The Ruined Death Knight

Once Danzel and Shiro went to the house, they stayed till night there.

Despite being reluctantly himself, Danzel decided to give Shiro that day to her.

From lessons to casual talks of magic.

To some of what Shiro considered his "adventures" to somehow fixing the roof and floor, which was damaged, with means "unknown" to him, till fixing Shiro's clothes.

Hours where he could spend learning magic, bettering his runesmithing, or teaching his Anabast's.

Opening the door and leaving the house once Shiro went to sleep, Danzel shook his head helplessly.

"I shouldn't have offered her to make her new clothes, how should I even manage to make a robe? In the first place, I am a death knight...not a damn tailor."

When he offered her to make her new clothes, what he had in mind was something similar to what he had done. Stitching together fuer and leather with bones to make it wearable and warm.

That would allow him to practice a bit more with [Bone Shaping].

A skill-like spell that he found interesting to use.

He could imagine that the spell had potential in necromantic ritualism. Where it revolved it messing with a corpse to raise a weirder or more powerful undead.

He already proved this through the creation of Sylas. Allowing the undead to gain a new kind of sight.

Also, the book that Velkir has given him had a section of this kind of stuff and he already could purchase a few skills and spells that might go that route of necromancy.

In short, it was a large branch of the necromancy tree.

Though Danzel had pushed away from starting learning it for now. As he had already his hands full with all the other stuff. Also, the branch was more suited for necromancers for the magic caster route.

As a necromancer focused on melee combat, that sort of specialization would bring him little reward in the short term. And most likely strengthen his undead creation's rather than himself.

He considered an interesting branch to keep in mind, but nothing more.

As an immortal being, he could always go back and study it after a few years or decades.

"That is if I even have time then..." Danzel mumbled as he walked down the mountain.

He looked at his side at all the other houses, his sight telling him that only a few decided to stay in their house in the mountains. The other houses that he stared at had no signs of vitality or soul essence.

When he first came, those were filled with vitality, but now that he came back, it seems like they abandoned their houses. Danzel guessed that those that lived in the mountain decided to live with some relative down to the village.

In the first place, he didn't even care.

Switching his gaze down the mountain at the village, he could see several of his undead walkings and doing their thing despite no living soul being outside. At least that's what he thought at first, before spotting a group walking around the ice walls with a few of his undead.

"What are they doing there?" Danzel mumbled.

He cast to himself [Mist Presence], masking his presence as if it were on a different plain, resulting in his bones letting out a dark mist, which escape from his armor.

Then his body turned into a similar dark mist like a wave down the mountain with the usage of [Phantom Phase].

Arguably one of his most powerful skills.

In a matter of seconds, the dark mist traveled down to the village and swam through the streets before smashing into the ice wall

Upon contact, the dark mist twisted itself as it rose to the air as if the dark mist was clawing its way up the ice wall.

Meanwhile at the same time...

One woman of the group who was walking at the ice wall looked at a man with a worried expression.

"Hey, are you sure that we are allowed to be here?"

The man in question looked pointed at the Draugrs who they passed.

"What? You don't believe me? Look at the followers of Harsh Death. Do you really believe that they would have left us alone if what we were doing is forbidden? I even asked one of them if we could patrol the wall for them." The man with a voice of confidence, made the nerves of his group relax a tiny bit.

Though what the man didn't say to his group was that the Draugr that he asked hadn't given any confirmation or denial. Being among the ones that were created from the "foreign" villages. He among few others had yet to receive such specific orders wherever they were allowed to "stand" on the wall.

All they were ordered was that anyone who left the village without the permission of one of the Anabast was to be killed and their body to be brought to either the Anabast or Danzel.

And as the wall was technically a part of the village, the Draugrs left the group of 3 to go only having a few tallying them.

"I guess you are right..." The woman said, from her face alone one could easily tell that she was anxious.

"As long as we can be of some help and show our dedication to Harsch Death, no matter how small. That's all that matters." The other man who held a spear made out of bones said with a serious voice.

A spear he was extremely grateful for receiving, despite being one of the extras that Danzel made.

"As of now, we are unwelcome here. Practically outsiders. And our only patron is Harsch Death. If he weren't here we would have-" The man dramatically halted what he was about to say and even had his mouth open like a confused finish, making the other two look at him weirdly.

The woman also froze a second later, forcing the man to halt his step and look at the duo confused.

"I get that you guys are worried, but you really need to calm your nerves. We had it far worse when we were marching with Harsch Death. True to his name ain't I ri-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a cold and heavy grab land on his shoulder. Making the man turn by reflex to see who it was.

"-ght?"

But once he turned his head, his face quickly lost all color, and his body froze from dread, forgetting even to breathe at the sight of who was grabbing him.

