Ch.84Academy Assault Incident – 6

“I’m not late.”

Upon arriving beneath the strange dimensional gate, I saw a monster just pulling out its tail.

Two horns protruded from its head, red scales covered its entire body, and its limbs were disproportionate—legs too thick to be human and comparatively weaker-looking arms ending in sharp claws.

Additionally, a thick tail extended behind it, and atop its neck sat a dragon-like head. The creature, resembling some kind of dragon-human hybrid, was clicking its teeth together.

‘An undead made from a red dragon’s corpse, wasn’t it?’

It was indeed half-dragon—an undead created by reviving the corpse of a red dragon that had died long ago.

There was a rumor that it had been reduced to human size because most of its flesh had irreversibly decayed over the countless years since its death.

I took a deep breath. I needed to end this quickly before it could unleash its full power. Not because I’d be overwhelmed, but because the surrounding area would be completely devastated.

The creature seemed to have some purpose here and was heading somewhere when it spotted me walking boldly toward it. It stopped abruptly in its tracks.

Even in its decayed state, it was still a dragon—standing nearly 4 meters tall. If this was just a small portion of the original corpse, I couldn’t imagine how massive the original dragon must have been.

—Grrrrrr…

With a growling sound like boiling phlegm, its red scales began to heat up. White smoke and heat haze rose from the scales.

I finished my breathing technique, exhaled refined mana, and kicked off the ground.

“Kyaaaah!”

The monster tried to raise its arm to counter-attack, but it was already too late. By the time its scaled arm was halfway up, Eternity had cleanly severed its neck.

Still unaware that its head had been cut off, the body continued to move, only to receive follow-up strikes. Wind Slash precisely cut through the joints of its limbs. Arms and legs were each split into three pieces.

‘This breath will be short.’

As I sliced past the monster, I spread a magic circle. Refined mana rose into the air.

Ice mist enveloped the area, with purple sparks flying wildly within. As ice clung to the creature, the red scales cooled instantly. Lightning struck the frozen scales.

—KWAGWAGWANG!

The undead’s body exploded into pieces, scattering in all directions. I landed on the ground and exhaled. Blue mana spread from my mouth like winter breath.

Concerned that it might regenerate, I observed the hundreds of fragments for a moment. The severed head, seemingly unaware that its body had exploded, still wore an expression preparing for battle.

There was no further movement.

‘It’s over.’

I’d dealt with the monster. All that remained was to erase the traces and casually head to the shelter—

“Stop…”

Nearby space tore open in black, and an eerie voice emerged from within. I immediately readjusted my grip on Eternity.

Four Death Knights emerged from the blackened space. They were Death Knights carrying large pillars rather than weapons. The horizontally held pillars were connected to something resembling a palanquin behind them.

Four in front, four in back. A total of eight Death Knights carried a palanquin upon which sat an undead that looked like a withered corpse.

Its body was adorned with all manner of jewels and ornaments, and the black robe it wore was as elaborate as a pope’s vestments. In its left hand, it held what appeared to be a human skull.

A corpse decked out in decorations, using Death Knights—each of which would normally require three Royal Guards to handle—as mere transportation. There was only one being who could do such a thing.

‘…An Elder Lich?’

The 5th Corps Commander of the Demon King’s Army, the Elder Lich.

It looked alternately at me—standing on guard with Eternity pointed at it—and the scattered remains of the undead dragon. Then it raised the orb in its hand.

Instantly, the hundreds of fragments reassembled into their original form. As soon as its body was restored, the undead dragon bowed deeply to pay homage to its master.

‘What? That’s possible too?’

I wasn’t particularly upset since I’d finished it in one blow, but if this had happened in the original work, readers would have complained about how unfair such an easy resurrection was.

“Are you… Mira Crate… the one Astaroth… so desperately wishes to take the life of…”

“What if I am?”

Empty eye sockets looked me up and down. Astaroth must refer to the Succubus Queen, but I wondered how much she must hate me for this creature to say such things immediately upon seeing me.

“Relax… I have not come here to fight…”

“A 5th Corps Commander comes all this way and claims he’s not here to fight? Then why are you here?”

“I have come… to negotiate…”

“Well. I don’t see why I should negotiate with something like you.”

“Your knowledge is truly astonishing… Human breathing becoming equivalent to magic incantation… Even after living for so many ages, this is a concept I had not anticipated…”

Despite my clear refusal to negotiate, it ignored my words and started rambling on its own.

I considered responding with a preemptive strike but held back. It might let slip some useful information.

Of course, if it was secretly preparing an attack while talking, that would be a different story, but from the flow of mana, there didn’t seem to be any such indication.

“For a human body to reach such heights… the knowledge required to achieve this… truly excellent, most excellent… One with talent and qualification… I shall make you an offer…”

The eye sockets of the skull in its hand glowed black.

“Become a sacrifice for my Life Vessel… I, the Elder Lich, promise you eternal life in return…”

I was a fool for listening. I channeled mana into Eternity. The refined mana accumulated around me resonated with it, glowing in response. The Elder Lich spoke with an air of incomprehension.

