This necromancer is going to seduce the beautiful girls who are already dead.

Boom!

Leona finally lost her temper and punched Abyss so hard that she drove his head into the ground.

……

Abyss wiped the dust off his hair, stood up again, took off his cloak, tossed it to Leona who was sitting beside him, covering her tattered clothes and feeling ashamed, and stretched his neck a couple of times.

He clearly felt his physical abilities had increased several times over. It seemed that Leona's loyalty had increased significantly while he was unconscious. Although he didn't know the specific reason, Abyss wasn't in a hurry to find out the answer—as long as the relationship between the two of them was closer, it was a good thing.

“Abyss, we were all very worried when you were lying on the ground.” Flora, who had been waiting by the side, walked over with two happy blushes on her face. “Thanks to the clue you left behind, I knew I had to use the Enlightenment spell to wake you up.”

“It seems my worries were unnecessary. If it were an ordinary person, they probably wouldn’t have been able to see the clue I left behind.” Abyss also stroked Flora’s soft golden hair with satisfaction. “Luckily you are Flora. As expected of my familiar, you can even see through such a difficult hint as biting your tongue.”

After ruffling Flora's hair, Abyss bent down to ruff Leona's silver hair, but the latter slapped his hand away.

"Ugh, so annoying! Don't you dare touch my head! You pervert!"

"Abyss, how did you do that? That tentacle was really strong. I felt terrible after being sucked by it for only a short while. How did you manage to hold on?" Flora asked curiously.

“Actually, I wasn’t sure either. To a large extent, I took a gamble, but I won.” Abyss smiled slightly. “From the beginning, I realized that this Lord of the Fallen was not a brave or resourceful person. So after I learned that He intended to drain my life force, I used magic to seal my thinking ability.”

Flora's eyes widened, and Leona, who was still looking aggrieved, also turned her head.

For a mage, especially a necromancer who needs to constantly maintain their magic, using magic to seal their own thoughts is tantamount to suicide. Ninety-nine percent of mages wouldn't be so foolish as to learn such self-destructive magic—because it brings absolutely no benefit whatsoever.

"Then how do you maintain the magic on us? If you stop thinking, we'll just turn to ashes, right?" Flora was puzzled. She didn't know much about magic, but she understood this basic principle.

“Remember Travik?” Abyss chuckled. “The mage ghost who chanted spells in Leona’s grave?”

"Him?" Leona asked curiously. "His mission is complete. Shouldn't he have returned long ago?"

"Just in case, I had him continue playing cards in your tomb. He's a huge card addict, so he couldn't be happier," Abyss said. "And sure enough, it worked today, didn't it? I used a magical bond to tell him about it, and then completely handed over control of my magic to him. From the moment I lost consciousness, the one maintaining your and Flora's activities was no longer me, but him. He's not particularly strong, but he's very knowledgeable. Given enough magic, his strength won't be much weaker than mine."

"You gave him all your magic? You're incredibly audacious!" Leona looked at Abyss as if he were an idiot.

Indeed, the Abyss's behavior is on par with the previous act of locking oneself in one's mind: lighting a lamp in the toilet—suicidal. If a seasoned necromancer were to pass by, they would surely laugh at the Abyss for being so reckless as to entrust all of his magic to an undead. If that undead were to harbor even the slightest wicked thought, the Abyss would be turned against him, and his physical body would forever belong to another.

In fact, Dalan, who was hanging in mid-air by Flora, thought the same thing.

A madman! This seemingly gentle boy is a complete madman! More insane than any follower of the Lord of Depravity!

No necromancer with a sound mind would do such a thing! Sealing one's own mind and surrendering one's magic is already a considerable degree of madness, but his ultimate goal in doing so was to enslave the gods! How foolish, how arrogant!

Losing to a madman even more insane than himself, Dalan didn't even know for a moment whether he should feel ashamed or disgraced.

“If you doubt someone, don’t use them; if you use someone, don’t doubt them. Look, my magic has been fully restored, and Travik, having completed his mission, will soon return to my side.” Abyss opened his arms, looking gently at the two girls beside him. “Just as I trust you, entrusting my life and death to you, I will completely trust each and every one of my followers. My ideal is to challenge the gods, and if I can’t even gain the loyalty of my followers before that, wouldn’t I be as ridiculous as the stomach of a tree-man?”

"Don't try that... don't try to win people's hearts..." Leona turned her blushing face away again.

