Ch.74Chapter 74. The Beginning of the Incident (3)

“Who… are you…”

“…You’re quite curious, even though your life will end soon.”

“How, this…!”

A middle-aged man was lying on the ground, looking up at someone with disbelieving eyes.

The middle-aged man was collapsed with torn clothes and bleeding wounds.

The emblem embedded in his torn clothes clearly indicated that he belonged to the church.

Nevertheless, the man in the black robe standing before the middle-aged man showed no hesitation.

Crack-

“Aaaaargh!!”

The man in the black robe carelessly lifted his foot and brought it down.

With the sound of something breaking, an agonized scream erupted from the middle-aged man’s mouth.

His left ankle was crushed.

“Aaaaargh!! Ugh, haaugh…”

Crack-

“Aaaaaaah!!”

Just as the middle-aged man’s screams began to subside, the robed man moved again.

He raised his foot and brought it down again.

Another crushing sound and scream followed without fail.

This time it was the right ankle.

“Y-you! Do you not know who I am! The 1st Knight Commander of the Goddess Church…!”

Crack-

“Aaaah!!”

“I know. 1st Knight Commander, Brown. And I also know that you have the ‘ring’.”

“Aaaaargh!… How did you…!”

Crack- Crack- Crack-

The man in the black robe continued to stomp on Brown as if annoyed.

Brown let out violent screams each time the man’s foot made contact with his body.

Brown’s ankles were bent in strange angles, and his wrists were in a similar state.

It was hard to believe this was Brown Berius, once one of the Goddess Church’s greatest forces who had commanded the continent.

“Grrrrr…”

Brown mumbled something in a dying voice, but his words were unintelligible.

“There it is.”

The black-robed man precisely spotted something shining on Brown’s necklace, despite Brown’s terrible injuries that were difficult to look at.

What hung at the end of the necklace wasn’t an ordinary jewel.

It was a ring.

Swish- Plop-

“Gu, guuuh…!”

The black-robed man ruthlessly tore the necklace from Brown’s neck.

As the ring passed to another’s hands, Brown shouted violently one last time.

Again in an unintelligible form.

“I know that too. That the four types must be gathered together to be effective.”

“…!”

But the black-robed man seemed to understand what Brown had said.

The man calmly answered while keeping his eyes fixed on the ring in his hand.

Brown’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

“I’ll tell you something special before you go.”

“…”

Brown could only glare at the black-robed man with bulging eyes.

Though the man’s expression wasn’t visible at all, Brown thought he was smiling.

He just had that feeling.

“I am the owner of this ring.”

Squelch-

At the same time, blood gushed from Brown’s body.

Brown’s heart had been precisely pierced by something sharp that had risen from the ground.

“And, I am the owner of the bracelet, necklace, and earring.”

Brown remained motionless, his eyes still wide open.

“Items that will be mine again tomorrow.”

A rare hint of joy passed through the black-robed man’s voice.

And across the continent, similar incidents were occurring simultaneously in four different places.

**

Erika climbed the tallest tree in the vicinity and quietly surveyed her surroundings.

The soft moonlight adequately illuminated the academy.

Except for the noisy sounds coming from a nearby building, the academy was as quiet as a mouse.

‘Is something really going to happen?’

Erika pouted but remained vigilant.

Though she was dissatisfied, it was still work, so she couldn’t be careless.

“It’s so noisy though.”

Erika frowned in disgust at the boisterous sounds coming from a building in the distance.

Though it was supposed to be a party among academy students, Erika knew better.

The party taking place inside was no different from the social gatherings of nobles.

People were divided by social status, and those of lower status flattered those of higher status.

Everyone would be trying their hardest to build connections with those of higher status, constantly reading the room.

Not to mention all the formal manners and etiquette required at such “parties.”

For Erika, who had once been steeped in such things, it was nauseating.

“Haaawn.”

Erika yawned as if she couldn’t bear to look at the building, turning her gaze away.

Though she had to guard it because of the many students inside, she really disliked it.

Whooosh-

A cool breeze blew by, brushing through Erika’s hair.

The academy was very quiet except for the building where the party was being held, quiet enough that the sound of the wind was clearly audible.

‘It’s too quiet.’

Erika suddenly felt something was off.

