#98
The Beginning of Change (2)
“Well then, we’re off now, Grandmother.”
“Oh my~ I’m fine, so don’t worry, just go quickly. Be careful on the road.”
“Hahaha, yes, Grandmother. I’ll come visit again next time.”
“There’s no need for that anymore, you know.”
The hospital visit wrapped up in a cheerful atmosphere.
I walked out of the hospital room with Taesan, gently smiling.
“I’m glad to see she’s feeling much better.”
“Right? The doctors were really surprised too! It seems like she’ll be able to go home soon!”
Taesan was excitedly chattering away, looking happy.
The doctors had given very positive feedback, so our spirits remained high.
“They even said it was like a high priest poured holy power into her for several days. How could I, a low-level civil servant, have such connections? Even high-ranking officials would struggle to enjoy such privilege.”
“Right? She must have overcome it herself. Sometimes that happens, doesn’t it?”
“Exactly, exactly! Good things happen to those who live kindly, you know? My grandmother has lived her whole life without committing any sins, so heaven must have been touched!”
As I listened to Taesan’s enthusiastic chatter, I glanced back at the hospital room.
‘I’m relieved it worked. Lately, I’ve been so busy with things over there that I thought additional actions would be tough. This is a sufficiently satisfying result.’
Using my holy power while transformed into Heinrich with “Entity Projection” itself wasn’t the problem, but if I didn’t set up a barrier to block the energy through Hans or Heinz II, various troublesome situations could arise.
‘It’s not like it’s black magic, and since it’s holy power aimed at healing, it shouldn’t matter too much… but attracting unnecessary attention would also be troublesome.’
Though it wasn’t a crime, persistent pursuits wouldn’t follow, but given that I was hiding right now, even that was quite burdensome.
After all, I was the “Hahoe Mask” and the “Master of Blood Oaths” causing quite a stir in Korea these days.
It was best not to take unnecessary risks.
“Oh! What happened with your move? Have you decided where to go?”
“Oh, that? I wanted to live a bit more comfortably, so I got a house in the suburbs. I plan to move soon.”
“Oh— Seong-hyun Han is rising up! A single-family home, huh! But isn’t it inconvenient being farther from Seoul? Like for delivery and such.”
“Well, I’ll just have to endure that.”
In fact, distance no longer mattered.
I was currently handling Hahoe Mask’s tasks directly using “Entity Projection” on behalf of the busy Hans.
‘Now I can maintain the projection for at least 30 minutes. Plus, I plan to keep my old house rather than sell it.’
That place would now serve as a base for smooth movement.
And so, busy days continued both on Earth and in Auterica.
*
In the western continent, within the Sharotti Kingdom, amidst the forest of a certain barony.
The territory army, upon receiving reports of anomalies, was suddenly hit by catastrophe.
A long two-handed sword gripped in one hand.
Thick black armor enveloping the entire body.
Glowing red eyes and dense black magic engulfing the surroundings.
The mere existence of that being exuded a commanding power that intimidated the living around.
Shhh— Crash!
“Cough!”
“S…s-so…”
With each step, clear traces of death were etched, and with a single swing, more than one life flickered out.
“Ugh, how can we possibly…?”
“Yikes— this is bad! Run!”
“Y-you idiot! Where exactly to?!”
And it wasn’t alone.
Surrounded on all sides by the army of death that crawled up from hell.
“Ah, aah…”
The soldiers, gripped by despair, could only lament.
In the current situation, there was nothing they could do…
Ultimately, after a brief moment, not a single living soul was left standing there.
The knight and mage leading the squad had already had their heads severed long ago, so it was only natural for the ordinary soldiers to be helpless.
[…Weak.]
The one who slaughtered thousands of troops, the Death Knight, slowly surveyed the surroundings, speaking in a chilling voice.
[But this isn’t the end. What lies ahead is what truly matters.]
Although it seemed they hadn’t properly prepared since they had unexpectedly appeared, once the human army began to move properly, it wouldn’t be an easy fight.
No matter how much they trampled them down, they would eventually claw their way back up, just like last time when they were forced to hide in the shadows.
Now he was just cutting down these flesh shields, filled with pride, yet the situation was far from favorable for the army of undead.
They were creating chaos throughout the continent, but conversely, that meant the danger of individual assaults had increased.
‘I wanted to move quietly until I grasped the situation as much as possible.’
The Death Knight cast a glance at the hidden army of undead in the shadows between the trees.
Due to the nature of their existence, they were not well-suited for stealthy actions.
The natural energy of death radiating from them triggered the instincts of the living, and even the plants that lingered for a moment couldn’t withstand it and quickly perished, leaving too many traces.
Wasn’t that exactly why a clash with the territory army had occurred just now?
And with this battle having broken out, moving stealthily was no longer an option.
In other words, it became necessary to prepare for an all-out fight from now on.
[For now, these lads are also in a dire situation, so it can’t be helped.]
The Death Knight concentrated black magic into his two-handed sword and slowly made his way to the center of the piled-up bodies of the territory army.
Rumble—
With each step he took, dark energy surged explosively from his lengthy sword.
Then, standing finally at the center of the corpses.
He drove his massive sword into the ground.
Fwoosh—!
Black flames, as if absorbing light, suddenly spread outward from him.
Those ominous flames swept like a tidal wave, engulfing the scattered human corpses, leaving only their armor and bones behind as everything else was incinerated.
And the skeletons remaining were…
Clatter!
Clank, clunk—!
