Walter Tye is trapped in the cathedral of Nastron where he tattoos a spell on the skin of a living black mouse; In the background, his device distills the blood of Hydra and transfers the results to his new batch of elixirs.

Nastron was protected from prying eyes by godlike magic, but even its wards pale to those who protected the cathedral. While Hull may have once succeeded in detecting Tye's presence in the city, Yggd

Asil's root body is protected from God's surveillance. Odin has already established this.

But Tai couldn't hide forever. The longer the store is closed for no reason, the more people will come to ask questions. Especially after his magical battle with the dominatrix razed the local forest to the ground.

However, if the [Kiss of Help] is still valid when he goes out, then every Inquisitor of that cursed goddess will track him down. Maybe they've already started investigating. He should condemn the tunnel leading to the store, eliminate eyewitnesses......

"She won, sir."

When Hagen and Duke walked into the cathedral to give their daily report, Ty's work was interrupted. "How? The alchemist asked, then focused on the tattoo again.

"Forcing you to guess everything," Hagen explained. "Torture you but not there."

"I still don't understand why she let me go," Tai replied, almost finished designing. "She's crazy, but I don't see what good she does for letting me run around."

"She is a mad goddess who torments the souls of the dead," Duke said. "Cruelty and entertainment are both good reasons. She made us 'live' in fear until she made a move. ”

Does she feel like it's a pleasure to let Tye continue his work and then hit him before he's done?

"I think she has a more worldly motive," Hagen said. "You're a bait, Chief."

"Temptation?" Tay frowned behind the mask.

"We now know that Medlaot survived the Great Purge, that he hid his tracks so well that even you, the chieftain, could not find him. If the two of you survive, there may be more; Everyone is against God and tries to find other survivors. ”

"That evil ......" Tai was reluctant to admit it, but it made sense. In her arrogance, Haile may even think that now that she has marked him, she can call off his own activities at any time. "You believe she wants Medlot?"

"Or any undead spirit who will inevitably be drawn to you, my lord." "Destroy the hive when it's full."

"There's no way to get rid of that Pe

k?" Hagen asked. "As far as I know, this can't be done, but you're a genius chief. At least in terms of magic. ”

"Her privilege is engraved directly into my soul," the necromancer explained. "This means that I can't clear it of Haier's Touch unless I fundamentally change my essence. Thank God...... I may have found a less risky option. ”

When the work is done, Tay releases his familiar mouse, the critter screaming and a symbol shining on its back. A white snake eating a tattoo of its own tail.

"I came up with this idea by studying the arrested members of the witch gathering," Tye told the bewildered elite. "The soul has a special aura, and the witches will naturally bind together and use their witch group magic. So I created a spell tattoo that replicated the signature of my own soul. ”

"Bait," Hagen guessed. "Ah, that's why you're going to anesthetize these cultists and beasts and take them to the ground."

"I'll mark hundreds of tattoos and have robins smuggle them around Avalon. Instead of looking for a well-concealed target, she and her inquisitors sought out countless moving targets. He had imagined the surprise they would be when they caught a marked bird. Eventually, they will find the trick, but they will not be able to distinguish between the innocent and the guilty. ”

The Duke looked at Kunet, who remained eerily silent. "You tell him," the zombie shouted.

"It's an interesting mechanic," Durahan said carefully. "But it's a stupid idea, and it's too complicated."

"Why?" Walter asked, surprised by the negative feedback. "It can at least confuse the enemy and b-"

"Chief, while no one would deny your magical talents, your lack of vision and common sense sometimes worries me." Hagen said. "All she has to do is tell her pastor your name and what you look like."

Walter opened his mouth to make a rebuttal before realizing that his second-in-command had a point.

"This is my suggestion," the headless samurai continued. "You tattoo all the male human admirers and reshape their flesh to make them look like you. Then you spread them all over Avalon, and you stay safely in Nastron. We guarantee a steady supply of sacrifices for you to feed you on, and you can complete your imagination while the Inquisitor pursues the bait. ”

"But that would mean giving up my shop and civilian identity," Tai replied.

