Chapter 123
"Huff! Huff! Haa!"
With the dark city in the background, Simon and his group were frantically running through the streets.
"Hang in there, Kami!"
"Yes! You too, Simon!"
Just a few minutes ago, there hadn’t been a soul around them, but suddenly, zombies were swarming in from all directions.
Their entry routes were all different. Zombies poured in from every alley, and some even burst out of houses.
"What the hell is going on?"
Maelyn shouted.
"Zombies are coming from places we’ve already checked!"
"It means we missed something! Just keep running!"
As the four sprinted through the streets, zombies were closing in from all sides. Seeing the teeming numbers emerging from the darkness was dizzying even before fighting began.
"They're ahead of us too!"
Kamibarez shouted.
Simon and Dick exchanged glances and nodded. The two pulled swords from subspace and sprinted ahead of the girls.
Sling!
Whoosh!
The two men's bodies crossed with the zombies’. A zombie's head flew into the air.
Dick's swing had been a little shallow, so he turned around and drove his sword into the zombie's back again.
"Ugh!"
As he pulled out the blade, a splatter of black blood hit his face, and Dick shuddered in disgust.
"Maelyn!"
"I got it!"
Fwoosh!
She conjured black flames in both hands. Then she hurled them into the alley between buildings, setting it ablaze.
The zombies rushing through the alley hesitated. Some foolishly charged into the flames and burned to death, while others turned around or even jumped over the fire.
"Now’s our chance!"
Taking advantage of the opening, the four picked up their pace.
As they kept fleeing, their roles naturally formed.
Simon and Dick slashed down zombies coming from the front with swords, Maelyn blocked the flanks with bursts of flame, and Kamibarez covered the rear with Bloodshots.
"Dear god!"
Dick looked back, his eyes bulging.
The swarm of zombies chasing them had already exceeded a hundred.
Each time Kamibarez fired a Bloodshot, dozens were swept away and collapsed. But more zombies trampled over the fallen, surging forward like a raging tide.
Uoooorrr!
Kiiiiiieeek!
Sweat poured from Simon’s forehead. At this rate, their stamina would give out and they’d be caught. They needed a place to catch their breath, even briefly.
Simon’s eyes gleamed with concentration. His frantic scanning locked onto a mansion roof nearby.
There was no hesitation, only swift action.
'Come forth.'
Simon opened the subspace and summoned four skeletons. He immediately activated Bone Armor.
Clack!
Clack!
The four Skeletons’ bodies disassembled and began attaching themselves to Simon and his team.
"Kyahhh! What is this?!"
Maelyn shrieked and pulled her legs in.
"It’s black magic I cast. Just bear with it a little!"
"Ugh, you could’ve at least warned us!"
Panting heavily, Simon equipped Bone Armor on all four of them.
To fully armor one person required two skeletons each, but managing eight skeletons at once was too much. So Simon chose to only armor their lower bodies with the Skeletons.
"Everyone, line up next to me! Stand with your legs together!"
The four awkwardly huddled beside Simon. Dick looked back and chuckled like a man who had seen something he shouldn’t have.
"Ooh boy. I don’t know what you’re planning, but if you’re gonna do it, do it fast!"
"They’re still coming from the front! At this rate, we’ll be surrounded!"
Failure was not an option.
Simon raised his concentration and activated the subspace on his left ring.
'Open Gate!'
Chrrrrrrrrrk!
Tentacles of the Overlord shot up like catapults from the ground’s subspace, launching the four into the air.
"Kyahhh!"
"Whoaaaa!"
They soared into the sky.
The zombies swarmed the spot they had just vacated.
In mere seconds, a “hill” had formed. Just a few seconds slower, and they would’ve been crushed under it. The thought sent chills down their spines.
'All the way to the roof in one go!'
Bone Armor pulled the four upward. While the skeletons’ pull wasn’t enough to create dramatic flight, it helped keep them airborne longer after Overlord launched them.
The mansion was now right in front of them.
"Grab on!"
Thwack.
Grab!
Three of them caught the edge of the mansion’s roof. But Kamibarez, being short, missed it and fell.
"Kami!!"
"I’ll go."
Without hesitation, Simon let go of the roof. He kicked off the mansion wall, blasting Darkness like a booster.
BOOOOM!
The wall crumbled as Simon launched forward.
He caught the curled-up Kamibarez in his arms, aiming his feet downward.
'Open Gate!'
Vwooom!
Subspace opened on the wall, and Overlord's blades shot out in a line.
Simon stepped onto a blade with both feet, bending his knees to absorb the impact, as though sitting in a chair suspended midair.
"Hup!"
Sweat dripped as he looked up. Overlord’s blades had emerged from the wall at regular intervals like stairs.
