Chapter 91
Chapter 91
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 91
>Chapter Title: No, I Got Caught Too
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
Neigh-!
An untimely whinny echoed through the Hamern Great Forest.
A chilling wail hung in the air. Solion raced across the forest atop his phantom steed.
‘You, you mangy mutt…!’
His eyes blazed bloodshot red. His face was ashen pale. In such a short time, he’d been reduced to this wretched state!
And inside, he was burning just as black.
‘It was done! All done…!’
Destrow’s arrival was imminent.
Muspellun? He’d seen through that fool’s strategy.
He’d prepared curses assuming a small strike force, pouring in every death spirit he’d gathered over a lifetime!
Yet he felt no regret.
Why regret it!
Destrow.
The moment this ancient monstrosity arrived, he’d gain far more.
His merits recognized, he’d claim a seat among Salvatium’s executives, basking in the awe of his fellow necromancers. And that wasn’t all? The elders’ reward might even grant him a second molting.
To Solion, this was a lifelong dream.
An executive post, and eventually a place among the elders, living a life near eternal!
But.
‘That damned thing…!’
Solion eyed the two Death Knights leading the way ahead. Beyond them, he took in the sight.
A ragged robe flapping as the figure fled for dear life.
Pathetic.
Battling ancient wraiths, Death Knights, and undead alike.
The armor was scratched and dented everywhere, its left arm long since fallen to the ground and rusted away!
Yet despite that pitiful exterior, this was the culprit behind it all.
‘Why you? How could it be you…!’
The whispering scream was the trap meant for the mysterious masked figure.
Muspellun’s strategy? It didn’t matter the second the masked one stepped into it.
All he had to do was wait for the sweet fruit to ripen, then pluck it.
But the moment that damned thing appeared, everything fell apart.
Everything, utterly ruined!
“You…! You dare call yourself Shine von Leman, traitor of the ages?! You call yourself a knight?!”
Solion bellowed until his throat tore.
Not to get under his skin.
His gut was literally burning.
‘The elders. Damn those elders…!’
The necromancers’ constant refrain.
- Even in death, there’s no peace.
It wasn’t an empty threat.
Look at him now—they could seize his soul and inflict unimaginable torment.
This wasn’t torture with death as an escape. No escape at all, pure agony!
Unlike the body’s finite pain, the soul’s torment was fresh and horrific every instant.
‘No. No. Please, not that….’
Solion spurred forward in desperate fury.
Oblivious to his anguish, the mindless Death Knights simply gripped their reins and charged on.
‘Time…! I’ve got no time left!’
A blue veil now draped the sky above.
Lightning flashed, and the ancient wraiths lost their bodies, becoming pure spirits.
Muspellun’s plan had begun.
Even so, Solion clung to a thread of hope. He couldn’t let go.
“If I can just…! If I can seize just you…! I can stop it!”
He was certain.
Shine von Leman, restored to reason. More perfect than any Death Knight.
And then… .
Wraith Lord.
If Shine commanded his undead legion with the ‘Wraith Lord’ imprint he’d carved in at creation…!
Did his desperate wish take hold?
[You, you rotten bastard…!]
A sudden yelp.
Shine’s movements visibly slowed.
Even on a phantom steed, he’d been hard to catch—now his speed plummeted.
As if wading through water.
Why?
He didn’t know what happened. Honestly, he didn’t need to.
All that mattered was he could catch the bastard now.
“Grab him! Grab him! Catch that fucker…!”
At Solion’s roar, the two Death Knights leaped into the air.
Not truly leaping—just the phantom steeds’ massive bounds.
“Sever his limbs! Bring him to his knees!”
[How dare you…!]
Resisting?
Shine swung his sword with ferocious momentum.
Solion flinched for a moment, but regained composure quickly.
“Ha, haha! Hahaha! Not bad, holding out this long!”
A booming laugh erupted.
His deathly pale face bloomed into the brightest grin.
Delighted. He couldn’t help but be.
Clang, whoosh.
Thud!
Drained of strength, perhaps—the blade flew from his grip after one clash, embedding in a tree.
Crunch! Clang, clang.
The Death Knight’s second spear strike severed an arm. Then the third, fourth.
Clang, clang.
Shine’s limp body crumpled.
“Finally… finally… I’ve got you!”
Solion grinned wide at the sight.
He’d thought his head was in hell’s jaws, but a sliver of hope remained.
How could he not laugh!
He had no choice but to laugh.
* * *
Shine lay sprawled, limp, staring up at the blue-veiled sky.
‘You mangy mutt…! Cut my mana?’
The furious chase.
His reserve mana didn’t last long.
That phantom steed was something else.
Even at full speed, it pursued leisurely, without a care.
And the undead? Brutally relentless.
One encirclement had burned half his mana just breaking free!
So he’d clung to the scant supply trickling in… .
- Plop.
Then suddenly, the mana supply snapped off.
Infuriating enough to make him leap in rage.
[They say don’t trust a beast with black fur on its head…!]
The bastard’s hair was gray, but black or gray, same difference.
As Shine seethed with hatred for Aster, a shadow fell over his helm—right then.
“Frustrated, Shine von Leman? Heh, looks like your master ditched you.”
[Shut your ugly mug. Those bloodshot eyes are fucking disgusting.]
“Hahaha, our first real chat. Feels pretty fresh.”
