BXBX NOVEL Chapter 374 373: Necrotic Lord
Jahi PoV
Pushing open the clean set of double doors, Mom grimaced as a wave of warm putrid air burst forth from the inside chambers and enveloped her.
Curling her lip in disgust, Mom opened the doors further before stepping inside, and the rest of us gagged as the scent of rot permeated the air, before I noticed that the interior of the chamber was shrouded in a dull greenish yellow glow.
Following behind her, I tried my best to take shallow breaths, saving myself from the wretched scent of decay that draped itself around the room.
I could hear Anput retching slightly, the scent sensitive Jackalkin - and other Beastkin like her - remaining outside, their noses covered as they looked at the room hatefully.
Adelina - despite being the same as them - stepped inside and ordered Anput to maintain position there, keeping our rear secured.
Looking around, I noted instantly that the dull glow was coming from the kneeling corpse in the center, their side split open and allowing that decaying vapor to waft into the air.
The room itself was a simple ceremony hall; on the far wall, a pair of tarnished gold thrones overlooked the hall, and two rotted, eyeless corpses sat lifeless against the frayed velvet cushions.
Elaborate tiles were cracked and covered in some sort of grime, while the paint on the walls was peeling and flaking off, revealing the hardwood and stone underneath.
Pews, podiums, and an altar were all pushed against the doors on the left and right, blocking two of the three entrances into the hall, and corpses were laying overtop those hastily constructed palisades.
And yet, the doors they were blocking were just as unblemished as the one we entered through, and the corpses were all suffering from a slash to the back...
My eyes returned to the kneeling corpse in the center, and I clenched the hilt of my great sword as I began to trace out some runes with my free hand.
Mom was focused intently on the corpse as well, and when she got to within ten feet of it, the corpse looked up towards the thrones.
"Oh... How I have... failed you, my Liege..."
I gripped my sword even tighter as I heard the gurgling, hoarse voice, and I grimaced as I heard the corpse take a deep breath, sounding like it was trying to breathe past a throat full of phlegm.
"I... apologize... my Lady..! It seems that... I was... incompetent after all... For now... I serve another... Forgive me..! My oaths... of fealty... only lasted in my... initial life..! I now... live for another..."
Wet pops echoed around the room as the corpse stood up, its knees and arms unlocking as it stood up, only for it to groan as the flesh it had began to stretch and grow, its bones cracking as it grew taller.
It\'s bones poked through its skin, and I watched in morbid fascination as the clothes it wore were torn by its now towering height, revealing the bony protrusions of its spine as it hunched over.
Bringing one of its grotesquely long arms to its side, the corpse reached into the open, festering wound, which pulsed now with a brighter, harsher green light.
Groaning once more, it snapped off a rib and pulled it free from its body, the curved bone shimmering with the same harsh green glow spilling from its side.
"Who... might you be..? Why... are you here..?"
The rib in its hand flared as it began to straighten out, shifting from the curved, dull bone into a flattened, sharpened sword, its edges dripping a green liquid that hissed as it landed on the tile below.
Turning, it revealed the melting flesh of its face, the skin slowly pulling away from the bone to reveal portions of its skull underneath, while long strands of oily black hair cascaded down from its scalp.
Like the rest, it was eyeless as well, but two dull green flames shone in its empty eye sockets.
"Demons..? Beastkin..? Legionnaires... from the Empire..?"
Tilting its head, the corpse stared intently at us, before focusing on Mom, who stared at the corpse with narrowed eyes.
"Whom is the Fiend that you serve? Only they have the powers to alter the dead..."
Tapping its blade against the tile, the corpse stared at Mom for a moment before muttering "Sharp... Smart... Knows of Fiends..? Interesting..."
Raising its blade, the corpse fell into a stance, its long bone sword pointed straight at Mom\'s ches, the flat of the blade resting on its off arm, keeping it steady.
"In life... I served... the Hur Family... In death..."
Looking at the Legionnaires that surrounded it, the corpse turned back to Mom and smirked, its lips pulled into a thin line as it finished speaking, making Mom grit her teeth.
"I serve... Nua\'Morte..."
Raising her claymore, Mom growled "Nua\'Morte... Arch Fiend of Deathly Pestilence? They\'re back?"
Chuckling, the corpse coughed before nodding, the flames in its skull flaring as it said "Back... Stronger... Do you... want a taste... of their power..?"
Her eyes widened as she tried to shout a warning, but the corpse moved with an unearthly swiftness as it slammed the sword into the tile below, the green glow pulsing off the blade.
"Rise and serve... once more... in the name... of Nua\'Morte..! Rise... my beloved brothers... and sisters..! Rise and live again..!"
Cursing, Mom dashed forwards and cleaved her claymore down, only for the blade to clatter off of that rotting green glow that enveloped the corpse.
"Fuck! Everyone, watch the corpses! Go for the head and the Cores! This one is a Necrotic Lord now!"
Growling, she allowed her mana to coat her blade as she tried to pierce the barrier next, only to fail once more.
Putrid green vapors rolled off of the Necrotic Lord\'s bone sword, swirling around its body before shooting off towards the various corpses in the room.
When it reached a corpse, the vapor entered the nostrils and mouth of that corpse before burrowing down into their heart and Core, filling them with a \'new life\' as they rose once more as undead.
Cursing to myself, I activated a few spells in quick succession before joining Mom, whaling away at the barrier surrounding the Necrotic Lord with powerful, Light imbued blows.
The corpse flinched at the golden light that shone over it, and the flames in its skull flashed with hate as it glared at me.
"Disgusting... Light..! I\'ll kill you... first..."
Twisting the sword, the Necrotic Lord allowed the remaining vapors to burst free from the ground before yanking the blade free, the barrier pulsing out with raw power and sending me staggering back.