Chapter 28: Lord of the Berwick Islands (6)

Simon returned to the surface with three walking corpses and a frightening story to tell.

It sickened him that he had to animate his own retainers’ remains with necromancy, but there was no other way to transport them all from the Poison Gardens’ depths to Castle Carcas above without such a measure due to the lack of monsters that could have served as carriers. Climbing his way up to the crypts with three silent ghouls for company—his own former comrades—had been one of the most emotionally draining experiences in his life.

It only hardened his resolve to become stronger, though.

Three times. Three times had his retainers died in the line of duty against much more powerful opponents like Vouivre and now Elios Magnos, all while Simon could only stand by and watch it happen. There would not be a fourth.

Simon would not be taken unaware like that again, and he would grow strong enough to prove himself worthy of his retainers’ allegiance.

Simon wisely asked to meet Lord Paimon and Anna in private when he returned to the surface, only to then show them the animated corpses of his companions and tell them of what he found down there; though he did not mention his and his ancestor’s discussion about the Overlord’s reigns for fear of triggering the failsafe.

Anna was mortified, and her father remained eerily quiet throughout the entire story. He scowled, paled, and spent whole minutes pondering what he had just heard.

Lord Maublanc Paimon, Commander and general of the empire, had been shaken to his core.

“Are you sure he carried the Librarian Noble Crestone?” he asked Simon, his voice subdued.

“His Crestone bore the emblem, and the outfit matched the descriptions,” Simon replied. Although the Class had been lost for ages, part of its blueprints had survived and helped create Vassal Classes like the Scholar. “And House Magnos claims descent from the Librarian.”

Anna grit her teeth in sorrow and anger. “What were you thinking, Father, sending people down there with that thing?!”

“Do you think I would have if I knew? I never saw an underground manatree husk, nor received any reports of such from past explorers.” Lord Paimon shook his head in distaste. “Balzam must have opened up that area and kept it from me, but why? Why in the Light would he do such a thing?”

“I think… I think he tried to parley with the lich,” Simon said. Balzam Magnos had died four times facing their ancestor, so he must have tried to swindle the ancient archmage and paid the price for it. “Elios knew him by name.”

Lord Paimon’s expression twisted into disgust, though Simon couldn’t tell if it was anger at Balzam for letting him inherit a castle built on a lich’s lair and not telling him, or that the man thought he could negotiate with the creature at all. “Madness. Pure madness.”

“That can’t have been your ancestor,” Anna protested. “It was lying.”

“No, I don’t think he was,” Simon replied with a scowl. “He sounded too… too proud of it. And he wouldn’t have spared me otherwise.”

Lord Paimon nodded darkly. “Tales say that Overlord Mardok had a court mage and advisor who bore the title of the ‘Dark Lich’. It is said that it was destroyed fighting Gargauth on its demonic master’s behalf, but clearly its phylactery must have survived somewhere else.”

Simon frowned. “Phylactery?”

“There are five creatures in the Imperial Bestiary with the mention of ‘flee on sight.’” Lord Paimon raised five fingers. “Dryads, archfiends, eidolons, dragons… and liches. The main reason, besides the fact that they are universally powerful archmages, is that they seal their souls in objects called phylacteries to achieve immortality. So long as that artifact remains intact, they will always return from the dead. It is nigh-pointless to fight them.”

“So we can’t even exorcize it?” Anna stared at Leonard’s shambling corpse with horror. “People need to know–”

“No,” Lord Paimon interrupted his daughter. “This information shall not leave this room. I will have the Dungeon walled off like Balzam should have done long ago, and we shall speak of this no more.”

While Simon privately agreed this was the wisest course of action, Anna was obviously less than thrilled. “You want us to keep the murderous ancient undead in our basement a secret?”

“Yes, we will,” Lord Paimon replied bluntly. “The lich said that it was the first and only wielder of the Librarian Noble Crestone. Do you understand the implications?”

Simon did. “Humans received the Noble Crestones from the elves during the Age of Heroes nearly eight hundred years ago.”

“Exactly,” Lord Paimon confirmed. “If even half of what this creature said was true, then it is among the most ancient and powerful creatures in the world. If it can indeed kill anyone below level 80, then nothing short of Louis or Euphemia can even hope to fight it. All he has to do to slay everyone in this castle is to walk up the stairs.”

“All the more reason to inform our people of the threat!” Anna protested.

“I don’t think my ancestor—” Merely saying the word left a sore taste in Simon’s mouth, “—will cause any issues unless disturbed. All he wanted was to be left alone, and he hasn’t caused troubles in the decades since we’ve been here.”

“Hence, we are not giving him any reason to start bothering us,” Lord Paimon said. “We will wall off the Dungeon entrance and say that your retainers died saving you from a ghoul powder poisoning attempt. It is a vile toxin that transforms those exposed into the undead. As a newly legitimized bastard and my daughter’s fiancé, no one will doubt that someone out there tried to poison Simon. It will even endear sympathy.”

