Heinz II was smoothly moving along with the siblings.
He kept a low profile and avoided unnecessary attention, employing mercenaries with overflowing funds to guide and guard them.
"Mmm... monster..."
Of course, among them were those who transformed into thieves midway.
In a world like this, it was inevitable.
"Tsk, lost my appetite."
I pulled my mouth away from the last mercenary's neck, casually tossing the dry corpse aside.
Similar piles of corpses with the same fate were already there.
After wiping the blood from my lips and adjusting my clothes, I turned and exited the bushes.
"Oh! Mister! Is it over?"
"Yeah, let's go now."
I loaded the siblings onto the carriage and sat on the driver's seat, urging the horses forward.
Since hiring the first coachman, Balthar, I had become proficient enough to handle the horses alone.
It was a result of practicing whenever I had the time.
'The mercenaries I hired this time were a disappointment. It can't be helped with such poor security.'
Even those who seem fine might turn into thieves outside the city. Fortunately, nothing happened during this time.
'Still, thanks to them, I could feed on blood after a long time. I could endure more, but with power constraints, it's better to feed on opportunities.'
Especially scoundrels like the ones this time, who habitually killed clients and plundered their wealth, didn't deserve any consideration.
'For now, we're moving eastward, but I can't keep this up indefinitely. I need to start thinking about what to do soon.'
Currently, being at the far west end of the continent, I could move without being noticed.
However, I didn't know when something might happen in the future.
While contemplating, I glanced back sneakily at the thicket I had been in just moments ago.
A dark shadow flickered there.
***
[Hmm, the quality of blood in the corpses that have been fed on is quite low.]
They probably had their energy drained during the transformation into undead.
Hans looked at the four skeletons in front of him, stored them in a subspace, and turned around.
Even though it was low-grade, it was better than nothing.
[As I've gained time by coming to this world, I should explore magical abilities in a quiet place.]
No need to eat, no need to sleep.
Not needing any metabolic processes, I could devote all my time to pure magical research.
I levitated my body and headed deep into the forest.
In fact, when it came to uninhabited places, the demon-infested forest where I first encountered dark wizards might have been better.
However, that place...
'It might clash with vampires or dark wizards. It seems quieter to hide and research in seclusion in some nameless mountain far away.'
I chose a cave located in a secluded area.
I politely asked the residents who were already there for permission first, but since they hesitated, I had no choice but to turn them all into undead.
The goblins, who were reborn as undead, sat down and cleaned the inside of the cave, including their urine.
Although I had no sense of smell, it still felt good to have a clean environment.
[I should set up barriers. I always have concealment spells, but it's better to be more certain.]
Utilizing the knowledge of concealing dark magic and other newly acquired skills, I hid my hideout.
I wouldn't stay long, but the vampires who got hurt by Hans might be chasing after me.
[...That should do.]
External detection, dark magic concealment, illusions, cognitive interference, perception distortion, loss of directional sense, etc. I meticulously placed barriers. It should be difficult for anyone to come near at a reasonable level.
I sat in the middle of the cave and focused.
'First, let's analyze the magic.'
And so, the actual research began.
***
Ajantu.
A city that until recently belonged to the vampire clan Brokolak but was now under the control of the Church.
However, the Church couldn't directly occupy territories of other kingdoms.
They stationed troops in the Talya Kingdom, requested their cooperation, and proceeded with investigations.
In the process, the city's ruling class, which had been enchanted by vampires, was one by one arrested.
Of course, the back alley organizations were no exception.
Clink, clink.
A paladin clad in pure white armor passed through the corridor and headed to the underground cellar.
It was a place where traces of battles were evident.
"Archbishop Latius."
The paladin, having arrived in the cellar, called out to a middle-aged man standing still inside.
"Welcome, Captain Tooskin. How are things progressing?"
"Yes, the identification of vampire remnants is now in the final stages. The kingdom's soldiers have been a great help."
The unexpected clash with the vampire clan.
Although they succeeded in eliminating most vampires through encirclement, they also suffered significant losses and missed some, including those involved in bloodsucking.
Later, while investigating the traces, it was discovered that they were not on the same side as the descendant of the Immortal King
However, since vampires were undoubtedly evil, nothing would change.
The only issue was their goal.
"Our objective is to prevent the resurrection of the Immortal King. We confronted evil in front of our eyes and couldn't turn a blind eye, but we must act again when needed. He is likely growing stronger at this very moment."
Initially organized to stop the Immortal King, they were currently working with the kingdom's army to trace the vampires while investigating the city of Ajantu.
However, they couldn't afford to allocate time here indefinitely.
"Of course. However, we currently cannot determine where he disappeared. We have no choice but to wait until Lady Saint contacts us."
A sudden situation where all traces were lost.
There was no choice but to wait here.
However, that didn't mean they were simply idling around dealing with vampire remnants.
