Chapter 30. Undead (2)
Nerien, befitting a Gold-rank, was also outstanding in skill.
She was the first to spot an Undead, and before anyone else could react, she shattered its body with a single kick. There was no need to even use a dagger. For a warrior who had awakened aura, strength had nothing to do with gender.
With her in the lead, they advanced while cutting down the miners and Skeletons dragging their rotting bodies.
Thus, they reached the end of the mine tunnel.
Mana stones scattered across the ground. The air was filled with the stench of blood, pickaxes lay strewn about. Their eyes turned forward.
An ominous darkness, carrying a wholly different atmosphere than before, lay ahead.
They stepped forward one by one, pushing their bodies into it.
An even heavier pressure and the aura of death brushed against their skin. Thanks to holy blessings, none trembled in fear, yet most faces had visibly stiffened.
Priest Maros prayed as he shone a brighter light upon their surroundings.
"Do not tremble in fear. Before Luas, God of Light, darkness is nothing more than a pitiful evil. You must not collapse, overwhelmed by a fleeting terror."
At Maros's words, the adventurers' faces brightened, if only a little.
Yet Verden and Galliark alone kept their serious expressions, their eyes fixed ahead.
Iris quietly approached and asked Verden,
"Senior, why are you—"
"Shh."
Verden silenced her, staring into the darkness.
He wanted to confirm with mana detection, but could not. If an Undead capable of using magic, a Lich, was inside, they would be discovered.
'If I were alone, it wouldn't be a problem.'
With this many people, their safety could not be guaranteed.
In such a narrow passage, they had to avoid being ambushed at all costs.
Without using mana, the only things Verden could sense were the musty stench and the damp air.
And perhaps because of that, he could feel instinctively, the foreboding, the presence of death filling this cave.
"Oh? You feel it too? This strong stench of death."
Turning his head, he saw Galliark gripping the handle of the axe slung across his back.
The giant brute shifted the massive weapon onto his shoulder, grinning at Verden.
"What's so funny?"
"How could I not laugh? To think something here could actually stir my interest, in this place I only came to pass the time. And not just one thing, but two."
He glanced between the darkness and Verden.
Suddenly becoming the focus of the hulking brute's interest, Verden furrowed his brow and turned his head away.
"Iris, when battle breaks out, get behind me. Tell the others not to recklessly engage in close combat."
"Ah, understood. But, what exactly is in there that makes you say that?"
"I don't know, not yet."
But he knew it was dangerous.
Something that drew the interest of the infamous butcher Galliark, something that made Verden feel such foreboding, lurked in that darkness.
***
At some point, the footsteps of the Undead had completely ceased.
Only the sound of the subjugation party's steps echoed through the cave. The uncanny silence accelerated their unease, yet at the same time, some began to wonder if perhaps nothing was there after all.
It was then, something bumped against an adventurer's foot.
"What's this?"
As he bent to pick it up, Priest Maros stopped him.
"Stop! Do not carelessly touch items related to the Undead!"
"So, it's fine as long as I don't use my hands?"
Before anyone could stop him, Verden used Telekinesis to sweep away the soil.
What appeared was a tattered flag, rotted almost to nothing, stained with dirt.
"…What? This emblem, I feel like I've seen it before."
"W-wait. Isn't this…the national flag of the Kingdom of Estiria?"
This Principality of Riviant had once been territory of the Estiria Kingdom.
It wasn't unusual to find traces of the kingdom here, nor was it a problem. Even after establishing itself as an independent state, its roots could not be erased.
But why was a flag in such a place? Judging from its condition, it had to be decades old.
"Could this have been some kind of royal graveyard?"
"No, impossible."
At Iris's question, Goad answered.
As several gazes turned to him, he pushed up his glasses with his index finger.
"In the records of the Viron Territory, there is no mention of any graveyard in this area. I personally verified it, with permission from the lord."
"The possibility of information being hidden?"
"What reason would there be to hide it? If this truly were a royal graveyard, the evidence would be everywhere. To lie about that to us, the subjugation party, would bring no merit to Lord Viron whatsoever."
The adventurers nodded.
Goad glanced at Verden with a smug look, as if to say he was different from a mage who only relied on talent and squandered mana.
Of course, Verden had no interest in Goad's gaze.
Both his and Galliark's attention remained fixed upon the darkness, their vigilance unbroken.
Maros enveloped the flag with holy light, folded it carefully, and tucked it into his robe.
"I'll keep this. And next time, when something like this is discovered, leave it to us of the Church of Luas. Do not touch it, and do not use magic on it either."
Maros shot Verden a sharp look.
When he gave no response, Iris beside him quickly nodded in his stead.
The subjugation party's steps turned once more toward the darkness.
***
How much time had passed? Checking the clock, it seemed about six hours had gone by.
From the feel of it, the passage twisted endlessly into the depths of the underground. Thanks to magical items, breathing was not difficult, yet psychologically, the further they descended, the more stifling it became.
When would they arrive? Did this path even have an end?
Why weren't the damned Undead appearing?!
It was frustrating. It was unpleasant.
Even Silver-rank adventurers were beginning to tire, so what of those below them?
The younger adventurers regretted coming. They wanted to shout that they wished to turn back immediately. The food they had eaten earlier threatened to rise back up.
But they could only endure.
Because Verden, Galliark, and other Gold-rank adventurers were present. If they whined, they would surely be abandoned on the spot.
Biting the insides of their cheeks, they swallowed their tears. Fear gnawed at their minds.
'Just endure a little longer, just a little.'
I am an adventurer.
Iris repeated this to herself, forcing her mind to stay firm.