Hundreds of skeletons began to rise, creaking and groaning.
From the hundreds of ordinary skeletons to the skeletal knights and mages, they were incorporated into the undead army as new troops.
The Death Knight nodded slowly, surveying the increased forces.
The quality of the humans had been so low that this was their limit, but there was no time to quibble about that now.
[…Good. If I keep increasing my numbers like this… ]
At that moment.
[Oh no, I’m a bit late.]
A suddenly echoing ominous voice interrupted his words, reverberating around.
Simultaneously, a foreboding aura began to arise from the sky, making even the Death Knight, a creature of death, feel a sense of tension.
‘What is this…?’
He recognized well what this energy was.
Naturally, it was the energy of the being he had pledged loyalty to before slipping into hiding.
The Death Knight slowly raised his head in the direction where the energy was coming from.
In the center of the dark sky, a being surrounded by an inky darkness appeared, just as he had anticipated.
The Avatar of Death, the Undead King.
[Karam—]
In that moment, a strange wave emanated from the floating Undead King.
That resonance naturally penetrated down to the Death Knight, Karam on the ground…
As the contract from three hundred years ago was renewed and reestablished.
[Aah… ]
He gasped in awe at the rush of the Undead King’s black magic flowing into his body.
The emptiness he had felt since awakening was swept away by that overflowing power of death.
The connection that had blurred after the fall of the previous Undead King grew strong again, and Karam shuddered as he regained the might of his prime.
‘Indeed, the king will never diminish, regardless of how many generations pass.’
It was only natural.
For the Undead King was the very end of this world — Death itself!
Clang!
As the master-vassal relationship was reestablished, Karam knelt, burying his sword in the ground and bowing to his king.
[I greet you anew, my lord. I am Karam.]
Hans gazed down gently from above at the kneeling Death Knight, who had followed suit with the bowing undead.
Hans descended slowly from the sky and stood before him, his eyes shining brightly.
‘Karam, huh? A bigger deal than I thought.’
The other undead, besides him, could be controlled simply with the “Eye of the Abyss,” so there was no need to pay extra attention to them.
Only the top-tier undead like Entrasio and Karam needed a contract renewal.
Among them, Karam was a special entity, not just a simple knight of death.
Beyond master-level strength and commanding numerous troops, he was a versatile commander skilled in necromancy.
He was the “Death Knight Lord.”
‘If we had to determine a hierarchy… he’d certainly rank within a single digit, wouldn’t he? A close aide in charge of parts of the undead army.’
It wasn’t like they had leisurely designated rankings while conquering the continent, thus there wasn’t an established order set in stone.
Nevertheless, a tacit influence existed, considering the Undead King’s personal trust and capabilities.
In that regard, Karam, who led part of the undead army and invaded the continent separately from the main forces, was not just a top-tier executive but a considerable figure even recorded in the continent’s history.
Thus, he unexpectedly encountered such a prominent individual and took him under his command.
It was akin to stumbling upon a nugget of gold by chance.
[I didn’t expect to meet you here, Karam. But it seems you’ve made quite a commotion.]
[I apologize. It just so happened that the first place I stumbled upon was near a human settlement. I tried to move as stealthily as possible, but it seems I got tailing trouble along the way.]
[What’s done is done, and there’s nothing we can do about it. But it’s time to consolidate our power and gather strength. We must return as we are now.]
[I shall obey.]
Thus, Hans was able to guide Karam and the hundreds of undead into the shadow dimension.
Meanwhile, amidst the crowd, the recently turned victims, wearing armor bearing the barony’s crest, caught his eye.
It seemed the casualties were greater than expected.
While expanding influence based around the Talia Kingdom and taking in the undead army, it was impossible to gather everyone before they suffered losses.
Although the Sharotti Kingdom was a western nation adjacent to Talia, the area wasn’t directly adjacent, making it all the more difficult.
‘I never thought things would unfold this way.’
The repercussions from the opening of the Abyss through the Oath of Reversal were having a more significant impact than anticipated.
The undead drifting at the borders were appearing simultaneously in multiple locations, throwing the continent into chaos.
‘This is not good. The unnecessary casualties are piling up…’
‘The undead army, akin to my own, being consumed needlessly is unfortunate too.’
‘It’s all because of those Oath of Reversal bastards.’
I had to track down and crush them, but I was still busy trying to manage this situation and hadn’t been able to pursue them yet.
Thanks to that, there were some gains like gathering higher-ups such as the Bone Dragon Entrasio and the Death Knight Lord Karam, but…
‘This won’t do. I need to resolve this more quickly. I hadn’t planned on using this method, but…’
Actually, thinking about it, this method might be more efficient.
Not only could I locate the undead army faster, but there would also be secondary benefits.
‘There may be unforeseen side effects, but… I’ll have to bear with that.’
The thick black magic exuded by Hans gradually began to expand around him as he focused his mind.
Hoo—
That dark, heavy, and sticky energy formed a specific structure, weaving the mysteries Hans desired—.
Meanwhile, the presence that arose pressed into the space, spreading outward.
After a short while, the black magic was finally activated.
Wooo—!
A wave of black magic that spread beyond the forest, the territory, and the nation.
At this point, there was no way to avoid the Church’s attention.
No, not just the Church; anyone with a certain level of sensitivity would surely feel it.
[Listen, my children—!]
Right here.
[I am here.]
That the Undead King was present.
And the message of the Undead King spread to all undead in the western continent.
From all directions, responses began to return.
