Chapter 3: When it was strange, there was a farming thing (3)

While there are undead with physical bodies, like zombies or ghouls.

There are also undead who have shed their bodies and exist in an ethereal state.

****

Small ghosts, commonly called Ghosts, swarmed in.

Then, they circled around the wooden coffin amongst themselves.

Surely, these minor spirits aren’t trying to possess this child’s body, are they?

“Shoo, shoo. Evil spirits, begone.”

I swung the shovel through the air.

As expected, it was futile.

Physical attacks have no effect on ethereal beings.

I came in a hurry, so I don’t have any talismans or catchers for spirits.

Looking closer, my worries were unfounded.

Ghosts are characterized by their expressive facial features.

There was no malice in their expressions.

Instead, the ghost legion held hands and danced merrily.

“Sorry to interrupt your festival, but I’m going to GET that child, okay?”

The ghost legion stopped dancing.

Beep-? They all stared at me blankly.

I still don’t know the girl’s identity.

What was her cause of death?

Why was she buried alone in such a harsh place?

What did the epitaph mean?

Why are her cheeks so soft… no, why is she in such good condition?

Actually, I don’t need to know now.

Because I can just ask her directly.

Was there a saying that the dead tell no tales?

That saying doesn’t apply to a necromancer.

I gathered the magical energy in my body with my breath.

The circuit within my heart began to activate with a whirring sound, like a spinning wheel.

As soon as a crimson glow lit up in my eyes.

Red threads began to intertwine at my fingertips.

The necromancer’s partner.

The method for creating a cadaver doll, a corpse puppet, is as follows.

Embalm the corpse to prevent decay.

Process it if desired.

The necromancer draws forth their lifeline, a red thread, and connects it to the cadaver’s heart.

Through the magical energy flowing in the caster’s thread, the cadaver’s soul is summoned from the underworld.

This is called pairing.

As long as the red thread connects them, the two are one.

If the necromancer dies, the doll immediately ceases to function.

If the doll and thread are forcibly severed, the necromancer also suffers damage to their mind and body.

That is a Soul Partner.

It’s the relationship between a necromancer and a cadaver doll!

A fresh corpse that doesn’t need separate embalming.

Let’s pair with it as is.

I quickly extended the thread to prevent the ghost legion from interfering.

The tangled and twisted red thread moved like a snake.

The thread, sweeping over the cold corpse, stopped at the chest.

Thankfully (!), far from being swollen, her chest was as flat as a horizon.

There’s no way anyone would be agitated by such a flat field.

No matter how much I looked, I felt no guilt at all.

Oh, absolutely not.

The red thread, being a type of ethereal state, passed straight through her chest.

If it connects to the corpse’s heart like this, it’s a clear success.

However, I felt nothing…

The cadavers provided by Revenant Academy, though not reanimated, still circulated magical energy.

This time, it seems the magical energy itself is severed.

I lowered my head.

It was a complete failure.

What’s the point of finding an SSR-grade corpse by chance?

In the end, I guess I can’t become a necromancer.

That’s right, Isaac.

After all, a Holy Knight who spearheaded the subjugation of necromancers.

It was beyond the place of someone from the Pedrolino family.

Grudges are said to flow through bloodlines.

I had too arrogant a dream, not knowing anything.

But.

Still.

“It’s frustrating. I worked so desperately hard…”

I held back the tears that threatened to fall.

Unaware of my feelings, the ghosts giggled amongst themselves.

“Who are you making fun of?”

I snapped without realizing it.

The small ghosts waved their hands, indicating it was a misunderstanding.

Then they gathered around me in small groups.

~(ꐑ ˘ ³˘)ꐑ♥ꐑ(˘ ε˘ꐑ)~

Two ghosts took the lead and made kissing gestures.

The rest of them let out cheers that were closer to whistles.

Are they rubbing it in, or what?

I was so dumbfounded that my tears immediately receded.

“What are you guys doing?”

The kissing ghosts formed an arrow with their tails.

My gaze followed the arrow.

At the end of the arrow was the girl in the coffin.

I barely managed to open my trembling lips.

“Surely you’re not telling me some fairy-tale-like story that this girl will wake up if I kiss her, right? Right?”

<~(ꐑꐌᴗ-)☞✧

Exacta!

The ghost winked, indicating it was the correct answer.

No, that’s impossible.

It’s not Sleeping Beauty, and they’re telling me to kiss a corpse.

This is the first necromancy I’ve ever heard of in my sixteen years.

The ghosts sent me sparkling eyes, as if in anticipation.

Judging by their reaction, it probably isn’t a lie.

‘No. No. This is a no-go.’

I am not a necrophiliac.

One of the reasons necromancers were oppressed.

The horrible Holy Fire Cult priests spread rumors that necromancers enjoyed necrophilia.

