The dark wizard guarding the entrance locked eyes with me. He had been a helpful, if unwitting, source of information, working alongside Grave-Hand.
“Hello there! The weather is quite lovely today, isn’t it?”
I offered a warm greeting, but he responded with a terrified stare. Without a word, he turned and fled.
“Now, there’s no need for that,” I said, my nonexistent heart aching at his chilly reception. “It’s hurtful to be ignored.”
I glanced back at my companions. They were a reliable-looking group, in their own way. The corridor behind us was an inky maw, choked with the aura of death that clung to my undead legion. Hundreds of eerie lights glowed in the gloom, the soul-fires burning within their sockets. The silhouettes that flickered in and out of view were all formidable, exuding an unwavering sense of power.
Hmm... They do look rather intimidating.
But no matter how threatening my friends appeared, I couldn't forgive anyone for judging them by their looks. It’s what’s on the inside that counts, and I was confident in their inner qualities.
Well, the skull is quite handsome. The bones are well-polished, too.
“Argh! How did you get in here?! Stay away!”
The fleeing dark wizard found his escape cut off. Ghosts erupted from the ground near the building’s entrance, surrounding him. With nowhere left to run, he was forced to fight.
In truth, I’d never had any intention of letting him go. My plan was to eliminate every dark wizard and their underlings in this town.
I gave the command to my assembled undead. “Kill every human in this town. Let none escape.”
I had no concerns about collateral damage. My evolved ‘life detection’ encompassed the entire town, and through it, I could sense the foul signature of dark magic on every living soul within its borders. There were no innocents here.
Hundreds of undead poured past me, bypassing the cornered wizard and flooding into the streets. They would first encircle the perimeter to seal any escape routes, then begin their assault from the outside in.
“Urgh, in a place like this…! Against these things!”
The trapped wizard fought for his life, unleashing a desperate barrage of spells. I orchestrated my undead’s assault, pushing him just enough to force him to use his full repertoire. It wasn’t a kindness. It was an education.
“Hmm… so that’s how it works. Not so difficult after all.”
I murmured to myself, gazing at the black flame I had conjured on my palm. ‘Vile Wisdom’ granted me an absolute understanding and talent for dark magic, but I still lacked the practical knowledge to wield it effectively. While I could intuit my way through the ward on the secret passage by touch, casting complex spells was another matter entirely.
And right here, I had an excellent textbook.
I watched as my undead were torn apart by his dark magic, absorbing every intricacy of his craft like a sponge. And ‘Vile Wisdom’ did more than just let me copy him; it showed me paths for improvement, new applications, and derivative abilities he’d never dreamed of.
I thought I’d given him plenty of room to maneuver, but the wizard, overtaxing his magical reserves, suddenly vomited blood and collapsed.
Well, I’ve sucked him dry. He’s of no use to me now.
As my undead swarmed in to finish the fallen wizard, I took a moment to organize my thoughts.
It was incredibly lucky I managed to kill Grave-Hand by surprise.
If Grave-Hand was on par with that dark wizard, I would have stood no chance with my elite skeletons. I would have been utterly destroyed.
Now, preparations are more or less complete. Shall we welcome the guests? No, the thieves who have taken over the house?
The moment the thought crossed my mind, the protective enchantment covering the entire building shattered. Something was flung through the entrance with incredible force, crashing against the far wall and exploding into fragments. It was a Death Knight—the strongest of the undead I had sent out.
“You… How dare you…!”
An old man in a black robe, his face a mask of fury, strode into the building clutching a skull-topped staff. It was Elder of Rot.
I glanced behind him. I had deployed all three of my Death Knights to buy time, but I saw only scattered pieces of bone and armor. The connection to them had been severed moments ago, so I’d suspected as much, but it was still a shame. Even in their degraded state, a Death Knight was a top-tier undead, not easily replaced. Wasting them to buy a few minutes felt like a pity, but it had been necessary. The moment I sensed the old man’s power radiating through the village, I knew my forces could do little more than stall him.
I needed that time to familiarize myself with dark magic before our inevitable confrontation.
“Hello, Village Chief. It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“What?! Who are you?!”
“Me? It’s me,” I said, scratching my temple with a skeletal finger as I resonated my magic to alter my voice. “You don’t remember?” He had already forgotten my face and voice. “Well, if you can’t remember, I suppose it can’t be helped… I was the traveler who planned to stay for two days and help with some village work, remember?”
“Two days? You… you’re Vanguard! But you were… you’ve become an Elite Skeleton? How?”
“You can ponder that on your own time. Anyway, I ended up staying a little longer than expected, didn’t I? So I thought I’d help out with a bit more of the village work.”
“Help?” Elder of Rot’s voice was a low snarl. “What nonsense are you spouting? Look what you’ve done!”
Despite his rage, I remained perfectly composed. “It’s just garbage disposal. This whole village is full of filth that can’t even be recycled, so I’m cleaning it up. Oh, and you don’t have to thank me. People like us should help each other survive, right? Hahaha.”
I laughed heartily, a genuine sense of pride swelling within me. Volunteering was so fulfilling. I should try it back on Earth, even if it had to be through an avatar.
“So,” Elder of Rot cut in, his voice dangerously low. “How did you manage to deal with the ‘Fragment of the Abyssal Lich’?”
Ah, so that’s his limit. I wanted to provoke him a bit more.
Seeing him gather dark magic, ready to strike, I prepared my own spells. I had to get the last word in.
“You mean this?” I tapped my ribcage. “Thanks to you, I lost my heart. So, I replaced it with the one you had in your warehouse. It’s not a perfect fit, but for now, I’ll have to make do, won’t I?”
