Chapter 56: Lord of Death (2)
by fnovelpia
Boom!
The ground trembled as a giant urn began to rise.
Long arms and legs shot out from the urn, supporting its massive body.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The urn charged forward like a mad beast.
Anyone ordinary would have wet themselves in fear and bolted from the grotesque sight.
“Disgusting.”
Crash!
Akuyuham, who knew no fear, obliterated the urn with a single blast of dark flame magic.
Ding!
- You have defeated the Jar Warrior, Rus.
- Rewards will be given.
A golden aura seeped from the shards of the jar and enveloped Akuyuham.
“What a truly vile world.”
!!!
Having dabbled in the forbidden arts of dark magic and fallen to the state of a lich, he had witnessed many horrifying things.
Even he could scarcely face himself at times.
Yet, this world was filled with horrors that rivaled, or even surpassed, what he had seen.
Akuyuham, who stood at the pinnacle of black magic, felt an urge to leave this world as quickly as possible.
Even he, who rarely experienced fear, felt his mind fray just by observing the terrors that lurked here.
“……”
Mari pulled her skeletal horse to a halt, staring silently at the shards of the urn.
“…?”
Even as a lich, the sight made his stomach churn.
And yet, here she was, looking at it calmly.
Akuyuham guided his skeletal steed beside Mari’s and spoke.
“Let’s go. We don’t have time to waste.”
“……But.”
“But?”
Akuyuham turned his gaze to Mari’s face, which was focused on the broken shards below.
Her eyes held sadness.
Sadness? Fr
om seeing the death of a monster?
She’s still just a child.
Akuyuham dismissed the thought, attributing it to Mari’s youth.
***
Hours later.
The night had fully fallen.
Crackle, crackle.
Mari sat huddled by the campfire, wrapped in a black blanket.
Thud.
A dark cloud of smoke descended beside the fire, and from it emerged Akuyuham, draped in his usual robe.
“What a nuisance.”
By his side, an invisible hand carried a freshly hunted deer.
“Can you eat meat?”
Mari nodded silently.
Akuyuham’s magic began to disassemble the deer.
‘It’s been a while since I cooked.’
After becoming a lich, all of his servants had been undead, so there hadn’t been a need to cook.
‘Not since my master passed, at least.’
Though it had been centuries since he last cooked, his magic efficiently crafted a stew.
After a short while, the stew was ready.
“Eat.”
Akuyuham handed a bowl of stew to the girl.
Mari took the bowl but just stared at it.
“It’s better to eat it before it gets cold.”
Mari looked up at Akuyuham.
“Aren’t you eating?”
“I don’t need to eat. My body no longer requires it.”
“…A body that doesn’t need to eat?”
Akuyuham pulled his hood lower over his face as he watched the girl sip at the stew.
“There are such bodies. Now hurry and eat.”
He had considered her just a guide on this journey, but for some reason, he didn’t want her to see his true form.
After finishing the stew, Mari placed the bowl down.
“……Akuyuham.”
“What is it?”
“Why Akuyuham?”
“What do you mean?”
“Was your name always Akuyuham?”
“…No. It wasn’t originally.”
- You are Akuwu. From now on, you will be Akuwu.
He remembered the kind face of the old man.
The one who had saved him from the depths of despair, the one who had been like a true father—his master.
“My master gave me the name. ‘Ham’ is a title that means ‘lord.’”
“I see…”
Mari pulled her legs close and buried her head between them.
“Why do you ask?”
“I was curious.”
“I see.”
“I’m Mari. But I don’t know why I’m Mari. I’ve just always been Mari.”
Just Mari…
Is she an orphan with no family?
“All I know is that I’m Mari. And that I must go to the Sanctuary of the Heavenly God.”
“Is that so.”
Only a guide.
He wasn’t particularly interested in her past, but hearing her story piqued Akuyuham’s curiosity.
***
The next morning.
The two skeletal horses galloped swiftly but came to a sudden stop at the edge of a cliff.
“There’s no path?”
Akuyuham turned to Mari.
“Did you lead us astray?”
Mari shook her head.
“No, this is the right place.”
This is the right place?
