Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill-Chapter 360: Fighting Against the Undead

William watched through the window for a while. The undead just stood there, sitting on rocks, hidden in the darkness of the night.

It didn’t look like they’d attack anytime soon.

"They don’t want to attack inside the tavern because of the other people, so they’ll probably come after me when I leave tomorrow..." he thought.

That was the most plausible reason. There were innocent people in the tavern, and the Lich wanted to maintain this image of being a good ruler.

William decided to get some rest. He stayed alert, ready to wake up and fight at any moment. Nothing happened during the night.

As soon as he woke, he checked the window to see if the undead were still there. They weren’t.

During the day, they’d be easily spotted if they stayed there, so they’d likely moved to another part of the region to wait for him.

He went downstairs and spoke with the same woman who’d served him yesterday.

"Noticed anything strange this morning?" he asked her.

"No, nothing out of the ordinary..." She leaned closer and whispered, "Should I be worried about something?"

William didn’t want to alarm her, of course, so he said nothing about the undead watching him during the night.

"Nothing at all. Just being a little cautious. You know how dangerous this region can be," he said with an awkward laugh.

The two settled the bill for the night, dinner, and breakfast as well. William took the opportunity to eat something since he was already there.

After all that, when the sun was a bit higher, he left the tavern and followed the main road, heading away from the monastery.

His destination was the city of knowledge, and getting there would take some time.

The moment he left the tavern and started walking through the region, William’s senses sharpened. He paid attention to any strange movement.

He knew the undead would come after him. That was a certainty in his mind. The only thing he didn’t know was when.

His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw and fight if something happened.

It didn’t take long for the undead to make their move. About ten minutes had passed since he left the tavern.

That part of the road was empty. No buildings nearby, just forest. It also wasn’t a place where merchant caravans passed through.

In other words, it was the perfect spot for the undead to attack William without anyone knowing. That way, no one would see their cruelty, and no one would show up to help him.

The group of undead stepped out from behind the trees, stopping in the middle of the road, facing William.

"Well, well, look what we have here," the three-meter-tall undead said with a twisted grin on his face. "Seems our paths keep crossing, don’t they?"

William wasn’t in the mood for games.

"Well, that was expected, considering you spent the night watching me. That’s pretty creepy, you know?" he said.

Silence fell over the scene. The only sounds were the wind rustling through the trees. Birds chirped somewhere in the distance.

William smiled.

"How did you know we were watching you? That’s impossible! Besides being in the dark, our mage here used magic to ensure we stayed hidden."

Normal people wouldn’t have noticed, but William wasn’t normal.

"Why should I tell you my secrets?" William said as he drew his sword. "Why are you after me anyway? It’s not like I did anything against you or the kingdom."

The undead’s initial shock faded. They still outnumbered him, and William didn’t seem like much of a threat.

"I know you lied about the monastery. Tell me, what were you really doing there? Are they working with the revolutionaries?"

The first person that came to William’s mind was Nilse. If those undead got the wrong idea, she could be in danger.

Everyone at the monastery could be in danger. He couldn’t let those undead report this to anyone, or reach the monastery.

"I need to kill them!"

Even though they were undead, those creatures still died when they took enough damage. It would be easier if William could use divine magic, but that wasn’t the case.

"I don’t even know what you’re talking about," William replied. "But it seems impossible to avoid a fight now. I’ll tell you one thing though."

"The true ruler of this kingdom is me. That shitty Lich of yours is only alive because of me. Anyway, enough talk. I’ll show you the truth."

A powerful black energy began forming around William’s body. It was his demonic energy. He didn’t want to waste time, so he released it, entering the first stage of his demon form.

[+150 to all attributes.]

[Special abilities unlocked.]

In this first stage, William still appeared human. The only difference was the black energy surrounding his body, acting like armor with a life of its own.

On top of that, his eyes turned completely red. He gripped his sword tightly and slowly advanced toward the undead.

"Impossible," one of them said. "That energy is the same as what we can use. How is that possible?"

William felt offended by that comment.

"You worms. It’s not my energy that resembles yours—it’s yours that resembles mine! You think those shitty necromancers could wield the same energy as me? I AM THE TRUE SOURCE OF THIS POWER!"

In the blink of an eye, William appeared in front of the three-meter undead. He swung his sword in a horizontal arc, aiming for the creature’s torso.

Everything happened so fast that the undead couldn’t defend against the attack. Fortunately for him, he wore plate armor, which absorbed some of the blow.

The armor was still cut open, revealing the creature’s body beneath, but the blade didn’t penetrate.

The undead looked down and laughed when he saw it. "Looks like you couldn’t get through my armor. Now die!"

He tried to strike William with his sword, but once again, in a blink of an eye—almost like teleportation—William stepped back, returning to his original position.

"You’re fast," the creature said. "But is it enough?"

Before pulling away from the undead, William slipped some of his demonic energy into the creature’s body through the gap he’d carved in its armor.

That energy was powerful, carrying fire-like properties—a black flame that dealt far more damage than ordinary fire magic.

"You sure that was all?" William said. "Aren’t you feeling some heat coming from inside your body?"

As soon as he spoke, the undead looked down and saw fire consuming his body. Wherever the flames touched, flesh melted away.

The creature panicked, trying everything to put out the flames. But no matter what he did, the fire kept burning through his entire body.

He ran to the other undead, desperate for help. The mage of the group tried somehow to stop William’s magic, but he couldn’t.

The fire melted the undead’s flesh, then his bones, until nothing remained but a pile of ashes.

Just like that, one of the undead had died out of nowhere. The power William demonstrated sent psychological terror through all the others.

They believed that, being undead, they would last a long time in combat and couldn’t die so easily. That was true almost always.

Against William, however, things didn’t work the way they imagined.

"Maybe we can talk?" the undead mage said. "I think this might have just been a misunderstanding."

"Talk? You’ve got to be kidding me," William replied.

The mage, realizing he couldn’t convince William that way, decided to use fear to his advantage.

"If we die here, the Lich will know, and he might investigate and find you. You sure that’s what you want?"

William considered it. He wasn’t worried about himself, but about the monastery. If the Lich investigated, he might trace things back to the monastery and do something to Nilse and the others.

But letting the undead walk away unscathed? That would be just as bad. William didn’t have a choice that was a hundred percent safe for him.

So he decided to kill every last one of those creatures.

That was the only thing that would bring him peace of mind. He charged at the undead again.

The mage was quick to cast his spell, creating a wall made of bones, trying to block the path between them and William.

After that, he also summoned some creatures made of bones to fight William. There were golems and large dogs made entirely of bones.

That wall wasn’t enough to stop William. While running toward the barrier, he sheathed his sword and created a ball of black fire, hurling it at the wall of bones.

The fireball struck the bone wall and blew a hole clean through it. William leaped through the opening with sword in hand and sliced the mage in two.

Before being cut down, the undead mage wore a look of pure shock. He never imagined his barrier would be destroyed so easily.

"I-Impossible!"