Chapter 213 Night of the festival (8)

…Boeong!

Loud fireworks resounded, echoing through the night. A festival adorned the night sky with colorful fireworks, while rhythmic music vibrated the ground. Dancers, adorned as Corpses and zombies, passionately performed on stage.

This was Venetior’s renowned spectacle.

A festival where people from both inside and outside the academy mingled, rolling their feet in excitement, cheering for the lively concert. And right in front of the newspaper club’s pub, something peculiar was happening.

* * *

The Corpse Queen tucked her hand into her chest and then suddenly thrust it out.

Thud! Thud, thud, thud!

From within her black cloak, numerous bone fragments sprang out, scattering across the ground.

Tsutsutsu…

Simultaneously, the black mana emanating from the Corpse Queen’s body embraced each bone fragment.

Sprouting. Wicked roots and ominous shoots sprouted from the seed of bones.

Wooden sounds! Sounds that are gentle! Magic circles appeared on the ground where the bone fragments collided, and soon skeletal soldiers appeared.

[Skeleton]

Danger Level: C

Size: 1.7m

Discovery: Across the continent

– Also known as the ‘One with the Bones.’

A common, mundane skeleron found everywhere, from graveyards and battlefields to abandoned houses and sewers. In rural areas or underdeveloped cities, they are as frequent as mice.

Skeleton Soldier. The most basic form among undead.

With just one bone fragment, it can be used as a seed to grow roots and shoots from a magical circle, from which any number of skeletons can be extracted.

It is much easier to transport than the zombies, which can be summoned using flesh, or the ghosts, which can be summoned using a strand of soul.

Even when dried for jerky, flesh will decay and disappear, and the soul will evaporate even if well sealed in a glass bottle. A high-ranking black magician who has reached a certain level, on the other hand, can mass-produce skeleton soldiers with small bone fragments close to dust.

Tara-Rak! Baga-gak!

Seeing the skeleton soldiers rising from the ground, Bianca and Sinclaire’s expressions stiffened.

They were elites of the academy, and they could not overlook the ominous mana waves.

“Undead soldiers? Here?”

The two students were stunned. The woman with the skull mask in front of them was undoubtedly a Black Mage.

Either an ignorant novice who doesn’t know how terrifying it is to violate the prohibition against strict control of dark magic in the empire, or… an absolute powerhouse who can defy the prohibition even if they know it.

However, judging by the robust bone monsters before them, it was overwhelmingly more likely to be the latter.

“Where did these monsters come from? Could that woman be ‘Night Hound’ or something?”

“That’s not important! We need to call the professors right away!”

Bianca and Sinclaire couldn’t even muster the courage to confront the overwhelming darkness mana before their eyes.

At that moment,

“Wow! The performance is starting!”

“Awesome! The real performance is amazing!”“Huh? But what’s going on behind the concert?”

“Wow! Skeleton backup dancers, I guess!”

“But did they really come from behind? Who is it? Where’s the performance team?”

“Wow! A new Dance Team is here! Their makeup is so realistic, guys!”

The audience gathered around showed quite different reactions.

Everyone, wearing Corpse and zombie makeup due to the Halloween party, didn’t find anything strange about the skeletal soldiers summoned by the Corpse Queen.

Someone once said that humans are animals sensitive to the atmosphere.

If there’s a fire, and smoke comes in, and the person next to them sits calmly, they will sit still and suffocate to death. This is human nature.

This phenomenon is happening right now at the festival site of the academy.

Despite being sensitive to mana, the students of the academy didn’t notice, and 99% of outsiders gathered for the party, intoxicated by alcohol and the excitement of the party, didn’t feel anything unusual except for a slight discomfort standing next to the skeletal soldiers.

However, even in this situation, there were those who could detect anomalies.

“Dark magician? Who are you!? If you belong to the Imperial Army, reveal your military number!”

Dolores, the holy knight disguised as the Night Hound stepped forward. The sacred aura she emitted halted the skeletal soldiers crawling up from the abyss.

Crackle, pop!

