Chapter 151
Marquis Langham didn’t offer any response.
“Do you have anything more to say?”
[Heh heh, nothing more. Then I’ll proceed as you instructed, so please await the good news.]
Just as it had appeared, the doll vanished into thin air.
Marquis Langham, now alone, had eyes that sank into a frigid stillness.
Unfathomably deep.
Like the bottomless pit of an abyss.
A voice tainted with madness spilled out.
“…It’s all Father’s fault that I became this kind of monster.”
* * *
While Christian was arriving at Marquis Shupen’s domain, a strange-looking carriage was moving northward.
It was pulled by a headless ghost horse—a Phantom Steed.
An astonishing sight, for only necromancers from the ‘Necromancy Demonic House’ could control Phantom Steeds.
That meant the passengers of this carriage were from the Four Kings Star.
“This is tedious. That I’m stuck doing coachman work like this.”
[Heh heh, please endure it. Normally, I wouldn’t use such a shabby carriage either, but we need to transport the ‘cargo.’]
“‘Cargo,’ huh.”
The necromancer muttered in a strange tone.
[Yes, it’s a piece my master, Lord Märchen, is greatly looking forward to.]
Inside the carriage sat the same doll who had spoken earlier with Marquis Langham.
Even more shocking was the figure lying bound in front of the doll.
It was Ashid.
“Mmph, mmph!”
Ashid thrashed about with terrified eyes, but due to the black magic spells cast upon him, he couldn’t move at all.
[Shh. Be quiet and enjoy the little time you have left. This pure terror you’re feeling—it's something you can only experience while your ego remains intact. Once you become a doll, even that self of yours won’t belong to you anymore.]
“…Honestly, you curse sorcerers really are a vile bunch.”
[That’s not something I’d expect to hear from a necromancer who cherishes evil spirits and corpses like lovers.]
The necromancer in the black robe who was handling the Phantom Steed let out a cackling laugh.
“Well, true enough. Even now, I’m looking at this brat and thinking I’d love to turn him into a Death Knight.”
[Heh heh, don’t even think about it. He’s a rare material we went through a lot of trouble to get.]
“Wasn’t he originally a candidate to be the heir of the Dark Demonic House? How tragic. But really, the fate of those who lose in high-born rivalries tends to be the same. Makes you wonder if being born into a prestigious bloodline is worth it at all.”
[Even more so when you look at the descendants of the Bloodsword Demonic House. The fate left for the bloodlines of houses that become prey is nothing short of brutal.]
“Kukuk, now that I think about it, one of our clan’s elders recently turned a direct-blooded member of the Bloodsword Demonic House into an undead. If we could use Grand Duchess Idrinne as material, we might be able to create the ultimate undying undead—neither dead nor alive.”
[Grand Duchess Idrinne is scheduled to be used as material by our Curse Demonic House, so I’d advise you to lose interest.]
“We’ll see about that. Our necromancy doesn’t plan to give up on a specimen like Idrinne so easily either. From Idrinne’s point of view, going to either your Curse House or our Necromancy House would be hellish enough that death might be preferable.”
They were exchanging idle chatter and yawning lightly when it happened.
Whoosh! Thwack!
Suddenly, an arrow flew in and pierced through the body of the Phantom Steed.
The Phantom Steed’s spirit body turned to smoke and scattered from the arrow imbued with powerful demonic energy.
“!!”
[!!]
At the sudden and unexpected ambush, the man in the black robe and the doll both stepped out of the carriage.
A strikingly beautiful woman with black hair stood before them, aiming her bow.
[Oh my. And who might this be? Quite the unexpected welcome party.]
“Do you know her?”
The necromancer tilted his head and asked the doll.
[She’s the first princess of the Dark Demonic House. Her name was quite lovely… was it Yulian?]
Just as the doll said, the one who had appeared was unexpectedly the First Princess, Yulian.
[Have you come to rescue Lord Ashid? How touching. What a tearful display of familial affection.]
The doll’s mask split wide, forming a grotesque smile.
[But what now? You came alone, didn’t you? Isn’t that a bit too reckless?]
“……”
[We don’t really have any reason to treat you like a princess. You must have come prepared to face a terrible fate.]
Though Märchen, the doll’s master, had a secret alliance with Marquis Langham, there was no need to extend that courtesy to Langham’s daughter, Yulian.
The necromancer of the Necromancy Demonic House standing beside him shared the same sentiment.
“Well, this is perfect. Let’s hand that bitch over to our Necromancy House. I’ll use her as material for an experiment. I’ve been curious about what would happen if we made an undead using someone with dark demonic energy.”
[Heh heh, that would be a problem. With a body like hers, she’d be quite useful for us in the Curse Demonic House as well.]
“You lot already took one for yourselves. Hand this one over to us.”
Their conversation showed not the slightest concern that they might lose.
It was only natural.
On the surface, Yulian’s level appeared to be no more than upper 4-star.
In contrast, both from the Four Kings Star were 5-star level powerhouses.
To be precise, the necromancer was mid 5-star.
Märchen’s doll, though weaker than the third-numbered envoy whom Chris had encountered, was still around lower 5-star in strength.
For someone to pick a fight with such opponents—it was the same as willingly shoving her head into a tiger’s mouth.
Yet there was not the slightest trace of fear in Yulian’s gaze.
She simply looked at the two with indifferent eyes.
“Is Ashid still alive?”
[Heh heh, he is alive… but is that really what matters to you right now?]
“It matters.”
Yulian quietly nodded.
“Because I have to be the one to kill Ashid.”
[!!]
