Chapter 24

"Can't be... My Golem Hand..."

"Idiot... My bandages are fire-resistant..."

The boy and the bandaged man stared in shock.

Well, it's hard to tell where the bandaged man's eyes are...

Anyway, it's fine to attack from this side now, right?

"Fireball x 2"

Wow, it worked!

This is simultaneous casting of high-level magic.

I thought I might be able to do it now, and it turned out to be surprisingly easy.

The two fireballs flew in their respective directions.

"Oh, Earth Wall!"

The undead boy quickly created a wall of earth.

The fireballs hit it directly.

"Ah!? My Earth Wall melted in an instant!?"

The earth wall melted into a gooey mess, emitting hot steam as it flowed across the ground.

Despite this, the boy, thanks to the earth wall, managed to block the fireballs and collapsed with a strained face.

"..."

On the other hand, the bandaged man nimbly dodged my fireballs.

It seems quite difficult to hit this guy.

"And if you were hit directly just now, you would have been completely erased like Diga! It's too scary!"

"...Natural enemy"

"I'm going all out, Milra! I don't want to be erased yet!"

"...Agreed"

Nodding in agreement, the bandaged man came straight at me.

He was indeed fast.

Then he launched a series of unarmed attacks.

His punches and kicks hit my body multiple times in an instant.

However, I remained undamaged.

This time, the bandages flew at me again.

Immediately after, the bandaged man's speed increased.

It seems he used the elasticity of the bandages to gain more acceleration.

The hits were faster and stronger than before, striking my body one after another.

But the one who took damage was the bandaged man.

Unable to withstand the recoil, his flesh was crushed and his bones broken.

As for me, I was still unscathed.

"...Unbelievable"

Realizing that his attacks were meaningless, the bandaged man stopped moving.

At that moment, the undead boy shouted.

"Preparation complete! Use all my magic power! Hard Earth Prison!"

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

The ground beneath my feet began to vibrate violently.

Then, huge walls rose rapidly around me.

I found myself enclosed by walls of earth.

When I cautiously touched them, they were as hard as metal.

"Huff, huff, huff... This should prevent you from getting out easily!"

A faint voice came from outside.

But,

"...Softer than Tarasque Road, isn't it?"

Remembering how I was swallowed by a giant turtle and had to punch through its flesh and shell to escape, I punched the wall.

Crash!

As expected, the wall crumbled easily.

Good, I can get out quickly.

After a few more punches, a hole opened up, and I could see the other side.

I finished by kicking it to make it large enough to pass through.

When I stepped outside, the boy was trembling violently.

"Unbelievable... How... My full power... So easily..."

"Fireball"

"Ahhh! No... I don't want to disappear yet... I want to see more... the faces of adults begging for their lives—aaaaah!?"

Apparently, his magic power was exhausted, and he couldn't block the fireballs as before, screaming in agony as he was hit directly.

"Next is the bandaged man..."

He's too fast, so if I just cast it normally, he'll dodge like before.

Then—

I kicked the ground and closed the distance with the bandaged man in an instant.

"!?"

He couldn't move, not expecting a direct approach.

I hugged him.

...Of course, I didn't really want to do this.

I don't want to hug a man, let alone a bandaged undead.

And he smells a bit...

But this should make it impossible for him to escape.

He tried to use his bandages to restrict my movements, but I did the same to him.

"Fireball"

I cast a fireball at myself.

Naturally, the bandaged man was caught in it too.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!?"

The fire didn't affect me, but the bandaged man writhed in agony.

Eventually, he turned to ash along with his bandages.

"Amazing! Amazing power! I never thought you would defeat my proud Nine Lives so easily!"

A voice of joy echoed.

Looking over, the necromancer Jean was looking at me with a face of pure delight, despite his subordinate being defeated.

"Lino! Milra! Please rest in peace! Thanks to your devoted service, I will gain a far superior servant compared to you!"

While saying something quite cruel, Jean was making his own calculations.

When did I say I would become your servant?

"Hehehe, everything is ready now."

"?"

"The greatest necromancer in this world, Jean Diago, can control any undead!"

In the next moment, a huge magic circle appeared at my feet.

...Oh no!

This is bad, right?

I tried to escape from the magic circle, but it moved with my movements.

It has a tracking function!?

"Hahaha! You can't escape!"

The magic circle glowed, and chains-like things wrapped around my body.

I tried to wriggle free, but they seemed to be non-corporeal, just slipping through me.

"My necromancy acts on the spirit itself! No matter how strong the body, it's impossible to resist!"

Jean shouted triumphantly.

Then, the chains with sharp, arrow-like tips pierced my body—no, my spirit.

"—Contract complete. Now you belong to me! Hahaha! Hahaha!"

Jean declared.

At the same time, the magic circle and chains disappeared.

"Hehehe, from today, you are my loyal servant... Come here."

"Fireball"

"...Huh?"