Interlude 9.5

"Elise, I'll deal with her. Take care of those guys."

"Understood, Titania." Alicia said in affirmation with a depressed tone, utterly incapable of rejecting any order from her lady, both out of pure and raw loyalty and for similar reasons.

In response, the man so pale and thin that he looked like an Undead, although Alicia could tell he was not, smirked mockingly.

"You, come with me," Lady Black Abyss commanded towards the blonde, not waiting for her to follow, and walking to the side. The human only smiled widely and followed Lady Black Abyss calmly.

She waited a few seconds, with her forever distressed expression on her one-eyed face, until both her lady and the blonde human were far enough away.

The necromancer human, as far as Alicia could tell, a very weak one in her opinion, was about to say something, but Alicia did not allow it.

And she used one of the innate abilities of her race, influenced by the spell [Lucifer's Shining Lie].

An ability that, affected by the spell, took the appearance of another race's own skill. [Holy Plead].

The level 3 skill, [Ghoul Scream], erupted from Alicia's throat at a high volume, distorted from the horrifying wail it would normally be to a simple, strong melody in a beautiful tune.

However, such a melody, if it were the skill it appeared to be, would only apply charm effects and mental debuffs to the affected, as well as divine damage. But, under the veil of [Lucifer's Shining Lie], like her race's innate ability, it acted very differently. The emitted sound seemed to pierce through the men's ears like blades, making them scream in pure pain as they clutched their heads.

Seizing this opportunity, Alicia proceeded to cast a spell.

"[Double Magic: Holy Sphere]" (Doble Magic: Negative Ball) She chanted sadly, and floating above her, on her sides, two bright spheres of pure white light appeared, like two small suns.

The human in red robes, the clear leader among the lesser necromancers around him, sighed in surprise at the spell. And Alicia threw the pair of spheres directly towards the man and his group.

For them, it was a blinding light. Alicia was immune to blindness, so she saw everything more clearly. How the lesser necromancers disintegrated into dust, quickly turning into mummies.

However, Alicia resisted frowning, as that would go against her entire being and persona created by the Supreme Beings who made her.

After all, even though she was the perfect creation of the Supreme Beings, built from the smallest detail and thought, she couldn't completely eradicate the unpleasant leader necromancer. 

Despite his immense magical power, and the attack being double, it seems that most of the spells were absorbed by that dark purple crystal in the man's hand. A dark purple crystal ball oozing negative energy.

Although some of the spell damage showed on the necromancer, as evidenced by his more wrinkled skin, apparent fatigue, and somewhat torn robes.

"Tch… You're not just a simple idiot, you're an idiot who can use 3rd tier magic spells!

Alicia didn't respond. However, internally, she had already insulted and spat the name of the necromancer in front of her in so many different ways for calling her such. After all, if her opponent were something like a Lich, she would at least accept her frustration... But they were 'fighting' against a human who wanted to play at being a necromancer...

The necromancer clicked his tongue in a grunt at Alicia's silence but then let out a confident snort.

"Well. It doesn't matter. The preparations are ready. You're an idiot for coming and disrupting my plans. Let me show you the power of this supreme pearl charged with negative energy!" The human shouted with confidence and delight as he raised the pearl in his hand.

It shone like a lump of iron, a simple black pearl. It hadn't been polished enough, and its shape was rough, so it looked more like a mineral, although it seemed to pulsate.

Alicia could see it. The pearl had a considerable amount of negative energy. It had initially held a semi-decent amount, but thanks to the negative spell Alicia used, the pearl now had even more negative energy, although initially, it might have seemed the opposite because visually, the spell was divine.

In response, arms began to emerge from the ground. With rotten flesh or pure bone. Even piles of ghostly energy accumulated over the dust that had been the other lesser necromancers.

Alicia was almost tempted to frown, but again, she refrained.

"Zombies, Skeletons, and Ghosts... Will you really throw such opponents at me?"

"Hahaha! That's right. This is more than enough even for a divine magic caster like you! Attack!"

6 Ghosts, 5 Zombies, and 7 Skeletons... The lowest forms of Undead among the three basic variants.

Upon the command of their summoner, the Undead charged towards Alicia. The Zombies were the slowest, the Skeletons the second fastest, and the Ghosts literally flying toward Alicia from where they were summoned. 

She resisted once again the temptation to act against her depressed personality, longing to sigh. She extended a hand toward the Undead and chanted.

"[Dissipate Lower Undead]" It was a level 3 spell that both her true classes and the classes inherent to a Priest could have. If a Priest from this world were to cast it, it would do nothing more than dissipate a group of 5 level 1 Undead or a single level 2 Undead. Curiously, such a spell was not available to those in this world. For someone like Alicia, she could easily undo level 2 Undead in large quantities with just one casting of this spell.