Simon couldn’t argue with the reasoning, having been poisoned once already. However, he only had to take a look at Anna to tell that the plan was doomed to fail.

“No,” she said willfully, her voice dripping with disgust. “I will not lie to Tiella about her brother’s murder. She is my best friend–”

“You are my daughter,” Lord Paimon replied icily. “And you will do as I say.”

Anna winced, and then looked at her fiancé for support. While Simon knew that Lord Paimon’s plan was rationally the best, the way Leonard’s corpse stared at his back only inflamed his guilt. He couldn’t lie to Tiella and dishonor her brother’s memory, especially after sharing her bed.

“I… I have a way to ensure Tiella will not share our secrets,” Simon informed Lord Paimon. “Lying will make her suspicious of us, maybe even drive her into our enemies’ arms.”

It was only a feeble excuse, but Lord Paimon pondered it nonetheless. “You are still too soft, my future son-in-law,” he said with a hint of reproach. “But if you indeed have a way to bind her to silence, I shall allow it.”

Anna sighed with relief and gave Simon a look full of gratitude.

“With the Dungeon’s loss, we will revert to my original plan,” her father said without skipping a beat. “I will send you to Castle Corinte, a fortress closer to our Islands’ manatree, so you can test your mettle against the Green Mother’s faith.”

“Wait,” Simon said. “There is more. The lich warned us to evacuate the castle within one or two years. He warned us that a Zodiac Fiend called the Scorpion would ‘rise last’ during that period before the ‘Serpent-Bearer closed the parade,’ whatever that means.”

Lord Paimon stroked his chin. “This seems to be a reference to the zodiac constellations,” he concluded. “The ancients only recorded twelve signs because they wanted them to each align with a given month, but there are actually thirteen constellations in the zodiac: the Archer, the Goatfish, the Water-Carrier, the Two-Tailed Fish, the Ram, the Minotaur, the Twins, the Crab, the Lion, the Maiden, the Scales, the Scorpion… and the forgotten thirteenth, the Serpent-Bearer.”

“Wasn’t that one of Overlord Mardok’s titles?” Anna pointed out.

Yes, Simon thought, recalling how the demon possessing Eole had called Mardok a traitor. Yes, it was.

“We will investigate this mystery later,” Lord Paimon decided before sending a wary glance at Simon’s undead retainers. “Let us clean these messes up one at a time.”

It fell upon Simon and Anna to break the news of Leonard’s death to Tiella. She obviously didn’t take it well, exploding into cries and sobs. Anna held her close in her arms while Simon watched uneasily. The best he could do was offer her a handkerchief to wipe away her tears when she calmed down a bit.

“W-why?” she asked Simon, her voice shaking. “Why… how?”

“I… I cannot tell you, not unless you sign a magical contract,” Simon said. “It is a state secret.”

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“A… state secret?” Tiella looked up to him in incomprehension. “What… I don’t understand.”

Simon exchanged a glance with Anna, who gave him a stern look in response. Simon took a deep breath, checked that the bedroom door was locked, and then put on the Overlord outfit.

Tiella’s eyes widened in utter shock, her skin paling as the implications behind his appearance became clear. “You… your highness is…” She covered her mouth and turned to Anna, whose expression confirmed her doubts. “This cannot be…”

“Now you see me as I am, and you have received a glimpse of the truth.” Simon opened his hand and summoned the Brands of Sloth and Gluttony. “I can put marks on you. They will grant you benefits such as protection against poison and quick learning, but also allow me to oversee your actions and strike you dead from a distance should you violate your oath of secrecy. Once applied, they will stick with you until death. That’s the price you’ll have to pay for my trust.”

He was exaggerating the risks a bit, but he needed to be sure Tiella would understand the implications. She had seen the true Overlord, and her brother had served him. Anything related to this matter would shake the empire to its core. If she refused to accept the brands…

Simon didn’t want to think about that.

“I…” Tiella bit her lip and then nodded with newfound resolve. “I will take them.”

“I cannot take them off without killing you,” Simon warned her. “One slip-up will kill you.”

It didn’t dissuade her. “I have to know, Your High…” Tiella gulped. “Your Majesty.”

“Very well. Pull your hair back.” Once Tiella obeyed, Simon applied the two brands at the back of her head so that none could see them when her hair fell freely. “Now… the truth.”

Anna and he proceeded to share what they could with Tiella: how Balzam was dead and that Leonard had been tasked with his safety until he could become the Overlord in truth, how they had found a Dungeon in the basement, and how the man had found death there. Tiella listened to everything in silence, her utter disbelief slowly giving way to resignation and a tense grudge.

“I am truly sorry,” Simon apologized before offering her her brother’s Crestone. “This… this belongs to you now. I believe he would have wanted you to have it.”

Tiella stared at her brother’s last memento with sorrow. “Did he die fighting?”

Simon scowled. Lying would be kinder, but that might give Tiella the slightest of false hopes. She was better off fully understanding the danger that Elio Magnos represented.

“He would have if he could,” Simon said sadly, “but it was over in an instant.”