Journey to Become the Zenith

The Invitation to the Master of the Dead

”How many years of study would that require...?”

Victor ignored every stare.

His chant reached its final verse.

The mana surrounding him suddenly condensed.

The earth beneath his feet began vibrating violently.

Without pausing his assault...

Victor suddenly reversed his grip on the Death Scythe.

Its blade plunged into the ground.

SHRRAAAK!

Instead of attacking the undead directly...

He began dragging the blade across the battlefield.

Deep grooves appeared in the earth wherever the weapon passed.

One line.

Another.

Then another.

The defenders watched in confusion.

”...What’s he doing?”

Max’s eyes narrowed.

”A magic formation...”

Victor’s movements accelerated.

Within moments, countless intersecting lines had spread beneath the feet of the surrounding undead.

A massive magic circle slowly took shape.

Ancient runes ignited one after another.

The air grew heavier.

Mana surged wildly.

The Necromancer’s emerald flames brightened.

”So that’s your next move...”

Victor completed the final line.

He calmly stepped into the exact center of the formation.

His golden eyes slowly swept across the countless undead surrounding him.

Then...

He smiled.

Without another word...

He stomped firmly onto the ground.

BOOM!

The completed magic circle erupted with dazzling light.

An instant later—

Hundreds...

No...

Thousands of razor-sharp stone spikes burst violently from beneath the battlefield.

BOOM!

BOOM!!

BOOM!!!

The earth itself became a weapon.

The spikes erupted in every direction with terrifying speed.

Skeletons shattered instantly.

Undead mages were pierced before they could react.

Massive ogre kings found their enormous bodies skewered high into the air.

From above...

The countless stone pillars resembled the petals of a gigantic blooming flower.

Victor stood calmly at its very center.

Like the heart of a flower nourished by death.

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Even the undead ceased moving for a heartbeat.

Half...

Nearly half of the remaining undead army had vanished in a single spell.

The defenders could only stare.

One spell.

One man.

One attack.

Yet it had accomplished more than the combined efforts of every defender during the entire siege.

Ruby’s lips parted slightly.

”...A high-level spell...”

Natalia slowly nodded, unable to hide the astonishment in her eyes.

”Only a court magician should be capable of casting something on this level.”

”And even then...”

”They would need years to master its formula.”

She looked back toward Victor.

”He cast it while fighting...”

Max laughed quietly despite his injuries.

”A monster...”

”That brat truly is a monster.”

He had already been amazed by Victor’s close-combat abilities.

Now another realization struck him.

Victor wasn’t merely a terrifying warrior.

His understanding of mana and spellcraft was equally monstrous.

The combination left even veterans speechless.

Far behind the devastated battlefield, the Necromancer watched the destruction with growing delight.

Its skeletal jaw slowly curved upward into another eerie smile.

”...Magnificent.”

The battlefield had fallen into an eerie silence.

Where an endless tide of undead had stood only moments ago, there now remained a forest of towering stone spikes stained with black blood and scattered bones. The grotesque battlefield resembled a giant flower that had blossomed from death itself, with Victor standing calmly at its center.

A cold breeze swept across the ruined plain.

Fragments of bone tumbled across the ground.

Even the surviving undead hesitated.

The defenders atop Fantom City’s walls could only stare in disbelief.

No one spoke.

No one knew what to say.

Everything they had witnessed since Victor’s arrival had completely overturned their understanding of battle.

He wasn’t simply powerful.

He was rewriting the battlefield with every move he made.

Victor slowly lifted the Death Scythe from the shattered earth.

Dark blood slid from its blade before disappearing into the weapon as if it had never existed.

His golden eyes scanned the battlefield.

The vicious smile on his face never faded.

Then...

He raised the Death Scythe and pointed its blade toward the lone figure standing far behind the remaining undead army.

The Necromancer.

Its emerald eyes met Victor’s gaze across the battlefield.

Victor’s smile widened.

”So...”

”Is this it?!”

His voice rolled across the battlefield like thunder.

”Is this all you have to offer?!”

His laughter echoed through the ruined plains.

”HAHAHAHA!”

”No...”

His eyes gleamed with excitement.

”It isn’t, right?”

”I’ve only just finished warming up.”

Victor slowly rested the Death Scythe against his shoulder.

His posture remained completely relaxed despite standing alone before an army.

”So how about you stop hiding behind your little toys...”

”...and come fight me yourself, Alibaba!”

The challenge rang across the battlefield.

Every human soldier held their breath.

Even the wind seemed to stop.

The Necromancer remained perfectly still.

Then...

A dry, unsettling laugh escaped from deep within its skeletal throat.

”Hehehe...”

”So impatient.”

The emerald flames burning within its empty eye sockets flickered with amusement rather than anger.

”You truly are unlike any human I have ever encountered.”

It slowly lifted one bony hand.

”Very well, Victor.”

”You have entertained me more than enough.”

Its fingers snapped.

Snap.

Instantly—

Every remaining undead creature froze.

The skeletons.

The undead mages.

The ogres.

Even the towering abominations.

Their bodies suddenly collapsed into clouds of black ash.

The eerie green flames within their eye sockets vanished one after another.

The battlefield became strangely quiet.

Then the black ash rose into the air like countless streams of smoke before converging toward the Necromancer.

An immense vortex of corrupted mana formed around its body.

The gathered energy poured endlessly into its skeletal frame.

The pressure radiating from it climbed steadily higher.

The defenders on the city walls felt their hearts sink once again.

Ruby frowned.

”...It reclaimed all of the mana.”

Natalia’s expression turned solemn.

”So none of those undead were truly wasted.”

Max narrowed his eyes.

”So that’s your real objective...”

The Necromancer slowly lowered its hand.

The last traces of black mana disappeared into its body.

Its aura had become noticeably denser than before.

Then...

Without warning...

Its figure dissolved into black mist.

The space before Victor distorted.

The next moment—

The Necromancer appeared only a few meters away from him.

Neither of them moved.

Neither of them spoke.

The battlefield became completely silent.

Two overwhelming auras collided invisibly, causing the surrounding ground to crack beneath the pressure alone.

The Necromancer looked directly into Victor’s golden eyes.

Its skeletal grin widened.

”Very well, Victor.”

”Allow me to entertain you.”

Its voice carried neither arrogance nor mockery.

Only genuine curiosity.

”This shall be my gift of gratitude.”

”For willingly offering me the finest research specimen I have ever encountered.”

Its emerald flames burned brighter.

”Once I finish experimenting on your remarkable body...”

It slowly extended one skeletal finger toward Victor.

”...I believe I shall transform you into the greatest undead warrior ever created.”

A sinister chuckle echoed across the battlefield.

”Hehehe...”

”Rejoice.”

”You shall become my right-hand man.”