Chapter 1298: Side – Jean Duvie

「King Yuvel, Oldona-dono. You will offer yourselves as agreed, yes?」

「Hmph. Do as you please.」

「Well, not like we can last until tomorrow either way. Wouldn’t want to waste such valuable resources.」

「Fuhaha! Your boldness truly knows no bounds! As expected from the legendary hero king!」

King Yuvel simply shrugged at my words, as Oldona-dono maintained his smile. Neither of the two showed any fear at being sacrificed by my magic nor any anxiety towards their inevitable disappearance. I would expect no less from heroes of their caliber.

To tell the truth, I had felt something amiss the first time I laid eyes on King Yuvel and Oldona-dono. There was a slight unnaturalness that only a necromancer like me could detect.

That is to say, those two were not completely under the control of Fran-kun and Master-kun. I doubt they realized this fact since the Hero Zombies feigned obedience the entire time.

I questioned them about this subject in the carriage after we defeated Nameless.

「King Yuvel, may I have a moment of your time?」

「What is it?」

The handsome man responded curtly to my impudent words, with a somewhat rigid expression. In other words, he knew what I was about to ask.

「When I ascended Nameless, I witnessed a portion of his memories, including some related to you. I’ve already sensed the magical connection between you two, but I never expected you to be the same person.」

「…」

Indeed, Nameless and King Yuvel were essentially the same person. The remains of the hero king had been used in the necromancy ritual that created Nameless.

Unlike the other Hero Zombies, Nameless’s connection to Yuvel ran incredibly deep. In fact, Nameless could overwrite Master-kun’s domination over Yuvel with a direct order. The same goes for Oldona, King Yuvel’s half-brother.

「I take it you missed your chance to stab us in the back?」

「…No.」

「Hmm? Are you claiming that Nameless did not instruct you to betray us?」

「…He did. I simply never intended to obey that order from the beginning.」

Apparently, Nameless had repeatedly called for Fran-kun’s assassination, but Yuvel refused to comply. It seems Nameless’s attempt to enforce the master-servant relationship failed, precisely because Yuvel being the same person made him an “equal”.

「I’ve always despised despicable acts of betrayal. Besides, I may have lost my Guardian of Children title, but my feelings remain. I could never betray any child.」

Much to my surprise, King Yuvel once held the Guardian of Children title, just like Amanda-kun! In that case, I can understand his motivation for siding with Fran-kun.

「Necromancer, you want our power, don’t you? Fine. But in return, you will keep quiet about our relationship with Nameless.」

「Hmm? I have no objections to those terms, but… is that all you ask for?」

「Yeah. No child needs to hear the dark side of a hero’s tale. Am I wrong?」

King Yuvel’s eyes were sincere. As expected from a bonafide Guardian of Children…

「Very well. I promise not to mention anything to Fran-kun and Master-kun.」

「Then we have a deal. Do whatever you want with me and Oldona.」

「Huh? I’m included too?」

「Not like you have much longer either way. What’s the harm?」

「Oh man, this is why dealing with a tyrannical master is such a hassle. Just be honest and say you don’t want to die alone.」

「Hmph. I don’t even want to imagine what stories you would blab without me there to stop you.」

「Aww, fine! Guess there’s no helping it! Mr. Necromancer, feel free to use me too.」

That was yesterday. King Yuvel and Oldona-dono have already started fading away. As promised, I’ll make use of their power. For my sake, and for theirs.

「Then let us begin.」

「Roger that. I suppose I’ll be saying goodbye first, Yuvel-sama.」

「Indeed, but I won’t keep you waiting long. Thank you for your service, Oldona.」

「Sure thing.」

「O loyal servant even in death. Offer up your existence to your king, and become the spark that forms the morning star! I, Jean Duvie, hereby establish the contract. Undead Transfer!」

My spell began burning Oldona-dono’s very existence. Though now ephemeral, he was once a true hero. The power generated from burning everything he once held is unimaginable.

And all of it flowed directly into King Yuvel.

「O ancient king! Become the morning star that pierces the dark skies! The light of hope which drives away despair! Burn everything at your disposal and annihilate my enemies! Undead Overlimit!」

「Hoh! This is… the strength of my prime! In that case…!」

So this is King Yuvel’s true power! Incredible! I felt a great deal of strain on my life force, but this was more than strong enough to make up for it!

「Manifest… your form!」

A tremendous amount of energy began gathering in King Yuvel’s hands. The sight reminded me of when my mother activates her divine sword. W-What could he possibly be attempting to do…?

「Return to my hands for a fleeting moment! Water Spiritblade, Krystalos!」

A blade made of water appeared in his hands. It was not very large, nor did it look particularly strong. Yet the pressure it emit was unbearable.

I felt a power akin to our nation’s treasure, Necronomicon. That mass of water was undoubtedly a divine sword of the same caliber.

To think King Yuvel was a divine sword wielder! What’s more, he managed to recreate a divine sword based on his memories! Such a feat should not be possible even if he once owned it.

He must have applied the same formula that was used to create him… In other words, this was a temporary existence much like Forrund-kun’s Divine Sword Imitation. Even so, it could be called an impossible and historic feat!

Fuhahaha! To think my expectations would be exceeded at every corner!

In that case, I can understand why the power left behind by Nameless was not enough to fuel his efforts. Very well! Take my life force as well. After all, I have nothing else capable of harming an Evil God Fragment on my own.

Of course, the imitation of a divine sword cannot compare to the original. But for a single strike…

「Crush all that stands before me! Oceanic Pressure!」

King Yuvel threw Krystalos high into the sky, and the divine sword underwent an explosive transformation into a swirling wyrm of water.

Ocean magic has a similar spell for creating a serpent out of water, but this was on a completely different scale in terms of size and power. After soaring through the heavens, the wyrm promptly returned to the land.

Consuming the Malice within its maws, the wyrm crashed into the earth and erupted a massive pillar of water from the recoil.

Despite the sheer water pressure grinding the Malice into the ground, we felt not a single drop of water on our faces.

After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, the water dissipated. All we could see was a gaping hole in the earth over 100 meters deep. And at the bottom, was the writhing figure of the Evil God Fragment.

「Incredible…」

「Hmph. If I had the genuine divine sword with me, I would have annihilated it completely.」

「Unfortunately… it seems you do not get a second chance.」

King Yuvel’s existence grew unstable and his body turned translucent. He had truly put everything into this last strike.

「Hah. I’m glad I finally got to go all out at the end. You have my gratitude, Necromancer. That said, it’s about time for you to step down. You’re on the verge of death.」

「Fuhahaha! Says the man who brought out a divine sword without asking for my approval. Not that I would have stopped you. Thank you as well, King Yuvel. Rest in peace.」

「Hmph. Farewell.」

「Now then…」

My body feels quite heavy. It seems that took a great deal of my life force as well as shaving off a bit of my lifespan. No matter. Be it cooperating with others or trading my lifespan, there are only so many ways someone at my level can damage a fragment of the Evil God. I must say I have no regrets…

I suppose I can’t tell Fran-kun and Master-kun about this matter, as they would surely make a big fuss. Hahaha, even I am capable of such consideration!

That makes one more secret I have to keep from them.