89. Undeads are like math teachers

After bidding them farewell, without delay, we began riding down the hill on our bikes… or more like, I was walking, braking constantly, with my feet almost always touching the muddy ground. We were going faster than walking, though.

“Hmmm…”

Ray cast me a quizzical look. I commented:

“Yana didn’t ask us why we were the only ones who could hear Yi’s words. Don’t you think it’s weird?”

“She must have guessed we wouldn’t tell her anything. After all, we even kept it from our instructor.”

“… True.”

“I’m more concerned about that binder item you’re carrying.”

“You, too, think it can explode?!”

“I don’t know about that. I just wonder why that necromancer bothered to seal Yi’s soul to the temple and bind it with an item. She could have just left after paying for the shell of Yi’s soul. Then Yi would have likely died within a few days or even a few hours. And he wouldn’t have haunted the temple for four years.”

“… Well…” As I kept going downhill, braking both with the levers and my feet, I ventured: “Maybe she had to delay his death so no one would suspect her?”

“She sure delayed it a lot, then. Not only did she give Yi plenty of time to tell Yana everything but she also left clear evidence that a necromancer was involved. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Hmm. Now that you mention it… But why are you so interested in that necromancer?”

“… Well.” His eyes followed the swift movement of a lizard crossing the road. He talked through our necro-bond: ‘I’ve read that, sometimes, some souls, upon dying, can get attached to an item by accident, due to extreme feelings, energy instability, or other causes. Usually, it’s an item they hold dear. Those are what dark arts regulators call damned souls. However…’ He turned to me. ‘We know that wasn’t the case with Yi. And Yamazaki probably suspects it too. That the item binder hidden in that stone was crafted by a necromancer. I have never heard of such a thing,’ he confessed to my surprise. ‘So, obviously, I’d like to know who is that Sad.’

“…!” I breathed out, braked, and stopped completely my bike. “I didn’t expect that. Ray.”

“What?”

“Why would you be interested in a technique that binds souls to objects?”

“Ah… Well, just curiosity—”

“Master.”

“What?”

He looked annoyed. I was more than annoyed, though.

“I know what you’re up to. I’m not blind. From the very start, you’re searching for a way to ‘free’ me, aren’t you?”

Ray seemed to freeze.

“What are you talking about?”

“You don’t like to give me orders, you can’t bear the idea I’ll die when you die, so you’re selfishly trying to throw me away. And just now… were you thinking about binding my soul to an indestructible pole?!”

“I wasn’t!” he protested, indignant. “What do you take me for?”

There was a silence, then I grimaced, ashamed.

“Sorry. The idea came to my mind, and it was just too awful to hold it in.” I smiled apologetically. “Sorry.”

“Geez.” Ray momentarily took off his cap to wipe the sweat from his forehead. “But you’re right. I was acting just like my dad. Let’s forget about Sad. Maybe it would have been better not to say anything to that woman.”

“To Yana, you mean? On the contrary, I’m glad we talked to her and her nephew,” I replied and smiled. “I even got a book. I live like a dragon soaring in the skies.”

Ray snorted.

“What does that even mean?”

At that moment, his phone rang. He frowned at the screen.

“Talk of the devil. Sorry, Armen. I’m gonna take the call… Dad? Did something happen?”

I tensed up. It was the Lord, huh. I saw Ray immediately pout at his dad’s response.

“Yes… We can’t use our phones on Yuutow—Yeah, I’m fine. What about you? … Glad to hear that. Mom’s fine, too. Well, barely. Oh, Natasha, yes, I’ve met her. Actually—Well. Mm. Hmm-hmm.”

He soon stopped answering. Seemingly, he couldn’t get a word in. He looked at me and turned up the volume so I could hear.

« … They better be letting you get enough sleep. Eight hours is the bare minimum! Don’t forget you have to take good care of yourself, for your sake but also for your familiars’. Is Armen feeding you well? »

“I’m not a dog, dad…”

I chuckled.

“He’s eating like a prince, my Lord.”

« Oh, Armen, you’re there too? Good, good. Louise says she’s put a hedgehog in the freezer this time— »

I could hear Louise’s cheerful voice saying something about a poor hedgehog she had found in Tiergarten District. Before leaving, I had secretly emptied the freezer of the lizard and the bird she had brought home in December… But now there was a hedgehog. Grimacing, I glanced at Ray, but surprisingly, my master didn’t look overly troubled. That gave me a bit of a shock and a strange feeling of expectation. I already imagined myself taking care of the hedgehog as if he was my little brother, brushing his spines to get rid of the fleas… I shook my head. No way, no way. Ray hadn’t even revived it yet, what was I getting excited for?

The Lord went on:

« Oh right, son, the other day, an old pal from Tunis was trying to brag about his twenty-seven-year-old daughter who just got her first familiar. His jaw dropped when I told him you already had two familiars, and both with high-quality cores! I know, I know, I shouldn’t show off, don’t be mad… So everything’s fine, huh. I’m glad to hear that. Armen is such a troublemaker that I was expecting him to make some problematic blunders, such as saying to an instructor, “ha-ha, I’m not tired, I’m dead”, or “ha-ha, a cheebou pierced my chest, but I’m fine, I can’t feel pain”. »

What was he adding that annoying “ha-ha” for?

