Chapter 399
[How is it, Commander? Looks flawless, right?]
Erzebet revealed her creation with a triumphant ta-da!.
Lying in the hospital bed, under the covers, was a doll that looked exactly like Simon. And it was made out of spider silk.
“……Hmm.”
Simon rubbed between his eyebrows with a displeased expression.
“It’s uncomfortably realistic.”
[Exactly! The girl hugs and rubs it every day, so the realism is guaranteed.]
“……Please, Erzebet.”
And so, late at night, Simon and Erzebet left a decoy in the hospital room and arrived at the ruins of Feer.
[You’ve arrived, Young Master!]
Akemius, who had come to greet them at the entrance of the ruins, bowed politely. His massive frame made it look like a bear was bending over.
[I'm relieved to see you safe! Are you alright?]
“Yes, I’m fine now. You did well too, Akemius…”
Wait a second.
Couldn’t he use this opportunity to earn a few more points with Akemius?
Saying things like “Good work in battle” or “Thanks for your effort” was too bland.
“You were the only Ancient Undead who captured a ‘bishop’ without killing him during this war, right?”
[!]
Akemius’ eyes widened. Simon continued with a smile.
“You were considerate of me and the Legion’s circumstances, weren’t you? Thank you.”
Akemius’ shoulders trembled with emotion.
[I only did what I was supposed to do, Young Master!]
Looks like that worked. Simon nervously bit his thumb.
“But I have nothing to repay your loyalty with…”
Sploosh!
Akemius’ tears poured out with a splashing sound as he collapsed onto the floor, wailing.
[Loyalty is not given with the expectation of reward! Simply having you reign as my master is enough for me to fight with all my body and soul! Young Master!!]
[Step aside.]
With a look of exasperation, Erzebet caught Akemius in her web and flung him aside.
[Kghh! Young Masteeeeer!!]
Leaving the echo of his cries behind, Simon stepped into the interior of the ruins.
[Oh! It’s Simon!]
Prince perked up his head, and Feer raised a hand in greeting.
[Simon! Simon! That staff lady last time was amazing!]
Prince threw his fists through the air as he spoke.
[I didn’t expect her to summon us across space! I was zoning out, and suddenly I was summoned, scared the crap out of me!]
Simon nodded.
No matter what anyone said, the MVP of the recent battle was Herseba, now legionized. She had turned the tide completely, summoning not only her own mummies but also three Ancient Undeads.
“That’s exactly the problem.”
Simon took Herseba out from subspace and placed her on the altar.
“She still hasn’t regained consciousness.”
During the battle, she had pushed herself beyond her limits, more so than when she used the ‘World of Sand’ in Shatel’s evaluation duel.
Feer came forward and said,
[First, we should examine her main body. Boy!]
“Yes.”
Simon retrieved Herseba’s main body from the bracelet’s subspace and laid it on the altar.
The Life Vessel was still beating steadily, but the Darkness was depleted and hadn’t begun to recover. Her consciousness remained unresponsive.
‘First, focus on recovery.’
Having assessed Herseba’s condition, Simon turned around and spoke.
“Everyone, please help.”
Forming a circle around Simon, Feer, Erzebet, Prince, and Akemius extended their palms toward the Lich’s Life Vessel. Since their thoughts were already linked, there was no need for further explanation.
“Let’s begin.”
Darkness began to flow from the five outstretched palms, slowly refilling Herseba’s Life Vessel. The previously empty vessel gradually started to fill.
[Oh! It holds more Darkness than expected.]
Prince murmured.
It seemed to be a change caused by Herseba’s awakening as a legion-type undead. Despite four Ancient Undead supplying Darkness, the vessel was filling slowly.
[Boy!]
Feer, observing the situation, called out to Simon.
[Leave the Darkness supply to us. You should tend to the circuits in the magic circle, there might be severed or loosened points!]
“That’s a good idea.”
They immediately split roles.
Simon examined the magic circle of the Life Vessel. The runes and core formulas were intact, but as the experienced Feer had suggested, some circuits had loosened.
