Chapter 200
"It's a Black Mage!"
"Hii, hiiiek...!"
The Black Mage hiding inside the wall began to run away.
He had prepared an escape route for situations like this. However.
Poof-!
He couldn't avoid Otone's sword piercing through the wall.
'If possible, I wanted to capture him alive and extract information.'
The locations of the other Black Mages, their plans, the weaknesses of the skeletons, the magic circle of the Legion Commander, and so on.
But she couldn't let go of someone who had prepared an escape route in advance.
'Well, whatever. I can just ask the next one.'
Thud!
Otone kicked the wall with her foot. The wall collapsed with ease, almost ridiculously.
"Creating a fake wall and hiding behind it... We'll have to redo the search from the beginning."
Otone divided the team into two.
One team to conduct an additional search of the spaces they had passed, and the team she belonged to would continue searching the other rooms inside the palace.
It was at that moment.
Sizzle-.
"Huh?"
The Black Mage, who had been stabbed in the stomach and died instantly.
His body melted away in an instant, leaving only bones.
And then.
Creak- Creak creak-!
It stood up on two feet. Burning with dark purple light in its eye sockets.
"..."
Otone and the others couldn't help but be dumbfounded.
And that dumbfoundedness soon turned into astonishment.
Because they witnessed an unbelievable sight.
The Black Mage who had turned into a skeleton raised his hand to the sky and spewed out mana.
Then.
Creak- Creak creak-!
Crack crack crack!
Skeletons rose up from various places.
"Even... outside the building... they're rising."
"...Ha!"
Only a hollow laugh escaped.
It was already surprising that the Black Mage had turned into a skeleton in an instant, but to think he could also resurrect other skeletons.
'Does that mean they can use any power they had when they were alive...!'
It was an absurd ability.
Otone swung her sword and crushed the skeleton Black Mage's head. And very finely at that.
However.
Creak- Creak creak.
The finely crushed skull bones trembled and moved little by little.
It was clearly trying to reattach the skull bones.
"...Who's coating their weapon with holy power potion right now?"
"Here."
She deeply stabbed the skeleton's head with a spear coated in holy power potion.
Only then did the skeleton completely stop moving.
'Does that mean only holy power can grant complete death...?'
Otone checked her waist.
Out of the twenty holy power potions she had been given, only eight remained.
The others were probably in a similar situation as her.
'...We should have used them sparingly. We should have only used them when it was important!'
As long as there were skeletons that could use the power of Black Mages, they would continue to resurrect other skeletons.
In addition to this, let's assume for a moment.
'What if the Black Mage skeletons can resurrect other Black Mage skeletons?'
An endless loop of resurrection and death would be complete.
The subjugation force, the Black Mages, and those who had already become skeletons.
They would live a life trapped in an endless cycle, never able to escape.
'No, perhaps all living beings in this world would end up like that.'
As her thoughts reached that point, a cold sweat ran down Otone's back.
"We need to inform them of this fact. And..."
The Otone team had been moving away from the skeletons while carrying out their mission of killing Black Mages from the middle.
Then what about the people who had been fighting the skeletons from the beginning until now?
The number of holy power potions would be running low.
Otone's decision was quick. She put six holy power potions into a spatial pocket.
"Everyone, keep only two holy power potions each and put the rest in here."
Holy power potions that might become a lifeline in the latter half of the battle.
Otone was essentially telling them to give up their lifeline.
However, no one objected.
The spatial pocket was filled with holy power potions. Over thirty, a reassuring number just to look at.
"I'm dividing the team into two. Inform the battlefield of this fact right now! Tell them to use the holy power potions only when killing Black Mage skeletons if possible!"
*
"Asteon!"
"Haaaaah!"
Boom-!!
Asteon's knees slightly buckled.
'Damn it! Even though I deflected it with the shield, to have this much destructive power...'
But more than that, it was because Asteon was exhausted.
The number of times he had blocked the skeletal knight's charge had already exceeded twenty.
The skeletal knight who charged while riding a skeletal horse.
Asteon was the only one in the subjugation force who could block it.
