As Akari and I walked, we began to see more and more regular servants cleaning the mansion.
Akari seemed to be scared of them because she said they were secretly undead cloaked in illusions.
Apparently, she had been attacked multiple times by illusions from her past. The one of me was by far the most aggressive, however.
I took comfort in knowing Akari might have been secretly terrified of me. I didn't think I was cruel, I just despised her deceptive behavior.
Right now, she seemed perfectly normal. I found myself beginning to trust her.
Eventually, I saw Leiso walking towards us.
"Here we go again..." I said.
I raised my shotgun and prepared to fire.
"Relax," she said. "I come in peace. I just want to talk."
"I know you aren't really Leiso," I said.
"Obviously. This is an illusion. I chose this form because it brings you comfort. I have a question for you, though... Mizik, was it?" The fake Leiso said.
"Are you the one in charge here?"
"I am a manifestation of his power containing his will. Kill me if you must, but I can create as many dolls to come after you as I wish as long as my fog remains here. Nevertheless, I desire your attention. Would you answer my questions?"
"Fine. But don't expect me to play nice."
"What kind of psychopath murders his own wife, father, and aunt in cold blood like that? None of my usual methods seem to work on you. Are you really just that demented?" She asked.
"No, I'm not demented. I'm just not as stupid as you seem to think I am."
"Of course. And how is it that you can see through my illusions so easily?" She asked.
"Your illusions are outdated. They function based on distant memories instead of current ones. You can't seriously expect me to believe the crap that you're having them tell me, right? Also, almost all of the people you've chosen are dead," I said.
"Distant memories? That is...not possible. The illusions are designed to copy your most recent memories of the person in question. And furthermore...for those individuals to be deceased as well is very strange. Which begs the question, what went wrong?"
"Hell if I know. You're supposed to be in charge, aren't you? Why should I care if your magic is broken?" I asked.
"I already have several theories. Such as the pink-haired woman causing interference with her divine power... Where her power comes from, I cannot say. But I desire her as a vessel for my beloved. Currently, she wanders the dungeon in search of a way out. She will not find it. I will drive her to me and take the reigns of her puny mind. Once I have her, you and this cowardly fox will perish quickly," The Fake Leiso said.
As she spoke, I began hearing a man speaking underneath her voice... Likely the one in charge here...
I almost allowed myself to smile.
"Dungeon? So that's where she is? Do you mind if I head down there, then?" I asked.
"You will not find the entrance. It is well hidden and the magic that guards it only allows the dead to pass through. There is also a matter of the protector... You are a fool, Mizik. And soon, my beloved will inherit that woman's body."
Without hesitation, I shot the fake Leiso in the head.
"Let's go get Isabella and Cassandra," I said.
"U-umm...okay!" Akari said.
I pulled up my status menu and grabbed hold of the hidden ability I made for Isabella and me.
Adoring Resonance.
It was a manifestation of the thread that held us together. A connection between us.
Once I had the thread between my fingers using The Archmage, I began to feel calmed by it.
The feeling of Isabella made my head stop pounding.
I pulled out my magic compass and directed it to take me to Isabella using the thread.
At once, the compass began leading us somewhere. I attached an indicator of the direction it wanted us to go to my status menu and we were off.
We were still on the third floor because Akari, while terrified, forgot how to get down. I didn't expect her to memorize the layout of the mansion on her first time being here, so naturally we had gotten very lost.
Within minutes of walking, we'd reached the first flight of stairs leading down.
Before we could descend, several skeletons wearing heavy armor walked up the stairs and stood at the ready.
"Death knights! Be careful! These guys are-"
"FUSILLADE! BLAST BARRAGE!!" I shouted.
I let loose with a hail of explosive shotgun blasts and completely annihilated the skeletons.
"Eh...ehm... Wow..." Akari said.
"Let's keep moving," I said.
Before we could descend again, more enemies arrived behind us.
Several large golems made of bone and rotten flesh along with more death knights.
"Flames of rage," I said. My shotguns became cloaked in emerald flames.
