In the past, when Liv was a knight protecting Arinseia.
The living armor, made from the sturdy and heavy material Aceril, could crush human bodies with simple movements.
However, Liv’s current body was mostly made of cloth, thread, and cotton.
Moreover, the teddy bear, designed to be extremely safe for children to play with and avoid injury, lacked the destructive power to kill a person, no matter how strong or fast the attacks were.
Yet, there was absolutely no reason for Liv to be concerned about this.
Because there was an incredibly simple solution.
The forest was already filled with weapons.
Specifically, the weapon humanity first used.
“Stone.”
– Crack!
A stone was quite an effective and efficient weapon.
Just holding it in hand and swinging it with moderate speed could easily break bones and rupture internal organs.
There was no need to sharpen it, and thus there was no need for Aura.
This meant it could lower the consumption of Magic, which in turn had a significant impact on Liv’s operational efficiency.
The bones and flesh of humanity, which didn’t even last a few hundred years, were far too fragile compared to the rocks that had supported the earth for thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of years.
Yet, the corpses that had already experienced death did not seem pleased with the rest that had come upon them once more.
Even after throwing stones to crush their heads and shatter their limbs, the corpses approached again.
Judging that a more certain attack was needed, Liv soon found a suitable stone and gripped it in both hands.
– Thunk, thunk, thunk.
With the form of their head completely gone and their spine broken and unable to sustain itself, the corpse finally ceased all movement.
– Thud.
As that corpse fell, black blood burst from the shattered head, waist, and limb joints.
– Whoosh.
Liv avoided the blood with a slight movement.
There was no way they could allow their lord to embrace their body stained with filthy blood.
No blood must ever splatter on Liv’s body.
Confirming the outcome, Liv evaded the corpse and leaped, smashing a stone into another corpse’s face.
The heart of the already dead did not beat, and the blood was nearly congealed.
For Liv, avoiding it wasn’t particularly difficult.
——-
– Crack, smash!
The movements of Liv, with stones gripped in both hands, resembled that of a dragon spreading its wings.
At this rate, it would be easy to crush the legion of corpses.
“…Oh my, this is quite something. The performance of the doll is better than expected.”
However, Seyeo still wore that sly grin.
There might be some underlying belief or scheme, but up until now, no movements had been detected by magic sight.
Was it just empty bravado, or was there a subtle plotting that was undetectable?
“Well, it doesn’t matter either way.”
But whatever it was, it did not concern Luke much.
He was confident that he could respond, regardless of what clever trick Seyeo might pull.
In fact, he hoped to see such a trick.
Though it would be a waste of magic, wouldn’t it be intriguing?
At that moment, Seyeo asked Luke with an air of amusement.
“By the way, you’re really something. Normally, when faced with this many corpses, people tend to react differently than usual.”
Typically, one would be horrified, cry, or be gripped by fear.
Yet sometimes, there are those who cling to hope to fight and escape, or even laugh crazily in madness.
However, this child showed no change of expression whatsoever.
No matter how capable this ‘doll’ was, Luke remained expressionless as he watched it slaughter the corpses, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
From Luke’s perspective, that question made perfect sense.
After all, there was no reason to react to such things since he had faced them so many times.
His countermeasures against necromancers had been drilled into him until he was sick of it.
Five thousand years ago, when the Demon Realm was at its peak of erosion, during the period of war where conflicts erupted almost daily over scarce resources, corpses were abundant in the world.
Thus, it was only natural that necromancers were rampant.
Back then, one could trip over them, and even among bandits, necromancers could be found.
Considering that black mages often had mindsets akin to robbers, it wasn’t even surprising.
Luke shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
“Well, yeah. I could just sit back and watch your legion fall apart, but it would be quite boring to wait, so how about a chat?”
Seyeo, having heard that, started laughing heartily as if he’d heard a delightful joke.
“What? Hahaha! You’re really strange, I tell you, hahaha!! Kekekekek….”
After laughing for a while, Seyeo calmed himself and said this.
“You have the same look in your eyes as I do. A truly admirable mage’s eyes.”
“Maybe.”
Luke replied halfway.
In actuality, he and Seyeo were quite similar.
Both had once refused death and were humans addicted to the knowledge of manipulating mana.
