Episode 882 Sinners (2)
It is a familiar presence.
One person was unfamiliar to Adrian, but the other was familiar. Verden was someone he had already met both of.
Squeak.
As the broken wooden door opened, a slender skeletal hand was visible.
[It’s not just Verden, but Adrian came along too. Come in.]
Adrian wanted to ask why they were acting friendly when they didn’t really know each other, but since Verden was nearby, he quietly swallowed his words.
Adrian readily stepped forward and was the first to enter the cabin. Maintaining at least a modicum of courtesy, he merely nodded toward the first necromancer and kept a watchful eye on the other prisoners. Sincethe entrance was low, the large-framed Adrian had to tilt his head.
[He is a man of few words, more so than the rumors say.]
Rather than being reserved, I am unsociable.
Verden also entered the cabin, following Adrian, who had an exclusive personality.
Bubbling
The kettle boiled over the old brazier.
There were prisoners around the table where a small lamp was placed. One sat upright as if of noble birth, and another stood.
“I vaguely suspected you would be one of the sinners, but…… that’s unexpected.”
Verden turned his gaze to the young man’s neck.
“I never imagined you were an adventurer.”“I was unfortunately unable to formally introduce myself at the World Conference.”
The person who was sitting stood up.The obsidian-grade plate clattered.
“Castian Linigea Tain Xerion. A sinner of a fallen kingdom.”
One of the Obsidian-grade adventurers who served as the Adventurer’s Guild Master and guarded the Black Sea at the World Conference; his alias is “The Perfect Adventurer.”His accent is refined.It came to mind.Verden had heard about this person indirectly several months ago.
He was a strange adventurer who, far from being royalty or even from a noble family, spoke and acted like royalty—I don’t know where he learned it—and was undoubtedly that ‘weird fellow’ Ignacia had subtly mentioned at the General Assembly of the Magic World.
Adrian focused on something else.
“Xerion?”
The name of the being whom the Glory of the Dead seeks to resurrect is Akhand Linigea Tain Xerion. Another alias for Akhand is Emperor Xerion.To possess the same name as him signified an extraordinary lineage.
“What is your relationship with the former king?”“That is also the subject of this meeting.”
A middle-aged man with a mustache adorning his lips smiled faintly.
The reunion happened sooner than expected.
Reginalf, the junk dealer of the Iderat Confederation.
He was close friends with the lone wolf Romer and was the person who acted as an intermediary to bring the golden remains of Verden and Galliac together in one place.
Verden said.
“You are a sinner of death. I owe you a debt of gratitude for the Blood Alliance’s intelligence and the Bloodcry Plague alleviator.”“Enough with the thanks. We are the ones who should be grateful. Thanks to Eon, we were able to respond to the Glory of the Dead on a large scale without arousing unnecessary suspicion.”“So, is that work finished?”
As soon as the Golden Sinner was resurrected, the two had this conversation in the warehouse he guided them to.
I plan to close the business for a while. I have some work to do. So, could you take Romer with you? He’s young and full of energy, but he still knows how to earn his keep, so he won’t really be a bother. He might even be of some help.
It didn’t seem like he couldn’t take care of himself.
“But if I leave him alone, I feel like he’ll eventually die trying to pick up women. Having lived this long, I’ve found that guys like that are usually like that.”
Reginalf entrusted Romer’s safety to Eon and disappeared. This was also the point where Verden began to suspect him of being a criminal.Coincidentally, the Golden Sinner had declared he would quit his business immediately after regaining consciousness.
“I have roughly wrapped things up. Given the nature of the matter, I cannot feel completely at ease no matter how much I prepare. There are also various unforeseen variables.”
[It is a somewhat serious variable.]
The first necromancer, Andes Necrail, stood opposite Verden.
Now that we have introduced ourselves, it would be best to sit down and chat. I have warmed up some tea with a pleasant aroma, so please have a cup.
Iron cups were placed in front of Verden, Adrian, and Castian one after another. Andes picked up the teapot and personally poured the hot tea.Like Andes, Reginalp did not drink tea.
───[And the second arrangement was to apply the ritual of immortality that I had applied to myself to those who shared my purpose, in preparation for a possible war with the ancient king over the long course of time.]
Are those sinners?
───[Sinner of Death, Sinner of Gold, Sinner of a Ruined Nation. They are those who have voluntarily brought upon themselves the suffering of time to save future generations, to take revenge on the former king… … and thereby atone for their regrets. Among them, the Sinner of a Ruined Nation did not undergo the ritual of immortality, but their intentions are all the same.]
Andes and the Golden Sinner became undead while retaining their personalities through a ritual of immortality.According to Andes, Reginalf underwent the same ritual, yet outwardly, he appeared no different from an ordinary man.
As expected, I don’t sense any signs of death.
Verden’s insight still defined Reginalf as an ordinary citizen, in contrast to how he had introduced himself as a sinner of death.
After all, the beings before my eyes were all ancient people from about eight centuries ago, so it wasn’t particularly strange even if they had certain characteristics.
Therefore, there must be something special about Castian, who was active as an adventurer.
Andes moved his jawbone.
[The Golden Vigo mentioned last time, the background of the sinner, and the new variables. Broadly speaking, there are these three topics we will discuss. Which one would you like to hear about first?]
I will start with the variables.
The past is a predetermined outcome, so it does not matter if one hears about it later. In contrast, the present is the sole gateway that determines the future.There was no need to go out of the way to explain which of the two is more important.
[I understand. That would certainly be the best course of action. There are a total of two variables, one of which is exactly what you heard right in front of your eyes.]
