NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29
Cha-rak.
“Extraction.”
If we’re speaking in terms of pages, it’s Chapter Nine.
What’s contained there is the eye of Jack Callista, the Frost Tribe assassin.
“Materialization.”
Toook.
Degu-ru.
At last, accompanied by a black haze, a grotesque eyeball fell onto my palm.
This is indeed one of my true original undead, the medium of Jack Callista.
Yohan, who had been watching the entire sequence, wore a face full of questions, perhaps feeling a sense of unease as he hurriedly moved the Bone Breaker.
“No matter what happens, block them!”
[Guuoo!]
Three in total were approaching.
They certainly outnumbered me at the moment.
“…Just block two. It’ll only take a moment.”
“Ah, yes!”
Hearing my instruction, Song Ha Yeon squeezed out her last bit of energy and summoned two Skeleton Mashers to charge at the enemy.
“Undead Call!”
Puhwaak!
The clash began.
[Guoo!]
Bang! Crackle!
One Bone Breaker squeezed through the colliding undead.
“M-Master!”
Seeing that monstrous huge hammer being swung, Song Ha Yeon gasped, but I remained unfazed. This was exactly the situation I had anticipated.
“Do you remember what I said last time?”
“Eek! What about?”
“That your head was empty.”
That wasn’t meant as a tease; it was a sincere piece of advice.
“The head is important.”
While there are exceptions, the head is a critical part for most undead, both literally and symbolically.
If you don’t condense and protect your energy thoroughly, a skilled necromancer could exploit that gap and twist things to their advantage.
Just like right now.
“Fog of Erosion.”
Whooosh.
As I raised my left hand, releasing energy without lifting my gaze, the Bone Breaker’s momentum to swing its hammer slowed down.
I delicately manipulated the energy as it began to consume the head region.
With this, the command structure of the Bone Breaker would be momentarily disrupted, halting its actions.
[Gu, o.]
Now was the time.
I approached the Bone Breaker slowly, keeping my hand raised, and brought Jack’s eye to its head.
“Activation.”
Twist.
Puhwack!
The previously motionless eye began to stir dramatically, burrowing into the Bone Breaker’s skull.
Grind.
Grrnnd!
[Guoo!]
Whooooosh!
Sensing something was off, the Bone Breaker swung its hammer around, regaining consciousness, and I quickly pulled back.
Now, the preparations were complete.
I focused my mind, steadily organizing my internal energy.
Whoooosh.
All beings bound by the Book of Death have closely bound contracts with my soul.
Is that why I felt a sense of exhilaration in my mind and a shiver in my heart?
A sensation of mental pleasure that I hadn’t experienced for a whole year and a half filled my head.
Sssak.
Channeling all these emotions into the energy at my fingertips, I finally recited the true summoning spell of the Lord of Death.
“Undead Call.”
[Guooo—!]
Puhwaak!
The transformation was intense.
The Bone Breaker let out a dying scream, slumping like a hollow doll, while the dense energy erupted from the head that had been corrupted by Jack’s eye.
GooOOo.
How many seconds passed?
A chilling blue eye, glowing eerily, protruded from where the Bone Breaker’s left eye should have been.
Realizing that consciousness was approaching completion, I whispered the name of my loyal subordinate.
“Jack Callista.”
At that moment, part of the Bone Breaker’s lower face tore apart, producing a rough voice.
Grind!
Shaaaz!
“You’ve changed quite a bit.”
Jack Callista.
The grand resurrection of the Frost Tribe assassin, once revered in the underworld as a terror.
#
“What the hell is happening?”
Yohan was bewildered.
Honestly, he couldn’t wrap his head around the current situation.
‘What the heck is that thing…’
A girl with silver hair and red eyes, possessing an exotic appearance.
While her distinctive looks were impressive, he frankly had little interest. He had been focused solely on Song Ha Yeon.
‘Certainly, she was supposed to be a sidekick.’
A rookie Hunter who had just recently passed into C Rank, which most agreed was largely thanks to Song Ha Yeon’s assistance.
However.
