Working Undead

My memories of the holy knights still lingered.

According to them, these were people who called themselves slaves of the goddess, ignoring everyone else's words.

Yet they possessed enough power to raze an ordinary territory to the ground.

'They must have been the most terrifying thing for a slave trader like me.'

By their logic, everyone was a slave to the goddess.

So, a slave owning other slaves didn't make sense.

That was fine from a slave's perspective, but for a slave trader, it was a disaster like no other.

A slave trader who encountered holy knights in some remote forest was done for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that day.

It was like a slave liberation day all its own.

But those old memories were enough to stir something up.

'Crazy fanatics.'

Back in my hunter days, groups like these were the biggest problem.

Forces armed with their own twisted logic, useless for humanity's survival.

They'd spout nonsense like "God is watching" or "The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠constellations are watching," all while committing insane acts.

Thinking about how those bastards crumbled humanity's final defensive line still made my blood boil.

I might have survived another year or two because of them.

'Well, whatever. Things aren't so bad now. And I haven't even met them yet.'

From my current position, these holy knights weren't necessarily a bad thing.

Of course, I wasn't one to talk, dragging Lena and Camilla around as minions, but freeing slaves didn't sound all bad.

The only issue was that they didn't listen to reason.

"Theo-nim, are they really holy knights?"

"Lena-unnie! Look at these decorations. Silver armor fragments and poop-brown accessories. You can tell just from that. But... they seem to have struggled pretty hard?"

"It does look that way..."

If Camilla was so sure, then it was probably traces of a holy knight battle.

I'd never seen one myself, so I trusted her judgment.

Out of the three of us, she had the most experience in this area.

What puzzled me was that the holy knights had struggled.

"Holy knights struggled? Against who? There aren't even any monsters."

"Looks like undead..."

"Did the holy knights clear this area?"

The lack of monster or undead reactions suggested the holy knights had passed through.

But something didn't add up.

Camilla made it sound like they'd pushed themselves too far.

'Those bloodstains... deep wounds. Did they really need to go that hard?'

Baron Sellevan's territory wasn't exactly under the church's direct influence.

I'd run my workshop here without ever meeting a proper priest, so that checked out.

The church wouldn't lift a finger for a place like this.

'The baron probably doesn't even know holy knights entered his land.'

I'd met with Baron Sellevan often.

He'd resupplied my Sunogi arrows when we ran low, or we'd meet to furnish the house he gifted me with furniture and tools.

Not once had he mentioned holy knights.

'So they sneaked in secretly and stirred up this mess... totally reckless.'

Sure, the forest crawled with monsters, but it had its own ecosystem and fragile balance of power.

Mess that up, and the neighboring territories would have to deal with the fallout.

As my thoughts deepened, Camilla seemed to sense something.

"Master! Undead! A ton of skullheads!"

Her eyes sparkled as she spoke, and almost simultaneously, a message appeared.

I got more details from Camilla than the simple messages.

Her detection ability, fused with the magic puppet's power, gave a sharper picture.

"Master... it's weird!"

"The undead? Too many? How many?"

"They're numerous, but that's not it! The skullheads are working! Working undead! Ooh!"

Camilla sounded confused, but excitement bubbled through as if she'd spotted something amazing.

"What? Undead doing what?"

I couldn't believe it.

Lena looked just as stunned.

But we didn't dismiss Camilla's words.

'In other words... the undead are being controlled by someone?'

Probably those fools messing around in the mine.

They'd caused damage just by their traces back then.

Now they were deeper in, up to something even stranger.

"Camilla, location? Even roughly?"

I spread out the map and asked.

She pondered briefly, then pinpointed it.

"Theo-nim, this looks like where we need to go."

"Of all places..."

"Master! Masteeer! Let's go see the working undead quick! Hurry!"

Lena and I worried at the spot they'd taken.

Camilla, though? No sense of crisis—she was thrilled about "working undead."

"Lena, get ready."

"Yes! Will you try soul interference?"

"Yeah, that seems safest. We need to scout the situation first."

We should check the undead's level first.

Skeleton soldiers wouldn't threaten our group much.

Even a commander-type might give us trouble, but we could flee on black horses and buy time.

And unlike last time, Camilla was with us now.

No real cause for worry.

The problem was the location.

'Of all places... near Magrid's Legacy?'

Suspicious.

Last time, they'd holed up in the mine, scheming quietly.

We hadn't even known they existed until the miners found them.

They were after Magrid's Legacy.

Sticking around this area like they were searching.

"These skullheads daring to eye our master's stuff? Master! Let's go chop their arms off right now!"

I shared my thoughts with Lena and Camilla, and she went berserk.

Lena took it more cautiously.

"Theo-nim, we should scout inside with soul interference first. The holy knights got involved."

"Holy knights?"

"Yes. They wouldn't come here straining themselves for nothing. Maybe..."

The holy knights were after Magrid's Legacy too.

So they'd gone all-out against the undead forces.

It made sense now.

'Even if the baron catches them, they have the excuse of handling undead... poor baron.'

The baron's life wasn't easy.

Other powers running wild in his territory, and he couldn't complain.

One you couldn't even talk to, the other that wouldn't listen.

I pitied Baron Sellevan, with nowhere to vent.

'But with both groups causing chaos...'

Magrid's Legacy must be real.

At first, it was just a sign on the way—I'd check it out.

Now it was different.

If Magrid's Legacy existed, I'd claim it.

The pinnacle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of magi-tech engineering.

No way I'd yield treasure like that.

"Camilla, find a lone undead. One by itself."

"Alone"

"A solo skullhead? None nearby... I'll scout quick!"

"Don't go too far..."

Before I finished, she plunged into my shadow with a whoosh.

No presence left—she'd gone far.

"Lena, battle prep too. Just in case."

"Yes! Steel skin potion?"

"Of course. Full prep."

I'd always prepared thoroughly when it counted.

Unlike our sudden undead encounter early on, we had time now.

Most undead wouldn't scratch us.

* * *

Camilla spotted the undead, and I tried soul interference right away. These were the results.

Reading the messages, I clicked my tongue.

'1 hour control? Minion slots are a pain right now.'

Down from 12 hours for skeleton soldiers to 1 hour.

Spending 1 Hunter Point on a slot would fix it easily.

But that was too precious.

S-grade crafting hunter knowledge upgrade was within reach.

'Gotta make do with temporary for now. 1 hour's better than nothing.'

What was absurd was the skeleton miner being higher grade than a skeleton soldier.

It valued labor proficiency over combat.

'That's why the control time dropped? Higher grades mean even shorter...?'

I started analyzing, comparing to past data.

But it didn't last—the surroundings got noisy.

Camilla and Lena.

"L-Lena-unnie! What the heck is that?!"

"Oh? First time for you, Camilla? It's one of Theo-nim's abilities."

"What? Controlling a skullhead? Master's a black mage? Uh-heh? Black mage? No... black mages don't do that?"

Camilla looked utterly confused.

Lena soothing her was making even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more racket.

"How's Theo-nim a black mage?"

"W-Well, true. But... how'd he steal control? Dolores said she couldn't do that? As expected of Magrid's successor... Black mages can't, but Magrid's heir can! He-het! My master rocks!"

Their conversation made me sigh.

And right as the control transfer message popped, Camilla's eyes flipped.

"Maaaster! Me! Me! Me! Let me try! Pleeease?"

Her half-rolled eyes and charging momentum were kinda scary.