Ch.26Necromancer (2)

Clatter. Clatter. Clatter. Clatter. Clatter. Clatter. Clatter. Clatter. Clatter. Clatter. Clatter. Clatter.

Making a noisy sound, undead approach from all directions.

There were too many to defeat them all, and I didn’t have much aura left to maintain my sword energy.

‘I don’t need to deal with all of them.’

I targeted the skeletons’ lower bodies to minimize their mobility. Normally they would recover quickly, but with me using sword energy, the situation was different.

I made the fallen skeletons interfere with the movements of others and repeatedly closed the distance whenever the Lich tried to create space.

If the undead had formed a wall from the beginning, it would have been different, but since the Lich had given me some distance, I could somehow maintain the current situation.

“Grrr… Get away from me…!!”

Despite the undead’s interference and attacks, I kept the distance close, and I could feel the Lich becoming increasingly frustrated.

No matter how strong the Lich was, at its core it was still a mage, not suited for close combat.

If I didn’t have sword energy, it wouldn’t have worried about me landing effective hits, but having already lost one arm, I must have seemed like a significant threat.

I shook off the skeletons and cut through the bones rising from the floor, continuously pressuring my opponent.

Bones came at me from all directions.

The magic the Lich used was bone.

The undead attacking me were all fleshless skeletons.

‘Nothing but bones everywhere. If you’re who I think you are, you must have it.’

In the past, there was a weirdo… no, a piece of trash who frequented the Perished World community.

He became famous for posting pictures of animal corpses he took himself, but he was also known for something else.

While normal necromancers controlled various undead to respond to different situations, this eccentric used only bones for everything from magic to undead.

‘You suddenly disappeared at some point and I forgot about you, but you were here too.’

Crack-!

I shook off all the attacking skeletons by pushing my aura to its limit and activating my enhanced body.

They would eventually catch up again, but my approach speed was faster.

The distance between me and the creature was one step.

The time I could maintain sword energy was 20 seconds.

It had two options.

One was to use magic to block me with bones of the highest strength.

The other was to pull out its hidden card.

I couldn’t know which method it would use.

At the same time, I knew that if it focused on defense with high-strength bones, I wouldn’t be able to break through with my remaining sword energy time.

So, I needed to confuse it. Make it pull out its best card against me, who knew what it was hiding.

“How about bringing out your trademark now? Mr. Bone Fetishist.”

“H-how do you know about that..!”

Originally, I was just a troublesome swordsman to the Lich.

The battle had become complicated because of the distance it had given and the sword energy I had deployed, but it probably believed it could defeat me with 99% or higher probability.

That was actually true, and it still is. But now, at this moment, I had become more than just an annoyance to it.

Another Apostle like itself. An assassin sent by another Apostle. Or some unknown variable. I couldn’t tell what it was imagining, but I had definitely become something threatening.

So, rather than choosing an ambiguous defense, it would rely on its trump card that could more certainly protect itself and bring victory.

Indeed.

“Come forth..! Death Knight..!!”

It pulled out its secret weapon.

The skeletons behind it stopped moving. The bones that had been threatening me no longer emerged, but something of greater value appeared beside the Lich.

“Kill him right now!!!”

Following its master’s command, the Death Knight swung its sword at me. That sword was surrounded by sword energy like mine.

That sword energy was stronger than mine, and if they clashed, mine would be cut through.

Like the Lich that wouldn’t give me distance, this was an opponent I couldn’t fight against in my current state.

But it was also an opponent I didn’t need to fight, and one I could neutralize, if only briefly.

“If you weren’t a necromancer, I wouldn’t have even attempted this challenge. If you hadn’t given me distance, I wouldn’t have succeeded.”

You’re not the only one with a hidden card.

Of course, even with a special card, the wall of time was too high. But with the conditions met and you coming down to my level like this, things changed.

“Kneel.”

My golden eyes flashed.

A large amount of aura left my body, and the remaining duration of my sword energy, which had about 15 seconds left, decreased to 5 seconds.

Thud.

Simultaneously, the Death Knight that had been swinging its sword at me planted its sword in the ground and knelt as if pledging loyalty to its master.