"Is it that scary, sir?" The Duke asked, not understanding his silence. "You maintain this illusion only to lure adventurers to destruction, don't you?"

"No, I keep that façade because if I don't need to do great work, that's my existence," Tay admits. "A peaceful, calm life. I refuse to give it up. Besides, it doesn't work. The princess stopped looking in the dungeon only because I convinced her that "Necromancer" and "Walter Tay" were different people. If I were openly an enemy of the Church of Hull, she would combine the two and dig out the dungeon. We need to find another solution. ”

"Walter," the necromancer froze as Hagen spoke to him gravely. "From the moment we killed that knight and became an enemy of the royal family, your peaceful life was untenable. You'll always be found, and to be honest, I'm surprised it took so long. Our success in Lyon has created a false sense of security that has cost you. ”

Walter Tay fell into a tense and heavy silence.

"Now, it's not the first time something like this has happened," Hagen said. But we can't move to another place and start over somewhere else. Nastron is too precious to give up. Your initial plan is valuable to distract Haile's lackeys and keep you moving outside the dungeon. But if you think your 'human' identity is salvageable, or that you can somehow sneak into the Academy, then I'm sorry, my friend, but you've been misled. ”

"I-"

"For Alberridge's sake, Walter, he has a church in Lyon! The Dark Knight roared, so loud that it scared the orcs working outside the cathedral. "As soon as you appear on the ground, the hound will grab you by the throat!"

Duke cleared his throat. "My lord, although I'm not as straightforward as Harugen...... I agree with him. I've been thinking about it for a long time, but I don't think there's a way to maintain the status quo. At this point, the most prudent thing to do is to cover our tracks, cut the losses, and call it a day. ”

"You fight the heretics in a battle of spellcasters that have destroyed the countryside." Hagen added. "Sooner or later, someone smart will find out that this necromancer didn't die that badly. Your plan has bought us time, but we can't keep it a secret anymore. ”

Neither of the undead received an answer from their master.

"Walter ......"

"I'll think about it," the necromancer interrupted Haroots, even though he hated to say every word. "Report it to me."

"The 'tongue bird' did as I said, even though she wondered why you didn't come in person this time," Hagen said. "She brought us captured trolls, beasts, and volunteers."

Good news. "My master, Asclepios, believed that the essence of life was made up of magical little scrolls whose information determined everything the body was made of," Walter explained, bringing the tattooed mouse to his lap. "How many heads, the color of the skin, the inclination to combat magic or physics...... He believes that this information changes depending on the environment or exposure to magic, which explains why some monsters adapt to certain environments. "He's certainly right."

Without remorse, Walter crushed the mouse's head with his hands, blood dripping down his robe. His undead did not flinch from violence......

But when they saw that it was growing again, they were taken aback. The black rat screamed at his murderer, as if he had just been pinched.

"By studying the Scroll of Life itself, I artificially replicated the regeneration process of the hydra; Although somewhat inappropriate," Walter said, frustrated by not eliminating the main weaknesses to fire, acid, and silver. "The early results so far have been encouraging, and I might even improve on the natural version."

"Please let us dream, chief," Kuone mused, reverting to some of his slumped state.

Walter explains: "Aging is due to the effect of time on organs, resulting in gradual deterioration of organs." "Since normal regeneration replicates organs after they have decayed, it does not prevent death from old age. However, by combining the effects of the elixir and polyp regeneration, I can create a feedback loop. ”

Hagen was the first to understand. "This way your child will constantly return to their golden age, just as they were in their original state after the elixir took effect."

"Stay young forever."

"Maybe. I need further checking. "Thank goodness they didn't see the prototype. When you have 5 more heads, or the tumor spreads 10 times faster, regeneration is not fun. Even this rat was the only survivor in the entire group.

