Chapter 25

#025 Chapter

"Damn it..."

Miguel sighed.

His gaze was fixed on Ian's back, who stood alone blocking the passage.

Not a single undead had managed to pass him so far.

To be honest, he looked as if he could be swept away at any moment.

"No matter how I look at it, this is crazy. We need to go and help him...!"

Philip couldn't hold back his words.

Miguel, who had been biting his lower lip, shook his head.

"We need to protect the master."

"But-"

"Did you forget the order? Even if we join in, it won't make a huge difference. It's better to guard the rear and at least give him some peace of mind."

Philip grunted and fell silent.

Though he had stopped Philip, Miguel was just as anxious.

The undead seemed endless, and even if Ian was strong, he couldn't fight forever.

Miguel instinctively shifted his weight.

'Shit, this won't work here.'

But if the worst moment came, he would have to go all out.

As he continued to glance at Ian and Meave, alternating his gaze, a moment came.

"......!"

Miguel's eyes finally sparkled.

This was because the holy power enveloping Meave's body had seeped into her armor.

Her shoulders, which had been stiff like a statue, slowly began to rise and fall.

Miguel couldn't hold back his words.

"Are you regaining consciousness, Master?"

Meave lifted her head.

Before she could say anything, Miguel continued.

"After the master entered prayer, the spell circuit began to activate! Undead started to appear everywhere!"

"...So, where is Ian?"

"That's what I was about to tell you!"

Miguel pointed towards the passage.

"Ian is blocking the undead alone!"

"We received orders to guard the master."

Philip chimed in.

Meave's eyes darkened as she looked around the passage.

"That's right."

She stood up abruptly.

With a swift motion, her sword rotated backward, and the blade's upper part was gripped in her hand.

"I'm going to clear the way."

With a clank, Meave lowered her visor and charged forward.

Her speed was as if the weight of her armor didn't exist.

She raised the inverted sword close to her face and, after a moment, shouted.

"Ian-! Clear the way!"

Ian turned around.

"...You're late."

He stepped aside with a breathless voice.

Meave charged into the space revealed.

A faint blue light flickered around her as she passed Ian.

Her charge became even faster as the undead approached.

Kwang-chang-chang-!

The skeletons that collided with Meave shattered into pieces.

In an instant, she broke through to the center of the crowd and swung her inverted sword powerfully.

Kwa-jik-

The blunt arc created by the sword shattered the undead as it passed.

Even though she didn't aim for their heads, the light in the eyes of the skeletons that were swept away shattered.

Holy power was extremely lethal to the undead, even in small amounts.

Meave didn't stop her offensive.

Using the centrifugal force from her swing, she rotated her body and swung again, then stopped her raised arm with force and brought it down in the opposite direction.

Kwa-jik!

The same trajectory of two consecutive attacks ended with a punch to the skull of a ghoul that had survived by luck.

The undead tried to counterattack, charging like beasts.

But with broken swords, clubs, and claws, they couldn't even scratch her armor.

They only managed to slightly drain her holy power.

Some of them even collapsed upon touching the holy power.

"Every time I see this, I feel a sense of loss..."

Ian, watching from behind, finally let out a hollow laugh.

Impressive combat power, no matter how many times he saw it.

But he couldn't just watch.

One of Meave's few weaknesses was her lack of stamina, and her holy power didn't seem to be abundant either.

Pak-chak-!

Ian followed, smashing the skull of a skeleton that Meave had missed.

Meave naturally entrusted her back to him, and her movements became much bolder. She had a firm belief that Ian would take care of any she missed.

Their advance accelerated instantly.

Through the passage and into a slightly smaller stone chamber.

Then to another stone chamber beyond that.

Their relentless advance came to a halt at the start of a downward slope leading deeper underground.

Kururur-!

A sudden stone wall rose, blocking the passage.

"Huh, huh..."

Meave, catching her breath, looked at the ancient script carved on the stone wall, then turned her gaze to Ian.

Ian shrugged.

