Chapter 159: Necromancer (2)

ㅡGrrrrrr

The corpse, which should not have been moving, raised its body, aligning its stiffening joints and bones.

Whoosh—

The abnormal chill that swept the room, cold enough to extinguish Elfriede's flames, was probably because of the icy breath that guy was exhaling.

Creak— Creak—

When only the sounds of the floor and pillars freezing into ice could be heard, it was Hippolyte's words that broke the silence.

".... Hey, the one called Delphina. I guess it's not the time for us to fight each other right now."

"I agree. That... is it an undead? An undead who can emit such a chill... I've never seen such a thing before...? I feel like I'm freezing to the bone..!"

The city of Kalkata is a stronghold city that fed on the emergence of the nearby Pluto underground labyrinth.

Since the labyrinths that emerged there were all high-level, it was natural for the adventurers of Kalkata to be considered veterans, great experts in labyrinths.

If the leader of a party formed by veterans of the silver tier says that this is the first time he has seen an undead, then it is only natural to be nervous.

"L-Lord Pluto...!"

While everyone was frozen like that, Paranoy ran and prostrated herself in front of Ismail.

"I-I didn't betray you...! I was just pretending to deceive those fools...! It's true...!"

ㅡWhoo....

In response to Paranoy, who began to confess something incoherently. The unnaturally risen corpse let out a cold sigh.

Flash—

And then, the opening eyes shone with a strange and eerie blue light. The guy raised his tattered palm.

ㅡGroooaaaah

"Lord Pluto..!"

"Hey, nymph! Get out of the way! This guy isn't Pluto!"

At that moment, Delphina, the silver-tier adventurer ran quickly, grabbed the hood attached to the back of Paranoy's neck, and pulled it hard.

"Kyaaekk!"

Paranoy screamed as her neck was tightly held.

Fortunately, thanks to Delphina, Paranoy was able to avoid the corpse's attack.

ㅡGroaaaaah!!!

The revived corpse of Ismail, with blue eyes, roared as if he was angry that the attack had missed. The roar resonated so much in the narrow cave that I instinctively wanted to cover my ears.

"Hiii-!"

Paranoy, terrified, ran away on all fours and hid in a corner.

It was very funny because it resembled the posture of a long-legged lizard running, but no one laughed at the sight.

Sling— Clang—

Unlike when she was leisurely dealing with the silver-tier adventurers, Hippolyte, holding her sword and lowering her posture, took a stance to charge.

"...A undead with blue eyes. This guy is probably a Royal Guard."

In response to Hippolyte's words, Delphina, who also held her sword, reacted.

"A Royal Guard? What's that!"

"The elite soldiers guarding Pluto's skeletal throne. I've only heard rumors about them. This is the first time I've seen one in person."

ㅡGraaaaah-!!!!

The undead screamed very loudly, his body staggering and charging like a derailed train.

What the guy was aiming for was none other than Elfriede, who was checking the pulse of her colleagues in the corner.

"Elfie! Be careful!"

Delphina shouted, trying to warn them of the incoming danger.

Elfriede also jumped back and swung her short wand at the same time, hitting the head of Ismail.

"You hellish mess, who are you trying to touch?!"

Thud—!

There was a loud thud as if the derailed train had finally collided, and the undead Ismail, who had been emitting a strange and eerie aura, fell to the ground headfirst.

ㅡGroaaaah... C-Cough.... Crackkkkkk...

But that only lasted for a moment, he then quickly got up after realigning his dislocated bones and joints.

Elfriede gritted his teeth at the sight.

"Tough. But can you withstand this too?! Hell's Flame-!"

Along with a short chant, a red flame begins to flicker at the tip of Elfriede's wand.

Whoosh— Whoosh—

Soon, it grew bigger and bigger, and it flashed with a blue light, not red. Delphina screamed in horror at the sight.

"No! If you use that here, everything will collapse, Elfie! Hey, you! Aren't you a gold-tier adventurer>! Don't you have a better way!?"

"Then try setting fire to the surroundings! I need to make my blood boil!"

"What are you even talking about? Ugh, what's this sudden chaos? A Royal Guard! Why is such a high-ranking undead in the city's underground!"

Fucking Sodomora! Delphina was losing her mental.

