Smoke engulfed everything. As a result, it was impossible to see the surroundings. The beautifully growing grass and trees at the entrance turned into hard ground that wouldn't allow any grass to grow back in just a moment. The small trees that lined the road were burnt to ashes. Even though it was winter, the area from the gate to the house looked as if a forest fire had occurred, resembling summer.
Valorant looked around. There was nothing left of the skeletons except for bones scattered on the ground. He was sure that there were no bones around him. After that, he began to search for the necromancer controlling these skeletons. "If the necromancer is still alive, killing the skeletons is pointless. He can just resurrect more dead. I need to find and eliminate him as quickly as possible," Valorant thought.
The smoke began to dissipate slowly. Valorant also approached the house gate. Just as he got close to the gate, he stopped. He thought he saw something in the smoke. Raising his sword, he took a battle stance. Something burning was visible within the smoke. It was a grimoire. The necromancer stood still, holding a book open in his right hand, not moving from the spot where he was standing. It was as if Valorant's strike had passed right through him. Valorant glanced carefully at the necromancer, running his eyes over the area at his feet. He noticed some snow melting but still standing beneath the necromancer's feet. Valorant understood what had happened.
Valorant shouted, "Hey, who are you? You definitely don't belong to the dead, I've figured that out." The necromancer began to leaf through the grimoire to summon more dead. Seeing this, Valorant started searching for the necromancer's weakness. He intended to approach him. At that moment, the necromancer summoned skeletons from the ground. Valorant crushed the bones of the skeletons and attacked the necromancer. The necromancer formed a spherical shield around himself to protect from Valorant's sword strike. The necromancer leafed through the grimoire again and summoned more skeletons, forcing Valorant to retreat.
At that moment, Gustav was fighting the skeletons that had entered the house. He had already killed all the skeletons inside. After that, he went outside and saw Valorant fighting. Gustav ran over to help him. Together, Valorant and Gustav eliminated all the skeletons in the area. Only the necromancer remained.
Valorant raised his sword and took a battle stance. "Fiery Wrath, Level 1 'Fiery Mana,'" he declared as he attacked the necromancer from above. The necromancer formed a shield from mana once again. This time, Valorant's sword pierced through the mana shield. Valorant broke through the necromancer's shield and plunged his sword into the necromancer's heart. The necromancer offered no resistance as Valorant drove the sword into his chest. Valorant withdrew his sword from the necromancer's chest. The necromancer fell to the ground. Gustav approached Valorant.
Gustav asked:
-"Is the necromancer dead?"
Valorant replied with a deep breath:
-"I think so."
Gustav then asked:
-"What was he doing at the end?"
Valorant explained:
-"That was his mana shield. He created it to deflect the blow I was about to deliver, but it didn't help him."
Gustav inquired:
-"If it was to deflect the blow, then how did your strike get past it?"
Valorant stated:
-"The mana shield is mainly created to deflect strikes made with force. That's what he did. He created it to counter my blow with the sword. I struck with my sword, but I also used Fiery Mana to imbue my strike with magic at the same time."
Gustav asked:
-"So, you struck with both magic and force at the same time?"
Valorant confirmed:
-"Yes, 'Fiery Mana' can either destroy another mana or diminish its effect."
Gustav then asked Valorant:
-"What do we do now?"
Valorant replied:
-"We need to find out who this person is."
Gustav asked:
-"Is he a person?"
Valorant said:
-"Yes, he was a living person. If he weren't alive, he wouldn't have tried to defend himself. Did you see any skeleton attempt to defend itself while you were fighting?"
Gustav replied:
-"No, they all only attacked."
Valorant stated:
-"Yes, they were only commanded to attack, not to defend themselves."
As they were speaking, the necromancer's black robe began to disintegrate into dark ashes, floating upward like embers from a fire.
Gustav asked:
-"What's happening?" wondering why the necromancer's robe was flying away.
Valorant explained:
-"His body is releasing dark magic. Unlike skeletons, the necromancer has a large amount of dark magic, so when he dies, you can see the magic leaving his body."
Once the necromancer's black robe was gone, they had the chance to see his face. Gustav was astonished when he saw the face of the man lying dead on the ground.
Valorant looked at Gustav and asked:
-"Do you recognize this man?"
Gustav:
-"Yes, this man's name is Fermak. He was my lord's doctor."
Fermak was also lying on the ground.
Valorant pondered:
-"How did he become a necromancer?"
Gustav explained:
-"I called him today because my lord's condition worsened. He came during dinner."
Valorant asked:
-"Did he touch Alaris?"
Gustav responded:
-"Yes, he touched him to find out what was troubling my lord."
Valorant:
-"That makes sense. When he touched Alaris, the magic from Alaris must have transferred to him."
Gustav argued:
-"But I also touched my lord every day."
Valorant replied:
-"There's a difference between his touch and yours. He touched the patient to learn what was happening inside him. At that moment, the dark magic also transferred with his mana. That's why he became a vessel for the necromancer's power, but you did not."
Gustav asked:
-"Then where is Scott?"
Valorant replied:
-"Was Scott with him too?"
Gustav said anxiously:
-"Yes, I called Scott to take the doctor back to his house."
Valorant looked at Gustav and said:
-"What if Scott has also turned into one of the living dead for the necromancer?"
Gustav pondered:
-"Then if Scott wasn't here while we were defeating Fermak…"
Both Valorant and Gustav turned around to look at the house.
Gustav said:
-"I forgot to check on the house," and they both rushed toward it.
Fermak had indeed absorbed the dark magic from Alaris while he was examining him. The dark magic had not affected him until Alaris turned into a living corpse. While he was in the cart, Fermak felt a sharp pain in his body. Gripping his heart, he screamed in agony. At that moment, Scott, who was driving the cart, heard Fermak's voice and stopped the cart. Worried about Fermak, Scott opened the door of the cart to find out what had happened to him. At that moment, Fermak lost control and attacked Scott, killing him on the spot. There, Fermak fully transformed into a necromancer. Once the dark magic engulfed him completely, he summoned his grimoire. At that time, Fermak found himself in front of a battlefield where a battle had taken place many years ago. Using the grimoire, he summoned the dead who had fallen there and moved toward the Duke's estate. He took Scott's body on the ground, making it his second body to use if he needed to do something to his own body.
Valorant and Gustav ran as fast as they could.
Valorant asked Gustav:
-"Which room could they go into?"
Gustav replied:
-"Let's go this way," leading Valorant along.
Valorant and Gustav both arrived at the room where Attu and the girls had entered. The door to the room was broken, and human bones were scattered on the floor. Valorant entered first and was astonished by the scene inside. Attu had stabbed Scott in the heart, propping him against the wall with the sword in his hand, taking deep breaths while gripping the sword with both hands. When Attu let go of the sword, he slowly turned his head and collapsed to the ground.