Chapter 71: Aftermath (1)
In a spiritual realm, the souls of thousands of the deceased surrounded the towering spirit of the high-ranking necromancer, Corpseplay.
“Stay back! Don’t touch me!”
Corpseplay’s spirit was formidable, and the souls hesitated to approach, intimidated by its presence. But their hesitation was brief. Seizing the opportunity, the souls surged forward, encircling Corpseplay’s spirit.
“Stop! No! Don’t do this!”
Though the souls were weak and small, Corpseplay’s spirit was vast enough to accommodate them all. Thousands of souls began to tear at it simultaneously.
“Aaagh! Nooo!”
The agony of having one’s spirit torn apart was exponentially more excruciating than any physical pain. Even a single soul clinging to him was unbearable, and now thousands were ripping him apart.
He had long surpassed the threshold of pain any human could endure.
“Please… just end it… let me vanish… stop the pain…”
Corpseplay pleaded desperately, but the souls, harboring deep resentment, only sneered. They had no intention of letting him off easily. They wanted him to suffer.
“Aaaah! Aaaaargh!”
In this spiritual realm, time flowed differently from the real world. Here, Corpseplay endured what felt like an eternity of torment.
Damian watched silently as Corpseplay writhed in agony, besieged by the souls. After a prolonged period of screams, Corpseplay’s eyes rolled back, and he finally fell silent.
Only after confirming Corpseplay’s demise did Damian dispel the dark magic. Chains that had erupted from the ground disintegrated, and the puppets bound by dark energy were released. Yet, they remained motionless, like lifeless dolls, their functions ceased with Corpseplay’s death.
“The disposal of these flesh golems should be left to the Order.”
This way, Damian could claim credit with the Order, and they could study the flesh golems, benefiting both parties.
Next, Damian began to gather the dark energy within the cave. The dark energy he originally possessed, combined with that released from the destroyed flesh golems and Corpseplay’s own, was all absorbed into his bracelet.
“It’s almost at capacity now.”
Despite having expended a significant amount of dark energy in battle, he had gained even more. The bracelet, which seemed bottomless, was nearly full.
“It would be nice to find another artifact like this.”
Damian knew such a wish was nearly impossible. He had never encountered such a rare artifact in his previous life, and the chances of finding another were slim.
Just then, Damian noticed a tunnel carved into the opposite wall, large enough for a person to pass through. Driven by curiosity, he ventured inside, only to be met with a gruesome sight.
Anatomical diagrams of various creatures were scattered about, and organs were preserved in jars. Half-constructed flesh golems lay in one corner.
“This must be Corpseplay’s laboratory.”
Hoping to find something useful, Damian searched the lab. There were many items, but most were related to the creation of flesh golems. Nothing seemed worth taking.
“Hmm?”
Damian’s attention was caught by a map pinned to the wall. As he studied it, he realized it looked familiar.
“Ah, it’s where Yuran’s secret stash is located.”
He recalled the location from the memories of Yuran’s leader and officers. He had planned to visit but had completely forgotten.
Determined to check it out this time, Damian pocketed the map.
Venturing deeper into the lab, he discovered a large mirror, towering up to the ceiling.
The moment he saw it, Damian felt as if he’d been struck by lightning.
It was no ordinary mirror. It was a magical device created by Dorgo for communication with his subordinates.
“I can’t believe he had this…”
With this device, one could see Dorgo’s face and converse directly with him. Damian’s heart raced.
He reached out to touch the mirror, but his excitement quickly turned to disappointment.
“It seems it’s been a long time since any contact was made.”
Upon examining the device, Damian found that while Corpseplay had attempted to reach out many times, there had been no response from Dorgo.
“Corpseplay was important enough for Dorgo to consider him a legion commander. Yet, Dorgo cut off contact…?”
The first hypothesis that came to mind was that Dorgo, sensing danger from Yuran’s downfall, had severed ties. Due to Damian’s proactive actions, Yuran had fallen much faster than in his previous life.
