The Genesis Of A Necromancer - Chapter 116

Chapter 116: shatter the skull
“Asriel…” Alisha whispered, her voice trembling like a fragile thread on the verge of snapping.

Jack didn’t respond immediately. Instead, his gaze shifted to the skeletal knight looming over her, its jagged blade still raised, its hollow sockets glowing with an unnatural crimson light. Slowly, deliberately, his lips curled into a faint smirk. The sight of it sent a chill down Alisha’s spine.

“You dare lay a hand on her?” Jack’s voice was calm—too calm. There was no rage, no desperation. Just an unnerving stillness that hinted at something far more dangerous.

The knight faltered. Its weapon wavered in the air as if an invisible force gripped its bony arm. The crimson glow in its eyes dimmed. Then, with a sudden and violent motion, the skeletal knight disintegrated, its ancient bones crumbling into dust. The dark aura surrounding it dissolved, evaporating into the acrid battlefield air.

Alisha gasped, her knees buckling as relief flooded through her. She clutched her staff tightly, using it for support. Her wide eyes remained fixed on Jack, who now stood before her like a shadow cast against the chaos. His presence was an enigma—both a beacon of salvation and a harbinger of doom.

The battlefield fell into a chilling silence, the kind that crawled beneath the skin. Even the undead paused, their relentless advance momentarily stilled as though they sensed the shift in power.

Erebus’s voice coiled in Jack’s mind like a venomous snake, smooth and insidious. “Finally embracing what you are, Jack? Good. This is the power you were meant to wield. The power to reshape this world as you see fit.”

Jack’s smirk faded, replaced by a hardened glare. ‘Shut up,’ he thought, his mental voice sharp and commanding. The god’s presence retreated, subdued, but not silenced.

Turning to Alisha, Jack’s gaze swept over her battered form. Blood stained her shoulder, and her breaths came in short, ragged gasps. Her face, though pale and strained, held a stubborn defiance that refused to be extinguished.

“What… what did you do?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Jack tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. “What I had to.”

Before she could press him further, the ground trembled as the undead horde stirred once more. The reprieve was over. Grotesque wails and guttural growls rose into the air as banshees swooped down, their spectral forms weaving through the battlefield.

“Get your head in the game, Alisha!” Gale’s thunderous voice snapped her out of her daze. The winged warrior unleashed a surge of kinetic energy, scattering a cluster of skeletal soldiers. His wings unfurled, radiating power as he charged into the fray.

Alisha gritted her teeth, raising her staff high. A radiant burst of light erupted from its tip, searing the undead closest to her. The divine magic bathed the battlefield in brilliance, pushing back the encroaching darkness.

Jack stepped forward, his shadow stretching unnaturally across the ground. The undead nearest him faltered, their movements stuttering as though caught in invisible chains. A skeletal warrior lunged, its claws aiming for his throat. Jack caught its wrist mid-swing, his grip tightening until the bone shattered into shards.

“You’re in my way,” he muttered icily. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the undead back, its body disintegrating before it hit the ground.

Alisha watched him, a knot of awe and unease tightening in her chest. He moved with a predatory grace, his actions calculated and merciless. This wasn’t the Jack she knew. He wasn’t fighting to survive—he was fighting as if he’d already embraced the darkness that haunted him.

“Asriel!” she called out, her voice cutting through the din. “What are you doing?”

Jack glanced back at her briefly, his features softening for a fleeting moment.

“Finishing this,” he said.

The ground trembled violently. At the center of the battlefield, a massive rift yawned open, its jagged edges glowing with a sickly green light. From its depths emerged a colossal undead abomination. Its grotesque form was a nightmare brought to life—multiple skeletal limbs clawed at the earth, its torso a mass of fused bones and rotting flesh. Its eyes burned with unholy fire, and its guttural roar shook the battlefield.

The sight sent a ripple of fear through the group, but Jack’s lips curved into a faint, almost amused smile.

“Stay back,” he said, his voice low but commanding. “This one’s mine.”

‘No, it’s ours,’ Erebus interjected, his tone laced with twisted glee.

Alisha hesitated, torn between intervening and trusting him. She could feel the oppressive energy radiating from Jack—a dark, suffocating force that seemed almost… divine.

