Ch.27Necromancer (3)

When one thinks of fairies as a race, what comes to mind first?

Mysterious atmosphere, forest spirits, fairy tale beings, heroes’ guides, divine messengers, or perhaps tiny palm-sized creatures.

Everyone imagines something different, but whatever it is, it rarely has anything to do with strength.

In reality, most fairies lack combat abilities. The only innate abilities fairies possess are lie detection and the ability to see souls.

They’re somewhat sensitive to magical energy, but even that advantage gets buried beneath their other weaknesses.

‘Fairies must not physically interfere with the mortal world without a contractor.’

Fairies share many similarities with spirits. They clearly exist in this world, but without a contractor, they struggle to use their powers.

That’s why they need contractors…

Spirits can be found easily anywhere in nature, while fairies are so rare that even rumors of their whereabouts are difficult to come by.

Spirits can grow stronger depending on their contractor and reach higher ranks, while fairies have no combat abilities and remain unchanged regardless of their contractor’s strength.

‘It’s common sense that contracting with a spirit is easier and more powerful than contracting with a fairy.’

Of course, not all fairies are necessarily weak. There are artifacts that allow physical manifestation without a contractor, and there’s the Queen’s Guard, a military-like organization.

So, is Lilly part of that Guard? No, she isn’t. If she were, she wouldn’t be able to travel around freely with me like this.

‘She did belong to it briefly in the past… but she quit because it didn’t suit her personality.’

So what is Lilly then?

A fairy princess.

This princess was not only born with talent but also drank elixirs like water.

She doesn’t like being treated as a princess at her age, but what can she do? The Queen is still very much alive.

“As if a mere moth could bring death to me!”

The Lich was still taunting Lilly, calling her a moth, unaware of what fate awaited him.

As he continued, the cold wind blowing through the cave grew increasingly intense.

‘That chilling wind must be seeping through his rib cage, yet he’s completely oblivious.’

The more he provokes her, the more satisfying it will be when Lilly finally releases all her pent-up stress.

I smiled as I watched Lilly glaring down at the Lich with a chilling expression.

“You must have been frustrated for a while, so go wild.”

I used the Heavenly Ascension Technique to transform the nature of my magical energy.

From aura suitable for strengthening my body to elemental power that could support Lilly.

From the quality that could counter dragonkin to wind attributes that complemented Lilly well.

While I was doing this, the fully recovered Lich distanced himself from me, seemingly determined not to repeat his earlier mistake.

At the same time, the Death Knight that had been neutralized and returned to the ground was summoned again, pointing its sword at me.

“Ha! What nonsense! Come forth, Death Knight!! Let’s see if you can do the same as before!”

“First, let me shatter that pathetic confidence of yours.”

The Death Knight charged at me, wielding a sword surrounded by an ominous aura.

Slash—

Lilly positioned herself between me and the Death Knight, and with a single gesture of her hand, separated the Death Knight’s right arm from its body.

“Huh… what?”

The Lich, who had been boasting in a voice full of confidence, now uttered a bewildered sound, as if doubting his own eyes.

“■■■■..!!”

While the Lich was stunned, the Death Knight recovered its fallen arm and stood up again.

Seeing this, the Lich seemed to regain his confidence, proud of his Death Knight’s resilience—but what happened next left him frozen.

Slash—

Another casual wave of her hand. With that gesture, both arms of the Death Knight, which had been emanating such dangerous energy, fell to the ground.

The Death Knight regenerated its arms and picked up the sword that had fallen, charging at me again.

One step.

That was all it managed—one step forward—before Lilly’s hand moved again.

Slash—

This time, the Death Knight’s ankle flew off. The Death Knight collapsed face-first onto the ground but soon regenerated its body and stood up.

Slash—

Next were both ankles.

Slash—

Then both legs.

Slash—

Slash—

With each step the Death Knight attempted to take, some part of its body was sliced off.

No matter how many times it could regenerate, it was too easily dismembered by a single gesture from Lilly. Gradually, despair began to fill the Lich’s eyes.

