SSS-Rank Hunter Reborn: Private Tutor to the Count's Bastard Son

[King? Who did you just call king?]

[A mere skeleton with only Great Person dignity.]

[How dare you spout such nonsense!]

Sharp rebuke like frost. But the Lich's attitude didn't change.

"Truly foolish. When all death watches over us, what use is dignity?"

Soon the Lich's staff pointed at Silvan.

He continued in an overbearing voice.

"You, the one wielding petty necromancy. Kneel before all death and bow your head. If you do so, the path to becoming a great necromancer will open, freed from all bodily shackles."

At the unspeakable blasphemy, the three spirits trembled.

Who was Silvan? He was the king of all unholy things to whom they had sworn obedience. To dare tell him to kneel? There was no greater insult.

[Your Majesty. Please give me orders.]

[I will go and question that insolent sinner's crimes.]

[Squishy is good at catching Liches too.]

Strong anger could be felt in the spirits' voices. If Silvan just gave the order, they were ready to tear the Lich apart immediately.

"Be quiet for a moment."

A quiet answer flowed from Silvan. The three spirits immediately closed their mouths. Then Silvan quietly stared in the Lich's direction.

It was an emotionless gaze, as if looking at experimental material.

"Irona. I have something to ask."

Silvan's lips moved again.

When she turned her head at the sudden call, Silvan pointed with his finger at the Lich and the ashen-robed archer.

"Those two are undead, right?"

It was an unexpected question, but she soon nodded. The Lich was obviously an undead, and the archer next to it probably was too. Because she could feel death energy so terrible it made her shudder.

At that moment, Irona realized Silvan's intention.

"Can you steal them?"

"Hmm, their mana arrangement is a bit different, but it seems worth trying."

With a faint smile, Silvan nodded.

Then he looked at the three spirits.

"Guys, sorry, but could you buy me some time?"

At Silvan's request, the spirits readily nodded.

[Leave it to us as much as you want.]

[That insolent one alone is enough for me.]

[I'll chew him down to bone fragments!]

"No, I'm going to make them subordinates, so don't destroy them."

Silvan smiled awkwardly.

Soon, erasing his expression, he reached toward the two undead. The distance was a bit far, but it seemed barely possible at this level. Silvan's pupils shone brightly.

"...I cannot understand."

Then Irona heard an unfamiliar voice. At the unpleasant tone like scraping metal with metal, her face naturally crumpled. The voice came from the Lich's direction. But it wasn't the Lich's voice. At that moment, the voice came again.

"Cannot aim the arrow. Attack is impossible."

Now she knew. It was the voice of the ashen-robed archer next to the Lich. He was staring at Silvan while pulling his hood deep down. Then the nearby Lich answered.

"Then just eliminate the other pests first."

The Lich tapped the ground twice with his staff. A purple magic circle of unknown identity was carved into the ground. Irona blocked Silvan's front. She also called the spirits just in case.

"I have no business with you. Disappear."

The skeletal thin finger pointed at Irona. Nether mana fluctuated.

But that was all. Nothing happened. Instead, Silvan's three spirits revealed themselves.

[What guts you have.]

[A mere Lich treating us as pests.]

[Your magic has become my snack.]

Squishy tapped what looked like his belly. Did this scene make him uncomfortable? The Lich's blue light flickered here and there.

Just then, the archer's voice was heard again.

"...All three have Hero dignity."

A troubled tone was mixed with the emotionless speech.

But the Lich's attitude didn't change.

"Didn't I tell you before? Dignity is meaningless now."

The Lich tapped the ground with his staff.

Another carved purple magic circle. Soon he continued.

"Above all, that youngster doesn't even know how to handle spirits. Look at him playing such childish games even with such spirits."

The Lich pointed to where hundreds of undead were standing. It must have been incomprehensible to him. Having three subordinates with dignity yet commanding such low-grade underlings.

Just then.

[The King has commanded. Buy time.]