Gale, still grappling with waves of undead, cast a quick glance toward Jack. “Took you long enough!” he shouted, grinning despite the chaos.

Jack ignored him, his focus entirely on the abomination. The air around him crackled with energy, the shadows at his feet writhing like living things.

The abomination roared again, its massive claws tearing through the ground as it charged. Jack stood his ground, unmoving, unflinching.

“This ends now,” he said, his voice steady and resolute.

As the abomination closed in, Jack raised his hand. The shadows around him surged forward, engulfing the monstrous creature in a swirling vortex of darkness. Its deafening roars faded into the void, replaced by an eerie silence. When the shadows receded, nothing remained of the abomination—not even ash.

Jack lowered his hand, his breathing steady. He turned back to the group, his expression unreadable.

Before anyone could speak, the dark mages lurking in the shadows began their chant. The air grew heavy as black energy coalesced around them, forming jagged, bony spears aimed directly at Jack.

He didn’t flinch. In a blur of motion, he appeared beside the nearest mage. The hollow flames in its eye sockets flickered with shock, but before it could react, Jack’s hand clasped its skull.

“Cinders,” he muttered, his voice cold and detached.

Flames erupted from his palm, consuming the mage entirely. Its glowing eyes dimmed to nothing as its body crumbled to ash.

[+100 Soul Essence]

The second mage raised its hand to attack, but Jack was faster. In an instant, he shattered its arm, the bone splintering like dry twigs. He moved with terrifying speed, a blur of motion that left the remaining skeletons scrambling.

From behind, a skeletal warrior lunged, its blade descending toward Jack. He didn’t turn. A shadowy hand materialized, gripping the blade and spreading like ink over the attacker. In seconds, it was reduced to dust.

“Idiot,” Erebus snarled in Jack’s mind, his voice sharp like a blade cutting through the chaos. “If you get seriously injured before the merging is complete, we’ll both die!”

Jack smirked, unbothered by the threat. ‘At least I’ll be free.’

That reply stung more than Erebus cared to admit. A shadow of frustration flickered through the god’s incorporeal essence, but there was nothing he could do about it. Jack’s defiance was as unrelenting as the horde of undead swarming them.

‘In the end, he’s truly cursed with a cruel fate,’ Erebus mused silently, his tone heavy with something resembling pity. For all his mocking disdain, he knew the truth: Jack was doomed, no matter how valiantly he fought.

Erebus’s thoughts were cut short by Jack’s commanding voice. “Aren’t you the one who summoned all these undead? Can’t you just stop them?” Jack asked, his tone laced with irritation as he sliced through another skeletal warrior, its brittle bones shattering under his relentless assault.

“It’s me, and yet… not entirely,” Erebus admitted grudgingly. “This body you see—it’s a husk I left behind, a prison to keep my power intact until my return. I created this place to guard it, to deter intruders. Anyone who enters is doomed to be consumed, their life force sustaining the essence of my body. And those flowers you saw—the soul essence blooms—they are nourished by restless souls. They take a millennium to blossom, yet their energy pales in comparison to that of the living.” His voice deepened, tinged with regret. “That’s why the body wants you dead—it craves your essence to sustain itself.”

Jack gritted his teeth, his sword carving through the ribcage of another undead creature. “Then how the hell do I stop them from swarming us? I can’t control these things if your damned body already has command over them. And who knows what it’ll do next? That thing’s got godly essence in it—if it taps into that, we’re both screwed. Thanks to you.”

“Relax,” Erebus said, though there was a faint unease in his tone. “The body can’t harness the godly essence—not anymore. Olion made sure of that. But…” Erebus hesitated, a rare crack in his confident facade. “You’re right about one thing—it won’t stop until we’re dead. There’s only one way to end this flood.”

“Which is?” Jack demanded, dodging a swipe from a clawed undead as he countered with a brutal downward slash.

“You have to shatter the skull of the body,” Erebus said at last, his voice grim.

Jack’s breath hitched for a moment. “Shatter the skull?”

“Yes,” Erebus confirmed. “That’s where the command lies. Destroy it, and the undead will fall. But don’t think it’ll be easy. The body was designed to endure—even without me in it.”

Jack snorted, his determination blazing in his eyes.

“Fine. Shatter the skull, huh? Guess I’ll just have to make it happen.”