I'll Send You Myself
"How the hell did you summon a reaper like that?!"
Thwack!
KRAAAAAASH!
Anubis roared and thrust out his hand. An overwhelming surge of death qi slammed toward Canteas.
I cannot leave this one alive.
The moment Anubis saw Canteas's power, a cold spike of crisis drove through him.
That colossal reaper was nothing like the ordinary kind.
He knew perfectly well what Summon Dark Race was. His own magic, if one stripped it bare, belonged to the black arts as well. But the reaper swinging that scythe out there was not something one simply called forth.
That reaper who bears the name Mumeong… is the King of All Guides.
What did that mean?
Just as the world itself was split across countless dimensions, the Underworld was divided into many realms. There was the Underworld of Hades. The Underworld of Yomra. The Underworld of Anubis. That was why so many gods of the dead existed.
And in every Underworld, there are beings who escort the departed.
In myth, the one best known to mortals was the ferryman of the Sanzu River. The same held true for Anubis's own realm, and for Hades's — each had its guides.
Mumeong…
Anubis stared up at the towering reaper. The entity floating there was the king of every guide he had just named. A being even the gods of the Underworld regarded with awe. One that had existed since the beginning of all things, and would remain even if every universe crumbled to dust.
Canteas doesn't seem to understand what he's holding.
For now, he was only borrowing a fraction of Mumeong's power. But even that — how could it be trivial? The other gods of the Underworld could not so much as speak with Mumeong, let alone borrow its strength.
"You alone I will kill!"
"?"
At Anubis's scream, Doha tilted his head. Why did that voice reek of jealousy? Doha was standing right in front of him, yet Anubis paid him no mind at all — every shred of his attention was locked on Canteas.
Why?
What had driven Anubis into such a frenzy?
Tszzzz.
— Hey, Canteas. Anubis has his eyes glued on you.
— I know! Why is that bastard suddenly going berserk?!
Canteas's telepathic voice had gone a little flustered. His original plan had been to support Doha so the man could fight properly — clear out the bothersome mummies and chip away at Anubis's power. Instead, the god's entire focus had swung onto him. Now he was barely holding the divine pressure at bay, and it was killing him.
— He took one look at that giant reaper thrashing around and started acting like this… What kind of magic is that?
— What do you mean, what kind? You already know.
There was nothing particularly strange or special about it. Among black magic, Summon Dark Race was famous enough.
— I've never seen Summon Dark Race produce a reaper like that.
— I improved it.
— When?
— …
When Doha asked about the timing, Canteas clamped his mouth shut.
— What? Why aren't you answering?
— I— I did! There was a time!
— ?
Canteas stammered, and Doha cocked his head. Why did he look embarrassed? Hadn't he improved it himself?
Damn it… why did he have to ask that.
The truth was, Canteas had refined Summon Dark Race after hearing the news that Doha was dead. Their first meeting had been anything but friendly, but after forty years together, Doha had become a precious friend. He had refused to believe the man was gone. Or rather — even if Doha had died, Canteas had at least wanted to find the body. Not to raise him as an undead. He had wanted to bring his friend's remains home and bury them in the Empire.
So he had grown stronger. He had overhauled every black spell he possessed, created Soul Change magic, and built enough power to snatch even a single corpse out of the Demon Realm. That was the Summon Dark Race he used now. Improve after improve, and he had ended up able to call forth a reaper of this magnitude.
If I tell Doha that, he'll mock me for days.
Or worse — he would run off to their other friends and start crowing that Canteas was hopelessly fond of him. Canteas would rather die than watch that.
Zwaaaang.
Dark Roll.
BOOOOM!
Shwaaaaaak!
Canteas tightened his grip on his staff and unleashed his personal magic. A black sphere bloomed in the air. Just as martial arts had exclusive techniques, magic had its own unique arts.
"What—?!"
The black sphere began devouring everything in reach, and Anubis's eyes went wide. That black-hole-like mass was swallowing the mummies — and siphoning his death qi along with them.
Damn it. Mumeong makes it hard enough to even reach out…
Anubis glanced at the enormous scythe Mumeong was swinging. A cut from that blade would never heal.
— Hey, Doha! Stop spectating and help me already!
Canteas panted hard as he shot the telepathic plea. Why was this bastard standing there with his arms crossed, watching like it was entertainment? Canteas had drawn the aggro — wasn't Doha supposed to attack?
— Ah… I should've brought popcorn.
— You son of a—
— Kidding. Hold on a little longer.
Doha's gaze settled on the summoning circle beneath Anubis's feet. With their current strength alone, he and Canteas could not kill Anubis. That left only one option: reverse-summon him.
If he hadn't fully emerged yet, maybe. But he's already out — I can't destroy the circle.
When Anubis had torn the circle open to widen the gate, it had still held. That meant it was durable enough to withstand a god's power.
Which is why I've been laying groundwork this whole time.
Ssssss.
Arms still folded, looking for all the world like a casual spectator, Doha's hands moved in small, precise motions. From the moment Anubis had locked onto Canteas, Doha had been working underneath. He looked still, but he was gathering energy through telekinesis.
Huh. I owe Woo Shin for this.
Thanks to that technique, he could shift energy without Anubis noticing. He had used telekinesis several times mid-fight already, and the god had not caught on once.
— Canteas. Provoke Anubis. Make him burn more power.