It is amazing that one person can make such great progress despite a significant loss.

"Some trolls can only respond with fire or specific conditions; They are usually different from hydras. By figuring out the way, I will refine the regeneration process in time until nothing can stop it. ”

Currently, Tai will test the current panacea on volunteers; See if they developed the Perks and how the chemicals would react......

Hagen and Duke later went on to make a report, but there was not much to say. The cultists quieted down, the kingdom sent people to investigate the forest fires, and they strengthened the border...... It was all so routine that Walter's mind wandered.

"Mistress Medlot has a letter for you."

Until Hagen said these words. "Where, when?" Tay asked, eager for details.

"Robin asked her to meet with the [Death Knight] in the Disaster Cult arrangement she provided in Logres, and they gave her this." The Duke handed a scroll to his superior. "There's a message written on it, but I can't read it."

Walter opened the file and found a map of the Logres area, with a few words scrawled on the bottom. The coordinates are written in the Pale Snake's secret coding language, next to precise instructions. The area to which the information points to...

"Fianna's Tomb."

Madero has finally found it. If Thai's suspicions are correct, then he intends to bring the island's inhabitants back to life; The necromancer needs to convince him as soon as possible not to do anything stupid and to hell with it.

"Anything else?" Tile asked.

"Many goblins complain that they see visions and hear auditory hallucinations," Duke said. "Like Hagen's."

"I know why," Tai replied. "Nastrang, I can't find a better word, haunted."

"Of course, sir." Kuragan said with a giggle. "We are all immortal."

Hearing this terrible joke, the necromancer couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not talking about being overrun by ghosts, but it's really haunted. The horrors that took place caused so much suffering that the city was filled with evil energy. It has no life, but it has a will of its own. ”

"So what I heard, and Sbuck's behavior......"

"Nastrand feeds on pain," Ty confirmed. "The more it torments its occupants, the stronger it becomes. Perhaps partly to prevent the city's evil from escaping, Esir placed a second seal around it. ”

But he did not understand why the city did not torture Tai himself. If anything, the place is starting to feel like home.

"Then what are we going to do, to expel Nastrang?" Hagen asked.

How is it? They don't have the necessary divine magic. Tai had considered sucking the city's evil energy out, but if even a divine seal wasn't enough to fully control it, then what else could be?

…

His brain suddenly began to run wildly, and many elements were reduced to pieces.

Recreate the soul, the divine connection to hell, the power of the city, the philosopher's stone, great work, but it takes a lot of blood, transformation and rebirth......

A flash of inspiration flashed through the necromancer's mind, and suddenly, everything became clear.

"Chief?" Hagen asked. "I know that look. You've got an idea. ”

"There's a way to get rid of Pe

k, even one great work at a time," said the necromancer, "but it would take transforming into a more powerful undead and reshaping my soul in the process." ”

"Chief, if you can gain more power at any given time, why don't you do it?" Hagen asked.

"Because there's a risk," Duke guessed.

"If something goes wrong with the ritual, my soul could be torn apart." Souls don't disappear, but they can get lost and be permanently damaged. "If all goes well......"

Then he and the city will pay a huge price.

In the middle of the night, Leonis had already fallen asleep, and Walter Tay was hanging out in his shop.

Necromancers often wonder why so many undead would imitate living people and imitate their movements during their lifetime. The Death Knight mimics the court, with vampires dressed as nobles and ghosts denying their immortality. Non-life is the missing step between life and death, a state of equilibrium free from the shackles of fate and the reincarnation of the soul. Despite his shortcomings as an Anko, Tay considers himself closer to true immortality than most.

So why do so many of his undead crave a resurrection?

In the end, and perhaps Anko is no exception, he puts on a strange masquerade so that he can reclaim the lives that this unjust world has stolen from him.

