Fate or Curse
"...Meeting you really must be fate."
Lily didn't seem particularly surprised by the supporting character's dramatic entrance.
"Ugh~ My back... I don't think anything special enough happened to warrant using the word 'fate'..."
Joyeon forced his aching body upright and cast Mini Heal on himself to treat his wounds. Lily didn't stop him. Instead, she shook her head in denial of his words.
"If it's not fate, then it must be a curse. Otherwise, there's no way you could have made it here."
"Here...? Where exactly is 'here'..."
Only then did Joyeon manage to look around. The space was incomparably larger than the pit he'd fallen into. Spiral staircases clung to the walls, and iron bars stood at regular intervals. Faint screams and desperate cries for help echoed from somewhere. At the bottom of the abyss, visible through the darkness, lay an enormous horde of undead—easily numbering in the tens of thousands.
"What the hell is this place."
Joyeon muttered blankly after taking in the space that felt completely at odds with housing a church priest. Richard, the lord, quietly called out to Lily after confirming that Joyeon still hadn't grasped the situation.
"What will you do, Priestess?"
"...Since he unfortunately won't grant my request, we'll simply have to part ways here."
"Understood."
Having understood Lily's intent, Lord Richard approached Joyeon.
"Calm yourself. There's no need to think too deeply about the current situation."
"Uh... Who are you, mister?"
"No need to think about that either. You won't need to know anything about me anyway."
Lord Richard naturally moved to stand beside Joyeon. He raised his hand as if to drape it over Joyeon's shoulder, then swung it straight toward the back of his neck.
[Pain's Field - Bone Armor]
Smack!
"Hmm?!"
"Huh?"
But what Lord Richard struck wasn't soft human flesh—it was solid bone. The Bone Armor had effortlessly blocked the lord's strike. Lord Richard looked quite flustered, apparently not having expected Joyeon to be capable of using magic, while Joyeon still hadn't caught on to the atmosphere.
"Huh? Why did this come out?"
-Master! That man is an enemy! Prepare for battle!
-Permission to engage!
"An enemy...?"
At his followers' shouts, Joyeon alternated his gaze between the Bone Armor and Lord Richard's hand that it had blocked. Only then did he finally grasp the situation, his face twisting in displeasure.
"Come, 'Pon.'"
Crunch!
Joyeon summoned Pon, who was specialized for combat, rather than Jack or May. Pon, already prepared to emerge, burst up from the ground through a grave.
"What is this..."
"An undead...?"
Lord Richard and Lily couldn't close their mouths at the sight of Pon suddenly rising from the earth. A massive frame well over three meters tall. A gigantic glaive that looked capable of slicing a human like a sausage, and an enormous command baton that no ordinary human could even lift. Crimson energy pouring from above the neck, and the massive head of a War Troll floating in the air. War Troll General Duran.
"Kwooooor!!!"
Pon let out a roar, pouring killing intent toward Lord Richard and Lily.
"A monster undead— so he was a necromancer?!"
"That's what I should be saying. I still don't really know what's going on, but I guess I'll just have to capture you and make you tell me everything. Pon."
"Kwooooor!"
At Joyeon's command, Pon charged toward the lord with agility that belied his massive size and swung his hand. Lord Richard retreated with all his might to dodge Pon's fist, which was filling his vision at tremendous speed, and moved toward Lily. Then, after muttering a quick apology, he scooped Lily up in a princess carry and began fleeing up the spiral staircase to escape Pon.
"Pon, don't kill them. Broken bones are fine, but make sure they can still talk."
"Kwooooor!"
"Karl, Ron. Keep an eye on them so they don't overdo it with the tens of thousands."
-Understood.
-As you command.
After entrusting Lily and Lord Richard to Pon—and Pon to Karl and Ron who were in the graves—Joyeon finally had a moment to catch his breath and sink into thought.
'Where the hell is this? And who was that guy? Why was he with the priestess? Is the priestess an enemy too? But she's a priest of the Curia Church...'
Click.
"Huh? House. What's wrong?"
House, which had appeared beside Joyeon's feet, formed letters on the floor.
-The man's name is Richard Lu Neveiria. Lord of Neveiria.
"A lord? You're saying a lord is making undead in his own territory's basement? Why?"
