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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Fragment of the Immortal King (2)
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I locked eyes with the black mage guarding the entrance.
He was a friend who had provided great help in gathering information alongside Jeraph.
[Hello? Nice weather we're having today, isn't it?]
I greeted him warmly, but all I got in return was a cold shoulder.
The moment I spoke, he turned and fled without even looking back.
[Hey, ignoring me like that hurts my feelings.]
To soothe my unexpectedly wounded pride from his icy reaction, I glanced around at my reliable companions who were with me.
[Kuhuhuhu...]
Clatter— clatter—
The passage, darkened to pitch black by the deathly aura emanating from the undead, echoed with eerie wails and the glowing eyes of hundreds.
The silhouettes flickering in the gloom were all extraordinary, their sturdy forms exuding an imposing presence.
'Hmm... my friends do look a bit scary.'
But no matter how threatening my friends appeared, I couldn't forgive judging people by their looks.
What mattered was the inner self, after all.
And I had confidence in mine.
'Of course. A skull like mine is plenty handsome. The bones are sleek and well-proportioned.'
[Kihihihik—]
"Gah—! When did they get here?! Get lost!">
Boom—!
The fleeing black mage was suddenly surrounded by ghosts bursting from the floor at the building's entrance and forced into a fight.
Truth be told, I never intended to let him go from the start.
I planned to wipe out every black mage and minion in this village.
I immediately commanded all my undead subordinates.
[Kill every human in this village. Don't let a single one escape.]
I had no worries about innocent people being caught up in this.
My 'Life Detection' skill, enhanced after evolving into a Demi-Lich, covered the entire village and could even sense the black magic power of those within.
There were no innocents among the living in this village.
[Kieek—!]
Clack, click!
Hundreds of undead behind me surged past the black mage at the entrance and into the village.
They would encircle the outskirts first, preventing escape, then push inward.
Roar— boom!
"Urk... Me... dying in a place like this... to scum like you...!"
Trapped in the midst of the undead, the black mage thrashed desperately, unleashing every spell he had.
And I adjusted my undead to let him expend all his abilities without finishing him off too quickly.
It wasn't out of kindness. Rather...
Roar—
[Hmm... like this? Not too difficult.]
I murmured while gazing at the black flames dancing atop my hand.
Wicked Wisdom granted absolute understanding and talent for black magic.
But it didn't impart the 'knowledge' to use it, so I still needed to learn.
I could break the barrier at the secret passage entrance by touching and comprehending it directly, but other black magics were different.
[Groooar—]
Splatter—!
And here was an excellent teaching aid.
I absorbed every bit of practical knowledge like a sponge, watching the undead get shredded by his black magic.
And Wicked Wisdom didn't just let me mimic—it revealed improvements, applications, and derivatives.
"Gahk... Cough!"
I thought I'd given him plenty of leeway, but he overexerted himself and collapsed, vomiting blood.
'Well, I've sucked up all I can. No need to drag it out.'
I glanced at the black mage as he was buried under charging undead, organizing my thoughts.
'Killing Jeraph by surprise really was pure luck.'
An Elite Skeleton going toe-to-toe with someone of that level was impossible.
Jeraph was on par with him, so without that luck, I'd have been smashed flat.
'Alright, preparations are mostly done. Time to greet the intruder... no, the thief who stole this house?'
Kaboom—!
The barrier enveloping the entire building shattered, and something hurtled toward me, exploding into fragments.
One of the undead I'd sent earlier—my strongest, a Death Knight.
"You... how dare you...!"
An elderly man with a twisted, trembling face—Malcolm—stepped into the building.
He wore a black robe he'd somehow donned, clutching a skull staff.
I looked behind Malcolm.
I'd assigned all three of my Death Knights to buy time, but only fragments remained—they'd all been defeated.
I'd suspected as much when the links severed, but it was still regrettable.
Even in poor condition, Death Knights were top-tier undead, hard to obtain.
It was a waste to expend them just on stalling, but no other choice.
Scanning the village, I'd gauged the old man's power—my undead could only buy time.
I needed that interval to familiarize myself with black magic before facing him directly.
[Hello, Village Chief? Long time no see. How have you been?]
"What?! Who the hell are you?!"
[Me? It's me. Don't you recognize me?]
Had he already forgotten my face and voice? How disappointing.
I scratched my skull with one hand and continued in a voice resonating with mana.
[Hmm, if you don't remember... I was supposed to stay just two days, help with village chores, and leave, right?]
"Two days...? You're Hans! You became an Elite Skeleton, so how?!">
[Figure that out yourself. Anyway, I've ended up staying longer than expected. So I figured I'd help out more with village matters.]
"Help? After turning everything to shit, what nonsense is this?!">
Malcolm gnashed his teeth and shouted, but I stood tall.
[I'm talking about trash cleanup. I'll give this whole village—full of non-recyclable waste—a thorough spring cleaning. Oh, no need to thank me. We folks gotta help each other out, right? Hahaha!]
I ended up laughing cheekily, swelling with pride.
Who knew volunteering felt this good?
I should start some back on Earth too. With an avatar, of course.
"...You. How the hell did you acquire that 'Fragment of the Immortal King'?">
'Ah, that's it? I wanted to provoke him more.'
As Malcolm surged with black mana, ready to strike, I prepared spells in tandem and prodded one last time.
