In the pitch-black room, a man slouched wearily on a rickety bed. Strangely, there was no head atop his neck; instead, his head rested in his hands.
"That idiot Viz! Going to the Adventurer's Guild to seek help from a Grand Mage? Even though I know she's naive, isn't this going too far? We're undead, after all! Who would willingly help when they see an undead, let alone me, the infamous Headless Horseman—"
Yes, the man sitting on the bed was none other than the legendary Headless Horseman, Belldia, known throughout the capital. However, he didn't possess the terrifying appearance or the ominous Death Flame rumored about him. In fact, he was more fragile than an ordinary human, devoid of any hint of undead presence.
While Belldia fretted about the naive Lich being deceived by humans in his absence, the door to the room creaked open, and Viz's figure entered from outside.
"You foolish person, you're finally back?! Wait— who's behind you?!"
"I'm not foolish, Mr. Belldia. This person is the one I've brought to help you!"
Upon hearing Belldia's words, Edward, who entered with Viz, calmly replied, "As Viz said, I'm a passing Mage who can save you."
"A Mage? You're the adventurer Viz found? Have you seen how I look? Even if Viz, this fool, is easily deceived, don't think bringing me to the church would be so simple! Even though I'm cursed by a Lich, I can still—"
Before the other could finish his sentence, Edward gradually released the majestic magical power belonging to a Grand Mage. Astonished, Belldia exclaimed, "You really are a Grand Mage?"
"Of course. And I came to help you knowing Viz is a Lich and you are the Headless Horseman."
"...?"
As his expression gradually froze, Belldia couldn't believe that Viz, the unreliable person, had actually brought a Grand Mage. As Belldia's expression changed, he couldn't help but ask, "Are you really willing to help an enemy of humanity like me? You must have heard many rumors about me at your age. Aren't you afraid I might kill you?"
"Rumors are just rumors. In such a limited era, stories can easily turn false. I trust my own eyes more than boring rumors. And my eyes tell me that you are not an irrational villain."
Edward's words were plain, yet they caused Belldia's expression to fluctuate several times. Finally, the famed Death Knight fell silent and, somewhat resigned, said, "If only everyone were like you, life would be much better. I wouldn't have to live such a cowardly, wretched life..."
Hearing Belldia's words, Edward, who had already learned about the situation from Viz, said slowly, "Anyway, I promised Viz to lift the curse on you. And as a commission fee, I hope you can work for me. Don't worry, it's not about killing people. It's a proper job. And if you perform well, people might even start to like you."
"Like me? Like a headless monster like me? Are you joking?!"
Clearly, despite agreeing with Edward, Belldia was reluctant to believe that humans could come to like him. He had hoped countless times that even a terrifying figure like himself could one day be accepted by others. But the stark reality repeatedly reminded him that he was a frightful monster, destined not for cheers and applause but for curses and Holy Light.
Once everything he could have as a human slipped away upon becoming undead, now simply being able to live on the land that once nurtured him was enough for him.
Sensing Belldia's thoughts, Edward, rubbing his chin, ultimately couldn't be bothered to convince him further. He simply said, "As I mentioned earlier, I'll lift your curse, and you'll work for me. Simple as that. How about it?"
"Fine. Although I don't think a Headless Horseman like me can do any legitimate work, it's still 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 Edward's surprise, Viz just smiled and replied, "Yes, when I rescued Belldia from 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. However, despite traveling through countless towns, humans have always been hostile to the undead. We never found a place where we could live in peace."
Understanding the situation of these two undead individuals, Edward didn't know whether to laugh or cry at these two top-tier undead pursuing a peaceful life. He simply nodded and said, "Anyway, as long as you agreed. Rest assured, I've already observed the form of your curse. While the best way to remove a curse is usually with Holy Light spells, it's clear you can't withstand them."
"Yeah, if this curse were on a human, a Priest's Holy Light would solve everything without issue. But unfortunately, the cursed person is Belldia, the Headless Horseman. If we don't find a way to neutralize the Holy Light's strong anti-undead effect, there's no way to begin lifting the curse."
Viz's words confirmed her and Edward's consensus. Indeed, despite being undead, Belldia had been cursed by a Lich, rendering the strongest counter to curses, Holy Light, unusable. It made the situation quite tricky.
After some thought, Edward, slowly building a spell model in his mind, said, "Since Holy Light spells can't be used, let's use Water attribute spells to neutralize the Holy Light's effects. Although it will significantly slow down the process, it's better than risking harm to the Headless Horseman with direct Holy Light spells."
In this world, there existed the Church, and naturally, there was the Holy Light, the Church's exclusive ability. However, what set this world apart was that any Mage with an affinity for Light attributes could also use Holy Light. Although the effects might not be as potent as those of the Church, to maintain their authority, the Church forcefully branded their Holy Light as "Divine Light" and required the Mage Tower to name the Mage's use of Holy Light as "Light Magic".
Although just a single word different, this prevented the Church-Mage conflict from escalating into a full-blown war. Otherwise, according to the Pope's initial demands, all Mages would have been forbidden from using Holy Light.
Finally, to quell internal disputes, the Arch Mage of the Mage Tower proposed the names "Divine Light" and "Light Magic" to put an end to the meaningless dispute.
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