Chapter Volume 2, 16: Deadman Walking’s Parade?

Volume 2, Chapter 16: Deadman Walking’s Parade①

A few nights passed since Lambert visited Earl Mondo’s mansion along with the 『Dancing Sword』’s members.

A group composed of 10 people wearing long robes that touched the ground was walking in the slums of Barreira City.

They looked around before entering a certain abandoned building, and then went even further down into its basement.

They walked down a long staircase, and then opened the metal door at the end of those stairs.

There, beyond that door, was a room, with an elderly man sitting in the chair.

He was an extremely emaciated old man with pale skin.

His eyes were always opened narrowly like crescent moons, and his bald head was so long that it could only be described as bizarre.

By his side stood a big man clad in robes.

That big man was so tall that his head almost touched the ceiling of that room.

He stood tall beside the elderly man without moving.

The face that peeked out from below his robe was covered in bandages, without letting any gap to show his skin.

There were several corpses nailed to the wall of that room.

There were corpses whose abdomens had already torn open and internal organs taken out, those whose hands had been plucked out from the base, and many others in various tragic states.

Laid on top of the desk in front of the elderly man was a human head with the top half of its cranium lopped off, exposing the still-fresh brain matter in it.

Several needles were stabbed into that brain, changing its color to a poisonous green.

「Yohohoho, have you finished your job?」

The elderly man turned around while letting out such ominous laughter.

Another tall man who led the group of people fell on his knee, bowing his head to the elderly man.

The group of robed men behind him followed along, falling on their knees and bowing toward the elderly man.

「Reporting to one of the Eight Wisemen, Manzi-sama! We’ve completed our investigation about the power of the adventurers in the western district of Barreira City. We find no issue with them.」

「I zee, I zee. Hohohohohoho…」

The highest authority in 『Devil’s Piper』, the revolutionary sorcery organization, was held by eight people called the “Eight Wisemen.”

One of them was the necromancer Manzi.

Although the majority of the Eight Wisemen were moving behind the scenes, Manzi was especially famous in Regios Kingdom due to his numerous atrocities across the kingdom.

A normal necromancer was normally limited to controlling five dead men walking at the same time.

But due to his immense amount of mana, Manzi was a lunatic who stood on a whole different level compared to other necromancers.

Manzi was strong enough to manipulate five hundred dead men by himself at once.

Although it came with a downside, namely the decrease of the deads’ combat capabilities. However, the number alone was enough to give a proper army a run for their money.

Even amongst the other Eight Wisemen of 『Devil’s Piper』, who each excelled in their own forbidden magic, no one could match Manzi when it came to numbers.

Manzi himself was feared within Regios Kingdom due to the sheer damage and atrocities caused by him, which also gave him a moniker, “The Worst Sorcerer.”

Manzi was originally born in a noble family in Regios Kingdom.

But he was somehow born with his bizarre-looking head.

His ugly head swelled up like a tumor.

There was even a rumor which said that people who witnessed his birth fainted upon seeing his ugly figure.

Thus, he was hidden inside the basement as soon as he was born, away from the public gaze.

Manzi received training even though he was locked up inside the basement.

But then, that training became the source of disaster.

In his childhood, Manzi slaughtered the young magician who came to teach him with magic that he used for the first time.

And yet, Manzi’s mother, who noticed her son’s talent in magic, became delighted instead.

She was really delighted upon finding that Manzi, who has been staying in the basement ever since his birth, had a redeeming feature.

It was a distorted love of a mother for her son.

Manzi’s parents hid this matter by using their position and kept inviting one sorcerer after another.

And then, whether his lecturer, the kids invited to be his playmate, or an employee, all of them were killed by Manzi.

Finally, his interest shifted toward necromancy after numerous murders with magic.

He began to dissect the ones he killed, testing out the forbidden magic.

Then came the fateful day—Manzi slaughtered his parents, the soldiers, and every single employee in his parent’s mansion.

He killed anyone who witnessed that massacre, turning them into undead. And so the cycle continued.

Whether it was a sorcerer or a soldier in that mansion, none of them could defeat Manzi.

Surrounded by undead, Manzi then left that mansion as if he was taking a stroll with a crooked smile on his face and a loud clap as if to celebrate that moment.

At that time, Manzi was only 10 years old.

And now, Manzi—whose age has surpassed 70—had become even more terrifying in both magic and necromancy thanks to his long years of inhuman experimentation. He was about to invade Barreira City.

It was unclear whether his mana had declined, even after moving so many undead to this city.

His real ability and threat level couldn’t be measured anymore.

「Combining the reports from the other scouts, we’re ready to commence our plan immediately. Destroying Barreira City, a place where many strong adventurers gather together, will undoubtedly chip away at Regios Kingdom war potential… and bring us closer to our goal.」

「Yohohoho… such a thing is trivial.」

Manzi’s expression distorted, forming a creepy smile as he said those words.

「… Pardon?」

「I want to see… this city covered with undead… AAAH, that would be magnificent scenery… Don’t you think so? Aah, why hasn’t the other scout returned yet… The truth is, what happens to this city, or 『Devil’s Piper』, is trivial to me. I just want to dissect those corpses, that mountain of corpses. Yohohohohohohoho. I will enjoy this… to the fullest…」

Manzi, who became excited, ended up ransacking the skull on top of the desk in front of him, stabbing the needles in his hand repeatedly into that skull’s brain.

Each stab was accompanied with the splatting sound of someone hitting the surface of the water.

「…」

Even Manzi’s subordinate, the man in robes, shuddered, flinching back upon hearing his superior’s madness.