Ch.139The Legendary Necromancer Is Dangerous (3)

“…Teacher. I’ll be going now.”

As Astride took a combat stance in front of me, I couldn’t help but squeeze my eyes shut.

I had spoken firmly just moments ago, but even after crossing countless lines between life and death, my heart still shrank at the thought of attempting such a gamble.

‘…The probability is sufficient, but this is something I never wanted to attempt.’

Using Astride’s power to forcibly destroy the chains of sealing.

It sounds simple enough, but to achieve it, I too had to risk my life.

Having made my decision, I nervously met Astride’s gaze and gave my instructions.

“G-gently, please…”

Astride nodded solemnly, summoning highly pure magical energy throughout his body. Concentrating it at the tip of his sword, a white sword aura formed.

In that state, Astride fixed his aim and, staring at something beyond my physical body, thrust his sword without hesitation.

SWOOSH—!

CRASH!

A violent rupturing sound echoed as a powerful impact spread throughout the dungeon, yet strangely, not a single wound appeared on my body.

And in that moment, I could clearly feel it.

CRACK—!

The chains of restraint that had been gradually weakening through my necromancy were now completely destroyed by this single strike.

“…Teacher, are you alright?”

“Ugh. I’m fine, but…”

Oddly enough, I don’t feel any particular change.

‘This, this can’t be right?’

The chains binding my soul have clearly disappeared, yet I can’t draw forth any power.

Something has gone wrong.

Seeing my expression, my companions tensed up, each sensing the gravity of the situation.

At that very moment, an intense pain suddenly shot through my body, forcing me to my knees.

ZING—!

“Urgh?”

A sensation I’d never felt before, even when overexerting myself to the point of overload.

The pain continued to grow, incomparable to anything I’d experienced before.

‘W-why is this happening?’

As I desperately endured it, I realized it wasn’t simply pain.

Rather, it felt more like the backlash of something within my body and mind continuously misaligning.

I tried my best to maintain consciousness and somehow control the situation, but it was impossible in my powerless state.

Finally, as I reached my limit, I collapsed and lost consciousness.

As I did, I felt a trace of death energy beginning to rise from the deepest part of my soul.

#

“What on earth happened?”

“…It seems the teacher’s body can’t withstand the sudden breaking of the seal.”

Henesia calmly examined Baek Eunha’s condition, while Baek Seoha and the others watched with worried expressions.

“How’s the situation?”

“In this state, it would be absolutely impossible for him to participate in battle for the time being. If he were an ordinary person, he would already be in a fate worse than death.”

However, Baek Eunha is a transcendent who has reached an unparalleled level—his soul and body have already risen to a state where they refuse death on their own.

Because of this, even in such a situation, there was a high possibility he would somehow find a way out.

“For now, we’ll have to trust the teacher and do what we can.”

In other words, the remaining members, excluding Baek Eunha, would somehow have to stall for time against Gildeon.

“…Either way, we have nowhere to retreat.”

“Ah, hell. Let’s just do it! How tough can he be?”

Xavier shook his head as if resigned, and even Song Hayeon, arguably the weakest among them, steeled her resolve.

And in the midst of this situation, an unexpected reinforcement arrived.

“Oh, someone just…”

“Entered the dungeon. They’re quite strong.”

Click.

Click.

The figure that finally revealed itself was a young woman with long hair and an aristocratic face, like medieval royalty—Helena, Baek Eunha’s second disciple.

“Huh? I thought you went into the dungeon in England…”

“I already cleared it all and came back. I had a bad feeling.”

Then, shifting her gaze toward the boss room beyond the party, she continued.

“…It seems I’m already too late.”

Despite being in a completely isolated place, she could feel the overwhelming death energy.

Having been taught by Baek Eunha, Helena could instantly gauge the opponent’s capabilities upon seeing this spectacle.

“That’s a monster. It’s not something we can defeat in a direct confrontation.”

“But we have no choice but to face that monster head-on now. There’s no other way.”

