Chương 83: The Final Chamber

It was an enormous stone chamber, illuminated by the gloomy blue light of several magical braziers. At its center stood a stone sarcophagus covered in numerous reliefs and inscriptions.

"Well, this is clearly the necromancer's burial chamber. I feel like a cheater."

"Don't worry, Lord Nereziel. We only bypassed a few walls... and maybe we're a couple of kilometers deeper underground."

"..."

"But this way, once you've tested your skill like you wanted, we can explore the tomb with Edran's group without having to worry about anything!" Ily pointed out, raising a finger.

"Yes, that's true. You never know what might happen with a skill at proficiency S. It's better if we test it away from the others."

"Exactly!" the visiare exclaimed, swaying from side to side.

"But that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want!"

"Ah...! My little ears... again... You already know what's going to happen, Lord Nereziel!"

"Ahem... Let's just get the test started already." With Ily following him, Nerez climbed the stone steps leading to the platform where the heavy stone sarcophagus rested and stopped in front of it.

"Should we lift it together?" Ily asked.

"Mm, to be honest, I don't really feel like going around opening coffins or sarcophagi."

"Lord Nereziel, you are the god of death... and you're wearing gloves..."

"That's not the point!" Nerez insisted, crossing his arms.

"But don't worry, I have a better idea." With that, Nerez snapped his fingers, and two skeletons burst through the floor, shattering the stone tiles. This time, however, they wore full suits of jet-black armor. Through the eye slits in their helmets, red lights glowed from the empty sockets of their skulls.

"What are those, Lord Nereziel?" Ily asked in surprise.

"I've never seen them before..."" They're the result of the skill 'Skeletal Soldier' reaching proficiency S. More specifically, they're called Death Knights now," Nerez explained, gesturing for the heavily armored skeletons to move.

"There are only a hundred of them instead of ten thousand, but each one's stats make the trade-off worthwhile."

"The Black Knights! The empire's secret weapon!" Ily exclaimed.

"I knew they had something to do with you."

"As expected of the leader of Mirror. That's right, Miri uses them too, though I never imagined she used them often enough for them to become famous..." Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

"Don't worry, Lord Nereziel. They're a secret weapon for a reason," Ily reassured him.

"Most of what people know about them is just rumor." By then, the Death Knights had already lifted the heavy stone lid and were standing guard on either side of the sarcophagus. Nerez and Ily stepped closer. Inside lay a skeleton dressed in sumptuous ceremonial robes that remained in perfect condition. An ornate staff decorated with jewels was cradled between its arms.

"I suppose trying to take that staff will trigger a curse that brings the skeleton back to life and makes it attack us... Ily, your turn..."

"I don't want a skeleton jumping on me either, Lord Nereziel! Why don't you just use the skill now?"

"You want us to skip the final enemy of this tomb too?! I don't know what kind of adventurers we'd be if we did that..."

"I thought being adventurers was just a way to earn money, and that your real goal was to take a vacation away from divine affairs."

"Yeah, I was getting a little carried away. But you're right. Avoiding trouble is my motto." Nerez leaned over the sarcophagus and held his right hand above the skeleton while holding the Book of Death open in his left hand. Epitaph The skill activated without him needing to say its name. Soon, the same green light that had spilled from his palm in the chamber where they had faced the crypt aberrants washed over the skeleton as the name "Kayrus Odentis" glowed in the Soul Ledger.

There was only a brief moment of silence before the skeleton itself began to glow with that ethereal green light and the air in the crypt thickened. Then two green flames ignited in the skull's empty sockets, and its jaw opened to unleash a bloodcurdling scream.

"Ugh, how can it scream without lungs?!" Nerez exclaimed, plugging his ears with his index fingers.

"I suppose it's a soul scream!" Ily shouted beside him.

"But was bullying him really necessary, Lord Nereziel?"

"I didn't do anything! He started screaming on his own! Well, other than reanimating him, of course..." AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Aaaaaaaaaaaa...... After a few moments, the scream gave way to the clattering of bones. Having backed away from the sarcophagus to escape the noise, Nerez and Ily watched as a skeletal hand rose into view and gripped the edge.

A moment later, a skull emerged, green flames burning where its eyes should have been. With a quick, mechanical motion, the skeleton turned its head and fixed its gaze on Nerez, sending a chill down his spine. He was not actually afraid, but it really did look like something straight out of a horror movie. The fact that the skeleton then began to levitate did not help. Once it had floated out of the sarcophagus, however, it settled back onto the floor and began walking toward the intruders in its tomb.

The two Death Knights, faithful soldiers that they were, stepped in front of Nerez and Ily to block the necromancer's path. But it ignored them both and kept advancing, prompting the knights to raise their weapons. From behind them, Nerez raised a hand out of habit to stop the Death Knights before they could strike. They could not see the gesture, but they did not need to.

Much to his dismay, the connection he shared with them was even stronger than when they had only been skeletal soldiers, and both Death Knights stepped aside at once. The skeleton continued forward, only coming to a stop a few meters from Nerez. It did all of that on its own. I didn't give it a single mental command. It's a conscious reanimated body... Just what you'd expect now that Epitaph has reached proficiency S. The skeleton looked from one to the other.

When it turned its gaze to Ily, the visiare felt her blood run cold. She was certain she could never defeat it in battle. Perhaps she could have before, if it had awakened because of a curse. But not now that it had received all the benefits of Epitaph.!! That was why Ily tensed when the figure who had once been Kayrus Odentis raised one skeletal arm. But when he lowered it, he calmly brought it across his chest and bowed.

"Good evening, esteemed guests. It seems rather cold, don't you think? I feel chilled to the bone... I am a skeleton, after all!"

"..."

"..."

"Lord Nereziel, I think the skill is defective."