“What..!”

The Lich showed confusion at the incomprehensible scene that unfolded in an instant.

It was understandable. I couldn’t have imagined having something like this either.

The foundation of this ability was the Succubus’s [Charm]. But now it was something that had transformed into something far removed from charm.

I could guess why it had taken this form, but there was no need to explain it to the creature.

“I was waiting for you to rely solely on your summon for defense.”

Even if it commanded bones sprouting from the ground, their durability would only be slightly weakened. And for the Lich, such bones could be created endlessly.

So I had to induce it to use its unique and irreplaceable trump card like the Death Knight.

‘When handling other skeletons, it had the leisure to use magic.’

I had matched all the conditions and guided it to barely reach this point.

The moment it lost all means of defense.

“Kuhuk..!!”

I cut off its head.

Its skull spun through the air a few times before falling to the ground.

During that time, the sword energy that had been shining brightly faded away as if it were a lie.

Seeing this, the Lich, with only its head remaining, somehow found the strength to scream at the top of its lungs.

“I-it was just a bluff..!!!”

It seemed quite upset about falling for my strategy.

I approached the screaming skull and crushed it under my foot.

“How dare a lowly Succubus step on my head..!”

“To be honest, it’s a waste.”

I ignored everything the Lich was saying and started kicking its head around as if it were a ball.

The more I did this, the more it screamed, but with only its head remaining, it posed no threat.

“After coming this far, I can’t kill you directly.”

Liches are fundamentally immortal beings, but there are several ways to kill a Lich.

The simplest and most representative method is to find its Life Vessel. The Life Vessel is a container that holds the Lich’s life, and destroying it kills the Lich.

The problem is that no one except the Lich itself knows its location.

Given the condition that it can’t be too far away, it’s probably in this cave or nearby, but finding something so well hidden isn’t easy.

‘Especially in this cave with dense magical energy, even magical detection doesn’t work well.’

With my abilities, the possibility of finding it before the Lich’s revival was infinitesimally low.

The second method of killing a Lich is to overwhelm it with sheer power.

If you destroy the Lich’s vessel with magical power twice that of the Lich’s maximum, the impact will reach the Life Vessel and destroy it.

However, this option was also impossible for me.

“Kehe, kehaha!! I commend you for reducing me to this state, but it seems your limit ends here!!”

Realizing that I didn’t have the power to kill it, the Lich belatedly pretended to be at ease and showed an arrogant attitude.

Indeed, its body, which had been reduced to dust, was gradually recovering as time passed.

Somehow, its entire upper body had already recovered and was continuing to regenerate its arms and legs.

“Fear the fate that awaits you. Be terrified of the confirmed death that awaits you! I’ll turn you into an undead and make you suffer eternally…”

“But just because I can’t kill you doesn’t mean you can’t die.”

I informed the Lich, who had clearly misunderstood something, of a simple fact.

If I truly had no means to kill it and it was recovering, why would I just stand and watch? I should have run away immediately.

‘I was hoping you’d make a mistaken assumption… but you’re being too stupid about it.’

Hearing my words, the Lich’s confident expression gradually hardened.

Having already been neutralized once, it was visibly worried about what I might have up my sleeve.

The Lich tried to put on a brave face and act strong.

“What lies! You have neither the capacity nor the strength to kill me. You’re trying to mock me to the end.”

“I am mocking you, but I’m not lying.”

“The one who’s going to kill you is me. Lady Lilly.”

Seemingly tired of hiding, Lilly jumped out from inside my robe and revealed herself in front of the Lich.

Lilly tried to strike a dignified pose, but due to her small size, she only looked cute.

The Lich seemed to share this sentiment, as it didn’t take Lilly’s words seriously and just burst into laughter.

“Puhah.. Puhahah!! What can a mere moth do!”

But that comment about being a moth seemed to have struck a nerve with Lilly.

“Huhu… Fine, I like it. I, Lilly Tempest, promise you a certain death.”

Wind blew through the cave.

Despite being far from the entrance where wind would be difficult to generate, a fierce wind was blowing.