A Model Necromancer (3)
A voice echoed.
"Rise, departed dead of the underworld…"
Dozens of summoning circles spread across the corridor floor.
"…Drawn by the darkness, bare your vicious fangs!"
With a clattering sound, black shadows began to emerge.
Bare bones gripping swords and shields, and half-rotten corpses—skeletons and ghouls, practically the very symbols of a necromancer.
The disturbed dead let out agonized moans.
Uuuuuuh…
Aaaaaah…
Alius shouted in fury.
"You accursed necromancer! How dare you defile the rest of the dead to this extent!"
Karnak's impression, however, was rather different.
What a truly diligent and earnest fellow.
People who didn't know any better thought necromancers could just wave a hand and corpses would spring up everywhere, but nothing grows unless seeds are sown.
The undead Cleo had summoned now numbered twenty skeletons and ten ghouls.
To gather catalysts for that many, he must have robbed at least thirty graves.
[Looks like he's been stockpiling diligently, like a squirrel hoarding acorns?]
Baros's take differed even from Karnak's.
[Hardworking, my ass. You think he dug those graves himself? He probably made his underlings do it.]
[Why so certain? He might have dug them himself.]
[I know a necromancer pretty well, and even if he were dying, he'd never lift a finger himself—he'd make his attendants dig the graves.]
[Really? Guess there was another one like that besides me.]
[…As expected, young master, you're something else.]
[Huh? What do you mean?]
Even amid the chatter, they steadily formed their formation.
Baros took the lead and blocked the corridor, while Karnak drew mana into both hands. Focusing his mind, Alius began to chant a divine spell.
"O Hatoba, protect your servants!"
Holy light enveloped Karnak and Baros.
"You will no longer be affected by fear."
At the same time, Baros's longsword shone white, imbued with the authority to cut down undead.
After pouring out the goddess's blessing, Alius stepped back.
"Please buy me some time! I'll deal with them in the meantime!"
The first to move was Baros.
"Hup!"
With a short shout, he leapt into the skeleton ranks and slashed left and right.
The skeleton soldiers reacted swiftly, swinging their rusted swords in rapid succession.
Metallic clashes rang out again and again.
Clang! Clang-clang!
Karnak also unleashed a spell.
"Magic Arrow!"
The simple yet efficient flash spell struck the charging ghouls head-on.
Limbs were blown off on impact, and the creatures staggered back.
But they didn't fall. Being corpses already, losing arms or legs wasn't enough to stop them.
The corpses pressed toward Cleo, while Karnak and Baros fought on to protect Alius.
Swinging his holy-light-wreathed sword, Baros sent a magical message.
[So this is what a priest's blessing feels like.]
[How is it?]
[It's similar to the berserk curse you used on me, young master. No—maybe it's exactly the same, just a different color?]
Aside from radiant light replacing murky darkness, Baros couldn't really feel much difference.
[That's because the curse I used added mental clarity to berserk. If a berserker can rampage calmly while keeping their sanity, there's not much difference from a holy knight.]
[Holy knights probably wouldn't agree with that.]
Parrying two charging skeletons at once, Baros asked casually,
[What about you, young master? This is your first time receiving a blessing too, right?]
[It was worth deliberately checking.]
Glancing at Alius, Karnak smiled faintly.
[As expected, he hasn't noticed anything at all.]
No matter how indistinguishable it was from mana, the source of chaotic power was ultimately necromantic energy.
If it collided with a priest's blessing, no one knew what kind of side effects might occur.
In theory, there should be no problem—but how often did theory and reality ever perfectly align?
[What if there really were side effects? What were you planning to do then?]
[That's why I deliberately set up a situation like this.]
If he had gone to just any priest to receive a blessing and unexpected side effects occurred, he would have had to silence the other party.
But now?
[With necromantic energy overflowing everywhere, it won't stand out.]
Just like they pinned things on Randolph before, they could pin it all on that necromancer.
Even if someone sensed something suspicious from Karnak, they could simply claim it was due to a curse.
[I shouldn't live like I used to, right.]
[Oh? This time you really made a human decision. What's gotten into you?]
[…I think I've always tried to live like a human.]
Meanwhile, Cleo frowned.
