262 That's why I stick to it.

It all started when I was talking to Balastus on Trinh.

It all started when I was having a conversation with Balastos in Trinh. Even with the power of Annihilation that Ao possesses, the soul that is summoned can only be revived as an incomplete undead. The question is whether it is possible to create an undead that can move freely by its own will.

I think it's theoretically possible. But there's nothing I can do about it.

To summarize, the power of annihilation is an extension of necromancy. Because it is a power to summon souls to this world with a stronger curse, it is easier to draw out the power of the original target than ordinary necromancy, and it can also improve the basic performance.

The three undead who were previously used as Ao's bodyguards fall into this category, but there is no intention on their part. They were simply fighting according to highly prescribed orders. Ao said this was because the summoned souls were not cooperating in the first place.

The more stable the construction of necromancy on the part of the invoker, the more stable it will be. I'm sure you'll be able to find someone who can help you.

My compatriot, who was listening to this conversation, told us about Docola after we returned to Taze. If he had mastered necromancy based on Yugra's observations of Ao, and had used it in actual combat, he could meet the requirements. This is the first time I've ever seen such a thing. I thought that this man might be able to help me in this fight.

To be honest, Ao wasn't too keen on the idea, but he was probably a little concerned about the power gap between him and the Purple Demon King. As a result, with Marito's permission, he dug up the place where Dokora was buried and obtained the skull. Then, using the power of annihilation, he brought Dokora back to the world as an undead.

"I don't know who he is, but he brought me back to this shitty world. No, he got what he deserved, didn't he?

As Ao hypothesized, Docola retained his ego when he was resurrected and spoke to us in the same manner as the living.

I'm sorry, but I have no intention of becoming a convenient pawn. Just talking to you like this makes me want to slit my own throat.

Docora told him that the souls of those who had been called back as undead were not completely stable, and that even if they used their knowledge of necromancy to compensate, they would still suffer a great deal. Even if I don't have the right to refuse, I don't want people to think that I can help them. So if you're going to use yourself as a tool, use yourself as a monster without an ego, like a normal undead.

"Can we talk for a minute, Docola?

"You're .......

But when his compatriot spoke to him, Docola's behavior changed. To Docola, his compatriot was no different than the one who had taken his life, but he was still worthy of negotiation. The compatriot briefly explained what had happened so far and made a promise to Docola.

"I will summon you as undead one more time. At that time, if you're up to it, you'll help those two. If not, I'll use you as a random undead. Either way, after that, I'll re-bury your bones where no one can reach them.

Do you really think you can trust that?

"Well, yeah. You can do it, can't you?

Docola didn't give a clear answer and his compatriot had Ao lift the necromancy. When I asked him if he should not negotiate more firmly, he laughed quietly and said that this would be fine.

.

Docola-Ketta, I remember that man well. I met him when I was infiltrating Mejis as a subordinate of the Scarlet Witch King.

I was working for the Scarlet Witch King as a prelude to Ritual's plan to take over the country starting with Kuama.

I've been working with the Scarlet Witch for a while now, hoping to make the humans aware of the fact that the Witch King is back, so that the Scarlet Witch King can decide that it's time to resume the invasion.

But I didn't calculate that he would be suspicious of me until he followed me to the demon world to meet the Scarlet Witch King. If the Scarlet Witch King hadn't noticed, he could have assassinated me when he returned to Mejis.

I tried to kill Dokora, but I only managed to take one of his arms and let him go. But his discretion saved my life. He must have judged that the current situation in Mejlis was dangerous because someone like me was hiding in the Cathedral of Yugra without a care in the world. Dokora stole the book I was after and disappeared from Mejis. After that...

"Well... First things first!

Docola used magic and the ground around us erupted in a cloud of dust. It's like a smoke screen. Is he trying to set something off? No, this is different. She's probably trying to buy time to sort out the information. If they're trying to buy time, that's fine by me, but I don't want to put them at a disadvantage.

