Do you have a problem with necromancers?

Chapter 120 The Prisoners

There's a joke about Heaven, the River Styx, and Purgatory that goes like this:

On a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, many people died in an earthquake. Their souls gathered on the edge of the River Styx, awaiting the judgment and arrangement of fate.

Messengers from Heaven, the River Styx, and Purgatory arrived simultaneously. The messenger from Heaven cried out first:
"Follow me, those who have faith in the Holy Spirit!"

So the Holy Spirit believers stepped forward first, boarded the magnificent chariot drawn by heavenly horses, and flew to the heavenly kingdom where the gods resided.

The second messenger from the Styx called out:

"If you have nowhere to go, come with me!"

So the remaining people followed the Styx messenger, lined up to board the ferry docked on the shore, and went one by one into the depths of the Styx.

At this moment, some people who had not yet left saw the Infernal Messenger standing to the side and asked curiously:
"Aren't you planning to recruit people?"

The messenger of purgatory smiled slightly, and suddenly several hell worms crawled out of the ground, biting a large group of people who couldn't dodge in time, and then dragging them into purgatory.

………………

Although people cannot enter these three non-material planes, they can still explore their characteristics through various means. The Heavenly Plane is characterized by solemnity, monotony, and purity; the Styx Plane is characterized by deathly silence, rigidity, and eternity; and the Purgatory Plane is characterized by cruelty, torture, and plunder.

These dimensional characteristics profoundly influence the beings within those dimensions. For example, demons are completely irrational and incomprehensible. They are not without intelligence, but in most cases they disdain communicating with intelligent life, preferring instead to torture and kill them and plunder their souls.

Even players who can resurrect infinitely usually don't like dealing with demons. This is not only because they have high health and attack power, but also because these guys usually come in groups, and letting one go will attract a whole bunch.

While avoiding the lurking demons around them, the group had a clear goal: the towering giant tower in the distance—standing alone on the scorched earth, it was hard not to attract attention.

“To be honest, I feel something is very wrong,” Fatin said, frowning. “That giant tower is like it has a sign that says, ‘I am a trap. If you want to get out, come and explore me.’”

“That’s normal,” Ryan commented. “The most critical places are always the most heavily guarded, and the place that needs the most tight security in a large open-air prison is obviously its exit.”

"You're saying this world is a prison?" Ellina raised an eyebrow. "How did you figure that out?"

“Well-informed,” Renn said.

This was a rather vague statement, and the heroes wisely refrained from pressing further, instead continuing to gaze at the towering giant tower in the distance.

In the Prime Material Plane, towers are often symbols of mysticism, believed to be more suitable for communicating with the astral plane, and thus were mostly the dwelling places of ancient wizards. Even in modern times, with the widespread presence of spellcaster guilds, there are still many tower wizards in the Fjords who choose to build towers in remote and uninhabited places to live in seclusion.

Of course, no one would think that this tower in purgatory was the dwelling place of a wizard; it was more likely the territory of some demon lord.

The tower was entirely constructed of obsidian, with sharp, rounded eaves that resembled a giant, thorny bramble growing towards the sky. Aurora tried to use her eagle-like eyesight, but the entire tower had no windows, making it impossible to see what was inside.

The journey to the tower is fraught with danger. Crimson lava lakes, wildly growing thorny thickets, steaming sulfur vents, and hordes of demon armies—any one of these could easily wipe out an entire bounty hunter squad.

"Which path should we take?" Fatin asked, "There seem to be relatively few demons around the lava lake."

“No, there are a lot of Flame Monsters hiding over there.” Raine shook his head.

"What is a Flame Monster?" Aurora asked seriously.

“An elemental monster born from lava, all its attacks are large-scale fire spells. Even if it can't kill you, it can blind you with light pollution,” Renn replied. “It’s troublesome to deal with.”

Aurora silently took out a small notebook and began to take shorthand notes.

“Then let’s go through the thorny thicket,” Fatin said. “Although the environment is harsh, it will be harder for the enemy to catch us.”

“It’s best not to,” Raine shook his head again. “There are a lot of thorn worms in the thorn jungle.”

"And what is a thorn worm?" Aurora asked again, her eyes filled with a strong thirst for knowledge.

“A swarm of carnivorous insects will thrust their sharp mandibles out of the soil beneath their prey,” Ryan replied. “Being stung will result in reduced mobility… that is, temporary paralysis of the legs. You should know what the consequences of a leg injury in this kind of place are.”

