🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 50
“Ugh…!”
The man’s eyes snapped open, and he gasped heavily.
He could vividly feel his entire body crumbling to dust, as if it were real.
Desperately touching himself to confirm he was still alive, he scrambled to his feet.
“Damn it… I didn’t hear that a Sword Master had appeared in Caspel… cough… I didn’t hear it!”
The connections with the skeletons had broken all at once, hitting him hard in the chest.
He forced himself to take deep breaths, fighting back nausea, and staggered forward.
He was in a huge underground cave—a secret ruin buried under a small hill to the west of Caspel.
A few months ago, after discovering this underground hideout, he had moved all his precious research subjects here.
A foul stench seeped from behind the curtains. Acting as if his sense of smell was numb, he drew the curtains aside and approached the bed inside.
“Eliza… Eliza…?”
On the bed lay a small, frail figure, covered in black cloth.
The man sighed in relief, realizing that she was unharmed.
But the relief was brief. He realized he had returned empty-handed yet again and buried his face in his hands.
“Just hold on a little longer, Eliza. Just a little… ahh.”
Every night, checking her condition left him falling apart, despairing over and over.
“No… this is the limit…”
The one he cared about more than life itself was already deteriorating.
The stench had worsened over the summer, and by a few days ago, maggots had begun to appear. Disinfection did nothing.
To make matters worse, his research was still unfinished. If Eliza decayed completely before he completed his life-risking magic, all his work would be useless.
“I can’t give up. I will bring you back, Eliza. Just as beautiful and cute as you were in life, I promise.”
Clutching the blanket tightly, he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. His ash-colored eyes shimmered with sadness and madness.
“Ice attribute… even just some frost-based materials could slow the decay.”
As long as she didn’t rot, he could continue his research indefinitely.
The materials he needed arrived in Caspel from Hejeit once a month. If he missed this opportunity, he’d have to wait until next month.
He couldn’t carry Eliza and his other research subjects to the freezing north.
Above all, Caspel was under canal construction. Discovery of this underground space was only a matter of time.
In that situation, the “Breath of the Snow Fairy” was a true miracle, a salvation.
He absolutely could not give up.
After covering Eliza with a blanket, he stepped outside the curtains. His summoned skeletons were returning.
A strong aura followed closely behind.
Taking a deep breath, the man closed his eyes and began chanting a spell:
“[By the power of darkness, rise, those who return from the grave.]”
With each word, black haze began to swirl around him.
“[Born from sorrow, leaving regrets behind, arise.]”
From among the long boxes lining the cave walls, something stirred. Cloths were pushed aside as hundreds of bodies rose.
“[Now… rise here…]”
He was about to complete the spell when a sharp voice echoed:
“Stop, Regi!”
It was the voice of a young child.
At the same moment, something erupted from a black pool on the cave floor.
A crushed carriage, two children hanging from its roof, a handsome young man, and a muscular knight.
The strong aura belonged to the young man at the front. But Regi’s attention was caught by the child on the carriage roof.
Bright turquoise eyes stared at him sharply.
“Long time no see, friend.”
Ariletti muttered coldly.
Finally, he had met again his worst rival and companion from his second life—the dark mage Regi.
The air was thick with stale bone dust, almost choking. Some of it seemed to have entered their noses and mouths.
The party had fallen along with the carriage. Glen’s aura softened the impact, preventing serious injury.
The shadowed figure chanting inside the cave immediately hid when they were spotted.
The damp smell mixed with the swirling dust. Every noise echoed strangely.
“A cave.”
“This is his base, where the main body is.”
Still calm, Ariletti, folded awkwardly in Rasian’s arms, spoke clearly:
“We don’t know what might come out, so we should secure a safe zone first.”
“Got it. First, we should get the teacher seated properly.”
As they fell into the magic field, Rasian reluctantly set Ariletti down correctly, surprised at how strong he was.
“I thought they were weak… but maybe not that weak.”
There was no time to ponder. Intruders were sensed, and beings in the shadows began to move.
Bones clashed, their rattling sound becoming unbearable.
When Glen retracted his aura, the bone dust settled, revealing the cave. It was a huge chamber with an unpleasant stench.
“They’re coming.”
Tension rose in Ariletti’s voice.
From the shadows, someone began completing the broken spell:
“[-Now, rise here!]”
Suddenly, the ground shook as if in an earthquake. Spirits filled with hatred emerged from the darkness.
“What… is this scale…?”
Hundreds of skeletons, overwhelming in size, like an army.
But they weren’t all clean skeletons. Some corpses still had partially decayed flesh attached.
Even Glen paled at the sight. The weak would have vomited.
“Teacher… ‘evil’ doesn’t even cover this.”
Glen whispered. Anger flared.
“Who stole all these corpses?”
Before he could finish, the horde charged.
Black blood splattered on Glen’s face as he cut down the undead. Ariletti pointed deeper into the cave:
“I’ll explain later. First, we must reach the end. Regi’s weakness is there.”
“Okay. The innermost point, got it.”
But it wasn’t that simple.
No matter how many undead they cut down, the numbers didn’t decrease. They couldn’t blast their auras either—the ceiling might collapse.
The ground was already weakened by the nearby canal work. Even a small impact could be fatal.
Two adult men had to each protect a child, limiting their movement.
“You two stay here. Sir Duncan, stay with the kids. I’ll clear the path.”
“Yes, my lord!”
Glen charged into the undead horde between the overturned carriage, black blood and shattered bones flying through the air.
But there were too many. The tide of undead and skeletons soon swallowed him from view.
“Brother!”
Outnumbered, they had no choice. It was clear they were at a disadvantage.
Rasian’s face turned pale.
“I… shouldn’t have come. I…”
There was no way to turn the situation around, no escape even. Despair, all too familiar to Rasian.
“Sir Tombel, take the prince and run! I’ll cover you!”
A low, rough shout from Glen shook their ears—a voice he hadn’t heard since his previous life.
