Fragment of the Undead King (2)
I made eye contact with the black magician guarding the entrance.
It was a friend who had greatly helped with information gathering alongside Geraf.
[Hello? Isn’t the weather nice today?]
Feeling pleased, I greeted him, but the response was a cold shoulder.
He took off running without so much as a backward glance.
[Hey, ignoring me like that hurts, you know.]
To soothe my discomfort from his icy reaction, I glanced at my trustworthy friends accompanying me.
[Hehe…]
Clang— clang—
In the pitch-black hallway darkened by the death energy emanating from the undead, echoes of eerie sounds resounded along with the glowing hundreds of eyes.
The silhouettes flickering here and there were anything but ordinary, and their robust appearance was undeniably impressive.
‘Hmm… They do look a bit scary.’
But no matter how intimidating my friends looked, discriminating against someone based on their appearance was utterly unforgivable.
It was inner qualities that mattered more than outer looks.
And I was confident in my inner self.
‘Yeah, my skull’s got a stunning shape. The bones are nicely streamlined.’
Hehe…
“Ugh—! How did you get here?! Get away!”
Boom—!
The fleeing black magician was surrounded by ghosts popping up from the building’s entrance and could no longer escape, starting to fight.
In truth, I never had any intention of letting him go.
I planned to eliminate all black magicians and their minions in this village.
I immediately commanded all the undead under my command.
[Kill all the humans in this village. Don’t let a single one escape.]
I didn’t even worry about possibly innocent people getting caught.
My “life detection,” evolved into a demi-lich, covered the entire village, allowing me to perceive the black magic of the beings within.
There were no innocents among the living here.
Kiieeek—!
Clang, clack!
Hundreds of undead behind me surged past the black magician at the entrance, released into the village.
They would surround from the outskirts to ensure that none could escape.
Whoosh— Bang!
“Cough, why am I in a place like this…! Against these fiends!”
The black magician, trapped among the undead, was desperately resisting with every magic spell he could summon.
I patiently pushed him back, allowing him to unleash all his abilities just enough.
It wasn’t exactly a consideration, but rather…
Whoosh—
[Hmm… Is this how it goes? It isn’t that hard.]
I muttered while watching the black flames burning atop my hand.
The “Evil Wisdom” granted absolute understanding and talent for black magic.
However, it didn’t directly impart the “knowledge” to use it, so I had to learn separately.
I could dispel the barrier at the secret passage only after understanding it through direct contact, but other black magics were different.
Roar—
Crash—!
And here was a splendid teaching material.
As I watched the undead get blasted apart by black magic, I absorbed all that practical knowledge like a sponge.
The “Evil Wisdom” not only allowed me to mimic but also enlightened me about advanced improvement directions, application methods, and derivative abilities.
“Cough… Cough!”
I thought I had given him enough leeway when he finally pushed himself too far with his magic, spitting blood and collapsing.
‘Well, it seems I’ve drained enough from him, and now it doesn’t matter.’
As I gazed at the black magician being buried under the attacking undead, I organized my thoughts.
‘It was pure luck to have killed Geraf by surprise.’
It was utterly infeasible for an elite skeleton to contend with someone of that level.
Geraf must have been on par with that black magician, so had things gone south, he would have been smashed to bits without being able to do a thing.
‘Now, the preparations are pretty much done. Shall I welcome the intruder who stole our home?’
Crash—!
The barrier enveloping the entire building shattered, and something flew toward me, splintering into pieces.
It was one of the undead I had sent out earlier, the strongest among them, the Death Knight.
“You… you dare…!”
With a twisted and trembling face, the old man, Malcolm, entered the building.
He was donning a black robe and holding a skull staff, having somehow prepared in advance.
I looked behind Malcolm.
The three Death Knights I had sent to stall had all been defeated, leaving only fragments behind.
I had suspected this since the connection was severed, but the disappointment was unavoidable.
Even in poor condition, Death Knights were top-tier undead and far too valuable just to waste for stalling.