‘When she shifted from a summoned-type to a legion-type undead, the circuit must have changed.’
He fixed the loose points and correctly aligned the mismatched circuits. As he worked, the Life Vessel began to emit light.
Soon, the three bands began to ‘function’ again. They pumped Darkness like a pump, dispersing it throughout the body, and Darkness was supplied to the summoning circle on the skull.
Eventually, the staff placed on the altar floated into the air. The eye on the tip snapped open.
[Ohh? Huh?]
Herseba finally opened her eyes.
[I’m still intact? I was sure I’d vanished completely!]
“I told you.”
Simon, breathless with emotion, managed a smile.
“I’d never let you go.”
He thought it was a touching moment worth some appreciation, but—
[You little!]
Herseba began bonking Simon on the head repeatedly in midair. Simon stepped back, covering his head.
“Wh-Why all of a sudden?”
[You put me through that much pain! You really are a necromancer! Just used me until I was on the verge of death to win?!]
Feer and Prince chuckled while watching, but Erzebet trembled with clenched fists.
[A bratty little Lich dares to beat my master to physical contact?!]
[You count hitting someone as physical affection?]
Prince asked, eyes wide.
[Indeed, Prince. That kind of play may well be the pinnacle of—]
[I don’t want to know your weird tastes, Erzebet.]
Akemius cut in sharply.
After beating Simon to her heart’s content, Herseba was panting with exhaustion. Simon also plopped down on the altar and clapped his hands.
“Now, if I could have everyone’s attention for a moment. As the Commander, there’s something I’d like to announce.”
[?]
All eyes turned to Simon.
“As Erzebet said, Herseba is still young and not yet an Ancient Undead, but I believe her power and capabilities are beyond question.”
Akemius nodded.
[Her ability to summon us all into the dungeon was truly extraordinary, Young Master.]
[And she has a mummy battalion too.]
“Exactly, so—”
Simon raised his hand and pointed toward Herseba.
“I’d like to treat legion-formed Herseba as your equal, and officially recognize her as the ‘General’ of the mummy unit. Is everyone alright with that?”
Feer laughed heartily.
[Kuhaha! She definitely deserves it!]
Erzebet clutched her forehead.
[Ughh, she’s insufferable, but I acknowledge her skills.]
Prince and Akemius followed in agreement. Soon, all the Ancient Undead assumed the proper posture according to Legion protocol.
[By the Commander’s decree, I, Feer the Master of the 7th Legion, shall raise the rank of the dead!]
Voooooom!
Herseba’s main body was enveloped in radiant light.
What Feer was doing now was removing the restrictions of a legion-type undead and granting Herseba the authority to act autonomously, even without orders, as a proper General.
[.......]
Herseba looked somewhat surprised. A mix of emotions swirled in the eye attached to her staff.
“I’ll be counting on you, Herseba.”
Simon said with a smile. He thought this time, it might actually be a touching moment.
[You think tossing me a fancy title means I won’t hit you?!]
Herseba flew in and repeatedly struck Simon on the crown of his head. Laughter, both big and small, spilled out from around them.
And so, the legion gained a new and powerful core member.
It held great meaning that this new "General" was not part of Richard’s legacy, but someone Simon had created through his own power.
* * *
The next morning.
Back in the hospital ward, Simon was once again experimenting with mixing Darkness and Holiness to produce Void.
Boom!
Of course, it failed again. Darkness and Holiness didn’t mix, they repelled each other like water and oil. They would scatter, or Holiness would purify the Darkness, or, when clashing too hard, it would often explode.
‘This is tough.’
Simon flopped onto his bed.
‘No, it’s beyond tough, I don’t even see a speck of possibility.’
What made Simon the most anxious was that his body’s sensation, the one that had once allowed him to create Void, was gradually fading.
‘Back then, I could just merge them without thinking.’
Of course, that was immediately after encountering “that existence”, so it had been possible. It might have been arrogant to think he could replicate it purely by sensation, without any knowledge or understanding of the theory.