“And thank you, Leona. You took a great risk for me, and I will never forget it.” Abyss suddenly became serious. He squatted down next to Leona and put a hand on her shoulder. “You must have known very well before you put on the mask that you were very likely to be enslaved by the Lord of the Fallen, usurped, and have your soul devoured—but you still did it. Thank you.”

"It's not because I'm worried about you... it's just because if you die, I'll turn to ashes, that's all..." Leona hugged her knees, burying her face in her arms to prevent Abyss from seeing her flushed face.

"And Flora, you've been busy preparing these past few days for this battle. You've worked hard." Abyss looked up at Flora and smiled. "Without your ability and wisdom, we might not have been able to defeat Dalan. After we finish dealing with our current matters, I'd like to hear you tell me about your battle with Dalan."

"This is what I should do..." Flora waved her hands frantically.

"By the way, how did you know I was wearing a mask? I haven't told you yet, have I?" Leona suddenly tilted her head from under her arm, revealing one eye as she looked at Abyss. "Weren't you unconscious?"

"Of course I lost consciousness, but when I woke up, I found that one of my familiars had somehow captured a monster that was peeking into this place from another world."

Abyss glanced up at Dalan in the sky and gave a sarcastic smile.

"It seems I now have more opportunities to study this behemoth."

Chapter Sixty-Four: Lord of the Fall: Repperos

The more passionate and reckless a person is in pursuit of their ideals, the more devastating the blow will be when those ideals are shattered. Some will descend into madness, seeking revenge on the world or trying to make amends, while others will fall into endless despair.

Dalan was the latter. After a series of failures, and even his attempt to sacrifice himself failed, Dalan stared blankly at the Abyss opposite him, his blood-stained face bearing a stiff smile. Even when Flora lifted the silencing spell, he remained silent.

He had given everything for it, believing it would become the master of his and the world's future. Without hesitation, without even a word, he completely abandoned it, instead entrusting his only means of entering this world—the face of hell—to a girl who had never promised to serve him. And in the end, he failed and was suppressed by the girl.

The image of the all-powerful Lord in his heart, who treated all things as straw dogs and everything in the world equally, collapsed in an instant, and all his efforts were in vain.

No matter how Abyss spoke to him, he didn't want to open his mouth again.

He knew that the Abyss was a necromancer who could kill him and then torture his soul; such resistance was futile. But by this point, he was already disheartened and simply didn't want to talk.

"Why doesn't this old guy say anything?" Leona said, sitting on the ground nearby, but quickly turned her face away when Abyss looked at her.

“Heh…kill me…” Dalan finally said. He laughed uncontrollably, but there was no real joy in his voice.

“I can let you commit suicide, as long as you don’t hurt anyone else.” Abyss sighed, looking up at Dalan, who was hanging in the sky by Flora. “Before that, I hope you can tell me why the Council of the Dead sent the Lord of the Fallen. Anyone with eyes can see that this monster’s behavior is that He has no intention of saving the world, nor does He have the brains to give you any future. He is just feeding.”

Dalan looked up at him.

Just now, the Abyss was asking about information about the Lord of the Fallen, but now it's starting to care about why he became a follower of the Lord of the Fallen.

"Heh... You're a necromancer too, so you must know about the persecution we necromancers suffer on the continent, right?" Dalan's tone was completely flat, as if he had lost all emotion.

Abyss nodded. He himself was a necromancer, and a pure necromancer who had lived with his master since birth. Of course, he knew what kind of reputation necromancers had on the continent and what people's attitudes were towards them.

"We are a school of mages, and our spells are much more difficult to learn than those of other schools, yet we don't receive the same treatment as mages from other schools. We are labeled as dark mages, and once discovered, we are immediately... hehe, reported. The weak are targeted by mercenary guilds, their heads chopped off by crude and foolish mercenaries in exchange for government bounties. The stronger ones are suppressed by paladins and divine mages from the Holy See, stripped of their spellcasting abilities, and burned alive in front of everyone."

Dalan stared blankly into the distance as he calmly recounted the fate of the necromancers. This was not an isolated incident, but the inevitable destiny of every necromancer discovered.

"The original purpose of the Council of the Dead was to unite all the necromancers on the continent so that they would not be isolated and helpless when a crisis came, and at least have a way to escape the pursuit of the world."

