61
My Villains Chapter 61
17. Popaluk Catalas (1)
I gathered my dazed senses and turned my attention to the smartphone.
Indeed, admiration poured in for the grandeur of the army led by 'Corpse Manner Jokka'.
[Wow, bros! Do you see the level of those minion items? Look at that necromancer class!]
- Level 17, it's so humiliating.
- 50 plasma is insane.
- Look at the level of those skeleton items, mirror armor is flowing 三 cur.
- Even Durahan is holding a blessed weapon.
- ??? How did they get a headless character at level 17??? Is this a bug???
[For those brothers who don't know, I'll explain ~ That staff is the bone staff of Kuru, no, Kurunugia, which strengthens all necromancy by 2 points each. It's an overpowered item, bros, a necro graduation weapon.]
- Bro, it's Kurunugia
- Just say Bonkul, don't twist your tongue
- Isn't king Goji more expensive than Bonkul?
- Even so, it's level-dependent trash, isn't it?
- Wow, there's even an EO king Goji.
- What the hell, my level 73 necro also has level-dependent Bonkul.
- That's probably because you're poor.
- I don't understand any of this nonsense.
Smirking at the enthusiastic responses, I approached the 'Master Ssamsara' character.
Commanding 'skeleton soldiers' and 'headless knights' that were too lavishly armed for the minions of a level 17 necromancer.
[Uh, uh— Don't tell me you're not looting? There's pure white and star candy—!]
The BJ's shout turned into a scream as my necromancer raised a new skeleton soldier.
[Waaah! He's raising it as a skeleton just like that! He's truly insane, bros!]
- Living up to the nickname.
- =i kyul gi sam】:heaven.kyul gi kkyul.
- So that's how it was made
- The blood master is really evil.
- Why? Why is this amazing??
- Can't loot if you make more skeletons =1
- Items disappear when skeleton soldiers die.
- Wow, he's crazy
I couldn't help but laugh at the explosive reactions in the chat.
I left only one chat message saying 'Please whisper to me for the next game' before logging off.
The paladin character I had painstakingly raised was now resurrected as a skeleton soldier, so 'Ssamsara' would now be ridiculed in all sorts of communities.
"Hehe, this is how you manipulate."
I think I'll be able to sleep well tonight.
A flame arrow flickered at the tip of thin, white fingers. Although the spell was ready to be cast, no presence could be felt from the passage where evil energy had been detected.
'What was it?'
As even the evil energy faded away, Ellen dispersed the flame arrow.
Thud.
Coincidentally, just as she canceled the spell, footsteps could be heard.
The girl hurriedly began to chant a spell, but stopped as soon as the stone chamber lit up.
"...Old man?"
"Oh, Miss Ellen!"
The one who appeared holding a torch was none other than Luke, the undertaker.
The wide-brimmed hat he always wore was gone, revealing his white hair. The six-foot staff he used as both a walking stick and a weapon was nowhere to be seen.
As the old man approached the white sand mound after passing the stairs, the girl slightly furrowed her brow and asked.
"Why are you alone? Where's Phoenix?"
"The floor collapsed and he fell. He'll probably find his way here soon."
"...How?"
"I left traces here and there. Phoenix should be able to figure it out."
Luke, holding the torch, spoke vaguely with a shadowy smile. Ellen found that smile somewhat unsettling.
Ellen didn't particularly like that old man. The fact that Phoenix had arbitrarily made him an ally spell user was a big reason - but not the only one.
The girl, educated in the oldest magical school in the Middle World, originally disliked the 'Necromancers'.
She disliked their pessimistic view that life is a series of suffering, their irresponsible claim that wealth and poverty are due to one's karma, and their chosen people mentality that only they have shaken off their fate.
Luke claimed he wasn't a necromancer, but that too sounded ridiculous to Ellen.
The girl could clearly see the ominous energy dormant within the old man. The claim that he wasn't a necromancer because he didn't deal with undead sounded like nonsense from empty-headed clergy to the girl.
"Both Phoenix and I were very worried. What were you thinking, coming down to the sewers alone?"
"That's my business."
"Hmm. You seem to be fine. That's a relief."
"Are you going to stay up there?"
"...There's no reason to go down. We'll have to wait for Phoenix anyway."
When Ellen spoke like that, showing her uneasiness without filter, Luke's expression on top of the mound stiffened a bit.
"Hmm."
The undertaker glanced around the room and fell into thought. After a moment, he chose his words and asked a question.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Mind your own business."
"...Perhaps the servants were making you uncomfortable?"
Ellen narrowed her eyes at the sudden question.
"Servants? What do you mean?"
"...So you haven't seen the servants. Then why won't you come down, Miss Ellen?"
The old man's eyes were still shining deep and blue. His eyes were a bit stiff, but a kind smile remained on his lips out of habit.
'Servants? He said servants?'
Ellen, looking down at Luke, muttered as if groaning.
"You're dealing with undead."
"Hmm. Was I a bit hasty?"
The undertaker stroked his chin and added.
"I was just so happy to see you again, Miss Ellen."
Before those words were even finished, the girl threw her experimental knife and quickly formed hand seals while chanting a spell.
"Ventus, exaudi me (Wind, answer me), Ic, kyaak!"
Grab!
