Usually, when a mage summoned a powerful being from another dimension, the proper response was to stay still.

It was not because the mage was lazy. Calling forth a powerful being placed an enormous burden on a mortal, even with the support of restrictions and ritual power. Trying to do something else in the middle of that was rarely a wise choice.

And yet Lee Han was attempting to summon Perkuntra on top of everything else, like a novice who had only just learned summoning magic.

Though Lee Han had little experience fighting transcendent beings, there was one lesson he had learned very clearly.

Use every possible method to suppress them as quickly as possible at the very beginning!

Professor Voladi had drilled the importance of the first strike in magical combat into his bones. Pouring everything into that initiative was the tactic of the weak.

“What foolishness...”

Just as the Creature of Death and Darkness was about to rebuke the mage’s stupidity, Sharkhan whined again.

Irritated by the foolish projection crying inside it, the Creature of Death and Darkness growled.

“Since we’ve come this far, stop whining! The battle is still— Wait. He’s fine?”

The Creature of Death and Darkness was caught off guard by the unexpected words.

Surprisingly, Sharkhan was shouting that the mage was fine and that it should go fight the enemy.

Normally, the Creature of Death and Darkness would have been delighted that Sharkhan had finally abandoned that useless mortal, but instinct told it this was not the case.

Why on earth was he fine?

“...Fine. Even if the mage’s life goes out like a candle, the Creature will take no responsibility!”

“COME, AT, ME!”

The Blasphemer glared at the Creature of Death and Darkness and shouted.

Having forced its way out of the dimensional gate, the Blasphemer’s body had swollen like an enormous balloon, hanging in the air above the palace.

It resembled a headless, bloated giant. Every time it writhed, an aura of decay and corruption spilled out around it, and from that aura, new armies were born.

The Blasphemer looked as though it would immediately charge at the Death Knights, who had formed a siege line with chains and siege weapons, but it remained unexpectedly cautious.

That was because directly before it stood not only the Fury Golem, but also a familiar nemesis from the Undead Realm.

“A Fury Golem? Did Gonadaltes summon it? Even so, entrusting such a monster to mere minions...”

“!”

Lee Han flinched despite being in the middle of preparing his summoning.

‘What is it talking about?’

“WRATH, DUKE!”

Perhaps deciding that facing two powerful opponents while surrounded by Death Knights was disadvantageous, the Blasphemer made the first move.

It stopped producing armies and concentrated its power, unleashing an attack toward the Fury Golem.

“It’s moving!”

The Death Knights were busy preventing the armies pouring from the sky from escaping the palace grounds while also sealing the dimensional gate with chains.

Even so, they did not miss the chance to counterattack when the Blasphemer exposed an opening.

The ballistae engraved with magic circles and ancient characters fired their bolts, and a horrible tearing sound rang out from the Blasphemer’s flesh.

The Blasphemer howled in pain but did not stop. It intended to endure a few hits and destroy the Fury Golem no matter what.

The Creature of Death and Darkness expanded its body.

The darkness of night spread across its flesh, and in an instant, its bulk multiplied dozens of times over. It looked large enough to swallow even the moon.

CRACK!

The bite had torn away roughly a quarter of the Blasphemer’s flesh.

But the Blasphemer did not stop moving even as it screamed in pain. Instead, its wounded portions regenerated even faster.

“...Prahgal?! Its power?”

“CLE, VER!”

The Creature of Death and Darkness could not tell whether the Blasphemer was praising itself or boasting about its own intelligence for allying with Prahgal.

It had heard rumors of beings associating with evil god worshippers or making contracts with them, but forming an alliance to the point of borrowing divine power was an entirely different matter.

Evil gods were, in essence, thought-forms born from the extreme condensation of evil, negative emotions, and resentment. Conceptually, however, they could still be called divine beings.

Every emotion and declaration the Blasphemer offered through that alliance was being given as nourishment to the evil god.

No matter how long a powerful being had reigned in the Undead Realm, such a contract could become dangerous at any moment, in any form.

“You stupid, undignified bastard! Have you fallen so low that you’re relying on gods now?!”

“FOOL!”

Naturally, the Blasphemer did not acknowledge its mistake and declare that it would fight fairly.

