Chapter 43: Pluto's Black Star (2)

༺ Pluto's Black Star (2) ༻

I carried Luna on my back for a while.

Since the fog was now lifted, the Acheron swamp was like an open wilderness without any obstacles to hinder our march. Simultaneously, there was also nothing to threaten us and no need to unsheathe our weapons.

Well, this kind of open space like those in a savanna makes sense. After all, before entering the swamp area, we had witnessed large plains with paddy fields surrounding us.

That didn't mean we could slack off and drop our awareness, however. I made sure to look around with vigilant eyes and made sure that no form of abnormal sound, if they were to ever come up, could avoid my keenly listening ears.

Maybe mole-like wretches— abnormal variants of monsters like those, could pop out of the ground and grab my ankles. I made sure to check where I was walking and gave attention to my footing as well.

"Looks like you're carrying a lot, Samaritan."

Someone commented on my situation, interrupting my silent and vigilant march.

I turned my head to see who it was. It turned out to be one of the members of the Sword Maidens, her blond hair was tied with an odd korean-themed ribbon and she had freckles on her face. I think I knew her. Her name was Rene if I remember right.

I could feel Luna nervously tremble on my back as soon as she talked. Was Luna scared of her?

"Want me to carry her for you?"

"No, it's alright."

I hurriedly distanced myself from her after clearly and concisely expressing my rejection. Rene however stepped closer to me, shortening the distance between us despite my efforts to keep our distance. I was once again reminded of the fact that these barbarians were unaware of the definition of 'personal space'.

"You're more amazing than I thought. You killed the crocodiles and even slashed the goblins. Are all Samaritans as ferocious as you? Moreover, the way you fought was very different from the Spartans."

I'd never thought that an Amazoness that would scream and fight with a face covered in mud would call me ferocious. Was my bearing as a modern and civilized person lost forever? What went wrong I wonder? I was forced to contemplate my life due to her sudden statements.

"It seems you also received a blessing from a famous god, somehow. You're a funny guy. The funniest guy I've met lately. This is a compliment. I don't usually give out compliments, you know?"

"Is that so?"

The corners of my mouth faintly curled up after being unexpectedly praised by a woman.

To me, who had been mercilessly abused by Elfriede, praise and compliments were as sweet as the greatest honey.

No one in the world dislikes praise, and I liked it too. You could even say I reveled in them due to my abusive past.

Just as I was thinking about that I felt Luna's arms press with a bit more force around my neck.

Luna's relationship with these guys was not dissimilar to that of the circumstance between a predator and a herbivore. Maybe it was more appropriate to call it the relationship between a bread shuttle and the bullies? 1Usually used at school, where one student is picked on and/or bullied to do the errands for people who are in a stronger position than they are.

Of course, she'd be feeling anxious with such a bully standing next to her and talking casually with the guy she was friends with.

"Well, I don't feel like talking anymore, go away." was what I was about to say...

"See you later then, Samaritan."

Rene walked away before I could even have the chance to say those words. Promptly, she rejoined the Sword Maidens while gently waving her hand toward me. I think the Sword Maidens were making a racket about something but my attention was soon caught by Luna.

"Ha-Hassan..."

"A-Are you uncomfortable? Are your ankles fine?"

"The thing I was going to say the last time..."

"The last time?"

"Before the night watch... I prayed to Knox, early into the next morning... Her response...."

Luna, who was about to say something suddenly stopped as if she was choking, perhaps at the heaviness of the word she was about to relay to me.

Her body then began to tremble and shake like a person who had been damned with the fate of sleeping outside during the bone-chilling nights of winter with nothing to keep her warm.

Was she having a seizure? Just when such a worrying thought crossed my mind, Luna spoke again.

"P-Put me down, Hassan... Hurry up!"

"Put you down?"

I had no clue what was going on but I had no reason to keep carrying her in this situation when she asked me to stop carrying her. Just as I placed her down on the dry ground...

Sprout- Sprout- Sprout-

Sounds similar to the ones of something coming out of the ground resounded from around us. White stick-like objects began popping out from the ground below.

