Holy Necromancer: Rebirth of the Strongest Mage

In an unknown place, there was absolute darkness. It was a space that seemed to stretch as far as the eyes could see, with no end at sight. At times, it seemed like a prison. At other times, it felt like the end of the universe. However, amidst the darkness, a pair of eyes opened. The eyes were bloodshot, but they held something incomprehensible within them. "Is this the beginning?" A desolate voice echoed in the endless void before the eyes once again closed. The endless void returned to its old silence, but something was different this time. ****

In another place, a figure was flying high in the sky. It was a world unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. Even the clouds were red, as if they weren't made from water vapors, but instead made from blood. The figure was flying through the clouds, the angel-like wings on their back shimmering in the eerie red light. As they soared higher, the figure noticed that the world had started shaking. This was the first time Archangel had seen something like this. In the distance, she noticed the ground itself splitting apart. As if coming straight from the depths of hell, a strange yet ancient tower came out from the vast crack in the ground. ****

In another place, Gabriel stepped out of the portal. As soon as he stepped out, he noticed the presence of people around him. Without a second thought, he moved with the sword raised sharply. The Pirates had been standing near the Portal, but it didn't mean they were guarding it. They were lazy and weren't even alert as they didn't expect someone to be able to arrive without being detected by their teams on the other side of the portal. Before they could even react, a beautiful sword flashed before their eyes. The last thing they saw was a layer of blood left behind by the sword. Their heads were removed from their bodies. At that moment, they weren't scared since they were immortal. They even thought that the other person was a fool who thought they could kill him. But the moment they realized that their healing wasn't working, it was too late! Something was wrong with their healing. They dropped to the ground, their expressions frozen in shock as they realized their immortality had been stripped away for reasons unknown. In their final moments, as darkness closed in, they found it absurd. They had thought that they were going to die after living their full lifetime. Yet death came unannounced. "Looks like I don't need to help," Karyk stepped out of the Portal, noticing the bodies of Pirates around him. "I'm not weaker than you," Gabriel replied, wiping the blood from the sword. "The only thing I lacked was a method to kill them."

"I know you aren't weak," Karyk smiled as he made the bodies disappear. "But next time, can you please leave their bodies intact?"

The bodies were more or less useless for him the moment they lost their heads. He could still bring them back, but it wasn't the same. Gabriel glanced back at Karyk, realizing why he was asking for intact bodies. That also made him remember how he had killed Karyk's Undeads in the past. He still felt regret over his past decisions. It was because of him that Karyk lost his Undead Generals that were like his family. As he still felt guilty for it, he wanted to make up for that. "Next time, I will be more careful," he stated, as he kept the sword back. Karyk was slightly surprised that Gabriel had agreed to this easily, instead of being stubborn. In the end, he also smiled as he ruffled the hairs of Gabriel. They used to be the same person in the past. However, now they were two different people. They had their own conflicts in the past, but at the end of the day, the two of them could still trust each other. They were still a family. And with time, their relationship was only improving. With Gabriel backing him, Karyk felt even safer. This was someone he could trust his back to. "Now that I think about it, I should have left one alive." Gabriel looked around, scratching the back of his head. He had thought that the other side of the portal was going to be the base of the Pirates. However, it was only an island which was only occupied by the Pirates that he had already killed. If he had left some alive, he could have then guided them to their true base. "This certainly seems troublesome," Karyk also agreed. Even he hadn't expected the pirates to not make a proper base on this island despite finding out about the Island. "Or could it be that the Sea King himself wasn't informed about this portal yet? These pirates were acting independently?"

He had a lot of questions about this situation. How could so many pirates be sent to explore without the Sea King's Knowledge? "Looks like everything isn't as peaceful amongst the Pirates as we thought," Gabriel chimed in. "I believe there must be a few influential people amongst the Pirates who aren't satisfied with the Sea King."

"That would make sense. If it's another influential pirate, he could afford to send a proper team without arousing much suspicion. And he definitely wouldn't make a proper base here, as that would be too conspicuous."

Karyk agreed with Gabriel's theory. However, they still had to find the whereabouts of the Sea King's base. After a brief pause, he glanced back at the portal. "Wait a minute for me. I'll be right back."

Karyk turned around and went back inside the Portal, believing that the portals were mostly stabilized now. Gabriel remained behind, wondering what Karyk was going to do. "Surely he couldn't be..." He muttered, but before he could even finish his sentence, he saw Karyk return. He was grabbing an unconscious Pirate by his collar. "Now we have a guide."