Walter hasn't eaten since he was alive. Unless you count the death of sucking up creatures as well.

However, he couldn't remember such an embarrassment at dinner time; The guests sat around his table in his apartment and never said a word since. Is the food unpalatable? Walter didn't like to eat seasoned deer, even when he was alive, but the cook brought a meal straight from some nobleman's private pantry.

After turning into a human form, Tai himself had no food to eat because he did not need to eat animal meat; Instead, he observes the people around him, like a snake staring at a mouse.

Hagen stood behind him, like a gloomy, silent shadow. Mrs. Selt stood to his right, clasped her hands together in silent prayer, while Anne stood to his left, pensive. Percy sat at the other end of the table, and he focused more on Mrs. Sercer than on the plate. Although only he touched his food.

Taehara thought that regardless of the current situation, everything would return to some form of normalcy, but he was wrong. Anne was still thinking about the notes he had allowed her to read, Lady Selt was still distressed by the silence of her gods, and Percy was half convinced that the necromancer would kill them all before dinner was over. Otherwise, how could Hagen have appeared?

In fact, Tai just doesn't bother to hide his true self anymore. Hagen was his most trusted companion, even though he was a terrifying ghost when he was on duty, and his presence calmed the necromancer. Unfortunately, Hagen politely refuses to sit around the table and decides to stand next to his boss. Durahan seems to take pleasure in making the mortals in the room uncomfortable.

Painful.

Tai could not blame the others for their silence, for he himself did not speak; On the contrary, Medlot occupied his mind. The necromancer knew that his friend had changed over the past few decades, but he never imagined that the knight would be so crazy. The truth he told was equally harrowing.

Was Madero right? Is Ragnarok inevitable?

No, of course not. It's like death isn't a fundamental part of reality, it's just a design flaw that no one wants to correct. The prophecy said that Nihogg would help trigger Ragnarok, but Walter Tye was unwilling. So he won't.

There is no force in the universe that allows him to destroy the world.

However, it is clear that Medlot is not going to stop there. He will attack Nastron and try to unleash the end of the world in the near future. Blinded by anger, he did not listen to advice and fought to the death in order to watch the Nine Realms burn.

There is only one way to get him to reconsider other than killing his old friend (which Tay doesn't want to do).

Or rather, a person.

"Tomorrow I'm going to attack Helheim." Tai said loudly.

Everyone immediately turned to him, and there was silence.

"My first escape from Helheim was a haste and despair." Hagen giggled behind Tye, recalling the [Death Carriage] ride away from the border between Helheim and Midgard. "Even if I plan carefully, I can only bring a few people with me. The masters of my order, including my own mentors, are still trapped in Haile's arms. I swore to release them, and I will. ”

Anne's eyes widened. "You're not going to say—"

"Now that Haier is vulnerable, I intend to personally invade her territory and liberate my people from her control." Tye replied, shocking everyone present. "If you want me to save the people below, I can bring their souls back; If only I could find them. ”

While Sbuck, Duke, Asclepius, and Severog are his main missions, Tai intends to free all the Pale Serpents he can find. One day, Helheim will be sacked.

There was a gleam in his eyes; A curiosity and hope, but she quickly crushed it. Out of politeness, Tay refuses to read her mind, but he would love to get to the bottom of her troubles.

"Walter, you're doing something wrong." The priestess finally spoke. "I understand saving people who don't deserve to be tortured in Helheim...... But many earn it themselves. ”

"Like me," Hagen said proudly, and Tye glared at him, silencing him. The Durakhanids liked to laugh at the nobles, especially the knights and priests.

"You propose to kill the criminal?" The necromancer asked the priestess.

"The most dangerous," said Joseph, "or at least let them leave after death." ”

Aspect shrugged. "If our society can't think of anything other than killing criminals, then it's unimaginative. Those who can progress must be imprisoned and reformed, and those who cannot progress must be stoned to death. ”

"In my country, the death penalty is forbidden." Percy said his stance on the matter took Walter by surprise. "Many countries on the planet don't kill prisoners, and most are safer than those that do."

