Chapter 93

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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Chapter 93: The Graveyard of the Dead (5)

Oscar and the three mages from the Black Tower walked through the corridor of the dungeon's second underground floor.

“Stop.”

At the moment Kiri Gloria, who stood at the center of the group, raised her fist,

BOOM!

A tremor powerful enough to shake the entire dungeon reverberated through the space.

Quickly touching the ground, she muttered,

“...It’s getting closer. With vibrations like this, it must be on the fourth underground floor.”

This was fortunate.

The coffin and pedestal where the creature lay were absurdly heavy, causing them to fall to such a depth.

That meant they had enough time until Killian and Veronica found the vessel.

“I have a question.”

“Ask while we walk. Don’t waste time with pointless questions.”

Despite her cold response, Oscar pressed on.

“If your goal in coming here was to seal that creature, why did only three of you come?”

“...”

At that, Kiri frowned, as though she’d just heard something she despised.

“If I don’t want to answer?”

“It’ll be hard to get my active cooperation, won’t it?”

“...”

Only three people against a lich—it was undoubtedly a burden.

After a brief moment of contemplation, she reluctantly answered in a discontented tone.

“That’s because the information we obtained was incomplete.”

“Incomplete?”

“Yes. That lich...”

This time, her hesitation lasted even longer.

Frustrated, Oscar completed the sentence for her.

“...was a mage of the Black Tower, wasn’t it? Not exactly shocking.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“...!”

“...!”

The startled mages turned to look at him, their faces full of questions about how he knew.

“What’s with the surprise? The magic it wields is almost identical to the magic of your Black Tower.”

“...I see. You noticed.”

Letting out a bitter chuckle, Kiri nodded.

“You’re right. That creature was once a mage of our Black Tower. Needless to say, it’s now a thorn in our side.”

Far from treating the lich as a senior, she exuded a palpable hostility toward it.

The reason wasn’t hard to guess.

“Because it could destroy the reputation your Black Tower worked so hard to rebuild?”

“Exactly. Over the last 20 years, the Black Tower has changed significantly.”

Her clenched fists tightened even further.

“And it’s still changing.”

“Still in progress, huh? That seems related to why the information was incomplete.”

“You... really are sharp.”

By now, she admitted it without hesitation.

“That’s right. The Black Tower currently has two factions. One, the Reformists, believes we must prove to the Empire that we’ve completely transformed if we are to survive.”

“I see.”

That faction likely emerged in the past 20 years—an aspect of the Black Tower he hadn’t known about.

The widespread talk of the Black Tower’s transformation was undoubtedly thanks to their efforts.

“And the other faction is the Radicals.”

“Hm.”

Just hearing the name, he could guess their nature and stance.

“So, did they deliberately conceal information about the lich?”

“That’s correct.”

For a moment, a cold sneer crossed her lips.

“The thoughts of those stuck in the past are predictable. They probably think that if the lich causes enough trouble, we’ll have no choice but to align with them to preserve the reputation we’ve painstakingly built.”

“And you hated that idea, so you were desperate to seal it.”

“Exactly. We knew there was a dungeon in this area belonging to it, but not the precise location. That’s why we spent over two weeks scouring the region.”

Finally, Oscar understood the situation completely.

“So, is your curiosity satisfied? Feel better now?”

“...”

Seeing an evildoer praised is far easier than seeing a virtuous person fall.

The Black Tower nearly toppled the legacy it had worked two decades to establish.

As Oscar recalled her mention of “those stuck in the past,” he let out a bitter smile.

‘Wasn’t I the same?’

He, too, had been trapped by the past, judging them based on outdated knowledge.

But the Black Tower he encountered after 20 years was nurturing new growth he had never seen before.

Oscar bowed sincerely to the three mages.

“I’m sorry. I misjudged you.”

“...What?”

Faced with the unexpected apology, Kiri looked him up and down with a bewildered expression.

“Did you lose your mind after seeing the lich? Or eat something bad?”

“No, when you realize you’re wrong, you should apologize.”

Hearing that, the two mages, who had introduced themselves as Gale and Borg, were about to nod involuntarily.

But Kiri Gloria raised her hand to stop them.

“Don’t accept his apology. And you two shouldn’t apologize, either.”

“Kiri, why not?”

“Because receiving an apology from a White Tower mage is a rare opportunity.”

With that, she shot him a frosty glare.

“To us, you—and the White Tower—must always remain our insurmountable nemesis.”

“...”

Because only then could their hatred fuel their progress.

Oscar nodded with a wry smile.

‘I suppose that’s just how it is. A difference in perspective.’

The White Tower, the greatest producer of legendary heroes in history.

The Black Tower, the origin of history’s most notorious villains.

The two towers were naturally incompatible.

And the White Tower had repeatedly thwarted the Black Tower’s ambitions to ascend to the rank of the Four Great Towers.

“Stop. Everyone conceal your magic and stay silent.”

Suddenly, Kiri Gloria’s expression shifted as she raised her fist, issuing the command.

They were now on the third underground floor.

Boom. Boom.

The ground beneath them quaked ominously.

The Black Tower’s Level 4 mage, Gale, couldn’t help but speak.

“Kiri, is this perhaps...”

