Chapter: 153
No matter how much the Duke was suspicious of him, Lian couldn’t just leave her like this.
If he were a resident of his comedy world, he would’ve easily come up with some funny lines to convince her, but he was more like an unbreakable character in a gag show.
So, without holding back, he marched straight up to the Duke. Extremely tense, the Duke drew a short dagger from her waist and swung it at Lian.
Thwack!
The dagger pierced Lian’s thigh. To everyone’s surprise, it was the Duke who was shocked. Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell slightly open. She knew that someone as strong as Lian could easily dodge something like this with his eyes closed.
At that moment, the survival instincts that had paralyzed her reason started to kick back in. Lian, quick to catch on, gently grabbed the Duke’s hand that was holding the dagger jammed in his thigh.
“It might sound silly to say this now, but I’m not your enemy.”
“What kind of nonsense is that… cough, cough!”
She was about to say more when she spat out blood. The untreated wound on her abdomen had split open again. Her lips were a pale bluish color, and her eyes flickered in and out of focus.
With such a desperate look on her face, Lian figured it’d be better to show rather than tell.
“Excuse me.”
“D-don’t come any closer!”
As Lian reached toward her thigh, the dagger dug in deeper. If she had even a sliver of strength left, she might have tried to slice off Lian’s leg right then.
Her trembling hand only managed to push the dagger in deeper, unable to do anything else. The Duke’s blood, which had soaked the floor, mixed with Lian’s own as he selflessly placed his left hand on her leg, channeling his Divine Power.
Buzz.
A familiar pattern glowed brilliantly on his palm, and the Duke’s wounds began to heal rapidly.
“What is…?”
As warmth and comfort washed over her, the tension in the Duke’s body started easing up. The dazed state made her dizzy, and with a blank expression, she muttered before finally passing out.
*
In a dark, old study located somewhere…
The interior was dimly illuminated by a soft purple light, but the source of it remained a mystery, creating an ominous atmosphere.
Tall bookshelves lined the walls, and the empty spaces were filled with skulls that had candles popping out of eye sockets, dried frogs, herbs, bones, and unrecognizable statues. Some items dripped with black smoke or red blood.
Though there were books, they were not many.
How to Manipulate Souls: A Guide for Necromancers
Language of the Beyond: Communicating with the Dead
The Magic of Bones: Secrets of Structure and Strengthening
The Boundaries Beyond Death: A Traveler’s Guide for Souls
Soul Binding: How to Earn Eternal Loyalty
Curse and Defense: The Necromancer’s Defense Art
It seemed like the owner of this study either had a keen interest in “Necromancers” or was one themselves, as many books related to them were placed on the shelves.
In the center of this tiny 2-pyeong room stood a long, dark brown wooden desk, which looked like it had seen better days after years of use.
On top of the desk sat a slim, three-legged stand, and resting on it was a large Crystal Sphere the size of a human head. It gleamed brightly, as if well cared for.
Seated in a leather chair behind the desk was a woman with pink hair, her hooded black robe pulled snugly over her head, sneering slyly. Her sharp jawline and slender neck were striking. Her slightly revealed lips curled enchantingly, and a beauty mark sat below them.
“Ahh… Just a little while longer, and it’ll be mine.”
With sultry moans escaping her, she gazed intently at the inside of the sphere. Inside, a vivid image of the Duke being attacked by a girl wearing a white dress was clear.
“If I can claim that woman, known as the strongest in the Empire, I’ll secure a spot among the Four Heavenly Kings. Then I’ll be beside Erboan… I’ll be… heehee!”
She writhed with ecstasy, unable to control herself, and then babbled about things no one asked.
“Who would’ve thought I could breach the Empire’s protection spells? Even Erboan couldn’t destroy them…! It’s obvious the Demon King wants to bring Erboan and me together. It can’t be helped! Heehee!”
The entire Empire was under protective magic, making it impossible for outsiders to sneak in through spatial transfer. Additionally, holy magic near the borders made it near impossible for anyone with magical ties to infiltrate.
