140. Necromancer

140. Necromancer

“Claire!”

“Yes!”

Flashes erupt. The corpse dragon blocking my path bends in a grotesque manner and then explodes in a golden burst, vanishing. Following that, my horizontal slash killed dozens of dragons rushing towards me.

Everyone’s attacks became tens of times more powerful thanks to Freya’s magic. At the same time, the undead seemed unable to exert their power under the sun, so the scales of the dragons, which my sword couldn’t even penetrate, now became so soft that they could be shattered with a punch.

Looking back, there are mages inside the protective barrier guarding the underground shelter, unleashing countless spells towards the dragons. Freya’s buff didn’t just strengthen physical attacks; it also enhanced magical abilities.

As expected of my sister. She never betrays my trust.

At that moment, a meteor falls from the sky.

“Oh.”

Seeing several large explosions occurring in the distance, it seems Priscilla is also fighting well. Everyone is fighting together.

Unfortunately, Ur has been silent since earlier, perhaps due to the aftereffects of producing too much potion. Wanting to give her at least a short rest, I’m using her in sword form without deliberately waking her.

I said, severing a dragon’s head.

“Hoo, there’s still a lot left.”

“I know… Ah, Skadi, behind you.”

“Thanks.”

I dodge the claws swung at me and simultaneously spin, unleashing a sword strike. The corpse of the dragon, hit by the white shockwave, shatters and then disappears in a golden explosion. Following that, my horizontal slash killed dozens of dragons rushing towards me.

It’s so convenient not having to clean up the aftermath.

When dealing with monsters in the north, the entire snowfield would be stained with blood, which was so troublesome. The fishy smell was so strong that I wouldn’t go near there until the snow completely covered the piles of corpses… or rather, I wanted to.

My father’s harsh training didn’t consider my preferences, so at times, I had to eat and sleep on a battlefield covered in blood. The only fortunate thing was that thanks to the freezing cold of the north, at least there wasn’t the smell of decay.

… If there had been, I might have been a little more broken.

“Hoo, hoo… Skadi, can’t I rest for a bit?”

“Huh? Already?”

After a few minutes of slaughtering dragons while lost in past memories, Claire, with her golden aura visibly faded, asked me for help.

Have we been fighting for that long? It doesn’t seem like it.

Looking around with a puzzled expression, I see people still fighting well. Not only the martial artists but even the mages, whose mana might be limited, showed no fatigue or hesitation in unleashing attacks on the dragons.

The brilliant sun in the sky is giving us strength. As long as Freya’s magic is maintained, we won’t get tired. That’s why I couldn’t understand Claire’s exhaustion.

“It’s not a matter of stamina… Hngh…. This can only be used for a short time….”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Claire pointed to the golden aura emanating from her body and spoke. Come to think of it, Claire always radiated this mysterious aura when she used her strength. It’s her unique characteristic, something no one else has.

There have been many times when the afterglow of my sword strikes has illuminated the space. As soon as I swing my sword, a white flash erupts and obliterates the area.

But at least, I’ve never seen anyone else emit light from their body like a warm-up, except for Claire. Claire isn’t a mage, so she wouldn’t be buffing herself. Then what is that power?

“For now, come into my arms.”

“Ugh, huh?!”

“It’s dangerous.”

Whatever the source of Claire’s strength, I couldn’t leave her exhausted in the middle of this battlefield. Moreover, sending her back inside the protective barrier would not be a leisurely action given that everyone is currently dividing the area and defending it. So, instead, I chose to fight while holding Claire.

Fortunately, her body is very small and easy to hold. Ur was originally a one-handed sword, so she was easy to wield with one hand.

Claire, held in my arms, was initially a bit flustered, but then buried her head in my chest and enjoyed a comfortable rest. Her adaptability was so fast that it was almost startling.

Anyway, the battle continues.

I smash the dragons’ heads with my sword hilt and cut down many with my sword. Beyond the burning and disappearing corpses, the dragons lash out with their claws and swing their tails at me, but they are slow.

Even with light-speed breaths, they wouldn’t be able to hit me, but they’re attacking me in close combat. As expected, they seem to be a bit dim-witted because they are undead.

Claire, who was resting in my arms, asked.

“Don’t the dragons seem to be gathering towards us?”

“Do they?”

I leaped high into the sky and surveyed the surroundings. As Claire said, the corpse dragons were not evenly distributed. They were not spread out uniformly around the protective barrier, but rather concentrated around where we were. It’s as if… they are targeting us.

