Intense light that could blot out even the sun, shined several times. The dreadful, furious roars of the dragon echoed through the woods.
The light blew the mansion apart, the dark energy from the dragon poured out of the wreckage and infringed upon the world.
It was truly a battle of the legends that people would talk about in awe for ages to come.
I observed the situation from the woods behind the mansion, hidden atop a low-lying tree.
Necromancers are capable of sensing the location of the undead under their control.
Albeit not very precisely. The Lord might notice my absence if I got too far, so I could not put too much distance between us.
That is… until the Lord perishes.
The Lord had brought a gigantic black dragon into being.
I reckon those fangs acted as the catalyst. Its body was a personification of darkness itself and stripes that ran all over its body were reminiscent of veins.
Its tail stretched out like a shadow and easily destroyed the mansion, and the black flames it spewed burned down everything in the vicinity.The monster was in a totally different league compared to all the other undead that I have ever seen the Lord control. Its soul was ablaze and its abyss was deep enough to engulf light itself. It was in a class of its own.
Had I known that the Lord had possessed such a secret weapon, I would have been a little more prudent with my plans.
Nevertheless, the gigantic black dragon was easily blown away by a fearfully enormous amount of light.
I would probably die a hundred times over if that light were to even simply graze me. That was the impression I got from the tremendous amount of positive energy that overpowered the breath of darkness, burned down the majority of the gigantic dragon, engulfed the Lord who stood behind it, and yet did not cease its onslaught as it passed through the trees a few metres beside me.
And the one, who accomplished that, is a petite girl, all by herself.
Senri. The second class knight stood unwaveringly in front of the dragon that was big enough to swallow the world itself, and wielded her sword.
The protective layer of positive energy around Senri got thinner with every projection, but returned to its original state as if it was being replenished.
The Lord is exceptionally powerful, but so is Senri. If a second class knight was as powerful as this, I wonder how much more powerful of a being, a first class knight would be.
The dragon, the majority of whose body was blown away, regenerated its lost body in an instant. Similarly, the Lord who was supposed to have disappeared in the light, stood in the same place, looking unperturbed.
The sound of the Lord yelling in anger and the cries of the other Death Knights clashed with each other.
Who was superior and who was inferior, I could not come to a conclusion.
I am weak. Unbelievably weakest amongst the people in this place now.
Be it a blow from the dragon’s tail, or exposure to the holy light, I would probably crumble and reduce to dust. Neither the regeneration skills nor the enhanced physical abilities that I gained upon becoming a ghoul would be of any use.
Nevertheless, I calmly witnessed the battle. I perfectly understand where I stand.
This was all I could do. I had made the right decision.
It was an uphill battle even with it being a sudden one. Had the Lord been given more time to prepare, he may have easily defeated Senri.
The Death Knights are invincible. That was my belief from what I read of their accomplishments in stories over and over as I lay sick in bed.
According to my plan, the Death Knights were supposed to defeat the Lord easily. Even though the Lord possessed a hundred twenty lives, the Death Knights must have experienced fighting such necromancers.
I tugged the overcoat closer and clasped the shadow amulet tightly.
I had not staked everything on the Lord, but on Senri.
I decided that it would be easier to escape from the Death Knights rather than the cunning Lord. The Lord, who on top of the right to give out absolute orders, enjoyed several other privileges.
I believed that, as a ghoul, as someone who can move around even in daylight, as someone who is sentient, as someone who can conceal his presence with the shadow amulet, I would be able to shake off the Death Knights.
I had gambled everything. If the Lord wins the battle by any chance, he would find it odd that I had not returned right away as per his orders.
Before he realizes that I can violate his order, I need to trust that his lives are sufficiently depleted and start attacking him.
The sounds of battle never ceased. The mansion that I had stayed in for almost a year ever since I became an undead was collapsing.
At the hands of fire, light, sword. It was getting destroyed a little bit more with every attack from the dragon.
I simply observed the events silently as I reminisced about Roux.
☠ ☠ ☠
The sun was overhead. And finally, the time had come.
A voice echoed through the woods where I had concealed myself.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!”
“?!”
Senri yelled out for the first time. Another beam of light from the silver sword, reminiscent of the sun, thoroughly burned down the particularly huge Evil Dragon.
