Fragments of the Immortal King (3).
I finished my revenge and began cleaning up.
First, I gathered the undead under my control to assess the damage.
The undead who had fought alongside Malcom seemed to have almost been wiped out, and the skirmishes with the resistance of the dark wizards in the village had resulted in considerable losses.
[There seemed to be around five hundred, but only this many remained?]
The number of the once plentiful undead was barely over thirty.
The damage inflicted while dealing with just over forty of them was enormous.
If there were only zombies or skeletons, it would have been one thing, but even some higher-ranking undead were present.
If Malcom hadn't used the dark wizards as sacrificial pawns, the undead that went towards the village would have been completely annihilated.
'Well, in that case, I could have dealt with Malcom faster and gone to help.'
Roughly assessing the damage, I checked Malcom's body.
If the forces diminished, they could be replenished easily.
If the destruction wasn't so complete as to be irrecoverable, some of the numbers could be retrieved.
Above all, using the bodies of the enemies who died in battle to increase the troops was the charm of a necromancer, wasn't it?
'Hmm... I wonder if it'll work out.'
I removed my gaze from Malcom and looked around, discovering something I had been searching for.
The kind dark wizard who first taught me.
Although he had been pushed around by the aftermath of the battle and was in a ragged state, he was still maintaining his form.
'This guy's soul has also been pulled out. Still, with this condition, I might be able to make use of him.'
Providing personal tutoring and even practical opportunities.
I attempted to create an undead with a sense of gratitude.
Utilizing the knowledge of "Dark Magic" I had acquired so far, my experience in examining the undead, and the information I had obtained about the undead when resonating with the "Fragment of the Immortal King," I manipulated dark magic.
'Connecting the corpse with dark magic, synchronizing it, contaminating the remaining magic in the body, distorting the physical information... and gathering the fragments of the soul... is this how it's done?'
Soon, black flames enveloped the corpse, incinerating everything except the bones.
It seemed to work well at first.
Crack!
Crash!
The remaining bones began to crack and crumble.
[Um... sorry?]
I lightly apologized.
Still, thanks to that, I was able to grasp the technique.
I immediately ordered the undead to bring Jeraf's corpse from the warehouse and attempted to create an undead once again.
Perhaps it was due to the 'Jeraf Chance' that always provided assistance, but fortunately, I succeeded this time.
The Skeleton Mage had been completed.
While I gained confidence in my success, using Malcom's corpse already seemed a bit dubious.
It seemed like I needed to try a few more times to be sure.
'Well, since the materials are plentiful, I can practice enough and try it in the end.'
I instructed the fellow next to me to lift Malcom's body and got up from my place to take a look around the village.
Staggering— My body tilted momentarily.
It was uncomfortable to balance without one arm.
'First, I need to solve this problem.'
I had the undead find my right arm that had flown off during the battle.
I searched thoroughly and quickly found it, but the condition wasn't great.
'The upper arm is completely gone. I can't use this.'
I couldn't attach the elbow to the shoulder.
If I had extracted the essence and stored it as a truly immortal lich, I might have gathered the bones and regenerated it, but it was beyond my ability.
While pondering, I noticed the remains of the Death Knight, which had flown and shattered just before the fight with Malcom.
It seemed completely destroyed and irreparable.
Looking around, I found that the right arm parts were intact and of a similar build to mine.
'I can use this instead!'
I picked up the Death Knight's right arm and attached it to my shoulder.
Then, using dark magic, I connected and synchronized it with the fragments, and black flames rose, burning all the flesh attached to the mirror-like arm, leaving only the bones.
Soon, the "Rapid Recovery" was activated, and my body was connected to the Death Knight's arm.
[Um... it feels a little awkward?]
I rotated the newly attached arm swiftly and, using the bone manipulation dark magic, meticulously adjusted the size to balance it.
[It's fine now! It's quite impressive!]
The color of the arm bones was slightly different, but I was very satisfied.
Perhaps because of the good quality bones, there was hardly any difference in using dark magic from before.
[Shall we go collect the spoils now?]
There was no one else in this village, and there were countless things left to collect.
I smiled contentedly as I looked at the village.
***
Unfortunately, most of the undead defeated by Malcom were beyond recovery.
I revived as many as I could and surveyed the ruined village.
Undead were scattered and strewn everywhere, and there were also corpses that seemed to be minions.
They seemed to be the ones who couldn't join the group and fell during the undead attack.
I approached closely and recovered those that could be restored, making new undead from the corpses of the minions.
[Is this one a Skeleton Warrior?]
With the newly joined undead, I continued to collect usable items from nearby buildings while moving.
There weren't as many newly discovered corpses as I had thought.
And it was only when I arrived at the center of the village that I understood why.
'They all gathered here.'
A massive battle had taken place between both sides here.
The remains of hundreds of undead scattered around and the group of dark wizards who seemed to have been annihilated in one place.
While I had not been able to grasp the situation in detail after the fight with Malcom, it seemed that they had gathered together and fought fiercely in the alleys after the attack.
