Reborn with a Necromancer System-Chapter 244: Breath of Fresh Air

Kai stepped out from the underground city for the first time in weeks.

Kai had almost forgotten what open air felt like.

When he stepped out of the stone throat of the tunnel and into the demon realm's surface, the first thing that hit him was the wind, dry, metallic, and carrying the faint tang of mana-burnt sand. He inhaled sharply. Weeks underground had made him forget how big the world felt when it wasn't made of tunnels, ashstone corridors, or the glow of the flora beneath the surface.

The sky was bruised violet, smeared with pale streaks of green where ambient mana rippled too strongly for clouds to form. Noon, by demon standards, as Seyren had mentioned. A harsh, overhead brightness that never fully resembled a sun.

Kai had come up here for a reason. A break, yes, but also to check the situation near the portals to Imeria. Even from this distance he could see it: the flicker of the portal-stabilising sigils, the beige haze of wards, the outline of watchtowers that hadn't existed the last time he'd ventured out.

He headed down the red-rock path toward them.

The demon realm sprawled around him like a wounded colossus, black mountains cracked by glowing seams, plains of rust-coloured grass that hissed like teeth when the wind passed, crystal groves jutting from the earth like frozen lightning. The land itself felt alive, watching.

Kai whispered a shadow spell to sharpen his vision.

What he saw made him grimace.

The portals to Imeria were no longer guarded.

They were fortified.

Rows of obsidian pikes now circled the outer zone. Patrols of demon soldiers, more than he'd ever seen, walked in precise, overlapping patterns. Spellcaster-looking demons stood on ridge-towers, hands glowing with ready spells. Even the ground was etched with runes.

"So, some demons can use more precise magic?"

If an enemy so much as stepped wrong, the runes would probably flare up.

It looked less like a checkpoint and more like a warfront.

Kai exhaled.

"Someone's scared," he murmured.

Either of Imeria, or of something within it.

After a few more minutes of silent observation, Kai nodded to himself. Enough. He'd seen what he needed. The demons were wrapping their portals in armor thick enough to choke out even clever infiltrators. Getting through without being noticed would take finesse, and maybe a bit of necromantic insanity.

Time to return.

He turned away from the fortified ridge and retraced his steps down the red-rock road. His mind drifted, half on tactics, half on the strange, stagnant air of the realm. He was almost looking forward to the underground city again. Oddly enough, the tunnels felt safer.

Then he slowed.

Something was wrong.

Up ahead, silhouettes moved along the path, five demons, traveling together with the relaxed gait of hunters or minor warriors. They were chatting, laughing, carrying spears and weapons made from jagged bone.

None were recognizably high-ranking. But in demon territory, numbers were dangerous enough.

Kai's fingers twitched. His shadow magic stirred instinctively. They'd sense him if he let it manifest too early, so he kept the spell coiled beneath his skin like a patient serpent.

He took a step forward.

Then another.

His pulse steadied.

Kai was preparing to ambush them when the world shifted like a breath held too long finally exhaled.

A sixth presence stepped out from behind a boulder.

Simply waiting for his prey.

The demon was tall. Taller than any of the others. Shoulders broad, posture flawless, skin a deep, burnished copper instead of the usual grey. His horns swept back elegantly, like polished obsidian crescents. His eyes were bright, not feral-bright, but intelligent-bright. Controlled.

He wore clothes, not armor.

Clean, layered robes with silken folds, almost scholarly.

And when he smiled, his teeth were sharp but his expression was… polite.

"Necromancer," the demon said smoothly, inclining his head. His voice carried that well-adjusted cadence Kai had only heard from demon nobles or demon diplomats. "If you intend to slaughter my scouts, I would appreciate at least a moment to introduce myself."

The five demons behind him stiffened, realizing suddenly who, or what, Kai was.

Kai didn't show his surprise. He kept his shadow magic still, though the air had already darkened perceptibly around him."You're awfully calm for someone calling me out," Kai replied.

"Fear clouds judgment," the demon said, stepping closer with slow, deliberate grace. "And I prefer clarity. You are far from unnoticed, necromancer of Imeria."

Kai narrowed his eyes.

"Who are you?" Kai asked.

The demon placed one hand over his chest in a gesture that felt ceremonial.

"I am Vaerith, son of House Selkmorne. Scholar. Envoy. Observer of those who walk between life and death."

"You look..."

"Surprisingly human? I get that a lot, even from my own kind. I'm descendent from the original demons. The abyssal demons. My body, abilities, and soul are of a much purer quality than the others."

The words 'abyssal soul' resonated with Kai.

He thought back to his tasks:

[Devour an Abyssal Soul.]

'Perfect.'

Kai smiled at the demon.

"Gone crazy have you, human?"

"No, I was just thinking about how delicious you'll taste."

"Oh, taste?" The demon asked.

Kai tensed.

Vaerith's smile deepened, not kind, but appreciative.

The five demons behind him lowered their weapons.

Kai didn't.

The wind shifted between them, carrying the taste of ozone and dust.

And Vaerith stood there.

Calm, eloquent, perfectly composed.

Kai didn't blink.Vaerith didn't break eye contact.

A quiet, nearly imperceptible hum filled the air around the elegant demon, like mana vibrating inside porcelain.

Kai felt his neck prickle.Something about Vaerith's posture shifted like a musician adjusting their instrument before playing the first note of a performance.

"You speak like someone with business," Kai said carefully, "but your men look like they're expecting a fight."

Vaerith exhaled softly.

"Sharp," he murmured. "You live up to the reports."

'Reports?' Kai tightened his stance.

Vaerith spread his hands in a polite gesture.

"Allow me to be direct." He stepped closer. The other demons didn't move.

They didn't have to. They knew exactly what he was.

"I am here for two answers," Vaerith said. "And two answers only."

Kai's fingers twitched toward his spellbook.

Vaerith smiled like a tutor humoring a bright student.

"First: What became of our king?"

The wind stilled.

Kai didn't react outwardly, but inside his pulse surged. So demon intelligence had noticed, already, that the Demon King was missing.

Kai kept his tone even."I was going to ask you the same thing."

Vaerith's eyelids lowered a fraction.

"Cute."

The polite veneer slid. Not all at once, just enough for Kai to see the truth beneath it.

Vaerith was powerful.Vaerith was controlled.Vaerith was killing-time-until-he-killed-someone level calm.

And Vaerith wasn't alone.

Three of the soldiers behind him began channeling mana.

Kai drifted a step back.

Vaerith didn't move, he tilted his head, studying the retreat like a physician noting a symptom.

"Second question," Vaerith continued smoothly.

"Where," he said, eyes brightening to a molten gold, "are the portal crystals?"

Kai felt his stomach sink.

This was no random patrol.This was an investigator.

A hunter.

A high-ranking one.

Kai was already calculating escape routes.

Vaerith saw it.

And he smiled.

"Do not bother with the tunnels," he said. "They will collapse the moment I wish it. And your undead will melt in my domain long before they reach you."

'He knows that much?'

Kai clenched his jaw.Shadow seeped around his feet.

Vaerith spoke over it, unbothered.

"Tell me what happened."His voice became silk stretched over a blade."Or I will peel the memories from your corpse."

"So this was never a conversation," Kai said.

Vaerith chuckled.

"Of course not. I merely enjoy civility before violence. "Then, as his mana unfurled like an eclipsing sun. "And now that my questions have been posed, I will take your head."

The five demons behind him leveled their weapons.

Kai's shadow exploded outward.

"Try it."

Vaerith's expression brightened with genuine appreciation.

"Gladly."