“Would you forsake immortal life to live out your days as a mere human…? Do you not regret that your knowledge will vanish with your death…?”

“Not an immortal life, but a hellish one. I’d rather die than live like that.”

Besides, this isn’t knowledge I gained out of scholarly passion. It’s knowledge I had to desperately master to avoid death. The same goes for all the magic in my head.

“I cannot understand… I cannot understand…”

While claiming not to understand, it wiggled its finger and created more undead. Death Knights with proper weapons rose up beside the palanquin bearers. The undead dragon also stood from its kneeling position.

“I shall give you one more chance to reconsider… Together we could advance magic—”

—FWOOSH!

Before it could finish speaking, a spear of flame struck its right side directly.

The impact site melted away completely, and the palanquin made of mysterious bones and leather caught fire. The one remaining eye socket stared directly at me.

The orb glowed. Its evaporated body regenerated immediately. The palanquin likewise returned to its original state as soon as the fire was extinguished.

I knew it would be useless. Just as in many fictional works, this novel’s Elder Lich was also immortal unless its Life Vessel was destroyed.

And that Life Vessel was sleeping in the deepest part of the Elder Lich’s domain in the demon realm.

“Foolish, most foolish… Refusing the offered wine and choosing punishment instead…”

It raised the orb near its eye. Dozens of Death Knights appeared at once. A quantity that would make even the Empire panic and run to the Sword Saint.

The Elder Lich’s anger didn’t stop at Death Knights. Human corpses, monster corpses, and demon corpses erupted from the ground all around.

In just about ten seconds, thousands of undead surrounded me. Every visible space was filled with rotting corpses.

“Bring that one to me with only the head intact… All we need is that knowledge…”

Its finger pointed at me. The undead army, still growing in real time, began to surge forward.

Of course, I had no intention of submitting. I exhaled my next breath. The refined mana that had been waiting to be activated transformed into an enormous spark that swept through the area.

The undead clustered together, absorbing the electric shock. If they had been monsters or demons, even grazing the electricity would have stiffened their muscles or killed them by electrocution, but such effects didn’t work on undead.

I leaped into the gap created by those that had exploded from direct hits and swung Eternity. The first slash swept away dozens of undead, and those struggling to fill the void were caught in the delayed burst of magic.

Taking my next step, I thrust Eternity into the ground. The refined mana on the blade seeped into the earth, spreading like tree roots.

—KRRRRRRRR!

The ground heaved as if exploding. Unable to withstand the pressure, blue light burst forth from everywhere. Undead bodies caught in the blue light vanished as if evaporating.

Then, the ground began to collapse.

The army of thousands was sucked into a pit over ten meters deep, crushing those beneath with their own weight. They weren’t dead, but they couldn’t get out immediately either.

I scattered magic into the pit. The undead stacked neatly inside were shredded layer by layer from the top. I drew Eternity. The undead approaching from the distance immediately free-fell into the pit and were repeatedly shredded.

“Magic on such a scale without incantations or chanting… Truly fascinating… I must see your limits…”

Apparently very interested in the fact that I wasn’t using any incantations at all, it raised its orb again instead of sending the Death Knights and undead dragon to charge.

The mass of undead being indiscriminately torn apart tens of meters underground surged upward. It had summoned more and more, causing them to push outward by crushing and squeezing each other.

Evidence of this could be heard in the constant sounds of something being crushed inside the pit.

I wasn’t just watching either. The refined mana transformed into fire magic. The blue mist of mana blazed into bright red flames and plunged toward the underground.

In the blink of an eye, thousands of undead burned to ashes, only for thousands more to rise up—an endless cycle. It was a horrific war of attrition.

“My goodness! I knew it! I knew this would happen!”

Just as I was preparing my next attack, a frivolous voice I’d heard once before rang out. Something then fell from empty space with a thud.

I frowned slightly upon identifying it.

“You’re playing around together when we should be killing Mira Crate right now! Did you come to interfere rather than help?!”

The first Demon King’s Corps Commander I had met, Maker, was stretching his neck and protesting to the Elder Lich.

“Explain why you have come… Maker… If you intend to interfere, I will not stand idle…”

“Interfere? What a hurtful thing to say! You’re the one interfering with us! Why are you throwing only these weak things at him instead of using your Death Knights and that new creation?”

“This is a process of knowledge exploration… The joy of absorbing new knowledge unknown for centuries… How could an insufficient and insignificant being like you understand…”

“Did you just call me insufficient and insignificant?! How dare you treat me, Maker, like that! I won’t forgive this!”

I was wondering why two Corps Commanders suddenly appeared, but they started arguing with each other, completely ignoring me. Even the Death Knights that had been preparing for battle returned to their idle stance.

‘…Could this be part of their plan?’

Perhaps they were trying to make me let my guard down by fighting among themselves before launching a surprise attack. Deception was a frequently used tactic in my previous world.

“…”

But if that wasn’t the case, I really wished I could show this scene to the Succubus Queen just once.