Re-written date: 7 / 2 / 2025
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Chapter 22: A New Actor Joins the Cast
"You're planning to neutralize the spell using water magic? Can that even work?"
Viz blinked in disbelief. "I mean, stabilizing a spell model while filtering its effects in real time—that's not just difficult, that's borderline impossible..."
Edward gave her a calm nod. "Of course, doing it in mid-air is practically a miracle. But what if we had a medium—someone who could absorb magic at a hundred percent efficiency, without any loss or distortion?"
Viz stared at him. "...If someone like that existed, they'd be the most gifted mage in all of history. Probably even more talented than you, Edward."
Feeling slightly complicated inside but not wanting to dwell on it, Edward waved off the comment.
"Anyway, I've already got someone in mind. In exchange, I'll be collecting payment in the form of that favor I mentioned earlier. So—what do you say?"
Even the battle-hardened death knight couldn't hide a glimmer of hope. "You… you really think you can cure me?"
Edward crossed his arms. "Well, I've never tried lifting a curse from an undead before, but in theory? This method should work."
That was all the assurance Belldia needed. He gave a slow nod. "I see… As long as there's even a sliver of hope, I won't give up. That's how I've survived this long. And hey, worst case? I die. Frankly, after all the crap I've done in life, that's not the worst ending."
Edward gave him a lopsided smile and shook his head. "Then it's decided. I'll go get the 'medium'. Viz, prep Belldia. Do whatever shielding you can—after all, no matter how well we filter it, this is still Holy Light. An undead taking it head-on won't be pleasant."
"I understand," Viz said seriously.
With that, Edward turned and left their humble shelter.
Not long after—
Edward returned—dragging along a blue-haired girl who looked utterly miserable.
"This is the one?" Viz asked, a little skeptical. "The person you said could transmit mana at a perfect ratio?"
Edward gave her a confident smirk. "Yep. You can confirm it yourself. Zero elemental affinity, but her mana channels are completely open. She's like a cheat device. The ideal magic filter!"
"HEY!" Aya barked from behind him. "You're making me help some undead, and now you're calling me a filter?! This is abuse! Exploitation! A violation of worker rights!"
Edward didn't even blink. "In that case, I'll give your 10-gold commission to someone else."
"—Ahem! No problem, sir! Leave it to me! I'll filter all the mana you want!"
Seeing that she was all bark, Edward rolled his eyes and turned back to the others.
"Everything's ready. Now, no matter how well we prepare for this, there's always a risk of failure. But Belldia—your curse is already worsening. If not now, then when?"
The headless knight chuckled and held his severed head in his hands like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Do it. I've made peace with whatever outcome. Honestly, I've done enough damage in my life. If this is how I go out, I won't complain."
Despite his grotesque appearance, there was a dignified calm in his tone—a knight's spirit that no curse could taint.
Edward, no longer hesitating, extended his hands. A wave of mana rippled outward as he activated the spell. Threads of pure Holy Light shimmered into being as the intricate spell model took form in the air.
"So this is Holy Light…"
Aya, watching from nearby, was stunned speechless.
It was her first time seeing the sacred element firsthand.
While she stood frozen, Edward placed his glowing hands against her back.
As the Holy Light flowed into Aya's body, her expression instantly twisted with discomfort.
"H-Hey! Are you sure this is safe?!" she shouted, eyes wide as the radiant magic danced through her mana circuits like wild lightning.
Without missing a beat, Edward calmly issued his next instruction.
"Viz, replicate my spell model and cast a water-elemental spell into her body to neutralize it. Once the process is complete—Aya, you'll release the stabilized version onto Belldia. Just go with the flow. You'll know what to do."
Aya's face clearly said "I don't know what to do." And yet despite her lack of confidence, Belldia—the headless death knight—was watching her with cautious hope.
Though he stood silent, a storm churned in his heart. Like all undead, the mere mention of Holy Light brought back instincts of pain and destruction. Even now, his body tensed at the memory of the searing radiance that once burned like wildfire.
Still, Edward moved swiftly. Within Aya's body, he carefully finished constructing the new hybrid version of the Holy Light—its harmful properties suppressed, balanced with water magic.
Once the preparation was complete, he gave the final push.
"Now, Aya. Release it."
Though she fumbled, her instincts—as a magically gifted human—guided her. With a slight wince, Aya released the gathered magic in a pulse of glowing blue light.
The radiance washed over Belldia's body.
It didn't burn.
It didn't sear.
Instead, it felt like... warmth.
Surprise flooded the death knight's features—or what was left of them. His ethereal senses told him clearly that the chains binding his soul were unraveling.
The curse that had clung to his body for centuries… was fading.
And the Holy Light, the very force he had once feared more than death itself, no longer scalded him.
Quite the opposite—it felt like gentle sunlight warming a frostbitten traveler.
"…This… warmth… I haven't felt this since I was alive…"
Belldia's voice trembled as he spoke, emotion threatening to overcome him.
Viz, equally stunned, spoke up first.
"It's amazing… This is still Holy Light, and yet it doesn't harm us as undead. Belldia, how do you feel?"
"…It's incredible. For a moment… I could almost believe I'd turned human again. Even if it's just an illusion…"
Slowly, Belldia stood. Even headless, his presence radiated like a beacon.
Once known as the Empire's strongest knight—now reborn as one of the world's mightiest undead—he stood tall, back straight, and extended a gauntlet to Edward.
"Thank you, Edward the mage. Even if only to feel this warmth again… I owe you my gratitude."
"No need to thank me," Edward replied with a faint smirk. "I already said your payment is doing that job for me, remember?"
Admittedly, he hadn't expected the modified Holy Light to work this well—but he wasn't about to complain.
"Besides," he added, "I'm sure you want to be accepted again by human society, don't you? The rest of the Empire might still cling to the church's hatred for undead… but this is the South. If you do well in my job, the people here might just come to see you for who you really are—a knight who still holds humanity in his heart, no matter how terrifying his face."
"…You think that's really possible?"
Before, Belldia would've scoffed at the idea.
But now—after feeling the warmth of the Holy Light with his own body—after being healed by humans rather than hunted—something new stirred in his heart.
A flicker of hope.
He had long stopped dreaming. Long stopped believing he could ever walk among the living again.
But now… maybe, just maybe…
"I don't know," Edward said with a shrug. "You won't know unless you try. Just like today. No guarantees—but we try anyway. That's how change starts."
"…Hah. You really are an interesting one."
Belldia laughed, a rare sound echoing from his head cradled in his arms. "Maybe the greatest stroke of luck I've ever had… was meeting you."