The Necromancer's Servant

The female knight infused white magic into the crystal in her hand, and an incredibly intense light silently erupted from the crystal, illuminating the entire underground chamber. The light was so bright it seemed almost tangible.

A scream, sharper and more agonized than a slaughtered pig's, erupted from the thin man's throat, replacing his earlier curses. His footwork had been impeccable, landing him directly in front of the female knight. The blinding light from the crystal engulfed him at point-blank range, and the stench of burning flesh immediately filled the room.

The thin man's screams didn't last long. A weapon hurled through the air from behind him pierced his skull, ending his misery. His body collapsed forward, conveniently covering the crystal in the knight's hands. The blinding light was completely blocked by his corpse, and the smell of burning flesh grew exponentially stronger, like someone had just incinerated dozens of pounds of rancid meat in the confined underground space.

The female knight kicked the half-charred corpse away and stood up, discarding the now-shattered crystal. Though pain was still etched across her face—broken bones couldn't heal instantly—the brief respite had allowed her to partially recover, thanks to her white magic abilities, which rivaled those of a high-ranking cleric.

The man with the dark-red, sinister blade stepped forward, withdrawing his weapon from the thin man's corpse. The blade now looked darker and redder than before, and the air was heavy with the metallic scent of blood. The female knight's face darkened as she noticed the weapon, realizing she had carelessly missed a chance to confiscate it earlier. It was clearly an evil weapon brimming with bloodlust and dark energy.

Hilika and his group also rose to their feet. The man's timely intervention had turned the thin man into a shield, sparing the others from the worst of the light. Only a few unlucky thieves had suffered minor burns. Now, as they looked at the holy knight, their fear and apprehension were gone. In their eyes, the heavily injured knight, stripped of her most threatening magic and trump cards, was no more dangerous than a helpless lamb.

Hilika began to laugh. His grotesque grin seemed to consist of two words: "vicious" and "lecherous." His bulging muscles rippled as he mocked, "I'll give you a chance. Strip off all your gear yourself, and then—" His voice and expression abruptly froze because he didn't see the despair or fear he had expected on the female knight's face.

The holy knight looked battered and bloodied, her once-radiant armor now dulled by grime and bloodstains. Her once-bright and heroic face now seemed almost feral, contorted not just by filth but by unyielding rage and determination. Suddenly, she pulled two items from her belt: two magical scrolls. Despite her injuries, she unrolled them with swift precision. A surge of overwhelming magical energy emanated from them, so palpable it could be felt on the skin.

Hilika's grin froze. He realized he had misjudged. The equipment and artifacts this holy knight carried were far beyond anything he or his gang of rogues could have imagined. It was clear now that her earlier restraint in using them was due to inexperience or overconfidence, not a lack of resources.

One of the scrolls ignited, releasing an intense magical aura. In a flash, the flames coalesced into a towering humanoid figure made entirely of fire. The other scroll disintegrated into dust, which fell to the ground. The earth beneath shifted and rose, transforming into a massive humanoid figure made of soil and stone.

Both figures were over five meters tall, their heads brushing against the underground chamber's ceiling. Even Hilika, with his massive frame, looked like a child next to these elemental giants. Their sheer size and menacing forms were enough to crush any ordinary person's will to fight.

"Elemental summoning?" gasped everyone in shock, especially Esis and the old mage. This was the pinnacle of magic, a spell every mage dreamed of mastering. For decades, they had fantasized about commanding such elemental constructs in their dreams, but now they were witnessing it firsthand—on the enemy's side.

The observing thieves erupted into chaos, scrambling toward the exit. No matter how intimidating Hilika was, he was no match for two top-tier magical entities. The searing heat radiating from the fire elemental alone was enough to incapacitate anyone who got too close.

Hilika, for the first time, considered retreating. Even he wasn't reckless enough to face such overwhelming power. The female knight chanted a prayer, casting supportive white magic on herself and the two elemental giants. Though not as potent as the white magic imbued in her radiant armor, it was enough to strike fear into anyone watching.

"Go forth, icy arrow of frost!"

Esis summoned all his courage and exhausted his magic reserves to cast an Ice Arrow. The white ice spike, capable of piercing through an ordinary person, shot straight toward the Fire Elemental. It struck the fiery construct's blazing body, causing the flames to dim momentarily before quickly returning to their full intensity. The Fire Elemental instinctively turned toward its attacker and began striding forward.

