"Have we found any clues? Is there really nothing here besides the undead?"
Jenkins gazed worriedly at the ground beneath his feet, where a human skeleton stood frozen in the snow, now motionless.
Miss Bevanna nodded, then pushed open the door to the small cabin and gestured for Jenkins to enter.
The inside felt like another world. The cabin was sweltering and brightly lit, a stark contrast to the foggy, snowy evening that shrouded the world outside.
The cabin was completely devoid of furniture, save for a single suspended sarcophagus, bound tightly by chains dangling from the ceiling.
The sarcophagus had a metallic, yellowish sheen, though it was impossible to tell if it was bronze or some kind of alloy. Intricate patterns snaked up from its base, depicting a scene of countless human hands reaching toward the sky along its sides. The lid, however, was bare, marked only by a solitary, branded resurrection cross.
The cross was oriented in the opposite direction of the sarcophagus, a placement that, in certain gruesome rituals, signified the antithesis of "Resurrection": "Undead Awakening."
The closer they got to the sarcophagus, the more intense the chilling sensation became. Jenkins took a few steps forward before retreating to observe it from the wall with Miss Bevanna.
Jenkins asked from his spot against the wall. Just looking at the sarcophagus stirred a strange impulse to lift the lid and climb inside. This urge mingled with a primal fear of death, creating a conflicted, tangled emotion.
"Yes. A-12-2-0322, the Sarcophagus of the Dead. Any living creature that lies within it dies instantly and is transformed into an undead being in a short amount of time. Furthermore, as long as it's in an environment that can be defined as a 'graveyard,' it can slowly convert corpses and provide the reanimated undead with more powerful soul fragments. If it weren't for this thing, the battle today wouldn't have resulted in so many casualties."
This was yet another Cursed Item controlled by the wielder of the Skull Sword. Thinking about it, the number of Cursed Items he possessed was staggering. But Miss Bevanna considered it normal; the Skull Sword itself had the ability to seek out the "undead," and it possessed an extraordinary sense for such objects.
This trait existed not to empower its wielder, but to strengthen the sword itself by absorbing items of a similar nature. The prevailing theory was that the Skull Sword had assimilated at least nineteen special items, and that was considered a very conservative estimate.
As they were talking, Mr. Davies, the demigod from the Church of Death and End, pushed open the door and came inside. He wasn't carrying his own sarcophagus this time, which Jenkins presumed was to avoid being influenced by A-12-2-0322.
The middle-aged man nodded at Jenkins and Miss Bevanna, a silent greeting, before asking:
"According to the agreement, this item will be jointly contained by us and the Church of Starry Sky and Equilibrium. Do you have any ideas? If not, we can place it in that well outside the city."
Jenkins felt this was venturing into sensitive territory, but since Miss Bevanna hadn't asked him to leave, he could only press himself against the wall, hoping to minimize his presence.
"Isn't there already something very dangerous in that well?"
Miss Bevanna shook her head, her eyes fixed on the chained sarcophagus. "The Evergreen Forest outside the city would be more suitable, wouldn't it? The abundant natural spirits there can fully suppress this Cursed Item's properties. Besides, I doubt the wielder of the Skull Sword would want to confront us in a place like that."
"Alright, you have a point."
The middle-aged man shrugged and took a small black bottle from his pocket, handing it to Miss Bevanna. The bottle was exquisitely beautiful; Jenkins thought it might be made of jade.
"Ten doses of River Styx Water. A preliminary compensation for this operation. I'm sorry, Bevanna."
"If you truly wish to apologize, then you should find the culprit behind this incident as soon as possible."
"I truly am sorry." Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
Mr. Davies repeated his apology, then looked over at Jenkins, who was pretending to play with his cat. "And thank you, Mr. Williams. If not for your healing, I imagine the casualties would have been far greater."
"Oh, it was nothing. I was worried that the power of life might have an adverse reaction with the bodies of the Gravediggers, so I'm just glad I was able to save most of them. The Sage teaches us..."
He rattled off a long passage from the holy scriptures, the gist of which was the virtue of helping others.
"Though we deal with death, we are still among the living. You need not worry on that account. I've noticed you also possess the power of death. Please, don't be surprised; it's quite obvious. I've always admired those like you who..."
Miss Bevanna had to clear her throat to remind him, preventing the heretic before her from saying something inappropriate.
Piled outside the Gravedigger's hut were the gruesome skeletal remains of the undead, the very same horrific creatures that had battled the demigod for hours. Though they had been reanimated from human bones, they were now barely recognizable as such.
Even in death, they still retained a terrifying ability to inflict mental corruption. Miss Bevanna believed they must have come into contact with the Skull Sword's most fundamental power to have gained such strength.
Since Chocolate despised these things, Jenkins didn't linger by the wooden cabin. In the distance, he saw Miss Audrey and her friend, Miss Brolignans, waving him over from the edge of the graveyard. He excused himself from Miss Bevanna and turned to leave, the demigods continuing their conversation as they watched the young man's departing back.
"Does he have the 'Contact with Death' ability?"
"What are you getting at?"
"Just asking. You know I've always had a soft spot for exceptionally talented young people."
"But he is a follower of the Sage."
"I understand... It's just been a long time since I've seen someone so young touch upon the mysteries of death. What a shame."
Bevanna knew he was lamenting the fact that Jenkins wasn't a follower of Death. But the gods had already made their arrangements; that was something everyone understood.
"Speaking of which, are you training a new Keeper of Secrets? I've noticed that he's not only exceptionally talented, but he is also frequently placed in important situations."
"Please refrain from inquiring about the internal affairs of the Inherited Sage Church."
Rebuffed, the middle-aged man turned and pushed open the door, re-entering the cabin.
"Now, let's figure out just how we're going to move this sarcophagus."