The necromancer could do nothing more than watch in surprise as his Undead simply crumbled like lifeless and lifeless bones, and the Ghosts dispersed like mist.

Alicia estimated that the Necromancer wouldn't be able to cast anything higher than the basic [Create Undead] beyond level 2 or 3, so he must have used some extra ability or spell to create so many Undead instantly. Perhaps the pearl was precisely the reason. It seemed to allow the inferior Necromancer to control several Undead at once.

However... Despite the human acclaiming the 'supreme' pearl as something incredible, it didn't even create Undead worthy of mention. The lowest of the low in necromancy. In the worst case, Alicia would have to deal with a Lord of Doom, an Elemental Skull, or stronger things... But this seemed to be the 'worst' case, in the sense that it was the most pathetic case there was...

It was an insult to the title of 'supreme,' which made Alicia want to cast spells higher than the one she was allowed... Unless the inferior necromancer wasn't able to use all of his abilities, and the pearl had some potential... For example, if someone like Lord DoomslayerB3, the Supreme Lord who possessed level 100 Necromancer abilities like a 'Headless Horseman' and a 'Bad Omen,' used that pearl... Could he summon things like Grim Reaper Thanatos without personal cost in addition to negative energy from the pearl? Other Undead like an Impaled King?

She would suggest this to her Lady... No... It would just be bothering her. It's obvious that her Lady knew about the pearl. Even the Queen must know. Both were Supreme Lords; nothing escaped their vision and wisdom...

She practically prayed to the absolute duo in her mind.

The necromancer blinked, looking somewhat confused at the pearl, but then smiled happily and proudly, even if he himself seemed very puzzled by the pearl.

"Enough! It has absorbed enough energy!"

And the pearl began to beat more powerfully than before, like a powerful and large heart.

Alicia was about to simply use a level 3 instant death spell on the human since there was no one around. However, her abilities alerted her, and along with the sound of the wind and her Lady's warning, she identified the problem.

She jumped backward, avoiding a swipe from the white and bare-bone creature. 

She easily identified the creature. A Skeleton Dragon.

She had to move again to avoid a tail swipe from the gigantic 3-meter Undead.

The problem with the creature was one that complicated things quite a bit for Alicia.

"Hahaha!" The ugly necromancer laughed uncontrollably. "The Skeleton Dragon, which has absolute defense against magic, is a powerful enemy that leaves magic casters defenseless!"

Alicia didn't respond at all. It was true that currently, she couldn't harm the Skeleton Dragon with magic... In reality, she couldn't really 'harm' it with some exceptions.

Fortunately, she had other options.

Alicia let out a sad sigh as she jumped to the side, avoiding being crushed by another claw. Still in the air, she saw a bony tail heading toward her.

She placed her arms between the attack and herself, taking the hit head-on. 

The necromancer heard the crunch of bones and smiled, obviously believing that Alicia's arm had been broken.

He couldn't believe what he saw when he saw the Dragon's tail fractured, with pieces of bone falling as Alicia showed herself practically unharmed. 

Alicia, who was wiping her sleeve, displaying no pain on her face, only sadness, looked towards her opponent as she straightened up. She wanted to roll her eyes.

She saw the three Skeleton Dragons staring at her intimidatingly.

She scolded herself for charging that pearl with negative energy but there was no point in crying over it. Well, she would cry over it, but not now.

She didn't wait to give the necromancer time to think and charged towards one of the Skeleton Dragons, punching it directly in the chest. It wasn't an emergency to use level 5 spells, not even level 4. And in any case, it wouldn't do anything.

The bony structure of the Skeleton Dragon shook as it took the hit, unable to block, flying out by the force of Alicia, causing a strong tremor when it hit the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

"¡¿What?!" The necromancer shouted, unable to believe the level of strength Alicia possessed. He hid behind one of the other two Skeleton Dragons, his face contorted in annoyance, disbelief, and hatred. "You! Who the hell are you!? It could be mithril... No, are they Orichalcum-level adventurers!? There shouldn't be any adventurers of that level in this city. Did they follow Clementine here!?"

Honestly speaking, Alicia had no real idea about what her Lady sought to achieve by disguising herself and blending in among humans. It had been a plan of her Queen, so she didn't even question the order, decision, and planning, but she still couldn't understand it. 

Hearing the necromancer's questions gave her a small idea... Had her Queen and Lady planned this entire situation from the beginning in such detail?

It wouldn't be surprising, really, but still, Alicia had to praise her Ladies for such a level of anticipation and planning for events so random and specific. She had heard her creator speak of how foolish her Lady Black Abyss could be. She had no opinion on that and remained neutral, as it would be absolute heresy to agree or disagree with her creator's opinion about another Supreme Being. But even if it were true that Lady Black Abyss might be somewhat foolish, the mere idea that a Supreme Being could be anything close to less than intelligent and wise was a true absurdity and a complete lack of respect and heresy. It didn't necessarily mean that Lady Black Abyss wasn't an unmatched genius in any case.

