Chapter 2
The Horde of Undead
In the center of it all, a necromancer made entirely of bones.
Lich Ambadium shouted with a sharp voice,
“Go forth! Immortal Legion! The time has come to shroud this world in darkness!”
“Skellskellskell!!!”
Clatter! Clatter!
Under Ambadium’s command, the undead charged forward with terrifying speed.
Spreading evil energy, they flashed their eyes, filled with greed and thirst for blood, and raised their weapons high.
Rusty greatswords.
Decayed wooden staffs.
Bone-made bows.
Holding the cursed weapons of the dead, they rushed swiftly towards the still-standing paladins according to their master’s orders.
Leading the procession of the dead,
Lich Ambadium smiled with a grin of bones on his face, filled with grim delight.
‘Kuhuhuhu… It begins now. With this, I will repay the grudge that has lasted for decades and make this world mine! For now, I am just syncing with the tempo of the church bastards, but soon enough…’
In the past, Ambadium, who was executed for researching forbidden magic, still had the grudge from that time burning fiercely in his heart, reborn as a lich due to the magic cast just before his death.
He would take revenge on this country that unjustly denounced his efforts and skills!
The foolish children idling away,
The lovers whispering disgusting affection with warm smiles.
Now, from their mouths, cries of lamentation would surely flow.
So Ambadium,
Envisioning the hellscape that would unfold starting with the death of those insignificant paladins, savored the deep anticipation and euphoria.
But then…
“Hmm?”
A sudden hot sensation began to be felt.
At first, he thought it was just the influence of sunlight.
However, the intense heat that rose so quickly was too sudden to be attributed to the sun alone.
It was beyond just being hot; it began to feel like it would cause burns.
Feeling confusion and doubt about this fact, Ambadium stopped moving and looked up.
And then.
Immediately after.
The joy and madness that had filled Ambadium’s heart just seconds ago,
Instantly turned to confusion.
“W-What is that?”
Something falling right above him and the undead.
A colossal entity emitting an immense heat that was melting the undead instantly.
It felt for a moment like the sun was falling from the sky.
But no, it was not.
It was not the sun, nor was it a massive ball of fire.
It was an absurdly immense mass of divine power.
And for the undead, it was a disaster even more terrifying than the sun itself.
“Kuhhhhhh!!!!”
“Kieeeeee!!!”
Undead turning to ash and disappearing at an astonishing speed in the face of it.
Thousands of undead gathered with great effort for this day were annihilated in an instant.
And this applied to Ambadium himself as well.
“Ah… No! This… This can’t be… Kugh! Haaaaah!!!”
His skeletal body rapidly disintegrated, wrapped in divine power.
What in the world is that?
Why is it appearing here, at this very moment?
With confusion, doubt,
And despair.
Lich Ambadium was unable to resist and was completely obliterated.
In his last moments, what he saw was countless eyes.
A gaze so terrifying that even the lord of the dead felt fear,
A monstrous being with a horrific appearance.
Meanwhile, the being that had instantly wiped out the deathly horde,
Releasing divine power endlessly during the descent to adjust the speed.
Seraphim felt a slight sense of curiosity about the subtle sensation upon landing.
‘Hmm? I thought there was a lot below? Or is it just my imagination?’
Immediately after landing safely and without incident,
A human woman appeared in front of me at the center of the empty plain.
With blonde hair and blue eyes,
A paladin who looked quite beautiful even to me now.
However, regardless of her appearance,
I felt considerable perplexity at the unexpected encounter and, honestly, a great joy at meeting a ‘living sentient being’ after such a long time.
Although the feeling of loneliness was very faint in my body, it was not entirely absent.
Moreover, the joy of meeting someone was definitely present.
In addition, the subtle divine power flowing from her, though infinitely weaker compared to mine, gave a deeper sense of familiarity, perhaps due to the instinct of an angel.
Feeling these emotions,
I used the countless eyes on my body to gaze at her.
[Eye of Truth]
One of the divine magics learned in heaven,
A power possessed as an angel.
To see through the essence of the target.
[ Name: Eva Gellion
Occupation: Paladin Commander.
Karma: +200 ]
It sounds grand, but practically, it only revealed her karma (alignment), occupation, and real name.
But that alone was very important to me, given my appearance that tends to cause misunderstandings.
With the information obtained, I quickly began to think about how to address this paladin before me,
Eva Gellion or Evangelion or whatever her name was.
Then…
“W-Who are you?”
She asked with a trembling voice.
Despite my reassurance not to be afraid, her expression was filled with clear fear.
Once again, I felt the importance of appearance.
I clicked my tongue slightly in my mind and responded to her question.
[I am Seraphim, a servant of the great being in the high heavens. Paladin Eva Gellion.]
“! How do you know my name… Ah… I see. So… you are an angel… You responded to my prayer… and saved me…”
Eva, who seemed confused but quickly came to understand something, appeared to have a strange misunderstanding.
Before I could question her, she spoke first.
“Th-Thank you so much. To think that my prayer was answered. Truly, the divine has always been watching over us.”
[…Indeed, the divine always watches over you. Do not forget that fact and remain faithful to the divine commandments and diligent in your prayers.]
