79. The Divine Necromancer

Since my life-lust had not completely disappeared, I couldn’t go back to the Wind House and risk meeting the others. I’d better take a walk outside first to calm down. Just how much of Axel’s lifeforce had I absorbed? I had no idea. But considering Ray had said there were about one million drops of lifeforce in a human body, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had been told I had eaten half of that. And that in a mere minute or two, maybe three… Could it be that Furies ate at a faster pace than normal undeads? Or had the intake increased because I had been eating from a wider area of contact?

Lost in thought, I reached the bottom of the escalator and headed to the main gates muttering:

“I’m such a glutton.”

Still…

My lips went up a bit.

I had won. Not in a conventional way but… conventions were all a matter of point of view.

I crossed the main square and passed the gates illuminated by two lamps.

Outside, Ray was sitting all alone on the stairs that led to the beach, his flashlight bathing the hill with its powerful light. I wasn’t surprised to see him there. Somehow, ever since our necro-bond had grown, I could instinctively tell if he was around. Did I subconsciously follow the link and go to where he was? Or did he subconsciously call me? I didn’t know.

Without a word, I sat on the first step, leaning my elbows on my knees. The cactuses on the slope had just ejected their regular steam of orange crystal particles into the air, and the smoke was glittering like clouds of tiny, amber stars in the dark.

Sitting a few steps below, Ray was as mute as the surrounding night. Somehow, I knew he had broken his promise of not spying on me, but I could hardly blame him for it. After a silence, I muttered:

“Furies are scary.”

Ray clenched his fist without turning. I added:

“You warned me, but I still thought I wouldn’t lose control of myself—No, that’s not true,” I admitted. “I didn’t think Axel would go down so easily once I grabbed him. But he was suffering so much he could do nothing. And I couldn’t let him go either. If Lei hadn’t been there, I would have killed…”

I couldn’t finish the sentence, and after a silence, I repeated:

“Furies are scary.”

I had freaked out. Only now was I slowly beginning to understand. I had lost control of my body and almost caused a disaster. But who could have imagined that I would actually be unable to even let go of Axel? A shiver ran through my core. My gaze contemplated the shining clouds dancing around the cactuses and the stairs. Apparently, they always came out in droves after an earthquake—Wait, had there been an earthquake just now? Maybe during my fight with Axel? I hadn’t even sensed it. Anyway, with the gleaming smoke floating everywhere, we could barely see the real stars in the sky; instead, the lights of Phoenix City were like a shining dome covering the main island, and from up the high cliffs, the light at Phoenix Neck Lighthouse flashed every few seconds through the turning lens of the lantern. The island looked like a turtle of fire. Or a phoenix. Even so, its lights couldn’t illuminate the endless, jet-black sea surrounding it.

Ray kept silent. Was he mad? He had a good reason to be angry at me. He was always working so hard to be a good necromancer, but instead of taking my delicate situation into account, I had asked him to stay away and give me some privacy. I had gone to fight Axel with the plan of using my undead skills, which Ray would have probably warned me against. Well, everything had turned out well, and I wasn’t regretting my actions. I had won. But, in exchange, it seemed that my master had been scared to death.

When I couldn’t take the silence anymore, I swiftly slipped three steps down to sit by his side and asked:

“You mad?”

“…”

His answer came through our necro-bond:

‘I told you earlier I wanted to use my power and challenge Lei, so who am I to tell you not to be reckless?’ I straightened up, surprised. He went on: ‘Also, I tried really hard not to break my promise, but the necro-bond is not a door I can just lock as I please. I couldn’t look the other way. Well, Lei helped in the end, so fortunately I didn’t have to intervene. I only rebuilt the barrier in your core.’

“You did?! From afar?”

‘Our necro-bond is steadier than before, so yeah, I can do as much. You seemingly forgot that the barrier would break if you ate such amounts of lifeforce.’

Dammit, I had completely forgotten about it. I shook my head, annoyed at myself. Wasn’t I causing Ray more trouble than usual lately? Well, actually, I had always been. To think I was even trying to become a sage today…

I remained quiet for a moment as I gazed at the night, then I chuckled. Under Ray’s surprised look, I said:

“All in all, what a wonderful day, isn’t it? We saved Helly from the tower, I won against the negativist, and you’re gonna activate your power.”

