Reborn with a Necromancer System
Chapter 159: Attempted Layover

Chapter 159: Attempted Layover

Kai and Vepice stepped into the village as the last slivers of sunlight died behind the hills.

At first glance, it looked like the sort of place that had been forgotten by time.

It was just a single street of stone cottages, crooked fences, ivy-covered wells, and a windmill turning lazily beside a creek. A pale mist drifted near the ground. Lanterns glowed faintly on doorsteps, flickering orange against the dark blue sky. No walls. No guards. No noise.

Too quiet.

Kai extended his mana outward like a ripple in still water.

He stopped mid-step.

"Vepice," he murmured, voice low. "Be ready. We’re not alone."

She didn’t hesitate. Her hand drifted behind her back, fingertips brushing one of her throwing knives. Her stance changed, looser, quieter. Ready to dodge or fight.

From the shadows ahead, figures stepped out. Roughly two dozen. Some with mismatched armor and simple polearms. Others in hunting leathers with old crossbows. They weren’t professional soldiers, this was a militia. Farmhands turned warriors. They surrounded the two of them in a wide ring, weapons raised but not yet attacking.

’They’ve probably done this to arcane creatures or bandits before.’

Kai slowly raised his arms.

"It’s okay," he called out, voice calm, diplomatic. "My friend and I are just a little lost. Would you tell us where we are?"

The group didn’t respond.

The militia shared glances, nervous, uncertain, but not lowering their weapons.

Kai took a cautious step forward. "Look... We mean no harm. We’re only looking for a place to rest and, if possible, supplies. We’ll pay."

Then, from somewhere in the crowd spoke, "What’s with the silver hair?"

"Demons! The church says demons have silver or white hair!" One of them responded.

Kai’s expression didn’t change, but inside, he sighed.

’Of course... The church. It’s always the church in my way.’

The indoctrination ran deep. Fear disguised as faith. Inquisition disguised as salvation.

He turned his head slightly toward Vepice, who was slowly lowering into a crouch behind him, her fingers ghosting over a belt of knives hidden beneath her coat.

"I’m sorry, Vepice," he said under his breath. "But they won’t let us walk away. I’ll try to spare the ones who surrender, but I don’t think many will. Magic gives everyone power. And power gives people delusions of bravery."

Vepice gave him a sharp nod. "If it’s them or us, then we survive. That’s all that matters."

"You hear this?" one of the militiamen sneered, stepping forward with a rusted axe. "These two kids think they can take-"

Shk.

A soft sound. Too soft.

The man froze mid-sentence.

Half of his face slid off his skull and splattered on the cobblestone.

He remained upright for a moment, mouth open, eyes wide, brain still trying to finish the sentence it had started.

Then he crumpled.

Everything exploded after that.

---

Kai’s shadow flared outward, growing darker, deeper, and alive.

Bone erupted from the earth like jagged spears as his summoned skeletons burst forth behind the militia. Their curved blades found soft tissue to sink into.

Kidneys, ribs, and necks.

Men screamed. Some tried to fight back, but they were too slow, too scattered. The militia formation shattered like glass under the surprise attack.

Blood soaked the square within seconds.

Vepice danced through the chaos, her knives flashing with pinpoint precision. One landed between a man’s eyes. Another sliced the tendons of a fleeing soldier. A third embedded itself into a crossbowman’s throat just before he pulled the trigger.

But then bells sounded.

Someone had reached the church bell tower.

Its heavy clang echoed across the village, shaking the windows. Doors slammed open. Lights flicked on. Cries rang out in the night, followed by a different kind of light.

A festival of it.

From every window, every doorway, came magic. Of red, green, gold, and azure. Bolts of flame. Arrows of ice. Chains of lightning. Barrier spells and glyphs on scrolls.

Kai cursed.

Of course. In a world where everyone’s blessed with magic, even a baker can hurl fire.

Vepice flipped behind a cart and threw her knives at anyone she could.

Kai didn’t hesitate.

’Two should be enough.’

"Cover me!"

Within the fog of magic, Kai extended his arms and opened his shadow space wider than ever before.

From the void came a deafening screech.

Then another.

Two undead wyverns burst into the air, black and bone and fury. Their hollow eyes glowed like lanterns of hate. Their wings spread wide, eclipsing the square.

"Burn the mages. Not the buildings," Kai commanded through clenched teeth.

The wyverns opened their jaws.

What came out was not fire, but necrotic flame. Black and purple fire that ate flesh but left most stone and wood intact.

The villagers screamed. Some were incinerated. Others were crushed by falling rubble or trampled as they tried to flee.

Kai watched with cold precision. Calculated control. He still tried to avoid unnecessary loss.

He didn’t enjoy this.

At least... He didn’t mean to.

But mercy was a luxury he couldn’t afford.

By the time the wyverns circled back to him, the village square was half-ruined. Smoldering. Charred bodies lay strewn like broken dolls, and the scent of blood, smoke, and burnt hair hung thick in the air.

Vepice emerged from the smoke, coughing but unharmed.

Kai lowered his arms. Shadows returned to his feet.

"Well," he said, voice flat, "I did try to be diplomatic."

Vepice glanced at the carnage, then back to him. "You were polite. For at least a minute."

They shared a look.

Then, as calmly as if they’d just left a tavern brawl, they walked toward the ruined inn at the edge of the square. The wyverns circled once more before vanishing back into shadow.

"I’ll check the cellar," Kai muttered. "There might still be some clean food and bandages."

"I’ll loot the apothecary," Vepice said. "And maybe the blacksmith, if they have one."

They moved with purpose. Not out of cruelty, but necessity.

And as the smoke curled toward the sky, above a village that would never recover, neither of them looked back.