Chapter 82: Long Live the Emperor (1)

Gith-Za-Rai's delicate, red lips moved beneath her sharp and elegant nose. "Can you feel it?"

I asked, "What am I supposed to feel?"

"I've bound your essence tightly with a pitch-black ring."

Gith-Za-Rai's expression resembled that of a child cherishing their favorite doll. I recalled passages I'd read in Lady Succubus's library. Casting magic required profound insight into the world's hidden domains. It demanded the ability to navigate the fractured seams of a distorted world.

A mage's level was determined by the scope of their perception. However, detecting magic—especially magic directed at oneself—was far simpler. The essence of the Onyx Ring resonated in the void. Though it was an unfamiliar power, I could still sense it. It didn't feel like chains or ropes binding me. Instead, it felt like something had been embedded in the hollow spaces between my bones.

Gith-Za-Rai asked, "So? Do you feel like a rough, gritty tongue is licking you?"

I didn't feel anything that intense. Perhaps my dulled senses were to blame.

I asked back, "Did you just bind me?"

"Of course. Did you think I'd just let you go?"

"..."

Her expression said it all—

why would you even ask something so obvious?

This is troubling.

The immediate confinement was an issue, but so was her impending death—something I knew with certainty. I had no idea how someone of her caliber might die, but it would undoubtedly be a catastrophe. If I remained by her side, I'd perish as well. I needed to convince her to choose a safer path.

However, there was a fundamental problem.

I don't even know what a safe path looks like for her.

"Why so serious? You're awfully quiet—it's awkward. Let's go for a walk," Gith Za-Rai proposed.

Her suggestion caught me off guard.

I croaked, "Outside the cave?"

A necromancer and a walk was hardly a fitting combination.

As though my question were absurd, she replied, "Of course. Do you call walking inside the cave a stroll? Besides, you need to practice what you've learned."

Is she referring to essence absorption?

Clatter!

[The ring has been tightened.

Range set: 0.3 meters.]

I felt myself being pulled like dust drawn toward her grasp. Her cold, blue-glowing hand wrapped around my neck, refusing to release me.

"Too close?"

[Range set: 5 meters.]

"..."

I had no choice but to obediently follow.

***

Splash...

The moment I stepped outside the cave, I was struck with astonishment.

Gith-Za-Rai said, "Why so shocked? Never seen a dungeon before?"

Of course, I had seen a dungeon before, but this scene was eerily familiar. A waterfall cascaded down dozens of stone steps, roaring as it formed a foamy white pool below. Water sprayed everywhere as Gith-Za-Rai gripped my neck. The chill from her hand ran down my spine to my ankles.

This was the Barren Underground Tomb—the E-rank dungeon I'd once visited with Rena. I never imagined it would look like this from the outside. Only after stepping outside did I grasp its true nature.

The maze of bones and the suffocating miasma filled the air. The dungeon bore no resemblance compared to my previous visit with Rena, when it had been an empty, barren space.

Was this its original form before everything was stripped away?

I shook my head.

Clatter.

That couldn't be true. An E-rank dungeon couldn't possibly house skeletal trolls. This transformation was Gith-Za-Rai’s doing. The luminescent stones embedded in the ceiling, the cages—everything was now buried beneath a maze of bones.

Even if she'd gathered every skeleton from the dungeon, there wouldn't be enough to create such an enormous structure. This was a mobile fortress beyond a mere rebuilding. It was heresy—pure sorcery incarnate.

I murmured, "If the humans discover this..."

It would draw military forces of the highest order.

Gith-Za-Rai dismissed my concerns with a casual wave. "The barriers will keep them out. No one will know. I'll be moving everything soon anyway. You worry too much."

I replied, "I didn't believe it before, but you really are going to die soon."

Despite gaining a skill from her, I felt the need to warn her again. I repeated my warning that she would be killed by Wizards of Azure—possibly even today. I didn't know the exact time, but I wanted to avoid perishing alongside her.

Unfortunately, my warning fell on deaf ears. Her lips curled as she gazed at me.

Gith-Za-Rai was drenched by the waterfall with an amused, almost fond expression. "

Ahahaha

..."

"..."

"Keep going. You're saying I'll die?"

A gentle breeze blew past. Though soft, it carried an unsettling allure of madness.

"Not me—Elton Clemens will die," Gith-Za-Rai said confidently.

Clatter!

"What?" Gith-Za-Rai asked in response to my reaction.

"Are you talking about the current emperor?" I asked.

"Wow, you really do know everything, don't you?"

She told me her tale.

***

The necromancer who had crossed distant seas had mysterious allies. One such ally was the assassin guild, Red Flake. Gith-Za-Rai was an honorary priest of the guild. The Garden of Red Flake could hold no more than seven members at a time. With the spots already filled, she was essentially a provisional member.

I couldn't help but interrupt. "Red Flake?"

"

Oh

? You've heard of them? Impressive. What a knowledgeable little skeleton you are."

Gith-Za-Rai patted my skull with her warm, living hand.