“But the Holy See is truly powerful. They not only have manpower and resources, but also… hehe, unparalleled influence. If any of our people accidentally reveal their identities or whereabouts, they can easily be captured and burned at the stake. Sometimes they can even find our meeting places and arrest many people at once.” Dalan glanced at the Abyss. “A necromancer as powerful as you must have never experienced that feeling, right? You are utterly powerless against the Holy See. Even the weakest novice divine mage can turn your undead to ashes with a single divine spell.”

Abyss did not answer, but continued to listen to him.

"The Council of the Dead was once in a difficult situation. At this time, one of the members of the Council of the Dead accidentally found a mask in the wild. It was a mask that was growing inside a stone. No one knew who put it in there or when. It was very mysterious. He brought it back to the members of the Council and began to study it."

"The results of the study came out in just one night. The apprentice of the man who found the mask went mad immediately after curiously putting it on. He shouted words of sacrifice for the Lord of the Fallen and stabbed his own heart with a dagger."

"His master tried to resurrect his disciple, but found that the disciple's soul had vanished."

"At the time, the chief mage of the Council of the Dead, Haines, believed that this mask must possess special power, so after making thorough preparations, he also put on the mask. Even with his powerful mental strength, he immediately entered a hallucination after putting on the mask. In that hallucination, he saw a thundercloud with incessant lightning and thunder, from which thousands of tentacles extended outward. The thundercloud called his name, asking him to convert to it, and told him that its name was Lippelos, and that it came from a world that had been destroyed by war, a world where it was once known as the Lord of the Fall."

"Haines eventually obtained power from the Lord of the Fallen. The Lord of the Fallen infused him with a sliver of power as a reward for the soul of the apprentice who had sacrificed himself—that's right, after the apprentice committed suicide, his soul became food for the Lord of the Fallen. The Lord of the Fallen feeds on this, and as long as a soul is sacrificed to him, he will immediately return power, very fair...hehe...without exception."

"Then, we acquired the means to protect ourselves. Until nearly fifty years ago, someone discovered that the three gems embedded in the artifact known as the Hellface could be removed, and each gem possessed its own power. The mask without the gems granted the wearer immunity to all harm. At this time, the Lord of the Fallen made a request to the Council of the Dead: Let us use these items to transform a sufficiently powerful person into a vessel for His descent. When He comes to this world from another world through the descent ritual, He will regain all His power. As His servants, we will gain endless power and together with Him, slaughter all the native gods and take their place."

Abyss tilted his head: "You actually believe such an obvious lie?"

“Do you think He is lying?” Dalan looked into the eyes of the Abyss, without revealing the slightest hint of deception. “He is not lying. The world He came from was the second world He had ever lived in. In that world, his servants gained power and began endless revenge. After the revenge was successful, there was a long period of infighting. The war raged for thousands of years until the last life in the world was destroyed in extreme heat.”

Chapter Sixty-Five: Nine Gods from Another World

Abyss raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“But we, the Council of the Dead, are different. We just want to survive. We just want more power to protect us. We discovered that we can use divine magic in the language given to us by the Lord of the Fallen, and we can contend with the Holy See. A small blessing from the Lord of the Fallen can allow a weak necromancer to survive the mercenaries' slaughter... Hehe, can you understand that feeling of hope?”

Dalan stared intently into Abyss's eyes and asked.

Abyss was not swayed by Dalan's words in the slightest. Instead, he shook his head and sighed, "But when you take other people's lives and organize cults to sacrifice innocent people just to increase your own power, have you ever considered the victims?"

Dalan was speechless for a moment before finally speaking.

"Hahaha...because people have sinned against us, this is just them atoning for what they have done..."

“I will stop you.” Abyss closed his eyes. “While I do not advocate repaying evil with good, and I firmly believe that evil should be punished, are your actions truly punishing evil? Innocent necromancers are killed by the world, and other angry necromancers take revenge on innocent bystanders. Then the relatives and friends of these innocent bystanders begin their revenge, and then the necromancers take revenge in return…”

Flora chimed in, "If this continues, it will never end, until one side is completely annihilated, or both sides turn to dust. Just like the world you mentioned, the world where the Lord of the Fall came from."

"You're just making excuses for your desires." Leona glanced coldly in Dalan's direction. "If a group of people keep hypnotizing themselves with excuses, they'll eventually believe them and even take them as truth. What nice words they're spouting. Maybe that's what the people who initially sought power from that giant jellyfish thought, but you, hmph, are nothing but a bunch of selfish, self-righteous fools."

