023. Royal Tomb 2
Swish—the white robe of the woman in white split cleanly in half along the blade.
Even so, Bin frowned. It was due to the sticky, unpleasant sensation of swinging his sword through empty air, nothing like what he'd expected.
“……!”
With no impact feedback in his grip, Bin's gaze sharpened.
The blade isn't working...
Bin scowled at the approaching figure. Up close, her eyes were vividly scarred by burns.
“Those so-called past kings...”
The Royal Tomb. Here, when a king died in ages past, the saintesses who served him were buried alive alongside him—a barbaric custom. Those were the marks of torture inflicted on women who dared oppose it.
Meanwhile, Codic at Bin's waist simply bowed his head in silence. A rare sight: a skull cowering before ghosts.
“Skull, you scared?”
“N-No, my... l-lord.”
Even as Codic stammered, countless women began emerging from the surrounding tombs. Their faces resembled ghouls, their bodies ethereal like ghosts—a fusion monster of Ghoul and Ghost, which people called a Ghoust.
Oddly, they bore no official grades. The vast differences between individuals made classification impossible.
As one launched an attack, the others followed suit.
Swish.
Swish.
White sheets fluttering through the air.
“Quite the turnout...”
As Bin kept his eyes on them, the Ghousts drew long nails hidden beneath their white robes.
Bin swiftly shifted left, tracking their movements.
Swish.
Without the Bascon family's exceptional physique, that strike would have landed. It was like a cat's savage clawing.
“Not bad. Using your heads for once.”
More Ghousts lunged at him, eyes locked on Bin.
Swish.
Swish.
Swish.
Swish.
Bin dodged them one by one. Their expressions twisted in frustration at his blistering speed—far beyond any intruder they'd faced before.
Judging they couldn't match his pace, the Ghousts began encircling him.
Bin frowned at the ring closing around him.
This won't be easy...
As Bin scanned his surroundings, the Ghousts charged again with renewed fury.
“You deserve the same fate!”
Swish.
Swish.
Thud!
Thud!
Bin parried the incoming nails and smirked dismissively.
Impressive. Launching your body, then loading weight into the claws.
These things were bound by pure grudge. He'd expected mindless rushes, but they were leveraging their forms cleverly—on top of ignoring conventional swordplay. And their numbers were the real problem.
Swish.
This time, a Ghoust burst from a nearby tomb straight at him.
“Think I'm your plaything...!”
Bin scowled and shouted back.
“Enough with the nonsense.”
He countered the incoming assault with swift precision.
Clang!
The earlier ones were 7th Class knight level. This one's at least 6th Class. Gotta conserve magi with Cerberian ahead...
As blade met nail in a deadlock—
Swish.
Swish.
More Ghousts hurtled toward him.
“Die!”
Bin finally switched Shabest from his left hand to his right. Black smoke billowed from his bandaged right arm, wrapped in bandages and yellow cord.
Shaaaak!
In an instant, a horizontal black sword wind ripped forth, shredding the bellies of three Ghousts before him. It tore onward, piercing those behind as well.
Swish.
Swish.
Swipe!
Clang!!
“Aaaagh! Uwaaaagh!”
Screams echoed as the sword wind slammed into the wall.
“Magi works on you lot, huh? Then how about this.”
Shabest, now gleaming white, engulfed the Ghoust in his sights—not a normal strike, but one laced with mana.
More screams rang out.
“Aaaagh!”
Hm... Mana works too. But I can't waste my remaining two sword winds on these...
His concern was short-lived. Countless more Ghousts rose from the tombs.
“Why did you abandon us?”
“Why... us...”
“Why...!!”
The wall-crash had drawn them out—roughly two hundred in number.
“Damn it...”
Bin eyed the horde warily from all sides. He changed his mind: conserving mana was a mistake. One slip, and this tomb could become his own.
How to handle this many...
Swish.
Swish.
Swish.
Dozens of Ghousts barreled toward him in waves.
Bin swiftly sheathed Shabest and drew his Bow Sword.
Swish.
Swish.
Even nimbler movements, less mana drain—Bin's expression eased.
Definitely less taxing than Shabest.
Swish.
Splat!
Swipe!
Left to right, top to bottom. Diagonal from upper left to lower right. Bin began methodically carving through the Ghousts with mana-wreathed white light from the Bow Sword.
