I became a legion lich

82 Purge

No, calling that thing undead would be a compliment. To Treevor’s eyes, Athos’ soul looked like a freak straight out of a psychopath’s nightmares. His body was pitch black, as if ink had been spilled all over him. His right hand was busy holding two black chains thicker than his arm, while in his left he carried a bloodied sword.

His face had no features, eyes, mouth or anything else, but was covered in a grinning gray mask that clung to his head like a second skin and seemed to move on its own. Every now and then, he would tug at the chains on his right hand, causing the souls in chains to groan in pain. Every time this happened, the gray mask laughed at their suffering.

It was one of the most bizarre and terrifying things Treevor had ever seen. Unlike physical bodies, a soul’s appearance was determined by one’s state of mind, as well as how one saw oneself. So what kind of state of mind does one have to be in to see oneself in such a horrendous way?

‘This thing is having fun. He is having fun while corrupting others. He came to kill me because he finds it amusing.’ That’s what Treevor thought, seeing the gray mask look at him the way a child looks at a new toy. The black chains smeared the souls with their darkness, like spilling black paint on a whiteboard.

As the souls darkened, the mask laughed before looking for new souls to taint.

“You really do have special senses. I shouldn’t stand out from the other mage, but you found me anyway. How did you do that?” Realizing that Treevor was looking him in the eye, Athos stepped forward and stood out from the rest. His bare skull was covered in a mass of darkness before turning back to gray skin.

After his parting with Khali, Athos realized he could retract the skin with a thought, which would be useful for disguising himself among his skeletons.

“You’re just as ugly on the outside as you are on the inside.” Treevor said, understanding why Athos looked so bizarre. His soul was a reflection of his hideous body.

“And you look intimidating on the outside, but I’m sure you’re soft on the inside. I’ll be sure to open you up to find out.” Athos said smiling defiantly, but he was extremely confused inside.

.....

‘Why isn’t he moving?’ No matter how strong and arrogant he is, standing around like a target is stupid at best.’ Athos thought, looking suspiciously at Treevor with the vision of death, but finding nothing.

The willow was actually a glowing willow, a magical tree filled with the light attribute. Its leaves had healing properties even without processing them, and staffs made from its branches amplified light magic. It also meant that it was a white blur in Athos’ eyes.

“You will pay for your arrogance, undead.” Treevor said, white vein-like lines appeared all over the tree. The leaves glowed as they attracted the light attribute of the environment, further enhancing his body’s physical ability and the power of enchantments. Even so, his power was not even half of what it was when he faced the mage slayers.

...but more than enough to eradicate weak undead.

“Begin!” Athos ordered, quickly retreating along with the first line of undead. Only a few skeletons remained at the edge of the hole and they took small sealed bags and opened them around their feet, releasing the earthquake dust. The ground began to shake before collapsing, knocking them into the cave before they were crushed by rock and earth.

The collapse turned the walls of the hole into a steep slope, but enough for the skeletons to descend. The undead rushed like an avalanche towards Treevor, trampling their own companions if they tripped or were too slow.

Even in the face of the wave of enemies, Treevor didn’t care. He lifted one arm as high as possible, making the light rise up his torso until his fist glowed like a second sun and waited until so many skeletons approached him before whispering.

“Sacred field.” A wave of light spread from his fist across the hole, until it formed a dome of light. The undead had their movements slowed down as if they were walking underwater, with black smoke rising from their bodies. Holy Field was one of the most well-known anti-undead spells and was widely taught by the church of Eishin and the elven nation.

The spell increased the concentration of light in a certain area, passively healing any living being and decreasing the power of dark magic, including the energy released by the corrupted core to move a skeleton. Any undead, superior or not, would have their power reduced and suffer constant damage within the holy field.

“Die, this time for good!” Treevor screamed, the branches all over his body merging with his arms and turning into long whips. Translucent runes appeared on the whip’s surface, before swinging its arms and sending shockwaves in all directions.

Dozens of skeletons were swept away by the shock wave, their bodies shattering into pieces and hitting other skeletons and knocking them over like bowling pins, but new undead quickly took their place. Treevor was about to crush them again, but sudden heat from above caught his attention.

A 10-meter-long spear of condensed black flame streaked across the sacred ground, aiming precisely at Treevor’s head, where Athos assumed he was. The meteor spear spell was cast outside the holy field and moved too fast for the weakening effect to take effect.

Treevor coiled the right whip into a spiral above his head and activated one of the willow’s enchantments, creating a shield of light on top of the whip. The spear hit the shield of light, causing large cracks before exploding, ripping off a good chunk of the whip, surprising Treevor.

‘How is this skeleton’s magic so strong? He wasn’t like that when he left the forest!’ Treevor wondered in shock, feeling the black flames scorch what was left of his whip and the darkness sapping his strength. Athos had poured half his mana into the spell, deciding that a strong attack would be more effective than prolonging the fight.

Treevor cast a freezing spell to put out the flames and a pulse of light to purify the darkness and regenerate the whip, but Athos didn’t give him time to think.

“Corpse explosion!” Athos screamed, causing the shattered skeletons by Treevor’s first attack to detonate the very core, creating a curtain of darkness within the hole. The holy field tried to purify the darkness, but dozens of cores were more than enough to overcome it.

“Tch!” Treevor clucked his tongue, conjuring a simple barrier of light around him to block the darkness’s advance, but the undead invaded like a swarm of locusts, slamming the barrier down with all their might. The barrier only lasted a few against the combined onslaught of the undead and the advancing darkness, but it was enough for Treevor.

The bud on her left shoulder blossomed into a beautiful white flower, but the amount of energy she was absorbing was frightening. The flower drained both magical and natural light so quickly that Treevor’s surroundings were obscured for a few moments.

Its remaining whip fell apart, the branches curling into a hollow cylindrical spiral inside, like a cannon, before the flower sent light energy throughout the Willow to be amplified and then filled the cannon’s interior.

“Swerve!” Athos shouted to the really important people among the skeletons, knowing that it would be impossible for the rest of the army to escape in time.

“Purge!” Treevor yelled, firing the light cannon. The beam of bright light pierced the curtain of darkness and the undead, vaporizing them before they could do anything. The attack hit the steep ramp, leaving a trail of destruction on the ground as it eradicated all the skeletons.

Treevor began turning the cannon, taking full advantage of the attack to kill as many of the undead as possible. He swept the cannon like a fan until it almost formed a semicircle, before the light began to fade and fade.

‘That was dangerous.’ Athos thought, cold sweat he didn’t even know he was capable of producing soaking his body. Treevor’s attack was devastating, killing approximately 1200 undead. He would have been one of them if he hadn’t run for his life.

‘But it was too early and it created an opportunity I can’t miss.’ Athos used death vision, realizing how weak Treevor’s body was after the attack. Previously, his body radiated light like a Christmas tree, but now it was weak, allowing Athos to notice a shadow on Treevor’s head. It was something small, a little bigger than a grape, but it was definitely there.

‘The main body is in the head. Get his attention and make him bow his head.’ Athos mentally ordered, receiving a chorus of nods in response. So far, the fight has been easier than he imagined. He invaded the forest with the determination to lose all 4000 skeletons with him, but Treevor was already faltering before half of them were killed.