Abyss nodded slightly. Although Leona rarely came into contact with society, she was in an aristocratic circle that was good at using pretty words to numb herself, so she felt this kind of thing more deeply.

Dalan sighed softly, "What you said...maybe it's true...I don't even know if what I've been pursuing since I was an apprentice has changed, or if I've strayed from the right path...hehe...I really have to thank you for waking me up..."

"Does the Council of the Dead have other plans? You can't be their last trump card, can you?" Abyss asked.

"Hehe, of course there's more... The Council of the Dead first discovered the Lord of the Fallen over a hundred years ago. Since then, the Council has been collecting information on other otherworldly deities. The Council of the Dead has now made connections with many forces. You may not know this, but including the Lord of the Fallen, there are nine otherworldly deities on the continent. None of them have descended yet, but every force is craving their power... They are all similar, having come here from a destroyed world. Some are cunning and treacherous, while others are ignorant and foolish. However, their goal is the same: to survive in this new world. To this end, they will try everything possible."

"The nine gods... Do you know the specifics?" Abyss's expression remained unchanged, but Flora, standing beside him, noticed a hint of excitement in his eyes.

“I am a bishop serving the Lord of the Fallen, and I must be loyal to one Lord. I am not allowed to know too much about other gods. But I… hehe… I can tell you that all otherworldly gods connect with this world through ‘artifacts.’ These artifacts are imbued with their power. They gradually increase their influence in this world by guiding mortals to their faith, collecting different forms of sustenance as a source of power. When their power is sufficient, they can break through the barriers of the world…” Dalan’s speech gradually slowed down. “The Lord of the Fallen’s sustenance is the souls sacrificed to Him. He should have waited patiently for us to find more souls, but He was eager to descend and tried to come to this world through parasitism. In the end, by some twist of fate, He encountered you, the variable.”

“That guy’s brain isn’t working very well. He’s powerful, but he’s just the embodiment of chaos. Even his own thoughts are chaotic.” Leona nodded in agreement.

“There’s bound to be conflict between Him and me, so it’s hardly a coincidence.” Abyss laughed, spreading his arms wide. “The creator god of this world will eventually step down, and I will take his place. To be honest, I don’t welcome any gods from other worlds coming here to freeload.”

“Hehehe...you’re even crazier than us.” Dalan gave an ugly smile. “Also, if you’re going to settle scores with the Council of the Dead, I hope you can spare the innocent people. There are many necromancers in the council who just really want an organization they can rely on.”

“I don’t kill people.” Abis shook his head. “Their future fate is determined by the past they create themselves.”

"Like me? Now can you let me commit suicide?"

"If you don't want to live anymore, then go. Of course, if you want to run, I'll make those people you killed get up and talk to you. If you can convince them, you can regain your freedom."

“I can’t repay them, and I can’t persuade them.” Dalan laughed maniacally. “Hehehe, I’m a ninth-tier necromancer. Humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, wyverns… I’ve personally killed hundreds, if not thousands, of intelligent races.”

Abis turned his head away in disgust and said to Flora, "Flora, put him down and let him end his own life."

When Dalan detonated his own heart with magic, he didn't hesitate for a moment. He didn't regret killing so many intelligent beings when he died; he only regretted following the wrong god. In his eyes, necromancers toying with the lives of the living seemed perfectly justified. No longer regarding the Fallen Lord as his master, his soul didn't become sustenance for the Fallen Lord, but naturally dissipated, gradually weakening due to his weakened spirit, until it vanished completely. The Abyss could see some souls rushing towards him; perhaps those he had killed were in the realm of the dead, seeking revenge in the ways of the dead. The Abyss didn't cast any magic to see, because it was no longer necessary.

"You just let him die like that?" Leona frowned at Abyss. "You haven't even asked him where the Council of the Dead's lair is."

“No need to ask, I already know.” Abyss shook his head.

"Where?" Leona asked, puzzled.

“Shadowfall.” Abyss pointed to Dalan’s body, half of which had been blasted to pieces by magic. “I can smell the soil beneath his feet. It’s a pungent smell of sulfur mixed with bitter almonds. Only the soil of Shadowfall has this smell.”

"The Fallen Shadowlands?!" Leona was startled when she heard Abyss mention the name. "Is the Council of the Dead out of their minds? Why would they build their headquarters in a place like that?"

Chapter Sixty-Six: The Grave Digging Continues