“You fool...!”

At the same moment Kiri spun around with a scowl,

BOOM!

The ground beneath Gale erupted, replaced by a massive thorn resembling a tree trunk.

“G-Gale!!!”

Gale couldn’t even breathe properly.

Oscar tapped his cheek and spoke.

“Breathe. Just breathe.”

“M-My stomach...”

“It’s not pierced. I pulled you out in time.”

“?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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It was only after looking down at his stomach that Gale exhaled the breath he had been holding.

For a moment, he had thought the giant thorn had skewered him completely.

Realizing he was alive solely thanks to the man before him, he stammered,

“T-Thank you...”

“Don’t mention it.”

A moment’s delay would have meant Gale’s death.

Oscar narrowed his eyes as he examined the massive thorn.

‘Black Magic: Thorn of Hatred.’

It was once a signature spell of the Black Tower.

Even now, when necromancy was outlawed, it was likely still among their repertoire.

Sssss.

The thorn slithered downward like a living snake, and from the hole it left, something began to rise.

Hooooo.

“...!”

“...!”

A lich.

The aura of death emanating from the creature filled the room as it looked at the four mages and spoke.

-Step aside... I have somewhere to be.

Unlike his previously composed demeanor, the figure now appeared somewhat anxious.

Confirming this, Oscar raised one corner of his lips in a smirk.

‘Killian, Veronica, you've arrived.’

They had reached the cemetery.

By now, those two were probably scouring the place, desperate to find the "vessel."

-I said, move aside! Now!

BOOM! CRASH!

A dozen spikes burst from the ground, targeting them.

However, the four of them were far from unprepared—certainly not to the point of succumbing to an attack they had anticipated.

-You... you scum...

At last, the figure stretched all ten fingers wide and slashed an "X" in the air toward them.

At the same time, alarm bells rang in Oscar's head.

‘This could be dangerous.’

It was the deadly beams the figure had shown earlier.

Now, they erupted from all ten fingers, sweeping through the narrow corridor like a storm.

No room to dodge...

"Get behind me!"

Clenching his teeth, Oscar hastily erected a massive shield in front of them.

Tatatatat!

Behind him, the sound of something rapidly approaching reached his ears.

Ziiing!

Something enormous intercepted the deadly beams, scattering them in all directions.

"This is...?"

"Step back and stay out of this."

With arms crossed, Kiri Gloria spoke confidently.

Her back was as solid as that of a loyal knight.

Unshaken by the beams of death, a pitch-black skeletal figure stood resolute—a mechanical golem, 2 meters tall, with its back to the group.

This was a breakthrough created by the Black Tower, despite the ban on necromancy.

"Black magic, mechanical necromancy."

The Black Tower’s proudest secret weapon.

* * *

Tatatatata!

Veronica and Killian sprinted toward the cemetery in silence.

Upon arriving, they began scouring the area without a word.

Veronica scanned the vicinity, biting her lower lip lightly.

‘I don’t sense anything resembling a vessel.’

But where could it be?

They were sure it was hidden somewhere in the area, but no one knew how to uncover it.

‘Alright, let’s think from another perspective.’

If she were the lich, where would she hide the vessel?

Of course, she’d conceal it in the most secretive and inaccessible place possible.

So where would that be?

As she agonized over the question, a skeleton emerged from the ground.

"What is this? Just a low-grade monster..."

Veronica’s wind arrow pierced through the skeleton’s skull, and it collapsed into a pile of bones.

Ignoring the heap of bones, she dashed around the cemetery.

Meanwhile, Killian stood still, arms crossed, watching her with narrowed eyes.

After a while, Veronica noticed his lack of action and glared at him.

"Hey, what are you doing just standing there?"

"Observing."

"Why would you do that? Aren’t you going to look for the vessel?"

"Hmm. Running around aimlessly doesn’t seem like the best way to find it."

"..."

Was this guy’s usual "forest warrior" act just a facade?

Wiping the sweat off her forehead with a dirt-covered hand, Veronica spoke.

"So, did you find anything with your observing? If not, shut up and start moving like me."

"I did find something puzzling."

Killian pointed at the pile of bones on the ground.

"Skeletons emerging from underground."

"What’s strange about that? I’ve been smashing their heads as soon as they come out."

"The village elder said that these skeletons could be defeated if the guards teamed up."

"Yeah, and he also said they’d rise again soon after. That’s just because they don’t have enough magic to fully destroy them."

"Right. But before we entered this dungeon, Oscar completely cleared out this cemetery."

"...!"

He wouldn’t have used a weapon to take out the skeletons.

He must’ve used magic to deal with them.

"Then it’s weird that they’re rising again. But so what? Maybe that lich guy is using his magic to create more skeletons to guard the vessel."

"Which makes it even stranger. If he wanted to guard the vessel, why use weaklings like skeletons?"

"…Good point."

If the vessel were really hidden here, it wouldn’t be guarded by skeletons.

Stronger creatures would’ve been stationed instead.

"Wait... That means..."

"These skeletons are a diversion. The real location of the vessel will be guarded by stronger undead."

"..."

So the whole "forest warrior" act really was a facade?

[PR/N: Hey Killian is smart!!]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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