He'd been running low on the magical energy needed for his spell.
"Um, if you need mana, would you like to absorb some from me?"
-Wouldn't absorbing those berserkers be better? Those guys...
Without thinking, the undead mage extended a Bone Hand to grasp Lee Han—and was instantly shocked.
The mana he'd nearly exhausted from spellcasting was suddenly replenished in an instant.
"How's that?"
-Magnificent! When I give the signal, come running to recharge me again! With this, we can complete it much faster!
'Did I speak too soon?'
Having defeated over half the berserkers, the Ghoul King roared triumphantly.
That's when his attention was drawn to the undead mage standing conspicuously in the corner.
Hmm!
If it had been the Ghoul King's original personality, he would have wiped out all the berserkers first before dealing with the undead mage.
After all, among the prisoners in the underground dungeon, the strongest ones were these berserkers.
And the undead mage hadn't been able to deal any significant damage to the Ghoul King.
Though he was a powerful poison elemental mage, his affinity against the Ghoul King was poor, and with just his innate elemental resistance and powerful movement abilities, the Ghoul King could easily nullify the undead mage.
In fact, from the Ghoul King's perspective, the one who was more annoying was the guy flitting around with low-level elemental magic.
Even though the level of magic was low, his movements were unpredictably fast and precise, and his firepower was bizarrely strong.
Originally, a cocky little pest like that—one who lacked ability yet dared to crawl up—would have been left for last to instill terror before being dealt with...
But strangely, he couldn't take his eyes off him.
The Ghoul King himself didn't realize it, but his recent defeat had tempered his arrogant nature.
His thoughts had changed.
—!
The undead mage was startled.
The preparations weren't complete yet, but the Ghoul King had already begun moving toward the mage.
—What the... Stop him!
The remaining berserkers roared as they blocked his path. The Ghoul King lightly transformed his body into black mist, attempting to slip past them.
"Frost, like mist!"
A pale blue icy fog rapidly spread through the air.
At the Ghoul King's level, just by observing the structure of the forming magic, he could roughly gauge its strength.
What had just been cast was <Lesser Frost Mist>.
A low-Circle spell so weak it could make one yawn. The Ghoul King ignored it and tried to break through.
But at that moment, a chilling cold seeped from the mist.
!
The Ghoul King swiftly twisted his body to evade the mist. In that brief moment, the undead mage unleashed another poison cloud, widening the distance.
—I don't understand why this false king is acting like this!
"Did the plan go wrong!?"
Lee Han shouted while also putting distance between them. The undead mage spoke as if he couldn't comprehend it.
—If it were his original personality, his pride wouldn't have made him attack me first. He would've considered that beneath his dignity. That's why I thought it'd be fine, but why is he...? Did his recent defeat change his temperament?
"......"
Lee Han cursed his past self.
No matter how much he liked silver coins, was this the result of recklessly diving into caves like this?!
How long did he plan to keep running away, huh? If he had the guts to challenge the throne, shouldn't he at least try swinging something?! If he kept running like this...
The Ghoul King swelled his body to disperse the poison cloud and tried to chase the undead mage again but suddenly halted.
He sensed something was off.
...Wait.
The Ghoul King turned his gaze to the floor.
Unbeknownst to him, a strange-patterned magic circle had densely spread across the hall's floor.
This bastard...
The Ghoul King's eyes, flashing within the mist, gleamed murderously.
He had belatedly realized that the undead mage, whom he had dismissed as insignificant, had actually been preparing a grand spell.
—Things have gotten messy. I didn't expect him to be this sharp. My apologies.
"...It's fine."
Normally, Lee Han should've been furious at the undead mage, yelling, "Because of you, I'm about to die too!"—but he didn't.
He bore some responsibility too!
Did he really think he could get away with this unscathed? He was going to grind him to dust.
—Undead, return to your original place!
Though incomplete, the undead mage had no choice but to activate the magic circle.
Surprisingly, a surge of divine power erupted from the circle. It was a holy magic spell, the kind used by the church.