Instead, it mocked the Creature of Death and Darkness and injected a fluid of decay in order to deal the Fury Golem a decisive fatal blow.

The fluid was so toxic that dozens of Plague Ghouls would be born from even a single drop falling outside.

“...ANOTHER, ILLUSION!!!”

“??!”

Only then did the Creature of Death and Darkness realize why the Blasphemer was showing anger rare for one of its kind.

That Fury Golem was an illusion!

Looking again, the Creature wondered how it had ever been fooled, but quickly tried to console itself.

Had it not believed the illusion only because that Blasphemer fool had been deceived first?

“I’LL, KILL, YOU!”

“You rotten fat bastard. Worry about yourself!”

Even as the Creature of Death and Darkness said that, it secretly glanced toward Lee Han.

The Blasphemer’s obsession was unusually intense, and that worried it.

***

Lee Han’s situation in the lower part of the palace was not good either.

It was not because he had suffered serious damage from mana while summoning Perkuntra.

Attackers had appeared.

“...It’s an attack!”

“!”

At Alshicle’s shout, Lee Han stopped calling Perkuntra and immediately prepared for battle.

‘How?!’

Their current position was not somewhere that should have been under attack.

The Death Knights had completely surrounded the area, including the dimensional gate.

Though it looked like a passive tactic, this method was actually an orthodox and highly effective strategy against powerful beings from other dimensions.

Since such beings were summoned by paying a price to break through the dimensional wall, the longer they remained, the weaker their power became.

That was why the Death Knights had chosen to completely surround the area and trap the summoned minions and additional subordinates nearby.

Lee Han had trusted that formation.

He had not expected an attack to reach this place.

“!”

When he saw enemies filling the empty seats and stage, Lee Han understood the situation.

Armies had been born from the aura and blood—if it could even be called blood—that had dripped down from the Blasphemer’s flesh.

To think its legions could replicate from its flesh with every breath.

‘Even a slime wouldn’t be this awful.’

“Be careful!”

Alshicle shouted in concern for his inexperienced junior mage, but soon realized there was no need.

Enhanced undead summons quickly appeared in the passage and blocked the way.

A Medium Skeleton Golem formed by combining several Skeleton Warriors.

Skeleton Warriors reinforced with dark elements and blood elements.

And a Dragon-Tooth Golem...?

‘Did I see that wrong?’

Alshicle blinked in confusion.

From its appearance alone, it was definitely the kind of skeleton golem summoned with dragon teeth that he had only read about in books.

But that made no sense.

Where would anyone obtain pure dragon teeth these days?

It had to be some new spell from Einroguard’s dark magic school.

Either it reproduced similar effects without actual dragon teeth, or perhaps it used only a tiny amount mixed into the ritual...

“■■■ ■■■!”

‘Left. Right. Below.’

Lee Han rapidly assessed the entire situation while deploying his undead.

Alshicle was a better mage than Lee Han, but unfortunately, he was not a professional combat mage. If close combat broke out and the situation descended into chaos, there was no telling what might happen.

Lee Han had to block their entry and deal with them here no matter what.

‘Is that a Plague Ghoul? The one behind it looks like a Corruption Fiend. The stronger one is... I’ve never seen that before.’

Some of the undead were familiar to him by name.

Others he was seeing for the first time.

But Lee Han could tell that the unfamiliar one was strong.

The knight wore armor that seemed several decades out of fashion, and all manner of nauseating auras seeped from the slits of the helmet and the gaps between the plates.

“I forbid your approach in the name of House Pengerine!”

While Lee Han bought time, Alshicle completed his first spell.

A massive sphere of cold air formed in the air and unleashed a raging blizzard upon the enemies. The cold was powerful enough to freeze even the corrupt undead that had been melting the stage and audience seats.

“Perk— Damn it!”

Lee Han blocked the incoming attacks with telekinesis.

Thick plague slime and arrows vanished against the telekinetic barrier.

‘They’re targeting me, not Alshicle!’

Lee Han realized that the undead here were focusing their attacks specifically on him.

He had thought they were distracted dealing with his summoned creatures, but the moment Lee Han looked ready to cast a powerful spell, they immediately moved to interrupt him.

But why were they not attacking more aggressively?

‘...Are they trying to drag this into a long battle?’

