Ch.142The Legendary Necromancer Is Dangerous (6)

The pure death energy now residing within me is no different from what I had in my prime.

And the amount continues to grow even now.

‘…It will take some time to fully regain my power.’

Until then, I’ll maintain a defensive stance and read my opponent’s moves.

Whoosh.

“Extraction.”

Page eleven.

Engraved there is the skull of Zombie Dürahan Hans, the headless knight and immortal undying.

“Materialization.”

Puhwak!

Seureu-reuk.

Tuk.

Black mist flowed from my outstretched right hand, soon revealing someone’s cracked and split skull.

I threw it to the ground and chanted a spell, infusing it with overflowing death energy.

“Undead call.”

Puhwak!

Kwadeudeuk!

Wudeudeudeuk─!

Unlike before, Hans composed his body at an incredibly fast speed and, seemingly surprised, looked around at his own body before speaking.

“Oh, this… Have you finally regained your power?”

“You can see for yourself. Just look ahead. They’re quite formidable.”

At those words, Hans calmly surveyed the surroundings, then changed his expression to a serious one before answering.

“Indeed. I’m afraid this might be difficult even for me.”

“Who said anything? Just buy some time. That’s your specialty.”

“…If that’s what you wish, I shall do so.”

With Hans positioned in front, I opened the book again and summoned several more undead.

Jack Callista, the assassin of the Frost Tribe.

Penelope, the mistress of the Black Forest and queen of spiders.

Finally, the shaman Kan and Chaehwa-in whom I had sent back earlier.

The power of all of them was, to be clear, even stronger than before.

“…So those are your undead. Except for one, they fall short of expectations.”

Gildeon said this while glancing toward Chaehwa-in, who was now wearing a bone mask.

And through this, I gained one certainty.

While Gildeon’s undead clearly had forms of knowledge applied to them that I was unfamiliar with, the same was true for him regarding mine.

‘Of course, Chaehwa-in is quite an exceptional undead, but…’

In truth, among the undead I’ve summoned now, Chaehwa-in isn’t the one with the greatest combat potential.

With that in mind, I smirked and reached out to summon a wooden staff emanating ominous energy from the Book of Death.

The symbol of the Lord of Death that I had used as my main weapon during my time in Thebes.

It was Kurdalia, which I had also drawn out in the American dungeon.

“We’re not here for evaluations, so why don’t you show me what you can do?”

“…A welcome suggestion. Please make sure it’s worth the wait.”

Kuwung.

Paseuseuseuseuk.

As if conscious of me, Gildeon likewise pulled out a stone staff from somewhere and struck the ground.

Without any signal, we both raised our death energy and chanted spells.

“Herotodos, Libisium.”

“Breath of Magdala.”

Seureu-reuk.

Kugugugugung.

Two streams of death energy spread in all directions as if intertwining, and the dungeon interior shook as the screams of the dead echoed from everywhere.

‘…I’m at a disadvantage for now.’

The power that has returned to me is about 40%, but even so, it doesn’t reach Gildeon.

‘It’s definitely Northern-style necromancy, but…’

Contrary to my expectation that it would be outdated and obsolete, it’s actually more sophisticated and refined than later versions.

Only then could I understand the truth about the Northern necromancy schools that claimed to have inherited Gildeon’s methods.

‘…These quacks, they just copied what they could because they weren’t capable enough?’

Simply put, they had practiced downgraded, degraded copies.

The majesty of the necromancy Gildeon was displaying was that impressive, and my attempt to analyze him based on Northern necromancy knowledge became meaningless.

“Seal of Light Extinction.”

Huuung.

Paseuseuseuk!

As I added another spell, the power finally became similar, creating a roughly equal situation.

The surrounding ground was already filled with both our death energy, turning it into a land of death.

Whoever gives up control here will be closer to defeat.

“Excellent. The spell structure is so meticulously crafted it’s beautiful. Did you have a teacher?”

“Well, if learning on my own counts as education, then I’ve had countless teachers.”

I never had a teacher.

And I never needed one.

If I wanted to, stealing their necromancy and making it my own was as easy as eating cold porridge.

That was probably the same for Gildeon as well.

“I can see why you had no equal in your time.”

Though he seemed to be holding back somewhat due to being in the confined space of the dungeon, Gildeon’s true power was surely not just this.

With that, Gildeon slightly raised the corner of his mouth and lifted his stone staff into the air.

“It seems we need to change the stage a bit.”

His staff broke apart like a puzzle into specific shapes, which spread out in all directions to form a unique magical formation.

Then, as a blinding light consumed my vision, what appeared before my eyes was a vast plain stretching endlessly.

