Swordsman's Regression: Reawakened as a Necromancer-Chapter 134: Things of Fairytale

"Why are you doing this!"

Back in the Demon Gate World, Percival and Lewis headed towards the next Encounter Zone. The Arcanist ambled forward in crooked patterns, scared to venture deeper into this unknown abyss.

"You’re way stronger than me," Lewis muttered, sweat dripping down his long face. "What do you need me for?"

Percival walked silently behind him, eyes ahead. "How can I be stronger than you when I’m only a Lvl 49?"

Lewis stopped and turned to look at him. Percival shoved him, forcing him to keep walking.

"It’s obviously your Class!" Lewis cried. "From what I heard the Hero’s Necromancer Class had a Mythic Talent! Can you compare that to mine that’s only Legendary?"

"It’s only a rank higher," Percival said plainly. "Not a big deal."

"It’s a very big deal! Very big! Legendary Talents are seen as the highest possible. Mythics is a one in half a decade kinda thing. Even at Lvl 49, you can easily mount a challenge to a Lvl 100 Knight!"

Percival’s eyes narrowed. "Depends on the Knight."

Nevertheless, it was true. Not only because of his Necromancer Class’s talent, but because of his Dual Class status.

One of his Classes was already maxed. Even though it was only Special Ranked, combined with his present level in his Necromancer Class, if Percival were to face a Lvl 100 Knight...

...he could kill him.

"But you don’t seem scared at all," Lewis said, walking over a fallen wall clock. "This Gate World is way too terrifying for me!"

"Listen!" Percival whispered angrily. "If you want to survive this place then do exactly what I tell you! Keep walking!"

Lewis nodded and hastened his steps. After a while, when they were yet to arrive at the next Zone, he broke the silence again.

"You seem to know a lot about this Gate World. Have you ever fought beasts like those before?"

Percival stayed passive. "They’re not beasts," he replied.

"Mhm?" Lewis raised his brows. "What do you mean they’re not beasts? I mean they were green but they’re certainly not Demonspawns."

"You’re right," Percival deadpanned. "They’re not Demonspawns either."

Now the Arcanist was even more confused. "Not beasts and not Demonspawns. Then what else could they be?"

"Demons."

Lewis froze, but realizing himself, he continued walking, peering back at the Necromancer and wondering if he had heard correctly.

"Demons are things of fairytale right?" he asked, more to solace himself. "Parents used to tell that to kids just to make them behave. They’re not actually real."

"They’re real," Percival said. "Real enough to kill all four of your partners."

Lewis gulped, remembering the massacre that happened in the Foyer. "Is that why you were able to kill them and we couldn’t? You knew they were Demons from the very start?"

"Yes. And I prepared."

There was silence for a while before Percival broke it. "Demons are made from dark mana, purely from dark mana. Even their flesh is metaphysical which is why the weapons and armor of your teammates couldn’t protect them."

Lewis lowered his head. "I see."

"But you," Percival referred to him. "You’re an Arcanist. You can interact with mana more than any other Class. It should be easier for you to attack and defend against the Demons."

Lewis looked over his shoulder. "Is that why you forced me to follow you? Because of my powers?"

"Yes," Percival bluntly replied, looking straight at Lewis’s questioning eyes.

"But I’ve never done such a thing before," the Arcanist said. "I’m only trained at wielding and manipulating ambient mana. To manipulate the mana composition of a real being... heck, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the truth that Demons actually exist!"

"You can reconcile with the truth later. For now, just do whatever I tell you to," Percival said. "That’s the only way we can make it out of here."

Lewis faced front, gulping loudly. "I could have made it out of here but you forced me back," he mumbled.

Finally, the march down the rotting corridor ended before a pair of towering double doors, carved from blackened oak and etched with the faces of weeping scholars.

Percival stopped. He could feel the temperature plummet the closer they got, the ambient mana turning sluggish and freezing against his armor.

"That’s a... terrifying door," Lewis said.

Percival withdrew his scythe and nudged him in the back with the flat of the weapon. "Open it."

Lewis swallowed hard, glancing nervously at the two Skeleton Warriors flanking him. His hands trembled as he reached out, pushing against the heavy oak.

The doors groaned in protest, their rusted hinges screaming into the silence, before giving way to the darkness beyond. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Cold air poured out, blasting their faces with dust and the smell of pages.

⸢Encounter Zone: The Library of Midnight Echoes⸥

Percival scanned the space. It was indeed a library, and a truly impressive one at that.

The bookshelves were incredibly tall, crafted from petrified wood, stretched upward into an abyss of a ceiling, their tops lost in the gloom.

The aisles between them twisted like a maze, filled with the suffocating scent of rotting parchment, dried ink, and cold dust.

Blackened chandeliers hung on rusted chains, holding candles that had burned out centuries ago.

The windows were like the ones in churches, with different colors but ridden with cobwebs like the rest of the place.

Percival scanned further, looking for the most important thing. He found it at the far end of the room.

Sitting atop a ruined, circular reading desk was the Demon Source.

Expectedly, it wasn’t a nest this time. It was a grimoire of gargantuan proportions. The book was bound in pale, stretched flesh, chained to a pedestal of jagged bone.

Its pages fluttered without any wind, bleeding a thick, oily black mist that cascaded down the pedestal, seeping into the floorboards and snaking up the bookshelves like creeping ivy.

Percival made Lewis stumble forward, leaving the threshold. Then he joined him, feeling the cold air pressing into his armor, even though it never sneaked into his skin.

He paused, tilting his head. His Perception was screaming at him for unknown reasons. Perhaps, unseen reasons.

Percival listened carefully, but all he could hear was silence. There was no buzzing. No heartbeats. Only a hollow, echoing silence that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Maybe it wasn’t just the noise.

Why did it feel like there was something standing right in front of him?