Well? You learn something new every day.

"If, at the same time as the population grows, everyone becomes an eternal or an undead, then our resources will decrease."

"Then we'll go to the Nine Kingdoms, and beyond." The necromancer replied. "Are Esier and Vaniel thirty or forty?" However, they each have their own worlds. Two worlds, two clans and their servants. ”

"You want to invade the realm of the gods?" Madame Searle looked at him with blasphemous fear.

"I'll start with diplomacy," Tai replied coldly. However, my attempts did not receive an enthusiastic response. You are the best thing to know. ”

"If a stranger rejects you, will you send a horde of monsters to make them obedient?"

"The privilege of the few should not get in the way of the needs of the majority," Thai replied coldly. "According to the earthlings, in addition to Asgard and Vanneheim, there are a thousand worlds beyond the galaxy of Igdrasil. I suspect we won't run out of space anytime soon. ”

"And then, are you going to invade elves and dwarves?" The priestess continued. "You're going to keep running, Walter. Where will it end?"

"Even if we lack space, we have other options. Magic can reshape reality as we see fit; We can create food or drink, or even a new world for us to settle in. We now have eternal time to come up with solutions, and nothing surpasses human ingenuity. ”

"I doubt it," replied the priestess sadly.

"You can trust God, but not man?" Tai asked coldly. He never condemned her for her beliefs, but this debate only clarified the positions of both of them.

"There will be no eternity, Walter." "You are a disaster. Your presence hastened the arrival of Ragnarok. ”

"I am immortal, beyond the reincarnation of the soul, beyond the commands of fate," he replied. "It's my choice whether I destroy the world or not, it's not going to happen."

No matter what Medilo thinks.

"Just like you chose to be the devouring dragon you were destined to be?"

This question bothered the necromancer very much. "I didn't destroy its roots."

"So it is," replied Joseph, looking away. "Now."

Tay watched his old friend closely, trying to figure out her reaction. Why did she look hopeful for a second only to be even more distrustful? Maybe it had something to do with her god?

It clicks. "Lady Sear, isn't your god in Helheim?"

Before she could answer, Tay knew he had done it.

"Bald is the god of light and beauty," began Mrs. Selt, looking away sadly. "The kindest and most beloved man in the Esier family. Everyone loves him, but a huge light casts a huge shadow on the jealous. ”

"Balder was killed by an arrow made of mistletoe for his betrayal," Hagen said. "It's a famous story, mainly because Loki's admirers talk about it."

"She said that she would only release the gods if they wept for him." The priestess lamented.

"But Loki didn't," Tye recalled. "Thus exposing himself as a murderer."

"He said it was nothing but a prank," said Mrs. Selt in disgust. "It was the last straw, and Esier ordered him to be killed; As a result, Loki turned into a catastrophe, and since he was unable to kill him, Odin sealed his former relatives in Helheim. ”

"Well, if Bald is dead, how can he still pray?" Percy asked, confused. Anne, meanwhile, was silent; Listening to the discussion, but her mind was clearly wandering elsewhere.

"He reached a compromise and treated Balder as a guest of honor, allowing him to continue casting incantations and praying."

"No," Ty denied Soult's words, and his instincts exploded. He was already familiar with the mad woman, who was as ruthless as a lion chasing a deer. "He never compromised. There's something else at work. ”

"Yes," Hagen said. "Chief, I've been in Hellheim much longer than you, but I've never heard of Esil being trapped there. Loki certainly can, but what about the bald?"

These words upset Mrs. Searle, but she didn't trust Hagen too much to believe him. "Yes, the meaning of the story is clear," she said. "There is no point in trying to cheat death. Even God can't run away from it forever. ”

He wondered how she would react to Medlawt's revelation of God's nature, though Tai wisely waited to find hard evidence first. "Mrs. Searle, you don't understand the true moral of this story. First, every god wanted to bring Bald back to life, but they couldn't force him to obey. Secondly......"

The necromancer frowned.

