342 Meeting (2/2)

She grabbed up a massive treant next to her and hurled it towards Molly. This surprise meeting between mother and daughter instantly became a fierce fight amongst family members. Once again, Molly encountered the greatest danger of her life.

******

”When you scheme against others, others are surely scheming against you as well.”

While I was busy messing around in the undead army, there were certain undead observing the situation. Yep, after they reported the information to the higher-ups, there was a certain someone who guessed something.

”Only an Undead Emperor would be able to fool an Undead Lord and cause so many undead to quietly disappear within their own camp without a trace.”

And so, Zero came. She remained hidden in the shadows and simply observed everything that occurred. It appeared that she didn't have much interest in Oak Town; in fact, she wasn't even that interested in the Tark Republic. She was only interested in the young Undead Emperor that managed to force Aso to sacrifice himself.

Unlike what everyone thought, the Undead Emperors weren't unanimous in their desire to return to the mortal plane.

The Tark Republic had already disappeared from the mortal plane for countless millennium. It was only natural that all its Senators had different opinions. Some undead already made the Undead Planes into their new home, while other undead believed that they should let the past remain in the past. Some undead didn't even remember their original homes, while some were worried about their positions if the Tark Republic was reestablished in the mortal plane.

Some ancient undead didn't actually wish to return and only gave their support as a cause of their friendship with the other undead; they didn't plan to participate personally. And there were also some neutral undead who didn't care either way, if they returned or not, which was why the undead leaders who invaded this time were only from the Tark Republic reestablishment faction and the neutral faction.

A total of thirteen Undead Emperors had invaded, but they were actually of these two separate factions. Aso was one of the main Undead Emperors in the reestablishment faction, while Zero was one of the main Undead Emperors in the neutral faction.

Most of the time, Zero wasn't very proactive. The Ice Plane with its incredibly low temperature was highly suitable for her to live in. Joining this major expedition was mostly because of her personal relationship with Aso.

And now, for her deceased friend—or perhaps it would be better to say former lover—she decided to directly come find the main culprit responsible for Aso's death.

”Perhaps you've heard of me, although my original name's long been forgotten. Everyone calls me Zero.”

The solo traveler before me had no intentions of concealing her true appearance. A silver light coursed through her transparent body, while her incredibly archaic noble ceremonial clothing combined with a noble's hat indicated the generation she was from. The way she slightly bowed and greeted me was also in that same archaic ceremonial style. All in all, this ancient ghost gave me a strong sensation of having arrived in the wrong generation.

”Zero?”

Of course I knew who Zero was. She was the Undead Emperor of the Ice Plane, another Undead Emperor just like me. It was just that I never expected that she would be a female ghost.

It wasn't that I discriminated against females… fine, I was discriminating against the fact that she was a ghost. Amongst all the types of undead species, ghosts weren't weak at all, but ghosts had the lowest growth potential out of every single undead species.

Compared to banshees that already had materialized souls, all ghost-type undead were typically just soul shards. They didn't have any physical bodies to limit them, which was why they were immune to all physical attacks and possessed formidable natural talents in negative energy. However, the flip side of the coin was that without a physical body, it would be far too problematic for them to improve in power past what they started with. Since they didn't have any physical bodies to protect the soul, they even had weaknesses to light, positive energy, and all sorts of other things.

But nobody would dare to underestimate Zero just because she was a ghost. After all, the fact that she was an Undead Emperor explained a lot, even if her soul couldn't possibly be complete.

Her elegant eyes seemed to be smiling, as if she was appreciative of her junior. This ghost from the Ice Plane lightly clapped her hands.

”…Although I have many things I'd like to say, due to my connection to Aso, please… die for me!”

In just an instant, the entire world changed. This was a Soul World that seemed to almost match reality. Everything before me was nothing but white, while a frigid wind blew snowflakes everywhere. Everything was frozen, and this strong sense of having dropped into another world made me feel… at home? Yep, I felt incredibly comfortable! This field of ice and snow was my home turf as well. I could sense that this world's natural laws seemed so familiar, just like the snow mountain that the Frigid Nightmares lived in.

Zero's eyes were staring at me with no malicious intent whatsoever. Yet she clearly desired to have me die right here and now. This Undead Emperor didn't intend to say any unnecessary words—my death was her only desire.

*Clap!*

Once again, the white ghost Undead Emperor clapped her hands, causing yet another chilly breeze. The temperature dropped even further, enough to make any human an ice sculpture. Zero's Soul World seemed quite simple, but it was actually highly fatal. Just this simply mega-low temperature was more than enough to kill any life form.

”That's all?”

The ghost's expression revealed that she was somewhat disappointed. The final message that Aso had sent before his death indicated that he had a high opinion of this young Roland. If Roland died easily, it would only mean that Aso had been terribly off in his judgment.

Although I'd like to play dead, it was rare that I got to meet an Undead Emperor, especially one who was also an ice magic practitioner. It would be too much of a waste to miss this opportunity. I would be considered rude if I did not respond in kind.

”Senior, please take a good look at my ice magic.”