Crack. Smash!
‘This is absurd!’
McClanahan spat out blood from his mouth. His trembling eyes reflected Raul, who stood with his hands lightly clasped behind his back.
“Without your guardians, you truly can’t exert much power.”
Thump!
“Ugh.”
With just a slight nod from Raul, an unknown force struck McClanahan’s abdomen.
‘Damn it. While he’s causing havoc here, what are the others doing?’
McClanahan wanted to call for help, but the area was almost completely cut off from the outside. Raul was manipulating thousands of weapons to form a rapidly rotating dome.
The undead legion McClanahan summoned was being shredded by the rotating weapon legion, rendered helpless. The same went for the monsters emerging from the dark gate.
They were sliced into pieces immediately upon appearance, turning the area into an automated execution ground.
“Hmm. Are you giving up? Why aren’t you using your hidden power?”
Raul asked, his expression filled with curiosity. With the situation this dire, McClanahan should have used ‘Black Sacrifice’ or at least put up a struggle, but he showed no signs of doing so.
“None of your business. If you’re going to kill me, just do it!”
Raul’s eyes narrowed slightly. Then he snapped his fingers and laughed.
“Aha, you plan to become a ‘Lich’, don’t you?”
“…!”
McClanahan’s face turned as pale as a ghost.
‘… How does he know that?’
A Lich.
A necromancer or dark mage who turns themselves into an undead to achieve immortality. They lose all human senses and appearance but gain near-immortal vitality and the blessings of dark magic.
The problem is that they lose not just the senses, but also the human appearance, turning into skeletons unfit to live in human society.
To become a Lich, one essential condition must be met: the soul must remain undamaged. However, using ‘Black Sacrifice’ would severely damage both the life force and the soul, making it an unthinkable choice for McClanahan.
“Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about. If you’re going to kill me, do it quickly, or release me. If you let me go, I’ll surrender and leave this battlefield.”
Even if Raul knew about the lich transformation, it didn’t change anything. McClanahan’s soul was already connected to a special gem, a ‘Life Vessel,’ located in a secret Imperial location, bound by powerful magic.
Even if he lost his life, he would resurrect elsewhere.
‘As long as a powerful cleric doesn’t nullify the magic, there’s no issue.’
However, the next moment, McClanahan screamed.
“W-Wait! Listen to what I—”
Slash.
With a divine aura and a shining aura blade, Raul swiftly beheaded McClanahan. Simultaneously, a dark-red connection severed. Raul’s golden eyes returned to their original blue, and a smirk played on his lips.
‘What a joke. With my analyzers, it was obvious where to cut.’
McClanahan’s severed head, eyes wide open in disbelief, lay on the ground.
“Now, onto the next prey…”
Raul’s body glowed brightly and vanished from the spot.
***
The battle at the temple had concluded.
As predicted, Ezekiel had fought fiercely, even resorting to the Black Sacrifice, but against Caldenas, it was child’s play. While Caldenas severed his limbs, Lawrence slashed Ezekiel’s body in half with his greatsword.
The 7th-circle wind mage Fry was handled by Rabel, who fought him with overwhelming skill using wind magic based on her abundant mana. Despite wearing mage power armor, Fry died from his specialty wind magic.
As for Bow Master Bryce.
“Shaaa. Stealing the prey I had carefully cornered. Such an impolite human. Shaaa.”
Chieftain Raknesha of the Naga Clan muttered to himself, licking his lips. When Raul finished his awakening and stepped outside the barrier, the Naga clan also resumed their battle.
Raul leaving the barrier to attack was the signal, and the Naga clan kept their promise. While Raknesha was exchanging arrows with the Empire’s masters, Raul snuck in and finished off Bryce easily.
Now, the only remaining threats inside the temple were the remnants of the Empire and the monsters. With the Naga clan joining and the special exploration team moving outside the barrier to mop up, it was only a matter of time before the cleanup was complete.
‘Is it over now?’
Raknesha, looking at the barrier, handed his massive bow to a tribesman.
“Shaaa! Chieftain! There’s a problem! Another intruder! Shaaa!”
“Shaaa. Where? Another one? Who?”
“Shaaa. It’s humans. Strange humans are attacking our tribe members.”
‘Humans?’
Raknesha’s eyes gleamed. Whoever they were, if they were trying to break into the sanctuary forcibly, they were enemies, even if they were allies from within the barrier.
“Shaaa. Capture them all. Do not forgive anyone who invades our territory.”
“Shaaa!”
Elite warriors and chieftains headed outside the temple.
‘How fortunate.’
Raknesha’s lips curved into a slight smile.
*
Whirr.
Raul’s weapon legion orderly flew back into his subspace. The interior of the temple was cleaned up neatly. The remaining armor users of the Empire put up their last resistance, but with the superhumans wiped out, they stood no chance.
“You did great, Raul.”
“Good job.”
Raul’s brother Lawrence, Kane, and Jake greeted him as he returned to the temporary fort.
“You too, brother. How’s your wound, sir Kane?”
“The treatment went perfectly. There’s no better potion anywhere.”
Kane’s side, which had been so severely injured that his bones were visible, was now completely healed. It was thanks to the highest-grade healing potion crafted personally by Nakia.
The potions were in such limited supply that even within the First Knight Order, only executives and high-ranking knights had access to them, earning rave reviews for being like carrying an extra life.
“Raul, it’s done.”
“Oh, Rabel. How are things?”
“I’ve temporarily sealed it, but completely sealing it seems difficult.”
The two dark gates, which had continually spewed out monsters, were now quiet. Rabel had temporarily blocked the breaches with a barrier magic circle made from manastones.