‘Er… We could also say we destroyed a legendary tower, you almost killed a Sunclaw, and I’m going to activate a power I know nothing about except that it may be connected with the Spawns of Darkness. Wonderful, indeed. Oh, and also, Axel Sunclaw most likely knows now that you are an undead. ’

I grimaced a smile. I hadn’t thought about that.

“Way to kill the mood, Ray. How’s Helly doing?”

“Well…” He touched his pendant, shrugging. “As soon as I sat down here, she went out and disappeared into the cactus grove.”

“Whaaat?!”

“She’s free, after all.”

“W-Well, that’s true, but… do you think she will come back?”

I scanned the cactuses around the staircase. The tiny lights that had been floating around the plants were fading one by one. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ray pout thoughtfully.

“I don’t know. Even if she does, she may not come back until several days. I think she has something important to do on this island.”

“… If only she could talk, we could have tried to help her. Wait!” I exclaimed. “Maybe she’s trying to get revenge on Water Li and Ashkabell for locking her up! We should have told her they’re long dead.”

“She already knows it, I think. Rather, in my opinion, it has something to do with her origins.”

I breathed in.

“You mean, the Spawn of Darkness thing?”

“No—well, yeah, but independently of that flashy title, where does Helly come from? Did Water Li bring her to Yuutow Island to activate the tower? Or has she always been on this island? I’m pretty sure it’s the latter.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Do you mean this island is her home?”

Ray nodded.

“Mm. Or more like, the dungeon is.”

“…!!! The dungeon? Helly’s from the dungeon?”

“Hundred-year-old creatures made of pure energy do not pop up out of thin air,” Ray reasoned. “Besides, the strangest creatures on Earth have always come from the dungeons.”

My core beat faster for a moment. To think Helly came from a dungeon. A dungeon! I looked down at my feet, wondering exactly how far below it was from us right now.

“They say dungeons were created by the Holy Gods. Does that make Helly a godly creature? Wait, but if she’s a Spawn of Darkness and Spawns of Darkness are born in a dungeon, if it’s true that you are a Spawn of Darkness, then doesn’t it make you a godly being, too?!”

I was flabbergasted at my reasoning. Surprised, Ray gaped at me then laughed.

“A godly being? Hahaha, seriously, how can you ask that with a straight face?”

“I’m just connecting the dots.”

He stared at me.

“Sometimes your way of thinking is scary.”

“…?” Was it?

He took a look at his cellphone and stood up.

“That ‘elite’ meeting is about to start. Let’s get back.”

“Ah, yeah… Wait, Ray,” I suddenly said, getting to my feet. “Dungeons have usually only one entry, right? In the games, at least. Will Helly be okay? I mean, the entry is probably locked, or sealed, or even guarded.”

What if she was caught again? Ray rolled his eyes.

“Let’s not worry about every little thing.”

His tone implied that we had our own problems. Well, I couldn’t deny it.

Ray had just reached the top of the stairs when he stopped and sighed.

‘Actually, I forgot. I wanted to ask for your opinion about an important matter,’ he said mentally.

He aimed his flashlight at me. My undead eyes didn’t blink and kept holding his gaze quizzically as he stated:

‘As you saw just earlier, the more lifeforce your core absorbs, the worse your life-lust gets and the riskier it is to stay around people, and that will remain so until you evolve into a full-fledged life reaper, which can take up to several months. So it’s about the choices we have.’

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He withdrew the flashlight, and as I kept silent, waiting for him to go on, he explained:

‘First choice: we quit the training.’

I grimaced.

“You mean, we return to Farskyer?”

“My dad would most likely help you evolve in safety.”

I frowned. Truthfully, I didn’t want the Lord to be the one helping me evolve, and I was sure Ray didn’t either. However, if he still thought it was the best path to take…

Before my silence, Ray went on talking through our necro-bond:

‘So, yeah, that would solve our main problem, but then my mom would feel there’s something fishy going on, and… if she learns about our necro-bond, it can get really bad. Years ago, she swore that, if my dad ever taught me necromancy, she would send the whole Styxer family to its ruin, one way or another.’

“…!! Your mom?”

‘Knowing her, and given her influence, she definitely would.’

“It’s kind of her family too, though.”

