The Necromancer Who Was Despised

From the inside, it would be visible when you got close, but from the outside, the view was almost completely blocked, making it difficult to see the situation inside.

However, Kail somehow managed to see through it and explained the situation to Artina.

“…The mercenary is attacking his ally. His eyes… are red. Could it be, is this a mental magic?”

“Similar. Remember the temptation of magic frenzy?”

“It had an effect on monsters, but I thought it didn’t work on humans?”

“That’s right. Originally, it didn’t.”

I chuckled slightly.

“But if the conditions are right, it’s not impossible. The magic uses their own life force as a base, and the targets are already excited from battle, with their physical strength continuously dropping.”

Their personality and mental strength also had an impact. Whether they used mana or not also naturally had an influence.

Honestly, even if Artina were to get caught up in this, it wouldn’t be a problem for now.

She was a mana user, and her level was high enough that she could resist some of my magic, and her mental strength wasn’t weak, so she wouldn’t completely fall into madness.

However, she would still be affected. She would have her life force drained, and even if she didn’t fall into madness, there was a high possibility that her vision would narrow.

No matter how high her level was or how much mana she used, if she used magic, she would be a mage.

Artina, Kail, and I couldn’t resist it properly.

“It doesn’t matter about the undead.”

Eryan’s face turned pale as he listened to my explanation.

“Mental magic… it’s that powerful…”

“Well, it’s not that unusual for a 7th-class magic, is it? It takes some time, too…”

“I narrowed the range, so…”

“Huh?”

“There are fewer humans caught up in it, so it’s like that. Originally, the range was enormous.”

“…How many?”

“Can you cover the entire battlefield with Dorielem’s true form and still have some left over?”

“…….”

In reality, if the fog of war spreads without any defense on the battlefield, ordinary people would have their life force drained at an incredible rate and would go crazy in an instant.

It means that we can artificially trigger a riot, and if we use it in a real battle between humans or monsters, we can make them fight until the last one dies without retreating.

“It’s also efficient. As long as you supply me with magic, the range will continue to expand, and I can use the life force within to add extra effects, so my effort is relatively low compared to the scale.”

“Can’t you hide your enemy?”

“That’s right.”

“…It’s terrifying.”

Athena’s body trembled slightly, as if she had imagined it.

“Mental magic is terrifying. I understand why people reject dark magic.”

It’s not that mental magic can’t be used by ordinary mana-based mages, but this kind of indiscriminate madness is a specialty of dark magic.

It’s also a magic that matches well with the basis of magic.

Even excluding the mental influence, it’s enough to drain the opponent’s life force, disrupt their vision and movement, and add mental magic to it, making it a 7-class magic.

I shared the vision with my undead and observed the situation inside the fog.

Now, as long as they were within a certain distance, I could receive the vision of my undead.

Of course, since they were chasing the life force of the living, their vision was only auxiliary, but it was very useful for me.

Inside the fog, a brutal scene was unfolding.

The sudden appearance of these half-crazy people caused the front line to collapse, and the Skeleton Warriors rushed in like a flood.

As the chaos intensified, mercenaries began to emerge, prioritizing the elimination of those who had gone crazy.

At first, it seemed like they were dealing with it quickly, but that was short-lived.

Some mercenaries started to attack their own allies, weakening their mental strength and going crazy, while others gave up and became madmen after seeing their comrades die.

As I said, this magic is not something that can be resisted simply because of its high level.

It affected not only ordinary mercenaries but also paladins, priests, and knights, who didn’t immediately go crazy but started to attack the golems and dragons in a different way.

Especially noticeable were the knights.

“Die!”

“You damned undead bastards!”

Those who were initially trying to hold on became obsessed with killing the dragons and golems.

Even so, they didn’t realize their own abnormality.

It didn’t completely drive them crazy, but it stimulated their aggression and made their actions predictable, so it couldn’t be said to be ineffective.

As a result, they became overly active, unable to stall for time like before, and their already rapidly depleting physical strength was being drained in an instant.

The paladins who were trying to attack me were the same.

Some were trying to maintain their sanity, but they were all stimulated by aggression, so they focused on destroying the skeletons in front of them, forgetting that they were supposed to be attacking us.

“What kind of magic is this…?”

“It’s why mages and masters are respected.”

If you’re not on the same level, there’s almost no way to stop it.

Even with thorough preparation, massive sacrifices are inevitable, and that can change the outcome of the war.

“Hmm? Huh…?”

Then, an interesting scene caught my attention.

“Athena.”

“What’s up?”

“Something’s come up.”

Atina’s expression changed at my words.

“The priests, especially the bishop, are trying to escape. They’ve recovered some holy artifacts. It seems they’ve judged that there’s no answer.”

The situation had turned strange, and people were going crazy. It seemed they had finally recognized my abilities.

I didn’t know if I should say the situation was being grasped quickly or slowly.

However, at least I was certain that it was impossible for them to escape from me directly.

“Kill them all?”

“Hmm… maybe leave the bishop alive. We don’t need the rest.”