Akari raised her hands and I saw all nine of her tails appear. She levitated into the air and many bright whisps of flame manifested all around her.
I also saw her nails extend into claws and her eyes glowed brightly.
Finally. I get to see what she can do...
She flicked her hands and all of the whisps shot towards the enemies.
They exploded on contact as Akari flew straight into the crowd and began slashing enemies to pieces.
At the same time, I charged my flames and laid waste to a huge number of enemies with them.
I leaped into the crowd firing rapidly and readied my weapons.
"FULL MOON SLASH! FUSILLADE!! BLAST BARRAGE!!!" I shouted.
By combining those skills, I fired my weapons rapidly while slashing in a circle around me.
The resulting impacts caused a series of explosions. Together with Akari's rapid assault of spectral flames and claws, the undead horde was obliterated.
After they stopped moving, she looked over at me.
"Not bad! You're pretty good, being able to keep up with me! If you start being nicer, I could fall for you!" Akari said sweetly.
"Stop it. But I am impressed with your abilities. Let's keep moving," I said.
"You are just...so oblivious! Are you really that dense?" Akari said as she followed me down the stairs.
"I'm not dense. I just don't care. Besides, you're not actually interested in me, are you? You're just flirtatious."
"I...yeah, you have a point...but still! At least have a reaction of some kind!"
"No. I don't have to do anything except stay focused right now."
Right after I spoke, we reached the bottom of the stairs. And when we did, we were attacked again.
The servants all looked at us and their appearances changed.
They morphed into monstrous rotting flesh abominations.
Akari cringed in fear when she saw them, but...
I didn't have a reaction other than annoyance.
The Corruption was far more terrifying.
I raised my shotguns and manifested a barrage of flaming spears to skewer the creatures.
After they impacted, I detonated them as I began firing.
Akari recovered from her shock and started throwing spectral flames at them all. When an enemy would get too close, we would attack together to take them down.
Honestly, I was really impressed with Akari's ability. She was a very competent fighter and had plenty of power.
Eventually, the enemies became more numerous and we had to back away up the stairs.
"AKARI! GET BACK!!!" I shouted.
She jumped back and I changed Vengeance into a rotating minigun.
I held it down by my hip and started spinning the barrels.
"BLAST BARRAGE!!! FUSILLADE!!!" I shouted.
The barrels spun rapidly as I mowed down the undead in front of us. At the same time, I unleashed several barrages of flaming lances and lightning bolts to obliterate them all.
Eventually, they stopped coming and Akari just stared in disbelief.
"You...are a really scary person to work with..." Akari said.
"Just remember that if you ever decide to betray us. Where I come from, I'm called an Enforcer. A walking calamity. So I'd much rather be allies than enemies and I'm sure you agree," I said as I changed Vengeance back into bladed shotguns.
"Noted..." Akari said.
I had decided by this point, that if she kept being useful and kept the problems to a minimum, I wouldn't shoot her in the back of the head and leave her in a ditch.
Once everything had been taken care of, we continued onward.
Moments later, all of the lanterns on the walls went out and we were standing in pitch-black darkness.
"Ahhhhh...it's so dark!!!" Akari whined.
I activated my night vision and could already see large skeletal creatures approaching.
I raised my hand and created several orbs of fire, then flung them all around the area. They hovered in place as the creatures walked by.
I wasn't sure what I was looking at.
They were skulls...not human skulls, but something else... With long human-like spines extending behind their head. They were walking on ribs which flexed like insect limbs. They had mandibles on the sides of their heads as well. Their eyes glowed with a vengeful hunger.
"WH-WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE THINGS!?!?" Akari shouted fearfully.
"SHUT UP AND KILL THEM!!!" I shouted angrily.
I raised my shotguns and started firing rapidly at the skeletal abominations.
I hit one in the head and it's skull exploded.
But it kept coming at us.
Eventually, they came close enough to attack us and I activated lethal strikes.
I changed Vengeance into a pair of hammers and slammed it into one of their bodies.
