The Grasslands Shall Remember Us Forever (5)
— Grrrrr...
— Bark! Bark!
The skeletons would take the lead in my place, while the Grave Hounds handled scouting.
"And then there's this little guy I prepared just for moments like these."
Tsstststst...!
The small magic formation infused with demonic energy began to shine.
The faint blue glow circulated through the rings, steadily growing brighter until it became a fist-sized sphere of light.
Wooooong—!
A soul lantern that guides wandering spirits.
A Will-O'-Wisp.
"Huh? Then we don't need this?"
Stella waved around the still-unlit torch as she spoke.
"If you carry that, one hand stays occupied. In a confined place like this, that alone can get you killed."
This was exactly why experienced necromancers were so versatile.
Unlike mages, who constantly had to spend mana maintaining illumination spells, once we summoned something, that was the end of it.
"We don't know what's inside this royal tomb. Don't do anything reckless."
After arranging the undead formation, I gave one final warning.
"You don't need to worry about me."
While saying that, Stella slipped on her gloves.
Clank!
The combat gauntlets Miriam had used before.
After putting them on, Stella loosened her hands and spoke with a determined expression.
A priestess of the Holy Church standing before undead.
At long last, it seemed the time had come for her to fulfill her true duty, and her eyes burned with zeal and conviction.
"I'm a nun personally trained by two Executors. There's no need for you to protect—"
"No, not that."
I cut Stella off immediately.
"Huh?"
We both tilted our heads at each other in confusion.
Then Stella asked, as though confirming something.
"Weren't you about to say, 'It's dangerous, so stay right next to me'?"
And naturally, after hearing that—
"Did you take some kind of medication? Why would I protect you?"
I frowned deeply and stared at her in disbelief.
'Who exactly is protecting whom here?'
If Miriam and Garrison had personally assigned her to stay by my side, then her combat ability was obvious enough already.
I should be the one receiving protection—what did she mean by sticking close to me?
"Then what did you mean by not acting recklessly...?"
Looking thoroughly unimpressed, I answered Stella's question.
"The gold, relics, and all the other valuables inside this tomb."
Flinch.
"I'm telling you not to pick up random stuff because it'll bring bad luck."
The moment I said that, Stella's face—which had been burning with motivation—turned completely cold.
"..."
"...W-What are you talking about?"
A brief silence passed.
Then Stella subtly avoided my sharp stare and answered.
"A nun of the Holy Church robbing the tomb of heretics? T-That's ridiculous..."
"Look me in the eye when you say that."
After saying that, I let out a short sigh and emphasized it again.
"I'm serious. Don't take anything."
"And what happens if I secretly pocket even one thing?"
As I continued stressing the point, Stella asked me that question.
'Good thing I warned her in advance.'
Thinking that, I slowly descended the stairs.
"You know the communion ceremony the church performs every quarter?"
At that, Stella nodded.
The communion ceremony.
A kind of holy festival where food was offered in gratitude to the Lord God for the harvest.
"If someone eats the food placed on the altar before the ritual starts, what happens?"
"They get scolded by the sisters."
An answer that came far too quickly.
Judging from Stella's pale face, it wasn't hard to guess exactly which "sister" she meant.
"The items inside here are the same. If you take them without permission, you get punished."
Of course, I still hadn't gotten permission myself.
Swallowing the rest of my words, I continued descending the staircase leading into the royal tomb.
Four thousand gold spent on the Blue Leg Tribe, plus another four thousand on top of that.
I was going to make every single coin back from this tomb.
***
The inside of the royal tomb was far larger than expected.
In fact, absurdly large.
Just how vast was this underground burial ground?
Its scale rivaled the entire city of Terchin.
— Kwoooooar!
And naturally, the number of undead filling the tomb was equally overwhelming.
KABOOOM!
With a deafening explosion, dozens of corpses were blasted into the air.
Stella's holy-power-infused strike.
Just from the bold, straightforward way she fought, it was obvious who had trained her.
— Kiiiiiiik!
But even with holy power, it wasn't enough to hold back the endless tide of undead.
Slash!
"Huh?"
"What do you mean, 'Huh?' Watch your back properly."
After cutting down the mummy lunging at Stella from behind, I spoke.
Pssshhh...
A spirit that had already become a wraith and lost even its will.
Rather than leaving it trapped in this tomb, returning it to rest quickly was the better option.
Crunch!
The crystal sword struck, and the body abandoned by its soul crumbled apart on the spot.
The undead corpse scattered into dust.
The moment I confirmed it, I immediately opened a summoning gate and called forth skeletons.
"Shouldn't places like this be explored stealthily?"
Stella asked while clutching her neck with one hand, and I snorted.
"It's already too late for that now."
As I said that, I raised the Will-O'-Wisp higher and maximized its brightness.
Fwaaaash—!
Countless undead filled the space all the way to the edge of the light.
And the moment the illumination spread—
— Kwoooooooar!
— Kyaaaaaaak!
