Chapter 143
Chapter 143
Necromancy (4)
Eliza Atticus was flustered. The moment she read the blood-written letters floating in the air, her chest felt like it was about to burst.
Just before she collapsed from the intense pain, unable even to scream, the agony vanished as if it had been a lie.
“What.”
Then she felt a strange sensation behind her back. Startled, the Imperial Princess quickly turned around. Behind her were iridescent butterfly wings.
“……A soul.”
Only then did she understand what it meant to be devoured by a soul. Her most fundamental form. The fairy wings that had sprouted from her, a fairy hybrid.
And then the Imperial Princess quickly looked at Davide. She could accept her own case since she was a fairy hybrid, but then what about Davide, who was an ordinary person?
“…….”
Apologetically, the Imperial Princess hurriedly stepped back. Even though it was a bodily organ she was experiencing for the first time, the wings moved surprisingly well.
She had trusted Davide, who had come directly into her dream just because she had said to meet in a nightmare. However, seeing his current appearance, she instinctively felt a sense of danger.
“You. Davide.”
She called him solemnly, but there was no response. The young body of the Imperial Princess trembled like a leaf.
She could not tell whether the being before her was truly Davide. A skirt that seemed to be wrapped in black flames. His bare upper body was covered in bizarre tattoos emitting a yellow glow, and on his head he wore the skull of a goat.
“Davide!”
Silence. A stillness so complete that not even a single pulse could be felt. It was to the point that he seemed like a corpse, as nothing at all could be sensed from him.
The Imperial Princess steadied her trembling body and desperately called out to Davide. Was that the form of the soul he possessed?
“……This is.”
With her voice, zombies began to appear around them. Their numbers were different from anything seen so far.
Even at a rough count, more than 200 zombies filled the garden. Individually, they could not compare to a vice-commander, but their numbers were on an entirely different level.
“……This is meaningless.”
Even so, the Imperial Princess was a capable individual. She had once learned fairy abilities from Sheila, a complete fairy.
Although it did not suit her aptitude and she had given it up, she still knew how to use it. She used her limited mana to cast fairy magic.
However, against zombies without reason, fairy illusion magic was meaningless.
“Davide! Get a hold of yourself! The enemy is coming!”
If it had been the Empress, a master of fairy magic, it would have been different. She could even materialize illusions into reality, so it would have been effective.
But the Imperial Princess could do nothing in this situation. She called out to Davide with all her strength.
The motionless Davide, who had been standing blankly, finally showed a slight movement.
“Da!……vi…….”
For a brief moment, she was about to rejoice at the change, but the Imperial Princess lost her words.
From Davide’s left chest, something black burst out.
It was a black shark. With gleaming eyes and violet teeth bared, a massive shark appeared as if trying to escape.
“……Ah.”
At the same time, a white snake with the head of a deer appeared and coiled around the shark. The black shark trying to escape and the deer-headed snake restraining it began to clash violently.
The countless zombies were being crushed into pulp by the aftermath of their fight.
“……Just what is this.”
The Imperial Princess could not understand the situation at all. Why were such things bursting out of Davide’s body?
“No way.”
For some reason, the deer-headed snake felt familiar to her. In the past, she had learned about the Anaye Faith through Sheila.
Sheila had once asked Davide directly about Anaye, and Davide had said he had seen Anaye’s form.
Among that, the most striking keywords were deer and lightning. Winter had also added that Anaye took the form of a white deer.
“What a headache!”
Whether it was a deer or a snake, the one restraining the black shark was white, just as Winter had said, and had the head of a deer.
The Imperial Princess clenched her teeth and drew up all the mana she had. Despite lacking aptitude and having only learned the basics, she still moved her unfamiliar wings.
“Stay still!”
Because of their massive size, even the aftermath alone was immense. The zombies had long since been shattered. The Imperial Princess clumsily flew toward the two gigantic creatures.
“Here!”
Approaching the black shark’s gleaming eyes, the Imperial Princess shouted loudly to draw its attention. For a brief moment, the shark’s gaze turned toward her.
