Necromancer Survival

Chapter 428

"You summoned me. Why are you pushing me away?"

There was no wind, but Dawon’s hair billowed as though a storm raged outside the barrier. His voice was low and restrained–yet his tone and blood-red and gold eyes were laced with accusatory anger. I couldn’t answer him prematurely; I simply watched him in silence.

Boom–!

"……!"

At that moment, the golden force field swayed and fractured. The barrier wasn't completely shattered, cracks began to form on the previously clear surface, transforming the space around me into a place laced with strands of golden thread.

I felt a sense of crisis even at a single glance–the barrier looked as if it could break.

"[Seo Dawon], get a hold of yourself. What are you doing–"

I called out to him, readying a command at my lips…

Dawon dented the barrier once more, as if to show off.

As I watched the dome-shaped ceiling begin to crack like a spiderweb, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything further. Gazing at my hardened expression from outside the shield, Dawon spoke calmly, "If you say you're giving up on the resurrection, Lee-kyung-ah…"

"What?!"

"You're against it, aren't you?"

It sounded less like a question directed at me and more like he’d already decided to abandon his own resurrection. For a moment, I forgot the fear I felt toward Dawon and shouted, "What are you talking about?!"

"My resurrection is only made possible by extorting your life."

"No! That's not true!" I tried to let him know that he's operating under a misunderstanding–I had signed a contract with Jo Chan-young without detriment to my life… but Dawon didn't listen to me.

He declared, "I've realized it too late, but I'm certain, now. The most important thing to me is you, Lee-kyung-ah."

I heard what I most wanted to hear from Dawon at this worst possible time. I was struck speechless by the irony of the situation.

‘Dawon's lost his mind…'

Of course, hearing that he prioritized me over his own resurrection made my heart race. But those words, right now, didn’t signify love. They were a surrender. His own fate was not the only thing entangled with resurrection. He had the [Red Lotus] guild and a tangled vendetta with Bae Jaemin that needed resolution. 𝖗�

More than anything, while I loved this pitiful side of Dawon, I also wanted to see him alive, walking under the sun. I was convinced that *that* was the right path.

"…I'm clearing [Seo Dawon]'s summon."

Therefore, for the first time, I used the command to end Da-won’s summon early. I needed to unsummon him to prevent further interference and then call on the other members of the [Red Lotus] to stop him and bring this situation under control.

However, unexpectedly, Dawon smiled; his actions didn't stop even after hearing my command. "That's right. You've always placed me first."

After muttering, Dawon raised his hand high. My eyes opened wide as I saw that he had not vanished even after I lifted his summons.

[Currently, you are unable to exert control over the Servant ‘Seo Dawon.']

"What is this…!"

The [System Message] alert appeared too late. Then, Dawon’s hand, cloaked in dark energy, sliced down like a blade.

Slice–!

I didn’t hear any particularly loud noise, but goosebumps ran down my spine. The wind began to blow like crazy.

‘No way…'

It was as if someone had forced a metaphorical door open and invaded this separated space. I instinctively realized the shield had been broken when cold wind brushed past my cheek.

Step–! Step–!

Dawon stepped out from where he had been standing and slowly approached me. Hastily, I called out the name of another servant. “[Kim Olim]!”

If it's her, she could do it–she's the only one who could stop Dawon from acting so arbitrarily. If she knew the Mage was about to give up on his resurrection, she would never cooperate with him…

"…Choi Lee-kyung." However, Kim Olim, who appeared in front of me, drew her sword with a pained expression. Then, she pointed the end at my shoulder and not the Mage.

“Kim Olim, why…?”

Even as she saw my face contorted in shock, her blade remained steady. She looked at the ground, avoiding my gaze, and answered mechanically. "Seo Dawon is our leader. We've always respected his judgement."

"But…!"

"And you… I… No, I have no idea what you think of us, but…" Kim Olim raised her head at this point. She looked at me with mixed emotions–resignation? anger?

"If I have to kill you in order to resurrect, I'd rather forgo it all."

"……"

"We made a unanimous decision."

As soon as she finished speaking, the other servants began appearing one by one from where they had been watching. Judging by their expressions, it seemed they had witnessed this scuffle from the very start.

It was then I realized—these servants, whom I had always been the only one able to see, now only appeared before me when they chose to reveal themselves.

[Dominion over all servants has significantly decreased.]

[Loyalty of all servants has significantly increased.]

[Combat abilities are lost due to the ‘New interpretation of the contract.']

[Dominion over servant ‘Seo Dawon' has greatly decreased, restricting access to his "current thoughts."]

