Chapter 71.2: Revenge

Aria stared at Reis with a dumbfounded look.

Right below him, standing by his feet, were the two fairies she had searched so hard for.

Lily and Faeri stared back at her with a blank look on their eyes.

「They’re under my magic item’s control. It’s commonly known as 〝Fairy Enslavement Bell?.」

Reis showed the bell in his left hand to Aria. It was the magic item that he mentioned to her before.

Right then, the bell rang softly and a pale blue ripple spread over the skin of the two fairies.

「That sound… So you were the one who kidnapped them back in the labyrinth! Just what are you trying to achieve?! 」

「Kukuku… You are correct Aria-san. I am the one who kidnapped them. I need them to achieve my goal.」

The soft sound she had heard in the labyrinth had been that bell. That was the reason for the fairies’ disappearance.

Reis pushed out his right hand as he revealed a wicked smile. His hand clasped an arrow-like thing. The moment he did so, both fairies let out a pained scream.

「「AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! 」」

At the same time, particles of light came out from their bodies and were sucked into the arrow.

「What in the world?! Please, stop this! 」

「Nyaaa! (You fiend!)」

They didn’t know what he had done but the way Reis restrained Lily and Faeri somehow caused them pain.

That alone was enough reason for Tama and Aria to move.

The moment they attacked, Reis chanted a spell.

「《Create Skeleton》! 」

Small pillars of light blocked Tama and Aria.

As they wondered how long it would take for the light to dissipate, dozens if skeletons appeared in front of them.

「Undead summoning… Reis-san, are you a 〝Necromancer??! 」

「That’s right, Aria-san. I have the skill to create undead. And with this skill… I will have my revenge on that Earl and destroy this city! 」

Reis was shouting with an overly excited voice. He looked deranged, with his eyes opened wide and spit flying out of his mouth every time he spoke.

His words reminded Tama of the conversation with Joey and the story about Reis’s fiancee. She had ended up as the Earl’s plaything and was sent back to him as a corpse.

(Revenge… I see.）

For that reason, Reis would destroy the city.

He’d snatch everything from the Earl, just like he snatched the woman he loved the most.

「You see, I couldn’t use it properly until now. I didn’t have enough mana. The most I could summon was two skeletons. But thanks to these two fairies, I now have a vast amount of mana and I can finally have my revenge! 」

It was as if Reis was releasing all the darkness he had secretly hoarded for years.

He directed the skeletons to attack Aria and Tama.

The reason he had kidnapped the fairies was due to the immense mana pool of the fairy race.

To access that mana pool, he used the Fairy Enslavement Bell to bind the will of the fairies. Then, he used the 〝Mana Drain Arrow? to absorb their mana.

「Their mana is so wonderful! Now I can summon more than enough skeletons to destroy this city! 」

Reis had finally abandoned all pretense of normalcy.

By then, Aria and Tama had defeated the recently summoned skeletons. Stella had also joined the fray. She needed to recharge her stamina before she could rampage again.

The knights and adventurers fought against the army of skeletons around them.

「Your plan is doomed to fail. We’ll defeat you! 」

Aria shouted at Reis while she pointed the tip of her knife at him.

「Your resistance is futile. I still have a trump card. My〝Joker?! 」

Reis raised his arms and his company’s building exploded, a giant figure emerging from it.

DOGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

「Is that… ?!」

「NyAA!!!（The Earth Dragon’s Skeleton!!!)」

「YOU BASTARD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY BODY?! 」

Both Tama and Aria were shocked.

Stella, on the other hand, was downright pissed.

The giant figure that emerged from the building was the very same Earth Dragon skeleton Aria and her party had escorted to Gladdstone.

But it wasn’t just a skeleton anymore. Black miasma leaked from it as it stood on its four limbs. It was almost as if it was still alive.

The same miasma that poured from the Earth Dragon’s remains was visibly leaking from Reis’s body.

Stella was incensed.

Reis was controlling her former body, the body of an S-Rank monster.

Unacceptable.

「Do it! Earth Dragon… No, you’re an 〝Undead Dragon? now! KILL ANYONE WHO HINDERS MY REVENGE! 」

GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Answering to Reis, the Earth Dragon’s skeleton, now an Undead Dragon, raised a warcry toward the heavens.