I shot the undead and detonated it several times, but I didn't feel any response. It must be warded by Lakra. Then we'll have to try something else. But if this is a trap, it's not a good idea to change course.

Take it easy, Lahite. It's been a long time since we fought my way, let me at least prepare.

The cloud of dust cleared and Exoik and the others became visible again. No one seemed to be hiding, but the expressions on their faces had changed slightly. It was clear that something had been breathed into them.

It's a strange thing to be undead and still have one arm.

I lost my arm to the demon world. Did you take good care of it?

The demon was eating it like it was delicious. One arm didn't look like enough.

If they ate it all, they must have taken good care of it.

How do you want to play this? Do you want to use the same method as before, attack the hostages hanging from the ceiling and them at the same time? No. ...... No hostages hanging from the ceiling? Where did you move them?

Are you looking for hostages? They're here, here, here.

He stomped his foot a few times on the ground. So, the earth magic was not only creating a cloud of dust, it was digging a hole. The hostages hanging from the ceiling were moved to the hole and trapped inside the cavity, leaving an air hole. This way, they would not be affected by the self-destruction of the surrounding undead and would not be in my line of sight, so they would not be targets of attack.

I've also paralyzed the hostages so that they won't be able to move for a few days. You can't use it as a destination for souls anymore.

"You don't have to go to all that trouble, you could just chop off their heads. That's very kind of you.

It's not kindness. If you kill it, it will turn undead due to the influence of the magic around it.

It's safe to assume that you know as much or more about necromancy as I do. In the event that you're not sure what to do, you can always ask for help.

I don't really care what you do. I don't care how you do it, but it will definitely buy you some time.

I'm not going to take the time. And I'm going to prove to you that I'm not nice.

Well, let's see what you got.

He lost his balance and fell to the ground. I'm not sure what to do. What is this ......? You'll be able to find out the cause of the pain in your leg. It was Lakra. Lakra had severed the legs of all the undead in front of her, including me, with her warded attack.

It was the same with my arm, but my leg hurt a lot too. Now, Lahite. You've made it impossible to tell the difference between undead and human. I tried using detection magic but I really can't tell the difference between undead and human. But that doesn't mean the hostages became undead themselves, does it?

As long as the undead are under the curse, they can regenerate even if their parts are destroyed. And they do so at a considerable rate. Many of the undead have already regenerated and are beginning to rise.

"Hey, Ecduke. Can't you see them clearly from up there? You can see it clearly from up there, can't you? Everyone's getting up, and you're still crawling, you degenerate.

"Ah, I see you, Raheit!

You turn your gaze to the voice above you. I'm sure you'll be able to see that I'm not the only one. Not only that, but several chains are already stretching towards me.

What?

I thrust the magic stone I had in my back teeth into my mouth and activated the technique. I move to the next body, check my current position, and adjust my breathing. The distance between you and Exoik and the others is only one corner, you can blow up the undead with your senses, but the hostages will have already been collected.

"It won't detonate? I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on.

"What?

I'm not sure what to make of this. I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.

I've just moved, you know? You'll want to check your surroundings, right? It's a good idea to have a good idea of what's going on in your life. Rahayto?

Docola's body was undead, so he could ignore the danger of blasting the surrounding undead and move the shortest distance to the back. From the timing of her instructions to Ecdysium, she must have already jumped into the undead to find this body.

The surrounding undead didn't react to Dokora, as they had been given only vague orders to attack the living, and they didn't recognize him as an enemy.

Once again, he thrusts the magic stone in his back teeth into his mouth and shifts his body. Then he immediately blasts the undead in the place where his body was just before.

...... Don't do something that doesn't make sense! It's not like the undead are going to die from a simple explosion!

You can hear Docora's loud voice a little further ahead. You'll find no signs of movement after I switched bodies? I'm sure you're not the only one.

I haven't hesitated to attack hostages since he joined us. He switched from saving them without hurting them to saving them even if it hurts.