Then, as if it were mocking me, a slew of system messages followed.

* * *

"Choi Lee-kyung~~~" Jung Garam hugged my shoulders from behind as he called out my name. But I couldn’t turn around and remained frozen stiff. Despite his bright, teasing tone, I could still sense his barely concealed anger.

And my suspicion was right.

"Did you think if you died, we’d at least put up a memorial for you?" He questioned me, practically spitting out each word.

"No, I didn’t mean it that way at all…!"

"Then why didn’t you mention anything about the skill penalty?"

"What?"

"If you summon us all at once, your life force drains quickly. But you didn’t say a word about it."

I was struck speechless by Garam's interrogation. ‘…They knew about it?'

But, I didn't keep quiet about the penalty because I wanted to or planned to die. I wasn't deceiving them…I just…was just afraid that they would force me to avoid using the skill even in emergency situations.

I didn't want to die as well. But, even if it was risky, I thought it'd be a waste to completely abandon the ability to summon two or more servants simultaneously.

Of course, the pain was worse than I had expected when I had actually used the skill, so I couldn't maintain it for long… But as long as it helped [Red Lotus], I didn't consider the skill to be bad or a loss.

Because I thought they were misunderstanding this situation, I hurriedly tried to make justifications, "It's not like I was trying to die. Am I crazy? Why would I gamble my own life? I just left that option open as a last resort."

But as soon as I spoke, the expressions on the Servants around me grew even colder. Woo Ragi, in particular, looked like he could kill me with his glare alone. "A fucking shrimp like you sure likes to be self-important, huh…"

"What?"

The swordsman muttered harsh curses. My eyes widened with bewilderment and anger. "You, just now…"

But, Bang Eunji interrupted me, "Choi Lee-kyung-ssi seems to think that our revival is possible only with his own sacrifice… He keeps moving in that direction even though that's something no one wants."

Her calm tone left me feeling strangely flustered. She hadn’t raised her voice at all, but something about her words struck a painful chord in me.

Before I could answer, Bang Eunji continued, "Did you think that's the only way you'd gain our respect–our acknowledgment?"

"W-What did you say?"

"If you weren't so obsessed with becoming someone needed, then why on earth would you choose to do something so stupid? … If it were Eunji, she'd never agree to an idiotic deal that would consume her lifeforce."

"……"

"Choi Lee-kyung-ssi is so frustrating. Just who is this sacrifice for? If you die, then guild master's life will lose meaning…." As she spoke, Bang Eunji adopted a hitherto unseen stern expression. "Eunji doesn't have much of an opinion on Choi Lee-kyung-ssi herself, but… Guild master-nim would be very unhappy without Choi Lee-kyung."

"……"

"And Eunji… can't forgive anyone who would make him unhappy."

Her gaze was intense; her eyes like a warning. With each word, I felt increasingly cornered, as if I were standing on the edge of a cliff.

Instinctively, I turned to Choi Kyung-sik, who was standing closest to me. I thought that his typically objective demeanor might allow him to offer a neutral perspective to the other furious Servants.

But, as soon as our eyes met, Kyung-sik smiled bitterly at me. For a moment, his expression eased my tension slightly, but…

"Even if you look at me so desperately…" He approached me and grabbed me casually by the collar, "I'm pretty furious as well… I won't be taking your side. I'm sorry?"

"Cough…"

Before I could react, Kyung-sik tilted a flask—one I hadn’t even noticed him pull out—toward my open mouth, pouring in some unidentified liquid as I choked in shock and pain.

I tried to reject it, but I couldn't resist Choi Kyung-sik's strong grip and was further hampered by Garam weighing me down from behind.

"Woof! Woof!" Jo Chan-young, the only one still nestled in my arms, barked fiercely. But as a small dog, his frantic movements held little power.

"Mmmnnnphh…" Eventually, I had to gulp down the strange liquid that flowed into my mouth. Then, unable to resist the sudden rush of sleepiness, I fell to my knees.

Before I could immediately sink to the floor, my face touched familiar arms. Dawon held my body and whispered in my ear, "You should regret that you made me love you."

"……"

"Yeah. That was a mistake."

As my consciousness faded, the last thing I saw was the symbol etched on my ring finger flaring bright red. Dawon pressed his lips to it.

TL: Sorry guys, I was really late this time huh? I've been doing my finals/finishing up grading. I finally finished today and was able to translate! Tomorrow I'll go on a vacation, but I'll hopefully be back to a more frequent schedule soon!

Also. Wowza. What a confession.