"What happened tonight," he said solemnly, "is the beginning of that payment. The spell wants to collect souls equal to the number of corpses Alaris used in that war."
Anna's face was pale. She clutched her head.
"I… I don't want to believe this. All these years, people avoided us, feared me, hated our family… because of what my grandfather did.
"Anna, listen—"
She interrupted him.
"But… he did it to protect us, didn't he? All of us?"
"Yes," Valorant said quietly. "Not just you. He protected the whole kingdom."
"Then… I have no right to be angry," she said, falling silent.
"He gave his life for his country."
"Then why did he attack me?" she asked, voice trembling. "Why me?"
"I told you, there's always a price. Possession wasn't the only toll the magic demanded. Alaris used countless bodies in the war, and now… it wants equal payment. I believe one of those tolls is… you. One of the people dearest to him."
"So… he knew this would happen. That after his death… he would come for me."
"Yes. That's why he summoned me—to protect you. My mission was to get you to Yggdrasil, the forest of the elves."
"Why there, of all places?"
"Because entering it is nearly impossible. The elves have hidden their homeland with invisible barriers. Any creature that tries to enter without permission is erased by the ward."
"But if we leave—what will happen here? The undead will overrun everything!"
"No. No matter how strong the spell, if its source is cut off, it won't last."
"What kind of source?"
"A body. It needs a host. Earlier, when I stabbed Alaris, I destroyed his heart—the core that stored his mana. That body is dead."
"But… you said he escaped. How?"
"Because of the nature of soulless necromancy. It allows him to jump between corpses. If there's anybody left… he can possess it."
"But there were no corpses here!"
"That's what troubles me. How did he switch bodies with none available…?"
Just then, Gustav burst into the room.
"Sir Valorant! We have a problem."
"What now?" Valorant asked sharply.
"…Look outside," Gustav said with a face pale with dread.
Valorant and Gustav dashed out of the room, with Anna and Suna following closely behind. They ran down the hallway until Valorant reached the window overlooking the front gate.
He ripped down the curtains and stared outside.
"Gustav," he said grimly, "is there a cemetery nearby?"
"No… but years ago, there was a battlefield not far from here."
Anna and Suna arrived seconds later.
"Why are you asking that?" Anna said, confused.
She pushed forward, trying to see what they saw. Valorant didn't answer.
Anna forced her way to the window and looked out.
The snow-covered ground revealed everything with clarity.
And there—marching through the gates—were dozens of skeletons, moving in perfect formation.
At the front of them stood a figure clad in flowing black robes from head to toe, holding a grimoire that glowed with dark, purple light.
From the grimoire poured the very essence of dark magic.
"…What is that?" Anna gasped, unable to hide her terror.