It was all just prejudice.

Necromantic ethics deny the love between a necromancer and a corpse.

It’s Agape, not Eros.

It’s closer to communion as companions.

Rather, it was revealed to all that the priests themselves enjoyed ‘comrade-love’.

More than anything, you know without me saying it, right?

I’ll end up being *matured*.

I’d have to give up being human.

I looked down at the girl again.

Skin as white as a snowfield.

Her eyes, nose, and mouth were small and delicate.

She’s very cute and pretty even now.

However, if she had grown up, she would have been a great beauty.

Death also signifies the end of growth. It’s bitter.

What should I do now?

As I was caught between a rock and a hard place.

An uninvited guest arrived.

[Grrrrrrr-!]

It was a group of mutated zombies, led by Zombie-ssi.

I thought I had shaken them off, but they finally found me.

I was too consumed by my dilemma to play with Zombie-ssi and his friends.

“Zombie-ssi. You like me too much. Please go back.”

I issued an order for them to leave.

[Deaaaaath──!]

Zombie-ssi wailed like a human who was genuinely wronged.

He looked as if he was about to stomp his feet.

I found Zombie-ssi’s constant obsession with me annoying.

With a desire for him to regret and be devastated, I pointed at the coffin.

“Sorry, but I’ve found a new partner. I’m not going back to your side.”

Finally, the Zombie-ssi group witnessed the girl’s corpse.

Contrary to my expectation that they would realize the reality, the walking dead’s attitude changed drastically.

They became incredibly excited, like hounds that had found their prey.

The enraged zombies rushed towards the coffin, competing with each other.

(ꐑ@益@ꐑ)～

The ghosts were faster.

They all flew in, utterly enraged.

[Kieek-?] [Kweeeeeek─!]

One by one, they latched onto the zombies.

The mutated zombies’ speed and condition noticeably worsened.

Debuff. It’s the power of spirits with the ability to curse.

Thwack-

In the meantime, I struck the zombies’ heads with the shovel.

Even the regeneration, activated by the purifying flames, slowed down.

Zombie-ssi, who was the leader, hesitated, then seemed to make a decision and stretched his entire body out flat.

Then he let out a thunderous scream.

[Hamuramoooo──Mepashooo─Pozeee!!!]

Zombie-ssi’s body caught fire.

The intense flames completely incinerated Zombie-ssi’s body.

Soon, the flames flickered in the shape of a human shadow.

In turn, the other zombies also burst into flames one after another.

The fiery figures merged with each other.

Soon, a giant of flame revealed its ferocious form.

In modern times, when elemental magic has declined, such beings are rarely seen outside of books. It must be an Ifrit, the Great Spirit of the Fire Element.

‘So its shell was a zombie, but its true identity was an Ifrit?’

Who released such a monster on Epitaph Hill?

The Ifrit proudly threw a fiery punch.

Its target was clear.

The coffin. More precisely, the child inside it.

The fire elemental clearly intended to burn the coffin.

Inside it was oil woven from roses.

If it caught fire, it would be completely incinerated.

Like I’d let that happen!

I quickly threw down the shovel.

I lifted the girl’s corpse with both hands.

At a nail-biting moment, I dodged the Ifrit’s scorching punch.

[Give it to meee. Nuooooooong─!]

The Ifrit, whose attack missed, was enraged.

It spewed merciless flames from its mouth. A hot wind rose, deafening me.

The bases of large trees burned and fell one after another like dominoes.

“Ugh.”

My head was hit by a large tree fragment.

Blood streamed down my forehead.

Before I could wipe the blood, fiery punches slammed into the ground with loud thuds.

It was impossible to face the Great Spirit, which was trying to kill me, bare-handed.

Even the ghost legion got scared and scattered in all directions.

Should I throw the girl’s corpse to the flames and escape?

My chances of survival would increase while its attention was diverted.

But abandoning one’s cadaver doll is a disqualification for a necromancer.

Should I give up being human and get shackled, or give up my dream of being a necromancer?

An extreme choice between two options.

The needle of my heart’s compass already pointed to one.

“─I’d rather give up being human.”

I tightly shut my eyes.

Lips lightly met lips.

But it wasn’t like a kiss.

My soul was being sucked in. My consciousness grew hazy.

It was closer to a one-sided act of predation.

An instant that felt like an eternity passed─.

The girl in my arms finally opened her eyes.

Her eyes were the color of water, bluer and more transparent than seawater.

They had a mysterious charm.

“……It’s the sky.”

It was a soft voice.

The girl’s first words were unexpected.

“The sky?”

“Seeing the sky is the first time in my life. I thought it would be all black. This is no different from being in a coffin.”

“No. You’re dead.”

Even in the urgent situation, I retorted inadvertently.

Real Young and Lich.

It was my first conversation with Flan.