"What is this...!"

Crash!
The soldiers of the legion appeared from behind the collapsed wall.
The guards immediately tensed, surrounding the Emperor’s sister.

"What kind of nonsense is this? Drop your weapons and retreat!"
"Commander! Their eyes are strange!"

Despite the deadly warning, the legion soldiers continued to advance, not dropping their weapons.
It was clear. The soldiers’ eyes showed no signs of awareness, and their movements seemed unnatural, as if they were being controlled by someone.

'They’ve been brainwashed through magic.'

The likely cause was the elf traditional liquor.
The soldiers must have been consistently drinking it for five years and were thus brainwashed.
If that’s the case, these soldiers won’t surrender, they’ll keep charging no matter the cost.

The situation was escalating beyond what I had anticipated.

"Count! It's dangerous!"
"...!?"

Just then, one of the soldiers bypassed the guards' defense line and charged.
Yuria stepped in front to block him.
With agile movements, Yuria disarmed the soldier and twisted his arm to make him kneel, then she was ready to strike his neck with her sword.

"Silvia... Ugh!!!"

Just as Yuria was about to swing the sword down, Silvia seemed to anticipate my command without needing to be told, drawing her own sword and rushing toward Yuria.
As Yuria's blade was about to decapitate the soldier, Silvia managed to block it with her sword.
Then, she struck the soldier’s hilt, knocking him unconscious.

"W-Why?"
"Look closely. Do those soldiers seem to be moving by their own will?"
"Ah...!?"

Yuria’s gaze shifted toward the soldiers, and only then did she realize, her mouth slowly opening in realization.

If Yuria had killed the soldier with her sword, once she realized that the soldiers weren’t acting of their own accord but were being controlled,
Yuria would have been overwhelmed by guilt and suffered immense psychological damage.

It was clear she would regret it later, so I had to stop her.

I couldn’t leave her in shock. I picked up the sword she had dropped and handed it to her, then turned to the captain of the guards, who was facing off with the legion soldiers.

"Captain. From now on, I will take command of the guard."
"What, what!? Count! Are you out of your mind?"
"Follow the words of Count Vermont, Captain. It’s the secret guard I mentioned earlier."
"Y-Yes...!?"

The captain hesitated for a moment, but quickly began to address me with formal respect.
It seemed that, despite the festive atmosphere, the guard had refrained from drinking the liquor.
Thank heavens for that.
If the entire 4th Legion had turned against us, and we had to face both the legion and the guard, there would have been no hope.

'They must have done something to the liquor.'

Soon, nobles began to stagger and fall asleep, their eyes closing.
They had only drunk a few glasses, but that was enough to make them fall unconscious.
Just then, Reinhardt drew his sword and stepped forward.

"These bastards! How dare you point your sword at my sister!? Surrender now!"
"..."

"Goddamn it! Sister! Please, take cover! I’ll handle this!"
"Let’s retreat for now, Your Majesty."
"But how can we withstand against so many soldiers...?!"

Compared to the legion that was rapidly closing in, Reinhardt and the guards seemed utterly insignificant.
Just as the Emperor’s sister was about to draw her sword and join the fight,
there was a rumbling sound, and skeleton soldiers began to emerge from the underground.

"The Undead Legion!?"
"Oh. Those are our soldiers, Your Majesty."
"What...?"
"Grandpa skeletons! Please stop those sword-wielding people! Try to make sure no one gets hurt!"

At Yuria’s command, the skeleton soldiers responded in unison, positioning themselves beside Reinhardt and the guards.
Though their numbers were far fewer than the legion, they at least managed to block the way entirely.

That was enough.
The undead would rise again, no matter how many times they were struck down, to hold the enemy in place.

"Your Majesty. Is there a safe place?"
"I have a panic room in my bedroom, but..."
"We’ll head to your bedroom right away. Silvia! Yuria! Protect us!"
"Wait! We can’t just leave them behind...! Ugh!"

As the Emperor’s sister tried to step forward, she staggered and winced in pain.
It seemed that the effects of the liquor were taking hold, as her legs wobbled and refused to obey.
I had Silvia support the Emperor’s sister and quickly made our way toward the bedroom.

"Ha ha ha! I’ve subdued them all without a scratch!"
"What!? That’s impossible!"
"Captain! I’m not asking you to kill anyone! But I can’t bring myself to kill my own men!"
"Oh, no... Captain... And I can’t leave Reinhardt behind..."

With heavy eyelids, the Emperor’s sister muttered in a weak voice.
For now, I had to trust Reinhardt and the undead legion and get the Emperor’s sister to safety.
If she were to die or be injured, I would be in grave danger, and the Empire would be plunged into chaos with no other successor.

"Goddamn it... I should have joined in..."
"How do you expect to fight with your condition? Stop speaking nonsense and focus on your safety."

