The Skeleton Soldier Failed to Defend the Dungeon

Gith-Za-Rai snapped her eyes open and said, ”Huh? What did he just say?”

There was no way she hadn’t heard it. She was asking precisely because she had heard it clearly.

”Long live the emperor.”

That cry had come from the emperor himself, which made no sense. No one referred to themselves by saying ”Long live the emperor.” Only a fool or a jester would do such a thing. Elton Clemens had risen to power swiftly, easily taking over the throne to command the empire. Lawmakers in the Free Confederation often mocked hereditary monarchs, claiming nine out of ten wouldn’t even be fit to run a corner shop.

However, such criticism didn’t apply to Elton Clemens. He was a skilled ruler, far from being a fool or a clown. I formed a few hypotheses in my mind.

I wondered aloud, ”Could he... be an imposter?”

Gith-Za-Rai bit her lip slightly and shook her head. ”No, he’s the real one...”

She looked more shocked than me.

Gith-Za-Rai was certain that this man was the emperor. ”His blood test confirmed it’s him. His appearance matches what I know. He’s not a fake.”

She grabbed and lifted the emperor’s corpse with her hand, then removed his seal and crown. A silver-haired man with a cold, handsome face who appeared to be in his mid-30s hung limply in her grasp.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, something in the air opened like the mouth of a morning glory flower. Inside, something black and formless swirled, a sticky, writhing mass that churned and struggled violently. The opening grew larger and larger.

Gith-Za-Rai stopped moving, narrowed her eyes, and gathered her strength. ”What is this?”

Woooooo!

The oppressive energy spread so intensely that it made Gith-Za-Rai visibly tense. An instinctive sense of revulsion swept over the area.

After staring into the void for a moment, Gith-Za-Rai issued a command. ”Everyone, run.”

Dozens of bone tendrils sprouted from her, extending outward to restrain the expanding space. For a moment, the distortion seemed to compress.

Ziiing!

However, the space soon began to expand again, tearing free. One by one, the bone tendrils restraining the void snapped and broke.

Crack! Snap!

Gith-Za-Rai commanded her army. ”Run! This is my final order!”

She didn’t have the presence of mind to call out to specific individuals. She focused all her energy on holding back the expanding void. The situation was dire.

I instinctively took a step back.

Clatter.

However, after taking a step, I found myself unable to move further. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to run—I felt compelled to see what would happen until the end.

No, in truth...

I was paralyzed with fear, unable to flee. At that moment, the Dullahans leaped forward to surround Gith-Za-Rai, emitting black energy from their headless necks.

Gilaut, Owain, Andrei, Fenrir, and Hamelain encircled her.

”Master!”

Even they seemed to feel the oppressive pressure.

”The souls of the dead do not flee, Master!”

The five Dullahans formed a protective pentagon around her.

Crash!

The void shattered like glass. Jagged fragments of space tore apart the air, splintering into sharp, blood-colored shards that painted the world crimson.

From the grotesquely fractured void, something emerged with a slash: a massive, jet-black greatsword, easily over two meters long. Something indescribable and bubbling swung the sword, its form difficult to discern.

The downward slash of the black greatsword cleaved Swift Fenrir in half, killing him instantly. The sword didn’t stop when it hit the ground—it swung upward at a 270-degree angle, slicing diagonally.

Unyielding Owain was bisected diagonally along with his loyal steed, which had once shared his tournament victories in life. Ser Gilaut was cut cleanly across horizontally, and he died instantly. A single stroke of the blade tore apart Pale Hamelain. Andrei the Heartbreaker was smashed to pieces by the flat of the sword.

What... what is happening?!

I couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing. As Gith-Za-Rai’s bone tendrils snapped one after another, she glared with fury, creating new tendrils to attack.

Swoosh.

Dozens of bone tendrils surged upward like a whirlwind, aiming for the formless entity.

Smash!

One of the tendrils extended toward me, swatting me away. It flung me into the air, and I tumbled several meters before landing.

Did she want to push me away?

Nevertheless, that strike lacked strength. I had only been flung about ten meters away. I sat there in a daze watching her.

Boom!

The black greatsword clashed with the bone tendrils. The sound of tons of explosives detonating at once shook the ground. The cursed blade trembled in midair. Finally, I could see it clearly.

What... is that?

The creature from the rift exuded an aura capable of ripping the world into crimson shreds. Its appearance wasn’t particularly strange.

Thud. Thud.

It walked on two feet, its form resembling that of a heavily armored human. Its dull gray armor was intricately forged in a style I had never seen before. Geometric circuits glowed faintly across its armor, and a crimson cape fluttered as it approached. The black greatsword swung upward once more.

Clang!

The remaining bone tendrils shattered completely.

Gith-Za Rai murmured, ”So persistent.”

The figure pulled back its two-handed sword. Then, with an upward slash, it swung the enormous cursed blade at her. This time, there was no clang. The attack was not blocked.

With a gruesome slash, Gith-Za-Rai was split perfectly in half, and she was brutally torn apart.

Clatter. Clatter. Clatter.