Without pause, Simon launched himself up, planting his right foot on the second step. Then he extended his left to step onto the third.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Dick and Maelyn let out gasps of awe at Simon’s movement, as wild and agile as a beast. Simon used Overlord's steps to climb safely to the roof.
Only then did Simon let out a long sigh of relief. He then looked down at Kamibarez in his arms and gave a gentle smile.
“Sorry, that must’ve scared you a lot.”
Kamibarez, her face flushed red, trembled with her hands tightly clasped together.
“S-sorry.”
“This isn’t your fault. It was my miscalculation... ugh!”
Simon’s legs finally gave out, and he collapsed to his knees.
“Simon! Simon! Are you okay?”
“Ah, my legs just gave out for a second.”
“Is everyone alright?!”
Dick and Maelyn hurried over to them in a panic.
[Ho, not bad.]
Thud.
Thud.
Atop a ruined building, a boy with pale gray skin tossed a small rock into the air and caught it on his palm, playing with it.
His gaze was fixed on Simon and his teammates, who were catching their breath on the rooftop of the mansion.
[Can’t let them escape that easily.]
He flicked his palm. At that moment, the zombies, who had lost track of Simon’s group and were wandering aimlessly, began striding toward the mansion once again.
Watching the flustered expressions of Simon’s group, the boy giggled like he was enjoying a good show.
-Grooooo...
Just then, a zombie crawled in behind him. The boy frowned, annoyed like a child whose fun had been interrupted.
[What? I’m busy.]
-Grooooooo...
[Skeletons? That’s nothing new, they’ve done that plenty of times.]
-Grooooooo...
[This time is different?]
The boy turned around, listening carefully to the zombie’s report.
[Hmm, if Magnus is involved, that’s annoying.]
Currently, two undead factions were locked in sharp opposition within Deathland.
The most powerful faction was led by the boy himself, with zombies who followed him.
Then there was Magnus, a rising force in Deathland, with skeletons as his loyal followers.
[Well, let them do what they want. I’ve got more urgent matters right now.]
The boy turned his gaze back to the Keyzen students.
[The Legion Commander who appeared in Deathland. And Feer. It’s obvious what their intentions are.]
He spread his arms. From the darkness, zombies began advancing like swarms of ants.
[I’ll destroy the Legion with my own hands.]
* * *
The underground catacombs of Deathland.
Swish.
Wipe.
A man was carefully wiping down the blade of a sword with cloth, his weapon held upright.
He was draped in robes patterned with the emblem of a red flower, but the strange part was that his body was nothing but white bone, he was a skeleton.
“Have you heard the legend of the Zombie Prince, Magnus?”
The skeleton, who had been polishing his blade, turned his head.
There, leaning against the wall with two cigars in his mouth, was an old human.
“They say the real body of the Zombie Throne sleeps somewhere in Deathland. If you get the crown it wears, you can control all the zombies of Deathland. And beyond that, claim ownership of all of Deathland itself.”
The skeleton turned his head back down and resumed polishing the blade.
[Not interested.]
“I know you very well.”
The man unfolded his arms and slowly approached Magnus.
“You want to bring down Keyzen, and this Dark Alliance, don’t you? You want revenge, don’t you?”
[…]
Magnus gave no reply. The old man’s tongue flicked like a snake’s.
“If so, you need to take Deathland first. Wasn’t this originally your own fief?”
The man smirked and added,
“Swordmaster of the old Empire.”
Slish.
Magnus raised his sword and pointed it at the man’s neck. The man froze, but his mouth kept moving.
“Your inevitable duel with the Prince can’t be avoided. And you possess enough overwhelming power to change the tide of battle alone. What are you hesitating for?”
Just as the man said, Magnus had already reached the realm of Ancient Undead.
Magnus opened his mouth.
[Where is the crown?]
“I’ll find out about it.”
The man rubbed his palms together and grinned.
“And whatever happened, the Zombie Prince has vacated his place. It’s the first time in nearly ten years. A chance that may never come again.”
Magnus slowly lowered the blade from the man’s neck. But the sharpness in his gaze did not fade.
Keyzen.
The axis of evil that had brought down his homeland, the proud and ancient nation of Talhern.
Falling prey to their schemes, even he had become nothing but dry, white bone. Still, even in this cursed form, the only reason he maintained his will to live was revenge.
“The Rebellion Rose plunged the entire continent into terror by turning fifty thousand elite Imperial troops into undead. But imagine it.”
The man spoke with a smile.
“You, and your former people who became undead, bringing down Keyzen in perfect revenge.”
[…]
“Isn’t it glorious?”
Magnus turned his head and looked at the man again.
[Why are you helping me?]
“As I’ve told you again and again, I also have a grudge against Keyzen. A common enemy! Isn’t that a simple enough reason?”
The man gave a chilling smile.
“That’s all there is to it.”
Superb.