Bonus Short Story

I sighed as I contemplated the task Veight asked of me.

“Why must you ask me of all people?”

“Sorry, Melaine, but you’re the only one I can count on for this.”

“Oh really?”

Ufufufu, I suppose if you need me that badly I can do it. As Master’s oldest disciple, I guess it’s my job to look after my juniors.

“Ho there, Melaine. So you’re taking part in this exorcism as well?”

“Parker...it’s been a while since I last saw you. You seem to be doing well.”

Parker’s skull clacked as he laughed and said, “Hahaha, indeed. My complexion has never been better.”

“If you say so.”

I pointedly ignored his attempt at another pun about how dead he was.

Veight had asked Parker and me to assist him in a large-scale exorcism. He wanted to us to clear out the ruins underneath Zaria and eliminate any lingering spirits or skeletons. It wasn’t a particularly difficult job, but the ruins were quite large, so it was time-consuming. Master could have done it all on her own, but it was faster and safer if we all worked together. That much I understood. What I didn’t understand was why I had to be paired up with Parker while Veight got to go with Master.

“My, you seem rather dissatisfied with having me as your partner, Melaine.”

“Who wouldn’t be...”

We climbed down the stairs to our assigned floor and began exorcizing spirits. The lower floors of the ruins were filled with rooms, and each room had at least one undead to cleanse.

Some rooms were filled with skeletons who’d been summoned then left to rot, others with fragmented spirits who’d been experimented on in horrible ways, yet others with corpses who’d been possessed by wandering ghosts, and even some rooms with desiccated zombies wandering around.

“I guess this is what happens to a necromancer’s domain when it’s left alone for three hundred years... Stay still, you stupid thing! Sealing Prayer!”

I used my magic to exorcize the ghost out of a shambling corpse. All necromancers knew how to exorcize spirits. With how often they dealt with the dead, it was the first, fundamental skill every aspiring necromancer learned.

“With how many spirits there are down here, I can see why Veight wanted them taken care of.”

Parker walked over to me after clearing an entire corridor of spirits. As always, he was able to exorcize swathes of undead with just a snap of his bony fingers. Even though we were both using the same magic, his was far more effective.

“Seems to me like you could have handled this on your own.”

Parker smiled in response and said, “I could perhaps have completed the job on my own, but Veight insisted we go in pairs of two. You know how cautious he is.”

“There’s such a thing as being too cautious.”

I sighed in exasperation. That being said, it was an ironclad rule of necromancers to perform exorcisms in groups of two or larger. Undead creatures possessed wills, and a moment’s lapse in concentration could see a necromancer possessed by the spirits they came to exorcize.

“But now I just feel useless... Oh, here’s one.”

I dispelled the sorcery keeping a skeleton bound to this world, and it fell to the ground in a clatter of bones. Skeletons were easy to exorcize since all one had to do was remove the spirit from the bones, and the spirit would pass on by itself. Sadly, zombies were harder to eliminate. Those needed to have their spirits separated, then their original bodies destroyed.

After a few minutes of mindless exorcizing, I realized we’d cleared the floor of spirits. At least, I didn’t sense any more.

“By my count, I believe I exorcized forty-one spirits.”

Even though it wasn’t hot down here, Parker was fanning himself with his hat.

“I took care of twenty-seven. I guess I really am no match for someone who’s crossed the final threshold.”

The gap in ability between us always frustrated me. Like Master, Parker was a master necromancer who’d crossed the final threshold. Even though I’d become Master’s disciple first, I still hadn’t reached that level. However, Parker didn’t seem the least bit proud of his achievement.

He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I made a mistake crossing the final threshold when I did. There’s no turning back for me now, but you still have a future ahead of you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re the one who’ll succeed Master, not any of us. I guarantee it.”

It’s been a long time since I heard him talk seriously.

“I no longer have many possibilities left open to me. I can no longer improve my necromancy, so I have no choice but to branch out into other fields of magic.”

“But you’re already so skilled at necromancy, isn’t that enough? You took care of those spirits in no time.”

“Hahaha, well I have crossed the final threshold still! Until you do too, no matter how hard you try you’ll never be able to reach my level!”

Maybe I should exorcize him too... I turned to Parker, who was still laughing, and launched an exorcism seal behind him.

“Whoa!”

“Don’t let your guard down. It looks like there’s still some spirits left.”

Parker turned around and watched the spirit vanish through his empty eye sockets.

“Ahh, thank you... See, even a master such as myself needs your help from time to time.”

Yeah, right. I know you left yourself open on purpose back there. When you do things like that it just makes me feel even worse. Even though I’m Master’s oldest disciple...

“Oh yes, I found something interesting while I was exorcizing this floor.”

Parker cheerfully fished through his pockets and held something out to me. It was a broken fragment of a crown.

“What’s this?”

Parker smiled and said proudly, “Part of the undead lord Ugsfortis’ crown! We can use this as a medium to summon his spirit.”

“Isn’t that the tyrant who was sealed down here!? Why on earth would you want to summon him!?”

“Well you see, Master and I have been working on this experiment together...”

“You’re trying to develop some weird undead creature with Master again, aren’t you!? Don’t you dare!”

In retrospect, maybe there was still meaning in me being Master’s first disciple. I need the authority to keep these two troublemakers in line.