Chapter 81

"Give me the Book of Gailof, or I won't let you escape!"

Lambert, astride the headless black horse Nightmare, swung his greatsword as he charged down the desolate streets of Baraila.

The residents, upon seeing the knight with his bizarre appearance, screamed and fled in panic.

Lambert was pursuing Manji, the Sage of the Eight, who rode the strange two-faced demon horse Troy.

Though both controlled their monstrous steeds, Manji was clearly at a disadvantage against Lambert's overwhelming presence.

Manji was well aware that if he were caught, it would mean certain death.

Nightmare was incredibly swift, but the heavy weight of the super-armored Lambert on its back was a significant handicap.

Despite this, he was steadily closing the gap with Manji.

At this rate, he would eventually catch up to Manji.

"Are you not human after all! Why, why do you obstruct me! Why do you follow me!"

Manji, lamenting the irrationality of Lambert, glared back at him.

In his hands, he frantically flipped through the Book of Gailof.

(Even the sixth Dullahan was defeated. The fifth Cerberus was no match at all! There's no way I can win in a fair fight! I can't let him interfere until the ritual is complete!)

Manji had been deeply shaken by the terror of Lambert during the incident at the manor.

He had no intention of engaging in a direct confrontation again.

"Answer my call, come forth from the underworld, O Lilit, the Black Puppeteer!"

As Manji shouted, a black cloak floated above the tail of the demon horse he rode.

From the edge of the cloak, the face of a girl with sickly pale skin peered out.

The otherworldly girl had no lower body, floating as if fixed just behind Manji.

The girl giggled and extended her slender fingers.

Lilit, the fourth of the Thirteen Spirits of Gailof, the Black Puppeteer.

Though she had no combat abilities of her own, she could control an endless number of corpses within her line of sight, turning them into puppets at her will.

However, she only controlled the corpses, and could not replicate the combat skills of the deceased. Whether the corpse was that of a master or a child, there was little difference.

Her strength lay in her ability to instantly create a large number of soldiers on the spot, but they were merely cannon fodder in large numbers.

Thus, the situations in which she could be used were limited.

But in a place like the city of Baraila, which had just experienced a large-scale battle, she could display overwhelming power.

Lilit's eyes, hidden by the cloak, locked onto Lambert. Her lips curved into a slight smile.

"Lilit, huh..."

Lilit raised both hands.

Ten fingers glowed with a pale blue light, and the corpses lying in the street rose, blocking Lambert's path.

Their number quickly exceeded twenty.

Women, children, adventurers, and the elderly.

Though the group was mixed, under Lilit's control, they all became mad warriors, even if they had lost their limbs.

The undead were not targeting Lambert.

Their aim was the legs of the headless horse Nightmare that Lambert rode.

Even if they couldn't defeat Lambert, bringing him down would deal significant damage to both him and the horse.

The undead crouched low and prepared to leap at Nightmare's legs.

"Go! Crush them, crush them!"

Manji shouted with hope, but it was entirely futile.

Lambert's greatsword swept through the undead, reducing their numbers, and the headless horse kicked them away, forcing a path through.

The distance between them widened slightly, but only by a little.

"What, what are you!?"

As he pursued, the army of rising corpses repeatedly blocked Lambert's path, but he easily brushed them aside each time.

"Give up this futile effort. Stop desecrating the dead needlessly."

As he spoke, Lambert felt something strange.

The number of headless corpses among the surrounding dead was increasing.

The more he pursued Manji, the more they grew.

This was not a coincidence. There was some intention behind the creation of the headless corpses.

What did this mean?

Lambert, who had faced the worst alchemist Gailof, understood the intention.

"This is the Feast of the Necrodragon...!"

Lambert's expression showed a hint of unease.

Manji, who was ahead, turned slightly, his face pale with a hideous smile.

"Why do you know this? Well, it doesn't matter. At this point, it's too late to stop me! Even if Lilit couldn't kill you, she has successfully delayed you."

Ahead of Manji, two suspicious figures in robes stood.

Around them, a massive magic circle with a diameter of ten hains (about ten meters) was drawn, and within it, a pile of human heads was stacked.

The spirits of the otherworld had their preferred times, places, conditions, and magical fields.

The higher the spirit, the more capricious and difficult to satisfy.

Creating a situation that met these conditions through magical interference to summon a spirit was called a ritual.

The Feast of the Necrodragon was one such ritual, essential for summoning a high-ranking spirit through a contract with the Book of Gailof.

"You lose, armored giant... no, Undead Knight. It's impressive that a mere undead could chase me this far. But from the beginning, my goal was the Feast of the Necrodragon! The pile of corpses was just a stepping stone to summon the cursed dragon! And now, it is complete! Hehe, hehehe, hehehehehe!"

The demon horse Troy stopped.

The two men in robes, who had been waiting, turned their eyes to Manji on Troy.

"Since Lilit has already been summoned, Master Manji, you are about to perform the ritual!"

"But that thing behind you..."

The two robed men's faces contorted as they saw Lambert approaching.

Manji ignored them and looked up at the floating child, Lilit, the Black Puppeteer, near Troy's tail.

"Lilit, summon the Necrodragon!"

Lilit, with a mature smile that belied her youthful appearance, reached out to the pile of human heads within the magic circle.

Under Lilit's power, the heads, which were part of the corpses, floated in a regular pattern.

Simultaneously, the closed eyes opened wide, revealing unfocused, lifeless gazes.

The heads were arranged in a regular pattern above the magic circle.

The jaws of the heads trembled and began to laugh.

It was a grotesque and revolting scene.

The rising moon illuminated the bizarre world.

In the magic circle, decapitated heads danced, dripping blood.

Manji, flipping through the Book of Gailof, shouted.

"Answer my call, come forth from the underworld, O Rumpup, the Necrodragon!"

Mana light gathered in the center of the magic circle, swelling to form a massive outline.

Surrounded by the headless, madly laughing heads, a giant head, nearly two hains tall, floated up.

The eyes of the head were empty and lifeless, and the skin had an unnatural quality.

The head was bald and smooth, and the large eyes gave it a doll-like appearance.

Its body, though human-like in color, was clearly not human in structure.

It had a long torso with several joints, and from its sides, numerous arms extended at regular intervals, resembling those of a multi-legged creature.

The monstrous body dragged along the ground, moving in a disturbing manner. Its total length exceeded twenty hains.

Rumpup, the spirit of the underworld, the Necrodragon, opened its massive, expressionless head and let out an eerie cry.

"A... A, AAAAAAAH!"

It devoured one of the floating heads and crushed another with its arm, as if annoyed.

Lambert, who had been rushing to the magic circle, realized he was too late and slowed down Nightmare.

The monstrous creature, whose mere sight could drive a person mad, was changing its direction, its body twisting in a revolting manner.

"M, Master Manji! Stop it... just once!"

The two subordinates, running to escape the suddenly moving Rumpup, called out to Manji.

But Manji's eyes were not on them.

His mad old man's gaze was filled with ecstasy at the sight of the monstrous creature.

He marveled at its long, segmented body, its disturbingly large head, and its revolting movements.

"Oh, oh, how wonderful, how magnificent! Every time I see it, Rumpup is truly beautiful and grand!"

He ignored the screams and pleas for help from his subordinates.

One was crushed under Rumpup, his internal organs spilling out as he died.

The second was caught by the numerous giant arms, lifted up, and torn apart to death.

Rumpup, having changed direction, raised its upper body and looked down at Lambert on Nightmare.