Chapter 1218
[Fleet, from the 6th to the 8th main cannons, fire.]
At Hieromir’s command, violet beams fired from the fleet in the sky, crashing down and smashing through the walls.
Zombie Butler quickly scooped up Mako and leapt aside, while Hieromir, who had been standing with his back to the beams, leisurely raised his arm. A rift in space opened before his arm, swallowing all the beams whole.
[How long do you think you can keep dodging.]
Shaaah!
When Hieromir raised two fingers, holes opened one after another in the air, spewing out the violet beams he had just absorbed.
Zombie Butler frantically dodged, running along the walls and springing off the ceiling, before stomping down hard on the floor.
Wooooong!
Like milk spilling across the ground, a white puddle spread out, and from it surged hulking zombie undead, the “White Ghosts”. Mako instantly summoned several cleaning tools with her ability and hurled them.
Chok!
Chak!
The White Ghosts stretched out their arms in unison to catch mop handles, then took battle stances. Zombie Butler also set Mako down and raised a mop himself.
[I don’t know what trick this is supposed to be. Planning to clean the place?]
Hieromir let out a mocking laugh as he unleashed beams in all directions.
Zombie Butler and the White Ghosts did not evade. They thrust their mops toward the incoming destructive beams, and at the right moment, pushed them aside.
To everyone’s surprise, the beams tilted away in the direction pushed by the mop handles, striking the building’s walls or roof instead.
Puuuhng!
Kukukukukukung!
Half of the White Ghosts, whose timing was too slow, exploded into pieces, but the rest survived.
And in the midst of it all, Zombie Butler stood out.
Shaaah!
Not only did he deflect the beams with Mako’s mop, but spinning his body in a wide rotation, he even sent an incoming beam ricocheting back toward its source.
[Impressive.]
Hieromir shot out another beam to cancel it, then continued.
[A combat sense too refined to belong to a mere walking corpse. So this is an Ancient Undead.]
[Whether it’s a compliment or not, I’ll take it.]
As Hieromir’s assault faltered under Zombie Butler’s precise counters, the White Ghosts charged forward, thrusting their mops like spears.
[Let’s see.]
Step, step.
Hieromir walked forward himself, perhaps to gauge their strength. He dodged a thrust by twisting his shoulder, then grabbed the shaft with his hand.
Kwachik!
The mop split in two, and his follow-up punch sank into the White Ghost’s abdomen.
Puuuuuhng!
The White Ghost burst apart like a white balloon popping.
Hieromir then dove into hand-to-hand combat in earnest. Power and speed combined—each short advance, each sharp swerve in his path, ended with White Ghosts exploding as his fists connected.
‘Remarkable.’
Zombie Butler switched grips on his mop as he analyzed the scene.
‘Even setting aside his spatial manipulation, his physical prowess alone is enough to call him a Savior.’
[Pathetically weak!]
After once again receiving a bombardment from the fleet above, Hieromir shot the beams forward. Zombie Butler gave an order.
[Raise the buckets!]
Chok!
Chak!
This time, the White Ghosts lifted buckets high. They tried to catch the downpouring beams inside, but most buckets shattered under the sheer power.
[What in the world are you creatures doing.]
Hieromir laughed in disbelief, then tilted his head back.
Shaaah!
Mako, appearing soundlessly from behind, swung a broom. Hieromir dodged as though he had eyes on his back, swiping his hand to snap the broom’s shaft in two.
But Mako’s reflexes were extraordinary. Even after losing her weapon, she kicked up a fallen mop, caught it, and thrust it forward with all her strength.
Whooosh!
A spatial rift opened, and the attack struck nothing but empty air.
In that gap, Hieromir slipped to the side like a shadow and drove his fist forward.
Kwaaaang!
Mako’s body bent violently, smashing through a wall and flying away. A smile curled at Hieromir’s lips.
Jjjeoong!
But then, skimming across the floor, Zombie Butler slammed both feet into Hieromir’s chest.
Driven back by the Ancient Undead’s brute strength, Hieromir was hurled through the wall into the opposite side of the factory, crashing through machinery as he rolled.
Kukukukung!
Factory workers screamed and scattered.
Thud.
Zombie Butler followed him down into the factory, adjusting his broken monocle.
[Hurting Mako is something I cannot forgive.]
[You corpse bastard!]
Whoooong!
Hieromir hurled a massive metal cutter at Zombie Butler’s face.
It should have smashed his skull and broken his neck, yet Zombie Butler only grabbed his twisted head, cracking it back into place with a creak, expressionless.
Undead durability and regeneration.
Hieromir clicked his tongue and grabbed the comms.
[Next main cannon. Fire.]
Again, violet beams fired from the sky, piercing the factory walls, vanishing into the rift Hieromir opened.
[Prepare to clean.]
At the same time, Zombie Butler summoned more White Ghosts from the ground, handing them mops, buckets, and other tools from Mako’s arsenal.
[Good. It’s been a while since I’ve truly enjoyed myself.]
Shaaahhhhhh!
With a crooked grin, Hieromir opened space and hurled destructive beams, while Zombie Butler and the White Ghosts charged with their mops raised.
* * *
The clash continued.
Zombie Butler and White Ghosts tore apart machinery with their mops, hurling them as weapons, while Hieromir burned, exploded, was seared by electricity, and scalded by molten steel, yet walked calmly through it all, bursting White Ghosts one after another.
The factory interior soon became an inferno. The battle remained even, but—
Shaaahhhhhh!
A violet flash from above pierced Zombie Butler’s leg, shifting the balance.
