62
My Villains Chapter 62
17. Popaluk Catalas (2)
A blue light can be seen far away.
Somehow, it feels ominous.
During my college days, while participating in a theater club, we put on a play called ‘Titus Andronicus’.
It was a play so bloody you couldn't imagine it was Shakespeare's work. I remember putting blue film on the lighting to create the most horrific scene in that play.
The lighting was exactly that color back then.
...Ugh, being in the dark for so long makes me think of strange things.
I needlessly swung the torch, scattering red sparks. With my other hand, I gripped the sword handle tighter and hastened my steps.
I tried to maintain composure, but as I climbed the stairs, the sense of foreboding grew.
By the time I discovered the stone structure built on top of the hill, I could instinctively sense that this wasn't just a matter of feeling.
Wooong.
Yes, this must be a magical sense.
What else could sensing magic be if not a magical sense? Perhaps I invested points in magic power to feel this.
The sense of foreboding begins to take shape.
I extinguished the torch by rubbing it on the ground, then took out a new one. I unwrapped the outer cloth to be able to light it at any time, and finally reached the entrance of the building, muffling my footsteps.
The building was made of large stacked bricks, with an entrance on one side as large as a castle gate. I pressed against the wall, peeking inside with just my eyes.
The scene of the 'altar' was similar to what I saw in the game, but different.
The circular stairs in the center of the stone room, the large arched window facing the cliff, and the small platform near it were the same as I saw in the game.
The crawling corpses and the blue lights hovering near the ceiling were things I didn't expect to be here. The white sand scattered on the floor and the bloodstains also caught my attention.
But the most shocking thing was something else.
When I discovered the figure slumped under the window facing the cliff, I screamed internally.
Ellen!
Ellen, sitting against the wall with her eyes wide open, looked pale beyond white.
Blood from her lips had stained her robe red, and her usual white shirt was also completely covered in blood. Blood dripping from her limp hand formed a small puddle.
She looked... She looked like a dead person. No matter how I looked at it, that's how it seemed.
My vision blurred, then turned red.
I spewed out the hot sensation rising in my chest.
"Ellen, Ellen!" My roar breaking the silence drew the attention of all the undead gathered in the room towards me.
So what, f**k.
I threw away the torch and bag, then rushed towards the group of undead without a second thought.
"Grrraak-"
The corpses with bodies swollen from water rushed at me as if falling, but my falchion, now stained with blood, split them with red flashes of light.
Swish.
The corpses rolled on the floor, two at a time if few, three or four if many. Occasionally when the blade got caught on a jawbone or rib,
"Kuaap!"
Crack!
I slashed another one, shattering even the bones.
Rotten bodily fluids splattered everywhere from the violent sword strikes, sticking to my face. Foul-smelling entrails and blue-stained brains spilled onto the floor.
A corpse that lost its lower body reached out its hand while writhing on the floor. I raised my foot and stomped on its head.
Crunch.
I didn't feel disgusted. It only looked like a scene from a dream. After cutting down about thirty zombies like that,
Clang!
The shock traveling up my hand snaps me back to reality. What blocked my strike was a spear shaft made of solid iron. The one holding the spear-
"A skeleton?"
Instead of examining my opponent closely, I reflexively swung my falchion.
Kacacak!
The blade wrapped around the spear shaft made sparks as it slid down. I intended to cut off the wrist or fingers, but my falchion bounced off a sturdy gauntlet.
"What the hell,"
I swallowed my shock after confirming the armor of the one blocking my path.
A golden helmet decorated with red tassels and full-body golden armor with red shoulder straps - that incredibly flashy outfit exuded an unbelievable presence.
And the weapon in both hands wasn't a spear, but a trident. Red smoke was wafting from the tips of the three split blades.
The equipment was so distinctive that it was impossible not to recognize. The armor was definitely the set item 'Emperor's Bestowal', and the trident was the unique glaive 'Blood Vanguard'.
How the hell does some skeleton have this kind of equipment?
"Grr,"
My shock lasted only a moment as the trident slashed down, trailing red smoke. The moment I faced those sharp blades, I recalled the fixed option of Blood Vanguard.
'15% chance to activate Vorpal strike on critical hit.'
Whoosh.
"Ugh!"
I quickly threw myself to avoid the trident, then thrust my falchion at the one coming from behind.
Clang!
When my instinctive thrust was blocked by some shield, I reached out with my left hand and grabbed the shield's edge. Then I slammed my falchion down with all my might, but the red-stained blade just bounced off a snow-white pauldron.
"Grr-"
The one who withstood my attack growled lowly despite not having a larynx and swung a mace. At that moment, the mace flashed brightly.
"Oh sh-"
I unconsciously closed my eyes, then immediately regretted it and pulled back my falchion. I took a defensive stance towards the direction of the whooshing sound, and,
Clang!
"F**k-"
The blade of the falchion that blocked the mace broke in half!
Damn, this was supposed to be a rare item-
Whoosh.
I frantically retreated to avoid the mace. Only after retreating quite far did I notice the opponent's equipment.
The armor is 'Pure White', the helmet is 'Knight's Loyalty', the shield is 'Forgotten Crusader', and the mace is 'Falling Star'?
Damn, these are all paladin unique equipment!
What kind of lunatic would equip a skeleton with this...
Wait, could this be-
"Stop."
At the low voice coming from the corner of the stone room, the undead that were frantically attacking all stopped moving at once.
With goosebumps all over my body, I turned my head towards where the voice came from.