Undead shrieks erupted from every direction.
"Shield formation. Brace for impact."
At my command, the skeletons immediately stepped forward and raised their shields.
And soon after—
Doom!
The withered corpses came charging from all sides.
The skeleton shields blocked the first collision, and spearheads thrust out through the gaps.
Crunch!
The short spears I had used to kill Ben back at the reformatory.
Inspired by that battle, I had adopted them as standard skeleton armament.
"Wow..."
Stella muttered in disbelief.
"There are way too many of them. We have to fight through all this?"
"Of course we do."
At the same time, I gathered demonic energy.
"Raven."
The instant the contract sigil activated, the Death Knight's sword tore through the undead pressing into the formation.
Crack!
No—rather than cutting them apart, it would be more accurate to say it crushed them.
— Kwoeok?!
The undead let out twisted cries as their bodies collapsed helplessly.
Dried-up mummies that had not even rotted.
Confirming that, I thought:
'No high-ranking undead have appeared. They must know I'm not an intruder.'
The will of the dead dulls over time.
As their will erodes, the memories within their souls are devoured, until eventually they no longer even know who they once were.
That was the fate of these souls.
Even after forgetting their own identities, the undead still continued guarding this tomb.
Though forgotten by history, their loyalty remained unchanged.
And as I witnessed such unwavering devotion—
"Ah, seriously, this is driving me insane. Damn it."
I finally snapped and cursed aloud.
"Just let us pass already, you damn jerky corpses! I came in with permission!"
At the same time, I opened another contract sigil and summoned a newly created Death Knight.
Wooooooong...!
An unnamed Death Knight recovered from beneath the Grand Cathedral.
Its will had been weakened by holy power, but its soul possessed talent comparable to a commander-class knight.
"We're breaking through. Max out your output and hit them head-on!"
— As you command.
— ...!
Kiiiiing—!
The two knights synchronized their blades and unleashed their attacks upon the incoming mummies.
KWAKWAKWAAANG!
A beam of magical light shot forward in a straight line, and the mummies clogging the path disintegrated like dust.
— Kyaaaaaak!
The instant the flying mummies faltered from the attack, I shouted without missing the opportunity.
"Shield troops, advance! Secure the route!"
The opening the two Death Knights created—
I thrust my hand toward it and pushed the heavily armored skeletons forward.
— Kwoooooeok!
The skeletons carrying war shields shoved the mummies aside, carving out a path.
— Kiiiik!
The skeletons in the rear halted and interlocked their tower shields, forming a wall.
"I get that there are a lot of you guarding this place, but we're not exactly lacking in numbers either."
At the same time I spoke, the organized skeleton formation began steadily pushing the mummies back.
— Kwo! Kwoeok?!
Unlike the mindless, chaotic attacks of the undead, this side was an actual army with equipment and formations.
And now that their numbers were approaching ten thousand, I was capable of waging full-scale warfare by myself.
One year since I accepted necromancy into my body.
The growth I had achieved in that short time was overwhelming.
"Run!"
We sprinted down the straight path the skeletons had carved open.
"If we keep going, there should be a passage leading to the lower floor."
I spoke while recalling the internal structure I had scouted with the banshee.
"It'll probably be sealed with a locking mechanism, so first we need to find a way to open the do—!"
As I spoke, I turned toward Stella.
And—
"Huh? Where did she go?"
Stella was nowhere to be seen.
Krrrrrrrr...!
But at that exact moment—
The door at the end of the corridor slowly opened, and Stella stood there waving at me.
"Over here!"
What the hell was that?
That door should've been sealed by a mechanical lock.
How had she just opened it?
— Kwoooooeok!
The undead screams behind us left no time to think.
Whoosh!
The moment I threw myself through the doorway, the mechanism activated, and the massive iron door slammed shut behind us.
— Kwoooooooar!
The mummies' shrieks echoed from beyond the door.
At the very least, this area wouldn't be breached.
'Getting out of here is going to be a nightmare.'
Maybe I'd have to call Arin in from outside.
Thinking that, I brushed myself off and stood up.
Fwaaaash—!
As the Will-O'-Wisp illuminated the room, Stella stood to one side with her arms proudly crossed.
"So? I saved you back there, didn't I?"
Behind her were mechanical devices that appeared to control the door.
"...You activated that without a key? How?"
When I asked, Stella answered with a perfectly calm expression.
"Every time I got locked in the confession room, I'd pick the lock and sneak out."
15
"I've been doing it since I was little, so now I can open pretty much anything."
After saying that, Stella looked at me as if telling me to lead the way.
'If you're going to lie, at least make it believable.'
Unlocking a royal tomb's mechanism just because she'd escaped a convent a few times as a child?
Not a chance.
"Even if they're mechanisms from two hundred years ago, ordinary engineers would still struggle to unlock them."
A skill developed through endless research and practice.
Still, it didn't make sense.
There was no practical reason for a nun of the Holy Church to learn lockpicking.
