No Escape, Even in Death
Dudududu---!!!
Adel's Kargon moved with blistering speed.
"It's been a while. Being able to move this freely, I mean."
After slaying the Bone Dragon, Kasla and Harun had trailed behind as the rear guard, but by now a considerable distance had opened up between them. Hul had desperately tried to dissuade Adel from acting alone, but they couldn't afford to waste even a moment if the necromancer might slip away. Naturally, no one else could match the pace of Adel's Kargon, so he had taken the lead as the vanguard.
[Yeah, it's liberating. Can you imagine? A god having to watch out for human eyes.]
"No choice. If word got out that Kalderet had been freed from his seal, it wouldn't just stay a desert problem."
[True enough. My followers would multiply exponentially.]
Adel couldn't help but smirk at his confident reply. But he wasn't entirely wrong. The common belief was that a god's blessing grew stronger the higher the god's rank—and while it wasn't the perfect truth, it wasn't a lie either. As an ancient god, Kalderet was undoubtedly the mightiest among the myriad deities. And the more followers he gained, the stronger his power would become.
[You get it? Spread word of my existence as quickly as possible. Increase my faithful. That's another way for you to grow stronger.]
"I know. I know."
Adel shrugged evasively at Kalderet's words. And well he might— in his previous life, Adel had achieved impossible feats in countless battles. Naturally, that had revealed Kalderet's existence to the world, drawing hordes of followers captivated by his power.
Their devotion definitely strengthened Kalderet.
No doubt about it: the bolstered blessing had fueled Adel's own growth, enabling him to hunt gods. But having many followers wasn't purely positive.
The end of devotion was fanaticism.
With Kalderet's resurrection, zealots proclaiming him divine sprang up across the continent. They twisted his creed—that creation arose from the Void—into a mandate for total destruction.
But they've completely misunderstood the Void.
The Void was never destruction.
Least of all slaughter.
Yet the fanatics deluded themselves into believing they alone inherited Kalderet's will. They unleashed indiscriminate terror everywhere—murder, arson, bombings—claiming their atrocities as "purification."
"Not now, though. I can't nurture uncontrollable fire demons just to boost your power."
Kalderet's followers would inevitably turn fanatic; it was only a matter of time. That was the terror of the Void.
"We'll build your following once I've laid the groundwork to deal with them."
Knowing their future, Adel had no choice but to stay vigilant against the fanatics.
Kalderet's followers are a blight on the continent, but they can't be erased entirely.
If there were negatives, positives existed too. Strangely, among Kalderet's faithful were extremists who revered not the god himself, but Adel, his contractor.
Shadow Trackers.
Adel thought the name lame, but the three who followed him wore it proudly. True to their god, none were ordinary. One wasn't even human, obvious from their appearance. But their skills were real. They could wield Kalderet's blessing—only they and Adel among mortals—which meant they'd been chosen by a god. Grounds for pride.
Lunatics beyond eccentrics, but their power was needed for the war against the Empire.
Recalling those extraordinary faces gave Adel a headache already, yet he missed them too.
I'm mad too. Of all the people from my past life, those are the ones I miss most.
Adel gave a wry smile at the thought.
Things are going smoothly, though. Lucky break. For him to flee this way.
I'd been eyeing a chance to swing by here anyway.' Adel curled his lips, gazing ahead.
Truth be told, catching the necromancer didn't require going solo. No need to rush. Kalderet had sensed the death qi leaking from the Bone Dragon's core; even if the sorcerer hid, they could track him flawlessly.
Yet Adel pushed Kargon harder, choosing solitude. Because a ripple of vital energy—an oasis—lay not far ahead.
Catching the necromancer won't be hard. Deal with him quick, then head to the oasis.
"Hyah!!!"
Speed was key. To avoid the others' eyes and claim a body that could wield mana from the vital ripple, Adel urged Kargon faster.
[Prurrrr---!!!]
The thick thigh muscles of the dragon-blooded Kargon rippled as it tore across the sands.
* * *
"C-Crazy...!! Impossible!"
His tattered gray robe snagged at his feet. The man shrieked in irritation, hurrying his steps.
"Hah... hah..."
The robed figure's breaths grew ragged. As the desert gave way to the gorge's end, a grassy plain unfolded before him.
"Finally...!!"
Escaping the exhausting, sinking sands brought color to his face.
Shuuuk---!!!
But only for a moment. An arrow whistled from behind, grazing his cheek and shredding one side of his face-concealing hood.
"...!!"
The man's body stiffened.
"It's you."
He whipped around at the voice behind him.
What the...? A kid? He can't be the one who took down the Bone Dragon, right?
Confusion clouded the man's face. Adel read it instantly.
He doesn't know me. Means he hasn't linked vision with his minions yet.
Not a top-tier necromancer, then. Still, controlling a Bone Dragon implied unnatural methods.
"How dare you...!!!"
Realizing Adel was alone, the man saw his chance. He pulled a vial from his robes and gulped it down. Transparent glass held an unknown ashen liquid.
...Demon Soul Water?
Adel glared at the liquid. As if confirming his thought, Kalderet spoke.
[He drinks that? Demon realm filth... What a madman.]
Kalderet scoffed knowingly.
"Figures. No way someone without the talent could wield mass necromancy. Reckless fool, gnawing at his own life with shortcuts."
Adel knew the substance well too. As Kalderet said, Demon Soul Water—harvested solely from the demon realm—granted humans a burst of potent mana. But it didn't belong in the human world. When the effect faded, it drained even more mana from the body. Exhaust beyond reserves left the flesh an empty husk, leading to death. To stave it off, constant dosing was needed—but prolonged use rotted the organs from within.
Ultimately, a poison driving inexorably to death, no matter the method.
Forbidden by the Magic Association, but the Forgotten Ones were different. Straddling life and death, they were already half-dead.
[But they're still human. Even if they cross the boundary of the departed, their flesh lives.]
Adel nodded at Kalderet's words.
"Right. They just don't fear death. They believe their cult will resurrect them."
Not wrong. Necromancer cultists revived even comrades via necromancy.
"If their dreamed immortality means undeath under control, fine by me."
Adel tsked at the man downing the water.
"Doesn't matter what you become after. Just that you're dying now."
[......Shut up!!! How dare you interfere!!!]
The man's voice, human moments ago, now scraped like metal, layered in eerie duality.
[Demonization advancing. Idiot... Drank too much Demon Soul Water.]
Kalderet eyed the change with pity.
[Graaaah---!!]
With his roar, he slammed his staff down. The ground rumbled—kugrrr...
[Grrr...]
[Gruk...]
Undead burst from the canyon floor. Quadrupedal, likely local beasts.
"This is it?"
Adel sounded deflated. The sorcerer who'd commanded Dragon Soldiers and a Bone Dragon summoning mere animal corpses?
Fwoosh...!!
He gripped his sword hilt two-handed. Its tip dragged the ground; as divine power surged in, fierce flames erupted from the earth.
[Grrrrr---!!!]
Sensing the god's blessing, the undead reared up, growling warily.
[Kak... Kak...]
Strange noises came from the man. His neck and waist twisted grotesquely, hood falling away.
"......"
His face melted, flesh dripping; jawbone gleamed white.
[Sealing his lips? He's no longer human. Too ruined for interrogation.]
Garon observed the sorcerer.
"Who knows? They don't fear death, and it won't stop me either."
[Hm?]
Adel twisted his sword grip again.
Woooong...!!
[Before the Void, all is meaningful.]
With Kalderet's voice, black currents flowed along the blade from the hilt.
"You can't flee to death from me."
Adel slowly raised his gaze to the sorcerer.
"I torment even the dead."