Chapter 46 : Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Terror (3)

What determined the rank of an undead was not only the strength they possessed in life but, more importantly, their obsession with life.

The greater this obsession, the stronger the undead.

Conversely, the weaker it was, the weaker the undead.

This meant that not every renowned knight in life became a Death Knight.

Without obsession, even someone with the potential to become a Death Knight would rise as a skeleton.

Just like the case before my eyes.

One of the Four Seats, Magello.

Having saved me and Luis, fulfilling his final mission, he faced death without any lingering regrets.

Thus, the man who was once Shadow’s greatest master of Dagger Arts in his lifetime had become a skeleton after ten years.

The important thing was this.

Of course, his memories from life would likely be reduced to a few fragments of habits etched into his bones.

Yet, buried in the cemetery, he answered Raven’s call and came to us.

Wasn’t this what they called fate?

“It’s fate.”

“…….”

“That day, there were many comrades whose bodies we couldn’t even recover. But Magello-nim has returned to us and at our most desperate moment!”

Suddenly, Luis shouted, overcome with emotion.

‘What’s with this guy all of a sudden?’

This side of him was new, and honestly, it was quite bewildering.

It was interesting, sure, but not enough to warrant such an overreaction.

As I cautiously wondered if he might have schizophrenia, Luis spoke again.

“What’s with that lukewarm expression? Isn’t this a great situation?”

“No, it’s good. It’s great.”

“This is proof that the Goddess of Night is watching over us.”

“What’s with all this goddess talk? It’s just me being awesome.”

“This is a touching moment. Please don’t ruin the mood.”

“No, it’s true. I found Clatter, and I brought us here.”

Luis’s brow furrowed.

“Do you always have to pat yourself on the back to feel satisfied?”

“It’s the truth and didn’t you just call it a mere skeleton earlier?”

“…….”

“A mere skeleton, so let’s not waste time and find a more productive solution?”

“Did I say that?”

“Yeah.”

Luis clamped his mouth shut.

Then, suddenly, he took off his glasses and started wiping them with a handkerchief.

“I don’t recall.”

This guy was shameless, even more than me.

Anyway, the important thing was.

“I found its specialty.”

Dagger Arts.

Since I was currently using Dagger Arts as my main skill, there couldn’t be a better double than this.

I got to work immediately.

Closing my eyes, I focused.

Click, as I activated the Mana Circuit in my mind, the world around me, enveloping my body, changed.

It felt like swimming through a vast ocean current.

The more Mana Circuits I opened, the more mana I could sense.

Currently, I could feel and control the mana within a five-meter radius around my body.

Following the flow of the technique guided by [Understanding of Death], I converted all this mana into Sagi (Death Energy).

Crackle!

When I opened my eyes, a fiercely swirling mass of deathly energy was gathered before me.

Though small, it was a lump of Sagi condensed from an amount equivalent to a 4th Circle.

“Wipe your face.”

Luis handed me a handkerchief from the side.

Perhaps due to the heavy mental strain, my body was drenched in sweat.

I wiped the sweat and took out a flask of Lumigan Grass Root Tea from my Subspace, drinking it.

“Phew! I’m alive again.”

“Who’s the first?”

I glanced at Luis, asking with my eyes.

The first?

What was he talking about?

“Are you planning to pit Magello-nim against those guys?”

“Not Magello-nim, Clatter. That guy and this one are distinctly different entities.”

Luis paused, then nodded.

“You’re right. Let me rephrase. Which one will Clatter fight first, and in what order?”

“What are you talking about? They’ll all fight at once.”

Luis looked puzzled.

“Sorry, I must’ve misheard. Could you repeat that?”

“You heard right.”

“……You’re joking, right?”

“Nope. All of them. At once. So, one against three. You got that right.”

“No way…….”

Luis’s mouth flapped like a fish.

He wanted to argue, but he was so dumbfounded that his words got tangled in his head.

Normally, he wouldn’t act like this.

I was seeing a lot of new sides to Luis today.

“……Just to be sure, are you actually insane, Master?”

“You’re being a bit harsh to your Master.”

“You’re the harsh one! We finally found a way to complete the request, so why are you trying to ruin it?”

“Who was it that was whining about it being just a skeleton earlier? What? Now you’re suddenly worried?”

“Of course I’m worried. I’m always worried about you, Master.”

Bullshit.

I chuckled and brushed it off.

I knew what Luis was worried about.

We didn’t know what kind of undead those three remains lying there would become.

As executed villains, their obsession would be considerable.

As I mentioned earlier, they could become Skull Warriors.

In the worst case, a Ghost Knight might emerge.

Even in one-on-one fights, these were undead that a skeleton would struggle to defeat.

But did an undead’s rank always equate to strength?

“There’s a saying, you know? Class is eternal.”

At the same time, the mass of Sagi in front of me split into three streams.

“If Clatter is truly a skeleton risen from Magello’s remains, there’s more than enough chance of winning.”

And the rewards would be far greater.

The three streams of Sagi seeped into the three corpses, forming their thoughts.

[Beltus-Style Revival]

Soon, grotesque sounds echoed through the area.

Crack!

Creak, creak!

The bones writhing on the ground slowly began to rise.

Their joints thickened, and their color darkened to black under the influence of their thoughts.

A black body was the hallmark of a Skull Warrior.

There were two of them.

And the last one, the remains of Chiron, the brothel knight, gradually turned into gray smoke, soon forming a single shape.

Hiss……

Well, that’s a Ghost Knight.

It actually showed up.

Suddenly, I felt a stinging gaze from the side.

“…….”

As expected, a Ghost Knight would be a tough opponent for Clatter.

A Ghost Knight couldn’t be harmed by physical attacks.

