abcnovels
Chapter 140
Chapter 140
Chapter 140
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
Chapter 140: Gathdal the Chosen (1)
***
Necromancy sect.
It was a sect of dark mages that enslaved the souls of the dead.
While other sects of dark mages also dealt with souls, it was only for the purpose of generating dark mana.
The Necromancy sect could directly influence souls by manipulating them on a higher level.
The skeletons that Gathdal summoned were a perfect example.
He bound the souls of the dead to their bones, using them as soldiers.
‘How horrible.’
Damien could see it. The souls trapped in the skeletons, suffering in agony.
Unable to find peace even after death, they were being exploited by the dark mage.
It was truly a horrific sight.
“Krrr!”
Miya must have also been able to see the suffering souls.
After all, Miya was a being created from the resentments of those sacrificed by Corpseplay.
“Krrr!”
Finally, Miya could no longer suppress her murderous intent and charged at Gathdal.
Hundreds of skeletons blocked her path. Miya enlarged her arms and swung them at the skeletons.
With each swing of her fist, skeletons were pulverized and sent flying.
The skeletons made of bones were no match for Miya. She smashed through the skeleton army, closing the distance to Gathdal.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a well-made flesh golem. I’m curious to see its creator’s face.”
However, Gathdal remained unfazed.
“It seems I’ll have to get a little more serious.”
Gathdal struck the ground with his staff again.
The shattered bones gathered in front of Gathdal. They began to reassemble and fuse together.
Cracked bones, crushed bones, all returned to their original places. The speed was so fast that there was no time to stop it.
This was the troublesome aspect of necromancy.
The skeletons controlled by the necromancer were endlessly revived. The only way to stop them was to cut off the supply of dark mana.
The problem was that Gathdal, the one supplying the dark mana, was protected by the skeletons.
“Krrr!”
But this was something Miya had already anticipated. She had fought skeletons before.
Since the skeletons could be revived endlessly, she had to cut off the supply of dark mana itself.
In other words, she had to kill Gathdal. That’s why Miya had charged at him.
“Krrr!”
Miya charged at the skeleton army again. Once broken, they could be broken again.
At that moment, Gathdal struck the ground with his staff.
A magic circle appeared at his feet. At the same time, the bones of the skeletons began to turn dark.
It was dark Bone, a dark magic that dramatically increased the durability of skeletons.
“Krrr!”
Miya swung her enlarged fist at the skeleton. But unlike before, the skeleton didn’t fly away.
It didn’t break even after being hit, and instead held its ground and counterattacked.
“Krrr?”
The strengthened skeleton army pushed back Miya’s fist and rushed in.
They slashed at Miya’s body with bone knives, pierced her with spears, and bashed her with shields.
“Kyaaa!”
Miya was helpless against the attacks of the skeletons. She was pushed back further and further.
“You can’t even withstand this much. It doesn’t seem to be made by a very high-level dark mage.”
Gathdal said with a disappointed tone. Miya glared at Gathdal even as she was being attacked by the skeletons.
“Krrr… Krrr!”
Miya’s eyes were filled with thick killing intent. Gathdal looked at her with interest.
“An undead that hates dark mages? That’s unusual. It must be very rare to see an undead like you.”
“Krrr!”
Miya roared as if to tell him to stop talking nonsense.
At that moment, flames erupted from Miya’s body.
“Hmm?”
The flames did not burn Miya’s body. Instead, they instantly regenerated her wounds.
“Wait, this is… the phoenix’s…”
Miya charged at the skeletons. The skeletons that were touched by the flames were instantly engulfed in flames.
The skeletons that had not budged even when hit by the troll’s fist were turned to ashes in an instant.
A wide path was opened through the skeletons that were blocking the way. Miya reached out to grab Gathdal.
Just then, Gathdal struck the ground with his staff again.
The shadow on the ground squirmed and dark spears sprang out. The spears pierced through Miya’s torso, piercing through the flames.
“…Kyaaaa!”
Even the flames that had turned the skeletons to ashes could not burn the spears. Miya groaned, her body pierced.
“An undead that uses holy flames? You’re an interesting specimen. I should take you back and study you. But since you’re dangerous, I’ll have to cut off your arms and legs.”
Skeletons emerged from Gathdal’s shadow again. The skeletons grabbed Miya’s arms and legs and tried to tear them off.
Just then, Damien pulled Miya from behind.
He pulled Miya out of the spears and swung Dawn at the same time. The aura was released, creating a crescent-shaped slash. The slash cut through the skeletons and covered Gathdal.
However, before the slash could reach him, Gathdal created a shield of shadow to block the aura.