Although their approaches and destinations were hugely divergent, at their core, they both embodied the essence of a mage, where curiosity drives action.
Thus, as the child pointed out, it was indeed true that his legion was currently being subdued with great ease, and if this trend continued, it was clear he would be defeated.
While fully aware that he shouldn’t have the luxury to engage in leisurely conversation…
‘I’m really curious about this kid.’
Seyeo, too, was an undisguised mage.
He couldn’t contain his curiosity about what this child truly possessed.
Seyeo readily accepted Luke’s offer.
“Alright, fine. Since then, let’s talk candidly. From now on, let’s agree not to lie to each other. Do we have a deal?”
Seyeo conjured a magic circle in the air with a gesture and threw it towards Luke.
It was a long time since he had seen a magical oath.
In modern times, this spell was seemingly modified to be used for lie detection, but in reality, it was a contract magic that imposed a penalty causing one’s entire mana to become chaotic upon telling a lie.
However, for mages who value their own worth and don’t often lie, it held little significance.
‘Moreover, if I set my mind to it, dispelling it is quite simple.’
While it may not be easy to dissolve this magic without a grand mage, wasn’t he that very grand mage?
Luke took pride in his knowledge of circle magic, believing that others couldn’t match him in that regard.
Given that the basic principles remained unchanged, aside from the fact that the incantations had developed to become more lightweight and stable, he was confident he could dispel such elementary contract magic at any time.
Confirming that this magic wouldn’t cause any particular issues for him, Luke nodded and filled the spell with mana.
“Alright, I agree.”
He had never lied, so he had no reason to.
He had no plans to in the future either.
In fact, if he could use this magic to force Seyeo to reveal the truth, that would be to his advantage.
Little did he know that Seyeo, as a casual liar, was unaware of this.
As Seyeo began to feel the magic taking effect in his body, he immediately said to Luke.
“Then, I’ll go first.”
“Go ahead.”
“Are you really ten years old?”
Luke looked at Seyeo in disbelief.
To which Seyeo responded with a cheerful laugh.
“Strangely, all girls seem to make that face when age comes up. Hahaha.”
Luke’s expression changed not because of such a trivial reason.
He retorted flatly.
“It’s true.”
This body is guaranteed to be socially recognized as ten years old.
Thus, that statement wasn’t a lie.
After all, how does one even ascertain their age?
He wasn’t a living being, but a ‘Circle.’
It was merely that he had happened upon memories and a sense of self; he was not an entity capable of being attributed a definitive age.
Counting from the moment of birth was meaningless, and summing up all memories posed issues.
His memories were not just limited to Luke’s, but also included those from Levi living in the Demon Realm, Parvati in the egg, and those resembling a goddess, all mixed together.
Depending on which he chose, the age would differ entirely, making it inconsistent.
From the get-go, it was impossible to count time accurately.
Ultimately, one would have no choice but to pick a social age based on the growth state of this body.
Seyeo’s eyes sparked with immense curiosity upon hearing Luke’s answer.
“What?! This is true?! How did this happen? How can someone possess such talents and values at the age of ten…?”
Luke interrupted Seyeo’s mutterings swiftly.
“One question at a time. It’s my turn now.”
“Oh, oops! Sorry, sorry. So, ask me anything now.”
Luke, noticing Seyeo’s disappointment as he licked his lips, asked.
“About the recent disappearances happening around here. Was it your doing?”
As Luke saw the corpses standing behind Seyeo, he couldn’t help but recall Siena’s lamenting warnings after receiving Shirud’s report about her visit to the Third’s house (though it wasn’t really the Third’s house).
‘…Really, the number of missing persons seems to be increasing these days.’
The faces were all quite familiar.
Among the corpses roaming the forest, some were wicked ones he had personally slain in the facility, but there were also quite a few who frequented this area.
Luke remembered many faces of passersby from performing on the streets.
If this was true, from the moment Seyeo had started his activities in this area, he could deduce the methods he’d used to abduct corpses, as well as track the scale of the forces behind him.
“…That’s a rather sharp question.”
Realizing the complex implications of that query, Seyeo laughed as if he had been caught off guard.
However, failing to answer would prevent any further questions.
Seyeo chuckled lightly and replied.
“Probably, yes.”
“I see. That’s a sufficient answer.”
