episode_0007

“Seemingly ordinary on the surface, but….”

This was a word that came out of Lian’s mouth as he observed the mansion from the tree, hiding his presence.

From the gardener tending to the flowers, to the maids cleaning, and even the butlers managing the mansion.

It was a scene that could easily be found in any mansion.

But to Lian, this common sight looked different.

“They’re all undead.”

Zombies breaking flowers, ghosts wreaking havoc in the house, and skeletons wearing butler uniforms.

When Lian closed his eyes, the familiar world appeared to have turned upside down.

The reason Lian could sense the morale of the undead even without sacred power was because he was the possessor of the inner eye that could see the true world.

“It’s better if there’s not a single living person.”

Lian’s original plan was to avoid people’s eyes and meet the lord.

However, there was no sign of life anywhere inside the mansion.

This grand mansion had already fallen into the hands of the undead.

The reason to quietly infiltrate had disappeared.

“This is Count Frost’s mansion! Suspicious fellows like you can’t enter!”

“Yeah, get lost right now!”

Descending from the tree, Lian confidently walked towards the main gate.

Seeing him, the gatekeepers guarding the gate thrust their spears towards Lian.

Threatening to stab him if he didn’t leave, but Lian just smiled instead.

He flicked away the sharp spear tip with his finger and continued forward.

“It looks like we’re just joking…!”

“We’ll take you in…!”

The gatekeepers’ anger did not last until the end.

As Lian passed between the two, their bodies leaned over and sprayed rotten blood.

“Come here!”

Bang!

After killing the gatekeepers, Lian kicked open the main gate of the grand mansion without hesitation.

The iron door, torn off its hinges, fell to the ground.

The noise that ensued flowed into the ears of everyone inside the mansion.

“What, what’s happening?”

“The gatekeepers! What are they doing?”

“They killed each other peacefully.”

“They killed each other…?”

Realizing that fresh red blood was splattered behind Lian, the servants considered him an enemy and began to throw off their human disguises.

“It’s not something to say to someone who intruded without permission, but I wish they fought in their human forms….”

Unfortunately, Lian’s wish did not come true.

Upon hearing the news of a fresh and lively human appearing, the undead revealed their true identities.

Soon, undead with deadly poison rushed towards Lian.

“Ugh! They’re swarming like cockroaches.”

Lian pointed at the swarming undead with his finger.

Being able to fully unleash the power of the Divine Sword Formation, he manifested a sword aura on his fingertips.

As the thin and sharp sword aura cut through the air, a solid line appeared on the necks of the corpses rushing towards him, separating their bodies and heads.

The undead, who were unknowingly looking at their own bodies with severed necks, felt a primal fear and closed their eyes.

After that, Lian continued to deal with the undead appearing one after another.

Crack! Thud! Crash!

Flesh shattered, bones crumbled, and the walls inside the mansion collapsed.

Having survived until the end in a battlefield more intense than a battlefield, Lian stood still in front of the study.

“The thick scent of deceit is as if it’s telling me that I’m here.”

As soon as he opened the library door and stepped in, a sword came rushing towards Lian’s neck.

Just before the blade touched his collarbone, Lian slightly bent his waist and bit the sword with his teeth.

After a spark ignited between his teeth and the steel, the sword that was swiftly rushing stopped in its tracks.

It was possible because every part of Lian’s body was a sword.

“Tsk! Intruder!”

“….!”

The headless knight, Duharan, hesitated and stepped back.

Even though he just spat out the sword he was holding, Duharan felt as if he was being pushed back by a solid wall.

“….”

The tension that was rising as he encountered an unknown opponent.

Duharan thought that if he had a throat, he would have unconsciously swallowed his saliva.

“There’s a hidden space underground, right? Then you must be the last gatekeeper?”

“….”

Lian, without any clues, subtly asked Duharan about the secret space.

Since he had no head, he couldn’t answer directly, but his hesitant demeanor was enough of an answer for Lian.

“Alright.”

As if that was all the question, Lian immediately rushed towards Duharan.

Clang!

