Book Eater

Chapter 307: Lairon, the Last Day (2)

“Priest clothing?” Theo thought he was mistaken at first.

He rubbed his eyes and looked again, but he had been right the first time. The white robe with the golden trim was definitely the clothing worn by priests of Lairon. Moreover, the undead wasn’t a zombie or a ghoul. It was a lich, something that was only possible when a magician with considerable abilities was turned into an undead. That was how it had survived Theo’s divine arrows. It still had half its body left.

No matter how I think about it, something is strange.

Theo shook his head as a strange incongruity gnawed at him.

An undead can’t disguise itself as a priest. Additionally, shouldn’t it have burned immediately when touched by divine power? If so, perhaps a priest was turned into a lich…

It still didn’t make sense. The knowledge he had taken from Jerem stated that it was impossible. The gods, the guardians of the physical world, were the natural enemy of all warlocks. Just like when Jerem faced the lower god Mitra, the presence of any being under the influence of a god couldn’t be turned into an undead. Lairon might be a fake god, but his followers had real divine power. Furthermore, a priest, not a magician, had been turned into a lich? The possibility of the Jerem succeeding in this difficult task was close to zero, let alone infection type undead.

“I have to check.”

In any case, all the undead inside the city were now destroyed. The lich was barely breathing, and Theo had nothing left to do. So he quickly descended to the ground. As several buildings caught on fire, the magician in red robes landed on the bloodstained ground.

Tak.

The lich was collapsed at his feet like a rag. It really was a priest’s robes. The luxurious cloth and gold decorations were the result of extracting the blood and sweat of the people. Disgust rose up inside Theo as he walked over.

“Hey, can you hear what I am saying?” Theo spoke to the lich.

The lich was an undead human type and still had intelligence. If the consciousness still remained in the body, it should be able to talk for a moment before it disintegrated. Where did it come from? Who caused this? Theo didn’t have any big expectations. However, if he could resolve one question, it might become the clue to this mysterious situation.

“... K... U... Ah....” The lich couldn’t even make a sound.

Theo sighed and raised his right hand, sending a small stream of magic power into the lich. It wasn’t enough to restore the body, but it should be able to speak.

“Answer me. What is your name?”

The lich’s jawbones opened, and it replied, “... Great, Lairon… 2nd grade priest… Verm-ud...”

“Vermud,” Theo repeated. He quickly asked, “Vermud. Are you a priest? Or a magician?”

The lich rattled in outrage. “... I… am! Insult, me...! Lairon, ser... Vant, for life...”

Theo frowned. “Damn! It isn’t a lie.”

He had hoped that the original body was a thief who had stolen a priest’s robes, but his hopes had been dashed. A senior priest of Lairon had truly been turned into an undead. It was hard to understand, but his brain had come up with the worst causal relationship.

Dammit, maybe Lairon is already…

While Theo was busy worrying, the lich ran out of magic power and started to tremble. “Kuock! Ku... Oh, ohhhh! Kuwoooook...!”

The body, that didn’t have any flesh left, seized up. The priest’s robes had been torn in the struggle, and it let out an eerie sound. But just as Theo was about to end the situation quickly…

“... Great, Lai… Lairon...!” The undead priest, Vermud, started to scream. “Why...? Your servant, casting me into the darkness... Have you forsaken meeeee?!”

The lich disintegrated into a pile of ashes with that last resentful scream. The only traces of Vermud’s existence was a mound of ashes in his robes. It was impossible for him to even be buried. However, it wasn’t Vermud’s death that caused a chill to go down Theo’s spine.

“Lairon, forsaken...?”

Vermud’s last cry stimulated Theo’s super sensitivity. He didn’t know why, but it was like a hammer had hit the back of his head. Theo stood amongst the flames and saw signs of the undead that were wiped out with his arrows. Farmer’s clothing, soldier’s clothing, blacksmith’s clothing…

The type of jobs could be distinguished, but they all seemed to be clothing from Lairon.

Chill.

Maybe the worst case scenario that he had imagined…

“Theo! All the ones outside the city were cleaned up!” Veronica’s voice rang out from the distant sky.

“That was fast. There were at least two to three thousand of them,” Theo muttered with a wry smile.

Of course, Veronica would’ve found it easier than fighting in the streets. He watched Veronica in the sky and soon heard the cheers of a crowd. Perhaps the guards that Randolph had joined would recognize the situation.

Well, I guess I need to talk to Earl Albert.

