The Monster Born from Defiling the Dead

Hollow eyes.

A smile tinged with sorrow.

Trembling shoulders.

Despite desperately trying to force a smile, every part of her body radiated nothing but grief.

Gray snowflakes drifted onto her armor, brushed against the cloth wrapped around her face, and settled on the half of her cheek still untouched by scars, seeping in with a biting chill.

Smiling.

Grieving.

Shattered, helpless, pitiful.

With eyes like rippling water, she looked at Xu Xi and apologized.

Admitting her own immaturity—how she couldn’t even manage a smile of blessing, how her sorrowful expression betrayed her, failing to let the two departed elders rest in peace.

Xu Xi stepped forward.

Reached out and gently brushed the snowflakes from the girl’s body.

"Servia, you’ve… already done well enough."

"In this world, strength isn’t measured only by those who smile through farewells."

His voice was soft.

Dissolving into the wind and snow.

Plain words, devoid of force, yet they drew in the lost soul before him.

Farewells are sorrowful by nature.

No amount of embellished blessings can change that truth.

To grieve at parting.

To shed tears at separation.

These are the most natural reactions.

Strength isn’t defined solely by those who smile through goodbyes.

Those who carry their sorrow into tomorrow are just as strong—perhaps even stronger, for they bear more.

"Servia, you’ve always done well enough," Xu Xi affirmed softly beside the newly raised gravestones, speaking to the undead warrior.

Not just today.

But all the days before.

From ending her parents’ suffering with her own hands, to standing alone against the darkness, surviving amidst endless malice.

The girl had endured too much—far too much to count.

She was no useless impostor of a hero.

She was a warrior, battered and bruised, yet pressing forward through countless sorrows—a helpless yet indomitable soul.

"...Thank you, Lord Wizard."

The emerald eyes of Claufer remained steeped in sorrow.

Unable to let go of the two elders’ passing.

But this time, unlike before, she didn’t face the farewell with fear or loneliness.

Beside her stood a figure who shielded her from the howling storm, walking with her toward tomorrow.

"Grandpa Hansen."

"Grandma Mina."

Standing before their graves, Servia offered another prayer.

Hoping their happiness in death would carry over into whatever lay beyond.

Once done, she turned to Xu Xi. "Lord Wizard, what should we do now?"

The wind howled fiercely.

Snow swirled in dense fog.

Xu Xi stood silently, gazing at the gravestones for a moment before shifting his attention to the dilapidated wooden hut nearby. "Let’s tidy up the house."

The elders were gone.

The door hung open, battered by the wind, creaking and clattering incessantly.

In a few days, perhaps, the gale would tear it apart.

And eventually, the entire hut would rot and collapse.

Xu Xi knew this was inevitable. But for now, he wanted the house to stand a little longer.

No grand reason.

Only because it was one of the few remaining proofs that Hansen and Mina had ever existed.

"Let’s go in, Servia."

Xu Xi stepped forward first.

A wand materialized in his hand.

With basic zero-circle and first-circle spells, he performed simple repairs and reinforcements on the structure.

"Yes, Lord Wizard." The warrior followed, lending her own strength to fortify the elders’ home.

As they worked, they also sorted through the couple’s belongings.

Not much remained.

A handful of withered fruits.

Patched-up old clothes.

Handmade, rudimentary furniture.

Xu Xi gathered everything with Mage Hand, then cast dust-repelling enchantments over them.

One day, time would claim these items.

But that was enough.

All Xu Xi wanted was to spare them from the storm’s immediate wrath.

"...Looks like we haven’t missed anything," Xu Xi murmured, scanning the now-neatened interior.

"We should leave, Servia."

"Yes, Lord Wizard."

They stepped out.

Closed and reinforced the door.

Then took a few steps back, letting the hut fill their vision once more.

Dilapidated. Ordinary.

Just as it had been when Xu Xi first arrived at the mountaintop.

Back then, the elders had been timid, addressing him with fearful reverence—"Lord Wizard this, Lord Wizard that."

Xu Xi had found it frustrating.

Now, he would never be frustrated by it again.

"Farewells… such a heavy word," Xu Xi murmured, lifting his gaze to the storm-darkened sky. A massive shadow approached swiftly.

Ghostly flames flickered.

Bone wings spread wide.

It was the Netherfire Crow, enhanced by Xu Xi’s modifications—now faster and stronger.

It lowered itself, its bulk clearing the snow as it bowed, awaiting Xu Xi’s command.

The world was changing.

It was time to resume their journey.

Xu Xi closed his eyes briefly, steadying himself, then walked toward the crow with Servia at his side.

Hansen and Mina had reached the end of their lives, departing without regrets, content.

And so,

There was nothing left for Xu Xi on this mountain.

"Next, we head for the Divine Plateau. With the Netherfire Crow’s speed, we should arrive ahead of schedule."

Xu Xi’s thoughts were calm.

But just as they reached the crow—

A faint, brittle sound came from behind.

"Crack—"

"Crack—"

Like frozen earth and ice being clawed at, scraped upward with relentless, mindless force.

Xu Xi knew that sound.

Servia knew it even better.

It was the sound of the undead stirring.

"Undead transformation?!" Xu Xi whirled around, his expression shifting from shock to smoldering fury.

Farmer Hansen.

Housewife Mina.

Their souls had already departed for the underworld.

That should have been the end—a peaceful, fulfilled conclusion.

Yet now, a murky deathly energy rained down from the darkened sun above, corrupting their remains.

And so,

Their bodies were defiled, twisted into mindless abominations.

"Servia… beautiful Lady Servia… ah!!"

"Lord Wizard… Servia!!"

The corpses of the departed writhed, their flesh splitting as new horrors emerged.

Bone hands, ragged and gnarled, burst from the grave dirt.

Faces once familiar now twisted into grotesque masks, their voices rasping as they shrieked at Xu Xi and Servia.

"Even with their souls gone, their bodies find no rest."

"So this is how it is…"

"The approach of the underworld, the collapse of the wizards’ realm—it’s warping this world’s laws beyond recognition."

Xu Xi looked up at the merciless sky, then back at the two monstrosities clawing their way free.

The winter was bitterly cold.

Yet the fire in his heart burned hotter than ever.

The dead deserved peace.

They should have been allowed to rest.

But now, before his very eyes, the world had defiled them, turned them into puppets of decay.

And Servia, witnessing it all, trembled, her eyes brimming with anguish.

Xu Xi prepared to strike, to obliterate the abominations—

But Servia stepped forward first, drawing her knightly blade.

"...Lord Wizard."

"...Please. Let me do this."