Chapter 54: New World XVII
The group heard an eerie voice from the far end of the room. There stood a skeleton with rotting flesh clinging to its bony frame. Xyris, being a past member of the Corpus of the Abyss, recognized the skeleton in an instant.
"It's been a while, Kunivela."
Xyris spoke loudly, enough for everyone in the room to hear. The members of the cult knew about the history of Xyris, so they weren't surprised. But the same couldn't be said for Kunivela.
Before Xyris left the organization, he was just an Elder Lich. He had a completely different appearance compared to his present appearance. So, it was understandable why Kunivela wasn't able to recognize him.
'Do I know him?' Kunivela thought while focusing on the skeleton wearing luxurious robes. Because of his partial bony visage, no one was able to discern his thoughts.
"You speak as if you know me, stranger. State your name."
Kunivela spoke while pointing toward Xyris.
"That's hurtful to think that you would forget your past associate like that. If you still can't recognize me, I am Xyris, also known as the Disciple of the Dark."
In the organization, everyone was given a title. Kunivela's title was The Hoarder due to his obsession with hoarding various magic items, money, etc.
"Xyris? The one Saintess found, right?"
The group heard another voice coming from behind the throne. A few seconds later, a skeleton with white bones emerged from behind the throne.
"Finally remembered me, huh? Yeah, I am the same Xyris."
Xyris spoke while eyeing the Krunui. In his opinion, he was a tougher opponent than Kunivela.
"Then, let me ask you this: are you here to enact your revenge. If so, then let me warn you: the Saintess has far surpassed the limits of a Night Lich. So you have no chance against her."
Before leaving the Corpus of the Abyss, Xyris swore that one day, he would return and kill the one responsible for betraying him. According to the rules of the organization, he should've been killed because of his treacherous behavior. Still, instead, Saintess, the one who betrayed Xyris, in her infinite wisdom, stopped anyone from harming Xyris and challenged him to reach the same power as she would in the years.
It had been over 90 years since Xyris left the Corpus of the Abyss and 15 years since the Saintess achieved the level above a Night Lich.
During these 15 years, she has taken control of the organization, and the rest of the core members had no choice but to support her reign. Because, even with them all, they were powerless against her.
Xyris was, of course, not privy to this information. All he knew was that in the recent few years, there was a lot of turmoil in the Corpus of the Abyss.
"Don't worry, that's my problem. For now, I'll give you two choices: Either join us and pledge your loyalty to our new master. Or die. And be quick with your decision; we don't have all day."
Xyris spoke while standing, ready to strike them with spells.
"What a ridiculous thing to say. Not everyone is a traitor like you, Xyris. And do you really think that we would leave and join your measly little grou--"
Kunivela replied to Xyris's offer with a clear mockery apparent in his tone. But before he could finish his sentence, Krunui interrupted him with a question of his own.
"What would I get if I joined your side?"
Krunui asked with genuine curiosity.
"Hey Krunui, what's the meaning of this? Are you trying to betray us?----"
'This is getting interesting.'
Xyris thought while looking at Krunui, who was unbothered by the rambling of Kunivela.
"What do you want in return?" This time, Khajiit spoke while walking forward.
"The same thing as Xyris; if you could promise me the destruction of the Saintes, I will pledge myself to your cause."
Khajiit nodded and started speaking.
"You say that you are willing to join our cause, but do you even know what it is?"
Khajiit spoke while slowly moving toward the throne, where Kunivela and Krunui were standing.
"It doesn't matter what your cause is; as long as I get to destroy that bitch, I'm fine with even selling my soul."
"I am glad to hear your response, but there is something that you must know before making this decision. Our cause is not only to take over the Corpus of the Abyss but to take over the world. And you have to pledge your loyalty to our master, Lord Malachar."
Saying this, he stopped near the stairs leading to the stage on which the throne was placed.
"I agree to pledge my loyalty."
Krunui calmly spoke.
"You traitor, how could you do that to the Saintes---"
Everyone in the room was ignoring the ramblings of Kunivela. Khajiit nodded at his response and turned toward Kunivela.
"If you are willing to submit yourself to our cause, then prove your loyalty, kill him."
Khajiit emotionlessly spoke while pointing toward the rambling Kunivela.
"With pleasure."
Saying this, he turned toward Kunivela, who was standing a bit far away from him, pointed his palm toward him, and fired a 7th-tier spell toward him.
"*Hell Flame*"
A small spark exited his palm and traveled toward Kunivela at a fast speed. On contact, the small spark engulfed his entire being.
However, because he was also a Night Lich, he was able to come out relatively unscathed.
"Guess I have no choice but to fight you!"
He shouted while preparing his own spells.
"To the death it would be!"
Shouting, he unleashed a 6th-tier spell toward Krunui.
"*Charge of Stalagmite*"
A magic circle formed beneath Krunui, from which stone stalagmites erupted, causing him to stumble and fall. Not wanting to give him a second to recover, Kunivela used another spell.
