Chapter 168. Grim Reaper (1)
Chiiiiiik...
Where the death cry vanished, only uncooled heat and blackened ashes remained.
The white-boned Viola.
It was the end of the black Magus who had carried out a massacre in the diocese. Verden, confirming that her magic power had completely disappeared, descended to the ground.
"Phew."
Verden exhaled lightly.
The beginning and the end of the magic duel.
From start to finish, Verden held a slight advantage, and aside from damaged equipment and a few scratches, he had suffered no serious harm.
Of course, that didn't mean it had been easy.
The vast amount of magic power Verden possessed.
Even though he still had plenty left, even by his standards he had consumed a considerable amount of it.
On top of that, his head was burning from having computed dozens of spells. The burden on his body also piled up when he used
'And the opponent was a Magus.'
The Way of Magic that strays from the laws.
And the unique magic born from such a path does not belong to ordinary tiers.
That was why Verden calmly analyzed Viola's magic.
Recklessly revealing one's full power against a Magus with a unique magic was a poor strategy.
A trump card is not something to show when the opponent is at their best, but when you are sure they cannot respond.
For Verden, at least, that was always the case.
Thus, this first-ever duel against a Magus,
It was only natural to feel exhausted both mentally and physically.
But in the end, only one thing mattered.
'I won.'
Verden's magic crushed the Way of Magic.
Of course, the Way of Magic differs greatly from person to person. Even among Magi, it varies endlessly. But regardless, Viola had been a Magus.
In other words, Verden's power now rivaled not that of an ordinary mage, but of a Magus.
'If I were to pioneer my own Way of Magic now, what would happen?'
He could hardly imagine it.
What path he would create, how strong it would be.
The belated elation of victory, and the expectation of the future, filled Verden's chest.
"...?"
At that moment, something caught Verden's eyes.
As he stepped forward, a scorched bag appeared amidst Viola's ashes. From the feel of it, it resembled his own bag, likely a type of spatial bag.
It seemed fortune had spared it from becoming cinders, shielded by Viola's body.
Might something be inside?
He wanted to check right away... but now was not the time.
Verden turned his gaze and moved toward the passage.
The ominous waves he had felt earlier were gone. But in their place, a thick aura of death lingered.
Compared, it was far beyond even the Elder Lich he had faced in the Cave without Light.
Taking Viola's spatial bag, Verden descended underground without hesitation.
***
Two corpse devourers lay collapsed on the ground.
For Gloss and Calia, subjugating mid-ranked Undead only took some time, but it was never particularly difficult.
But that wasn't the problem.
"Haa, haa..."
Gloss, one shoulder hanging limp, breathed harshly.
His pauldron had been shattered, revealing a shoulder blackened with bruises. The bone was broken, a wound that even the miracle of healing could not instantly mend.
Before him, Calia was kneeling on one knee.
She too looked just as miserable as Gloss.
Her innards were shaken from the brutal impact. Her armor, dented deep into her abdomen, pressed painfully against her nerves.
Clenching her teeth, Calia grabbed at the armor's gaps.
"Hrrrgh...!"
───Crackkk!
The broken pieces of armor scattered across the floor.
Her breathing eased just slightly, and using her sword as a staff, Calia pushed herself upright. She gazed forward, unable to hide her exhaustion.
"To endure, even a little, against the Grim Reaper contracted to me… your skill surpasses the rumors."
Clap, clap, clap.
Nosa applauded in admiration.
Before him, a towering reaper loomed, its gaze fixed on the two.
Calia tightened her grip on her sword.
'That such an Undead even exists in this world...!'
The Grim Reaper.
The scythe it held, nearly three meters long, contained overwhelming power. Just approaching that Undead filled one with unspeakable terror.
Even the miracle protecting their minds could not ward it off.
Just two exchanges of blows.
That was enough for Calia and Gloss to understand. This was a being that surpassed even high-ranked Undead like Death Knights.
Cold sweat slid down to Gloss's chin.
"Why so stiff-faced? Where is that spirit you showed just moments ago?"
"..."
"Tsk, tsk, regret now, do you? You should have just stayed quiet. If you hadn't interfered, we would've left the Kingdom long ago. But no, you had to meddle and make trouble for yourselves."
Nosa clicked his tongue, shaking his head.
Yet despite his sneers, neither of them reacted. They focused only on catching their breath, desperately thinking of a way to subjugate the Grim Reaper.
And then,
"Captain Gloss."
Calia called to Gloss.
No need for further words. He already knew what she meant.
Together, they raised their swords.
No signal was needed. They charged forward in unison, like moths diving willingly into flame. Nosa sneered.
"Kill them."
The Grim Reaper pulled back its scythe.