Esis, overwhelmed with fear, collapsed to the ground, unable to remain standing. The thieves, meanwhile, grew even more desperate, scrambling toward the passageway in an uncontrollable frenzy. The narrow corridor couldn't accommodate them all at once, and some climbed over others, stepping on heads and shoulders in their panic, resembling a writhing mass of worms in their frenzied escape. Screams and shouts filled the already cramped underground chamber.

Hilika's entire body was trembling. Though a few of the stronger fighters nearby hadn't fled, he knew he had lost. The Shamusi Thieves Guild, which he had painstakingly built, might be utterly destroyed here. He had to muster every ounce of self-control to suppress the urge to charge at the holy knight and fight her to the death. His rational mind screamed at him to focus on finding a way to escape.

"EVERYONE, STOP RUNNING!"

A thunderous roar exploded through the room, shaking everyone's eardrums and momentarily paralyzing them with shock. The thieves, conditioned by Hilika's dominance, instinctively froze, their fear of him deeply ingrained. Yet the most stunned person in the room was Hilika himself—because that roar hadn't come from him.

The voice belonged to the man wielding the dark-red, sinister blade. This man, who had remained expressionless and soft-spoken throughout, had shown no remarkable qualities besides a voracious appetite and impressive combat skills. And now, at this critical moment, he had not only spoken up but also seized command with that bone-rattling bellow.

But he didn't stop at shouting. The man acted as if to enforce Hilika's authority, stepping forward and plunging his blade into a thief frantically pushing toward the exit. The unfortunate thief opened his mouth to scream, but no sound emerged—only a faint hissing noise. His body withered rapidly, collapsing in on itself.

Even Hilika and the others stood frozen in astonishment, and the female knight was equally baffled by his actions.

Without hesitation, the man withdrew his blade, releasing an overpowering scent of blood that invaded everyone's nostrils. The blade, once dark red, now gleamed a fresh, vibrant crimson, as if it had absorbed the victim's blood. Then he struck again, driving the blade into another nearby thief, who deflated like a punctured balloon.

The holy knight was the first to recover her senses. She raised her arm toward the two elemental giants and commanded, "Kill him!"

The giants immediately began striding toward the man. Esis, narrowly avoiding death under the Fire Elemental's feet, crawled desperately to the wall, clutching his life.

In just a few steps, the towering elemental giants closed in on the man. The Fire Elemental launched its entire flaming mass at him, while the Earth Elemental swung an arm as large as the man's entire body down at him. Compared to these towering behemoths, the man looked minuscule, seemingly destined to become either a pile of ash or a smear on the floor.

By this point, the man had already slain four thieves. What he now held was no longer just a weapon but a large, pulsating mass of blood-red energy.

The stench of blood was so thick it made people dizzy. Even the thieves near him could feel its sticky, suffocating texture clinging to their skin. Surrounded by this miasma, the man's demeanor seemed to grow wilder and more savage. As the elemental giants closed in, he suddenly swung his blade with an upward arc and roared, "DIE!"

A brilliant flash of crimson light engulfed the scene. Only Hilika and a few sharp-eyed individuals managed to discern what had happened. The blood gathered on the blade transformed into a colossal blood-red sword. White combat energy surged from the man's body, solidifying the blood sword, which slashed upward in a diagonal arc at the approaching giants.

The blood sword dissolved into a torrent of blood-red light. With a resounding tear, as if an impossibly thick sheet of paper had been ripped apart, the Fire Elemental was cleaved in two. The oppressive heat vaporized the blood into a nauseating mist as the elemental's two halves collapsed into a pile of ashes.

The Earth Elemental fared slightly better but still suffered devastating damage. Its massive arm was severed at the shoulder, the dismembered limb crashing to the ground and shattering into rubble. The hulking figure swayed unsteadily before crashing to the floor, its enormous bulk sending tremors through the room.

The tides of battle shifted so rapidly that it left everyone struggling to comprehend the situation.

