Chapter 134. I'm Back
He was a court mage, loyal to the royal family of Estiria.
Fulfilling the will of the crown, that was the duty of the group to which he belonged.
Whether it was burying alive his own soldiers accused of treason during the war with the Republic,
or binding innocent villagers, free of malice, and delivering them to the new chancellor,
no matter how much blood pooled upon his hands, he endured it all with nothing but loyalty.
Eliminating the dissidents who could bring chaos to the kingdom, that was his mission.
And then, one day, truth arrived unexpectedly.
Human experimentation.
By royal decree, a cursed place had been wrought, where the hideous results met a cruel end, children and adults alike.
[Ah....]
Only then could he understand.
Why the soldiers had to be buried, what became of the villagers who had been dragged away.
This was the dreadful shadow hidden behind the royal family's facade.
Soon after, a man came to him.
A magus, the very pinnacle of court mages, one whom he revered as a great figure.
He spoke in a low voice.
────Suspicion of treason falls upon you.
The reason was said to be his collusion with Duke Riviant, who had risen in rebellion against the crown.
Of course, it was a lie.
He had never once set foot in the duke's territory, let alone met the duke himself, how could he ever have been a spy?
This was nothing but a silencing, the same as all those orders he had followed from the crown, that slaughtered so many.
[Es... tiria....]
He resisted, but victory was impossible.
A 5th-tier magus, who had realized the way of magic, was far too overwhelming.
He barely saved his own life by using the comrades, who had shared in the royal missions, as shields, and fled, but it was only a matter of time.
So he leapt into the Cave without Light. And he died.
The agony of being eaten alive.
He clawed desperately through the depths of the cave, but in the end, only a skull and a few bone fragments fell into the abyss below.
[Estiri... a...!]
But it was enough, for him to become Undead.
By fortune, he rose as an Elder Lich, and wandered the darkness for long ages.
Decades later, he obtained the Orb of the Undead, and slowly recovered both his memories and his intellect.
At last, he could even recall a new purpose.
Revenge upon the royal family, the ones who had slain the dog that had served them with such loyalty.
That was how it should have been.
[The royal family... where....]
The Elder Lich stretched a hand toward the empty air.
Its core was shattered from within, so it could no longer maintain its form.
From the fingertips, his body began to crack.
[Where....]
Pssshhh.
The Elder Lich's body began to dissolve into ash.
Even the black robe that melted into the void vanished without trace, leaving behind only the Orb of the Undead.
***
"It's over."
The Elder Lich was completely annihilated.
Huu. Verden braced his hands on his knees.
As the thrill of battle slowly subsided, weariness came rushing in.
Of course it did.
For days in the Cave without Light, he had faced countless abnormal species and demi-humans.
He prided himself on having lived through fierce days, but even compared to that, the density of battle here had been overwhelming.
Still, it was refreshing.
Less than a year since he had achieved Defying the Heavens, he had already ascended to the 5th tier.
It was truly growth attained miraculously, within the span of Verden's life.
And yet, he felt no particular sense of accomplishment.
For he had already experienced this realm before.
Even when he could not move his magic power at all, only forcibly raising his mana circuit to the level of the 5th tier—still, the path was the path.
He already knew what lay at the end, and Verden's body remembered.
That was why, unlike others, he reached the 5th tier without any great obstacles.
So there was no need to shiver in awe, nor to marvel.
Simply, rejoice.
That he now stood at the true starting point, to walk as a transcendent.
Step.
Verden moved forward.
Upon a mound of sand lay the Orb of the Undead. Its light had grown even dimmer than when he first saw it.
It seemed much of its magic power and spirit had been drained by the Elder Lich.
Verden extended his arm.
Though the black mage Warrens had warned him never to touch it, he cared little.
As his fingertips brushed the orb, the aura of death crept slowly up his hand.
'Pathetic.'
Fwoooosh.
Verden's magic power crushed the Orb of the Undead.
The foul aura raged in rebellion, but to one who had reached the 5th tier, it was a trifling defiance.
Forcing it down with brute force, he succeeded, and soon it grew quiet.
"...!"
It was then.
Within the Orb of the Undead, he sensed thought.
A familiar sensation, the lingering memories of the Elder Lich's hatred.
'Hardly something to be surprised by now.'
The memories of the Wailing Knight.
The memories of the spirit.
And now, the memories of the Elder Lich, the third.
Verden pressed down with his magic power and accepted the transmission of memory.
There was no danger of being swallowed by the wrath of the Undead, nor of suffering psychic trauma.
This, he was certain of.
Before long, a death flashed through his mind.
But unlike with the Wailing Knight, this time was different.
Because he was prepared, he grasped far more fragments of memory than before.
Verden arranged the recollections of the Undead.
In summary—
In life, the Elder Lich had been a court mage.
While following royal orders to purge and to supply, he had discovered human experimentation, and was silenced. Something like that.
'A tragic end with a story.'
Of course, Verden's interest went no further.
The sense of betrayal the Elder Lich had felt, such things meant nothing to him.
'But there is something to note.'
First, human experimentation.
The moment he saw it, he knew at once whose work it was.
It could only have been done by Gluttony of the past.
'The Listener once said, not only the new chancellor but also the mages he brought along were members of Gluttony.'
And, with the crown's permission, they had conducted large-scale human experimentation, producing tens of thousands of victims.
In the end, the Ark personally moved, annihilating Gluttony including the chancellor, and even disposing of the test subjects.
'Which means, these memories must be from around thirty years ago.'
He roughly understood the background.
But the second problem was this.
The magus who had singlehandedly slaughtered the group the Elder Lich once belonged to in life.
