Chapter 142
Chapter 142
Necromancy (3)
“Do you need information?”
“Yes, that is correct, Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess.”
I had been planning to look around. In a roguelike, the patterns change depending on your choices. There wasn’t anyone who knew the paths better than me, who had practically memorized the options through countless runs.
“Then I will go with you.”
The Imperial Princess, wearing a resolute expression, voiced her intent to follow. I hesitated for a moment.
I had originally planned to move around alone. But since the Imperial Princess accompanied me in the game as well, I figured it didn’t really matter.
“Understood.”
“Good. However, my current body is exceedingly frail.”
I was aware. She was only six years old. Although she was unusually tall for her age, her physical abilities were still insignificant.
“If it would not be disrespectful, may I carry you on my back?”
“What?”
At my suggestion, the Imperial Princess’s eyes widened. Having never experienced anything like this before, she flushed red in embarrassment before eventually nodding.
“Indeed. That seems like quite a reasonable method. Are you certain? It will be difficult.”
“You aren’t wearing armor, are you? I doubt someone as light as a feather like Your Imperial Highness would burden me at all.”
“D-don’t flatter me!”
Embarrassed, the Imperial Princess snapped irritably. In her adult form, she would have brushed it off calmly, but perhaps because she was in a child’s body, she had become childish as well.
And so, I carried the Imperial Princess on my back. I hadn’t expected I would end up giving a piggyback ride to a member of the imperial bloodline.
“May I tear this?”
“Go ahead. It’s only an illusion anyway.”
I tore apart the curtains decorating the Imperial Princess’s bedroom. Worried she might fall due to my rough movements, I used the torn fabric to secure her tightly.
“Come to think of it, the floor is soaked with water. This is the first time I’ve seen this.”
“That’s because this is my Mental World.”
“What?”
Standing in front of the door, recalling the route, I answered her absentmindedly. The Imperial Princess looked shocked and grabbed the back of my head.
“I summoned Your Imperial Highness into my Mental World using Necromancy.”
“I can’t believe this! You brat! Doing something that dangerous!”
I couldn’t feel pain, but I could clearly feel the sensation of her tugging on my hair.
“Your Imperial Highness, even the Vice-Commander permitted it.”
“…Sheila did?”
“Yes. You possess a related artifact, and your mental strength is exceptional, so she was actually more worried about me.”
At the mention of the Vice-Commander, the Imperial Princess finally released my hair.
“…Is your body alright?”
“In theory, yes. And I have quite the stamina, so there’s no need to worry.”
“You are a valuable piece of mine, so be careful.”
“…Thank you very much.”
That was enough small talk. I pushed the door open with all my strength and stepped out. Beyond it stretched a corridor branching left and right.
Since we had come from the right, I headed left this time.
“Our objective is to eliminate the cause of this anomaly. Does anything come to mind?”
“Hmm. The imperial palace is largely divided into five sections. At the center is where His Majesty resides, and there are large buildings in each of the four cardinal directions. The building we are currently in is the largest one in the east.”
“Then we’ll head to the top floor.”
“I shall guide you.”
With the Imperial Princess on my back, I ran swiftly. Until I recognized the terrain, I decided to rely on her guidance.
Right, left, left. I followed her directions. In the game, there were a total of four floors, and each floor had five areas.
If each fork counted as one area, we had currently passed through four areas. Still, since there should have been at least one battle, I didn’t let my guard down.
“Let’s go right.”
“Your Imperial Highness, what about the left?”
“The left leads to the garden. There is a path to the stairs afterward, but it is long.”
A familiar fork appeared. In the game, going left triggered a monster wave, while the right led to a single powerful monster.
After a brief moment of consideration, I followed the Imperial Princess’s choice and went right.
▶<Raging Storm>
Monster Agility +50%
Letters, as if written in blood across the air, appeared before me.
“Fuck.”
That was a losing draw. A gigantic zombie, easily around 3 meters tall, appeared. In one hand it held a massive shield, and in the other, a huge sword.
Even the level of the debuff, which appeared only rarely, was high. Without the Trace of Anaye now, it seemed far too difficult to defeat that monster with just an Adaptive Body.
“…The guard unit.”
“Do you know them?”
The Imperial Princess’s reaction was unusual. Until just now, she had only been serious, but now she looked somewhat somber.
“He is the vice-captain of the guard unit that protects this building. He was quite a capable man.”
A vice-captain of the guard unit that protected the Imperial House. On top of that, his agility had increased to compensate for his massive frame.
“You, Davide.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess.”
“I cannot use any skills here, nor do I possess any artifacts.”
“The same goes for me.”
“Then let us meet again in the bedroom.”
I tried to set her down as she spoke calmly of our reunion. But she refused.
“If I do not have you, then I too will not remain safe.”
With her insisting like that, I had no choice. I clenched my right hand and took my stance. With my current specs, he was an impossible opponent, but I had no intention of going down without a fight.
—Graaah!
The vice-captain let out a rough scream and charged. His movements, which should have been heavy and slow, were now swift.
I dodged the massive sword he swung and threw a punch. But the quick bastard slipped his shield in between.
—Thud.
Instead, my own attack bounced back off his solid defense. I immediately rolled to break my fall and widened the distance.
“Does he have any weaknesses?”
“His speed is slow. But that does not seem to matter now.”
A shield soldier like Soloven Rahorakti. High defense and durability, allowing for sustained combat, but in exchange, a large and slow body that made him easily exposed to attacks.
But now, even that simple weakness could not be found. If it had been an attack boost instead, I might have been able to dodge and look for an opening.
“You don’t have Candela, do you?”
“That’s correct, Your Imperial Highness. The gauntlet is all I have.”
I didn’t even have Candela, which excelled at creating variables. With no other choice, I took my stance again.
