Chapter 21: Holy Light
In the dimly lit room, a weary man leaned against a rickety bed, his neck oddly bare of a head, which he held in his hands.
"That fool Wiz! Going to the adventurer's guild to find a grand mage for help? She may be naive, but surely she's not that clueless! We're undead, for crying out loud! Who would willingly assist the undead, especially someone as infamous as the Headless Knight..."
Yes, the man seated on the bed was none other than the Headless Knight, Beldia, of the rumors that circulated in the capital. However, he appeared nothing like the terrifying figure depicted in those tales. In fact, he seemed more fragile than an ordinary human, devoid of any hint of undead aura.
As Beldia worried that the naive necromancer might be deceived or captured by humans in his absence, the door slowly creaked open, and in walked Wiz's figure.
"You fool, you're finally back?! Wait... who's that behind you?!"
"I'm not a fool, Mr. Beldia. This is the person I've brought to help you!"
Upon hearing Beldia's words, the man who entered with Wiz, Durin, replied calmly, "As Wiz said, I am a passing mage who can save you."
"A mage? You're the adventurer Wiz brought? You've seen my condition, right? Wiz may be easy to fool, but don't think for a moment that you can easily take me to the church! Even if I'm cursed by a necromancer, I can still..."
Before he could finish, accompanied by the release of Durin's imposing magical aura, Beldia couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "You're really a grand mage?"
"Of course, and I came to help you knowing Wiz is a necromancer, and you're the Headless Knight."
"....."
As his expression gradually stiffened, Beldia couldn't believe that Wiz, of all people, had actually brought a grand mage to his aid. As his expression changed, he couldn't help but ask, "Are you really willing to help someone like me, a human's enemy? You must have heard plenty of rumors about me at your age. Aren't you afraid I might kill you?"
"The rumors are just rumors, or rather, in such a limited era, after being passed on from one person to another, false information can become perceived as true. Instead of boring rumors, I prefer to trust my own eyes, and my eyes tell me that you are not an irrational villain."
Durin's words were plain, but they caused Beldia's expression to fluctuate several times. Finally, the renowned Headless Knight fell silent and somewhat resignedly said, "If everyone were like you, it would be so much better. I wouldn't have to live this life of hiding and misery."
Hearing Beldia's words, Durin, who had already learned about his situation from Wiz, replied calmly, "Anyway, I promised Wiz to remove the curse on you, and as a commission, I hope you can work for me. Don't worry, I'm not asking you to kill anyone. It's a legitimate job, and if you perform well, people might even grow fond of you."
"Fond of me? Fond of me, a headless monster? Are you joking?!"
Clearly, despite acknowledging Durin's intentions, Beldia was unwilling to believe that humans could come to like him. After all, he had hoped countless times that his terrifying self could one day be accepted by people. But the stark reality repeatedly reminded him that he was a dreadful monster, destined not for cheers and applause but for curses and holy light.
Everything he had as a human slipped away from him after he became undead. Now, just being able to live on the land that nurtured him was enough for him.
Sensing Beldia's thoughts, Durin, who rubbed his chin, finally decided not to convince him further. He simply said, "As I said earlier, I'll lift the curse for you, and you'll work for me. It's that simple. Deal?"
"Fine. Although I don't think a headless knight like me can do any legitimate work, it's better than just dying like this. After all, I promised this girl to help her establish herself in the human world. How can I give up before fulfilling that promise?"
"Establish herself in the human world?"
To Durin's surprise, Wiz replied with a smile, "Yes, when I rescued Beldia from the hands of the knights, we made a deal. As long as I could bring him back to the Southern Territory, he promised to help me establish myself in the human world. But now, humans are always hostile to undead, and despite our endless wanderings through countless towns, we haven't found a place where we can live peacefully."
Understanding the situations of these two undead beings, Durin didn't know how to comment on two top-tier undead who sought a peaceful life. He could only nod and say, "Anyway, as long as you've agreed. Don't worry, I've already observed the form of the curse on you. Although under normal circumstances, the best way to lift a curse is to use spells from the Holy Light series, it's quite evident that you can't withstand them."
"Yeah, normally, a curse like this would be a piece of cake for a human priest. Just a touch of Holy Light and the curse would be gone. But unfortunately, the one cursed is Mr. Beldia, the headless knight. If we don't find a way to neutralize the strong anti-undead effects of the Holy Light, lifting the curse is practically impossible."
Wiz's words aligned with Durin's perspective. Indeed, Beldia, as an undead, being cursed by a lich, made it challenging since the most potent counter, Holy Light, couldn't be used due to the curse's interference.
After pondering for a moment and roughly constructing a spell model in his mind, Durin spoke slowly, "Well, if we can't use Holy Light spells, then we'll have to use water-based magic to counteract the effects of Holy Light. Although it'll slow down the process significantly, it's better than risking harm to the headless knight with direct Holy Light spells."
In this world, where the Church exists, so does the exclusive ability of Holy Light. However, what sets this world apart is that any mage with an affinity for light magic can use Holy Light, albeit with slightly less efficacy compared to priests. To maintain their authority, the Church insisted on labeling their version as Holy Light Divine Arts, while the spells cast by mages were designated as Holy Light Spells by the Mage Tower.
Although it was just a difference in terminology, it prevented a potential conflict between the Church and the mages. Initially, the Pope intended to ban all mages from using Holy Light, but to quell internal strife, the Archmages proposed the differentiation in terminology, ending the meaningless dispute.