Chapter 134

Chapter 134
## Chapter 134: The Lich Queen’s Requiem

As the haunting, bone-chilling funeral melody resonated through the air, the physical forms of the cadavers began to transform.

They grew more powerful. More resilient.

Their very essence had undergone a transition. I could sense it with every nerve—the dead were becoming more formidable by the heartbeat.

The intensity of the lingering spite they harbored had shifted.

“Good grief.”

The myriad of pipes connected to the colossal pipe organ exhaled dense, obsidian smoke, cloaking the heavens.

Vast pupils manifested within the blackened sky. They were eyes with vertical slits, much like a serpent’s. Within those narrow slits, rows of jagged, interlocking fangs were packed tightly.

It was as if they weren’t eyes at all, but rather the gaping gullet of some monstrous predator.

—Ahahahahaha! Keehehehek! Kkhek, hek! Ahahahahaha!

Derisive laughter spilled from the firmament, accompanied by the visceral sound of grinding teeth.

Slowly, using the massive organ as a hub, thick, pulsing veins began to crawl across the terrain. They became more concentrated as they neared the instrument, eventually carpeting the soil entirely.

With heavy thuds, dozens of gargantuan headstones plummeted from above, anchoring themselves deep into the earth. Following this, the deceased rose once more, directed their boiling indignation toward the living.

The spectacle was terrifying enough to shatter the resolve of even the most seasoned warriors who had survived countless bloodbaths.

“Now that’s a proper display for an Erosion Core nucleus.”

The creature I dispatched back in Jaun Valley must have been quite irritated. It likely possessed a similar level of might.

I passed the crown over to Han Sang-ah.

“What is the reason for giving this to me?”

Rather than providing a verbal reply, I gestured toward the headstones protruding from the dirt.

“Utilize the crown to handle those markers. They are magnifying the organ’s output. Jeong No-hoon, you stay here and provide cover for Han Sang-ah.”

“And what will you be doing?”

I tilted my head toward the organ.

“I need to sabotage that contraption. Oh, and let me borrow your footwear for a moment.”

I’m letting you use the crown as collateral. Think of it as a fair swap.

“Very well.”

I have to put a stop to that organ’s recital. The enhancements it’s providing the restless dead are staggering. The corpses caught in its resonance are at least five times more potent.

I slid on the shoes Han Sang-ah provided and stood up. It was then that Ramin chimed in.

“I will accompany you along with the high-ranking soldiers.”

You’re coming with me? I gave Ramin a skeptical look before answering.

“Don’t talk nonsense. If you get anywhere near that organ, it’ll be the end of all of you.”

From this distance, the organ’s tune doesn’t harm the living troops. However, the closer you approach, the more those sonic tremors will impact them.

It would likely cause their skulls to implode.

“You lot focus on shattering the headstones as well. The defensive walls are already ruined—just let them go.”

Even so, because my plan worked out, we had managed to collect a respectable amount of heads. Roughly a million, give or take.

Naturally, if they fall, those million become part of the undead horde. But with the clergy present to hallow the fallen and stop them from rising, the casualties won’t be catastrophic.

“However, we require this.”

Ramin spoke while carefully placing a small chest on the ground and dropping to his knees before it.

It was a container crafted with white ivory, dark ebony, and accents of gold. I gave a soft, impressed whistle.

“Quite the piece.”

“Indeed, it looks quite costly,” Jeong No-hoon muttered beside me. I glanced his way.

“It’s not the container—it’s what’s inside that’s remarkable.”

I could feel a crushing weight of power radiating from the contents. Ramin opened it with great care.

“…It is a spike.”

A solitary, corroded nail rested inside. Jeong No-hoon appeared slightly let down. My own perspective, however, was entirely different.

Good heavens. Is that the spike used on your world’s messiah? Given this level of energy, it must be. Where on earth did you manage to find such a thing?

“The object selects its own master. Presently, only I, being of the saint’s lineage, am sanctioned to handle it.”

Ramin met my gaze with a grave expression.

“Without the aid of this relic, we cannot hope to defeat Parhel, one of Valia’s high priests.”

So that’s why you’re insistent on following me. I stared quietly at the rusted spike within the chest.

“Sanctioned, you say?”

As I took a stride toward the container, the spike began to vibrate violently. Ramin looked panicked.

“It does not approve of your proximity!”

I paid him no mind and reached for the spike. In that split second, a puncture appeared in my palm—as if the nail itself had pierced through me.

“…”

“Approaching further is suicide! That was merely a caution. The next strike will find your heart!”

Crimson fluid dripped from my hand.

Equipment that chooses its owner? I despise that category of gear more than anything. Furthermore, Parhel is a formidable lich. If I bring Ramin along, I’ll be forced to shield him while I engage her. No thank you.

Why should I increase the difficulty of an already grueling encounter? Unless there’s some incredible treasure to be gained, it’s a pass.

“Try that stunt one more time, you worthless piece of scrap metal.”

Blades cooled in demonic ichor, quills carved from the wings of angels, shrouds that once covered the bodies of saints.

They all shunned me at the start. Yet, in the end, every one of them ended up in my possession, serving exactly as I commanded. The technique is straightforward.

“One more flinch out of you, and I will incinerate you until there is nothing left but soot.”

I summoned the Paradox Flame upon my injured hand and glared down at the spike in the chest.

The spike’s frantic trembling slowly died down. I reached out and took hold of the rusted metal. This time, it didn’t resist.

