Chapter 213

Chapter 213

[Translator – Clara]

[Proofreader – Lucky]

Chapter 213 Night of the festival (8)

...Boeong!

Loud fireworks resounded, echoing through the night. A festival adorned the night sky with colorful fireworks, while rhythmic music vibrated the ground. Dancers, adorned as Corpses and zombies, passionately performed on stage.

This was Venetior’s renowned spectacle.

A festival where people from both inside and outside the academy mingled, rolling their feet in excitement, cheering for the lively concert. And right in front of the newspaper club’s pub, something peculiar was happening.

* * *

The Corpse Queen tucked her hand into her chest and then suddenly thrust it out.

Thud! Thud, thud, thud!

From within her black cloak, numerous bone fragments sprang out, scattering across the ground.

Tsutsutsu...

Simultaneously, the black mana emanating from the Corpse Queen’s body embraced each bone fragment.

Sprouting. Wicked roots and ominous shoots sprouted from the seed of bones.

Wooden sounds! Sounds that are gentle! Magic circles appeared on the ground where the bone fragments collided, and soon skeletal soldiers appeared.

[Skeleton]

Danger Level: C

Size: 1.7m

Discovery: Across the continent

– Also known as the ‘One with the Bones.’

A common, mundane skeleron found everywhere, from graveyards and battlefields to abandoned houses and sewers. In rural areas or underdeveloped cities, they are as frequent as mice.

Skeleton Soldier. The most basic form among undead.

With just one bone fragment, it can be used as a seed to grow roots and shoots from a magical circle, from which any number of skeletons can be extracted.

It is much easier to transport than the zombies, which can be summoned using flesh, or the ghosts, which can be summoned using a strand of soul.

Even when dried for jerky, flesh will decay and disappear, and the soul will evaporate even if well sealed in a glass bottle. A high-ranking black magician who has reached a certain level, on the other hand, can mass-produce skeleton soldiers with small bone fragments close to dust.

Tara-Rak! Baga-gak!

Seeing the skeleton soldiers rising from the ground, Bianca and Sinclaire’s expressions stiffened.

They were elites of the academy, and they could not overlook the ominous mana waves.

“Undead soldiers? Here?”

The two students were stunned. The woman with the skull mask in front of them was undoubtedly a Black Mage.

Either an ignorant novice who doesn’t know how terrifying it is to violate the prohibition against strict control of dark magic in the empire, or... an absolute powerhouse who can defy the prohibition even if they know it.

However, judging by the robust bone monsters before them, it was overwhelmingly more likely to be the latter.

“Where did these monsters come from? Could that woman be ‘Night Hound’ or something?”

“That’s not important! We need to call the professors right away!”

Bianca and Sinclaire couldn’t even muster the courage to confront the overwhelming darkness mana before their eyes.

At that moment,

“Wow! The performance is starting!”

“Awesome! The real performance is amazing!”

“Huh? But what’s going on behind the concert?”

Meanwhile, the Corpse Queen was well aware that the Night Hound who appeared before her was a forgery from the start.

She also noticed that Dolores was the owner of the previously mentioned girl’s dormitory room.

With a growl, the Corpse Queen inquired,

[Where did you take Night Hound?]

“...What?”

Dolores furrowed her brow in response.

Night Hound? Even Dolores was curious about where he was.

But the woman in the skull mask in front of her was almost treating it as a given that Dolores knew Night Hound’s whereabouts.

[We found traces of the Night Hound in your room. It’s on my way to confirm it again.]

Dolores’s expression hardened at her words.

‘I’ve never had anyone enter my room.’

Dolores, who values her privacy, ensures that no one enters her personal space.

She even repairs furniture and facilities herself when they break.

This was true whether she was at the Quovadis clan or at the academy dormitory.

Dolores couldn’t understand why her enemy was making such an absurd misunderstanding, but she judged that it wasn’t the most important thing right now.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it doesn’t seem like you’re looking for him with good intentions. If you’re not an Imperial Army sorcerer, then you’re an enemy! In that case, I can’t tell you anything.”

[...Him? What’s your relationship with him?]

The Corpse Queen sharply asked.

After a moment of hesitation, Dolores replied,

“H-He’s my soulmate.”

And then,

...Crash!

The Corpse Queen, hearing Dolores’s answer, exploded with energy.

[Really? Then I’ll tear that soul apart and turn it into a plague!]

Even the Corpse Queen herself couldn’t fathom the intense anger bubbling up in the dark mana.

Bursting flames, resonating music shaking the ground, a night of burning passion in the midst of a party where everyone is ecstatic.

In the midst of it all, a witch and a saint sharply confront each other.

...And then,

“Enough.”

A voice intervened in the tense standoff between the two women.

A deep, low voice that scratched the vocal cords like iron.

“...!”

“...!”

Startled by the appearance of a new figure, both the Corpse Queen and Dolores took a step back.

A man wearing a black cloak, wrapping his entire body, with a plague doctor raven mask.

Vikir.

It was the moment the genuine Night Hound appeared.

[Translator – Clara]

[Proofreader – Lucky]