Just being looked at made her feel a crushing pressure, enough to make her lose consciousness. Gritting her teeth once more, she extended both hands.
The magic created by fairy power activated.
“This…… this works.”
Surprisingly, the Imperial Princess’s clumsy magic worked. The black shark was caught by her spell and went completely limp.
The spell she used was ‘Suggestion,’ the most basic among illusion magic. The simpler the creature, the more easily it fell under this spell, so she had tried it just in case.
Just how simple was it that such a massive and powerful being had fallen to something like her magic? The Imperial Princess was dumbfounded.
“Uh?”
Confirming that the black shark had quieted down, the deer-headed snake turned its gaze toward her. Startled by the sudden pressure, the Imperial Princess fell backward.
A presence on an entirely different level from the black shark. Its eyes were as clear as still water, yet its aura was explosive.
“Ah.”
Soon, as she watched the deer-headed snake transform into something else, the Imperial Princess felt relieved.
A skirt wrapped in black flames, tattoos across the upper body, and a black skull worn on the head.
The deer-headed snake had taken on the exact same form as when Davide transformed. The only difference was that it was much smaller than Davide and had cloth wrapped around its chest.
“Wh—…k! Aaaah!”
Anaye, who had been silently observing, suddenly pointed a finger at the Imperial Princess.
Before she could even tilt her head in confusion at being singled out, lightning shot from Anaye’s finger and pierced through her chest.
The Imperial Princess screamed in intense agony. She could not even tell how many times she had screamed anymore.
“Kh… ugh…”
Feeling something being pulled out of her, the Imperial Princess collapsed. Unable to hold back the nausea that followed, she emptied her stomach.
“Huff… huff…”
She slowly raised her head. She had helped because she believed Anaye to be the god Davide served, yet to inflict such pain—
Just as she briefly felt resentful, her eyes widened upon seeing the strange object held in Anaye’s hand.
“Th-that is…”
The Imperial Princess neither ate nor drank anything unless it was made by Sheila. The reason was the countless poisoning attempts she had suffered in the past.
Because of that, she had once envied Davide, who was immune to poison.
There had been a total of seven poisoning attempts, and once, she had nearly died.
“……Han Poison.”
The name of that poison was Han Poison. It was precisely the cause of the nightmares that plagued the Imperial Princess.
That vicious poison, said to drive people insane, was known to be created from human resentment, making it extremely dangerous.
Seeing the orb in Anaye’s hand that contained a screaming soul, the Imperial Princess instinctively realized that it was Han Poison.
“Thank… thank you.”
As if finished with its task, Anaye turned around. Leading the limp black shark, it approached Davide, whose chest was open as he gazed upward.
Toward its back, the Imperial Princess expressed her deep gratitude.
Having always had to remain upright and steadfast, the Imperial Princess let everything go at this moment and cried.
For the first time, aside from her father, the current Emperor, she spoke to another with such reverence.
“……”
As she lay prostrated, shedding tears, something stabbed into the ground before her.
When she slowly raised her head, she saw a bladeless bone knife engraved with Anaye’s emblem.
Grasping what seemed more like an awl, the Imperial Princess hurriedly looked toward Anaye, but Anaye was already gone, as if it had returned into Davide.
▶[You have cleared Area 5.]
Red letters appeared in the air, and the Imperial Princess’s wings disappeared. At the same time, Davide also returned to his original form.
Forcing her weakened legs to move, the Imperial Princess ran toward Davide.
“Huff! Your Highness! Imperial Princess!”
“Davide! Have you awakened!”
“Huff! Huff! Are you alright!”
The moment she supported his head, Davide regained consciousness. Startled, he sprang up and first checked on the Imperial Princess’s safety.
“It is all resolved.”
“……What happened?”
At her words, Davide looked around with a bewildered expression. He had suddenly lost consciousness, and upon waking, everything around him was in ruins.
“Did… did Your Highness do this?”
“No. You did.”
None of the zombie-like figures retained their original forms. It was as if a road roller had crushed everything flat.