It was a miracle. The voice had soul. It was not possible for Senri to release that much energy given that she had been doing it nonstop for some time. However, Senri had done it.
Maybe the dragon had tried to protect the Lord, for its wings were spread wide. It was a futile attempt however as it quietly crumbled to dust.
The light dissipated. The ones left in the mountain of rubble were Senri on her knees and her worn-out comrades.
And—
“Impossible!… Why, are you able to… such power…! Im-pos-si-ble!”
The Lord groaned with his face stiff. It did not seem like the Evil Dragon was going to revive.
The Lord’s body started to crumble from his feet.
I reckon he had exhausted his hundred and twenty lives. His staff dropped from his hand and he stared blankly at his own hand that was disappearing into nothing.
His face displayed no fear. He did not wail nor did he make a fuss; the Lord did not betray the image I had of a necromancer till the very end.
Senri breathed heavily as she fixed a pair of astute eyes on the slowly disappearing enemy.
Her silver hair was stuck to her sweaty forehead. I suppose she had used up all her energy as one would expect, for I could not sense any positive energy from her.
“This… is the end.”
“Frustrating. If only my lifelong wish had been fulfilled, someone like you… if only the sun wasn’t up… Ahhh—“
And thus, the Lord, unable to even curse the one who had felled him, unable to even properly see the face of the one who had felled him, disappeared surprisingly easily.
Nothing of him remained as if he had been but an illusion. His robe along with his body crumbled to dust with only his staff left behind as the sole proof of his existence.
I won. The risk paid off. The Lord was my saviour as well as my archenemy. He was a mighty enemy who I would never have been able to defeat.
I felt no sense of accomplishment. I bore no grudge against him. Maybe that is why, I felt relieved and yet a little sad at the same time.
I survived. There is nothing that binds me anymore.
The Death Knights are all exhausted. However, I do not intend to attack them.
I wonder if Senri had exhausted herself too much, for she collapsed as if the thread that held her up had snapped. One of her friends supported her and let out an exasperated laugh.
The presence of friends. I suppose that was the big difference between Senri and the Lord.
The Lord had many subordinates but not a single friend. In case the lord had had friends, I wonder how the battle would have turned out—.
No, I will not speak about that. The Lord did his best, stood by his beliefs and lost the battle.
One of the Death Knights picked up the Lord’s staff and did not hesitate before snapping it into two and burning it with light.
Supported by her friends, Senri and the others left the site where the mansion once stood. My eyes followed them leaving, not once stirring from my hiding spot.
All the way, until I could not feel their presence anymore.
☠ ☠ ☠
I made sure that no one was around before jumping off the tree.
It felt like my body had grown stiff, since I had stayed still on the tree for a few hours. I stretched as I headed towards what was leftover of the mansion.
The mansion has been completely destroyed. The roof and the walls had been reduced to debris and I did not feel the presence of any undead or living being.
Even if the mansion had not been destroyed by any chance, I could not have stayed here forever.
This is a necromancer’s base.
The Death Knights have pulled back for now, but once they recover their strength, I believe they will return to finish things up here. The hideout of a necromancer was usually set on fire in the stories.
Well then, I should think about what I should do from now on.
I am a ghoul. I know no luxury and any lifestyle is better than how I lived my previous life, so as long I have fresh meat, I believe I can survive.
I do not intend to attack humans unlike the conventional undead. However, I do need to live my life making sure I do not attract the attention of humans.
The first thing I need to do is leave the woods right away. The Death Knights are not exactly known for their forgiving nature. If I were to be discovered, I would not be able to escape death.
Nevertheless, there is something I must do before that. I have a promise to keep.
Roux’s corpse was buried under the rubble of what was once the corridor.
She was miraculously in one piece. The holy silver arrow pierced in her heart must have been the cause of death.
I shall do her the favour of wiping off the blood that spilled out of her mouth. She looked peaceful, as if she was just asleep.
I wonder if she ever wore such a peaceful expression when she was alive.
At the very least, all she showed me was her angry or fearful expressions.
The corpse emitted a very sweet odor that stirred my appetite. Human meat is a delicacy for a ghoul.
But I do not intend to feast upon her. I have never eaten a human before.
“I… am a man of my word, however unreliable I may appear. You don’t need to worry.”
