Devout Necromancer
Uh, hmm.
I looked at the necromancer.
The necromancer who had fallen with an axe embedded in his forehead. It felt like a great danger, but it had ended with absurd ease.
By the way, Barkal.
Don't you have sothing to ask the necromancer? Weren't you supposed to ask about your brother?
"He couldn't even dodge Erindal, he's the trash of trash! There's no way Darsan died to scum like this!"
Maybe sensing my curiosity, Barkal thumped his chest with a satisfied smile.
"My brother Darsan is strong!"
"But Barkal, you could have asked him about the whereabouts of the other necromancer."
"Oh."
It seed Barkal hadn't thought that far, and he let out a sigh.
But before long, he nodded, as if sothing in his heart had made sense.
"What could a weakling know, even if he investigated!"
Yeah.
By that logic, there's no way for to beat you.
I walked past Barkal to the spot where the necromancer had been. I had no interest in the corpse with the shattered head.
My gaze turned to the ground—where he'd been writing sothing.
What is this?
* 「Your feeble servant worships you. By your blessing, the border of death here has grown faint, and the dead have been given new purpose.」
Truly strange. If I look at each letter, it's just bizarre patterns, but taken all together, I can read it fluently.
Maybe it's not knowledge—my body rembers it. A curious phenonon indeed.
Ah.
Is it because I'm a necromancer? The guy who wrote this was a necromancer too.
The writing wasn't finished. Actually, it was ridiculously long. Doesn't this guy know how to summarize in three lines?
Too annoyed to bother, I just read the last bit.
* 「O great god of death and corpses, Mortis.」
Mortis. Now that's a na I haven't heard in a long ti.
The god of necromancers, and one of the evil gods appearing in 〈Dungeon God〉.
Very familiar to the players, but unfortunately, he's a god the players can't worship.
He was purely for monsters—more precisely, a god only for "undead-type necromancers," who were the enemies of players.
It's only natural. What Mortis wants is a world where all life is extinct, and everything is a corpse.
So, does that an this was so kind of "Temple of Mortis"?
"... Even though the necromancer is dead, there's no sign of the dungeon closing?"
Serena's voice ca from behind. That's true. The dungeon's master is dead, but no portal appears.
Maybe one appeared outside? That question didn't linger long before it turned into unease.
"Everyone, prepare for battle!"
At my shout, Barkal and Serena's faces turned anxious. But, sensing the seriousness, they quickly took formation.
"What's going on, brother?"
Barkal glanced at Erindal, then asked .
"The dungeon's true master is not dead yet."
"But hasn't the necromancer already died?"
He's not the master.
Just as I was about to answer, I saw "black threads" erging from behind the dead necromancer.
Traces of necromancy.
Shouldn't the necromancer be dead?
Following the line of the 'black thread', I found a statue of a Goddess.
A woman shedding tears. What's unusual is that, except for half of her face, her right arm, and left leg, she's made of bone, not flesh.
〈Dungeon's Master〉
Statue of the Goddess of Death and Corpses
What the hell.
Is this why all the monsters in the dungeon were gone, and only the corpses were moving?
Currently, divine authority is infused in this dungeon.
Thrag makes it rain blood.
Pangus spreads mushrooms.
A god can scatter their authority upon the world.
Mortis can do it as well.
This evil god's authority is "death" and 'corpses'.
In a place where such an authority is present, life cannot truly die—everything becos a living corpse, an 'undead', and roams.
Like "Jillan".
Moreover, in 〈Dungeon God〉, the power of such "authority" depends on the recognition the god receives.
Mortis is much more widely recognized than Pangus, and here stands a symbol of the 'god'.
"Gulp."
Our current enemy isn't so re necromancer, but a 'god'.
Damn it.
This was supposed to be a dungeon of the sa grade!
* * *
What should you do when you face an enemy stronger than yourself?
The admins of 〈Dungeon God〉 had one recomndation.
When facing a stronger foe?
Run away!
"Barkal! Serena! Prepare to retreat!"
"Only cowards flee!"
"It's a tactical withdrawal!"
"If that's the case, understood!"
Luckily, the argunt with Barkal didn't last long. I hurriedly sprinkled the blood in my Blood-Colored Awl in the direction Barkal threw his axe.
A long, straight line of blood. In such a pressing situation, it's dangerous for Barkal to retrieve his axe himself.
That's why I created a "skeleton exoskeleton" from the blood I'd sprayed.
* [You use Skeleton Summon.]
* [You release Skeleton Summon.]
Repeating the summoning and releasing, the bones surged like waves and quickly brought Barkal's axe to us.
"That foul stench fills the air!"