The two elemental giants had initially stunned the entire room, instilling fear and awe in equal measure. But in the blink of an eye, these terrifying constructs had been obliterated as suddenly as they had appeared. Were it not for the blood splattered across the walls of the underground chamber and the deep gouge carved into the ceiling—silent witnesses to the unbelievable strike—they might have believed it all a dream.

The Earth Elemental, devoid of feeling, thought, or even a mouth to scream, silently and clumsily rose again. The sudden stillness in the chamber was almost deafening, broken only by the man's heavy breathing and an odd, faint clicking sound.

The clicking came from the female knight. Her entire body trembled, causing her gleaming armor to emit faint, rhythmic clinks. Her expression was a swirling mix of astonishment, disbelief, fear, and inner turmoil. Gritting her teeth, she barked out a command to the Earth Elemental: "Hold them off!" Then she turned and bolted toward the passage she had entered from.

"That bitch is trying to run!" Hilika muttered, momentarily stunned before realizing what was happening. However, the Earth Elemental had already lumbered into position, blocking the thieves' path. Only the blood-stained man was unimpeded as he leaped forward, hot on the fleeing knight's trail.

As the man stepped into the passageway after the knight, a sudden rush of wind from behind caught his attention. Turning sharply, he saw a thief flailing wildly as he was hurled toward him. Reacting on instinct, the man swung his blade, and the thief's body was neatly bisected as it passed.

Hilika's roar rang out behind him: "Use that blade and finish off that bitch for me!" Only then did the man realize the thief had been thrown by Hilika himself. Without further delay, he turned and continued his pursuit.

"So, that bastard's trump card is this powerful, huh?" Hilika muttered as he watched the man disappear up the passage, licking his lips with a mix of trepidation and excitement. Then he turned back to face the towering Earth Elemental. Even with one arm missing, the magical construct remained a formidable opponent.

"By the grace of the Lord, in His name, grant this warrior the blessing of His divine light!"

A radiant glow enveloped Hilika as the young cleric kneeled, reciting a prayer to cast a high-level divine spell. Against the Earth Elemental, ordinary weapons were nearly useless, but with Hilika's enhanced strength and his massive two-handed greatsword, the odds shifted.

"Damn his holy Lord," Hilika thought bitterly, suppressing his irritation at the prayer's sanctimonious tone. Though impressed by the cleric's ability to wield such potent white magic at barely twenty years old, he shoved his doubts aside. This wasn't the time to question its source. With a feral roar, he hefted his greatsword and charged at the Earth Elemental.

The young cleric quickly cast additional blessings, including swiftness and resilience, on the Druid. The werewolf-like Druid, with claws extended, joined the fray. Together, Hilika's empowered greatsword and the Druid's feral strikes made short work of the already damaged Elemental, which crumbled into a heap of rubble under their relentless assault.

Feeling the surge of strength, speed, and clarity bestowed by the blessings, Hilika couldn't deny that this so-called Lord's power was undeniably useful. No wonder the holy knights, armed with layers of divine spells, were so formidable.

Hilika led the charge up the passage, bellowing, "Move it! Let's finish off that holy bitch!"

When the group emerged into the luxurious mansion above, the sounds of combat and explosions echoed from the grand hall ahead. In the brief time since they had descended, the intensity of the battle upstairs had escalated tenfold. The aftermath was evident everywhere: half the corridor had collapsed, debris littered the floor, and part of the mansion had been reduced to an open-air ruin. Scattered among the rubble were shattered remnants of Elementals and the shriveled corpses of a few unlucky thieves.

Bursting into the grand hall, they were greeted by the sight of a fight nearing its climax. Both combatants were battered and bloodied, a far cry from their earlier appearances. The female knight, staggering and covered in dirt and blood, had been forced back into a corner. The man, with his blood-forged blade pulsating with energy, leaped into the air, ready to deliver a final, devastating strike.

The blood-red energy of the blade surged as he brought it down in a colossal arc, roaring with fury. The blade cleaved through the knight's armor with a sickening crunch, sending her crashing into the wall behind her. The impact collapsed the wall, burying her beneath the rubble. Blood splattered everywhere, staining the floor in a vivid crimson.

"Yes! That bitch is finally dead!"

Hilika howled like an animal, his tongue darting out to lick his lips as his body trembled with excitement. The grotesque satisfaction he exuded was as palpable as the thick stench of blood in the air.