Skeleton Knight, in Another World (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

The Pontiff 

It was a perfect day for flying, with nary a cloud in the sky. 

Right in front of me, the massive, eighty-meter dragon was crouched low to the ground, watching me with her reptilian eyes. 

I hesitantly approached Felfi Visrotte, tilting my head back farther and farther as I drew closer. 

“Are you sure about this?” 

She narrowed her violet eyes and jerked her chin forward, urging me to hurry up. 

“Hey, you were the one complaining about this, right? It’d take too long to teleport there and back, you said. Now hurry up and get on my back so I can fly you out there.” 

She motioned again for me to climb up on her back. 

The night before, we’d decided that I needed to travel to the two locations where we’d be teleporting our split forces to take on the undead armies. After hearing my plan, Felfi Visrotte had suggested that there was a much faster way for me to get there. 

Flying on the back of a Dragon Lord would greatly reduce the travel time, since I no longer needed to worry about rivers, mountains, or other place where I’d have a poor line of sight. 

Given that the undead armies of the Holy Hilk Kingdom were drawing closer by the minute, it made sense to use whichever method was fastest. However, I still felt my heart race at the very idea of riding on the back of a dragon. 

I’d never felt this way, even when riding on my driftpus, Shiden. But there was something inside me that felt slightly uncomfortable about riding on top of a woman, even if she wasn’t actually human. 

“Hey, Ariane, Chiyome, do you want to join?” 

I called out to my friends in an attempt to make the situation a little more comfortable…and to serve as an emotional buffer. 

Ariane shook her head. “I-I think I’m all right here for now. I’d hate to be a bother.” 

Chiyome’s cat ears went flat atop her head and her tail puffed up. She stepped behind Ariane, as if to hide. “Just thinking about flying is scary enough, to be honest.” 

I shrugged, though I felt a bit dejected. If they didn’t want to come, then I certainly wasn’t going to force them. I felt Ponta tapping the top of my helmet, as if to encourage me. 

“Kyii! Kyiiiii!” 

I was happy to have my cheerful little travel companion at least. 

“Glad you’re coming with me, buddy.” 

Felfi Visrotte rolled her eyes at my incessant stalling and urged me to hurry up. “Listen, Arc, I don’t have time for these stupid games. Hurry up and climb on so we can get going. I need to make sure you don’t fall off while we’re flying, so I don’t need any extra people around. It’ll just take more time to get up to speed.” 

She lifted her long tail into the air and swung its crystalline tip around to my lower back, nudging me forward. 

She was right, of course. I was the only one who needed to travel to these locations. It wasn’t necessary for anyone else to come along. 

However, as I looked up at the sea of black scales, I did discover one problem with riding on her back. 

Unlike Shiden, who had a saddle for me to hold on to as he ran along, Felfi Visrotte had nothing of the sort on her back. 

Not that this was unexpected. Dragon Lords, after all, weren’t meant to serve as mounts. In fact, I highly doubted anyone had even dared to try until now. Besides, there wasn’t a saddle out there big enough to fit across her body. 

To not fall off during flight, I’d just have to act like Ponta did atop of my head: by ducking low and hanging on tight. 

I shoved my teleportation diary and something to draw with into a bag and cinched it over my shoulders. Once that was done, I climbed onto Felfi Visrotte’s back. 

The dark scales had a strange texture to them—hard, yet with a bit of give to them at the same time. Intrigued by this odd sensation, I ran my hand across her glistening hide for a moment, until the Dragon Lord’s sharp voice brought me back to reality. 

“Stop feeling me up like that, you pervert!” 

I immediately stopped what I was doing and offered an apology. “Ah, I’m sorry! I’ve never felt something quite like this before.” 

I could sense Ariane glaring daggers at me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. 

Here I was, claiming I felt weird about climbing on top of a woman, and then the moment I did, massaging her like that. It wasn’t my proudest moment. Even I could admit that. 

Once I finally got into place atop her back, the elves who’d come to see us off stepped away to give us space. Felfi Visrotte unfurled her wings. 

“All right, and we’re off! Hang on, and try to not fall!” 

“All right, I got iiiiiiiiiit?!” 

A beautiful pattern flashed across her wings as she began flapping, and suddenly I was thrown back by the sheer force of her takeoff. It was everything I could do just to hang on. 

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!” 

I could hardly hear myself scream over the roar of the wind as we tore through the air. It was a completely bizarre sensation, unlike anything I’d experienced before. 

Since simply keeping my grip was a struggle in its own right—and daring to glimpse over the side was out of the question—all I could do was relish the new sensation and watch the sky as we flew. This must have been how astronauts felt as they rode their rockets into space. 

“Kyiiiiiiii!” 

At least Ponta seemed to be having fun. 

I felt a brief wave of jealousy wash over me. However, after a few more minutes, my body went light and the wind died down. 

Sensing this was my chance, I leaned over and looked at the terrain below. The city of Saureah was already a tiny speck. 

I had no idea exactly how high we were, but judging by the size of the capital, I figured we had to be one or two thousand meters up. 

“We’re pr-pretty high! If I fall off now, I’m done for.” 

“Kyii! Kyiiiii!” 

If I’d had skin, I’d almost certainly had been covered in goosebumps. 

A new feeling began overtaking me, a sense of excitement at speeding through the air as the beautiful world moved beneath me. 

Felfi Visrotte flew easily through the air in a long, lazy turn, putting the sun at our backs as we headed west. Moments later, Saureah was a lost sight, and I found myself looking down at the snow-capped Sobir mountain range that served as the border between the Nohzan and Salma kingdoms. 

The mountains themselves were quite large, so we had to be at least 3,000 meters above ground by now in order to clear them with ease. However, Felfi Visrotte continued climbing higher into the sky as we flew. 

“Well, this will definitely get us to the Salma capital in no time.” 

Ponta slowly crawled out of its hiding place in the crook of my arm and let its large tail unfurl and billow in the wind. 

“Kyii! Kyiiiii!” 

Felfi Visrotte tilted her long neck to glance back at me and smiled. “Of course we will. You’re flying with me, after all. And hey, I even made sure to check a map this time, so you’ve got nothing to worry about. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the view!” 

Outside of my long-distance teleportation magic, this was the fastest method of travel by far. It was a shame we couldn’t transport all 10,000 soldiers like this. 

Although, judging by the way the others had reacted to the suggestion, there was more than a little hesitation about transporting people by Dragon Lord. 

Not only was there the issue of having to endure the sheer cold that accompanied being up so high and flying at such great speeds, but it also took quite a bit of strength to hang on during takeoff and even throughout the flight. It was probably for the better that Ariane and Chiyome hadn’t come along. 

Felfi Visrotte probably knew this too, which is why she’d objected to bringing anyone else along. Though, it did make me wonder how she’d known that I would be able to hang on. Perhaps she hadn’t and it was simply a risk she’d been willing to take. 

In any case, that left teleportation as our only option to get 10,000 soldiers where they needed to go. 

Ponta was the real trooper here, though. It was having a great time speeding through the air and letting its long, cottony tail billow in the wind. 

After a short while, Felfi Visrotte called out from up ahead. “Hey, Arc, you’re pretty quiet back there. Would you mind talking about something to keep me entertained?” 

I was perfectly satisfied just sitting quietly and taking in the sights, but apparently, she was looking for conversation. 

I hesitated, unsure what to talk about with her. I finally settled on the topic of the first time we’d met. 

“Do you mind if I ask you a question?” 

“Of course not. Whatcha got?” 

While I was certainly impressed with her appearance the first time we’d met, there was something that had struck me as even more interesting: her accent. 

Since Villiers Fim was the first Dragon Lord I’d ever met, I kind of assumed that all Dragon Lords spoke in the same formal manner he did. I couldn’t get over the unique, casual way Felfi Visrotte spoke. 

Since no one else had said anything about it, though, I’d just let it go, until now. 

“You have a rather unique way of speaking, so I was wondering if you’ve always had an accent. Or maybe Villiers Fim is actually the one who speaks strangely?” 

She blinked her large, violet eyes at me several times before bursting into laughter. “Gyahahahaha! That’s what you wanna know? You really must be from the other world then, huh?” 

She faced forward again before continuing. “Y’see, Eva was the one who taught me how to speak your language, so I guess I just picked up her accent.” 

She cocked her head, as if unsure how to provide a more definitive answer. 

“Hmm, I guess that makes sense…” 

Now that I thought about it, her accent had a slight twang to it that resembled the way people from Kyoto spoke. Not exactly spot on, but close. But just what had she and the founding elder talked about anyway? 

I’d always kind of figured that Evanjulin, the founding elder of the Great Canada Forest, was Canadian. But from the way Felfi Visrotte spoke, it now sounded possible that Evanjulin might have been Japanese. 

“Kyii! Kyiiiii!” Ponta mewed excitedly as it looked over the Dragon Lord’s side at the world passing below. Its fluffy tail whipped about in the powerful gusts of wind. 

I leaned over to see what had gotten Ponta so excited only to find that we were now past the Sobir Mountains and flying over vast, open plains—the lands of the Salma Kingdom. 

“Looks like we’ve crossed the border already. That really was fast!” 

“If I recall correctly, the capital city of this country is called Larisa, and it should be right on the water.” 

Before leaving Saureah, Felfi Visrotte had looked over some maps to get the lay of the land. Fortunately, it seemed to have worked, as she had a pretty good understanding of where we were. 

The plains below us seemed almost endless…until I caught sight of a body of water on the horizon. That must be the South Central Sea. 

I felt relief wash over me. We’d made it here in less than a half a day. At this rate, our original battle plan might still work. 

In the distance, I could just make out a port city surrounded by a massive wall. In the middle was a large fort that sat atop a hill, giving it an imposing view of surrounding lands. According to the description given by Margrave Brahniey, this was Larisa, the capital of the Salma Kingdom. 

Felfi Visrotte began her descent as we approached our objective. The closer we got, the more detail I could make out. It rapidly became clear that things were not right with the city. 

All of the boats docked at the pier had either been destroyed, and were sitting low in the water, or they were on fire, sending billowing smoke high into the air. 

A little further off, I spied several other ships floating aimlessly in the bay, but almost all of their masts were too damaged to serve any purpose. 

The city itself was a scene of destruction, flames running rampant through the remnants of once-great neighborhoods. 

The messenger from Larisa who’d met with the margrave had told the truth: The city had fallen to a massive army of undead. 

From this distance, it was impossible to tell if there were any survivors. 

After giving the city a quick look over, Felfi Visrotte twisted her neck and looked back at me. 

“There are a lot of undead down there, but I’m not seeing anywhere near the number you guys told me about. Maybe one really big one and a few other smaller ones is more accurate. At most…10,000.” 

