Chapter 9: The Weakness

I need to be certain of my victory.

I, Lord Horus and the Death Knights. Between the three, there is no question that I am the weakest.

I was able to hunt the monsters in the woods only because I had the Lord's support. I may have grown a little owing to experience and evolution, but in reality, I have not changed all that much from before.

Typically, when a civilian with no combat experience turns into a zombie, an infamous undead of the lowest rank, it is said that their fighting ability will grow with time.

Basically, there is a limiter in every human brain.

It appears that if humans exert their fullest strength, the resulting backlash will damage their body. The limiter exists to prevent that from happening, much like a safety switch. Owing to this limiter, humans are able to live a healthy life, but at the same time they are rendered unable to exert their fullest strength.

On the contrary, once turned into an undead, this safety switch disappears along with the sense of pain. Humans transformed into zombies do not fear wounds and exhibit the kind of inhuman strength that sets them apart from humans. They cannot be stopped due to their lack of sense of pain until they are killed.

For an undead, the body is not the source of its life, so even with its heart pierced through and its limbs torn apart, it will still devour its opponents with a single-minded grudge.

However, since I was a fleshman upon revival and not a zombie, there were a few differences that set us apart. Also one of the reasons I was able to defeat a monster right after revival despite having had a weak disposition. The other reason being the Lord overseeing my recovery and keeping the monsters in check. If not for that, it is highly likely that, with no combat experience, I would have easily perished. I could not be more grateful towards him.

I am now a ghoul, far more powerful than I was ever before. But the question of whether I would be able to win against the Death Knights would have to be answered with a resounding no.

I would certainly bite the dust in a one-on-one match. Even if there were five or six of me, we would still be mowed down like a bunch of weeds.

The Death Knights are an accomplished elite among elites who have been through rigorous training.

Each group member has their own choice of weapon. They are all unrivalled warriors and are no strangers to dealing with undeads like me.

Be it their physical, fighting capabilities or experience, I lose to them in all spheres. I cannot see how I could win in the slightest.

They are the light. If necromancers are the Lord of Darkness, then the Death Knights are an existence on the total opposite end of the spectrum.

The Death Knights command an energy totally opposite than that of a necromancer.

I am not aware of all the details but according to the books, there exists positive energy and negative energy in this world.

Light and Darkness or Life and Death. All living things in this world, without exception, possess positive energy. When this energy is reduced to zero, it leads to death and said life bids eternal farewell to the mortal realm.

At the same time, there exists a magic called necromancy that overrides said rule.

This magic, the curse, animates a corpse with the help of negative energy.

I was brought back by Horus' magic, a moving puppet owing to the negative energy in me. The reason I am able to live despite having a still heart is because my source of energy lies elsewhere.

The source is not the positive energy that is produced by a beating heart anymore, but instead the negative energy that is produced at the moment of death. And unlike positive energy, negative energy does not naturally exhaust itself.

That is the reason undead do not have a lifespan and the why they are referred to as such.

However, that does not make the undead without flaw nor does it make me invincible.

The reason for my existence is the Lord's power that enables me to slightly deviate from the natural. If the damage to my body is so severe that it becomes unable to keep a hold on my soul, then I imagine I would die. And if for some reason the energy in me were to be exhausted, I would die.

It is really all simple up to this point.

But from this point forward, it becomes a little complex that even I cannot wrap my head around it. It is also the reason why the undead are at an overwhelming disadvantage against the Death Knights.

Well, I have been using the terms positive and negative energy to explain things in a simple manner, but strictly speaking, they slightly differ in meaning.

'Positive energy' is an energy but 'negative energy' is not one. It is a state.

The energy the Death Knights utilize (I mean, all living beings do) is the power of light, the positive energy.

Their military strength is unrivalled but when they confront undead, they do not just blindly 'destroy' but work extremely efficiently and perform a 'cleanse'. They do not use their military might to simply pulverize the undead physically but add some light energy to the undead which thereby brings them down from the negative state to zero state. And I who was finally able to come back thanks to the Lord's magic will have my body return to zero state. The moment that happens, I will be forced to conform to the rules of this world and cease to exist. I will have to face death for the second time.

This is my fatal weakness and all of the undead in general.

On the other hand, the same thing cannot be done to them. Since negative energy is not an energy per se (I am becoming more confused by the minute myself), it cannot be blasted out like a beam to bring them to the zero state.

It is impossible to discard this weakness that makes one obey the great principles of this world.

It truly is cruel that the undead can never win against them. Well, even if not for such a weakness, there is no way to win against their overwhelming strength, but I digress.

I have grown a lot stronger than before. It was only natural I was weak given my health condition, so it may be strange to compare my current state with how I was then. But after transforming into a ghoul, my physical strength, toughness and regeneration capabilities have all surpassed that of a normal human. Plus, there are certain special skills attributed to ghouls, the ability to transform my nails, 'Sharp Claw' and the ability to sharpen my fangs, 'Sharp Fang'.

Well I suppose I am two years old in undead age. Unlike fleshmen, ghouls are not capable of exerting their power unless they feast on corpses. However, their strength is so great that it cannot just be attributed to the absence of a limiter.

Generally speaking, an undead with a ghoul rank would be capable of defeating one or two soldiers of the lowest rank. Since I have a bit more brains, I should be able to take on three or even four.

However, that is nowhere near enough to win against the veritable heroes that are the Death Knights.

The quick and easy solution to the current predicament would be to run away from here. Unlike the Lord, I hold no grudge towards them nor do I wish to fight them. However, the Lord with his 'privileges' stands in my way.

The 'privileges' he holds are no joke. And I am sure it includes more than the just absolute dominance.

Absolute dominance, a rough sense of my location and the right to cast a specific spell from far away.

Even if I manage to put some physical distance in between, I can do nothing about the magical link between us. It cannot be erased. It is a safety switch that will continue to exist until the Lord perishes. The Lord can cast his spells through this link. In other words, he can turn me back into a corpse.

It is impossible for anyone else to release me from his control. No, maybe it is possible, but I am certain I cannot do it. I do not have the time either.

If I am to escape from here, I will need to launch a 'surprise attack' on him.

Honestly, I am still contemplating if I should fight the Death Knights alongside the Lord or if I should just kill the Lord and escape from here. I cannot determine which is the more difficult.

I have run out of options now. Although I find both of them to be impossible, I am going to have to make my choice.

☠☠☠

Before I could find a way to ease my worries, the next day, brought along its own new crisis. The Lord had implanted a great deal of lookouts inside the mansion.

Ones that silently creep about and relay everything they see and hear to their master. A huge parliament of owls.

Therefore, I cannot leave the mansion at night. Meaning, I, as a ghoul, have no means to satiate my appetite.