“Actually, dad… there is something I should tell you,” Ray said before I could reply.

« You… You have something important to tell your daddy?! Holy Ghoul, Sora, Louise! Did you guys hear that? My son is finally relying on me— »

“After all, never mind,” Ray cut him off, his eyebrow twitching.

« You can tell me, son. I’m all ears, son. »

With a sigh, Ray said in a low, neutral voice:

“Last week, Armen absorbed Heavenly Storm lifeforce, I managed to detoxify his body, but he turned into a Fury, and now Natasha is helping him to get enough food at night. For now, everything seems to go smoothly. I am not asking for any help. I just wanted you to know.”

There was a silence. Was the Lord cursing me right now? Probably. Yeah. He didn’t like me, anyway…

« Sora, buy a train ticket to Phoenix at once. I’m coming, son. »

Whaaaat?!

The Lord’s voice vibrated with urgency. Ray had widened his eyes. He breathed out.

“Dad, do you even know what you’re saying? If you really want to help, send Uncle Adrian or Cysleen… It’s really not necessary for you to—”

« Those last two months, you did even better than I expected, son, » his father interrupted with a firm voice. « But a good necromancer knows there are things he cannot handle alone. Instead of having a Vod’s familiar help, wouldn’t it be easier to turn to your own family? »

The Lord sounded clearly worried. Well, no wonder: even though everything had worked out for the time being, it was as if we were walking on a thin rope above an abyss. I leaned on the phone.

“My Lord, don’t worry too much or you’ll go bald. I swear I’m being careful—”

« You don’t go close to my son. »

His voice was as icy and dark as a snow demon’s den. I stiffened and backed down, convinced for a moment that I had just received a necro-order. I hadn’t, obviously. Necro-orders couldn’t possibly travel such a long distance.

« I am coming, Ray, » the Lord repeated firmly. « If I don’t, I might regret it for the rest of my life. »

Ray frowned.

“Well, if you say so… do as you want.”

Despite his detached tone, I could sense his relief through our necro-bond, mixed with a hint of affection and unease. In a way, it was good news that the Lord Necromancer had decided to come, but… I couldn’t help but think that things could get complicated because of him, too.

* * *

When we arrived at the bottom of the hill, only Zeeta was waiting there for us with his hands in his pockets; his bike was leaning on a light post. I approached on mine, kicking the ground and grinning.

“Zeeta! Long time no see!”

He rolled his eyes, but I found his expression a bit dark. I looked around and only saw a few people walking down the street.

“Did the champ give you the slip on the tricycle? Where are the others?”

“Well,” Zeeta said, “I was about to teach Noah a lesson when Eder began hyperventilating all of a sudden, so Styzz and that crimson demon accompanied him to the hospital.”

I was shocked.

“Eder? Isn’t that super bad? Could it be the lightning bolt…?”

“It has probably nothing to do with that,” Ray intervened, nodding thoughtfully. “Actually, the same happened to him the day I met him in Europe. Apparently, he loses control of his breathing whenever he’s put under too much pressure. Maybe it is a drawback of his power. Last time, the Swanbell Clan tried to hide the incident, and it was rumored they locked Eder up during all the festivities. Makes you wonder how they treat their kids if their powers are completely out of control. Some elite clans have zero mercy for the weak.”

“… Damn,” I breathed out. “Eder has to deal with some serious troubles, huh…”

“He’s not the only one,” Zeeta said then. “I have bad news. Very bad news.”

I looked at him worriedly. More bad news?

“Uh… let’s hear the good news first.”

Zeeta snorted with a dark smile before replying:

“There is none. This is serious, Straw Head. Yamazaki got a call from instructor Zhou. If I’m not mistaken, Allen Zhou is supervising the team with the Starlanders. I listened to the whole conversation, and apparently, his team was supposed to solve a simple case of night assault. They were unfortunately too diligent and discovered that at least fifteen people were attacked last week almost in the same way. Nothing was stolen, but all the victims said they were extremely fatigued the next couple of days.”

Ray’s face went white; my necro-heart was pounding.

“Also,” Zeeta added, “it seems that a man and a woman have been interrogating some of the victims before Zhou’s team did. They didn’t give any name, but apparently, the man was wearing a golden pendant with the shape of a sun. I don’t know why, but that’s what finally made Allen Zhou call Yamazaki for advice, and that’s what unsettled Yamazaki the most. Enough for him to leave us behind and head to the place Zhou indicated.”

He looked at us alternately, concluding:

“Last week, on almost the same day, the training started. The Styxer is a family known by the Dark Arts Regulators. Even if Ray is also the son of one of the Nine Crowned Fairies, I wouldn’t be surprised if Yamazaki ended up putting two and two together.”

A stormy silence followed Zeeta’s words. It wasn’t like I hadn’t imagined it could happen, but…

Zeeta cleared his throat.

“Shouldn’t you have at least picked people from different districts?”

