Chapter 7

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Baldric was arrogant, but he was also a veteran knight who had fought in countless battles.

His instincts were warning him. 

It’s dangerous. Run away now.

‘But…’

Baldric stared at the girl before him with disbelief.

The girl walked toward the soldiers with a cold smile.

A doll-like girl with snow-white hair and ruby-red eyes.

She didn’t look threatening at all. If anything, she seemed so small and fragile that one would want to protect her.

Yet, this girl had just killed one of Baldric’s soldiers. Effortlessly. Without a hint of emotion.

‘What was that…?’

All the girl had done was move her lips slightly. Then, a white, spike-like object pierced the soldier’s body.

It happened so quickly that Baldric could only stare in shock.

The white spike that had pierced the soldier’s body. It looked like bone.

A sharp, bone-like spear.

For something like that to appear out of thin air, the only thing Baldric could think of was magic.

But even if it was magic, it was bizarre.

The magic Baldric knew involved fire or ice. He had never seen anything like manipulating bones.

‘…’

Of course, he had heard of it.

Witches who existed in the past.

Dark mages who wielded the power of darkness.

And among them, the most dangerous of all—necromancers.

Though mostly forgotten now, stories said that necromancers could resurrect the dead and skillfully manipulate bones and poison. They were like calamities.

Where a necromancer walked, no life remained. The armies of death led by necromancers were said to be powerful enough to destroy a kingdom overnight.

‘N-No way… Is that girl one of them…?’

Baldric felt fear pressing down on his chest.

The most distinctive features of a necromancer were white hair and red eyes.

The girl before him matched that description perfectly.

And the bone-like magic she had just displayed.

This was undeniable.

That girl was a necromancer. Fighting her would be no different from suicide.

He had to run. That was the only way he might survive.

“I don’t know what you just did, but I won’t go easy on you just because you’re a kid!”

“How dare you mess with us, who are here under the lord’s orders! You’ve lost your mind!”

The soldiers still hadn’t realized the girl’s true nature. They held their spears and approached her without hesitation.

For Baldric, this was a good thing. While the soldiers distracted her, he could buy time to escape.

Baldric turned his gaze and secured an escape route.

He saw a door at the back of the inn. If things went south, he could flee through there.

Once he escaped, he planned to leave the village immediately and return to the castle.

Subjugating the bandits was no longer the priority.

With a necromancer appearing, he had to report to the lord. The lord would then inform the Church, and the Church would dispatch troops to eliminate the necromancer.

Baldric turned his gaze back to the girl. The soldiers were now surrounding her.

“Take this!”

One of the soldiers thrust his spear at the girl.

Even though she was just a child, she had killed a soldier. There was no room for mercy.

The soldier’s spear moved swiftly toward the girl.

“Bone Shield.”

The girl muttered indifferently. A shield made of white bone materialized in front of her.

Clang!

The soldier’s spear was blocked by the shield. The soldier, panicked, tried to pull his spear back.

At that moment,

Thud!

Sharp spikes protruded from the shield, piercing the soldier’s body.

“Aaaah!”

The soldier’s agonized scream echoed.

His body was impaled on the bone spikes, hanging in the air.

The other soldiers stared at the scene in terror. Baldric’s face also turned pale.

‘W-What the hell…’

The horror didn’t end there.

A dark figure slowly rose behind the girl.

It had a humanoid shape, but its body was pitch black, with glowing red eyes—a monstrous being akin to a demon.

“Kehehe…”

It opened its mouth.

“So many delicious heads.”

The soldiers froze in place, unable to even scream. Baldric’s entire body trembled.

“Don’t let a single one escape, Amon.”

The girl said in a soft voice.

Baldric ran frantically through the forest.

His breath came in ragged gasps, and his heart pounded as if it might burst.

The screams of the soldiers and the horrifying sounds of crunching from the inn still echoed vividly in his ears.

“Damn it…!”

The demonic being that appeared behind the girl had devoured the soldiers’ heads alive.

Even when the soldiers swung their spears, they couldn’t leave a scratch on its body. Its movements were so fast they were almost impossible to follow.

After seeing three soldiers lose their heads and collapse in an instant, Baldric immediately fled.

He was in such a hurry that he didn’t even realize he had left behind his sword, the symbol of a knight.

Right now, the only thought in Baldric’s mind was to escape: As far as possible. As fast as possible.

Branches scratched his face, drawing blood. His leg caught on a rock, and he fell ungracefully.