The instant I finished speaking, the ground erupted with menacing black thorns. I reacted immediately, throwing up a shadow barrier to defend myself. As the thorns scraped against my shield, I countered, unleashing the black flames I had just learned.
A black flash lanced through the air.
In the fraction of a second it took for Elder of Rot to speak again, something pierced through my shadow barrier and the magical ward around my body, tearing through my right arm.
“Tsk… Old man, do you have to announce the name of every spell you cast?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. [Call of Hell].”
Typical old man, trying to show off.
The system of magic I was rapidly grasping didn’t require verbal incantations; the internal construction of the spell was all that mattered. Perhaps it was a routine to help him focus, but it was still grating.
Fiends clawed their way out from the ground at Elder of Rot’s feet, their bodies like loosely packed mud and bone. They gnashed their teeth and threw themselves at my own undead minions, and the two sides clashed in a tangle of dark energy. The cavern echoed with their shrieks as black fire and bone fragments exploded across the battlefield.
Hmm… It’s like he’s using master-level enchantments on a beginner’s sword. I almost feel sorry for him.
In truth, I wasn’t sorry at all.
“I don’t know how you overcame its corrosion, but you forced an incomplete, immature fragment into a lower-ranked body! All my efforts… wasted! [Bone Burst Cascade]”
I quickly expanded the shadow barrier, blocking the incoming wave of destructive energy. Still, his constant whining was starting to get on my nerves. It was clear to anyone that I wasn't the one at fault here.
And his insistence on tacking a spell name onto the end of every attack was just annoying. And why was that last one formatted differently? Consistency is essential!
Nevertheless, with each spell he cast, I grew more familiar with the advanced dark magic Elder of Rot was using. Despite losing an arm in the initial exchange, I hadn’t taken a single hit since. I had learned all I needed from him. It was time to end this.
Black thorns suddenly surged from the ground, racing towards Elder of Rot. He countered with another black flash that shuddered my defensive barrier, but I was no longer vulnerable to such a familiar attack. We exchanged one last volley, and then I pointed a skeletal finger at him, my voice laced with irritation and a righteous fury I had been saving.
“I will kill you and avenge Whispering Shadow.”
Elder of Rot was momentarily stunned by my words.
Whispering Shadow? Avenge him? Did this thing know someone in the village?
He couldn’t possibly remember the names of the villagers sacrificed a year ago. He’d never known them in the first place. The only outsiders he’d dealt with were underlings sent to scout for a suitable area to mature the fragment.
If he was already acquainted with someone here, it means he knew from the start and infiltrated… Does this have something to do with that Sentinel fellow who came by earlier? How much does he know?
His thoughts tangled, but one fact was becoming terrifyingly clear.
He’s adapting to my magic!
Not only was the skeleton defending against his attacks with increasing ease, but the sophistication of its counter-spells was rising at an alarming rate. It was becoming difficult for Elder of Rot to keep up.
How could a fool who knew nothing of magic gain so much power by sheer luck?
No ordinary being could evolve into a powerful Demi-Lich overflowing with dark magic in such a short time.
It’s an abnormal learning pace. Is it the power of the fragment he holds?
Unaware of the effects of ‘Vile Wisdom,’ Elder of Rot could only attribute my growth to the artifact. He wasn’t entirely wrong; the ‘Fragment of the Abyssal Lich’ had been the catalyst for my new skills.
I can’t let this drag on! I’ll pour everything I have into one last attack, even if it means more sacrifices!
“[Covenant of Doom!]”
As I pressed my advantage, I sensed a sudden shift. Outside, the fierce fighting across the village had just tilted decisively. The dark wizards resisting my undead legion had all been slain. Now, only their mindless minions remained. And in the next instant, I felt the souls of those fallen wizards being consumed, their power surging into Elder of Rot. His dark magic amplified explosively.
“[Crown of the Corrupter], [Resting Place of the Dead]”
A twisted black crown materialized on Elder of Rot’s head. The ground at his feet blackened and roiled, and from it, new undead abominations began to emerge.
Ah… the second phase. It’s always good to see new magic, but I really wish this would end soon.
I watched his transformation with little more than mild annoyance.
[The entity has gained enlightenment through knowledge. Acquired skill ‘Dark Magic.’]
Elder of Rot seemed to think he still had a chance, but it was already over.
His final stand didn’t last long. I absorbed the essence of his powered-up magic, and then I returned the favor. I cast the same spell that had taken my right arm, and it tore a gaping hole through Elder of Rot’s chest.
“Cough… in vain…” he rasped, blood bubbling from his lips. “If only… I had my undead left…”
While his other spells were of a high caliber, Elder of Rot’s true specialty had always been necromancy, his power rooted in the legions he commanded. In his haste to complete the ‘Fragment of the Abyssal Lich,’ he had sacrificed his most powerful undead. Had they been here, this battle would have been much more difficult.
I looked around at the shattered remains of undead, both his and mine, that littered the floor. Then, I knelt before the fallen Elder of Rot.
“Village Chief, your undead were indeed impressive.”
Elder of Rot coughed a final gout of blood and then fell still. Even in death, blood seeped from his wide, swollen eyes, a testament to his torment.
“Tsk. Truly, a case of just deserts. You should have lived a better life.”
At that moment, the last sounds of fighting in the village died out. A profound silence fell. There was no one left alive.
I rose to my feet and looked up. The intensity of our battle had blown the entire ceiling off the building, revealing a beautiful, star-dusted night sky.
“Whispering Shadow… are you watching?”
Your vengeance is complete. Now, you can finally rest in peace.
As if in answer, a shooting star streaked across the dark expanse—a final, silent farewell.