And I'm not going to do anything pointless either.

What?

There is too much of a difference in physical skill to attack with a knife. I'm not sure if you've heard of it or not, but I have. I then looked around and saw Dokora standing on a raised crystal.

I had a little time to think about it, but even so, I came to this place too soon.

"Don't look so glum, I'll tell you. Knowing that you can instantly become a soul and move from body to body, I observed you at close range in order to analyze the mechanism of your soul's movement. As a result, I was able to confirm that something close to the wavelength of magic moved.

So you're saying that you read that I would not fight back, but leave my body and move to another body.

I don't mind people who learn. But now I know a lot of your weaknesses. Your magic doesn't move as fast as it did when you took my right arm. I guess the quality of your magic doesn't match your soul. If it wasn't for your body that I carefully messed around with beforehand, your fighting skills would be nothing to write home about.

The eyes peeking out of the mask are observing me intently. It's not the same as the eyes that the man uses to understand others, it's not the same as the eyes that the bastard was given, it's the unique eyes of a person skilled in combat, acquired through natural talent and the effort to fully utilize it.

A poorly executed move will create an opening. Deploys multiple point-shaped crystals as a check and balance. It's a cleansing spell, but Dokora avoids it with no problem.

You're doing much better than you did back then, aren't you?

I'm not sure what to make of it. It's nice to not have to protect your own body.

The undead repeat regeneration, so they can behave without considering the burden on their bodies. If you're an undead person with an ego, you can use a one-time, self-destructing fighting technique repeatedly on the spot. I could probably push myself a little if I were in someone else's body, but I never thought of it. But I didn't want to do it, because the upper limit of how far I could go if I pushed myself too hard was too great.

"Well, it's a good thing you fell to the undead, isn't it?

"Haha, even with my bones as a medium, my soul is not stable. It's like you've been drinking a poison that's only making your mind go crazy. That's why I want to end this as soon as possible.

"I bet. The soul is a burden to the spirit when it is not stable.

It's not that much of a burden to move the soul after the necessary steps have been taken. However, transferring a soul without that process is more painful than ordinary torture. It is no different from being turned into an undead. The pain of searching for a body that can be transferred in such a state is like cutting the life span of your mind.

You've had similar experiences in life. That's unfortunate. And yet you use necromancy, isn't that finally an outrage?

I'm afraid I could only develop my talents in that direction.

It's not as if Docora is going to fight back. He is playing with a knife in his hand and seems to be watching us.

I just heard that you're the one who destroyed the Spines.

What about it?

Spine is my home. You've got a lot of history with me! Let me finish this before you die!

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. If you want to avenge your enemy, then good luck.

If possible, make him emotional and psychological upset. If he is in an unstable state of undead, this kind of shaking may have some effect.

I don't really care about it that much. I've never had a happy life. But as for ...... using Hade to death, I'll make you pay for that.

You mean the incompetent who just loves to kill and doesn't see the bigger picture?

I'm not denying he's incompetent. I don't deny that he's incompetent, but he's a guy I've had a few drinks with and laughed with. I don't have many friends, so I have to at least avenge my few friends, right?

I can't tell from his voice how serious he is about what he just said. However, I don't feel any emotional turmoil at all in response to my words. I guess he's still a man of the dark side.

"Doc! Don't go too far alone!

Shut up! You're slowing me down, Exoik.

Ecdysium has joined us. The time difference is probably due to the fact that the body you just saw has been evacuated to the ground. ...... This body's magic power is about to run out. It's time to move on to the next body. But if what Docora said is true, he will be able to read your next destination if he activates his magic in front of you. If this is the case, you will eventually have to fight with your last body,......, and when that happens, your goal of buying time will eventually be successful.

I'm not sure what to say. I'm sure you'll agree that everything is fine. I'm going to give you a little problem. I can't see Lakra and the Blue Demon King since a while ago, where do you think they went?

I'm not sure.

