Chapter 89: Unholy Rebirth

Nine Elite Skeleton Berserkers stepped forward at Cassian’s command, their azure soul flames burning brightly as they knelt before him.

​Without hesitation, Cassian activated [Fusion].

​The nine undead dissolved into swirling streams of cerulean light. Their skeletal forms broke apart into countless fragments before converging at a single point, the energy compressing, condensing, and finally erupting outward.

​A towering figure emerged from the light, standing even larger than an ordinary berserker, with azure fissures running across its bones like molten plasma.

A massive battle axe rested in its grasp while an oppressive aura rolled from its body.

​An SSS-Rank Commander.

​The newly formed commander immediately bowed its head. "What do you desire, my Lord?"

​Cassian stared at the kneeling undead. His expression remained calm, yet his voice carried a rare gravity:

​"Your sacrifice shall not be forgotten. The strength you surrender today will become the foundation of something far greater, the legion will remember your contribution."

​For a moment, the battlefield fell completely silent.

​The commander slowly lowered itself onto both knees, bowing its horned skull to the earth. "As long as it is the Lord’s will... let it be done."

​Cassian nodded.

​Then, he activated [Undead Summoning].

​Boom!

​Mana erupted from his body like an overflowing reservoir, the amount released far surpassing anything he had drawn upon during previous summonings.

​This was not an ordinary undead. This was a [Champion Designation] ceremony.

​The SSS-Rank commander remained kneeling, head bowed, awaiting its fate.

​At that exact moment, Morghanna’s corpse reacted.

​Cerulean light spread rapidly across her fallen body.

​Then—

​Crack! Crack! Crack!

​Chains erupted from her corpse, not physical metal, but spectral chains formed entirely from condensed soul essence.

Each link glowed with an eerie, blinding cerulean radiance as they shot forward like living serpents.

​Before the commander could move, the chains wrapped tightly around its limbs, torso, and neck.

​The undead commander did not resist. Instead, it bowed even deeper into the earth.

​The chains tightened... then they pulled violently.

​The commander’s skeletal body began to shatter into countless particles of light, every fragment dragged mercilessly toward Morghanna’s corpse like a river flowing backward.

The immense strength and soul weight contained within the SSS-Rank commander poured directly into the fallen Chief.

​The ground trembled, the air grew stiflingly heavy, and even the surrounding undead legions instinctively stepped back.

​Cassian watched everything without blinking. A Champion’s birth was fundamentally different from that of a soldier, it was not merely a summoning, but an absolute transformation.

An unholy rebirth.

​The chains continued dragging raw power into the vessel. The azure cracks on the commander’s skeleton vanished one after another, its soul flames dimmed, and its physical frame dissolved entirely.

​Until nothing remained.

​The sacrifice had been accepted.

​For several seconds, nothing happened. The battlefield became deathly still, no wind, no movement, no sound.

​Then—

​Thump.

​A pulse echoed across the field, not from a living heart, but from Morghanna’s corpse.

​Thump.

​The second pulse sounded louder, and the earth beneath her began to crack.

​Thump.

​The third pulse shook the ruined territory as dark, gravitational fields violently distorted the air around her body.

Pebbles rose into the air, broken weapons floated upward, and even nearby skeletons felt an invisible force tugging heavily at their bones.

​Cassian’s sky-blue eyes narrowed into sharp slits.

​The fallen Chief had finally awakened.

....

The last thing Morghanna saw before everything faded was Cassian’s face.

​Then came darkness, endless, suffocating darkness.

​There was no sensation. No sight. No sound. No thought.

​The Nether World was not a place of suffering, nor was it a place of peace. It was simply nothing: a state of eternal, dreamless sleep where time held no meaning.

A second could be an age, and an age could be a second.

​There was only stillness.

​Then, she felt a tug, a faint, distant pull, as though something far away had grasped the edge of her very existence.

​The tug intensified, growing stronger by the moment.

​Something was pulling her. Calling her. Claiming her.

​Her dormant consciousness began to awaken as thoughts, senses, and awareness returned in a rapid cascade.

At the same time, a torrent of information flooded directly into her mind: knowledge from the Lord’s Domain regarding her new existence, the true purpose of Champions, their sacred duties, and the unbreakable bond connecting them to their Lord.

​Morghanna instinctively absorbed it all.

​The endless darkness shattered.

​Light surged into her soul, and in the very next moment—

​Her eyes snapped open, cerulean soul-fire burning within them.

​The ruined battlefield came into sharp view: the shattered earth, the destroyed structures, and the lingering scars of war. It was the exact same battlefield upon which she had died.

​Morghanna slowly sat up.

​For a moment, a trace of confusion filled her gaze as she looked across the remains of the Kragmar Dominion, the territory she had sworn to protect, and the kingdom she had ultimately lost.

​A strange emotion surfaced within her core: not grief, nor regret, but a hollow sense of loss.

​Then, her eyes landed on a familiar figure standing calmly before her, watching and waiting.

​Cassian Voss.

​Morghanna froze.

​The memories of their brutal duel resurfaced instantly: the wager, the overwhelming defeat, the twenty-seven relentless aura slashes, and the final strike.

Everything returned at once.

​She carefully rose to her feet, her gaze lingering on Cassian’s handsome features, his composed expression, and his infuriatingly absolute confidence.

​For a brief moment, neither spoke.

​Then—

​BOOM!

​The air exploded as a violent sonic crack echoed throughout the ruined territory. Cassian’s hair whipped wildly from the sudden pressure wave.

​Morghanna had vanished,or rather, she had accelerated so rapidly that her body seemed to blur out of existence.

​Her massive fist appeared directly in front of Cassian’s face, carrying enough raw, kinetic force to flatten a steel fortress.

​Yet, the punch stopped mere inches from his nose.

​Cassian didn’t flinch. He didn’t dodge, pull back, or even blink. He simply stared into her burning eyes, calm, unbothered, and completely unfazed, as if he knew with absolute certainty that the attack would never land.

​Morghanna stared back at him.

​Then, she smiled,that same wild, battle-hungry grin from before.

​Slowly, she lowered her fist, a low chuckle escaping her lips. "So this is how it feels."

​She shook her head softly. Then, to the absolute shock of every undead legionnaire present, the former Chief bowed deeply.

​Not out of magical coercion, and not out of fear... but out of pure, genuine respect.

​"My Lord."

​The words were simple, yet they carried far more sincerity than any oath she had ever sworn in life.

​Morghanna raised her head once more, her cerulean soul-fire shining with unholy vitality. "The battle was truly enjoyable."

​A broad grin spread across her face. "I look forward to the next one."

​Cassian smiled faintly back at her.

​Somehow, he had managed to gain yet another complete maniac as a Champion.