“What is it? Weren’t they trying to kill people?”

“Or maybe they are attacking us first because we are a threat?”

When I fight monsters, I always go for the stronger ones first. Even though these dragons don’t seem intelligent, perhaps they can think about attack priorities.

“Well, it doesn’t matter if we kill them all.”

“Skadi, you… sometimes say creepy things.”

Claire shivered and then, after a short while, got down from my arms and started fighting. It seemed she had recovered her strength. The moment she took a step, I grabbed her by the nape of her neck and stopped her.

A red meteor narrowly missed her nose.

“Hik….”

“That was close.”

It seems there are occasional misfires when pouring out so much magic. However, the crowd control effect is definitely there, so we just need to be a little more careful.

The battle continued. Fighting, holding Claire, and fighting again repeated.

Dragons were swept away by sword strikes. But we couldn’t advance. With a limited number of people, there’s a limit to maintaining the front line. No matter how easy it is to kill dragons, we have to hold our ground and block them.

The fight dragged on, the battles were endless. Although my body doesn’t get tired, my mind inevitably grew weary after hours of combat. I, who had experienced many long battles, was fine, but others seemed to be struggling considerably.

Even the green sun in the sky was noticeably losing its power. I’m worried about Freya.

Claire asked.

“Skadi, how long do we have to fight?”

“Until the fight is over?”

“No, it’s not that… Even if there are many dragons, with so many of us fighting, there’s no sign of their numbers decreasing.”

Hmm.

That makes sense. No matter how many enemies there are, eventually, one side, either the enemy or us, will come to an end.

But the dragons’ numbers showed no sign of decreasing. Instead, as other people grew tired, the dragons they dropped were drawn to us, and the number near us only increased.

“Why?”

“Maybe there were more than we thought, or maybe… they’re being generated from somewhere. I hope not, but….”

Claire muttered with a tired face.

But there was no other way. I turned my head away from her and focused on killing dragons. Slash, smash, shatter, slash, smash, again….

… But something is strange. Since a certain point, the dragons are no longer looking at me. It’s as if they only perceive me as an obstacle blocking their path.

They don’t care even when I cut them with my sword. Even if I block them, smash them, they don’t even look at me.

This is the first time.

The place where the dragons are trying to bypass me so much… is it Claire?

“Claire!”

As soon as the realization struck me, I quickly turned my body. The numerous dragons around us were all targeting Claire.

No matter how soft the monsters are, the pressure of their mass cannot be ignored when they focus on a single target. While I wasn’t paying attention, many dragons had piled up near Claire, and for her, who was tired and mentally unfocused, this amount of numbers was dangerous.

“Ugh, too many…!”

As expected, Claire, unable to shake off the dragons attacking from all sides, was pinned underneath. Before she could be crushed by their weight, I quickly threw a punch and sent the dragons flying.

“Are you okay?!”

“S-sorry. I lost focus.”

“No, I think the dragons are targeting you.”

“Me?”

The dragons, which had been heading towards the center, suddenly started swarming towards us, and then, ignoring me, they began targeting Claire.

I don’t know the reason. Perhaps they judged that they couldn’t win against me in a direct fight, or perhaps there’s another reason.

What’s certain is that she is the target of the dragons.

“Is that so? Then what should we do….”

“Shouldn’t we go inside the protective barrier for now?”

It’s not a big problem to kill dragons while protecting her. However, if they ignore me and only target Claire, she could be seriously injured with just one mistake on my part.

Not me, but her.

I don’t want to see my close friend get hurt.

“Still, I can fight, so if I keep fighting….”

“Claire.”

I stroke Claire’s hair. Her beautiful golden eyes look at me, and my blue eyes are reflected in them.

“We decided to get married, right?”

“Uh, yes?!”

“Then please don’t get hurt.”

I threw her into the protective barrier with all my might.

The dragons, all turning their heads towards Claire as if playing fetch with a dog. And in the blink of an eye, I cut them all down.

Then, the army of corpses began to move. Towards the central protective barrier, towards her.

“Absolutely not.”

I stand in their way. Standing firm, I slam my sword into the ground as my father did, and infuse Ur with power.

With a cracking sound, the ground freezes. Dark clouds gather. A biting cold engulfs the world. Then, a blizzard begins to rage.

This is my domain. Nothing within it shall leave.

At that moment, something black flew from afar and shot down Freya’s sun.

The sun disappeared. Darkness descended, and the buff wore off.

“Huh.”

This is unexpected.