Regardless of whether he was right or wrong, the impact of this situation wouldn’t end with one kingdom. It was a disaster that could spread to more than half of the Central Continent. If the initial response was incorrect, tens of thousands of lives could be lost.

In order to properly communicate the seriousness, it needed the guarantee of someone with credibility... like a great magician whose reputation was known throughout the continent and who had a relationship with the royal family.

“... Let’s go.” Theo left the remains of Lich Vermud, who had once been a priest, and flew off.

***

“I sincerely thank you for your help, Sir Theo! I can never repay this grace!” Earl Albert cried out tearfully as he held both of Theo’s hands.

As a lord of a border area, his great physique and refined power showed he was a well-trained aura user. It wasn’t enough to reach the level of a master, but he was still an expert. Most of the wreckage around here was the result of his cooperation with Randolph.

Theo tried to free himself. “It’s nothing, Earl Albert. I happened upon this disaster by chance and did what any ally would do.”

The earl only gripped his hands harder. “Ohh, so modest at such a young age! I have seen the true colors of the hero whom I’ve only heard about in rumors.”

Theo barely managed to calm down the tearful Earl Albert and asked him a few questions.

“The raid of the undead definitely started last night,” Earl Albert clenched his fists and lowered his voice the moment he was asked when the attack had begun.

He was filled with a murderous intent to break the bones of the absent warlock. The noble of the Soldun Kingdom’s killing intent was palpable as he recounted the story. “At first, I wasn’t afraid. However, they just kept coming. We killed a hundred, and then a thousand followed. After we slaughtered a thousand, two thousand came... My soldiers aren’t weak, but in that situation, we didn’t even get a chance for a breather. Eventually, some undead managed to cross the walls.”

Theo nodded. “Then we arrived.”

“Yes! That is what happened. I had sent a messenger shortly after sunrise, but it would have taken at least two more days for a reply to come. If you hadn’t helped, this territory-!”

Theo appeased the frantically grateful Earl Albert again and asked for a place to talk with his two companions. Earl Albert’s soldiers quickly set up a barracks for the three to stay in. In retrospect, it wasn't unusual. They had appeared from the sky, saving the soldiers from tens of thousands of undead. The soldiers were more than happy to help out.

The trio sat around a round table in the comfortably furnished barrack and started a serious meeting. Of course, Theo was the leader, and he immediately pulled out a piece of parchment.

“Randolph.”

“Hmm?”

Theo quickly penned a letter. “Remain in the Soldun Kingdom and send this letter to King Elsid. Randolph is known to Marquis Piris—no, Duke Piris and the king, so they will listen to you.”

Randolph nodded. “Then what about Lairon? Will you go with Veronica?”

“Yes.”

He felt sorry for Randolph, but senior magicians were far faster than a swordmaster. After all, aura was finite. It would be too late if he flew with both of them. It was better to leave Randolph in the Soldun Kingdom to prepare the defenses.

“Additionally, it is highly likely that we can’t pass through Lairon by land. I need to get to the capital of Lairon quickly.”

“Huh? How come?”

This time, both Veronica and Randolph were confused. Lairon’s border defenses were strict, but they wouldn’t stop a sword master. Even if he needed to hurry, why not use the land route instead of taking the risk of leaving a master behind?

Theo looked around and spoke once he confirmed there was no one around. “Sigh,?it is likely that Lairon has been destroyed already. Any cities that are still intact will probably be covered with millions of undead.”

“... What?”

“One of the undead that attacked the Albert territory was wearing priest’s clothing. It was a lich, not a zombie or a ghoul.”

Veronica immediately rebutted, “What?! This is nonsense!”

Randolph had no knowledge of magic and was confused. However, Veronica was well aware of what that implied. To think that the worshiper of a god, who couldn’t become an undead, had actually become a senior undead? Moreover, there had been the scream that Lairon had forsaken them. Additionally, although he hadn’t told anyone yet, Theo had some other clues about this situation.

「The worshiper of death hides. 」

「The shadow of the false god is lifted. 」

What would remain if the shadow was lifted? Light? No. There was nothing left once the shadow was gone. If the god of the Lairon church had ‘disappeared’, it wouldn’t be impossible for priests to become undead.

No, it would be fortunate if Lairon just disappeared.

In the worst case situation that Theo couldn’t speak of aloud, it was possible that a demon was buried behind the mask of the false god. If a god had turned into a demon, then a priest would become a warlock. The servants of a god would turn into the servants of a demon.

Lairon was a name that unified the kingdom. If they exploited that unity… then a kingdom of death, over ten million undead, could be born in a single morning.