"When God dies, he will go to Helheim, just like us mortals"

The longer the discussion went on, the more frowning her face became, even as she tried to justify her position. "The Esirians are fair, they have the same standards for themselves as they do for us."

Oh yes, but they never raised their mortal followers the way they raised their own followers. No, there was something else at play, some old secret kept by the Elsir family.

If you think about it, no one knows Haier's level. Could it be......

"Madame Selter, please follow me to Hellheim." Walter proposed to the priestess. "We can fix this and ask your God directly."

Her face flushed with anger. "If you hadn't stopped me, I would have done it a long time ago!"

"I didn't," Tai replied.

"You're active,"

"My [Godslayer] skill prevents people of sacred professions like [Priest] and [Paladin] from coming into contact with their gods if they are of a lower level than mine," Tay admitted. "But I can selectively exclude individuals from this impact."

Mrs. Selt froze.

"Your God didn't answer because he didn't want to," said Tai, "or couldn't answer for an unrelated reason." ”

She obviously didn't want to trust him, but perhaps because of their old friendship, she still felt some embers of trust. Mrs. Selt's fingers fidgeted, and her doubts deepened.

"People who are alive cannot survive in Helheim," she said. The necromancer sees this as a step forward.

"You're underestimating me." Tai snapped his fingers. A zombie servant walked into the room with a silver plate with three crimson potions on it.

The priestess recognized it immediately. "Your ...... Treatment"

"Improved," Tai replied. "The elixir of life. It's almost perfect, although there are still some holes in the regeneration process that I'm working on to remove. ”

Anne finally spoke. "I think I know what to do."

"Do you know how to improve this elixir?" Tai asked suddenly with interest.

"No," Anne admitted. "I skimmed through your notes and I realized...... You don't need to improve the elixir. It has given new life and eternal youth. ”

"It is vulnerable to [fire], [acid] and [silver].

"You're too narrow-minded, fool." Anne smiled. "You don't need to change the elixir to eliminate these weaknesses in a person. You can change this person individually. ”

"But magic items are lost—" Tai paused, suddenly understanding what his former apprentice meant. "My spell tattoo."

"They can be adjusted to become resistant to these elements, even immune to." The witch nodded. "This process takes more time than drinking a potion, but it's much easier than developing a perfect elixir."

"It's fantastic," Tay admits that he never considered the path. "Is there a way to replicate [Necromancer's Stone]?"

"We don't need to use the Philosopher's Stone for potions," said Anne, "at least I don't think so. This elixir of life has radically changed the biology of those who drink it, as they carry this gift in their blood. We can simply use the basic elixir on a universal blood donor and then transfer their blood of life to someone else. ”

"An immortal blood bank." Why didn't he think of it?

"For the [Nagel Method] spell, you have proven that stones can be made." Anne continued. "Maybe we can find another way to rebuild it without all the destruction."

"Annie, do you agree with him?" Madame Searle was stunned and interrupted her young friend.

"I don't agree with all of Thai's methods," Anne said, glancing at her mentor. "I'm sure you can achieve the same result with less pain and murder."

"That would be slower," Tye pointed out. "It is better to find eternal life and resurrection as soon as possible so that the sacrifice is null and void. For Nagelfa, death was just an inconvenience. ”

"You could have achieved the same with less pain and less murder," Anne stubbornly insisted. "But the knowledge in the notes can improve everyone's life. Immortality aside, your slime machine can be repurposed to mass-produce potions, elemental transmutation can help us create better materials more easily, and your rat swarm mind can be expanded to create an information system that spans kingdoms......"

"Innovation is built on a disregard for life and savagery," said Mrs. Searle.

"But it's done," replied Anne. "Even if the source of knowledge is terrible, knowledge is knowledge."

Being able to discuss magical theories with people who understand magic is really refreshing for Tae.

"I ...... I don't want to die. ”

Tay glanced at Percy, who looked very nervous. The squire was shy by nature, so it took a lot of effort to speak.

"I died briefly once," Percy recalled, "when I was killed by a mummy." ”

"I apologize," Tay said.

