Chapter 166: We Are Many Tales

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"King?" Lily looked at Alistar, stunned.

"Yes, he was the previous king before Garme," Edelweiss added.

"Watch out!" Ghander shouted and abruptly kicked Edelweiss out of the way. In an instant, Garland snapped his fingers, and a few moments later, Ghander was decapitated.

"Lord Ghander!" we shouted. It happened so quickly. I didn't see anything, and neither did Alistar or Edelweiss.

"Damn it! Impossible!" Ghander said as he drew his blade behind Alistar. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at seeing him unharmed.

"Good. So it was just his clone," Lily sighed in relief in her mind. I followed suit. That was close. What kind of ability was that? We couldn't fight Ghander with swords, no matter how skilled we were, and this opponent killed him with a flick of a finger? Ghander's clone was just as strong as Ghander himself.

"Ghander! What is his ability?" Alistar shouted, abandoning all noble mannerisms and raising his shield in panic.

"King Garland was a blessed individual. His ability was to create blades from the sound. It was like wind magic, but faster," Ghander explained. His face was filled with horror at the creature before us. "Stay on your guard. We should retreat. I recognize that human who invaded Northlandgard. He is also a blessed individual. However, I don't know the exact weakness of his ability. He can turn himself into stone, seemingly invulnerable to physical attacks."

"How is it possible for an undead minion to retain its blessings?" Alistar questioned.

"I see. Even after more than fifty years, there are still those who knew them personally. I thought nobody would remember them anymore after I killed almost everyone in Northlandgard. Hahahah."

The generational shift became evident as I looked at Lily's confused expression, contrasting with Alistar and Edelweiss, who knew these individuals and their powers. Lily had never known these guys, while Alistar knew them and now understood their abilities after Ghander explained.

"Shiro!—"

"No, we can't use the Fire Dragon. If what Ghander said is true, these undead elves could easily kill our dragon, just like when we fought Silvester."

"How can we fight them then?" Lily's thoughts were interrupted as Alistar threw a rock at the undead elves. The rock flew in a straight line toward the elf's head, but the human blocked it.

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"Damn it."

"Good thinking, Alistar," Ghander said. "I'll take on the human. You need to deal with the undead."

Out of respect, nobody mentioned Garland's name anymore. We were clearly at a disadvantage, even though we outnumbered them. Every time the black figure moved, an undead skeleton rose up from his shadow. Edelweiss and I continued firing spells at it, but it seemed to have no effect. The black figure didn't appear to be harmed in the slightest.

"Who are you?"

"We are the curse of the world. We desire ruin! We desire death! We are Death!"

He spoke like the main villain in a novel with that line. The incomprehensible motive of desiring death was unthinkable to me and anyone else in this world. No one in this world desired such a disaster, whether they were elves, humans, dwarves, or tailfolk.

"What good does it bring to ruin everyone? Why do you want to kill? Every race I've encountered didn't seek that. Even humans only wanted to enslave! Why?"

"Would you like to hear our story? My tale?" The black figure ceased his movement. The black light of corruption no longer emanated from his hands, and no more summons emerged from his feet. At his pause, everyone halted their motion. Even Alistar and Ghander at the back came to a stop.

"It was a simple tale, really. A long time ago, there was a soldier, an outcast from the elves. He was mediocre in everything he did. However, he was not envious. He found contentment even as others surpassed him in rank." His words somehow pricked at me like needles.

"Must be nice being here, not burdened by the high and mighty heroes," I muttered.

"Didn't you say you weren't envious?" Edelweiss interjected. "I was an outcast too before I received my blessings."

"The soldiers were the ones who were not envious. Not us," the figure clarified.

"However, the soldier was eventually cast out from his ranks. He became an adventurer and met a dog's death in the jungle. As he took his final breath, he cursed the world for neglecting him, despite his loyalty and refusal to complain to anyone. With his dying breath, he wished for ruin. But that alone is not our story," he continued.

"One day, there was a soldier, an outcast from the humans. They were a cruel bunch. Greed consumed their hearts, and the same went for this soldier. Every day, he strived to be the best. He did achieve greatness after deceiving his commander and getting him killed in Northlandgard. When he received his promotion, he felt as if the world belonged to him. Alas, he failed his mission and met a dog's death in the forests of Northlandgard. In his dying moments, he cursed the world. Why, after all he had been through, after all he had accomplished, was it taken away from him before he could even savor a glimpse of it? He died with a wish for the world to be destroyed. But that alone is not our story." We shuddered as he continued his tale.

"One day, a tailfolk slave was forcefully conscripted into the Northlandgard expedition. He cursed the world as his own world was ripped away from him. His home was taken from him. His mother was violated, and his father was slain in bloodshed. Powerless, he watched as the humans ravaged his homeland. At first, his curse was directed at the humans for being the malevolent plague of the world."

"Then, the Northlandgard expedition arrived, and they failed. When the army was defeated, he was finally free. No longer without a home, he sought refuge with the elves, who received him with coldness. As a former soldier of the enemy nation, he was already fortunate that the elves did not outright kill him. However, the treatment he received was still cruel. Every day, he went hungry, dirty, and destitute. Eventually, he died with nothing to achieve and nothing to be proud of. He passed away while cursing the world and wishing for its ruin. But that alone is not our story."

Death gave us a final gaze as darkness permeated our very being. "We are many. We have cursed the world. We are death!"