Rebirth in Another World as the Undead Queen

Chapter 223 : The Shadow Behind Leklis

The Shadow Behind LeklisThe scene shifted to within the Elf Treehouse. Serea was seated in a wicker chair as elven handmaidens stood by her side. At the center, leklis was fiddling with a bone ring and a bone necklace.

He was channeling his mental power into the two items, and soon, a faint gray energy intertwined with a clear blue energy. At the critical moment, everyone held their breath.

One minute passed, then two minutes, until the first wisp of pale purple mist appeared. Leklis's brows gradually relaxed, and then, he was overwhelmed with joy.

"It's done! My theory was correct after all!"

Leklis called out excitedly. Having already mastered the method to fuse soul power and death power, he managed to fuse them into a pure power of the netherworld within the purified environment of the two items, which was the first step to creating a Nether Crystal.

"Well done!"

Serea praised, and Leklis ceased releasing his mental power at once, turning to her and saying,

"Thank you, lady Serea, for your praise. I never imagined that the subject I had devoted more than a year of research to would succeed under such serendipitous circumstances."

"No matter what, success is what counts."

Serea spoke, then changed the subject,

"But let me ask, based on this experiment, how much longer will it take before you can create a pure Nether Crystal?"

"About three days, I think."

"Three days? Didn't you just succeed in your experiment? Why would it take so long?"

"Because just now I forced the two powers together with mental power—this fusion isn't stable. I'll need to find the perfect proportional fusion of pure death power and soul power, and that takes time through repeated trials."

Leklis explained, but the technical terminology was lost on Serea, who couldn't be bothered to fuss over the details.

"Alright then, hurry up with your research. Try to get the pure Nether Crystal produced as soon as possible."

"Yes, my lady."

Leklis agreed, and as he finished, another important matter came to mind. Yet, before he could speak, Serea piped up first.

"By the way, arrangements for Julie and those children's housing have been made. Remember to take them there in a while."

"Lady Serea, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

Bringing up the matter, leklis's smile became somewhat forced. Serea picked up on something from his expression.

"What, you still want Julie and the others to live out in the wilderness?"

"......"

Serea cut him off so directly that Leklis didn't know how to respond for the moment. After gathering his thoughts, he spoke.

"We can't drag Lady Serea down with us."

"Don't bother giving me those vague excuses. Since it happened once yesterday, it could happen again. Have you considered Julie and the others at all?"

"I thought about it a lot last night."

"So, what's your answer?"

"My answer is..."

Halfway through, leklis suddenly dropped to one knee before Serea.

"Lady Serea, I'll be direct with you now. I intend to take Julie and the others and leave this place, so I'm here to bid you farewell."

"Bid farewell?"

"Yes. You saw yourself the trouble that the title 'Death God' brings. If I stay with you, not only will the church come after you, but the Church of Death will as well. The only way to protect Julie and the others without bringing trouble to you is to leave."

At Leklis's explanation, an unhappy look appeared on Serea's face—a look Leklis noticed, so he quickly added,

"But my lady, don't worry. I won't leave before delivering the results of my research to you."

"So in your eyes, it's only for the sake of my 'research results' that I've chosen to keep you?"

"Of course not, lady Serea, it's just... just..."

Serea's sudden retort left Leklis at a loss.

"Come with me. I want to talk to you alone."

Serea rose and walked out of the wooden house. Leklis wanted to say something, but, seeing her leave, he only followed after some hesitation.

"Lady Serea, where are we going?"

"To find somewhere quiet."

Hearing that Serea wanted to speak privately, the handmaidens didn't follow. Serea led Leklis down the elf king tree to the 'graveyard' behind the king tree.

Stopping and turning, leklis stood not far away. Serea spoke up directly,

"It's quiet here, and there will be no eavesdroppers. Take this chance to tell me your story."

"This..."

"No beating around the bush."

Serea's tone was impatient. Pressed for an answer, leklis made one last confirmation.

"You know, telling you these things does you no good. After all—"

"Good or bad, just say it."

"Well...alright."

Seeing he couldn't avoid it, leklis uttered two words first.

"Death God."

"Hm?"

"My lady, do you know the meaning of those words?"

"I know a bit. Back then, a powerful undead mage who brutally slew fifty clerics of the church. But judging by your personality, and Julie's strict upbringing, I can't see you doing something like that."

"I'm sorry to say you're wrong, lady Serea. There are times when, even if you don't kill others, others will kill you and your loved ones. Under those circumstances, I think most people would do as I did."

"......"

Serea didn't argue; she simply listened quietly as Leklis continued.

"It was about a year ago. I was still a mage researching necromancy at the Central Magic Academy, while Julie was a schoolteacher in my hometown, skoff Town. The school took in orphaned children—all of them left parentless by war. Julie raised them and genuinely enjoyed doing so."

"What was your relationship with Julie then?"

Serea couldn't resist interrupting. Leklis blushed and scratched his head at the question.

"As for our relationship... Julie's father was the town mayor who raised me. Even my opportunity to study at the Central Magic Academy was thanks to his support. I never did anything to repay the old man—on the contrary, I ended up taking his precious daughter."

Leklis laughed, but the smile gradually stiffened.

"It may not sound good when spread around, but the old man accepted me and Julie in the end. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to repay him."