So what should I do?

Should I exclude the Ghost Knight from the fight?

That’s what I thought for a moment.

Then, a single line pierced through the air.

Crack!

The remains of Radan, in the midst of transforming into a Skull Warrior, collapsed in an instant.

A shattered skull.

Behind it was the dagger that had been in Clatter’s hand just moments ago.

“Attacking during undead transformation! How cowardly!”

I shouted in shock.

Of course, despite my words about cowardice, my heart was filled with excitement and joy.

Naturally.

I wasn’t trying to insult.

This was high praise.

A thief should be cowardly, and Clatter, attacking an enemy defenseless during transformation, was a natural-born thief.

And Clatter was.

Far more cowardly than I’d imagined.

Crack!

Clatter’s next target was the other Skull Warrior, nearly done with its transformation.

It charged and struck the skull.

It didn’t break.

The skull of Rendas, the drug lord, wasn’t frail enough to shatter from one or two punches from Clatter.

And by then, Rendas’s transformation was complete.

Reborn as a Skull Warrior with its characteristic heavy frame.

But soon, he collapsed to the ground.

Clatter, unable to break the skull, had climbed atop him and twisted it off entirely.

Then, Clatter lifted Rendas’s skull and slammed it repeatedly into the ground like breaking an ostrich egg.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Black smoke seeped from the cracked skull.

Thoughts.

Absorbing them would allow Clatter to grow stronger, but the battle wasn’t over yet.

Hiss──

Suddenly, a sword shot out from the air, sweeping toward Clatter’s right side.

Clatter rolled away, barely dodging the Ghost Knight’s attack.

“The Ghost Knight is too much, Master!”

Luis shouted.

I ignored him.

Clatter, constantly tracking the Ghost Knight’s movements while occasionally scanning the surroundings, was not the image of someone who’d given up.

It was the image of a thief searching for a way out.

There was a chance.

A single strike infused with Sagi.

It was just a fleeting moment, but if Clatter could hit the Ghost Knight’s weak point with the power it showed back at the dormitory, this fight could be won.

But only once.

That was the amount of Sagi Clatter could currently handle, and right now, it didn’t even have a weapon.

Then Luis shouted at me again.

“Mast……!”

The scene that followed plunged both me and Luis into a crucible of shock.

Especially for Luis.

Clatter suddenly lunged.

But its position was directly behind Luis.

“What the…….”

Startled, Luis turned to see Clatter diving behind him.

But he soon had to draw his sword from his waist.

The Ghost Knight’s sword was looming right in front of his face.

Clang!

Luis’s mana-infused sword clashed with the Ghost Knight’s in midair.

And Clatter didn’t miss that opening.

Luis’s long hair swayed for a moment.

What shot out from within was a long, stark-white rib bone.

The rib bone, soon dyed black with Sagi, pierced the Ghost Knight’s chest precisely.

Hiss……

The Ghost Knight’s form dispersed.

Its core, wrapped in thoughts, had been destroyed.

Clatter hurriedly emerged from behind Luis.

Then it absorbed all the thoughts, not missing those of the other Skull Warriors either.

Luis stared at the scene with an incredulous expression.

“How’s that?”

I approached and asked.

“……Just. Impressive. In many ways.”

He kept glancing at Clatter, letting out a wry chuckle, unsure whether to be angry or not.

Honestly, I was amazed.

Its cunning judgment as a thief was one thing, but its combat sense and boldness were what truly stood out.

I knew Magello was the most outstanding in combat among the executives, but I didn’t expect this level.

I was grateful that his experience remained even in death.

Clack!

Then Clatter, having finished [Thought Devouring], came to me.

I scanned Clatter’s appearance and deliberately exaggerated my reaction, shouting.

“What’s this? It’s the same! No matter how I look, it’s just a skeleton!”

“…….”

“Huh? Look, Luis. Nothing’s changed. No matter how you see it, it’s a dumb skeleton.”

“……Fine, stop teasing. I was wrong.”

I burst out laughing.

“Alright, alright.”

Its appearance hadn’t changed.

But its presence was distinctly different.

Especially the intensity of the thoughts swirling in its empty eye sockets, far denser than before.

Then Clatter held something out to me.

The dagger I’d lent it earlier.

I shook my head with a smile.

“You keep it.”

Clack?

“Yeah. That’s right. A gift.”

I glanced at Luis with a ‘That’s okay, right?’ look, and he shrugged.

“As you wish, Master.”

With that, its growth was complete.

Having absorbed even the Ghost Knight’s thoughts, Clatter could now freely wield Sagi.

The amount of Sagi was sufficient too.

At this level, it could detonate the Beast Pouches in my place anytime.

The final step left was disguise.

No matter how loose a robe it wore, the face, neck, and hands’ skin would show beneath the hood.

Wandering around the Academy, where security had been tightened, like that would get it caught before the terror even began.

That’s where Luis came in.

In terms of disguise, no one could rival the greatest thief, the First Seat Yugen.

Luis was his disciple.

Click!

Luis pulled a long bag from his waist and quickly mixed some chemicals from it, creating something.

He applied it to Clatter, then attached artificial leather, identical to human skin, to its hands and neck bones, crafting a fairly convincing appearance.

He finished with the eyes of some unknown animal.

“Now that I see it, Luis, you’re freaking talented, huh?”

“This is basic.”

“Wow. Really? As expected. A thief needs to have at least one specialized skill. I thought all you could do was whine and nag, like some useless human. Do you know what a useless human is? Useless human.”

“…….”

“Haha. Why are you drawing your sword, Luis? It’s a joke. A joke.”

And so, all preparations were complete.

The day of the terror dawned.

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