Chapter 32: The End of Self-Reproach
“Hundred Sword Pierce!”
The original of the skill I had replicated in full force.
It was a terrifying spell that unleashed a hundred magical swords.
Halsenberg thrust his sword straight in.
“Return to dust!!”
Ping! The magical swords all flew towards the ghost knights in unison. It was like watching a meteor shower. The sapphire-edged magical blades pierced through them, struck the ground, and exploded in mid-air, leaving sparks behind.
– Kiaaaak!
– Gghaaaak!
Two ghost knights were turned into honeycombs where they stood and met their end. The remaining three were battered and bruised but managed to withstand the magical blades with barely contained demonic swords.
But I mustn’t forget about myself.
I immediately grabbed Vestark in reverse and forcefully plunged it into the ground.
“Minefield!”
Gugugugu!
The earth split apart wildly as if dancing, centered around the sword. The undulating ground caused by the shockwave made the ghost knights unable to stand properly, and they ultimately lost their balance.
Not someone like Halsenberg would miss such an opportunity.
Halsenberg at once unleashed all the magical swords that had been flying erratically in between them.
Pabababak! Overwhelmed by confusion upon confusion, the knights ultimately failed to defend themselves. The magical swords mercilessly pierced through their armor.
– Ghh, uuuu…!
– … I must protect… Halsenberg…
One after another, the knights fell to the ground. One of them, apparently regaining their senses just before falling, muttered some strange death rant.
In that moment, Halsenberg’s eyes widened, but the knight’s spirit had long since scattered as a dark aura dissipating into the air.
“… That one just now…”
For quite a while, Halsenberg blankly stared at the empty knight’s armor where the spirit had escaped.
I’m not so clueless as to intervene at such a time. I quietly stood behind, scratching the cracked earth with Vestark.
“……”
“……”
How long did he stay in such a daze? Soon, Halsenberg recovered and approached me first.
He extended his fist towards me with a warm smile on his face.
“Judging the situation and shaking the very ground in that situation was an excellent decision. Now, I feel no uneasiness at all in leaving my back to you. Truly, impressive progress.”
“… Ha ha. I just did what you taught me.”
It sounds like I’m being modest, but it’s the truth.
This earthquake combo technique was taught by Halsenberg. It was a technique he frequently used to save me when I was in peril. Now, the positions have reversed.
I bashfully laughed and exchanged a fist bump with him, and Halsenberg nodded satisfactorily. Then, he glanced around.
I also turned my gaze accordingly.
“Nevertheless… this is somewhat strange.”
Suddenly, Halsenberg mumbled these words. I widened my eyes and looked at him.
“What? What is it?”
“Hmm? Ah, never mind. It’s nothing.”
Halsenberg snapped out of it and quickly glossed over his words. He nodded, then quickly turned around.
“The remnants don’t seem to be around anymore. We can relax for the time being in this area.”
“… Well, that’s true, Lord Halsenberg.”
“You’ve worked hard as well, Lord Jung Yong.”
“The same goes for you, Lord Halsenberg. Let us return now.”
“Alright.”
We turned our backs to the ruined plain and headed back to the castle with Halsenberg.
In the last two weeks, through repeated offensives, we had wiped out the vanguard of the undead army.
As the leaders of the vanguard were the ghost knights we’ve just dealt with, according to Halsenberg’s explanation, we’ve bought ourselves some time until the vanguard revives.
“However, it won’t last long. Since the main force of the vanguard consists of weaker undead, they will revive quickly.”
“Is that so?”
“The weaker undead will revive in about three days at most, and the ghost knights will revive in a week by wearing another corrupted soul as if nothing happened.”
“A week… Pretty fast. We’ve taken down nearly thousands, right?”
“… That’s right. That’s why we couldn’t withstand their attacks in the end.”
It was understandable. The resurrection speed was faster than expected.
As for Lord Halsenberg of Halsenberg, he’s so monstrously strong that it wouldn’t matter, but other soldiers naturally get injured and exhausted after each battle.
And before they recover from the fatigue and wounds, the enemy recovers to full strength. Furthermore, when our allies die and turn into enemies, the situation inevitably worsens day by day.
“Perhaps… in each battle, I underestimated the enemy despite thinking we were fully prepared.”
Halsenberg reproached himself.