At this, Serea roughly guessed that Julie's father must've...

"It was an undead plague. The Otto Kingdom was in the midst of war, and Skoff Town, struck by the undead plague, was a remote place beyond the local lord's care. They thus requested neutral aid from the church. When I heard an undead plague had broken out at home, I thought my studies had paid off, so I hurried back."

"So, an undead mage like you was regarded as a heretic by the church?"

"I suppose so. Those self-proclaimed righteous folk, relying on so-called 'divine grace,' only saved a portion of those newly infected. Meanwhile, I researched and created a cure that could save everyone. But before I could administer it, the church, seeing 'death power' within the infected, burned alive those out of their reach, labeling them heretics. My appearance proved those people could have been saved. But due to the church's incompetence and evasion, hundreds of people who might have survived died—a cruel irony, isn't it?"

"I suppose the church didn't let news of the scandal break."

"Exactly. To deny that they'd killed people who could've lived, they called my cure an evil, heretical filth, forged evidence, and pinned the blame for the undead plague on me. At the time, I was just a mage returning home—no status, no support. I was powerless to argue as the Otto Kingdom hunted me and the church tried to kill me. I could only hide."

"And then, what happened to the townsfolk?"

"Haha, before I left, I left behind all my medicine. That was enough to save the town. At worst, I'd never return to the Otto Kingdom. The nobles of the Holy Dragon Empire even offered me their support. The thought was, once I had settled in the Holy Dragon Empire, I'd fetch the old man and Julie there. But..."

Leklis's body trembled with anger.

"I never thought the church's hounds would rather let the townspeople die than let them take my medicine. The cure was confiscated, and to hide the truth, both those who could have recovered and those whose illness was untreatable were all 'Purified' together. For the sake of 'reputation,' out of 1000 people in the town, fewer than 100 survived. Over 900 died to plague and fire—including the old man."

At this, Serea could already guess what came next.

"So you refused the Holy Dragon Empire's offer and chose revenge. The fifty clerics left in the town all perished in your fury?"

"They deserved it. I wasn't driven by some false sense of justice. I had to avenge the old man, and I had to save Julie!"

Leklis's resolve was unwavering, and Serea could understand that.

With his 'father' murdered, and his beloved about to be burned at the stake, who could just walk away?

"And after that, you were wanted by the church, listed as a criminal by the Otto Kingdom, and not another kingdom or Empire would take you in, save for the Church of Death. Am I correct?"

That brought a bitter smile to Leklis's lips.

"More or less. The Church of Death was only interested in my research. Since I'd offended the church and was wanted everywhere, I had to take Julie and the others into hiding here. If I don't hand the research over to the Church of Death, I won't even have this last place to call home."

Afterward, leklis was bound to the Church of Death's chariot; this time, they even intended to squeeze the last bit of value out of him for the fight against Lilith. Such was a life filled with hardship...

"So, from what you've said, you're worried staying with me will bring me trouble, right?"

"Yes. Both the church and the Church of Death are watching me. If word gets out, every blade will turn toward you, lady Serea. Back when you captured me, I didn't care, but now, after all you've done—feeding us, saving me and Julie—I just can't bring you harm, so..."

"So, having received kindness, you owe a favor. The best way to repay me is to remain and serve."

Serea cut him off, her stance leaving no room for argument.

"But..."

"No buts. The so-called 'Death God' is dead. Now, you are Leklis, and you promised me: so long as you survived, you would continue to serve me."

As Serea spoke, leklis still seemed troubled.

Serea had weighed many possibilities—making enemies, causing trouble—but the conclusion was...

Whatever.

Leklis was wanted by every country, but so long as he didn't step into their borders, none would make trouble. As for the church, they didn't even have information on Leklis, so Serea wasn't worried.

And the Church of Death...

But he didn't dare cross her.

If you really had to nitpick, the only worry was that the Church of Death, in wanting to deal with her, might leak Leklis's identity to the church—but that would require the Church of Death's people to be suicidal idiots.

In that case, leklis's worries were unnecessary—a byproduct of being used by the Church of Death and, thus, unnaturally jumpy. In other words...

"There's no need to think about leaving. You drank the Blood Spring (corrosion). Without enough Blood Spring, you'll turn into a monster and die in agony. If you don't want Julie to become a widow, you'd better drop those thoughts."

With one sentence, Serea shut down Leklis's escape plans. Seeing that she wouldn't let him leave, mixed emotions welled up in Leklis's heart.

"Did you hear me?"

Serea slapped Leklis's shoulder sharply. Startled, leklis responded reflexively,

"I-I heard."

"Good. I know you mean well for us, but you needn't worry about any of that. Just do as I've asked."

"... Yes."

Unable to leave, leklis had no choice but to agree. But knowing Julie wouldn't have to live on the run, he felt oddly relieved.

Leklis's act of bidding farewell also demonstrated his loyalty to Serea, making Serea feel it was time to proceed with her plan...

"Very well. As my subordinate, your strength and loyalty have earned my approval, so I'll give you a little reward."

"A reward?"

"Yes. But first, let me ask you a question: how many Skeleton Warriors like those under my command do you think you could control?"

Upon hearing this, leklis pondered for a while. Then, realizing the implication, he looked at Serea in shock, breath quickening.

"My lady, you mean—!"

(To be continued...)