54 – Nightmare 7
Death Heaven.
An organization created by 10 necromancers.
Though there were only 10 necromancers affiliated with the organization.
Those 10 had numerous subordinates under their command.
Necromancers, on the brink of destruction due to the alliance of the Empire and the Holy Kingdom long ago, felt the crisis and formed the organization.
Within the organization, they established ranks and exchanged information.
All in an effort to avoid another downfall.
“If the necromancers hadn’t split, we would have been the ones defeated,” said the Archbishop of the Holy Kingdom after concluding the war with the necromancers at the time.
People heard that statement and learned how dangerous the necromancers were while also finding solace.
They believed the necromancers were no longer a threat.
Certainly, dozens of necromancers perished in that war.
However, there were still 10 surviving necromancers.
No one knew this fact.
Mordor’s rank is 8th.
As is common in most games, Croacca is ranked from 10th upwards in order.
Naturally, the higher the rank, the stronger they are.
Among them, the strength of the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st ranks is on a different dimension compared to other necromancers.
However, it doesn’t mean that other necromancers are weak by any means.
“Mordor, ranked 8th, is currently stronger than me.”
Yet, that doesn’t mean I can’t defeat them.
Since that day, I’ve been constantly thinking about how to kill them.
“Could it be because I hesitated earlier? I was just flustered at that time… that’s all. I won’t hesitate anymore.”
Upon hearing Johanna’s words, Loki stopped his thoughts and looked at her.
Johanna seemed to have misunderstood when she heard about going in alone.
“It’s not particularly because of that.”
She just didn’t want to show it.
In fact, she had already shown things she didn’t want to reveal.
The sight of dead children being manipulated.
Moreover, Johanna had personally killed children.
Though they were already corpses, they looked like ordinary people at first glance.
She had shown what she didn’t want to show to Johanna and made her experience things she didn’t want to go through.
However, there were still things she didn’t want to reveal.
“This is just something I have to do alone.”
“But…”
Even with Loki’s firm words, Johanna wanted to stop him.
Johanna didn’t know that there was a necromancer, but she had some knowledge about them.
A person who manipulates the dead to make them fight.
The terrifying thing about necromancers is that they make their dead comrades fight.
In reality, many soldiers committed suicide when fighting against necromancers.
Their suicide notes often mentioned killing their comrades with their own hands.
Because of that, the worst scenarios kept coming to mind.
Like Loki dying and being controlled by a necromancer.
And that Loki trying to kill her.
Just imagining it made her body tremble.
She was scared.
“I too…”
Thud.
Suddenly, her vision was obscured.
She felt something covering her face as she fumbled with her hands.
She grabbed something and confirmed its identity on her face.
“This is…”
A white, smiling mask.
It was the mask Loki always wore.
She looked at Loki with blank eyes.
She was wearing a deep hood, so her face wasn’t visible.
Screech.
The door opened.
“I’ll be back. Take care of the mask while I’m gone. I’ll definitely return and find it again.”
Screech.
The door closed.
Yohanna stared blankly at the closed door, holding the mask tightly in her hand.
.
.
.
.
As she entered, the first thing she checked was the child’s whereabouts.
Among the children turned into corpses and manipulated, that particular child was nowhere to be found.
“Made it here, huh? I knew I couldn’t trust those scums after all.”
She looked towards the source of the voice. An old man was standing there.
“Mordor.”
The one who made the boy and the girl.
“You know my name. Who could have sent you? Betzdo, perhaps?”
Betzdo is a Necromancer, ranked 10th in the Death Heaven hierarchy.
Necromancers don’t get along well with each other.
They only entered Death Heaven because the 1st rank was overwhelmingly strong.
There is no sense of camaraderie between us.
Although I wanted to ignore Morudor’s words and kill him right away.
I opened my mouth to keep calm.
“No, I don’t listen to the words of corpses like you.”
Morudor, upon hearing my words, clicked his tongue and said,
“Tsk, ordinary humans are pitiful. The end of all humans is death. And a necromancer bestows a new beginning upon that end. Therefore, we necromancers can be called the masters of humans.”