Then, at that moment, a faint light appeared far ahead.
"…Isn't this underground?"
No one answered. But the path went only one way.
As if on cue, they all drew their weapons, sharpened their senses, and pressed forward. Passing through the long tunnel, they emerged into a vast cavern.
From a crack in the ceiling, a shaft of sunlight poured down.
How it reached this deep underground, they did not know, but thanks to it, the cavern's interior was clearly visible.
The entire cavern was piled with heaps of pure white bones.
Hundreds? Thousands? It was filled with so many remains it was impossible to count. The pale bones gleamed brightly.
And atop that mountain of bones, sat a single Undead.
Clutching a sword in both hands, it had driven the blade into the pile and rested its skull against the hilt. Beyond ominous, it looked paradoxically sacred.
Verden looked at the Undead's attire.
Armor emblazoned with the emblem of the kingdom they had discovered earlier. Rusted, rough, its crimson cape worn down, frayed, and shredded in many places.
Nerien placed a hand on Goad's shoulder.
"Didn't you say this wasn't a royal tomb?"
"T-there's no way… I swear, the records really had nothing like this!"
"Well, doesn't matter. Whatever it is, if we deal with that Undead, the subjugation ends, right?"
"That is correct. Record or not, the Undead are beings that must be eradicated."
Maros nodded and stepped forward.
Three priests lined up and prayed to Goad. They beseeched the light that would destroy the evil which had rejected the holy death granted by the divine.
"Ahem, Sir Galliark. May I take care of it?"
"You?"
"I will end it on my turn. An Undead is nothing more than prey."
Before anyone could stop him, Goad stepped forward.
Activating his mana circuit, he concentrated mana at his fingertips. Sending a signal to the priests, light burst forth all around.
The counterforce of darkness, light.
The deathly aura filling the cavern vanished, and soon reached the Undead. Crackle. Gray smoke rose from the bones. Evil was slowly being purified.
A massive boulder conjured by Goad shot toward the Undead.
Upon direct impact, bones weakened by purification would surely shatter. Both the priests and Goad believed it without a doubt.
At that moment, the Undead lifted its head. Within the empty sockets, a red light blazed.
With a snap, the boulder split vertically, passing by the Undead. The divine purification was buried beneath a deeper evil, vanishing without a trace.
"Huh?"
And as everyone faltered,
A sharp bone lunged toward Goad's neck.
***
Goad could not evade. All he could do was shut his eyes reflexively.
Crunch.
At the sound, his body trembled.
Am I dead? Did I really die in a place like this?
Yet no pain came, no matter how long he waited. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw Galliark before him, gripping the bone of a Skeleton.
"Damn, that startled me."
Snap. With sheer strength, he crushed the bone, then stomped down, shattering the Skeleton that had targeted Goad.
Snorting, he swung his axe with a whoosh as he strode forward. He looked into the eyes of the armored Undead.
"Red, huh. Doesn't seem like a Lich… What was it again… It's on the tip of my tongue…"
"K-knight!"
It was Maros who shouted. Unlike the proud composure he had shown minutes ago, his face was now pale.
"A knight? What knight?"
"The Wailing Knight! Do you not know? That Undead has brought countless deaths in the history of mankind!"
The Wailing Knight.
An Undead born when layers upon layers of grudges and resentment accumulate until they corrupt into evil. So rare that even veteran adventurers had seldom heard of it.
Because there were so very few of them.
"But why, why here…!"
"Calm yourself. What makes that Undead so dangerous? Like a Death Knight?"
At Verden's question, Maros swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on the Wailing Knight.
"It is said to be weaker than a Death Knight. But that is when comparing one against one. The reason it is feared is because…"
Thunk. Thunk. Crack.
From the pile of bones, a skull rolled free. It stopped at the feet of the subjugation party. Then, two blue lights seeped out from its eye sockets.
At that moment, the Wailing Knight slowly lifted its head, then opened its jaw wide.
Aaaaaaahhhhhhh────!
A chilling scream.
That was the beginning. The heaps of bones shifted, transforming into Undead.
From the bones emerged massive Undead, Grave Guardians.
Undead wielding magic, Liches.
And countless Skeletons besides.
"…Because it can command other Undead."
Maros's voice trailed weakly. The overwhelming numbers filling the cavern made the subjugation party's eyes widen.
If that horde rushed them, what would happen? Verden and Galliark might survive, but the rest would surely die. And then, they would rise to join the Undead army.
Such a dreadful future flashed in their minds, and their bodies trembled unconsciously.
At that moment.
"…Senior?"
Ignoring Iris's tearful voice, Verden stepped forward. Calm, he stood one step ahead of Galliark.
"Hm? And what are you planning to do?"
"What else? Subjugate them."
"That many? Well, I could manage it, but everyone behind us would be wiped out."
"Run and they'll die anyway."
The Undead do not tire. If they turned and fled, the exhausted members of the subjugation party would be picked off one by one.
And then, the unleashed Undead would consume the territory.
Verden had accepted the commission to subjugate the Undead. So, he would simply carry out the subjugation.
He drew upon his mana with full force, until it overflowed visibly. The surging blue currents shimmered in the air, making Galliark blink.
"With that much, what are you trying to… Don't tell me, you plan to collapse this place?"
"No."
He had no thought of suicide. No intention of sacrificing himself for people of the territory he had never even met.
He simply felt that this terrain was disadvantageous for the subjugation party.
"So I'll change it."
At that instant, the Undead all moved at once.
The dead surged forth like a tidal wave. Verden did not retreat, he placed his hand upon the ground.
And the world began to change.