— Even more?!
Canteas nearly jumped out of his skin. He was barely hanging on as it was. If he pulled any more energy, he really might die.
— You've got a way, right?
— Probably?
— You bastard…
The word probably made Canteas's brow twitch. That damn man and his probablys…
But even as he cursed, Canteas was already moving his staff. Doha might say "probably," but he never spoke without certainty.
— There is one method.
— Oh, that's my Canteas.
— But if I use it, Anubis is going to completely lose his mind. So whatever you're planning, do it fast.
— Got it.
Canteas clenched his teeth and swept his staff. Five bone dragons erupted behind his back.
"So that's what you were up to — nothing but a handful of lizard skeletons!"
Anubis sneered at the summons. Barely standing thanks to Mumeong, and the best he could manage was bone dragons? Anubis had clearly overestimated him.
"Hey. I heard Fenrir ate you."
"Th— that has nothing to do with—!"
Anubis stammered. Damn it. How did he know that story?
"So you lost, then?"
"Lost? Nonsense! Do you not see that enormous skeleton behind me? That creature died because it took irreparable damage fighting me!"
"From what I heard, it died fighting some other god, not you."
"The wounds I inflicted remained. That makes it my victory."
"Your delusions are impressive… You're just deciding whatever makes you feel better, aren't you?"
"Hmph. A mere lich could never grasp such heights."
"Then why not ask the party in question directly?"
"…What?"
Canteas smiled, and Anubis's brow twitched. What was this? Why did this creature keep saying things that made no sense?
Whirrr.
BOOM!
Zwaaaaaaang.
Canteas's staff moved, and a magic circle bloomed across the entire vast cavern — like a mural unfurling over every surface.
"Rise, Fenrir."
Crash.
Death qi spilled from Canteas's eyes as he chanted. In an instant, the bone dragons crumbled. At the same moment—
SHWAAAAAAAAAA!
—every scrap of their power poured into the excavated remains of Fenrir.
"Th— this is—!!"
Crimson light blazed from the empty sockets of the gaping skull, and Anubis reeled in shock.
KUGUGUGUGU!
Rumble.
"You insolent wretch — you dare mock me?!"
Watching the colossal skeleton punch up through the earth, Anubis screamed and detonated his power. So the lich truly thought him a joke! He had failed to kill Fenrir even when the beast was alive — what could a skeleton possibly do?
WHOOOOSH!
CRASH!
Bone Fenrir swept a massive forepaw, and Anubis casually blocked it with his staff.
"Hmph. So you really did take me lightly."
He looked triumphant as he held the blow. For a moment he had worried the creature might still be as strong as in life. Perhaps that was overthinking — but Canteas had, after all, summoned even a fragment of Mumeong. What if Fenrir had been restored to near its living power?
"Fenrir. What a pathetic sight. Reduced to a puppet for some undead."
Anubis clicked his tongue at the skeleton's form. This was a being that had once fought him. Watching it jerked around as a skeleton was… unpleasant.
"I shall personally send you off."
Gulp.
Slurrrrr.
Thick, dark energy began to overflow from Anubis's body. And in that instant—
Fwoosh.
"?"
—a small tongue of flame spilled from Bone Fenrir's jaws.
"What is this…"
Fire from a skeleton's mouth left Anubis blank-faced. And for good reason: Fenrir's breath was rooted in life force. Precisely speaking, only a living Fenrir could unleash that breath. But Fenrir was dead — wasn't it?
Tszzzz.
"Who…"
"?!!!"
A voice rose, and Anubis's eyes went wider still.
"I don't know who you're calling pathetic."
The crimson glow flickered, and the voice grew steadily clearer.
"Look at yourself. A god who cannot even cross a threshold without his cult's help."
Whip!
At Fenrir's words, Anubis snapped his head toward Mumeong in the distance. This was Fenrir's soul, attached. And only one being here could make that possible.
"Mumeong…"
He had been wrong. This was not borrowed power. A fragment of Mumeong's own soul had come in person.
Grin.
Behind Canteas, the reaper that had been waiting so quietly smiled for the first time in its existence. A smile no one had seen in tens of millions of years.
Gulp.
"I'll throw your words back at you… I shall personally send you off."
KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
An overwhelming breath erupted from Fenrir's maw and roared toward Anubis. At the same moment—
"Well done, Canteas."
BOOM!
—Doha, who had been waiting for exactly this, activated the formation.
He amplified Anubis's death qi and drove the summoning circle into overload. A slow, steady flow of power the circle could endure. A sudden, violent spike like this would not shatter it — but it would force the gate to seal itself in self-preservation.
SHWAAAAAAAK!
"Nooooo!!"
The reverse summon seized hold, and Anubis's body began to be dragged in.
THUD!
Crrrk.
One arm braced against the breath; the other clawed for purchase, fighting to hold his ground.
Step. Step.
"Hey, Anubis. See you later. Next time, I'll make sure to kill you."
Woooooom.
Doha's face went cold as he drew up his power.
Baek-bo Myeol-hwang Gong, Thirteenth Step: Geumgang Sinjang.
For the first time, the Diamond Divine Palm unfurled. The six colossal arms behind Doha rose into the sky and began to fuse into one.
And then—
WHOOOOOOSH.
—a palm vast enough to blot out the sun came crashing down on Anubis.