Chapter 63: Nevirthol – (3)
(I)
“The First Wall has been breached, Great Saintess. The Second Wall won’t hold for much longer either.”
“Damn it….”
Upon hearing the dire news, Marina Bergard clutched her head in frustration.
The First Wall, once believed to be an impenetrable fortress, had fallen in less than thirty minutes.
Marina had estimated that it would last at least a week, but her expectations had been utterly, completely shattered.
Since the largest and thickest wall had fallen so quickly, the thinner, remaining walls were even more likely to crumble at an alarming rate.
…Before long, Elzerba’s forces would reach the Fourth Wall—the very place where Marina and the holy knights were stationed.
The original plan had been to exhaust Elzerba’s forces as much as possible across the First, Second, and Third Walls.
Then, at the Fourth Wall, they would strike the final blow with the Blessed Knights of Serion and the Hero’s Army.
But now, from the very beginning, that plan had fallen apart.
“…It would be better to retreat to the Seventh Wall.”
The Great Saintess of Serion decided that regrouping their remaining forces and making a final stand at the Seventh Wall was the best course of action.
Since the First Wall had collapsed far too easily, it was wiser to gather the survivors and engage in a decisive battle at the Seventh Wall instead.
The Seventh Wall, which protected the palace, was second only to the First in strength and fortification.
“Isabella, give the order for all troops to retreat to the Seventh Wall. We must prepare for a final battle there.”
“Understood. May Celestial Deity Astira bless us in all things.”
“…May we receive Astira’s blessing.”
Having made her decision, Marina issued the command, and Isabella, the Chief Priestess, nodded before hurrying away to carry it out.
“Great Saintess! We’ve brought the Hour of Purification!”
“Ah.”
Just then, several Blessed Knights arrived, struggling to pull a large cart carrying a massive cube.
It was the Hour of Purification, the most powerful divine artifact in recorded history.
“You’ve done well.”
Marina expressed her gratitude to the knights who had dragged the heavy relic all the way here.
Then, she began carefully examining the artifact.
“….”
The appearance of the Hour of Purification was surprisingly simple.
A massive cube, approximately seven meters in both width and height, with nothing but a single hole in the center of its top surface.
Its structure was plain, but the power it wielded was anything but ordinary.
“With this….”
The Hour of Purification contained the accumulated divine power of Astira’s followers over the past thousand years.
It transformed that stored divine energy into an overwhelmingly destructive purification beam.
A direct hit would spread a millennium’s worth of divine energy throughout the target’s body.
It was enough to completely eradicate any ordinary monster.
Even an Undead Dragon would be purified in an instant.
If Elzerba were hit, she wouldn’t be annihilated outright, but she would suffer grievous wounds.
That had been the original plan—to target Elzerba directly and deal her a fatal injury.
However—
-KIIIIIAAAAAAAAAH!!
-Gah… AAAAAAAH! Please, spare meeeeeee!!
“….”
If the Undead Dragon was left unchecked, Nevirthol would be completely wiped out in less than an hour.
It was raining fire from the sky, incinerating soldiers on the walls—if they didn’t do something, they would all be exterminated.
“Target the dragon immediately.”
“Understood!”
At Marina’s command, one of the knights adjusted the Hour of Purification, positioning it to aim at the Undead Dragon soaring through the sky.
“Target acquired. Locking in focus….”
The knight murmured as he concentrated, carefully setting the divine weapon’s aim on the monstrous creature.
This was a one-shot attack.
If they missed, it would all be over.
They had to wait for the perfect moment.
“….”
Time crawled unbearably slowly.
Then, at last—
The Undead Dragon descended, swooping toward the Fourth Wall to unleash its breath upon the soldiers.
At that moment—
It had drawn close enough.
“Fire!!”
The knight activated the Hour of Purification, and from the hole at its top, an overwhelmingly powerful blue beam of divine light shot into the sky.
“Ugh….”
For a brief moment, the blinding flash was bright enough to turn night into day.
Even Marina, the Great Saintess, felt a sense of vertigo from the sheer magnitude of divine energy released.
To any monsters, this beam of light was nothing short of divine judgment.
The beam struck the Undead Dragon directly in the chest, piercing through its body and continuing upward into the sky.
-KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEK!!
With a horrifying shriek, Elzerba’s undead beast let out a tormented scream.
Writhing in agony, it flailed in the air before plummeting helplessly toward the plains of Nevirthol.
“We… We did it!”
“We got it!! We actually got it!!”
The Blessed Knights rejoiced, ecstatic at their apparent victory.
However—
Marina Bergard’s face remained grim.
“…Damn it, that thing survived a direct hit?”
The Undead Dragon had taken a full-force blast of divine energy—a millennium’s worth of power—right to the chest.
Any ordinary monster should have been eradicated on the spot.
And yet, all it had done was writhe in pain.
What in the world were Elzerba and her creatures made of to withstand divine power—the power of Astira—so effortlessly?
If Elzerba had been the one hit, would she have just brushed off the impact as if it were nothing?
It was a terrifying thought.
“Still….”
…Even if they hadn’t killed it, they had severely wounded it.
With the beam piercing its core, the Undead Dragon wouldn’t be able to rejoin the battle anytime soon.
It wasn’t the ideal outcome, but it would have to do.
Now that they had secured air superiority, they had to end this battle quickly.
