Episode 78: The Hideout (1)
With a sound like a fox’s cry, Miya lunged at the skeletons, her hands slicing through the air.
A frail body with long, slender fingers.
At first glance, Miya might have seemed like nothing more than a young girl or boy.
But the moment those delicate fingers struck a skeleton’s torso, the bones shattered and scattered.
Without hesitation, Miya turned to attack the other skeletons. A few swift movements, and dozens of them were reduced to piles of bones.
Miya looked at Damian with a satisfied expression. Damian shook his head in disbelief.
The bone piles began to reassemble, forming skeletons once more. They picked up the weapons that had fallen to the ground.
“That’s the annoying thing about skeletons.”
Among necromantic arts, controlling skeletons was particularly challenging. Unlike zombies, their souls had to be bound.
Once bound, skeletons could function almost indefinitely, repairing themselves even when destroyed.
“Disgusting necromancers.”
Damian could see the souls tethered to the bones, feeding them dark magic. It was a nauseating sight.
Miya charged at the skeletons again, who raised their shields in response.
This time, she didn’t use her fingers but her fists. Her small fists crashed down on the skeletons’ heads.
With a satisfying crunch, the bones crumbled completely, scattering across the floor.
“She’s got a knack for this. She’s instinctively figured out how to deal with skeletons.”
The best way to handle skeletons was to break the bones into tiny pieces. The smaller the pieces, the weaker their ability to regenerate.
Miya darted around, smashing skeletons to bits. The shattered bones were strewn all over the floor.
Yet, many skeletons remained. As they fought, the broken ones kept reassembling, an endless cycle of battle.
An infernal loop with no end in sight.
Yuran hadn’t placed skeletons in the hideout for no reason.
“This won’t end like this. I need to think of another way.”
As Damian pondered, Miya’s gaze shifted to the ceiling.
There, a flesh golem in human form held a staff.
Miya kicked off the wall, reaching the flesh golem in an instant. Before it could escape, she kicked its torso, shattering it to pieces.
Simultaneously, the skeletons stopped moving. The dark magic dissipated, and they returned to mere bones.
Miya descended with a triumphant look, like a fox that had successfully hunted its prey.
“Well done.”
Damian praised her, and Miya’s expression grew even more confident.
Just then, a heavy sound reverberated through the ground. Flesh golems guarding the entrance were approaching them.
With the skeletons defeated, the flesh golems were now on the move.
Seeing the flesh golems, Miya’s face turned fierce once more.
“Can you handle them alone?”
Miya nodded in response to Damian’s question. She crouched low, her chest nearly touching the ground, and dug her fingers into the earth.
She propelled herself forward with both hands and feet, shooting like an arrow.
Reaching the flesh golem, Miya leaped into the air, driving her knee into its face.
With a sickening crunch, the golem’s face caved in, and its body staggered.
Landing on the ground, Miya wrapped her hands around one of the golem’s arms.
Her body spun, and the golem’s arm twisted and tore off.
“That’s some power.”
The strength emanating from Miya’s small frame was astonishing.
“But her body is too fragile for that kind of power.”
Every time Miya attacked, her skin peeled, and her muscles tore visibly.
Even with her regenerative abilities, it was clear her body’s durability couldn’t keep up with her strength.
Just as Miya was about to launch her next attack, a nearby flesh golem kicked her.
Miya flew back, slamming into the wall, blood spilling from her mouth.
Inexperience had led to carelessness, and the price was steep. Despite the approaching golem, Miya could only cough up blood, unable to move.
“Should I help?”
As Damian contemplated, the blood spilled by the golem began to gather around Miya.
Miya’s skin started absorbing the blood. As she absorbed more, her body rapidly healed.
“What… is that?”
Even Damian was so shocked he spoke aloud. But the real surprise was yet to come.
Miya stood up and extended one arm to the side, which suddenly transformed into a massive limb, resembling a troll’s arm.
“Body transformation?”
Miya moved again, striking the flesh golem with her troll-like hand. The golem shattered into pieces with a single blow.
The fallen flesh golem tried to resist. Miya quickly crushed its head as well.