Morudor took great pride in being a necromancer even among the Death Heaven.
To help the Croaker users easily remember the names of the 10 necromancers,
They created keywords symbolizing the necromancers.
The keyword symbolizing Morudor is “Mind.”
“Morudor, ranked 8th in Death Heaven, and Betsudo, ranked 10th, are that scary?”
“You knew it earlier and how much do you actually know?”
Morudor furrowed his brows when I accurately mentioned the rankings, names, and organization’s name.
At this point, only a necromancer knows the rankings and names of Death Heaven accurately.
“Stop beating around the bush and answer my question. Is Betsudo that scary?”
I touched a nerve with Morudor.
I needed to buy some time for ‘that.’
“Hah! Why should I be afraid of him when I’m ranked 8th and he’s 10th?”
I knew he would say that.
I created a decoy.
And then, I spoke.
“Well……. You’re weaker than Vetstovo, aren’t you?”
As I suspected, Mordor was weaker than Vetstovo.
Nevertheless, the reason Mordor ranked higher was that Mordor possessed unique skills.
“You! How dare a mere human like you!!!”
Mordor struck the ground with his staff.
As Mordor hit the ground with his staff, faceless corpses rose from the earth.
Mordor smiled wickedly and spoke.
“Well, shall we see who the person you lost is?”
Faces appeared on the faceless corpses.
The corpses bore the faces of the children I met and killed in the alley.
“The ones you cherish so dearly are these children who died.”
This is why Mordor ranks higher than Vetstovo and why Mordor’s keyword is [Mind].
If you have less than a certain level of mental strength, it was impossible to even fight Mordor.
“Whether you can kill these children you cherish so much….”
Swoosh.
I swung my sword.
The head of the corpse flew off.
“Huh? What did you say?”
I swiftly cut down the figure that resembled the appearance of the idols without hesitation.
“There’s no reason not to cut down something you know is fake.”
If someone were fighting against Mordor for the first time, they might be too shocked to move, but I already knew.
Moreover, I had killed the idols several times in nightmares.
There’s no reason to spare such a clumsy fake.
“But really. You’re not all there is to it, right? You seem much weaker than I thought?”
“You!!!!!!!!!”
Mordor once again struck the ground with his staff, and once again, corpses rose from the ground.
This time, the corpses that appeared had faces.
Furthermore, each one emitted a creepy aura.
“Nothing much……….”
I was about to say there’s nothing much, but I closed my mouth.
“Now do you understand the terror of a necromancer?
Mordor seemed to think I was scared because of that.
“Sigh…….”
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I sighed.
I endured it while fighting against Mordor.
“Just shut up. I have nothing more to say to you.”
Enough time has already been wasted.
There’s no reason to talk to that guy anymore.
During the conversation with Mordor, nausea overwhelmed me.
“Little one, don’t show off. You can never break through these corpses and come to me.”
I didn’t bother to respond.
The reason I didn’t come with Yohanna was not only because I had to kill Mordor with my own hands, but also because I didn’t want to showcase this technique.
The technique that turned a buzzard into a corpse in just one minute.
But I had no intention of using it against Mordor within a minute.
With the mana from the elixir, I wasn’t lacking in power.
Before using it on the buzzard, I sought permission from the Adelian Duke and tried it once.
“Hah! Can you create something like this with your unique magic? Should I praise your unique magic, or should I praise your imagination? Anyway, this technique is forbidden. If others see it, they will undoubtedly fear or find you troublesome.”
The technique prohibited by the Adelian Duke.
“Is this technique threatening? Are you really curious and asking? I guarantee it. With this technique alone, you can kill all the knights of our family at once, whether stronger or weaker than you. This is a technique that touches human instincts. Honestly, even I was momentarily frightened.”
The technique acknowledged by the Adelian Duke.
It was a technique using illusions, but it didn’t fit the name “illusion.”
Mordor, you gave me nightmares for five months. So, this is what I’m showing you.
“Nightmare.”
Fog enveloped me and Mordor.
Now, slowly kill me.