A genius could be smarter than another genius and relish in it. Not that she saw her creator as anything more than Lady Black Abyss, but obviously, among the Supreme Beings, there were differences in thoughts, morals, attitudes, personalities, etc. So the idea that one Supreme Being could be superior to another in one area but inferior in another was not so far-fetched, even if the essence of it also counted as heresy.

So even if Lady Black Abyss was a fool to other Supreme Beings or to some, at least in some sense of the word, as it could simply be a playful adjective among Supreme Beings, she was a level of intellect unreachable for anyone in Titania. 

Alicia silently vowed to serve her Ladies even more fervently for their kindness in including them in their magnificent plans.

The necromancer wore a furious expression, while the battered Skeleton Dragon slowly rose, emitting sounds of cracks from its body, cracked by Alicia's sheer physical strength.

The Dragon's ribcage was shedding miserable bone fragments, causing the human necromancer to grunt furiously. One more hit, and the Skeleton Dragon would easily become just an inanimate pile of bones.

"No! [Negative Ray]!" He shouted, causing a black ray to shoot from his hand towards the Skeleton Dragon. The damage Alicia inflicted almost instantly recovered. However, he didn't stop there. "[Reinforce Armor], [Lesser Strength], [Flame of Death], [Barrier]." He cast reinforcement spells on the Skeleton Dragon, making it more resilient, stronger, with a black aura enveloping it, and an invisible barrier protecting it. The Dragon roared at its enhancements, with the other pair of Skeleton Dragons doing the same.

Alicia, as always, showed a sad expression. She found it necessary to cast some enhancements on herself, just as a precaution. 

"[Shining Light], [Lion's Strength], [Paradise Protection]" (Dark Absorption) (Ghoul's Maws) (Underworld Shield).

With these level 3 enhancement spells on herself, Alicia prepared to fight with her bare hands.

The reinforced Skeleton Dragon charged towards Alicia. She responded in kind, dodging a claw swipe from the creature and delivering a powerful elbow to its other leg, making it stagger. She had to jump to the side to avoid a tail strike from another Skeleton Dragon. Still, she took advantage of the small gap and charged at the second Skeleton Dragon, delivering a powerful blow straight to its jaw, shattering it into hundreds of fragments while the Dragon roared, despite falling to the ground from the impact.

Again, Alicia blocked with her arms a tail swipe, this time from the reinforced Dragon, causing it to crash forcefully into the ground, exposed to a claw swipe. 

She rolled to the side, avoiding a powerful claw swipe from the reinforced Dragon, and skillfully got up, kicking the Dragon's claw, causing it to crack slightly, but not enough to bother the Undead.

A claw swipe from the jawless Skeleton Dragon came from behind, hitting Alicia in the back and throwing her to the side, crashing against a dead and leafless tree, breaking it upon impact. 

The necromancer smiled with his regained confidence. Even if she was a magical enchanter with great physical abilities, it was evident that she relied more on her magic than her strength.

"[Negative Ray]" The necromancer sang towards the Skeleton Dragons, completely healing them.

Alicia rose unscathed from among the tree splinters, shaking off her dress. 

She felt a slight depressing annoyance, knowing that even with her considerable physical power, she couldn't really defeat the Skeleton Dragons with a single blow, especially when their summoner was healing them, shielded by another Skeleton Dragon.

Of course, if Alicia were to unleash her racial abilities, she could literally pulverize the Skeleton Dragons. But she couldn't.

If only she had fuller access to her racial traits, she could easily deal with the Skeleton Dragons. But for now, she would have to endure. Her Lady would finish dealing with that human soon.

...

How much time had passed? Not much, really. But Alicia didn't keep track of time.

She spent her time dodging, enduring, and striking at the Skeleton Dragons. So much time had passed that the necromancer was already running out of steam. He had stopped healing the Skeleton Dragons unless both were seriously injured.

The man clicked his tongue at the sensation of mana depletion. At any moment, if what that woman in white said was true, adventurers would arrive soon, ruining months of planning and waiting. 

And this woman... Was holding her own with sheer physical prowess despite being a divine magic enchanter.

Sure, if she were a Cleric, it wouldn't be that surprising. Or a Paladin or Templar. But the latter could be ruled out, as she didn't have equipment of such nature.

Alicia held back a sigh. This was getting tedious at this point. It was like playing the same game over and over again constantly without stopping. There was no fun in it after a while.

However, amid all her limitations, Alicia never had a moment where she could really strike the necromancer. 

