Chapter Two: The White Walkers—When Did They Arrive?

On the verge of consciousness, she was once again haunted by the sickening memories of her past.

The Emperor of the Ancestral Elven Empire, Tal-Hro Francesca, had one son and one daughter. As the eldest, Princess Elrina had been groomed to be the heir to the throne since birth.

Years of elite court education gradually molded Elrina into the perfect elven aristocrat: powerful, arrogant, cold, and possessing an insatiable thirst for power.

The Ancestral Elven Empire was a slave-based nation. To these haughty elves, Dark Elves were merely nouveau-riche neighbors; Wood Elves were unsophisticated country cousins; and Humans and Orcs were all inferior, barbaric races—slaves whose value could only be maximized through whips and shackles.

However, the Humans and Orcs enslaved within the empire did not share this view.

To suppress the constant slave uprisings, the Ancestral Elven Empire established the Spell-Knight Order. Its members were magical knights proficient in spear combat and large-scale spells, capable of efficiently crushing slave armies that relied on short weapons and swarm tactics.

Elrina served as the commander of this order for over seventy years, quelling more than two thousand slave revolts across the realm. Each victory added to her political prestige and further solidified her conviction that "Humans and Orcs are inferior races."

They were subservient and fawning toward their masters while enslaved, yet harbored treacherous, murderous intent in their hearts. When they rebelled, they lacked morality and honor, easily slaughtering defenseless captives and civilians, and even stabbing their own comrades in the back when the spoils were not divided to their liking.

In Elrina’s eyes, the crude and primitive Humans and Orcs were nothing more than slightly more evolved Goblins.

This unshakable belief allowed Elrina to slaughter alien slaves without a shred of moral burden. Whether they roared in anger, screamed in terror, or wept and begged for mercy before death, to her, it was merely the irritating noise of pests.

Until the arrival of the Ghouls.

If the slave uprisings were but a minor skin ailment, the invasion of the Ghouls was a grave, life-threatening disaster. Consequently, the Ancestral Elven Empire quickly signed peace treaties with the human lords of the Frost Plains, the Golden Sands, and the Fjords, pulling them into a coalition to combat the Ghouls.

The idea that these base, inferior races had become allies in arms was, at first, impossible for Elrina to accept.

She silently led the Spell-Knight Order, volunteering for the most difficult missions and venturing onto the most dangerous battlefields, covered in wounds and fighting through blood, just to prove that whether as enemies or allies, elves were superior to humans.

Yet, being an enemy and being an ally were different.

When surrounded by the Ghoul armies, the Spell-Knight Order was supported by human legions more than once. Elrina, who always preferred to lead the charge, frequently found herself in dire peril, only to be saved time and again by the desperate efforts of human soldiers.

Some even sacrificed their lives to save her.

The racial superiority she had built over a lifetime collapsed entirely. Facing the truth, Elrina finally had to admit that there was no fundamental difference between humans and elves.

They knew pain and feared death, yet they pursued honor and stood by their faith. They were not half-evolved beasts, but intelligent beings as noble as the elves—the very cornerstones of civilization.

As for herself, with hands stained by countless lives, she was not a hero protecting the elven realm, but a sinner and an executioner who had slaughtered the innocent.

She was a demon unworthy of living in this world.

***

Elrina suddenly opened her eyes.

She clutched her chest with both arms and sat up from the ground, taking in the magic circles and ritual candles surrounding her.

A necromantic resurrection ritual?

Elrina’s gaze fell upon Ren. After a moment of silence, she offered a gentle smile.

"Could you provide me with some clothing?"

Ren untied his outer cloak and tossed it toward her.

Elrina wrapped the cloak around her body and stood up with grace. Her figure was slender and long, half a head taller than Ren, with white hair cascading to her waist and golden eyes. Though the gaps in the cloak revealed her flawless, snow-white thighs, it was impossible to harbor any lewd thoughts; instead, her aura seemed only more noble and sacred.

Even as the flower of a fallen empire, stripped of her status as the First Imperial Princess, disheveled and barefooted, she still possessed a perfect appearance and an imposing presence.

"What era is this?" Elrina asked softly.

Ren understood what she was asking and replied, "It is the year 264 of the Second Era."

"The Second Era?"

"This is the human calendar," Ren said concisely. "It begins with the destruction of the Ancestral Elven Empire, with each era lasting one thousand years."