I grabbed onto the silver arrow. White smoke arose from my hand, and I felt the twinges of pain that I had seldom experienced after I became an undead. However I forced the arrow out and carried Roux’s corpse in my arms.
Her body was very light. I am not sure if that was because she no longer possessed what made her human or because I had gotten stronger.
I doubt her soul is around anymore.
She was destined to die. She had also predicted as much, and even if she had not died here she may have just as easily died elsewhere.
She had nothing to live for. However, she had no courage to end her life either.
She was simply too weak. So, I could understand what she would wish for.
She shed a tear upon hearing my proposition. She called me a monster for being able to guess her hidden wish.
I gave her the option. I did propose the idea of setting her free and there may have been a way using which she could have been saved.
But the Lord had kept her close till the very end, so there was not much that could be done. However, she could have just nodded when I presented her the option of me escorting her into town.
But she did not possess even that sliver of courage.
Aah, I, who have once experienced death, yearned for life so much that I came back from the dead, and yet she, who was alive did not possess the willpower to continue living. Oh just how beyond our control are our lives in this world!
I spoke with the expired Roux, whose expression made me believe that she was peaceful elsewhere.
“As promised— I shall give you a proper burial. And I shall also pray that you rest in peace. Aren’t you glad it was me you made a deal with?”
☠ ☠ ☠
Regrettably, I did not have the luxury of time to search for an ideal place to bury her.
The best I could do was choose a spot outside the fence surrounding the mansion. Well, the place of burial was not included in the promise, so I suppose this should do.
I am certain Roux was aware that I would not be mindful of where I chose to make her grave. I understood the mind of the weak but by no means did I sympathize with her.
Outside of the fence. At the very least, I shall choose a spot with a lot of sun and start digging there.
It was fortunate that Roux was not that big.
I used a plank of wood from the debris; dug a hole with enough room to comfortably fit her and placed her corpse in it. I placed a flower I found nearby in her enclasped hands on her chest.
Forgive me, but I do not have the time to cremate you.
Well, the evil necromancer is no more, so I suppose she need not worry about being turned into an undead.
“Sorry. I don’t know the proper rituals… although I have been buried before myself, not that I remember.”
I carefully threw earth over her body as I made my excuses.
Well, I suppose this is better than being put to work by the necromancer even after death. Her legs, then her body were covered and only her face remained exposed.
I was at a loss as to how to say my farewells and eventually decided to speak as usual.
“You are more fortunate than the Lord, Roux. Because you get to be buried. Well, I think the Lord got what he deserved though…”
After properly covering her face, I packed the mud on her grave. I got to my feet but it felt a little lonesome to leave it at that.
Above all else, in the future for some reason, it suddenly strikes me to visit her grave, I would not be able to locate it as it is.
I know I am supposed to leave this place quickly, but I felt like the dead Roux would get angry with me, saying that I had not made a proper grave. I would not be able to look her in the eye if she accused me of breaking the promise after I went through all this trouble.
I was perplexed for a while but soon remembered something that would be perfect for this occasion and returned to the site of the mansion. It was the silver arrow.
I bore with the pain as I carried the arrow that I had pulled out a while back and thrust it into the ground where I had buried her. I have heard that silver is capable of keeping evil away.
It was not a cross, but if I made a cross, and in future it gets added to my list of weaknesses after evolution, it is likely that I would not be able to visit the grave.
I brought over a fairly neat fragment of rock from the debris and used my claws to carved Roux’s name on it.
Her name looked a little lonesome by itself, but I was not aware of her surname . So I added the surname from my previous life. I figured it was better than making it Carmon.
I was not sure as to whether I got the spelling of her name right, but oh well; I ask for her understanding on the matter.
After I was finally satisfied with my handiwork, I brought my palms together and prayed.
I am sure she is the first person in the whole world to have had an undead pray for them.
I pray that— she rests in peace.
“What… are you, doing?”
“?!”
At that moment, from behind me, I heard a voice that I should not have heard.
I ended my prayer and slowly got to my feet. The tips of my fingers were quivering. I felt as if a knife had been thrust in my throat.
This time, it was not for Roux, but for me that I prayed to God as I turned around.
Standing there was Senri who was supposed to have left with her comrades, looking at me with a shrewd pair of eyes.