‘Not anymore. She never forgave my dad. In a way, she was tricked into joining the Underworld unwittingly. My dad acted basically like a scatterbrained scoundrel in that regard.’

“… So we won’t quit the training?”

Ray shrugged.

‘I’m just talking about our choices. The second one is to rely on Natasha’s help, buy meals from her if needed, and try to follow the training normally. The problem is, if we blow our cover, we will face a trial, it would endanger my mom’s position inside the WHO, would probably get her fired, and… yeah, even if no one notices, it won’t be easy.’

On hearing his words, my core felt heavier by the second.

‘There is also a third way.’

A third way? Ray looked over his shoulder at the academy’s deserted gates, hesitated, then explained:

‘Natasha can get some special pills made by Makler Vod’s second disciple. They have to be taken in pairs: the master takes one, and the familiar another one. They forcefully moderate the activity of the familiar’s core, thus its life-lust, and also allows the master to give orders without exciting the core.’

“Eeeh? For real? That’s amazing!”

“Of course it’s amazing,” he affirmed out loud. “All Makler Vod’s disciples do amazing things. Vod is a high-class necromancer, after all.”

“High-class?” I repeated with a pout. “So what. Aren’t you god-class?”

“The hell are you saying? Vod is on a totally different level! He reigns over a district of Singapore full of dark arts users, he’s way more powerful than my dad, and he’s been worshipped almost like a god for more than fifty years now. He’s a centenarian, and his skills are just incredible. His books are priceless treasures too.”

“Even the last ones?” was what I wanted to ask, remembering that, according to Natasha, Makler Vod’s fifth disciple was the real author of those. I kept that to myself as I smiled, touched to see Ray so worked up. It was rare to see him show admiration for someone. It piqued my interest. Singapore, he said? Some day, I should really go there to have a look.

“Okay,” I said calmly. “I won’t compare you to him, then. I wouldn’t dare compare you to a glorified, doddering relic—I’m just kidding, Ray. At any rate, are those pills safe?”

Recovering his composure, Ray nodded.

‘Apparently. Though they are still experimental pills, they’ve been proven effective, but using them doesn’t go without some big sacrifices. Furies that take those pills never grow to their fullest. When the necromancer nurtures the necro-bond, the familiar will waste it almost the same way a newborn undead does. That means, while a full-grown life reaper can live away from its master for up to four or five months, you probably won’t be able to be away from me for more than a few weeks at most without dying. For that reason, the pills are not as successful among necromancers with big families since they wouldn’t have enough energy to sustain all their familiars. And…’ He took the brim of his cap. ‘There’s another consequence. If we take those pills, we’ll have to join the Vod group. They don’t sell them to outsiders.’

“…” That was problematic. I remembered how his cousin had tried to get him to join the Vod group and how Ray had refused. He may admire that old necromancer’s work, but he wasn’t willing to work for him and even less worship him… and neither was I. After a moment, I asked: “Any more options?”

Ray shook his head.

‘I can’t think of anything else.’

I frowned, thought hard, then joined my hands.

“Okay. Then… how about we go for the second option? We keep things as they are for now. How do you like it?”

‘Works for me. I think it’s the best option, too. But we mustn’t let our guard down.’

He pierced me with his gaze. The message was all too clear. Whatever might happen, we had to be extremely careful. For our sake, for the Lord’s sake, for Lizzie’s sake. As a matter of fact, if Ray’s mom could lose her job for having a son involved in dark arts practices, then… wouldn’t it be also the case for my sister?

I nodded firmly.

“I swear to the Holy Gods that I’ll be as careful as a ninja walking on clamshells from now on.”

Ray raised an eyebrow, seemed relieved, then kept on walking and said:

‘You mean a cat walking on eggshells.’

“…! Yeah, that’s what I meant!” I smiled, following him, and whispered cheerfully: “About that, I’ve got an idea. When I was fighting Axel, I found out I can’t absorb lifeforce through clothes.”

‘You only realize that now?’

“Yeah. So how about I buy a coverall? Or at least some gloves—Wait, just a couple of plastic bags would do, since my skin does not need to breathe,” I muttered, lost in thoughts.

Ray rolled his eyes.

