No! I don't want to be a Super Necromancer!

Damien Bloodbane's eyes shone with intense desire.

So [Death Swap] allows the caster to instantly switch places with one of his undead minions!

It was an extremely powerful skill with endless applications that would open up almost the whole world to Damien Bloodbane's free access.

Johnson, still clutching his wounded side, had put some distance between them. His breathing was ragged, and a sheen of sweat coated his face.

He had barely avoided death just now. Boris was gone, but that was a small price to pay for survival.

But alas for him, his mobility was gone.

There was no way he would be able to outrun Damien Bloodbane in his condition, not if he wanted to keep Damien Bloodbane's death energy from rampaging in his body.

"Give me your life." Damien Bloodbane said coldly and raised his hand to point at Johnson.

At that moment, he looked much more like the villain than Johnson.

But whoever said that Damien Bloodbane was a hero?

From all around them, Damien Bloodbane's undead summons howled their inhuman wails and started to rush towards Johnson in a terrifying wave.

Row after row of fiercely scrambling undead with their blackened eyes and ripped skin with blood dripping everywhere made for a bone chillingly horrifying scene.

Even the most stalwart warrior would blanch at such a sight!

Johnson's heart lurched as he fought to stand his ground.

The sheer weight of death energy pressing down on him was suffocating, his own control over death energy paling in comparison to the one commanding these creatures.

"Master was right." He hissed lightly. "He truly is the Prophesied One! I must wait for reinforcements before capturing him!"

His wounded side burned. The residual death energy from Damien's dagger still lingered in his body, gnawing at him like a parasite. If he pushed himself too hard, the corruption would spread.

He knew one thing for certain.

He couldn't win this fight.

But he could escape.

He threw his hand forward, forming a rapid sequence of movements in the air. His voice boomed across the battlefield.

"Arise!"

With those words, the air flashed in front of him and the ground beneath him cracked open.

A deep, guttural growl rumbled from the abyss.

From the depths of the earth, something stirred.

Then, a monstrous clawed hand emerged, dragging a hulking demonic corpse out of the abyss. Its eyes burned with a sickly yellow glow, and its flesh was covered in blackened scars, remnants of an old battle that had taken place long before it had perished.

Its strange armor was cracked, rusted and covered in glowing demonic sigils. The ancient runes pulsed erratically, some flickering like dying embers, while others flared violently, as if resisting whatever force was tormenting the beast.

The engravings shifted and twisted, almost alive, their unnatural shapes warping between recognizable symbols and eldritch glyphs never meant for human eyes.

It was a massive undead beast, and by its looks, no ordinary one at that!

At over five meters tall, it was as fearsome as it was horrifying.

Just what exactly took place in the battle of Blackthorn City all those years ago?

Its voice rumbled, not from its throat, but from the very essence of its existence—a low, distorted echo that shook the very air.

"NOOO!!!"

Its deafening howl of pain tore through the battlefield as its massive body convulsed. Its rotting limbs twitched uncontrollably as if some unseen force was tearing it apart from the inside.

A thick, black ichor oozed from the deep cracks forming across its decayed flesh, sizzling against the ground like acid. Its claws scraped wildly against the dirt, trying to find something—anything—to anchor itself.

Unexpectedly, the undead beast was in complete agony!

Johnson grinned wickedly.

"Beast." he said, his voice thick with authority. "Hold them back."

The demon's eyes locked onto Damien Bloodbane and his minions. Then, with a single earth-shaking stomp, it lunged forward.

Damien Boodbane barely had time to react before a massive fist came crashing down towards him. He leapt to the side, feeling the shockwave of the impact nearly throw him off balance. The ground exploded where he had just been standing.

At the same time, Johnson sneered at Damien Bloodbane.

"I'll be back for you, boy. Death Swap."

A pulse of black energy erupted from his body—

And in the next instant—

He was gone.

In his place, an undead warrior appeared, mid-sprint, running in the opposite direction.

It had been fleeing the battlefield since the beginning of the fight, blending into the shadows while making its way toward the forest's edge. Johnson had marked it in advance—his backup plan in case things turned exactly as they had.

Damien Bloodbane's eyes darkened.

Johnson had escaped.

Again.

A cold fury boiled in his chest, but he had no time to dwell on it. The massive undead beast in front of him let out another agonized wail, its body trembling as if it had been yanked back from the void against its will.

And yet, despite its suffering, it was still an unstoppable force of destruction.

It moved with terrifying speed, lunging at Damien Bloodbane like a rabid predator.

Boom!

Its massive claws tore through the battlefield, splitting the ground apart in jagged trenches. Corrupt energy surged from its decayed flesh, filling the air with the stench of death and rot.

Damien Bloodbane dodged sharply, but the pressure from the beast's attack was suffocating. He could feel it.

The undead beast was radiating an overwhelming force of death energy no different from his own.

This creature…

It had been powerful in life.

And even in death, it remained a terrifying weapon.

Damien Bloodbane gritted his teeth.

Enough.

With a flick of his fingers, two Ice Daggers materialized in his grasp. He could sense the lingering power of Sheila Shadowbane's ice energy pulsing through them—cold, sharp, and unrelenting.

He didn't actually need his daggers. Now that he had repositioned himself to relative safety, his minions could swarm the undead beast and finish him off.

But having failed twice in capturing Johnson and allowing the threat over his life to retreat only to have them retry soon made him slightly irritated.

He needed to vent.

Slash!

The first dagger slammed into the beast's shoulder, the second buried deep into its rotting abdomen.

Shua!

Damien Bloodbane kicked off the undead beast's body, using the momentum to somersault backward, narrowly escaping its wild, frenzied swings.

A horrible screech ripped through the air—a mix of pain and rage. The sound was so sharp, so unnatural, that it sent a painful ringing through Damien Bloodbane's skull.

The beast charged forward violently with its jaws wide open and arms stretched out.

It was a mindless attack from a mindless beast.

Apparently Johnson's undead summon wasn't exactly high level.

It was not able to replicate any fighting skill despite being able to summon such a powerful entity.

"Either that, or Johnson is too far away from it. And if that is the case, then Johnson needed to personally control his high level summons." Damien Bloodbane quickly concluded.

Having realized that he was fighting a dummy, Damien Bloodbane instantly lost any desire to prolong the fight.

It was time for the finishing blow.

He moved so fast that it seemed as though he disappeared from his position to deliver a powerful strike to the undead beast's neck.

Slash!

Its head flew off into the distance.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Its body was sliced into pieces.

With one final, echoing scream, the undead beast shattered into a swirling storm of black dust.

Silence.

The battlefield stood still for a brief moment before a raucous burst of undead howls ripped through the air.

Damien Bloodbane exhaled slowly.

Johnson was gone.

And the fight was over.

Now the questions would come.

Damien Bloodbane snapped his fingers lightly and cancelled his undead summon spells.

Instantly, his little army of undead collapsed to the ground, becoming nothing more than bloodless corpses.

At that moment, a sharp voice cut through the air.

"Damien! What the hell are you still doing here?"

Ardan Flameborn's figure burst into view, his flame-clad form crackling with power. His expression was tense, but the relief in his eyes was unmistakable.

"Let's go," Ardan said firmly, throwing a glance at the battlefield. "Reinforcements are coming. We need to leave—now."

With a simple nod of his head, Damien Bloodbane turned on his heel.

"Fine."

Ardan clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Good. We're heading to Pearl Institute. You've got a lot to learn before the next fight."