Perhaps Dorgo deemed Yuran a lost cause and decided to cut his losses.
”…No, that can’t be it. Dorgo wouldn’t abandon Corpseplay for such a reason.”
Corpseplay had even placed restrictions on himself to prevent revealing Dorgo’s identity. Dorgo wasn’t the type to discard such a loyal pawn. He would use them until they were beyond repair.
“Or maybe he’s engrossed in some research?”
Being a necromancer by nature, Dorgo had a tendency to isolate himself in his lab when engrossed in research, cutting off all external contact.
That seemed a more likely explanation.
Damian clicked his tongue in frustration. Once Dorgo secluded himself in his lab, he wouldn’t emerge for at least a year. Clinging to this mirror would be futile.
Leaving his disappointment behind, Damian continued deeper into the lab, where he stumbled upon something peculiar.
A small figure was shackled, sitting in the corner. Its appearance was so androgynous that its gender was indiscernible.
”…A person?”
At first, Damian thought it was human. Unlike the flesh golems, there were no visible stitches on its body. But something felt off.
Upon closer inspection, Damian realized it wasn’t human but a flesh golem.
“Remarkable. A flesh golem indistinguishable from a human.”
Corpseplay’s “masterpieces” often resembled humans, but it was always obvious they were golems. Stitches crisscrossed their bodies, their skin tones varied, and their features were asymmetrical.
Most tellingly, they transformed into monsters when revealing their true nature.
Yet this flesh golem was so human-like that even Damian was momentarily fooled.
As he examined the golem, Damian noticed a magic circle on the floor designed to suppress dark energy. It could be activated or deactivated.
“This orb seems to deactivate it.”
Damian grasped the orb attached to the wall. Channeling dark energy into it, the magic circle ceased its function.
As soon as the circle deactivated, the flesh golem’s eyes snapped open.
Instantly, it lunged at Damian, but the sturdy shackles on its limbs prevented it from reaching him.
The golem thrashed violently, shaking the entire lab with its raw strength, unaided by dark magic.
-#%@$#%@!
A guttural roar erupted from the golem’s mouth, filled with pure malice and murderous intent.
“Fascinating. A flesh golem with a consciousness.”
Flesh golems were created from the bodies of various creatures, inevitably mixing the remnants of their thoughts. This usually wasn’t an issue, but occasionally, a consciousness would emerge from the tangled remnants.
This golem was one such case.
“Moreover, it harbors a deep hatred for necromancers.”
Upon awakening, the golem’s consciousness was driven by hatred. Understandably so, as its consciousness was born from the vengeful thoughts of those sacrificed by necromancers.
Corpseplay had likely restrained this golem because he couldn’t control its intense hatred.
-%@#$#@$!
The golem’s thrashing grew more violent, its wrists tearing against the shackles. Yet, in the next moment, the torn flesh began to regenerate rapidly.
Damian’s eyes widened slightly.
Flesh golems were undead, stitched together from corpses. He had never heard of an undead possessing regenerative abilities.
“Is this regeneration why there are no stitches?”
With formidable strength and such regeneration, it was an eerily impressive flesh golem.
“Ultimately, he couldn’t erase its hatred.”
In his previous life, Corpseplay had never used a flesh golem with such capabilities. He must have failed to find a way to erase its hatred and decided to discard it.
-@##@%@#$!
The golem strained desperately to reach Damian, likely sensing the traces of necromancy on him.
Using dark magic left a residue on one’s soul or body. The less skilled the necromancer, the more pronounced the residue.
For someone like Damian, the lingering aura was practically nonexistent. Even that faint trace would vanish completely after a short while.
Yet, the flesh golem was in a frenzy, having detected even that slight aura.
“I may use dark magic, but I’m not a dark mage.”
At those words, the flesh golem hesitated.
-@$@#$@!
It roared, as if to say, “Don’t talk nonsense.”
“I’ve never dug up graves for dark power, nor have I tormented souls. You, of all beings, should know I’m telling the truth.”
