The Genius Necromancer of the Barbarian Race-Chapter 67 : Tell Me Before You Go!

Tell Me Before You Go!
Family.
Even if you're a god, losing something like that would make you sad.
It's understandable that it would be hard to control your emotions.
But what can I do about it?
I'm just an outsider.
In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I had a bad history with the vanished Lich.
I'm relieved that he's dead.
"Mortis."
I called out Mortis' name. She was still gazing at the spot where the Lich disappeared.
"This isn't what I wanted to become."
No, to be precise, her body was also vanishing, just like the Lich's.
What is happening?
Right as I had that thought, I was pulled from the 'Imaginary World' back to reality.
The first thing I saw was the Lich, disintegrating into dust.
His body was crumbling apart, blown away like ashes on the wind.
Didn't he say he'd lived for 300 years? The faith that had sustained him for 300 years disappeared, so his very existence collapsed.
Filthy bastard, you're finally leaving.
I desperately wanted to spit on the ground, but didn't have time.
"Hm?"
Something glowing appeared from inside his body.
It was a light that flickered in a steady rhythm, like a beating heart.
Soon after, a small stone floated up from among the ashes.
A roughly hewn stone with a crude symbol.
It was the Rune of the Abyss.
As I silently said its name, the inscription embedded in the stone began to glow more clearly.
Just as I reached out my hand to retrieve the Rune of the Abyss—
"K-Kuaaahhhhh!"
Mortis' necromancers nearby started screaming in agony.
The exact same thing that happened to the Lich a moment ago was now happening to the necromancers.
Did Mortis not only give up on the Lich's faith but all her other believers too?
As if to confirm my suspicions, a pure white smoke began leaking from the bodies of every necromancer.
Some couldn't endure the pain and collapsed to the ground, and the 'undead' they had summoned started crumbling into dust.
"W-What is happening here?"
"No! My prey is disappearing before I can kill it!"
Barkal, regretting the disappearance of the necromancers. Barely surviving himself, yet not a hint of sanity in this one.
"Big Bro, the Goddess statue is acting strange too!"
From a distance, Serena's voice called out. I shifted my focus to Mortis' Goddess statue.
Just as she said, several cracks were forming along the statue.
It was a phenomenon I recognized, one I'd seen recently.
It was the exact same as what happened when Ji-Avba, the God of Absorption and Transformation, vanished from the East-ranked dungeon after losing all followers.
Mortis.
You've stolen the powers, not just from the Lich, but from all your followers.
What I was witnessing was the process of the god named Mortis disappearing.
Wait.
As I looked at the cracking Goddess statue, I recalled my promise with Mortis.
She said she'd tell me!
She said she'd teach me necromancy!
"Are you running away?!"
I hurriedly bolted over and clung to the head of the Goddess statue.
As before, its empty eyes held red jewels.
Both the 'left eye' and the 'right eye' were set, yet Mortis' statue still looked hollow.
And the rate at which it was breaking seemed to be speeding up.
"Mortis, keep your promise!"
I should have doubted her when she said she didn't want to become this.
I mean, honestly, who could have guessed? I've seen many gods, but 'a god committing suicide' is a first.
"If you abandon being a god, who will—!"
Teach me necromancy?!
I wanted to shout, but there were too many ears nearby.
"Brother, I'll help you too!"
Maybe sensing my desperation, Barkal rushed over after dealing with the necromancers.
Alright Barkal, help me!
But how are you helping? Do you even know what I'm doing?
"Wahaha! Filthy god of necromancers! I'll smash your world to pieces!"
Barkal picked up Erindal and started smashing at the legs of Mortis' statue.
Bang—!
With a tremendous crash, the statue began to wobble.
I was trying everything I could think of to stop Mortis from disappearing, but this crazy barbarian was only making it worse.
I'm not clinging to demolish it!
"Barkal, I wish to speak with her for a moment!"
"I am speaking! It is a conversation of iron!"
Iron conversation, my ass!
Despite my desperate wishes, nothing was stopping Mortis from disappearing.
In Dungeon God, there's only one way for a god to cease to exist.
Losing all faith—their 'believers.'
Now Mortis had abandoned all her followers. Thus, all faith in the 'god of death and corpses' vanished from this world, and so is the god.
Wait.
A method came to mind.
If I become a 'follower', could I stop Mortis from disappearing?
* 〈Thrag senses your insolent thoughts.〉
What's insolent about this!
Hey, you never taught me necromancy!
* 〈Thrag objects.〉
Go ahead, object for the rest of your life.
* 〈Thrag objects vehemently!〉
"I will believe in you!"
I wrapped my arms around the statue's neck and stared into its two eyes.
Nothing reflected in the hollow gaze.
"I will become your follower!"
No matter how many times I spoke, Mortis didn't respond.