Grabbing the ornament on the armor, Lian lifted Duharan’s body and slammed it onto the ground.

Continuing to pound his fists towards the armor, Lian’s actions were reckless.

Duharan’s armor, made of black steel, was so sturdy that it wouldn’t break with a human’s fist.

The structure was such that the fist that struck the armor would end up being crushed instead.

However, Lian did not stop his punches, and Duharan slowly realized his own transformation.

Crack!

A crack appeared in the armor.

Moreover, with each punch from Lian, the crack gradually widened.

Duharan, who couldn’t believe that a fist was harder than black steel, had to admit it after witnessing the scene.

Lian’s fist, which had struck more than ten times, showed no signs of fatigue.

Duharan accepted that he was facing a monster in the form of a human.

“Now, rest in peace.”

As the final blow struck the center of the crack, Duharan’s armor split into several pieces.

The armor fragments scattered around turned into dust and began to dissipate.

Disappearing.

His existence was gradually disappearing from this world.

Yet, Duharan felt an unknown comfort.

Even after becoming undead and continuing unwanted killings without rest.

He was so grateful to Lian, who had seen through his massacre and prevented it.

Duharan, whose vision had been clouded by despair since becoming undead.

He could finally see a glimmer of light at the end.

“I guess this is about it?”

After toppling the gatekeeper, Lian raised his leg and stomped on the ground.

A hole was pierced in the clean library floor, revealing a staircase with a grim atmosphere beyond.

Originally designed to be opened by activating a hidden mechanism, Lian had solved it in a crude way by breaking it.

“Ugh!”

Lian grabbed the sunken floor and lifted it, stepping onto the stone steps.

Following the faint light, he descended the straight staircase and suddenly furrowed his brows.

The unpleasant stench of decay rising from the underground was unbearable, even for a swordsman.

“It makes me want to burn it all down.”

At the end of the stairs.

In the lowest level of the mansion, corpses were piled up like mountains, the source of the foul stench.

Under the corpses were magic circles drawn with blood, and in front of them stood a man in formal attire.

As soon as he met eyes with Lian, the man bowed his waist to greet him.

“Welcome. I sincerely welcome you to my body storage room.”

“I could smell something fishy, this must be Rich’s body storage room.”

“You seem to have already figured out my true identity? Your insight is impressive.”

“Is there anyone besides Rich who would create such a disgusting place?”

“Haha! I see. Well, there’s no point in hiding my true form then.”

The man inserted his fingernails under his chin and peeled off the facial skin.

Under the face of a dignified middle-aged man, a pure white skull was revealed.

However, unlike other skeletons, the eye sockets of the skull were burning with blue flames.

“Phew! It’s much more comfortable without the tight facial skin.”

“You just keep wearing it…”

“I apologize for the moisture in the skull. By the way, may I ask why you have come to my mansion?”

“I heard that the Thongs Trading Company came here, do you know about it?”

“If you mean the Thongs Trading Company, you must be referring to the merchants who visited the mansion a month ago.”

“Yes. Were they already established here before that?”

“Yes. It was two years ago when the lord of this mansion, wanting to revive his deceased son, summoned me.”

“He’s insane. Bringing a lich into the house.”

“I won’t deny it. The lord brought disaster upon himself due to his personal greed.”

Lord Frost, who couldn’t accept the sudden departure of his son, resorted to necromancy to summon Rich, wanting to hear his son’s voice one more time.

Unable to accept his son’s death, he desecrated his son’s remains.

Not only that, but he also caused the death of innocent people in the mansion, proving to be a despicable human being.

“If you’ve been here for two years, then you must be the one who invited the Thongs Trading Company employees a month ago, right? Why did you summon them?”

“It was a very ordinary business matter. I’m sure you already know what it was about.”

“You captured living people and sold them to me?”

“Correct!”

“By the gods, there were more crazy people here?”

The undead servants of the mansion, who had turned into undead, had all been taken care of by Lian.

Yet, the storage room was still filled with human corpses.

There was no need to investigate the reason.

