I put all of my strength into it. My long claws easily pierced the Lord’s skull.
Roux’s eyes opened wide in shock upon witnessing the sudden attack. However, it was too late.
I felt no exhilaration. Just dark pleasure. I guess that proves what a monster I have become.
I pulled my claws out of the soft skull. Warm blood began to spurt and that made my mouth curve into a smile.
I won. Now, I am free. All I have to do is leave the forest and I could go anywhere.
I do not intend to fight the Death Knights. I should quickly leave here. Find a woods similar to this one and live my days hunting beasts.
Until I am fed up with this new life.
… Thereupon, I suddenly heard something sound like a click.
“What in hell!… What… is this?”
“…!”I heard a voice that should have been impossible to hear.
I could not wrap my head around it. A few moments passed, and I felt dread take over my entire body that made all my hair stand on end.
There is no doubt that my claws pierced through the Lord’s skull. He neither evaded nor defended himself.
The source of the sound was right in front of me. The Lord, whose head I remember slashing through was standing right there in the same place as he was moments before, speaking calmly.
The head that was supposed to have been impaled, had not a single scratch on it.
What the… that’s impossible! The Lord is not an undead. I, a ghoul, can clearly tell that the Lord is a living, breathing human being.
I had not noticed, but the blood on my claws and all the blood that had sputtered out, were nowhere to be seen.
This cannot be. This is absurd. Impossible! I am certain that I killed the Lord. I certainly did.
“So you possess intelligence… now. Or maybe you have for some time. Interesting.”
“… !!”
Not yet. This is not over yet.
I steeled my resolve and thrust my arm with all my might. I will aim not for his head this time. But for the heart.
My five claws easily pierced through his frail body along with the robe. There was a big gaping hole at the center of his body. I could feel the warm blood on my hand and the sound of gushing blood.
Once again, I heard the strange clicking sound.
And I heard the Lord’s voice once more, which should not be possible considering I only just pierced through his torso. His voice held no anger but what sounded like admiration.
“The reason I’m not dead is not because you didn’t aim for my heart. But that’s smart of you, really smart. I don’t know how long you’ve had intellect, but even after evolving you were biding your time? Looking for a chance to kill me? Ku ku ku… I didn’t hold any expectations but this is much more brilliant than I could have ever imagined. Looks like he gave me some prime material. I should thank Huck.”
He is a monster. I, even as a ghoul would not be able to escape a stab to the heart unscathed.
It is impossible. So… this is what it means to be a Necromancer.
I knew that I would not be able to take him head-on. So I decided to use the perfect opportunity to go on the offensive.
I, at the edge of despair, am being sustained by hunger and the desire to live.
I pull out my arm. And the very next moment, the blood and tissue on my arm disperse like the fog.
Several thoughts pass through my head in a flash.
What now? How am I supposed to kill something that can survive a blow to its skull and heart?
No, not quite. It is not that he can survive lethal blows. Nor is it some sort of superior regenerative power. Yes, by some means or the other, something is making it so that the attack never happened in the first place…
Escape is not an option. I cannot defend myself either. I make up my mind in the blink of an eye. I shall kill until I get killed. And for the first time ever, I yell in front of the Lord.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
I raise my claws intending to slash across him. Just before my sharp claws could tear into him, I heard Lord Horus’ voice break through my roar.
“Halt!”
The command struck me like a lightning bolt.
My arm convulses, and falls apart at the sudden obstruction to its movement. The tissues start snapping and my arm starts throbbing with a dull ache. The body that was devoted to me, the body that was unrestrained, is prioritizing the Lord’s command over my will.
My claws will never be able to reach that flesh ever again.
I almost had him. But now, no matter how much I will my arm to move, it would not budge an inch.
At last, at that moment, I accepted my defeat.
Any resistance is futile. I cannot win. Ever. The man in front of me is a monster. More so than I am. I cannot compare to him.
The Lord turns around to look at me frozen in place. I could see no anger on his face, but just dark delight at the situation.
And that, accurately portrayed the difference in power between us. The Lord was angered at Roux’s false report (which in actuality was true). And yet, my rebellion after lying in wait to use the perfect opportunity to launch an attack was nothing to be angry about.