Elfriede, who had canceled the chant of her flame magic, eventually chose to avoid the undead's arms flailing here and there and counterattack with his wand.

ㅡGrrrr, Guhhh!

"But why does this guy seem to only attack me?"

As Elfriede said, undead Ismail persistently targeted her. However, she was doing a great job avoiding his assaults, making a full display of her abilities as a high elf and an adventurer.

"Huh, huh...."

As I felt before, Elfriede's movements were unnatural and awkward in some way.

For example, the tempo of her movements was slow and her balance seemed off, as if thorns were stuck in the soles of her feet, and her breathing was similarly irregular.

"Whoo."

It wasn't something that could be easily noticed, but I who had bad blood with her for what felt like an eternity could easily notice.

As expected, Elfriede's body is not normal.

Unlike Elfriede, who was struggling more and more, Ismail, who was attacking her, seemed to be moving more and more smoothly, unlike a corpse.

ㅡHydra, I, I am Hydraaaaa! I am-, I am theeee, the Demon King of Sodomora!!! Humansss - Bow dowwwwn!!!!

He even started talking and shouting.

The guy's roar shook the air, echoing around as if it were a scream gathered from the bottom of a deep cave in hell making my heart feel like it was getting squeezed.

However, this timing, as he was off guard because of his shouting, was an opportunity that we couldn't afford to miss.

I picked up the fallen Luna and chose to hide her behind a safe-looking pillar.

"Heueueue...."

Luna shows no sign of waking up despite the chaos. The thief's stone-throwing must have been a considerable critical hit.

Behind my back, Delphina and Elfriede were barely holding back Ismail.

"A talking undead! It gives me the creeps! I didn't hear that I had to fight something like this! The commission fee is nowhere near enough!"

"Focus, Delphina! I'll chant, so protect me!"

"Are you crazy? Elfie, it's a monster that can extinguish your flames! I can't fight this guy! I'll run away, so grab the unconscious guys and take care of them!"

Thud! Thud! Thududud -!

Undead Ismail brandished his sharply grown fingernails. Delphina's expression, blocking the attack with her long, pointed sword, clearly seems to have reached her limit.

"I can't hold on much longer! If I get hurt, it won't be worth it, and this quest ends here...!"

Delphina shouted at Elfriede, who was hesitating. Elfriede also clicked her tongue and then put her unconscious colleagues on both sides of her waist.

And then she started running away without looking back.

I, I am the destruction of the Middle-Earth.! I am the King of the Mountains, Hydra-!

"Flame Wall-!"

The undead tried to chase after them, but Elfriede created a wall of flames, blocking his path and preventing him from chasing them.

Ismail waved his arms and put out the fire, but Delphina, Elfriede, and the others were nowhere to be seen.

ㅡGroahhh!

The undead growled in resentment. Soon, his eyes turned to Hippolyte.

"Those newcomers ran away. It looks like we're the only ones left. You, hiding behind the pillar over there, Hassan of Samaria!"

Me? Is he calling me?

"Even though you covered your face, I still recognized you!"

"Me, Hassan? Do you think I'm an idiot? Anyway, I'll try to stop this guy somehow. In the meantime, find the necromancer who raised this undead! He must be in this cave!"

"You're going to stop him? Are you okay? Right now..."

"I know, it's night. But in preparation for times like this, I usually sunbathe for three hours a day. It's a shame, but I'll have to use everything I've stockpiled."

Zuuuuuuung—

Hippolyte's sword began to flash with a strange golden light.

You enjoy sunbathing for three hours a day.

Was Hippolyte's life that leisurely? Is the fact that her skin was reddish as if it was tanned, not natural, but a result of that?

My brain wanted to ignore this terrible situation, so it brought up various distracting thoughts as a defense mechanism.

However, I quickly shook off my thoughts and turned my attention to finding the necromancer who controlled the undead, as Hippolyte instructed.

I have already had a lot of experience dealing with Pluto's cultists and necromancers.

Weren't all the cultists captured during the war? The remnants of that might be hiding in this underground market and plotting something bad.

So, while Hippolyte was slashing the undead with a strangely golden sword, I tried to find the wizard by walking around the large square.

However, let alone a wizard, I couldn't even see any magic circle.

What the hell?

"Hey, Paranoy! Do you know anything!"

