The Necromancer Who Was Despised

Voldeni, who was supporting the undead, led the mira priestesses to focus their defense magic on protecting only me.

But this situation wasn’t entirely bad.

Since they were only focused on me, they became increasingly vulnerable, and Tinus didn’t miss that opportunity.

Tinus and the two Liches slaughtered the demon tribe mercilessly.

They couldn’t even resist properly and fell one by one.

The weak point was especially the tentacle pipe, which, if severed, would only allow temporary activity but not long-term.

Thanks to that, we were able to handle them faster than expected.

“What on earth is going on…?”

“I don’t understand why they’re suddenly acting like this.”

Bert and Kaila spoke in voices that suggested they couldn’t comprehend.

“Is it because of these things?”

In contrast, I had a hunch.

The reaction of the staff and the crest when I entered the tower.

It was instantaneous, but I definitely felt it.

Here is the translated novel excerpt:

Even now, I could feel something within the tower reacting to me.

Tinus, who had approached me, asked, “Do you have any guesses?”

“…A little.”

My words drew the attention of my companions.

I told them about my reaction when I first entered the tower.

“…The wand and the seal…”

“The wand is hard to understand, but the fact that the seal reacted is even more…”

They conversed with serious expressions, knowing that I was directly connected to the demon world.

“Rather, if Lord Do-in-ha were to participate in this subjugation…”

“But if he weren’t there…”

If I were to be lost, our party and the Dark Elf would both lose their future.

That’s why they felt a sense of crisis, aware that problems could arise for me.

However, as the strongest fighter, I couldn’t afford to back down here.

Nor could I flee from this place.

We all knew that Rochis had done something and couldn’t be ignored.

Especially since the cooperation between Rochis and the Red Ogre had been broken.

If Rochis and the Red Ogre were to collaborate again, summoning strange creatures…

“We can’t give them time.”

Therefore, it was impossible for me to back down.

“I’ll make sure to protect Lord Do-in-ha’s body with my life,” Kailla said, her face set with determination.

“…It’s better to end this quickly. Then, above…”

“No, below,” Bert said firmly.

“Although it seems connected above, the main body is below.”

From the start, above was a trap.

“…I almost fell for it.”

Perhaps because he knew I was a dragon, Bert immediately agreed.

“I agree that we need to end this as quickly as possible. We can’t give them any more time.”

In the meantime, he had somehow managed to create a demon tribe.

Time was of the essence.

“Take the lead. Follow me carefully, Kailla. Protect Do-in-ha with all your might.”

“Yes.”

“In-ha, you should prioritize your own safety over support. You’re the most important person among us.”

“…Okay.”

“Your survival is the greatest support.”

Tinus also approached the priest group, asking them to watch our backs.

In preparation for any unexpected events.

After all, since our space was limited and we couldn’t fight together, this method might be better.

However, the Dark Elf mages and Richians had all made themselves my assistants.

It seemed they would utilize high-level forces to handle the demonic beasts as quickly as possible, considering they were dedicating their undead forces entirely to my defense.

Naturally, they didn’t refuse.

Since I had become the target, Tinus actively moved into action.

Following his guidance, we descended into the underground, where we found various traps set up in the passageway.

Occasionally, demons would pop out, all of whom were robust and formidable.

“Elite, perhaps.”

However, it seemed they didn’t expect us to descend into the underground so quickly.

Although some elite forces remained, their numbers were limited.

We swiftly traversed the underground, and simultaneously, we could hear screams coming from behind.

“The priest squad…!”

The powerful forces deployed at the top of the tower seemed to be targeting our rear.

“Let’s go!”

Nodan shouted at us, “I’ll hold them off as much as I can. In the meantime…!”

The holy power was strong against demons, and these were elite priests.

With the holy knights present, even if the demons outnumbered us, we could utilize the narrow passageway to hold out for a while.

“…I’ll return as quickly as possible.”

“Please do.”

This was an opportunity.

They seemed to have underestimated us, thinking we wouldn’t descend into the underground so quickly.

Their reaction alone made it clear.

Therefore, we left the priest squad to handle our rear and headed downwards.

Originally, we had entrusted our rear to them because our compatibility wasn’t great…

“What about the sacred artifact…?”

It wasn’t just because of the sacred artifact.

The priests despised the Dark Mages and abhorred demons.

Now that they knew about the demonic beasts and demons of the demon world, they couldn’t just stand by.

And so, we arrived at the underground, where Tinus had said the demonic beast’s main body was located.

[You’ve finally found it.]

“…Rochis?”

And there, the leader of the Black Star, Rochis, was also present.

It was no surprise that he would be at the location of the demonic beast’s main body.

However… I didn’t expect it to be in such a state.

The main body of the demonic beast, which controlled the demons and undead, using its tentacles and dividing life forms into two, was a grotesque mass of flesh.

At a glance, it looked like a tree branch.

It was an extremely detestable sight, as if flesh and wood had been mixed together.

And at its center, a human who seemed to be Rochis was embedded.

