Chapter 57: Lord of Death (3)
After defeating the colossal dragon and creating a Bone dragon, Akuyuham and his companions continued their journey for a week.
The fire crackled quietly as the sun set, casting the world into darkness.
Mari and Akuyuham huddled together, warming themselves by the fire’s glow.
“Ku.”
“…What is it?”
Akuyuham asked wearily.
“Do it again.”
“…Didn’t I do it this morning?” he replied, slightly annoyed.
“Do it again.”
“Why do you keep asking…”
“Hurry!”
Mari urged.
“…Sigh.”
Akuyuham reluctantly removed the hood from his robe.
Then, he positioned himself so that Mari could place her legs over his shoulders, climbing onto his back in a horse-like posture.
“Hehe.”
Mari smiled mischievously, gently resting her hands on his skull.
“So smooth.”
“…Do you really like it that much?”
Akuyuham asked, bewildered.
“Yeah. It’s so shiny and smooth.”
To think she liked the smoothness of his Lich King skull… Akuyuham wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.
Since the battle with the dragon, when Mari first saw Akuyuham’s face, she’d occasionally asked to see it again.
Just three days ago, she had started calling him “Ku” and even asked to touch his head.
Even for someone undead like Akuyuham, it was a bizarre request.
‘At least she’s not afraid of me or disgusted by me… That’s something.’
Akuyuham eventually gave up resisting her persistent requests.
“Ku,”
Mari called again.
“What is it now?”
“I’ll clean it for you.”
“…What?”
With a determined look, Mari pulled a blanket from her pack and began wiping down Akuyuham’s skull.
It was the same blanket he had draped over her when rescuing her from the village.
“Well, I’ll be…”
Akuyuham was speechless.
After a moment, Mari stopped, satisfied with her work.
“All done! Now you’re clean!”
She declared with pride.
“Am I?”
Akuyuham muttered, uncertain.
Mari slid off his back and tucked herself into his embrace.
“You’re dirty,” she said softly.
“…What?”
“Your body. It’s dirty,”
Mari clarified.
“Well, of course. I’m a corpse, after all.”
“It’s okay. You’re not dirty,” she reassured him.
“No, that’s not really the issue here…”
“You’re not dirty,” Mari repeated stubbornly.
“Sigh. Fine, whatever,” Akuyuham relented, too tired to argue.
Was this what it felt like to raise a child?
He wondered.
Mari nestled against his ribcage, resting her cheek against his bones.
“Isn’t it hard?” he asked.
“Ku, you’re hard. But I like it because you’re hard.”
Akuyuham was at a loss for words.
Raising a child, or whatever Mari was to him, was proving to be more challenging than he had imagined.
As Akuyuham watched Mari cuddle up with her worn-out blanket, his bony eye sockets narrowed thoughtfully.
“It’s getting old.”
Though their journey had only lasted ten days, the harsh battles and rugged environment had worn the blanket down to a tattered rag.
Holes and tears littered the fabric, and it no longer offered much warmth.
“I’ll make you a new one,” Akuyuham offered.
“This one’s no good anymore.”
He reached for the blanket to take it from her.
But Mari held on tightly.
“…Hm?”
Akuyuham paused.
If he tried to take it by force, he might hurt her.
He had no choice but to stop.
“Let it go.”
“No.”
“I’m not taking it from you. I just want to make you a new one since this one isn’t doing its job anymore.”
“No.”
“But it’s full of holes. I’ll make you a prettier and sturdier one.”
“I said no!”
Mari puffed out her cheeks and glared at Akuyuham, her face full of defiance.
“…Fine. Do as you wish,”
Akuyuham sighed.
“Hehe.”
As soon as he let go of the blanket, Mari clutched it tightly to her chest.
‘Children are so hard to understand,’ Akuyuham thought with exasperation.
Unlike the undead minions he commanded, Mari’s behavior was impossible to predict or control.
Normally, Akuyuham would dispose of any irregularities that were beyond his control.
Yet…
Akuyuham gently placed his hand on Mari’s head as she drifted off to sleep in his arms.
For some reason, he didn’t feel the urge to eliminate her.
Instead, he felt the desire to protect her… as if she were something small and precious.
“Sleep well,” he whispered, his voice softer than any of his subordinates had ever heard before.
A week later.
Screeeeeeech!
A massive centipede woman collapsed into a fiery heap, consumed by black flames.
“The gods of this world must be insane,” Akuyuham muttered.
The creatures that roamed this world were horrific beyond imagination.
No dark sorcerer could dream up such monstrosities.
The deity who created this world must have been seriously deranged.
