Chapter 132 – Elder Lich
Srrrk.
Grains of sand tumbled down one by one, and soon, at an uncontrollable pace, the sand mound began to collapse.
The Orb of the Undead rolled slowly downward.
At last, from within the sand, a humanoid figure emerged, clutching the orb in one hand.
'That is....'
A pitch-black robe that reflected not even the faintest light.
Etched all along its hemline were dense golden runes, incomprehensible to human tongue.
Beneath that robe was a gray skeleton, with a crimson core embedded in its chest.
The world gave such beings a name.
"E, e, Elder Lich...."
Kunel's voice quivered, drenched in fear.
Verden narrowed his eyes.
Elder Lich.
A higher species of Lich, whose main arsenal was 3rd-tier magic, but which, with blue flames glowing in its eye sockets, was known as a powerful Undead wielding no less than 5th-tier magic.
The Adventurers' Guild had classified the Elder Lich as, at minimum, Mithril-rank threat.
'But this one is different from the stories.'
Within this Elder Lich's skull flickered a flame of purple hue.
Its body was far larger than that of a normal Lich.
And, most decisively—
'The Elder Lich spoke.'
It spoke in human language.
Though awkward, it was far more fluent than the Wailing Knight he had seen before.
Perhaps this was due to the influence of the Orb of the Undead.
Verden heightened his guard to the utmost.
The opponent was not only a 5th-tier mage, but unlike a normal Elder Lich, this one was an anomaly—an Undead in possession of the Orb of the Undead, yet with intellect.
In the face of such unknown strength, a rash assault could prove disastrous.
'Now is not the time to act, but to observe.'
Verden looked at the situation with cold rationality.
At that moment, the Elder Lich's jawbone moved again.
[You... from... Estiria... Kingdom?]
A chilling, heavy voice.
There was a distinct will embedded within the Undead's words.
The first to react was the black mage.
"Ah... ah...!"
Unconsciously, Kunel staggered back.
The necrotic aura he felt exceeded everything he had ever encountered.
This was pressure rivaling even Viola... no, rivaling the Old Master.
'For the Orb of the Undead to end up in the hands of an Elder Lich...!'
The worst, it was the worst.
An Undead far stronger than a Death Knight had obtained the Orb of the Undead and undergone some form of evolution.
A black mage could understand such things.
This Elder Lich was not the same as the specimens known to the world.
There was only one choice left to him.
Whoosh.
Before his mind had time to decide, Kunel shot upward, retreating the way he had come.
'The Orb of the Undead is no longer the problem.'
That thing could not be retrieved.
Only the Old Master himself could resolve such a calamity.
But the Elder Lich had no intention of letting Kunel escape.
[Estiriaaa...!]
The Orb of the Undead in its hand flared with pulsating light.
A shadow of darkness appeared in midair.
In an instant, it caught up with Kunel, and in a single motion, seized his body.
Crack. Crunch.
"Guaaaaaaahhh!"
He screamed as unbearable pain crushed his entire body.
In the blink of an eye, Kunel was dragged down and thrown at the Elder Lich's feet.
"Kegh...!"
Biting hard on his teeth, Kunel clutched his staff.
Though paralyzed by terror, once cornered he still found the strength to resist.
Instinctively, he unleashed every black magic he could muster.
Single, double casting.
Magic power gushed from him in torrents, straining his mana circuits.
Breath grew short, yet Kunel refused to stop.
The more he fought, however, the more twisted his expression became.
5th-tier black magic,
Strengthened further by the Orb of the Undead, the translucent purple barrier cloaking the Elder Lich did not take the slightest scratch.
Kunel's forte was curses, and it was the worst possible match.
Curses could never harm the Undead.
"Huff, huff...."
Soon, drained of magic power, Kunel collapsed to his knees, gasping.
Overload wracked his mana circuits—blood vessels bulged visibly along his face and neck.
The Elder Lich raised a thin finger, pointing at him.
Craaaack.
From the ground surged sharp bones, impaling Kunel's body without regard for where they struck.
The end would be the same regardless.
Then the bones split apart, rending Kunel's corpse into nine pieces.
The Elder Lich tilted its jaw askew at the sight.
[You... are not... of Estiria....]
Slowly, the Elder Lich turned its skull, locking its burning gaze with Verden.
[Where... is the Estiria... Kingdom?]
A suffocating killing intent swallowed the space.
Just meeting that gaze alone conjured the very concept of death in the mind.
'For some reason, it bears a deep grudge against the Estiria Kingdom.'
In any case—
Fwoooosh.
Magic flared from Verden's entire body. Unfazed, he withstood the Undead's murderous aura, his blue-gray eyes glowing with azure light.
'Is this the first time I face a 5th-tier mage as an opponent?'
An unexpected encounter with a formidable foe.
Every sense screamed that underestimation would mean death.
Yet there was no problem.
No matter the difference in tier, Verden was not weak enough to cower before a mere corpse.
Boom!
Verden's magic collided with the Elder Lich's magic.
Sandstorm roared, crushing pressure descended.
Amid tension taut enough to snap at any instant, the Elder Lich moved first.
[Estiriaaan! Where is iiiit!]
A scream of hatred tore through the chamber.
That cry heralded the start of battle.
────Kwooooooom!
A blinding flash.
The colossal shockwave shook the entire cavern.
***
The black mage collective.
Subjugation of the Glory of the Dead's Hideout
Originally, Calia herself should have led the subjugation, but as she was under disciplinary confinement by the family head, she could not act.
