Chapter 42
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"Good grief. Being a champion of justice sure is a pain."
Yuurai shrugged while watching Aquell repeatedly engage in self-harm.
The soldiers' corpses were gathered, and turning Aquell into an Undead went smoothly, but Aquell fell into despair over becoming an Undead. On top of that, he lamented the fact that three hundred soldiers had to die to bring him back.
He must have been a man with a strong sense of justice. Believing he should atone through death, he kept harming himself, but Undead don't die so easily. Aquell kept cutting himself, but the wounds gradually healed. Unable to die, Aquell was trapped in a cycle of self-harm.
The three companions tried their best to calm Aquell down, but it would likely take some time.
As a side note, Aquell, who had previously used holy-element magic, could no longer use that type after becoming an Undead. Instead, he became specialized in dark-element magic.
"......Well, if Aquell insists on dying, I guess I can kill him later. For now, let's just leave him. I think I'll head back up."
Yuurai had come down to the surface to turn Aquell into an Undead. Now that the task was done, she headed toward the stairs with Claire and Lipia, who had come down with her. As for Gilka, she remained outside the castle walls to keep watch.
"I feel bad for the enemies fighting desperately, but just watching from above is kind of boring."
When Yuurai muttered that, Claire agreed.
"Yeah, I get it."
"Claire, are you getting bored too?"
"A little."
"It'd be nice if there were a spell that could end the battle in one shot."
"That would be terrifying. Actually, couldn't you do that, Yuurai? You haven't used the spell that erased that town yet."
"......I've decided not to use that. It's not like I want to wipe out all the enemies. As long as they acknowledge our victory, that's enough. For now, maybe we just need to take out their main force?"
"......If we take out their main force, or their commander, or neutralize the Saint... I think they'll give up and retreat."
"I see. I'd prefer not to mess with the Saint if possible. Let's wrap this up quickly."
As Yuurai yawned lightly, Claire furrowed her brow.
"You shouldn't let your guard down. There must be someone on their side with power like Gilka's. Maybe even an assassin heading our way."
"True. I need to be careful. But I'm not good at Presence Detection, so I'll have to rely on you and Lipia."
Claire had extensive combat experience, so even if someone used Stealth skills, she could sense them to some degree. Also, Lipia and the Eyeless Tribe were originally highly attuned to perceiving the unseen.
Yuurai couldn't handle invisible enemies, but with those two around, she felt somewhat reassured.
She had felt reassured.
"Watch out!"
Suddenly, Lipia tackled Yuurai.
Just before Yuurai fell, the ground where she had been standing cracked open. It looked like something massive had crushed it from above.
"Huh?"
Yuurai, lying on the ground, lifted her upper body and scanned the surroundings.
Lipia was nowhere to be seen.
Where Lipia should have been, there was a blood-soaked robe and a pool of blood.
The shield lying nearby felt strangely lonely.
"......Huh?"
While Yuurai was still confused, Claire moved swiftly. She immediately pulled Yuurai close and pushed her behind her.
Claire drew the Sword of Gaen and slashed. The sound of metal clashing rang out.
Just like that, Claire continued battling an unseen enemy.
"Yuurai, stay back!"
"......Ah, okay."
(Huh? What just happened? Where did Lipia go...?)
Somewhere in her mind, she understood. But she didn't want to accept it.
As she backed away, she stared at the pool of blood.
"Lipia...?"
Even when she called out, there was no response.
"Lipia... What's with this sudden... Don't tell me you're dead...?"
Yuurai had expected to spend much more time with Lipia. Though they barely knew each other now, she had vaguely thought that in time, there'd be nothing they didn't know about each other.
Claire moved further away. Yuurai staggered toward the pool of blood and knelt beside it.
She tried channeling magic into the blood.
"......Lipia."
If there was still a body, channeling magic would speed up recovery.
But there was no change in the pool of blood.
As Yuurai stood there dazed, a sword emerged from her chest.
(......It hurts. I got stabbed from behind. So there were two of them. How annoying.)
"Burn."
Heat surged within Yuurai. Thanks to the robe's magic resistance, she hadn't caught fire, but it couldn't block everything. She also felt something other than heat eating away at her body.
"Tch. So even burning you from the inside with Holy Flame doesn't kill you instantly. Is it the robe's power, or the Dark Lich's own strength... What a pain."
A woman's voice came from behind.
(Holy Flame... No wonder it felt so awful—it wasn't just Fire Magic. Not that it matters... Did you people kill Lipia?)
Yuurai's insides grew hotter and hotter. Smoke began to rise, and she felt her body slowly burning away.
"Yuurai! Stay with me!"
Claire's scream reached Yuurai's ears.
But Yuurai couldn't organize her thoughts and didn't feel like doing anything.
"Hmph. Unlike this Dark Lich, the other Undead seems to have some skill."
Yuurai watched Claire through a haze. The enemy holding a dagger had already revealed themselves, but even Claire was struggling.
"Claire..."
Was there any backup? Maybe. At this rate, she might lose not just Lipia, but Claire too.
That can't happen.
Yuurai tried to help Claire, but her body wouldn't move properly. Perhaps due to the Holy Flame.
As Yuurai struggled, the sound of metal clashing came from behind her.
"Tch. You dodged my strike? As expected of a fellow kind—you're sharp."
"You're Gilka, leader of the Black Phantom Wolves. I'll take care of you too."
"Try me if you can!"
Apparently, Gilka had returned from outside the gate.
Thanks to that, there were no enemies near Yuurai now.
But her body still wouldn't move.
(This might be really bad... Am I going to die too...?)
Suddenly, Yuurai's body was embraced. The sensation was firm—armor.
"Yuurai. You must not die here."
Claire's voice. Thanks to the Anti-Magic effect on the armor, the unpleasant heat clinging to Yuurai vanished.
Then, Claire pulled out the blade that had pierced Yuurai.
Immediately after, Claire's head slipped off her neck.
"Claire...?"
"Turning your back on the enemy? Is that monster so important to you? I don't understand what Undead are thinking."
Standing before Yuurai was a man wearing a Black Mask.
He lifted Claire's head, helmet and all, and removed its contents. Then, he crushed Claire's head with some kind of magic.
Blood dripped from the man's hand.
"Ah..."
An Undead won't die just from decapitation. But if the head is completely destroyed, even they will die.
(Claire... died? What?)
She couldn't bring herself to accept the scene before her.
"You should die too."
The man's bloodstained hand reached for Yuurai's head.
Just before the invisible pressure crushed her—
(......Corruption)
Without thinking, Yuurai activated the spell she had sworn never to use again.