‘If you think some gloves will help you, why not buy them? You’ll look like a weirdo among people wearing summer clothes, but that’s the least of our worries. Anyhow, the meeting must have already started.’

As we headed to the gates, I caught Ray’s skeptical glance and somehow guessed his thoughts with a hint of annoyance.

“Please don’t look at me like that: I’ll be good, I won’t fight any more duels. Besides, I must make that Losterness curry. Oh, right, I forgot to tell you,” I added as we passed the entrance. “Lei promised that he would become your subordinate if I won the duel against Axel.”

Ray stopped dead at the entrance.

“The hell?”

“Also, that he’d stop bothering you.”

‘Isn’t that, like, super contradictory?’ he growled mentally.

I grinned.

“I know, right? But maybe he just wants to make new friends. I think, deep down, he’s a nice guy.”

‘Very deep down, then. That guy is interested in deathforce, that’s all.’

“Haha… Yeah, he did say undeads were incredibly cool.”

‘And you fell for his flattery.’

“Heh… He also said that fighting by eating was a super inspiring strategy—something along those lines. Well, isn’t it said ‘control the food and you’ll control the war’? So I just applied the rule of that famous general—Reyn Vasilys, was it?”

“John Woon, eleventh century,” Ray corrected out loud. “Who on earth is Reyn Vasilys?”

“… No idea, his name just popped into my mind,” I admitted, then I grinned. “Anyway, Lei’s a freethinker and a good referee.”

‘Huh. He totally won you over, didn’t he?’

“Well, at least, he’s open-minded, is he not? I’m sure he thinks high of you too—”

‘No way. Self-interest has nothing to do with respect.’

“I get that, but the fact remains that…” I gave him a broad smile, “… undeads and necromancers are so damn cool!”

Ray straightened up, eyes wide, then, slowly, he took the brim of his cap to conceal a smile and snorted mentally:

‘Did you even listen to what I said? You can’t cry out things like “undeads” and “necromancers” like you’re selling fish at the market.’

Ops. I looked around at the main square we were crossing then cited:

“The most visible is a secret, the least attention it draws.”

‘I’m truly worried.’

“Don’t be!” I protested. Then I frowned. “Hey, Ray.”

‘Yeah?’

I twitched and stopped.

“Do you know what?”

‘…? What?’

I looked down at him with a concerned expression.

“If you keep talking with your mental voice, you’ll become too lazy to speak normally and go mute.”

He widened his eyes in surprise as if just realizing he had been mostly talking through our necro-bond all this time. Doing so was supposed to require a lot of concentration and skill, yet Ray was able to do it unwittingly? Damn. Was he a godly genius, after all?

“The Divine Necromancer,” I blurted out, and under Ray’s shocked expression, I chuckled, amused, and raised a hand: “Have fun in the meeting and please look forward to dinner!”

* * *

When I got home, Noah and Styzz were playing a game of Go. After putting on some kitchen gloves, and a long-sleeved shirt, I tried to consult the recipe for the Losterness curry, only to realize one thing.

“Chaaaamp,” I complained, walking out of the kitchen. “We don’t have Internet access on Yuutow, that sucks.”

“Mm.”

“I don’t know what Losterness curry is, so help me with that, will you?”

“Mm.”

“You’re totally not listening. Is Go so interesting?”

“Mm.”

“Seriously, what’s Losterness curry? Champ, champi, champ, I’m talking to you, yoohoo, come back to this world. Styzz, please, help me… Not here either? You guys, I swear,” I breathed out, astonished, “stop ignoring me.”

They were so focused it was annoying. I sat at the table, looked at the black and white stones on the checkerboard, then at the two contenders.

“Noah, that crimson color of yours is cool. Do you dye your hair?”

“Mm.”

“You do?! Then, Styzz, with those green hairs of yours… You too?! Isn’t that a pain to dye it? By the way, I thought you were an elite trainee, but you’re not going to the meeting? Are you bad at communicating like Ray? Come to think of it, you were trying to bully me the first time we met, and I’ve heard bullies are bad at socializing. Though that doesn’t happen with Noah, and he’s the best bully I’ve known so far, so… Nah, but what am I saying, he’s ignoring me like a speck of dust right now, so I guess he’s not only a bully and a weirdo but also has a personality disorder—”

“Who’s the bully?!” Noah snapped, finally reacting. “You’re messing with our concentration, stupidstar!”