The sticky aura of necromancy gathered on the blade, then with a swing, countless slashes of death poured forth, stealing away vitality.
Someone had to block them.
As Calia stepped forward to deflect the strikes, Gloss, cloaked in light, stood before her.
"Haaaaap!"
Gloss unleashed his full power and cleaved through the slashes.
One became two, two became three, three became four... the blades of necromancy he couldn't block cut into him, yet he didn't falter.
At last, Gloss broke through the onslaught of death and leapt forward.
"O, Luas!"
Fwoooosh!
He gathered every drop of holy power he had, concentrating it into his blade. The light of divinity that annihilates Undead. Gloss shone with sacred power and thrust his sword with all his might.
At that instant, the Grim Reaper blurred.
"What?!"
The Grim Reaper's ability, which Gloss had not known.
Entering the immaterial realm, no physical action could harm it. No matter how powerful the magic, no matter how strong the sword aura.
In other words, nearly invincible.
Gloss passed straight through its body.
His all-out strike, wrung from every last bit of strength, was rendered utterly useless. As he fell to the ground, the giant scythe descended upon him.
Shaaak!
Blood scattered.
The arm holding his sword flew into the air, and unable to withstand the shock, Gloss tumbled across the ground.
"Ghhhk..."
He tried to rise again, but no strength came.
The more blood poured from his severed arm, the hazier his consciousness grew. His sword sank into a pool of blood. Meanwhile, the Grim Reaper stood firm, unscathed.
But Gloss's sacrifice was not meaningless.
'Please...'
His slowly dimming vision,
Within it, Calia surged past the Grim Reaper, charging straight at Nosa.
***
White Shadow.
Calia, leaving an afterimage, rushed toward Nosa at her greatest speed.
If the Grim Reaper could not be fought, then strike down the one who summoned it.
That was the only answer Calia and Gloss had found. Thanks to the distraction of the Paladin Captain Gloss, an opportunity had opened.
'I cannot let it slip.'
Gripping her sword with both hands, Calia spun her body with all the speed of her charge.
That rotation poured force into her strike. In an instant she was at Nosa's side, white aura erupting from her blade.
White Scene.
Calia's ultimate martial art.
Her final strike, pouring in every ounce of aura. The speed was too great for the eye to follow.
───Shaaak!
A streak of white sword aura cleaved Nosa cleanly in half, horizontally.
In the blink of an eye, Calia's sword that had been on the left now rested to the right. Not a drop of blood stained the blade. Only the afterimage of sword aura remained, proof that Nosa had been cut.
'Got him.'
Calia was certain.
Soon, Nosa's bisected body toppled to the ground. Having killed the contractor, the Grim Reaper would surely be affected.
"But you were wrong."
"...?!"
Nosa's severed head, lying on the ground, spoke.
As Calia faltered in shock, Nosa smirked.
"The Grim Reaper's contractor becomes a part of the Grim Reaper. Regrettably for you, I am not the true body."
Nosa's body dissolved into black smoke,
And from the Grim Reaper's shadow, he was reborn, without a single wound.
"The true body is the Grim Reaper. As long as the Grim Reaper does not perish, I will possess an undying body, unable to be harmed or killed."
Before he summoned the Grim Reaper,
Calia had pierced Nosa's heart without doubt. And after the Grim Reaper appeared, the fatal wound vanished without a trace.
'Could it be… permanent?!'
An immortal that cannot die no matter what is done. Such a thing she had never even heard of.
"It is only natural you cannot comprehend it. The knowledge of a mere noble's daughter is bound to be insignificant. That is why you came here so fearlessly. And judging by the fact you bypassed my Undead, you must have brought along your precious White Crest Knights and Paladins as well."
White Crest Knights.
At that word, Calia's body twitched.
"Once I kill the two of you, your subordinates will be next. I will carve you apart alive before their eyes, then feed you to the ghouls. Wouldn't that make quite the spectacle?"
"You bastard...!"
"Angry? But that is reality. And it is all of your own making. Had you not interfered, or better yet, had you never come here, you might have lived. Ah, I can hardly wait. What words will your knights utter as they curse you when facing their deaths?"
It was provocation.
Obvious, cheap whispers.
Yet even knowing it, Calia's mind could not help but waver. The power of the Grim Reaper was more than enough to annihilate the subjugation squad above.
In the end, there was only one thing Calia could do.
"Silence!"
Calia's white sword flashed.
She charged desperately at the Grim Reaper, swinging her blade with all her might, but against the Grim Reaper in
And soon, the Grim Reaper regained substance.
With a swing of its scythe, not the blade but the shaft smashed into Calia's side.
────Kwaaang!
"Gahk?!"
Calia was hurled away, crashing into the wall.
