Chapter 18.2: King of the Dead, Astra |
Right, there was that.
Didn’t Dayphon take the warrior’s body before escaping the convoy because there could be someone who might want it?
I thought the King of the Dead would be the only one who would want a dead body, seemed like my guess was correct.
Well, if it’s the corpse of a strong man like the warrior, it’s worth coveting.
A spirit magic that controlled the dead by reviving them.
The King of the Dead was the continent’s strongest necromancer, with no one to compare him to.
He was a terrible enemy in the game.
Among the Lords of Calderic, there were two beings that had their own large armies aside from the troops of the Overlord, and that were the King of the Dead and the Black Sea Empress.
The army of corpses led by the King of the Dead was enough to be called a one-man army.
Dayphon had the body, so why did he go here to get it from me?
That’s what I thought, but the words that he said next answered my question.
“Since you’re the one who killed the warrior, you technically own he body. So, I’m here to ask permission to have it.”
“…”
Oh yeah, ownership…
Come to think of it, Dayphon said that I owned the body.
So, the King of the Dead came to see me personally because he wanted to take over the authority of the corpse.
He really didn’t need to go to me just for that.
Even if he didn’t ask permission, I wouldn’t have cared.
Still, from the perspective of the King of the Dead, I wondered if he asked for permission just in case I would question him about it later.
However, after coming all the way here and asking for permission like this… it really felt like just a waste.
As soon as I stared at him, the King of the Dead continued.
“I’ll pay you a fair price.”
A fair price.
Several things ran through my mind.
For example, magic items. Since the King of the Dead was a mage, shouldn’t he have defense-type items I need the most right now?
But that’s hard to say…
It’s as if I’m openly confessing that I need items because I lack defensive skills.
And when I thought about it, I didn’t even know if I could use magic items properly.
I thought about it for a while and then said.
“I want nothing from you.”
Then the King of the Dead said.
“Then how about leaving it as a debt? Later, when you want something from me, I’ll pay the price equal to the value of the warrior’s corpse.”
I nodded my head because it was ambiguous to ask for something right away, and it was not a bad suggestion.
I thought it would be better to end it at this point without poking further.
“Do you need anything else?”
“No. You don’t seem to enjoy my company, so I’ll be going right away.”
After saying that, the King of the Dead got up from his seat and leisurely left the hall.
I buried myself in the chair, feeling empty for no reason, probably because the conversation I worried about ended blandly.
At that moment, Asher, who was standing behind me, let out a small trembling breath.
I glanced at her expression. The presence of the King of the Dead affected her this much.
I was fine because of the [Soul of the King], but the ‘fear’ that the King of the Dead exuded seemed to be a considerable burden to her.
Ugh…
Was I going to be continuously stuck between these monsters?
The conversation with the King of the Dead, which was short and bland, only gave me more hopelessness about the future.
But this was the path I chose.
I have to collect the hidden pieces as soon as possible.
***
An undead knight in black armor waiting in front of the castle gate bowed his head toward the King of the Dead, who walked out.
‘You came out right away.’
Necromancers and their subordinates were spiritually connected, allowing dialogue through their consciousness, as well as sharing images of what they saw.
The undead knight had doubts about the feelings of the King of the Dead, who were rarely happy.
The King of the Dead laughed mentally.
‘The new Seventh Lord is really interesting.’
Hundreds of years of leading immortality in the undead's body.
Since death no longer meant anything to him, paradoxically, he could feel ‘death’ more clearly than anyone else.
But how long had it been since he felt this feeling?
‘…I never thought I would feel the fear of death.’
I couldn’t feel any aura or mana from the Seventh Lord.
Neither magical power nor physical strength could be felt, so he looked like an ordinary human with no real abilities.
But the other definitely could kill him.
The only person who he felt this kind of feeling after he became a lich was the hero of Santea, and it was only faintly felt even by the Overlord.
He had come in person to get the warrior’s corpse and to see what kind of person the new Seventh Lord was, but it turned out to be more enjoyable that he thought.
‘I can’t wait to see what kind of request he will make later.’
That’s why I was happy to even create a link through debt.
The King of the Dead pondered over the realization of death he had felt for the first time in a long while and firmly imprinted the existence of the Seventh Lord in his mind.
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