If I had to worry for my life, I am certain there would be some sign of it on the Lord’s face. My rebellion had not succeeded in the least, not even a little.
The Lord revealed his secret as if to annoy me.
“Kukuku. End. I’ll admit you’re smart, but you don’t know anything about magic. The reason you lost is because of your assumption that I only have ‘one life’. Ah! I permit you to speak.”
“What, do you mean…”
I have been trying to attack for some time now, but it was as if my body had turned to stone. It would not even stir.
The Lord’s grin widened as he slowly pulled out a round, silver rock out of his pocket.
I had never seen such a rock before. It had a strange glow to it. It must have had a smooth surface before but now it had a big crack on it.
“Kukuku… I’ve split my life into a hundred and twenty fragments. All you did was snuff out two of those. For you, my subordinate, to kill me, you’d have to take my life 120 times in a single instant. And that’s about it. You can expect any top-grade necromancer to have done the same.”
The rock cracked further and shattered into pieces on the Lord’s palm. But now is not the time to be looking at that.
A hundred and twenty lives… he says?! That cannot be true. There were no such details even in the fairytales I have read before. His cowardice knows no bounds.
But at the same time, I now understood where his confidence came from and had no other choice but to accept it.
If that is true, I have no chance of winning. If it were one or two lives, I could probably succeed by launching a surprise attack but it is improbable to do it 120 times. There was never any chance for my rebellion to succeed since the beginning.
I was hit with an intense sense of regret. However, it was all too late. I had had no other choice. It was only a matter of time.
The most important thing is what lies ahead for me.
What is going to happen… to me? How is the man in front of me, going to deal with a ghoul that carried out a rebellion?
I glare at him while he returns it with a sneer and says,
“But… it’s a headache if you’re going to keep targeting me. End. Hereafter, I forbid you from ever raising arms against me and also to make any moves that could put me at a disadvantage.”
Of course it would come to this.
However, the same words that I would have rather died than hear up until a while ago, actually brought me relief. Because, that command assures me that the Lord does not intend to get rid of me at least for the time being.
And I felt thorough despair towards that relief.
Well that gave rise to new doubts but I shall leave them aside for now.
I cannot lose heart. I need… to stand firm and have faith.
Horus Carmon. I will kill you. Without fail. You are nothing compared to my life before when I could feel death closing in on me every passing day.
I shall use any means necessary. And no matter how many years, how many decades it takes, I shall emerge the victor.
“Kukuku. …What a terrific fighting spirit! A dark determination that does not wither at the face of immense power. The intelligence to lay low after going through evolution and gaining an ego. The one I’ve always wished for. You are the King of the Undead. So the time has come for my eternal wish to be fulfilled. Although, the immortal killers, the Death Knights are almost upon us… fufufu, ahahaha…”
The Lord rolled his eyes and let out a shrill laugh.
His eyes shone bright in the dark. I could see Roux who was almost turned into an undead, crouched on the floor, shivering.
Oh laugh! Laugh all you want. All that matters is I will be the one laughing at the end of it all.
“I am going to put you to good use, End. Your consent is not really a matter of concern.”
“Let me free. I will comply.”
Well he already knows everything. Fake obedience is not going to fool him. But I know that is what he expects from me.
I glared at him, to which the Lord laughed happily as I had predicted.
“Ahh, I did hear that it was death from an illness. What a ferocious man you are! Still, I suppose it’s alright. End, I permit you to move.”
“… Do it, once more.”
“?… I permit you to move.”
My body that had been frozen in place up until now, easily regained its mobility the moment the command was issued.
I immediately turned around, and sprinted towards the door at full speed. Ignoring the dull throbbing in my arm, I made a run towards the stairs.
I heard a flustered yell from behind me as I climbed the stairs.
“End. Don’t run!”
“!…”
So, it was pointless. I mean I knew it was impossible right from the start. But I couldn’t not try.
I stood there unmoving, as the exasperated Lord approached me.
“Well, it looks like I can’t let my guard down around you. But those are the qualities I’d expect of the King of the undead.”
☠☠☠
And so began my life as a captive.
Although everything looked the same outwardly, my days of being bound hand and foot by unseen shackles thus began.