Chapter 1312 – 1312. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated Into A Baron’S Family
Even now, skeletons and zombies continue to pour out of the black hole that has opened in the sky. The skeletons and zombies began to clump together at one point, forming a massive, growing mass.
Duke Argen, glaring at the giant zombie that had already grown to over 20 meters, drew his sword.
“That’s too big for the knights and soldiers to handle. I’ll take care of this one. Go ahead and deal with the necromancer. I’ll catch up as soon as I can.”
I looked at the giant zombie. The energy emanating from it was comparable to Duke Argen’s. Leaving it alone would be dangerous. However, leaving the necromancer alone was even more dangerous.
“I’m counting on you, Duke Argen.”
“Father, please don’t overdo it.”
We left the giant zombie to Duke Argen and headed towards the lily garden.
The lily garden.
As the name suggested, it was a garden where lilies bloomed profusely. Bathed in the blue moonlight, the lily garden was so beautiful it looked like a CG creation.
“What a stunning garden.”
“It’s a garden my late mother designed. It’s famous as the most beautiful garden in the Cobalt Kingdom. It’s nice to see it again. Well, it would be more perfect if it weren’t for that ominous presence.”
In the center of the garden, at the resting place, sat the necromancer. Next to him, the demon contractor, tormented by the larva, was silently screaming.
What caught my eye was the necromancer’s back. Behind him, a transparent glass tube floated slightly in the air. Inside the glass tube, a woman with long silver hair lay with her eyes closed. A woman with a beauty that seemed not of this world. There was no way I wouldn’t know who she was.
“…Yuria.”
The necromancer looked at me. He rose to his feet.
Clink, clatter, clink, clink.
There were countless chains around him. Chains that crawled on the ground and soared into the sky. The starting point of those chains was the glass tube containing Yuria.
“When I saw it earlier, it felt familiar… Now I see. That’s the Lady’s shadow magic. It was mixed with something else, so I was late to recognize it.”
Melissa said. She was an Aura Master and an Archmage. She was more of an expert in magic than I was.
I walked forward, holding the Hwaryeon Flying Dagger in my left hand and Stormbreaker in my right. The necromancer struck the ground with his staff.
Thud!
Undead appeared.
Two Death Knights, one Lich.
Top-tier undead that were incomparable to zombies and skeletons.
The Death Knights were Kyle and Claudia, and the Lich was Sharnel. I easily recognized the Lich because the robe was Sharnel’s.
“Necromancer.”
Normally, I would have rushed into battle without a word.
He was a fake anyway. There was no point in talking to him.
But now, I had to ask him.
“Why is Yuria dead? Did you kill her?”
The necromancer’s eyebrows twitched.
“Did I kill Yuria? Is that even a question? Would you kill Yuria?”
“Then answer the question. Why is Yuria dead?”
“I have no reason to answer you.”
The necromancer pointed his staff at me. The undead attacked me along with the chains.
“Master!!”
Melissa used magic. Stone walls rose from the ground, blocking the chains. It was useless. The chains pierced through the walls and flew towards me.
I dropped the weapons in both hands. The Hwaryeon Flying Dagger and Stormbreaker merged into one. Then, the finely shattered Stormbreaker clung to my body, becoming armor.
Death Knights Kyle and Claudia charged at me simultaneously. I held swords in both hands and rushed at them.
“Melissa, you take care of the Lich.”
Lich Sharnel used fire magic from behind. Dozens of fireballs flew through the dark sky. Melissa shot rocks with magic, intercepting the fireballs. Boom, boom, boom! Flames exploded in the air.
“You’re asking for a lot. That Lich is at least a high-level Archmage.”
The Death Knights swung their swords from both sides. I trusted Stormbreaker and gave up on defense.
Clang! Clang!
Stormbreaker did not betray my expectations. It was slightly torn, but it withstood the Death Knights’ swords.
Crack.
Red lightning flashed from the swords in both hands.
Thunder Heaven Style (雷天流) Thunder Flash (雷光).
Two streaks of lightning slashed past the Death Knights. Kyle’s head fell off, and Claudia’s upper and lower body were severed. My arms trembled. This was not how Thunder Flash was originally meant to be used.
‘The path is open. It was worth the effort.’
Just as I was about to rush towards the necromancer, Kyle’s headless torso blocked my path, and Claudia’s upper body, without its lower half, crawled on the ground with its arms, trying to stab me in the back.
I ignored Claudia and passed by Kyle. Kyle’s sword slashed past my side. Thanks to the armor, I was unharmed. Or so I wanted to say, but some of Kyle’s sword energy penetrated the armor. He had imbued the essence of the Inner Strength Method into his sword energy.
‘Indeed, Kyle. His talent for swordsmanship remains even in death.’
Ignoring the throbbing pain in my side, I glared at the necromancer in front of me.
Shadows flickered at the necromancer’s feet. The shadows spread in all directions. The ground eaten by the shadows became muddy like a swamp.
“Shit.”
My ankle sank into the shadow swamp. It wasn’t easy to move.
“What are you hesitating for!”
Melissa, who was fighting Lich Sharnel, shouted. Her magic seeped into the ground. Immediately after, an explosion occurred on the ground. The shadow swamp scattered along with dirt and stones. The ground returned to its original firmness.
Moving forward, I put strength into both hands.