"Fortunately, we had some gains during this time. The activities of that guy, starting from a small village in the western Demon Forest, and the incidents in this city."
Latius focused on reading the memories left on the land through the sacred laws of the deity in places where the guy's traces were strong.
As time passed and the influence of magic affected it, the memories became fragmented and blurry, making it impossible to fully grasp.
However, some parts were clearly confirmed.
"My name is Hans."
"Remember it. I am Hans of the Oath of the Reversal"
A grotesque figure emitting an ominous aura with a bizarre mask, a voice echoing as if from hell, handling undead and dispersing dark magic with grandeur.
The descendant of the Immortal King, Hans.
'You won't have it your way, Hans! Even if this body burns, I will definitely stop you!'
Archbishop Latius clenched his fist, determined.
Wooong—
At that moment, the emblem of the Church hanging around his neck vibrated.
"This is... Captain Tooskin, excuse me for a moment."
"Don't worry, Archbishop."
When Tooskin gripped the hilt of his sword and began to be vigilant, he immediately knelt in place, holding the emblem in both hands and closing his eyes to pray.
[Archbishop Latius, do you hear me?]
[Yes, Lady Saint.]
The voice of the saint in the main altar resonated in his mind.
It was a long-distance communication spell mediated by the emblem.
[I've detected the presence of the Immortal King again. It's vague, but... I think we can determine the direction.]
[That's truly fortunate! I've had some gains here while investigating as well.]
The saint and the archbishop exchanged information through communication.
[...So, Hans is growing faster than expected. We've organized a punitive force as soon as his appearance was confirmed, but he's already…]
[We shouldn't delay any longer. I'll start tracking him again right away.]
[Please do, Archbishop. Since he might disappear again, I'll also remain vigilant.]
Wooong—
The communication ended after their farewells.
Latius stood up and looked at Tooskin, who was guarding nearby.
"Captain Tooskin, prepare for departure. Lady Saint has identified his whereabouts."
"...! That's truly fortunate! Indeed, she is the Lady Saint."
"We can't pinpoint his exact location yet, but now that we have a general idea, we can investigate the surroundings. The rest is up to us."
"I'll get ready immediately."
The knight, Paladin Tooskin, quickly left to prepare the troops.
Latius glanced around for a moment.
The remaining traces of the guy.
Swish—
"This time, for sure!"
He clenched his fist again and vowed.
***
A week had passed since Hans got stuck.
Rather than creating completely new magic, the process seemed more like disassembling and assembling, showing some progress.
He dedicated himself to research, occasionally testing on mountain animals.
Ten days in.
Finally claiming completion, I laughed in satisfaction.
However, experimenting on animals revealed a significant lack of stealthiness.
Black magic leaked, eyes turned crimson, making it obvious that something was amiss.
I went into improvement mode.
Two weeks in.
The problem during the improvement process was that reducing the activation mana led to a significant decrease in stability.
However, if stability was prioritized, the infectious nature disappeared, creating a dilemma that took some time to resolve.
Three weeks in.
Swish— Swish! Swaga!
I was grinding my teeth hard.
A black aura swirled around my entire body.
If I hadn't set up a barrier in advance, I might have emitted energy to a dangerous extent, forcing myself to calm down and barely settling it.
'Now I understand why programmers get frustrated with debugging.'
Fixing one thing caused problems elsewhere, and sometimes issues resolved themselves without any intervention, only to explode during the final stages of the work.
It was truly a challenging time.
In the meantime, Heinz passed through various villages and cities and reached the center of the kingdom, but he often found himself dazed whenever I poured my mental energy into Hans.
Each time, the siblings were so worried that Heinz's share had to be adjusted accordingly.
'Anyway, it's really over now... Truly the last time!'
To test the formula named 'Infectious Necromancy Final Version_Modification_2nd_FINAL(3)_ReallyFinal,' I ventured outside the cave.
It was to test it on animals directly.
Enchanting a few flying birds to lure them towards me, I cast and released the magic to be tested.
'So far, everything seems fine. Now, I just have to wait for the results.'
As I waited, I could feel the links forming one by one due to the infectious effect.
The number of connected entities could be adjusted on my end.
Having multiple creatures gathered in the same place was useless and consumed mana unnecessarily.
While conducting experiments, I felt something strange.
'What is it? I don't sense anything unusual in the detection magic.'
The movements of the animals under the spell seemed odd.
They should move normally unless sending me information, but their current movements were as if...
'Did they get scared? All the animals I sent out in every direction? Why?'
For the experiment, I set the trigger to send information when animals encountered a 'monster.'
However, no information came, and the animals seemed frightened.
'Could it be?'
I quickly changed the trigger.
'When encountering a human.'
Zingzingzing—
Simultaneously, information flooded in from all directions.
"How? The detection magic didn't sense anything!"
The information conveyed by the enchanted animals revealed that an unseen group was surrounding the area and gradually closing in.