—Holy judgment shall bind and banish thee!
Lee Han was stunned. The Ghoul King was stunned too.
Of course, for a being weaker than the king to strike at him, extraordinary measures were necessary—but who would've thought that an undead mage would bring out holy magic?
Until just moments ago, the area had been the site of a dark clash between undead, but now a sacred radiance began to swirl through it.
'An undead, how!?'
Lee Han was shocked.
Even if it had borrowed the power of a magic circle, for an undead to manifest divine magic—
This was no ordinary determination.
With the flood of light, the Ghoul King began shrieking as though burning alive. The other berserkers could only writhe helplessly, unable to move.
The undead mage, too, seemed to have taken damage, staggering to its knees. Had it not prepared a magical barrier in advance, it would have been obliterated by now.
Guh... hii!
-!
The undead mage shot a horrified glance. The Ghoul King charged straight at it and slammed the mage into the wall.
-You shouldn't be able to move...!
"I've known about your petty tricks from the start."
The Ghoul King revealed the armor fused into its form as it spoke.
Thanks to this armor, stitched together from the flesh of heroes, it had endured the flood of divine magic and managed to charge forward.
-"False King. You've grown far wiser. You weren't this capable before..."
"Shut up, you scheming little rat."
The Ghoul King swiftly dealt with the undead mage and gathered its strength, intending to dispel the magic suffusing the hall.
At that moment, Lee Han swung Morning Star. The black blade sliced through the Ghoul King, and the King howled furiously as it felt its mana being drained.
Wha...!
Confusion struck before the rage of being wounded. The Ghoul King was bewildered, unable to comprehend its opponent's nature.
Could it be...?
Could it really be...??
"When will the magic be complete?!"
-It's... impossible...
The undead mage's voice was weaker than before.
A single strike from the Ghoul King had left it grievously wounded.
-But... completion...
"Does that make any sense?!"
-Contract... summon...
The undead mage pointed alternately with its fingers.
Under normal circumstances, it would never have considered forming a summoning contract with a fledgling mage from another dimension, but this was an emergency.
"Understood!"
-My true name... is Verdus. Summon me now...
Even in the midst of this chaos, Lee Han nearly lost focus for a moment.
What kind of name is that?!
Fwooosh—
As the incantation was recited and the contract formed, a surge of powerful mana flooded into the undead mage.
Revitalized by this mana, the mage mustered its last reserves to complete the magic circle.
"You—!"
The Ghoul King, regaining its senses, unleashed the most vicious rage it had ever felt and lunged forward.
It had finally realized Lee Han's true nature.
This was beyond audacity—no words could describe the sheer gall.
To think this brat, who had only gotten lucky in defeating it before, had chased it all the way here to bring it down.
Fine. This was perfect. Here and now—
When the undead mage blocked its path, the Ghoul King burned through its own existence to strike the mage down.
As it was forcibly recalled, the undead mage poisoned the Ghoul King in one final act of desperation. And inwardly, it thought:
'I've never seen it this enraged before!'
Clearly, the divine magic the undead mage had prepared had struck a nerve with the King.
Satisfied by this realization, the undead mage collapsed.
Die...
The Ghoul King ignored the toll on its existence and the poison, focusing solely on killing Lee Han first.
Its hatred had seeped deep into its bones.
Kwaaaaah—!
But then, divine magic of an entirely different magnitude crashed down upon the Ghoul King.
Under the overwhelming pressure, the King was forced to its knees.
Ogoldos muttered without thinking:
"Did... did we win?"
"Senior, please don't say things like that..."
Win? Hardly.
The Ghoul King, still on its knees, glared at Lee Han.
Do you think you've won? Do you think this magic circle is some omnipotent sword? At best, it can only restrain me! Inside it, I'll weaken—but that's all. How long do you think you can maintain this magic circle? You're already short of breath!
"...Ah."
Lee Han, who had been listening tensely, let out a sigh of relief.