Chapter 126
The Erich unit, composed of various factions, marched quickly.
However, during the march, Erich darted off ahead, claiming to have discovered something.
Except for Mikhail and Hrung-ga, who could see into the distance, no one else knew the reason.
Frederick frowned and spoke.
"This damn, could at least tell us what's going on before running off..."
"Tsk tsk, there's a fellow there with quite a tremendous aura."
"... A tremendous aura? Don't tell me it's Albrecht?"
"No. ... Judging by the feeling, it doesn't seem to be someone among the living."
Frederick's eyes narrowed. A dead with a tremendous aura.
Suddenly, he recalled the terrifying entity he saw before, the one that froze everything around it.
If such a being had appeared, it was understandable that Erich had darted off first.
"Is it stronger than the one we saw before?"
"Even at a glance, it appears about four times as powerful."
Barnes, who was listening beside them, jumped in surprise.
That previous one was already a monstrous being, but this one was said to be four times as powerful.
To them, it was an unimaginable enemy. However, seeing their reactions, Mikhail let out a chuckle.
"In the past, he'd have had to fight that thing to the death. But not this time."
"... Pardon?"
"Seems that idiot Erich has actually learned something properly this time."
There was an odd sense of pride in Mikhail's tone.
Frederick and Barnes shuddered as they recalled Mikhail's training. How could they ever forget that dreadful training?
But even among them, Erich's training had been the harshest, and Frederick and Barnes, having witnessed it, could only wear painful expressions.
Even they, hardened to most kinds of suffering, had thought, 'Does it really have to go that far?'
But upon seeing the traces left by Erich, they both knew the truth. That Erich had achieved some kind of significant result.
"......"
A rock, cleanly sliced.
And behind it, an endless line of cut marks trailing along.
Frederick couldn't even imagine what kind of swordsmanship would make such a thing possible.
At that moment, someone came running toward the main force.
Simultaneously, at the place where the black spot had been, sparks flickered, albeit faintly.
Everyone assumed it was the light created by a sword.
What's more, the bright flash of aura radiating unmistakably suggested it was Erich's aura.
A silhouette drew closer and closer. And there, the form of a dead gradually became visible—a dead warrior clad in armor twice the size of a human.
Previously, Erich had dubbed such an entity a 'Death Knight'.
Alongside it, the light from Erich's eyes traced busy tails.
The Erich unit remained tense, ready to charge at any moment. But Mikhail swiftly restrained them.
"If you approach that thing now, half of you will be frozen to death. Slow the pace of the unit."
"Ah, got it."
Following Mikhail's words, Frederick slowed the unit's pace. Sure enough, just as he said, subtle icy tendrils were spreading over the snow.
Soon the figure heading toward them became visible. The soldiers murmured among themselves.
It was Ceres, who had left the unit to go to the First Research Facility.
As she approached, Frederick called out quickly.
"Weren't you gone?"
"... There were some circumstances. But anyway, pull the unit back. That monster can freeze people just by getting close..."
"We already know that."
"... Excuse me?"
Ceres' eyes widened. They already knew? She had just found out herself from personal experience.
But Frederick smirked and gestured behind them.
Sure enough, unlike before when they had been rapidly approaching, the unit was now moving slowly. Just then, Mikhail spoke.
"... Him."
Then, Ceres turned her gaze toward Erich. She was curious about the meaning behind the smile on Mikhail's face.
And at that moment—
― Kwagagagagak!
A single line was slashed right through the center of the Death Knight. The light was so brilliant anyone could see it.
Ceres already knew that a swordmaster using aura could cut through armor like slicing bread.
And yet, she was surprised once more.
A huge rift appeared behind the Death Knight—
Even the bushes and trees behind it were sliced in a straight line. Even from the Death Knight's feet to all the way behind, a long streak of ice sprayed up.
This meant that the enormous power had cleaved through the Death Knight and continued out into the distance.
Although Ceres witnessed it with her own eyes, she could not figure out what technique Erich used.
Then Mikhail spoke.
"He's succeeded for real."
Mikhail slowly curled up his lips, then continued.
"We should advance now."
Frederick nodded.
*
― Shhhh
A thin mist rose from Erich's sword. The Death Knight before him was frozen stiff, greatsword in hand.
Looking past it, Erich curled his lips in satisfaction—the technique's completion was superb.
He had not only split the Death Knight's greatsword and armor in half, but also managed to slice through its tough hide. That wasn't all; even the remainder of his power had extended beyond, toppling a tree far away.
'The technique's completion is even better than before the regression.'
Indeed, Erich felt it firsthand.
Just how accomplished Mikhail's martial prowess had been before his death.
Especially considering how little aura he had compared to Erich before the regression—
'To have such a great teacher, even after regression...'
The title Erich had earned in the past as "a swordsman on par with Mikhail" was, by now, evidently absurd.
However, having now learned Mikhail's secret technique and drastically improved his aura control compared to before—
Erich felt himself one step closer to that title than before his regression, and was secretly pleased.
'Now I just need more aura.'
Normally, a swordmaster's aura would increase with time. But Erich had another method.
He tapped the frozen Death Knight with the tip of his sword.
― Thud!
With that, the Death Knight's body collapsed on the spot. The bisected part was so cleanly cut that it even took the body some time to topple.
Bending down, Erich extracted the core from the creature's body. He now had four of them in total—all to be used to replenish his aura.
But then, the next moment—
Erich heard something approaching. The dead began to charge at him.
Yet Erich did nothing.
He simply waited.
― Kwajijijik!
