117 – Evil
My sixth sense, trained through countless battles, instinctively warned me.
Whoever that being is approaching now will never be kind.
I picked up Ezetus silently. Then it was raised high over his shoulder and assumed his javelin stance.
The moment the intruder turned the corner and appeared, he threw the spear with all his might without hesitation.
“Oh-“
f*ck!
Before the intruder could speak, his head exploded.
Blood and brain water flowed down through the white skull, exposing the bright red brain.
However, the intruder did not collapse even in that state. The trembling of the drooping lower crown could have been mistaken for rigor mortem, but I saw it differently.
He was trying to speak his mind by moving his jaw. With his head broken.
As if finally realizing that his shattered head couldn’t speak, the intruder quietly raised his hand.
Then, his palms split open and a mouth formed in his empty seat.
The mouth of the palm moved hideously and spoke in a gloomy voice.
“It’s been quite a while, but it’s still the same to blow the window first and watch it. What would you have done if I were a civilian?”
I automatically retrieved Ezetus and pointed at him with the tip of my spear.
“You talk so well with a body that smells like a rotting corpse.”
The sound of breathing that I couldn’t feel since I heard the footsteps, the heartbeat that almost stopped, and the body condition that was practically like a walking corpse.
I didn’t bother to explain what I felt, but I spoke slowly in a confident voice.
“… At that time, the gaze was also on you.”
The culprit behind the destruction of the Ionian Kingdom.
A necromancer with the alias of the Immortal King.
The Commander of the Demon King’s Corps who rules the undying army.
The commander of the Immortal Corps chuckled and replied through the mouth of his palm.
“That’s what I’d rather say. I was going to check who killed my Death Knight, and I was surprised to see a disgusted face. What is it? What the hell are you doing here, huh? Ugly-“
Instead of answering, there were countless slashes.
Soon after, the chopped up corpses rolled across the floor.
However, one of the shards formed a mouth again, and the Immortal Corps commander continued his words. His voice was full of annoyance.
“I’m talking! Please stop! It’s been a while since we met again, so don’t you have anything to say?”
I stuck the spear into its mouth.
“Don’t give the wizard time to do anything. Thanks to you, I learned firmly.”
“I heard that if you learn even one day, you are a teacher. How do you treat that grace like this?”
A maddening voice resounded from all directions as mouths formed from the dismembered corpses.
While I haven’t seen him, I’ve gotten more fed up with him. As far as survivability was concerned, it was more than a cockroach.
Ignoring words that were not even worth replying to, he swung Ezetus and slashed wherever he heard the sound.
Viscount Chow!
The red trail wrapped around me in a circular shape, and the slicing corpse was torn apart by countless slashes, leaving only a handful of blood.
Everywhere became quiet.
However, the silence was broken by a familiar summoned in midair. It was a winged familiar with big eyes, often seen on the battlefield.
[Cruel guy. Still, he was once a living human, isn’t it pitiful?]
“It was you who killed this person. Not me.”
The body occupied by the immortal corps commander was cut to pieces in one fell swoop, but he was dressed as an adventurer under a black robe.
It was probably the owner of the diary, the ranger. Unfortunately, it was already too late to save him from the moment his body was taken away by the Immortal Corps commander.
The familiar chuckled, mimicking the tone of his master.
[hehehe, well, it’s like that. But aren’t you curious? That day, how I, who was torn in half by you, is still alive.]
“No.”
Anyway, it’s roughly expected.
I’ve already killed him dozens of times with my own hands. Reviving, killing again, coming back to life, killing again was repeated for many years during the war.
That day, I thought I had finally killed the real body. But even that seems to be lacking.
It doesn’t matter. ‘Cause I know you’re still alive
My right shoulder was blurred for an instant, and the spear that flew like a hurricane pierced the eyes of my familiar.
“Wherever you hide, wait. I’m going to kill you again.”
The familiar that had been pierced by Ezetus lost its power and fell to the ground. He was killed by Ezetus’ ability to slash the substance, not by reverse summoning.
After the death of the familiar, the surroundings became quiet this time.
… Looks like there are no more cards to draw now.
From noble mtl dot com
After confirming that no signs or magical powers were detected, Ezetus was put into subspace.
And the moment I looked around, I could see that the blood covering the floor was forming some kind of writing.
‘Death is not the end for me.’
‘Soon, I will be complete.’
“… ….”
It was a very meaningful phrase.
If it was another opponent, it would have been nice to have a little more conversation and draw out information, but I couldn’t do that with the Immortal Corps commander.
He is a mad wizard full of madness. Ordinary people are acting in an incomprehensible way of thinking, and it is a big mistake if you think that conversation is possible just because you can speak.
I could have dug up information about Ella, but it could have made the situation even more dangerous if my purpose had ever been known.
If there is no other way to find out Ella’s whereabouts through the Immortal Corps leader, it would only be possible at the moment when he was completely subdued.
Before leaving this place, I read the diary for the last time and checked the contents behind it.