[This? Thanks to you, Village Chief, I lost my heart. So I grabbed a replacement from the warehouse. It's still far from enough, but it'll have to do for now.]
Kwarung—!
The instant I finished speaking, black thorns erupted from the floor, lunging at me.
I reacted swiftly, erecting a shadow barrier to block them.
And as I counterattacked with a barrage of the black flames I'd just learned—
"[Finger of Death]"
Phewing—
A black flash shot out in an instant.
The moment I heard Malcolm's voice, it pierced my shadow barrier and mana shield around me, severing my right arm entirely.
[Tch... Old timer, doesn't chanting spell names every time embarrass you?]
"No idea what you mean. [Call of Hell]"
'Flashy old fool.'
From what I'd grasped of this place's magic system, constructing mana was key—no need to chant every spell.
If it was a routine for focus, fine.
Clatter, clank—
[Groooar...]
Fiends crawled from beneath Malcolm's feet, tangling with my undead minions.
Lumpy, clay-like abominations and bones bared teeth to destroy each other.
We traded blows and barbs nonstop.
"Even with the 'Fragment of the Immortal King,' that's all you've got? Do you even know what that is?! It wasn't meant to just turn one Elite Skeleton into a half-baked Demi-Lich and call it done. [Guidance of the Death Spirits!]"
[Oh yeah? It was incomplete—what do you want? I made do with it like this. If it were you, no chance!]
"Forcing an immature, incomplete fragment into a lowly body... All my efforts down the drain. The work I've put in...! [Chain Bone Explosion!]"
Wails filled the battlefield as black flames and bone shards erupted everywhere.
Our argument raged on amid the chaos.
'Hmm... Like slathering an endgame enchantment on a beginner's wooden sword. Kinda feel bad?'
Lie. I didn't feel bad at all.
"I don't know how you resisted its corrosion, but I'll dismantle your body piece by piece for experiments! [Broken Ectoplasm]"
I hurriedly raised a black barrier to block the destructive burst.
But his constant abuse soured my mood.
What gall—the victim was clearly me, by any measure.
And tacking spell names at the end grated! The last one's naming convention differed too—pick a style!
Still, I'd grown accustomed to his high-tier black magic now.
After losing my arm to the first strike, we'd clashed several times with no further damage.
I'd learned all I could from him. Time to end it.
Kwaang!
Black thorns surged from the floor toward Malcolm.
His black flash shook my barrier in response, but I no longer fell for familiar attacks.
After one more spell exchange, I pointed at Malcolm with irritation and grudge, declaring boldly.
[I'll kill you and avenge Alfred.]
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Marcos froze at Hans's sudden words.
'Alfred? Avenge? Did he know someone in the village?'
No way he'd remember every name from last year's sacrifices.
He hadn't even known them to begin with.
Unless it was a subordinate sent to scout suitable ripening spots.
'If he already knew a villager and infiltrated anyway... Is he connected to that Heinz guy earlier? What does he know and how much?'
His mind raced, but that wasn't the priority now.
Whoosh— boom!
'He's adapting to my black magic faster!'
Not just countering attacks—his counters' quality was skyrocketing.
Soon, even defending would strain him.
'A total novice who luckily gained power from a mana-overloaded Demi-Lich body!'
No normal person could grow that fast.
'Abnormal learning speed. The fragment's power?'
Unaware of Wicked Wisdom, Marcos could only assume that—but it was a skill from the 'Fragment of the Immortal King' anyway, so not wrong.
'Can't drag this out! Pour everything, even if it costs other sacrifices!'
"[Pact of Ruin!]"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I sensed the shift as I pressed Malcolm.
The fierce village battles, exploding everywhere, suddenly tipped heavily one way.
The black mages resisting my undead had all died on the spot.
Only their black mana-wielding minions remained.
But conversely, Malcolm's black mana spiked massively, absorbing those mages' souls.
"[Crown of the Impure], [Sanctuary of the Departed]"
A black crown formed on Malcolm's head; the ground blackened beneath him, spawning undead.
'Ah... Phase 2? New spells are nice, but let's wrap this up.'
I watched indifferently.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The entity has gained enlightenment through knowledge. Acquired skill Black Magic.
Malcolm seemed to think he had a reversal chance, but it was far too late.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
As expected, Malcolm's desperate struggle didn't last.
"Cough... Hack!"
I absorbed all his black magic and repaid the spell that took my arm, blasting a hole through his chest.
"Urk... So pointlessly... If only... I still had my undead..."
Not wrong.
His other magic was advanced, but Malcolm specialized as a necromancer leading undead.
Without sacrificing hordes of high-tier undead to rush the 'Fragment of the Immortal King,' it would've been tougher.
I surveyed my battered undead amid the wreckage.
Then squatted before Malcolm's corpse.
[Old man, your undead were impressive.]
"Kuhuk— Ack!"
Malcolm vomited blood and breathed his last.
His bulging eyes leaked blood from sheer resentment.
[Tsk. Karma's a bitch. Should've been nicer.]
At that moment, the village battles ended, silence descending.
No living souls remained in the village.
I stood and looked up.
The ceiling had been obliterated in the fierce fight, revealing a starry night sky twinkling beautifully.
[Alfred... Are you watching?]
I've avenged you properly, so rest easy now.
Just then, a shooting star streaked across the sky—like Alfred's final farewell.
Or not.