“You see? Sometimes a little physical persuasion is the most effective remedy.”

I stashed the spike within my sleeve and then turned back to Jeong No-hoon and Han Sang-ah.

“Once those headstones are demolished, the two of you can move in.”

With the pair of them, they should be able to get close safely once the amplifying monuments are out of the picture.

With the discussion concluded, I vaulted from the rampart, hit the ground, and swept my spear through the air with ferocity before sprinting toward the massive, distant organ.

“Ah, this feels fantastic.”

This wasn’t my home world. And the scale was enormous. I lunged forward with power, soaring into the air before crashing down and burying my spear into the soil. The impact caused the earth to erupt, tossing mangled corpses in every direction.

“Move!”

Today, I simply felt the urge to sprint with reckless abandon. Each time I propelled myself forward, the vein-covered ground detonated, sending the dead flying.

I wasn’t even actively engaging the corpses. I was merely running, and they were bursting apart in my wake.

“No need to fret about the cleanup, either.”

Property damage? To be honest, there’s no reason to care. This wasn’t Earth—I didn’t have to worry about the legal or social ramifications of the carnage.

Parhel mentioned she couldn’t use her full capacity in the cavern. The reality is, I can’t let loose on Earth either.

“Once this business is finished, I still have to live on Earth!”

I shoved my hand into a corpse in front of me, striking its midsection. It was sent flying with a thunderous boom, colliding with a group of others like a ball scattering bowling pins.

I charged forward without pause, finally standing before the massive organ.

“Hey, show yourself.”

I don’t want any excuses later about me ruining your instrument before you arrived. At that moment, the organ began to play at an incredible tempo, emitting waves of destructive sound.

The rippling vibrations washed over the area. The corpses were unable to endure the lethal harmony and shattered where they stood.

“Stop with the nonsense.”

The blue streaks of energy surrounding my frame vibrated, neutralizing the sonic waves that tried to crush me. Amidst the chaos of the sound-induced explosions, the veins covering the earth writhed like tentacles, attempting to wrap around my ankles.

Instantly, the blue trajectories flared, dicing the veins into tiny pieces.

“Impatient types aren’t very appealing.”

A young girl stepped out from the mass of veins. It was Parhel. She was clothed not in fabric, but in the very veins that carpeted the ground.

The pulsating vessels pierced through her skin, linking with her directly. They swelled, siphoning something into her form. Likely the terror and hopelessness radiating from the field of battle.

“Feeding off of corpses? What do you gain from that?”

“How unkind.”

A podium for a conductor emerged from the earth.

An organ console featuring eight keyboards and four sets of foot pedals.

“Do you have an appreciation for music?”

Parhel took her seat at the console naturally, resting her fingers on the keys as she questioned me. I leaped forward to strike, but veins surged from the soil, weaving a barricade to obstruct my path.

“More than you might imagine.”

Parhel erupted into a fit of giggles. Veins emerging from her spine twisted into appendages, striking the keys and pedals of the organ console.

The massive organ’s sound, which had been rhythmic and slow, suddenly accelerated.

“…”

I used the back of my hand to wipe a faint smear of blood from my lip. Skeletal structures rose from the dirt, forming an immediate wall, and upon it, warriors fashioned from raw muscle and skin took their posts.

As if reacting to the organ’s tune, a citadel manifested before my eyes in seconds, defended by legions of spirits appearing one after the other.

“Very well, now that is what a lich should look like.”

The ultimate evolution of a necromancer, known as the callers of the restless.

A lich is an entire military force contained in one person. One requires an profound understanding of both the flesh and the spirit to attain such a status.

“My fortress. I am the sovereign. You will perish in this place. I have decreed it—so the only thing left is for the reality to catch up to my words.”

Masses of flesh atop the bone ramparts aimed bows at me and manifested glowing magical arrays in the air.

Beyond those fortifications stood elite undead capable of battling a knight single-handedly.

“We are powerful and persistent. We return again and again. If someone inquires with your corpse about the nature of infinity, describe my legions to them.”

Parhel, seated beyond the defensive walls, casually lifted her hand.

“Let the performance commence. Entertain your sovereign, jester.”

Parhel raised her arm, having summoned a castle protected by countless undead soldiers in a heartbeat.

This little lich actually had the nerve to call herself a queen and label me a clown?

Fine, I’ll play the part. I gave a shallow, mocking bow and responded,

“Here is my opening gag for the night. I trust you’ll find it amusing.”

The moment the words left my mouth, the Paradox Flame erupted from my body, consuming the citadel, Parhel, and the entire surrounding territory.

“What is… wait? What’s happening?”

Suddenly, Parhel showed clear signs of alarm, looking around in confusion.

“Welcome to a realm devoid of perspective.”

What the Paradox Flame had incinerated was the concept of depth. Now, within this zone, no one could tell the difference between what was near and what was far.

The distant horizon was the same as the ground beneath one’s feet, and the close-up view was indistinguishable from the far-off background.

If I had to use an artistic metaphor, it was like engaging in a duel inside the confines of a cubist painting.

“Have you ever engaged in combat in a state like this?”

“…”

Clearly, she hadn’t. She wouldn’t be spiraling into a panic otherwise. I was perfectly fine, however. That was the entire reason I had created this environment.

Losing depth perception isn’t merely the same as losing sight in one eye.

This distorted world was entirely familiar to me—but to her, it was an alien nightmare.