The thick steam born from melting snow, mixed with the cold winter wind, began to scatter and fade away.
Through the thinning mist, Valorant stared at the necromancer standing before him.
The necromancer hadn't moved even an inch from where he had been standing before—as if the blazing attack had simply passed around him.
Valorant carefully examined the man dressed in black. The snow beneath the necromancer's feet, though slightly melted, was still there.
At that moment, everything became clear.
"Who are you?" Valorant asked, pausing briefly as he waited for an answer.
"You're not undead. I understand that much."
The summoner of the dead slowly raised his hand, as though trying to grasp the full moon hanging in the dark sky. The instant he did, the scattered skeletons around him responded to his call.
Bones rolled across the ground, colliding with one another as they gradually gathered into a single place. What had once been separate parts of many different bodies now fused together into one massive form.
Hearing the commotion outside, Gustav rushed out of the mansion.
"…What the hell…"
The steward froze in place, staring wide-eyed at the enormous humanoid monster standing before the Sage. It looked like a colossal statue made from poorly assembled bones.
Standing behind it, the controller of the bone statue slowly lowered his hand and pointed toward the mansion. Like a loyal servant obeying its master, the giant took its first step forward.
Valorant wasted no time and charged into battle. He rushed around the massive construct and sprinted straight toward the necromancer.
[Fiery Wrath: Flame Mana]
Raising his sword, he poured even more mana into it. The moment he felt the blade had absorbed enough, Valorant launched a direct attack at the necromancer.
Strangely enough, despite his master being in danger, the bone giant continued walking forward, paying no attention to Valorant at all.
Just as Valorant's sword neared the man in black, a circular, protective barrier appeared around the necromancer. But such a defense was meaningless before a weapon wielded by one of the Seven Sages.
Valorant's blade sliced through the barrier as smoothly as cutting butter, shattering it instantly and piercing straight through the necromancer's chest. There was no time left for resistance.
Struck through the heart, the necromancer lost control of his body and collapsed heavily onto the ground.
Valorant felt a brief sense of relief, as if everything had ended. He turned back toward the mansion—
But the crude bone giant was still moving.
Gustav was desperately trying to block its advance.
'Why is it still moving?'
The necromancer was dead. The curse should have vanished. That alone should have been enough.
Yet it wasn't.
Seeing the giant nearing the mansion, Valorant didn't hesitate and attacked it. He raised his sword and closed the distance.
But before his blade could even reach its target, he was forced to retreat.
"Damn it!"
The bones forming the giant's body didn't just support its structure—they also lashed out, grabbing at anything that came too close.
Realizing he couldn't approach it directly, Valorant switched to ranged attacks. Lifting his sword, he unleashed small, green flame slashes that followed the trajectory of his swings.
Each strike left heavy damage behind—but the bones repaired themselves, allowing the monster to continue moving.
Suddenly, the massive construct froze in place.
It neither moved nor took another step.
Confused, Valorant turned his gaze toward the necromancer's body lying on the ground.
Despite having taken a fatal blow, the black, curse-formed garments covering the necromancer began to crumble away—vanishing into the air.
Gustav, still panting, stared at the giant and asked,
"What happened?!"
Valorant answered calmly,
"Now… he's dead."
Moments later, cracking sounds echoed from the giant's body. Soon after, just as it had once assembled itself, the massive structure collapsed and scattered back into countless bones.
Seeing the enemy's defeat, Gustav finally let out a sigh of relief.
"It's over," he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Yet anxiety still lingered on Valorant's face. He scanned the surroundings, as if searching for something he had missed.
Suddenly, he rushed toward the necromancer's corpse.
Gustav followed closely behind. Standing over the body, they waited for the curse to fully dissipate.
"What's happening?" Gustav asked, watching the necromancer's clothes dissolve into the air.
"The dark magic is leaving his body," Valorant replied.
"Unlike ordinary undead, necromancers possess an enormous amount of dark magic. When they die, you can actually see it escaping."
Once the curse had fully dispersed, the face of the man lying on the ground was finally revealed.
The moment Gustav saw it, he froze in shock.
Reading his reaction, Valorant asked,
"Who is it?"
"Fermak… the duke's personal physician," Gustav answered, falling silent for a moment.
"I called him today because my lord's condition worsened. He came during dinner and left shortly after."
A cold silence fell between them, deepening the confusion.
"But he behaved completely normally. I didn't notice anything unusual."
"Did you leave him alone with the duke?" Valorant asked.
"No," Gustav replied—then suddenly stopped, his expression changing.
At that moment, everything came back to him.
"Yes… when I went to inform you of the duke's death, I left him alone with the duke."
Valorant exhaled heavily.
"I see."
That meant while Fermak and Alaris were alone, Alaris must have transferred his curse to him.
But then, an unsettling question surfaced—one that troubled them both.
"Then where is Dan?"
Valorant's eyes widened as he turned to Gustav.
"Was Dan with him?"
"Yes. I sent Dan to escort the doctor home."
Both men froze.
"What if Dan was turned into one of the necromancer's vessels?"
"Then that means… while we were fighting Fermak, he wasn't even here."
Valorant and Gustav slowly turned back toward the mansion.
"I forgot about the house," they said almost in unison—
and both immediately broke into a run.
Valorant and Gustav had known Alaris for a long time. Because of that, they were well aware of the dark magic he had once tampered with.
Soulless Necromancy—
a forbidden art that resurrected only the body of the dead, allowing the caster to transfer their own soul into that vessel. It stole only the consciousness of the deceased, never summoning the original soul.
Bit by bit, the horrifying truth began to take shape.
The necromancer…
was still alive.