"You came earlier than expected, Phoenix."
"...Mr. Luke?"
The one who emerged from the shadows of the stairs was Mr. Luke, the undertaker.
"Hoho, I'm glad to see you're fine. Are you hurt anywhere?"
It was the same tone, expression, and gestures as usual, but the unfamiliar atmosphere and two familiar objects made Mr. Luke look like a completely different person.
A blue-green crown glowing eerily under the pale light, a white staff with golden braided cords hanging down. These were the unique equipment for necromancers - 'Crown of the Ancient Ruler' and 'Kurunugia's Bone Staff'.
Yes, these were exactly the items I had equipped on 'Corpse Manner Jokka'.
"...Was it all a lie?"
"A lie? What do you mean- Ah, you mean about not dealing with dark arts?"
Mr. Luke walked leisurely among the corpses as he continued speaking.
"I am a shepherd guiding lost sheep to liberation. How could what I deal with be dark arts?"
"...What the f**k are you talking about. Did you kill Ellen too?"
At my rough question, Mr. Luke, no, the damp old man clicked his tongue.
"Tsk. I thought you were polite for a mercenary. As expected, low-class words befitting your soul."
"Stop with the wordplay and just answer. Did you make her like that?!"
"Yes. I did."
"You son of a b**ch!"
As I shouted and stepped forward, the skeleton soldiers pointed their weapons at me.
"Kugh,"
Tch, each of these skeleton soldiers is wearing equipment far too good for them. I knew better than anyone why they were wearing equipment that only high-level heroes should have.
A brief thought.
In Dark World's normal mode, when a hero dies, they lose some experience points, equipment durability, and money. A corpse is left behind in this process, but equipment doesn't drop.
On the other hand, in hardcore mode, when a hero dies, the character is deleted. In this process, the equipment doesn't vanish but remains on the corpse.
So in the old days, it was a kind of manner to return equipment after winning in PvP.
You've already suffered the loss of all the experience points you've accumulated, so if you lose your equipment too, wouldn't you want to quit the game? That's why this unspoken rule supposedly emerged.
Ha, thinking about it again, it was really nonsense.
As a high school student, I had no intention of following such a ridiculous rule. So from my first PvP, I killed my opponent and took their equipment.
Isn't that natural? The system allows you to take it in the game, so why give it back?
As I kept doing this, switching characters, the community exploded almost every day. The number of people doing PvP decreased dramatically too. That was a bit annoying.
Anyway, after about 4 years, it seemed more users agreed with my thinking, and all that manner and rule stuff disappeared. Taking equipment became the norm. I felt really proud.
But on the other hand, it was a bit disappointing. Because the opponent didn't get angry when I took their equipment.
I wanted to cut down the cocky ones and mock them, but you can't properly provoke someone just by typing on a keyboard, right?
So what I came up with was 'taxidermy' using a necromancer.
The skeleton soldiers created by a necromancer are armed with rusty iron swords and old bucklers. If you invest points in skills, the equipment gets a bit better, but at best it's just iron helmets, steel swords, and tower shields.
Can't you equip them with better gear?
That's only possible for high-level undead like Death Knights or Dulahans. It's impossible for low-level undead like skeleton soldiers.
But there's one exception.
When you turn an unlooted corpse into a skeleton soldier. In this case, the skeleton soldier rises with the items dropped by the corpse still equipped.
Actually, this is close to trolling. There are two reasons.
First, you can't recover the equipment.
It's systemically impossible to unequip a skeleton soldier's equipment. Also, even if the skeleton soldier dies, it only scatters bone fragments and doesn't leave any equipment behind.
Because of this, when playing as a necromancer, you had to get into the habit of looting first before using necromancy. Otherwise, you'd lose all the items.
Second, it's inefficient.
Skeleton soldiers can't utilize 100% of the equipment they wear. They can't use the active skills attached to the equipment, nor do they receive stat bonuses.
Of course, overall specs like attack power, defense, and resistance do increase. But even so, they're just bones that turn to dust with one 'Turn Undead'.
Anyway, I started to mock cocky challengers by exploiting this interesting situation.
The performance of raising high-level characters as mere skeleton soldiers and making their equipment vanish heated up the community for a while.
It was really fun back then...
But the result of that amusement is now tightening around my neck.
Fifteen skeleton soldiers surrounding me pointed their weapons. Each one is a trace of someone who pissed me off.
"...Damn it."
The level of equipment these guys had was too high to just say 'they're just bones'. They can't be compared to the heroes they were in life, ranging from level 60 to 90, but they're still plenty threatening now.
In fact, not just 'plenty', but 'extremely' threatening. I can't even scratch them, but they could split my armor like tofu.
"Now, calm down. I don't want to harm you either."
That bastard...
Looking at Luke speaking as if to soothe me, I feel like my eyes are going to flip inside out. I glared at him and spat out words.
"Go eat sh*t, you old fart."
"...You're saying incomprehensible things. The basics of conversation are mutual consideration and understanding."
"I'll make you understand, so come here. I'll fix that clattering mouth of yours by ripping it apart."
"Hmm."
Luke clicked his tongue and stroked his chin, maintaining his usual attitude. Before, I secretly admired it as the composure of an elder, but now I just wanted to rip his neck off.
"Ah, this should do."
Saying that, Luke took something out from inside his clothes.
"I'll temporarily attach Miss Ellen's life thread, and give you a chance to persuade you."
"...What?"