Chapter 118

Chapter 118

Pointing to the corpses of orcs filled with the aura of darkness, he offered a prayer.

“Hatoba, with your light, let the hidden truth be revealed.”

The holy light enveloped the corpses and conveyed an image to Alius.

It was a variety of information left behind by traces of necromancy.

“It’s certain. These orcs were being controlled by a necromancer. And the identity of that person is...”

His expression suddenly became strange.

“...a really, really scary person?”

At the very least, it was certain that the Stone Orcs were calling him that.

“Whether it’s the necromancer’s terrible naming sense or the orcs’ poor vocabulary, I can’t tell.”

Baros nodded in agreement.

“Usually, it’s the latter, but the necromancer’s naming sense is as bad as the orcs’ vocabulary.”

Karnak shot Baros a glance.

Baros feigned ignorance as if he hadn’t said anything wrong.

In any case, the necromancer’s title wasn’t important right now.

What mattered was where he was.

Alius continued shining the holy light, concentrating the darkness into a single point.

The condensed darkness wriggled out of the orcs’ corpses like a caterpillar and began to squirm.

Quickly, the darkness was sealed inside a small glass bottle, and he offered another prayer.

“Under the guidance of the earth, the darkness is led into the light...”

The darkness trapped in the bottle thrashed violently as if trying to go somewhere, constantly pushing towards one side of the bottle.

“The tracking spell was successful.”

Alius nodded in satisfaction.

Wherever this slimy darkness pointed, the necromancer who had controlled the Stone Orcs would be there.

That meant their next step was clear.

“Let’s eat first.”

No one laughed; they all took it seriously.

Serati and Baros looked around.

“Where should we eat? Lunch?”

“There are a lot of corpses, so let’s move for now.”

It wasn’t a joke.

Timing your meals correctly was one of the most important things in the field.

What would happen if you suddenly needed to relieve yourself just before a battle?

They moved to a suitable spot, sat down, and unpacked their lunch. It was vegetable bread and grilled sausages, prepared at the innkeeper’s request.

Munch munch, chomp chomp.

“Oh, this place grills sausages well.”

“Lord Karnak, could you pass me some sauce?”

“Ah, here it is, Laficel.”

“Thank you!”

Serati watched the scene with a renewed gaze.

The hero of humanity, who had sacrificed everything to save the world, and the former Death King who had once tortured her, tearing her into three pieces, were now having a pleasant conversation with warm expressions.

‘Come to think of it, they shouldn’t really be getting along so well...’

They all filled their stomachs heartily.

With this, their digestion should proceed smoothly as they pursued the necromancer’s trail.

By the time they encountered their target, they’d be in peak fighting condition.

Standing up, Alius took out the glass bottle.

“Then, let’s begin the pursuit.”

***

The darkness inside the bottle writhed, constantly extending in one direction.

Every time it did, Karnak’s group dashed in the direction it pointed.

In truth, running in a single direction through a deep forest without paying attention to the terrain was extremely dangerous.

Especially in a place like Gallant Mountain, where the landscape was treacherous.

You never knew what kind of terrain awaited you.

How many times had they encountered valleys too deep to descend or hills too steep to climb when they had pressed forward thoughtlessly?

Well, that is, if you were an ordinary person with average physical abilities.

“It’s a valley.”

“Just jump down.”

“It’s a hill.”

“Just jump up.”

“We’ve got thick bushes ahead.”

“Just cut through them.”

Even the lowest-level aura users like the Red Knights could perform a standing jump of nearly 3 meters.

At this very necromancer-like declaration, Karnak responded indifferently with a mental message to Serati.

[Just to be clear, Serati.]

[Yes?]

[I’ve never said a line like that.]

[...Who said you did?]

More than ten wraiths floated among the snow-covered branches, like drifting shadows.

Being able to summon that many wraiths was a testament to the necromancer’s considerable skill.

He was no amateur who had accidentally stumbled upon the Darkness of Doom and haphazardly gained power. He had clearly mastered necromancy.

He was probably on the same level as Cleo, the necromancer they had encountered in Gelpa Village when they first met Alius.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The summoned wraiths were quickly smashed apart by Baros’s aura-infused sword, bursting like bubbles.

It wasn’t even particularly refined swordsmanship. He was just swatting them down like flies.

“If you can use aura, this much is nothing...”

At Cleo’s level, this necromancer posed no threat to Baros.

Serati, too, was at ease.

Even though she often got scolded by this group, she had made a name for herself as the strongest Darkness Hunter in the northern regions of the Yustil Kingdom.

On top of that, she had gained much more experience and improved her skills since then.

“He’s not that strong.”

There was no need for Karnak or Alius to step in.

Baros and Serati alone were enough to slash through the wraiths like fresh fish being fileted.

SCREEEEEECH!

In no time, all the summoned wraiths had been wiped out.

“Y-You bastards!”

The enraged necromancer trembled and gathered his strength once more.

“I’ll show you the true power of darkness!”

Once again, a dozen or so wraiths were summoned.

It seemed to be the strongest necromantic spell in his arsenal. The same wraiths that had just been swatted away like flies.

Alius smiled awkwardly.

‘This is the first time I’ve ever felt sorry for a necromancer.’

As Alius scratched his cheek, he glanced to the side and noticed a silver-haired girl with sparkling eyes.

“Laficel.”

“Yes?”

“Want to give it a try?”

“Yes!”

Alius placed a finger on Laficel’s longsword.

Her blade began to glow faintly as he cast a holy spell on it, allowing her to strike the wraiths.

‘With Sir Baros and Dame Serati here, there shouldn’t be any danger even though she’s still a child.’

The girl had remarkable talent. She could probably handle at least one or two wraiths, right?

Just as he was thinking this, Laficel sprang forward, launching herself off the ground.

“Hah!”

At the same time, her figure suddenly split into five.

Each version of her slashed at a different wraith, leaving streaks of sword light in the air like blooming flowers.

Flash!

Without even time to scream, the wraiths vanished, all of them destroyed.

Laficel sheathed her sword and beamed.

“I took care of them all!”

The necromancer’s eyes widened in disbelief.

He couldn’t understand what had just happened.

Alius, too, was confused.

There had just been a bright flash, and then all the wraiths were gone?

“...What did Laficel just do?”

Serati hesitated, unsure how to respond. She didn’t know either.

“It’s... a family secret technique.”

In any case, the necromancer had been completely neutralized.

Summoning over twenty wraiths had been an incredible feat, one that must have drained his necromantic power.

It just didn’t look like much because they had been effortlessly cut down.

“Ugh... ugh...”

The terrified necromancer stumbled backward, only to bump into something.

Baros was already standing behind him.

“Hey, there.”

He placed a hand on the necromancer’s shoulder and asked gently.

“By any chance, do you know someone named Hudel?”

It certainly didn’t sound gentle from the necromancer’s point of view.