Laughter from the Polluted Throne

The moment I crushed the Hell Knight legion, messages from the constellations poured in as if they had been waiting for it.

How noisy.

I scratched my ear once and dashed toward where the Archlich Lord stood.

The Archlich Lord, positioned at the heart of the undead army.

To take him down, I would have to push through a hundred thousand corpses.

Well, they were not standing in a single line, so realistically I only needed to cut through about ten thousand.

I advanced by stepping on the air with Wind Path.

Once I had risen high enough to see the entire battlefield, I activated Shrink.

My destination was right beside the Archlich Lord.

A sickening vibration shook my body.

An unprecedented force yanked the back of my neck and sent me to a spot far from my intended destination.

The Archlich Lord's blue will-o'-the-wisp flickered wildly.

『What happened to the Hell Knights?』

“Turned them to dust.”

Half had been erased by my breath. The intact corpses had been devoured.

『Bluffing again. I do not know how you shook off the Hell Knights, but I shall personally guide you to death.』

Even when I told the truth, he refused to believe it.

Because of the Archlich Lord's spatial domination, a direct approach was impossible.

I had landed in the middle of the undead army.

“Cut the distance in half, at least.”

『What nonsense are you spouting?』

“The distance between you and me.”

『How dare you speak so much after walking into a dead end on your own!』

Zombies, ghouls, and skeletons swarmed from every direction.

How annoying.

Polar Night erupted from beneath my feet and sliced through the undead like stalks of rice.

『So you wield that strange power as well. Yet you are less skilled than that woman.』

“Uwaaah.”

“Geh-geh-geh, fresh blood!”

A zombie whose waist I had just bisected rose again. Its torso reattached as if time had reversed.

Unless I reduced them to dust, the undead army would revive with a fifty-percent chance thanks to the Unholy Field.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Even if I felled them, Animate Dead would simply create more.

At least several hundred thousand corpses littered the plain.

The Archlich Lord absorbed the overflowing death energy with Death Aura and converted it into mana.

Near-infinite mana and an endless supply of corpses.

If I stayed here, I would only lose stamina in a one-sided war of attrition.

I could not afford to be tied down.

I ignored the minor attacks.

Wrapping my entire body in Metal Reflection Armor, I stomped down hard.

Earth Dragon Out of Water.

The Taoist art manifested without a grand gesture and carved a path through the packed undead.

『O dead, protect me!』

The Taoist energy within the earth dragon was not infinite.

When thousands of undead rushed it, the dragon's charge halted.

Using another Taoist art would take time because Earth Dragon Out of Water was difficult to invoke.

Avalanche and Solar Explosion also required rearrangement time.

Since the Archlich Lord's gaze was fixed on me, preparing large-scale magic would be risky.

In that case—

I raised fist energy in my right hand and Explosive Demonic Qi in my left, then released them in sequence.

Dark mana and inner energy.

Though used by the same person, their natures differed, so they should have canceled each other out upon collision.

I amplified the collision point with Eclipse.

The maximized repulsive force converted into destructive energy and blasted forward.

It was one step below the breath I fired in Dragon Form.

Yet when it came to raw destructive power, the energy surpassed even the combined force of Solar Explosion and Avalanche, tearing the undead apart.

A path opened through the undead army.

“Ugh, that hurts like hell.”

I frowned.

The spot where I had maximized the repulsive force was my own hand.

Naturally, the arm that had endured that tremendous force was now in tatters.

Bone gleamed through shredded flesh. The Metal Reflection Armor had long since been blown away, and blood poured onto the ground like a waterfall.

Good thing I had obtained the troll's ability.

Otherwise, I would never have attempted such an extreme method.

The destructive power exceeded my expectations.

Simultaneous use of Explosive Demonic Qi and inner energy. Another research topic had been added.

The right arm whose bone had been exposed regenerated in seconds without leaving a single scar.

While restoring my body, I released the Taoist energy I had secretly gathered.

The earth dragon appeared once more and carved a path.