The reason the Death Knight could continue regenerating despite being so brutally destroyed was because Lilly was using blades made of pure wind.

The moment she infused magical energy into the wind, the Death Knight’s regeneration would end.

The Lich knew this fact all too well.

The Death Knight would take a step, and Lilly would slice off a part of its body.

Too shocked to give additional commands, the Lich could only watch as this sequence repeated over and over.

Finally, the Death Knight managed to reach me, but…

“I’m bored now.”

With a single gesture like before, the Death Knight was instantly reduced to dust.

As the dust scattered in the wind and disappeared into the distance, Lilly stood before the Lich.

The size difference between them was obvious. Like a giant next to a dwarf, Lilly should have been overwhelmingly smaller than the Lich.

Yet somehow, watching from the side, it felt as if the Lich was the dwarf and Lilly the giant.

The Lich must have felt something similar, as he was now looking up at Lilly.

“Anything else to say?”

“I should have completed my great work… but with one misjudgment, I’ve encountered a natural disaster.”

The Lich closed his eyes, seemingly having given up. He looked like a death row inmate waiting for his execution.

Of course, there aren’t many inmates who can calmly and stoically await their execution.

The Lich was no exception.

“Where do you think you’re escaping to?”

“Ugh..!!”

Pretending to quietly await death while secretly preparing something, the Lich had both his arms sliced off by Lilly, who had noticed his intentions.

Naturally, a blue gem that the Lich had been secretly holding fell to the ground.

“A return stone, I see.”

A return stone that teleports to pre-stored coordinates. As an item with teleport enchantment, it was quite valuable.

Generally, it supports distances of about 300km, and the price increases significantly for every additional 100km of range.

“I wonder where it leads…”

I smiled as I looked down at the Lich.

It would be lucky if it connected to his headquarters in Gagap, but the distance from here to Gagap was too far.

So I suspected it was linked to another hideout he had prepared nearby.

“You’ve only been here for a short time, yet you prepared a return stone—you’re truly thorough.”

Even for a magician known for preparation, this level of thoroughness was commendable.

If it weren’t for someone overwhelmingly powerful like Lilly, we would have lost our prey right before our eyes.

“I hope there’s a variety of information inside this.”

I set the return stone aside.

Rather than using it directly, which might trigger unknown traps, it would be safer to trace the coordinates.

After losing the return stone, the Lich’s body began to change.

With all means of resistance gone, something placed by the Evil God began to induce his self-destruction.

“Damn it… DAMN IT!!!”

“Shut up.”

The Lich, realizing his fate and screaming in despair, was soon reduced to dust by countless wind blades from Lilly.

Though it lasted only a moment, the magnitude of magical power was sufficient to destroy not only his physical body but also his life vessel hidden somewhere nearby.

“It seems I’ve grown somewhat, but I still have a long way to go.”

I was just beginning to use sword aura. I knew I had a long way to go, but seeing and feeling it firsthand made it seem even further.

“Your growth rate is plenty fast, so there’s no need to be impatient. Besides, you’ve already made plans for your growth. And you have that unusual ability too.”

“That’s true, but…”

I had certainly laid a solid foundation for growth. I had acquired all the necessary skills and attributes, and decided what to pursue next.

On top of that, I had gained the unexpected ability of charm.

Considering I started as a slave to a succubus despite being a Sword Saint, things had turned out remarkably well.

“I’m just concerned about what he meant by ‘great work.'”

“Indeed, it did seem like he was preparing something ominous.”

Lilly spoke in agreement with my words, but I could guess what that “great work” might be. It was far beyond merely ominous.

The Perished World is fundamentally a game with very high freedom.

Depending on the player’s direction, one could farm crops or develop their character to become the strongest in the world.

But this game with high freedom inevitably comes to an end, no matter what the player does. What might be called a “bad ending” always appears.

The world destruction event.

A fixed event that occurs regardless of the player’s choices or actions. The method varies with each playthrough, but the result is always clear destruction.

‘The Apostles are aiming for the dwarf-side destruction event…’