"I see the situation on the other side." Percy said solemnly, pale. Because he died disgracefully in an assassination attempt, he apparently served a prison sentence in Helheim. "I was only there for half a day, but ...... That's enough. I don't want to go back. Even the undead. ”

"I understand," Tai replied. "Will you still accept my offer?" What's the matter with you, Percy?"

"I ...... I want to protect the living. Said the squire. I understand why you ...... Why do you want to save the dead, but there are too many refugees in need of help right now. "They need to be safe from robbers and monsters, they need food and shelter. This is the duty of a knight. That's my dream. ”

"You can take the elixir, but stay in Midgard." "I need someone like you to maintain order, it's true. If you want to point your bow at the enemies of the living, you name it. ”

"Maintaining order?" Madame Sserr frowned.

"In the near future, this region, and the Igdra Sigan beneath it, will need to strengthen its defenses against the forces of the calamity." The necromancer admitted, which made the priestess pale with fear. "I need to throw all the bodies at them. Immortal warriors, in particular, may be able to make up for our lack of numbers. Beasts will also become immortal. ”

"A lot of people will run out of your grip and run around," Mrs. Selt noted. "You've spread the undead everywhere."

Great, Tai thought to himself, this is the plan. He will fill Midgard with a large number of undead, and the data of the prophecy will rot in their own corruption. The necromancer withheld this information until she agreed to become more flexible in her thoughts.

Anne was the most willful and was the first to snatch the potion. "By the way, you can make a spell tattoo on the weakness of the potion?"

The necromancer nodded, and Lady Thorr looked at her juniors worriedly. "Anne, think about what you're doing," the priestess pleaded. "It's going to be permanent."

"You'll stop aging in your early 20s, and this elixir will keep your body in tip-top shape," Tye said, shrugging off his friend's concerns. "I don't understand why anyone would say no."

"I ...... I don't want to die either. The witch admitted. I...... I don't mind going to Valhalla, but ......"

"But?" Yseult asked.

"What are my odds?" Anne frowned. "What are my chances of going to Valhalla?"

"Anne ......"

"What are the chances that I won't be assassinated?" Is it poisonous? Died of old age? Died in an accident?" Anne went on to say that the priestess had no strong answer to this. "Even if I try to pray to God, what are the odds that they will accept me?" If it hadn't been for Tai who saved me, I would have almost died of illness. What are my odds, ma'am?"

These words hit her hard because they reflected her own situation.

"I tried to think rationally, but ...... I don't stand a chance," said the witch. "I don't want to put my life in the hands of someone else. So I won't. ”

Mrs. Serr said nothing.

So Anne didn't hesitate to drink the crimson potion.

Tay was immensely proud of her and smiled happily, while Selter's eyes were sunken. Anne, meanwhile, frowned. "Major Lifegift?"

"Can you show me?" Ask.

Anne held his hand, which was particularly warm to the touch, and then revealed her personal information to him.

Anne Vivian Silverberg

Level: 40 (Witch 30 / Scholar 9 / Necromancer 1)

Type: Humanoid (Huma

oid)。

Fang: Nast

o

d。

"Nice new class." He said, and looked into her eyes, and the witch was as red as a tomato.

Clearly, Anne did more than just learn theory; If you don't practice seriously, you won't be able to enter a new course at her level.

[Primary Lifegift: You gain immunity to [disease], including magic effects, and you recover twice as much HP from healing effects.] When your body reaches its peak, you stop growing, and if you magically age, you'll go back to that age in a minute. In addition, you will gain natural regeneration, allowing you to regenerate from wounds, organ failure, and limb loss; This effect is interrupted by contact with []. Fire], [acid] and [silver]. This ability cannot be negated or removed.

As he read, Anne's finger hesitantly touched his. Even if he didn't read her mind, he could sense some contradiction in her heart; The desire for intimacy, mixed with fear.

Obviously, even if she is ambivalent about his approach, her intentions are not entirely academic. "Do you want us to work together like we used to?"

"There are limits," she said, before letting go of his hand.