Sweat poured down his body, his temperature rising. Switching to the Bow Sword was smart, but two hundred foes were no joke.
Swish.
Swish.
Swish.
Swish.
Ghousts swarmed from every direction.
Ting!
Ting!
Nails flew from all sides. Bin blocked what he could, but overwhelming numbers made it impossible.
Swish.
Swish.
Swish.
“Ngh...!”
Bin grimaced at the scratches blooming across his body.
Drip.
Drip.
Blood—red mingled with black—trickled from Bin onto Codic's skull.
The instant Codic saw it, his entire frame shuddered. Not from fear, but fury at his own uselessness.
The lord's fighting right now... and what am I doing?!
In the world his lord had freed him from imprisonment, he'd found light. Without Bin, he'd still be trapped in suffocating darkness, unable to distinguish life from death.
But... me? This worthless thing...!
Memories with Bin flashed by: the yeti, the starfish, now these Ghousts. He couldn't claim to have protected his lord even once. All he'd done was hold items like a storage box.
Even with just a skull left, the title "Bone Demon" felt wasted.
“You filthy wretches dare scar my lord's body!”
Suddenly, crystals erupted from Codic's mouth like machine-gun fire.
Rat-tat-tat!
Rat-tat-tat!
The crystals from the harpy cave, now laced with magi, pierced the Ghousts' bodies. Screams followed.
“Aaaagh.”
Frenzied, Codic gaped wide and unleashed even more.
“Uwaaaagh!”
His mad fervor cowed the Ghousts.
Bin stared at him, dumbfounded.
“You eat something funny today?”
“Forgive my impertinence, my lord... You filthy wretches!”
As another Ghoust lunged, Codic's maw yawned open again, eyes and jaw quaking like an earthquake.
Watching the maniacal Codic, Bin thought:
What's gotten into him? It's getting worse.
A glance around showed Codic's handiwork: fifty Ghousts downed in a blink.
As Codic felled them one after another—
“Uwaaaagh!”
Tat-tat-tat.
Tat-tat.
A Ghoust emerged unscathed by the crystals. Unlike the rest, it wielded a massive arm bone.
Codic halted his assault. Bin eyed the odd pause.
“Skull, what now?”
“......”
No response. Codic froze like he'd been possessed.
Irritated, Bin advanced on the huge-armed Ghoust instead.
“M-My lord! Please wait a moment...”
“What now?”
“M-My lord... I've found my arm.”
Bin faltered at Codic's frantic words. He'd been about to bisect the thing.
A sudden question struck him.
“Then what's that arm you had before?”
“My lord, that was just a temporary bone graft.”
“I see.”
Bin scrutinized the Ghoust's arm. To him, it was just a big bone—nothing special.
“Doesn't look any different...”
Anyone else would agree. But to Codic, it was the world's one-and-only irreplaceable limb.
Bin lunged first.
“If that's your arm... better claim it quick.”
“Yes, my lord!”
Bin swung the Bow Sword at its neck.
Clang!
But it wasn't easy prey. The massive arm bone blocked effortlessly.
One clash told Bin everything: its hardness outclassed normal bone.
Feels like striking steel. In that case...
Bin amped the Bow Sword's enhanced power to max and hammered down relentlessly.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Codic gaped in shock at the merciless barrage.
“Th-That's... m-my arm, my lord...”
Pain throbbed just watching his own limb take the hits. Yet even Bin's boosted strikes left not a single scratch. The Ghoust looked smug.
Swish.
Swish.
Other Ghousts interfered.
“Die!”
But Codic wouldn't stand by.
“Uwaaaagh!”
He blasted incoming Ghousts with crystals.
Rat-tat-tat!
Mid-clash with the arm-wielding Ghoust, Bin switched back to Shabest.
The Ghoust facing him paled less than Codic did.
“M-My lord... it's my arm...”
Ignoring him, Bin pressed harder. Another fierce exchange ensued.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Codic fretted more than anyone—Bin or the Ghoust.
“Please... my arm...”
His anxiety was understandable. This long-lost limb was on the verge of destruction from the start.
Then, as if granting Codic's wish, Bin severed the chilled, slowed neck.
Swish—
Codic beamed widest of all. Unable to contain his thrill, his teeth clacked together.
Clack! Clack!
He then leaped toward the Ghoust's body.
“My arm! Your master's here!”