“Wow…” 

I was thoroughly impressed that she could get a sense of their numbers from this height. I mean, I liked to think that I had pretty good vision and could generally make out small details, but figuring out what was going on in a city 2,000 meters below was another thing entirely. 

Regardless, we had a far graver problem than my vision on our hands—that of the number of undead in the city. 

The messenger had said that Larisa was under attack by an army of at least 200,000. If they weren’t in the city below, that meant they’d already left, and the ones here were merely to prevent anyone from taking the city back. 

Factoring in the number of days it must have taken the messenger to reach the margrave, and then for the margrave to make it to Nohzan, quite a bit of time must have passed since the city was first attacked. 

It was possible that the undead army had moved on to Brahniey and were already there, but based on Goemon’s observations in the Delfrent Kingdom, it didn’t sound like they left immediately after crushing their objective. 

The man-spiders leading the armies could move about as fast as a horse, but the general rank-and-file troops could only manage human speeds. 

I felt certain that we still had at least some time left. 

“Felfi Visrotte, would you mind letting me down for a moment? I’d like to draw the location.” 

I figured it couldn’t hurt to make a sketch of Larisa in my teleportation diary, should a situation arise where I needed to get back here in a hurry. 

“Sure thing, lemme find a place to land.” Felfi Visrotte tilted her wings and dropped into a steep dive. 

“Waaaaaaugh?!” 

“Kyii!” 

She jerked back suddenly, and a massive blast of air caused me to temporarily float up off of her back. I tried scrunching myself down as small as I could to hang on tight. 

A moment later, I heard a loud crash and felt her whole body reverberate beneath me. 

Venturing a glance over the side, I discovered that Felfi Visrotte had landed right on two man-spiders and was batting undead soldiers with her tail, deftly deflecting oncoming blows with its crystalline tip. 

In a single, massive sweep of her tail, she wiped out a large group, like a god of death wielding a soul-reaping scythe. 

“Now that’s a stench that’s hard to get out of your nose.” She scowled at the stench of rotting flesh. Despite her initial attack, there were still quite a few undead left. 

We’d landed a fair bit away from the entrance to Larisa, in what must have once been a field. As I dropped to the ground, I felt wheat stalks crunch beneath my feet. This year’s harvest seemed like a lost cause. However, some fields seemed to have been spared, so if there were any survivors, at least they’d have something to eat. 

I turned my attention to the city, a vast wasteland filled with dead and undead alike. 

Aware of the pressure of time we were under, I pulled out my teleportation diary and tried to get a feel for my surroundings. 

Before I could start, however, I caught sight of several undead soldiers and man-spiders closing in on me. I’d never get my sketch done if I had to keep fending them off, so I shot a pleading look up at the Dragon Lord. 

“Sorry to bother you, but would you mind taking care of these pests while I finish my work?” 

The large dragon propped herself up and puffed out her chest. 

“Not a problem. I’ll play around with ’em for a bit while you do your thing. Just call out to me when you’re done, ’kay?” 

She gave her wings a flap, sending up a whirlwind of dust, before launching off toward the oncoming enemy. The air snapped as she swung her tail around, like a bullwhip breaking the sound barrier. 

In no time at all, the undead were lying in pieces, while what was left of the destroyed crops floated about like a golden snowstorm. 

“Kyii! Kyiiiii!” Ponta mewed at me, as if prompting me to get back to work. 

I hurriedly opened my teleportation diary and stared down at the empty page. If I didn’t get this done soon, she might finish off the undead out here and move on to those inside the capital. 

Since I didn’t have much time, I just focused on one part of the city wall, sketching it as simply and as quickly as I could. I could fill in the details later. 

“As long it’s accurate enough to jog my memory, that should be enough.” 

I held the teleportation diary up and looked back and forth between the sketch and the wall a few times before giving a satisfied nod. It was a bit rough, but it captured all the unique details. 

With that done, I put my supplies back into my bag and looked about until I spotted the Dragon Lord smashing undead like ants. I waved my arms as I called to her. 

“Felfi Visrotte!” 

Fortunately, she seemed to have excellent hearing, and she instantly turned her neck to look at me. With one final swipe of her tail to clear away the lingering undead soldiers, she darted through the air back to my side. 

“Well, that was faster than I expected.” 

She narrowed her reptilian eyes, staring at the gates of the capital. 

“Something wrong?” 

“Kyii?” 

Ponta and I looked at the Dragon Lord with concern, but she shook her head and turned her attention back to me. 

“I sensed a large presence in the city earlier, but now it’s gone.” 

I looked up at the battered walls, but try as I might, my senses were nowhere near as keen as Ariane and Chiyome’s. I couldn’t sense anything similar to what Felfi Visrotte was talking about. 

She clearly wasn’t talking about the man-spiders or undead. The only things I could think of were either the pontiff or one of his cardinals. 

Being able to disappear all of a sudden also suggested that they were able to use teleportation magic like me, in which case it’d be impossible to follow them. We needed to focus on more pressing matters. 

“I’m afraid the main undead army is likely marching on Brahniey as we speak. I’d like to try and track them down, if you’d be willing to help with that.” 

Our original plan had been to come out here and find a place to teleport troops to, then immediately head back to Saureah to notify Ariane. But if the undead army was already closing in on Brahniey, then figuring out their current location was of the utmost importance. Depending on where they were, it could change our plans entirely. 

Fortunately, Felfi Visrotte agreed to my request without a second thought. 

“I said I’d help, didn’t I? So no need for you to make all these little requests. Just hop on my back and hold on tight!” 

I adjusted the bag on my back, pulled Ponta close to my chest, and hopped onto Felfi Visrotte’s back. She seemed to take this as the sign that I was ready and immediately rocketed into the sky. 

“Thanks, I appreciate iiiiiiiiiiiiit!” 

I squeezed my body against her back and held on. Ponta seemed to be having a grand time. 

“Kyiiiiiii!” 

Once we got up to altitude and the wind died down, Felfi Visrotte started moving through the air in slow circles. She glanced back at me to check where we were heading. 

“Brahniey is off to the east, right?” 

“That’s correct.” 

She nodded and turned. “And we’re off!” 

She gave a powerful flap of her massive wings, causing the wavy violet patterns on the membranes to glow, before blasting off toward our objective. 

Since I was taking the brunt of the wind, Ponta loved moving at such high speed. 

“Kyii! Kyiiiii!” 

I noticed that the wind around Ponta seemed to be weaker, probably thanks to its magic. It was pretty impressive. From what I’d heard, cottontail foxes often traveled on wind currents in large packs, so it only made sense that they would be able to strengthen or weaken such gusts. 

I, for one, would have given anything for that kind of power while I fought not to be thrown to my doom. 

Fortunately, it wasn’t long until Felfi Visrotte slowed, and the buffeting wind calmed slightly. She called my attention to the scene below. 

“Heya, Arc, look down.” 

I glanced over her side and swallowed hard. “That’s… Wow.” 

The plains were covered with what looked like a black, undulating carpet moving east—the tightly packed undead soldiers. 

They didn’t move anything like the trained soldiers I’d encountered in the Holy East Revlon Empire’s colony on the southern continent, but they were still progressing steadily, marching slowly but surely toward Brahniey and the Ruanne Forest. 

“They’re not far from Larisa, so we still have time until they arrive at their destination. But this definitely isn’t a good sign.” 

Even Ponta watched the black blob with great interest. “Kyii!” 

“If they were all clumped together, I could wipe ’em all out with a single strike. But they’re too spread out right now. I’d need to chase a lot of ’em down.” 

Felfi Visrotte made no effort to conceal her annoyance. She turned to look at me, a scowl on her face. 

“So, what’re we gonna do, Arc?” 

“Hmm…” 

If hundreds of undead soldiers were packed tightly into a single formation, an area-of-effect spell should be able to wipe them out in one go. However, with them dotting the entire countryside like this, it would take several hundred of our biggest attacks to kill them all. 

Felfi Visrotte and I could probably do it on our own, but we didn’t have a lot of time to spare. 

Sending the troops to Larisa was pointless now, so we needed to find a second drop-off location. That left either the border of the margrave’s territory, or the city of Brahniey itself. 

However, there was a very real risk that the undead army would split off before reaching Brahniey and send half of their forces south as an advance strike on the village of Drant in the Ruanne Forest. 

We needed to figure out a place to attack them before then. But where? 

I thought back to the map I’d looked at earlier, trying to recall some sort of landmark. 

“What about the Wiel River that runs along the border? They’ll need to stop there and get organized, don’t ya think?” 

It was as if Felfi Visrotte could read my mind. I’d been thinking of the exact same place. 

“Agreed. I think it’d be a good idea to set our teleportation spot at one of the forts on the border.” 

Margrave Brahniey had said that there were a series of forts east of the Wiel that had once belonged to the Nohzan Kingdom. They were from the days before his ancestors had taken possession of the land. He’d maintain them meticulously, and they were still fit for service. 

Though technically just spaces to garrison the troops charged with maintaining the border, they served another important purpose—to keep an eye on the nobles as they traveled around the Salma Kingdom. 

Before the forts were actually up and running, villages across Brahniey’s domain had often been attacked by bandits. Ariane had been shocked to hear this, though King Asparuh had looked unsurprised. The margrave had to be constantly on alert for raids not only by outsiders, but also from his own countrymen. 

In any case, I figured that one of the forts overlooking the Wiel would be a good place to start. 

“Do you think you could fly past this group and let me off near the river? I’d like to set our new teleportation point there and then head back to Saureah.” 

Felfi Visrotte nodded. “All right. We’re off again!” 

She twisted her mammoth body around in mid-air and turned back east. 

Fortunately, none of the undead soldiers marching along the plains seemed to take any notice of us as we flew above them at breakneck speed. Within a few moments, they were just a dark stain in the distance. 

I had to squint in order to keep an eye on where we were going through the gusts of wind buffeting my body. Assuming Felfi Visrotte was flying at the same speed as when we’d left this morning, I could calculate how long we’d have until the undead army arrived at the Wiel. 

I caught sight of a river up ahead, winding its way from north to south. That had to be it, with the peaks beyond being the Sobir mountain range. 

Judging by the time it had taken us to pass over the undead army and get here, my best guess was that they’d only recently set out from Larisa. The road they’d be taking traveled mostly across flat plains, though there was a mountainous region where the road grew narrow and the soldiers would have to bunch up to pass through. 

Figuring this would slow them down, I guessed that would give us two, maybe three days until they arrived at the Wiel. 

I could see two forts, each surrounded by their own robust stone walls. These were heavily fortified locations from back in the days when the Nohzan Kingdom had needed to fend off their invading neighbors, though by garrisoning his own forces here, the margrave had done a good job cutting off most of the easy routes any roaming bandits could use to gain entry. 

