Chapter 25

*kugugugugugung!*

The ground shook, revealing a coffin of stone. Tervis snapped his fingers and the coffin opened.

A skeleton resting inside a coffin.

A red glow emanated from the empty skeleton's eyes as it stepped out of the coffin. Black energy radiated from its heart, enveloping the skeleton's body.

*Rumbles!*

On his head, a black crown.

Black armor over the whole body.

A half-torn black cloak on his back.

And black smoke billowed from the Death Knight's mouth as he clutched a massive sword in his hand.

"Master, give me a command…"

"Kill them all," Tervis said.

The Death Knight jerked to life before Tervis's command, running at breakneck speed to face the Knights and their sword.

*Clang!*

*Clang!*

"Hey! You didn't tell me there were Death Knights!"

The Derok's voice was heard.

Clearly, it was Jaino. Three Dullahans is all Tervis has. Redin merely relayed that fact.

"I never mentioned that there wouldn't be any Death Knights."

"You bastard!"

"You should have thought before you got greedy. You're in this situation because you're only thinking about killing me."

Anyone who believed that a Necromancer with a steady supply of corpses here would only have three Dullahans was an idiot.

At the very least, you'd think there would be a Death Knight.

"How do you… know that...."

"I don't think it's a good time for you to be distracted."

"Tch!"

Ducking out of the way of the Deathknight's blade, the Knight Commander pulled back and cried out.

"Grab that prison guard, and sacrifice him and then we get the hell out of here."

Now he's showing his true colors.

The Knights' desire to live was felt all around them. Terrified, they charged at once.

That moment.

Derok's body rushed through the entrance, and with it he brought his sword to collapse the cave entrance.

*Kwaaaaang!*

The stones crumbled, blocking the entrance.

The boulders had collapsed, sealing the entrance.

The entrance is completely blocked by the hastily unleashed magic of Tervis. There is no way out unless they can kill him.

"thi- What is this!"

"Derok… you son of a bitch!"

Bedlam¹

The Knight Commander deserted his comrades for his own life, and the Knights shuddered at the crassness of such a leader.

"We're… finished."

"Lord… I don't want to die…"

"Mom…, Dad…"

The hope in their eyes was already gone.

The knights are probably thinking that they can't handle a Death Knight that they can't kill.

Redin turned to them and asked.

"Do you want to live?"

"Can you do it?"

Before he knew it, the knights had put aside their egos and respected him, a mere prison guard.

The sight of it made him chuckle.

Redin had an inkling that Derok was trying to kill him, so he sat there waiting for him to make his move.

And yet Redin can't believe he would abandon his men.

"When we do get out of here, tell them what happened here. That Derok tried to kill me."

"Uh… Of course."

"We'll talk about this over and again."

There are a number of ways to get revenge.

Death.

He could simply bust through the barrier and kill Derek, but a surefire way to get revenge is to make him writhe in agony.

A pain worse than death.

The best punishment I can dish out is to have him rot in the basement prison of Burning Hell for the rest of his life, and there are plenty of people who can testify.

He dug his own grave with his own hands.

There, he can enjoy rotting in a prison cell for the rest of his life.

"Then stay in the back."

He glanced over to see the knights shuffling about.

A Death Knight on the front.

The clearing was still red in Arrakis's eyes. No way to live. That's what it was signaling.

"Huuu…."

An odd occurrence that happened during the Burning Hell jailbreak.

There was a moment when he was able to see the light in a world that was clearly filled with death warnings.

Since then, he's been working on his skills.

A culmination of what Redin learned from fighting those stronger than him in the arena.

The reddish hue is a type of warning.

It doesn't mean that he'll die, but it's a way of telling Redin to be careful because he's in danger of dying.

He took a deep breath to regain his composure.

Since this isn't a Death Knight made by a sophisticated Necromancer, it's a good enough situation to try.

"Go die…."

The Death Knight rushed forward, and in response, Redin rushed forward as well, boosting his mana.

*CLANG!*

He deflected the Death Knight's sword and dug in. He shoved him with his shoulder, breaking its stance.

He swung the sword again.

The sword slashed from the bottom up, cutting through the monster's armor, but the black energy rose up and restored it.

Tough bastard.

He'll be easier to catch with [Fire of Purification], but he's only one more to go before he reaches the pinnacle.

Let's go ahead and try it out.

*Gooooooo!*

Black energy surged through the Death Knight's body. With that, the Death Knight charged once more.

*Bang!*

*Bang!*

*Bam!*

Greater speed and power than ever before.

Redin reinforced his body with mana accordingly, but he couldn't match its speed.

"Ugh!"

He put some distance between them.

Then he lunged at the opponent, using a flurry of slashes.

*Kaaaaaah!*

The Death Knight's armor shattered, slicing him in half at the waist. It didn't stop there. Before the black energy could restore the armor.

A series of vicious slashes were launched.

*Crack!*

*Crash!*

The shattered bones of the Death Knight clattered to the floor. His breathing was ragged from the exertion.

"Phew… Huu…."