[Your eyes are rotting out, huh?]
A sharp tone, like a blade’s edge.
But Solion’s face, gazing down at Shine, was serene.
What was there to fear from a limbless Death Knight?
Just laughable.
“Go on, yap away. It’s the last time you’ll mouth off to me.”
Solion said, then glanced around briefly.
“Let’s see… You’re bound by a Subjugation Bracelet, right?”
He hadn’t checked, but it was obvious.
How else could a non-necromancer command undead? Only a Subjugation Bracelet made it possible.
‘Then… .’
Solion pondered calmly.
A familiar contract via Subjugation Bracelet. Immensely powerful.
Skilled users could even claim undead already bound to another.
But.
Who gave Belloc that Subjugation Bracelet? Solion himself.
‘You think I’d hand a Subjugation Bracelet to that idiot Belloc without a countermeasure?’
The familiar contract via Subjugation Bracelet—its countermeasures were long researched.
Solion calmly placed a hand on Shine’s breastplate.
“……. ……. ………….”
Lips moved ceaselessly. A murmur escaped. Black mana flowed from his grasp, seeping into the breastplate.
Shine spoke up right then.
[Wh-what…! Hey! What the hell are you doing?! Right now?!]
An unexpected turn.
You know how it goes.
The villain barely fends off the hero. Then poses triumphantly, savoring victory.
You lost because of this, that. If you’d done this, I’d be the one lying there.
Unprompted battle recap, even spilling future plans.
But straight to business like this?
[Never seen a villain with zero sportsmanship…!]
Definitely kin to that gray-haired prick.
Sure, the gray-hair was a bigger asshole, but same vein.
‘Rotten luck… back to being this scum’s familiar?’
Unacceptable.
Look at them.
Astride their mounts, spears drooping, staring ahead—two Death Knights.
Terrifying to any normal soul.
Slap a tattered black robe and massive scythe on them, and they’d be the Grim Reaper incarnate.
But.
How fucking lame!
Like broken dolls, standing idle without orders, waiting pathetically for their master’s call!
- You damned bastard! Mana! Give me mana! Fix my limbs, and I’ll slaughter this fucking necromancer right now…!
Shine sent urgent telepathic pleas.
He’d cursed the bastard moments ago, but crisis hit, and he had no one else.
No reply came.
- Do you know who I am?! Shine von Leman! Shine von Leman! And you’re ditching me like this? Huh? Ditching me?!
Rage boiled deep in his chest.
Infuriating.
‘Back then… I should’ve just left…!’
Seemed fun, so he tagged along.
But the one having fun was the masked guy.
And he was doomed to be a black mage’s slave again!
Then, a sudden realization flashed.
‘Slave or serf, what’s the difference… damn it!’
Shine desperately denied it. He had to.
But he admitted it.
- Master! Hurry up! Death Knights are dying!
He tossed aside his last scrap of pride. First time hard, second was easy.
- Please, come already! Master, I beg you… .
Master slipped out naturally!
To Shine, it was a desperate cry.
Better a black mage’s slave than that obnoxious prick’s serf.
Did that earnest plea work?
- Master?
A voice echoed in his mind.
- You’re here!
- No, not yet? But master?
‘You rotten bastard…!’
Fuming at the calm voice for a moment, Shine composed himself and corrected the title.
Tried to, anyway.
- Mas… mas… mas… you worthless worm worse than a nymph! Why cut the mana?!
One thread of pride left. Couldn’t stomach “sir.”
Truth was, this mess was ninety percent that guy’s fault.
- Where the hell are you! Huh?!
Desperate voice. He could feel it.
Zzzzt—
“……. ……………….”
The longer the black mage’s chant dragged, the more he felt himself slipping away. A filthy, dank sensation rising.
Soon he’d be the black mage’s slave. Just like those wretched Death Knights!
- When the fuck are you coming?!
The reply came right after.
- 3.
- 3…? What bullshit is th—.
Another voice.
- 2.
Bewildered by the nonsense for a moment.
- Damn it, it’s over!
Shine could feel it.
This damned black mage’s ritual was ending.
Look even now—loyalty to the necromancer swelling over hatred for the gray-hair!
But then.
- 1.
Thwack—
A dull thud crashed from above right after.
“……. ……. …………gah!”
The chanting black mage let out a yelp and shot off like an arrow.
Then.
Splat!
He slammed into a massive tree and crumpled limply.
[Wha… .]
Shine couldn’t comprehend. In his view, the black mage just flew off.
A shadow fell over his face right then.
“Master what? Get the title right.”
[You…!]
Annoying face. But not repulsive. Masked, after all.
[You finally came to save me!]
Shine’s voice rose in joy, but Aster shook his head with a sigh.
“No, I got caught too.”
[…?]
Shine’s flames flickered in confusion.
Aster gazed at him, then chuckled.
“Kidding. Just something I always wanted to say. Anyway… .”
His eyes flicked around.
Aster tossed a line at the necromancer twitching against the great tree.
“My grand entrance.”
Death Knights and necromancer.
Villain versus villain.
The hero’s arrival to end it all.
Pretty cool line, if he said so himself. Then came the pained retch.
“Blech, buhurghhh…!”
“…….”
A sudden vomit sound.
Aster and Shine alike turned to the source.
“S-sorry… motion sickness… urgh!”
It was Obern.