Next to the fort was a magnificent stone bridge that ran across the river. Though I couldn’t tell how deep the water was, I was pretty sure the undead would need to cross that bridge in order to pass into Brahniey. 

“Life certainly works in weird ways. What was once used to harass belligerent nobles will now serve as a base of operations to mount our defense.” 

I was surprised at how things could take such a turn over time. 

“Kyii!” Ponta seemed to be feeling much the same. 

I truly had no idea if Ponta understood a word I said, but I gave its head a gentle rub all the same before instructing Felfi Visrotte to let me down near the fort. 

Since leaving his lands for the Nohzan Kingdom, the margrave hadn’t returned to his people, nor had he made any mention to those stationed at the outposts about the upcoming battle. The guards charged with watching the borders would know nothing about me, and the sight of an eighty-meter Dragon Lord would only alarm them. 

On the other hand, my goal was to teleport the incoming armies as close to the fort as possible, so I couldn’t be too far away if I wanted to get the details right. 

They’d probably still notice us, but hopefully they’d assume this was just some sort of intimidation attempt. That should give me enough time to make a basic sketch for my teleportation diary. Then we could return to Saureah. 

“Okay, hang on tight!” 

The Dragon Lord dropped into another steep dive, heading straight toward the eastern bank of the Wiel. The shoreline was completely bare, giving me a great view of the fort below and the soldiers running around in a panic at the sight of a dragon. The reaction was pretty much what I’d expected. 

Even though we were trying to keep our distance, there was simply no way someone could ignore the impressive sight of a Dragon Lord. 

Fortunately for me, the stone bridge spanning the river had a rather unique design, so I figured I’d be able to get off a quick sketch before we wore out our welcome. 

“Once I’m done getting this down on paper, I’m going to use my teleportation magic to take us back to Saureah. Would you mind transforming into your humanoid form?” 

Felfi Visrotte smiled and nodded. 

Though it would have been possible for me to teleport her in her dragon form, it would require a lot of magic to do so—magic that I’d need to bring the margrave and about 5,000 soldiers here. 

I slid off the Dragon Lord’s back and started pulling out my supplies. 

“Kyii!” Ponta hopped up onto my head while I focused my attention on the scene in front of me. 

“We won’t be staying long, Ponta. We’ll be back in Saureah soon.” 

The Wiel River was at least 100 meters across, and probably double that in some places. The large banks on either side made it look even bigger. 

However, that was where the good news ended. The river looked to be relatively shallow, with small eddies circling around rocks just under the surface. I doubted the man-spiders would have much difficulty making their way across. 

I started drawing while Felfi Visrotte began her transformation. 

Just as she was about to finish, I looked up and noticed several soldiers in the fort’s watchtowers. They were pointing right at us and talking hurriedly among themselves. 

A part of me felt a little bad that they’d have to explain to their superiors why they’d claimed to have seen a massive dragon when there was now nothing of the sort anywhere around. 

“Kyii! Kyiiiii!” 

Ponta patted my helmet, reminding me to focus on the task at hand. I turned my gaze away from the tower and began sketching again. 

Once I had the general design down, I held my teleportation diary up and checked it against the actual bridge. Felfi Visrotte leaned over my shoulder for a closer look. 

“Not bad, kid.” 

“Let’s head back to Saureah.” 

I turned to Felfi Visrotte as I slid my teleportation diary back into my bag. She wore a faint grin on her face, as if remembering something from her distant past. 

“Y’know, it’s been quite a while since I’ve teleported anywhere.” 

Now that I thought about it, I remembered hearing that Evanjulin had also used teleportation magic. Maybe they’d traveled around together? 

“Transport Gate!” 

A magical rune spread out from beneath my feet until it was wide enough to encompass Felfi Visrotte as well. She watched with great interest. 

I focused my mind on the courtyard in front of the palace in Saureah, which we’d left mere hours ago. The world went dark, and an instant later, we were back in Nohzan. 

Felfi Visrotte stretched out her arms and nodded approvingly. “That’s a pretty useful technique.” 

“It’s thanks to your incredible speed that we were able to return here in less than half a day.” 

Considering she’d probably never let people ride her before, I felt it only proper to thank her for all she’d done. 

“You’ve really got your act together, kid. Nothing like Eva.” She tilted her head to the side and gazed at me with great interest. “So, what’s next?” 

She smiled, and began wagging her long, dagger-tipped tail. 

“Well, I suppose we’d better share what we’ve learned.” 

After turning to face the castle, I pulled Ponta close and started walking. 

“Kyii! Kyiiiii!” 

*** 

We gathered with Ariane, Chiyome, Goemon, and the other leaders in a room deep within the castle to discuss the next phase of our fight against the Holy Hilk Kingdom’s assault. 

Everyone crowded around close to me and Felfi Visrotte, their eyes fixed on the map. 

The white tokens sat exactly where we’d left them the night before. I took one of the black tokens and moved it from Larisa, in the Salma Kingdom, to a spot farther east. 

A look of shock overcame the margrave as his eyes followed the token. “Wait, you mean to say they’ve already begun their advance?!” 

“That’s correct. We only found a few undead in Larisa, just enough to maintain control over the region, while the rest of the army moved east toward Brahniey.” 

Felfi Visrotte tapped the black token with her fingertip. 

“We coulda wiped ’em out right then and there if they’d marched in columns like you humans, but no luck.” 

King Asparuh, Prince Sekt, and Margrave Brahniey—the human representatives in this alliance—frowned. Princess Riel looked puzzled at their shared reaction and turned to her father. 

“If Felfi Visrotte is as powerful as everyone says, then we’ve got nothing to worry about if the undead attack us. So why are you scowling like that, Father?” 

King Asparuh shifted uncomfortably under his daughter’s intense gaze and cleared his throat. 

Margrave Brahniey looked straight at me. “How long do we have until they reach Brahniey? I don’t need an exact hour, just an estimate.” The margrave’s eyes pleaded with me. He was clearly clinging to the hope that there was still time. 

“At my best guess, I’d say two days. Three, tops.” 

He groaned at this, deep wrinkles forming in his forehead. “That’s much faster than I would have expected.” 

Dillan, also scowling down at the map, offered some clarification on how they could cover so much ground. “Unlike the living, the undead need not eat nor rest, so they can focus entirely on moving. Judging by the lay of the land, it would take less than four days to cover that distance.” 

He was right, of course. The undead weren’t burdened with the obligation to waste time on feeding and resting their soldiers. 

As an added bonus, this meant that they didn’t need to deal with carts or the animals that drew them. They were only limited by the speed at which a person could march under the full weight of gear. 

These were, in a sense, the ultimate soldiers. They could march twenty-four hours a day and still fight once they reached their destination. Plus, they were already dead, so they had no fear of death in battle. 

While I might look like one of them, I still enjoyed eating, sleeping, and even a nice bath. We were, in these respects, fundamentally different. 

Felfi Visrotte picked up one of the white tokens, moving it toward the Wiel River. 

“We’ve decided to make our stand here, at the Wiel, since they’ll need to stop there. We’ll take care of as many as we can and leave the rest to you. Think you can handle that?” 

King Asparuh and Margrave Brahniey looked worried at this rather brazen plan, while Fangas and Dillan nodded confidently. 

Fangas even smiled. “I’ve been looking forward to the day when I could finally see the great Dragon Lord in battle.” 

This seemed to reassure Asparuh and Brahniey, and they nodded their assent. 

Here, in the presence of a Dragon Lord who spoke of facing off against 200,000 undead as if it were nothing and a dark elf elder who laughed at the thought of the upcoming battle, it was clear the humans were way out of their league. 

All they’d have to do was take care of any survivors that made it past Felfi Visrotte’s attack. 

Though I would have loved to see that battle unfold, it was quickly becoming clear that she would handle the Salma front while I held off the assault in the Delfrent Kingdom. 

Dillan laid out his plan. “All right, we’ll place around 1,000 soldiers in the two forts on the Wiel River and defend from there.” 

With no objections, it seemed that the matter was settled. 

Dillan picked up two white tokens and placed them next to the Wiel. 

“We don’t have a lot of time to prepare. On the Salma front, Fangas will command the elven soldiers and Prince Sekt will lead his. Arc, I’d like you to take care of teleportation.” 

He picked up two more white tokens and set one down on a forest and another on a town. 

“After the troops have been moved to their new location, I’d like the margrave to return to Brahniey to muster his troops. Fangas will head to Drant in the Ruanne Forest to bring together the other elven soldiers who’ve agreed to join us.” 

He turned back to me. 

“Once you’re done preparing the Salma front, Arc, I want you to head to Delfrent so we can get our troops out there as soon as possible. We’ll be relying on you and Villiers Fim for this fight, with some support from the Jinshin clan and soldiers from Canada.” 

I held Dillan’s gaze as I voiced my concern. “If Felfi Visrotte will be stationed on the border with the Salma Kingdom, then it will take me quite some time to reach Lione in the Delfrent Kingdom.” 

Now that we knew the undead were moving far faster than we’d originally assumed, everything on the Delfrent front had changed as well. Sure, Goemon and his comrades had observed the undead armies still lurking around the capital, but much time had passed since then. The situation could have easily changed. 

Since there was no easy way to send information across long distances in this world, other than my teleportation magic or a Dragon Lord, there was an added pressure of simply not knowing exactly where the undead were or what they were doing. 

They’d already toppled both the Delfrent and Salma kingdoms with relative ease, after all. 

Having lived my entire life in the modern world, where we had the advantage of quick transport and information exchange, I felt completely out of my element here. 

I was trying to say that if we hoped to strike a definitive blow against the undead, then I would need to borrow Felfi Visrotte for a little while longer. However, she quickly offered up a different plan. 

“I don’t see the problem here. I brought another Dragon Lord along with me, didn’t I? If I ask him, there’s no way he’ll say no.” 

Her mouth curled up into another one of her trademark grins. 

Just thinking about riding on Villiers Fim reminded me of our first encounter, when I’d kicked him right in the back. I let out a quiet laugh at this interesting turn of events. 

*** 

To the west of Brahniey, the Wiel River flowed out of the Sobir Mountains and ran south, creating a natural border with the rest of the Salma Kingdom. 

An imposing stone bridge spanning the river served as a critical road that connected Brahniey’s domain with the capital of Larisa. This was flanked by large forts, originally built by the Nohzan Kingdom, where soldiers were garrisoned to watch over the roads and all who crossed the bridge. 

These refurbished forts were typically quite large compared to the number of soldiers stationed within them, but their tranquil atmosphere was disrupted as hundreds of new soldiers descended upon them with a certain excited fervor. 

In addition to the guards who maintained posts here, there were now soldiers from Brahniey, the Rhoden Kingdom, and even the elven realms roaming about. 