“This is troublesome.”
Raul scratched his head. Though they had dealt with the intruders, most of the ancient seals were already broken. They’d prevented the most dangerous dark gate from opening by protecting the final barrier stone, but…
‘If things stay like this, it’s only a matter of time before the Empire attacks again and breaks through.’
The true guardian of this place had perished, and Raul had no intention of staying to guard it indefinitely. Nor did he plan to leave his brother Lawrence here.
Then a system message appeared before Raul’s eyes.
『Main Quest: Protect the Ancient Seal 3rd Phase』 has been updated.
First Objective: Successfully protected the barrier stone for the designated time.
Second Objective: Successfully repelled the intruders.
『Unknown Ally (?)』 has arrived near the seal. Work with them to reseal the dark gates.
Two objectives were fulfilled as the intruders were exterminated.
‘It seems a bit early, though.’
The actual quest time was supposed to have an hour left, but maybe since there were no more threats to the barrier stone, it was marked as complete.
Raul was curious about the mysterious ally mentioned.
‘Perhaps one of the Three Great Sages or Black, the master of the wall?’
Among the Great Sages were Gray, a wandering scholar, and White, the head of the Mage Society. The last one was Black, known to wander alone and constantly fight battles.
Regarding combat power, black was considered the strongest among the Great Sages. There had been reports of Black appearing near the wall recently, making Raul wonder if he would meet him.
‘In my past life, it was all just rumors.’
During Bae Dohyun’s ten-year activity period, the other two Great Sages, Gray and White, had made appearances before players. But officially, no one had ever seen Black.
Analysts speculated that Black either died in the ‘Wall Incident’ or moved his activities within the Empire. If Black was like the communicative Gray, he could be a significant asset in future battles against the Empire.
‘Things never go so smoothly, though.’
Raul chuckled.
Knowing he’d be able to reseal the place with the ally’s help brought him peace of mind. However, things were unfolding differently than Raul expected.
“Lawrence, a messenger from the Naga clan has arrived.”
“A messenger? Well, we do need to discuss post-battle arrangements. Raul, come with me.”
Upon hearing the exploration team’s report, Lawrence and Raul went to meet the Naga messenger, only to be taken aback.
“Shaaa. The chieftain wants to see the human leader. He desires a negotiation regarding the captives.”
“A negotiation about captives? What’s this about all of a sudden?”
Lawrence turned to Raul, who was equally puzzled.
***
‘Damn it.’
Raul barely restrained himself from swearing out loud. He already felt a headache coming on.
“Shaaa. Young warrior. These claim to be of your group. Is it true? Shaaa.”
Next to the Naga Chieftain, raknesha, were several individuals bound and forced to kneel. Among them, Raul recognized familiar faces.
‘Of all people…!’
Out of all possible allies, why did it have to be them?
“I knew it! Raul, you traitor! How dare you side with monsters against humans!”
Corellius, the Paladin from the hero’s party, shouted loudly, veins popping on his neck as he stood boldly.
“Sir Corellius, please!”
“Lord Raul, it’s a misunderstanding. Please explain to them. Mmph.”
Priestess Kiera tried to calm Corellius, while the guide Shemar pleaded with Raul, only to be gagged by the Nagas. Raul sighed deeply, massaging his forehead.
‘Should I just pretend I don’t know them?’
But there were too many complications for that. Whether he liked it or not, these were main quest NPCs. The sealing process definitely required the Saintess’s power.
Moreover, it wasn’t just the hero party that were prisoners. About a dozen other individuals knelt there, looking forlorn. They were players.
‘Rakuun and Drake Guild members.’
They looked like bedraggled remnants. Their armor was dented and punctured, and blood was seeping from their wounds. It seemed they had followed the hero party all the way from the Marquis McNeil’s Household home.
‘They must have had a rough time. Heh.’
The undead and monsters appearing in the barrier were of a level beyond what most players could handle. And the sanctuary’s interior was even worse.
Who knew how many had come together; many had likely faced game over.
“Chieftain, may I speak with you privately?”
“Shaaa. Let’s.”
Since becoming a master, the chieftain seemed to treat Raul differently.
Even accepting Raul’s request instead of Lawrence’s.
“What do you want?”
“Shaaa. Want? Nothing. If they’re your group, I’ll release them. Shaaa.”
Though he said that, his expression betrayed otherwise. His slightly raised lips suggested he felt he’d caught a good opportunity. But Raul, instead of getting angry, smiled as he spoke again.
“I know them, but they’re not really comrades. Do whatever you want with them; it doesn’t concern me.”
“Shaaa. Is that so? They harmed our people. If they aren’t yours, they’ll be executed.”
The chieftain’s expression hardened.
“Of course. However…”
Raul turned to look at the dark gate.
“They have the ability to seal that monstrous thing. In my opinion, leaving it as it is benefits neither of us, especially not the Naga clan.”
“Shaaa.”
Honestly, from Raul’s perspective, it didn’t matter how it ended. If the Naga shamans could handle the seal, that would be best. If not, the chieftain would likely have to release them anyway.
And if they were executed despite having no sealing abilities…
‘Then I’ll just wash my hands of it.’
His main goal was to rescue his brother Lawrence. Having stopped the ancient seal from breaking was already more than enough. If the Empire returned, it would be the Naga clan’s problem.
‘No need to get myself involved further.’
Raul left the fate of the hero party to the Naga Chieftain.
And the chieftain’s choice was….
(To be continued)
TL’s Corner:
The heroes party is fucking annoying, specially that bitch Corellius.