Chapter 002

At the sudden sound of a cheerful man’s voice, Alex’s gaze naturally fell upon the glass marble in his hand.

Based on his experience adventuring with the Hero’s party (although the Hero’s party didn’t know about it), things like this were usually caused by suspicious objects.

And as if to prove that, the green smoke or flame that had been inside the glass marble had disappeared.

‘This is a little ominous….’

No. Not a little. A lot.

Things that disappeared after being touched like this were almost always things that possessed the person who touched them.

Like curse magic.

Huh?Myfieldofvisionhasgottensmaller.Huh? My field of vision has gotten smaller.

LookslikeI′vesomehowenteredthebodyofmyfriendfromanotherworld?Looks like I’ve somehow entered the body of my friend from another world?

And just as Alex had expected, the cheerful and lively man’s voice was coming from inside his head, not from the glass marble.

Still,that′sarelief!IthoughtIwasgoingtokeeplookingatnothingbutthesky,trees,andgrass.Still, that’s a relief! I thought I was going to keep looking at nothing but the sky, trees, and grass.

Howcomethereisn′tasinglepersonpassingbyhere?How come there isn’t a single person passing by here?

Animalspassedbysometimes,butmaybethey′resensitivebecausetheynevercameclose.Animals passed by sometimes, but maybe they’re sensitive because they never came close.

Alex sat up, his body already completely healed, and pressed a hand to his forehead.

Before he even had time to rejoice at being alive, his head was already starting to hurt.

‘Looks like I survived because of this guy….’

He had no idea what the thing was.

The word “another world” that it had mentioned earlier was also bothering him.

He didn’t even care that it had called him a “human.”

It was obvious that this thing wasn’t human.

“Who are you?”

Oh.I′mIbaek.Oh. I’m Ibaek.

IusedtobecalledNumber200,butmyolderbrothersaidthatwasn′tapropername,soIchangedit.I used to be called Number 200, but my older brother said that wasn’t a proper name, so I changed it.

Neitherofusisgoodatnamingthings,though,soIjustremovedtheword”Number”!Neither of us is good at naming things, though, so I just removed the word “Number”!

Even his name was suspicious.

What′syourname,myfriendfromanotherworld?What’s your name, my friend from another world?

Another world.

Alex had heard of that during the Age of Destruction, from the Magic Tower Federation.

There had once been a wizard who suggested escaping the continent and taking refuge in another world.

However, the existence of another world couldn’t be proven, and there was no way to travel there, so the proposal had been buried without further discussion.

‘And now I’ve actually confirmed that another world exists.’

He should have agreed with the proposal to escape to another world back then.

But even if Alex had agreed while in his ghostly state, nobody would have been able to hear him.

Still, right now, he needed to learn about this being called Ibaek more than he needed to think about another world.

‘I want to go to Leo right away, but….’

He couldn’t take such a suspicious being along with him.

“Who exactly are you?”

Comeon,myfriendfromanotherworld.Come on, my friend from another world.

Conversationissupposedtogobothways.Iansweredyourquestion,soyoushouldanswermine,too.Conversation is supposed to go both ways. I answered your question, so you should answer mine, too.

Seeing that Ibaek didn’t seem likely to answer unless he got an answer in return, Alex narrowed his eyes slightly before speaking.

“I’m Jaden.”

Of course, he wasn’t stupid enough to reveal his real name to such a suspicious being.

That′salie!That’s a lie!

But he was immediately found out.

“It’s the truth.”

Nevertheless, Alex answered shamelessly.

No.No.

Icanfeelthatyou′relyingrightnow.I can feel that you’re lying right now.

Look.I′mSambek!Look. I’m Sambek!

At the same time, Alex immediately sensed that Ibaek’s words were a lie.

Alex squeezed his eyes shut.

It seemed that when the suspicious being Ibaek entered his body, some kind of ability to distinguish whether each other’s words were true or false had developed between them.

“…I’m Alex.”

Oh,that′sthetruththistime!Nicetomeetyou,Alex!Oh, that’s the truth this time! Nice to meet you, Alex!

“So, what exactly are you?”

I′maLich.I’m a Lich.

AndthethinginyourhandismyLifeVessel.And the thing in your hand is my Life Vessel.

“…A Lich?”

Alex’s face froze completely.

A Lich.

A dangerous being born when a black magician, having reached the pinnacle of dark magic, transformed himself into a monster to advance to a higher level.

Liches separated their souls and turned them into objects like glass marbles, called “Life Vessels.”

They would then store these vessels in safe places sealed with all kinds of protective and offensive magic.

As long as the Life Vessel remained unharmed, a Lich could change bodies and resurrect himself whenever he wanted.