Just as Akuyuham was about to question her, a loud noise erupted behind them.
Whoosh!
Boom!
A giant figure crashed down from the sky with a thunderous impact.
Screeeeech!
A monstrous creature screamed, tearing through the atmosphere with its shriek.
“A dragon?”
Though smaller than what he knew, the creature was unmistakably a dragon.
Akuyuham’s eyes gleamed with excitement as blue flames flickered in the empty sockets of his skeletal face.
“I’ve never fought a dragon before.”
A black magic circle appeared in both his hands.
“I’ve always wanted to capture a real dragon.”
Though he had lost much of his power when he was cast into this world, the new strength he had gained from defeating the monsters here made him confident.
Confident that he could defeat even a dragon.
Screeeeech!
The dragon charged toward Akuyuham, its maw wide open.
The cliffside, already ravaged by Akuyuham’s dark flames, now lay in ruin, with every tree burned to ash.
“This is more like a wyvern than a dragon.”
Akuyuham muttered to himself as he gazed at the charred corpse of the fallen beast.
Despite its appearance, the battle had been underwhelming.
Behind him, a giant, translucent gate began to reveal itself and slowly opened.
“So that’s why you called it the key.”
Akuyuham reached out his hand and infused the dragon’s corpse with magic.
“Rise.”
Rumble.
The dragon, reduced to nothing but bones, was engulfed in a black aura and slowly began to rise.
Akuyuham, satisfied that the bone dragon was complete, turned around.
“Tara. We’re flying.”
But Mari only stared up at Akuyuham, her eyes wide.
“……What? Are you shocked?”
He realized that a fight between a dragon and a grand wizard might have been terrifying for a child to witness.
Although he had cast an Absolute Shield spell in front of the girl, she probably hadn’t noticed it.
“Skeleton…………….”
!!!
Had his robe come off?
Despite not having a heart, Akuyuham felt a sinking sensation as he raised his hand to his head.
But the robe was still in place.
No, to be precise, its appearance was unchanged.
‘Did the battle’s aftermath damage the robe’s function?’
The robe had been crafted as an artifact, with a special ability to completely cover the exposed face.
But the fierce battle, which had involved black flames capable of breaking through magic, seemed to have damaged that function.
Hurriedly, Akuyuham covered his face with his hand.
“……Why are you covering it?”
“…..”
He didn’t want to show it.
A skull lich with eerie glowing eyes.
Of course, a young girl wouldn’t be able to see that without fear.
Mari slowly approached Akuyuham.
“Why are you covering your face?”
“Aren’t you scared…?”
“Scared? Of what?”
“I mean… my face.”
Mari tilted her head in confusion at Akuyuham’s question.
“Why would I be?”
“Well…………… because it’s scary…?”
Even though he could no longer sweat, Akuyuham felt as though cold sweat was pouring down his back.
“……? I’m not scared.”
The girl’s expression was one of genuine bewilderment.
“Why should I be scared?”
“Well, because I’m a skeleton?”
“And that’s supposed to be scary?”
It seemed the girl truly wasn’t frightened.
“Ah, never mind. Just get on.”
Akuyuham climbed onto the bone dragon with Mari.
‘She’s not afraid even after seeing my horrible face?’
Ever since he had taken on this monstrous appearance, he had smashed every mirror in the dungeon.
He hadn’t looked at his own face even once since then.
The mere act of seeing it was too much to bear.
Akuyuham had naturally withdrawn into the dungeon.
The reason he had obsessively clung to Zhang, whom he had once considered a kindred spirit.
It had all stemmed from loneliness.
Though he had successfully avenged his master, the price he paid for using forbidden magic was becoming a lich, reduced to nothing but bones.
An abominable lich, rejected by everyone.
Akuyuham had hidden himself in his dungeon, living in seclusion with his minions for hundreds of years.
He had only seen the undead for all those years.
‘She’s really not afraid of me. Could it be that…’
Somewhere along the way, he had begun to long for the warmth of flesh.
‘No. We’ll part ways soon enough. I shouldn’t be thinking like this.’
Akuyuham shook his head firmly, trying to dispel the thought.
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