'It's best to avoid the charge and then attack, but...'
Then the formation would collapse.
That's why Asteon had no choice but to charge forward whenever a skeletal knight appeared.
It was to hold the skeletal knight's attention.
Of course, in the process, it was inevitable to be surrounded by ordinary skeletons.
"You stupid bastard. Try thinking a little when you fight."
"Who are you calling stupid? Isn't the one who follows into the middle of enemy territory more stupid?"
"Yeah, I'll be a fool as many times as it takes. If it means getting out of here."
Kiel grumbled.
Kiel couldn't leave Asteon alone as he charged alone.
"Kiel!"
"Leave it to me!"
It was when they had finished off another skeletal knight with perfect harmony.
They felt a wave of mana.
"Asteon!"
"Move instead of talking!"
Asteon pushed Kiel and rolled on the ground.
Boom boom boom-!
With the sound of an explosion, the ground where they had been standing was soon engulfed in flames.
"Ugh... Hey, are you okay?"
"...I'm fine. Except for the fact that your body is crushing me."
Asteon and Kiel got up.
On the side where the magic had just flown from, a skeleton was standing. A skeleton wearing a robe.
That's right. The one who had just used magic was none other than that skeleton.
'It's already surprising that they can use secret techniques, but to think they can even use magic...'
It was when Kiel clicked his tongue.
Ting-!
"Ah, it's really annoying."
Asteon scratched his thigh. An arrow had bounced off, causing an itch.
Not only was Asteon sturdy, but he was also protecting his entire body with mana, so ordinary arrows couldn't deal damage to him.
Kiel scanned the surroundings. Several skeletons holding bows were seen.
Crack-.
They broke off a bone from somewhere on their body, sharpened it, and nocked it on the bowstring.
An arrow made of bone couldn't possibly fly properly. It fell right in front of the skeleton.
The skeleton picked up the bone arrow and tilted its head.
It seemed unable to understand why it wasn't flying.
It was a truly bizarre sight.
'Such an arrow won't be able to fly properly, but...'
Kiel could feel it. That the situation would only get worse as time went on.
Although the skeletal knights, mage skeletons, and archer skeletons were a problem, the biggest problem currently was.
'Our stamina.'
The skeletons, except for the skeletal knights, had their skulls shattered in one blow.
However.
'Even that one motion makes us consume our stamina.'
Kiel wiped the sweat running down his neck.
Meanwhile, the skeletons continued to rush in, burning with dark purple light in their eye sockets.
'I see. From the beginning, these things... were created to exhaust our stamina.'
Like a light rain soaking clothes, their stamina would eventually run out.
They needed to come up with a plan before that, but...
"Focus! Another one is coming!"
The skeletal knight's charge began again.
Asteon disrupted the skeletal knight's balance, and Kiel seized the opportunity to crush its head.
"Kuk!"
"Asteon! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, so don't worry! This much isn't even worth mentioning as an injury!"
Kiel and Asteon stood back to back.
High body temperature could be felt even through their clothes and armor. It was because they had been fighting non-stop since the battle started.
"Kiel, how many have you killed?"
"Who knows? At least three hundred, I suppose?"
"Less than me, but similar. But why..."
Asteon swallowed his saliva and continued.
"Why aren't their numbers decreasing?"
The skeletons emitting dark purple light from their eye sockets.
Seeing them gradually narrowing the encirclement, Kiel quickly racked his brain.
'Humans have limits. The Black Mages are also human, so they shouldn't be different from us. But for them to keep rising like that...'
Does it mean the efficiency of the magic that raises the skeletons is extremely high? Or is it the power of the magic circle?
Or is it just a cheat-like ability?
It was when Kiel was desperately searching for a solution.
"Hey."
"What?"
"If I die too... will I end up like that?"
Asteon's guess. Kiel didn't particularly refute it.
Because he was also having the same thought.
They would become skeletons regardless of friend or foe, ally or enemy. And then.
'They would target allies and my family.'
It was the worst ability.
An ability that might kill allies and family with honed techniques.
How the hell did they obtain such a terrible ability?