"*Fire Rain*!"
A small cloud made of magma formed above the position of Krunui and began dropping droplets of fire.
"*Energy Immunity: Fire*"
Krunui used a 5th-tier spell that reduced the damage caused by fire.
"Tch! Why don't you roll over and die like a good dog!"
Kunivela snapped, poised to cast another spell. Krunui, equally determined, prepared his own counterattack.
"This is becoming tedious," Khajiit remarked as he observed their intense standoff. Several minutes had passed since their confrontation began.
With a sigh, Khajiit raised his right hand toward Kunivela and cast a 7th-tier spell.
"*Double Maximize Magic: Acid Javelin*"
Two javelins, composed of corrosive green acid, materialized before him and streaked toward Kunivela.
Caught off guard by the sudden shift in focus, Kunivela found himself struck by the acid javelins. Sensing an opportunity, Krunui capitalized on the distraction to launch a retaliatory assault.
"*Double Maximize Magic: Acid Arrow*"
Two arrows made of caustic acid manifested before his palm before traveling toward Kunivela.
Due to his divided attention, he wasn't able to dodge the incoming arrows, and due to their strike, he lost his balance and fell to the ground. Leveraging his fall, Krunui used another spell to hold him to the ground.
"*Bramble Grasp*"
This was a 4th-tier spell, which caused thorny vines to sprout from the ground and entangle the target.
Suddenly, thorny vines emerged from the ground, which swiftly wrapped around the Kunivela, immobilizing him in a tangled web of prickly vegetation.
The vines prevented the target from casting spells unless they were capable of casting spells of a tier higher than what the caster could manage.
Though it was a versatile and powerful spell, it had many conditions that needed to be fulfilled before it could be cast and be effective in a battle. One of them was that the target's HP should be lower than the caster.
When Krunui cast the spell, he wasn't sure whether Kunivela's health was lower than him. But in the end, he decided to gamble his chances.
"And this is what you get for colluding with that bitch."
Krunui casually spoke as he moved near him. Hearing this, he was shocked;
"You knew?"
He asked in a shocked manner.
"I would be a fool to not notice the sudden rise in your power. However, even to this point, I wasn't sure, so thanks for clearing my doubts. Now."
He stopped talking and pointed his palm toward the entangled Kunivela.
"Die."
Saying this, Krunui cast another *Acid Arrow*, killing Kunivela instantly.
~Clap~ ~Clap~
Seeing his victory, Khajiit began to clap.
"Welcome to the Army of Death."
~Scene Change~
It had been a few hours since Krunui killed Kunivela. And at the moment, all the core members of the Army of Death were seated in the throne room. Discussing their plans for the remaining hideouts of the Corpus of the Abyss.
Because Krunui was previously a core member of the Corpus of the Abyss, he knew the layouts of the majority of the hideouts.
"So, with your information, we now know that only 2 of the hideouts other than the main base have Night Liches. So, I think we should be fine sending our elite members to deal with them." Khajiit seriously spoke while observing the map.
"Yes, it should be fine because the headquarters doesn't know the fall of this hideout. However, we only have a few days before they become suspicious of the absence of Kunivela. At most, we have 5 days."
Krunui spoke neutrally.
"That should be fine; we will also send some of the higher-tier undead with them. So, taking over those hideouts shouldn't be a problem."
Xyris replied to Krunui while looking him in the eyes.
"Now that that is done, why don't you tell us about the Saintes."
"With pleasure," Saying this, he sat on a chair; Khajiit and Xyris also followed suit.
"After you left us, she began experimenting according to the information she had received. To get the experimental subjects, she sent her minions to many of the surrounding human, monster, and demihumans villages. She began collecting their corpses; at the time, we didn't know the reason, but now I wish we stopped her back then."
He continued telling them about the Saintes. Its crux was that she used the corpses to make a new type of undead, known as Chimeric Undead. But they had a fatal flaw in that they were unable to use magic; they could only use skills from the species they were made from.
But, after 75 years, she was able to turn herself into a Chimeric Undead, capable of using magic, by using the decaying corpse of a False Dragon Lord.
False Dragon Lords were dragons who were unable to use World Magic, unlike True Dragon Lords, who were able to use it.
At the moment, her appearance was that of a giant with dragon wings on her back. And she was capable of using a few 9th-tier spells.
"WHAT! 9th-tier, is that even possible?!"
When Kruinui reached this point, Xyris blurted out.
"It's the truth; I've seen it with my own eyes."
Saying this, he pointed toward his eye sockets in a dejected tone.
"I've seen her killing some of the core members with a single spell."
'She has done something that I failed to do.'
Xyris thought sourly; he was also trying to do something like that before joining the Army of Death. In the past, he would've seen it as an impossible task. He even doubted himself, but the fire of revenge kept him going.
But now, he was confident in creating something even more powerful than chimeric undead.
'Yes, with Lord Malachar's help, I should be able to create something even more terrifying.'
To Be Continued...
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