What is this sense of unease?
At a glance, it was a textbook adventurer-style battle.
The warrior guarded his allies at the front, the mage cast spells from the rear, and the priest supported the battlefield.
Yes—nothing particularly unusual.
A diligent, orthodox team-based combat style.
But something…
The attitudes of those two toward the undead rubbed him the wrong way.
They were clearly not fighting carelessly, yet neither did they seem tense. They looked so natural—almost relaxed.
Come to think of it, he had seen similar expressions before.
Errol, the owner of his hometown bakery, who had been baking bread for twenty years. Every morning, when he started his day by kneading dough, he wore exactly that expression.
It looked like he was casually kneading out of habit, yet his dough was always elastic and glossy.
By contrast, no matter how much effort and passion the assistant put in, their dough always seemed somehow lacking.
So… that means they've fought undead that often?
Cleo let out a hollow laugh.
It was a ridiculous idea.
They're just fools who can't read the atmosphere.
Either way, there was no denying they were strong.
After all, the skeleton soldiers and ghouls he had summoned in such numbers were already almost all destroyed.
It didn't matter.
They were merely bait to buy time.
"Impressive—you're better than I expected."
With a sneer, he formed a seal with both hands.
"But until now, it was just a bit of amusement…"
Necromantic energy traced a black magic circle in the air, radiating a dull, ominous glow.
"I'll show you the true authority of darkness!"
From the summoning circle, a massive form began to emerge.
"Come forth, beast of hell! Descend upon this land in accordance with my will!"
A hulking demon, its entire body dyed crimson, stepped into the corridor.
A vicious appearance, enormous horns, a beastly body covered in bulging red muscles, and a crude battle hammer gripped in both hands.
At nearly two meters tall, it felt as though the corridor itself was being filled.
"Grrrrrr…"
The summoned demon opened its mouth, spewing flames.
"Contractor, what is it you desire?"
"Their deaths!"
"As you wish…"
With a horrifying surge of magic, a wave of murderous intent spread in all directions.
Cleo, expecting their expressions to finally twist in terror, let out a triumphant smile.
"Oh!"
"Now, at last!"
But Cleo's expectations were completely off.
Baros and Karnak, instead of cowering, had their eyes shining brightly.
Adjusting his grip on his sword, Baros grinned slyly.
[Now we get to practice properly, young master.]
Karnak felt the same.
[Indeed.]
Skeletons and ghouls weren't particularly powerful. To be frank, their combat ability was roughly on par with ordinary soldiers.
They were easy to create and useful in that you could turn fallen foes into allies, so they were valuable as part of an army, but individually, they were ordinary.
The reason seasoned warriors often struggle against these low-tier undead is simply familiarity.
Their attacks and movements weren't much different from regular human soldiers. But in terms of defense, there's a difference.
Being corpses, they keep moving even if limbs or heads are severed. Those used to fighting living beings might think the enemy is defeated, only to be caught off-guard.
No matter how much you stab or cut, they don't die, which can be mentally taxing.
But in a rational sense, the fact that they can move after losing limbs isn't that impressive.
Severed limbs don't magically reattach. Cut off an arm, and they're one-armed; cut off both legs, and they're crippled. They don't die, but their combat ability is halved.
Once one gets used to the fact that the dead can move, it becomes trivial.
And Karnak and Baros were the most experienced with undead in the living world, so these were not even worthy opponents.
The summoned demon, however, was a different matter.
[What rank would that demon be?]
[Low-tier, at least. But that makes it perfect for our current level.]
[Right, now that practice begins again.]
No more Necromantic Kings or Death Knight Lords. They needed to recalibrate their power and senses for the current moment.
As a practice opponent, this demon was ideal.
Baros shouted with burning resolve.
"Demon! I'll deal with you myself!"
Just as he charged forward,
"Light of Hatoba, destroy evil!"
Alius slammed his staff down, releasing a massive burst of holy light.
"Holy Dispel!"
Wings of light flowed along the corridor walls and ceiling, engulfing the demon's body in brilliant radiance.
The demon, which had been exuding murderous intent, froze, looking around in confusion.
"Wh-what is this!"
Space opened up. With a scream, the crimson body began being sucked into a void.