Since this statue served as a 'Pantheon,' if she wanted to, she could accept me as a follower.
Yet, the lack of response proved her intention to quit being a god and disappear from the world.
At that moment,
A faint light began leaking from the small tattoo drawn on my wrist.
* 〈Rune of the Abyss has been engraved.〉
* 〈Rune Progression: Stage 3〉
* 〈Rune of the Abyss Stage 3〉
- Elevates all faith levels by 1 stage.
- You may possess all forms of faith.
At some point, the Rune of the Abyss from the Lich had been absorbed by me, and thanks to it, new abilities had been unlocked.
You may possess all forms of faith.
What does that mean?
The question was answered quickly.
* 〈You have gained the faith of Mortis, the God of Death and Corpses.〉
* 〈You are Mortis' sole follower.〉
* 〈If you renounce your faith, Mortis will cease to exist.〉
God of Death and Corpses
Mortis
* 〈Faith Level: 2 [Disciple of Death]〉
Because of the Rune of the Abyss, my faith with Mortis started at level 2.
But I heard no voice.
Strange. Even if she's heartbroken, if she accepted a new follower, I thought she would at least say something.
* 〈Thrag is rampaging in fury.〉
Other gods sure are noisy.
"My honors! Don't disappear, die by my hand instead!"
"Brother Barkal, you shouldn't gather necromancer ashes!"
Her followers are just as loud.
* * *
Once Mortis abandoned all her followers, the battle was over in an instant.
With the necromancers gone, quiet returned to the mountainside. Trees lay uprooted from the bombardment, rocks shattered—a field of smoke rising across the battlefield.
"Brothers! Are you unharmed?!"
Grunt's booming voice broke the silence first. The Barbarian Respect Association members began standing, checking one another for injuries.
"Volgrim, I live!"
"I'm alright too!"
"The Black Claw tribe won't die this easy!"
Having confirmed the safety of the Barbarian Respect Association, I checked on Dark Shade too.
Dark Shade had waited in the back to cast bombardment spells and, unsurprisingly, were unharmed.
"Ulkkk."
Except for one.
Only Camilla.
"T-This is why I never want to use Crimson Meteor. The mana dizziness is seriously intense."
Complaining about the severe aftereffects of her bombardment spell, Camilla voiced her discontent.
"Even so, well done, Camilla. Thanks to you, the necromancers turned to ashes!"
"Ashes? All of them?"
The middle-aged man I saw in the alley before praised Camilla.
It wasn't just her bombardment spell, but the necromancers did become ashes.
Wiping her mouth after retching, Camilla then looked at me.
"Since you're back, I guess it's really wrapped up."
"Yes, all thanks to your magic, Camilla."
"Of course."
At Rubelt the middle-aged man's comment, Camilla showed me a triumphant smile.
"See? My magic is still amazing, even if it didn't work on that abyssal monster underground."
It must have bothered her quite a bit that her spells didn't work on the 'Black Knight' before. She didn't have to bring it up now.
"I used up a lot of gems, but even so..."
Ulk.
She started vomiting again before finishing her sentence.
Even her elegant red hair was now a mess, and I just clicked my tongue at her state.
She's just like Serena in many ways.
Next, I turned to the gold-ranked adventurer party, the Judges of Light. Fitting for their 'gold' status, not even Balder and the others showed major injuries.
"Sir Roland, what of Cardinal Girinil?"
Balder began speaking to Roland, Girinil's guard, who'd appeared late.
From their serious looks, it seemed like a bad idea to interrupt, so I moved on.
* 〈Thrag is frothing at the mouth.〉
Thrag, by the way, had been noisy for a while. 'Frothing at the mouth'—I'd never seen that text before, but it showed just how furious Thrag was.
Wait a second.
So much has happened that I never even realized—
I now believe in two gods.
One is Thrag.
The other is Mortis.
And they're not on good terms at all. Well, more one-sided hatred from Thrag.
But is it possible to believe in two gods at once? No matter how I think about it, it shouldn't be.
If you could worship multiple gods, other players would've done so.
It must be possible only because I gathered the Rune of the Abyss. That's my conclusion.
* 〈Thrag warns you.〉
* 〈He wants to be your sole god.〉
* 〈Ignoring the warning may result in punishment.〉
Warning texts popped up like banners repeatedly. I could feel just how petty Thrag was.
A sole god.
He wants me to worship only him.
I glanced briefly at the Blood-Colored Awl.
* 〈Thrag awaits your choice.〉
I had no choice. Only one option was left to me.
"Thanks for everything so far, Thrag!"
You crazy god of barbarians.
In this situation, if you must choose a single god, would anyone pick a barbarian god over a god of necromancers?
* 〈Thrag is utterly flustered.〉
***
**New Names, locations, skills, techniques**