“Then let’s try a change in perspective!”
Simon shot up and stretched out his right hand.
He drew a small magic circle at his fingertips, then extracted blood and Darkness, mixed them in a 6:4 ratio, and sent them through the circle. An iridescent emerald-colored mist flowed out.
<Cloud>
Perhaps because of how big the recent incident had been, Simon still felt a bit uneasy using the Cloud technique Sillage had taught him.
But in the end, this was also a technique he had trained and polished, it was his own asset. He didn’t think it needed to be sealed away.
“Alright! Then let’s take this Cloud and……”
Simon maintained the Cloud in his right hand and extended his left palm.
“If I summon Holiness and make it clash!”
Wobble!
This time, it didn’t explode. Instead, when the Cloud met Holiness, something strange happened.
Like a game of tag, chasing and being chased, Holiness and the Cloud started spiraling around each other.
“What’s going on here?”
Simon hurriedly poked at the badge-shaped clone of Feer he had left in the corner.
“Feer! Feer! Take a look at this!”
[Hm? What is it, boy.]
Simon lifted Feer’s clone and adjusted it for a clear view. Feer’s clone furrowed its brow.
[Krhrh! What is this bizarre thing?!]
“When I mixed Cloud and Holiness, this happened!”
The spiraling energy suddenly exploded with a pop! Fortunately, Farahan’s sound-blocking magic circle kept the noise from leaking out.
“One more time…!”
Simon mixed Cloud and Holiness again, producing the same spiraling force.
[Hmm, I see now!]
“Did you figure something out?”
[Open your eyes wide and look carefully, boy.]
Feer spoke in a serious tone.
[The Cloud is breaking down. When Holiness stimulates the Cloud, the Darkness inside it retreats to the edges to avoid the Holiness. Look, the edge of the Cloud is turning black!]
“Ah…!”
Simon hadn’t noticed because of the spinning, but Feer was exactly right. The edges of the Cloud were stained black.
Though it began as a combination of Holiness and Cloud, over time, the mixture separated—Holiness to the left, Simon’s ‘SM-1’ blood in the middle, and Darkness to the right.
Holiness tried to purify the opposing Darkness, but it was blocked by the ‘SM-1’ in between, causing it to spin endlessly.
And when the blood barrier thinned and Holiness collided with the Darkness—
Boom!
It exploded, just like that.
“This is fun!”
Simon exclaimed, face lit with excitement.
“Couldn’t we use this just as it is?”
[Hrhrh! Well, I’m not sure about its practical use.]
“If we use this technique, maybe we can deal both Darkness and Holiness damage to the enemy at once!”
Simon was too caught up in his discovery to even hear Feer’s voice.
He once again fused Cloud and Holiness to create the spinning energy, then floated it slightly in the air.
“!!”
But it suddenly slipped from his control. The spinning energies flew madly around the hospital room in unpredictable paths, then shot out the window and struck a nearby tree.
The SM-1 barrier shattered on impact, and the Holiness pierced into the Darkness.
Kaboom!
An explosion erupted.
The tree swayed violently, and a shhhh sound followed as a rain of leaves poured down.
“See? See, Feer! It was an accident, but even in practice, this could be valuable…!”
“Who the hell did that?!”
Simon quickly ducked. Beyond the window, the furious dormitory manager was running toward him, face red with anger.
Simon peeked out cautiously, scratched his cheek in embarrassment, and muttered in the smallest voice imaginable.
“M-Might need a few adjustments before it’s combat-ready……”
Feer burst out laughing. This reckless excitement upon discovering something new, it was just like Richard.
[Not just a few, a lot of adjustments, I’d say. But this is far from that ‘Void’ technique you used!]
“Yes. It’s definitely different from the power of the Void. Still…”
An entirely new, original technique born from inspiration drawn from the Void.
“It’s only in its trial phase, but if I were to name it…”
A power that was neither Darkness nor Holiness.
Simon pictured Darkness, blood, and Holiness spinning chaotically in his mind.
“How about… Chaos?”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters