Ch.138The Legendary Necromancer Is Dangerous (2)

Gildeon glanced at us once, then leisurely extended his hand to point at Heimbell’s corpse sprawled on the floor.

“Rise and confess the truth to me.”

Whoosh.

Rustle!

Immense death energy flowed from his palm, enveloping Heimbell’s body, lifting him up as if by an invisible hand.

And soon, Heimbell’s eyes opened wide.

“…This is truly an infinite honor. I behold the true Lord of Death.”

Only then did I realize his true intention.

Heimbell had been waiting for the resurrected Gildeon to revive him as an undead.

And surprisingly, the revived Heimbell displayed clear memories, intelligence, and significantly enhanced power.

‘He turned him into a high-level undead? In that instant?’

He merely extended his hand and released death energy. And he showed no signs of exertion during the process.

This was certainly a form of necromancy I had never seen before.

‘This one is different.’

I had said earlier that Heimbell’s necromancy had reached mastery, but honestly, compared to me, it was merely cute.

That’s why I could evaluate it with such composure.

But the skill of this Gildeon before me was clearly extraordinary.

I could feel it instinctively.

He was the real deal. A pioneer who had already reached heights no one else could match and forged his own path.

Upon this realization, a surge of intense interest and competitive spirit rose within me.

‘How far have you gone?’

Had Gildeon, beyond the limits of necromancy, seen the same vistas as I once did?

But regrettably, now was not the time to dwell on such matters.

“Chae, Chaehwain.”

When I made eye contact, Chaehwain understood my intention and shot forward, drawing up massive amounts of magical power and death energy.

“Blade of Sorrow.”

Simultaneously, as if prearranged, Henesia hastily activated a teleportation spell.

Thus, while Chaehwain distracted them, we safely teleported to the room just before the boss room where our companions were.

Whoosh.

Swish!

As the rectangular teleportation formation appeared and our vision cleared, I felt Chaehwain’s soul return to the Book of Death after his charging diversion.

“…Brother?”

“Master! What happened? This death energy?”

A quick glance confirmed our victory here.

The undead called Brago had been completely destroyed, the robed man was dead, and only the muscular young man who wielded a halberd had been captured.

Looking at the scene, I gave my companions the answer.

“The, the ritual was successful.”

“Hmm.”

“I see…”

Anyway, now comes the problem.

With the dungeon boss sacrificed, the dungeon itself is considered cleared, but the boss room is now blocked by the resurrected Gildeon and Heimbell.

And Gildeon could easily open the boss room entrance to pursue us.

In other words, we were now like rats trapped in a cage.

“Is he really that strong?”

Surprisingly, it was Astride who answered Lee Jicheol’s question.

“…Except for Teacher, I’ve never seen an opponent of such high caliber.”

That’s saying something coming from Astride, who had lived with the demigod Serejia.

It was proof that Gildeon’s power had already reached the realm of transcendence.

“…Not only is he strong himself, but his undead are likely powerful too. I sensed traces of mighty souls bound to him.”

“That’s troubling. From what I hear, even the Hades leader revived by his hand seems no easy opponent…”

Xavier was right. We were now clearly at a disadvantage.

With no way out of the dungeon, unless we found a new path forward, only a desperate future awaited us.

‘…We’re in trouble.’

I pondered carefully, but no brilliant solution came to mind.

And then before us appeared the first undead, presumably sent by Gildeon.

Boom.

“…My name is Bagra, servant of the great lord. Which of you is Baek Eunha?”

A fierce face like a cross between an ogre and a bear, with an equally massive body.

And a golden cudgel radiating such heat that the surrounding temperature noticeably rose.

Anyone could see he was strong.

Even just standing there with an arrogant attitude, he exuded an overwhelming aura of dominance.

“Why do you ask?”

“My lord seeks you. He said I may kill the rest.”

“…Insolent bastard.”