Meave, finally lowering her sword, turned around.

The endless remains of the undead.

Philip and Miguel, holding torches, cautiously crossed the center of the remains.

"The path is blocked."

Meave, speaking calmly, raised her visor.

Miguel blinked.

"Then... are we trapped?"

"Looks like it."

Philip, approaching with a water bag, said.

"There must be a way out."

Meave, taking the bag, replied.

"There isn't, but-"

"Of course, that's what I thought...?"

Ignoring the question, Meave drank the water and passed the bag to Ian.

He was already sitting against the wall, resting with his arm on the mace handle.

"Since Ian wasn't panicked, I trust him."

Now, I can vouch for it.

Ian suppressed a chuckle.

He didn't bother to explain that the necromancer was so enraged that he wouldn't leave them to starve to death, or that this was a pattern from the game.

He just shrugged.

"Let's make the best of it."

Nodding, Meave sat next to Ian.

"If that's what you both think... "

Miguel awkwardly sat down.

Philip, sitting next to him, showed deep fatigue on his face.

Even without fighting, they were exhausted.

The darkness and the magic of the spell circuit were eroding their minds just by being in their presence.

Facing the endless tide of undead was a continuous stress.

This was why those who fought against monsters often went mad or were corrupted by darkness.

"When did the essence start acting up?"

Ian suddenly asked.

Meave placed her hand on her breastplate.

The location where the tainted essence was contained.

"It's just resonating. It started when the holy mark fell silent."

"Is your connection to the god completely severed?"

"Yes."

"Then be careful. It might try to corrupt you at any moment."

"I will. Don't worry."

Nodding, Meave's gaze turned to the scattered remains of the undead.

"I can't understand it. To have such a massive army and yet hide underground."

Why is everyone so curious about this?

Ian sighed inwardly but spoke.

"This is his magic circle. An army possible only here. It can't be maintained outside, at least not yet."

Regardless of where he draws such immense magic from.

The spell circuit was definitely supplying magic to the fog and the undead army.

Listening, Philip asked.

"Does the magic circle make the necromancer stronger?"

"That's why demons and the fallen create magic circles. Like a spider building a web. They create a small world for themselves."

Of course, the magic circles created by high-ranking fallen or demons were incomparable to this underground tomb.

Meave nodded.

"He was accumulating power here. Planting the essence was a preparation for when he would emerge. ...A great evil capable of overthrowing the kingdom could have been born."

Honestly, even if things went well, he doesn't seem to be that formidable.

Ian, shrugging, glanced at the ceiling.

A strange magic was flowing through the spell circuit.

Has it started?

Ian, recalling his memories, stood up.

As he picked up his mace and looked at the stone wall, a moment passed.

"Eh, eh...?!"

Philip and Miguel's voices of confusion erupted.

Ian also finally felt the magic condensing behind him.

He could only notice it late due to the magic from the spell circuit.

But Ian's frown deepened because of the sound of the scattered remains vibrating.

'Is it already this early?'

The moment Ian turned around.

The remains were being drawn into the passage behind, as if attracted by a magnet.

The clump of remains quickly filled the passage.

A mass of bones and flesh.

As it began to move like a living thing, Ian's eyes turned cold.

A mass of death.

A shapeless monster, a relentless tracker of the undead, was created much earlier than in the game.

'It was just before we entered the fork, wasn't it? Is it because there were enough bodies?'

What a pain.

While Ian frowned.

"That's another crazy... Ah?!"

Ku-gu-gu-

Miguel, who had let out a dazed sigh, suddenly shuddered.

The stone wall that had blocked their path also began to descend.

The many glowing eyes beyond it flickered.

A hollow laugh spread across Ian's lips.

"You planned this, damn it..."

Meave, with a stern face, said.

"I think I need to deal with that monster, Ian."

Ian nodded briefly.

It was what he wanted too.

"Don't try to kill it. I'll clear the way."

"Th-they're coming, Master!"

Philip's cry followed.

The mass of death was crawling towards the group.

