“Uwooooo!”
The lord was resurrected in an instant, his shredded body pulling itself back together. Black mana fused and reformed, restoring his original shape. Not that I could actually see the lord—his entire body was wrapped in the dark mana, completely obscured.
“You’re not getting away this time,” said Geos, before addressing us. “Run while you still—”
“You’re going nowheeeere!”
“Tch! That was fast!”
What the hell are those things? Puppets made of black mana?
In response to the lord’s mana, countless black humanoid figures had emerged. They looked like mannequins—human in shape—and they all held weapons and shields formed from mana.
Are they the lord’s familiar spirits?
There were easily over twenty of them, each one radiating a considerable amount of mana.
“Aaaaargh!”
Are they not sentient? They had no mouths or eyes, and meaningless groans just poured out of them. If they had flesh, I might’ve called them zombies.
The black figures raised their weapons as if to intimidate us and slowly began circling around, forming a perimeter. Watching their movements, I had to revise my earlier impression that they were like zombies; their steps were much steadier than I’d expected, like they’d been trained in martial arts.
Geos furrowed his brow at the sight. “Eld...?”
“Sir Geos?” said Milène. “What did you say?”
“That black one, its movements are exactly like Eld’s. The habits are identical.”
“You don’t mean...the lord is using the ones he drained life from?”
Apparently, those black figures were something like the ghosts of knights who once served the lord—knights whose lives had been devoured.
“Eld certainly wasn’t a virtuous man, but to be defiled by forbidden arts even in death...!” Milène’s voice trembled with fury.
It seemed that, in this world, magic like necromancy was considered a forbidden art.
“Heh heh heh! Even in death, they serve me! They must surely be honored!”
“I will not stand for this!” said Milène. “I’ll put them to rest!”
As the lord cackled in delight, Milène sliced through one of the nearby black figures, but it didn’t seem to take much damage. Since they were made purely of black mana, physical attacks passed right through them. They’re basically ghosts, after all.
Actually, it wasn’t that they were completely unaffected. Her blade did manage to cut the black figure, but just like the lord, it regenerated instantly.
“It’s useless! As long as I live, they cannot die! Now then, it’s high time for you to meet your maker!”
“Just protect yourselves!” said Milène. “Escape when you can!”
“O-Okay!” I replied.
A chaotic melee then...did not ensue. It seemed the black figures had merely been summoned to prevent our escape. They didn’t actively attack us.
So we all attacked the nearest enemy at the same time...
“Haaaah! Water Needle!”
“Myaaah!”
“Arf!”
My Water Needle pierced through the black humanoid’s head, while Shiro and Kuro sliced through both of its legs.
But the wounds closed instantly, and worse, the humanoid ignored our attacks and launched its own strike, thrusting a spear straight at me from the front.
I didn’t think it would reach me, but the spearhead extended several meters. I dodged in a panic, but the tip grazed my cheek. The humanoid barely gave off any intent to kill, but it aimed precisely for a vital spot. I thought they were ghosts, but maybe they’re more like golems formed from mana?
Since they were former knights on the inside, their movements were sharp, plus our attacks didn’t work. They were an absolute nightmare.
Still, even if we can’t defeat them, maybe we can force our way through?
“Shiro, cover me. Kuro, you take care of Carolina!”
I passed Carolina to Kuro as I gave the order. In terms of sheer strength, Kuro was stronger, and her fighting style didn’t require much movement.
Then I surged forward.
Close combat was more the girls’ specialty, but with how good my recovery speed was, I was the best one to test the waters. As I charged toward the black humanoid, Shiro and Kuro immediately attacked from behind me.
“Myah! Light Blade!”
“Darkness Blade.”
Magic flew past my flanks, nearly grazing me. Before, I might’ve flinched a little, but now, I wasn’t scared at all. I knew how long they’d been training their magic control for—there was no doubt in my mind I would be safe.
Maybe it was because the humanoid was focused on my charge, but both Light Blade and Darkness Blade struck it dead-on, gouging out its mana and tearing gaping holes in its stomach and shoulder. The wounds, however, closed immediately, and the humanoid thrust its spear at me as if nothing had happened.
Well, no surprise there!
I blocked the black mana spear with Wind Wall. The spear didn’t penetrate, and the wind deflected its tip sharply. It slammed into the empty ground, and the humanoid’s body staggered. The thing’s made of mana—it’s strange how its movements are bound by physical laws. It doesn’t make sense. Whatever, this is my chance.
“Fireball! Purify!”
I tried spells that might work against ghosts, but Fireball was no better than Shiro’s and Kuro’s attacks, and Purify didn’t seem to do a darn thing.
“Then how’s this?!” said Shiro.
As the black humanoid raised its spear, unfazed, Shiro came slashing at it. She slipped past my side, gracefully ducking under the butt-end of the spear as it jabbed out to block her path. Maybe the humanoid couldn’t keep up with her movements, but its reaction looked oddly sluggish.
Then, Kuro’s dark magic flew in to support her. Shiro’s daggers tore through both the humanoid’s legs, while Kuro’s spell blew its head clean off. But just like before, it regenerated in an instant, showing no signs of damage.
“Hmm, our attacks aren’t working!” said Shiro.
“Cheeeater.”
I wanted to observe the humanoid more closely, but its comrades were tightening the perimeter. To keep them at bay, I scattered wind and earth magic around us. Not that it did much—none of the humanoids went down, and they kept their distance, surrounding us.
It doesn’t look like they’re weak against any particular element. At least I know they’re not abnormally fast. Maybe we can slip through and escape?
“Earth Wall! Earth Wall!”
I cast two walls in quick succession, which rose parallel in front of me, with just enough space in between for us to squeeze through. The black humanoid swung its spear down, but just one hit didn’t break the wall. I poured a ton of mana into it! It should hold for a few strikes!
Now we’ll just sneak through between the walls and—
“You’re going nowhere!” screamed the lord.
“Gah!” An explosion...! The Earth Walls shattered in a single blast!
Flames danced wildly, scorching my skin, and shards of hardened earth slammed into me. If I hadn’t been wrapped in a barrier of water, I’d have been covered in burns and cuts.
It was the lord’s magic.
As I stopped in my tracks, a humanoid came at me, roaring.
“Crap!”
I thought it’d been caught in the lord’s magic, but it showed no sign of damage. As I’d expected, normal attacks didn’t work. What was worse, unlike earlier when it was fighting Shiro, its movements were much faster now.
I barely dodged the spear thrust and scrambled backward.
This was a dangerous combo; if the humanoids pinned us down, the lord could use his magic to wipe us out along with them. I retreated quickly to avoid being targeted by him again.
The humanoid didn’t pursue me any further. Were they really summoned just to keep us from escaping?
“Thor!” called out Shiro. “Are you okay?”
“You hurt?”
“No, I’m hanging in there. But that magic’s no joke.”
It blew through the Earth Walls like they were paper. If I’d taken a direct hit, I’d have been lucky to be in one piece.
I looked over at the lord. He’d just been slashed by Geos, but the wounds closed instantly, and he went right back to fighting. At first glance, it looked like he was focused entirely on Geos, but I was sure he was keeping tabs on us too, making sure we didn’t slip away.