Chapter 160: The Necromancer (1/2)
The rest of their time passed peacefully, even if they were under watch for most of it. Then, Hineko suggested, taking them by surprise and attack to weaken the enemy, but just killing the scouts would deal any big blow to the Boss's force. They wouldn't attack either, as it did not create them for that.
Twenty-four hours passed, and Shingi once more could use his Spirit Mana, which fortunately didn't count as one of the Basic Elements of his Mana Pool. He tested things a bit to see if everything was ok, and they started their way towards the Boss.
Finding it wasn't so hard for them. They just had to follow the corruption in the air at its source. Usually, it would be hard to detect, but to Shingi, it was clear, especially after his last task completion.
”You all remember what I told you, and we have discussed. We all need to get the Boss down first, or we have no chance to survive.” [Shingi]
This, of course, wasn't the plan, as the Boss could manipulate his students and possibly Syra. But he and An would be safe, as they had their special eyes active. They monitored them during their trip to the Boss's place, so they discussed the actual plan through the Party's Chat. This was just to throw the enemy off even a bit.
They soon reached an abandoned building, looked to be an old hospital.
Hineko and Little Phoenix were in front, looking for Physical Traps and the other looking for Magical Ones. Most of the time, the traps of the Necromancer were Dark-Based, meaning Little Phoenix had the most significant chance to detect them. There were some traps, but nothing they couldn't disarm or go around.
They finally reached a big room, which probably was where they had the beds for multiple ill people to be treated, most likely if there was a big spread.
The room was empty, and instead, there was a throne made of bones and skulls, another creation of the Necromancer. It didn't have any unique properties, but for some reason, this was the second thing he created after the black crystal for his staff.
There was a humanoid figure on the throne, but instead of the old human Necromancer, there was a young human, but she was dressed exactly as the Boss would wear. Shingi didn't detect any Illusion magic on her and could tell that she was strong, as strong as the Boss would be. She even emitted the corrupted aura that corrupted the entire floor, which should be the Boss.
There weren't any other creatures in the room that could be seen, but Shingi detected many of them hidden.
”You are finally here. You took your sweet time.” [Female Necromancer]
”Who are you? Where is Kelvin?” [Shingi]
”That old dude? He was in charge and failed too many times, so we ended the circle. I am in charge now. You can call me Nivlek if you want, but I would prefer you don't speak to me much.” [Nivlek]
Shingi focused his PERCEPTION Skillfully on her for any clues, and he finally found something. A familiar M-shaped burn mark on her neck, almost entirely hidden by her hair.
”So you work for Mikhail.” [Shingi]
Her eyes went wide, and she soon noticed that her hair had moved a little, showing part of the burn mark, but to the eyes of Shingi, it was like all of it was out in the open.
”You are more perceptive than the rumors said. How interesting. No wonder the Boss showed such interest to you.” [Nivlek]
”Why were you sent that low in the Tower? Why does he care about this floor to send one of his minions?” [Shingi]
Nivlek released as much of her energy to make the air thinner and harder to breathe.
”I..am…no…MINION. UNDERSTOOD?!?” [Nivlek]
Everyone but Syra, who didn't need to breathe, and Shingi, who had encountered this kind of trick in the past, had fallen on their knees. He couldn't speak, though, as he had to give what air he had in him.
Shingi started using his last gained Element in action. He started controlling the surrounding Air, which was more corrupted than the one that made the whirlwind, but he actually had an easier time managing it than back then.
He reached the state of controlling just his air around him, to allow him to breathe with no problem, but just for him.
He started walking towards her, and she tried to focus more of her power on him. Still, he vigorously fought back, having to stop sometimes to adjust before continue walking. When he started, he was close to ten meters away, and he seemed to have reached his limit halfway there.
So he used his Blessing to boost his INT and started slowly walking towards her, but this time with no breaks.