Liches who kept coming back no matter how many times they were killed had been powerful enemies of the Hero during the Age of Destruction.

And therefore, they had been Alex’s enemies, too.

“A L-Lich?”

That′sright!That’s right!

HaveyoueverseenaLich?Have you ever seen a Lich?

Perhaps he hadn’t noticed Alex’s trembling, cracked voice, because Ibaek answered cheerfully.

“A Lich…”

Alex’s gaze shifted toward the Life Vessel in his hand.

“…is inside my body?”

His heart began to beat rapidly.

However, the strong mental fortitude and calm judgment he had developed while accompanying the Hero’s party in the “future” allowed him to reach a decision quickly.

“Let’s die.”

Alex’s light green eyes gleamed ominously.

“Let’s die before we become an obstacle to Leo’s future.”

Alex thought he was being calm and rational, but he was anything but.

Huh?Huh?

Hey,humanfriend?Alex?Calmdown.Calmdown,okay?Hey, human friend? Alex? Calm down. Calm down, okay?

Seeing Alex react as though something had triggered a trauma, Ibaek hurriedly tried to calm him down.

I′mnotthatbadofaLich.I’m not that bad of a Lich.

Alex gritted his teeth.

“Hah! You’re not a bad Lich? I’ve never met anyone who said that and didn’t stab me in the back.”

Alex’s low, rough voice revealed his anger.

He had lived in an era when black magic was evil and monsters and demons had to be killed.

Those monsters and demons had also made Leo and his friends suffer terribly.

‘And now that thing is inside me.’

Just imagining the possibility that he might be controlled by the Lich and attack Leo made Alex want to die.

Seeing Alex like that, Ibaek began to explain.

Thecrazypeopleinmyworldexperimentedonhumanbodies,andIwasthe200thtestsubject.The crazy people in my world experimented on human bodies, and I was the 200th test subject.

At Ibaek’s words, which Alex could sense were the “truth,” his expression, which had looked ready to die at any moment, relaxed slightly.

Even during the Age of Destruction, there had occasionally been people who kidnapped others and experimented on them.

Remembering the miserable condition of the people and other races who had been imprisoned and experimented on, Alex realized that Ibaek might simply have been a victim.

Ofcourse,becomingaLichwasmyownchoice!Of course, becoming a Lich was my own choice!

…Or maybe not.

Alex’s expression hardened again.

Seeing that, Ibaek hurriedly added:

No,Iwantedrevenge,butthereweretoomanyofthosebastards.IfiguredIcouldn′tkillthemallwithahumanbody!No, I wanted revenge, but there were too many of those bastards. I figured I couldn’t kill them all with a human body!

SoIbecameaLich.So I became a Lich.

Still,Ineverkilledgoodhumans!Still, I never killed good humans!

Sensing the “truth” in Ibaek’s soul, Alex felt a sense of empathy despite his resistance.

Even during the Age of Destruction, there had been people who made irreversible choices in order to avenge their families, lovers, and friends.

‘Even I….’

If he had been able to, Alex would have wanted to help Leo by offering his soul, even if it meant becoming a demon or a monster—or even if he had to become a tool to do so.

Besides,yousurvivedbecauseIenteredyourbody.Besides, you survived because I entered your body.

“What?”

Themagicthatkilledthewolfandhealedyou.The magic that killed the wolf and healed you.

At Ibaek’s words, Alex remembered the green flames that had burned not only the wolf but also his own blood.

He also remembered the magic that had healed all the wounds on his body.

IhadplacedallkindsofmagiconmyLifeVesseltoprotectit.I had placed all kinds of magic on my Life Vessel to protect it.

Becausemysoulmovedintoyourbody,thosespellsmistookyouforthethingtheyweresupposedtoprotect—inotherwords,theLifeVessel—andactivated.Because my soul moved into your body, those spells mistook you for the thing they were supposed to protect—in other words, the Life Vessel—and activated.

It′sbasicallyachoicebetweendyingtothewolforlivingwithaLich′ssoul!It’s basically a choice between dying to the wolf or living with a Lich’s soul!

Whichonedoyouprefer?Which one do you prefer?

“I hate both.”

Alex spoke with disgust.

…Still, if he absolutely had to choose, it would be the latter.

‘Because I have to be alive to meet Leo.’

The fact that he had survived because of Ibaek, and that Ibaek wasn’t a bad Lich, had considerably softened Alex’s hostility.

Well,ifyoudon′tlikeit,there′snothingIcando.Well, if you don’t like it, there’s nothing I can do.

Ibaek chuckled at Alex’s disgusted expression before speaking.

