Chapter 273
Chapter 273. Urgent News
— Evening at Evaroti Royal Castle.
The apprentice of the Undead King, Claire, was waiting in a private room near the library in preparation for a regular update with her superior.
Bored, she sat on the bed and plunged her magical arms into the Gate of the Spirit World. While waiting for the time to arrive, she also practiced necromancy, casually picking up nearby souls to kill time.
“… Oh?”
Claire had caught a remarkably vibrant soul.
‘— Ugaaah! I can’t be taken out here—!’
The soul of a struggling man was being dragged out from the Spirit World.
‘— Aaaah…? Where is this… What the hell…?’
The man wobbled and managed to sit up in a haze. His hair was pointed and spiky at the back, with a characteristic hooked nose that somewhat resembled a crow’s look—
‘… What about the village!? What happened to everyone!? Why am I here… Was I saved!?’
“Calm down. What happened? Please speak slowly.”
It’s typical for the deceased to act hysterical right after being summoned, so Claire gently spoke to him, her demeanor accustomed to such situations.
‘… A terrifying monster came to Ryan Village. It was huge, like a lion, a magical beast… and it could fly. It crossed the moat and walls in no time and then… the village… everyone…’
— A lion-like flying monster. Could it be a Manticore? Claire quickly thought.
This man had likely been attacked by a Manticore. No surprise there; it was something a normal human race wouldn’t stand a chance against. And speaking of Ryan Village, wasn’t that the name given to the frontline base…?
It was supposed to be a strongerhold against monsters, and yet it got attacked so quickly by something formidable. Should it be called a disaster, or a deserved outcome?
‘This won’t do; I need to call for help quickly…!!’
As the man hurried towards the exit, his attempt was in vain.
Because his soul was bound to this place by Claire’s magic.
‘What… is this?’
“You have died. I am a necromancer. I summoned you.”
Claire added, probably just having died moments ago.
Looking down at his own hands and realizing they were transparent… the man looked up with a shocked expression.
‘A necromancer… You’re not suggesting you are from the Demon Lord Army…?’
“Correct. You’re quite perceptive.”
He’s truly just died, but still retained a sense of reason; Claire couldn’t help but be impressed.
‘You… as a human race, you delved into dark arts as a Demon Lord’s mage! You traitor!!’
The man glared fiercely at Claire—
‘[Holy Light, come to my hands!!]’
—Shining in silver, he charged at her.
“Are you kidding me!?”
Even Claire’s eyes widened. A user of holy attributes!?
She struck the attacking soul with her dark magic. A ferocious curse, as sharp as a spinning saw, smashed into the man’s soul, blowing it away towards the Gate of the Spirit World.
‘Gaaahhh…’
The soul was sucked into the gate, leaving behind its dying scream.
“… That was close.”
She felt a satisfying result. That soul would likely collapse soon…
“… A hero? What’s he doing in the Autonomous District?”
He definitely didn’t look like a priest. If he were a priest, he would have already mastered light attributes by training and would have self-destructed quickly. … An immature hero? Could he have snuck in among the captives…?
Either way, her master always said to be very careful when summoning anyone related to the Holy Church, and she experienced that truth firsthand.
Taking a deep breath, Claire attempted to summon more souls tied to Ryan Village.
Then, more and more appeared.
‘Nooo! I don’t wanna die!!’
‘Ahhh! Don’t come near me, monster!!’
‘Help me! Mommm!!!’
Claire calmed them down, heard them out lightly, and returned them to the Spirit World—repeating the process.
“This is… almost total annihilation.”
With an expressionless face, she muttered, seemingly to no one in particular, and shrugged her shoulders.
Before long, the set time arrived. She tapped the skull she’d placed by her pillow to “activate” it.
A blue flame flickered weakly in the eye socket. This was a simplified summoning undead that could subtly pull Claire’s soul closer.
Laying back on the bed, Claire smoothly performed a spirit separation. She carefully enveloped herself in a shell of magic and leaped into the Gate of the Spirit World.
Everything turned dark.
Endless— a world of void.
In this bottomless darkness, time and distance were ambiguous; perhaps this is what it feels like to drift in the ocean of night— while contemplating this, she felt a sudden strong pull.
Suddenly, she found herself seated in a conference room with a stone round table. Of course, still in soul form.
“Hey, Claire.”
Smiling brightly, her master— Enma, was seated across from her with hands clasped.
This conference room was, as you can see, a place where higher-ranking undead could gather in soul form to engage in discussions. Each seat around the round table had a summoning function for the respective executives, also serving as a safety device to evacuate souls to the Demon Lord Castle in emergencies.
“Is everything in Evaroti normal today?”
“Yes… I would like to say so, but it seems that an incident just occurred.”
“Really?”
Enma tilted his head curiously, intrigued.
Claire then narrated how the frontline base had been attacked by a Manticore, resulting in numerous deaths.
“Oh dear. Let’s at least pray they could pass without suffering.”
Enma offered a rather insincere prayer.
“So, what happened to their souls? Since we’ve got the chance, let’s make them our allies!”
And immediately after, he broke into a sly grin.
Claire made an effort to clear her mind. She was in soul form. If she didn’t focus, her emotions would spill out too easily—
‘There wasn’t enough time, so I had to release them as they were. There didn’t seem to be anyone promising… Except for one hero who sneaked in, and I was almost burned by his holy attribute.’
At Claire’s report, Enma’s eyes widened with surprise.
“A hero in the Autonomous District? That’s intriguing. I’m glad you’re safe, Claire. … What should we do about this with Zil-kun?”
‘Shouldn’t we report it? I’m sure that prince would be thrilled to learn there’s more strength in the Autonomous District than he thought… even though he died.’
“Even though he died, though. Should we let him go?”
‘Yes. It was a reflex to erase him, so he’s probably collapsing by now…’
“Oh dear,” Enma said, making a disappointed face.
“I would’ve liked to hear more details, but… I guess it can’t be helped. Thank you for your hard work, Claire. I’ll go inform Zil-kun right away.”
‘Okay. See you tomorrow then.’
Enma waved lightly and temporarily disabled the summoning function for his seat.
After bowing respectfully, Claire dove back through the Gate of the Spirit World that Enma had opened. Floating gently in the weak pull of the simplified summoning undead, she drifted back towards Evaroti.
“Phew…”
After bursting forth from the Gate of the Spirit World in her room, she settled back into her body, opened her eyes, and got up. Though she didn’t need to breathe, she exaggeratedly let out a sigh and cracked her shoulders.
“…”
Over the recent times living in Evaroti, she had unconsciously picked up human-like gestures. No need to explain the reason—
“… I guess it’s about time to go.”
Today was the day that person would come.
— Clad in a robe that reeked of spices, Claire left her room.
