Chapter 144 - Undead

'I'm coming for you, you bastard.'

As Rynold kept running, he couldn't help but notice what had happened to the castle.

Even if there were no people around the hallways, the damage that the structure had incurred made it hard not to look at.

If Rynold hadn't known any better, he'd practically flag the building for structural collapse.

Regardless, though, he mosied on down the trail of destruction. A great deal of his heart was holding out for hope. Hope in which he would be able to stop the Duke before things become irreversible.

Turning a sharp corner, Rynold soon found himself in the hallway that led to the throne room. What made Rynold think that was the number of corpses lying on the floor.

The corpses wore armor that appeared to be severely damaged. They also carried weapons that had rusted by several degrees. The sight of which made the blacksmith in Rynold ache.

Still, that wasn't the worst of it.

The corpses looked withered, significantly so. From the looks of things, they didn't even put up much of a fight as they died on the spot. There were no signs of any physical trauma in their bodies.

It was as if their very souls gave up on them.

'Tsk.'

Rynold was slowly getting used to the sight of these things. But, even then, it was still too much for him to handle.

He decidedly looked up from the corpses, averting them from his gaze entirely, and moved on. There was still much for him to do, and staying here won't really bring any of these people back.

Gritting his teeth, Rynold ran past the corpses on the ground and soon reached the throne room. From there, he could finally spot the black mist.

However, it was far from a pretty sight.

With just a glance, Rynold could see the guards being entirely overwhelmed by the Duke.

One person was able to make an elite castle guard cower in fear. Rynold had even spotted some who had wet their pants, along with others that seemingly crawled up in a fetal position and cried.

Rynold, naturally, could sympathize with the guards. If he were in their position, Rynold would probably feel the same thing.

The Duke's magic was honestly terrifying for him as well. Even he himself wouldn't go to such lengths to scare people. It was all just too cruel.

"Light's Discerning Eye."

With a low breath, Rynold cast a spell that he had received from the Emissary of Order.

A second later, a bright light burst out from behind Rynold, cleansing the throne room of the dark mist.

The spell that Rynold used was basically a glorified flashlight. It was an entry-level spell that even Rynold could barely find a use for. The purpose of the spell was to light up the immediate surroundings for a few seconds. The spell doesn't deal any damage whatsoever.

For a situation like this, though, casting Light's Discerning Eye gave an extra benefit.

As soon as the light extended throughout the throne room, the dark mist receded. It immediately stopped spreading and coalesced back around the Duke.

"Cockroaches should learn how to stay dead."

With the duration of the spell ended, the Duke revealed himself. He was, well, pissed, understandably.

"You know what they say about cockroaches. We're tough to kill."

Rynold answered sarcastically. He was trying to rile the Duke up. Rynold wanted the guy's attention to be solely focused on him so that there won't be any more casualties other than Rynold himself.

Suffice it to say, Rynold was determined to take down the Duke, even if he had to die in the process.

"No matter. I don't have to lift a finger to deal with the likes of you."

The Duke immediately attacked after finishing his rather foolish declaration. With the black mist moving in pursuit of Rynold, the Duke felt confident that the insect would immediately die.

As the dark mist consumed Rynold, the Duke had a smile on his face as he watched the black mist devour his enemy.

However, the smile on his face faded as Rynold was staring back at him, unaffected by the black mist.

'Is he faking it?'

The Duke quickly controlled his cursed magic directly to Rynold. Numerous clouds of dark vapor suddenly assaulted Rynold at all sides.

But, Rynold stood still, unrelenting to give in to the darkness that had surrounded him.

"Surprised, huh? Sorry, but that won't work on me anymore."

If the Duke had taken a closer look at Rynold, he would see a veil of Mana protecting Rynold. This protective veil of his was glimmering ever so lightly.

Rynold had activated another spell that he received from the Emissary of Order. One that he actually found interesting to use. By reading the spell description, Rynold knew that this particular spell would serve him for quite a while.

===

[Mana Defense: Protecting Light]

Active Magic Skill Lvl 1

Drains 25 Mana per 5 seconds to form a protective layer of Light-Attributed Mana.

===

The spell was a direct evolution of Formless Mana Defense. If anything, it was significantly better than its prior counterpart. Because of the Light Attribute, Rynold now had proper protection against the Duke's cursed magic.

Rynold had a smile on his face, one that displayed innocence. The simple expression on his face managed to upset the Duke, to the point of rage.

"Bugs should learn their place!"

The orb in the Duke's hands suddenly started to shake violently. From where Rynold was standing, he knew that the Duke was doing something. Something that would put Rynold at a disadvantage.

Naturally, Rynold sprung and tried to stop the Duke from continuing any further. Unfortunately, before he got to where the Duke was, something stopped him.

A mace swung out from the side and hit Rynold in the abdomen. Rynold failed to react in time as the mace forced him back a few steps.

