Chapter 95

Day 1 of Return: Devastation
"Just like me... you say?"

The severed head trembled in fear.

Seeing this, Marylia chuckled as if she found it amusing.

"Yes. I know. In other words, you're just like me, aren't you? You've cast necromancy on your own soul and bound yourself to that body."

Marylia spoke as if it were the most trivial thing in the world, causing the severed head to shudder once more.

It couldn't understand what she meant by "just like me." Marylia was a golem master, a human, and certainly not a golem. Nor was she supposed to be a necromancer. The severed head knew at least that much. And yet, all it could grasp from this conversation was one simple truth: "This woman is terrifying."

"I'm the same. I have made my own body into a golem that I control."

"R-ridiculous...! The only way to manipulate a human body is through necromancy...!"

Controlling a human body was the domain of necromancy.

Golem mastery was merely a technique for manipulating soulless bodies. Each human body had its own soul, which was why a golem master could never control one.

… However.

"No? Golem mastery can do the same thing. The only reason we don't normally use it on a body with a soul is because there’s another soul inside. That’s why it can't be controlled."

Marylia smiled as she spoke, absentmindedly twirling the spear that still impaled the severed head, contemplating, "Now, where should I stab next?"

"On the other hand, one's own soul is the only thing that can be controlled without any barriers. That's why I can turn myself into my own golem."

"Preposterous...! And what exactly do you gain from doing such a thing!? Don't tell me... you did all this just to resist my necromancy...!?"

The severed head screamed, growing increasingly overwhelmed by confusion and fear. How much did she know? How far ahead had she planned for this?

But.

"No? I've been making myself into a golem for a long time now. By the time Baltoria started interfering with the Odeil domain, I had already done it."

Hearing Marylia's answer, the severed head fell into deeper confusion.

There were hardly any who would turn themselves into golems. The severed head had never heard of such a thing. Even Marylia herself had never encountered anyone else who had.

It was because, no matter how familiar one was with their own soul, controlling a living human body with golem mastery was exceedingly difficult. But more than that... there was simply "no reason to do it."

A person’s body moves according to their will. If they want to walk, they walk. If they want to run, they run. They can grip a spear, swing it, leap, spin... all without the need for golem mastery.

There was no purpose in doing such a thing. The severed head couldn’t understand why she would go so far as to waste what must be a considerable amount of mana on something so pointless.

However.

"What do I gain? Well..."

Marylia accepted a spear from Jade, then, saying, "Alright, this angle next!" stabbed the severed head with perfect precision.

… With flawless control over her body.

"See? It's quite convenient, isn't it?"

With a serene smile, Marylia looked down at the severed head, which was now impaled by two spears.

Peering at the severed head, she narrowed her eyes.

"Humans actually aren’t very good at controlling themselves. When it's cold, they shiver. When they’re tired, they stop. When they feel pain, they hesitate. Even something as small as breathing or a heartbeat can cause a spear’s tip to waver. That’s why it’s such an advantage, you see? My body moves exactly as I will it to."

Marylia clenched and opened her hand—an ordinary motion. But then she performed a far more complex movement: bending only her middle and pinky fingers while simultaneously straightening her index and ring fingers. Her body, under perfect control, executed it effortlessly.

"I can suppress even reflexes. I can move purely by reason. It’s incredibly useful."

The severed head couldn’t comprehend it.

The concept of "controlling one's own body" seemed entirely unnecessary. At the very least, it didn't seem worth the cost.

Yet Marylia continued as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"That's why, even in this situation, I'm not trembling in fear."

"Trembling...?"

"Yes. Honestly, I feel like I could start shaking any second from how scared I am. Probably."

The severed head couldn't believe it.

The woman standing before it—who had kicked down the gates, trampled the capital, taken the king’s head, impaled it, and had remained completely unfazed throughout—claimed she was "so scared she could start trembling."

"Still, my reason is what defines me, not my instincts. And you know? The more you control your body with reason like this, the more you get used to it. That’s why, even when I'm confused, I can act calmly. Even when I'm startled, I can attack instead of freezing up. That’s what it means to make myself my own golem."

While the severed head was consumed by fear, Marylia appeared utterly satisfied. She stood with complete confidence and dignity—so much so that, even to the severed head, who had been the King of Baltoria for nearly a hundred years, she looked like a true "king."

"And eventually, even the way I think has adapted to it. I can stay composed at all times. After years of doing this, it just becomes second nature."

"Years? You mean you've been doing this for that long...?"

"Yes… Since long ago. Since my fifteenth birthday."

Hearing that she had been like this since the age of fifteen, the severed head felt something akin to resignation.

He had always believed that birth and lineage did not determine a person's worth. Yet... here was someone who was undoubtedly born to be a "king."

"Well. I've talked too much. I need to wrap this up—everyone's waiting for me in Fractalia. Ehehe."

Even in this situation, Marylia giggled, then firmly planted her spears into the ground.

Two, crossed. A little distance away, another two in the same formation. The severed head wondered, "What is she doing...?"

"I got really good at fire-starting while I was on the island. Hehe, there we go~"

Marylia stacked rubble nearby and struck what seemed to be flint, lighting a fire. The blaze was positioned directly beneath the crossed spears.

Then.

She took the spears impaling the severed head... and placed them over the fire, as if roasting meat over an open flame!

"W-what are you doing!?"

"What, you ask? I'm burning you. It’s the simplest and most certain way to put the dead to rest, isn’t it?"

As she spoke, Marylia ordered an Iron Golem, "Now, bring more firewood!"

This was outrageous!

The severed head could withstand a great deal—it had the power to bind its soul, restore its flesh, and regenerate its body—but burning was a different matter!

"F-futile! Even if I turn to ash, I will regenerate!"

The severed head bluffed, trying to muster its will, refusing to let its very soul be broken.

"Yes, yes! My soul is immortal! I will revive again and again, and I will—"

"It's fine. I can make golems even if there's a bit of soul mixed in. I already proved that on the island."

Marylia's gentle smile silenced the severed head.

"I’ll divide your ashes, mix them into clay... and turn you into a Terracotta Golem. With my control over you, your fragmented soul will probably vanish within a year or two."

And so.

"Alright, you lot, go gather clay. And you, burn any remaining Baltoria corpses. Now that their master’s in this state, their control should break, but make sure none leave the country. We don’t want an outbreak of disease."

Marylia happily commanded her golems, who responded with eager efficiency.

As she watched them work, she stood beside the burning, screaming severed head, smiling cheerfully.

"Now, let’s build a kiln!"

She began stacking the remnants of what had once been castle walls into a makeshift furnace.

"Jade! Bring me the rest of the body you beheaded! We need to burn that too!"

As Marylia built her temporary furnace, the golems gathered clay and water, and Jade delivered the decapitated body. The severed head, now burning, resisted with all its might.

But no matter how much it screamed, it was clear—

Its fate had already been decided.

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