At her completely unexpected words, the two from the Four Kings Star frowned.
[Hmm. I’m not sure what you mean, but I suppose it doesn’t matter.]
“Let’s stop the chatter and get it over with. This is annoying.”
The necromancer yawned and waved his hand.
Wooong—
Multiple magic circles floated in the air, and evil spirits from Gehenna were summoned.
As befitting a 5-star-level black magician, the summoned spirits were powerful.
"She’s going to be used as experimental material, so don’t touch her body—just break her mind."
At that chilling command, the evil spirits rushed toward Yulian.
In that very moment, when it seemed she would be swallowed by the wave of spirits like a person swept away by a violent tide—
An unbelievable phenomenon occurred.
Paaat.
A flash of light burst from Yulian’s body.
At the same time—
Fwooooshhh!!
A fierce blaze exploded outward like a detonated inferno, engulfing the surroundings.
Astonishingly, the fire incinerated the incorporeal bodies of the spirits. Just like paper caught in flames, the spirits let out shrill screams as they burned away.
[!!]
“W-what is this?!”
When the flames died down, an even more unbelievable sight appeared.
Behind Yulian, a massive firebird spread its wings wide and soared upward.
Anyone trained in magic would instantly recognize it.
“A P-Phoenix? What?!”
It was the highest-ranking spirit of fire.
And that wasn’t all.
Wind began to stir.
Like the pressure of an approaching storm, an overwhelmingly heavy gale surged around the necromancer and the doll.
Then, beside Yulian, a wolf of wind revealed itself.
“T-the highest-ranking wind spirit, Aerial Wolf too?!”
The necromancer shouted in disbelief.
“H-how could a princess of the Dark Demonic House be using spirit arts, the power of the Union?!”
There was a reason for their reaction.
Spirit arts were a power only wielded by truly special individuals within the Crusade Union.
“This isn’t the power of light.”
“W-what?”
“Look closely at my spirits.”
The necromancer and the doll looked visibly shaken.
Now that they looked again, there was something off about the summoned spirits.
They didn’t consist of pure flame or wind—they held within them a pitch-black darkness.
Almost like spirits of the dark element.
“This is the power of Black Faeries? No… no, it’s different from the dark spirits those Black Faeries bastards summon. These spirits hold darkness, but they’re spirits of light.”
They were clearly spirits of light—yet they held darkness within.
An incomprehensible contradiction.
At that moment, the necromancer’s eyes widened as he realized the truth.
“D-don’t tell me… you’re… a fallen…?”
“That’s enough.”
Yulian cut him off.
“Not like it matters to you. You’re going to die soon anyway, right?”
“!!”
“Let’s end this quickly.”
At the same moment as those words—
Flames and wind surged wildly, crashing down upon the two.
* * *
The surroundings had turned to ruins.
The two from the Four Kings Star didn’t even leave behind proper corpses.
It was an overwhelming victory against not one but two 5-star-ranked enemies.
It meant that Yulian's power was on par with a 6-star.
After all, being able to summon two top-class spirits at the same time was something only a 6-star master-class spirit summoner could do, so it was to be expected.
‘There was the doll, but I already asked that person to take care of it, so I shouldn't need to worry about my identity being exposed to the Four Kings Star.’
An incomprehensible statement.
Any information confirmed by the doll would normally be immediately shared with its master, Märchen.
But for someone to be able to block that? Just who was this “that person” Yulian was referring to?
Yulian approached the carriage.
Inside, Ashid was tied up miserably.
“Y-Yulian… p-please… save me…”
Yulian looked down at him with an emotionless face.
The moment Ashid sensed something ominous in her demeanor, so unlike the Yulian he knew—
“I don’t actually have any personal resentment toward you, Ashid. You’re scum, sure, but honestly, there are plenty of people like you in the world.”
“Y-Yulian…?”
“But.”
Stab.
Yulian drove a dagger into Ashid’s chest.
“Guh… ugh…?”
Ashid’s eyes bulged open, and Yulian spoke quietly.
“So this is simply because you were born with the blood of the Dark Demonic House.”
Stab!
Yulian drove the dagger down again.
Even more forcefully.
She repeated the motion again.
Blood splattered, but she didn’t stop. She didn’t even try to avoid the spray of blood.
How much time passed?
Yulian’s white clothes were completely soaked in blood, and the light faded from Ashid’s eyes.
He was dead.
Clang.
The dagger dropped and rolled on the floor, and Yulian let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha… ha.”
Tears of unknown meaning streamed silently down Yulian’s cheeks.
As she bit her lip hard and turned her back, a voice suddenly echoed from the air.
[Are you all right… my poor child?]
“!!”
Yulian turned her head—and there, without her noticing when she appeared, stood a strange figure wrapped entirely in fine chains.
Looking closely, the chains weren’t merely coiling around the body—they pierced through skin and bone in countless places, entangling the figure.
A grotesque sight.
Inside the chains, the visible form was that of a woman with astonishing beauty.
An ethereal appearance, as if not of this world.
The pointed ears revealed that she wasn’t human.
A member of the fairy race—an elf.
And judging by the jewel embedded in her forehead, she was a ‘High Elf,’ one of the original elves.
A supreme race with lifespans exceeding a thousand years, comparable even to dragonkind.
A High Elf with her entire body pierced by chains—an utterly bizarre spectacle.
Most striking of all was the color of the jewel embedded in her forehead.
Not radiant light, but a darkness as black as pitch.
A clear sign that the woman was a fallen High Elf.
“I greet the great one.”
Yulian knelt before the woman.
“O Demon King of Clearstream.”