Even now, he didn't understand why he had taken such a big risk to go back to the store, smell the potion, and feel the dust that had accumulated between the shelves. Tye personally designed every inch of the building, even though he was inspired by his late father's own company.

Tay couldn't explain why he liked the job. Routine? Lack of surprises? That feeling that he helped a handful of people who deserved help? Leonis wasn't the first place he opened a shop, although it was the first time he had spent more than a few months there. At that time, he had no stable life supply and was always forced to run around. A snake that keeps molting.

Come to think of it, this is the only place he tried his best to keep. Even after the dungeon was condemned, Tye no longer had any reasonable reason for it to continue to exist. But he did it anyway. His roots stretched out like a tree, forming a lasting bond. Mrs. Soult, Anne ......

Tai has been killing people all his life.

But if the ritual succeeds, then all his years of struggle, all the efforts of his knights, will eventually bear fruit. The great works will be completed, and a world without death will see the light. Is he willing to sacrifice his perfect life for this goal?

The light came through the window and pulled him out of his fantasy.

Lantern.

The necromancer casts [Curtain of Darkness] into the darkness and approaches the window to look inside. He recognized Percy and the other night watchmen, seemingly protecting his premises from two figures.

Evil people.

They make no secret of it. Two tall, faceless beasts, dressed in heavy black plate armor, armed with deadly scythes and torches. The flames lit up their cold eyes, and the rest of their faces were hidden under their hats.

Inquisitor of Hell. (Witch Hunter).

Tay concentrated, his keen senses catching most of the discussion.

“… You violated the curfew. Percy argued. No one was outside after dark. It's not safe on the streets. ”

"They don't look like they need protection, Percy." One of his companions noted.

"I'm sorry, Night's Watch." Said the hooded man. "We have found an enemy of faith in the area."

"Enemies of faith?" Percy asked what was on the prosecutor's clothes that made him very upset. His gaze was particularly fixed on their pointed hoods; Maybe because they reminded him of the public executioner.

"After the fire, Her Majesty the Queen of Darkness warned us that there was an unclean one wriggling among us, giving us hints of vision." The judge announced. "We were asked to prove our faith by hunting down the wicked, and our prayers brought us to this area. We consider the enemy to be under the guise of honest citizens. ”

"We must immediately organize a search," his companion added. "Open the door and start with this. As we speak, the unclean may be preying on the innocent; We must pass the judgment of the goddess and throw him to Helheim. ”

"Maybe we're looking for the same person," said one of the night watchmen. "You should go with us. We welcome all help, especially from Witch Hunter. ”

"You speak as if he's the culprit, and we don't have any proof yet." Percy protested, "He hasn't been seen in days. ”

"You mean from the day of the magic duel," replied the warden. "It's pretty bad."

Ty clenched his fists.

"Who are you looking for?" The prosecutor asked.

"Credible witnesses claim to have seen Walter Tye engaged in a high-level spellcasting battle with the druids in the Brocksumland Forest," the Warden replied, "and according to reports, he was dressed exactly like the princess below's description of the necromancer." We came here to investigate his home and take him to the city's detention center for interrogation. ”

While the two groups were arguing about the best way in—only Percy objected—Walter walked away from the window with a wary look.

Hagen was right. As soon as he walked out, the hounds had already grabbed him by the throat.

It never gets better.

At this time, Walter Tye realized that his peaceful life in Lyons was over. He lost the place, the people he had invested in the two years he had wasted. All the efforts to get rid of that little royal cub only delayed the inevitable end.

In this moment, Walter Tye felt a pain that he had not felt since the death of his parents and the slaughter of his Knights.

He ruined his life. Again.

Perhaps this has always been her divinely small goal. Something more subtle and cruel than dragging him directly to Hellheim. This will only inspire Tae's determination to immortalize all and lay down that beastly goddess.

Great works will be done. All who stand in its way will die.

Even himself.

The necromancer turned away, turned his back to the shop's closing sign, and returned to the darkness.