Reborn As A Ghost: Time To Build My Undead Army!-Chapter 1689: Dying Star

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He could feel it—there was a wall.

An invisible wall between the two of them.

Despite the White Mist Immortal being superior to her in every other way...

This wall...

It was like the embodiment of nothingness.

The void.

A void that, no matter how hard he tried to touch, he could not.

"Okay, this should be enough."

Maria nodded, a third crimson eye opening on her forehead as she closed her other two.

She began crying black tears.

And then...

TRUUUM!

"Ngh?!"

The White Mist Immortal was paralyzed as the sky turned completely black.

There was no night sky, no stars.

Only pure darkness—darker than any night sky.

Like a bottomless abyss.

"W-What... What?! Wait...! What is this?!"

He fought back, freeing himself from the paralyzing effect of Maria’s powers, surprising her.

Immortals were indeed incredible beings.

"You’re now gazing upon my true form, my true power—the abyss born from my death and rebirth into a cursed spirit... a ghost."

Maria manifested her true form—horrifying yet beautiful.

The White Mist Immortal screamed in terror, his eyes bleeding as he looked upon her.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!"

"Seriously? The Atlantean Royalty handled it much better. You’re too sensitive. Come on, where’s that fighting spirit?"

"A-Ahhh... Nnngh... Grrr...!"

Suddenly, the White Mist Immortal began groaning, his eyes turning even redder.

Fear mixed with frustration as his body started to mutate.

Black fur grew across his skin, his frame doubled in size and muscle, and his face twisted—resembling a humanoid bat.

"I see... this must be the backlash from eating all those pills. You’ve become a bat-like creature devoid of fear... wonderful."

"GRAAAAHHHH! DIE! I KILL YOU...! MONSTER KILL! YOU WILL DIE!"

"Me, a monster? ...No, you’re right. I AM A MONSTER! HAHAHAHAH!"

Maria laughed as her skeletal fake martial soul surged forth, clashing against the mutated Immortal.

Her techniques merged seamlessly with her movements.

She dodged his powerful strikes with the same mastery as before—now imprinted into his mutated body.

Explosions of blood mist and shadows erupted.

Void miasma began consuming the Immortal, yet he fought on relentlessly.

His fighting spirit was truly admirable.

"HEHEH...! HAHAHAHA!"

For a moment, it seemed he had the upper hand.

Maria couldn’t avoid every attack—he kept landing blows, and she began bleeding.

Blood dragons surged from his aura, roaring and unleashing dozens of breath attacks.

His claws tore through her void barriers.

Like a dying star, he was shining one last time.

Maria was moved. Her power surged.

This was it.

"I think I got it."

Her eyes glowed. Her fists moved on their own.

Her Fake Martial Soul manifested, fusing further with her Martial Arts.

"This is it!"

Her eyes gleamed like stars as she attained the enlightenment she had been seeking all this time.

"There!"

A convergence of colors, emotions, and experiences erupted in a single split second, surging from her hands as she clashed with the mutated Immortal.

And...

CRAAASH!

A gigantic skeletal claw skewered the Immortal’s chest, grasping his heart and crushing it.

"A-Ahh..."

The Immortal vomited blood, his eyes slowly losing focus.

Eventually, unable to regenerate—he died.

The darkness dissipated.

Maria held the corpse of the Immortal and his radiant, golden soul.

She hesitated.

"Should I eat you and gain your power and knowledge? Or..."

For a moment, Maria felt prideful and selfish.

She didn’t want to steal someone else’s power anymore.

No...

"I’ll learn on my own."

Maria placed his soul back into his body and quickly turned him into an Undead.

An Immortal Undead.

TRUUUM!

"G-Guuh...! Guuaaahhh!"

He roared monstrously, slowly rising as his wounds regenerated.

His pale white skin turned red, and a pair of red horns grew from his forehead.

"Oohhh?"

Maria was surprised—this was a new type of Undead, unique to Murim.

What happens when an Immortal dies after accepting impure energies into his body, and is then turned into an Undead with his soul intact?

This happens...

"Incredible... a Rakshasa, huh? I love it. Welcome to the team, White Mist Immortal. You may also regain your consciousness—I’ll be asking you lots of questions."

"H-Huh?! Ahhh!"

His eyes widened as he realized he wasn’t dead, but transformed—

A red-skinned, demon-like zombie with black fur, an enormously muscular physique, and silky long white-and-black hair. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

His appearance was unsettling.

"W-What happened? My body... You! You... my... my master? Master?! What? I don’t get it...!"

"Calm down. I’m a Necromancer. I’ve added you to my army. You’re now forever loyal to me—even if you don’t want to be. That’s part of the whole raising-you-from-the-dead thing."

"A-Ahhh...! No! I don’t want to be your slave! Kill me! Let me pass away in peace!"

"No."

"Please have mercy!"

"No."

"Ugh... You’re heartless."

"Yes. And so are you. After all, you wouldn’t be here with me if you weren’t, right, you rascal?"

Maria smiled, patting his head.

He felt strange.

She was being too kind.

No one had ever shown him such kindness.

And it wasn’t fake.

He felt disgust more than anything—misery.

"Now tell me... Why did you tell Fang Sheng he had to execute us? Surely it wasn’t just for that offense. What’s really going on?"

"...It was the Murim Alliance’s orders."

Maria’s eyes gleamed sharply as an explosion echoed below.

BOOOM!

"You’re much more than just a beast, and you’re much more than just an assassin. We all are!"

Light surged from Jonathan’s divine blade, swinging up and down, left and right.

Explosions of light erupted, cutting through the monstrous Poison Needle Assassin.

His venomous, dragon-like form was powerful, but lacked the finesse he once had.

His movements became predictable.

Aside from the poison he kept spreading, he was somehow easier to deal with.

But the poison was deadly.

Jonathan had managed to evacuate most of the people with help from Arthur and Lucifer, who happened to be nearby.

Both had been observing the battles and offering support, knowing these fights were meant to push everyone beyond their limits.

Arthur himself needed more combat experience, so he was currently battling the remaining soldiers and disciples who tried to kill him.

Among them, a few were surprisingly strong.

Some aimed not to kill him, but to capture him—to steal his physique.

He seemed to be a very valuable person.

Like a walking treasure trove waiting to be claimed.

His physique was perhaps among the most valuable in Murim.

But Lucifer was watching over him—or rather, watching over everyone.

His looming gaze went almost unnoticed, but his white flames burned the poison, aiding Jonathan.

"I don’t know what you’re planning, but finish that thing quickly, Jonathan. Stop playing games."

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