Why did bamboo suddenly shoot out from the ground? Although such a ridiculous thought crossed my mind, I unhesitantly pulled two of my swords out instantaneously, revealing their shiny and glorious splendor.

The time for me to use the Santoryu art has finally come.

Sprout-

What actually sprouted from beneath the ground was a kind of bone. These bones were old enough to look bleached white. Moreover, it was wriggling abnormally as if it was alive.

They were actually skeletons. The remains of the deceased. Or whatever you felt like calling them.

For me who followed Elfriede into Pluto's Underground labyrinth countless times, they were something like a regular sight, as we encountered them multiple times. The count was so many that I couldn't even recall the exact number.

Still, no matter how much experience I had accumulated, it didn't lessen the surrealness of the scene of the dead corpses being animated to life.

"Draw your weapons!"

One of the adventurers shouted so, his voice had a hint of panic laced within. That's because...

"There are too many of them, fucking damn it!"

The number of skeletons was similar to that of a platoon. Did they have a spawning area under the ground that could infinitely create them or what? The constantly adding numbers compelled me to think as such.

HeuHeuHeuHeuHeu...

At that time, a peal of deep resonating laughter spread out among the panicked adventurers.

"The Acheron swamps... It's infested with those who have fallen during the cold winter... They died without even being able to receive the fare for their journey to the afterlife... They became ghosts, having been denied entry to Charon's boat..."

Whisper-

I could suddenly hear a voice, that gave me the fucking creeps, from god knows where. It was terrifying, similar to the sound of someone licking the damp bottom of the swamps with its devilish tongue.

Rather than a voice, it would be better to call it a curse or a very disturbing and bizarre noise.

Rustle-

Soon after that, a black shadow appeared among the skeletons.

There was no reason for a shadow to appear on this large plain with no tree on the horizon. It was clearly an anomaly without any valid reason for its existence.

"The scent of deep fear..."

The shadow grew bigger and appeared on the ground in human form. Its body was covered by a black robe.

Seeing the bulging chest of the figure, it was clearly in the shape of a woman. She also had a pointy necklace on her neck that looked like a mace without its handle.

"The fog is gone... and the mud has dried. However, the power of light... It can't get rid of the dead that lurks deep within this earth..."

Damn, was she a witch? I'm weak against this magical shit. I was vulnerable against witches in more ways than one, god-damn it!

"You've finally revealed your identity, vile cultist! Are you the one controlling these skeletons?"

Hippolyte drew her sword and gallantly exclaimed out loud. Lord Destroyer also raised his huge hammer and took a fighting stance, ready to kill his enemies with overwhelming force.

"Necromancer Koma! I will get rid of your army!"

"No one... can restrain death... Pluto, the god of death, will rise from the dark depths of the underground and rule over the earth, the seas, and the skies... Nobody can stop his almighty reign..."

"That's crazy!"

Hippolyte pulled her sword out and fiercely attacked the figure; it was as if she couldn't stand listening to her mindless blabbering anymore. Countless remains consisting of white-colored bones, however, assembled in front of her, blocking her path.

Clatter- Clatter-

"This kind of trick-!"

Clatter- Clatter-

At the same time, the bones, which had remained immobile after surrounding us, creating a great amount of tension among the adventurers, suddenly began attacking us with a maddened fervor.

They had no weapons, but their basic appearance, reminiscent of the very essence of death itself, was enough to scare some adventurers silly.

Most of all, there were just way too many of them.

"Whoooagh!"

"H-Help me!"

The skeletons of the dead were resentful and longed for life more than anything else. One of those vengeful skeletons grabbed the arms and legs of a bronze-tier adventurer and tore them off like it was a mere piece of paper.

The adventurer let out an unsettling scream before being torn into pieces in the next second by the same skeleton.

"Tanathus, Sigtes-. Bel Mos Grima..."

The flesh of the fallen adventurer then came back together, to form a jumbled mess of flesh and gore, after the witch had let out some scary sounds, and formed a crude shape in the visage of the fallen adventurer consisting solely of gorey flesh.

"Go, my flesh golem..."

Ughaaaaa...