Damien took advantage of the gap to distance himself from Gathdal. He first needed to get Miya to safety.
Damien put Miya down on the ground. There were fist-sized holes all over her body.
“Kya…”
Even with Miya’s regeneration ability, she was not recovering properly.
“You’re a careless master. You just watched until your pet became like that.”
Gathdal said mockingly. Damien looked back at him and said.
“She still has a lot to learn, so I left her alone.”
Miya had charged at Gathdal without controlling her anger and ended up getting badly injured.
She must have realized through this experience how important it is to gauge the strength of an enemy.
“Learning… That was a very dangerous decision. What would you have done if I had killed her in an instant…”
“How many have you killed?”
“Hmm? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
Damien pointed to the spears that had sprung up at Gathdal’s feet.
“Those… they’re evil spears.”
Evil spears.
It was one of the forbidden magics of the Necromancy school.
It was a weapon created by intertwining, merging, and compressing souls filled with hatred, resentment, and anger.
It was said that even a living creature would lose its vitality just by touching it, and even a slight graze would kill it.
What was even more frightening was that it could resist divine power.
“How many people have you killed to create the skeletons and evil spears?”
At Damien’s question, Gathdal made a face like he didn’t understand.
“You’re talking nonsense. Do you remember how many times you’ve breathed since you’ve been alive?”
Damien burst out laughing at those words. His laughter was low and long.
“It’s been a long time since I heard such bullshit.”
He infused Dawn with mana. The blue aura instantly dyed the blade.
“Are you finally going to step in yourself?”
Gathdal summoned the skeletons with an excited face.
“I hope you’re a little stronger than that girl.”
Gathdal struck the ground with his staff.
Skeletons made of dark bones charged forward with their weapons raised.
Hundreds of skeleton soldiers.
They can be broken. But even if it was, Gathdal would just restore it. There was no point in wasting time on such a useless task.
Damien observed the skeletons and read all their movements. Although they had no muscles, their bones were human, so it wasn’t difficult.
Paths naturally formed in his mind. With dawn extended, he rushed into the army of skeletons.
“Kkieeek!”
“Skkkeeek!”
Hundreds of skeletons formed a layered net to kill Damien.
The skeletons that formed the net swung their weapons to kill Damien.
Attacks rained down from all sides. Spears and swords made of bone tried to wound Damien’s body.
Damien stepped forward, looking for a safe path. The attacks of the skeletons repeatedly missed.
Damien was passing through the army so naturally, as if water was flowing between rocks.
“What… is… this…”
Gathdal’s face gradually turned to shock at the unbelievable sight.
“These stupid things…! Why do you keep missing? Just stab him to death!”
Gathdal nagged, but it was useless.
Because Damien had already passed the army and stood in front of Gathdal.
“This is ridiculous…!”
Gathdal struck the ground with his staff. The evil spears that sprang out of the shadow pierced Damien.
At that moment, Damien’s body blurred and the evil spears only pierced the air.
“!”
Gathdal turned his body, feeling the danger behind him.
Dawn, swung by Damien, cut off Gathdal’s neck.
***
Gathdal’s head fell to the ground.
Damien did not stop there and cut Gathdal’s body several more times with Dawn. The torso crumbled into several pieces.
“You’re doing something useless.”
A voice came from below.
Gathdal, with only his head left, looked at Damien and laughed.
“It won’t do any good. This body is…”
“A fake?”
Gathdal’s face hardened at Damien’s words.
“This is just an undead that you’re controlling remotely. The real you must be somewhere else.”
“How did you… ?”
Damien had noticed from the moment they first met.
Damien was a death knight, but he was also a skilled dark mage. That’s why he could feel a sense of decay in the dark mana that Gathdal was emitting.
Above all, the skeleton army that Gathdal had summoned was too weak.
It was so weak that it was hard to believe that it was summoned by a grand dark mage.
“Who… are you really? Are you a paladin of the Church? Or…”
Damien crushed Gathdal’s head. The head burst and the voice stopped.
The Gathdal before him was a fake, but for Damien, it was as good as finding the real one.
Damien extracted the dark mana from the fake Gathdal’s corpse.
The fresh dark mana that had just been released by the dark mage.
It was what Damien had needed so badly.
“With this, I can find where the main body is.”
Damien used the dark magic to form a ritual. It was a dark magic that used dark mana to backtrack the main body.
Damien, who had been closing his eyes for a long time, raised his head.
“It wasn’t the ruins.”
The place the detection magic pointed to was outside. It was not an ordinary place either.
The Duke’s House.
Gathdal was with the owner of the Almond Country.
***
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]