For a moment, I forgot to resist. Her hand felt oddly fond, almost endearing. I quickly dredged up memories of a book I'd read—

Unofficial Armed Groups of the World – Volume 1

. The book was filled with nonsensical poetry, and I'd irritably skimmed through it.

Yet, I vaguely remembered the explanation at the end:

Red Flake supposedly spread the poems to inflate their reputation and raise their fees.

Gith-Za-Rai continued telling her story. Necromancers were eager consumers of the corpses from assassinations. When a high-profile assassination was completed, it yielded at least one valuable corpse.

Red Flake specialized in orchestrating deaths of the highest caliber. Necromancers, in turn, coveted the corpses those deaths produced. Their collaboration was natural. Then, one day, Red Flake received an especially provocative request.

[Request Details: Free Confederation

Assassination Target: Elton Clemens

Personal Difficulty: A+

Surrounding Difficulty: SS+

Impact: Unmeasurable

Deadline: Preferred within three months

Requestor's Additional Requirements: None. Just kill him.

Compensation: Anything the Free Confederation can officially or unofficially authorize.]

[Opinion of Viewing Members:

Rejection: 5 votes

Abstention: 2 votes

Individual Comments:

— Basilisk of Crimson Jade: Remember, we do not change the world.

— Rapid Pulse Tarantula: I agree. We do not intervene.

— Seola: Seconded. Even if someone else does it, I won't.

— Starlight Blue Fox: (On respite)

— Lumen: Indeed, this request excessively infringes on neutrality.

— Manidang: (No opinion)

— Invisible Rain: We are assassins, not mercenaries. Why doesn't the Confederation handle this themselves?]

All seven full members rejected the request. However, Gith-Za-Rai was still entitled to view the details as an affiliate member, and she accepted the request. However, doing so meant she had to leave Red Flake. The members had officially rejected the contract, so her acceptance necessitated her departure.

Gith-Za-Rai had a clear reward in mind for taking on the assassination.

[Keystone Memorial Park and Obsidian Hill Park]

Keystone Memorial Park and Obsidian Hill Park were cemeteries that held the remains of warriors who had fought for human freedom and equality over centuries. If King Seiron I liberated humans from non-human races, the heroes buried there sought to free humans from other humans.

Though these were heroes, they rejected heroism. The neatly aligned marble tombstones bore the names of extraordinary individuals who fought for the equality of the weakest among them.

The Free Confederation did not hesitate to sell all the remains in these parks—now mere dust and bones—to one necromancer. They didn't bother asking for the opinions of the weathered remains, and perhaps the heroes themselves might have even approved. They might have welcomed the opportunity to be used against Emperor Elton Clemens, who aggressively expanded his empire's military power.

"That's why I've been waiting here, bored out of my mind," Gith-Za-Rai concluded.

"..."

An emperor's assassination was a matter far beyond my scope. However, I knew one thing for certain—the assassination would fail. The Free Confederation's request would fail. The empire would declare war, and the Nine-Year War would claim millions of lives before the Demon Kings descended.

Where should I even begin? How could I possibly intervene?

She wouldn't believe me if I told her about my regression.

For now, I raised a small objection. "You made a contract with the Free Confederation?"

"That's right," Gith-Za-Rai answered.

I tried to dissuade her, appealing to common human sensibilities. "Humans attach great symbolic meaning to their cemeteries. When this is over, they'll likely change their minds. Allowing one necromancer to use all the remains from a memorial site could lead to the Confederation's dissolution."

But Gith-Za-Rai simply chuckled. "Don't worry about that. The entire Red Flake guild is serving as witnesses."

"Witnesses? What do you mean?"

"The whole guild is there to enforce the contract. If the Confederation doesn't fulfill its promise, everyone involved in the contract will be as good as dead. It'll only increase the number of corpses in my collection. Some of those fat pigs from the Confederation might even make great additions."

Gith-Za-Rai's confidence was palpable, her expression almost mocking my concerns as endearingly naive. I couldn't feel reassured though, because her death was inevitable. The emperor's future war was also inevitable. The connection between the two was simple: this was how it all began.

The infamous war criminal, Emperor Clemens II, wasn't killed at this time. Gith-Za-Rai's assassination attempt would fail, and she would die. Since she had me chained to her fate, I would likely die alongside her. Even so, I needed to ask more questions. Understanding her plans could still be valuable for my next life.

I asked, "When is the assassination scheduled?"

"Blunt, aren't you? Three days from now. He'll be passing near here soon," Gith-Zai-Rai answered.

"The emperor himself? I had no idea..."

She smirked. "Of course not. Do you think they announce these things? He's touring the southern provinces, inspecting the lords he's recently replaced. Around here..."

"Erast..."

The word slipped out before I could stop myself. The closest cities were Erast and Yublam. There had been no news of a lord change in Yublam.

I remembered what Rena had said in the past:

One by one, the lords who opposed the emperor started disappearing.

Those lords turned into corpses and were thrown back into their castles. Count Erast, Rena's father, had been one of them. If there was a city where the lord had been replaced, it had to be Erast.

Gith-Za-Rai's eyes widened in interest. "

Oh?

"