The elven soldiers from the Great Canada Forest had been joined by elves from the village of Drant in the Ruanne Forest, led by village elders Iwahld and Serge. 

Many of the humans stationed here had never seen an elf before and couldn’t help but stare, as if they were some great novelty. 

But it wasn’t only their elongated ears that drew the human’s attention. It was also the fact that the elven ranks were filled with women, something practically unheard of in the male-dominated human military. This actually helped them cope with the anxiety of standing on the front lines of a battle against the undead, a battle for their very survival. 

One of the soldiers leaned over and whispered to his comrades. “Y’say that the purple lady’s a dark elf? Man, you see the way her chest bounces when she walks? I gotta admit, she really does perk things up around here.” 

Several soldiers slapped the man on his back. 

“I know you’re desperate, but you best keep yer little buddy in your pants there, my friend. Man or woman, the elves are ferocious fighters. I already saw some drunk idiot come on a little too strong with one of the elven women. She worked him over so bad that they had to send him to a medic.” 

The man shrugged dismissively. “Don’t lump me in with that idiot! I wouldn’t dare try something like that.” 

Everyone was already experiencing a mixture of excitement over the upcoming battle and a severe case of nerves at the thought of facing a massive army of the undead. No matter how attractive someone might be, they still had a job to focus on. The people gathered here were the best their respective countries had to offer, and with that came a certain sense of duty. They all knew too well that they were fighting for the survival of their species. 

Humans, elves, and even mountain people were all here to face a common foe. They’d been warned by their commanders not to do anything that would disturb the peace. But even though no one would dare say it out loud, it was clear that the humans felt uncomfortable having all these non-humans around. 

Suddenly waking up to thousands of soldiers appearing out of nowhere, not to mention seeing elves, a species many had only heard about in fairytales, was a shock in its own right. Even more shocking was the sheer power on parade before their very eyes. The elven forces were superior in every way to anything the humans could offer. If the elves chose not to cooperate in the coming battle, the humans were pretty much done for. 

*** 

As such, the humans treated them with the utmost respect. Their commanders would frequently go around “inspecting” the elven encampments so that they could offer praise on everything the elves had. Not a single human dared voice their annoyance at this preferential treatment. And when the large dragon landed in the courtyard, that pretty much put an end to even the thought of squabbling. 

Until recently, the Dragon Lord known as Felfi Visrotte had been nothing but a legend, the topic of many songs and poems. No one had believed that such a magnificent creature actually existed until they witnessed her soaring high in the sky on her violet-tinted wings. 

At an impressive eighty meters long, the sight of her was so awe-inspiring that no one dared to step out of line, regardless of their rank or how full of bravado they usually were. 

The Dragon Lord brought power beyond comprehension. One would have to be exceedingly dense to take a hard stance against the elves now, especially knowing that they could call upon the impressive might of a Dragon Lord if needed. 

This made many human soldiers question whether their presence was even necessary. However, this entire battle was based on the idea of a unified front. If that cooperative spirit were lost, the dignity of the human species would be lost along with it. Each and every soldier here, from the untestedy novice to grizzled veteran, knew that much. 

Fortunately, the troops’ morale was bolstered by the fact that they had powerful allies. Even that, however, was nothing compared to the revelation that the undead army they were about to face was commanded by the Holy Hilk Kingdom. They were barely able to contain their surprise upon hearing these words. 

Recalling this, one of the soldiers who’d been listening to the previous exchange brought the subject back up. The disbelief was still evident on his face. 

“D’ya think the Holy Hilk Kingdom is really using some kinda dark magic to control all these undead like they say?” 

The other soldiers stopped cleaning their weapons for a moment and exchanged glances. There were some who didn’t—couldn’t—believe these claims, while other reactions ranged from confusion to disillusionment with the church. 

The Holy Hilk Kingdom was the de facto head of the Hilk religion, the most prominent religion on the northern continent. For practitioners of the faith, it was hard to overcome their long-held belief that the Holy Hilk Kingdom was beyond reproach. 

According to King Asparuh and Margrave Wendly, the Holy Hilk Kingdom had used dark magic to create an army of the undead and was now crushing their neighboring kingdoms. While no one went so far as to say that their leaders were telling lies, it was difficult to reconcile these statements with their idea of the church. It was like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. 

The only ones who didn’t seem particularly troubled by this declaration were the soldiers from the Rhoden Kingdom, where the majority held their country in higher regard than the church’s teachings. 

But for the soldiers of Brahniey, who’d been raised from childhood to believe that the church’s teachings were universally true, the idea of having to change their entire worldview shook them to their very core. Despite their uncertainty, however, they all had unwavering faith in the margrave. Such was the influence he wielded. 

“Y’know, I got a buddy who traveled with the margrave to the Nohzan Kingdom. According to him, some of the locals were saying that when the Hilk cardinal faced off against the elves, he turned into a giant monster.” 

The soldiers leaned close, intrigued by this bit of information, and urged him to continue. The man smiled at his enraptured comrades. 

“In fact, they say that all the Hilk cardinals are monsters. The whole reason the Hilk even preached about kicking around the elves and beast people was because they’re the only ones who can tell the cardinals aren’t human.” 

This was met with several suspicious glares. 

The Holy Hilk Kingdom being behind this whole ordeal was hard enough to believe. The idea that their ranks were made up of monsters was downright outrageous. 

Moreover, it meant that the soldiers themselves were complicit in the Hilk plot by following the teachings that had been ingrained in them since birth. 

Whether or not the man’s story was true, the soldiers around him agreed that something significant must have happened in order to bring the species of the world together. 

The soldiers hadn’t had nearly enough time to come to terms with the tempest of emotions racing through them when the situation took a sudden turn for the worse. 

Every day, the Dragon Lord would fly off toward Larisa and report back on what she’d found. Today was no different. The guards on watch spotted her as expected. 

She flew straight over the fort and landed in a large clearing nearby to describe her findings. A short time later, messengers were dispatched to notify the troops to prepare for an attack. 

The soldiers, who just moments before had been chattering like schoolchildren, immediately made their way toward the fort’s outer wall to get a look at who they’d be up against. They squinted at the far bank of the Wiel. 

A low, gray fog hung in the air, limiting visibility. However, they could just make out a faint, black blob spreading across the horizon. They swallowed hard as the blob began taking shape. 

As this indistinct darkness crested the hill on the other side of the river, it spread out even more, continuing its slow march toward the Wiel. 

The undead didn’t move like any army these soldiers had seen before. It was like they all happened to be moving east toward Brahniey together in a large mass. There was something about the sight that sent chills up the spines of all who watched. 

From a distance, the undead looked like infantry in dull armor, moving about in small squads. There were so many of them that they were impossible to count. The knowledge that these were no mere foot soldiers made the humans’ skin crawl. 

Among the squads were other bizarre creatures that clearly weren’t human. The soldiers let out quiet gasps of horror as these freaks of nature took shape. 

One of them muttered his thoughts aloud to no one in particular. “It’s like the entire continent is covered in monsters…” 

The feeling was mutual among the soldiers watching this scene unfold. 

The bizarre creatures stood much taller than the undead around them. They seemed to be made of the lower half of a spider, while their upper body consisted of two human torsos melded together, each sporting two arms and wielding a variety of weapons. 

Neither human nor beast, these abominations were like nothing the soldiers had ever seen. Worse, they seemed to be leading the squads around them as they prepared to cross the Wiel. 

The forts began ringing their alarm bells to notify all soldiers in the vicinity that the undead army was approaching. 

Up in one of the fort’s towers, Margrave Brahniey and Fangas stood watch. 

The margrave groaned. “Even knowing this was coming, I still can’t believe it. Hearing is one thing. Seeing such an army with my own eyes is another thing entirely.” 

When the messenger from Salma had first shown up with a report on what had happened in the capital, the margrave had understood on an intellectual level just how grave things were. That’s why he’d immediately headed for the Nohzan Kingdom to seek help. 

While there, by sheer luck, he was able to get his request out to the elves, beast people, and even the Rhoden Kingdom, and muster a force far greater than he could have ever hoped for. 

He glared across the Wiel at the slowly approaching undead. 

If they failed to hold the line, then everyone within his domain was doomed. He felt his muscles tense under the burden of that responsibility. 

At his side, Fangas clapped Margrave Brahniey on the shoulder and smiled. “You look tense, Wendly. Don’t forget, we have Felfi Visrotte on our side. So long as we stick to the plan, there’s nothing to worry about.” 

Fangas unclasped the heavy war hammer from his back and swung it effortlessly into the stone tiling beneath their feet. A dull thud reverberated through the room. 

“Warriors of Canada, heed my call!” 

His voice boomed out from the tower. 

“Archers, launch a barrage of arrows to keep them in place! Felfi Visrotte will strike when the time is right! Now, show ’em what we’re made of!!!” 

The elven soldiers let out a thunderous roar and lifted their weapons skyward. Brightly colored flags were raised from the tops of the watchtowers surrounding the fort, billowing in the strong breeze off the river. The second fort soon followed suit with their own flags. 

The signal given, the archers hurried to their positions and took aim. 

On the far bank of the Wiel, the front of the undead army had just reached the water’s edge and were preparing to ford the river. Though they were undead, they were still limited to crossing where the water was shallow enough and they could maintain their footing. This caused the squads to cluster together. 

The man-spiders rushed ahead, as if impatient to lead the charge, tossing their own soldiers out of the way like rag dolls to be dragged under by the powerful current. 

The undead soldiers continued their march forward, even as they began dropping, one after the next, into the river’s depths. 

Margrave Brahniey stared in astonishment. “Just what in the hell…” 

He wasn’t the only one at a loss for words. Soldiers all around the perimeter watched in surprise. 

The elves’ expertly aimed arrows were finding their marks and thinning the ranks of the undead. 

While the fort was somewhat close to the river, there were still a good 500 meters between the archers and their targets. Even with the added difficulty of the breeze off the water, the elves were still able to find their marks. This kind of archery was leaps beyond what the best humans could do. Their arrows seemed almost self-propelled, hitting their targets even when the undead attempted to dodge. 

The aerial onslaught wasn’t limited to the infantry either. Even the musclebound man-spiders took their share of casualties from the barrage, despite their armor. 

The arrows exploded the moment they pierced the man-spiders’ flesh, sending limbs in every direction. Once a man-spider was incapacitated, the archers would follow up with another two or three arrows until it was nothing but a lump of meat. 

Margrave Brahniey watched with great interest as the elves showed off their marksmanship. Looking closer, he noticed that the archers were chanting an incantation before launching each arrow. They were using magic to power each shot. 

Alas, no matter how good their archers might be, the casualties they inflicted were little more than a drop in the bucket against the invading army. Between the two forts, nearly 1,000 elven soldiers fired volley after volley, but it just wasn’t enough to make a significant impact against the army of 200,000 undead. 

