Taming the Evil Saintess

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The mountain of skeletons was no longer an issue the moment Ophelia joined us.

The Branch of the World Tree was drenched in golden divine power. Soon, the intangible blade formed from this divine energy became a tidal wave sweeping forward, and the skeletons hit directly were reduced to nothing, melting into the ground without a sound.

The most astonishing part? This was just her basic attack.

“…This is so bad.”

One of the mercenaries muttered.

Who would take such crass praise at face value? But for Ophelia, it seemed to fit perfectly.

“Hmm. These little creatures do have some discerning eyes.”

Her shoulders shook with amusement.

“Let’s move. We need to rescue that old man, Belwin.”

With those words, Ophelia took the lead, and I stood guard beside her, sword raised, ready to protect her from any potential harm.

Of course, it wasn’t just Ophelia who shone in battle. Cathedral Knight Rowan wielded divine power at a level far beyond my rookie efforts as a holy knight. The holy magic he cast illuminated our surroundings, and the skeletons attempting to ambush us from the back were sliced in two by Rowan’s strike.

I hardly needed to intervene.

“…We need to find the Necromancer.”

Eventually, I called Emily to formulate our next move. While Rowan and Ophelia dealt with the wave of skeletons, we aimed to track down and kill the Necromancer somewhere in the catacombs.

“Is it even possible?”

“Well, it’s likely just basic summoning magic, so it shouldn’t be impossible. But…”

“But?”

“The layout here is too complicated, so we may have to search on foot.”

“Hmm.”

I pulled out a map. The intricate maze of passages made my head spin.

“Here, it branches off into four paths from the main route.”

Azar pointed out our current location. It was the very spot where Ophelia and Rowan were racking up kills against the skeletons.

“Why don’t we split into four groups from this point? The tight corridors will hinder large groups from fighting effectively anyway.”

Albrecht’s suggestion was reasonable.

Emily cast tracking spells on each of us, tiny lights following the flow of dark magic.

She volunteered to act as our command center, while Erwin and the mercenaries were assigned to guard her.

Just before we set off, Emily’s eyes sparkled as she asked me,

“So, what should we call our operation?”

“Is that really important?”

I queried, but it seemed significant to Emily.

There was something adorably cringy about her.

After a moment of thought, I glanced at the map and had a brilliant idea.

“How about we call it Operation Pac-Man?”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a thing.”

*

To clarify, Necromancers are technically not Dark Mages.

Dark Mages wield wicked magic through arcane powers, while Necromancers raise corpses using pure mana—two distinct paths.

It’s no wonder there’s a school of necromancy. Even within the Magic Tower, Necromancers are regarded as legitimate magic users.

However, because they use corpses, Necromancers are practically treated as Dark Mages by the public.

Experiencing such prejudice, it’s inevitable that even a kind-hearted person would come to have a bad personality, right?

“Hehe, hehe.”

The Necromancer, Rachel, giggled with glee as she stitched together corpses.

She wasn’t affiliated with the Demon King’s Army but had found herself attached to them.

Not that she necessarily agreed with the Demon King.

“Heheh! So many corpses!”

Simply put, the Demon King’s Army provided her with an endless supply of bodies.

This vast catacomb was entirely Rachel’s domain. No other Summoner in history had ever handled such a massive quantity of corpses.

The procurement of bodies is a major issue for Summoners. Many Necromancers have been captured for grave robbing, falsely accused of witchcraft, and burned at the stake.

Of course, digging up someone else’s grave is a serious crime, and there’s no excuse even if labeled a witch, but Rachel didn’t care for such trifles. She was crazed for magic, and the Hell Duke willingly provided her with such an environment.

It was more than enough reason to pledge her loyalty and follow him!

“If this works, if this works… I might just be able to do it!”

The dream of every Necromancer.

That is…

BANG!

The explosion echoed, breaking her train of thought.

The blasting sounds she had heard earlier were growing louder. This meant the pursuers were getting closer to Rachel’s location.

Although she had set up an army of skeletons and zombies, it indicated she was being pushed back helplessly.

“…Is it dangerous?”

Rachel pondered for a moment before shaking her head.

What did it matter?

Once this project was complete, she would have no regrets even if she died.

No, she wouldn’t be able to die, so it didn’t concern her.

As she continued to piece together the corpses, Rachel’s expression suddenly changed.

“….”

Silence.

No sound could be heard.

What could this mean?

Had the pursuers been overwhelmed by the horde of zombies?