As expected, the Black Mages needed to be eliminated.
But the most urgent thing to do now was to eliminate the anxiety Asteon was feeling.
"Don't worry. I'll personally cut off your head."
"Haha! Then are you saying I'll lose to you?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
At that, Asteon chuckled.
"You're right, I can't die. I can't suffer the humiliation of dying to you."
Clack clack clack-.
A skeletal knight rose.
They had crushed its head, but it only slowed down its recovery. They also couldn't completely kill it.
"What? Why is that thing coming back to life? Didn't you spray holy power potion on it?"
"Do you think I have any left?"
"Then you should have at least spit on it!"
"Do you think my saliva is holy water or something? Only a saint can do that!"
"Then you should become a saint! No, since you're a man, a holy man?"
"What the hell are you talking about, you crazy bastard!"
While Asteon and Kiel were bickering, the skeletal knight had long mounted the skeletal horse.
"It's coming! Block it!"
"You block it this time! Why do I always have to block it!"
Kiel thought.
He was the crazy one for following to save this guy.
It was the moment the skeletal knight began to charge.
Pow-!
The skeletal knight fell off the horse. There was a large hole in its skull.
Asteon and Kiel could tell.
An arrow. And the result created by an arrow filled with mana at that.
And the person who shot that arrow was.
"Did everyone wait long?"
Edwin, known as the Black Archer of Violeta.
Asteon and Kiel, who discovered him, burst into joyful cheers.
"As expected of Edwin! You came to save us!"
"Huh? No? I'm also trapped, you know?"
...?
Edwin, what the hell are you talking about?
"...Why? Then why did you do the stupid thing of breaking through the encirclement and coming in?"
"You two looked like you were having fun. I hurried over to play with you. Sorry, I'm late, aren't I?"
Edwin scratching his head as if apologizing for being late to play.
Asteon and Kiel shouted in unison.
"You crazy bastaaaaaard-!"
But they didn't even have time to scold Edwin.
Because the skeletal knights kept rising.
'Damn it! There are too many skeletal knights we've killed around here!'
If they had holy power potions, they could have granted them rest, but it was impossible without them.
It meant they would continue to repeat resurrection and charging.
"Edwin! The holy power potions..."
"I drank them! They're good for the body!"
"...You $%&^!!"
Kiel, a man known for his manners in noble circles.
But at this moment, he couldn't help but curse. And a curse that couldn't even be expressed in words!
But even in a moment like this, the body was honest.
It was when they were preparing for the skeletal knight's charge, with Asteon at the forefront.
Someone appeared next to the skeletal knight. It was a middle-aged woman in a maid uniform.
Pow!!
The skeletal horse's body bent like a bow at her fist. At the same time.
Crack-!
The swung sword cleanly split the skeletal knight's head in half.
The skeletal knight's head turned to powder and scattered.
It was proof that the weapon had been coated with holy power potion.
Kiel knew who those people were.
The person wearing the maid uniform was Lucia's nanny, and...
"Is everyone okay? Anyone hurt?"
The person who split the skeletal knight's head was Lucia's friend and a former retired war hero.
Sylvia.
Asteon muttered blankly.
"I'm quite injured. Especially here, on my sturdy thighs."
"Oh my! What were you doing without even applying a potion? What if you get scarred..."
Sylvia quickly took out a potion and sprayed it on Asteon's thighs. And carefully rubbing it, she said.
"Fighting until you got this injured... You three are all brave. Really amazing."
"..."
"All three of you rest for a bit. I'll go clean up the surroundings and come back."
Sylvia ran and swung her sword.
The heads of the skeletal knights wriggling to resurrect turned to dust and disappeared with the wind.
"..."
Asteon, Kiel, and Edwin. The three of them could feel it.
The warm 'inclusiveness' of a married woman.
Asteon muttered with a slightly flushed face.
"Kiel."
"...What is it now?"
"I think I might have opened my eyes to something new. Perhaps a married woman... is a lovely being who embraces all the pain in this world."
Kiel thought.
He wished this crazy bastard would become a skeleton soon.
--TL Notes--
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