Festival Night (8)
…Boom!
The sound of loud firecrackers echoes through the air.
A fireworks festival colorfully decorates the night sky.
Music blasts from the ground, and dancers dressed as skeletons and zombies put on enthusiastic performances.
A specialty of the Imperial Capital.
A concert where academy insiders and outsiders stomp their feet and cheer in unison.
...And in front of him, in the newspaper club's bar, something strange was happening right now.
* * *
The corpse queen put her hands in her bosom and stretched them out.
Huddle, huddle, huddle!
A large amount of skeletal fragments fly out from under her black cloak and scatter on the ground.
Tsutsutsutsutsutsutsutsutsutsuts...
At the same time, the black mana that emanated from the Corpse Queen's body enveloped each and every one of the bones.
Germination. Evil roots and sinister shoots sprouted from the bony seeds.
Thud! Thud!
A black magic circle formed on the ground where the bones touched, and skeletal soldiers were summoned.
Danger Rating: C Size: 1.7 meters Found in: All continents -Name: 'The Bone Man'. A common sight in graveyards, battlefields, abandoned houses, and sewers. In rural areas and run-down cities, they're almost as common as street rats. Skeletons (骸骨兵). The most basic form of the dead. All they need is a piece of bone, and they can use it as a seed to root and sprout a magic circle, drawing from it an unlimited amount of power. It is much more portable than zombie, which can be summoned through flesh, or wraith, which can be summoned through a fragment of the soul. Flesh, even if dried and made into jerky, will eventually decay and disappear, and souls, no matter how well sealed in a vial, will eventually evaporate. On the other hand, a high-level warlock who has attained a certain level of mastery can produce an endless supply of skull vials simply by scattering tiny bits of bone that are close to bone powder. Woody, woody, woody, woody! Bianca and Sinclair's faces hardened as they watched the skeletal soldiers rise from the ground. As the elite of the Academy, there was no way they couldn't feel these ominous waves of mana. 'Undead soldiers? Here?' The two female students' mouths dropped open. This skull-masked woman in front of them was definitely one of them. Either she's a child who doesn't realize how terrifying it is to break the taboo of black magic, which is strictly controlled by the empire... or she's an absolute powerhouse who knows it and has the guts to do it. But judging by the thick, strong, bony creatures in front of them now, it was overwhelmingly the first. "Uh, where did these monsters come from, is she one of those 'night hounds' or something?" "That's not the point, we need to get the professors here now!" Bianca and Sinclair didn't even dare to stand up to the powerful black magic in front of them. Then. "Wow! The performance is starting!" "Awesome! A real performance!" "Huh? But what's behind the concert?" "Wow! There are skeleton backup dancers in the back!" "But they really came out of the shadows! Who are they? What are they doing?" "Boom! New face dance team! Their costumes are real, brothers!" The crowd around them had a different reaction. Maybe it's because it's a Halloween party where everyone is dressed up as skeletons and zombies, but no one thinks it's weird to see the skeleton soldiers summoned by the Corpse Queen. Who says humans are animals of atmosphere? Even if there's a fire or smoke in the room, if the person next to you is sitting calmly, it makes you feel uneasy, but if you sit still, you may suffocate to death. That was exactly what was happening here at the academy's festival. Although an Academy student who is sensitive to Mana, but in fact, 99% of the party people gathered here are outsiders, illiterate in Mana, and probably because they're intoxicated by alcohol and the excitement of the party, so even standing next to the Skeleton Soldiers, you don't feel anything other than a little eerie. But of course, there are those who can recognize anomalies even in these situations. "...Black mage? What are you doing! If you're in the Imperial Army, please state your rank!" Saint Dolores, dressed as a night hound, stepped forward. The holy aura she emanated stopped the skeleton soldiers crawling up from the abyss. Crackle – Crackle – Crackle The corpse queen's aura was so powerful that the skeleton soldiers were not killed, but they were still frozen in place by the holy power of Dolores, who had been somewhat awakened since the Battle of Dantalian. The saintess's protection also properly blocked the balack mage's negative emotions, such as the fear that his powerful aura caused in those around him. Also, the way the skeleton soldiers flailed about made the audience think that this was some sort of dance troupe performance. "Oh, it's performance art." "Is that a flash mob or something?" "Uh-huh, a performance where an unspecified number of people gather in a specific space at a specific time and do the same thing for no purpose? I heard it's the latest trend in the imperial capital!" "Wow, now that I see it, it looks real!" Even the guest singers and dancers on stage began to mimic the behavior. "Who are they? When were they booked? I've never seen them before." "I don't know, but they're pretty hip. The quality of their costumes and props is amazing." "They seem to have a good crowd." "... Should we try it?" As professional dancers dressed as zombies and skeletons mimic the stumbling movements of the skeleton soldiers, the cheers become more frenzied. Firecrackers popped everywhere, and the music got louder. The crowd's attention now shifts back to center stage. ... But all the while, Dolores's expression was hardening. 'Ugh, so strong. What is this person, or is she even a person at all?' The skull-masked woman in front of Dolores was a terrifying force that even her holy power couldn't handle. She thought she'd become much more skilled since her battle with Guilty, or rather Dantalian, but she was still far from it. The black mage woman in front of her appeared to be her age, but she possessed an incredibly powerful mana that was incomparable to her own. This kind of ominous and dangerous mana was something she had only ever felt when dealing with a demon of Dantalian's level. No wonder Dolores' strength alone was insufficient. '...The Night Hound was with me then.' Dolores broke out in a cold sweat. It reminded Dolores of the terrifying enemies she had fought, and the weight of her mission and burden. Meanwhile, the Corpse Queen had known all along that the Night Hound before her was a fake. She also recognized Dolores as the owner of the girls' dormitory room she had visited earlier. The Corpse Queen growled and asked. [Where have you taken the Night Hound?] "...What?" Dolores asked with a frown. The Night Hound's whereabouts were something Dolores had been wondering about herself. But the skull-masked woman in front of her almost seemed to assume that Dolores knew the whereabouts of the Night Hound. [The Night Hound's tracks were found in your room, and I'm already on my way to check them out]. Dolores's expression hardened even more. 'No one has ever been in my room.' Dolores, who values her privacy, doesn't allow anyone to enter her space. Not only does she clean up after herself, but she also fixes her own furniture and equipment when it breaks. This is true whether she's in her home in Quovadis or in her dormitory at the Academy. Dolores couldn't figure out why the enemy in front of her was making such an outrageous misunderstanding, but she decided it wasn't important right now. "I don't know what you mean, but it doesn't sound like you're looking for him with good intentions. If you're not a black mage in the Imperial Army, then you're clearly an enemy! If you are, then I can't tell you anything." [...Him? What are you related to him?] The Corpse Queen asked in a sharp tone. Dolores answered after some thought. "Soul mate." And. …Boom! After hearing Dolores' answer, the Corpse Queen exploded. [Really? In that case, I'll tear that soul to pieces and turn it into a disease of the dead!] A fierce rage that even the Corpse Queen herself couldn't understand the source of caused her black mana to boil over even more. A fiery night of roaring flames, earth-shattering music, and partying. In the midst of it all, a witch and a saint stand in sharp opposition. ...And. "Stop." A voice intervened in the middle of the two women's nervous battle. Thick and low, like nails scraping across vocal cords. "...!" [...!] Both the Corpse Queen and Dolores took half a step back, startled by the appearance of a new figure. A man wearing the mask of a plague doctor and a black cloak wrapped around his entire body. Vikir. It was the moment when the true Night Hound appeared.