The words of the Lich sounded almost obsessive. Though I didn't know exactly what he was talking about, it was quite obvious that it wasn't anything good. His eyes, as they stared at me, bordered on madness. While observing the Lich, I truly wondered how someone could come to this point.

But thinking about it now wouldn't get me anywhere. One thing I was certain of: that Lich already saw us as prey, and I doubted we could get out of here without defeating him first. Moreover, I refused to leave this place without defeating him first. By the shadows writhing behind the Lich, I was determined to end his suffering today.

With that thought in mind, I firmly gripped the sword in my hands. The Lich, who had previously seemed to mutter something, rose from his throne and wielded the staff that was beside him. Somehow, the staff the Lich held reminded me a lot of the staff the man in the paintings we had seen earlier wielded.

(Lichs, for the most part, are former mages... If we consider that, it's likely that the man from the paintings is the Lich we'll have to face)

While I pondered about the Lich, the characteristic sound of bones clattering against each other echoed in the room. Immediately, I shifted my gaze to the Lich. Now that he was standing, I could see more of his body, and he seemed to be nearly two meters tall, which was truly impressive.

"You know, since you arrived, I've been trying to assess your strength, but there seems to be something blocking. Although I can perceive to some extent the power of your friends..."

The Lich said, directing his gaze at Ana, Aoi, Saemi, and Fujiwara. Then, his eyes turned in my direction, sending shivers down my spine. His eyes, as they watched me, conveyed a mixture of emotions, happiness, obsession, madness, and various others that I could barely name.

"But you... you're the best of all. All I can see when I look at you is darkness, endless darkness. Ahhhhhh, that excites me. The unknown scares me, but it also fascinates me. What are you? Please tell me, how did you acquire so much power at such a young age?"

Against the Lich's words, I could only feel disgust. This being in front of me ceased to be human a long time ago, or maybe it never was. This creature before me was a true monster.

"Well, it doesn't really matter if you don't want to tell me. I'll see that for myself later"

The Lich said, showing confidence in his words, which made me raise an eyebrow, full of doubts.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"You seem confident that you've already won, but do you really think we'll allow you to defeat us so easily?"

Hearing my words, the Lich's eyes turned to me, and he let out some laughter, as if he found the situation amusing.

"My goodness, do you really think we're going to fight? There's no reason for that, besides, I don't want to damage the bodies of my precious test subjects, so..."

Saying these words, the Lich raised his staff slightly and, with a swift motion, struck it against the floor, generating a metallic noise. To me, his action made no sense whatsoever. Moreover, even after striking the staff against the floor, initially, there was no apparent change, or at least that's what I thought.

"Ughh"

A cry of pain followed by another and another began to come simultaneously from my side. Turning my gaze, I noticed Saemi, Ana, Fujiwara, and Aoi. They all seemed to be suffering intensely, their faces covered in sweat. Before I could move, they all fell to the ground in succession, as if their last ounce of strength had been sucked away.

"You oddly don't seem to have been affected by my curse"

The Lich commented in an intrigued manner.

"Truly intriguing. The more I look at you, the more curious I become. What makes you so special?"

Although the words of the Lich were reaching me, I couldn't make them out. My body was already moving on its own. I glanced quickly but precisely at each of the girls, touching their bodies one by one. They all seemed to have the same symptoms; their heads were extremely hot, but their bodies were extremely cold, and they appeared to be in great pain.

"This leads me to two conclusions"

Continued the Lich as I continued examining the girls.

"The first is that you have resistance to curses, but the fact that you haven't even changed your expression remains strange. As the name suggests, having resistance to curses does not make you invulnerable to them"

Mused the Lich. But upon hearing the word "curse" a deep hatred consumed me. I slowly rose, staring at the Lich, who continued to watch me with intense red eyes, as if assessing me with even more interest than before.

"The second... there is something that protects you... something far beyond my understanding"

Said the Lich, but at that moment, his words held no meaning for me other than nonsense. From the beginning, it was a mistake to try to talk to him.

"Have you finished your chatter?"

I said, staring at the Lich with a cold expression on my face.

"Hmm... although it didn't go as planned, it shouldn't change the final outcome much"

Said the Lich as he looked at me. With a gesture, he struck his staff on the ground again. After that, several cracks began to appear in succession, and hands started emerging from them. One by one, the hands grasped the edges of the cracks.

Skeletons wielding swords and even skeletons with bows and arrows began to rise from the ground, totaling about fifty, maybe even more.

"I think you've underestimated me quite a bit, young one"

Said the Lich with a sinister smile on his skeletal face as he began to levitate, his eyes shining even more intensely than before.

"I am a powerful mage who will soon transcend life and death. Do you truly believe that a mere mortal can defeat me?"

Listening to the words of the Lich, I could only laugh. Unfortunately for him, I had already encountered beings who had crossed the boundary between life and death long ago. Before them, he was just a cranky old man with an existential crisis.