novelraw Chapter 9: Evil Spirit - Kovirghm
Chapter 9: Evil Spirit - Kovirghm
The battle had just ended, and Kiriman’s mood had somewhat relaxed when he suddenly detected a strange, foul stench.
Although it was normal for tombs to have a rotting smell, this fresh flesh stench was completely different from the odor of corpses buried for decades; it was impossible for a witcher’s senses to overlook.
He followed the scent and indeed saw a corpse whose body was severely decayed, face unrecognizable, dressed in gray, worn leather armor, with a witcher’s badge hanging on the chest.
It was slumped against the tomb wall, maggots gnawing at the surface of the corpse, resembling those zombies in some movies, dying in a miserable state.
Judging by the style of the witcher badge, there was no doubt that the corpse before him was the unlucky Viper School witcher, Kovirghm.
Sure enough, the other party had died in this underground tomb, and the body was left exposed, unburied by anyone.
Out of sympathy for a fellow witcher, Kiriman stared at the corpse for a few seconds, holding back his nausea, preparing to go over and collect the other’s belongings and bury the body properly to give this comrade some dignity.
However, before he could move, a wave of necromantic energy suddenly enveloped the corpse. The two evil spirits that had just fled had not actually escaped; instead, they appeared beside Kovirghm’s corpse, glaring at Kiriman with fierce, resentful eyes, seeming to plan something.
Kiriman frowned, sensing something was wrong. He prepared to swing his sword to attack the two evil spirits, but what happened next was unexpected.
He saw the corpse wrapped in necromantic energy suddenly shudder all over, slowly standing up. The half-decayed face opened its eyes, revealing a pair of pitch-black empty sockets emitting black necromantic smoke.Its mouth opened and closed repeatedly, croaking in a hoarse, resentful voice:
“Damn… Lord, I will… have my revenge… revenge…”
Huh? Revenge on the lord?
Could it be that because the death was recent, Kovirghm’s lingering necromantic energy had not fully dissipated and occupied this body?
Kiriman thought so.
But soon, an even trickier situation occurred. As Kovirghm’s corpse stood up, the remaining two evil spirits directly transformed into black mist and merged into the body.
In an instant, the necromantic energy around the corpse surged dramatically. The originally rusty mechanical movements became smooth like a normal person’s. The pitch-black eye sockets also emitted a cold, eerie glow full of necromantic energy, obviously receiving some kind of enhancement.
Kiriman was stunned; this development was beyond what he had expected.
However, he did not attack recklessly because he suspected this might be Kovirghm’s necromantic spirit and that communication might still be possible.
He gripped his longsword firmly, took a defensive stance, and called out to the spirit in a probing tone:
“Hey, Kovirghm! Is that you?”
“Brother! Can you understand me?”
Yet the necromantic spirit in front of him seemed to have no rationality and did not answer his questions, still murmuring hoarsely and intermittently, “I want revenge!” and similar phrases.
Could it be a lingering soul?
Or had Kovirghm not become a complete evil spirit, only leaving behind resentment for revenge against the living?
Kiriman guessed inwardly while tightening his grip on the longsword, preparing for battle.
He didn’t think that this necromantic spirit, having transformed, would spare a fellow witcher without a badge like him.
But without knowing the opponent’s strength, it was unwise to attack rashly.
Sure enough, after a few seconds of hesitation, the necromantic spirit of Kovirghm suddenly seemed to recognize Kiriman as an enemy. It turned its half-decayed head sharply, staring at him.
At the same time, it squatted down swiftly, picking up a weapon that looked unique to the Viper School—a dagger shaped like a venomous fang.
Its mouth still murmured words like “Kill! Revenge!” and its cold, deep gaze fiercely locked on him, showing no intention of communication.
Damn, it had become an elite necromantic monster. Looks like a fight was unavoidable.
Kiriman cursed inwardly, no longer hesitating. With the hand not holding the sword stretched forward, a fishing net he had prepared earlier suddenly appeared in his hand.
This was a weapon he had specifically prepared for dealing with agile enemies.
He hadn’t used it against the intangible evil spirits just now, but now that this one had a physical body, it was just right.
Taking advantage of the spirit not having started moving yet, Kiriman gauged the distance and forcefully threw the fishing net, moving his feet to approach the spirit, ready for the next attack.
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The low-intelligence spirit clearly did not expect the sudden net attack and was caught squarely, its movements becoming chaotic.
However, the venom fang dagger it wielded was quite sharp. With vigorous swings, it quickly cut several holes in the net, obviously unable to be restrained for long by the fishing net.
Seizing this gap, Kiriman quickly closed in on Kovirghm’s necromantic spirit, repeatedly stabbing its chest with his silver sword soaked in evil spirit oil. He thrust seven or eight times, continuously twisting to enlarge the wounds, causing the rotten internal organs and putrid fluids inside to spill out everywhere.
Damn, it stank so badly.
The smell of decay made Kiriman feel nauseous. If he hadn’t fought those foul-smelling ghouls and water ghosts many times before, seen plenty of rotten corpses, he might have vomited right then.
Come to think of it, being a witcher was really an unlucky profession—fighting these filthy monsters every day.
Low pay, too much trouble, and damn dangerous. What was worse was the low social status and frequent discrimination.
If it weren’t for the wish to grow stronger and having a cheat-like advantage in witcher skills, he definitely wouldn’t have chosen this damn witcher path.
Wouldn’t it be better to be a mage or a noble lord? Luxurious and decadent noble life—that’s what a man really longs for.
Kiriman cursed again. Fueled by his anger, his attacks became even more ferocious.
However, with a body as a barrier, the silver sword’s suppression of the necromantic spirit seemed greatly weakened. Although it had been stabbed many times, the spirit of Kovirghm showed no obvious signs of weakening except for opening its mouth to wail.
Seeing that the fishing net was about to be completely cut through, Kiriman suddenly kicked the spirit’s body hard, knocking it to the ground.
At the same time, he aimed the sword’s blade at the exposed neck under the net, switching from stabbing to slashing, intending to cut off its neck and decapitate it.
The process went smoothly. The spirit’s neck was not very sturdy. Kiriman’s sword flash gleamed, and his blade accurately severed the corpse’s neck.
However, with a soft ripping sound!
The necromantic spirit of Kovirghm didn’t care about its life or death and had no intention of defending or blocking.
Taking advantage of the moment Kiriman severed its neck, the venom fang dagger in its hand stabbed directly into Kiriman’s calf, piercing through his leg.