Chapter 48: The Execution Ceremony

“......”

For a moment, silence envelops the prison.

Having said all I needed to, I was simply awaiting the king’s verdict.

The Grand Mage, too, swallows nervously, revealing his own apprehension.

“......I.”

King Orpheus, who had been bowing his head, raises his eyes, now filled with resolve. His clenched fist subtly reasserts his authority.

“I cannot trust you.”

“......”

“Your words may be persuasive, but I am the king of this nation.”

In the game, King Orpheus had been on the throne for just over a year—

A youthful king who ascended to the throne at a young age,

A man of deep strategy and skill in martial arts,

He was a man of conviction who loved his people.

I had never assumed he would accept my request just based on some words.

“My judgment must not be arbitrary. It must be just. Regardless of the persuasiveness of your words, I cannot be swayed by a single individual.”

“You speak the truth, Your Majesty.”

Gently nodding, I show respect for the king’s decision, who continues,

“Indeed, I acknowledge that unexplained incidents are occurring throughout the kingdom and that their frequency is increasing day by day. You must already know that Saintess is necessary to deal with them. But even if I would like to dispatch her, summoning her is not a trivial matter.”

The only one who can effectively deal with the phenomena caused by evil spirits in the kingdom is the Saintess.

But to deal with them, she may have to travel far and wide.

However, the church would not look kindly upon treating the Saintess as a mere servant of the royal family, to be summoned here and there at will.

Every time she moves, there would undoubtedly be a tense standoff between the royal family and the church.

“Therefore, I’ll give you an opportunity.”

Swoosh.

The king raises three fingers.

“From this point on, I will require three things from you. If you resolve them all, I will consider placing my trust in you, a criminal in my eyes. Moreover, I will officially proclaim the royal family’s trust in you.”

“Your Majesty!”

Grand Mage Rockfelican urgently shouts from behind, but Orpheus waves him off, signaling that it’s fine.

“Be mindful that this trust is directed at ‘you,’ not at a necromancer. Also, know that these tasks will not be easy.”

“I understand.”

This is precisely why I believed in King Orpheus. For he is wise enough to recognize that my words are not deceitful.

But there’s not enough information and background about the person that is ‘me’ to trust.

He was essentially saying that by solving this sort of homework he has assigned, I can prove my worth for him to consider my request.

“The first task is to see if you can save yourself. A foolish savior who can’t even protect his own body is of no use to the kingdom.”

King Orpheus declares this resolutely, clenching his fist tightly.

“We will proceed with your execution ceremony. Mage Magistrate Tyren Ol Velocus will carry out your execution.”

“......”

“He is among the top experts in the kingdom. Do you think you can survive?”

If I die here, it would merely be the end of a dark mage.

But if I survive, it would serve as a stage to prove my capabilities.

Still, the Grand Mage shakes his head vehemently, as if to say that surviving a duel against Tyren would be an impossible task.

Especially since Mage Magistrates are notably strong against mages.

In my current state, I would probably lose in an instant without even piercing through their armor that distorts space itself.

“Sure.”

I answered, with a smile that came to me naturally.

“Simple enough.”

* * *

As he receives the farewell of the Mage Magistrates, King Orpheus takes a step forward.

It’s a strange feeling.

It’s exhilarating yet uncomfortable, a sensation of good fortune mixed with a sense that something has gone awry.

Deus Verdi was indeed an enigmatic man.

“How does the Grand Mage see it?”

Therefore, he seeks advice from Grand Mage Rockfelican, the man who led him to this point.

Rockfelican closes his lips for a moment before answering gravely.

“He could be either a once-in-a-lifetime genius or a con man. However, when I consider the magic he sent me, a spell that possessed its own will, there’s a high likelihood that...”

“He’s a genius?”

“Even that might be an understatement. I have faced several necromancers myself, but he was the first to directly manipulate souls.”

It was also the first time the Grand Mage openly praised and acknowledged another mage, other than his own apprentices.

“Hmm.”