However, there was no other option now.
When I scanned the entire village, I sensed the power of this old man, and concluded that my undead were only good for buying time.
Thus, I needed to get accustomed to black magic before facing him directly.
[Hello, Village Chief? Long time no see. How have you been?]
“What?! Who the hell are you?!”
[Huh? It’s me. Don’t you remember?]
I feigned offense. Did he really forget my face and voice so quickly?
I scratched my skull with one hand while echoing power with my voice.
[Well, if you don’t remember, there’s not much I can do… But I originally planned to stay for just two days to help out and leave, didn’t I?]
“Two days…? You’re Hans! You should have become an elite skeleton by now, how is this possible?!”
[That’s for you to ponder. Anyway, it turns out I’ve overstayed, haven’t I? So, I plan to help out a bit more in this village.]
“Help? After making a mess like this, what nonsense are you spouting?”
Malcolm shouted through clenched teeth, but I stood tall.
[It’s rubbish cleanup. I’ll conduct a thorough clean-up of this whole village filled with waste that can’t even be recycled. You don’t need to thank me. People like us should help each other out, right? Hahaha.]
As I spoke, I felt so proud, smiling brightly.
I never knew volunteering could feel this satisfying!
I ought to start volunteering on Earth too. Just, you know, as an avatar.
“…You, how on earth did you acquire the ‘Fragment of the Undead King’?”
‘Ah, is this where things take a turn? I wanted to provoke him a bit more.’
I followed Malcolm’s rising black magic, preparing mine too, as he seemed about to attack at any moment.
[This? Thanks to you, I have no heart anymore. So, I attached a new one with what was in the warehouse. It’s still quite lacking, but I suppose I’ll have to make do with this for now.]
Crack—!
The moment the words finished, black thorns erupted from the ground.
I quickly reacted, erecting a shadow barrier to block the thorns.
And as I countered with the black flames I had just learned, he prepared his move.
“[Death’s Finger]”
Hiss—
In an instant, a black flash shot forth.
At the moment I heard Malcolm’s voice, my shadow barriers and the magical barriers I had expanded around me were instantly pierced, and my right arm was completely blown off.
[Tch… Old man, isn’t it embarrassing to chant the names of your spells each time?]
“I don’t understand what you’re saying. [Call of Hell]”
‘What a pompous old fool.’
The magic system here didn’t require such a chant.
While a routine to ease concentration was acceptable, this was overkill.
Clank, clatter—
[Ugh…]
Evil spirits crawled up from under Malcolm’s feet, intertwining with my undead.
The messy, clay-like abominations clashed with bones, teeth gnashing to destroy each other.
We continued our battle while exchanging words.
“After taking the ‘Fragment of the Undead King,’ this is all you can do? Do you even understand what that is? You only turned an elite skeleton into a half-demilich. [Command of the Undead!]”
[What! What was I supposed to do with it being incomplete? If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been able to utilize it at all!]
“Fusing an imperfect fragment into a lowly body like yours against your will—the effort I went through has all been in vain. Do you even know what I have endured?! [Chain Bone Explosion!]”
The echoing screams shook the battlefield as black flames and bone fragments erupted everywhere.
In the midst of it, our argument continued unbroken.
‘Hmm… So, I guess it’s like applying a high-level enchantment to a beginner’s wooden sword. Kind of feel bad, actually.’
A lie, but I felt not an ounce of remorse.
“How you overcame its corruption is beyond me, but I’ll disassemble your body piece by piece for my experiments! [Broken Ectoplasm]”
I hurriedly unfurled the black barrier to block the devastating energy pouring out.
But as I kept hearing his verbal attacks, I grew increasingly annoyed.
What a case of the pot calling the kettle black; it was clear to everyone that we were the true victims here.
And every time he added a spell name at the end, it bugged me!
The fact that only the last spell had a different naming format was oddly irksome too! Consistency, please!
However, I was gradually getting used to the high-level black magic Malcolm was using.
