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Chapter 184 – Savior
At the words “You want to die?”, the Necromancer couldn’t answer.
He looked completely frozen, crushed by murderous intent.
‘No—maybe he’s just in shock because his ambush failed?’
Well, having thirty spiritual-body undead erased all at once was enough to shock anyone.
He had gained a justification to kill him, but Ryu Min had no intention of killing him right away.
‘The Necromancer still has value. It’d be a waste to kill him now.’
When Round 11 ended, someone would make the Necromancer an offer.
To form a national alliance organization called “Messiah.”
‘If I want to build a connection with those guys, I need to keep the Necromancer alive.’
On top of that, in Round 12, there would be a time when the Necromancer’s summoning would be needed.
If he used the guy then, he could clear more comfortably.
Not knowing Ryu Min had not even the slightest intention of killing him, the Necromancer wore an extremely tense expression.
-Kill him. If I stay still, I die.
Ryu Min read his thoughts, but pretended not to know and threatened him.
“Why aren’t you answering? You really want to die—”
That was when the Necromancer pointed his staff behind Ryu Min.
Instead of answering, what he used was the “Corpse Revival” skill.
“Grrrraaaagh….”
When Ryu Min turned his head, Douglas—who had been lying like a corpse—was standing up as if he’d never died.
Crack-crack-crack—
As the zombie-like thing returned its own snapped neck back to normal, Christine gasped in shock.
It wasn’t some spiritual-body undead.
It was a real undead with a physical body.
Physical undead, unlike spiritual ones, were immune to magic damage.
‘Did he summon that because he thinks I’m a mage?’
Ryu Min smiled as if it were ridiculous.
It looked like he intended to do something with just that one, but it was pointless.
“Shield of Daw—”
Thud—!
Douglas tried to use a skill, but his head exploded before he could.
Ssshhk— thud!
Ryu Min’s scythe, which had extended, returned to its original position.
“……”
As if he hadn’t even considered the scythe could extend, the Necromancer’s face was filled with shock.
“You thought you could deal with me with just that? Even if you summoned dozens, the result would be the same.”
“Just who the hell are you— nghaaah!”
The Necromancer screamed mid-sentence.
Because Ryu Min mercilessly cut off one of his arms.
“The balance is off. I’ll cut the other side too.”
Before he could say anything, he felt something flash past—and the opposite arm dropped off with a thud.
“Ng— NNGHAAAH!”
Next was the left leg.
Thud—!
“You’ve lost your balance. In that case…”
He cleanly cut off the right leg as well.
“Nnghhaaaugh!”
After severing all four limbs, Ryu Min stroked his chin, thinking.
“What should I cut next? Besides the head, is there anything else?”
Judging by how the Necromancer was trembling, he looked like he might die any moment.
Just as Ryu Min moved the scythe again threateningly—
“Wait! Please, don’t kill him!”
At Christine’s words, Ryu Min stopped his scythe.
He hadn’t intended to kill him in the first place, but still.
“Why are you stopping me?”
“Nearby, that man’s subordinates are fighting our companions. If we keep him alive and take him there, they’ll definitely stop fighting.”
“So you want to take him hostage and make them stop?”
“It’s shameless, but I’m asking you. I’m worried about my companions.”
Since she was pleading so earnestly, Ryu Min had no choice but to lower his scythe.
‘The fight is already over, though.’
Through Clairvoyance, Ryu Min had already grasped the situation over there.
The Saintess’s followers had lost.
They had all been killed, and all that remained were about 170 believers on the Necromancer’s side.
Not knowing that, Christine still believed it wasn’t too late—that she could save them.
‘Either way, I shouldn’t kill him.’
He never planned to, but Ryu Min nodded as if granting her request.
“If you’re asking me like that.”
A warm light flowed from his hand and wrapped around the Necromancer’s severed ends.
The blood that had been pouring out like an open faucet stopped, and the guy’s complexion—who had been on the threshold of death—relaxed.
First Aid saved the Necromancer.
“I’ll personally show mercy and not kill you.”
“……”
“Next time, you’d better watch your words and behavior when you meet people. You might run into a psycho like me.”