'This isn't practicality. It's closer to obsession...'
As I thought that, my gaze drifted to Stella's hands.
Ever since we entered the underground tomb, she had constantly been touching her neck.
'The compulsion to open locked doors. The habit of touching her neck.'
The moment I saw that, a sense of familiarity washed over me.
'It's the kind of trauma all the kids from the orphanage shared.'
Thinking back to the children Miriam protected, I could roughly piece together the situation.
A nun who came and went from Saint Miriam Orphanage as if it were her own home, with Garrison as her guardian.
'So she came from a reformatory too.'
At that realization, my eyes narrowed slightly.
"...Aren't we going?"
Avoiding my half-lidded stare, Stella spoke quietly.
'Well, even if I pried, nothing useful would come out of it.'
Thinking that, I simply shrugged and continued leading the way.
"Oh, right."
"Hmm?"
Inside the passage leading to the lower level, Stella suddenly asked with a worried expression, as though something had just occurred to her.
"What about Arin? Is she really going to be okay?"
"Okay? What do you mean?"
When I asked back, Stella tilted her head.
"She's all alone in the middle of the desert. She should still have supplies left, but still..."
"Ahhh, so that's what you meant."
Understanding what Stella was worried about, I casually waved my hand dismissively.
"You don't need to worry about that kid."
As I continued descending the stairs, I swallowed the rest of my thoughts.
'Because I left her there on purpose.'
***
"What in the world is this?"
At dawn in the desert, Count Terein and his knights stared at the sight before them in utter disbelief.
"Well now..."
Aishingior.
The great empire that had once ruled the entire eastern and southern continent.
And before them stood the royal tomb where the empire's final emperor slept.
"I figured this might become a clue, but for things to work out this perfectly..."
The entrance to the royal tomb was open.
For twenty years after inheriting the title of count, he had tried endlessly to open it—
And yet the door that had never budged now stood wide open.
"Kuhahahahaha—!"
Count Terein burst into roaring laughter, his face overflowing with joy.
This was enough.
All the knights were already gathered, and Young Master Klein had entered the tomb himself.
"Shall we go inside?"
"No, there's no need for that."
At one knight's question, the smile on Count Terein's face deepened.
"The very person who opened these ruins is already inside. What would we gain by entering late?"
He was too delighted to contain himself.
Quite literally, they had arrived at the perfect possible moment.
"We'll simply wait here at the entrance for Young Master Klein to come back out."
The desert was a land beyond the reach of continental law and the scriptures of the church.
If they robbed Young Master Klein of the treasures he brought back—and killed him...
"Puha—!"
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
Something suddenly burst up from the middle of the knights surrounding the tomb entrance.
"What is that?!"
"An ambush? Or maybe—!"
The startled knights immediately drew their swords.
But only for a moment.
"Huh? Who are you old guys?"
The instant they saw the young girl emerging from the pile of sand, all of their caution disappeared.
"What's with this little girl?"
"She was mentioned in Nakyeop's report. Apparently she's the young master's maid."
As one knight said that, he dismounted and approached her.
"Eeee... sand got all over me."
Meanwhile, the girl brushed off her maid outfit with a pout.
'A maid uniform in the middle of the desert.'
'She's out of her mind.'
With the desert's unpredictable climate, the fact that this girl was alive at all was practically a miracle.
To think Young Master Klein had sent her across the desert without any preparation—
It made him look unbelievably foolish.
"What should we do, my lord?"
The knight standing before the girl turned to ask Count Terein.
There was no need to ask.
Without a word, the count drew his thumb across his throat.
"Tch. Killing a kid always leaves a bad taste."
Unfortunately, since he had been the first to approach her, the knight ended up with the annoying task.
Thinking that, he swung his sword without the slightest emotion.
"Don't resent us. Young Master Klein will be joining you soon enough."
Those were his final words before he slashed toward the girl's neck.
Slash!
With a sharp cutting sound, the girl's head flew into the air.
"Good. Check if there are any other companions, then prepare camp—"
Just as Count Terein began issuing orders to search for any remaining allies—
"Uh... uhhh...?"
At the voice of the knight who had cut down the girl, the count turned his head back.
"W-What the...?!"
And Count Terein froze on the spot.
"Ah~! So you guys are the people Young Master warned me about?"
The girl's innocent voice echoed through the air.
The voice came from the girl's neck.
The severed head, suspended in midair, smiled brightly as it spoke to them.
"M-My lord! That thing is...!"
What poured from the severed neck was not blood, but black shadows.
Soon, the pure white desert sands began to be consumed by the darkness spreading from her body.
"Entire knight order, battle positions!"
Realizing the situation instantly, Count Terein drew his sword.
"Raise your mana output to maximum! Kill that monster immediately!"
At the count's command, countless knights charged toward the girl.
"Hehe!"
Facing the incoming knights, the girl beamed with a cheerful smile and shouted:
"Thank you for the meal—!"