The surrounding skeletons also crumbled to pieces. The knight wielding the cursed sword hadn’t even touched them. The miasma emanating from him merely crushed them to dust.

This can’t be happening.

There was a vacuum-like silence. The shocking scene seemed to swallow all sound. The knight looked down at me coldly with his sword in hand. Behind his helmet, crimson circuits glowed menacingly.

[Γιατί μπορώ να κάνω αίτηση]

The cursed greatsword that had cleaved Gith-Za-Rai in half rose into the air again.

Boom!

Am I dead?

I looked forward. The scenery hadn’t changed. There was no grave or cavern. Instead, a blue notification screen appeared before my eyes.

[You have acquired Two-Handed Swordsmanship Lv. 1!]

[You have acquired Two-Handed Swordsmanship Lv. 2!]

[You have acquired Two-Handed Swordsmanship Lv. 3!]

[You have acquired Slash Lv. 1!]

[You have acquired Cleave Lv. 1!]

What?

I stared through the incomprehensible status screen. The crimson circuits on the Ashen Knight’s helmet flared even brighter. The patterns, taking up half his face, burned a deep red.

Is it anger? Fury?

Somehow, I could feel those emotions emanating from him.

Whoosh!

Behind him, dozens of swords materialized in the empty air, floating like wings.

The swords began to hum. A hail of them shot toward me so fast that they left no afterimages.

Swoosh!

They passed straight through me. And then—

Doo-doo-roo~!

[Assimilation Rate: 84.68%]

A translucent shape accompanied the message in midair. It was a transparent window, approximately two meters long and one meter wide. No text was inscribed upon it.

The circuits covering the Ashen Knight turned completely red. It felt as if the air itself was dyed with inexplicable rage.

[Δεν υπάρχει αριστερά χρόνο!!]

The knight spoke in a language I couldn’t understand.

Ziiiiiing!

The void opened once more. A viscous, dough-like world beneath the surface revealed itself. As the gaping space spread wide, the knight stepped into it. The distortion collapsed in on itself as his figure vanished.

”...”

I stood there, frozen in place, struggling to gather my thoughts. It felt like I was under a spell, as if this were all an illusion.

Clatter.

It took a long time before I could move again.

”...”

I looked around the aftermath of the violence. On the frozen, magic-laden ground lay the bodies of the imperial guards, all slain together. The two renowned Wizards of Azure had been reduced to mere bloodstains.

The cause of death was simple: Gith-Za-Rai and her army had defeated them, their ambush flawless. The aerial strike from below had been a resounding success.

But...

The army had also been annihilated. An unidentified foe had emerged from the void and ripped everything apart.

By just one being....

The Skeleton Knights had been crushed into powder. The five proud Dullahans that had declared their names with honor had been bisected instantly and did not rise again. Even their master, Gith-Za-Rai, had been cleaved cleanly in two.

”...”

My thoughts were in turmoil, filled with unanswerable questions. I slowly approached the torn necromancer. Shame welled up within me. At first, I had feared the emperor’s procession. I had dreaded the Wizards of Azure and the imperial guards who protected him.

However, Gith-Za-Rai had shown me what a necromancer truly was. She obliterated those I once feared. The shivers that started at my toes climbed to my skull. Deep down, I thought I wanted to stay by her side.

Then, like a cruel joke, an incomprehensible being that emerged from nowhere tore her apart. There was no time to process it as everything happened in an instant. Now, I stood in the massive pit she had created, staring at her lifeless corpse.

I felt an overwhelming sense of disgust, but I directed it solely at myself. I stood there, paralyzed, consumed by helplessness. Then, a question arose in my mind.

Why am I still alive?

The knight with the cursed sword had attacked me too—with the black greatsword and with dozens of summoned blades. The same magic that crushed countless Skeleton Knights to dust hadn’t harmed me. Even as his circuits glowed with fury, he vanished.

I can’t make sense of it....

Clatter!

I shook my head. There was no use dwelling on questions I couldn’t answer now. A more immediate problem was at hand.

Humans will arrive soon.

The emperor’s procession had no witnesses left to report back. However, if the emperor failed to return, the waiting lord would surely send an army. In fact, the lord might lead the forces personally.

For now... I need to move.

I surveyed my surroundings. Only then did I realize everything around me was glowing faintly. Inside the pit, a green light shimmered across the scene. Every corpse—whether knight, guard, or wizard—emitted a translucent jade glow from their limbs, chests, and heads.

A small sigh escaped me. ”Ah.”

These were once powerful beings.

No, they were strong.

Even the lowest-ranking guards were among the best. They had been superior to me in every way. I looked again at the countless green lights scattered around. They seemed to be pleading, begging to be consumed. Amidst the mountain of corpses, one light shone so brightly it hurt my eyes.

Gith-Za-Rai!

Thud. Thud.

I approached her corpse.

”...”

I carefully lifted her, but her torn halves didn’t fit together. One side was covered in bone, and the other flowed with blood and flesh. I thought of the beautiful woman she had been.

A radiant light emanated from the gap between her torn halves. I placed my hand on it, and as I expected, a message appeared.

[Absorb? Yes/No]