It wasn’t all for naught, however, as it had the effect of putting the enemy on the defensive and caused the man-spiders to order a halt. Slowly but surely, the undead fell back and reassembled on the far shore of the river. It looked as if their plan now was to rush ahead all at once, rather than sending small squads, in order to limit the effect of the arrow barrage. 

The fact that they could make such a tactical move was all the proof the humans and elves needed that these were no normal, mindless undead. Someone was clearly commanding these forces. 

Fangas whistled at the peculiar sight. “Knowing something logically and seeing it for yourself are completely different, eh, Wendly? I doubt I’d have believed it had I not witnessed it with my own eyes.” 

Brahniey nodded. Fortunately, even this had been accounted for in their plan. 

The two men watched as the undead bunched up on the far shore. Excitement welled within them as they anticipated what would happen next. It was only a matter of time. 

Fangas looked up at the wispy clouds. “Any second now…” 

A moment later, he spotted Felfi Visrotte floating high above the battlefield, flapping her wings and building up magic as she waited for the perfect moment. 

Once she was ready, a powerful ball of magic as bright as the sun appeared above her head, glowing white-hot. It grew bigger and bigger as she pumped more energy into it. 

The undead began their second rush across the Wiel, moving forward in an endless stream through the barrage of elven arrows. When one fell, another stepped up to take its place. 

The archers shivered, their brows wrinkling as the arrows seemed to have less and less effect. 

Then, everything changed. 

The Dragon Lord grabbed the glowing object above her head and hurled it down at the undead army below. Fangas gave the signal, and the fort’s alarm bells immediately began ringing in a slow, controlled rhythm. 

Squad leaders, who’d been briefed on what to do once they heard this bell, began shouting orders for their troops to get into defensive positions. 

“Lower your weapons and get down! Everyone, behind the wall!” 

Margrave Brahniey and his aides ducked below the window in their small watchtower while Fangas continued standing in the center of the room. He gave a wide, toothy grin as the ball of light descended silently in front of them. 

The whole world went white. 

BAFOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! 

The thundering explosion was followed by an equally powerful pressure wave that caused the very earth to groan as the fort’s foundation strained. A moment later, soldiers’ fearful cries reached the margrave’s ears. 

A shower of pebbles and fist-sized rocks ruthlessly pelted the hunkering soldiers, followed by a deluge of water that turned the dust covering their bodies into mud. 

Margrave Brahniey’s ears were still ringing as he pulled himself to his feet. He had to yell to the soldiers next to him just to be understood. 

Though everyone knew to expect a powerful magical attack, none of them had experienced anything quite like this before. It defied all expectations. 

In stark contrast with the confused yelling coming from the humans, the elven soldiers pumped their fists excitedly and cheered. 

Even Fangas, who’d somehow managed to remain standing, was laughing raucously. 

Once the soldiers had composed themselves, they readjusted their gear and ventured a look over the wall at the massive dust cloud beyond. What they saw left them speechless. 

A massive crater sat in the middle of the river, slowly filling with water. In time, there would be a new lake, interrupting the Wiel’s meandering journey. 

Beyond the river, the undead appeared to have been reduced by at least half their original strength, thanks to the Dragon Lord’s powerful blast. 

The margrave could barely comprehend the sight in front of him. 

The stone bridge that had once taken thousands of travelers over the river was now a pile of rubble. The only hints that it had ever existed were the sturdy foundations connected to the shore. 

In contrast to the shocked silence of everyone else around the fort, Fangas didn’t show a hint of surprise at the results of the attack. He rested his mammoth hammer on his shoulder as he surveyed the scene. 

“You got ’em, Felfi! Knocked ’em flat on their asses with just one blow! The rest should be easy pickings.” 

Since the enemy was incapable of feeling fear—or any emotion at all, for that matter—they simply continued their march down the hill and through the devastation. With their numbers greatly reduced, the sight of the marching undead was now more bewildering than intimidating. If anything, it was a somewhat pitiful sight. 

Fangas lifted his war hammer into the air and shouted for all the soldiers to hear. 

“It’s about time we return these dead bodies to the earth and free their spirits once and for all! This world has no place for the dead!” 

The soldiers, human and elf alike, raised their weapons as well and cheered. 

“The great Dragon Lord has tipped the scales in our favor!” Fangas continued. “But that doesn’t mean we can let our guard down just yet! I want you to chase down and kill every last one of these soldiers until peace once again returns to these lands! Soldiers of Canada, focus on the spider monsters! The rest of you, take to the tree line and rout the enemy!” 

Even with a majority of the invaders killed, there were still tens of thousands of undead to contend with. This was no time to relax. 

After using all her power on that one attack, Felfi Visrotte would have to sit out the rest of the battle. However, she’d managed to completely turn the tide of battle and give the mud-covered soldiers a chance at winning the unwinnable. 

The elven archers standing watch began taking aim at the man-spiders, while the others split into squads and rushed out of the fort to begin the grueling task of close-quarters combat. 

While the elves were accustomed to operating in small groups and adjusting tactics on the fly, the humans struggled with this type of combat. The soldiers of Brahniey watched as the elves engaged the enemy and waited passively for their own orders. 

Margrave Brahniey began barking commands. “Execute the plan like we discussed! I want the cavalry out first to take care of the armored soldiers. Leave the spider monsters to the elves! Watch their backs and provide whatever support you can! Those in the fort, prepare stones to drop on anything that tries to penetrate these walls!” 

The soldiers rushed to their stations. Meanwhile, Sekt and the knights of the Rhoden Kingdom were already flying out the front gate. 

His mounted soldiers, numbering nearly 1,000 strong, rode in one long line and tore straight into the oncoming undead. Those who happened near man-spiders thrust their long spears into the monsters as they passed. It was like watching a snake slither across the battlefield. 

At the head of this impressive charge was Prince Sekt himself, with several of his personal guards following close behind. 

Margrave Brahniey watched, impressed, and let out a sigh of longing as he looked down at his wrinkled hands. 

“Ah, the vigor of youth. Alas, my days of leading from the front lines are long behind me.” 

Brahniey thought of his secretary and his beloved family back home. 

While he’d found himself completely bewildered at the terrifying sight of the enemy, Prince Sekt had carried his knights straight into battle without a second thought. That was the kind of leadership they needed right now. 

A smile spread across Brahniey’s face as he recalled the old days when he, too, had led the charge with sword held high. It might pain him to admit it, but those days had passed. 

Shaking his head, he looked over to Fangas, a man who almost certainly understood the ache of being away from the battlefield. 

But the high elder was nowhere to be seen. After checking the watchtower, Brahniey finally gave up and looked out the window again to check on the battle. He spotted an old man standing, eyes closed, directly in Prince Sekt’s path. 

Prince Sekt also took notice of the figure. Dressed in elaborate robes, the old man easily stood out from all the other undead soldiers. 

Though dressed like a priest, the old man was a hulking figure covered in muscles. Despite his wrinkled brow and wispy white hair, he looked like he could give even Fangas a run for his money. 

The most noteworthy thing about the old man, however, was the massive sword he wore on his back. It was nearly as long as he was tall. 

He stood completely still on the frenzied battlefield, though his face trembled with barely contained rage, evident even though his eyes were closed. A cold sweat broke out on the back of Sekt’s neck as a deep foreboding overtook him. 

“Well, well! I hope you’re proud of yourselves! You will all suffer heinous deaths for causing me to lose His Holiness’s troops!” 

The man’s voice boomed, his words somehow rising above the thundering hooves to reach everyone on the battlefield. Prince Sekt felt the sinister sound vibrate through his body. 

The old man’s torso twitched, and his muscles began growing even larger, his clothes tearing at the seams. Faces with bloodred eyes grew from his shoulders. He reached back and unsheathed his sword, holding it at the ready. 

Prince Sekt ordered his men to split around the old man, creating two large snakes that writhed across the battlefield. 

The old man lunged, swinging his massive sword straight toward the prince. 

At the front of the formation, Sekt was far closer to the man than he would have liked. He dug his heels into his horse’s sides to urge it out of the way. 

A moment later, he was thrown from the saddle. 

“Nngh?! Gwwaaaaugh!” 

Sekt landed on his back with a heavy thud, all of the air knocked out of his lungs. A dull pain began spreading throughout his body. He caught sight of what had once been his horse, toppled onto its side, blood gushing out onto the ground. Had he paused just a moment longer, he would have met the same fate. 

He looked up to see the old man advancing on him, ignoring the rest of the Rhoden army. 

“Swordplay really isn’t my specialty, y’know. But here goes.” 

Prince Sekt lurched to his feet, dragging his sleeve across his face to clear the blood from his mouth. He drew his elegantly decorated blade. 

Though both of his legs seemed to be working fine, the same could only be said for one of his arms. The pain in his chest was so intense that he could barely breathe. 

If the old man launched another strike, Sekt knew he’d meet the same fate as his horse. Yet he still managed to summon a smile. 

The old man’s mouth—now a long, monstrous gash—contorted at the prince’s defiance. He swung his sword high above his head, the sky rumbling in response. 

“You dare raise your sword against me, you disgusting little wretch?” 

He spat the words as he swung his sword down toward the injured prince. Sekt brought up his own blade in a feeble attempt to parry. 

Before the old man could land his blow, however, two Rhoden knights came rushing in on horseback, aiming their spears at the monster. 

“Prince Sekt, get out of here!” 

“Leave him to us!” 

The old man changed the direction of his attack, his blade effortlessly cleaving the men in two, sending blood and organs splattering across the battlefield. All Prince Sekt could do was gape at the loss of his soldiers. 

The bloodred eyes on the faces sticking out of the man’s body snapped open, fixated on something rushing in from behind. 

Sekt only noticed the newcomer when they landed on the ground in front of him, their war hammer slamming into the ground with explosive force. 

“Seems like you managed to find the leader of these monsters, huh, kid?” 

The muscles bulging under Fangas’s amethyst skin glistened in the sunlight as he fixed his golden eyes on the old man in front of him. His whole body was tense, ready for a fight. 

The old man’s forehead creased at the dark elf’s unwelcomed interference. 

“You dare call His Holiness’s followers monsters? That’s rich, coming from a long-eared lizard descendant. I suppose I should be impressed that you let the humans take the brunt of the assault though.” 

The old man took the hilt of his sword in both hands and pointed it at Fangas. 

“I, Cardinal Augrent Iyla Patientia, will rid this world of your filthy kind. You should be grateful for His Holiness’s benevolence.” 

Before he’d even finished speaking, Cardinal Augrent swung his sword at the high elder. Fangas deflected the blade with his war hammer and lunged for the cardinal’s stomach. 