Miya let out a satisfied cry. Her arm, which had grown massive, returned to its original size.
Miya scampered over to Damian, who examined her and asked, “How much can you transform?”
In response, Miya transformed both her arms.
“And beyond that?”
Miya shook her head. That seemed to be her limit.
“By absorbing blood, you can speed up recovery and transform into that creature?”
The flesh golem Miya had faced was made from two trolls.
What Miya absorbed was troll blood, allowing her to transform her arms into those of a troll.
“Incredible.”
If Damian’s theory was correct, this was no ordinary ability.
Had the necromancer succeeded in subduing Miya in her previous life, humanity would have faced another catastrophe.
“Good work. Let’s head inside now.”
Damian and Miya moved further into the hideout.
After walking a bit further, they reached a fork in the path.
“Treasure, herbs, plant toxins, animal toxins…”
As expected of a storage used by multiple necromancers, there were various types.
Damian headed to the treasure storage first.
Inside, he found a space about 20 pyeong in size, filled with gold coins and jewels.
“The amount is… underwhelming.”
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much in the storage. Just five pouches of gold coins and a pouch of jewels.
“Did someone already clean this out… What’s this?”
Damian noticed a chalkboard hanging on the wall.
January 10 - Agito: Took 50 gold.
February 28 - Mustang Fury: Took 150 gold and 10 sapphires.
April 25 - Rebecca: Left 80 gold and 5 golden statues.
August 10 - James: Took 70 gold and 4 diamonds.
The board listed the items taken by Yuran’s members.
But at the bottom, an unwelcome name was scribbled.
November 1 - Necromancer: I need funds to create a masterpiece, so I’m taking everything.
┗Agito: Hey, you can’t just take it all!
┗Mustang Fury: Return it while I’m still asking nicely!
┗Rebecca: Necromancer! Do you want to be cursed?
Damian clicked his tongue. No wonder the storage was nearly empty—it was the necromancer’s doing.
“That guy is always causing trouble.”
Grumbling, Damian stored the remaining treasures in his spatial pocket.
Next, he visited the herb storage. But there, too, only a few ingredients remained.
November 1 - Necromancer: I’m short on materials for my masterpiece, so I’m taking everything.
┗Agito: This damned fool has lost it!
┗Mustang Fury: Do you know how much those herbs are worth?
┗Rebecca: I’ll really kill you if I get my hands on you.
”…”
Damian stared at the board, dumbfounded.
“Surely there’s something left in the other storages.”
Damian checked the other storages, but the situation was the same. The necromancer had taken everything.
“What on earth did he need all this for?”
Exasperated, Damian headed to the final “treasure storage.”
Once again, there was hardly anything left.
December 1 - Necromancer: Even after using everything, it’s not enough. I need funds to create Nine, so I’m taking it all.
┗Agito: @#$@#%@$@#.
┗Mustang Fury: %^&$%^#$#.
┗Rebecca: @#%#%#%.
Reading the necromancer’s notes, Damian turned to Miya. She nodded knowingly.
“Nine… that was your old name, wasn’t it?”
No wonder her abilities seemed excessively powerful. It made sense now.
The resources Yuran had gathered were all used to create her, explaining her extraordinary capabilities.
“Still, this regeneration and blood absorption ability is beyond explanation.”
As Damian pondered, Miya let out another cry.
Miya tugged at Demian’s sleeve, drawing his attention to a lone box tucked away in the corner of the storage room.
If the scavengers hadn’t taken it, it was likely something of little value.
Still, curiosity got the better of him, and he approached the box to see what it contained.
A note was attached: “Warning: This is the item he was looking for. Keep it safe until the promised day.”
”…Him?”
In Yuran, “him” could only mean Dorogo.
An item Dorogo wanted? Intrigued, Demian opened the box.
The moment he saw what was inside, he was struck with disbelief.
A hilt, jagged and rough as if carved from obsidian.
A crossguard twisted like a tangle of thorny vines.
A blade, mostly shattered, with only a fragment remaining.
“Erebus…”
It was the cursed sword Demian had wielded during his days as a Death Knight, now lying before him.