'The hell?'

Rynold was confused as to who hit him.

The soldiers around him should all have been dead by the hands of the Duke. If they weren't already dead, those who were still alive weren't in the condition to move.

Logically, nobody should be unscathed enough to hit him. Even then, why would the soldiers suddenly help the Duke?

Turning his head to the culprit, Rynold immediately understood what had happened.

The magic stored inside the Soul Orb was capable of bringing the dead back to life. The person or, to be more accurate, the creature that had hit Rynold was an undead. The undead formed from the corpses of the fallen castle guards.

'Well, isn't this great.'

Undead creatures started to stand up on their feet. Rynold was soon surrounded by creatures holding different weapons.

The creatures weren't particularly strong. No, it was just their numbers seemed to be a lot more than Rynold had expected. Lissa hadn't informed him of the small detail that most of the castle guards were here.

That small detail shouldn't come up naturally, right?

Regardless, Rynold prepared to fight the creatures that were coming his way. Even though he really didn't want to, Rynold had no choice but to desecrate the soldiers' corpses.

With that, Rynold swung.

Having his Fire-Augmented drill deal with the creatures with great speed, Rynold had no trouble dealing with the first wave. Unfortunately, the waves of the undead seemed endless.

With Rynold preoccupied, the Duke was free to move forward with his plans.

"Come out! I know you're here!"

The Duke shouted out into the open, but there was no response. If one were to perk their ears and listen closely, however, there was the faint sound of something trembling.

With a click of his tongue, the Duke moved along the middle of the room and stopped a few feet from the thrones.

"Don't make me pull you out! Get out here! Now!"

The Duke sent a wave of cursed magic at one of the armrests on the throne. Upon contact, it instantly crumbled and collapsed.

"Don't make me ask you again."

With a dark expression and a serious tone to his voice, the Duke wasn't messing around. The man's eyes were like daggers, ready to kill whoever he comes across next.

In response to the Duke's provocations, two people slowly came out from behind each throne. Rynold was too busy to realize what was happening, but those people were the King and Queen of the kingdom.

"What do you want, Brother?"

The King was the first to talk. His eyes didn't indicate fear in the slightest. No, the look on his face and his overall demeanor seemed to exude dubious amounts of pride.

It didn't take one second for the Duke to retaliate. He found the look that his brother had on his face as mockery. The Duke lunged forward and grabbed the King by the neck.

It was then that the King had fallen into fear and despair.

"Your facade fails you, Brother. Just because you were the firstborn, doesn't mean you deserve this kingdom and its people. You're a failure. I simply came here to remind you of that."

The Duke intimidated his brother as he stared, menacingly. While the Duke was holding the King by the neck, Rynold could only watch from the back. He was still busy dealing with the mass of undead currently surrounding him.

Suddenly, the Duke released his grip on the King, making him fall on the ground as he gasped for air.

"You want the throne? Fine! Take it!"

The King was desperate. He was desperate to give up everything just so that he could live.

"Your petty throne means nothing to me. With my strength, I can become much more powerful than a king."

From there, the Duke turned to the Queen, who, unlike her counterpart, was shaking in terror.

"N-no... No!"

The Queen suddenly shouted out as she realized the Duke was planning. Out of fear for her life, she desperately backed away. So much so that she had fallen to the ground and crawled away.

As the woman bumbled to run away, the Duke soon caught up to her and lifted her up. Surprisingly, he was gentle. He didn't insult the woman or even try to harm her. The Duke simply carried her away.

However, the Queen had lost all rationality. She was entirely terrified of the Duke. She squirmed, yelled, and even threw punches at the Duke.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

And, soon, she even started begging. The previously arrogant and corrupt Queen was nowhere to be seen. It was clear that she had valued her own life more than anything else. Her sense of pride was nothing in the face of true power.

"You want me to let you go?" the Duke suddenly asked in a deep voice, "Then, ask your precious husband to spare you."

"D-dear..! P-Please! Tell your Brother to let me go! You love me, right? You won't let anything bad happen to me, right?"

The Duke stood perfectly still as he waited for his brother to respond. However, the man's reaction was spot on to what the Duke had expected his brother to do.

There was no answer.

Begging desperately, the Queen's cries turned into hollow shrills of screams. However, the King seemed to ignore her entirely, as if she hadn't existed before.

"Pathetic, really."

The Duke knew his brother pretty well. He knew for a fact that the King would choose his own life over anybody else's. The King was selfish and rotten to the very core.

Throwing the Queen back to the ground, the Duke looked at his own brother, who was trying desperately to get away from the throne room.

"I'll give you another chance. Beg for your wife's life, and I'll spare her."

The King didn't pay attention to what the Duke had just said. He was too busy trying to save his own skin, opening a door that was barred from the outside.