Thunder Heaven Style (雷天流) Gale Lightning (疾風迅雷).
[Using Acceleration. Lasts for 10 minutes. Remaining stacks: 4]
[Using Moment (刹那). Remaining stacks: 3]
I even used Moment.
I intended to kill him in one go.
Clatter.
Chains hidden in the shadows suddenly appeared and wrapped around my ankles. I barely managed to regain my balance, almost falling forward. I glared at the chains wrapped around my ankles and swung my sword. The chains were cut, and another chain restrained my other leg.
The moment I lost my balance and my body swayed, chains surged from all directions and wrapped around my body.
‘…Damn it. I should have ignored the chains and swung my sword….’
I calmed my excitement. There were still means. It might even be a good thing. If I played it right, I could lead him to let his guard down.
‘It’s a good thing I have the Acting trait in times like this.’
The Acting trait was surprisingly helpful in battle. For example, when faking. If the levels were similar, I could deceive the opponent with almost a 90% probability.
“Master!!”
Melissa shouted. She tried to save me, but she was hindered by Lich Sharnel. She seemed to be struggling just to deal with Sharnel.
The necromancer didn’t even glance at Melissa and controlled the black chains that wrapped around my body. Crack, crack! The black chains crushed and tore through Stormbreaker.
“…These don’t seem like simple magic chains… What kind of chains are they?”
“They are Shadow Chains Gleipnir. An artifact used by an ancient shadow mage.”
“There was such an artifact?”
“The world is vast. The information you know is only a part of this world.”
Crack!
The armor was torn. The necromancer used the chains to take out the smartphone in my pants pocket. He carefully grabbed my smartphone with expectant eyes.
‘Now… no, not yet. He hasn’t completely let his guard down.’
The necromancer turned on the smartphone with familiar movements. And he moved his thumb back and forth, switching screens.
I knew what those movements were. He was looking for the Play Life app.
‘Is the Play Life app icon not visible? It’s not like I hid it.’
His finger tapped the Play Life app icon. Looking at his shaking eyes, he wasn’t looking at the location of the Play Life app and pressing it, but guessing the location and pressing it. However, the Play Life app didn’t respond to the necromancer’s finger.
“……Damn it.”
It was a voice filled with utter despair.
[Activating Heavenly Mind (天心). Lasts for 1 minute.]
The shadow chains that wrapped around my entire body were released.
[Using Moment (刹那). Remaining stacks: 2]
The necromancer’s face contorted in shock. As expected, he didn’t know my skills. I stabbed the necromancer’s chest with the sword in my left hand and raised the sword in my right hand high. I stopped myself from cutting his neck.
Because he had closed his eyes as if he had given up on everything.
“You. Are you really me? Are you just going to die like this? If I were you, I would have struggled to the end.”
“I’m a fake. I had a glimmer of hope for the Play Life app, but… even that hope has just been shattered. I can’t save Yuria.”
“…If you’re going to die anyway, answer my question. Why did Yuria die?”
The necromancer opened his eyes again. He looked at me with blood-red eyes and then stepped back. He clutched his pierced chest with his hand and reached out to the glass tube containing Yuria.
“Yuria was killed by the Demon King. Her soul was annihilated, and I barely managed to retrieve her body. Because her soul was annihilated, I couldn’t revive her even with necromancy. If only I had the power of the Play Life app… I could have saved her….”
“Killed by the Demon King? Did you invade the Demon Realm?”
“Yujin Prukerus. No, Sung Yujin. The original story has already been twisted. Discard the preconceived notion that the Demon King is in the Demon Realm.”
“……Could it be. Is the Demon King in the human realm?”
“In my memories, the Demon King was in the human realm. I don’t know the exact location. However, there is a place I suspect.”
“Where is it?”
“I don’t want to tell you, but….”
The necromancer sighed, looking at Yuria in the glass tube.
“I’ll tell you for the sake of Yuria in this world. The labyrinth city of Lavitt. The Demon King is probably there. I also obtained the Shadow Chains from the lowest level of the Lavitt labyrinth. Give the Shadow Chains Gleipnir to Yuria.”
“Is there no other information? What about Priscilla or Dulibard?”
“There’s no more time to tell you. There’s a limit to how long I can hold on… There’s something I need to do before I disappear.”
He raised his staff and pointed it at the sky. Specifically, at the blue moon in the night sky.
Clatter, clatter, clatter!
Hundreds of chains soared towards the moon from the shadows on the ground.
“I’ve known all along that you were hiding there. Pay the price for playing with me. The price is your life.”
The space rippled. And then, the sound of something being pierced repeatedly echoed.
I activated my Heavenly Eye and looked up at the sky. A formless demon, hidden in the rippling space, was dying, pierced by hundreds of chains.
‘Shadow Chains Gleipnir…. An item that can kill a formless demon…. It’s an absurd item. I must find it and give it to Yuria.’
As the demon died, the labyrinthization of the Argen mansion was lifted. At the same time, the necromancer’s body slowly began to disappear, starting from his toes.
The necromancer didn’t even glance at me and opened the glass tube. He quietly hugged Yuria’s corpse tightly.
“Sung Yujin. Don’t make the same mistake as me.”
The necromancer disappeared with Yuria. The rampaging zombies also disappeared. Only a cool breeze blew in the quiet lily garden.