The war hammer connected with an awful clang, knocking the cardinal back, though he didn’t seem to suffer any sort of injury. On the contrary, this only enraged Cardinal Augrent further. 

Fangas hefted his hammer, searching for an explanation as to why his attack hadn’t done more damage. It was a solid hit, and he knew it. 

“Cardinal, you say? So, the Holy Hilk Kingdom really is run by monsters.” 

The truth strained credulity. Between his ability to wield such a massive sword and the faces protruding from his skin, this musclebound abomination now bore only a passing resemblance to a human. 

Despite his long life and vast experience, Fangas had never encountered a creature so wholly consumed by the contamination of death. He also knew that allowing such a creature to continue existing would be harmful for humans and elves alike. 

Fangas would destroy the cardinal here and how. 

He lowered his war hammer and lunged, this time swinging toward the cardinal’s torso in an upward slash. However, Augrent caught the blow with his sword and knocked the dark elf back. 

The two men exchanged blows, the air itself echoing sympathetically with each clash. The sheer strength brought to bear here was far beyond what most humans could ever hope to achieve. 

Knowing that he would be of little use in this battle, Prince Sekt allowed two of his soldiers to carry him away. Even as he retreated, however, he couldn’t tear his eyes off the fight. 

Cardinal Augrent only grew angrier as the battle raged, becoming more reckless in his attacks. 

“I’ll rip you apart, you insolent barbarian!” 

Fangas deflected another blow, and Augrent lifted his blade high over his head. Four sharpened tentacles tore out of the cardinal’s body and shot toward the dark elf. 

Fangas narrowly managed to dodge this unexpected attack, though he opened himself up to Augrent’s blade in the process. 

“Looks like we’re a match in close quarters combat.” 

The dark elf didn’t appear too concerned. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying himself. 

“Piercing Earth Fang!” Fangas summoned his spirit energy and launched an attack of his own. 

Gigantic spears of stone jutted out of the ground and shot straight toward the cardinal’s back. Augrent’s bloodred eyes went wide in surprise as the stone pierced his body and jutted out of his stomach. 

He shot a hate-filled look in Fangas’s direction. 

“Ah, yes. I’ve heard your kind are known for using spirit magic. Alas, it will take a lot more than that to do me in.” A sly grin crept across the cardinal’s face. 

Since the spears piercing Augrent’s stomach clearly hadn’t made much of an impact, Fangas launched another spirit magic attack. 

“Great earth, heed my call! Use thy power to consume and punish our enemies!” 

Jagged rocks burst forth in a circle around Augrent’s feet and stabbed into him. The cardinal hung there, skewered in place. 

“Grooooooooaaaaaawwwwl!” 

Augrent thrashed about in an attempt to break free of the rocks pinning him in place. 

Fangas hefted his war hammer and swung it with all his might, connecting with the cardinal’s chin and twisting his head back at an unnatural angle. 

“You…f-f-filthy heathen!” 

Any normal living being would certainly have been dead at this point, but somehow the cardinal continued to live, radiating hatred. 

But this was of little concern to Fangas, who merely scowled in annoyance. 

“You sure are a durable one, aren’t you? I guess you don’t plan on going down easy. But I’m going to put an end to you once and for all.” 

He gripped his war hammer in both hands and closed his eyes. 

“Pull this bringer of death deep into the bowels of the earth to embrace his eternal slumber!” 

Fangas’s forehead creases deepened as he chanted, focusing all of his energy on this final attack. Augrent writhed and screamed in the face of such powerful spirit magic. He lost control over all the souls he’d consumed over the years as they ripped free from his body. 

Earth and stone rose around Fangas and formed a gigantic boulder above Augrent’s head. Light poured out from within, each ray that struck the cardinal’s body causing him to thrash even harder. His eyes remained fixed on Fangas. 

Augrent opened his mouth, as if to say something, but before he could speak, the gigantic mass of stone plummeted to the ground, smashing through the cardinal’s body in the process. 

Fangas smirked at the sight of the immense boulder sticking out of the earth. 

“Such a beautiful grave. A shame it has to be wasted on the likes of you. I hope you appreciate it.” 

He then glanced around the battlefield to see how the rest of the fight was shaping up. 

Felfi Visrotte was now on the ground, using her long tail and its razor-sharp tip to chop down legions of undead, while Prince Sekt’s Rhoden knights, the elven squads, and the human foot soldiers were all wrapping up their own battles. 

Fangas looked down at his war hammer. 

“Sorry, old friend. Looks like you didn’t get a chance to show off what you can do.” 

He let out a sigh and turned his gaze back to the battles raging around him, searching for an enemy. 

“Looks like everyone pretty much has it handled. Now our fate is in your hands.” 

Fangas turned north, facing the Sobir Mountains and the Delfrent Kingdom. Ariane and Arc were heading there now. 

*** 

Lione, the capital of the Delfrent Kingdom, stood out amid the vast plains. Smoke hung low over the city. 

Chiyome watched intently, the ears atop her head twitching as she wrinkled her nose. “The stench of death emanates from the city. I can smell it from here.” 

The other Jinshin clan members sitting behind her made similar faces. 

“I’d be surprised if anyone’s still alive down there. The city is practically consumed by the contamination. I’ve never seen anything like it.” 

Ariane crossed her arms at Chiyome’s dark words. 

A warm gust of wind blew past us, throwing Ariane’s snow-white hair all over the place. She scowled and shook her head, as if this would turn away the wind. 

Dillan, leader of the forces on the Delfrent front, spoke up. “Now that everything’s in place, I think it’s time we put our plan into motion.” 

We were stationed just outside the vast forest that ran along the base of the mountains to the southwest of Lione. 

Situated at the border separating the Holy Hilk Kingdom from the Delfrent Kingdom, this would normally be a terrible location to station an army, due to the risk of a pincer attack. But under the current circumstances, it was the ideal spot to watch our enemy’s movements and launch a strike. 

Thanks to Goemon’s report, we were able to estimate just how far the enemy was scouting, and from what directions they were preparing to meet an attack. They’d neglected to consider an attack from the forest. 

While the elves and the Jinshin clan were particularly gifted in the art of war, it was hard to imagine that our combined force of 5,000 could stand any significant chance against the 100,000 troops within the city. Hit-and-run tactics wouldn’t have an impact. 

To improve our odds, we’d taken advantage of the elves’ spirit magic to build a series of ditches, berms, and defensive barriers around our position. Through these would likely prove ineffective against the highly mobile man-spiders, they should at least slow the undead foot soldiers. 

The fact that we’d been able to get so much done in such a short period spoke to the elves’ and Jinshin clan’s skills. 

A voice called out to Dillan from deep within the forest. “Is it time for me to start?” 

A four-meter-tall humanoid figure with the head of a dragon stepped from the trees. It was Villiers Fim, waiting patiently for his moment in the battle. 

Though nowhere near as large as Felfi Visrotte, Villiers Fim was still an impressive thirty meters long in his Dragon Lord form. 

I’d originally expected him to balk at the request to join our fight, but much to my surprise, he’d responded with an eager smile. I figured this was largely due to his respect for Felfi Visrotte. 

“I guess I’ll be joining you.” 

Finished with my tree felling duties, I hefted my Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg and shot a sidelong glance at Ariane and Chiyome. 

The four of us would be heading out to Lione where the undead had dug themselves in, to try and draw them out. 

“Kyii!” 

“Are you sure you want to come, Ponta? It’s gonna be dangerous.” 

“Kyii!” 

Apparently, Ponta’s mind was set. That made us a party of five, then. 

My gear consisted of the Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg and the Holy Shield of Teutates, as well as a waterskin full of spring water, just in case I needed it. 

That should be more than enough to see the battle through, even if things got ugly. 

By the time Ariane and Chiyome finished looking over their own gear, Villiers Fim had transformed back into his Dragon Lord form. Covered entirely in blue scales, he had four long, black horns jutting from his head, and four large wings extending from his back. 

He would serve as the foundation for our assault, using his devastating area-of-effect attacks. Of course, I could also use my Paladin abilities as I had back in Saureah, but I wanted to avoid that, if possible. 

“If you’re ready, then let’s get going.” 

Villiers Fim began flapping his wings, kicking up a powerful blast of wind as he lifted his giant body off the ground. 

No matter how many times I witnessed this, it still amazed me to see these immense creatures airborne. 

I reached up and grabbed onto one of Villiers Fim’s hind legs, with Ponta wrapped tightly around my neck. Ariane, taken by surprise at our haphazard manner of climbing aboard, quickly grabbed on as well. Last was Chiyome, who effortlessly grabbed the leg opposite ours. 

Once we were all on, Villiers Fim headed toward Lione. He was flying so low that I could watch the earth pass below me, making me feel both exhilarated and light-headed with the thrill of how fast we were going. 

I’d always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie, but not everyone shared my excitement. Ariane’s face was turning increasingly pale. 

“You’re going too faaaaaaaaaaaaaaast!” 

She clung to the Dragon Lord and kicked her legs desperately to find purchase. It was rare to see Ariane so terrified, or hear her scream like that. 

Chiyome, on the other hand, was completely unreadable. Her tail was stiff, and she had a tense expression on her face, but I had no idea what she was thinking. 

“Kyii! Kyiiiii!” 

Much like when we’d ridden on Felfi Visrotte’s back, Ponta was simply having a great time. 

As for why this trip was so much more heart-racing than the last, it was because Villiers Fim didn’t like the idea of people riding on his back. But riding him was the only option. If I used short-distance teleportation, it would take ten times as long to reach our destination. 

The city of Lione came into view at last. 

The surrounding wall, which had once provided protection from outside forces, had been breached in multiple places. Through these holes, I could see ruined buildings within, still burning. It reminded me a lot of Tagent, back on the southern continent. 

I couldn’t help but wonder if some of the black husks lying by the breached walls had once been citizens here. 

“I’ve never seen anything like this.” 

Villiers Fim dropped lower, barely skimming the earth now, and clasped his claws around a man-spider that had noticed us. With one simple motion, he tore it to shreds. The man-spiders might have presented a challenge to humans, but they were no match for a Dragon Lord. 

The closer we got to Lione, the more man-spiders and undead soldiers we began seeing, though these were easily dispatched by the Dragon Lord’s long, powerful tail. 

Once we arrived at the outer wall, Villiers Fim pulled up and slowly circled the city, drawing the attention of the undead inside. Ultimately, our goal was to get them to follow us to where Goemon and Dillan’s forces were waiting. 

However, if we were to draw out all of the undead at once, I doubted we’d be able to fend them off, not with the haphazard defenses we’d put into place. 

To avoid that possibility, we would first lead the undead to a large plain and let loose with a powerful area-of-effect attack to wipe out as many of them as we could. Then it would be up to our forces standing by to take out the remains. 