If not…

BAM!

“GYAARGH!”

Rachel startled and screamed.

The secret wall of her hidden chamber collapsed.

In its place stood a faded blonde man grinning wickedly, his body smeared with chunks of zombie flesh and congealed blood, resembling an undead creature.

“I finally found you, you little rat.”

The man spoke, causing Rachel to hiccup in fear.

*

It wasn’t difficult to roughly estimate the Necromancer’s location.

With a map at hand, I could easily spot a few secret rooms where she might be hiding.

The real problem lay in the mob of zombies stacked crazily on the way there. Unlike skeletons, these guys wouldn’t rise again after being killed, but their fleshy presence allowed them to strike harder.

The worst part was…

“What is that smell…?”

The scent of rotting corpses permeated the air.

My holy sword was smeared with bits of flesh, and I was currently emanating a horrendous stench.

If I were to get a zombie girlfriend, I’d have no choice but to spread my legs wide open from that foul corpse pheromone.

“Damn it.”

I must’ve been getting dizzy from the stench.

To be lost in useless thoughts during a battle like this…

Anyway, Emily was keeping track of the Necromancer’s position.

Thanks to the smooth progression of Operation Pac-Man, Azar, Albrecht, and even Cecilia were racing over to my location.

“How the hell do we get past that?”

The catacombs were surrounded by black walls made entirely of coffins.

To enter that secret room, it meant we had to break all those coffins and demolish the walls. There must be some hidden mechanism somewhere, but I wasn’t into dungeon games enough to waste time looking for levers.

“Well, I guess there’s no choice.”

As a good boy, I had always avoided destroying graves, but here I had no options left.

Forget it. I wrapped myself in a shield of mana and, like a raging bull, scraped my feet a few times and charged at the wall.

The black walls and the coffins within shattered like I had thrown a baseball into a pile of Legos…

“GYAARGH!”

The trapped Necromancer screamed in surprise.

“…A girl?”

I felt a moment of doubt, but there was no time to ponder.

“You little rat, I finally found you.”

As I infused my holy sword with energy and took a step closer to behead the Necromancer, she exclaimed,

“Wait a second!”

“Huh?”

“I have something important to say! Kill me after!”

Normally, someone would beg for their life, but this Necromancer seemed anything but ordinary.

She grinned obsequiously and picked up a stinking corpse, beginning to stitch it together.

Dumbfounded, I was left watching in silence, and then the Necromancer opened her arms wide, grinning.

“Done!”

“Done?”

“Yes! Finally complete! My life’s ambition!”

“What’s that?”

“Corpse Golem!”

With those words, the ground beneath me trembled.

A fist shot up and grabbed my ankle.

“…”

Such immense strength.

It was nearly impossible to break free, even if I infused my mana.

“Shit.”

This was why I should’ve attacked during transformation.

*

A Corpse Golem.

If I think about it, it’s a monster that also appeared in “Sword & Magic Chronicle.” Created using hundreds of corpses, it was akin to a Summoner’s ultimate weapon—an undead.

With tremendous recovery capabilities, overwhelming attack power, and a health pool like a pig’s, the mere appearance of a Corpse Golem made me want to turn off the game.

Of course, this world wasn’t a game, and quitting wasn’t an option.

BANG!

I drove my holy sword into the beast’s body. Although I thrust my sword, an explosion followed as soon as I made contact with the Corpse Golem.

I exerted force to pull the blade out and smash it down, but its skin only dented slightly. Even that healed in an instant.

“Yay! Hehe! Look how sturdy! It’s complete!”

Meanwhile, the Necromancer seemed thrilled with her creation, bouncing in excitement.

“Hey, you.”

“…What?”

“Once this is over, I’m going to behead you.”

“That’s fine with me!”

“…”

Are all Necromancers like this?

I’ll be sure to ask Emily about it later.

[GROAAAR!]

I raised my holy sword to block the Corpse Golem’s attack. I barely defended myself, but my hand was torn, and blood flowed from the immense force. To match that strength, I’d need to use my Hero’s Divine Mark, but…

“I have to save that for later.”

After all, the Hell Duke and his possessed minions were still around. I didn’t want to waste it in a place like this.

Ultimately, I needed to dismantle that massive creature, which reminded me of my experiences facing giant monsters back when I was in the Black Eagle Mercenary Corps. How did I fight back then? No need to think too hard; my body already knew.

“Ah, memories of the past.”

I grinned and reversed my grip on the holy sword, holding it like a katana.