Episode 928
Episode 928
Diret pretended not to hear and opened the door.
A chilly breeze blew through the empty doorway where nothing was visible, absorbing the reagents prepared in front of it.
As the golden triangular bone and the spinal fluid of the Spirit Tracker disappeared, the void beyond the door transformed into a scene from the Undead Realm.
"Can you see it?"
"Yes. It's astonishing."
By utilizing the artifact, they could explore the Undead Realm without physically entering or sending a projection.
This door acted as a kind of proxy.
"With this method, we can avoid frightening the spirits and making them flee."
"...Y-you're using such an artifact just for that?"
Diret was taken aback by his junior's words.
Among the dangers one could face in another dimension, spirits getting scared and running away was an extremely minor issue.
In fact, it wasn't even a problem. Spirits attacking were the real issue—them fleeing wasn't.
Lee Han frowned slightly and said,
"I guess it's a waste of reagents, right?"
"No! It's fine to use it!"
Flustered, Diret tried to console his junior.
Knowing how much trouble his junior had gone through because of spirits, he couldn't bring himself to be harsh.
If it were any other junior from the Black Magic faction, he would've scolded them with, "Stop whining and deal with it." But the junior before him had done too much for the faction.
"Still, the reagent cost seems expensive..."
"It's fine. I'll get them from Professor Mortum's reagent vault. He won't notice once or twice."
Casually offering up Professor Mortum's reagent vault, Diret proceeded with the exploration.
Navigating other dimensions wasn't as simple as moving between regions on an ordinary map—especially when that dimension was the capricious Undead Realm.
Diret took out a scroll-shaped map and recited an incantation.
"O pale steed with eight legs, guide us to where up is down and the mist of poison lingers."
As he spoke, a ghostly horse with eight legs appeared beyond the door.
As if the ghostly horse had mounted the artifact on its back, their vision suddenly flipped. Watching the rapidly passing scenery of the Undead Realm, Lee Han observed with keen interest.
In the distance, a massive skeletal dragon spewed ice in all directions as it soared through the dark skies of the Undead Realm, while a nearby swamp sucked in the darkness before reversing its position and transforming into a new sky.
Without deep knowledge and quick reflexes, most regions of the Undead Realm would be extremely dangerous.
"O pale steed with eight legs, guide us to where smoke is exhaled."
Holding the map personally drawn by Professor Mortum, Diret recited another incantation.
This wasn't just an ordinary map—it could practically be considered a makeshift artifact infused with Professor Mortum's memories and will.
For navigating the complex Undead Realm, this level of preparation was almost essential.
"Found it."
Spotting the obsidian mirrors exhaling smoke beyond the door, Diret gestured.
The ever-shifting form of the palace confirmed that this was indeed the place Professor Mortum had mentioned.
"From now on, we need to be careful, junior."
Even with the artifact's protection, negotiating with a powerful entity of the Undead Realm was dangerous.
A single misspoken word or careless movement could provoke its wrath and lead to an attack.
"I'll keep that in mind. What should I do?"
"All you have to do is watch, junior."
Diret spoke with confidence.
He wasn't cruel enough to assign tasks to a second-year student using an artifact for the first time.
His junior only needed to assist from the sidelines.
"Now then, O Beast that rules over death and darkness. Greetings."
-Get lost.
"......"
"......"
The growling voice of the Beast echoed from within the palace.
For the first time in a while, Diret felt shame. To be so harshly dismissed in front of his junior...
'Ah, no. This is strange!'
Something was off.
Powerful beings wouldn't normally drive away those they had contracts or connections with so hastily.
At the very least, they should ask what the visitor's purpose was first, shouldn't they?
"Senior?"
"Th-this is strange. Haha."
"Since it's a being from the Undead Realm, it's natural for it to act eccentric and rude. I'll definitely get my revenge someday."
Lee Han glared at the Undead Realm being that had dared insult his senior, who was like the heavens to him.
No matter how powerful a force it commanded in the Undead Realm, how could it insult someone like this?
"...No! There's no need for that!"
When his junior started making plans for revenge against such a powerful being, Diret grew even more flustered.
Though embarrassed, he didn't want his junior forming grudges with major figures from another dimension.
"Words like these are common in the Undead Realm. Understand? Don't even think about revenge."
"Hmm. Understood. Then should we just retreat?"
"Ask one last question if you have anything left to say."
From Diret's perspective, they only had room for one more question. After that, they'd have to leave regardless of whether they got an answer or not.
"I'd like to ask how Sharkan is doing."
"Alright. If you could tell us about Sharkan's condition, we'll leave immediately."
No answer came. Diret shook his head slightly.
"We should probably leave. Sorry, junior."
"It's fine. The other party is the one at fault."
Lee Han nurtured his resentment even further in his heart.
Just you wait!
That's when it happened.
The palace, which had been continuously changing shape, suddenly froze and took the form of a main gate.
And from within that gate, a massive four-legged beast came bounding out.
"!!"
"?!!"
'Did it read my mind?' Lee Han was startled.
There was no reason for the palace's owner to come charging out like that unless it had sensed his intention to seek revenge later.
It wasn't even present here—how could it read Lee Han's thoughts all the way back at Einrogard?
-Grrrrowl!