A long lance suddenly pierced through the skull of a dead as it rushed towards Erich.
Next, a group of cavalry rode past, indiscriminately mowing down the charging dead.
Then, a mounted knight trotted up with a clatter—it was Milon.
"My lord! Are you unharmed?"
"You seem to ask if I'm alright every time we meet, Milon."
"... To be honest, I'm not that worried anyway."
Milon flashed a grin.
As the knights guided their horses and pierced their lances into the dead, it looked like Heinkel's knights could handle the surrounding situation well enough on their own.
Erich turned to look back. Alongside Ceres, who had rejoined the main unit, motley groups of all types gathered beneath the Erich unit as they continued their advance.
Now, the time had come to settle things with Albrecht, the mastermind behind all these plots.
***
Laurenti leaned back slowly in his chair.
However, his face was far from relaxed, unlike his posture. Ceres' words kept circling in his mind.
'... A soul.'
Mages could commonly craft simple-level souls—the very nature of golems.
Golems were inanimate objects infused with such simple souls.
Thus, Laurenti had believed the dead were the same sort—only this time, a soul had been placed into a living creature, not an inanimate one.
But—
'Why turn away from such infinite potential?'
His beloved student Ceres had chosen to abandon him, her master, because of this realization.
Why, indeed—
― Click.
Laurenti set down a small clamp in his hand. At this moment, he was conducting a small experiment of his own to verify Ceres' concerns.
Mages had tried to instill souls into living beings before—countless experiments and failures had occurred.
However—
To date, placing a soul into a living creature was considered the domain of gods. No matter the method, there was always rejection.
That was precisely why Laurenti was so tempted by this research. No one in the history of magic had ever succeeded.
At that moment, Laurenti glanced toward the door. Someone was waiting there to knock. Laurenti murmured softly,
"Come in."
― Creak.
The one who opened the door was Albrecht. He spoke with a gentle smile, though his face was deathly pale.
"You seem troubled."
"A student raised with care. To a mage, a student is the one to whom all achievements are passed on."
"I see. That's why..."
Albrecht's gaze shifted to the small dishes on the desk. That alone seemed to tell him what Laurenti had been working on.
"Then allow me to clear up your doubts."
"... You?"
"Yes. Aren't you curious about how to place a soul into a living being?"
Laurenti's eyes widened. He, too, had hoped to glean some part of this secret by cooperating with the research.
But to be told the secret this easily? That never happened among mages. Though, of course, Albrecht himself was not a mage.
Albrecht led Laurenti to the laboratory from before. In the underground labyrinthine space, Albrecht instinctively found the room he wanted.
"This is it."
"... The answer lies here...?"
"Yes, that's right."
Albrecht curled his lips in a smile. Laurenti entered, feeling the strange power exuding from within.
Inside, there were crafted dead. Most were patched together from corpses and magically treated. The dead's skin had a faint frost, their eyes yet to show the spark of life.
Then Albrecht spoke.
"Imbuing the body with the power to move using the core is the final step. Before that, the body must be crafted and a soul installed."
"I see. But the magical formulas inscribed on these dead are quite simple..."
"Sometimes, the simple answer is the right one, is it not? But the most important process has nothing to do with magic."
Laurenti's eyes narrowed. Nothing to do with magic? Then how could a soul be inserted into a body?
Suddenly Laurenti's breath caught in his throat.
An overwhelming chill swept over him. It was incomparable to the frost exuded by any dead.
It was simply so mighty that one instinctively sensed overwhelming power.
Watching Laurenti's reaction, Albrecht chuckled.
"Miss Ceres was not wrong. Endowing a living creature with a soul is not something mere humans can do."
Albrecht walked past the dazed Laurenti and knelt toward the darkness on one side.
Laurenti's eyes followed...he felt a fearsome power emanating from the unseen depths.
"... My god."
From the direction where Albrecht knelt came an intense power, a force nearly absolute coldness, flowing into the body of the dead.
Even Laurenti, who had witnessed magic for ages, could not identify its source.
But one fact was clear—
The being emitting that energy could not possibly be human.
― Kkadk!
Suddenly, the slack jaw of the dead snapped shut.
Then, in its lifeless eyes, white energy appeared.
The dead blinked its eyes wide open, and from it radiated an aura of soul, as delicate as that of a living creature.
Albrecht spoke again. With his head bowed, his expression was hidden, but he seemed to be smiling.
"There is a realm one step above where neither magic nor swordmasters can reach. What makes it possible is..."
Laurenti could hear nothing. Witnessing the soul being branded onto the dead, he finally understood its true nature.
Blood began to flow from the old mage's eyes. Laurenti, dumbfounded, muttered,
"... A divine art."
"That's what it's been called since ancient times. Not that many know."
Albrecht slightly turned his head toward Laurenti. Laurenti, having breathed his last, froze right there.
Soon an eerie ripple resonated through the air from inside the darkness.
"... Rise. Tiberius. The time has come."
"Yes, Lord of the Dead."
Albrecht—no, "Tiberius"—rose to his feet. In his eyes, he saw the newly forged Death Knight's head jerk unnaturally.
His plans had been disrupted by a young deputy-commander, but there were no real obstacles.
"All shall be as the 'Lord of the Dead' wishes."
Albrecht wore a deep smile. Before his eyes, Laurenti was frozen solid.
The mighty mage, Laurenti.
Just how great a vessel he would make, if he too became a necromancer's pawn.
The thought alone was enough to make his heart race.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Welp, you get what you deserve, I guess...
Also, what?
Tiberius???
The traitor???
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】