༺ 𓆩 Chapter 54 — Nightmare (7) 𓆪 ༻
「Translator — Creator」
᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃
Death Haven.
An organization founded by ten Necromancers.
Though the group officially consisted of just ten members, each necromancer commanded a legion of subordinates.
Long ago, faced with the brink of annihilation at the hands of an alliance between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom, the Necromancers recognized the need for unity. Thus, they banded together, forming an organization where they could establish a hierarchy and exchange crucial information.
All to ensure they would never face extinction again.
'If the Necromancers hadn't been divided, we would have been the ones to lose.'
Those were the words of the Holy Nation's Archbishop after the war against the necromancers had ended.
Hearing this, the people came to fully grasp the threat the necromancers had once posed—but they also felt reassured.
For they believed no Necromancers remained.
It was true that dozens of Necromancers perished in that war.
However, 10 Necromancers had survived.
No one knew this truth.
Mordor ranked eighth among them.
As was typical in most games, Croaka would also have to face them in ascending order, starting from the weakest at rank ten.
Naturally, the higher the rank, the stronger they were.
And among them, the top three—the Third, Second, and First—were on an entirely different level from the rest.
But that didn't mean the other Necromancers were weak by any means.
'Mordor, ranked 8th, is currently stronger than me.'
Yet that didn't mean he couldn't be killed.
From that day forward, I'd been constantly thinking about how to kill him.
“Wait… Are you saying it’s because I hesitated earlier? I was just caught off guard, that’s all…! That won’t happen again…”
Loki stopped his thoughts and looked at Johanna upon hearing her words.
Johanna was rambling incoherently.
She had misunderstood. She thought Loki had decided to go in alone because of what had happened earlier.
"It's not particularly because of that."
He simply didn’t want her to see.
The truth was, she had already witnessed more than she ever should have.
She had seen the dead—children, no less—being puppeteered, their lifeless bodies forced into unnatural motion.
Worse still, Johanna herself had killed some of them.
They had already been corpses, yes, but outwardly, they had appeared just like any other living person.
Loki had already shown her things he never wanted her to see. Forced her to experience things she should never have endured.
And yet, there was still more he wished to keep from her.
"It's just that this is something I need to do alone."
"But..."
Even in the face of Loki’s unwavering resolve, Johanna couldn’t bring herself to accept it.
She hadn’t known that necromancers still existed, but she did know enough about them.
Those who controlled the dead and made them fight.
The terrifying aspect of Necromancers was that they forced you to fight against fallen comrades.
In fact, many soldiers committed suicide during the war against Necromancers; their suicide notes spoke of having killed their own comrades with their own hands.
That's why the worst scenario kept flashing through her mind.
She could see it clearly in her mind—
Loki, slain.
And then, his lifeless body, forced to move under the necromancer’s control.
And then—
Loki, coming for her.
To kill her.
The mere thought sent a shudder through her body.
She was terrified.
“I’ll go with y—”
Thump—
Her vision suddenly darkened.
Startled, she reached up, fumbling at whatever had covered her face. Her fingers traced over the smooth surface before pulling it away.
And then, she saw it.
A white mask, shaped into a perpetual smile.
Loki’s mask. The one he always wore.
Dazed, she lifted her gaze to him.
Shrouded deep within his hood, his face remained hidden.
Creak—
The door swung open.
“I’ll be back,” Loki said, his voice steady. “Hold onto that mask for me. I’ll come back for it—no matter what.”
Creak—
The door closed.
Johanna stood frozen, gripping the mask tightly in her hands, staring blankly at the door.
.
.
.
.
The first thing I did upon stepping inside was check for the child.
Earlier, among the reanimated corpses of children, that one had been missing.
“You actually made it this far. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted those useless fools.”
A voice rang out.
I turned toward the source.
An old man stood there.
"Mordor."
The one responsible for what had happened to the boy and girl.
"You know my name. Who exactly sent you? Don't tell me it was Betsudo?"
Betsudo was the 10th ranked Necromancer of Death Haven.
They were only bound together because the First was overwhelmingly powerful, forcing them into the organization.
There was no real sense of camaraderie among them.
I wanted nothing more than to ignore Mordor’s ramblings and kill him on the spot.
But I forced himself to stay calm.
