I became a legion lich

189 Negligence

“On the other side of the desert, there is a realm of the undead that are adapted to the desert. The black skeletons seem to be getting closer and closer to the desert, so I’ll ask them to send search parties to go after them.”

“But master, they would have to search the entire desert to find the skeletons. Don’t you think it’s a bit absurd to ask them to find the skeletons?” Valko asked doubtfully, but Illum just smiled mysteriously at him.

“I’ll fix it. Just make sure you come back in one piece.” Illum spoke mysteriously and by the look in his eyes, Valko knew he wouldn’t take any more questions.

‘I can’t tell him that the undead realm already dominates the entire Southeast. It would be problematic if this information leaked out to the human realms and the order and church decided to act. It’s geographically impossible for them to do anything, but I’d rather not take the risk.’ Illum thought.

He trusted Valko, but he knew that humans developed mind-reading spells and the undead weren’t immune to that.

‘It is thanks to Selena that a new species of undead was born. She managed to build an entire kingdom and dominate a third of the southern deserts in just under 100 years. She’s constantly sending out soldiers and search troops and has already explored nearly half of the deserts in search of her lost son, so it should be easy for her to add another target to the searches.’

“Anyway, you already have your orders and I have work to do, so I’m going to hang up.” Illum didn’t wait for an answer and hung up the call, making Valko cheer internally.

“The master didn’t care about small skeletons being destroyed, so there shouldn’t be any more questions and I’ll get to keep the teleportation crystal for myself.” Valko smiled as she played with the crystal in her right hand, before turning to her servant.

“If you’re done eating, let’s go.” Valko spoke to her, being careful of the corpse’s blood spatter. She had removed the pendant again so she could eat the corpse efficiently and was making a mess of it and spilling guts all over the place.

.....

“I’ll go ahead. Follow me when I’m done.” Valko lifted the corner of her lips in disgust and led the way.

The ghoul gave a thumbs-up, never stopping to eat.

**************

At the base of the world tree.

Illum wasted no time and immediately called Selena, but it took almost half an hour to get a response.

“...What you want?” Selena asked dryly as soon as she answered the call. She was approximately 1.69 meters tall, with snow-white hair and her blue eyes looking at Illum with a coldness that could freeze the ocean that separated them.

Even though Illum was on the same level as a God and could actually freeze the ocean between continents, he flinched in embarrassment at her gaze, unable to meet her eyes.

Illum felt a deep shame and guilt for what happened to Selena, as it was one of his direct descendants who caused her such harm. Her son Kastil had committed unforgivable crimes to Selena, driving her into such deep despair that she became one of the undead.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you while you’re busy, but I need you to do me a favor. An undead has appeared in the west of the continent and gathered a small army before heading out into the desert. I would like you to contact him peacefully.” Illum asked calmly.

“One second in less than 100 years? For you to be here asking me this despite knowing I’m at war, it must be very important. A new species perhaps?” Selena asked with mild interest.

“Yes, black skeletons, possibly some kind of lich, as it was able to turn tens of thousands of corpses into undead in the short span of a few weeks. I don’t mean to ask anything absurd of you, just that you add the skeletons in the searches you already doing through the desert.”

“That... won’t be a problem. An army of black skeletons is hard to miss.” Selena spoke and tried to end the call, but Illum kept talking.

“Selena, how is the search for your son going? You know that if you need my help, I will do everything possible to help you. Just allow me to help you look for my grandson-” Illum tried to offer a sympathetic shoulder , but it was an error.

“Don’t you dare call him grandson! You are nothing to him! You are nothing to me! I don’t need your compassion and much less your help. I will find my son alone and reunite my family again .” Selena jumped to her feet, screaming furiously at him.

A dark aura leaked from her body as she shifted forms, her body shifting into something ghoulish to match her fury. His body began to stretch to nearly eight feet, looking unnaturally thin and disproportionate.

His previously snow-white hair darkened to pitch-black, growing until it nearly touched the ground. Selena’s face warped, her eyes, mouth and nostrils turning into empty holes, the darkness contrasting with her white skin.

It was Selena’s true form, the progenitor of all banshees. Selena was able to suppress her transformation and maintain the same appearance she had in life, but whenever she lost control of her emotions, her body would naturally revert to it form.

“...” Illum felt a tightness in his chest when he saw Selena’s form. He knew how much suffering she had gone through after hearing her story and he felt guilty for all the harm his son had caused her.

Illum felt even worse when he learned that his grandson had died in the desert. Unlike Selena, he had no hope that a 10 year old who had just awakened to her core would be able to survive the desert and all the monsters that inhabited it.

He wanted to help Selena come to terms with the loss of her son and move on, maybe even leave the mainland because of the bad memories that plague her, but things always ended up like this.

Illum wanted her to leave the Caprio continent and restarting the Nytrer life, but to no avail. The most he could do was convince Selena to allow a few dozen banshees who no longer wanted to live on the mainland to move to Nytrer.

They were the ones who feared Kastil and wanted to stay as far away from him as possible.

Since becoming undead, Selena has not only expanded into the desert, but also into the Sea of Trees. She declared war on Kastil and against all odds, actually fought a battle, rather than just being defeated unilaterally.

“I apologize for that. I really have no right to call the child my grandson after everything you’ve been through without me knowing.” Illum agreed with her words and bowed in apology.

“It was my neglect to check on my children’s situation that caused your grief. I know my apologies will not sound hollow to you, but I am truly sorry for your loss.” He continued to bend over until he heard the strange sound coming from the other end of the call.

“Lift your head. You’re right, your excuses ring hollow to me. Even after knowing the harm Kastil did to me and my son, the harm he continued to do to all the elves left behind in the sea of trees, you stood still.” Selena took a deep breath and regained her calm, managing to return to her elven form.

“You say you regret not keeping an eye on that madman, but even after learning the truth, you just stood by and did nothing. You’re a hypocritical bastard and I don’t need help from someone like you.” Selena said grudgingly, almost losing control of her form again.

“I’ll order my search units to search for your undead, but never contact me again. I don’t want to look at your face or hear your voice ever again. If you need anything, ask Master Kalesi to get in touch.” Selena said sharply and hung up, not giving him time to answer.

“Damn it.” Illum muttered with regret. Selena’s words really hurt him, mostly because it was true.

Illum couldn’t explain that thanks to the non-intervention pact, he couldn’t interfere with mortals. If he tried to act, Eishin would definitely interfere and use it as an excuse to start a fight, the way that bored God was.

He had already sent emissaries to the Sea of Trees and tried to reach his son, but contact with all emissaries was lost, so it was only likely that Kastil silenced them. Illum didn’t know how his son was capable of committing such absurd crimes, but he knew that his son was a hopeless case that needed to be put down, he just didn’t have the means to do so.

The same deal that prevented enemies from directly interfering and aiding the human realms also sealed his hands and prevented him from putting an end to his own son’s madness.

“Haah...what to do?” Illum wondered with a weary sigh. None of his subordinates were powerful enough to kill a yggdrasil sprout, no matter how weak it is.