“Okay, then should we also rule out the sulfur steam vents, since there are some troublesome monsters there as well?” Fatin shrugged indifferently. “Any place where there are no demons roaming on the surface must have some factor behind it that makes the demons wary, so we might as well just go and break through the defenses formed by those demon armies.”

"Wait a moment," Aurora said. "What kind of monster is at the sulfur steam vent?"

“Alright, now is not the time for you to study. If you have any questions, you can ask them after you escape from here.” Ellina interrupted her sternly. “Raine, just lead the way. You don’t need to explain so much.”

“What kind of attitude is that?” Renn raised an eyebrow in displeasure. “Mind your manners.”

Ellina glanced at him, then gave a perfectly polite, fake smile and said elegantly:
"Your Excellency, the Necromancer, I sincerely suggest that you take us away from here as soon as possible, instead of wasting your precious time in this boring and troublesome place."

The heroes looked at each other in bewilderment, then heard Bersalia say in astonishment:
"Raine, did you finally give in and activate the Caged Bird Seal, forcibly twisting her soul and will?"

"That's enough, nothing of the sort." Ryan gestured for a stop. "Alright, let's get going now."

I have to admit, compared to her cold and ruthless attitude when she was first resurrected and wanted to die, Ellina is becoming more and more like a living person now—but what does that have to do with me? As long as she can help me fight the White Walkers, that's enough.

The group avoided the lava lake, the thorny jungle, and the sulfurous steam vents, and entered the crescent-shaped plain in the center, quickly attracting the attention of a large number of monsters.

The enemy swarmed in.

The first arrow fired was Aurora's, piercing the skull of the leading imp. The corpse, still flapping its wings, fell to the ground, only to be snatched up in the mouth of the charging enraged demon before it even hit the ground, its bones being chewed up and swallowed.

Given the sheer number of enemies on the other side, even if the Wood Elf hero's arrows managed to kill one enemy at a time, it would be a drop in the ocean in terms of the overall situation.

What does it mean to be a lowly single-target attack? This is it.

Unable to bear watching any longer, Ellina stepped forward, her hand already crackling with fierce arcs of lightning, shaped like a fully drawn bowstring, which she then launched with astonishing speed, faster than an arrow.

The arc of lightning struck the furious demon charging at the forefront, the current instantly coursing through his limbs and bones. His most vulnerable internal organs were burned first, followed by violent spasms and rapid dissolution of his muscles.

The demon's corpse crashed heavily to the ground, emitting a smoky, charred smell. The arc of lightning leaped again, piercing through six or seven demons in succession, finally annihilating into the distant air with a faint spark.

Compared to simple physical attacks, wide-range spells are clearly more suitable for the current environment.

Dia was eager to try it out, her body already itching to transform into a dragon and show the demons what it meant to cleanse the battlefield, but Rein grabbed her wrist.

"Fight and retreat simultaneously." He swiftly cast a spell, reminding everyone, "How much magic can you afford to waste?"

Dia then realized that Ellina couldn't recklessly squander her magic power; her daily dragon transformation time also had a limit, otherwise she would easily be devoured by the dragon's rage deep within her bloodline. These enemies before them were clearly not worth wasting their precious time and resources killing.

“But they’re blocking our way. If we don’t deal with them…” Before Dia could finish speaking, she saw the demons that had been killed by Ellina’s chain lightning strikes getting back up from the ground.

The living demons exhaled hot, wispy breath from their nostrils, and beneath their scaly skin, thick, bright red blood vessels throbbed. But these resurrected demons were completely devoid of body temperature and breath; their skin bore only the burn scars left by lightning. Like puppets, they moved stiffly as they charged into the battlefield, fiercely fighting their roaring brethren.

The other heroes showed no surprise, but Bersalia was secretly shocked.

Having dabbled in necromancy, she knew very well that resurrecting the dead was not something that could be done simply by "casting a resurrection spell on the target." It required the necromancer to have a deep understanding of the corpse's structure. Therefore, novice necromancers often went to the cemetery to dig up corpses for dissection, not to deliberately desecrate the remains, but because they simply couldn't get started without doing so.

The question is, why is Raine so familiar with the anatomy of demons?

There is clearly only one answer: he really did join a cult and personally dissected many demon corpses.

Berthalia had a bad feeling: this was a necromancer who was almost invincible in every way, and it was impossible to find his weakness from any direction unless one could hope that he would make a major mistake on his own...

But I won't give up.

A caged eagle will never give up its instinct to break free. Renn Fahre, you can forget about keeping me pinned down and humiliated forever!
She suppressed the intense unease surging within her and casually unleashed a vast expanse of Burning Clouds magic. Although ordinary fire spells are nothing more than a gentle breeze to demons, the Rose Queen's fire spells possessed terrifyingly high temperatures, still managing to force these ferocious beasts back.