“Okay.”

I provided information about the approximate locations and escape routes of those guys.

Atina disappeared, and the self-proclaimed holy warrior, who had lost the support of the priests, collapsed at an incredible speed.

“Let go! Let go of me!”

When the holy warrior was almost annihilated, Atina dragged the bishop back, half-dragging him.

The bishop’s appearance was unrecognizable, with his priestly robes stained with blood and dirt, and his face a mix of fear and anxiety.

“Eeek!”

He, who had been noisy and provocative, shut his mouth when he saw me.

“Nice to see you again.”

“……”

“Did I say I was arrogant?”

“……”

“Can you give me an answer?”

“…Why.”

“Why did a guy like you… not get caught until now? You should have been discovered earlier…”

I laughed lightly at his words.

It was simple.

Those guys had grown so fast that it was hard to notice, and at the same time, they had avoided committing crimes that would attract attention from other forces.

I had accurately identified the target to be lined up and clearly distinguished between friend and foe, so I wasn’t swept away by the tide and killed.

Thanks to that, I was able to grow this much without any major obstacles.

I didn’t explain this fact to him.

The reason I had spared the bishop’s life wasn’t just to enjoy a small sense of superiority.

In fact, the previous provocation was just a trivial joke, done out of boredom.

While this might have been extremely humiliating and more effective than a death threat from their perspective, it was just a small joke to me now.

I stopped joking and asked him.

“Do you want to live?”

“W-what…”

“You’re not asking to be killed, and you’re not even attempting to take your own life. Are you clinging to a faint hope?”

The archbishop couldn’t help but remain silent.

“If I provide the information you want, I might spare your life. A kind of deal.”

Of course, I had no intention of keeping that promise.

Just like how I deceived one of the leaders of the Dorietoom’s star squad, I would deceive him as well.

He looked astonished, as if my words were completely unexpected.

“Really, is that true?”

“If the information you provide is satisfactory, I might do so. As you can see, I’m in a position where I can…

You’re just a human who’s easily disposable, after all.”

“Ah, I see.”

What did “I see” even mean?

He was still trying to negotiate, even though he was belittling himself.

“Maybe this could be resolved easily?”

I thought it wouldn’t be easy. Still, I believed that my faith would be strong enough since I was sent to this place.

I was going to extract as much information as possible through torture, but it seemed like I wouldn’t need to do that if I could persuade him well.

The archbishop was trying to betray the Empire as if it was nothing.

I suspected that he might have some hidden agenda.

“Then make a vow.”

“Huh?”

“Take an oath with the demon you’ve contracted, and guarantee my safety… “

“I don’t have a contracted demon, though?”

“What…?”

“And are you in a position to make such demands? You must be mistaken… “

I materialized magic in my hand.

“I can kill you anytime. I’ve only spared your life because I’m curious about the internal affairs of the Goddess Church within the Empire and the 6 Kingdoms Alliance.”

Basic information might be obtainable, but it’s not easy to get information from an enemy country, and it’s even harder to get information that an archbishop knows.

That’s why I wanted to take this opportunity to extract it.

However, I wasn’t going to let him get away with his arrogance.

I had the power to turn his world into hell anytime.

As the archbishop was hesitating, the entire army of Juterus, except for him, died.

I quietly stopped using magic, and through the undead and dead humans, I could show him the outcome of the battle.

“Choose. Will you become one of them, or will you grab onto a thin thread of hope?”

The archbishop’s betrayal was surprisingly quick.

“What’s so curious?”

“First, let’s fix your tone.”

His tone changed in an instant, and through him, I could hear about the internal situation of the current Empire and the people of the Goddess Church within the 6 Kingdoms Alliance.

“This is a truly fanatic group.”

Surprisingly, the Empire was a group with minimal internal conflicts.

It wasn’t nonexistent, but it wasn’t significant enough to be a problem.

The current Pope was a figure who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, and surprisingly, he had the capability to do so as well.

A sigh escaped my lips.

The bishop, who had been trying to extract all the necessary information, knelt down before me, his eyes wide with fear.

“I will surrender.”

“Hmm?”

“The information you asked about is all I have, and I want to surrender. I want to abandon the empire and become a subject of the kingdom…”

It was amusing to see the bishop, who had guessed that I wouldn’t spare his life, still trying to reveal all the information and even offering to atone for his sins.

“You’re a funny guy. Listening to you, it sounds like the empire is a cult, but in reality, you’re just an old man desperate to cling to life.”

The bishop continued to repeat his desire to surrender, even in the face of Atina’s ridicule.

Of course, I had no intention of accepting him.

He was trying to defect to the opposing side, claiming he would be active there…

“Why would I accept him?”

There was no reason to trust someone who didn’t deserve it.

However, that didn’t mean I couldn’t use him.

“Are you really planning to surrender?”

“Yes!”

“There’s no other way… “

“I’ll do anything…”

He almost slipped back into his old tone, but managed to hold back.

“You, become a Lich.”