Just now, dozens of undead had been torn apart by the summoned creatures Lee Han had called forth as a deterrent.

The Dragon-Tooth Golem summoned with the tooth Jowrin had given him, in particular, left horrifying scars across the enemy ranks every time it charged.

If they tried to break through by force, they could be annihilated.

It seemed they intended to restrain the most dangerous-looking target, Lee Han, while steadily increasing their forces.

‘That’s fine by me.’

Lee Han was confident in prolonged battles too.

He reinforced the defenses around him with telekinesis, then chanted a spell that could be cast quickly.

Attacks flew toward him immediately, but this much was still something he could block and endure.

‘Verdus!’

Lee Han called not for Professor Verdus, but for the ancestor Verdus, the undead mage who had made a contract with him.

However, there was no response from the sigil.

That meant Verdus could not emerge right now.

THUD!

Hearing the attacks crash against his telekinesis, Lee Han moved again.

When Alshicle tried to cast an ice barrier for his junior, Lee Han shook his head.

“There are too many for that to matter much! Please conserve your mana!” 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

For now, Lee Han put aside both Perkuntra and Verdus and summoned spirits instead.

Lower spirits emerged with only brief gestures.

Now that he was in this situation, he found himself missing Sharkhan. Regretting that he had not summoned it first, Lee Han prepared another spell.

‘Lightning... I might collapse too...’

In the current situation, however, he had already summoned enough creatures to provide support.

Lee Han protected the area around him with telekinesis, attacked the enemies, and assisted his skeleton summons in fighting back.

Whether it was his imagination or not, the enemies’ shouts and curses seemed to be growing harsher.

“■■■■■!”

“■■■!”

‘Must be my imagination.’

The enemy forces seemed to believe they could subdue the two mages in a prolonged battle, but as time passed, it became clear they had misjudged the situation.

The undead summons Lee Han had called forth recovered quickly even after melting, corroding, and decaying.

By contrast, the Blasphemer’s forces gathered here continued to dwindle.

It was not that reinforcements were not arriving from above. Their losses were simply faster than the rate at which new forces appeared.

It was like watching soldiers grind themselves to pieces against a well-fortified fortress.

“...I. I will step forward.”

The knight Lee Han had assumed was an unfamiliar undead finally moved.

Lee Han watched the opponent with tense eyes.

“You. You interfered with Master’s work before.”

“What? When did I...”

Only then did Lee Han feel a familiar aura emanating from the opponent’s soul.

It was the aura of corruption he had sensed from the cultists who worshipped Prahgal.

‘Wasn’t this thing undead?!’

Being undead did not mean one could not worship Prahgal, but Lee Han had not expected a subordinate under the Blasphemer to also be a worshipper.

The Heretic Knight suddenly vanished, then reappeared behind Lee Han and launched a lethal ambush.

CLANG!

But it did not work on Lee Han, who had already cast short-term precognition magic and physical enhancement magic, and had even wastefully scattered mana through his body to strengthen his physical abilities.

Lee Han immediately stepped back ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) and crossed swords with the knight.

Sensing the obsidian blade absorbing power, the Heretic Knight retreated slightly.

A malicious aura flowed from the eyes behind the helmet.

‘What...’

Lee Han was shocked when he foresaw the Heretic Knight sacrificing its own soul and self-destructing within the next few seconds.

Even if he blocked it with telekinesis and escaped using lightning magic, he was not confident he could protect Alshicle as well.

Dozens of thoughts raced through Lee Han’s mind.

Did Alshicle have protective artifacts strong enough for this?

What was the explosion range?

What the hell was this bastard, self-destructing so readily?

Other spells—

At that moment, a demon’s voice reached Lee Han’s ears.

It came from the Bracelet of Ten Thousand Demons, which had been silent for some time.

“The disgusting corruption of the undead awakens me.”

“!”

“Decay and corruption. Plague calls to me! Fear me. I am Mahuda, demon of undead hunting! If you do not give me a chance, I will never go back inside—”

“Fine, just sweep them away!”

“...Th-thank you!”

Delighted by the mage’s consideration, which was far more generous than anything it had heard from Anfursas, another demon trapped within the bracelet, Mahuda burst forth joyfully.