Ellina launched the main attack with lightning magic, while Aurora and Fatin provided support and suppression from the sides. One fired arrows, and the other used hit-and-run tactics, working together to keep the demons out of the defensive line.

As more and more undead demons rise from the dead, the heroes gradually find that the pressure on the battlefield is rapidly easing, as these undead meat shields fighting on the front lines are taking over.

“Raine,” Berthalia suddenly asked with concern, “Maintaining so many ghouls and demons must be a huge strain on your mana, right? Do you need us to help you share some of the burden?”

Ellina raised an eyebrow, wondering when this dark elf had ever expressed such sincere goodwill. The probing seemed rather unnatural... But she said nothing, only staring at Renn's face.

"Oh, no need, it's easy." Renn cast necromancy again, resurrecting more demon corpses.

Bersalia's expression turned worried, but she began to mutter to herself. There were simply too many ghouls and demons on the battlefield; Rein alone couldn't possibly sustain them. He was most likely using the Plague of the Dead, allowing the resurrected demons to be driven solely by the plague, without needing the extra magic they required… So he was just pretending to cast a spell?
Her thoughts raced, and suddenly, upon hearing a sound, she ducked her head to avoid the blade thrown at her.

"Hey, watch out!" The one who spoke up was Fatin, who was fighting on the front lines. With a simple twist of his curved blades, he beheaded a goat-headed demon. "Don't make me have to watch out for you!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry..." Bersalia apologized in a completely unrepentant tone, turning her attention back to the battle.

The group fought their way through the crescent-shaped plain at top speed, finally shaking off their relentless pursuers when they reached the bottom of the Infernal Tower.

“They haven’t given up the hunt,” Ellina said in a deep voice, “but are afraid of this tower and dare not approach it.”

“Obviously.” Bersalia looked into the distance. The demons lay on the ground resting, pretending to be exhausted and panting, but in reality, it was mostly to lull everyone into a false sense of security. Once anyone stepped out of the tower's perimeter, these monsters would probably launch an attack immediately. “But we have no way out either.”

"No matter what dangers lie ahead, we have to go in and see for ourselves."

"I don't think we need to worry," Dia said hesitantly. "Everyone here is very capable, and we also have Renn, right?"

The heroes were silent for a moment, finding themselves speechless. Despite being the evil necromancer who had dragged them out of the River Styx and bound and enslaved them, his past displays of extraordinary and bizarre powers somehow instilled a subtle sense of security in them—a fact they truly didn't want to admit.

"Let's go." Ellina interrupted the awkward feeling of the others and stepped into the gloomy tower gate first.

The whole world was filled with the strong smell of sulfur. This corrosive gas could gradually damage people's respiratory tract, but everyone was not afraid because they had taken antidotes beforehand.

Now, once inside the tower, the pungent smell that lingered in the air has completely disappeared, replaced by a strange, faint fragrance.

“This…it seems to be…” Bersalia said hesitantly.

“The smell of puppet lubricant,” Ellina replied.

The two looked at each other for a moment, both realizing what the other was guessing, but they tacitly kept silent.

Renn looked at the two elves suspiciously. Puppet lubricant? If he remembered correctly, it was a liquid alchemical material used to inject into the joints of puppets during their creation.

The owner of this giant tower is not a demon lord, but a rune mage who has studied the field of puppetry.

The group went up the stairs to the second floor, where they saw two tall iron puppets standing at the entrance, their heads bowed and motionless.

“Looks like the energy is depleted,” Fatin said. “But be careful, it might be a trap… Let me give it a try.”

She approached the puppets silently, then suddenly swung a tentative slash. The two puppets remained unresponsive, letting the blade strike their metal shells. Flames that suddenly rose from nowhere burned the internal components, making them crackle and pop.

“Dead.” Fatin breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, “Even if he could still move, he’s as dead as can be now… What’s with those expressions?”

Ellina and Bersalia both looked unusually serious, while Aurora and Dia looked completely bewildered, just like Fatin, who was kept in the dark.

"An old acquaintance?" Renn asked casually.

“They look somewhat alike,” Ellina said, frowning. “These two puppets…”

“She’s a bit like an old friend of ours,” Berthalia picked up the conversation, then hesitated, “but I remember she died of old age?”

"Who are you talking about?" Aurora asked, puzzled.

“Charlotte Hergenfein,” Ellina replied, “the younger of the twin mages in our time.”

