Chapter 26
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Undead
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I racked my brain at lightning speed. Ahead of us, the corpses we'd passed earlier were shambling toward us, blocking the path, while behind, the absolutely furious Necromancer—who I'd chucked an axe at—was closing in.
'Gotta break through.'
Even a snot-nosed kid could see that going forward was safer than backward, so I gripped my sword tight and charged ahead, slashing through the corpses clogging the way.
And as if he'd reached the same conclusion while hesitating between front and back, Ricard bolted forward like a bolt of lightning, syncing up with me as he tore into another corpse.
'Claws?'
What caught my eye then was the weapon Ricard had drawn.
He'd used a decent sword against the slimes earlier, but now his hand clutched some high-quality claws.
"Can't get my hands dirty catching slimes with these. Hyaah!!"
Sensing my quizzical stare, Ricard answered the unasked question by plunging the claws precisely into the chest of a charging corpse.
No hesitation in his movements—a pinpoint strike on the vital spot.
Flawless judgment, execution, and physical prowess...
"Grraaah..."
"Guh?!"
But his opponent was undead. A being returned from death.
You don't fight those things by targeting vitals.
Even with its chest cavity scooped out where a heart should be, the corpse lunged with yellowed teeth, trying to rip into Ricard's flesh.
In contrast, I'd targeted legs from the start. I sliced through one undead's leg, toppling it, then yanked Ricard back.
"Gah!!"
-Crunch!!
I'd pulled too hard—a few strands of his ash-gray fur ripped right out—but it saved Ricard from the undead's jaws.
"Th-thanks!"
"Save the thanks for after we get out of here."
I swung at the undead charging relentlessly despite the miss. Its head cleanly separated and tumbled away.
Glancing sideways at Coron and Haksen, I clicked my tongue.
'Tch. Bodies all tensed up, hands shaking on their weapons. No real help from them.'
I'd sensed it on the way here, but those two were a step below Ricard. After blindly charging ahead and getting clipped by the blocking undead, they were effectively out of the fight.
"Where do you think you're going? There's no escape!"
As the undead slowed us down, that eerie voice from behind drew even closer.
"Damn it...!!"
I desperately shook off the undead's grasp and tried to sprint forward, but they were insanely persistent.
Even the one whose head I'd blown clean off was writhing, reaching out.
I severed its arm and stabbed its torso once more before it finally stopped.
But dealing with each one took too damn long, naturally slowing our pace.
"Filthy vermin...!!"
The filthy sewer environment dragged us down too.
Scattered filth and wriggling slimes blocked the path—no matter how urgent, we couldn't pick up speed.
And then...
-Thud! Thud! Thud!!
"What the hell is... Whoa!!"
The loud noises from behind made me glance back instinctively—and I froze in shock.
Corpses with mangled limbs were sprinting at full tilt, spraying flesh and filth.
"This is... insane!!!"
Defying my assumption that their states meant they'd be slow, they closed in at near-human running speed, rotten hands grasping for my ankles.
As if determined to turn me into one of them.
"Get off!!"
I severed one undead's wrist, grabbed another's reaching hand, spun, and hurled it like a flail at the armless corpse.
-Flash!!
"Grk?!"
"Haaah!!!"
Their heads smashed together in perfect harmony, shattering.
But while I'd handled mine, Coron and Haksen—who were running awkwardly—got grabbed and toppled by the undead.
"U, uwaaa! No! Help me!!"
-Crunch!! Chomp. Chomp!!
"This is... insane...!"
I frantically shook off my undead and rushed to save them, but Coron was buried under three corpses in seconds. His body shuddered, then went still.
Three more swarmed the retreating Haksen as he fell back.
"Gaaaaah!!!"
-Rip!!
Flesh tearing echoed, his screams fading to nothing.
Ricard, who'd shredded two lunging undead with his claws, stood pale-faced, fighting back vomit.
That froze us in place—and the pursuing Necromancer finally caught up.
"Got you, you little rats."
"Tch..."
"Did you think you'd escape after laying eyes on me unharmed?"
He appeared with around twenty corpses he'd raised from the cavern earlier, all in tow.
Eyeing us who'd been fleeing like an annoyance, he turned to me.
"Especially you. Earlier, you threw something weird at me..."
-Splat!!!
In that brief moment his gaze flicked to Ricard then back to me, I hurled another hand axe straight at his head.
-Thwack!!
But again, a black curtain-like barrier sprang up, deflecting it.
"Ha. You really thought the same trick would work twice..."
-Crack.
"...Wh-what... what power is this? No mana at all?"
The Necromancer smirked after blocking with the curtain, but startled at the faint cracks, he poured black energy to repair it.
I clicked my tongue and lowered the hand gripping the axe haft.
'Damn. What the hell was that? Protective magic?'
I'd rolled around for two years and sparred endlessly with Karen, but never against someone wielding magic-like power... Damn. Two chances blown.
The cracks suggested it wasn't unbreakable... but hand axes wouldn't cut it.
"Such power without mana... Hoo..."
Irritation flickered across the Necromancer's face, then intrigue.
I glanced back—escape was impossible now—and raised my sword for battle.
'Silver lining, maybe?'