If this were reality without a restart, I would have run while searching for a method, but here, there was no need.
“We can just start over.”
“…Right. It is death, but we can start again.”
Having experienced countless deaths, the Imperial Princess seemed shaken, yet she still managed to comfort me. I charged straight at the vice-captain.
This time, he raised his shield instead of his sword. As the massive shield, larger than his own body, approached, it felt like facing a wall.
I stepped onto the shield and flipped over it. A large shield meant it covered more of the body.
But it also meant it blocked the user’s vision as well.
“Grr! Kyaah!”
I tried to swing my fist at the back of his head. But the vice-captain, whose agility had increased, was faster. Sensing the slight pressure of me stepping on the shield, he thrust his sword.
The massive greatsword pierced through my abdomen and burst out the other side. I felt no pain, so it was fine for me, but the Imperial Princess on my back was another matter.
She let out a scream of agony. I threw another punch. If only I could at least use the Chill of Paillet, it would have helped, but a strike thrown without proper form had little effect.
“Aaagh!”
The vice-captain swung his greatsword. We were torn apart pathetically and sent flying. The Imperial Princess screamed once more.
I hurriedly approached her. Most of my upper body had been severed, but the Imperial Princess had been split clean in two.
It was astonishing that she was still alive even in that state. I gathered her into my arms and retreated. The difference in power was greater than expected.
“I will see you again soon.”
“Al…right.”
With those words, the Imperial Princess went limp. The moment she died, an anomaly appeared in the world.
As if sinking into a swamp, my body was gradually pulled downward. A tremendous pressure bore down on me, and my vision slowly darkened.
***
“Gasp!”
I sprang up from my spot in a hurry. A vague sensation I had never felt before. I had escaped from that deep darkness that had seemed eternal.
It was different from the fear I had felt when I first encountered Astral, yet the mental damage was similar.
‘So this is death.’
I hurriedly checked my body. Even without pain, it was this overwhelming. And yet, the Imperial Princess had experienced this kind of death countless times.
After confirming that my body was safe, I quickly looked around. It was the Imperial Princess’s bedroom.
▶[Event Dungeon: Imperial Princess’s Mental World]
Please select one of the four options below.
―Trace of Anaye.
―Adaptive Body (Anaye).
―Blood Magic.
―Legacy of Anaye.
As expected, the system message appeared again, and I chose Adaptive Body once more.
▶You have selected Adaptive Body (Anaye).
“You, Davide.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess. Are you alright?”
Hearing the Imperial Princess’s voice, I moved quickly. In the corner of the bedroom stood the Imperial Princess, in the same form as when I had first met her.
At my question, she lifted her head. Seeing her dazed expression, I carefully shook her.
“Are you conscious?”
“…It is not easy to get used to.”
“How could anyone get used to death?”
After checking my sea-colored hair, the Imperial Princess’s eyes finally regained focus. And I realized that the seawater, which had only reached my ankles before, had risen slightly.
“Your Imperial Highness.”
“What is it?”
“I think we have a bit of a problem.”
I pointed at the floor. The Imperial Princess merely tilted her head.
“The seawater level has risen.”
“…So I have my limits as well.”
The perceptive Imperial Princess quickly grasped the situation. If she experienced death enough times for the seawater to completely fill the space, her mind would likely collapse.
No—perhaps it was because her mind was already breaking down that the seawater was rising. In other words, there was a limit to the number of restarts.
“You wield lightning, do you not?”
There was another problem on top of that. The techniques I used involved lightning. If the seawater rose beyond a certain level, simply using my skills would harm the Imperial Princess.
Unless she became a Believer of the Anaye Order and gained electrical resistance, it would be difficult to use my skills recklessly.
“We’ll have to take a different route.”
I had no intention of challenging the vice-captain again in this state. Rather, I planned to face the path with greater numbers instead.
I had memorized the route, so all I needed to do was follow it. Just like before, I tore the curtains.
“You, Davide.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Highness. Is something troubling you?”
I turned to look at the Imperial Princess, who had called my name softly.
“You may leave now.”
“….”
The Imperial Princess said that with a hollow expression. I immediately shook my head. It wasn’t because I pitied her.
Of course, she was pitiful—but this was something necessary for the story.
“Your Imperial Highness, this can only be resolved if I am here. So please don’t worry and move forward with me.”
I carried the Imperial Princess on my back. Touching her without permission was disrespectful, but no one paid it any mind.
Having just awakened from death, the Imperial Princess seemed disoriented. But I had no intention of kindly waiting for her to recover.
“Then, we’ll depart.”
My condition was better than expected. If I stayed still, unnecessary thoughts would only creep in. I intended to resolve this quickly while I was still in good shape.
Since I knew the path, my speed was on another level. I focused on avoiding combat, keeping in mind the final unavoidable battle.
Instead of the vice-captain, this route led to a swarm—countless ordinary zombies rushing in.
“You, Davide.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Highness.”
“This is a different path.”
Just before reaching the final area, the Imperial Princess regained her composure. She looked around and assessed the situation.
“Please excuse me for a moment.”
I tried to go in alone out of consideration for her. Watching quietly, the Imperial Princess obediently followed my words.
“It seems we must go together after all.”
“I am ready.”
Without the Imperial Princess, we could not proceed to the next area. She wore a resolute expression.
There was a way she could be helpful, but it required gacha through numerous restarts. I had originally planned on doing that, but after realizing her mental strength would not endure it, I gave up.
“Then, we’re going in.”
Standing in front of the Imperial Princess, I opened the door leading to the garden.
▶<Delusion>
Your soul is being devoured.
As always, the debuff message appeared. The moment I sensed something surging up from deep within my chest, I lost consciousness.