[He also asked us not to destroy them.]

[However, He didn't say not to trample them to death.]

The three spirits had somehow approached within reach of the Lich.

Seeing this, the archer hastily distanced himself from the Lich. Meanwhile, the Lich didn't move a single step. He looked at the spirits mockingly.

"To spout such threats with just that level..."

But he couldn't continue his words. Because Hardy suddenly lunged forward.

A corrupted specter knight with Hero dignity. Shield first, he roughly crushed the Lich.

Crack!

[The first sin is the sin of speaking rudely to the King.]

His kneecap shattered. As the Lich's body tilted forward, a massive lance mercilessly smashed his body. Until it became powder, the Lich couldn't put up any proper resistance.

Whoooosh—

Wind blew. Soon the Lich regained his form. As long as the Life Vessel containing his soul wasn't broken, a Lich wouldn't die. He would just consume nether mana to reconstruct his body.

However, the spirits didn't just watch this happen.

[The second sin is the sin of showing rude attitude to the King.]

Spiky, the rotten thorn spirit, buried his body in the Lich's head.

Thousands, tens of thousands of thorns shot up and tore the Lich apart. After that, the Lich reconstructed his body at a slightly distant location.

"Kugh! Mere spirits!"

His body had been destroyed twice. Whether he felt humiliated, the Lich flashed his blue light and poured out massive magic power. But the magic couldn't activate. Because a thick shadow had fallen over the Lich's head.

[The third sin is calling another vermin king in front of the King.]

Crunch crunch!

The seven sin evil spirit Squishy swallowed the Lich whole along with the nearby cemetery. If there had been a Life Vessel nearby, his existence would have been annihilated.

Some time after that, the Lich appeared again. Judging by how the reconstruction speed had slowed, his magic power seemed to be running out.

"How long will you just watch! Fight back!"

Was it because the archer who had been quietly watching was annoying?

The Lich shouted irritably. Then an answer came back.

"The difference in dignity is great. At this rate, the chance of victory is low."

"So you're going to sit there and take it?"

"After reexamination, the chance of victory is still low."

The archer only repeated that the chance of victory was low.

Did he not want to hear those words? The Lich roughly struck the ground with his staff.

At the same time, the archer lifted his head.

"I just found a way to increase the chance of victory."

"Yes, whatever it is, hurry up and deal with those spirits first..."

At that moment, the archer thrust his left arm into the ground. A thin vibration ran through the entire cemetery. After a while, the archer pulled out his arm again. What he held was a red orb like blood.

"You, what are you doing right now...!"

Seeing this, the Lich's eyes widened. Because that was the Life Vessel, which could be called the Lich's heart. The Lich's blue light flickered like a candle in the wind.

"You're not helpful. So..."

"No! Stop!"

"I'll eat you and increase the chance of victory."

Crack—!

He screamed, but it was useless. Soon with the sound of glass breaking, red fragments scattered everywhere. The Lich's dignity and magic power contained inside began settling into the archer's body.

Every single piece, nothing left behind.

The Lich's body turned into rough sand and piled on the ground. It was truly a futile end. Watching this, confusion settled in Irona's pupils.

"What? Why are they suddenly fighting each other..."

Confusion settled in Irona's pupils. The three spirits were equally flustered. And one more person. Silvan muttered with a surprised face.

"Huh? Why is this happening?"

Silvan had spent a long time analyzing the archer's and Lich's mana arrangements. And he'd also confirmed how to rearrange them. After that, he'd reviewed it three times and was confident there were no problems.

"I did it right though..."

But when he actually tried to inject nether mana, it just bounced back. The Lich who had been destroyed when his Life Vessel broke was unavoidable. Then at least the archer should have succeeded in plundering.

But he failed. He didn't know the reason. As Silvan was flustered by his first failure, the archer in the distance trembled.

"...Until just now, I couldn't attack you."

He slowly lifted his head.

Calm muttering continued quietly.

