The Half-Elf firmly chose No after he had regained his composure. Although it might be possible for him to injure and possibly destroy one of the heads of the Monster of Ruin, he didn't dare to take the risk.
A Calamity-Ranked Monster that couldn't even be defeated by a dozen Saints working together was something he didn't want to antagonize.
Although the rewards were great, the possibility of being hunted down by such a creature would become his living nightmare.
He would rather not offend such a monster, and be thankful that his life was spared. However, he still felt that the tragedy that was happening around him could have been avoided if he only had the courage to speak his mind.
Just as the Half-Elf was feeling depressed, a surprisingly kind and understanding voice reached his ears.
"Don't blame yourself, boy," the black-robed dwarf said. "The moment Teju Jagua's seals were broken, this was this Barony's inevitable fate. No one could have saved them. Especially not a little Apostle like you, nor the Two Saints that stand at the pinnacle of this Kingdom. Also, don't feel sad. The people of this town didn't die for naught. Their deaths will serve a grander purpose."
The black-robed man snapped his fingers a second time.
The blaze that had engulfed the entire city suddenly disappeared, leaving only black smoke rising up in the air.
Suddenly, the sound of something crumbling and chattering reached Lux's ears, making him look behind him at the city, which had now been charred to ruins.
At first, he wasn't able to see anything due to the black smoke in his surroundings. But after several minutes, he felt them.
Lux felt his entire body tingle, as if he was being electrocuted because he didn't expect to see something like this in his life.
Skeletons… that numbered in the hundreds of thousands, rose up from the rubble.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtSkeletons of adults, skeletons of children, and even skeletons that were so small that Lux could only think of them as the skeletons of babies all started to rise up from where they died, as they answered their new Master's summons.
"N-Necromancer," Lux stuttered as he stared at the Skeleton Army that had risen up from the ashes of Dunspear City.
"Right," the black-robed man replied in a teasing tone. "A Necromancer, just like you, boy."
Lux slowly turned his head to look at the black-robed man, whose face was still hidden by the black robe he was wearing.
He hadn't been able to notice it right away because the Seven-Headed Dog's presence was too overwhelming that he couldn't focus on anything else.
But now that things had calmed down a bit, he was able to observe the black-robed person more, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
"Saint…" Lux muttered. "You are a Saint."
A gust of wind blew away the hood covering the Necromancer's face, showing Lux a middle-aged Dwarf with silver hair, and eyes that were as red as blood.
Lux knew that there were other Necromancers in the World, but never in his wildest dreams did he expect that the first Necromancer that he would meet in his life was a bonafide Saint, whose eyes looked down on him with great interest, making the Half-Elf's heart beat wildly inside his chest.
Fear slowly started to rise from the very depths of his soul.
"Since we've already met, how about you tell me your name?" the middle-aged Dwarf said. "But, before you do that, take off that mask covering your face. I want to see what you really look like. A while ago, Teju Jagua said that you are a Half-Elf, but all I see is a chubby Human.
"I'm sure you have your reasons for hiding your identity, but you don't have to worry anymore. Aside from you, us, and those two dwarfs over there, there will be no one else who could see you. Now, take it off."
Lux was very tempted to retort with, "What if I don't want to do it?" but he didn't dare to do such a thing.
In front of overwhelming strength, the only thing he could do was try his best to avoid provoking them.
The Half-Elf took off the Mask of the Thousand Faces, allowing the middle-aged Dwarf, Dora, as well as the Seven-Headed Dog, to see what he really looked like.
"My name is Lux," Lux said. "Lux Von Kaizer."
The thought of using his Master's name crossed his mind again, but he had a feeling that the Saint in front of him could tell if he was lying or not, so he answered truthfully.
"Hmmm. Judging by your looks, you are still in your mid-teens… maybe around sixteen to eighteen, but not more than twenty," the middle-aged Dwarf said as he rubbed his chin. "Very well. I'll allow you to live, Lux. Also…"
The middle-aged Dwarf shifted his gaze at Millie who was holding Princess Anastasia in her arms.
"You are the Third Princess of this Kingdom?" the middle-aged Dwarf asked.
Princess Anastasia's body shuddered uncontrollably as the Necromancer shifted his gaze to her. After personally witnessing how the entirety of Dunspear City was wiped out in a matter of seconds, she finally understood why the Calamity-Ranked Monster was sealed—it was because of its destructive capabilities.
"Poor child, you're too scared to answer me?" the middle-aged Dwarf said softly. "Very well. When you see your father, tell him this, Memento Mori will be taking the Creature of Ruin. However, he doesn't have to worry about his kingdom being destroyed. Even though we are Necromancers, we value life more than others."
The middle-aged Dwarf then smiled before continuing his declaration. "Our goal is for both the living and the dead to live in peace. So, make sure to tell your father to forget this incident, and we can part ways without any hard feelings. Do you understand?"
Princess Anastasia forced herself to nod her head. Although she didn't know if the Necromancer was telling the truth or not, this was not for her to decide, but for her father.
Seeing the adorable Dwarf nod her head in understanding, the Necromancer chuckled before patting the back of his Black Eagle.
"If Fate wills it, we'll meet again Lux," the middle-aged dwarf said. "Until then, make sure you become an outstanding Necromancer. I look forward to seeing how much you've grown the next time we meet. Let's go, Teju Jagua."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"""Yes, Master."""
The Black Eagle rose to the sky, and the giant Seven-Headed Monster of Ruin walked away.
Right behind it, the Skeletons that numbered in hundreds of thousands followed, making Princess Anastasia bury her face in Millie's chest, unable to handle the gruesome sight.
Cai and Keane had also seen the incident from a distance and decided to stay away from the city until the Monster of Ruin left for their own safety.
In the end, those who were at the scene were taken to the capital city of Aeronwen by the members of the Order of the Griffin, who were late to arrive.
The members of the Order, including Millie's Master, were tasked to track the Princess down using an artifact that could locate the Princess' Pendant.
But after realizing that they were tricked by their opponents, they hurried towards Dunspear City. They believed that they could find clues about the Princess's whereabouts along the way.
When they saw the dense black smoke that was rising in the distance, they knew that something had gone terribly wrong. Unfortunately, it was already too late when they arrived.
The Necromancer was long gone, and the Monster of Ruin was nowhere in sight.
A day later, news of Dunspear City being destroyed spread throughout the surrounding lands. However, no one knew what caused it.
In the end, the Dwarf King, Uther Von Gweliven, mobilized his secret agents to erase all traces of the Teju Jagua's footprints from the scene, preventing anyone from knowing what had happened.
The official statement of the King was that a meteor had fallen from the sky and landed on Dunspear City.
Naturally, the members of the Griffin worked hand in hand to create the scenario that the King had announced, making the populace calm down.
Aside from a select number of people, no one was told what truly happened, burying the real story of the tragedy that went down in the history books as the Day of Ruin.