Receiving his axe, Barkal imdiately raised it to point at the necromancer's corpse.
Traces of necromancy led from the Mortis statue right to the necromancer's body. As it reached the corpse, it began to rise.
The necromancer, now undead, picked up his severed head in one hand and started walking slowly toward us.
"Brothers! There are undead at the entrance as well...!"
At the urgency in Serena's voice, I looked toward the entrance—throngs of undead were approaching in a horde.
"Tactical withdrawal might not be an option!"
Serena shouted, smashing the skull of the first skeleton to poke its head in.
Despite the smashing sound of bones filling the air, her face didn't so much as redden. That drove ho how dire the situation was getting.
Damn, we're really screwed now, aren't we?
Are we going to die here?
"I am fortunate! To be able to kill a necromancer twice in one day!"
This is no ti to celebrate, you fool! The enemy is a god.
Not a "Pangus" type—a first-rate, genuine god!
"We're up against a god. This is no ti to be jubilant, Barkal!"
"What are you so afraid of, brother?!"
Barkal shouted loudly.
"You've already taught how to kill a god!"
At those words, a hollow laugh escaped my lips.
"The way to kill a god!"
"You behead them—separate the head and body, and they die!"
"You taught that, brother!"
To think that crazy mindset would co in handy at a ti like this.
Clearly, it's too soon to despair. Here, we have not one, but two "apostles" blessed by a god.
And fortunately, the true cause of the undead—the "Statue of Mortis"—is right before us.
― Grrrrrk.
Unfortunately, the necromancer, now a Dullahan, was blocking our way.
"Our route of escape is blocked. To resolve this, we need to kill the dungeon master."
"Where is the dungeon master?"
"That statue."
"I will smash it at once!"
When Barkal rushed the Goddess statue, axe in hand, the Dullahan blocked him.
I don't know where he got it, but the Dullahan was holding a thin sword in one hand.
"You can't stop with such a feeble weapon!"
With a roar, Barkal swung his axe. But before the axe could strike, the Dullahan's sword pointed at Barkal's body first.
* [You use Skeleton Summon.]
Thankfully, the skeleton exoskeleton protected Barkal from the attack in ti.
"T-this wretch! It's gotten stronger since its resurrection!"
A Dullahan is a high-level undead. Usually, one like that should be acting as the 'dungeon master'.
Damn it.
I should have been more selective with the quests I accepted!
"We need to defeat the dungeon master quickly!"
There was urgency in Serena's voice at the entrance. I could feel she was reaching her limit at stopping the incoming undead.
"Foul refuse! Die at my hand again! The first ti is hard, the second is easy!"
Barkal's axe was dodged-nimbly, and the Dullahan counterattacked. We can't let ti drag on like this.
Defeating the Dullahan is impossible.
Determined, I changed tactics.
"Barkal!"
"What is it, brother? I'm a bit busy right now!"
"No ti. If you keep the undead occupied, I'll rush the statue."
"You want to buy ti, in other words!"
Exactly.
I nodded.
"I don't think I can buy you that much ti."
Unexpectedly, Barkal looked a bit weak.
"But instead, I'll kill him so he can't block our path any longer!"
You crazy bastard.
Just a mont ago, you were struggling with this guy, saying he's grown stronger!
Still, it's reassuring to have that crazy bastard as an ally.
"The greatness of Thrag is my strength!"
Shouting out his god's na, Barkal charged at the Dullahan. Judging by the way his axe glead, one of Thrag's powers had definitely been activated.
But the attack did not land. The Dullahan narrowly dodged Barkal's axe and struck back with his sword.
* [You use Skeleton Summon.]
Again, I used Skeleton Summon to defend against the Dullahan's attack.
"Gah!"
But this ti, as if anticipating it, the Dullahan redirected the blow to Barkal's unprotected right shoulder.
"Cunning rat! Fight fair and square!"
Barkal, we're fighting two-on-one! He's probably being fairer than us!
Blood poured from the wound in his right shoulder, but Barkal kept swinging his axe without concern.
Should I take the opportunity, while the Dullahan's distracted, to rush the statue?
No.
Even while fighting Barkal, the Dullahan's gaze was always on .
Judging by the speed at which he dodged the axe, if I tried to run, he'd get to before I reached the statue.
In that case.
Even landing just one blow—if I can get Barkal's attack to hit, it will create an opening!
Determined, I sprinted away in the direction opposite from the Dullahan.
As expected, the Dullahan, who was trading blows with Barkal, arrived at at a ridiculous speed.
"Brother, dodge!"
Simultaneously, the Dullahan's sword ca flying at my abdon. The speed was unreal. Forget dodging—I could barely follow it with my eyes.