I honestly didn’t know what prayer she made.
But anyway, it’s good that things are going well.
There was no need to shatter this naive woman’s illusion, so I planned to leave soon.
Although I had a desire to talk a bit more, I felt that prolonging the conversation might lead to a somewhat troublesome situation.
However…
“Um… Excuse me…! A-Angel… No, Seraphim!”
Eva called out urgently.
Noting the earnestness in her voice, I paused from taking off and looked at her again with the countless eyes on my body.
[What is it?]
At that moment, she began to tremble with a face that seemed on the verge of tears.
My curiosity about why she was so anxious grew.
“C-If possible… Could you save the people here! My… my comrades?”
Eva made a difficult request with a shaking voice.
I then understood why she was so anxious.
The other paladins she discovered late.
Though I did not know exactly how they ended up like this, it was clear that they had collapsed after some intense battle.
“I know it’s an ungrateful request! But… please… please, save them. I will offer everything I have… if necessary, even my life, so please…”
Eva, kneeling on the ground with tears streaming down her face and bowing her head.
Watching her, I thought for a moment.
It was true that I felt some degree of familiarity with her.
However, extending goodwill was a different matter.
I had already bestowed a great favor upon her.
While I couldn’t utilize it exactly, it was a different story in this case.
Nothing in this world is free,
And I will use what I can to the fullest.
Although I am an angel now, perhaps due to having been human in a past life, or maybe because seeing the state of heaven has made me more secular,
Regardless, as a great angel, I had no hesitation in evaluating the understanding of profit and loss.
So, I made a quick decision.
To extract the maximum benefit from this situation.
Fortunately, none of the humans lying there were 100% dead.
Reviving the dead is impossible, but
Healing the kind of injuries they had is not too difficult for someone like me, who has mastered various divine magics.
[I understand. I will grant your request.]
“Ah!”
[However, you must be prepared to take responsibility for what you said.]
“R-Responsibility…?”
[Didn’t you say you would dedicate everything? Will you be able to actually fulfill that promise?]
“!…”
Eva’s face momentarily showed intense bewilderment.
Though she had made the promise herself, it was something she could not avoid hesitating over.
It was like signing a slave contract, so it was understandable that she would be in doubt.
Of course, if she refused, I might be willing to discount it somewhat.
With my current power, saving a few dying people was a trivial matter.
Even if not through this specific method, if I could use my power to create something beneficial,
Just making a bridge-builder in this world would be sufficient.
However.
“Ah… I understand…”
She said with a trembling voice.
Surprised by the quick decision, I asked,
[Will you really do it?]
“Yes, I will… I will dedicate my body and soul… everything I have. Please… save my comrades!”
Eva said with a resolute expression.
I, though without a mouth, smiled with satisfaction and responded.
[I will grant your wish.]
*
Paladin Commander Eva.
She was not one to easily feel fear.
At the young age of 21, she had already gone through countless battles.
She had survived multiple brushes with death and had fought numerous life-or-death battles against monsters several meters tall.
The fear of death had become as familiar to her as an old friend.
However.
Even for someone like Eva.
In the current situation, she could not deny the clear and undeniable emotion…
An emotion that could only be described as pure fear.
In front of her stood a being of unimaginable size and terrifying appearance.
It was at least 100 meters tall, an incomprehensibly massive figure, glaring at her with countless gleaming eyes, making this moment sheer terror incarnate.
Had her courage been just a little weaker.
Had this colossal being not wiped out a horde of undead and saved her.
Had it not been radiating such a vivid and undeniable divine power in this moment.
Had words like “Do not be Afraid” not come from its mouth, signaling it wasn’t hostile.
And most of all, had her comrades not been lying around her, unconscious, their fate uncertain.
She might have given in to this primal, instinctive fear and fled without a second thought.
Yet despite feeling like her heart was about to drop out of her chest, Eva mustered all her strength and spoke to the being.
In response, the entity answered in a voice full of overwhelming majesty,
Introducing itself as the Archangel Seraphim, calling her by name.
Eva’s heart sank even deeper.
What in the world was this monster that it knew her name?
Could it truly be one of those demonic beings from legend?
But no, that didn’t make sense—its divine power and the fact that it had swept away the undead didn’t align with that notion.
And yet, calling it an angel—a messenger of God as described in the scriptures—seemed absurd, given its grotesque appearance that was terrifying beyond words.
No matter how much she wracked her brain, there was no answer.
In the midst of her profound confusion, Eva forced herself to express gratitude toward the being…
Then, with all her strength, she pleaded.
She begged it to save her comrades.
She offered up everything she had, asking desperately to save their lives.
Suppressing the fear in her heart, she made her choice.
She resolved to become a slave to this being, whether it was an angel or a demon.
In response, Seraphim, gazing at her with its countless terrifying eyes, spoke.
“I shall grant you what you desire.”
With those words, a powerful light once again burst forth from Seraphim’s body.
The light, as if it would consume everything around, enveloped her entirely.
At the same time, as she felt a strange sense of peace that seemed to swallow her soul whole.
Eva lost consciousness.
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