Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Vermis (part 1)

Carrion stood in silence, waiting for the next command.

Aiden glanced at it one last time, then lifted his hand slightly.

“You can go.”

There was no hesitation.

Carrion turned and walked away immediately, its heavy steps steady despite the damage it had taken. It didn’t look back. It never did. Within seconds, its figure disappeared beyond the edge of the training grounds, leaving the ruined field quiet once more.

Now, it was just him.

Aiden stood alone in the middle of the cracked stone, the faint traces of necrotic energy still lingering in the air around him. The fight had drained him, but his mind felt clearer than ever.

He exhaled slowly, then focused.

“Gacha.”

The familiar transparent screen appeared in front of him, floating quietly in the air.

His eyes moved across it, landing on the cost.

[Current Level: 33]

[Gacha Cost: 1800 Gold Coins per use]

Aiden let out a low breath.

“…It went up again.”

Not surprising.

His gaze shifted down.

[Gold Coins: 6457]

He had enough for three pulls.

But he didn’t rush.

He stood there for a moment, thinking. The training session was still fresh in his mind. The realization of his current strength, his limits, and what he lacked.

Then his eyes sharpened slightly.

“One is enough for now.”

He raised his hand.

“Use it.”

The moment he confirmed it, the number dropped.

[Gold Coins: 6457 → 4657]

The screen flickered.

A faint hum filled the air, low and almost alive. Dark energy began to gather in front of him, swirling slowly at first, then faster, forming a sphere of shifting shadows.

Aiden watched without blinking.

The gacha never showed the result immediately.

It always made a show of it.

The sphere pulsed once.

Then again.

From within, something moved.

Shortly after, a humanoid figure, slender, almost fragile in appearance. Its body was made of darkened bone, but unlike his other summons, parts of it seemed hollow, layered, like a shell rather than solid structure.

Its head tilted slightly.

Then the ground around it began to move.

From beneath the cracks in the stone, from the shadows, from places Aiden hadn’t even noticed before, insects began to crawl out.

Hundreds.

No.

More than that.

Small beetles, thin black centipedes, winged things that buzzed faintly in the air. They gathered around the figure, crawling over its body, settling along its shoulders, arms, and back like it was their nest.

The sound filled the training ground. Soft, constant, and unsettling.

Aiden didn’t move and simply observed.

The figure took a step forward, then slowly lowered itself to one knee.

“My lord.”

Her voice was calm.

Aiden studied it more carefully now, his gaze moving from the figure itself to the swarm surrounding it.

“Your ability,” he said.

The undead didn’t hesitate.

“I command them.”

As if to prove it, the swarm shifted.

The insects moved in unison, spreading outward, then pulling back in, forming patterns before settling again.

Different from his other subordinate.

This one wasn’t just a single unit.

It was many.

All tied to one will.

A slow smile formed on his face.

“…Interesting.”

Very interesting.

He took a step closer, ignoring the insects that crawled near his feet but never touched him.

“What should I call you?” Aiden asked.

The undead paused for a brief moment.

Not because it didn’t understand.

But because it was thinking.

Then it spoke.

“As you wish, my lord.”

Aiden let out a quiet breath, then looked at the swarm again, watching the way they moved, the way they responded without delay.

His voice lowered slightly.

“I’ll name you.”

His eyes gleamed faintly.

“Vermis.”

The insects stirred at the name.

The undead lowered its head again.

“Vermis,” it repeated.

Aiden turned slightly, glancing over the ruined training ground, then back at his new summon.

A controller of insects.

His smile deepened just a little.

“…You’ll be very useful.”

—-

The next day came quietly.

No announcements. No movement that would alarm anyone beyond the town’s borders.

A single figure walked along the worn dirt road, her steps light, almost soundless.

Vermis.

The morning sun had barely risen, yet the air around her already felt wrong. Not heavy, not oppressive like Aiden’s presence. It was subtle. Easy to ignore if one didn’t look closely.

But the ground told a different story.

From the cracks in the earth, from beneath stones, from the roots of dying grass, insects moved.

They followed her.

Not in a visible swarm that would draw attention, but in a slow, creeping tide that spread outward as she advanced. Some burrowed beneath the soil. Others clung to shadows. A few took to the air, small enough to be mistaken for nothing more than harmless pests.

Vermis kept walking, her hollow gaze fixed forward.

Ahead of her, a town came into view.

Not large.

Wooden walls, slightly worn. A few watchtowers stood at uneven intervals, with guards lazily patrolling above. Smoke rose from chimneys, and faint voices carried through the distance.

Vermis stopped.

For a moment, she simply stood there, observing.

Then, beneath her feet, something shifted.

The insects gathered closer.

Waiting.

Waiting for a command.

A memory surfaced in her mind.

Just hours ago

Aiden stood in the main hall of the villa, his posture relaxed, but his eyes sharp.

“Take the army with you,” he said.

Behind him, rows of undead stood in silence. Skeleton archers, melee units, the bronze-grade ones standing in front, their presence alone enough to crush a town.

Vermis stood across from him.

Still.

Listening.

Then she spoke.

“I will go alone, my lord.”

Back to the present, Vermis stood before the town.

Her head tilted slightly as she observed the guards on the wall.

They hadn’t noticed anything yet.

Not her.

Not the insects.

Good.

Her voice was soft when she finally spoke.

“Spread.”

The ground responded.

Like a silent command echoing through something unseen, the insects moved all at once.

They scattered.

Flowing outward in every direction.

Some slipped through gaps in the wooden gates. Others climbed the walls, sticking to blind spots, hidden from the guards’ line of sight. The smallest of them found their way into cracks no human would ever notice.

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