Even after regaining awareness, the Necromancer didn’t intend to answer.
He only thought about reattaching his limbs if he got the chance.
“You won’t need these anymore, right?”
Bzzzt—!
So he couldn’t have useless thoughts, Ryu Min incinerated even the remaining limbs.
When that chance vanished, the Necromancer’s face turned gaunt.
Now that he couldn’t earn points, the only thing he could do was desperately pray his team would win.
Well, if he survived just this Round, his body would return to normal anyway.
“Good? I didn’t kill him, right?”
When Ryu Min said that while turning around, Christine bowed her head.
“Thank you.”
Then she shot the Necromancer an openly hostile glare.
“We’re going to take you to where our companions were. When we get there, tell your believers. Tell them to stop fighting immediately.”
“Me? Why?”
“Because if you don’t, I’ll kill you.”
“Hmph…”
He snorted, but the Necromancer couldn’t take Christine’s words lightly.
In his current limbless state, he couldn’t even defend against a child’s attack.
And judging by Christine’s eyes, it didn’t look like a joke.
She looked firmly resolved.
“What will you do? Die in my hands right now, or go stop the fighting?”
“……I’ll go stop it.”
As Christine was about to lift the Necromancer—
“Wait.”
Ryu Min pulled Christine toward himself.
With his Detection improved twofold, he sensed presences.
Checking with Clairvoyance, a group of thirty was approaching this way.
They were believers of the Despair Church.
“Get behind me.”
“Huh? What all of a sud—”
Christine saw the group approaching from afar and quietly hid behind Ryu Min.
“Cult Leader! Cult Le— ah!”
The approaching people panicked when they saw the Necromancer with his limbs severed.
Then every one of them glared at Ryu Min and Christine, eyes blazing.
“You did this to our Cult Leader?!”
“You sons of bitches!”
Two of them immediately drew their swords and charged.
Ryu Min didn’t go easy on opponents who rushed in without thinking.
Slice—
With a single swing of the scythe, he severed both of their heads.
The steps of the remaining twenty-eight, who had been about to follow, jolted to a stop.
“Why’d you stop? Come on. If dying is your wish.”
“……”
Only then did they realize he was an opponent beyond what they could handle, and they retreated, hesitating.
“You idiots! Stop it. Do you even know who you’re charging at? That man is Black Scythe.”
“B-Black Scythe?”
At their Cult Leader’s words, the believers stared at Ryu Min again with eyes wide.
True to the nickname, he was holding a scythe.
And his aura was savage, fitting of a level in the 90s.
Only then did the believers realize they’d poked a hornet’s nest, and cold sweat ran down their backs.
“You. Come here and hold me.”
“Yes.”
One believer picked up the Necromancer, who was now nothing but a torso.
“Why did you all come here?”
“We came to report that the situation is over.”
“The situation is over? What does that mean?”
When Christine interjected, the Necromancer answered in their place.
“It means your companions are all dead.”
“Ah…”
Christine’s mouth fell open in shock.
Over a hundred followers—killed by the Despair Church?
“Our side’s losses?”
“About forty-five injured and around thirty dead.”
For fighting a hundred people, the losses were less than expected.
It was something he might have praised, but the Necromancer held back his words.
Because he didn’t know when Black Scythe might suddenly “feel bad” and change his mind.
‘If I slip up with my tongue even once, he might pick a fight again and kill me.’
Gulp—
Swallowing, the Necromancer cautiously spoke while watching Ryu Min’s face.
“As you can see, it’s over. There’s nothing more I can do. So now let me—”
“Alright. Get the hell out.”
Turning his eyes slightly, Ryu Min saw the Saintess, crushed by despair after losing her companions.
‘Even if we couldn’t kill the Saintess, we succeeded in breaking her faction apart.’
Since the objective was achieved, this was a satisfactory result.
“……Let’s go.”
At the Necromancer’s instruction, the believers turned away without hesitation.
There was no idiot who cluelessly argued they should get revenge.
With their Cult Leader—who commanded dozens of summons—reduced to this state, how could revenge even be possible?