Of course, the reason for the King’s proposal had the kingdom’s interests in mind. Yet, he couldn’t deny that personal emotions were also involved.

“Is it because of His Late Majesty?”

At the Grand Mage’s concerned inquiry, King Orpheus answers with a sigh.

His father, the late king who died suddenly, left him with questions.

Orpheus believed that if Deus Verdi were truly a competent necromancer, he could provide the answers he sought.

“I still have no clue what my father’s last will meant.”

“...”

“Why on Earth did he...”

As he plunges his hand deep into the pocket of his thick coat, he feels an alien texture inside.

It’s a neatly folded note.

Just before he left, Deus Verdi had asked for a pen and paper to be brought to him.

He quickly jotted something down and handed the note to him.

‘When your faith in me wavers, look at this.’

He had received it with a cynical laugh at those audacious words.

“My faith is already wavering.”

As King Orpheus steps out of the prison, he feels like he has been toyed with by the dark mage’s cunning tongue. He chuckles playfully and unfolds the note to read it.

The Grand Mage also covertly rolls his eyes, curious about the contents of the note.

“...”

After reading the note, King Orpheus becomes rigid, unable to take another step.

The Grand Mage, bewildered, checks to see if the note is magically enchanted. But it contains not a trace of mana.

“Whoa.”

Crumple.

Collecting himself, King Orpheus crumples the note as if to belittle it and stuffs it back into his pocket, his face a mixture of contempt and incredulous anger.

“What is it...?”

The Grand Mage cautiously inquires, and King Orpheus grits his teeth as if irritated, and responds.

“Just be foolish like always.”

“…!”

The Grand Mage’s eyes widen in surprise. Those words weren’t just an insult to the Late king.

Rather, they fanned the flames of his interest in the man called Deus Verdi even more.

“It seems that guy truly can converse with the dead.”

Because,

“Judging by the fact that he knows even the last will of His Late Majesty, my father.”

* * *

My execution day didn’t require much time to arrive.

Just a day after King Orpheus left, my execution was carried out.

The kingdom’s grand execution ground, modeled after Rome’s Colosseum, was one of the most popular venues even in the Kingdom of Griffin.

Normally, the execution would be open for general citizens to watch for free. However, this particular execution was conducted in secrecy; not a single spectator was inside.

Only the king and his close aides looked down from above.

“What a splendid place.”

Shackled in chains, I ascend onto the stage with the help of an unknown Mage Magistrate who leads me to the center of the spacious execution ground.

As I arrive at the execution block, Tyren Ol Velocus stands before me, clad in the Mage Magistrate’s unique armor—a mix of robe and plate.

Magic is so intertwined with him that the space around him still shimmers and warps.

All the other Magistrates leave the stage, and now only Tyren and I stand, facing each other.

With a deadpan expression, he says to me,

“Look at the ground; the earth is crimson.”

“…….”

“In this very spot, countless souls have shed blood—even figures you can’t begin to imagine.”

He was a man of gravity.

In his hand was not the massive sword used for executions, but a staff shaped like a spear, which he always carried with him.

“I don’t understand why His Majesty wishes to watch our duel. I merely obey.”

“...”

“So, Necromancer, feel free to do as you wish. This stage suits you, doesn’t it?”

He felt markedly different from his emotional demeanor inside the prison.

‘So this is what he is like in an official setting.’

“Draw upon every ounce of mana, and try to break through your limits. Because, if you don’t—”

It was no accident that King Orpheus trusted him.

“You, too, will end up just like the many criminals who have perished here.”

-“Starting now! The younger brother of Lord of North Whedon! The second son of the Verdi family! The Dark Mage, Deus Verdi, shall be executed!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The drums sound, signaling the start of the execution.

Not only King Orpheus and Archmage Rockfelican, but also numerous attendants crane their necks to look down upon us.

Snap!

The chains binding me suddenly split in half.

Finally, my hands become free.

As I rotate my stiff wrists, Tyren looks at me with a sneer.

