Chapter 267: The Lurking Threat...

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As Ervas and Veronica were celebrating the defeat of the Necromancer by the combined efforts of everyone, within the wastelands of the dungeon, a small, yet powerful entity dwelled within the deepest areas of the dirt.

It remained immovable and without even releasing a bit of its power, while constantly using a special Skill that it had just learned.

Stealth.

Stealth was a Skill that could be acquired by anyone capable of completely hiding their presence to many beings, the stronger were the beings you hide your presence from, the higher the chances are to acquire the Skill, and the more proficiency you get as well.

Veronica and Ervas had never acquired the Skill because they had never been good at concealing their presence. Even Veronica when she did it through Aqua Camouflage and Shade's Enshroud, it was still not enough for her to get Stealth, as the times that she concealed herself from strong beings was very little, in reality.

However, this being fulfilled everything necessary, and gained the Skill, quickly leveling it up as it put its mind and soul into the task of not being noticed.

To the point that it managed to survive, and the two threats that had done so much to him, were momentarily gone from the Dungeon.

"I… Survived!"

The voice of a corrupt Lich resonated within his own mind, as it was the voice of himself, of course, of his former body, the Necromancer.

"Did those two really thought that I would have died so easily?! Did those two really thought that it would be the end of me?! Delusional children, they're a few thousands of years later if they want to outsmart me!"

The Necromancer, the reincarnation of a part of the mind of the Demon God-King, had somehow survived the enormous onslaught of attacks against him, although incredibly weakened, he survived.

"…Although I lost a lot, more than I had previsioned…"

The overwhelming power and might that Ervas and Veronica had showcased greatly bypassed any of the Necromancer's expectations, however, he used the opportunities given to him to survive, even the opportunities that cost him most of his power.

"By detaching my own fragments from my soul, I've managed to make them believe they defeated me… Of course, when they split my soul in half, they only caught one of the ones that were split and converted into a glass-like ethereal material… I was the one that seeped into the ground and survived! Though my power is almost gone, and my sense of self is slowly drifting away, as the Fragments that made me myself are gone. What remains of me is but the last of my mind, which was already greatly weakened by those Mental Attacks…"

When Ervas and Veronica split the soul of the Necromancer in half through their strongest spell, the one made by the combination of all of their allies and their Soul Break Skill, the soul became two identic entities… Ironically enough, remarkably similar to how they were created.

The strongest and largest split soul, containing the two fragments of Anir and Kelsus, or the Demon God-King, was the one caught by Ervas and Veronica and then eaten, while the other, smaller, and weaker one, seeped into the ground as stealthily as possible, remaining underground for the rest of the fight, putting all of its energy on its own concealment.

"As long as I have will to survive… I can keep going, even if I lose myself in the process… Even without my original fragments, their essence, and the byproducts of them remain and make me most of my existence… I must regain my power by catching Dead Spirits and Negative Emotions… Or, by parasitizing a host soul, devour it, and take over their fresh and living body! But where? This is the dungeon where I was, there is no suitable vessel… I must escape for now!" said the Necromancer, surging outside of the underground as a floating phantom made out of blue flames and black ooze mixed, with his phantom face resembling a skull.

He checked his surroundings and found no living being nor unliving being, flying around as fast as possible while using his Stealth Skill, and moving towards a special area within the Dungeon that Ervas and Veronica had yet to explore.

"This chamber is where I was supposed to escape into through the graveyards I set inside my fortress, but because my souls were paralyzed through the mind attack, I was not able to move or escape, falling into the destiny of that fight… Hateful…" thought the Necromancer, flying inside of the large chamber, where he found another accursed graveyard, which would teleport him into a faraway place, near the Aquaria Kingdom.

However, there were a few things here that he would have grabbed if he had the opportunity to fulfill his escape as he had wanted.

"Here…!" said the Necromancer, moving towards a large capsule made out of glass, where a giant sphere of darkness remained, hitting it with all of his might, he opened the capsule, as the darkness sphere leaked out, vibrating.

The Necromancer smiled, devouring it entirely.

"A small meal, but it will me get through these difficult times ahead of me…" thought the Necromancer, as melancholy took a bit of himself. Although he survived, the losses were way too many, he was pretty much sent back to the lowest position in the food chain.

Not even when he was merely made out of Fragments was he so weak, this was very embarrassing for someone as grand as himself, the reincarnation of the Demon God-King.

"I must not falter, as my purpose is greatness. There isn't anything more delightful than raise once more from nothing to the strongest…!" thought the Necromancer.

Content with his meal, he glanced at the next item, magical accessories, and equipment, for him to be well equipped when he was to escape.

Now, without a body, he cannot wield any of this properly, but he opted for saving it inside of his soul, through the Death Attribute Magic Spell named 'Soul Pocket'.

Soul Pocket was a Spell that the Demon God King had invented, using his abnormal soul, he created a space inside of it, which he named a 'pocket', where a certain amount of items could be stored and isolated from the outside world.

Glancing at the graves, the Necromancer quickly flew there, disappearing from the dungeon, while leaving a small curse within the graveyards, which made them collapse, leaving no way to follow him wherever he went. 

Flash!

The Necromancer appeared in the middle of a small forest, where he had left such graveyard long ago, hidden within many trees and natural rock formations.

"I am here…" he thought, destroying the graveyard with a slap of his soul, and flying through the wind, glancing at the scenery.

He suddenly felt the presence of small animals going around peacefully, horned rabbits, demon rats, birds, and even a large demon boar were living in this forest peacefully.

"Not as outstanding as the souls of people, but a good enough meal for a miserable being as me…" thought the Necromancer, slaying the creatures one by one as if he were the personification of a reaper, reaping the souls out of the bodies of the animals and monsters and adding them one by one inside of his soul through Dead Spirit Fusion.

Feeling slightly stronger, the Necromancer sighed in relief, after a few minutes, he had defeated most of the animal and monster living in the tiny forest, but what remained were still those souls of the plants, which he had ignored, as the change in the landscape of this place whenever the plants died could be easily noticed by the humans in Aquaria.

"However, wouldn't that be a good event to befall? If I change the landscape, many delicious human souls will come to me… Hehe…" laughed the Necromancer with a malicious grin, as he slowly began to drain out the life and souls of the plants of the tiny forest, until what remained of it was a dried-out wasteland.

Quickly flying to his next victims, another small forest within the surrounding landscape of the Aquaria Kingdom, he drained the souls and life out of anything that did not pose much of a threat to him, and as more Dead Spirits he fused himself with, more power began to slowly build within him.

He mercilessly devoured the lives of anything within his sight, not even the trees or the glass itself were safe from his constant absorption.

After having taken over another smaller forest, the Necromancer felt that he had built a bit more power, glancing at the density of his soul and the dead spirits inside, which were all wailing and crying, feeding him with negative emotions.

"Even without my fragments, it seems that the powers I once have to remain as Skills through this System… Although they are weakened now, as long as I level them up like this, I can continue strengthening myself! I don't even need my old fragments, I can simply rebuild myself anew, as a new being!"

"This power is quite enough… Should I build a small army or wait…?" wondered the Necromancer, with a cunning grin.

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