I became a legion lich

72 second layer

“For someone so experienced, you were kind of obvious you know? You always cast with your right hand, so it was easy to see where the ring was.” Athos spoke for the first time, looking amusedly at Finn. “How about we talk a little?”

“Do you speak?” Finn asked in surprise as he stood up. Until now, he’d assumed that the city was under attack by a necromancer and that the skeleton in front of him was an assassin, but the fact that he could speak meant he was a superior species.

“Yes and you didn’t answer my question. How about we talk a little?” Athos asked, trying to sound strong. He didn’t have a face, but if he had one, he’d be contorted in pain.

Since the fight began, Athos felt an unease in his core, as if he was reacting to something. As the struggle intensified, the feeling only got worse, as if her core was screaming for something. The sensation only worsened when Athos felt dozens of sparks of life force being absorbed by his bond with Sevenus.

Even his mana started to get a little out of control, forcing Athos to stop fighting and say something as disgusting as talking to the enemy.

‘What has changed since I started fighting? My core hurts, like it’s going to split in half. Maybe I shouldn’t have fought before figuring out how to form a second layer of death? Excess energy can be harmful.’ Athos began to consider the worst possibilities.

“Who sent you here? How did you find me?” Finn asked, stalling for time. He thought that if he bought enough time, Emilia would be able to come here.

“Well, I came willingly to kill you. And what revealed your presence was them.” Athos said before raising his hand, a skeleton bird flying from somewhere and landing on it.

‘If my core was really overloaded, it would have stopped absorbing the energy sent by Sevenus and the mage skeletons, or at least it would have tried to release it in some way, like a constantly active aura of darkness or something. Also, I just feel like my core is about to break, but there’s no sign of any damage.’ Athos continued to think.

.....

“An undead with a will of its own? That’s just a fairy tale, unless a necromancer has failed to put a leash on you.” Finn mocked him, until he realized something. “Wait, did you say you came here to kill me? Why?”

“Well, anyone would want revenge on the man who killed them, wouldn’t they? But don’t be too upset, I came here to kill the whole town, you’re just a bonus.” Athos said this as casually as someone refusing dessert before the main course.

“Revenge? I don’t even know who you are!” Finn screamed, almost resuming the offensive, but the throbbing pain in his face and hand reminded him that the enemy wasn’t someone he could take lightly, let alone with one hand, one eye, and his lost magic. He needed Emilia.

“Well, I don’t remember all the people I’ve killed either, so I won’t judge you for not remembering me. But you know, I never forgot one of my targets, even after I killed them. The captain of the guard, the priest, the baron, Ricley, the wizards of the order, or you. I would never forget you.” Athos pronounced each name as if he were spitting them out.

Just mentioning their names was enough to reopen wounds that never closed in her mind, causing her bones to shake with rage and the black light in her eyes to deepen. As if reacting to her thoughts, the pain in her core increased.

It now pulsed rhythmically like a heart, sending ever stronger pulses of dark mana through his bones before being reabsorbed into the core. The process filled his bones with power, making Athos feel as if something was crawling inside his bones, trying to break free.

‘Okay, the trigger for this change was my anger. Should I feel more angry to progress? No, if I feel angrier than I already am, I’m just a mindless beast. I still lack something. Athos thought, realizing that the pain in his core was lessening as the strength in his body only increased.

“One of my targets? I’ve never killed-” Finn yelled, but then he realized something. He didn’t know most of the people mentioned by Athos, but how did the skeleton know the mages of the order? Finn felt a shiver down his spine as he slowly looked at the black skeleton in front of him.

A corpse with a late awakening of affinity, something seen only in books. The disappearance of the mage unit, without a trace. An incredibly powerful monster in the forest, but one that had no involvement with the corpse. And now an army of the undead invading the city for revenge, and a skeleton assassin with the cloak of order.

“Is you?” Finn asked just to confirm, certain of his answer.

“That’s right. I crawled back out of the mud just to kill you, but simply killing you would be too impersonal for my taste and I don’t need to buy any more time either.” Athos spoke, finally understanding what he needed to do.

Athos extracted as much mana as possible from the core in one go, creating a discharge of power throughout his body, before pressing it all back into the core, holding just enough energy to move his body. He kept repeating the process in the same rhythm as the core’s pulsation, until it happened.

The mana extracted from its core was just a part of all the energy its core had and every time it was sent back to the core it put pressure on the remaining energy, making it more condensed with each cycle. Then, all the life force that Athos gathered in life and after death, seeped inside the core itself and sealed the condensed mana, forming its second layer of death.

Normally, this process would happen gradually as Athos fights and recovers, his core would slowly condense mana and build up life force, but thanks to his abilities as an undead, Athos has advanced the force.

“What the fuck are you saying?” Unaware of Athos’ inner change, Finn called out to him suspiciously.

“It’s quite simple actually. You agreed to talk to me because you wanted to buy time, didn’t you? I did the same.” Athos said, before a burst of darkness left his body and clung to his bones. The mass of darkness crept over his bones, healing his ribs and any damaged bones without consuming his strength, before starting to lighten to a pale gray.

The gray matter resembled skin in texture, but it was dry and withered, clinging tightly to his bones like a withered mummy. Athos was surprised by this sudden change, but the mass of darkness did not weigh him down or hinder his movements, so he pretended not to be surprised and continued talking.

“I hated playing the chatty villain who tells his whole plan only to die in the end, but it was worth it.” Athos said, activating the thunder boost ability, quickly noticing the difference. Its core drew energy from both layers and blended them together, doubling their potency. Athos ran to Finn, punching him in the face with all his might to test out his new body.

“Wha-” Finn was surprised by Athos’s sudden speed boost, but managed to dodge Athos’ charge thanks to the explosive reflexes skill still active, turning his head at the last second. He even managed to sever Athos’ right arm as he retreated, leaving a deep gash on his forearm.

Finn tried to attack once more, but Athos spat flaming breath at him, forcing him to retreat. The flames were faster and hotter than the one before, scorching his coat as he rolled over. Finn launched an aura blade at Athos, but the latter conjured a barrier of corrupted mana, blocking the attack.

‘My physical strength and magic have improved remarkably. Our physical abilities are now similar, although I am slightly stronger, while he is slightly faster than me. He can’t use magic now that he’s out of the ring, so I won’t be able to compare our magic.’ Athos thought, analyzing his own strength.

The gray ‘skin’ on his right arm returned to a mass of darkness and healed the cut on his body, before returning to normal. Once again no nutrients were consumed for healing, but now that Athos looked closer, the skin on his arm was thinner.

‘Maybe this skin is like a magic organ? Store nutrients and heal me when I’m injured? Athos thought as he continued the attack.

Athos swung his hand in an arc, releasing a blade of corrupted mana towards Finn’s chest. Finn ducked quickly before running towards him, activating his own acceleration ability. He tried to stab Athos in the ribs, but the latter re-cast his corrupted mana sword, blocking the attack.