IcanjustmovebackintomyLifeVessel.I can just move back into my Life Vessel.

Hearing Ibaek say that he would leave willingly on his own, Alex began to think that he really wasn’t such a bad Lich after all.

I′lljustmovemysoulbackintothemarb—Huh?I’ll just move my soul back into the marb—Huh?

“…!”

Just then—

The glass marble in Alex’s hand began to crumble into dust and disappear.

Before Alex and Ibaek could do anything, Alex’s hand was left completely empty.

…Itdisappeared?…It disappeared?

“…Damn it.”

The vessel that had contained the soul of the Lich Ibaek had vanished.

Alex asked in an anxious voice.

“Can’t you make another one with magic?”

Hmmmm.Hmmmm.

Nope.Nope.

Ohno.Noneofmyothermagicworks,either.Oh no. None of my other magic works, either.

Ibaek answered honestly.

Of course, he had been excessively honest from the beginning.

Maybeit′sbecauseI′minsideyourbody,Alex?Maybe it’s because I’m inside your body, Alex?

At that, Alex grabbed his head.

“Then does that mean I have to live like this? Sharing one body with a Lich?”

Various thoughts flashed through his mind.

He had returned to the past and survived the wolf, so now all he had to do was make Leo happy.

But there was a Lich inside his body.

If the Solenius Church found out, they would undoubtedly attack him and kill him.

‘Besides….’

Leo might also suffer because he had an uncle like this.

‘No!’

He had finally returned to the past and survived, only to end up being hunted by the Solenius Church.

Unlike the anxious Alex, Ibaek seemed not merely relaxed but downright delighted, even though he had ended up living inside Alex’s body.

Oh.Livinginanotherworldwithoutevengettinghitbyatruck!Oh. Living in another world without even getting hit by a truck!

Thisshouldbefun!This should be fun!

For Ibaek, a Lich who would live forever unless his soul was destroyed, the decades of a human life were nothing more than a fleeting moment.

Whenyoudie,I′llmakegooduseofyourbody.When you die, I’ll make good use of your body.

Takegoodcareofme,Alex!Take good care of me, Alex!

Alex, who had somehow ended up scheduled to have his body stolen even after death, felt his vision go dark.

“…Let’s just go back for now.”

Alex stopped thinking.

Since Ibaek was a Lich who couldn’t use magic, he probably wouldn’t be able to harm Leo, so Alex could at least feel relieved for now.

‘If I think back to my memories of the future….’

He might be able to find a way to drive this Lich out of his body.

So he decided to return to the village first.

Actually, he was already at the point where he couldn’t stand it anymore because he missed his nephew Leo so much.

He felt that he wouldn’t truly believe he had returned to the past until he saw Leo’s face, alive and well.

“Ah!”

Of course, he had to prepare before that.

He needed to wash his bloodstained clothes and body so that Leo and the villagers wouldn’t worry.

If he returned to the village looking as though he had lost a fatal amount of blood, there would probably be a huge commotion.

Fortunately, all the blood that had covered the place where the wolf attacked him had been burned away by the green flames, leaving not even a single drop behind.

There was no need to clean up.

He didn’t know what kind of magic it was, but it certainly seemed like dark magic.

Alex staggered to his feet and walked toward a nearby stream.

Whyareyoustaggering?Why are you staggering?

“Because it’s been a long time since I walked.”

He had spent twelve years flying around as a ghost, so using a physical body felt a little unfamiliar.

But he soon got used to it.

After reaching the stream, Alex washed his clothes and cleaned the blood off his body.

Aagh!It′scold!Aagh! It’s cold!

…Huh?…Huh?

Wait,didIjustsayitwascold?Wait, did I just say it was cold?

Thisiscrazy!Ihaven′tfeltanythinglikethisevenoncesinceIbecameaLich!This is crazy! I haven’t felt anything like this even once since I became a Lich!

ItseemsIcanfeelwhatyoufeel,Alex!It seems I can feel what you feel, Alex!

ThencanItastethings,too?Then can I taste things, too?

Let′seatsomethingdelicious!Let′seatmeat,Alex!Let’s eat something delicious! Let’s eat meat, Alex!

Just like the Lich Ibaek, who had no sensations because he was nothing but bones, Alex, who had lived as a ghost, also found the sensation of water and its coldness fascinating after such a long time.

But meeting his nephew Leo was more urgent than enjoying those sensations.

After putting on his now much cleaner clothes, Alex began walking toward the village.

At first, his steps were calm, but he gradually began to walk faster.

Before long, he was running.

“Leo!!”

Calling out the name of his beloved nephew, who was alive, Alex ran with all his strength.