Verden had never seen that face directly, yet indirectly, it lingered in his memory.
'The middle-aged man, who had kidnapped the elf alongside the forest spirit.'
Though the difference in years made him look younger, he was unmistakably the same person.
'That magus is clearly someone tied directly to the royal family....'
Why did he take the elf?
Was it related to Gluttony? Seeing that he had not been executed by the Ark, it seemed he was not directly connected.
'For now, I can't make heads or tails of it.'
Still, he could understand, just how rotten the royal family of Estiria was.
...Though in truth, Verden too had his own ties with the crown.
He had played a decisive role in crushing a portion of the Union, including the Glory of the Dead.
In short, even if he was now at odds with the third prince, there was no excuse to be made.
For a moment, he thought, could it be that he would end up hostile to the royal family as a whole...?
Verden shook his head.
'No, surely things won't go that far.'
To oppose the royal house of a kingdom, that was rebellion, that was treason.
Even Verden had no intention of charging so recklessly.
Unless, the royal family tried to kill him first.
Whatever the case, for now it was nothing but pointless speculation.
'More important than that is delivering the Orb of the Undead to Calia.'
Verden turned his back.
He stepped forward, leaving the Cave without Light behind.
***
"Kuuhhh!"
The tip of a sword pierced through the black mage's abdomen.
Twisting the blade, and then sweeping it sideways, the black mage was killed instantly.
The subjugation soldier, panting heavily, dropped to one knee.
Struck by a curse of paralysis, even breathing was painfully difficult.
Then, from behind, a warm aura washed over him.
"I've alleviated the curse. I cannot fully dispel it, but it won't hinder your movements for now."
"Th-thank you."
The soldier bowed his head, and the priest smiled gently.
Thus far, the subjugation of the wicked black mages was proceeding without mishap.
For the black mages, a subjugation force supported by priests was their very nemesis.
They had even managed to rescue a woman who had been held captive in the hideout.
The priest removed the robe draped over his shoulder, and offered it to her.
"This carries the effect of warmth, it will help you endure the cold."
"Ah... th-thank you, priest...!"
The woman bowed again and again, expressing her gratitude.
To save a lost lamb in danger, that was his fulfillment.
"But, priest, will I be able to return home? My younger siblings must be waiting...."
"But of course. By the oath of Luaas, I will see you safely returned to your family's embrace. But first, we'll have you recover your health in the city of Rines."
With a gentle tone, the priest reassured her.
"Rines... that great city ruled by the honorable Marquis Esperanza, you mean?"
"That is so. They are those who devote themselves wholly to the peace of the kingdom. Even in your rescue, their aid was great. All this must surely be the guidance of Luaas."
"Ahh... those people..."
The woman nodded her head.
Then, stepping closer behind the priest, she whispered softly.
"So it was Esperanza who dared to intrude here? I heard you lost track of the traitor's whereabouts, did he go that way?"
"What? What are you—"
"Thanks for the tip. Then, farewell."
Pchit.
A thorn of bone, thinner than a needle, pierced through the priest's spine and brain.
With a single blow, killing him instantly, the woman—Viola—let out a quiet sigh.
"Old Nosa, he always pretended to be so strict, yet he let his hideout be exposed? Well, not that it mattered, there were only scraps left here anyway."
From the moment a traitor arose, relocating the hideout had been the most basic of basics.
Anyway.
"If the traitor joined with Esperanza... then the Orb of the Undead must be there too?"
After a brief moment of thought, Viola made her decision.
Having already wasted far too much time in the kingdom, she longed to finish her deal with the third prince as soon as possible.
Her gaze drifted to the corpse of the priest.
And she grinned.
"Perhaps it's time I enjoyed a puppet show again, been a while."
***
...Time passed, and the three divisions of the subjugation force reunited.
Though there were wounded, thanks to the priests not a single casualty had occurred. What's more, they had succeeded in rescuing those who were held within the hideout.
Due to the curses engraved inside the black mages' bodies, they could take no prisoners, but with testimony from the rescued, they could draw closer to the truth.
"Fortunately, it seems none have escaped."
A paladin, after thoroughly checking for any remaining stragglers, spoke.
It was the very best of outcomes.
The subjugation of the black mages had been a success, without a doubt.
'Lady Calia will surely be pleased.'
Vespa smiled inwardly, leading the return of the subjugation force.
But neither the paladins, nor the priests, nor any other, realized it.
That one priest had died.
And that a black mage, wearing his skin, was among them.
***
"Well done, Vespa."
"I only did my duty, Lady Calia."
Calia nodded with satisfaction.
There was no word such as disappointment, for her loyal knight-captain.
Yet soon, Calia's expression shifted slightly.
"...I wonder if Asher is safe."
For some time now, Calia's heart had been uneasy.
Though he had insisted on going himself, in the end it was as though she had sent him to his death.
It felt like she had pushed a heavy burden upon him.
"He's not a man to be felled so easily, my lady, so fear not. And it will still be at least a week before he returns, so it's best to trust him and wait for word."
"Yes, but still...."
Negativity outweighed affirmation.
Calia sipped her sweet tea, easing her bitter heart.
Just then, a servant knocked at the door. A sign that a guest had arrived.
'That must be Bishop Neviron.'
A few days earlier, he had said he wished to consult, for Warrens's condition was worsening.
Even before a voice could be heard, Calia waved her hand. Vespa personally went to greet the guest, and returned a short while later.
Calia rose to welcome the visitor.
"Eh...?"
"I'm back."
Not the bishop, but Verden.
He appeared, very much alive.