It's not surprising that the Exarch is late in coming to collect the hostages. I'm not sure what to make of this. Don't tell me--

"Oh. Isn't there? Somewhere in here is your beloved body that you plan to reach after your escape?

Docora's a dark one, she wouldn't have any trouble using disguise magic on others. I'm not sure what to make of this, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

This is not good. The bodies of these hostages have been adjusted to be able to move immediately after being moved, but on the other hand, the distance they can move is limited. In the end, in order to get out of this underground ruin, they need to use their original bodies to escape in a stable condition. In the first place, when the stock of hostages is exhausted, my own body will inevitably be the final destination. If I am held down first, when I return to my original body, I will already be in a state where I cannot harm myself.

Do you think it will be easy to find ......?

I don't know. I'm not sure. Women's intuition is quite brilliant, you know. But you don't have to find it right away, you know? You can find it before you return to your original body and block its movement, you know?

Even if he succeeded in stalling for time, it would be useless if he didn't receive the method of constructing a resurrection spell from Nektohar and escape these underground ruins. If we were to be taken alive, it would be the star people of Yugra. .......

Let's change our strategy. It's safe to assume that the method of utilizing hostages is no longer viable against Dokora. Return to your original bodies and continue to remotely detonate all the undead. If it comes to it, burying the whole place will buy us some time, if not kill it off.

If we attack out of sight, we might miss them and they might join us on another route, but ...... we can't afford to take any more chances. Even if Lakra and the others were ahead of us, they would not have found my body yet. If you have to make a decision, it's now or never.

Activate the spell and move to the original body. It will take some time for you to be able to move back to your original body, but ...... good, the feeling of your body slowly coming back to you is not uncomfortable.

......

My body started to move. Before you leave this place, you need to use detection magic - no, if Lakra and the others are nearby, they may find you. First, listen carefully and physically check your surroundings. There's no sign of them, they're fine.

Even if you're unconscious, you're still vulnerable to detection spells. If you want to hide your magic without using the magic seal stone, you should hide in a completely enclosed space where the magic of detection and air cannot enter. This stone coffin, for example, is a good example.

It would take a long time to open and search every coffin, and if I tried to destroy them all, my ears would hear about the search. It's a good place to hide a body.

I cast a muffling spell on the lid and gently open it to step out. There is no one within the range of my senses. It's possible that Docora's words were just a bluff to get me back into my body. If he could sense the direction the soul was heading, he would appear here sooner or later.

I take out a magic stone from my pocket to signal. It is a degraded version of the Yugra cult's communication crystal, and although it can only be used to send a signal by shining it remotely, it is effective enough in this situation.

Have you heard from Nektohar yet at ......?

You can evacuate this place now,......, but it will be useless if the thing that interferes with Nektohar arrives at the lower levels. We'll have to bide our time for a while longer.

At the risk of being detected, we should detonate the undead all at once--

"Doesn't the explosion sound like ......?

All of the undead are designed to explode and disperse immediately when they attempt to intervene in necromancy. The magic wavelengths you just sent should be enough to detonate them. Since it has been tried several times, there is no problem of distance.

There's no point in thinking about the cause. Docola and the others have done something, and that's enough to judge. What we need to think about now is how to buy more time.

We already know the enemy's strength. But the only one who has a chance to win in a head-on battle is the Blue Demon King, who doesn't use the power of Annihilation. In the event that you have any questions regarding where and how to use the site, please feel free to contact me.

But I've been in this kind of predicament before.

I've never had a proper victory in the first place. Thanks to this unorthodox talent, my desire to be strong has been corrupted long ago. My sense of magical construction is only specialized in interfering with souls, and I quickly realized that my other magical talents were limited.

If my talent as a bastard had raised my other talents, like Arcreal's, I might have been a little more decent. ...... Whether we are given or not, our nature does not change. The result we have is the answer.

The result that we have now is the answer. "Let's just keep on trying. I've only ever been praised for my bad luck.