If only he had issued the evacuation order earlier.
If only he had trained the soldiers more harshly.
If only he had dealt more coldly with the townsfolk turned undead.
He continuously revisited his own mistakes.
After listening for a while, I spoke up.
“Being brutally honest, even if we had done our utmost in front of such a massive undead army, this was an established fact.”
“… True. It would’ve been that way. You’re right, I’ve made a rather disgraceful figure here. I apologize.”
“No, there’s nothing to apologize for. Please take heart.”
“Thank you, Lord Jung Yong.”
With a weak smile, Halsenberg stepped forward, and I obediently followed behind, carrying his belongings.
We returned to the castle in silence. The sun was setting, casting a red glow over the frozen Halsenberg Castle in the cold weather. With the atmosphere of the castle being what it is, the first thing that came to mind was fresh blood.
“……”
Passing through the broken main gate, we headed towards the center of the castle. A chamber piled high with corpses appeared.
Halsenberg, instead of returning to his quarters, sat on his chair at the highest point of the throne room.
“Lord Halsenberg?”
I called out, but Halsenberg did not respond. He merely stared silently at the countess beside him.
The countess was eerily still. Or rather, she was a corpse. It seemed the curse was weakened before sunset, so she hadn’t awakened yet.
With a sorrowful face, Halsenberg gazed at his wife for a moment, then glanced at me and spoke.
“I will compose myself and take a break. Go ahead first.”
“……”
It appeared that the words murmured by the ghost knight before dying had touched upon something personal to Halsenberg.
I nodded and turned to leave, but suddenly stopped in my tracks.
Thinking about it, now might be the only chance.
When else would Lord Halsenberg take such nonsense seriously?
“… Right. Now is the time to talk.”
After a brief period of contemplation, I made up my mind.
I spun around. Halsenberg was silently sitting there with his eyes closed, but he opened them upon sensing my presence.
“Is there something? If it’s not urgent, let’s do it later. I’m… ”
“It’s urgent. I think it might be even more urgent for Lord Halsenberg.”
My bold statement made the creases on Halsenberg’s forehead twitch slightly. He began to look at me with an unusual interest.
I took a deep breath and faced Halsenberg directly.
This is the beginning.
The prelude to the hard work leading to a happy ending.
*
“Then, why don’t you speak up once? What is it?”
Halsenberg nodded and began to face me directly.
He doesn’t seem inclined to prolong the conversation. Alright, accepted. I immediately dove straight into the topic.
“Lord Halsenberg. Can Eldritch die as well?”
“… What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. Like the immortal Demon King we discussed earlier, is there no way to kill him?”
At my words, Halsenberg’s expression momentarily froze in confusion, then he shook his head.
A horizontal shake. My heart leaped in triumph.
There is a way. The leader of the enemy, Eldritch, is not immortal.
“Not quite. The liches, who are the center of necromancy, are all the same. They have something called a Lifeforce Vessel.”
“What? What’s that?”
“Lifeforce Vessel. It’s a receptacle that holds the transferred life force necessary for the undead existence. You might call it the source of a lich’s life force. From what I’ve heard, it usually takes the form of a gem or a rune. Anyway, destroying that will completely annihilate Eldritch.”
I raised an eyebrow again.
“Rune? What’s that?”
“It’s a stone imbued with the will of the ancients. It’s engraved with ancient patterns, and each character possesses special power. Not much is known about it, but it is commonly used as a magical ingredient.”
“Well, anything goes, doesn’t it?”
“Haha. To me, it’s more surprising that you don’t know about it.”
Apparently, this “rune” is a common knowledge item in this world.
I might need to dedicate some time to seriously investigate these things using the Eye of Mimir. It’s getting ridiculous how ignorant I am, to the point where I can’t even hold a proper conversation.
Anyway, thanks to Halsenberg’s kind explanation, I quickly nodded in understanding.
“I see. So, destroying that Vessel is all it takes to put Eldritch down with a single spear thrust, is that what you’re saying?”
“…Spear? Well, dying is indeed a fact. Why do you ask about how to kill him?”
Why would I ask how to kill him? Isn’t it obvious?
I stared directly at the suspicious Halsenberg and grinned.
“It’s because I’m plotting to kill Eldritch.”
At that moment, Halsenberg’s eyes widened more than they ever have since I’ve known him.