* [You use Skeleton Summon.]
I couldn't dodge, so I imdiately shielded my body with the skeleton exoskeleton. But once again, the Dullahan seed to have anticipated this.
He spun and redirected the sword toward my neck.
As expected!
Clang—
When tal t tal, sparks flew in mid-air. Using the Blood-Colored Awl, I parried the Dullahan's attack.
"Oh, oho... Dmihtan, you're amazing!"
Hearing block the sa attack that had overwheld him, Barkal sounded impressed.
It wasn't due to my physical prowess. It was a battle of wits.
Because I'm the one using 'skeleton exoskeleton',
I figured the Dullahan would change his attack path. And it was easy to guess he'd aim for my neck, the most fatal spot.
If he'd swung sowhere else?
No idea, I'd probably be dead!
― Grrrk.
The Dullahan seed unfazed that his blow was blocked.
So you blocked it, but what can you do? I could hear the unspoken challenge.
― Grrrk!?
To make that thought aningless, I sprayed blood from the tip of the Blood-Colored Awl, drenching the Dullahan's body.
"Waaaaah!! Brother, I'm coming!"
At the sa ti, Barkal raised his axe high and charged toward us.
Knowing he couldn't risk getting hit by Barkal's attack, the Dullahan prepared to retreat.
* [You use Skeleton Summon.]
* 〈'Skeleton Summon' has leveled up.〉
Skeleton Summon [2] -〉 [3]
I covered the Dullahan's joints with the skeleton exoskeleton, binding his movents.
"Hiyahh!!!"
Thud—
As Barkal's axe struck, a trendous crash erupted from the Dullahan's body.
Slamd into the wall. If it were any normal monster, I'd be certain it was dead—but this one was different.
I imdiately sprinted for the statue.
"Waaaaaaaah!"
As the distance to the statue closed, I jumped and landed on its head, plunging the Blood-Colored Awl into its face.
With an ordinary dagger, this wouldn't even leave a scratch. But the dagger I held was the hardest in the world.
Crunch—
The statue's face shattered.
* 〈Thrag is thrilled by your actions.〉
Is this not enough!?
"Where do you think you're going! You must die by my hand once more!"
"Uwaaaah... There are too many!"
Barkal and Serena's voices ca from behind . Not done yet, apparently.
Crunch—
This ti, I jabbed the Blood-Colored Awl into the neck.
A deep crack ford on the statue's neck. Not stopping, I kept stabbing its neck repeatedly.
The fissure spread even further.
* 〈Thrag is cheering for you!〉
Soon, the hole I'd bored made the crack span more than half the neck. The statue's head started to wobble.
"That's it, brother!"
This is really the end. Thinking that, I delivered the final blow to sever the statue's neck.
A trendous noise rang out across the entire dungeon, and from inside the statue's neck, a pure white light began to flow.
* 〈You have acquired faith.〉
* * *
What is this!?
Startled, I squeezed my eyes shut. But the intense light pierced my eyelids, forcing to frown.
"Gasp."
A few seconds later, I managed to open my eyes.
Before stretched a blank, pure white space.
What's going on?
Suspicion swelled in . But I think I know where this is.
ntal World.
The sa place I was dragged into when Thrag granted his 'authority'.
"Out of nowhere, huh?"
To enter the "ntal World" ans a god has summoned for so purpose.
The good news: nothing really bad had ever happened to here.
Is Thrag calling to give another present?
Possible.
Thrag hates 'necromancers', and hates the god of necromancers even more.
No, that bastard just hates any god that isn't himself.
So he probably approves of destroying the symbol of Mortis, the god of death and corpses.
"Thrag, where are you?"
But Thrag didn't answer at all.
What's this petty god doing, calling and then not showing up?
I started wandering through the blank, ntal world.
Five minutes, ten minutes, thirty minutes.
No matter how long I walked, nothing appeared, and there was no answer.
"Thrag, I'm a busy man! If you have nothing to say, just send back... hmm?"
Just as I spoke to the sky, sothing caught my eye.
In the distance, I could see a statue. But its shape was a little strange.
A crude bowl and a blood-soaked sword stuck in it.
That's Thrag's symbol, but the statue from afar didn't have that silhouette.
Let's get a bit closer.
I approached the statue. Ah, now I can make out the shape properly.
A jet-black crescent moon, and a mountain of skulls beneath it.
Wait a second, that's the symbol of Mortis.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Hmm, I wonder, did Mortis call him because the necromancers are defiling her na?
Also, I like that MC's using skeleton summon differently. Well not really different, but he doesn't have the skill bone armor, so, it is what it is...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】
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