E-Rantel Cemetery – Night
E-Rantel was a city with three layers of towering walls.
Along the western quarter of the outermost wall sprawled a massive cemetery, occupying an area larger than some villages.
Every year, wars between the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Baharuth Empire left behind countless corpses.Even now, rumors persisted about the spontaneous birth of undead creatures within the graveyard's bounds.
No one could explain exactly how the undead formed.But it was generally believed that death without proper mourning—or unnatural death—greatly increased the likelihood of undeath.
Thus, both Kingdom and Empire had once agreed:"Honor the dead properly to suppress the rise of the undead."
This colossal cemetery was the result of that pact.
On a moonless night,A solitary figure moved rapidly yet soundlessly toward the cemetery perimeter.
The closer he approached, the more suffocating the air became.Few dared to visit the cemetery even in daytime—much less now, when darkness swallowed all.
Minori stopped several dozen meters away.
Ahead stood a four-meter-tall wall encircling the cemetery.It was not built to protect the graves—but to keep the undead trapped inside.
Minori adjusted the monocle on the left side of his nose—a magic item granting night vision.
Through the darkness, he clearly saw the solid wall.Further ahead, two illuminated watchtowers flanked a massive, tightly closed gate.
Guards patrolled atop the towers.
Adventurers, too, were stationed nearby—part of the Adventurer's Guild's agreement with the mayor to monitor undead activity.
"Entering from the front is impossible."Minori silently decided.
He changed course, skirting along the wall, moving away from the guarded entrance.
After a few minutes, he found a quieter stretch of wall.Its surface was smooth, but for Minori, it was no obstacle.
Crouching low, he exploded upward—leaping nearly three meters in a single bound.
Midair, he drew a mithril dagger and stabbed it into the wall, anchoring himself.
Pushing off the embedded dagger with one foot,he rose higher, retrieved the dagger with a flick of his wrist, and vaulted cleanly over the wall.
Landing lightly inside the cemetery,Minori crouched among the long shadows of dead trees and rows of tombstones.
The sight before him was oppressive:
Crumbling graves
Gnarled, skeletal trees
Tiny shrine-like structures under each gravestone
A heavy, nauseating silence
The night wind stirred the branches, and the twisted shadows seemed to creep along the ground.
Minori's expression remained impassive.
"In my original world, ghosts were just superstition.Here—"
He flexed his fingers.
"—they're very real."
And fortunately—they could be destroyed.
Minori advanced deeper into the cemetery, his black robe blending with the gloom.
He moved carefully, all senses alert.
If his memory was correct,Khajiit Dale Badantel—the necromancer—was hiding within an ancient underground temple located in the depths of this graveyard.
At this point in time, Khajiit had likely only been lurking here for about a year, gathering negative energy.
It would still be years before he summoned his bone dragons—but Minori wasn't going to gamble.
In the New World, information was the greatest weapon.
And knowledge was his overwhelming advantage.
The Bone Dragon.
A monstrous undead entity—immune to all magic below sixth tier,capable of wielding destructive power far beyond its level.
Even a group of seasoned adventurers would struggle to bring it down.
Minori understood that Khajiit wouldn't be able to summon such a creature yet.
Still—preparation was everything.
Of the ten Fire Archangels Minori had readied,two were specially assigned to restrain any unexpected threats like the bone dragon.
The cemetery grew even quieter the deeper he went.
Faint ghostly lights—resembling will-o'-the-wisps—floated among the trees.
Then—
In the distance,a structure emerged from the gloom.
A three-meter-tall, spire-topped temple, crumbling and weathered with age.
Massive stone pillars supported the remnants of its roof,and the whole edifice reeked of ancient death.
Minori stopped and carefully scanned the surroundings.
Under the faint moonlight—shadows moved among the dead trees.
Figures were approaching.
The stench of decay thickened.
Low, guttural growls rolled across the graveyard, growing louder.
Rotting corpses—
Zombies.
Drawn to the scent of life.
Without hesitation,Minori withdrew a second-tier magic scroll from his inventory.
He crushed it.
[Summon Guardian Angel].
In a flash of holy light,an angel clad in radiant armor materialized before him, wings unfurling in the darkness.
At the same moment,the zombies suddenly accelerated, their shambling forms becoming unnervingly swift.
From the left—
A male zombie, its flesh crawling with maggots, smashed through the undergrowth.
Minori pointed forward.
"Lead them away."
The guardian angel nodded wordlessly and soared into the night, its divine aura blazing.
Immediately, the undead shifted course—abandoning Minori and lurching after the angel.
In the eyes of the undead,the sacred light of an angel was infinitely more tempting than mere mortal flesh.
Minori waited, motionless.
Seven minutes passed.
Soon, the entire section of the cemetery was deserted—emptied of undead.
The way to the temple was clear.
Minori allowed a small, cold smile to cross his lips.
"Phase Two."
He retrieved two more scrolls—each for a second-tier angel summoning.
With a flick of his wrists,he activated them both simultaneously.