In the heroic age a thousand years ago, the Fiordland was a major disaster area ravaged by the cult of corpses. Many mages were obsessed with studying the corpses of the White Walkers, desiring to wield the power of the Old Gods, and eventually became fanatical cultists of corpses, causing great harm to the neighboring North and Stormlands as well.

Until the Twin Mages rose to prominence and wiped out all the Corpse Worshippers in the entire Fjord.

Ciel Hegenfein and Charlotte Hegenfein were twin sorcerers, both exceptionally gifted. Since the concept of the "five schools of magic" didn't exist at the time, Ciel focused on soul magic, while Charlotte specialized in physical magic. They later joined the Continental Army, representing the sorcerers of the Fjords, and ultimately became renowned heroes in history for their fight against the White Walkers.

Raine did consider resurrecting the brother and sister, but they both died of old age and were buried in the White Stone Cemetery at the bottom of the Seven Towers of the High Tower Wizarding Association. He didn't want to risk being wanted by the entire Fjordland to rob a grave.

“I also remember that they both died of natural causes,” Ryan asked slowly. “Could you be mistaken?”

Although he used a questioning tone, his expression clearly said, "You'd better not get it wrong."

“You remember this iron golem, don’t you, Eileen?” Bersalia didn’t answer, but asked in return.

“Absolutely no aesthetic appeal whatsoever,” Ellina murmured. “It’s hard to imagine anyone other than her designing something so ugly.”

Everyone looked at the iron golem again. Its enormous head, round body, and dark color scheme gave it a strange and incongruous feel.

“But that doesn’t mean that Charlotte Hegenfin is the owner of this giant tower,” Raine said slowly. “After all, no one says that the puppets she designed can’t appear in other places for various reasons in the last thousand years.”

“Charlotte cherishes her tattered puppet very much,” Ellina said, shaking her head. “She would never lend it to anyone.”

“But she’s dead,” Raine said. “Her puppets, as her legacy, can be inherited by anyone.”

“She will definitely set up many safeguards to prevent the puppet from being taken away,” Ellina continued to deny.

“I say,” Dia, who had been silent until now, suddenly said, “why don’t we just go up and take a look?”

Everyone fell silent immediately.

"Then, shall we go up and take a look?" Bersalia asked tentatively.

"Send Ellina up to scout ahead," Renn commanded without hesitation. "I want to see her twisted expression of reluctance followed by forced admission of her mistake!"

"Ridiculous." Ellina didn't even bother to retort. She simply picked up her spear with her right hand, prepared to cast a spell with her left, and calmly went upstairs.

From the bottom to the top, there were many puppets along the way, including some high-level ones that could wreak havoc in battle. But at this moment, they all had their heads down and were motionless, clearly indicating that their energy had been completely exhausted.

Ellina, who was in charge of scouting ahead, did not underestimate the enemy. She cautiously looked around, guarding against any dangers that might be lurking in the shadows.

Arriving at the top floor without any incident, Ellina silently stepped onto the stairs, her lightning spells already poised to be unleashed.

Crossing the last step, she discovered that the top floor was actually a prison cell. Numerous candles flickered around her, and the center of the floor was covered with layers of binding magic circles and densely packed sealing runes. A semi-transparent soul, trapped in the center of the ritual, emitted a pitiful and weak voice:

"Who...who's here?"

Elrina turned around expressionlessly, took a few steps down the stairs, and said to Bersalia at the top of the stairs:

"Besalia, come up here for a moment."

"What's wrong?" Bersalia went upstairs and was taken aback when she saw the soul trapped in the magic circle.

"Eileen! Bertha!" The soul cried out desperately, as if it had been given a second chance at life, "Help me!"

"Who is this?" Renn and the others also arrived at the top floor.

“Charlotte Hergenfein,” Ellina said slowly.

“...the soul,” Berthalia added.

"A soul that has lived for nearly a thousand years?" Renn said with great interest. "It wasn't transformed into an undead creature, nor was it summoned by the River Styx? Interesting. I need to study this soul-binding array. None of you should disturb me."

"Wait, get me out of here first!" the soul cried out in panic. "I'll tell you anything you want to know once I'm out!"

"Who imprisoned you here?" Ellina asked in a deep voice.

“Yes…” Charlotte seemed to hesitate for a moment, “my brother, Charles Hergenfein.”

“Not surprising,” Berthalia commented. “The classic tragedy that the goddess of fate loves to see: brothers and sisters who are as close as family eventually turn against each other.”

"Why did he imprison you?" Ellina asked again.

“Because…” Charlotte hesitated for a moment, then said, “he wanted to take away the knowledge I possessed.”

(End of this chapter)