"I see." Upon hearing that the Ancestral Elven Empire had been destroyed, Elrina’s expression remained unchanged. She simply asked in a gentle tone, "Then for what purpose have you resurrected me?"

"I need your power," Ren replied, lifting his chin arrogantly. "Consider this an honor."

Elrina smiled silently.

Though her expression was elegant and holy, as the master who summoned her, Ren could sense the intense murderous intent—and the desire for death—permeating her heart.

Unfortunately, undead resurrected in this manner had no way to turn against their summoner.

The complex array inscribed on the floor and the dense, intricate incantations were not merely to pull her soul from the River Styx, but to brand deep, restrictive seals upon her soul. These ensured she could never commit any act harmful to her summoner and allowed him to forcibly take control of her body if necessary.

Ren called this spell "Bird in a Cage."

Even if the subject was an ancient hero who had fought the Ghouls a thousand years ago, it was no surprise that she might react violently upon discovering she had been resurrected by forbidden, profane necromancy.

A falcon with sharp claws and a lethal beak must be kept in a cage.

Elrina also vaguely sensed that her soul was bound by layers of spells, preventing her from taking any aggressive action against the necromancer before her.

She smiled softly and said, "Then, give me a weapon."

Ren took the ritual dagger from his waist and tossed it to her.

This act of giving her a weapon without hesitation only confirmed Elrina’s suspicions.

"What is your name?"

"Ren Faher. Remember, this is the name of your master."

"Your necromancy is impressive," Elrina remarked with a sigh. "This body is exactly as it was when I was alive."

"That is only natural; I am a professional necromancer," Ren said proudly. "Sculpting the dead is a mandatory course for any necromancer."

He was not deceived by the friendliness Elrina feigned. Historically, before becoming an ancient hero, this woman had been an executioner who turned fields into graveyards, slaughtering alien races like livestock—the most wicked of the wicked.

"A necromancer, a mage who profanes death," Elrina said softly. "One who can manipulate the dead to fight."

"Then, why not forcibly control me?"

"I need an elven hero proficient in martial arts and magic," Ren said without pretense, knowing she would deduce the answer with her intelligence soon enough. "Not a clumsy zombie that only knows how to bite."

"I understand." Elrina picked up the dagger and weighed it in her hand.

Then, she turned it around and pressed the tip against her own throat.

...Her body would not move.

The "Bird in a Cage" spell restrained her body, not only forbidding her from attacking her master but also preventing her from harming herself.

However, the thoughts in Elrina’s mind were now conveyed clearly: I do not fear returning to death, nor do I wish to serve you.

"The Ghouls, absent for a thousand years, are about to return," Ren said, frowning slightly. "Fight for me, ancient hero Elrina, and complete the mission you left unfinished in life."

"Ghouls?" Elrina whispered. "My mission was completed long ago while I was still alive."

"Standing before you is no ancient hero, but a demon who belongs in hell."

As she spoke, Elrina suddenly tossed the dagger high into the air.

Closing her eyes, she tilted her head back and spread her arms.

The sharp ritual dagger spun high above, then plummeted at high speed, piercing diagonally into her heart.

Blood flowed like a river.

Ren’s brow twitched. *What happened? Did she break the Bird in a Cage?*

No, it was because she had not intentionally controlled the rotation of the dagger; whether the hilt or the blade landed first was entirely random, thereby bypassing the spell's "do not harm yourself" restriction.

"It seems," Elrina’s smile turned deathly pale, her demeanor weakening from the blood loss and pain, "that the gods have judged me..."

Before she could finish, Ren pressed a hand against her, his fingers wreathed in potent holy light.

"Healing magic?" Elrina asked in astonishment. "You..."

"Before I became a necromancer, I was a professional Life Priest," Ren said haughtily. "Healing is a mandatory course for any Life Priest."

"Necromancer... Life Priest..." Elrina’s face began to spasm. Her body was living, but her soul belonged to the undead; thus, the healing magic was simultaneously mending her body while inflicting cruel, agonizing pain upon her soul.

"There," Ren withdrew his hand, looking at her fully healed chest. "I don't care why you desire death, but you are my servant now. Even seeking death requires my permission... Who goes there?"

He turned sharply toward the tomb corridor behind him.

In the darkness, twisted, crawling figures scurried forward, the stench of decay they carried instantly extinguishing the candles in the alcoves, leaving both Ren and Elrina in shock.

Ghouls! How did they get here?