"Grrk! Reverse summoning?!"
The demon vanished.
The necromantic energy and murderous aura filling the corridor dissipated.
The Holy Dispel, a sacred spell that erases darkness, had erased the demon's summoning entirely.
Baros, who had been about to charge, blinked in surprise.
"…Huh?"
Alius shouted in a cold tone.
"It's useless, necromancer! Before the light of the goddess, all your wicked deeds shall be extinguished!"
Cleo, having lost his trump card so effortlessly, shook his head in disbelief.
"How… how did you figure it out?"
The holy spell that destroys undead and the one that dispels a demon summoning are fundamentally different. Alius had prepared the spell even before the demon was summoned.
This meant the skeletons and ghouls were only there to buy time, and Alius had already foreseen that the next real attack would be the demon summoning.
Indeed, Alius had anticipated everything.
"From the misdeeds you've committed in this village, one can tell, necromancer."
Having gained much experience as an inquisitor, he could roughly deduce a necromancer's specialty from their crimes.
Most necromantic magic that raises the dead to spread plagues or create living hell involves widespread chaos.
Cleo, on the other hand, had bewitched the village and lured virgins here.
"That means your specialty is dark magic that draws power from offerings and demons, isn't it?"
Just as he turned to glance at the group with a self-satisfied grin,
"Now, let's put an end to this…"
Alius was left speechless.
Karnak and Baros, too, wore faces of outright disbelief.
"…What… went wrong?"
The two, startled, scrambled to compose themselves.
"No, it's not that."
"You just defeated such a massive demon in one blow—we were simply caught off guard for a moment."
Though they tried to cover it up with words, their disappointment was impossible to hide.
[Ugh, practice or no practice, it's all gone now.]
[Let's just deal with it quickly, young master.]
Judging by Cleo's state, his remaining necromantic power was nearly spent. A simple close-range slash would finish him.
Baros strode forward. The great sword in his hand radiated a chilling aura.
"Give up, necromancer!"
Cleo's face twisted grotesquely as he saw the death approaching.
"Not… yet…!"
He drew out the darkness from the deepest part of his soul, suffusing his very being with it, craving power.
"Uaaah!"
With a horrendous scream, Cleo's entire body contorted. Limbs stretched unnaturally, his clothing tore, and his body began to enlarge grotesquely.
The transformed monstrosity let out a bestial roar.
"Kraaaaah!"
The human Cleo was no longer there.
What remained was another demon, remarkably similar to the one that had just been summoned.
"A Demon Knight! So that much power still remained?"
Alius, horrified, turned to warn the others.
"He's using demon transformation magic! Everyone, be careful…!"
But he was left speechless again.
Karnak and Baros' eyes were shining with excitement.
'Wait… why are they enjoying this?'
Finally, a proper practice opportunity had presented itself.
Opportunities like this must be treated as precious.
[Let's finish this quickly before that priest starts meddling again!]
[Agreed, young master!]
Baros lunged forward.
"Phew…"
Exhaling lightly, he dove straight into the midst of demon-transformed Cleo.
"Ugh! This guy!"
Startled, Cleo swung his arms frantically, but it was useless.
No matter how strong his attacks were, they meant nothing if they didn't land.
Baros dodged effortlessly while delivering a flurry of strikes. Blood spattered, and in an instant, Cleo's monstrous form was reduced to tatters.
At the same time, Karnak unleashed his spells.
"Fireball, Magic Arrow, Lightning Shock."
Though these were common, low-level spells, the timing and angles were flawless.
Every spell struck precisely at the demon's openings, as if choreographed in advance.
Cleo's agonized screams echoed throughout the corridor with every impact.
"Grrk! Aaah! Ughhh!"
About a minute later, the demon transformation wore off. Cleo collapsed, shredded and ruined.
[Ah, nice warm-up.]
[Quality over quantity, as always.]
It had been a short but effective practice session. Baros, satisfied, stepped on Cleo's back.
"Grrk!"
Then, turning back with an innocent expression, he asked,
"So… what now? Kill him? Or capture him?"
Alius, who had been watching, could only stand there dumbfounded.
'Good heavens…'
The situation had ended before he even had a chance to act.
'Just what kind of people are these?'