To make sure the undead within the city didn’t simply ignore us, we needed to destroy those lurking outside the walls first. That’s why we were here. 

I felt a little bad for dragging Ariane into this. She looked absolutely miserable. Once she had her feet on the ground again, though, I was certain she’d be back to normal. 

I tapped Villiers Fim’s leg to give him the signal. 

“Let us down here and then continue with the rest of the plan!” 

“Leave it to me.” 

After completing a full circle around the capital, the Dragon Lord dropped close enough to the earth that his tail was practically touching the ground. We shot along at high speed through an empty field on the northeast side of the city. Villiers Fim reached down and dug his front claws into the ground to slow us, ripping two massive channels into the soft dirt. 

By some strange happenstance, we managed to stop right next to a pair of undead soldiers. Without a second thought, I unsheathed my Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg and struck them down. 

“Well, that was a pretty cool landing, if I do say so myself. Whaddya think, Ponta?” 

“Kyii?” Ponta popped its head up from my shoulder and shot me a puzzled glance. 

In my mind, I fancied myself a bipedal killing machine that had launched into its job as soon as its transport landed. But apparently, Ponta didn’t share my romanticism. 

I watched Chiyome do a flip through air and land effortlessly on the ground. She made the move look so easy, but I knew it would end in tragedy if I were to try. 

Only when Villiers Fim had come to a complete stop did Ariane release her death grip on his leg. As soon as she was on solid ground, she slumped to her knees, shaking slightly. Fortunately, there were no enemies near her, so she could take a moment to collect herself. 

But I needed to get to clearing out my own sector. 

“Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg!” 

A surge of purple electricity ran up the masterfully crafted weapon. Blue bolts appeared as well, as a blade of light grew out of it, doubling in size. 

The air itself began humming as I swung the glowing sword. 

The first enemy to challenge me was one I’d become quite familiar with fighting: a man-spider wielding several club-like weapons. I decided to take it out with a different technique. 

“Wyvern Slash!” 

Though the enemy was still a fair distance away, due to the added length of my blade, the slash chopped right through the man-spider…and several undead soldiers standing behind it. 

The attack had never done anything like that in the game, but now that I knew about it, I figured it could come in handy when facing multiple opponents. It was like a more powerful version of Ponta’s grass-cutting wind bursts. 

“Kyi kyiiii! Kyi!” 

Ponta cheered me on excitedly and wagged its tail, even imitating me by sending out several of its own air bursts. I had to admit, Ponta had gotten quite a bit better at this since we’d started training at the shrine, but it still wouldn’t be of much use against the enemies here. 

I glanced over at Chiyome to find her taking down one undead soldier after another. Ariane was finally back on her feet too. I watched as she severed the humanoid upper torsos from a man-spider’s body and then used her spirt magic to engulf the creature in flames, leaving nothing but charred remains. 

Her shoulders were moving up and down in short, controlled breaths, her gaze fixed on her next victim. She seemed to have gotten over the trauma of flying. 

Villiers Fim continued making lazy circles around Lione, occasionally diving close to the ground to attack clumps of undead and rip them to shreds, like an eagle pouncing on rabbits. 

Unfortunately, we weren’t making any noticeable progress, not with the sheer number of troops the undead could bring to bear. 

While there were certainly plenty of undead out here beyond the city walls, I knew the numbers within the city limits were far, far greater. 

I stole a glance at the top of Lione’s defensive wall as I chopped my way through hordes of undead. There was still no sign of anything like the young boy who’d chased after Goemon and his comrades. 

From the way Goemon had described the sequence of events, there was no way it had been a normal boy. He had to be someone high up within the church, but other than that, I had no guesses as to who he might have been. 

Once we finished clearing out the undead lurking around the city’s perimeter, I turned my attention back to the capital. It was oddly quiet. 

Ariane stepped up beside me. She seemed to share my concerns. 

“That’s strange, isn’t it? I can still sense the contamination inundating the city, and yet they don’t seem to be sending anyone out after us. Think they saw through our plan?” 

Chiyome yanked her blade out of an undead soldier and walked over to join us. She tilted her head back and sniffed loudly, raising a suspicious eyebrow. 

“The rotting scent is still strong too, so they must still be in there. But still…” 

Before I had a chance to ask what she’d picked up on, a powerful gust of wind blew up from behind us, followed by a strong thud that reverberated through the ground. I turned to find Villiers Fim, his wings neatly folded and a concerned expression on his face. 

“The forces in the city have formed up and are about to depart.” 

I looked through one of the massive breaches in Lione’s wall. Beyond the mountains of crushed bricks and mortar, I could see dark shadows swarming. 

The undead were coming. 

Though they weren’t as organized as the columns preferred by human armies, they were moving with more cohesion than usual. Something told me that the two figures leading this unholy force were the reason for this. 

One of them was a young boy, likely the one Goemon had seen. His hair was trimmed short, just below the ears, and he had a captivating gaze. His face had all the makings of a future heartbreaker, though he still possessed a certain childishness. 

His plain white robes were like those worn by members of the priesthood, but given his age, I had a hard time not seeing him as a choirboy. 

Even these fine clothes, however, looked like rags compared to those of the man standing next to him. 

The man held a scepter carved with intricate patterns—a symbol of his status. Due to the elaborate mitre he wore atop his head, and the thin veil hanging beneath it, it was impossible to see the man’s face. Something about his appearance—or lack thereof—filled me with dread. 

Hanging from the necks of these two figures were necklaces bearing the symbol of the Hilk religion. It was a pretty safe bet that they were both high-ranking members of the church. 

They marched ahead of their endless army of undead and came to a halt as soon as we were all within earshot of each other. The only sound was that of the wind rustling through the grass at our feet. 

The veiled man broke the silence. “I didn’t expect you to attack with so few people.” 

His voice was flat and even. I could feel his eyes on me through the veil, and I returned his gaze, to the extent that I could. 

“So, you’re the silver knight who killed Palurumo, I take it? How interesting… A player who chooses to live on the front lines, foregoing the use of standard tactics. I have to say, it’s an honor to finally meet you. Allow me to offer you a little bit of hospitality.” 

The veiled man raised his hands to the sky and let go of the scepter. I watched it float into the air and spin in a circle as he began chanting. 

“Hell King Balam, hear me now! I summon you forth from the underworld!” 

A large, black shadow, so dark it seemed to consume all light around it, appeared behind the veiled man. Runes the color of blood snaked across its surface. Moments later, a gargantuan skeleton, around fifteen meters tall, yanked itself out of the shadow. Though I’d never actually seen a demon from hell before, this was pretty much exactly how I would have imagined it. 

Two enormous, ram-like horns stuck out of a human skull with four eye sockets, behind which blazed a red flame that seemed to emanate hatred. 

Though its body was mostly human in appearance, its torso was covered in matted black hair, while its arms and legs were nothing but bone. From its back extended a pair of charcoal gray wings and a long tail. In one hand, it clutched a large scimitar. It was quite a sight to behold. 

The so-called Hell King Balam stretched out its wings with an ominous clack and launched itself at Villiers Fim. 

The Dragon Lord responded by darting into the air and catching the blade with his massive claws. He swung his tail like a whip, landing a blow on Balam’s torso and throwing it back. 

With several powerful thrusts of its wings, the Hell King hovered in midair. 

While this battle was being waged above us, the young boy spoke up. 

“I am Tismo Ghoula, though you beautiful ladies may call me by my cardinal name, Temprantia.” 

He shot a charming grin toward Ariane and Chiyome. Then his head began ballooning outward, growing larger and larger until it finally split open, looking like an oversized anemone. The rest of his body followed suit, his arms stretching into tendrils as several more appendages popped out of his lower torso until he was supported by six thick legs. 

Gone was the charming young boy, replaced with a grotesque monster that brought to mind a Venus flytrap. 

His six legs hammered into the ground as he barreled forward, whipping a tendril toward Ariane and Chiyome, though they easily dodged it, putting some distance between themselves and this new enemy. 

From what I could tell, the boy could move his tendrils at great speed, though he was actually quite slow on his legs. For agile fighters like Ariane and Chiyome, I didn’t think this would present much of a problem. 

The veiled man raised his scepter again and invoked another spell. “Let me show you what a Magus can do against a Knight! Nether Resonance!” 

Another dark shadow appeared, this time beneath the undead army. The eyes of the unmoving soldiers and man-spiders began glowing bright red, and they let out low, bestial cries. As best as I could tell, the spell he’d just cast had powered up his entire army. 

Powers similar to this existed in the game, but their area of effect was usually quite limited, and they didn’t work on the undead. 

The veiled man seemed to be taking pleasure in my reaction. “Coming out here alone was quite reckless.” 

With a wave of his hand, the legions of undead swarmed forth. 

“Wyvern Slash!” 

I sent out a blast of energy and chopped through the first man-spider and a dozen or so undead soldiers. This gave me some room, but more kept coming, encircling me. 

I unleashed another Wyvern Slash on the soldiers to my right while I used my shield to bash away more on my left, desperately trying to clear a space. 

Running low on options, and with waves of undead crashing into me, I used my Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg skill and launched a massive Wyvern Slash. 

I backed up with each strike to try and put some distance between myself and my opponents, but I knew I couldn’t keep going like this forever. 

As I battled the undead, I glanced over at the veiled man. For a moment, it felt as if our eyes met. 

I could have used teleportation magic to get out of there, but that would have left Ariane and Chiyome alone to face Tismo. 

The fastest way out of this would be to cut off the head of the serpent, so to speak. 

I jumped back again to put even more distance between myself and the tsunami of undead, using Wyvern Slash after Wyvern Slash to keep them at bay, while trying to draw them away from Ariane and Chiyome. 

The veiled man seemed to enjoy watching this battle unfold. But I was about to put an end to all that. 

“Dimensional Step!” 

I drew the undead army as far away as I could, then used my short-distance teleportation to appear next to the veiled figure. 

“Wha?!” 

As I’d hoped, this seemed to catch him completely off guard. I smirked to myself as I watched the undead in the distance frantically looking for me. Then I once again used my Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg skill to send lightning forking down the blade. 

With a powerful swing, I brought the sword down on the veiled man. 

CLANG! 

A shower of sparks erupted as he swung his scepter up to block my attack, though it still managed to knock him back. 

I was impressed. There were few weapons out there that could block the Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg. The veiled man seemed even more shaken than I was, though I wasn’t about to let my guard down. 

“A fighter capable of using magic?! My word! I didn’t expect you to be a Paladin.” 

I tried to land another blow, but he managed to cast a spell before I was able to. 

“Evil Thorn!” 

Three translucent beings resembling half-rotted corpses appeared out of the tip of his scepter, clacking their jaws ravenously as they advanced on me. I raised my lightning blade to meet them. My sword went right through them, and they vanished in a puff of smoke. 

