"Success."
Ulriel secretly rejoiced.
[High-Rank Fire Magic: Surtr's Wrath] was his signature spell, one of the only two high-rank magics he had mastered. Renowned for its destructive power, it was among the very top-tier offensive spells. He could easily imagine the despair that little skeleton would feel when his massive two-handed sword, infused with endless fire-element energy, slammed into the ground and turned the entire area ahead into a molten lava inferno.
However, when the bone wall shattered and the raging fire-element energy surged forward… Ulriel never expected the space behind the wall to be completely empty.
Not only was the damn little skeleton gone, but even the two rows of undead that had been standing to bolster the scene had vanished without a trace.
"Damn it! That bastard ran away!"
Ulriel shouted, furious not only that Hel had escaped after he unleashed his ultimate spell, but also tinged with fear. He couldn't cast another high-rank spell in such a short time, while the enemy could chain-cast them continuously. How could he fight that?
In an instant, Ulriel decided he needed to find a way to escape. But with the enemy hiding in the shadows, any reckless move could be fatal. He was caught in a dilemma.
Suddenly, a familiar sound of bones scraping against each other came from behind. Ulriel spun around. Without hesitation, he instinctively unleashed the fastest spell he could cast at the moment.
[Basic Fire Magic: Small Fireball]
A small fireball shot from his staff. Even this seemingly minor spell packed a punch in the hands of a Fourth-Rank warrior. It struck a figure behind him, hurling it violently onto a dining table.
Everyone present finally realized what was happening and looked in that direction.
"It's Baron Axel! How did he become an undead?"
The sharp-eyed recognized the figure—Baron Axel, the previously terrified noble who had been killed instantly by the hulking man with a beard, was now inexplicably transformed into a living corpse. Normally, the little skeleton hadn't cast any magic on him, and Axel hadn't been bitten by the undead, so there was no reason for him to turn.
Ulriel suddenly realized something and exclaimed:
"It's a domain spell, similar to an undead calamity!"
He crouched, pressing his hand to the ground to sense the area. His face turned ashen.
"Damn it… it's a pre-laid magic circle. This is a trap."
There's a difference between a sudden ambush and a trap laid in advance. If it were the former, Ulriel might still consider fighting strategically to minimize losses. But for the latter, he had no choice but to flee as far as possible—there was no telling how many contingencies the ambusher had prepared.
But how could he escape?
He looked at the few nobles nearby, pale with fear, and shook his head. These useless nobles couldn't even block the enemy for a moment.
There was only one solution.
He turned to his guards, especially the two Third-Rank ones beside him. He sighed and said gravely:
"The enemy is far stronger than we imagined. If we want to survive, we must fight with everything we've got."
He took a deep breath and declared in a solemn tone:
"Mandrake Knights, heed my command! All… ignite your blood—fight to the death!"
The last words were almost bitten out through his teeth. Immediately, the knights around him surged with energy. With the aid of arcane magic, they could now dominate their rank and even fight above their level.
"All charge!"
Ulriel positioned himself in the center, engulfed in scorching flames, as if he had become a being of fire. Using his only speed-enhancing fire magic, [Intermediate Fire Magic: Flame Dash], he intended to break through the castle under the cover of his knights. With no other choice, he gambled that the enemy would prioritize their slower undead minions over pursuing him.
But as they took a step forward, a familiar voice sounded from behind—the spot where Axel had been struck earlier.
"[High-Rank Death Magic: Bone Prison Corridor]."
Instantly, countless massive skeletal spikes erupted from the ground, splitting at their tips into even more spikes. The scene resembled a forest of thorned bone trees violently sprouting from the earth. Ulriel and his knights' charge ground to a halt under the spell's assault.
"Heh, I knew escaping wouldn't be so easy."
Looking back, the half-dead undead lying there had transformed into the little skeleton Ulriel had been itching to kill.
"Seems I have no choice but to go all out." He muttered.
Initially, he planned to have his subordinates use arcane techniques to cover his escape, without considering whether they could survive the life-threatening side effects. But now, he hesitated—he didn't want to die, but he also didn't want to die pointlessly.
So he roared:
"Burn, soul!"
A tremendous surge of mana erupted from his body. If he couldn't eliminate the little skeleton before him, he had no right to think about the future.
[High-Rank Fire Magic: Lava Storm]
Instantly, fire-element energy swirled around him, forming torrents of molten lava that engulfed everything in its path—the skeletal spikes and even his own guards. This inferno, far surpassing normal lava, could instantly incinerate anything it consumed. Even the little skeleton, not far from him, was within its deadly range.
This was his second high-rank spell, a desperate but overwhelmingly powerful magic reserved for moments like this.
Time passed. When the storm subsided and the lava dissipated, the aftermath was revealed. The skeletal forest remained intact, and his subordinates had not turned to ash. However, each of them was impaled on a precise bone spike, suspended in midair.
And that damned little skeleton stood before him, completely unharmed.
"How…?"
Ulriel stared at Hel in disbelief, wanting to speak, but a bone spike struck faster than he could react, piercing him through.
Only after watching Ulriel die did Hel wave her hand, dissipating the skeletal forest and lowering the impaled corpses.
"I said, all of you shall follow me to the Netherworld. Now, rise."
At her command, the corpses opened their eyes once more, now glowing blood-red.