The four-legged beast that had rushed out suddenly flopped onto the ground and began rolling around left and right.
Confused by the incomprehensible behavior, Diret shouted,
"What in the world is it doing?"
"...It seems to be playing around? Senior. Can I try asking directly?"
"Go ahead. But absolutely don't reveal your name or location. You could face retaliation otherwise."
"Understood. ...Sharkan?"
No sooner had Lee Han finished speaking than the massive four-legged beast perked up happily.
Diret grew even more bewildered.
"That... is Sharkan? Your summon, junior?"
"It seems so..."
Truth be told, Lee Han was just as bewildered.
What stood before them was unmistakably a powerful undead entity, not some mere summon.
Yet the behavior of this powerful undead being was undeniably Sharkan's.
Judging by how excitedly it was rolling around and digging at the ground...?
Thud!
The four-legged beast suddenly stopped moving.
Then it rose up with majestic dignity and slowly retreated back into the palace.
-Piss off.
"...What was that just now?"
Of course, Einrogard students wouldn't obediently leave in such a situation.
Determined to get an answer, Lee Han stood his ground without backing down.
-I said piss off.
"I won't leave until I get an answer."
-Mage. How dare you test the patience of the Beast that rules over death and darkne...
The voice cut off abruptly as the four-legged beast came charging out of the palace again.
Just like before, it searched for Lee Han and began barking excitedly.
"......"
"......"
Thud!
The four-legged beast regained its composure. Truly befitting a powerful being of the Undead Realm, it didn't lose its dignity even after such undignified behavior.
-Piss o... Grrrrowl!
But even that dignity couldn't hold out past the third attempt.
After rolling around on the ground for the third time, the four-legged beast stopped telling them to leave.
"You despicable mage. To think you'd trap the Beast that rules over death and darkness with such a trick!"
"?!"
Lee Han was left speechless and bewildered by the completely unexpected accusation.
In the end, the Beast gave up and began explaining.
When a fragment grows stronger, the original body naturally recovers power as well.
Every time Sharkan absorbed mana, the original Beast also steadily regained strength.
The mana's purity and quality were so exceptional that what should have taken far longer to recover was drastically shortened.
The problem was that in the process, Sharkan had developed a sense of self.
Originally, the Beast that rules over death and darkness had only intended to lend out a temporary, mindless fragment—never in a million years had it planned to create a subordinate fragment with an entirely new personality.
Even so, that much was still acceptable. Even if the fragment had developed a personality, as its master, the Beast could have generously tolerated and embraced it.
But Sharkan was far more stubborn than expected.
-You are Sharkan. You are a fragment split from the Beast that rules over death and darkness. You must maintain proper dignity and tear your enemies apart.
-Grrrl...!
-You are Sharkan. While it's understandable to feel affection for your contractor, the Beast that rules over death and darkness bows to no one. Reconsider.
-Grrrrrl...!
-Grrrl! How dare you, after I've been so lenient!
Eventually, the Beast abandoned persuasion and simply seized Sharkan, locking it away within itself.
The plan was to release it once it had reflected and lowered its tail.
This was also why it had coldly dismissed the mage's visit.
If it carelessly interacted with mages and heard news of its contractor, wouldn't that only prolong Sharkan's rebellious phase?
But Sharkan wasn't just stubborn—its abilities also surpassed the original's expectations.
Thinking it had finally quieted down in reflection, the moment its contractor appeared, it went berserk and briefly wrested control from the original body.
Under normal circumstances, such growth would have been worthy of high praise.
For its fragment to grow so powerful in the Undead Realm, teeming with countless enemies...
It should have been a proud achievement...
The problem was that all that newfound strength was being used to humiliate itself in front of its contractor.
-Do you understand now, despicable mage? Your gift has corrupted my fragment.
"It's not like I forced it on you. You could've just stopped absorbing it midway."
Lee Han naturally protested.
It was shameless beyond measure—to happily devour the power for recovery and then complain about it afterward.
'Do all undead lack conscience?' The Beast growled low in its throat.
Normally, it would have dismissed the mage's protest without a second thought, but the current situation didn't allow for that.
Having only recently regained its strength, it couldn't afford to keep fighting with its fragment.
-Mage. Speak your wish. In exchange, I shall persuade Sharkan.
"Would returning Sharkan to me be possible?"
-That is impossible. Remember—Sharkan is no longer the insignificant undead monster it once was.
While weaker undead monsters could be summoned relatively easily, powerful ones faced far greater dimensional barriers.
Now that the original Beast had recovered its strength and awakened, Sharkan was both the Beast and its fragment. Summoning it would require an immense price.
"I can pay the cost in mana each time I summon it."
-...
The Beast let out a low growl, struck in an unexpected weak spot.
Now that it thought about it, this mage—by some unknown means—had restored the Beast using vast amounts of mana. If that was the case, perhaps he could pay the summoning cost in mana.
Suppressing Sharkan's frantic attempts to break free with superhuman willpower, the Beast spoke.
-Mage. If you forge a new contract, you may regret it. The price to summon the Beast that rules over death and darkness would scrape the depths of your soul and still fall short... Fine. Mana will suffice.
"???"
Lee Han was baffled by the sudden concession.
What in the world was this about?