Damn, this necromancer is too much of a cheat. Can't I change my savage warrior class into the one of a necromancer? No way wielding a bladed weapon could hold up to something this unfair and broken.

A bladed weapon wouldn't affect bones in any significant way, so the strategy here was to sheathe the sword back and swing the sheathe like a makeshift mace instead.

"Damn you, skeleton bastards! I'll kill you, fucking undead scums!"

Swing- Clatter-

The skeleton bastards lost their shape and crumbled on the floor with every hit of my sheathed sword.

Indeed, striking them with a blunt object was more effective than just trying to slash them with a sword's edge. The knowledge I had learned from Elfriede was no joke and was coming in handy right now. At least, there was some form of silver lining in that god-forsaken life of a slave that I was living the past couple of years.

"S-Skeletons? I-It's time to use my spirit voodoo."

I woke up from my reveries at Luna's sudden shout. I just remembered the fact that she was a voodoo shaman.

Wasn't a part of voodoo all about making zombies? Weren't they like close relatives of the necromancers?

"Spirit Voodoo! Haah!"

Luna raised a huge stick and fully swung on the body of a skeleton and smashed it apart.

Damn, wasn't this just like her Silence totem from yesterday? She said it was called Spirit Voodoo; she seems to be thinking that just naming them something fancy like that was enough for them to be seen as something cool. As I thought, she was just a plain retard.

Luna's Silence totem had worked for her like a charm and had a 100% working rate. And similarly the skeletons she hit after swinging her arms turned into pieces.

Adventurers watching the scene of my and Luna's one-sided slaughter also changed their strategy, sheathed their swords and used them like that, or just picked up sticks and hit the skeletons with them.

Clatter- Clatter-

Soon, the sounds of bones falling apart spread out throughout the battlefield. For beings that looked so scary that they nearly frightened everyone to death, they were rather weak.

Truthfully, however, it was difficult to fight a skeleton warrior or a skeleton knight even if multiple adventurers banded together. Fortunately, the people who died here, naked and struggling from the harsh winter, were weaker than even the weakest goblins. Not only were they not strong, but they also weren't really smart either.

"Guys! It hurts!"

Graeuuk-

Even the flesh golem who looked like the final boss lost its shape and collapsed on the ground when one of the Sword Maidens hit it with a cutting board after they surrounded it.

Damn, necromancers are actually shit, what the fuck! I'd rather keep being a barbarian warrior. I decided to give up on requesting a class transfer.

"That's pretty good... How about this... Arise... My servants."

Clatter- Clatter- Clatter-

The piled-up bones and the remains of fallen adventurers began converging into a single place at the commanding words of the necromancer.

They then began combining like legos and formed into the shape of a scary-looking skeleton dragon with flaming blue eyes.

Karrrrr...

"I-It's a dragon..."

Just until a few moments before, these bastards were excitedly beating the limping skeletons, and had finally found the chance to relax and loosen the strength they put in their weapons. But now... only terrible despair remained on their faces when they looked at the horrific scene of an undead dragon.

"S-Sister Hippolyte...!"

I could see how serious the current situation had become when I saw a member of the Sword Maidens, that was holding the cutting board, falling to the ground with her legs still trembling from fear and shock.

A dragon made out of bones, god-fucking-damn! This shit is as big as a three-story building, so fucking scary. Was this even something that humans could deal with, to begin with?

The only way I could think of to get rid of this damned monstrosity required the assistance of a helicopter or a tank. And at that moment, when my mind was cooking up outlandish thoughts to defeat the skeletal dragon, something heavy jumped on the ground and then propelled itself up in the air.

Looking at the thick fur and huge hammer, it must be Lord Destroyer who had decided to take the first hit.

"Lord Vulcan! Give this servant of yours the strength to fight his adversaries!"

Thump-

The huge hammer hit the dragon's head, emitting a huge shockwave of giant proportions.

The swing of the epic-grade hammer along with the strength of a silver-tier adventurer was enough to create an enormous impact reminiscent of a huge cannonball fired from a barrel!

"Haaaargh!"