"No, I don't listen to corpse-stuffers like you."
Mordor clicked his tongue.
"Tsk, ordinary humans are pitiful. Death is the end for all humans. And we Necromancers give a new beginning to that end. Therefore, we Necromancers are truly the masters of humanity."
Among those in Death Haven, Mordor took exceptional pride in being a Necromancer.
To help memorize the names of the ten Necromancers easily, Croaka users created keywords that symbolized each one.
The keyword that symbolized Mordor was [Mind].
"Death Haven's 8th ranked Mordor, are you that afraid of 10th ranked Betsudo?"
"You... from before as well... just how much do you know?"
When I precisely stated his rank, name, and the organization's name, Mordor's expression soured.
Only Necromancers would know the exact ranks and names of Death Haven at this point in time.
"Don't change the subject. Answer what I asked. Are you that scared of Betsudo?"
I grated on Mordor's nerves.
I needed to buy some time for 'that'.
"Ha! As you said, he's ranked 10th and I'm 8th, so why should I fear him?"
I knew he would say that.
I gave a sardonic smile; then opened my mouth.
"Well... you're weaker than Betsudo, aren't you?"
As I said, Mordor was indeed weaker than Betsudo.
The reason Mordor had a higher rank despite this was because he possessed a unique ability.
"You! How dare a worthless human like you!!!"
Mordor struck the ground with his staff.
And as he did so, faceless corpses rose from the ground.
With a vile smile, he opened his mouth.
"Then let's see who you've lost."
Faces began to form on the faceless corpses; the corpses bore the faces of those children I had met and killed in the back alley.
"So these children are the deceased ones among those you cherish."
This was precisely why Mordor outranked Betsudo and why Mordor's keyword was [Mind]. Anyone with mental fortitude below a certain threshold would find it impossible to even fight Mordor.
"Will you really be able to kill these children you cherish—"
Swoosh—
I swung my sword; the corpse's head flew off.
"Hmm? What were you saying?"
I cut down the corpse resembling the children without hesitation.
"I know they're fake, so there's no reason I can't cut them down."
Someone facing Mordor for the first time would be too shocked to move, but I already knew what to expect. Besides, I had already killed these children numerous times in my nightmares.
There was no reason I couldn't cut down such pathetic fakes.
"By the way, surely this isn't all you've got? You're much weaker than I thought."
"You!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Mordor struck the ground with his staff once more, and again corpses rose from the earth.
The corpses that appeared this time already had faces.
Moreover, each one was emanating an eerie aura.
"Nothing speci—"
I was about to say it was nothing special, but I closed my mouth.
"Now do you understand the terror of a Necromancer?"
Mordor seemed to think I had become frightened.
"Haah..."
I sighed.
I had been holding back while fighting Mordor.
"Just shut up. I have nothing more to say to you."
I had already bought enough time.
The mist enveloped both Mordor and me; there was no reason to continue conversing with that bastard anymore.
Talking with Mordor had made me nauseous.
"Kid, don't act tough. You'll never be able to break through these corpses to reach me."
I deliberately chose not to respond.
The reason I didn't come with Johanna wasn't just because I needed to kill Mordor with my own hands—it was more because I didn't want to show her this technique.
The technique that turned the worm into a broken person in just one minute.
But I had no intention of using it on Mordor for just a minute.
I had consumed elixir, so I wasn't short on mana.
Before using it on that worm, I had once asked Duke Adellian for permission and tried it out.
'Heh! You can create something like this with your unique magic? I don't know whether to say your unique magic is impressive or your imagination is. Anyway, this technique is forbidden. If others see it, they'll undoubtedly either fear you or find you troublesome.'
A technique forbidden by Duke Adellian.
'You're asking if this is a threatening technique? Are you genuinely curious? Let me assure you. With this technique alone, you could kill all the knights of our family at once. It doesn't matter whether they're stronger than you or not. This technique touches on human instinct. To be honest, even I was scared for a moment.'
A technique acknowledged by Duke Adellian.
It was a technique that utilized illusions, but it didn't suit the name "illusion" at all.
Mordor, you gave me nightmares for five months. So this is what I'm showing you.
"Nightmare."
Mist wrapped around Mordor and me.
Now, I'll kill you very, very slowly.
END of CHAPTER
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