Yes, she understood it was festival season and most academy students were at the party.

But wasn’t this too quiet?

Having sneaked into the academy several times to follow Cynthia, she could feel it more acutely.

Even if all the students were inside, this was excessive.

Squelch-

Just as Erika rose from the tree with this thought in mind.

Finally, another sound reached Erika’s ears as she concentrated her hearing to catch any noise.

At first glance, it was difficult to determine what kind of sound it was.

It sounded like something being stabbed, or something softly embracing.

‘What is it?’

Erika looked around below, searching for the source of the sound.

Squelch- Thud- Thud-

“Huh?”

This time the sounds were louder and came from multiple places simultaneously.

Unidentifiable sounds began to be heard from various locations.

Erika sensed it.

These sounds were ominous.

<Captain?>

<…Yeah. Did you find something?>

<I hear strange sounds from outside. Not just from one or two places.>

<Strange sounds?>

Erika immediately relayed the message to the captain.

Though she couldn’t see anything despite straining her eyes, the sounds continued.

<Yeah. I don’t know what kind of sound it is, but maybe you could come out and…>

Squelch- Thud-

“Ah.”

Erika froze momentarily as she was sending a message to the captain.

This time she could clearly see, not just hear.

<Erika? What’s wrong?>

<…The ground!>

<The ground?>

<Those things are coming out of the ground!>

Boom-

Just as Erika relayed her message to Ryuyeong, sounds erupted simultaneously from the ground around the building.

Like something exploding.

The “squelching” sounds she had been hearing weren’t the sounds of someone being stabbed or embraced.

They were the sounds of undead digging through the soil to emerge from underground.

The first thing that entered Erika’s view was a skeletal arm.

A skeleton’s arm.

“Oh, damn it.”

Led by the first skeleton that appeared, skeletons began to dig their way out of the ground almost simultaneously.

Interspersed among them were Death Knights as well.

Similar to skeletons in being composed only of bones, but incomparably larger.

From beneath the ground, undead were surging forth.

‘No wonder nothing was detected!’

Erika intuitively realized why neither she, the captain, nor Yuria had discovered anything yesterday or even now.

They hadn’t even thought to scan underground.

Probably the same was true for the captain and Yuria.

<Captain, you need to come out and see this right now. Crazy skeletons are coming out everywhere.>

<I’ll find Yuria and come right out. Try your best to keep them from entering the building.>

<Alright, I’ll try.>

Whoosh-

Erika made a great leap toward the building, her black hair fluttering.

Having already opened a path, skeletons and Death Knights were continuously emerging from underground.

Truly without end.

Boom- Crash-

As Erika drew upon her mana and landed where the skeletons were gathered, the surrounding skeletons crumbled helplessly with the sound of bones colliding.

But that was only momentary.

Though shattered, the skeletons immediately began to reassemble, bones reconnecting to form their shapes again.

“Quite a lot?”

Erika muttered as she drew two daggers from her thigh.

They weren’t easy to kill, but individually they didn’t seem particularly strong.

The real problem was the giant Death Knights interspersed among them.

The Death Knights wielding swords looked formidable at a glance.

Even for Erika, it was impossible to stop all those numerous skeletons and Death Knights alone.

<I’m trying but can’t promise anything?>

<…Okay. That’s enough.>

Just as Erika was about to charge toward the skeletons and Death Knights with a faint smile, the soft moonlight suddenly disappeared.

‘Huh?’

Erika reflexively looked up to where the moonlight had been shining.

As expected, something was blocking the moon.

“What… is that.”

In front of Erika, blocking the moon, was an extraordinary silhouette.

Wings majestically spread to both sides and a massive body.

And someone riding on top of it.

‘Bones…?’

Looking closely, the wings and body of the creature blocking the moonlight were made of bone.

Erika finally realized.

That wasn’t a living creature.

It was an undead made of bones.

Whoosh-

“…Oh.”

The winged skeleton, as if it had been waiting for Erika to notice, began to fly away rapidly as soon as she realized what it was.

Erika could only watch blankly.

It was too late to stop it, and it wasn’t flying toward her anyway.

BOOM-!

A thunderous sound erupted soon after.

The winged skeleton had performed a body slam directly into the building where the students were.