Suspected Necromancer

Chapter 17 – Archmage of Legend

Out of fear that she might attack people, Luna traveled away from roads and down untrodden paths.
No matter how rugged the terrain, she could easily leap between trees and such, making it fairly easy to move around.
However, after enduring the bloodthirst for several days, Luna began to feel physically unwell.
She guessed that it was because she hadn’t had any blood recently. She drank water and ate food, but it didn’t help. She also became increasingly aware of a somewhat subdued, constant craving for blood.

(I might not last much longer.)

Luna felt that either her body or mind might fall apart.
And in the forest, in the mountains, in a world without human contact, Luna struggled.

(Maybe I should just drink blood.)

The thought crossed her mind. If she did, she could easily find relief. What would it matter if she drank blood? It’s not like she was trying to increase her thralls.
Just a little blood, no big deal. Rato was fine with it. There was no problem at all.
However, there probably wouldn’t be anyone as kind as Rato, offering their arm and blood willingly.
People attacked for blood would undoubtedly wear terrified expressions.
And… if she began to attack people, Luna felt that she wouldn’t be able to stop herself. She felt that she would lose her humanity forever.

(But I’m just a commodity, a product. I wasn’t human to begin with.)

Becoming a vampire now wouldn’t really change much.
After all, she didn’t become a vampire willingly. She wasn’t to blame. Her master, who turned her into a vampire, was at fault.

Overcome by the thirst for blood, Luna felt herself losing her humanity bit by bit.
She just wanted relief. Besides, meeting Logan might not change anything. It might all be in vain, enduring such agony just to reach Banukut for nothing.
Why did she have to suffer like this alone?
It would be nice if she had companions. If she created many thralls and built a kingdom of vampires, she wouldn’t have to suffer alone anymore.
Let’s do that. Attack towns or villages to gain some thralls, some companions. With her current strength, there was no way a human could stop her. Perhaps it would be better to turn all humans into vampires, leaving no one behind.
It was foolish to huddle alone in the mountains like this. It was ridiculous for her to go through such hardships. She didn’t even have parents. Becoming a vampire wouldn’t make anyone sad. No one would be angry with her.

Luna began to walk. Not running, but walking slowly westward, struggling with her bloodthirst.
For some reason, she remembered Molly. A stern person who had raised Luna and her friends with strict discipline.
But on the day before Luna was to be sold, Molly said:

“Do your best. You may be a child who’s being sold, but because I raised you properly, you’re not just a pitiable child. Try your best to live as a human, not a mere slave.”

Molly’s eyes were unusually gentle as she held both of Luna’s hands and spoke.

“But, if things ever get too tough, you can come back anytime.”

Upon hearing that, Luna felt puzzled. ‘I should be happy because I was sold at a high price,’ she thought. ‘I won’t be returning to a place like this.’
But now, Molly’s words kept crossing her mind repeatedly.
If she gave into her urges, Molly would surely be saddened. And then she would be angry, probably hitting Luna on the head with her fist.
That punch hurt, Luna remembered, and a faint smile escaped her.
Molly might have been strict, but she loved her. Khan might have been clumsy, but he needed her. And Rato told her he loved her.
If she were to give up on her humanity, Luna felt like she would be letting all her hard work be in vain and hurt all of the kind people around her.

(Wouldn’t that be too much of a waste?)

Despite the repeated bloodthirst onsets, she never got used to it, and the insatiable hunger and desire to attack people were unbearable.
Yet Luna continued to resist in the end.

──

And so, completely exhausted both physically and mentally, Luna finally arrived in Banukut.
It was a massive ruin of a scale she had never seen before. It was wider than any city she had seen, and the decayed structures were larger than any buildings she knew.
Around Banukut, there was an extensive area devoid of vegetation, as it was situated in a stark and inhospitable place. She could understand why the slaves who had annihilated the Asura people had abandoned this city.
In her quest to find Logan, Khan had mentioned a magic barrier, but Luna didn’t know exactly what kind of barrier it was.
The term “barrier” encompasses many different types of barriers. For instance, Khan’s mansion repelled people by inducing fear and aversion. There were also barriers that diverted people’s attention by hiding their presences, or barriers that disrupted their sense of direction, preventing them from reaching a specific place.
Moreover, her target was a very powerful mage. It didn’t seem like he would be easy to locate.

(How troublesome.)

Luna grew tired of thinking.
So, she thought about summoning some undead to search for Logan instead.
Even though the city is now abandoned, it used to be quite populous so there must be bones buried around there. As an Immortal King, Luna’s compatibility with necromancy significantly improved, and she believed she could now command dozens of ghouls or skeletons.

(Let’s go with that.)

Luna raised her hand and began chanting, as if calling out to the undead resting in the earth.
But…

“Wait, wait! Don’t use necromancy here!”

Suddenly, a voice interrupted her.
Looking ahead, Luna saw a small, elderly man sitting on a rock that, moments ago, had nobody there. He was leaning on a cane with his right hand.
Amidst his white hair, there were hints of blonde. His pale skin was withered, and his eyes were red.

“Huh? An Asuran ghost?”

Luna was surprised. This was the first time she had encountered another Asuran besides herself, so she thought it might be some kind of undead.

“No, you fool! Don’t treat people like ghosts! I’m an archmage, you know?”