Andes gathered the hand bones.
[The first variable is the location of the Dragon Sword. To be precise, it is the one who revealed the clue to that location.]
* * *
In the Desert of Silence, Andes had said that it seemed the Glory of the Dead was moving with the help of some kind of force.
In the meantime, the whereabouts of the Dragon Sword were revealed.
The first person to mention the Dragon Sword Magras at the World Conference was Teriwen, the leader of the Iderat Alliance who advocated for inter-racial harmony. It wasLennon Bernard, a world-renowned appraiser, who brought up a prophetic verse written by Baaren Moru, who died 400 years ago, as evidence to support his claim.
It was a natural progression to suspect the two of them of being accomplices to the Glory of the Dead, but upon reflection, the probability of that being the case was very low.
The Dragon Sword is the weapon of the ancient king.
It made no sense to readily reveal the material when even keeping it secret wouldn’t have been enough. In reality, there was no benefit for the glory of the corpse to gain.
Nevertheless, Andes decided to investigate Terrywen and Lennon Bernard. After all, rationality calculated with the head does not always align with reality.
Did you find something?
[Leader Iderat was clean, given how often he appeared in public. Without a doubt… … But Lennon Bernard was a bit different.]
Andes slowly traced a horizontal line on the old dining table with his fingertips.
[The most famous appraiser on the continent, possessing unrivaled appraisal abilities and whose whereabouts are unknown as he usually vanishes without a trace. As soon as the World Conference ended, we tracked him down while simultaneously investigating his decades-long appraisal career.]
Adrian put the cup down.
“This quickly?”“The intelligence capabilities we—or rather, I—possess are second to none compared to any other force. In fact, we are ahead in some aspects. After all, we haven’t wasted hundreds of years.”
[Thanks to that, I was able to quickly verify Lennon Bernard’s past. To some extent.]
Verden said.
There seems to be a problem.
Andes nodded.
Some of the people investigating Lennon Bernard’s career have gone missing. But it is not clear why they disappeared.
If you suffered a mishap after touching a specific point, you can get closer to Lennon Bernard’s secret by focusing your investigation on that part only.
However, we could not determine the direction of the investigation.
The person who investigated four years ago was fine, but the person who investigated three years ago disappeared.The person who investigated twenty-one years ago disappeared, but the person who investigated seventeen years ago was fine. They sent someone to investigate seventeen years ago again, and that person was safe again.
It is irregular.
It felt like they were picking just anyone regardless of their background, regardless of how they investigated. That is, setting aside why they were caught immediately.
“I deliberately caused confusion…….”
Verden took a sip of tea and came to his own conclusion.
The way I see it, it seems like they are trying to draw you out in reverse.
[I have the same thought. Just as we are trying to catch the other’s tail, they must be trying to catch ours. In other words, it means they haven’t figured out who we are, and it must imply that there is an unidentified force behind Lennon Bernard… Even if it has nothing to do with the Glory of the Dead, it is inevitably suspicious in many ways.]
Then, Adrian asked.
Did Lennon Bernard’s pursuit fail too?
[It’s currently in progress. Lennon Bernard is still tailing him.]
Then let’s secure that bastard first. Don’t waste time and manpower for nothing.
Even though Verden treated Andes with respect, Adrian insisted on speaking informally. This was because Verden and his late master were the only people he truly showed respect to.Neither of them could change Adrian’s attitude.
Andes paid no heed to the words of the transcendent being, who was hundreds of years younger, but Castian showed a slightly displeased expression.
“The important thing is not Lennon Bernard, but his backing. If they decide to abandon Lennon, the clues to catch them will disappear forever. Approaching them rashly might lead to things going wrong.”
[I am keeping the kidnapping of Lennon Bernard in mind as a last resort. It is premature now that everything is unclear. In any case, Lennon Bernard and whatever is behind him are the first variables.]
Andes folded one finger.
[And lastly, the second variable is the ominous wave that has recently spread across the continent.]
“An ominous wave?”
[Yes… even for me, it was the first time experiencing such a strong aura of the dead. There is only one thing this phenomenon implies.]
Andes asserted.
[Someone unknown has risen from death and gained life once again.]
… … !
Verden and Adrian reacted at the same time.Resurrection?To them, resurrection was like a legend in that they had only heard of it. To use a metaphor from the magical world, it was like that elixir.
Is that subject the glory of the corpse?
Andes shook his head.
[I cannot confirm it. With my magic, I cannot pinpoint the location or the time. Since the energy of the spirits spreads out like waves, unless the distance is close, I can only sense it belatedly.]
He continued speaking.
[But if it were him, he would have identified it immediately.]
Who is that?
[He is someone you know.]
Andes spoke in a low voice.
[The Understander of Death.]
* * *
An eerie atmosphere flows throughout the entire mountain range.
The fog is also quite thick.
Darkwarton Tower Master, Reindel Nexreon, held a necromancer’s staff decorated with a dragon skull and inhaled the surrounding air.
It’s musty and chaotic.
Reindel slowly lifted his eyelids.
It is truly insignificant to be called the stronghold of that corpse’s glory.
A gaze filled with death crossed the front.At the end of it stood a strange dwarf.
“Hahaha! That crazy beast has been saying for days that something was coming. And it really did! You really have to give that damn instinct a pass.”“Dwarf.”
Reindel saw right through the opponent’s true identity.
So it is you who have risen from the dead.
Somewhere on the continent… … .
An 8th-tier transcendent being of the magic world and the worst dwarf on earth met.