"I want you, and I'll make you my second Death Knight."

With Tervis's words, the Death Knight's bones began to reattach.

And the message that came with it.

[The condition has been met].

[The pinnacle has been unlocked.]

[You can increase your physical abilities to extreme levels. You can increase the level of your mana hole to 4 stars].

[Your senses become sharper.]

[Some of your lineage's abilities that were hidden within your body will be unlocked].

[Bloodline (D)]

-Magic Resistance.

-???

-???

.

.

.

The corners of his mouth curled up.

Now that everything is in order, it's time for the finishing touches. With the Power of [Fire of Purification], Redin finished off the Death Knights once and for all.

*Bang!* *Sizzzleeee!*

Blue flames engulfed Death Knight, burning him in an instant.

"Ugh.. uh… hhh….."

Death Knight that crumbles to a pile of ash.

Tervis frowned slightly at that, then raised a number of skeletons to their feet.

"Kill him!"

Numbers approaching the hundreds, at least.

I tightened my grip on my sword as I watched the soldiers who would later head to the Holy Empire rush to kill me.

Redin tightened his grip on the sword as he watched the skeleton soldiers who in the future would head to the Holy Empire, rush to kill him.

Harungel's 2nd move, designed to take on multiple enemies. It was time to put all that practice into action.

Raising his mana.

It contains the power of purification.

*Crack, crack!*

*Crackle!*

*Crackle!*

He spun around to face the skeletons charging at him. At the same time, he swung his sword horizontally, unleashing his power.

Gust slash.

*Whooooosh!*

The gust of wind created by the sword raged. It engulfed every skeleton in the clearing, reducing them to dust in an instant.

"This is… this is… this is ridiculous...."

He swings his sword, scattering the dust.

Then he approached the defenseless Tervis. A Necromancer without a minion is nothing to write home about.

He was put in mana control handcuffs.

*Clamp!*

Is it time to rob his treasure trove?

* * *

Riena greeted the first Holy Empire paladin to arrive.

A man with white gray hair.

His armor bore the emblem of the Holy Empire alongside the emblem of the Knights Order to which he belonged.

A white shield and a cross.

And a black skull with a decapitated head.

It was the emblem belonging to the 'Dark Knights', a military group ranked among the top three within the Holy Empire.

"Where is the Necromancer?"

"Follow me, please."

Riena left a message for Rebecca to bring in the arresting team, then headed off with Paladin to the Necromancer's location.

When they reached the underground cavern, the Paladin muttered something quietly.

"Shining Light."

Then a pure white light arose, illuminating the cave.

Together, they entered the cave.

At the sudden fork in the road, the Paladin didn't hesitate to take the center path.

'Tracking Magic.'

It's a skill that only knights of the Holy Empire possess. Riena moved silently behind the Paladin.

"Huuuuh… Wheww… ...."

The sound of human breathing came from beyond the cave. The Paladin drew his sword and stepped forward.

On the other side, Derok appeared.

Covered in blood and sweat, he limped along.

"I… lived."

The Paladin walked over to Derok, who was slumped in a heap.

"Healing."

Riena frowned as she watched Derok breathe a sigh of relief.

"Where are the others?"

"They're all dead, and if your man hadn't sacrificed himself to save me… I'd be dead too."

Nonsense.

You're telling a lie that's visible to her eyes.

Knowing Derok's character, Riena bit her lip hard. He must have abandoned them and run away.

But unless there is evidence.

There's no way to tell the truth.

"The demonic energy is getting stronger."

The Paladin rose from his seat and stepped into the cave. Just then, a fine breeze blew out.

The Paladin's frown deepened.

"Wha?"

"What happened?"

"The magic disappeared in an instant. Looks like someone took care of the necromancer. If not, did he run away?"

The Paladins moved rapidly.

As he swung his sword toward the entrance blocked by the boulders, the boulders were shattered by a strong force from the other side.

"Shining Shield."

The Paladin created a pure white shield, and he and Riena blocked the aftermath of the explosion.

As the dust settles.

A large group of people appeared. Viscount Volta's knights, the handcuffed Necromancer, and Redin standing behind him.

"uh?"

Redin looked at the Paladins, slightly surprised, but quickly resumed his normal expression and moved toward Riena.

"Vice Captain, we've safely apprehended Tervis Zerbin, a Level 1 wanted criminal."

The awkwardness of it all.

Redin, who had just joined the Task Force, had no idea that he would be the one to capture the Necromancer.

"Uh… okay."

"And let me borrow this for a second."

Redin snatched the mana cuffs from Riena's waistband and approached Derok in the back.

*Clamp!*

"How dare you try to kill a Burning Hell Prison Guard?"

"I… I never did that!"

"There are plenty of people who will testify."

Derok's gaze fell on the Knights.

"…Damn it."

"You're going to rot in jail for the rest of your life."

** ** **

TL/N:

1. Abigyuhwan(阿鼻叫喚) – It means a state in which several people are wailing and struggling in a dire and chaotic situation.

After scouring the net for an English equivalent I finally found something that matches it.