“…Has it been eaten?”

“No, the opposite. It’s eating him.”

“What?”

I couldn’t understand what Tinos was saying.

[You know well. He’s not an ordinary undead, after all. He must be the Dragonian commander… Amazing, he’s really done it.]

“What’s going on? Is he saying he ate a demon?”

“More accurately, he’s saying he’s merged with it. Think of it as him making himself into a chimera. Anyway, that demon doesn’t seem to have any sense.”

[A chimera… It’s not entirely wrong, but it’s a pretty insulting thing to say. Even seeing the abyssal fragments, you can’t help but think that.]

Abyssal fragments.

As soon as I heard those words, Tinos’s face twisted in a horrific expression, and he immediately launched an attack on me.

However, his magic soon disappeared.

[Oh, so you knew about the abyssal fragments. You have incredible insight. Then you must know. Black magic doesn’t work on this.]

Black magic doesn’t work.

Tinos didn’t respond to my statement.

“What’s so special about the abyssal fragments…?”

Until now, black magic had worked on all the tentacles, pouches, and connected demonic tribes that were part of him.

But it didn’t work on the main body?

“The abyssal fragments… No, exactly, it’s the abyss. The abyss is part of the demon world and the reason why they invaded other dimensions.”

[Haha, that’s amazing. How do you know that?]

Tinos ignored my question.

“The demons invaded other dimensions because it’s necessary for their survival. It’s not just about the ambitions of demon kings or individual demons.”

The abyss devours the demon world.

Tinos said so.

“Once devoured, there’s no going back. To stop the devouring, you need immense power.”

The demon world alone can’t handle the abyss, so they dominate other dimensions and use the power they’ve absorbed to feed the abyss and stop its devouring.

[That’s correct. And this is one of the demons that got devoured by the abyss and became part of it.]

“…Once devoured, there’s no going back, you say?”

[That’s why this is special. Do you know Elrose?]

Elrose.

My gaze fell on the staff in my hand.

◈ Black Star

[You know about it? There are hardly any people on the continent who know that name… It’s surprising, considering you didn’t make a contract with the demonic tribe.]

He didn’t recognize the staff I had.

After all, even though Elrose made it, I’ve been using it for a long time.

In fact, he hardly ever used it. His goal of creating a high-level chimera using a powerful demon tribe had failed, anyway.

The dragon, a precious material, was used, but he carelessly discarded the staff, and I picked it up.

So, it’s not surprising that he didn’t know about the staff.

[If you knew about it, the story would be faster. This is one of the great achievements of the Arch Duke Elrose. He was the first to partially recover from being devoured by the abyss. Although he failed to completely stop the abyss’s devouring or restore it, no one else has achieved such a feat.]

“…Why do you have proof of that great achievement in your hand?”

[It was a deal. He was bound to the demon king and reached out to various places to escape. One of those places was our Black Star.]

He laughed loudly and said,

[I wanted to become a stronger being. I didn’t want to be an ordinary Arch Duke. He promised to help me become a new being, and recently, after escaping from the demon king, he kept his promise.]

What I regained in the abyss, which was synchronized with the current me, was simultaneously a fragment of the abyss, and it seemed to be the price I had to pay.

[It’s said that depending on how I utilize it, I can become an existence rivaling the Demon King. That’s true. If I had this, I could become the Demon King who has descended upon the continent.]

I could understand why he wasn’t enthusiastic about the offers from the Holy Empire or the Red Ogre.

His interest lay completely elsewhere.

With his ambition right in front of him, it was only natural that he wouldn’t be interested in anything else.

‘I have no other opinion.’

Since he wasn’t interested in the Black Star’s affairs, he would be swayed by the leaders.

Perhaps the leader who followed him knew about his ambition and the progress, too.

‘But I’m already dead.’

[In that sense, I’m both grateful and resentful towards you guys. Because of you, I had to force myself to take action, but in return, I could devour the Black Star completely, so it’s fine.]

However, that didn’t mean he had already achieved his goal.

I didn’t think he had succeeded.

‘He hasn’t fully grasped the fragment of the abyss.’

Looking at him, it seemed like he was trying to buy time.

He was having useless conversations with us, and the demons who emerged from that place were behaving abnormally, as if they didn’t know the truth either.

The demon bastards prioritized killing me over stopping us.

He knew that killing me was important.

But it was too strange that he would sacrifice everything and recklessly try to kill me.

And…

‘The reaction I felt when I entered this place….’

The feeling I got from the wand and the seal.

With Elroset, an unexpected existence, being involved in this incident, my suspicions grew even more.

[What’s this, you want to join hands with me?]

I looked at him with an expression that said, “What kind of nonsense is this?” and he continued speaking.

[Let’s join hands and make a contract. I’ll be honest with you. I didn’t think you guys would arrive here this quickly. That’s why I’m still incomplete.]

However, he didn’t think I could kill him easily, and he looked at Tinos.

He had the ability to nullify Tinos’s attacks.