The spell itself didn’t pose much of a danger to me, but the veiled man seemed pleased with the results and tried it once more. 

This time, I decided to run through the ghastly figures with my shield before launching another strike at the veiled figure. 

“Aaugh!” 

He shouted in surprise and darted back, barely managing to avoid the tip of my blade. The edge of my sword caught his veil and tore the fabric off. 

What was underneath stopped me in my tracks. 

An instant later, a black sphere enveloped the once-veiled man and he teleported away. Apparently, he could also use short-distance teleportation magic. 

Before I could teleport after him, I noticed several undead closing in on me from all sides. After dispatching them with my sword, and narrowly dodging a blow from a man-spider, I used Dimension Step to get away. 

I looked around frantically for the man, but he seemed to have slipped away into the vast hordes of undead. 

“There’s no way I can spot him from down here.” 

Everywhere I looked, all I saw were undead. I kept sending Wyvern Slashes into them, but it was about as effective as sprinkling water on a hot stone. 

Once I’d managed to clear a bit of space around me, I turned my gaze skyward. 

Villiers Fim was still battling the Hell King Balam, but he didn’t seem to be having too much difficulty. 

Balam would occasionally spit a massive fireball at the Dragon Lord, but Villiers Fim would catch it with a magic-fueled tornado and launch it into the undead soldiers below, incinerating them instantly. Judging by the number of undead bodies littering the battlefield, I got the impression that Villiers Fim was trying to provoke Balam into launching more of these attacks at him. 

The Dragon Lord whipped his massive tail out, landing a heavy blow on the Hell King’s arm and sending his scimitar flying down into the crowd, chopping a man-spider clean in two. The blade evaporated in a puff of oily gray smoke. 

Balam looked down, exposing himself to another wind attack from Villiers Fim. The tornado chopped Balam’s tail and one of his wings clean off. 

“Hmph, I hardly even worked up a sweat.” 

The Dragon Lord grabbed Balam’s head and threw him to the ground with tremendous force. The Hell King crashed into the undead soldiers below, sending bodies flying every which way. 

Balam tried flapping his remaining wing a few times, but he couldn’t make it back into the air. If he were to continue facing Villiers Fim like this, he’d be done for. 

I checked in on Ariane and Chiyome and, fortunately, it looked like they had their own battle pretty well wrapped up. 

To make up for his slow speed, Cardinal Tismo had focused on using the tendrils sprouting from his body to try and smash the two women while simultaneously blasting acid from the tendrils growing out of his head. 

Unfortunately for him, Ariane and Chiyome were too good at reading his movements and easily dodged all of his attacks. In between, they darted in to land blows of their own. 

By the time I started watching, he’d already lost one of the large tendrils that had once been his arm and was using the other to try and chase down Ariane. Chiyome came in from behind and, using her spirit magic, launched a water spear right through his stomach, temporarily stopping his pursuit. 

Ariane wasn’t about to let an opportunity like that go to waste. After deftly dodging the tendril, she chopped it clean off as it swung past her. 

Tismo’s body began to shudder, and an ominous moan rose from the anemone-like object growing out of his head. 

Ariane and Chiyome stood at the ready, waiting for him to make his next move. Before their very eyes, new tendrils began growing out of the stumps. In a matter of seconds, it was like he’d never lost them at all, though the injury to his stomach remained. My guess was that he could only regenerate the tendrils. 

Ariane and Chiyome picked up on this too, and immediately changed their tactics. 

Ariane moved to flank him, while Chiyome faced him head-on, attracting all of his attention. 

As Ariane got close, Tismo spewed acid out of his head to keep her away. She dodged these attacks and scored another few hits onto his body. 

Meanwhile, the cardinal continued pursuing Chiyome, following her every movement, just as she’d hoped. She jumped to the side, causing the tendrils to cross over one another. Summoning a water spear, she stabbed straight through where the tendrils overlapped, pinning them to the earth. To make sure they were good and stuck, she repeated the process two more times. 

Ariane closed in again, this time with her sword engulfed in flames, and thrust the blade deep into Tismo’s stomach. He let loose a horrible, inhuman scream. 

It was unlikely that a simple blow like that would prove fatal to such a large creature, but it was clear that, one way or another, Tismo wasn’t leaving this battle alive. Ariane and Chiyome were just too good. 

I turned my attention back to the undead hordes and discovered a man-spider lunging at me. Using Dimensional Step a few times, I managed to put a fair bit of distance between myself and the soldiers. 

I took up a position away from Villiers Fim, Ariane, and Chiyome to try and find the veiled man again, keeping an eye out for any undead that happened to get close. 

I thought back on the first thing the veiled man had said to me: “So, you’re the silver knight who killed Palurumo, I take it?” 

The logical conclusion was that Palurumo worked for him. And since Palurumo served directly below the ruler of the Holy Hilk Kingdom, that could only mean that the veiled man was the pontiff himself. 

I never would have expected to run across him here on the battlefield, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. He was the one, after all, who’d used his dark magic to create the undead in the first place. 

Something else the pontiff said had also caught my interest. I hadn’t had much time to dwell on it, since we were in the middle of combat, but now that I had a moment to myself, I was able to think about it more. 

If my hunch was correct, then that meant defeating the pontiff might be out of the question. 

After cutting away his veil, I’d caught a quick glimpse of the pontiff’s face…or rather, where his face should have been. In its place was a skull, with a deep red flame burning behind the empty eye sockets. Almost the same as what was under my own helmet. 

We were a lot more similar than I cared to admit. 

The next time we met, I wanted to ask him one simple question: Why was he doing this? 

I looked around at all the undead and figured it was finally time I did something about them. 

“I figured it’d come down to this, even if I’d been hoping to avoid it.” 

I picked Ponta up off my neck. 

“Listen, buddy, can you stay out of the way for a bit? This next attack’s gonna be kinda powerful, and I’m worried about you.” 

“Kyiiiii!” Ponta took off into the sky, looking like dandelion fluff adrift on the wind. 

I took a deep breath and prepared to execute my next spell. 

“Open the doors of heaven and send Archangel Savior Uriel down to me!” 

A moment later, I felt as if nearly all of my magic power had been sucked out of my body as twin halos of light appeared at my feet. Stone pillars began shooting out of the ground to form a wall of sorts. 

The undead closest to me were torn to shreds, one after another, as circles of light appeared at their feet, purifying them and turning their bodies into sparks that shot into the sky. 

A golden pillar so bright that I had to avert my eyes jutted up from the ground, and I could hear voices singing hymns in perfect harmony. An immense figure stepped off the pillar, standing around five meters tall—the same height as the Executioner, Archangel Michael. 

In contrast with the absolutely flawless golden armor worn by Michael the Executioner, Uriel the Savior was covered in heavily battered golden armor, like something a battle-seasoned knight would wear. This matched the unadorned helmet on his head and the mammoth war hammer at his back, the latter of which was somehow longer than he was tall. 

Six glorious wings made of beautiful, shining feathers graced his back. 

This was one of my four Paladin skills, Archangel Savior Uriel. 

The angel of legend tilted his head back and looked up at the sky before letting out an ear-splitting howl. The soundwave kicked up all the undead on the plain like dust in a wind storm. They, too, turned to light and disappeared in bright flashes. 

It was truly a sight to behold. 

The stone wall that had surrounded us had faded, and once again I was granted an unobstructed view of the battlefield. 

Uriel shrank to around two meters and clung tightly to my back. 

“Aaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuugggh!!!” 

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Ponta looping around in the air overhead, looking down at me with great concern. 

Just like last time, I couldn’t help but scream as the immense force enveloped my body. No matter how many times I experienced this, there was no way I could get used to it. All I could do was grit my teeth and try to hang on to my sanity. 

I squeezed my hand into a fist and pressed down hard on my thigh as I pushed myself back to my feet. 

My breath came heavy under the pressure of the mythical creature. I watched in silence as the surviving undead continued their relentless advance. 

The entire undead army was descending on me this time around, so I wouldn’t need to worry about executing any large-scale attacks like I had back in Saureah. 

If I played my cards right, I could take them all out in one go, then disable the Paladin skill. 

I took several deep breaths to focus, then I felt Uriel’s massive wings flap behind me, lifting me high into the air. 

Villiers Fim, realizing what was about to happen, discarded Balam’s corpse and swooped down to grab Ariane and Chiyome before flying high into the air. 

“Kyii!” Ponta also seemed to understand that something big was up, and it swooped down to land atop my helmet. 

The Paladin skills were such that they would pretty much annihilate anything within a given area. I did my best to place myself somewhere that would provide the maximum impact with as little collateral damage as possible, but I’d never actually used this skill before so I couldn’t be sure. 

I called out the attack. “Meteor Ray Destruction!” 

Uriel screamed to the heavens and hefted his massive hammer. Massive blasts of light shot out from the clouds, tracing lines across the sky before slamming into the ground with such incredible force that it sent the undead soldiers flying. 

Over and over, each ray hit the ground and exploded into a bright flash of light. 

Just when I thought the aerial bombardment was over, another, larger object appeared in the sky. It was an enormous mass of burning rock, so large that it almost looked like a small hill ripped from the countryside. At the moment of collision, my vision went white. 

The next thing I knew, a powerful shockwave rolled past me, followed by scorching heat and a rush of sand and stones. 

I coughed hard, struggling to breathe. 

“Well, that was far more powerful than the Archangel Michael. They really should banish that kind of magic.” 

I waved the dust away from my face as Uriel clung to my back. I had to squint to see anything. 

“Kyiii! Kiiiiii!” 

Ponta did its part by using its feather-duster-like tail to keep the dust away from my helmet, though this also blew dust up its nose, sending the poor thing into a sneezing fit, which it immediately followed with a bout of self-grooming. 

Mericfully, a breeze swept in and carried away much of the dust, and I finally got a clear look at the damage. 

Where an army of undead had once stood was now a massive crater of scorched earth. 

“The meteor did that much damage?” 

I could hardly believe my eyes at the show of immense power, or rather, wanton destruction before me. Looking out over the ravaged plains, I could only spot a few clusters of undead. In fact, it looked like the only survivors were the man-spiders; none of the undead infantry were still standing. If this was all that was left, I didn’t see a need for calling in the reinforcements. 

However, I couldn’t help but notice that the veiled man was suspiciously absent. I was confident that he hadn’t died in the blast, especially considering that he could teleport. Between when I summoned the attack and the impact itself, he would have had more than enough time to get away. 

Something told me that the next time the pontiff and I met, it would be in Fehrbio Alsus, the capital of the Holy Hilk Kingdom. 

I turned my gaze west, but the Rutios Mountains formed an impenetrable wall, blocking my view of the holy lands.