The contents were roughly as expected. The adventurer returned to Schwarzheim without knowing how he got out of that hell, and suddenly he had a red jewel in his hand.
From the moment I got that jewel, I heard a voice full of madness in my head, and the moment I came to my senses, I was committing terrible things, and the diary that I was gradually losing myself became more and more distorted and difficult. It was cut off
Perhaps from this point on, he lost his sense of self and was completely robbed of his body by the commander of the Immortal Corps.
During the last war, the immortal corps commander used corpses to create numerous alter egos, but the main body was an ordinary elf that only accepted dark magic. And the main body was obviously killed directly with these hands.
The red jewel was something that had never been seen at the time, and suddenly appeared. Could that have something to do with the Immortal Corps commander being resurrected?
However, the red jewel was nowhere to be seen when the Immortal Corps leader was cut to pieces a moment ago. Even in this workshop, there was no jewel-like item to be seen anywhere.
Did they move somewhere after the resurrection?
“… ….”
It seemed like this was all I could find out here.
For those out there desperately searching for their families, it wouldn’t be a good idea to leave these victims alone here.
I collected the bodies of the women one by one. All of them had been tortured so horrific that it was difficult to see them, but the bodies of these family members were arranged as neatly as possible for those who would have to see them in person.
That was the only thing I could do for them now.
After exiting the sewer, I reported this situation to an adventurer passing by. And immediately left the scene before people rushed in.
If it’s the screams of those left behind, it’s because they’ve already gone through enough.
***
Time passed quickly after that.
The people of the city were still preparing for battle, but at the same time waiting for the rescue team to arrive one day.
But the news I heard was not good.
In the past few days, the sudden downpour of rain continued for a long time. That the repair work was disrupted by the weather was nothing, according to the news that arrived soon after.
The Imperial Army heading to Schwarzheim was caught up in the weather. It was said that the water level of the river suddenly increased and the carpenters who were reinforcing the broken bridge due to the rapids had an accident.
With the weather like this, of course we can’t even launch the boat.
The late arrival of the rescue team has dented the city’s morale. If adventurers who had gone through prenatal battles were like that, it goes without saying for the students.
If it wasn’t for Instructor Lyria’s active care, I wouldn’t have been able to properly deal with the panicked students of Red Garnet.
Anyway, leaving the defense of the city to the adventurers and the students to Instructor Lyra and the other instructors, what was I doing?
They were slaughtering the undead outside the city.
Viscount Chow!
It’s already been three days since I swung the spear from morning to night without a day’s rest.
So far, the number of undead I killed with my own hands alone exceeded 100,000.
With this, I’ve covered most of the southern region of Caria, the capital of Ionia.
Since it is a place that is not visible to others, as a result of searching the surroundings while using dark magic, there was no trace of Ella around here. And the traces of the immortal corps leader.
“Damn….”
Where the hell are you?
I have already checked all the castles, and the remaining place is the capital of Caria. However, it was physically impossible to visit the capital of a kingdom filled with buildings in just a few days.
No, let’s not fret. It’s not a good situation, but it’s not the worst.
The city is still holding up well, and even if it’s a little late, it’s a situation where we can count on external support.
How many cities were destroyed without even asking for support during the invasion of the demon army during the war? Compared to that, the current situation was nothing.
‘I need to rest for a while in a safe place and resume my search.’
It’s already been three days since he didn’t eat, drink, or even sleep, wandering around and fighting the undead.
It was time to take a break.
You can’t rest anywhere in this land full of undead. So, I searched for a place to rest.
If it’s an Ionian palace, the number of undead is low, and there should be plenty of space to rest.
“Grrr!”
“Kieack!”
Viscount Chow!!
It’s been a while since I’ve been cleaning, and I’ve swept away all the undead flocking from all over the city again before entering the Ionian palace.
The Ionian Royal Palace, which was once the most beautiful and brilliant in the capital city of Caria, lost its luster after being attacked by uninvited guests called Undead.
Bloodstains painted all over the walls, collapsed statues and blackened gardens, broken windows and cold stone walls… Inside the royal palace, there were clear traces of the time when it collapsed overnight.
But the building itself was still strong. The undead swept over it once, and compared to other buildings that have been neglected for the past 15 years, it can be said that it is relatively clean.
Since there is no longer the owner of the palace, there was no need to ask permission from anyone. So, I found a suitably clean room that I had seen beforehand and went in.
This room, whose use is unknown, was the most intact in the palace, which was filled with corpses and rotten odors.
If you’re inside, you can close your eyes for a while. Of course, I can’t sleep too deeply.
In the meantime, I noticed something I hadn’t seen the previous time I had searched this room.
It was a large portrait that fell to the floor. It was hanging on the wall, but it was shocked and fell. It was covered in dust with the back side visible.
For some reason, that portrait bothered me.
I flipped the dusty portrait over to see the front side.
“… ….”
A girl with blonde hair and green eyes so beautiful that one would mistake it for Ella.
It was only then that I realized.
Who is the owner of this room?