Thanks to that, after losing my arm on the first attack, I had gone through several exchanges while not taking any additional damage.
Having learned enough from Malcolm, it was time to bring this to a close.
Crash!
Thorns shot up from the ground, charging straight for Malcolm.
Simultaneously, a black flash that extended from him shook my defenses, but I was no longer caught off guard by such familiar attacks.
After one more spell exchange, I pointed my finger at Malcolm, filled with annoyance and resentment, and boldly declared.
[I will kill you and avenge Alfred.]
*
Hans’s sudden declaration left Marcos momentarily stunned.
‘Alfred? Avenge? Was there someone from this village he knew?’
He couldn’t possibly remember the names of the villagers who had fallen a year ago.
No, he didn’t even know them in the first place.
Perhaps if he were an underling dispatched to gather information while seeking an area suitable for evolution, that would’ve made sense.
‘If that guy was already acquainted with the villagers, it means he must have stealthily infiltrated from the start… Is there any connection with that Heinz guy who came to the village earlier? How much does he know?’
His mind spun with questions, but currently, that wasn’t the important matter.
Boom—!
‘He’s quickly becoming accustomed to my black magic!’
The way he countered my attacks and the level of black magic used for counterattacks was rising sharply.
Now, it was becoming difficult to hold on.
‘A mere fool who knew nothing about magic just happened to gain power!’
Generally, a normal person transformed into a demi-lich with excess black magic could not grow this rapidly in such a short time.
‘Clearly an abnormal learning speed. Is it the power of the fragment he possesses?’
Marcos, unaware of the effects of “Evil Wisdom,” could only think this way, but in reality, it was a skill gained thanks to the “Fragment of the Undead King.”
‘I cannot afford to delay any longer! Even at the cost of more sacrifices, I will pour everything into this!’
“[Pact of Destruction!]”
*
As I pressed Malcolm harder, I soon sensed a shift.
Fights that had been fiercely unfolding in the village had now tilted heavily in one direction.
The black magicians resisting against my undead had all perished right there.
Now, only the lowly minions using black magic remained from their side.
However, on the contrary, I could feel Malcolm’s black magic surging immensely as he absorbed the souls of the fallen black magicians.
“[Crown of the Unclean], [Resting Place of the Dead]”
A black crown adorned Malcolm’s head, and the earth beneath him turned black, while undead began to crawl forth.
‘Ah… it’s phase 2. While it’s nice to see new magic, I’d prefer it if this could be wrapped up soon.’
But I merely looked on with indifference.
《The entity has gained knowledge and enlightenment. The skill “Black Magic” has been acquired.》
It seemed Malcolm thought he still had a chance to turn the tables, but it was already way too late.
*
As expected, Malcolm’s struggle didn’t last long.
“Cough… Urk!”
I absorbed all of Malcolm’s black magic and reciprocated the spell that had taken off my right arm, penetrating his chest instead.
“Cough… To fall, this easily… I… if only the undead had remained with me…”
He wasn’t wrong.
While other black magic was high-level, Malcolm’s specialty was, after all, a necromancer focused on controlling the undead.
Had he not sacrificed an enormous number of top-tier undead in his eagerness to complete the “Fragment of the Undead King,” it would have been a grueling fight.
I looked around at the injured undead left scattered at the battlefield’s brink.
Then I squatted down before the fallen Malcolm.
[Old man, your undead were quite impressive.]
“Cough— Kagh!”
Malcolm eventually spat blood and breathed his last.
His eyes were so wide with frustration that blood leaked out.
[Seems fittingly karmic. You should have had a better mindset.]
Just then, the battles in the village came to an end, and silence fell over the area.
Now, there were no living souls left in this village.
I rose from my seat and lifted my gaze.
The intense battle had blown the ceiling away, revealing a starry night sky sparkling beautifully.
[Alfred… Are you watching?]
I’ve made sure your revenge is complete, so rest easy now.
At that moment, a shooting star streaked across the night sky, like a final farewell from Alfred to me.
Or maybe not.