The aftermath created by the huge blow even made some adventurers trip off balance from the resulting shockwaves; they lost their footing and fell flat on the dry ground. I might have fallen or downright flown away too if I didn't put a lot of strength in my legs.

"My God!"

Damn, probably because she was as light as a feather, Luna flew far away, like an ant swept by the wind! Was she going to be okay? I can't afford to worry about her right now, unfortunately.

Grrrrr...

Even after being hit with that strong-looking hammer, the skeleton dragon didn't budge and was left without even a single scratch!

He then lifted his heavy foot up and ruthlessly slammed it on the chest of Lord Destroyer who was lying on the ground, recovering from the backlash of his huge attack.

Lord Destroyer was flung far away and hit the ground with a loud thump. At the same time, the skeleton dragon began violently moving around, waving its sharp bone claws and heavy bone tail in all directions like a frenzied beast.

Grrrrrr...

"Uh! Uuaaaah!"

"R-Run!"

It was a one-sided slaughter. Adventurers were sent flying and crashing here and there after getting hit with its tail that looked like it weighed a fucking ton, at least. It was like being crushed by a heavy truck!

No one would call them cowards for wanting to run away right now. I was so scared, I wanted to run away too. But the hands of a skeleton were wrapped around my legs with a tight grip and didn't let me budge from my spot.

"Unhand me! Bastard! Let go of me! What's wrong with you?

And just then...

"Skeletons? Do you think mere skeletons are enough to stop me? Such puny tricks to stop me!? The daughter of the great Mars? Laughable!!"

Hippolyte cut all the skeletal warriors surrounding her with the slashes of her sword. Taking a different stance than usual, she abruptly swung her blade several times in short instantaneous bursts.

Whoosh- Swoosh-

I thought it would be a waste of time to try and fight this bony monstrosity but I was proven to be wrong. The warrioress proved me wrong. The invisible waves she was producing made my ears ring from the way they cut air apart in its wake. The invisible slashes were actually able to hurt the dragon!!!

Swish- Swoosh- Bump-

I was simply left speechless, what could I even say in this situation? My mouth was wide open at the sight of the skeleton dragon collapsing before the might of her blows.

With a sword? Damn. Could such a thing even be possible? Is this magic? Or was Hippolyte a witch too?

Seeing something so surreal was making my head spin.

"Ouuugh... You're nowhere near worthy enough to claim Mars' blood."

The necromancer, bamboozled by what transpired, turned into a shadow again and tried to flee the scene.

Swish-

My inner evaluation of the necromancer rose by half a star. They sure have a lot of tricks up their sleeves.

"Koma is on the run! Everyone follow me! If we don't catch her right now then all the deaths and even this expedition itself will all be in vain!"

Hippolyte tried to follow her and called everyone for help but no one was in a state to heed her commands.

I was the only one still standing, everyone else was rolling on the floor and groaning with serious injuries plastered all over their bodies.

"Oh, fucking damn it... Hey! Samaritan! Follow me! Quicky!"

"Y-You mean me?"

"If all goes well, I'll completely forget about yesterday's scandal. So, follow me already, you big oaf!"

Is this how a prisoner feels after getting rid of their electronic anklet? I felt refreshed and my mind sprung up with positive thoughts at her declaration.

"Not only will I forget about it, but you'll also be promoted to the bronze rank if you catch her. I swear it by the river Styx!"

What? She just swore by the Styx? I know the credibility of that better than anyone.

"What are you doing Miss Hippolyte? Let's go!"

"Ah, T-That's right! You're more fearless than I thought brave Samaritan."

It's not like I'm not scared.

It's just that the Necromancer couldn't use her ultimate attack anymore. In other words, she was just a mage on cooldown. I might be able to win over such a weak mage, god damn it! No way was I going to miss such a chance.

I was also confident because Hippolyte would be with me. Fuck, this woman could even shoot invisible projectiles from her sword. She was no different from a walking missile launcher. I was thoroughly assured of our victory. That promotion is on the bag already! Woooohooooo!

12/11/22 Edit: And we're back. Been a while, we know. What can we say? We got skill issue'd, rip. New chapter tomorrow so stay tuned. Thanks for still following us.

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