Strictly speaking, it was collapsing towards them.

As the bones and flesh from above poured forward, it moved.

It wasn't hard to imagine what would happen if they were caught in that mass.

Meave lowered her visor.

"Stay in the center of the formation."

She charged forward.

Ian, almost simultaneously, leaped over the almost descended wall.

Swoosh-!

The undead approached in an instant.

From a leather-armored skeleton warrior to a skeleton knight in ancient elven armor, to a ghoul soldier that seemed to have died relatively recently.

All the things that should have been deeper were gathered here.

'The army was already complete.'

Pak-chak! Ian smashed the helmet of a skeleton soldier.

The rusted helmet caved in, and the skull beneath shattered.

By the time the creature collapsed, Ian was already striking the next undead.

His movements were more relaxed due to conserving his stamina.

Moreover, he didn't need to just break heads.

Ian, surrounded by wind blades, focused on clearing the path.

After advancing for a while, he suddenly turned around.

"Your Highness! Don't fall too far behind!"

Meave, dealing with the mass of death, finally turned around.

She couldn't kill it either.

It only slowed her progress.

Rumble-!

The mass of death, with the obstruction removed, moved through the stone chamber and into the passage.

The sound of the bone pile collapsing echoed like waves.

The undead, whose heads had shattered and collapsed, as well as those being reassembled, were covered and disappeared by the remains.

"Ah...! Ah...!"

"Keep your eyes forward. Forward!"

Philip and Miguel looked almost mentally broken from the pressure.

'There's no end to this.'

Ian was still relaxed.

He could see the end.

If they didn't miss the fork leading to a shortcut, they could reach the necromancer's lair in one go.

The plan changed not long after.

Kee-hee-hee-

A laugh echoed in his ears.

A chilling sound that brought back forgotten memories.

'Why the hell is it here?'

Ian's head turned sharply in the direction of the sound.

On the ceiling of the spacious stone chamber, a wraith with disheveled hair floated.

The wraith, with its face covered by a hand with exposed bones, was from a distant lake.

A wraith that lured men to drain their essence and women to drown and possess.

There was only one reason for it to be here, unrelated to the lake.

'This brat was also a subordinate.'

It was brought to the lair.

Ian, striking the undead blocking his path, turned to the wraith again.

But it was already gone.

A presence above his head continued.

Kee-hee-hee-

"......!"

Ian reflexively jumped and swung his mace.

The mace struck the wraith accurately, but there was no sensation.

Physical attacks didn't affect it.

Just an attempt to drive it away.

"What the hell! What was that?!"

Miguel, noticing the wraith that disappeared like a mirage, shouted hoarsely.

Ian only frowned, not responding.

Behind was the mass of death. In front was a wave of undead. Above was the wraith.

Individually, they weren't much, but together, they were incredibly annoying.

Moreover, they weren't acting independently.

Kee-hee-hee-

The wraith, appearing far ahead, laughed.

A bluish magic spread from its disheveled hair.

The eyes of the undead began to glow blue shortly after.

The undead, as if electrocuted, twitched and charged with more speed and agility.

"Damn it."

Ian, grinding his teeth, struck the charging skeletons.

He knew that killing them would only make the mass of death larger, but there was no other way.

He had to clear the path as quickly as possible to shake off these damn things.

The moment Ian raised his magic.

Kee-hee-hee-

The wraith's laugh echoed from behind.

"......!"

Ian's eyes flashed with anger as he turned around.

The wraith had appeared above Philip and Miguel.

His nerves were on edge.

All the information around him was recognized in an instant.

The two, who had just noticed the wraith's presence by looking around.

Meave, who was using her limited holy power to slow the mass of death.

The wraith lowering its hand from its face.

And the bluish magic swirling in its sunken eyes.

It was definitely about to cast a single, powerful spell.

A skill that caused not only damage but also a long-lasting confusion.

Ian quickly drew a conclusion.

If he didn't stop it, Philip and Miguel would die.

"Both of you, cover your ears! Now!"