"I don't know the reason. When I tried to attack, I felt rejection."

He picked up his longbow. He slowly pulled back the bowstring with nothing on it. Blue light flashed from beyond the ashen hood.

"But not anymore."

Twang—!

An arrow shot with terrifying force. Like a fierce wolf charging, the arrow flew toward Silvan's heart. But there was someone who blocked the way before that.

[Your Majesty. I'll eat it!]

It was Squishy. He opened his mouth wide like when he'd swallowed the Lich.

But this time he couldn't eat it.

CRASH!

"Squishy!"

Silvan's eyes widened. Because Squishy had been slammed straight into the ground.

It happened in the blink of an eye, so he couldn't tell if Squishy had caught the arrow or been pierced by it.

[...Your Majesty. Though it's presumptuous to say.]

[It would be good for you to evacuate.]

Hardy and Spiky, who had been leisurely until just now. Both warned in hardened voices.

[Though it appears to be a temporary change.]

[His dignity has increased.]

From their tense voices, it seemed to have risen higher than Hero dignity. Could dignity be raised this easily? Just as confused light gathered in Silvan's eyes.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!

A rain of black arrows fell.

The target was Silvan's army. Compared to when the Skeleton Archers had shot earlier, it was on a different level. Because after the arrow rain stopped, there were no undead standing in place.

The arrows made of magic power exploded, leaving not even bone powder behind. As hundreds of undead disappeared in the blink of an eye, Irona's face was colored with shock.

"Wh-what exactly happened..."

Then arrows flew again. This time two. The spirits hastily blocked Silvan's front. But this time the target wasn't him. It was the two spirits on either side of Irona.

Thunk! Thud!

They couldn't even scream. The two spirits couldn't even put up proper resistance and were reverse-summoned to the spirit realm. Was it because of that aftermath? Suddenly blood spurted from Irona's mouth.

"Cough!"

"Irona!"

Silvan was startled and supported her. Due to their different builds, the two got tangled together and fell to the ground. After a moment, Irona barely pulled herself together. Then she wiped the blood from her lips and whispered quietly.

"...Run away, Silvan. I'm fine."

She gripped her spear with trembling hands. She had to buy even a little time. But then, a chilling voice was heard right in front of her.

"You cannot escape."

The archer had somehow approached within reach. The spirits hastily followed, but both took an arrow each and were slammed to the ground.

Overwhelming strength unlike anything seen before.

Irona trembled involuntarily.

At that moment, someone came to mind.

The annoying human who claimed to be Silvan's teacher. Irona's face crumpled completely.

'...As expected, all humans are the same.'

Probably that man had also known such a powerful enemy existed and ran away. She was disgusted with herself for believing in a human, even for a brief moment.

"According to the contract, all invaders will be eliminated."

The archer slowly drew his bowstring.

She knew they shouldn't have entered. Regret washed over her belatedly, but it was useless. Irona hugged Silvan tightly and bit her lips hard.

Then Silvan's face entered Irona's vision.

"...!"

It was a moment when life hung by a thread. Yet Silvan was smiling brightly.

How could he smile in such a situation?

As confused feelings arose, an old memory suddenly came to mind. She'd seen such a smile somewhere before.

When was it? Right, when she returned to the forest after ending her mercenary life after several years. When she reunited with Irina who had been waiting at the entrance. That child had smiled like that back then.

The meaning contained in that smile was...

When seeing someone you wanted to see.

Slice—

At that moment, the sound of something being cut could be heard.

The archer's right arm flew through the air. When he realized this fact, not only his left arm but also his ankle, knee, thigh, and pelvis had all been smashed and fallen.

Crash!

The archer who had lost his lower body was slammed into the ground.

Soon a cold voice was heard.

"Who exactly are you pointing arrows at right now."

With the familiar voice, Irona's eyes widened. It was a familiar face. At the same time, Silvan let out the voice he'd been holding back.

"Ferda!"