But Baldric didn’t care. He got up immediately and kept running.

Fortunately, he was a knight. He was confident in his stamina. At the very least, he could outrun the girl.

Even if she was a necromancer, she was still just a child. Her legs were short.

If he ran with all his might, she probably couldn’t catch up.

…That’s what he thought, until something appeared before him.

“…Neighh!!!”

It was the girl.

She was riding a massive horse.

The horse was made entirely of white bones, and where its eyes should have been, a blue glow flickered.

Even though it was just the skeleton of a horse, it looked more imposing than the warhorse Baldric usually rode.

The girl sat atop the horse, gently stroking its neck.

Softly.

As if the horse was alive, her touch was filled with affection.

“…P-Please, spare me.”

Baldric pleaded in a hoarse voice.

“I’ll do anything if you let me live… I’ll keep your identity a secret, I’ll give you money… Just please, spare my life…”

The girl looked at Baldric with a calm gaze. Her expression was unreadable, making it hard to tell what she was thinking.

“…My identity?”

The girl tilted her head slightly and asked.

“What do you think my identity is?”

“Y-You’re…”

Baldric spoke in a trembling voice.

“A necromancer… someone who uses forbidden magic…”

“Correct.”

The girl admitted it immediately.

“But there’s no need to keep it a secret.”

“…”

Baldric’s expression stiffened.

No need to keep it a secret…?

Did that mean she didn’t care if the Church sent troops? Because she was confident she could kill them all?

Or did it mean Baldric would die here, so there was no need to keep it a secret?

Baldric couldn’t tell.

The thought that it might be both sent a chill down his spine.

“W-What do I need to do?”

Baldric begged.

“What do I need to do to live…?”

The girl’s brow furrowed slightly.

“…It’s too late.”

Green smoke began to rise from beneath Baldric’s feet.

“You should’ve taken the chance when I gave it to you.”

“…!”

Baldric felt a suffocating tightness in his chest, followed by a burning pain.

The green smoke rising from beneath his feet seeped into his lungs, breaking him down from the inside.

Baldric’s skin began to turn black, and violent convulsions wracked his entire body.

“G-Gah…!”

Baldric’s vision grew blurry.

His body weakened, and his knees buckled.

Even the body of a knight, trained for a lifetime, was powerless against poison.

Baldric looked at the girl with bloodshot eyes.

Now, he couldn’t even speak or scream.

All he could do was think.

‘A chance…?’

What did she mean?

‘Ah.’

Baldric realized immediately.

Earlier in the day, when he had killed the rabbit in the forest.

When he had first encountered the girl.

At that time, Baldric had definitely felt a sense of threat from her.

That’s why, even though the girl had stared at him rudely, he had let it go and left.

That was the chance she had given him.

Thinking back, he should’ve run away then. He regretted not fleeing when he had the chance.

But no matter how fast regret comes, it’s always too late.

“…”

Just before his breath stopped, Baldric looked up at the girl one last time.

Her ruby-red eyes held no emotion.

She simply watched his death with an indifferent gaze.

‘That… is a necromancer…’

Thud.

Baldric’s body collapsed to the ground.

Once Baldric was dead, Lucy, still mounted on her skeletal horse, stretched out her hand.

Whoosh!

Baldric’s body was engulfed in black flames.

From her previous experience, she knew that bodies would burn cleanly, leaving not even bones behind.

Whoosh!

Something landed swiftly in front of Lucy.

It was Amon.

“Hehe, it’s done over there.”

Amon said, wiping the blood from his mouth.

“I devoured every last one of them. Not a single head was left.”

“Good job.”

Lucy reached out and gently patted Amon’s head. It was a small reward.

“But why did you deal with this one yourself?”

Amon asked, looking at Baldric’s body burning in the black flames.

When Baldric had fled the inn earlier, Amon had tried to catch him immediately.

With Amon’s speed, Baldric would’ve been caught before he even left the inn.

But Lucy had told Amon to finish off the remaining soldiers while she chased Baldric herself.

“…Just because.”

Lucy gently stroked the neck of the skeletal horse; Death Mount, which she had summoned to chase Baldric.

Death Mount, as if pleased by Lucy’s touch, stretched its neck and let out a low, guttural sound.

“He killed the rabbit.”

“The rabbit…?”

Amon tilted his head in confusion, but Lucy simply stared quietly at the black flames.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Not knowing what the protagonist is thinking gives it a strange sociopathic vibe, doesn’t it?

Not that it’s needed, heh.