Puzzled, Davide asked the Imperial Princess, but the answer he received was unexpected.
“……I did?”
“To be precise, it was the god you believe in.”
“Anaye-nim. Hah.”
Davide let out a hollow laugh. Hearing that Anaye had done it all of a sudden left him simply dumbfounded.
If what the Imperial Princess said was true, then it was a good thing. It was something to be grateful for, so he resolved to offer a proper tribute for once.
“Also, you and the god you believe in have saved me.”
“?”
Then Davide tilted his head as he looked at the Imperial Princess, who suddenly hugged him. He could not understand what she was saying at all.
And the Imperial Princess hugging someone herself? In an uncharacteristically irreverent gesture, Davide gently patted her back. It felt like she had been driven that far mentally.
“I cannot sleep. Because this hellish nightmare repeats itself. In all my life, I have died a total of 1,466 times.”
“……”
At the number that came out of her mouth as she explained, Davide fell silent. 1,466 deaths. It was not something a human could endure.
“I always carry artifacts that strengthen my mental fortitude and artifacts that invigorate my body. And if even that fails, Sheila would take the pain on my behalf.”
“……”
“That is why I am grateful. The god you serve has blessed me, who has been fighting alone.”
Davide felt his shoulder gradually becoming damp.
***
“Your Highness!”
The moment the Imperial Princess opened her eyes, she smiled at Sheila, who was calling for her.
Sheila swallowed the tears welling up and gently caressed the Imperial Princess’s cheek.
“You, Sheila. I am thirsty.”
The Imperial Princess spoke with difficulty. After hugging Davide and crying her heart out, she quickly composed herself upon realizing her lapse.
Without saying anything, Davide led the Imperial Princess toward the stairs behind the garden. The moment they reached the stairs, they were enveloped in bright light, and she was able to open her eyes in reality.
“Davide. Are you there?”
After drinking the water Sheila brought, the Imperial Princess raised her upper body. The first thing she did was look for Davide.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
With heavy eyelids, she looked toward the direction of his voice. Davide appeared as calm as ever.
“I offer you my deepest gratitude.”
“No, Your Highness. I have only fulfilled my duty as your subject.”
“Is that so.”
The Imperial Princess chuckled softly at his words. Even now, he did not stop with his formal pleasantries.
“Your Highness, we will take our leave now. Please take care of your health.”
“I will surely repay you later.”
Aro supported the staggering Davide as they left. The Imperial Princess watched him until the very end before lying down on the bed.
“You, Sheila.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I am tired, so I shall sleep for a while.”
“But……”
At her quiet words, Sheila was taken aback. For decades, she had been unable to sleep properly because of the nightmares that came whenever she did.
Yet now she was saying she would willingly enter that nightmare herself, and Sheila could not hide her concern.
“You, Sheila. Do not worry.”
Sheila, who had been about to stop her, closed her mouth upon seeing the Imperial Princess’s gentle expression. Instead, she held her hand tightly.
Feeling the warmth in that grip, the Imperial Princess closed her eyes and let her consciousness be pulled under.
“……”
When she opened her eyes, she saw a vast and flat cave. The fishy smell filling the air was that of the sea.
The Imperial Princess slowly looked around.
“The black shark.”
At the center of the cavern, she saw the black shark bound in chains. Facing it like this, she could truly feel just how enormous it was.
“……”
She noticed figures sitting in front of the restrained black shark. One was Anaye, whom she had just met, and the other was a black shadow that barely held a shape.
“So you were here as well.”
The shadow that had appeared in her nightmares every time. It had never helped her, yet it had always watched her no matter the situation.
“Is this Davide’s inner world?”
Taking a seat between Anaye and the shadow, the Imperial Princess looked at the black shark. Judging by the circumstances, this place seemed to be Davide’s inner world.
If so, what that black shark represented was simple. The Duhein Family, which had long regarded the shark as its symbolic animal.
“It seems I have learned quite the secret.”
With a cold expression, the Imperial Princess stared at the black shark.