The matter resolved, the three dragons all breathed a sigh of relief.
“Is that bad guy dead? If not, let’s just finish him off.”
Karou walked over, using the softest voice to say the most terrifying words.
Genasar gripped the pearl in his claws, tapped it, and aimed it at the ground before him.
With a plop, a black shadow fell from the pearl onto the ground. The lich from before tumbled face-first into the dirt, spitting out soil as he lay sprawled out.
Without the slightest courtesy, Genasar went over and gave him another Dragon’s Delight.
“I advise you to behave yourself. Now that you’re in My Dragon Emperor Pearl, you won’t be able to stir up any trouble.”
“That was clearly my Soul Devourer…”
Filled with resentment, he wanted to argue, but hadn’t finished when he saw the familiar dragon claw raised in front of him, ready to swing at any moment.
Though physical attacks were hard to kill him, after so many beatings, he now had a psychological shadow—he immediately shut his mouth in fear.
He knew the effect of the Soul Devourer Pearl: once inside, he’d automatically be branded and spend the rest of his life as the slave of the pearl’s owner.
His soul could be tormented at will through the Soul Devourer Pearl to force his obedience, or even be completely annihilated.
Genasar knew this too, and began fiddling with it.
“In theory, this thing can be used to torment you, but how… Oh, mental control, that’s pretty convenient.”
As Genasar manipulated the pearl, the lich suddenly collapsed to the ground, twitching.
“S-s-stop…stop! Have mercy! Spare me!”
The pain in his soul forced him to beg for mercy out loud. Only then did Genasar stop, letting him catch his breath—then promptly started again.
“Ah! Humph—aaahhh—!”
The lich howled in agony, while Genasar’s face took on a comical and wicked grin.
“Eh heh heh, so fun~ I love it~”
Beeep—
“Are you going to behave now? If so, hurry up and restore this place to how it was!”
“Yes!”
After suffering countless torments, he scrambled up in a panic, ready to act, but suddenly paused, then turned around carefully.
“Could you…give me my staff back? Otherwise, I can’t do it.”
Genasar shrugged helplessly and took the staff from Aishe.
He tossed it, hitting the lich squarely on the head.
“What do you mean yours? It’s mine now—I’m just lending it to you. When you’re done, give it back.”
“……”
Cursing him as a bandit in his heart, the lich turned to cast the spell, but suddenly remembered something.
He turned to pick up the tattered cloak on the ground, stripped off by Genasar and the others, and put it on again.
Only then did he reluctantly go to undo the array on this corpse-rearing ground.
At the same time, in his heart, he was cursing all eighteen generations of Genasar’s ancestors.
Following close behind, Genasar walked with one claw gripping the pearl, ready at any moment to prevent a counterattack.
He also had a bold idea and turned to discuss with Aishe.
“Aishe, what do you think about making him our servant? There’s no one at home to wait on us anyway. We could remodel him a bit—maybe…hehe~”
Aishe: →_→
“Don’t forget, Master has a cleanliness obsession. If you bring him home, you might get thrown out right alongside him.”
“Tsk…that does make sense. Once we get out, we’d better finish him off after all.”
They weren’t speaking loudly, but made no effort to hide their conversation, letting the lich hear every word loud and clear.
Though he gnashed his teeth at their blatant scheming to kill him, what worried him even more was:
So they really were dragonlings taught by a powerful master. No wonder they’re so strange—a bunch of chromatic dragons and a gold dragon, all ridiculously strong. Just what sort of powerhouse raised a whole nest of these monsters?
The lich sank into thought, but suddenly remembered something.
That mountain! They’re the dragons adopted by the Crystal Sage! Yes, that fits perfectly!
Goli’s territory isn’t too far from here, not too close either.
But it all makes sense—this made the lich deeply regretful.
“Damn, I really did catch her attention after all. I shouldn’t have gambled this time.”
Unable to help himself, he spoke his regret out loud, earning a leap from Genasar, who smacked the back of his head.
“What’s with the ‘damn’—mumbling to yourself? You’re cursing us, aren’t you? Looking for a beating!”
“Hey, hey! I’m not! I was just wondering if you were sent by the Crystal Sage to hunt me down!”
His flustered reply made Genasar stare wide-eyed in surprise, lowering his raised claw, scanning him up and down.
“You know her?”
“Not personally. It’s said she hasn’t appeared on the continent for over fifty years. That’s why I took my chances and chose to raise undead near her territory—after all, it’s safe enough here.”
“Well, you’re out of luck. She just went out recently, which is how she found out you, you mongrel, were raising undead here.”
“What!”
Hearing that, his legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground, howling and bowing his head.
“My life is nothing but suffering! No matter where I go, I get hunted down. Finally, I managed to evade my pursuers here, only to have a powerhouse send people to wipe me out! Isn’t there a single place for me in this world!”
Smack—a Dragon’s Delight.
“You’re an undead mage—what suffering? And you wanted to unleash an undead catastrophe! Being hunted is what you deserve!”
“I…”
He wanted to argue, but ultimately didn’t say a word.
Genasar waved his claw helplessly.
“Enough, once you lift the array here, I’ll give you a quick end. Don’t try any tricks, or I’ll make you wish you were dead.”
He shook the pearl in his claw as he spoke.
Knowing death was near, the lich felt a surge of unwillingness, clenching his fists.
At last, he summoned his courage and spoke to Genasar:
“I…I don’t want to die. Can you give me a chance? At least let me take revenge on my enemies. After that, you can do whatever you want with me.”
“Revenge?”
Genasar, Aishe, and Karou exchanged glances, all eyes full of surprise.
Did they just trigger a hidden quest? Interesting.
“Let’s hear it. If I’m in a good mood, maybe I’ll spare your miserable life.”
Seeing Genasar willing to listen, the lich breathed a sigh of relief.
He sat right down where he stood, the aura around him suddenly dimmed. With a long sigh, he began:
“I used to be a regular villager from a small mountain hamlet. My family made a living from hunting. When I was twelve, my father took me hunting for the first time, and in a cave, I found a book. My father could read a little—enough to tell it was a necromancer’s grimoire.
He planned to hand it in to the local branch of the Church in exchange for a reward, but who could’ve guessed those bastards would frame him as a necromancer? They brutally murdered my father and set fire to our home, burning my mother alive inside.
At the time, I was practicing archery in the woods outside the village, so I escaped. Later, I learned the truth—it was all just those bastards trying to claim the bounty for themselves!”
After saying this, the bitterness in his heart finally had an outlet, and his whole body seemed much lighter.
However, Genasar only replied helplessly:
“And then…how did you become a necromancer? Didn’t your dad already hand the book over to the Church?”
“I went back to that cave and found the inheritance left there. Hmph, since they called us necromancers, I might as well become one for real! Unfortunately, I could sense I was incomplete. I suspect that book now in the Church’s hands contained many necromancy spells I never got to learn.”
“……”
To be honest, Genasar felt nothing at all for his tragic past.
“Er…sounds pitiful. So hurry up and lift the array here.”
Lift it so we can send you on your way.