Abruptly stopping a spell is a very dangerous act, but Ellen simply couldn't maintain her composure.
Anyone would be startled if an iron gauntlet suddenly sprang up from the floor and grabbed their ankle.
What emerged from the white sand with an ominous low sound was a skeleton soldier.
Wearing black armor engraved with strange patterns, it mercilessly thrust forward a spear flickering with purple magical energy.
The girl, groaning from the backlash of the failed spell, couldn't avoid the surprise attack.
Stab.
"Ugh—"
The spear cruelly pierced through her abdomen. Ellen, with her eyes wide open, couldn't even breathe properly as her mouth gaped open.
The undertaker, no, the necromancer, who was looking up at that scene, muttered in a calm voice.
"Hmm, I tried to capture her as intact as possible. What a shame."
The sand mound shook violently here and there, and a pair of blue orbs flew in from outside the stone chamber.
If you look closely at the orbs, you would realize that they are human skulls emitting blue light. The pair of skulls, leaving blue tails like meteors as they flew in, were holding something in their mouths.
The old man, who had thrown away the now useless torch, reached out to the skulls and received two objects. One was a blue-rusted crown, and the other was a white staff with several hanging gold strings.
"Ah. Now I feel alive."
Luke, wearing the bronze crown, trembled slightly from the rising power and lightly waved the bone staff.
Following that gesture, a small army revealed itself.
Kkigigigeuk.
First, about ten skeleton soldiers rose from various sand dunes here and there. The soldiers, with only bones remaining, were all equipped with extraordinary armor.
Mirror-like shining plate armor and flat iron helmets, kite shields and bronze-colored longswords.
Fluttering tunics and long curved swords engraved with heat lines.
White cloaks of unknown material and feathered hunting caps, silver longbows.
Snow-white armor and full helms, triangular shields engraved with crosses and white-headed maces.
Golden armor with red shoulder straps and trident-bladed glaives...
While skeleton soldiers armed with all sorts of splendid equipment revealed themselves by dismantling the sand castle, zombies staggered to their feet outside the stone chamber.
Thud, thud.
At the head of dozens of corpses, a giant figure standing 3 meters tall was taking big strides. The headless knight, commonly called a ‘dullahan’, an undead creature.
It clutched a blue-stained head in one hand and held a huge double-bladed axe in the other.
Wearing chitinous armor with a black sheen, it was wrapped in steam that billowed out with each step like a cloak.
The necromancer, surveying his army, ordered towards the top of a sand dune, "Bring her here."
A soldier in black armor roughly dragged down the wizard impaled on a spear.
"Urghk,"
Blood dripped copiously, staining the white sand red. Watching this scene, Luke stared intently at Ellen with his usual expression.
"Hmm. You should be able to hold out for a while."
The old man, having reached an absurd conclusion, gestured towards one side of the wall and said, "Tie her up over there."
"Kuh, you, you filthy, necro, mancer-"
As Ellen muttered through gritted teeth, her face turning pale, Luke smiled widely, his eyes opening big.
"Ah, I was careless."
"You, filthy old man, I, *urgh* I'll-"
"Excuse me for a moment, Miss Ellen."
Crunch.
The old man grabbed the girl's chin with a rough hand. Then, receiving a dagger from one of the skeleton soldiers, he shook his head.
"I'm getting old indeed. To forget this."
"Urgh,"
"Aging is a terrifying thing. New journeys always harbor new pains and agonies. When you try to forget such things, you sometimes end up forgetting useful things too."
"Ah, no!"
"Shh."
At the old necromancer's gesture, the skeletal servants stepped forward.
As the blood-drained wizard was held firmly, unable to move an inch, a blue blade poked its head between her forcibly opened lips. The old man, lifting her chin to examine the inside of the girl's mouth, licked his lower lip and whispered, "Please understand, Miss Ellen. This is... A kind of procedure. Applied to all wizards."
"Kuh- Urgh!"
"Your pretty face will be marred. Stay still. Stay still."
As the dagger resting against the lower canine began to slice the tongue, Ellen's eyes rolled back.
"Urk, ugh-"
"Hmm."
Luke, after throwing the red flesh piece on the ground, returned the dagger to the skeleton soldier and took out a white handkerchief from his bosom to wipe off the blood.
"It's strange. To maintain the same color of soul even after experiencing this."
"Urgh...."
"If you had shown such an unchanging appearance earlier, I could have been patient too."
The blood-stained handkerchief was rolled up and stuffed into the girl's mouth.
"This beautiful thing that has carved so many harsh scars. A soul that now won't be tainted even by this trivial loss."
While stuffing in the handkerchief, the old man spoke as if lamenting.
"To be stained because of just one man. How absurd this is. It became too hard to watch anymore."
Ellen desperately flailed her legs but couldn't escape the grasp of the skeleton soldiers.
"Neither the murky jade of jealousy, nor the dark red of lust, nor the purple of melancholy... None of these suit you, Miss Ellen."
The necromancer looked down into the wizard's eyes. Dark blue eyes rippling darkly met with bright blue eyes shaking violently.
Looking into the radiance incomparable to ordinary people, Luke smiled nonchalantly.
"Wait just a little. I'll soon restore the color of your soul."
As the old man's eyes emitted a gloomy magical power, the girl's body gradually stiffened.