Chapter 60 Arc 2 - Still Need A Catalyst

Erath watched Lucas take off into the sky and contemplated why the angel brought the dead bodies and severed heads. He studied them for a few moments, then shifted his stare up to the horizon, reflecting if it had been a mistake to inform Lucas about necromancy. When he swiveled around, he focused on the corpses and heads sprawled at his feet. "He's planning to test it out in my home?" Erath sighed.

"Angels are always up to no good," said Erath, shaking his head. His stomach growled, and he muttered. "The way I see it is this: if he is going to experiment here, he could at least bring me something to eat." he picked his teeth with a claw and added. "One-horned bull would be nice."

"What are you dreaming about?" he heard a voice above him.

He raised his gaze and saw Lucas with an armful of body parts, the heads of his victims hanging limply like fruit. He fixed Lucas with a curious glare and asked, "You sure are hungry, aren't you?" Then Lucas flung the remains to the ground. Heads shattered like porcelain on the hard stone, and dismemberments scuttled away like maimed spiders. With a mischievous smirk, Lucas announced, "You can snack on these if you're still hungry!~" and plummeted from the sky onto the mountain.

"Oh, come on," Erath groaned in disgust, "I don't eat humans."

"I know. I know." Lucas chuckled and said. "That's why I knew I could bring them here. I knew you wouldn't chew on my test subjects." Lucas said as he stretched his legs and walked to the remains. He carefully placed the new body parts and heads on the ground so they wouldn't roll away. Then he glanced at Erath. "How do I do it?" he asked.

"You still need a catalyst" Erath was surprised by Lucas' question. "No offense, but without it, their bodies would explode."

"Mhm... Then what can I use as a catalyst?" Lucas asked.

Erath shrugged and scratched his stubbled chin. "Well, a powerful magic stone would usually work," he said. He paused when he noticed that Lucas was scowling at him with an empty expression and nervously cleared his throat. "But with your corrosive mana," he trailed off, suddenly aware of the uncomfortable stillness in the air. He swallowed before continuing, "You need something from hell."

"Hell? Like a demon's blood or something?" Lucas blinked slowly and moved his head from side to side, his brain working hard to process the dragon's words. He knit his eyebrows together, shook his head, and began pacing around the small chamber, muttering under his breath as he tried to piece together the puzzle.

He stopped in front of the dragon, eyes wide and mouth opened slightly in question as he asked for greater clarification. "Or do you mean some sort of specific object? Stone from hell? The stone that absorbed lots of hell's mana?" Lucas thought aloud as he walked in circles. Then he glanced at the dragon with a raised brow.

"You know you need to be more specific."

"To be fair, demonic blood would work." Erath chuckled. "But for someone as powerful as you, it would require the blood of a really powerful demon."

"Yeah..." Lucas nodded in confirmation. He thought for a moment before asking, "How about the demon king's blood?"

The dragon was taken aback by the recollection of the three demon kings that lived in Lightburn. He quickly recalled that Lucas had a good relationship with one of them. He nodded in confirmation as he spoke. "That would work. But that's a short-term solution."

Lucas awkwardly chuckled as he said, "It... would require lots of blood... Right?"

"Whoa. You know a lot." A dragon couldn't help but be surprised at Lucas's insight. "Yes, you'd have to feed your undead the demon king's blood daily to keep it active. Massive amounts of blood."

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, his eyes going distant for a moment. "Yes," he said at last, his voice low, "A necromantic donation would weaken undead creatures and demons, but it wouldn't be enough to kill them outright…."

"Makes sense." Erath scratched the back of his head, eyes wide in wonder. He had to admit that Lucas knew a lot about magic and demons, so he wondered if Lucas's former world had highly advanced magic or if Lucas was simply perceptive. "Your old world must have been pretty advanced in the magic department, right? Did they not have necromancy there?"

"My old world? You mean Earth?" Lucas chuckled at the dragon's assumption. "My old world had no magic." He paused, his eyes narrowed as he recalled his previous life. "We were simple creatures with simple dreams and simple lives. We used weapons and wits to fight and kill our enemies." He looked at Erath with a hint of sadness in his eyes and whispered. "Nothing fancy."

Erath's gaze softened as, for the first time, he realized the depth of emotion in Lucas's eyes, a deep red that never seemed to show anything more than anger or a false sense of joy. Then, at that moment, he thought he saw something more like a glimpse of sorrow, which made him wonder. 'Is this the real Lucas?' He decided to ask an important question.

Erath asked cautiously, "Do you want to go back there?" He quickly shook his head, embarrassed for the asking. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. You seem to feel different when speaking about Earth." then he awkwardly chuckled, "Earth... What a funny name."

Lucas was silent for an extended period of time before he answered. His voice held a hint of loneliness. "No, I don't miss my old life," he began but then thought of all the joy he had experienced as a child. "But I do have some nice memories."

Lucas was silent for an extended period of time before he answered. His voice held a hint of loneliness. "No, I don't miss my old life," he began but then thought of all the joy he had experienced as a child. "But I do have some nice memories."

He thought about his childhood and remembered how Lilith had called to him over the back wall of the garden to play catch with her. He laughed as he recalled how serious she had been as she bowled him over with a tree branch and how red he was when he was forced to wear one of the outfits she picked out for him. A grin curved his lips as he thought about when she invited him to the cinema. He remembered how his heart thudded in his chest as he watched the movie, hand in hand with her, for the first time.

"Memories?" Erath questioned, wondering where the conversation was heading."Want to talk about them?"

"Yeah. Memories of me burning people alive. Fighting people barehanded, and ripping eyes from eye sockets." Lucas smiled softly and said, "Ahhh. Those were good times." he said with a blush and a smile on his face.