"I got the offe

is working in an organization that allows free thinking," Tay noted.

"Fewer restrictions doesn't mean there aren't restrictions," Anne stubbornly argues. "And...... I want to bring someone back. ”

A man who Thai himself does not want to go back.

Gwe

hyfa

。

Tay felt that they would argue about it for a long time, but the necromancer took it as a price for the apprentice of his dreams.

Percy hesitated, but he mustered up the courage and took the elixir.

There was only one bottle of potion left on the silver plate.

"Ma'am, I really want you to be by my side," Tai argued. He was particularly fond of the priestess, almost irrationally. "A new world will soon appear, and I want you to be by my side."

"A world of the undead and rotten."

"A free world where no one dies," Tye said. "My previous victims were a necessary sacrifice."

"You can't measure human suffering," she replied, her voice full of pain. It occurred to the necromancer that so many tragedies had hurt her pure heart at once. "I'm not going to be involved."

"But if you don't accept it, you'll never know the truth," Walter noted, sensing a hole in her psychological defenses. "You can't survive the fog of Hellheim, you never know if your faith is worth it"

"Walter, you have so insidiously poisoned my mind," replied Mrs. Serr, more and more distressed. The foundation on which she lived collapsed beneath her; After years of faithful service to the gods, challenging their system in any way sounds like a betrayal. The betrayal of her lover and the collapse of Avalon only hardened her mind. "My God doesn't need to prove anything to me. Just like you, as my friend, have nothing to prove; I trust you unconditionally. That's faith. ”

"Faith is earned," Tai replied. "I know you may not believe me anymore after I lied to you, but what did the gods do for you to start trusting me?" They didn't cure you, I did. ”

"Walter". Her tone hardened.

"I'm just offering the truth," Tai replied, tension mounting. "If you don't take this elixir, you can't go to Hellheim. Whatever dark truth awaits you there, you will never know. You will prove your faith and perhaps win a peaceful afterlife. Maybe it's better that way. ”

Perhaps out of respect for their old friendship, she listened silently.

"But if you don't drink this medicine," Tay continued, his cold eyes fixed into hers, "you'll never know if your faith is worth it." If you have any doubts, even if only a small percentage of people believe that I am not the Great Demon who destroys all things, and believe that there may be some merit in my path, then you can take the elixir of life and you will see the truth with your own eyes. The choice is yours. ”

"Really? She asked, skeptically. "What happens if I don't accept it?"

"Nothing." It's getting more and more tiresome. "Ma'am, I've given you many opportunities to walk away. Every time there was an opportunity, and despite your repeated protests, you didn't catch any of them. So let me ask you a simple question. ”

The necromancer approached Lady Thor until he could feel her warm breath on his face.

"Why are you still here?"

The priestess looked away from him and at the potion, and a painful silence enveloped the room.

She wasn't trying to convince Tye that he was wrong.

She tried to convince herself that she was right.

Tay hates to admit it, but he's set the scene and rehearses it carefully. He wanted Mrs. Tser to stand firmly by his side, for she was an extraordinary woman, kind, strong, and wise of her own. But under Medlot's leadership, he needed people he could trust. Those who agree with him, those who can question him behind his back. He wanted Mrs. Searle to be the lieutenant he trusted, just as he had hoped Laufey to be.

Her hands fidgeted, and perhaps for the first time in her life she was really asking herself. Over the years, she has trusted people unconditionally; her lover, Tristan; her god Bald; Avalon's hegemony; Even Walter himself. The necromancer gives her a chance to either continue her path or develop a healthy skepticism.

Long before Laufey, Tye had learned this lesson from Asclepius and Calvert. One should open one's heart slowly so as not to be impaled. It needs to be handled with care, protected, and then only open to those who really deserve it.

With undead patience, the necromancer waited for the priestess to make a decision; The rest of the room was as silent as a grave, moving restlessly from their seats.

Mrs. Selt closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A tear came out of the edge of her left eye.

"Forgive me."

Five seconds later, the zombie servant retrieved the silver plate and the three empty bottles on it.