‘This is dangerous. That thing is.’
Yohan was a man with a keen intuition. His unique instincts, coupled with high talent, had brought him this far.
And his instincts were telling him.
He was stepping into an irreversible situation.
Boom!
Cha-rak!
When Baek Eun Ha pulled out the Book of Death, his unease peaked. Frantically, Yohan moved.
“Block it!”
But it was too late.
Baek Eun Ha, performing some mystifying magic, instead used her Bone Breaker as a sacrifice to conduct an undead summoning ritual, soon revealing something filled with an ominous presence.
“You’ve changed quite a bit.”
Incredibly, that being manipulated its own body to speak.
That wasn’t all.
Yohan was utterly struck with horror by the subsequent unbelievable actions of the undead.
“Ah.”
Grind.
Grrnd.
“Kuh. Uh.”
Bang!
“Ah… That’s done.”
His vocal cords, which initially produced only unpleasant and gruff sounds, now emitted an extraordinarily clean voice.
In that fleeting moment, it had autonomously completed the adjustment.
‘There’s no way such an undead could exist.’
Yohan’s body began to drip with cold sweat.
As a promising necromancer himself, he could tell.
That thing before his eyes was of an entirely different caliber.
“Did you struggle against such a foe?”
“…I-I didn’t struggle.”
The mechanical undead from earlier had vanished now.
The nonchalant demeanor of their conversation felt human enough to make him shiver.
‘High-Ranking Undead!’
Like a Lich, a being possessing powers and intelligence beyond that of a human.
No doubt, he could no longer afford to remain passive.
Without a moment’s thought, Yohan pulled all his trump cards.
“Fake Resurrection!”
Puhwaak!
[Kieeek!]
Two Bone Breakers. A Zombie Lizard. And even a specially made Banshee.
Every material he had prepared was put to use, but this should be enough to take down a decent B Rank Hunter.
Furthermore, he would enhance them by using the Moder Tree, which was in poor condition from the corpse explosion.
“The Wail of the Dead.”
[Guoooo—!]
Bashuk!
Basak!
The Moder Tree let out a pitiful scream and instantly oxidized. Simultaneously, the surge of energy generated infused strength into the other undead.
Now, preparations were perfect.
“Attack altogether.”
[Kwaaak!]
No room for complacency.
He himself participated in the battle, using spells to support the undead.
‘We can win.’
I didn’t come this far just to crumble here. I had to kill the two before me and one day surpass the detestable Helena.
[Grggrk!]
Whooosh!
However, the moment the Bone Breaker arrived first at the enemy line and began swinging its arms.
“…This is exceedingly weak.”
Cha-rak!
Literally, everything ended before he even had time to gather his thoughts.
Jerk.
Jerk, jerk.
[Crrk!]
The undead known as Jack vanished from sight before he knew it.
At the same time, all the undead, who had been trying to launch their respective attacks, suddenly became bound, like they were tied up, and trembled.
‘W-What the hell!’
Upon closer inspection, he noticed several black lines connecting between the shadows of the undead.
And from those black lines, suffocating energy began to emanate.
“I’ve already entangled all of them.”
“Ugh!”
At the voice that echoed from above, Yohan jumped back in shock.
An undead, standing upside down with its feet planted against the dungeon’s rugged ceiling.
‘This can’t be happening…’
He had felt not a single hint of its presence.
The being known as Jack lightly stepped down in front of Yohan.
Thunk.
Then, they suddenly complained.
“Lord. I feel sluggish today. Is this truly how I should be summoned?”
“Q-Quiet. There are deep circumstances…”
“Hmmm.”
After a brief shudder, Jack met Yohan’s gaze again.
“So, is it alright if I simply kill this one?”
“Kill him.”
Upon the unhesitating pronouncement, Yohan felt a suffocating sensation as he attempted one last resistance.
“W-Wild….”
“Useless.”
Sssak.
Rattle!
As Jack gathered energy at his fingertips and sliced through his own shadow, in that instant, a line appeared on the necks of all the undead that had been bound.
Shiiiik.
Yohan had an unsettling inkling of what would happen next.