Zombie Butler collapsed, and Hieromir drove him into the wall, looking down at him at an angle.
[That tool, I thought it bent space itself, but it only refracts attacks slightly when applied to objects. How petty.]
Hieromir clenched his fist.
[I’ve lost interest in you. Where is Simon Follentia?]
Zombie Butler laughed.
[Not going to use those cotton fists of yours?]
Jjjeoong!
Hieromir struck Zombie Butler square in the face.
The monocle shattered without a trace, his face instantly drenched in blood.
Jjjeoong!
Jjjeooong!
Hieromir climbed atop him, pounding his fists down again and again, but the Ancient Undead’s durability was overwhelming. Even as he was pummeled, Zombie Butler only chuckled darkly.
[Tell me where Simon Follentia is.]
[A butler, under no circumstance, endangers his master.]
Sssrk.
Then, Zombie Butler reached out and straightened Hieromir’s torn, crooked collar.
[This, it’s been bothering me all along.]
A sharp fury shadowed Hieromir’s eyes. Veins bulged across his forehead.
[I’ve heard of you, ancient dead that exist only on this continent.]
Woooong!
He opened rifts one after another in the air.
[Destroy the core, and you’re annihilated, isn’t that how it goes?]
Zombie Butler, calmly holding his once-twisted neck straight again, replied.
[That’s only possible, if you can touch it.]
Thud!
Thmp!
No sooner had he spoken than two mop handles shot up from beneath the floor, dragging Zombie Butler down into the ground.
[!]
And behind him, Mako leapt with a bucket in hand.
Violet light shimmered inside the bucket, it was the one bucket that had managed to fully contain the Coral Beam when Hieromir fired it earlier.
[We’ve gathered plenty of combat data on you.]
Half-buried in the floor, Zombie Butler waved his hand.
[For example, that you can’t release and absorb at the same time. I’ll be sure to report that to my master.]
[You bastard!]
Hieromir reached toward the vanishing Zombie Butler, but Mako was faster. She tipped the bucket, pouring the contained Coral Beam straight onto Hieromir’s back.
Kwakwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
The very Coral Beam Hieromir himself admitted could tear him apart.
After unleashing the attack in full, Mako hurled the bucket away, dove for the window, and shouted.
[Now!]
“I know already!”
Kamibarez, who had rejoined the battle after being blown away earlier, thrust both hands forward and shut her eyes.
<Call Tempest>
Kwaaaaaaah!
A colossal whirlwind of blood erupted, engulfing the factory entirely and grinding everything inside to dust.
The joint assault of Zombie Butler, Mako, and Kamibarez.
From afar, Arendia, supporting Davina as they fled together, gasped.
“Th-they go that far?”
“Even so, it probably won’t kill him. Their opponent is Hieromir.”
Davina wiped the blood from her lips as she spoke.
“More importantly, I’m fine, so go help the Revolutionary Army evacuate the nearby residents, Arendia.”
“What?”
“We’ve angered Hieromir, there’s no telling what he’ll do.”
“Ah, understood.”
Arendia vanished in a leap, while Davina clenched her fist tightly, watching the factory crumble under Kamibarez’s bloodflow magic.
‘Revolutionary.’
Given Hieromir’s temperament, he would have died cruelly.
‘All the information you gave me, I carry it now. Your sacrifice won’t be in vain. I will succeed in this mission, no matter what.’
Resolving herself, she turned and walked away.
* * *
Kugugugugugu!
The ruined factory.
Even after being struck by the Coral Beam full force on his back, then hit directly with Kamibarez’s bloodflow magic, Hieromir rose unharmed.
[Indeed.]
He scratched at his skin, reddened and peeling as if burned, then scowled.
[Coral, it truly is a power capable of killing me.]
Straightening his back, he activated the communicator at his ear.
[They’re escaping. Unleash indiscriminate bombardment on all life within a two-thousand-meter radius.]
—Lord Hieromir! B-but! That would strike civilians as well…!
[Do it.]
Thoom.
Thud.
The skyborne warships opened all their main cannons and rained fire.
Within a square block of The City, an entire district evaporated.
* * *
Clatter, clatter!
Meanwhile, the “Transfer Device Team”, Simon and Lete, were traveling hidden inside a freight car of a train.
Davina had charted the shortest route to the transfer device, and riding the train unnoticed for the first half was advantageous.
“Hahaha! It tickles, Ran!”
The white dragon Ran, still guilty over attacking Simon back at Rune League, kept licking his face and curling around him, showering him with affection.
Simon knew Ran’s heart, so he smiled and stroked him lovingly.
“Kind of makes me jealous.”
Across from them, sitting cross-legged on a mat laid over the freight car roof, Lete muttered with her chin resting on her palm.
“That little one is quite aloof, he never goes that far with me.”
“Guess he’s glad to see me after so long.”
“More than that…”
Lete turned her gaze toward the hazy sky, in the direction of The City.
“Do you think the Revolutionary Team will be all right?”
“They’ll be fine. I left the Legion with them.”
“How much of it?”
“All of it.”
Lete looked at Simon in shock.
“A-are you sure that’s wise?”
“The two of us are enough to guard the transfer device. The Revolutionary Team, facing Hieromir’s direct assault, is in far greater danger.”
“W-well… that’s true.”
Lete leaned back, staring up at the sky.
“Do you really think this transfer device operation is feasible?”
Simon gave a sly grin.
“Of course. I’ll make it feasible.”
In the distance, the snow-capped mountains known to house the transfer device came into view.
It was time to summon the strongest reinforcements.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters