Chapter 30: Slaying Sean

The black-armored Sean, now risen again, had completely transformed into an undead. The necromantic aura radiating from him was rapidly altering his armor, causing the carvings of skulls to emerge upon its surface. It was evident that when he was first fitted with that armor, those responsible had already laid their plans.

Sean had been manipulated from the very start. Had he remained alive, perhaps things would have been different, but his death triggered an immediate conversion into an undead state. Observing this, Ryuji glanced at the black armor and quickly reached out. The Staff of Death flew into his hand of its own accord, and he tapped it against Sean’s body.

An earthy-yellow light flowed from Ryuji into Sean. This was a new ability Ryuji had acquired—the Spirit-Gathering Spell, which he had specifically studied at the Ide household. It was a mandatory skill for every necromancer; whether to heal themselves or their subordinates, it was an incredibly versatile magic. As the only way for the undead to recover health, the Spirit-Gathering Spell had been mastered to an art form. Beyond simple healing, it could rapidly restore lost physical parts, such as the bones of skeletons or the flesh of zombies. It could even replenish souls, like those of ghosts, or reshape them—turning a headless specter into one with a head.

Ryuji’s intention was simple: he wanted to pump life force into Sean to make his flesh expand. Sean did not resist; after all, it was life force being added to his own body, not an attack. Sean’s instinct was to greedily absorb it. However, Ryuji had infused his own intent into the life force, requiring Sean’s size to at least double. For Sean, this was of little consequence; he was already dead, devoid of conscious thought, and he would not refuse the magical energy used to reinforce his body.

Yet, Sean could not have known that there were specific requirements for creating an undead. Not every corpse was suitable for the process. When Ryuji had first entered the game, he had already learned to judge the quality of a corpse. Creating a skeleton required sturdy bones, while zombies and ghouls demanded more—the flesh had to be dry and resilient, and not too heavy, lest it crush the bones and render the creature immobile. Ghosts were easier, but they required a complete soul that wouldn't dissipate during the binding process.

Sean, having been a living man, never imagined he was being groomed to become an undead. He had never studied these arts and remained ignorant of the requirements and taboos of necromancy. He absorbed every ounce of life force Ryuji injected, regardless of how rapidly his body swelled. Before long, Sean had grown to twice his original size. The armor, unable to contain his expansion, began to burst, revealing grey, distended muscle beneath. Some pieces of metal, unable to hold, began to fall away.

Feeling the restraint of the armor, Sean let out a roar and reached up, tearing off the helmet that pressed against his head, revealing a face scarred by fire. It was clear that when the armor was originally put on him, it had been welded directly onto his flesh using red-hot heat. With the armor gone, Sean roared again, feeling a surge of liberation.

Just as he prepared to lunge at Ryuji, Ryuji took a step back and cut off the flow of life force. Once the influx stopped, Sean’s massive body became a burden. Every movement consumed immense physical stamina. While he might have been able to fight before, his new size tripled or quadrupled his energy requirements. A single movement left him gasping.

Without his armor, Sean was vulnerable. Ryuji’s skeleton archers seized the opportunity, burying arrows into his flesh. Vidnina, having already dispatched the swordsman, arrived on the scene. She crossed her four longswords, weaving eight wind blades into a large sphere of air that surged toward Sean.

Facing the incoming attack, Sean’s instinct was to counter-attack directly, as he had always done, relying on his black armor to shrug off any damage. He had completely forgotten that he had torn off and discarded the plating. Now, he was nothing but newly expanded muscle, much of it lacking even the protection of skin. Vidnina’s sphere of wind slammed into him, relentlessly shredding his flesh.

At this moment, Ryuji’s Spirit-Gathering Spell proved its worth once more. As a healing ability, it possessed methods for massive restoration, sustained healing, and even "active" recovery. When Ryuji had put away his staff, he had applied an activation effect to Sean. Should Sean’s body be attacked, severed, or broken, the effect would trigger, forcibly consuming Sean’s own vitality to knit his flesh back together. Such a technique was usually reserved for Bone Dragons or Death Knights, who possessed enough vitality to sustain such a process. It was a waste on Sean, who was little more than a large zombie, but Ryuji used it anyway.

As Vidnina’s wind sphere tore into him, the effect activated, draining Sean’s life force to patch the gaping holes in his chest. One side cut, the other healed; soon, the ground was littered with chunks of flesh. Sean slowly lost his momentum and finally collapsed.

Ryuji leaped, stepping onto Sean’s body and landing on his face. He stomped down hard with his right foot, driving the slender sword that had been lodged in Sean’s eye socket deep into his brain. With no helmet to block the way, the blade pinned Sean’s head to the floor. Sean still possessed a flicker of life, struggling to rise, but with his head nailed to the ground, he could not move.

Vidnina stepped up to his side, and with a swift swing of her blade, decapitated him. Ryuji did not spare another glance at the fallen Sean. His eyes were fixed on the corridor of the Great Trench, where he discovered that the undead troops he had deployed were being held back by an unknown force.