If Damian had committed such acts, the vengeful spirits of the dead would have clung to him.
This flesh golem was born from the hatred of dark mages, so it couldn’t possibly ignore such resentment.
-…….
The flesh golem quieted down, seemingly acknowledging Damian’s words as truth.
“More than anything, I despise dark mages. I destroyed the necromancer who created you.”
The golem’s eyes widened at this, glaring at Damian as if accusing him of lying.
“If you don’t believe me, ask the spirits. You were born from their thoughts, so you should be able to hear their voices.”
The flesh golem stood still for a moment. Then its eyes widened again.
”……Keh?”
The monstrous roar was replaced by a fox-like whimper.
Damian nodded in response to the unspoken question of whether he truly killed the necromancer.
“Yes, I did. To be precise, the spirits did.”
The flesh golem slumped to the ground, having lost its reason for being now that its object of hatred was gone.
“So, rest in peace.”
Damian drew his holy sword to destroy the golem’s core.
Just as he was about to strike, the golem grabbed the sword.
The holy energy began to burn its flesh, yet it refused to let go.
“Why do you resist?”
Damian asked, puzzled.
“It might sound harsh, but you’re undead. You shouldn’t remain in this world.”
The golem’s eyes turned fierce again, but not towards Damian. Its hatred was directed at dark mages.
The flesh golem’s true enemy wasn’t just the necromancer—it was dark mages as a whole.
“Do you want to stay in this world to kill dark mages?”
The golem nodded. Damian fell into deep thought.
A flesh golem of this caliber could be a great asset to him.
But Damian had been forcibly altered and used by Dorgo in a past life.
Using this golem would make him no different from Dorgo.
“Keh! Keh!”
The golem let out a sharp cry, as if telling him not to worry.
Upon reflection, this wasn’t a forced master-servant relationship like with Dorgo. It was more of a mutual agreement or partnership.
Their goals aligned, and the golem refused to rest until its grudge was settled.
After much deliberation, Damian swung his sword, cutting the chains that bound the golem.
“Let’s work well together.”
Damian extended his hand. The golem tilted its head, as if asking what the gesture meant.
Realizing the golem, having just gained self-awareness, didn’t understand the concept of a handshake, Damian took its hand and shook it. The golem’s eyes widened in surprise.
”…But how do I take you with me?”
The dungeon was surrounded by a hunting party.
If Damian walked out with an undead in tow…
“Keh? Keh!”
The golem headed somewhere, rummaging through the lab before bringing something to Damian.
It was a travel trunk made of leather.
The leather was aged, giving it a rich, deep color.
“What is this?”
The golem opened the trunk. Inside, it was filled with darkness.
“Keh!”
As the golem approached, it was suddenly sucked into the trunk.
”…Oh?”
Damian inspected the trunk closely, quickly understanding the magic it held.
“A spatial artifact designed to transport undead.”
Unlike his spatial ring, this trunk could only store undead.
The limitation allowed for a vast capacity, enough to hold hundreds of flesh golems.
Moreover, the trunk could be placed inside another spatial space.
Normally, spatial magic repels itself, making it impossible to store one space within another.
This trunk, however, was designed to store only undead, overcoming that limitation.
“This artifact is how the flesh golem avoided detection by the order.”
Damian opened the trunk again. The golem emerged from the darkness.
“Keh!”
The golem looked proud. Damian spoke with admiration.
“You remembered how the necromancer used the trunk? Smart.”
“Keh!”
The golem nodded with a satisfied expression.
Damian noticed writing on the golem’s collar.
“Nine?”
At the mention of the name, the golem’s expression soured.
It tore off the collar and threw it to the ground, stomping on it repeatedly.
It seemed to despise the name given by the necromancer.
“You need a new name.”
The golem’s face lit up with anticipation. After some thought, Damian suggested,
”…Mia?”
The golem nodded, pleased with the name.
“From now on, you’re Mia. Let’s take down every last one of those damned dark mages.”
Mia nodded in agreement.