“In a world where humans eat each other, selling one’s own kind doesn’t seem that strange, does it?”

“I don’t advocate cannibalism, but it’s better than those who offer troops to the enemy.”

“Oh, so you consider me an enemy.”

“Did you think I came here to be friends with you?”

“I thought we could be companions.”

“And if I get tired of that, you’ll turn me into an undead.”

“You seem to know me very well.”

Lian and Rich were exchanging words with a smile, but the fleeting peace did not last long.

Crack!

As Rich flicked his finger, black spears made of dark magic fell towards Lian.

Lian, who had been prepared, pressed Rich against the wall with his right arm, squeezing his throat.

“Tell me where the Thongs Trading Company guys went.”

“I’m not sure? I don’t seem to remember hearing about that.”

“Don’t lie. You made that inhumane deal and then let them go unharmed? If it were me, I wouldn’t have let them leave so easily.”

“I’m more curious about why someone like you is fixated on them.”

“If I tell you, will you tell me?”

“I’m always open to a deal. But it’s a story that doesn’t apply to those who have rejected my favor.”

Rich’s entire body began to turn red suddenly.

The surface bubbled and erupted in a massive explosion, creating a chaotic scene.

It was a common technique used by necromancers, known as corpse explosion.

Using his own body as a medium for the explosion, the lich, who was immortal, quickly reassembled himself.

“You’re quite resilient. Taking a corpse explosion head-on and still standing.”

“…I guess negotiations have fallen through, right?”

Amidst the thick crimson smoke filling the space, Lian nonchalantly walked out.

Despite his torn clothes and slightly disheveled black hair, he appeared unharmed.

“Negotiations usually give the upper hand to the stronger party, don’t they? If you can prove you’re stronger than me, the conversation might change.”

“In other words, if I defeat you, you’ll tell me what I want to know.”

“Is that possible?”

“There’s nothing I can’t do.”

Lian charged at the lich once again.

Not content to just stand by, the lich conjured various dark magic artillery and fired at him.

Sharp projectiles rained down on Lian, but none could even scratch his skin.

As Lian reached the lich, reaching out towards him, a crimson magic circle flashed, and the corpses around it gathered to form a giant flesh golem that lunged to crush Lian.

However, the golem seemed to twitch and soon turned into minced meat.

“How about this?”

As the corpse golem bought time, the lich prepared multiple layers of curse magic.

As soon as Lian escaped, he unleashed all the curses on him.

The curses in the form of black lightning struck Lian’s heart.

Nerve weakness, difficulty breathing, fear, pain, and mental confusion.

The curses, like a comprehensive gift set, successfully hit their target, but none of them seemed to affect Lian negatively.

“What are you doing?”

Having successfully grabbed the lich’s face, Lian shattered his skull with sheer brute force.

With his face shattered, the lich barely escaped from Lian’s grasp using dark magic that melded him with the shadows.

“Haha! I never thought there would be someone immune to my curses. But your attacks don’t work on me either, so we’re even.”

“Indeed, the Life Vessel’s capabilities are impressive.”

“So, you know about the Life Vessel.”

A sorcerer who stores his life force in a separate vessel before dying to avoid death.

The undead created in this way is the lich, and the vessel containing the life force is called the Life Vessel.

If the Life Vessel is destroyed, the lich turns to a handful of ashes.

But conversely, as long as the Life Vessel remains intact, the lich cannot die.

“By the way, my Life Vessel is buried in a distant land.”

“Of course. Unless you’re an idiot, why would any lich flaunt their Life Vessel?”

“You seem unimpressed. Still not understanding the situation? It means you can’t defeat me no matter how strong you are!”

“Who decided that I can’t defeat you?”

“What?”

“Who decided that I can’t defeat you?”

“W-Well, if a human without divine power can kill a lich, the only way is to find and destroy the Life Vessel…”

Confused by Lian’s attitude as if there were other ways, the lich began to stutter.

It could be baseless confidence or simply ignorance that prompted the question.

But for some reason, the lich couldn’t shake off the feeling that it was neither.