-Unknown.
"...Whatever. I'll just capture him first. Once I catch him and make him talk, I'll figure out what's going on..."
-Master! Behind you!
"Huh?"
At Jack's shout, Joyeon turned around to see unfamiliar men charging toward him.
"What!"
Caught completely off guard by the sudden intrusion, Joyeon stumbled backward in surprise. Still, the combat training he'd received from Tiasia paid off— he reflexively swung his elbow at the men, and his attack struck the jaw of the closest one dead-on. The man, caught completely unguarded by Joyeon's surprise punch, collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
"O-oh? I hit him?!"
-Excellent, Master!
-That was amazing~!!
After collecting himself from the brief exchange, Joyeon properly assumed his stance and began subduing the approaching men using the Larasia Iron Wall Martial Arts he'd learned from Tiasia. The men, who didn't even attempt to defend themselves, fell helplessly to Joyeon's fists and elbows.
"Whew~ I'm getting pretty good at fighting too, huh?"
-You were magnificent, Master! A super rookie among martial artists!
-So cool!! If I were still alive, I would've fallen for you in an instant, Master!
Joyeon felt unnecessarily embarrassed by Jack and May's enthusiastic cheers and praise.
"Alright, alright. That's enough. Praising me like that won't get you anyth— whoa!"
While muttering awkwardly, Joyeon failed to notice he'd backed up all the way to the edge of the stairs. He nearly lost his footing and fell into the abyss, barely managing to regain his balance.
"Haa... I really almost died there."
-You must be more careful, Master. The situation isn't completely over yet.
-Even with Bone Armor, a fall wouldn't be stopped.
"I know, I know. I can't die from falling in a place like this."
Joyeon crouched at the edge of the stairs and peered down into the abyss below.
"If I fell from here, I'd definitely die, right?"
-Well... You wouldn't die if you used Reverse Gravity.
-The height is considerable, but you'd survive if you kept your wits about you!
"I can't manage that unless I start chanting before I fall. There's no way I'd finish the chant all the way through."
Joyeon stood up, brushing off his pants.
"My luck's pretty good today. I've had way too many near-death experiences... At this rate, I would've already fallen by now if things were normal—"
"Kwooooor!!!"
"Huh?"
Pon's roar from above was rapidly approaching. Joyeon reflexively looked up and saw Lord Richard, Lily, and Pon plummeting straight toward him.
****
About two minutes earlier.
Boom!!
Boom!!
While Joyeon was lost in thought, Lily and Lord Richard were desperately fleeing up the stairs, dodging Pon's frenzied charges.
"Kwooooor!"
-Pon, calm down. Smashing everything won't solve anything. If the space collapses, Master will be in danger too.
-Besides, Master wants them captured alive. The opponent seems fairly skilled in combat, so if you don't control your strength, it'll be difficult to handle.
"Kwooooor~!"
Because the only standing space in the vast chamber was the spiral staircase, Pon couldn't move as freely as usual, smashing everything in his path. It was Joyeon's fault for summoning him without thinking.
While being carried comfortably in Lord Richard's arms, Lily fell into thought just like Joyeon.
'I already knew he wasn't an ordinary man, but to think he was a necromancer... Could there be a connection to why my brainwashing didn't work on him? If he can command monsters of that level, he might have resistance to mental attacks as well... No. Now isn't the time to think about brainwashing. Lord Richard is escaping well for now, but it's only a matter of time. What I can do... The way to turn this situation around...'
"Lord, please stop briefly in front of the prison."
"What?! Priestess, asking me to stop in this situation is far too dangerous! If we get caught because of it...!"
"I'll lend my strength as well. There's no other way to resolve this. Just for a moment. I only need to say one thing."
"...Understood!"
Lily pointed Lord Richard toward the target prison cell and quietly began chanting. To avoid interfering with her chant, Lord Richard performed an acrobatic escape—dodging all of Pon's fists while keeping his movements as steady as possible.
-Hah. He's no ordinary lord.
-To dodge Pon's fists while carrying a woman... The lord of a major city isn't just anyone.
Karl and Ron expressed admiration at Lord Richard's unexpected prowess, despite his appearance as an ordinary middle-aged man.
"Kwooooor!!"
