The Darkness of the End (2)
Fred was pushing his way through the dark thicket.
I have to avoid the mountain paths.
No matter how foolish he was, after being caught several times he had learned one thing: if he followed the paths, the pursuers would eventually catch up to him.
It couldn't be called a wise choice.
Leaving the path in a dark forest was an extremely dangerous act—especially for someone who only knew how to handle wraiths and whose physical abilities were no different from those of an ordinary man.
But it wasn't exactly foolish either.
If he followed the road, he'd be caught anyway. As things stood, he didn't have any real options.
He forced his way through the rough forest, continuing on while barely finding places firm enough to step on.
The one small mercy was that, by using wraiths, he could at least deal with the brush blocking his way.
"Destroy it!"
A wraith surged up and swept away all the undergrowth before him.
After clearing a path, Fred dragged his heavy steps forward.
If I can just get out of here…
His body was utterly exhausted from the constant drain on his stamina and necromantic power. The cold and hunger had even left his mind hazy.
Like a zombie, he muttered dully,
"Just here… if I can just get out of here…"
Karnak and Baros were running through the forest.
"He fled this way."
They traced Fred's escape route precisely, chasing him without wandering even once.
There was a reason they could do that.
"Tsk, tsk. You really shouldn't use necromancy recklessly when you're running," Karnak said.
With only a little concentration, he could sense the traces left behind by the wraiths.
Ordinary people wouldn't notice them, but to Karnak they were like brightly glowing signposts.
"No wonder Latiel's priests chased him all the way into our territory."
With that level of necromantic power, even clerics would find it easy enough to track—not blindingly obvious, perhaps, but more than clear enough.
"Though he probably doesn't even know that."
Karnak himself had made the same mistake in his past life, so it felt awkward to call him stupid for it.
This area was the very place where Karnak and Baros had once fled in their previous lives. Now another necromancer was being hunted through the same land.
"This feels a little too familiar."
It wasn't some sentimental thought about reminiscing over his past self.
If Karnak had enough empathy to feel that way, he probably wouldn't have learned such an evil art as necromancy in the first place.
"Since it feels familiar, I can roughly guess where he'll run."
Scanning the surrounding terrain, Karnak asked,
"If we go a bit farther this way, that place shows up, right?"
Baros understood and nodded.
"Ah, that spot?"
About ten minutes from here, near a stream, there was a split cliff face.
The crack zigzagged inward, forming a perfect hiding place—light wouldn't leak out even if you lit a fire, and ventilation was excellent.
Karnak smiled knowingly.
"A place a fugitive freezing in the cold could never just pass by."
Like the two of them back then, Fred was also utterly exhausted from cold and hunger. The desire to light a fire and feel warmth would be overwhelming.
But he couldn't light one carelessly. Firelight in the middle of the night could be seen from very far away.
And warming himself with black flames through necromancy wasn't a realistic option either.
That would be like trying to warm up by doing push-ups instead of lighting a fire. You might heat up briefly, but you'd only drain your strength even more.
In such a situation, could anyone really ignore such a perfect hiding place and walk past it?
"He'll hide there until sunrise. Just like we did back then."
"And if he somehow misses it and passes by?"
"Then we track him again. There's no harm in checking."
"That's true."
They already knew the location of the cliff.
Their pace gradually quickened.
"Let's hurry. It'd be bad luck if the priests catch him first."
"Yes, young master."
A small campfire crackled inside the narrow gap of the cliff.
Crackle, crackle…
Beyond the flickering firelight, Fred lay curled up, asleep.
For a brief moment, he dreamed a happy dream.
In the dream, those men who always flaunted their noble status screamed as they died.
"Aaaaargh!"
Beautiful women who normally wouldn't even glance at him begged for their lives, promising anything.
"P-Please, spare me!"
He hesitated.
Should he just kill them? Or violate them first, then kill them?
"Hehehe…"
Fred smiled in his sleep.
They had truly been wonderful times. How nice it would be if those days could return.
Then, a voice shattered his dream.
"Oh, he really is here, young master."
"He didn't even set up a surveillance barrier? He's got some nerve."
Startled, Fred's eyes flew open.
Wh—who is it?
The voice was coming from the other side of the narrow gap in the cliff.
"Maybe he simply doesn't know how?"
"Probably. He's not someone who was properly trained."
Fred was instantly wide awake.
I've already been caught up to?!
Panicking, Fred bolted outside.
The crack in the cliff was sealed off at the back. If he got trapped in there, he wouldn't even be able to run.
He stumbled out to the stream, only to find two men staring at him calmly.
"He looks more normal than I expected, young master."
"There's no rule saying necromancers have to look like horrific monsters."
"But you used to be a bluish skull-face, didn't you, young master?"
"Hey! And you were a bluish corpse-muscle brute!"
"So what I'm saying is, both of us were horrifying monsters."
"And what I'm saying is that this guy's nothing special. If a necromancer looks this normal, it just means he's weak, doesn't it?"
Fred was utterly confused. He couldn't understand their conversation at all.
"Who the hell are you?"
"What do you think?" Karnak chuckled softly.
"The people who came to catch you."
Well, that made sense. In his current situation, who else would have business with him?
"How dare you bastards!"
Mocked and enraged, Fred summoned the darkness.
"Come forth, wraiths!"
The darkness condensed into two wraiths. Yet they didn't attack right away.
An inexplicable sense of foreboding washed over him.
Damn it! What are these guys? Why do I feel like this?
Drawing his sword, Baros stepped forward.