And on it lay countless ruins of something.

‘…What is this? This isn’t necromancy.’

Setting aside its enormous scale, this was a completely different type of power.

As I was about to express my surprise, Gildeon provided the answer.

“This is Philosium, the homeland of the lover I once cherished.”

“……”

“And I, after destroying it with my own hands, sealed it within this stone staff.”

Philosium—certainly the place mentioned in the story Henesia Astride had told.

The ancient legend where Gildeon, having lost his lover, burned down an entire country, which disappeared without a trace.

The secret was right here.

“This space is not easily destroyed. So feel free to unleash your arts as well.”

“…That’s quite confident of you.”

The stone staff Gildeon was holding must be a divine artifact.

An item on the same level as the Goddess’s Tear I had used for dimensional travel. Naturally, it wouldn’t be destroyed by ordinary power.

The escape route is now blocked.

At the same time, Gildeon can now exert his immense power without worrying about the surroundings.

As evidence, his undead, which had shown little active movement until now, began to gleam with light in their eyes.

“Kubarna, release your power seal.”

Huuung.

Kugugugugu─!

The already massive giant god soldier expanded its size to a point where its limits could no longer be seen.

It surpassed the highest tower among the ruins, went beyond the clouds, and stood imposingly, blocking the twilight-dyed sky.

‘…What kind of ridiculous scale is this?’

Its size is incomparably larger than modern pyramids or aircraft carriers.

From its perspective, we on the ground must look like less than ants.

“Do you have nothing more to show? My undead still have much in reserve.”

An extremely arrogant yet understandable statement.

Indeed, if one possessed several beings like this, there would be nothing to fear in the world.

However, I raised my head to meet Kubarna’s gaze and muttered quietly.

“…Too high up.”

There have been many beings who looked down on me like this.

The Mad Dragon of the Western Continent, the Wolf Spirit of the Misty Realm, the legendary demon who hadn’t been defeated in nearly 100 years.

All of them had lived as conquerors based on overwhelming power, but ultimately they knelt before me, acknowledged their defeat, and bowed their heads.

‘It’s about time.’

The moment I’ve been waiting for is finally approaching.

Ironically, thanks to Gildeon using his staff’s power, I no longer need to consider the other party members or the dungeon’s collapse.

My recovered power has reached 50% of my prime.

I’ve clearly crossed a threshold that couldn’t be reached through necromancy alone.

And now, I too can summon the highest-level undead that once accompanied me.

Chwaralarak!

“Come forth.”

The page that opens is the 44th.

And contained within is the right hand of Volkenus, the legendary demon who helped me conquer the S-rank dungeon in Korea last time.

Watching the massive flame take shape before my eyes, I continued to turn the pages.

[Fil…thy. Spawn of… death…]

“…Yes, it’s about time I called you too.”

As it happens, there was a similar opponent among Gildeon’s undead, so it would make for a good match.

I opened the 67th page of the Book of Death and threw a pulsating black heart into the sky.

“Come forth.”

Huuung.

Pasasak!

Jjeoeoeoeoeng!

[───!]

With a piercing ringing sound that hurt the ears, a creature covered in black scales appeared.

Once the Mad Dragon of the Western Continent, now the Death Dragon Nox, whose soul was forcibly bound to me after its defeat.

Gildeon showed interest in these two undead, but unfortunately, they weren’t the main attraction.

“Hans.”

“Tsk. Why are you calling me again?”

Having been shattered and revived hundreds of times while facing Gildeon’s undead, he was clearly irritated despite trying to hide it.

I looked at Hans and, with an expressionless attitude, gave him the words he had been waiting for all this time.

“I’ll give it back. Your heart.”

“…Are you serious?”

Hans stared at me with a dumbfounded expression, and I nodded slightly.

It was a natural reaction. Since dividing Hans’s soul into three parts and sealing them in his heart and his beloved horse, I had never once returned it to him.

That was partly because I couldn’t fully handle his power at the time, but it was also a kind of revenge.

Eventually realizing that my words were sincere, Hans smiled with something close to joy and turned his gaze toward Gildeon’s undead.

“That’s good. Do you wish for their annihilation?”

“…Well, that would be nice. Are you confident?”

Chwaralarak!

As the Book of Death began to open according to my will, Hans answered with an unrestrained laugh.

“My lord, you jest.”

A voice full of certainty. It was an undisguised expression of confidence.

The zombie Dürahan of the nameless castle, once considered a mystery of the Teheron region.

And the transcendent being who handed me my first defeat after I had been resurrected from death and feared nothing in the world.

It was the moment when the Headless Knight Hans was truly resurrected in the most meaningful sense.