1 The Walking Catastrophe Emerges

The brave men and women of my kingdom don't seem so brave now. We are one of the most powerful middle ranked kingdoms out there, and yet we cower in fear like this. Although, I don't really blame them.

A being more powerful than we can imagine is about to emerge. Right in the nearby forest. The Overseer Margret had predicted this catastrophe to emerge in the nearby Ghastly Forest. The ten great overseers said that they themselves might not be able to stop this being.

To gauge this mysterious entity's power, we have to look at the Overseers. The Overseers can each destroy a small country that consists of 15 cities. This doesn't include their personal armies. Each of their armies can rival that of the top nations that don't have Overseers. As a king of a middle ranked country, I probably can't hold out against this being.

The more I think about this whole situation, the more I feel like this was doomed to happen. First, the Ghastly Forest was a clear sign. What could cause a whole forest to be filled with dragon-like beings? It was guessed that a dragon related treasure was in the middle.

"Since treasures can't act on their own, it was most likely a broken treasure." is what everyone thought. Only broken treasures can leak out their powers. Lots of people went to search for this treasure because a broken treasure is still a treasure. And plus, a treasure of this caliber can buy you a whole kingdom. I based my kingdom here so people would come in and out.

My target customers weren't just tourists, they were adventurers. All of those hooligans with weapons were loaded. After all, only the most powerful groups could go after such a dangerous treasure. And yet, everyone who went deep into the forest ended up not coming back out.

Deep in my own thoughts, I didn't notice the ground shaking. Suddenly, my goblet of wine fell. That's when I realized that the ground was shaking. The loyal subordinates of mine were shaking, but not from the quakes, but their own fear. We knew that this signaled the arrival of the catastrophe.

My head goblin engineer was squealing, my dwarven blacksmith was shaking, and my elven maid was sobbing. Even I shed a tear. All that I worked for, my country, my power, and my family. it was all about to be lost.

Or so I thought.

....

Minutes passed as my eyes were shut. All was quiet. Perhaps I was in heaven. I opened my eyes. My eyes felt a tingling sensation when I opened them. I looked around to see all of my subordinates there. I called out to them not knowing what to expect.

"Milord?" My elven servant was the first to respond. Relief washed over me.

Everyone simultaneously opened their eyes looking around themselves. Tears of joy ran down my face. It seems The catastrophe was over. Maybe the overseers were wrong about the nearby kingdoms being destroyed immediately. Perhaps the powerful being was a merciful one, or maybe it didn't even exist. We all hugged each other as we wept.

Memories swept over me as I recalled the origins of my loyal servants. I picked Sylvia up from the nearby Elven kingdom where she was abandoned. Albert the dwarf from the nearby mountains, and my goblin friend Cyrus in the Ghastly forest. I just wanted to hold them until the end of days. They were my family, the ones I love.

"Heh. Are you all blind? You won't acknowledge me?"

"What should we acknowledge you for?" Someone had interrupted the mood, so of course I'd be mad. Wait, who else would be here.

I immediately pulled out my sword and jumped back followed by the rest of my group. A person dares to intrude here? They must be an assassin! I quickly sprinted forward with my sword to my side. I thrusted forward with all my might.

A chill went down my spine. I felt that something was off. I pushed my legs against the ground and dodged to the side. But, nothing happened. My judgement usually isn't wrong when it comes to battle, after all, I used to explore the Ghastly Forest.

I locked my eyes upon the robed intruder. This person was oddly cloaked with their face hidden, they gave off a powerful aura. A magician! But their aura was dark and malicious. It was what gave me those chills. A necromancer? No way. Those mages have long since left this world. It must be a dark mage.

"Respectable dark mage, please leave. Or face the consequences."

"Dark mage? Those pathetic fools? Don't group me with them."

This is one odd fellow. Well, let's just try to get him out of here.

"Will you leave sir?"

"No I'd rather not. You see, I sensed something dear to me here. That there is mine."

He was pointing at a skull. This was simple though. other than being dipped in gold, it should be an ordinary skull. Well, if that's all he wants then I can give it to him.

"Will you leave if we hand it over?"

"Sure. Now give me that skull."

I handed it over to him, well, threw it. He caught it with his hands. That's when i saw it. His hands weren't hands. They were bones. They were bones of a hand. It's unbelievable that I came across a skeleton. And an intelligent one at that! He might be an ancient skeleton king! That'll explain the need for his skull. I watched as he threw his robe's hood back and revealed an empty space. His hands started shaking ever so lightly, forcing the golden layers off of it. He popped his head on and twisted until it seemed stable.

This was something I never expected to see in my lifetime. But i had to ask, Is there still a necromancer in this world? If so, who's control are you under?"

He looked at me with a confused head tilt.