“Wherever the Life Vessel is, it’s connected to you here, right? So if I sever that connection, it’s over.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? That’s impossible, isn’t it!”

The link that Lian mentioned did not exist in the material world.

An abstract concept that could only exist in a dimension other than reality.

Rich believed that it was impossible to bear something that did not even exist.

“It can be done.”

Until Lian confidently asserted with his eyes full of conviction.

‘There can’t possibly be a human capable of performing such a miracle…!’

Lian raised his hand as if he were about to execute a death sentence.

His small action sent shivers down Rich’s spine.

His eye sockets felt hot as if they were swollen.

A strong pressure tightened around his throat, making it hard to breathe.

A strange throbbing began around his heart, which should have been completely empty.

‘I must stop it at all costs!’

Rich, judging that it was not the time to hold back, gathered all his mana and activated all the red magic circles.

All the corpses in the storage room gathered together, forming the face of a giant corpse with three pairs of eyes.

Energy of crimson gathered in each eye and shot towards Lian.

However…

“It’s too late.”

Lian’s hand had already come down.

A devastating blow that tore through space itself.

The face of the corpse giant, along with the red energy, was split in two.

And at the same time, something inside Rich snapped.

“Aaargh!”

Engulfed in the blue flames that illuminated his eyes.

Screaming in agony, he was consumed by the flames.

The connection between his body and the Life Vessel, which supplied him with infinite vitality, was severed.

In the end, Rich’s body began to slowly disintegrate in despair and emptiness.

“This is unbelievable! This can’t be happening!”

“Hey! Before you kick the bucket, tell me where the Thongs Corporation guys went!”

“A human…! Bearing something that doesn’t even exist?”

“Are you listening to me?”

“There’s no way! Humans! Humans can’t bear something that doesn’t exist! Who are you anyway!”

“…If you ask who I am, I’m a human.”

A deflating answer.

It was an undeniable fact, making the atmosphere even more awkward.

In the end, Rich perished in despair and futility.

“You bastard, so where did the Thongs Corporation go…”

Feeling the futility, Lian felt the same way.

Having gone through all sorts of hardships, he ended up leaving without hearing anything from Rich.

His efforts to save the undead in the mansion had turned to dust.

“Hmm?”

As he was about to leave the basement with no gain, Lian noticed the ashes where Rich had been.

Oddly enough, the ashes formed a ‘V’ shape.

For a moment, thinking it was a victory sign, Lian choked up, but he calmly reconsidered.

‘It might not mean victory, but the ancient number 5.’

If Lian’s prediction was correct and it meant the number 5, it was easy to deduce the message Rich wanted to leave.

In the 5 o’clock direction, the Thongs Corporation had left to the southeast.

“…Still, he was a loyal guy.”

It could be an overinterpretation.

There was a possibility that it was an exaggerated interpretation, but in the absence of any other clues, Lian decided to believe the message Rich left behind.

‘I find it funny to trust the enemy I just fought with moments ago, but I have no choice.’

With a sigh, Lian turned towards the stairs leading to the library.

Just as he complained about wanting to wash his body dirtied with blood, he felt a presence approaching from the opposite side.

Sensing the approaching figure, Lian narrowed his eyes and raised his head.

“Ah…!”

Looking down the stairs, he saw Alaina with tears in her eyes.

Alaina had never seen Lian in his human form before, and she hesitated for a moment at the sight of the woman who seemed on the verge of tears.

But only for a moment, as Lian soon realized that the woman’s headpiece resembled the emblem of the enemy nation.

Despite being from the hostile nation of Sunguk, the woman before him was unarmed.

Lian’s intention was to end the threat of the sword, held in a threatening manner.

However, his consideration ended up having the opposite effect.

“Lian…?”

Following Lian’s hand, Alaina’s gaze naturally shifted to his waist.

It was the spot where Alaina had been occupying since they met.

But now, a worn-out sword was placed there instead.

Alaina’s precious memories were tainted by the presence of another sword.

And slowly, the clear brightness in her eyes began to fade.