With dark mist coming out of his full-plated armor, the undead with dark green ethereal eyes, the same entity they referred to as Harsch Death, was now standing behind him.

"What are you three doing here at the walls?" Danzel said as he let go of the man. Once his hand left his shoulder, he couldn't help but turn around swiftly, which made him fall butt-first to the ice floor.

"I-w-we were-" The man struggled to speak and showed signs of distress.

Though the other man immediately acted in a level-headed manner despite his fear.

Whispering to the woman to go to their knees and helping the other man get in the same position, it took them only 3 seconds for him to answer Danzel's question.

"O thee primordial god, w-we thought that we could help your followers with the patrolling of the walls. A-As we saw them how they worked the whole day and protect the village, we felt the need to give them support no matter how small. F-Forgive us if we stepped over the line that we shouldn't have. Please." The man said as he slammed lightly his head on the ice floor.

And similar to how the duckling followed the mother duck, the other followed suit.

"Please!"

"Please!"

"..." Danzel felt somewhat annoyed with the man mimicking the way how his Anabast talked.

His cold gaze lay on top of them.

Danzel called the two Draugrs who were tailing the group to see why they were allowed here.

And as commanded, they did as such.

Having heard his Draugr's thoughts and what those guys talked about, Danzel came to the realization that those 3 were either ignorant or stupid.

Maybe both.

"You three were lucky, if one of the five were to find you three here, you would have been put to death. Also, down bow in front of me like that..." Danzel explained, making the 3 shudders with their death being mentioned.

"Now leave, none of the living is allowed here from now on. Your help is unnecessary, if not a liability."

"Y-Yes! We thank thee eldest primordial God."

The three quickly left with hastened steps.

Danzel watched them leave before shaking his and looking at the mountain, specifically at the house where Shiro was sleeping now.

'It seems like I failed to spread my will though my creation's probably. I might have fooled Shiro this time, but who knows how severe my will and orders are going to bent..'

That's right.

Though what Danzel told Shiro was completely the truth. He had purposely let out a detail about his Anabast. Or rather covered by playing them being the undead card.

Throughout his existence, Danzel might have done several mistakes. But that didn't make him a fool.

He wasn't as naive to believe that one of his Anabasts, Talon at that. Wasn't capable to comprehend Shiro's true will through her orders.

All 5 of the Anabast were extremely intelligent. But the smartest of them had to be Talon and Sylas. In his eyes, they showed the most talent of being a magic caster.

He found Baron to too adhere while Leyone and Rayone seem to be relying on each other for their studies.

So for Talon not to understand the meaning of Shiro's words was in his opinion impossible.

And he knew the exact reason why Talon still did what he did despite knowing.

That reason is the very nature of the Anabast races.

There was a reason why the status window described the Anabast as killers of their very own creators.

And after hearing Shiro's story, Danzel finally understood what exactly the description meant.

The power to bent order's to fulfill their goal while still abholding the order.

Like making a wish to become rich and the wish teleports you under the sea near a pile of treasures full of gold. Your wish would be fulfilled, in ways, one hadn't intended.

'I had thought that the little mana that I had given them would have made them have a similar mindset of order as the Draugr's.' Danzel though.

He couldn't even comprehend how much free his Anabast would have if he were to forsake more than 55%, when 5% was already enough for them to play around with his orders.

Though despite being aware of that, Danzel wasn't going to punish Talon for his decision.

As there were many factors that could determine such decision.

The most obvious is the instinctual hatred towards the living.

At times even he couldn't keep those emotions in check. For undead who were created not even a year ago, their control over those instincts would have been far inferior that his.

"At least for reference sake, I know how the Anabast could act without my will instructing them. And for the better or the worse, for this to happen now and not later is a gift in disguise." Danzel mumbled, changing a saying that he remembered from a human years ago.

Though Danzel was sure that Shiro would disagree with this statement.

Withdrawing his gaze from the mountain, Danzel stared down at the village.

'To the original people of Vashara, what I am doing is nothing but the same that Hanson once did to me. Imprisonment in their own house, except for the few who believe in that primordial god's bullshit, in time, if given the chance, they will act as I did once.'

Danzel then remembered what the group of fox people said on the walls.

"The others though may be worth giving them a chance to prove themself useful more than I have intended from them." Danzel said as he stepped off the wall.

'To think that I would reach the point that I would act the same way as my captor once did.' Danzel thought bitterly, fully aware of how much of a hypocrite he was being.

But those thoughts weighed him only for a split moment and disappeared as Danzel's feet touched the ground and turned into a dark mist.

Planning to visit the few candidates for his and possibly future designs.

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