Chapter 12

"Haa... How can I avoid being on guard...?"

After leaving the town I had found, I kept thinking about it as I walked.

I had been careful to suppress the magic power I was emitting, but I was suddenly attacked or made people flinch, and it didn't look like we could have a conversation at all. Even though I approached them with such a friendly smile...

Maybe it's because of my tattered clothes?

"But it was also because of that group of four adventurers... Maybe they had already spread the wrong information that I was a dangerous undead."

I thought this way and tried to convince myself.

The cause is unknown, but I, an undead, had somehow regained my self-awareness.

But—no, because of that, I am thinking, "I want to die quickly."

Many people seek an immortal body.

But for me, who accidentally obtained it, it was nothing but pain.

I want to fall into eternal sleep as soon as possible.

But I don't know how.

This body is abnormally tough and has a high regeneration ability, so it seems I can't die easily.

To be honest, I'm at a loss on my own.

That's why I want to ask someone for help, and I need to communicate without being on guard.

"Still, there's not a single village or town around..."

Before I knew it, the wilderness had ended, and as far as the eye could see, there was a vast grassland.

However, no matter how far I walked, there was no sign of human habitation.

Before I knew it, it was getting dark and night had fallen.

The sky was completely starless.

"Still... I can see."

The surroundings had turned pitch black, but perhaps because I was an undead, I could clearly see everything around me.

Of course, I don't need sleep or food.

With this, I could walk all night.

But I decided to take a short rest.

If I keep walking in a place where the scenery doesn't change, I might lose my mind.

"I'll make a fire."

Remembering the camping days of my adventurer days, I gathered branches and leaves to make a campfire.

Come to think of it, back then, we used to burn grass that repelled monsters.

But I don't have it now, and even if a monster came, it wouldn't be a problem.

While thinking about this, I tried to ignite the fire with magic.

I was a swordsman, but I had learned basic fire magic because it was essential for adventuring.

"Fire"

It was supposed to be a very basic spell to create a small spark—

Whoosh!

A fierce pillar of fire rose up, and the branches and leaves I had gathered disappeared in an instant.

"...Huh?"

Stunned, I stood there for a moment.

"Eh? Wait, what's going on...? I didn't use Fireball, did I...?"

The fire magic I can use is at most a basic Fireball.

But even with Fireball, the power just now felt too strong...

"Maybe my magic power has increased? So, using the same amount of magic as before doesn't work?"

Realizing this, I nodded in understanding.

It seems I inadvertently used a lot of magic, thinking it was just a little.

"But what if I use a full-power Fireball?"

...I'll try it.

Fortunately, there's no one around.

"Fireball"

Whoosh!

"!"

For a moment, I thought the sun had fallen.

The scene in front of me turned red, and a huge fireball flew at high speed, burning the grassland.

It was a hundred times, no, more than that, the size of a normal Fireball.

Moreover, while a normal Fireball would disappear after about a hundred meters, this one kept flying far into the distance without any sign of disappearing.

The ground where the huge Fireball had passed was melted and turned into a liquid.

"...There's no town in that direction, right?"

My face twitched as I prayed.

Then, I had an idea.

"Can this fire burn me to ashes?"

I had no hesitation in checking.

I turned my palm toward myself and, unlike before, I cast the spell with the intention of keeping it in place without releasing it.

"Fireball!"

The next moment, my vision turned red.

In the burning flames, I muttered.

"...Nope, it doesn't work."

My skin's surface burned a little, but it quickly regenerated.

When the flames subsided, I was standing there completely unharmed.

◇ ◇ ◇

"What? A mysterious undead was sighted in Costar?"

Upon receiving the report, I leaned forward involuntarily.

"Yes, it's true, Captain Emel. It's reliable information from the Costar branch of the church."

Pormi, the deputy captain of this squad and an excellent subordinate, nodded firmly.

When I asked for more details, the characteristics of the undead were unknown to me.

"Is it one of his new minions...? If so, it means our predictions were correct."

He—this refers to the most dangerous necromancer we are currently pursuing, Jean Diago.

The atrocities committed by this man, who is wanted by various countries, are so heinous that they are almost too terrible to speak of.

For this reason, various countries and organizations have repeatedly tried to slay him, but all attempts have failed.

One of these organizations is the Holy Melt Church, which is widely worshipped in the Western countries.

We, the special holy knights of the Albert Holy Knights, who are part of the church's Salvation Army, have been given the task of slaying him and have been searching for his trail for several months.

And we finally received information that he might be in this country, the Kingdom of Romana, and entered the country a few days ago.

Since the start of this mission, I have always carried this with me.

It is a special holy spear granted by the upper echelons of the church to carry out this mission.

Moreover, it has been distributed to all members of the squad.

"With this, we can easily purify any undead."

What is most terrifying about Jean is the powerful undead he commands.

Former heroes, revered in the past, are now used as his tools, making it difficult to act rashly.

However, with this holy spear, developed by the church with all its might, no matter what kind of undead appears, they are no match for us.

We will definitely slay him and clear the church's name.

...Jean was once a priest of the Holy Melt Church.

While serving the god, he secretly abducted believers and used them as subjects for necromancy experiments.

Therefore, the church wants to punish him with their own hands.

That's why they gathered the best knights and formed this special holy knight squad solely for the purpose of slaying him.

"There is one thing that doesn't sit right with me."

"Doesn't sit right?"

"The undead boldly approached the town and engaged in combat with the adventurers in Costar. However, when they tried to slay it, they couldn't do anything..."

"Costar is known to have many high-level adventurers who challenge the demon realm, right?"

It must have been a very powerful undead.

But what caught my attention more was the fact that it boldly approached the town.

He is a man who is pathologically cautious.

Even his minions, the undead, rarely act boldly and usually move in secret.

"Is there some reason...? Or has he changed his strategy...?"

I listed the possible reasons, but none of them made sense.

"Furthermore, the undead did not enter the town or harm anyone, and simply left."

"Left...?"

It's an incomprehensible action.

It can't have run away.

...Whether it has any connection to Jean is still very uncertain.

But,

"Alright, we'll head to Costar immediately."

As a holy knight, I can't leave such a dangerous undead unattended.

Moreover, given his nature, it's not unlikely that he would take notice of such an undead.

With this conclusion, we set our course for Costar.