"Shall I take care of it?"
"Yeah. I could use the practice too."
Karnak raised his right index finger and casually traced a circle in the air.
"A blade that strikes spirits—Spell Blade."
Baros's sword began to glow faintly white. It was a spell that allowed one to cut ghostly, intangible beings.
It wasn't as powerful as a priest's blessing, but mages could use similar methods.
Of course, Karnak's version was a little different.
"How does it feel? Like magic?" Karnak asked.
"It's similar, but something feels different."
Strictly speaking, it was chaos magic that produced the same effect as Spell Blade. It looked the same on the surface, but the formula and mana flow were different.
"It actually feels more like a cleric's blessing. No holy feeling at all, though."
"You've never even received a blessing. How would you know?"
"I've seen other people get them enough times. I can compare, at least."
"I see. Strip away the showmanship and it ends up closer to divine magic than arcane, huh? Interesting."
Fred calmly assessed the situation.
He still couldn't understand their conversation, but one thing was clear.
"So… a mage."
Just as priests instinctively sensed necromancy, necromancers instinctively sensed holy power.
There was no trace of divine power coming from that insolent young man.
"If they're not the goddess's dogs, then…"
A flicker of relief crossed Fred's face.
As long as they weren't clerics, it was fine.
He had already killed several ordinary knights and mages!
Confidence surged back into him, and Fred shouted arrogantly,
"Hahaha, how laughable! Do you really think just two of you can stand against me?"
The two men merely sneered.
"Wow, that's embarrassing. Where did he learn to talk like that?"
"That's how you used to talk, young master."
"Did I really talk like that?"
"It's eerily similar. Do necromancers all end up like that?"
"…Shut up and just grab him."
Glowering at the two who were oozing arrogance, Fred snarled,
"Go, my wraiths! Kill them all!"
The wraiths shrieked as they lunged from both sides.
Aaaaaah!
Tracking their positions, Baros raised his sword and took his stance.
First, the one on the right.
"Hah!"
With a short breath, he thrust forward—then immediately swept up in a diagonal slash, twisting his body and cleaving straight through the torso!
KWAANG!
With a thunderous blast, one wraith was annihilated without even putting up a fight.
"Easy enough."
Even then, Baros didn't stop.
Carrying the momentum from the kill, he charged straight toward the one on the left.
Just as the wraith swelled its form, trying to engulf him in darkness—
"Hmph!"
With a scoff, Baros instantly unleashed a double upward slash.
Two crescent arcs of light flashed, and in an instant the wraith was torn to shreds.
It was one of Revan Strauss's signature techniques—Overkill.
Baros glanced down at his hands and smacked his lips.
"Tsk. I've been training you so much, young master, that my hands learned it first."
Fred's eyes widened in shock.
"My wraiths… defeated that easily?"
Tensing up, he once again drew up the darkness.
"So you had some confidence after all! But my power doesn't end there!"
Vast darkness spread its sinister aura, engulfing the entire streamside.
"Come forth! My servants!"
Countless wraiths appeared once more from all directions—over a dozen of them.
"That again? You've got a pretty thin repertoire," Karnak muttered.
This time, Karnak joined the fight as well.
First, Baros leapt into the midst of the wraiths, thrusting and slashing without hesitation.
"Hah! Tyaaah!"
In the gaps between his strikes, Karnak's magic followed.
"O fire, condense and explode."
Fireballs hammered into the wraiths, burning them away…
"And the roar of the heavens flows down to the earth."
Lightning danced, ripping the darkness apart.
BOOM! BOOM! KWA-KWAANG!
Explosions rang out one after another, and the number of wraiths began to dwindle rapidly.
Mid-swing, Baros nodded in admiration.
"Oh, you really look like a proper mage now, young master."
Karnak smiled in satisfaction.
"Right? Hard to tell the difference, isn't it?"
Fred's expression twisted even further.
T-they're strong…
At this rate, no matter how many wraiths he summoned, it wouldn't be enough. He needed to call forth something far more powerful.
Damn it—using that leaves terrible aftereffects!
But if he didn't use it, he'd just be captured.
Resolving himself, Fred twisted his face into that of a demon.
"Very well! I'll show you the true power of death!"
Raising both hands above his head, his eyes glowed red.
"Kneel before the great darkness!"
"Wow, that way of talking is exactly like yours, young mas—"
"Shut it, Baros."
"Yes, sir!"
With a horrific shriek, a gray wraith emerged.
The strongest spirit Fred could command—a Wraith.
Kyaaaaaaah!
At last, the two seemed tense.
Baros stepped back and spoke seriously.
"That one's beyond my current ability."
Karnak wore a similar expression.
"My magic can't handle it either. At our level, this is the limit."
Seeing them retreat, Fred shouted arrogantly,
"Now it's too late to beg for mercy! Go, wraith!"
On his command, the wraith sliced through the darkness, its gray form stretching long.
Kyaaaaaaaaah!
The shriek shook heaven and earth. Terrifying deathly energy and killing intent scattered in all directions.
It was a dreadful sight, as if death itself had taken form.
In an instant, the wraith flew right up to Karnak's face.
That was when—
"Hey."
Staring straight at the wraith, Karnak said flatly,
"Kneel."
Still carrying its momentum, the wraith slammed down to the ground.
Kiiiiiii—
As if prostrating itself before a king, it meekly knelt before Karnak.
Well, it had no knees, so to be precise, it folded its lower form and pressed itself flat against the ground.
Fred's mouth fell open.
"W-what… what is that…?"