Lee Jicheol stepped forward, maximizing his dragon-man power.

Magical scale armor enveloped his body, and his fists were encased in magic shaped like massive fangs.

It was considerable power, but Bagra snorted and warned him.

“Not even half a dragon. That level won’t be enough.”

Simultaneously, crimson flames filled the corridor, engulfing all of us.

Whoosh!

Boom!

Crackle!

Henesia, who had prepared in advance, deployed a powerful defensive spell, but she was frowning, clearly struggling.

As the flames subsided, the scene inside the dungeon was devastating.

Walls and ceiling alike were completely charred and ruined beyond recognition.

Moreover, Lee Jicheol, who had taken the brunt of it head-on, wasn’t in good shape either.

He was recovering thanks to the dragon-man’s natural healing ability, but he had clearly taken more damage than expected.

“I’ll ask once more. Who here is named Baek Eunha?”

“……”

“…Unable to even state your own name, how pathetic. Very well. Someone like you isn’t worth my lord’s attention. I’ll burn you all to ashes right here.”

It was truly irritating, but without power at the moment, there was nothing I could do about the humiliation.

However, Astride’s demeanor suddenly changed upon hearing those words.

“…That’s twice.”

“What?”

“Don’t insult my teacher’s name with that hideous mouth of yours.”

Unlike her usual cool composure, Astride was visibly angry.

Seeing this, Henesia hurriedly whispered to her.

“Asti, if you kill him, more forces will come. We shouldn’t provoke them until we find a solution.”

“……”

It seems like just yesterday they were hiding behind me, calling my name and crying, but now they’re thinking ahead and seeking solutions even in this desperate situation.

Seeing them like this gave me a strange sense of nostalgia.

‘…You’ve all grown well.’

After calmly organizing my thoughts, I stepped forward and ordered Astride.

“…It’s fine, just kill him.”

“Teacher? Are you sure? Gildeon surely has many more powerful undead…”

“A-anyway, buying time won’t change anything.”

So now we too must make a choice.

I thought of the soul chains still perfectly binding my power, and whispered quietly toward the being who had created them.

‘I’m starting to understand why you took such measures, but…’

The situation has moved to the next phase.

Now is not the time to sit idly by.

“…I’ll break the seal, even if I have to force it.”

“What? Master, you said last time it was too dangerous!”

“Brother, please calm down. Maybe we should just try to escape and wait for your power to return…”

No, I’m sorry, but that won’t work.

Not only because there’s no other way out, but fundamentally because it doesn’t align with my principles.

‘There’s a necromancer over there claiming to be the best, and you want me to tuck tail and run?’

No matter how I try to compromise, I simply can’t.

Running away now is something I cannot accept.

It would be like disregarding everything I’ve built in Thebes, and insulting all the powerful opponents who have fallen by my hand.

At the very least, if someone claims the title of lord before me, I must never back down from a challenger, even with a blade at my throat.

Two cannot sit on one throne.

So either he or I must leave our bones here today.

“Are you Baek Eunha? I see now you’re only good at spouting nonsense.”

“……”

“Many heroes and rulers have come, but none have dared to covet his position. Do you think a mere insect like you could even touch the tip of his foot?”

For a mere undead, his speech flows quite eloquently.

At least he clearly had immense pride in his master’s abilities.

So I looked at him indifferently and said to Astride.

“…What are you waiting for? That’s the third time.”

That was enough.

A flash of light blinded me momentarily.

When my vision returned, I saw Bagra with all four limbs severed, trampled before me with his head pushed into the ground.

“Kuhak! H-how is this possible? How could a mere human…”

Astride, who had demonstrated this before me, swung her sword again without hesitation.

Slash!

Bagra’s head fell, and his soul returned to Gildeon, severely wounded.

“I-if you’re so confident, why don’t you come and face me yourself.”

It was an official declaration of war against the legendary necromancer, the ancient mythical being of Thebes.