While there were ways to get in, the risks far outweighed the rewards, so only beings with nearly zero magic could act as spies within the Empire.
There was no way such a woman, simply enamored with tales of Erboan, could have detailed knowledge about how to penetrate the Empire’s defenses. She was just blissfully happy that she had successfully managed what even Erboan had given up on.
Just how could someone who seemed to only have a pretty face, yet appeared lacking in other areas, ensnare the strongest Duke in the Empire with their protection spells?
It was all thanks to the goddess of luck smiling down on her.
Her first stroke of luck was capturing a doppelganger that was incredibly hard to get. Especially one that was on the brink of death, allowing her to control even its soul. As a result, this doppelganger retained its abilities unlike any other undead.
Her second stroke of luck was successfully merging the doppelganger with a monstrous entity known as the Grim Reaper.
While learning the basics of undead fusion, she mistakenly introduced her two favorite undead into the experiment instead of just two skeletons, resulting in a rather unintended outcome.
The chance of success was a mere 0.004%, but… it seemed that the goddess of luck had given her a smile, because it worked out right away!
The doppelganger the Duke was facing did not die and returned unscathed due to its fusion with the shadow-type monster known as the Grim Reaper.
Had it not been for her second stroke of luck, the woman wouldn’t have even thought about turning the Duke into a Dark Knight; she would’ve been too busy running away.
Her third luck came when she attempted to cast spatial transfer magic to Erboan’s office, just when the Spirit King created a corridor connecting the Empire to the Demon King’s land.
The security magic placed in Erboan’s office repelled her teleportation spell, which then randomly bounced off and connected to the Empire with a pin-point probability.
The location it strangely connected to was where the Forest Guardian, deep in a long slumber, resided. That was her fourth stroke of luck.
Just like gracefully placing a spoon on a well-set table, she corrupted the sleeping Forest Guardian and tainted the woods. She manipulated the Guardian to enhance the doppelganger.
“A doppelganger that can perfectly mimic the appearance of what the target holds dearest… with this, even Erboan will… will praise me. Heehee…”
It was no surprise that no matter how much Lian rummaged through the original story, he couldn’t find a solution since this was a trap created by improbably good luck stacking up.
“How beautiful will the finished product be!”
She flashed a goofy grin, staring happily beyond the Crystal Sphere. But that smile didn’t last long.
Crackle…
“Huh?”
Noise started to interrupt the image of the Duke within the sphere. It fogged up and distorted, causing the woman to panic and poke the sphere anxiously.
“Damn it! What’s wrong with it? Is it broken?”
With such timing before reaping the fruits of her labor, her nerves shot up. Gripping her staff, she summoned a Skeleton Mage. A rattling skeleton in a black cloak rose from the ground.
“Fix this Crystal Sphere!”
The Mage immediately thrust its brown staff forward to cast a spell.
Sizzle…
“Ah! It went out!”
It seemed her efforts were in vain, as the sphere completely shut off. She threw her hood back, shaking out her pink hair nervously. Her alluring eyes, plush lips, and delicate nose were now revealed.
“Ugh… now I have to go check it myself…”
She had initially planned to sneak up on the Duke and turn her into a Dark Knight once she was completely out cold, but now, with the sphere malfunctioning, she’d have to go confirm it in person.
“Well, she’s called the strongest woman in the Empire, so maybe I can just wait a day or two to check? B-but what if she dies in the meantime? That would mean I couldn’t harvest her soul, and her abilities would drop dramatically!”
Muttering to herself with a hint of anxiety, she bit her nails. Then, as if losing her mind, she raised the Crystal Sphere and wailed.
“Fix! Just fix it! Aahhh!”
In her panic, she missed the brief moment when a white-haired man with golden eyes fell right into the trap.
Clatter…
The Mage, quietly standing beside her, turned its head to gaze at her, but she didn’t even notice.
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