I Reincarnated as a Mob Villain Prince Who Dies Before the Game Starts ~ In Order to Be Happy with My Favorite Heroine's Younger Sister, I Overcame My Weakest Magic [Dark Blade] with Excessive Effort, and It Became the Strongest Broken Power ~ - Chapter 16: The Mob Prince Cuts Down the Evil Sorcerer Zyrus

Chapter 16: The Mob Prince Cuts Down the Evil Sorcerer Zyrus

“Rena, are you feeling okay anywhere on your body?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine, Dad. I just feel a little dizzy since I just woke up…”

Rena looked confused, not understanding what had happened to her.

It made sense—after all, she had woken up in an unfamiliar place.

“I’m glad. It looks like there are no side effects. I have something to take care of, so wait here for a bit.”

Master Gain gently patted Rena’s head before turning around.

“Luke, if you need Zyrus’ research materials to take that woman down, I’ll help you find them.”

“That would be a great help, Master.”

The hidden room where Rena had been imprisoned had bookshelves and a desk, with dozens of books stored there. This was probably the main place.

Since there were other rooms as well, we decided to split up and gather as much information as possible about Underworld Drop—Thanatos. That would be solid evidence of Empress Camilla’s corruption.

“Rena, sorry. You must be hungry, right? Can you eat this while you wait?”

I took out some cookies my mom had given me and handed them to Rena.

“Oh, big brother, thank you…!”

Rena’s eyes sparkled as she accepted the cookies.

“Big brother? I’m the same age as you.”

“Huh? But you seem so grown-up, so I thought you were older.”

“I see. My name is Luke. I’d be happy if we could be friends.”

“Luke, right? Okay, nice to meet you!”

Rena gave me a bright, beaming smile.

Wow, she’s such a straightforward and good girl.

I never had a chance to make friends my age, so this made me incredibly happy.

Maybe I should introduce Rena to Diana later, and the three of us could play together.

I’m sure Diana would be happy too.

“Rena, Luke is the one who saved your life. You should thank him properly,” Master Gain said while searching through the bookshelves.

“R-Really…?”

“Yeah, he’s the prince who rescued you after you were put to sleep by a wicked sorcerer.”

“A prince!?”

At that moment—

Suddenly, the ceiling collapsed, and several figures fell through.

To make things worse, they were chanting an eerie spell.

No way, this is…!

“Zyrus’ allies!”

Master Gain tried to slash at them with his sword, but their magic activated first.

“Underworld Drop—Thanatos!”

“Rena!”

Acting on instinct, I created Magic Severing Swords—Dispel Swords from my arms and legs, piercing myself, my master, and Rena.

“Arghhh!”

However, Jack, who was outside the room, wasn’t protected by the Dispel Swords in time.

Clawing at his throat, Jack collapsed.

“Well, well, what a surprise, boy. So that sword of yours has the same effect as Dispel, huh?”

The four men who had landed on the floor spoke in unison.

Their faces were rotting, their arms, visible from beneath their robes, were stripped to the bone.

Undead. These things were moving corpses.

“Ahhh!”

Rena let out a terrified scream.

I shielded her behind me and readied my Dispel Sword.

“Could that be Fusion Magic? Normally, someone wouldn’t reach that level until they were much older, yet you’ve attained it at only seven years old. Fascinating.”

Their old-fashioned way of speaking, combined with their immediate recognition of my Dispel Sword’s effects, made me realize—

“So the first woman I defeated… she was another undead you were controlling, wasn’t she, Zyrus?”

“Zyrus!?”

“That’s right. Master Gain, this guy is a Necromancer!”

A Necromancer—a depraved sorcerer who manipulates corpses into undead.

“Indeed. You’re quite perceptive, boy. However…”

The four undead simultaneously turned their gaze toward Jack’s motionless body.

“The tamer is dead. Hahaha! Finally, at long last, my research is complete! An undead army that wields instant-death magic—this is the culmination of my forty years of study!”

The undead all laughed in unison.

“With this power, I can surpass even my master—the undying monster, Saint Germain!”

“Tch!”

Master Gain became a gust of wind, slashing through the four undead controlled by Zyrus.

They were sent flying from the force of his strikes.

“Foolish. No matter how much you cut us, it won’t interfere with our spellcasting.”

Even after being knocked down, the undead began chanting Underworld Drop—Thanatos again as if nothing had happened.

At the same time, countless more undead dropped from the ceiling.

“This is a bad spot! Let’s get outside!”

“Luke!?”

I grabbed Rena and tried to escape from the fortress.

Fighting an army of undead that could cast instant-death magic in a confined space was suicide.

But then, more undead burst through the floor, blocking our exit.

“Out of my way!”

I summoned a Dispel Sword from my leg and struck with a kick.

The enemy was frozen in place from the attack, but another undead immediately stepped up to fill the gap.

Worse, several more newly arrived undead began chanting Underworld Drop—Thanatos.

Not good…

If I used Titan’s Great Sword, I could take them all down at once, but it required focusing all my magic into one strike, meaning I wouldn’t be able to use Dispel Sword at the same time.

If we got surrounded, we’d be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

“Luke, take Rena and run! I’ll hold them off!”

Master Gain stood like a wall, keeping the undead at bay.

“Dad!?”

Swinging his sword with all his might, Master Gain was clearly planning to sacrifice himself to let us escape.

But he had no way to counter Underworld Drop—Thanatos.

“You finally got to reunite with Rena! What are you thinking!?”

“Just go! This is my way of atoning!”

“Are you planning to make this girl an orphan!?”

In my past life, my mom vanished when I was six, and my dad died when I was in high school.

I wouldn’t let Rena go through that pain.

“It’s better than all of us dying! Now go!”

Damn it…

The only way to turn this around was to find Zyrus, the one controlling the undead, and take him out.

According to game logic, a Necromancer would always be hiding somewhere close to their minions.

But I had no idea where.

What do I do? What do I—

“Listen, Luke. Necromancers always build their lairs underground, as close to the underworld as possible, to amplify their dark magic.”

My mother’s magic lessons suddenly resurfaced in my mind.

This wasn’t something covered in the game, so I had found it interesting back then.

…It’s a gamble, but I have to try!

“Uoooooh! Titan’s Great Sword!”

I summoned an enormous Dark Edge in my right hand and plunged it deep into the ground.

“What!?”

Zyrus’ undead let out cries of shock, stopping their chants.

The floor shattered, and we all—undead included—fell into the basement.

“Kyah!”

“It’s okay!”

I held Rena close with my left arm and landed safely in the underground chamber.

“Th-Thank you, Luke…”

For some reason, Rena’s face turned red.

Master Gain also landed safely beside me.

“I wasn’t sure what you were doing, but so that’s your plan?”

“The floor was made of magic steel!? That means…!”

A middle-aged man, trembling in fear, sat on the floor.

His face was flushed with life—definitely a living human.

“You must be Zyrus.”

“D-Damn you…!”

I closed in on him.

A Necromancer’s strategy was to let their undead fight for them while they hid.

Now that he had been found, it was checkmate.

“Kill them, my minions!”

But Zyrus made a desperate move, ordering his undead to attack while chanting Underworld Drop—Thanatos himself.

“You bastard, you’ve had your fun long enough!”

Master Gain cut down the swarming undead.

“Zyrus, this is the end for you!”

I summoned Titan’s Great Sword once more—

And with a single slash, I cut through both the undead horde and Zyrus himself.