Overlord: The Wandering Sorcerer Chapter 9 — A Night in E-Rantel
The next morning, Momonga woke to knocking.
Three slow knocks.
He opened his eyes.
For a moment, he simply stared at the ceiling.
Then he remembered where he was.
E-Rantel.
The inn.
The New World.
Nabe.
And the rather unpleasant discovery that he had somehow become involved with Clementine and Blue Rose.
The knocking came again.
“Mommon.”
Nabe’s voice.
“Come in.”
The door opened.
Nabe entered carrying breakfast.
Momonga stared at the tray.
“You brought food.”
“Yes.”
“I cannot eat.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“You said yesterday that you enjoyed the smell.”
Momonga looked at her.
Then at the breakfast.
Then back at her.
“I did.”
Nabe placed the tray on the table.
“I thought you might enjoy it again.”
Momonga smiled.
“Thank you.”
Nabe nodded.
For a few moments, they simply stood there.
Then Momonga noticed something.
“You’re wearing your combat equipment.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because we are going to investigate Clementine.”
Momonga looked toward the window.
“I suppose we are.”
They met Blue Rose at the Adventurer’s Guild.
Lakyus was already waiting.
Gagaran was leaning against a wall.
Tia and Tina were talking quietly.
Evileye stood apart from the others, arms folded.
The moment Momonga entered, Gagaran grinned.
“Morning, husband!”
Momonga stopped.
Nabe stopped.
Lakyus closed her eyes.
“Gagaran.”
“What?”
“We discussed this.”
“I know.”
“Then stop.”
Gagaran shrugged.
“Fine.”
Momonga walked over.
“Good morning.”
Evileye looked at him.
“You slept?”
“Yes.”
“Despite everything?”
“I am undead.”
“Right.”
She sighed.
“I keep forgetting.”
Momonga smiled.
“So do I.”
Evileye stared at him.
Then, unexpectedly, she smiled.
It was tiny.
But genuine.
Lakyus spread a map across the table.
“We have three disappearances.”
Momonga leaned closer.
“Three?”
“Three groups of adventurers have disappeared over the last two weeks.”
“How many people?”
“Fourteen.”
Momonga’s expression became serious.
“All near E-Rantel?”
“Not exactly.”
Lakyus pointed at three locations.
“They form a rough triangle.”
Momonga studied the map.
The locations were separated by several kilometers.
“What’s in the center?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“A ruined fort.”
Momonga looked at Evileye.
“You know it?”
“Yes.”
Her voice became quieter.
“It belonged to an old military unit.”
“Abandoned?”
“Long ago.”
“Any reason people would be there?”
“Not normally.”
Momonga nodded.
“Then that’s where we’re going.”
Gagaran grinned.
“Straight to the dangerous place?”
“Yes.”
“You’re definitely an adventurer.”
Momonga looked at her.
“I thought you were going to stop calling me husband.”
“I didn’t say I would stop being annoying.”
“I see.”
They left the city shortly after noon.
There were six of them.
Momonga.
Nabe.
Lakyus.
Gagaran.
Tia.
Tina.
Evileye followed slightly behind.
Momonga noticed that she kept watching him.
Eventually, he asked.
“Is something wrong?”
“You.”
“Me?”
“You’re different.”
Momonga laughed.
“That’s becoming a common theme.”
“I’m serious.”
Evileye slowed.
“Most undead I’ve encountered are either mindless monsters or extremely dangerous beings.”
“I see.”
“You don’t fit either category.”
Momonga looked ahead.
“What category do I fit?”
“I haven’t decided.”
“That’s probably for the best.”
Evileye frowned.
“You don’t seem bothered by being undead.”
Momonga considered the question.
“Should I be?”
“Most people would be.”
“I’m not most people.”
“No.”
Evileye glanced at Nabe.
“Apparently not.”
Nabe looked at her.
“Do you have something to say?”
Evileye immediately looked away.
“No.”
Momonga smiled.
He was beginning to understand their dynamic.
Nabe was protective.
Evileye was suspicious.
And neither trusted the other.
That could become entertaining.
Or disastrous.
Possibly both.
The ruined fort appeared just before sunset.
It stood on a hill.
Broken walls.
Collapsed towers.
An old gate hanging from one hinge.
No guards.
No lights.
No movement.
Gagaran looked at it.
“Cheerful place.”
Momonga nodded.
“Very.”
Lakyus drew her sword.
“Everyone stay alert.”
They entered.
The courtyard was empty.
Momonga immediately noticed the silence.
Too much silence.
“No animals.”
Evileye looked around.
“You’re right.”
“No insects.”
Tia glanced at him.
“You can hear insects?”
“No.”
“Then how—”
“I don’t know.”
Momonga looked slightly embarrassed.
“Something feels wrong.”
Evileye nodded.
“Magic?”