Although the Corpse Queen’s aura was powerful, the skeletal soldiers did not perish, but Dolores’s awakened sacred power, which developed somewhat after the fight with Dantalian, stopped them in their tracks. Furthermore, the holy protection prevented the negative emotions, such as fear, induced by the powerful aura of the dark magician from affecting the surrounding people.

Additionally, the sight of the skeletal soldiers stumbling made the audience think that it was just a dance performance rather than something more serious.

“Oh, is this performance art?”

“Is that the flash mob or something?”

“Uh-oh! Isn’t this the performance where an unspecified number of people gather at a specific time and place, performing the same action without any purpose? I heard it’s a recent trend in the Venetior!”

“Wow, it really looks like that!”

Even the invited singers and dancers on stage began to mimic the actions.

“What are those people? When were they hired? It’s the first time I’ve seen this team.”

“I don’t know, but it’s quite hip. The makeup and props are impressive, right?”

“More than anything, the audience seems to respond well.”

“…Should we try it too?”

When professional dancers disguised as zombies and Corpses began to mimic the stumbling movements of the skeletal soldiers, the enthusiasm intensified even more.

Fireworks exploded everywhere, and the music grew louder.

Now, the attention of the audience shifted back to the central stage.

…However, in this situation, Dolores’s expression was gradually solidifying.

‘Wow, incredibly strong. Who is this person? No, is she even human?’

The woman with the skull mask in front of her was a terrifying powerhouse that Dolores’ sacred power could not handle.

The quality, or rather the experience gained through the fight with Dantalian, made her think she had become much more skilled, but she still had a long way to go.

The dark magician in front of her appeared to be of the same age, but she possessed a mana much stronger than Dolores could compare with.

Dolores had only felt such ominous and dangerous mana when confronted with demons of Dantalian’s caliber.

It is only natural that Dolores falls short of her own strength.

‘…Back then, Night Hound was with me.’Dolores thought, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

It struck her once more how formidable his opponents had been, and how heavy the burden of his mission and duty had been.

Meanwhile, the Corpse Queen was well aware that the Night Hound who appeared before her was a forgery from the start.

She also noticed that Dolores was the owner of the previously mentioned girl’s dormitory room.

With a growl, the Corpse Queen inquired,

[Where did you take Night Hound?]

“…What?”

Dolores furrowed her brow in response.

Night Hound? Even Dolores was curious about where he was.

But the woman in the skull mask in front of her was almost treating it as a given that Dolores knew Night Hound’s whereabouts.

[We found traces of the Night Hound in your room. It’s on my way to confirm it again.]

Dolores’s expression hardened at her words.

‘I’ve never had anyone enter my room.’

Dolores, who values her privacy, ensures that no one enters her personal space.

She even repairs furniture and facilities herself when they break.

This was true whether she was at the Quovadis clan or at the academy dormitory.

Dolores couldn’t understand why her enemy was making such an absurd misunderstanding, but she judged that it wasn’t the most important thing right now.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it doesn’t seem like you’re looking for him with good intentions. If you’re not an Imperial Army sorcerer, then you’re an enemy! In that case, I can’t tell you anything.”

[…Him? What’s your relationship with him?]

The Corpse Queen sharply asked.

After a moment of hesitation, Dolores replied,

“H-He’s my soulmate.”

And then,

…Crash!

The Corpse Queen, hearing Dolores’s answer, exploded with energy.

[Really? Then I’ll tear that soul apart and turn it into a plague!]

Even the Corpse Queen herself couldn’t fathom the intense anger bubbling up in the dark mana.

Bursting flames, resonating music shaking the ground, a night of burning passion in the midst of a party where everyone is ecstatic.

In the midst of it all, a witch and a saint sharply confront each other.

…And then,

“Enough.”

A voice intervened in the tense standoff between the two women.

A deep, low voice that scratched the vocal cords like iron.

“…!”

“…!”

Startled by the appearance of a new figure, both the Corpse Queen and Dolores took a step back.

A man wearing a black cloak, wrapping his entire body, with a plague doctor raven mask.

Vikir.

It was the moment the genuine Night Hound appeared.