I continued ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠forward, colliding Explosive Demonic Qi and fist energy.

Sharp bone spears flew from every direction.

Jet-black lightning struck from above.

The death energy filling the plain even sucked the living downward like a black hole.

The power was far too great to rely on Metal Reflection Armor alone.

My strength doubled.

I severed the lightning with Mountain Lord Blue Wave and shattered the bone spears that avoided my trajectory with Explosive Demonic Qi.

I had long since grown accustomed to wrapping dark fighting spirit around the Metal Reflection Armor.

Explosive Demonic Qi was far harder to control, yet I managed to coil it around the armor without releasing it.

In terms of pure destructive power, it surpassed the martial arts I could currently manifest.

Blocking the bone spears was not difficult.

I dispersed the death current trying to suck my feet away with White Tiger Dominion Step.

『That woman and you both are monsters!』

“Calling normal people monsters is rude.”

Ah, come to think of it, I was no longer human either.

Having synchronized the essences of countless races into my body, the word “monster” was not entirely inaccurate.

Smiling at the sudden stray thought, I did not stop moving.

Ghostly wails echoed in my ears.

Countless curses tried to erode my body, yet I did not stop.

Sorry, but I was practically immune to mental attacks.

The curses that gnawed at my flesh also had almost no effect thanks to the stiffness-nullification option of Rage of the Evil Spirit.

『Then face once more those you have shaken off. Call Slave!』

A summoning spell that called forth his enslaved subordinates.

The targets were probably the Hell Knights.

However, the Archlich Lord's magic fizzled out.

“You really do not believe what people say.”

『You truly defeated a hundred Hell Knights?!』

“Thanks to you not believing me, this will end quickly.”

『I am one blessed by the great god of the underworld! To die so meaninglessly……』

“Yeah, you are already a corpse.”

Crack!

I struck the Archlich Lord's chest with Dragon Emperor Fist.

His ribs shattered.

The Life Force Vessel containing the lich's core inside burst into pieces.

Leveling up after Platinum was disgustingly difficult.

Thanks to the constellations, I was living the high life.

When I destroyed the Archlich Lord's Life Force Vessel, the undead that had blackened the plain collapsed one after another.

A sword dropped from the sky with a thud.

A demon's face was carved into the hilt, and the long blade was densely inscribed with runes containing powerful magic.

Its edge was comparable to Mistilteinn.

This was no ordinary sword.

『The one who covers the underworld smiles.』

I had already guessed its origin from the description.

The goddess of Hel who ruled Niflheim.

She, an S-rank constellation, had also begun to take interest in me.

“Having a popular contractor is truly exhausting.”

Nyx approached with a faint smile.

“The diversion tactic was excellent.”

“Hohoho, it seems the way of thinking of mortals is not so bad after all.”

We devised a scheme and supplemented what was lacking by combining our strength.

To a goddess who had existed since before Olympus was born, it must have felt quite novel.

Not every constellation was like that.

Even the constellations belonging to Olympus weighed gains and losses, cooperated, then repeated conflicts.

“What do you intend to do with that sword?”

“Keep it.”

The Lich Lord's Frost Sword.

An unexpected gain reminded me of a future event I had forgotten.

Since Klyphoth was also on the move, it would come in handy.

One drawback was that the sword's cold was so intense it could not be stored in the Pocket of Desire.

“Damn it, I have to do this again.”

I used [Expanding Stomach].

The Lich Lord's Frost Sword slid down my throat.

“Now for the main dish.”

The Archlich Lord's corpse sprawled on the ground.

Without hesitation, I used Devour.

“Whoa.”

An insane effect that surpassed Double Spell or Triple Spell.

There was the demerit of additional mana consumption, but thanks to the unique ability [Ruler of Magic] I had recently obtained, it was not a burden.

There was no longer any reason to hold onto spells with the Blessing of Greed.

“Hehehe, this is great.”

“You are smiling sinisterly again.”

Nyx's familiar sigh echoed in my ears.