Lulu was surprised. He could see the Necromancer's face underneath his black robe's hood. Even though his voice was that of a middle-aged man's, his face was wrinkled well beyond its years. His eyes were also dull gray in color, and his face reeked of rot, with flies buzzing around it.
There was a reason why the Black Mages avoided Spirit Magic. It was possible to form a powerful army through coordinated effort, but Undead summoning carried with it a dangerous cost—other than magic power—in the form of the caster's vitality. In other words, one would be shortening their own lifespan.
Although it allowed for great power, it was a cursed power that aged the caster with each use. Still, some mages fell for Spirit Magic due to its allure. Offering their own life energy allowed them to quickly gain strength, strength that other mages could only attain after many years of research.
The Necromancer opened his mouth and revealed his rotting teeth.
"It's here."
The remaining Necromancers raised their staffs as they turned to face the cavern wall.
"I don't know who you are, but it'll be better if you come out! If not, we'll tear your body to shreds!"
"A stranger recently arrived in the village. Could it be that guy?"
"Wasn't he a Holy Knight? This right here is magic power! And it's also very unique. Is there any human with this kind of magic power?"
"It's also quite small…? I might not have even noticed! This magic… I've never seen it before…?"
The Necromancers turned to the wall with curiosity, but they were still prepared to fling their magic at a moment's notice. A violent ball of fire sizzled dangerously above each of their staffs.
"Dispel your magic already! I know there's only one of you here! Do you think you can face the three of us?"
Lulu gritted his teeth and dispelled his illusory magic. His transparent body slowly regained its color, revealing his form.
"…A child?"
The Necromancers looked surprised and lowered their guard. They had believed it was another magician of their age or a Holy Knight… but for it to be a child in a Holy Knight's uniform!
"Wait! This isn't a Holy Knight! It's magic! One that's different from humans'…!"
A Necromancer hurriedly pulled off the robe on Lulu's head. When rabbit ears popped out from underneath, he turned stiff.
"A demon!?"
"The ears of a beast? Is it a beastkin? This… For a rabbit to crawl in here!"
"What should we do?"
They turned to each other before looking back at Lulu.
"First, we'll take him to our master."
The one that spoke raised his staff and struck Lulu on the head.
***
Lulu, having lost consciousness, awoke to find himself in a wide hole within the cavern. His surroundings were brightly lit by torches. His confusion along with the damp, chilly air gave the place an eerie feeling, but the sounds he could hear were more disturbing. Even the quietest of sounds rang loudly in his ears, due to his addled state.
In this cave where no soundwaves could escape, every small sound rebounded off the walls and echoed back into his eardrums many times. The rhythmic beating of drums and the sound of humans cheering and shouting in awe all assaulted his auditory senses.
When Lulu raised his dizzy head, he saw humans holding dishes. They kept them in both hands and knelt toward an altar with their heads lowered.
"Ah, Lion of God…!"
"The Ceremony…!"
"Lead us to a Heavenly World!"
"This soul and flesh, we offer it to you!"
Lulu's eyes grew wide upon witnessing the scene. The altar was littered with corpses, and surrounding it were Necromancers wearing dark robes, each holding a staff. One of them walked forward, plunged a dagger into a corpse's stomach, and split it open wide, causing blood to bubble out from the opening.
The Necromancer with the dagger smiled. Before long… the corpse twitched and rose from its slumber.
"F-f-father…!"
A boy's eyes flew open, looking at the revived corpse as he bawled. The corpse looked toward the boy and embraced him. Behind them, the Necromancer quietly muttered something.
"Aah, son. I have just returned from the Heavenly World!"
The revived zombie moved its jaws and spoke the same words. Ventriloquism. It was a method to throw one's voice with magic, a nonsensical trick. Nonetheless, the villagers were falling for it.
Lulu looked at the surrounding people. They were all astonished.
"Aaah, it's a miracle-!"
"A miracle is here!"
"We have been graced with a blessing…!"
They continued to sing praise as they drank the tea in the dishes before them. It was the same drugged tea that Tom had mentioned. As it slid down their throats, the eyes of the followers glazed over. Their bodies grew stiff, and one-by-one, they began to fall over.
As they lay there, unmoving, they suddenly began to smile. Next, they began to laugh, seemingly reminiscing some of their happiest moments. Some even started to cry tears of joy, while others were convulsing as though they were suffering from a nightmare.
Lulu was able to sense all of their emotions. The euphoria and joy, and also their pain-filled voices, were all caught by his ears.
"I'll drink as well!"
Lulu stiffly turned toward the voice. He could see Fran and the Chief. Fran struggled in an attempt to drink the tea in one of the dishes, but the Chief held onto her and shouted,
"You can't drink it! That… that is a cursed drug of the Devils!"
"No…! I'll be blessed as well! I'll drink it! I want to drink it! I'll drink it-!"
Fran began to scream. She showed an unnaturally strong affinity toward the tea as she scrambled with all her might to escape the Chief's grasp, but the old man maintained his grip. One of the Necromancers noticed the disturbance and approached them.
"Ey, old man! What's wrong? The girl says she wants to be blessed! Shouldn't we give her what she wants?"
When the Necromancer held out a dish filled with tea, Fran began to fight even harder. The Chief held her back and shook his head.
"She can't! Please, please just don't touch my granddaughter! Haven't I done all you've asked?!"
"Haha! Well, I won't force it. Even if we have learned the forbidden Spirit Magic, we're still mages. We keep our promises! Since you've gathered followers for us, we're overflowing with reagents. As long as you keep doing that, we won't touch your family. Of course…" the Necromancer snickered, "If you both take it of your own volition, we won't stop you."
The Chief gritted his teeth as the Necromancer turned around. He looked at Lulu, who was being held in a birdcage-like prison, and smiled wide.
"Oh! Rabbit. You're awake. Our master is very curious about you. He rejoiced when he heard that we'd captured a demon!"
"W-what are you planning to do with me? Let me go!"
The Necromancer tilted his head, as though he was being asked an obvious question.
"Mm? Do you think we'll release you? If you're a demon, it's it obvious? We're going to experiment on you! Don't you think we should see what happens to your body, piece by piece…?!"
"…!"
The Necromancer looked at Lulu with wicked eyes.
"What do you think will be sweeter: the screams of a human or a demon, when having their stomachs split open?"
"I-if you kill me, you won't be safe either! W-when Sir Tom arrives, you will all die!"
"Sir Tom? Ah, is that the Holy Knight you serve? Haha! You think like a child! Do you think the Holy Knight you serve is the strongest or something? You don't see reality." The Necromancer laughed at Lulu's naive words. "We actually caught that Holy Knight."
"C-captured?"
The Necromancer snickered.
"That's right! He let himself be caught! Just like the deserter he is! They're probably heading here right now! Hahaha!"
'Captured? What does that mean…?'
"L-lion of God!"
The Necromancer peered behind him, noticing one of the followers running over frantically, and frowned.
"What's wrong?"
"I-it's just… the heretic… the heretic…!"
"Heretic?"
***