Pon was simply stressed beyond belief that none of his attacks were landing.
"Priestess! We're almost there!"
"[...I shall bless you... High Bless]!"
Responding to Lord Richard's words, Lily cast a blessing spell—toward Pon.
"Kwoor? Kwaaak?"
The pure white light raining down on Pon's head, an undead, functioned not as a blessing but as a debuff. Pon's movements gradually slowed, and the distance between Lily and Pon slowly began to widen.
'To think that holy magic, which should be the worst matchup for undead, only slows his steps... Just what...'
"Priestess! We've arrived!"
Shaking off her stray thoughts at Lord Richard's shout, Lily yelled toward the inside of the prison cell before her.
"Grab the man below!"
"Kwooooor!"
"That's enough! Run!"
"Yes!!"
Boom!!
Thanks to Lily's magic and Lord Richard's desperate struggle, Pon's fist only partially destroyed the prison entrance and stairs, failing to reach his target.
"Kwaaaak!"
As Lord Richard continued fleeing, Pon's irritation reached its peak. Abandoning his bipedal posture, Pon began climbing the stairs like a beast. His speed was far greater than when running upright, and the distance between Lily and Pon rapidly closed.
"Is this it?! Priestess!!"
"There's one more thing! Keep going up! Just hold on a little longer!"
"Kgh!"
Unable to refuse Lily's words, Lord Richard continued channeling his mana to escape Pon. His face grew increasingly pale as he reached his limit. Finally, Lord Richard and Lily reached the very top of the stairs. Pon was moments away from catching them.
Yet Lily calmly surveyed the area below the stairs, timing her move.
"Lord."
"Y-yes?!"
"Now."
"Now what!!"
"[Jump down to where that man is.]"
"Yes!"
Accepting Lily's command without a moment's hesitation, Lord Richard confirmed Joyeon's position below. Spotting Joyeon on the opposite side, he gathered all his strength into his legs and leaped with everything he had.
"Kwooooor!!!"
And Pon, consumed by rage, immediately jumped from the stairs as well to avoid losing Lord Richard.
****
"...Ah."
Faced with an abnormal situation that no sane person could have imagined, even the followers' thoughts came to a halt alongside Joyeon's.
Crash!!
"Ugh...!!"
In that moment, Lord Richard and Lily plummeted from a height of hundreds of meters and landed right beside Joyeon. Because they'd fallen from such a great height, Lord Richard's legs were completely shattered, but thanks to using his own body as a cushion, Lily managed to land without a single injury.
And then—
"Kwoor?!"
Pon's massive body, the size of a small house, had been aimed at Lord Richard and Lily, which meant Joyeon—who'd been standing blankly beside them—was also within range.
-Pon!! Don't fall onto the stairs!
-Master will be in danger!
"K-kuaa!!"
Karl and Ron were the first to regain their senses and shouted at Pon. Understanding their words, Pon flailed his body, trying to redirect his fall toward the upper stairs instead.
Crash!
Thanks to Pon's efforts, his body didn't crash into the original target area above the stairs but only slightly shattered the stair edge before plummeting downward.
Thud!!
With a tremendous roar, Pon's body hit the bottom of the abyss.
"Ha... What kind of insane..."
As the situation changed far too rapidly, Joyeon surveyed his surroundings. Lord Richard's legs were destroyed. Pon was completely out of the fight. Lily stood before Joyeon without a single wound. But that was all. It was a shame he couldn't wrap things up with just Pon, but it wasn't a problem. Joyeon still had three hundred War Trolls, fifty Saber Leos, and his stronger followers.
"Tsk. This is getting annoying, so all of th—"
[Restoring the follower's body.]
'...I'm taking back what I said about being lucky today.'
Realizing what was about to happen, Joyeon stopped trying to summon his followers and hurriedly opened his inventory to retrieve the mana potion House had given him. However, the mana required to restore Pon's massive body after its fall from the abyss floor was enormous—and moreover, Joyeon's mana reserves had been nearly depleted all day.
Dizziness...!
Just as he reached for the mana potion, mana depletion struck. His outstretched hand lost its target amid his blurring vision. His sight turned black as if someone had flipped a switch, and his body, unable to maintain balance, staggered before beginning to fall toward the bottom of the abyss.