I smiled.

“Then give me the recipe for the Losterness curry.”

“The hell if I know! I only heard it’s made with spices.”

“I guessed as much, thanks, champ.”

“Since when am I a champ, anyway?”

“Since you rescued Linah’s hand, obviously, champ.”

“Ugh… Why doesn’t it sound better than ‘perv’, I wonder.”

“’Cause you’re a perv.”

“Whatever. If the dinner’s not to my taste, you’ll have to make a Shanghai pie.”

“A Shanghai pie?! What’s that?”

“I don’t know, stupidstar, you’re the cook!”

“You’re the one ordering weird things! But, okay, if you win your game against Styzz, I’ll make a pie.”

“That’s only putting pressure on me,” Styzz said, his eyes still fixed on the board. “Lose and eat the pie, or win and stop Noah from bullying you?”

“That’s the question,” Noah chuckled.

“Ooh… Are you worried about me, Styzz?” I grinned. “If that’s the case, then why don’t you electrify him if he loses? Yeah, let’s do that. A pie if you win, a bolt of lightning if you lose, champ.”

“Don’t decide that on your own!” Noah snorted.

I laughed as I disappeared into the kitchen saying:

“The die is cast.”

“It’s not!! And, by the way, I don’t dye my hair!” So he was listening, after all. Shortly after, I heard him groan excitedly: “There’s no way I’m losing this, Styzz! Bring it on!”

* * *

Not there. Not there either.

She had to get back to where she came from, but she didn’t know the way. Time had passed and everything had changed. But she knew she had to go down.

What was that distant darkness above her head? The space?

What about those rounded figures coming out from the soil?

Her curiosity quickly faded as her main goal occupied her whole being.

She swirled in the shadows, searching around, shrunk back before the rumbling waves, rippled along a crevice, entered countless breaches inside the rocks, and finally found the barrier of the dungeon.

She shuddered, bitter memories coming back to her, then she rushed forward.

The hole was small, but her vaporous body was still able to go through. The dungeon did not block her advance at the barrier. After all, she was one of its creatures.

Once inside, she stopped for a moment and tried to overcome her fear. During the last century, she had grown to understand many things about how the world worked, and new emotions had begun to seep into her mind… but not fear. Fear had always been there with her, along with the desire of being free. Yet she had come back to the place that frightened her the most. Because she wanted to know. About this place, about her origins, about her brethren. So she proceeded.

A corridor. A staircase. She hated staircases.

She glided down the tunnel, almost glued to its ceiling. Two human voices could be heard, one fast, the other hoarse and feminine.

“And we’re back to square one again. This manual is good to throw in the trash. It must be a fake.”

“Now that’s insulting! It’s my ancestor’s original book.”

“Then Water Li wanted to play a prank on his descendants. That, or he lied and never reached the heart of this dungeon.”

“Enough of that, young man. Ah… This is the type of dungeon I hate the most. Restrictions, loops, enigmas that can’t be figured out with common sense… This is a real maze.”

“Weren’t you a high-ranking Explorer?”

“Don’t underestimate my experience, brat. My old bones are tired, that’s all. How about we call it a day? I don’t want to doze off in front of my pupils. We have two months to find that elixir, after all—”

“Considering no one else is searching for it, too, you mean, which is most likely not true, otherwise other influential families wouldn’t have recommended this island for the training even before we did. The Piaget Clan. The Kadestry Family. Plus Lovecryce. I bet they are all searching for it.”

“But they have no means of entering this place. As far as we know, anyway. We are not even sure that the item will appear in this dungeon.”

“If there is any possibility it does, then our duty is to take it. The young master already has a lot to carry on his shoulders.”

“Oh my, it’s only been six months since his older brother returned crippled. Poor boy.”

“One more hour. If it’s possible.”

“…”

“For the sake of the Soulberg Clan.”

“… Youth is so pure. Come on, let’s go to the next room. By the way, is it me or was there something moving in the shadows, just now?”

“…! Where?”

“Hmm… Maybe it was my imagination.”

The sound of the voices soon faded away as did their footsteps.

Humans.

What were they up to now?

Though clueless, Helly had a bad premonition. She just hoped that her two saviors wouldn’t be caught in the storm.