Balor Jules, he was the one that Mary told me about whom they had suspected him to be the one targeting me. He’s also supposedly the serial killer that was trying to harvest bodies for some kind of ritual but ended up getting caught and killed for it.
So why the hell is he here now in our bath and also as a Lich?𝗈𝒱𝑙xt.𝐜𝒪𝓶
Ok, stupid question, even I could guess that he turned himself into one and faked his death.
He leapt through the hole that he made in the bathroom wall to escape from Katsuki and Mary who were quick to chase after him.
I peeked through the hole that he made, not even caring that I was still naked at the moment.
Outside, Katsuki and Mary were engaging him in close combat while he was either shielding himself or trying to put distance between them.
Realising it was a futile endeavour, he switched to casting offensive spells instead to try and keep them away.
“Chill this place with the magic of frost, I command all to freeze and movements to cease! [Flash Freeze]!”
The area around him was suddenly frosted over and even Katsuki and Mary were encased with a layer of ice.
It only took both of them less than a second to break free from their frozen state but that one second was enough for him to use his Astromancy to create a portal that blinked him a short distance away.
I assume he did not use a longer ranged type of teleportation spell because he didn’t have time to cast one before the two maids would start attacking him again.
But on the other hand, he was now at a distance where he could cast his more advanced spells before they could get to him.
He raised his hand and looked like he was just about to do that when another one of our maids appeared from behind him, smashing a giant two handed warhammer to his side and sending him flying.
Oh, it’s Ulyia, the Amrap maid with the delicious… Ahem…
The lich crashed into the ground, the impact causing a small crater to form at where he had crashed.
The three maids did not wait around and immediately converged on him to continue their assault. Unfortunately, the lich did not seem too affected by Ulyia’s attack as he was able to recover quickly and teleport further away again.
That Balor guy looked down at the maids inside the crater, “Hmph… As expected of the Nilm family I suppose… All of you certainly live up to your reputations.”
I was expecting that to be the start of the banter between the maids and the lich but the girls were completely uninterested in talking as they simply continued to attack him without a word.
The lich seemed quite at ease despite the odds against him, easily casting another [Flash Freeze] which forced the three maids to back away lest they get frozen.
He then started chanting again, this time casting the longer ranged version of his portal.
“Link the distance between the spaces as I decree, by my will a tunnel shall be made to the location of my choosing. Stay as I desire, let the ones I deem worthy to use it and negate the distance between my spaces, show the way and create a link to let them through. By the stars and space, by my will and mind, a gate shall be opened! [Link Portal]!”
A portal opened up in front of him and I expected him to step through it to escape. Instead of running away however, a horde of skeletons started to walk through the portal instead while he stood to the side and watched them come through.
The lich scoffed, “Did you think I came here unprepared? I already knew I was up against the Nilm family from the start, of course I was ready to take all of you on.”
These weren’t just normal skeletons either as they were all wearing what looked like well maintained armour and wielding a variety of weapons.
I used my [Screened] on one of them.
[Name: Reanimated Skeleton Knight
Stats:
120 Strength
100 Dexterity
200 Endurance
50 Magic
Skills:
Martial Skill-(Sword Proficiency (Tier 2), Shield Proficiency (Tier 2))]
Oh wow… Even their stats were quite good too… Better than those monsters you might find in an E rank Dungeon at least.
I mean, I could handle them one on one no problem but there seems to be an endless stream of them pouring through the portal right now…
At least I know in the worst case scenario, I can still call up my [Shadow Summons] to help fight against this horde if needed.
Mary, Katsuki and Ulyia did not seem that bothered by the appearance of more enemies and continued their assault, the Amrap maid leading the charge and blowing the first few skeletons away with her warhammer.
I was just considering if I should join in the fight when the lich disappeared from where he had been standing to reappear in front of me, his hand outstretched and reaching towards my face.
Before he could touch me however, Mary had reappeared behind him with her hand transformed into a scythe, the blade curving towards his neck to decapitate him.
Another blue coloured shield appeared to block the blow and I realised he was conjuring pieces of ice to appear in the air to block the attacks.
Mary did not let that stop her from swinging her arm which ended up flinging the lich back and away from me.
“Tch… I see, you’re the Head Maid aren’t you? You used Somatomancy to change your looks… I was under the impression that you would always stay by the matriarch’s side. This is not within my calculations.”
Even though no one was replying to him, this lich really likes to monologue a lot huh?
But yeah, Mary’s using her appearance as Lina right now.
Mary leapt towards him again, her scythe slashing down to try and cleave him diagonally in half.
One of the reanimated skeleton knights jumped out to intercept her, its shield raising up in an attempt to block her.
The skeleton ended up getting cut like it was made of paper but that still bought enough time for the lich to back away before he met with the same fate.
He turned his head in my direction, “I shall return for you again. I have come too far to give up now, not after when the thing I needed the most is here.”
He used the rest of his skeleton knights to keep my maids busy as he went to the portal he made earlier and walked through it, closing the portal behind him..
He really left just as abruptly as he had appeared huh?
My maids cleaned up the remaining skeleton knights without any issues, leaving piles of broken bones behind.
I was then quickly dressed and escorted to Mother’s room while Lisa and Delmare went to my room for the night, though I don’t think they would be getting much sleep after witnessing all that happening in front of them.
Mother was less than amused after Mary had reported what had transpired in the bath.
“So he really was after my child?” Mother asked.
Mary nodded, “It was quite clear his main target was Young Mistress all this while, Madam. But we don’t know who that lich is and why it was after Young Mistress.”
Eh? Why wouldn’t you know about… Oh wait, I only know about his name because I used [Screened], the others did not know him either since everyone never bothered to introduce themselves.
“That was Balor Jules,” I told them. “It seems like he never died and simply became a lich instead…”
Mother, Mary and Katsuki all turned to look at me.
“How did Mistress know it was him?” Katsuki asked.
Err… How am I supposed to explain that? Do I just tell them I have this ability to see other people’s statuses or something?
Before I could come up with a plausible explanation, Mother waved her hand, “If my little one says it’s him, it’s most definitely him~ As expected of my dearest child~”
As much as I appreciate Mother giving me her full trust… I don’t think that I’m always right all the time, Mother… So at least doubt me sometimes…
She continued by turning to Mary, “So what should we do about him? Is he going to return to bother my little one again? And what does that little idiot want to do with my child?”
Mary bowed, “Unfortunately, he did claim that he would not stop until he got what he wanted from Young Mistress. Since we know the identity of the Lich now, I believe we should have an easier time predicting his movements and making appropriate countermeasures for him.”
I tilted my head, “Does this have something to do with the ritual he had been doing in the past? Maybe it’s also the same thing that changed him into a lich?”
“That may be likely, Young Mistress. I suspect he might have also used his status as a lich to dress up one of his skeletons with his old clothes and left it for someone to find and report on his ‘demise’.”
Sounds like it’s a lot of work to me… But just what kind of ritual is he doing that he needed me specifically? If he just needed something from an Off-Worlder, I’m pretty sure he could find one somewhere else that would be easier for him to kidnap instead of me…
Oh but what do I know?
I just know that I still want to break his face for giving me all these problems!