The same went for her personal knight order.
Thus, Commander Vespa secretly gathered a handful of outstanding knights and led the expedition.
It was an act that defied the family, yet their loyalty belonged solely to Calia.
If it was her command, they were prepared to gladly give even their lives.
That was the way of a knight.
Vespa glanced back.
'Fortunately, they are following well.'
The members of the expedition had been hired by Calia with fair compensation.
At the very least, they were tested and proven, which made them easy enough to command.
'And the paladin and priest dispatched from the Church of Luas as well.'
So far, all had gone smoothly.
It was then, as they raced swiftly across the mountain ridge—
"There, I sense a foreboding aura."
In the sight of the paladin, lit by holy radiance, faint traces could be seen.
Something opaque shrouding the mountain peak.
The priest's eyes hardened.
"By my guess, a magic circle of black magic, cloaking the hideout."
The spellwork was so refined that neither ordinary mages nor priests of lesser power would have noticed.
If not for prior knowledge of the black mages' den, even the paladin might have simply passed it by.
"Stop."
At Vespa's raised hand, the expedition halted in place.
The plan of assault had already been given.
With a silent gesture, Vespa split the force into three units.
Each would seize the paths Warren had described, surround the den, and launch the subjugation.
Vespa, the paladin, and a small contingent of knights took the front.
Each gathered aura and holy power.
The subjugation, began.
Boom!
No order was needed, in a single strike the black magic circle was shattered.
From atop the cliff, black mages scrambled to gather mana.
But the expedition was faster, surging up to the summit in an instant.
Shhhhrrk!
Vespa's sword aura, leaving afterimages in the air, slashed through the black mages.
Curses flew from all sides, but the paladin raised his shield and cast a barrier of light, while the rear-line mages struck the enemy's openings with spells.
'That's the end of the outer black mages.'
Vespa's gaze turned forward.
A sinister cave.
The lair of the vile black mages allied with the Third Prince.
A dreadful aura seeped from within—he prayed all would end without calamity.
'That mage, I wonder if he still lives.'
Vespa thought of Verden.
The mage who had gone alone into the forbidden zone to recover the Orb of the Undead.
Thanks to him, they could devote all strength to the black mages' purge, but still...
'Truthfully, Lady Calia accepting his demand was close to a gamble.'
The Orb of the Undead.
To recover it meant the risk of annihilation, to abandon it was unthinkable.
Yet even if they sought aid from the Marquis Esperanza, he would never lend the family's power for such a thing.
It was, after all, the kingdom's forbidden ground.
If the knights were slaughtered, the losses would have been irreparable.
The blame as well.
Thus, none had dared even attempt a search for the orb.
'In such a time, Asher stepped forward.'
Calia could not refuse.
Even if the chances of failure towered immeasurably high—especially since he declared he would go himself.
'But perhaps, by some fortune, he has found the orb safely.'
Without clashing with anyone.
Though the chance was slim, there was always a possibility.
Vespa could only hope matters flowed as Calia desired.
With that thought, he and the expedition stepped into the den.
***
Kwooooom!
A beam of flame clashed with a beam of corruption.
The small explosion at the center whipped the air into chaos, as Verden twisted his mana violently forward.
Waves of wind entwined the fire.
The storm incinerated the corpses of black mages strewn about, then swallowed the Elder Lich whole.
Flame, one of the Undead's weaknesses.
Even the Wailing Knight he had once faced, wreathed in darkness, could not have endured it.
But this foe was different.
Within the flames flickered violet light. In the next instant, the storm froze solid, shattering into shards.
The Elder Lich stretched out its bony hand.
From the Elder Lich, waves of frost spread outward.
Air, sand, dust within the cavern—all froze solid, birthing a wasteland unfit for life.
Though a 5th-tier spell, its power far exceeded what Verden knew.
Surely the Orb of the Undead had amplified the Elder Lich itself.
Ordinarily, such magic would have slain the caster too, but the Elder Lich was Undead—immune to the cold.
For Verden, however, it was deadly.
'Crude to the extreme.'
But when it came to brute force, Verden too had his own methods.
Boom!
He slammed Oculus into the ground.
Mana surged outward, vast and unrestrained.
The cavern floor cracked open around him.
From those fissures, crimson heat roared upward, driving away the darkness.
Like the eruption of a volcano.
Flames shot high, overturning the cold and completely negating the magic.
Where ice and magma collided, steam hissed thick, and through it the Elder Lich could be seen, muttering something.
'Indeed, unlike any mage I've fought before.'
The Elder Lich, empowered by the Orb of the Undead, wielded magic and curses of overwhelming might.
By memory, even compared to a 5th-tier mage of Bohemirn's Magic Tower, it was greater still.
Even with his composite spells and chaos magic, in a contest of pure spellcasting, Verden's side was the one at disadvantage.
'Though I do have a trump card....'
Celestial magic.
Even using just Meteor or Comet, he could overwhelm the battle at once.
'But I will not use it.'
For a simple reason.
This was not a crisis, but an opportunity.
Verden stood at the threshold of the 5th tier.
For one striving to surpass that wall, this Elder Lich was a sacrifice more than worthy.
Should he rely only on Harkan's arcane arts, he would only imprison himself.
The Elder Lich was but a stepping stone.
'And so, I will crush it, and ascend.'
As a mage, pure and true.
Thump.
Verden's heart and mana circuits pulsed as one.