At that moment, what caught my eye was Paranoy, who was trembling in the corner.

"Hey, Paranoy!"

"That voice, are you HMr. Hassan? I, I didn't betray you...! I didn't betray Lord Pluto, no, no, it's true that I betrayed Lord Pluto, but in fact, I didn't betray Mr. Hassan...."

"What are you talking? about?!"

Paranoy seemed to be panicking. So I lightly slapped her cheeks left and right to bring her to her senses.

Ding—

『Paranoy's Religious Anxiety has been relieved』 『Task score + 10』 『Current task points: 62』 It's strange that the letters appeared even though I didn't give her a massage and just slapped her on the cheeks.

And with it that quirk of hers was relieved.

Come to think of it, didn't something similar happen when I first slapped Daphne?

Is this what will happen every time I slap someone? What the hell?

Anyway, that's not important right now.

"Hey, is there a necromancer nearby? You were also a cultist, so is there any way to sense or detect him"

"Huh, huh, my face hurts...."

Paranoy was crying, massaging her reddened cheeks.

Did I hit her too hard?

I'm sorry, but now is not the time to worry about that.

"Paranoy, is the necromancer who raised that Royal Guard or whatever nearby?"

"The Royal Guard is the escort of the royal family, the messenger of hell, and it is definitely not a being that a single necromancer can control... There's no way we can defeat a necromancer who can do such a feat!"

"Damn, then what do we do?"

"Well, it's not like there's no way. Mr. Hassan, Mr. Hassan might be able to perform necromancy....!"

"Me?"

"That necklace, the black star of the Acheron, is so compatible with hellish magic that you can even handle it without any penalty, so you can definitely do it-! You need to..."

Paranoy mumbled something.

The method she was talking about was very simple.

It was to forcefully take control of the undead from whoever might be controlling it. And it required a pretty complicated spell magic circle.

"Huh, Hassan-! Where's Hassan?!"

At that moment, Luna, who had come to her senses from a distance, raised her body. She looked for me as she got up. How touching.

"Luna, I'm here! What good timing! Help me!"

"T-Thief leader!"

"No, damn it, it's me!"

Luna's shoulders relaxed as soon as I took off the mask.

"I thought you were a real thief! It fits you so well. Hassan! You look like a vulgar and ruthless back alley thief leader!"

"Is this a compliment? Anyway, anyway, that's not important right now."

My eyes looked at Hippolyte, who was dealing with the undead over there.

Swoosh— Bang—

Hippolyte, cut through the undead's thigh and knocked him down.

ㅡGrrrrr!! I-I am!! Humanity's destruction-!!!

"Even if you cut off his neck and crush his heart, he'll rise again. It would be perfect as a sandbag to put in the Mars Guild."

Seeing her overpowering the strong undead makes my chest feel magnificent.

I could see the golden aura shining from Hippolyte's sword gradually diminishing. She didn't say anything, but if that all disappeared, we might all be finished.

"M-Miss Luna, please help me...! I-In the shape of a pentagram. And another one inside... Then Gaia's runes at each corner."

"Drawing Spells! I'm good at that!"

Swoosh—

Soon, the two little girls began to draw a large magic circle on the floor with chalk, and as it was about to be completed, I excitedly shouted.

"Hey, you rampaging bastard! Over here!"

I wondered if my provocation would work on the undead who came back to life.

ㅡGrrrr

The guy looked straight at me and started walking towards me. My provocation worked very well!

"W-We just have to put that bastard in the magic circle!?"

"Yes...! Then, Miss Luna and I will chant the spell and transfer the control to Mr. Hassan...!"

I understand.

But how do we move such a monstrously rampaging undead into that small magic circle? The magic circle is less than a few square meters, only enough for one person to stand inside.

"T-This son of a bitch! Come here! Come here and stand! If you don't, I'll really kill you!"

I desperately threatened the undead. Threatening to kill someone who is already dead, how ridiculous.

It was a very weak comment even for me, but the situation was so confusing and I was so flustered that I couldn't come up with anything better.

-Huh, my, b-body...

Is it because my inhumane threats worked well? The undead Royal Guard, who I thought would attack me by flying around, stood obediently inside the magic circle.

Fuck!

This was the moment when my intimidation skills, which I had practiced while traveling through back alleys, shone!