Chapter 124

Chapter 124

I think I prefer your zombies to the possessed creatures we were fighting out there, Rhea said when we reached the forge floor.

As wed traveled down the ziggurat, I had explained what the fighting had been like, and she said theyd encountered some of the same creatures out in the camp.

At least my zombies are good honest undead, I chuckled. Not some weird combination of other universal magic and a dead body.

Friar Brown and Vito, who never ventured far from the friar, were inspecting the forge. They had been for several minutes, and finally Friar Brown came back. You did an excellent job in repurposing this forge. You are right, there is no way it can ever be returned. Have you been able to use it?

We have. In fact, Ive found something out that I should tell you before we ventured deeper. I explained the history of Mercy. At first Friar Brown looked angry, but when he let me finish explaining, and I handed him the book from the soul weaver, he nodded.

I told you if it turned out that weapon of yours was one of those living blood weapons, I would be forced to destroy it. But it appears that whoever this soul weaver was, was very skilled and repurposed it. I see no need for its destruction now.

I sighed in relief. Then let us continue deeper. Most of the text down there is in a different language, but we have a translation dictionary.

Worry not, I can read that accursed language, Friar Brown assured me.

I was worried that on the archive floor it would take Friar Brown a long time to sift through the information. But it didnt. He knew exactly what he was searching for and even had a spell that helped him search for it. The number of times I remember being lost in libraries trying to find a book made me very envious of that spell. Unfortunately, he did find the information we had been worried was here. A single black book covered in bloodred runes.

This means we need to make sure this place is very well guarded, Friar Brown said.

I glanced at Vito. I wonder if he can help? Vito looked at me in confusion for a moment, then to Friar Brown in understanding. The vampire glared at the friar, but that didnt stop me.

Help with what? Friar Brown asked.

Let me show you the next floor, and then we can have that discussion, I said, leading the way to the next set of stairs.

***

I do have to say this is probably one of the only times Ive ever worked with a holy man in creating a super duper powerful undead monster, Damien said, his voice emanating from the body of a zombie.

Friar Brown had known a way to bring the mental assistant onto this plane, at least for a temporary time. Vito had been working on something, but hed lacked all the required ingredients.

This will be a first for me as well, Friar Brown said. On top of that, were working with the skeletal remains of the Nephelium, whatever we create would be a real monster for sure.

And youre okay with that? Vito asked skeptically.

Of course, Friar Brown shrugged. Rhea may not understand Rhea had left with Raven, Maxwell, and Tyler, not wanting any part of what was about to happen. But truth be told, in reality, purity is not as traditionally good as one might think. Like I told Ezekiel long ago, pure black is just as pure as pure white.

Were going to leave philosophical discussions about the morality of your souls for later, Damien interjected. I dont have a lot of time in this body after all.

How do we create a monster powerful enough to protect this dungeon without it being strong enough to break from my control? I asked Damien.

Well, judging by the power of this fellow, Damien indicated Friar Brown with a nod, and the power of the individual that grabbed you, who was likely in the high-level 100s, probably right up against the second soul compression, I would say to be safe you should have a creature at least in the 200 range.

What? I was completely floored. There is no way I can maintain control over that.

Normally I would agree, but you have a lot of things going for you. Damien shrugged.

There is no way Ezekiel can create that, Vito shook his head.

You would be right, normally, Damien laughed. But you have me helping you. I may not bring to bear much power, but with my skill and access to the power between the three of you, there should be no problem. Though the friars power is going to be trickier to work with.

I am not sure level 200 will be enough in the long run, Friar Brown said. As far as my power goes, if I can provide you pure dark mana, can you use it yourself?

I get to use you like a mana battery? Damiens zombie tried to smile, and we all winced as part of the cheek fell off. That would work great. It might not be much to work with, but it will be enough. As far as levels go, dont worry about that. Were going to bind this creature to Ezekiel through the dungeon. That will both strengthen his control over it and allow it to continue to grow in strength based on Ezekiels own level.

How will Ezekiel prevent it from breaking free of his control? Vito asked. It will be nearly twice his level, and the difference between level 100 and level 101 alone is big as far as power goes.

That is where you come in, Damien said. You and Ezekiel have a fairly profound bond, through that bond, I am going to make sure this creature knows that you would support Ezekiel if it ever tried to rebel. That should be enough to prevent it from ever trying, at least until Ezekiel is more powerful than it.

Wait, if it levels at the same speed as I level, how will that happen? It will start out quite a bit ahead of me? I asked.

Were bending the rules a little bit with this one, Damien said. Normally dungeon bosses under the control of a master must be weaker, thats just how it works. What were doing is simply saying that Ezekiel managed to somehow suppress a super powerful monster with the help of an ally to take control of the dungeon. This likely would never actually happen in a real scenario, but its the scenario that were telling the dungeon is going on. So as time passes, Ezekiel will level significantly faster in comparison to this creature. However, once he passes its level it will begin to level at a regular rate.

Vito nodded. Damien, just who are you? You are a master necromancer, clearly, you have huge amounts of experience with controlling dungeons, and you discuss the power Friar Brown and I have like its nothing.

Damien smiled, and his jaw fell off this timethankfully his voice wasnt coming from the mouth, a zombie body was just not meant for this kind of power. I dont know whether or not you would know me, I dont know which habitable section were in, and I died a long time ago, so a lot of things have changed. Tell me, does the dead continent still exist? If this is even the right section.

