Chapter 467: For those who come after

As it turns out, Belladonna's suspicions were spot on when it came to the Hollow Knight that Kumiko called 'Edwin'. Well, some of them.

That was not a name that she had assigned to him as some kind of companion in her lonliness, like Belladonna had done with Jinu, although she had carved the face on him.

No, Edwin's name came from when he was alive.

Kumiko, or rather Kumiko translating for Edwin, explained that the invasion of the Undead was not swift. It was the final straw in a war that lasted for a few years.

Usually such a time was short for the Elves, who could last centuries with little issue, but it was a war that they had been severely losing. They were pushed harder than they had ever expected, losing their numbers at an alarming rate that their slow birthrate could never dream of replenishing.

Compare that to the Undead, whose numbers only grew the more they slaughtered, it was a constant losing battle of attrition.

So, the Elves used the enemy's weapon against them. The Whisper clan had many members that had blended into natural roles, becoming one with the evolving ecosystem rather than corrupting it like the rotten corpse walkers.

They captured some subjects, such as the White Widow that would eventually be combined with dear little Kumiko, and developed their own Necromantic magic based around the soul and specifically designed around the way Elves died.

As beings of nature, Elves would return to their element upon death. Some forests that Elves lived in would be filled with the trees of their ancestors, who would bear fruit to help feed the new young. Dark Elves would become valuable veins of ore, to help develop the community further even in their death.

But the magic that the Elves created here twisted that process. It turned the Elemental remains, into the very armour that was standing in front of them.

The armour literally was the corpse, and within it was trapped the soldier who had died protecting his land and his people, and who had risen again to protect them once more.

As for Edwin here, he was the Knight Commander, and the last remaining member of this corps of dead men.

"When I was born... they actually took me in and tried to help me." Kumiko said with a sniff, wiping her nose as she remembered her earliest memories.

"They let me attach my webs to them, so that I could absorb the soul energy of anything that they killed. It worked... for a while. But then things stopped coming to the castle."

"They didn't just... go outside?" Revenant scoffed, although his eyes trailed to Edwin as he stared at the Hollow Knight. The fact that this was technically an undead, and yet completely avoided his senses, was fascinating enough nevermind the new, unheard of magic that went into creating it.

If he could get his hands on that, or even study it to create his own version, then they could have an entire army protecting this city and not have to worry about the stench of corpses ruining the atmosphere.

"They did... but we didn't have a lot of numbers, and my webs didn't extend that far. They would either have to protect me or bring back the creatures alive to kill them near me.

Besides, if they stumbled across the Undead that still lingered... they would be killed and the Undead would absorb the soul energy inside to power themselves. They have some enchantments to hide it, so they were safe here, but out there they could be found...

After we lost three of the unit to the beasts, Orcs and Undead. We decided that it wasn't worth the risk for such a little return.

They said that... that if they were going to die again... then... then... It was to be for the continuation of their people." Kumiko said with another sniffle, wiping her eyes again.

"They let you eat them... didn't they?" Figg asked softly

Kumiko nodded, "Only when they had to. When they couldn't get anything more. Their numbers were already low, only 16 of them to start. Now there is just Edwin... because of me."

She sniffed again, a few tears dripping down her cheeks.

Edwin immediately stepped forwards, petting her head softly before pulling her into a gentle hug. He stroked her hair, which let off a soft, barely visible white light as he did so.

A few gentle gasps were let out, as a ghostly, pale blue face shimmered into existence within the armour. The face was old, although it was hard to tell just how old since a lot of the 'skin' was dried out and clung to the bone, giving him a permanent sneer. But there was a gentleness in his eyes as he spoke softly, the system translating his words.

"Little Spider. For us to live while you died, would have been a miserable existence. The living might have shunned you, but we know now there is more to life.

We were the monsters before you. We were glad to give up these false lives, so that you could live. Besides, you did not devour them all. A remnant of our brothers and sisters still lives in their armours, forever contained within their twisted forms.

Their legacy will be preserved, even if it is to be worn by another."

His voice was like a whisper that flooded the entire room and wormed into their ears. He raised his head, looking at Belladonna with a knowing smile that sent shivers down her spine.

Oh god. She absorbed one of those armours to make her duplicate. Did... did she have a soul inside of her right now? That just felt so wrong.

Belladonna had to hold back the urge to rip the armour off of her and throw it across the room. But it seemed she was not the only one that had the same idea.

Revenant rushed over to her, and slammed his head into Belladonna's chest, pressing his ear against the armour as if he was trying to listen to her heart beat.

She was so busy being repulsed and flustered by the thought of some creepy ghost being inside of her, and all the innuendos that spawned, that she didn't think about punching Revenant until he was already stepping away.

He muttered under his breath, drawing a fine powder from a pouch on his waist and sprinkling it in the air before making a pinching motion towards Belladonna.

A thin, pale blue wisp snaked from her chest, slithered through the air and gathered between Revenant's fingers as he repeated the motion. He drew more and more of it out, which only made Belladonna want to hurl even more, until finally Revenant was holding a mote of blue light the size of a golf ball.

He studied and pondered it closely, holding it up to his ear to listen to it closely, before letting out an amazed laugh.

"Well what do you know, Ghost face is right. They are still in there. Whatever magic they used preserved their root essence.

All they are missing is the soul energy to actually manifest, even through the armour."