The old man raised his eyes in anger and hopped over to Luna.

“Huh? An archmage? Are you Mr. Logan?”

The Logan Luna had envisioned in her mind was completely different from this short, old man.
Since he was Khan’s master, she thought he’d be an uninteresting person who only thought about magic.
The elderly man in front of her seemed like a somewhat cheerful, humorous character, referring to himself as an archmage.

“Yeah, I’m that Logan. You… you were about to use necromancy just now, right? Stop it! Raising the dead just for mischief isn’t right. It seems you’re an Asuran too, right? Don’t you have any respect for your ancestors?”

“Not particularly…”

“Ah, jeez. Youngsters these days. What did your parents teach you?”

Logan pointed his cane at Luna.

“Huh? I don’t have parents. As far as I remember, I was already in a slave trader’s care.”

“…I see. Then it can’t be helped.”

Logan withdrew his cane and turned away as if to hide his embarrassment.

“Oh my, so what are you here for?”

With his back turned, Logan asked.

“I’ve become an Immortal King, so I came here to find a way to overcome the thirst for blood. In fact, I came to visit you for that reason, Mr. Logan.”

“An Immortal King? Seriously? Can you show me your teeth?”

Turning around to face Luna again, Logan drew closer with curiosity.

(Isn’t there any other way to check?)

Luna thought, but she complied and bared her fangs as instructed.

“Whoa, you have such sharp fangs! Scary! Stay away from me!”

Jumping back, Logan distanced himself from Luna.
Luna was dumbfounded. Logan was quite unique and definitely a far cry from Khan.

“Um, excuse me, but is there no way to overcome it?”

Luna called out to the retreating Logan.

“Hm? Just drink blood. Is that not a solution? Oh, my blood won’t work though. Uh, well, yes, my blood is poisonous, so you’d die if you drank it.”

Luna couldn’t quite tell whether Logan was being serious or not.

“Well, it’s not right for me to do that as a human…”

“But you’re an Immortal King, aren’t you? You’re not human anymore, right?”

Luna was exasperated, and she thought that Logan was quite blunt and a little… cruel.

“Anyway, I don’t want to drink blood. Can’t something be done?”

“You don’t want to drink blood? Does that mean you haven’t been drinking any blood at all?”

“I only drank from one person. I received blood from them for a while, but since then, I haven’t had any.”

“I see, how long has it been?”

“More than ten days…”

“Then you must be reaching the point where your body is starting to deteriorate. Okay, let’s do this.”

Logan took out a small vial from his pocket and tossed it to Luna. It flew close to her hand, and she easily caught it. The vial contained a green liquid.

“What’s this? What is it for?”

“It’s a vial to restore magic power. If you haven’t been drinking blood, you must be running low on magic, right? Drink it. Even if it’s poison, an Immortal King like you won’t die, right?”

Luna thought Logan talked a lot, but she uncorked the vial and sniffed its contents anyways. Since it didn’t smell strange, she drank it.
As she drank, the fatigue in her body dissipated, and the craving for blood faded away.

“Amazing! If I have this, my bloodthirst will be quenched! If I drink this every day…”

“Do you have that many of them!? That vial contains a precious magic recovery medicine. It’s worth more than a human life. It’s easier to just bite someone if you’re going to consume one every day.”

It seemed that this diminutive old man had a tendency to disregard human lives. In this aspect, he was similar to his disciple Khan.

“…So, what should I do then?”

Luna felt a little dispirited when she learned that the vial was so valuable.

“Do you know why vampires crave human blood?”

“Because human blood serves as a source of magic power.”

Luna had read about this in Khan’s notes. Human blood acted as a catalyst for magic, and vampires could convert it into vast amounts of magic power within their bodies.

“That’s only half the answer. Vampires require so much magic power because they experience intense magic consumption at all times. In other words, you need to control your magic consumption. Additionally, if you can learn to absorb magic power from everything around you, you won’t need to rely on human blood.”

Logan’s words made some sense to Luna, yet she couldn’t fully comprehend them.
She understood that her magic consumption was intense. Her current body constantly exerted excessive strength, both physically and magically. However, even though she was told to control it, she didn’t quite understand how to do that.
‘Learning to absorb magic power from everything around you’ was even more baffling. She wondered what this old man was even talking about.

“Um, how do I control my magic consumption?”

“If you don’t know, it means you’re not good enough. You’re still immature.”

Logan taunted Luna and spat on the ground.
Luna felt annoyed, but she continued to ask questions.

“Then, how do I absorb magic power?”

“Magic is everywhere. Not just in humans, but in the sun, plants, the ground, the air—anything. Feel it and make it your own. If you can do that, you won’t ever run out of magic power. By the way, I can do it. And I’m invincible.”

Logan puffed out his chest proudly.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Well… it’s because you rely too much on your senses. See with your mind’s eye.”

“What’s a mind’s eye?”

“I don’t know, I just said it without thinking.”

The more they talked, the more frustrated Luna became. However, she had no choice but to rely on this old man.

“Um, would you consider taking me as your disciple?”

Although she had various reservations, since Logan was Khan’s master, he should be willing to take on a disciple.

“I don’t mind.”

Logan accepted without hesitation.

“But there is one condition.”