It was fortunate that Alicia couldn't feel irritation or boredom in the first place. She was literally in a long and annoying tug-of-war, where the Dragon's attacks barely harmed her at all due to the disablement of passive abilities, and even healed her, just as she couldn't damage the Dragons enough before the necromancer healed them. At some point, he even started using the dark energy emanating from the dark pearl in his hand to heal them.

If they continued like this, eventually Alicia would win due to the human's fatigue, mana loss, and the negative energy in the pearl, as well as the 'support' she would soon receive from her Lady and the adventurers undoing the rest of the undead army further back.

However...

"Alicia! Use all your power! Do whatever you want with them!"

She heard her voice... The voice of her Lady coming from not very far away with a certain strength. 

The immediate understanding of what she heard struck her, and she couldn't help but release the slightest of smiles on her depressed face. 

The source of her corrupt, impious, and wicked prayers filled with adoration. One of her Goddesses. The magnificent voice of Lady Black Abyss•White Flower resonated in her ears with clarity despite the distance.

"I see... In that case... I am no longer Elise... But Alicia, The One-Eyed." She murmured sadly, and turned towards the necromancer.

In that small moment of supposed distraction, the claw of the reinforced Skeleton Dragon lunged towards her with force.

"[Samael Slash]" She sang with her melancholic voice.

The Skeleton Dragon immediately froze as a large cut that looked like a stream of pure darkness pierced through the Undead. 

Immediately, the Skeleton Dragon collapsed into piles of bones, with several having clean cuts, the areas completely stained black.

"W-What!?" The necromancer took a step back, unable to believe what had just happened.

"[Control Undead]," she said as she directed her spell towards the other two Skeleton Dragons.

Her own strength and affinity with necromancy far surpassed the control her opponent had, crushing his resistance as if it were a dry branch trying to withstand a cannon blast. 

Alicia felt the new connection with the Skeleton Dragon, which was now under her total control. The human only retreated in terror, incredulous.

"[Re-Raise Undead]" She declared. With her ability, the Undead Dragon reformed from the recently collapsed bones. 

The Skeleton Dragon 'revived,' now stronger due to Alicia's class bonuses and under her control. 

The human took another step back.

"Surround him... Don't let him escape." She said sadly. The Skeleton Dragons obeyed, moving faster than the necromancer could, encircling him with their large bone bodies. 

He didn't know how this could happen.

He had the Death Orb! There shouldn't be a necromancer who surpasses him! And even then... This woman was a Cleric or Priestess! Not a Necromancer! How the hell could she use [Control Undead] and overcome him!? 

Alicia was unaware of all the thoughts that didn't come out of the necromancer's mouth, as he was in such shock that he could barely move his body. Plus, he knew that if he moved too abruptly, the Skeleton Dragons might attack him, and it would be his end. 

Although such a fate would have been much preferable.

"... I hate humans." Alicia said, catching the necromancer's attention. "I hate them with all my being... For what they did to me…" She continued, almost in tears.

She walked slowly, almost like a lifeless and dying woman. 

"That Lady Black Abyss tolerates them... I can't understand it... But it doesn't matter... Right now... I have permission, at least... To get rid of you…" She murmured, her words becoming more and more fragmented, increasingly hoarse.

The necromancer had no other choice. He aimed the pearl at Alicia and chanted.

"[Negative Ray]!" The dark beam shot towards Alicia and hit her head-on.

The human smiled victoriously because it was impossible for her to withstand that attack without protections. 

But... She kept walking.

It couldn't be... His [Negative Ray], using the Death Orb as a channeler, should have the power of a level 4 spell! Maybe even 5! 

But once Alicia lifted her head, revealing her face between her black hat and hair, both answers and more questions came... Along with fear.

The white flesh now turned into rotting flesh, filled with black pus and mold. The empty eye sockets, with golden flames in the form of rings, full of pure hatred as black veins oozing with rotten blood ran across her entire face. The mouth without cheeks, displaying large, sharp teeth more animalistic than human, with dark saliva that seemed so toxic and thick that he was sure even touching it would be fatally poisoned.

"... Hunger…" She said in her raspy and whispering voice, in a haunting growl filled with endless hatred for life and an insatiable hunger no matter how much flesh she consumed.

Alicia's eyes fixated on the necromancer, Khajit, finally, and she stood still.

"ROOOAGH! HUNGER!"

He barely had time to blink before seeing the large hungry jaws approaching in slow motion to devour his head, the throat filled with pus, rotting flesh, and darkness was the last thing he saw.

He could only await his gruesome death while recalling his mother.

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Name: Alicia de One-Eyed (Look at my comment~)

Creators: ¥Crucified¥, 4V3RS0Y777, PutoelquemateB3

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Pls read this chapter's 'Author's thought', since it's very important. Specially for the older reader in this Fanfic~