“I can’t stand this filthy world. I want to escape as soon as possible.”
Akuyuham climbed onto Bone dragon’s head and looked down at Mari.
“Come on. Let’s go.”
But Mari stood still, her head hanging low.
“Why aren’t you getting on?” Akuyuham asked, puzzled.
“Ku…” Mari began softly.
“What is it?” he asked, concern creeping into his voice.
“Ku… You came from outside this world, right?”
“…Yes,” Akuyuham confirmed.
“Why are you heading to the Celestial Sanctuary?”
Akuyuham took a seat in the saddle atop Bondragon.
“My goal is to escape this world and return to my original one.”
It was a quest given to him by the GM, a mission that guided him to the Celestial Sanctuary.
“…Then… when we reach the Celestial Sanctuary… will you leave me?”
Mari’s voice trembled as she raised her eyes to meet Akuyuham’s.
“…!”
Akuyuham could see the tears welling up in her eyes.
“Are you… going to leave me?” she asked, her voice thick with emotion.
Silence fell between them.
Akuyuham opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out.
What am I…?
When he first arrived in this world, all he wanted was to escape as quickly as possible.
He had tried every means to leave, from suicide to logging out.
He was the Lord of Death, a being who had conquered even death itself.
He had no desire to follow anyone’s commands, not even the GM’s.
But now… he wasn’t sure.
Leaving this world had been his goal, but did he still need to?
Would he really go back to a world where no one waited for him except his undead minions?
No one like Mari would greet him with warmth.
His minions were loyal, but they were just that—creatures bound to his will.
Their devotion was expected, not special.
So, was there really a reason to leave this world?
To leave Mari behind?
“No,” Akuyuham said firmly, stepping down from Bone dragon’s head.
There was no reason to leave.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he told her, walking towards her slowly.
“…Really?”
Akuyuham wiped the tears from her eyes with his skeletal fingers.
“Think about it. There’s no reason for me to leave. Death is already mine. It would be better to become the new Lord of Death in this world,” he said, grinning mischievously.
“Ku…”
Mari’s eyes brightened as she smiled at him.
Akuyuham couldn’t help but return the smile, a warmth blooming within him as he watched her joy.
With a mighty swoosh, Bondragon took to the skies, carrying Akuyuham and Mari away.
However, this time they flew in the opposite direction of the Celestial Sanctuary.
Akuyuham had made his decision.
There was no need to reach the sanctuary.
He had chosen to stay in this world.
After all, the GM’s instructions had stated that reaching the Celestial Sanctuary was the key to escaping this world.
But if there was a risk that doing so might eject him from this realm, then the sanctuary wasn’t worth the trouble.
More importantly, Akuyuham looked back at Mari.
There were mysteries yet to unravel—like how she had known the path to the sanctuary without knowing anything.
It felt like some higher power had orchestrated everything.
Perhaps… the GM himself.
Akuyuham urged Bondragon to fly faster.
‘No longer. I won’t let the GM or anyone else manipulate me,’ he vowed.
Now, he had someone precious to protect.
He would not lose her like he had lost his mentor.
***
Albus checked in on Akuyuham’s progress from the testing server.
With the conclusion of the dueling tournament event on the sixth floor, it was time to quickly unlock the seventh floor.
Speeding up the time dilation on the server, Albus had expected Akuyuham to have cleared it by now.
“What is he doing?”
Albus muttered, confused.
Akuyuham had defeated the final boss guarding the path to the Celestial Sanctuary but had suddenly turned around and was now flying in the opposite direction.
He was on the brink of clearing the game, yet he was backtracking.
“Has he gone mad from playing for too long?”
It was understandable.
After weeks of being stuck in that grim world, constantly fighting monstrous creatures, anyone’s mind could falter.
Unable to observe the connection between Akuyuham and the NPC Mari, Albus simply concluded that Akuyuham had lost his grip on reality.
“I guess I’ll have to give him a little nudge,” Albus said, inputting a command.
He couldn’t delay opening the seventh floor any longer.
Akuyuham’s test server had to be shut down for the next stage to proceed, so Albus needed him to finish the game.
With a click of the button, a notification appeared in front of Akuyuham.
Ding!
-The game progress has stalled, so assistance will be provided. -You will be immediately transported to the final boss of this roguelike.
“…What?”
Akuyuham stared at the notification, caught off guard.
In an instant, both he and Mari were enveloped in a bright blue light.
“No!” Akuyuham roared, summoning his dark magic to try and break free of the forced teleportation.
But it was too late.
Ding!
-You have entered the Celestial Sanctuary.
He couldn’t stop it.
There was no turning back.