“…We must retreat to the Seventh Wall immediately.”
“Understood!”
Praying that Celestial Deity Astira would shine a ray of hope upon them, Marina and the Blessed Knights began their retreat to the Seventh Wall.
***
(II)
-Undead!!
-Run…!! Kyaaaaaah!!
-P-please…!! Gah…!!
“….”
Blood splattered everywhere.
Screams filled the air.
And amidst the carnage, I stepped forward.
Passing through the First Gate, with each step I took forward, my heart pounded with a mix of tension and anticipation, as if it would burst.
Right, when was the last time I felt like this?
Ah, I remember now—it was the day I waited for my university admission results.
That desperate feeling of wanting to know the outcome as soon as possible but having no choice but to wait.
Those few hours had stretched into what felt like days.
…Lilianel was right in front of me, yet ironically, I had to break through six massive walls to reach her.
At this moment, my feelings were perfectly aligned with how I had felt back then.
“Whew….”
I took a deep breath, forcing my excitement down.
Haste makes waste. There was no point in getting impatient.
“Hey, Lwaiar.”
“Yes! Oh, Great One! You have called for me?! Just hearing you say my name fills me with immeasurable honor!!”
“Ugh….”
Despite the situation, Arbelion Lwaiar, the Vampire King, reacted just as he always did.
I resisted the urge to smack him on the head and instead issued my command.
“I need you to lead your subordinates and seize every Teleportation Hub in the city. Connect them to the Royal Capital, and bring Alfred here.”
“Al…Alfred, you say…?”
“Yeah.”
Come to think of it, Arbelion had never met Alfred before.
Well, that didn’t matter.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t know him. Just connect the hubs to the Royal Capital. A butler will come through on his own.”
Since Alfred was one of my summons, he would instinctively sense that I was calling for him.
As long as the Teleportation Hub was connected, he would come here on his own.
Arbelion, his voice trembling with emotion, nodded firmly.
“I, Arbelion Lwaiar, will carry out the Great One’s command even if it costs me my life! I swear it!!”
“Y-Yeah, I got it, just go already.”
“Then….”
He bowed his head once more before disappearing into the darkness with his subordinates.
As someone who had claimed to specialize in stealth and assassination, his movements were as swift and elusive as a phantom assassin.
…And then, just as I sent Arbelion off—
BOOM!!
“Ugh…?!”
A deafening explosion rang out, loud enough to make me wonder if a nuclear bomb had gone off.
A blinding flash of light forced me to narrow my eyes.
At the same time, a divine energy so intense that it made me feel physically ill spread through the air.
…And then came the sound of a terrifying scream.
It was the scream of my undead dragon, Kelrathus.
-KIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEK!!
“Ke…Kelrathus…?”
From a distance, a mysterious laser beam had pierced straight through Kelrathus’s chest and shot high into the sky.
Struck in a vital point, Kelrathus writhed in agony before crash-landing somewhere outside Nevirthol.
“Kelrathus….”
Seeing that, I was shocked.
Even if he had been struck in a critical spot, for him to be forced out of battle from a single attack—what in the world was that beam?
Just from the sound and the flash, I could tell how absurdly powerful it was.
In all my time, both a thousand years ago and now, I had never seen an attack of such destructive force.
“A blue flash, the sound, and… divine energy….”
Divine energy.
As soon as the laser had fired, my senses had been assaulted by the sickeningly distinct scent of Celestial Deity Astira.
Right, there was only one group in history that used such divine magic.
…The Blessed Knights of Serion.
“Hah….”
I let out a long sigh.
At the same time, a vein bulged on my forehead, and my scarlet eyes blazed with fury.
“Those filthy bastards….”
So that’s why I hadn’t seen them.
They had been lurking all along.
Of course. Of course, they would show up.
A thousand years ago, they had sealed me away with those wretched chains.
And now, they had brought another disgustingly creative holy artifact to the battlefield.
And they dared—they dared to attack Kelrathus, my summon.
“Pft, Puhuhu….”
A chuckle escaped my lips.
So I had been lenient enough to let them strike first?
I should have never given them a single breath to retaliate.
I should have cut off their heads before they even had the chance to raise their weapons.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”
I laughed, my voice filled with genuine amusement.
Then, I turned my gaze toward the towering palace of Nevirthol.
Toward the Seventh Wall, where the Blessed Knights of Serion and Lilianel were likely waiting.
“Alright! I’ll take this seriously now.”
…As I stretched out my hand—
Three massive magic circles spread across the ground.
From within them, tens of thousands of additional Skeleton Soldiers began to emerge.
“This is my fault.”
I should have crushed them immediately.
I should have made it clear that they had no options other than being slaughtered.
I had gotten too complacent.
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!”
With my glowing red eyes blazing with fury, I let out a furious roar.
In response—
The countless undead soldiers raised their heads and let out deafening battle cries toward the night sky.
-KYAAAAAAAH!!
-GUAAAAAAAH!!
The heavens trembled.
Every wall of Nevirthol shook.
At this moment, the rage of the dead engulfed the living world.
“Crush them all!! Kill them all!! Before they can even scream!!”
…This charge of the Skeleton Army was different from before.
No longer was it an organized legion.
No longer did they march in formation.
No longer did they engage in proper battle.
Now, they were a raging tsunami of undead, sweeping over every wall of Nevirthol.
—
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