This is the right section, Friar Brown said. It does still exist, though it is not anywhere near us.

Good to know. Damien could no longer try to smile, but the one eye that wasnt completely burst seemed to sparkle. I wondered how long my creation would last. That brings back some really fond memories. Good times.

I dont believe you, Vito said flatly. Theres no way youre the one who created the dead continent, that necromancer became a god.

Y/N

I selected Yes. Then from another menu that was hugely long, I removed all of Ravens pets and our mounts from the dungeon. Finalizing it, I closed out and I felt the shift. My body weakened, having lost the benefits of being a dungeon boss, and my sense of the dungeon all but vanished. All I could feel was a faint and distant connection to the forge and the heart contained within.

Kellnock turned to his forge and stood in front of it. I was certain he was acclimatizing his body and his senses to that of the dungeon.

Lets go, I said. I felt a visitor up above before I handed over control. I dont think they are hostile.

The three of us made our way up to the harbor floor where I found Raven, Maxwell, and Rhea talking with a dark skinned man I didnt know dressed in loose fitting, colorful robes.

Who is this? I asked.

He sailed in on that boat, Raven said gesturing to a boat dock at a pier. He said hes part of the order and was sent here to meet you by Ekwin.

Really? I asked, eyeing the man. I didnt get a sense from him that he was powerful. What does the Order of Equinox need?

You know, if you just bothered to read that book he gave you, I wouldnt have had to come here. The man spoke in a clipped, fairly annoyed tone. He wasnt weak, I knew that, there was no way he couldve entered the harbor if he was.

I feel like you will have much to discuss, and I need to go out and tend to the camp, Friar Brown said.

Hold up there, Friar, the man from the order said. My name is Elias, and since I was being sent here anyways, I have a message for you. Ekwin says the Pantheon knows and it will not interfere.

Truly? Friar Brown, his lost expression growing even more so.

Does that mean what I think it means? Rhea asked.

It means war, Friar Brown sighed. It means civil war.

Unfortunately, youre probably right, Elias said.

And what is needed of me? I asked. I had benefited greatly from my membership in the order, but had never done much to fill whatever role I was supposed to.

The order does not work that way, Elias said. Ekwin chooses his members carefully. If you have been chosen personally by him, then your judgment is trusted until it is proven otherwise.

Then why are you here? I asked again.

Elias glared at me. To tell you two things. One is to read that goddamn book. I sheepishly looked at my storage bag, I had kind of forgotten the book existed. And second is to let you know that if you walk down Vindications Path, the order will support you. After all, struggles like yours are why we exist.

Friar Brown and Rhea were looking at me in question. I already knew what I was going to do, and glanced between Vito, Maxwell, and Raven. Im going to need an army.

A smile split Vitos face. Ah, yes! Back to the good old days of world domination. I already know where to start, my lord. In fact, I have a whole plan.

I groaned as I felt Rhea glaring at me, though Friar Brown laughed. Rhea, cheer up. Our job just became easier, we now have an ally.

Yes, an ally whos going to destroy half the country in the process and turn it into some kind of undead abomination, Rhea growled.

Hey, I resemble those remarks, I said with a smile. World domination is quite fun.

***

Where did you get the army? Marissa asked as the carriage they were riding pulled into a small town.

Be patient, that part of the story will come in time, Ezekiel said, hopping down from the carriage once it pulled to a stop near a stable. He held out a hand to help Marissa down. No illusions here. You need to get comfortable with what you are. This town is full of odd folk anyways, so you wont stand out.

Marissa grimaced but she let the illusion fade, and no sooner did she notice that he was right. Just in the few moments theyd been there, she already saw one person that was clearly a living dead opening a shop.

As they strolled through the small town, Marissa saw more and more people. Many were living dead, some demons, and more were of types she had never seen before. There was a surprising number of adventurers, players, and NPCs alike, all of them quite strong.

Why so many adventurers? Marissa asked.

This is the nearest town to the edge of the Uncharted, Ezekiel explained. When Damien created the dead continent, he protected large chunks of the habitable section from the Uncharted. I dont believe that was his intention, but he did. I elected to do the same in a different region.

I didnt realize people were strong enough to go out there, Marissa said.

They often arent. Many of these groups are designed, not for engaging, but escaping. The Uncharted is full of all sorts of valuable resources if you can survive. What people dont realize is how large the step up in difficulty is between what you can encounter in the civilized lands and whats out there. But thats not what you should be thinking about. Theres an important thing in my story you shouldve picked up on.

Marissa thought about it. The only thing that springs to mind is what you just told me about with this Vindications Path, but Im not certain what you mean.

Thats it exactly. Vindication of something is the clearing of blame or the justification of something, Ezekiel said. I just want to make sure you heard that, I understand it might not yet make sense without the context, but it is important nonetheless. He gestured where people were gathering at the town square. Lets enjoy this day, its their feast day, where hunters show off the greatest kills over the last year.

Marissa continued to think about Ezekiels comment on vindication. If this was the second big point, and the first one was redemptions cost What would the third be? She thought she might know, or at least have an idea.

Her thoughts were interrupted the closer they came to the town square, and she became fully distracted as the celebrations got underway.