In response to Xavier’s sigh, Helena, who had been carefully observing Baek Eunha, spoke again with a faint smile.

“Let’s do it then.”

“…Do what?”

“The resurrection ritual.”

Right now, Baek Eunha is in a state of suspended animation.

The massive dam restraining his soul’s power has burst, but without the energy to control that flow, he’s unable to manage it.

So the solution was simple. Through a new ritual, they would transfer the power needed to control it into Baek Eunha’s hands.

“…Are you saying you can do this?”

“I learned quite a lot from the master. Since it’s her method, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

It was certainly a valid point, so Jichul Lee, who had been guarding Baek Eunha’s side, nodded quietly.

Even when Jichul Lee was cooperating with Hades previously, Helena already possessed overwhelming strength.

Now that she had acquired Baek Eunha’s teachings, such a task would certainly not be impossible.

“Then our job is to buy that time.”

Leaving Helena by Baek Eunha’s side, the party moved to intercept Gildeon.

And additionally, only one person, Mina Seo, remained to stand guard beside her.

Helena tilted her head toward Mina Seo.

“So, what did you mean by offering help?”

At Helena’s meaningful words, Mina Seo opened her mouth with a somewhat bitter smile.

“I don’t know much about a necromancer’s summoning arts, but I do know one thing.”

“…”

“You’re planning to use yourself as a sacrifice to awaken her, aren’t you?”

It wasn’t difficult for Mina Seo to guess this fact.

Because she had already seen related content in her previous divination.

And when the card pointed to the image of Baek Eunha sitting on the throne, beneath it was drawn the image of Mina Seo herself, offering her heart to her.

“Let me do that instead.”

After divining the future at that time, all related abilities completely disappeared from Mina Seo.

What this fact indicated was simple.

“…That was my final divination, wasn’t it?”

That’s why Mina Seo came here today.

Because it was the final role left for her.

After hearing those words, Helena remained silent for a moment before answering.

“There’s no need for you to die. You’ll surely regret it.”

“I know Helena is amazing, but can you really complete the ritual properly while using yourself as a sacrifice? If the ritual doesn’t proceed as planned, who will deal with it?”

To be clear, using Mina Seo’s life as a sacrifice had a much higher chance of success than Helena sacrificing herself.

That’s why the past divination also pointed to Mina Seo as the sacrifice.

And surely, the ritual would succeed with that.

“…With that level of determination, there’s no point in stopping you. Do you have any last words before you go?”

“Just give me a proper funeral in place of the family I don’t have.”

“I’ll remember that.”

There was no time to hesitate.

Helena quickly completed the magic formation she had been drawing throughout the room and immediately began the ritual.

BOOM.

CRASH!

Meanwhile, a powerful presence emerged from the entrance of the boss room in the distance, accompanied by a thunderous sound.

Gildeon had finally opened the door to the boss room and entered the dungeon.

“…I’d like to give you more time, but that’s not possible now.”

“I’m prepared. Please proceed.”

WHOOSH.

Helena’s hands traced patterns in the air, and in response, vast magical energy and death energy began to envelop the entire formation.

And slowly, the eyes of Mina Seo, who had become the sacrifice, lost their light and grew dim.

“…”

The moment when the purest death energy is generated.

That is when a living being meets death for whatever reason.

Moreover, since a powerful individual like Mina Seo sacrificed herself with firm resolve, the death energy flowing from her was unprecedentedly pure and intense.

“…This should be more than enough.”

With a solemn smile, Helena guided it according to the prescribed process and placed it into Baek Eunha’s embrace.

WHOOSH.

Rustle.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

The sound of a heartbeat and a soul pulsating filled the entire room.

The ritual was successfully completed. Now, everything depended on her master, Baek Eunha.

“…”

Slowly gathering the death energy, Helena summoned her undead one by one, which she had prepared for this day, and moved toward the entrance of the boss room.

“Please, wake up in time.”

And in the room where finally only one person remained, a faint pulse echoed irregularly.