It violently exploded and I kept up my attacks on the others.
I silently wished I could use this ability more often... It was highly effective but drained a lot of energy.
Maybe someday I could negate the cost...
Meanwhile, Akari was doing her best to be brave. Fighting with her claws while shrieking every time one came too close to hitting her. Her flames were doing a pretty good job of keeping them at bay.
Eventually, after the last one stopped moving, Akari dropped to her knees.
"Waaaaahh!!! I don't want to be here anymore! Those things are going to make me lose sleep..."
"Get up! We have to keep moving! No time to waste!" I said.
"Please have a heart! That was pretty traumatic and...how are you taking this so well!?"
"I've seen things far more terrifying than those. Creatures that make those skeletons look like baby rabbits," I said bluntly.
"I can't imagine something so scary... But I guess I can keep going. I have to, right?" Akari said nervously.
"If you want to survive this, you don't have a choice. There's no other way. Even if I fight as hard as I can, against an army of undead I can't protect everyone."
"Alright...let's get this over with then. What do you think we're dealing with here?"
"Hard to say. Where I'm from, undead are extremely rare. They don't appear very often in Avernia unless they're being controlled. Still, necromancy was also scarcely practiced."
"Did you ever encounter any necromancers?"
"Not a single one, no. I don't know much about undead as a result."
"Hmm...do you know what a lich is?" Akari asked curiously.
"I'm afraid I don't."
"Put simply, it's a very powerful undead necromancer. Someone who succeeded in making themselves immortal through necromancy. I should probably mention that...umm... Well...it's possible to use a heart stone as a phylactery. If that was done, this lich could be a real threat," Akari said.
"A...phylactery?" I said.
"The medium typically used to store the soul and keep it safe. It's also the source of power for a lich. If you destroy it, you can kill them. But until you do, they keep regenerating."
"Interesting... That kind of magic is associated with necromancy, right?" I asked.
Akari nodded.
I briefly gazed into the chasm of magic and found an entire region on necromancy.
I didn't want to make a habit of raising the dead, but...
I had an idea.
"Give me a moment. Watch my back for a bit, okay?" I said.
"Umm...o-okay! I'll try..." Akari said.
I gazed into the chasm of magic and started constructing spells for necromancy.
Once I had a few ready, I opened my eyes and looked around.
"Let's see if this works..." I said as I held my hand out to a nearby corpse.
Dark magic seeped out of my hand and into the body... Moments later, it began moving.
It stood up and looked at me.
"Greetings," I said.
"Ughhhhhnnnnn...."
"Hm...are you capable of speech?" I asked.
The zombie shook its head.
At least it understands me...
"Alright then. Let's move," I said.
The zombie took the lead and we continued following the compass.
* * *
Eventually, we ran into another massive group of undead.
Instead of fighting them, I closed my eyes and grasped the magic binding them to their Master's will.
Then I tore it away from him and held it myself.
At once, every single undead monster kneeled in front of me...or did their best to show respect.
"Oh...wow... You're kind of a monster aren't you, Mizik...?" Akari said nervously.
"I'm not a monster. I'm efficient. Fight an undead army with another undead army. Sounds like a good idea, right?" I said.
Akari slowly nodded. She still looked unsure.
Within minutes of taking control of these monsters, another small army showed up.
I decided to take things a step further and pointed Vengeance at them.
I connected the threads of magic controlling them to Vengeance and...
"Flames of rage," I said.
My shotgun became enveloped in emerald flames. At the same time, so did all of the undead under my control...
"Wrath."
Immediately, all of my undead started behaving as if they were in an extreme berserk state.
They obliterated all of the enemies with ease. I only suffered a few casualties.
At the same time, the power of the skills I used started degrading them... My undead army fell apart and collapsed.
"Hmm...needs adjusting..." I said.
I raised the enemies that my undead had just killed and we continued onward.
With some adjustments, my army was ready to take on anything the enemy threw at us.
And now...we descended to the first floor.
I nearly smiled again.