Moreover, all the dark wizards were equipped with robes and staffs.
Seeing the minions each holding a weapon, it seemed they had prepared and gathered for battle right after the incident.
[Um... but the number of undead seems a bit strange. Why are there so many?]
And there were quite a few undead standing as if they had fought to protect the center.
[Ah, these are the ones that the dark wizards kept separately and summoned.]
On closer inspection, there weren't many high-level undead.
Still, their numbers were substantial and undoubtedly contributed significantly to our defense.
Upon further examination, I noticed that among the minions, there were a few who were particularly strong.
Especially the middle-aged man who had been guarding the entrance to the village.
[I thought the overall level was significant when scanning the entire village, but I didn't expect it to be this high.]
Most of the upper-level undead that attacked seemed to have been destroyed by this man.
It seemed that, unlike the dark wizards, being a warrior had made a difference in the amount of dark magic possessed and their combat ability.
[I might have been complacent just by looking at the amount of dark magic. I need to be more careful in the future.]
Fortunately, this gentleman had performed well, but it seemed he couldn't hold out for long after the dark wizards perished en masse due to Malcom.
[But now, they are my best assets.]
Starting from those who seemed to be of a lower level, I created undead one by one.
The dark wizards became Skeleton Mages, and the minions became either Elite Skeletons or Skeleton Warriors.
Some of the notable minions became Skeleton Knights.
Through my diligent work in creating the undead, I realized that the lowest level among them was the Elite Skeleton.
I was the weakest in this village.
'Well, now I'm the strongest. I'll let these guys run wild from now on.'
There wasn't any special reason why the newly created undead were only skeletons.
While creating the undead using the information stored in the fragment, it might have been Malcom's preference that the skeletons were sacrificed the most, making it the most efficient.
Also, perhaps because I was originally a skeleton, it was easier to make them in that category.
'It's a bit lacking in diversity, but it can't be helped.'
Still, I spent a bit more effort on the village guardian, as I found it unsatisfying to end with just a Skeleton Knight.
Since Malcom was planning to create even stronger individuals, I tried my best to create the ultimate undead based on my experience so far.
[Grunt…]
A boiling sound came from the fallen body, and the neck that had been hanging limply suddenly dropped.
Then the body rose from the ground and picked up the fallen head, fitting it into its side.
[Oh, fortunately, it was a success.]
Durahan, the headless knight, was born.
With most of the higher-level undead now depleted, this Durahan was my strongest asset.
There were a few more Durahans, but their condition wasn't as good.
Of course, even these were just the ones up until now, and the rankings could change quickly.
Now it was time for the long-awaited Malcom.
But before that, I needed a moment to ponder.
There weren't many undead suitable for a mage among the information I had.
It seemed a waste to turn Malcom into just a Skeleton Mage.
Ghost-type undead required a soul to begin with, and the same went for the Lich.
'Well, generally, a Lich is when a mage becomes corrupted and voluntarily turns into an undead. I didn't have information on that from the start.'
Malcom wasn't just ranting about me being incomplete for no reason.
While pondering if there was any way, I suddenly noticed my right arm.
A proper Death Knight was one of the highest-ranking undead, and it not only retained its consciousness but also didn't falter much compared to a Lich in terms of combat power.
The ones I had for a while had been exposed to the fragment for a long time, drained of their strength, and had lost their consciousness.
'Of course, I can't turn Malcom, a mage, into a Death Knight, but I might be able to mimic something similar…'
There was information about the Death Knight in the 'Fragment of the Immortal King,' and having evolved into a Demilich, I had looked into it several times, and now my right arm was that of the Death Knight.
[Alright, let's give it a try.]
I settled into a position and placed my right hand on Malcom's corpse, focusing intently.
Through the knowledge I had gained so far, the "Vile Wisdom" whispered a method to me.
The "Fragment of the Immortal King" in my heart lent me its power.
Black flames ignited on Malcom's body.
However, unlike before, it didn't leave only bones; it shriveled like a mirage, seeming to evaporate moisture.
I succeeded.
I quickly gathered and implanted Malcom's remaining consciousness.
The fragmented consciousness had no value as information, but this way, it would have enough intelligence to make its own judgments.
Malcom then rose from the spot and stood in place with a blue aura flickering in his eyes.
He looked at me and then immediately bowed his head.
[Speak your command.]
'Oh... he speaks!'
I was momentarily touched because it was the first time an undead had spoken other than me.
'With a consciousness and the ability to speak, it must have a name...'
After a moment of thought, I realized there was no need to think about it.
[Your name is Malcom. I'm counting on you. Understand that you will listen well from now on, alright?]
There was no point in giving another name; it would only be confusing, and besides, this name was also likely a pseudonym, like mine.
Nod.
Although he had only just gained consciousness, he didn't seem to be in the mood to respond now, but it would improve over time.
Puck!
If not, he will get hit by me.
[Answer, minion.]
[...Yes.]
In this way, I achieved my revenge, and Malcom who had killed me became the "Death Wizard" and my subordinate.