“I did!” I retorted. “We were always wearing masks, too. Natasha even bet one thousand Corns that there would be no investigation even if someone reported the incident to the police. Besides, most of the victims were delinquents. There’s no way… There’s no way we can be so unlucky—”

“Calm down, Straw Head.”

“…! Mph. I’m calm.”

We looked at each other, then at Ray. The young necromancer was still livid. He was trying to block his emotions from going through our necro-bond, but I could still feel his deep agitation. Maybe some of it was mixing with my own. Gosh. I didn’t like the feeling growing inside me. It reminded me painfully of the one I’d had on that day when the Hell Hounds had attacked the shopping center last year. Fear that my big sis would discover how much of a stupid little brother she had. Shame of what I had done or not done. I could feel again that anxiety that overwhelmed me as if my life was on hold while time was continuing to flow…

“Enough!”

Ray and Zeeta raised their eyes, surprised at my cry. I clumsily got off my bike, saying:

“Zeeta. Ray. Tell me if I’m wrong but… don’t people naturally spend their lifeforce all day long? Jobs make them work, and they speak, and run, and get angry and laugh. They spend energy every damn minute. So what’s the difference, fundamentally, between being an employer, an examiner, a race organizer, or a Fury? Aren’t they all lifeforce eaters?”

Both gaped at me. I nodded.

“I knew it.”

“You knew what?” Zeeta snorted.

“Lifeforce is made to be used, just like life is made to be lived. Yet humans will blame an undead because it ate people’s energy to stay alive, but they won’t blame the math teacher for giving their pupils a piece of homework that will keep them in despair for several days!”

“… Your comparison just goes to show how much you were in despair doing homework, Straw Head.”

“Which makes me think,” I continued in earnest, “what if we could convince Yamazaki? Convince him at least not to intervene. Maybe also that I don’t deserve to be put to death—”

“No one’s gonna put you to death,” Zeeta huffed.

“Yamazaki certainly won’t,” I agreed. “But that woman and that man with the sun-shaped pendant are different. I bet they are from the Blazing Sun Corporation. I told Ray about it, but I didn’t tell you, did I, Zeeta? They’re Death Hunters.”

Zeeta widened his eyes.

“Death… Hunters? You don’t mean…”

“Yeah. In brief, they think undeads are monsters that shouldn’t exist. Natasha told me how they proceed. Basically, first, they dismember you to immobilize you, then they locate your core, and then they put you into a special little box and bring you to the headmaster of the Corporation, who offers your soul to the Shining One and… they dance all day long singing happy prayers. Well, I bet Natasha made the last part up. Anyway, it’s a tragedy.”

Zeeta’s eyes were glaring murderously.

“Those bastards,” he growled abruptly. “Where are those Blazing Sun bastards?”

He grabbed his bike, maybe intending to go set them all on fire. I kind of felt happy about his feelings and smiled.

“Calm down, Zeeta, I’m still alive—Well, except I’m dead but… ” I chuckled.

“That’s right.” We turned to Ray, startled. He looked much calmer than before. After breathing in and out, he went on: “I shouldn’t have panicked. For the moment, there is no proof of anything. Yamazaki doesn’t suspect us yet. And the Death Hunters won’t find you with so little information. The problem is how we’ll manage from now on. But since my dad is coming, maybe—”

“What?” Zeeta choked in a whisper. “The Lord Ne…? Actually, why didn’t you call him before?”

Ray frowned slightly.

“In part because he…”

“…? Because he pisses you off?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then because he’s the head of the Necro-Haven?” Zeeta ventured, lowering his voice.

“No, that’s not it either. It’s because leaving Farskyer City means he’ll have to abandon a lot of familiars that will die if not nurtured. Bats, birds, cats, the human ghouls… He will have to put them all to sleep if he wants to keep them alive.”

“…!!” Holy Crystals, I hadn’t thought about that.

“Your dad sure is a busy man,” Zeeta grimaced.

Ray sighed.

“I knew, and yet I couldn’t help but tell him in the end. I may be the most selfish person on Earth.”

“As expected of my master,” I teased him. “You’re the best at everything.”

“I wasn’t bragging, Armen.”

At that moment, a phone rang. It was Zeeta’s. Oh right, I had forgotten to switch mine on. I wanted to see if my big sis had sent me any messages. But my cell took so long to turn on…

“It’s Erma.”

I straightened up. Linah? Zeeta took the call.

“Erma? What’s the matter?”

I saw his face darken quickly.

“Who…? Okay, don’t worry. I’m with the Straw Head and Ray. We’ll be right there.”

He slid his phone into his pocket, grabbed his bike, and got on in a bolt saying:

“Straw Head, get on my bike, or we’ll never make it. Ray, don’t fall behind. I’m gonna go full speed.”

I reacted at once, left my bike, and jumped on his. After making sure I wouldn’t lose my balance, I checked my phone with one hand and noticed two lost calls from Linah. Only when we were already speeding up the deserted street did I ask:

“Zeeta! What’s going on?”

Fortunately, at lunch hours, there weren’t many people in the streets, and Zeeta was pedaling as fast as he could without switching to a standing position. He answered:

“Cesarine Lovecryce has disappeared.”

For an instant, the meaning of his words seemed to be blown away by the wind. I blinked. What?