“Yes, even though we used mana-weakening chains, you managed to free yourself. It’s not normal, but I’ve heard of it.”

It’s just that my mana is suppressed, But I can still utilize the surrounding souls.

Before warping, the Dark Sage who entered me had magically transformed to lend me its own mana, making it easier for me to break the mana-weakening chains.

“Very well.”

Thump!

The end of the staff violently strikes the ground. The earth quakes as if crying out, and a cloud of dust disperses into the air.

“I, Magistrate Tyren Ol Velocus, shall execute you for your crimes.”

As powerful mana erupts, the numerous evil spirits that were in the execution grounds start to flee. The intimidating aura he suddenly emitted was no small matter.

‘No wonder he’s considered one of the kingdom’s most potent forces.’

I have to admit, even if Aria fought him now, I couldn’t guarantee her victory.

Ordinarily, this would have been an unwinnable fight.

It wouldn’t be strange if the decisive moment arrived in an instant, but…

[I’m really going in now!]

Swoosh!

The Dark Sage - who was residing in my body - travels towards my core, truly entering my body.

Even if her actions are easy to misunderstand, there is no need to. She is just following my words, and I don’t plan to relinquish control of my body or mind.

At that moment, as if sensing her in my body, a slight tremor flickers through Tyren’s eyes.

I open my mouth to rebuke him.

“Magistrate, behold the blood on your own hands.”

The Lemegeton, which the Dark Sage had been holding on my behalf, suddenly appears in my grip. It begins to emanate a dark light, forcibly rousing the countless souls that were dormant in the execution ground.

“Look at your hands—stained and sullied, so much so that even their original color has lost its meaning.”

The Lemegeton had not only awakened but also empowered the reluctant souls of the Setimas.

It begins to do the same again.

Moreover, the souls of the execution ground had been forced to lie dormant after losing their lives, and they would clearly remember the object of their resentment.

“This place is not merely an execution ground. It is the grandest graveyard situated in Greyford.”

A place where many influential figures have met their end.

All I had to do was reach out to the massive amounts of mana that the awakened souls possessed.

“Are you prepared to drown in the blood you’ve spilled yourself, Tyren Ol Velocus?”

[The ancestors are calling me to fight the final battle!]

[Usually, I’d charge for something like this! But I have some personal grudges against this guy.]

[Yes, this is the opportunity.]

Unlike ordinary evil spirits, they transformed into new spells on their own, even though all I did was convert their mana into magic by empowering their will.

“Chieftain Katoler, Pirate King Owlman, Prophet Benton. All executed by my hands.”

Witnessing the spectacle, Tyren shakes his head in disbelief.

“Very well, you have my respect. You are different from the necromancers I’ve dealt with until now.”

Spirits spread out on the execution ground continue to rise from the earth.

Because both the Dark Sage and I are converting our mana into necromancy spells, their numbers keep increasing.

Tyren audaciously lifts his staff and releases a rough torrent of mana.

Mana cascades from him, embroidering the sky.

The mana spreading through the execution ground with a rustling sound evokes the image of a giant tree—Or perhaps like a crack that has broken the sky.

“Even so! They are all dead! Killed once by none other than me, Magistrate Tyren Ol Velocus!”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Despite the spirits’ attacks having already begun, none could penetrate Tyren’s armor.

[The defense is so strong, you’d need to fire a ballista to pierce it,] the Dark Sage mutters.

“Sinners! Rise again and again! I shall execute you a hundred times over!”

Tyren’s staff, resembling a spear, swings fiercely, his momentum impressing even his opponent—me.

“Let’s see you try.”

Calmly, I straighten my clothes.

The light from the Lemegeton in my hand intensifies, and the Dark Sage’s necromancy spells begin to be quickly absorbed within me.

Tyren must know that this is a battle against time.

After all, he can’t directly harm the souls.

If he can get through the multitude of spirits and reach me, then I lose.

If he can’t, I win.

That was the nature of this battle.

--- End of The Chapter ---

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