"Ah, Aslan! There are soldiers behind us!"
At Yuria’s urgent shout, I turned around.
From the opposite corridor, soldiers from the legion were rushing in.

This is crazy. They keep pouring in, non-stop.

Just as I was wondering how to block them,
a loud crash echoed, and a massive shape of a brownish hue crashed through the wall.

"Hu-hu! You came!"
"Arrgh! Came? You forcibly summoned me! Damn brat! If you keep doing this, I’ll never come back!!!"
"Stop those soldiers from reaching us! I’ll make you a cake..."
"Arrgh! Do you think I’m that easy? You dragged me here, and now you think you can boss me around with just a cake?!"

"I’ll make you a chocolate cake!"
[It’s been a while since I’ve flexed my power!]

At the mention of the chocolate cake, Hukhukh suddenly blocked the hallway,
filling the entire wide corridor with his massive form, leaving no gaps in sight.
Thank goodness for Hukhukh!

"There! Place your hand on the door behind the wardrobe..."

When we finally reached the bedroom, the Emperor’s sister weakly pointed toward the wardrobe.
I quickly opened the wardrobe and started pulling out the clothes inside, scattering them around.
It seemed that when she was alone in her bedroom, she wore such cute clothes.

When I removed all the clothes, a thick iron door appeared.
The Emperor’s sister reached out, gently placed her hand on it, and the barrier reacted, beginning to glow.

"It’s open!"

At last, the iron door opened with a click.
I quickly led the Emperor’s sister inside.
Just when I thought we were safe, I noticed that she was breathing heavily and uncomfortably.

"Ugh! Huff...!"
"Your Majesty, are you alright?"
"Damn it... It doesn’t seem like poison, but I feel strange..."
"It’s probably magic. Through the liquor you drank, your mana was altered, and it’s being controlled."
"My mana inside me? Does that mean it could kill me?! Damn it! We need to expel this altered mana immediately..."
"Your, Your Majesty!"

Just then, the Emperor’s sister suddenly drew a dagger and was about to stab her chest.
In a panic, I grabbed her hand and took the dagger away from her.
Her face twisted in displeasure as she struggled against my weak grip.

"If I die like this, what are you going to do..."
"I know how to break the spell. If that doesn’t work, we can try to physically expel the altered mana by stabbing your chest."
"Alright... Do it. Whatever it takes."

In resignation, the Emperor’s sister leaned on me, exhausted.
Though I spoke confidently about my method, I wasn’t sure if it would work.
It was a technique I hadn’t fully tested yet.

'With the influence of the neodymium in my body, I should be able to push the mana around me out. If I use this...'

The skill, 'Touch of Death,' pushes mana out.
And after researching it with Yuria, I discovered I could control the intensity and activation point of the 'Touch of Death.'
If I activate it at full power inside a person’s body, what would happen?

Theoretically, I could expel all the mana from within someone’s body.
If the output is powerful enough to pierce through their skin, I could potentially expel all the mana in their body, including the corrupted mana affecting the Emperor’s sister.

"Your Majesty, excuse me."

Huff...

At this point, the only area I could select for activation was very close to my body.
I quickly loosened the Emperor’s sister’s clothes and placed my hand on her chest, which was damp with sweat.

'Focus. If I fail, I’ll be leaving a scar on the Emperor’s sister’s beautiful body.'

I aimed for the heart, planning to activate the skill at maximum output, surpassing even the highest levels I had tested before.

No more hesitation was needed.

As soon as I activated Touch of Death, a black flash erupted from my body and rippled through the air.
The entire area around us immediately became a mana vacuum.

At that moment, an opaque window appeared before me.

[You have understood the true nature of the skill, Touch of Death, and greatly expanded its usage.]
[Touch of Death is evolving.]

As the skill evolved, I felt my senses sharpen rapidly.
What was once a rough attempt to aim at the activation point was now precise, and I could target the heart with exact accuracy.
Not only that, the output skyrocketed to the point where it felt like even a low-tier spirit or Hukhukh would be destroyed by the sheer force.

"Is it done?"

I quickly stopped the skill and removed my hand from her chest.
The Emperor's sister, her eyes closed, was now breathing heavily in her sleep.
Her breathing was shallow, typical signs of mana exhaustion.
Aside from that, there was no sign of her earlier pain.

I had succeeded in expelling all the corrupted mana.

'Skill window.'

[Skill window]

[Touch of Death -> Necromancy]
[Active Skill]
Pushes out mana that serves as the source of magic. It can now be finely controlled with a delicate touch.

[The Evil God, 'Kali,' praises you for awakening Necromancy!]

Necromancy.
The very power Aslan Vermont had longed for in the original story,
and now it was in my hands.