With combat imminent, my body tingled with tension... but not as intensely as when Karen had unleashed her aura during tests.
Probably much weaker than her.
"Heh... The higher-ups never leave me bodies, so I come scavenging myself... and find material like this."
'Higher-ups? Leave bodies?'
His mutterings, eyeing my body like fresh meat, gave a clue.
'Higher-ups... So he's not high-ranking? Evil God followers have hierarchies.'
Probably a low-level Necromancer among them. Gathering corpses himself in the sewers didn't scream high status.
"...Mr. Ricard. Can you fight?"
"Don't underestimate a beastman."
Not close, but I'd briefly fought alongside Coron and Haksen as comrades. I muttered a quick prayer for them, then raised my weapon with Ricard.
Library info on Necromancers and Evil Gods was sparse... but one solid fact.
"Hit the main body. Right?"
"Yeah. First time seeing one myself... but take down the Necromancer, and the undead return to being corpses."
"Capture him as intact as possible. He'll make a fine comrade for you."
As we exchanged quiet words, the Necromancer commanded his corpses.
Over ten surged at me and Ricard in unison.
.
.
.
"Grrrrr!!!"
Ricard's roar signaled the start.
His wolf-like howl echoed, fur bristling as he dove into the corpses with feral grace, claws ripping flesh and spilling guts savagely.
I followed calmly, sword tip aimed, recalling Karen's lessons.
'Your attacks are too straightforward.'
'Straightforward how?'
'You're fixated on vitals. Impressive instinct for it without training... but vary your strikes.'
Targeting vitals on undead was pointless—they were already dead. So aim for...
'Legs.'
I focused on the decayed, fragmented legs still humanoid in shape.
Swinging at the knee of the lead charger.
-Slash!!!
"Grrrk!!"
"Hoo..."
One realization from felling several: their decayed bodies had abysmal durability.
Recalling that, I loosened my grip more than usual and swung lightly.
That alone split their rotten flesh like tofu, spilling black ichor.
'Master. Why do you always trip me in spars?'
'Can't just slice you.'
'........'
'Half-joking. Remember this: if you can't kill with one vital hit, go for eyes and legs next. Blind and cripple. Legs especially—hard to defend.'
I recalled Karen's teachings.
Like how she'd tripped me endlessly in practice, I slashed the nearest undead's ankle, toppling it.
-Thud!!
I booted its unbalanced body into the path of the next rushers, turning it into an obstacle.
Low intelligence or structural limits—they flailed, tripping over it one by one.
"Perfect range."
Amid surging battle senses, I spotted a line and let instinct guide my swing along it.
-Shwick!!
One stroke severed three undead heads in a row, rolling across the floor.
Headless but writhing, they persisted—I bashed them down with the flat of my blade without mercy.
'Lightweight.'
Limited by being corpses, they were far lighter than humans— a powered flat strike dropped them like leaves.
I pommel-smashed a biting face, shoved it into the next wave to topple them, then vaulted off the fallen corpse.
"Grrrrr!!!"
Perfectly timed, Ricard—ferociously shredding undead—whipped his gore-soaked claws, spraying brains and rot.
Toward the Necromancer spectating from afar.
-Splatter!!
"Guh...! You bastard!"
The black curtain blocked the spray in an instant, but his eyes flicked to Ricard for a split second.
'Now!'
Seizing it, I ignored the biting undead and charged, leaning my momentum forward, loading my full weight into a thrust.
Perfect timing, perfect lunge.
Infused with my speed and mass, the sword rocketed forward with devastating force.
-Clang!!!
Fiercer than the axe throw, it hammered the black curtain.
But...
'Not enough...!!'
Cracks spiderwebbed the barrier, but it held—just barely.
I yanked back for a follow-up, but the startled Necromancer thrust his hand out. An invisible shockwave erupted from the curtain, slamming me.
-Boom!!
"Guh!!"
Not devastating, but caught defenseless, my vision spun and breath caught.
He hastily poured power to mend the curtain, eyeing my sprawled form.
"You mad bastard... Shattering my shield with raw strength, no mana?"
Ignoring his incredulous stare, I crushed the neck of an approaching undead.
'Not enough power.'
That was my max output, full body weight behind it.
Yet it failed to shatter the curtain.
Even with Ricard perfectly baiting without a word.
-Rattle.
"Get lost!!"
I jammed my sword between an annoying undead's ribs, twisted to snap its spine, and desperately brainstormed.
'He panicked—so the curtain's his only defense. No follow-up attacks means undead are his offense.'
Hard to imagine him holding back with that guarded look.
Whittling approaching undead, I eyed the piled corpses.
'...Destroy past a threshold, and they stop?'
Headless ones kept moving until spines snapped and skulls crushed.
'Steadily thin them out, then bolt when numbers drop...'
"More dangerous than expected... Dangerous indeed."
-Snap!!
As inspiration hit for a breakout plan, the Necromancer snapped his fingers with a small crack.
A nauseating aura I'd sensed before spread, seeping into the pulverized corpses.
-Grk. Grrrk...!
Black mist swirled like fog, filling cracks—motionless corpses twitched back to life.
".......Fuck."
Seeing our hard-won reductions reset, I couldn't hold back the curse.