Everyone knew that even if every person here charged, they still wouldn’t defeat Black Scythe.
“……”
“……”
After the Cult Leader and believers left, silence settled between Ryu Min and Christine.
Christine, who’d never imagined all her companions would be dead, still couldn’t escape the shock.
‘Because of me… because of me, everyone died.’
They were her followers, but she had never treated them like subordinates even once.
She treated everyone equally, as comrades.
As Douglas had said, their relationship was one of mutual benefit, but it was also true they had crossed life-and-death lines together as comrades.
‘And yet… just because of me alone…’
She wanted to cry, but tears wouldn’t come.
“Hey. What’s your nickname?”
“Crissy… is my name.”
“Yeah, Crissy. I get the gist of what happened. You’re grieving because you lost the comrades who followed you. You probably feel like it’s all your fault.”
“Not ‘probably.’ It is my fault. If it weren’t for me, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“If you think like that, it never ends. If we go that route—what if that Cult Leader bastard didn’t exist? What if this survival game didn’t exist in the first place?”
At Ryu Min’s calm voice, Christine listened.
“So… it’s not my fault…?”
“Right. Did you deliberately gather them and tell them to follow you?”
Christine shook her head.
“Of course not. The ones who approached first were the followers. If you’re being strict about it, it’s not your fault.”
“But…”
“The followers who followed you chose that path. So don’t get swallowed by emotions. And don’t blame yourself.”
“……”
“There’s nothing as foolish as cornering yourself by worrying about the future in advance. So…”
Ryu Min paused briefly, then said,
“Don’t blame yourself—let go of the weight on your shoulders now. You don’t have any obligation to carry people’s burdens alone.”
“……”
Christine wasn’t originally an emotional person.
Even watching romance movies, even watching touching movies, she felt nothing.
Unless she was yawning, not a single tear came out.
And yet—
“Huh…?”
Drip, drip—
Without realizing it, thick drops fell beneath her eyes.
Christine flinched in surprise at that fact, but Ryu Min pretended not to notice and looked elsewhere.
‘Me… was I comforted?’
Christine had led many people alone for a long time, with no one to rely on.
She’d had nowhere to unload that burden, but the man in front of her somehow noticed it and comforted her.
It was surprising—and at the same time, reassuring.
Because she’d met someone who understood her feelings.
“Did I meddle for no reason?”
“N-no. I’m the one who’s sorry. For showing you something so ugly…”
Wiping her tears, Christine forced a smile.
“I’m late introducing myself. I’m Crissy. You’re Black Scythe-nim, right?”
Ryu Min didn’t deny it.
“Yeah. Do you believe I’m Black Scythe?”
“Of course. After seeing that, how could I not believe it?”
He had erased thirty undead—each one comparable to a Player—with a single spell.
Who would believe someone like that was only level 40?
Only level 90 Black Scythe made sense.
‘But I heard your job was Reaper—so why are you using magic-like stuff?’
She didn’t know Reaper skills, but one thing was certain: he was her lifesaver.
In the other world, he was the only mentor she could rely on.
“Thank you so much for saving me, Black Scythe-nim. I don’t know how I can repay you for saving my life…”
“When did I ever save your life?”
“Huh?”
“I just corrected the manners of some guy who talked rudely to me, that’s all.”
“Ah. Haha.”
Pretending not to, Christine could feel it.
That Black Scythe had deliberately made an excuse to save her.
That even if his words were like that, his heart was warm.
And that this man—
‘I’m sure. Black Scythe… is the Savior I have to follow.’
Just like the prophecy, the lifeline she had to hold onto.
“Um, Black Scythe-nim.”
“What is it?”
Under Ryu Min’s gaze, Christine lowered her head shyly, then gathered courage and said,
“C-can I travel with you for the rest of the time?”
“Why?”
“You saved my life. I want to repay you, even if it’s like this.”
“I refuse.”
“Huh… huh?”
At the knife-like refusal, Christine’s mind went blank for a moment.
‘T-this can’t be happening.’
She never imagined she’d be rejected at the speed of light.