I had to be careful not to get excited... I needed to remain calm and focused. I didn't want to feel the horrible pain in my head.
* * *
Isabella had long since taken control of the situation.
Once they stopped finding giant bugs, that is.
Instead, the problem was the hordes of undead now swarming the halls.
Cassandra had conquered her fear through 'the power of love' and kept trying to kill as many undead as possible.
Still, she didn't have to. Isabella was more than capable of dealing with the undead
Since the corridors were so narrow, Isabella hadn't bothered to use Bravery. Instead, she focused on using her holy magic to obliterate them whenever possible.
"Isabella, how long have we been down here?" Cassandra asked.
"I don't know, sister. Probably more than a few hours at this point..."
"I miss Mizik... I want to feel the warmth of his strong arms again! I want to see his precious beautiful eyes! I want to-"
"Cassandra! Stop that! Geez..."
"Sorry! I know that only makes you miss him too! It's perfectly understandable!"
Isabella just sighed.
Cassandra's behavior regarding Mizik was truly starting to wear her down.
Even telling her that she wouldn't share didn't seem to register.
Because Cassandra had things backwards, it seems. She didn't care what Isabella felt, she only cared about pleasing Mizik.
The result was that Cassandra only thought about Mizik's feelings on the matter and not Isabella's.
Regardless, Mizik was a good motivator for Cassandra to do her best.
As Isabella walked, her mind was full of Cassandra's mad ramblings about her love for Mizik.
Eventually, they began to hear footsteps.
"Another undead? I'll kill it! For Mizik!" Cassandra said happily.
"Stop it for a second!!" Isabella said angrily.
Isabella cast a light into the darkness ahead of them and saw Mizik standing there.
"Darling!!!" Cassandra said as she ran forward.
Just then, she stopped mid run as she looked at him.
"Awww...that's not Mizik..." She said.
Cassandra had become very attuned to illusions over the years and as a result, could sense them easily. Even if she couldn't see through it, she knew it wasn't real.
"What are you talking about? I am Mizik. I've been looking all over for you, Isabella," he said.
"No. I'm not Isabella. I'm Cassandra right now. Can't you tell, Mr. Not-Mizik?"
"I see... Cassandra... I've been meaning to tell you this for a while, but I've always found you so much more interesting than your sister. I would love nothing more than to have you all to myself," he said.
Cassandra simply stared blankly.
"Liar. The real Mizik wouldn't say such a thing. You're not very good at this, are you?" Cassandra said.
The fake Mizik looked surprised. He sighed in response.
"You...are far more perceptive than I anticipated... And that troublesome power that the other one within you holds is really annoying. Regardless, you are perfect for my plans.," he said.
"I knew it! You aren't Mizik! And what plans?"
"To become a vessel for my beloved. I'll rid that body of both of those absurdly powerful souls and take it for my beloved to use," The fake Mizik said.
His voice began changing and his form did the same.
He had the appearance of a floating shadow with glowing, cyan-colored eyes. One of them shone far brighter than the other did.
"Isabella... This fool believes that this body will belong to someone other than my darling Mizik! Could you obliterate him?" Cassandra asked.
"Ugh...gladly!" She said.
Isabella blasted the shadow with several streams of purifying light.
The shadow was completely obliterated... But moments later, reappeared.
"You cannot kill me in this form. Even with that cursed light of yours. I must ask, though... Why do two souls share this body of yours? And both look identical... It's really weird..." The shadow said.
"You will not have us, vile undead. Leave us alone, at once!" Isabella said as she pulled out Bravery.
"That's a nice sword. Just like the dagger you also wield, but not as powerful as that blasted sword the boy holds..."
"Mizik is alive!? Where is he!?" Isabella said angrily.
"He's above. Doing pointless battle with the hordes of my minions on the main floors. He has come quite a bit further than the previous intruders... But soon, I will dispose of him. He is beginning to annoy me..."
The shadow moved slightly and Isabella began to feel very dizzy.
"Wh-what's...happening... I can't..."
Isabella felt her body give out and fell straight to the floor.