Her sword slipped from her hand and clattered across the floor. She tried desperately to grab it again, but her body would not move. All she could do was cling to her fading consciousness.
"It is over."
Calia and Gloss, easily subdued.
There were no variables left.
Relieved, yet at the same time deeply irritated, Nosa clicked his tongue.
'That the one to contract with the Grim Reaper was me and not the Third Prince, damn it.'
The Grim Reaper bestows immense power upon its contractor.
But that power comes with two prices.
First, the theft of the soul.
The more one borrows the Grim Reaper's power, the more the contractor's soul is gradually stolen.
The body itself suffers no change, but precisely because of that, one cannot feel how much has been taken. Death could come suddenly at any moment.
And second, the sealing.
As long as the contract endures, the contractor's own power is sealed. The magic Nosa had learned, even the Way of Magic he had pioneered.
It did not mean the Undead he had created vanished, but without control, he could no longer command them at will.
Aside from immortality, Nosa's power now was little more than that of an ordinary man.
Above all, being unable to wield the magic he had spent a lifetime cultivating left him stifled and furious beyond words.
"Huu..."
Nosa sighed, suppressing his anger.
Yes, there was no helping it.
He could not reverse the ritual now, and with variables to deal with, this had been the best option.
'If only this were not the Grim Reaper's ritual field, there would have been no problem.'
With another high Undead, he would have simply taken a villager, forced a contract upon them, and then killed them right after.
But the Grim Reaper's contractor gains immortality.
That meant unless the Grim Reaper itself was destroyed, the contractor would never die. If that villager went on a rampage with the Grim Reaper's power, it would be disastrous.
'Yes, endure it. The sealing of my magic is not eternal.'
With the power of the 'Third Servant', the contract with the Grim Reaper could be undone. Whether the favor would be granted was uncertain, however.
Thus, he consoled himself, barely managing to accept the situation.
At least the ritual field was functioning properly.
Having completed his assigned task, it was time to return.
Just as Nosa moved the Grim Reaper to finish things,
Bzzzzzt!
"Hm?!"
From the darkness, three spears of lightning flew.
Startled, Nosa faltered, and the explosion of electricity swallowed both him and the Grim Reaper.
'No way.'
There was only one person who could cast lightning magic within the ritual field.
Calia's voice trembled faintly.
"Ae... sher...!"
Verden stepped out from the shadows.
***
Having entered the deepest part of the ritual field, Verden swiftly surveyed the situation.
Gloss lay collapsed with an arm severed, Calia leaned against the wall. Both were gravely wounded, but their vitality had not yet faded.
Verden approached Calia, whose consciousness still lingered.
"Are you all right?"
"As you... see..."
Calia gave a weak smile.
Then, she grasped Verden's wrist and whispered faintly.
"Asher... that is dangerous..."
Nosa, the contractor, was an immortal who could not die even when cut in half. And the mighty Undead Grim Reaper, aside from its attacks, turned immaterial with Astralization, rendering all assaults useless.
Especially for a mage, it was a formidable foe.
No spell would work unless one could close in. No matter how powerful a mage they were.
So run away.
Take the subjugation squad above, before it was too late.
Calia's hand trembled slightly.
At that sight, Verden narrowed his eyes.
An Undead capable of instilling such fear into Calia...
It seemed this was not merely a high-ranked Undead like an Elder Lich or Death Knight.
"And who might you be?"
At the ritual's center,
As the explosion faded, Nosa and the Grim Reaper revealed themselves. Despite being struck by 5th-tier lightning magic, they were unscathed.
Immortality.
The word flashed in Verden's mind.
"Asher...?"
Verden walked to Gloss, who lay nearby.
Pouring the highest-grade potion over him, he stemmed the bleeding, then lifted him by the nape and placed him beside Calia.
Calia blinked blankly.
"What are you...."
"I will take care of this shortly."
Verden stepped forward.
Calia said something behind him, but he paid no heed.
Soon, Verden entered the ritual's core.
By the Grim Reaper's side, Nosa sneered.
"I wondered what you were doing, appearing so suddenly... This is absurd. To suddenly show up and play the savior. Boasting should be reserved for the right time and place, don't you think?"
Verden's gaze fixed upon Nosa.
In his black eyes dwelled only arrogance. The arrogance that no matter what, he could not die, rooted in his immortality, and in that scythe-wielding Undead at his side.
"Ridiculous."
The Fang of Gluttony, Rupel.
In the past, Verden had fought a being with immortality. In the space called Gluttony's Stomach, that creature had worn eyes much like this old man's. Calling itself immortal, undying, even divine.
And Verden killed it.
At the end, it begged for life.
This time would be no different.
The activated mana circuits,
Magic power surged around Verden.