“Possibly.”
She raised one hand.
A faint magical aura spread through the courtyard.
Her expression changed.
“There’s a barrier.”
“What kind?”
“Concealment.”
Momonga’s eyes narrowed.
“So someone doesn’t want us to see something.”
Lakyus pointed toward the center of the courtyard.
“Then let’s find it.”
They searched.
Nothing.
Then Nabe stopped.
“Mommon.”
He turned.
“What?”
She pointed toward the ground.
A stone was slightly displaced.
Momonga crouched.
He touched it.
The stone moved.
A hidden staircase appeared.
Gagaran whistled.
“Well, that’s convenient.”
Momonga looked into the darkness.
“That’s never a good sign.”
The staircase descended farther than expected.
The air became colder.
The walls changed.
Old stone became newer.
The newer stone became polished.
Momonga stopped.
“This wasn’t built with the fort.”
Lakyus frowned.
“How can you tell?”
“The construction is different.”
Evileye examined the wall.
“He’s right.”
Momonga looked at her.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t sound so pleased.”
“I’ll try.”
They continued.
At the bottom was a corridor.
And on the wall…
A symbol.
Momonga stopped.
The same symbol as the one on Clementine’s letter.
Nabe moved closer.
“Do you recognize it?”
“No.”
Evileye stared.
“Neither do I.”
Momonga touched it.
A pulse of magic passed through the stone.
He immediately withdrew his hand.
“Interesting.”
Lakyus looked at him.
“What happened?”
“It reacted to me.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
Momonga examined the symbol again.
Then he realized something.
It wasn’t a symbol. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
It was a warning.
A magical seal.
And something was written beneath it.
Evileye translated it.
“Those who enter shall awaken the dead.”
Gagaran stared.
“That’s comforting.”
Momonga looked down the corridor.
“We’re probably about to find out whether it’s true.”
The dead did awaken.
They came from the walls.
Skeletons.
Dozens.
Then hundreds.
Tia and Tina moved first.
Their blades flashed.
Gagaran charged into the mass.
Lakyus shouted an order.
Evileye unleashed magic.
Momonga watched for several seconds.
The skeletons were weak.
Very weak.
Yet there were too many.
He raised one hand.
“Negative Burst.”
Dark energy swept through the corridor.
The skeletons collapsed simultaneously.
Silence returned.
Gagaran stared.
“How many spells do you know?”
Momonga lowered his hand.
“Quite a few.”
“That was a ridiculous answer.”
“So I’ve been told.”
Evileye looked at the remains.
Then at Momonga.
“You could have destroyed them all without us.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
Momonga glanced at the others.
“Because we’re a team.”
Evileye was silent.
Lakyus smiled.
“I like that answer.”
Momonga returned the smile.
They reached the chamber at the end of the corridor.
Inside were cages.
Empty.
Broken chains.
Bloodstains.
And on the far wall…
A large magical circle.
Momonga approached.
“Someone was performing experiments here.”
Evileye’s expression darkened.
“On humans?”
“Possibly.”
Lakyus looked around.
“Who would do this?”
Momonga examined the circle.
“I don’t know.”
Then he saw something.
A small object lying on the floor.
A piece of metal.
He picked it up.
An insignia.
Momonga knew it.
So did Lakyus.
She immediately drew her sword.
“The Slane Theocracy.”
Silence.
Momonga stared at the insignia.
“Are you certain?”
Lakyus nodded.
“Yes.”
Evileye’s eyes narrowed.
“Clementine.”
Momonga didn’t answer.
Because footsteps had begun echoing through the corridor behind them.
Slow.
Relaxed.
Unhurried.
Everyone turned.
A woman’s laughter drifted through the darkness.
“Oh, good.”
Clementine stepped into the doorway.
She was smiling.
“I was wondering how long it would take you to find this place.”
Momonga stared at her.
Lakyus raised her sword.
“You.”
Clementine looked at her.
“Oh.”
Her smile became wider.
“Blue Rose.”
Gagaran cracked her knuckles.
“You know us?”
“Of course.”
Clementine’s eyes moved across the group.
Then settled on Momonga.
“But I came here for him.”
Momonga stepped forward.
“Why?”
Clementine’s smile disappeared.
For the first time, her voice became completely serious.
“Because I finally figured out what you are.”
Momonga said nothing.
Clementine lifted one of her blades.
“You’re not a normal undead.”
“I know.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You don’t understand.”
Her eyes gleamed.
“You’re something that shouldn’t exist in this world.”
Momonga felt a chill.
Not because of her words.
Because of the certainty behind them.
Clementine took another step.
“And I want to know why.”
Momonga looked at Nabe.
Then at Blue Rose.
Then back at Clementine.
He smiled.
“Then I suppose we have a problem.”
Clementine laughed.
“Oh, definitely.”
And this time…
She attacked.