Rattle─!
Puhwaak!
Boom!
Thud!
Degu-ruru.
The heads of two Bone Breakers soared into the sky first.
Next, the head of the Zombie Lizard plopped down with a splattering noise.
[Kieeeek—!]
Last, the Banshee let out a deathly scream and vanished completely.
The enhanced undead had been annihilated in an instant. The last resort of Wild Morph was meaningless now.
Finally, Yohan had completely lost the will to fight.
“What a monster.”
“…A monster, hmm.”
Jack seemed to recall something, pausing for a moment before swiftly waving his hand and continuing.
Sssak!
“To refer to that incredibly fearsome being simply as a monster feels rather insufficient.”
Puhwaak─!
Thud!
That was the demise of Yohan Scarlet, regarded as one of the top potential candidates among the B Rank Hunters of Styx.
#
Yohan was dead, and the undead known as Jack returned to the form of an eye, leaving only the remains of the Bone Breaker behind.
What had he just witnessed?
Song Ha Yeon honestly couldn’t comprehend it. The battle just now had been on an entirely different level.
However, one thing was certain.
“I’ll follow you for life…”
Her master was indeed the real deal. Today, Song Ha Yeon felt that truth deeply.
“……”
Baek Eun Ha cast a somewhat sour glance at Song Ha Yeon before silently approaching Yohan’s corpse and chanting a spell.
“Undead Call.”
Whoooosh,
Bashuk.
Rustle.
[Guuh.]
Suddenly, Yohan’s corpse rose, emitting a ghastly glow. Seeing this, Song Ha Yeon asked.
“Are you going to make him your subordinate?”
However, Baek Eun Ha, examining Yohan’s corpse closely, shook her head and touched the forehead area with her fingertip.
Toook,
Thud.
Bashuk.
Ba-bshhhh!
Yohan’s corpse lost control and crumbled, slowly turning to dust.
Watching this, Baek Eun Ha remarked.
“…He wouldn’t even become a Lich, no matter how much you trained him.”
That indifferent expression was, without a doubt, the very essence of the fundamental necromancer she often spoke of.
Having been thoroughly impressed by her earlier performance, Song Ha Yeon was filled with a rising sense of admiration.
‘So cool.’
Is this really the same useless, shabby master she had known?
Just as her vision began to blur with blind admiration, Baek Eun Ha’s demeanor suddenly changed.
The lord’s once-mighty presence began to tremble, and her gem-like eyes lost their focus, darting around in panic.
The ensuing reaction was somewhat expected. Baek Eun Ha doubled over, clutching her stomach in both hands.
Thud.
“Ugh.”
Seeing her dripping with cold sweat, it became clear she was in significant pain.
Though he had seen her slump under the ring’s time-over effect before, this was the first time witnessing her like this.
“Ugh. The muscle pain. I can’t move my body…”
True to her words, Baek Eun Ha wore a pained expression and scarcely managed to rise.
Startled, Song Ha Yeon rushed forward with concern.
“Are you okay?”
“P-Please help me up…”
Upon hearing those words, Song Ha Yeon approached and placed her hand on Baek Eun Ha’s waist, causing her to flinch and recoil.
“Eek! D-Don’t touch me…”
“Well then, how am I supposed to help you up?”
As she fidgeted anxiously, a new command came down, with Baek Eun Ha covering her mouth with both hands.
“Ugh. Ten meters…”
“…This is maddening.”
Song Ha Yeon quickly stepped back, giving her master some space. And then, looking around cautiously, she began to gather the remnants of the Skeleton Masher and recited a spell.
“Undead Call.”
Puhwaak!
The clash began.
[Guoo!]
And so, a little while later.
The sight of Baek Eun Ha, dangling from the shoulder of a Skeleton Masher as she exited the dungeon, made it hard to believe she was the master of that powerful undead.
“My body hurts. It aches…”
“Just hang in there a little longer.”
While enduring Baek Eun Ha’s constant complaints, Song Ha Yeon cautiously thought to herself.
Once again, it was indeed her pathetic master.