'This is my first big battle as one of the heroes. I need to show everyone they can rely on me!' thinking so, Luke charged without hesitation, the mere residue energy of his golden aura burning the skeletons away.
He swung Flora's sword, sending a blast of aura through the hundreds of skeletons. This battle was laughably easy and he didn't feel exhausted in the slightest. Even if they amanged to get close to him, his golden aura burns them to ash.
But a battle that goes on forever won't matter.
These skeletons are being revived endlessly due to that strange magic circle he could sense in the entrance of the forest, its rune formations visible through the vegetation.
'As expected. I can't deal with them until I deal with the necromancer…' he thought about Lauran, 'Is she fighting the necromancer? I don't doubt Lauran is strong but… a necromancer like this wouldn't be weak by any means.'
Luke felt that necromancer's strange presence in the air, and a premonition almost took hold as he thought of the worst to come. Lauran's signature was fading away and reappearing, which was quite strange.
Quickly thinking that it wouldn't be smart to waste his time fighting an endless number of enemies while Lauran was out there by herself, Luke went towards one of the generators keeping the barrier up.
However, a roar shook the forest and paralyzed him for a second.
'What kind of skill is this!?' he's not sure how strong he is with all his aura unleashed but a monster's roar shouldn't be able to paralyze him like this.
Turns out it was a racial skill of a monster. Not just any monster—
"A six-headed Hydra…" he saw a shadow rising from the forest floor, six heads stretching out with minds of their own.
They're even stronger than wild dragons and below the level of ancient dragons.
"An SS-rank monster… Am I ready to fight it?" the grip on his sword weakened slightly as the thought to retreat arose in his mind.
No, that doesn't matter. Whether he's ready or not, he can't hesitate to fight in this situation when so many lives are at stake.
"Hero Luke!" one of the soldiers in hiding called out as the Hydra was flattening the trees and heading towards the barrier with incredible speed, "We'll handle the skeletons! Please focus on that thing and don't worry about us!"
If he were to stay here, hesitating, then that thing could shatter the barrier and the skeletons would be let inside anyway. Why not kill it outside and rescue the students who are still alive?
He nodded at the soldier.
After stepping outside, surrounded by skeletons, he placed his hand on the barrier that was about to close again.
A rumbling sound resounded as his vast golden aura was layered on top of the barrier's protection layers. From afar, it would seem the sun itself had descended to the mortal realm.
The barrier was strengthened by his aura and could also burn the skeletons with its divine properties.
This will give them a bit more time to prepare. The attack was sudden so some died in the short battle. But if all the mages can prepare their spells, the knights ready their skills and the priests complete their buffs—they'll suffer less casualties.
One of the Hydra's heads charged at Luke with break-neck speeds but he merely swung his sword, destroying its head in an instant.
It was like swatting a fly.
'I'm this strong…?'
That thought could barely manifest fully before the Hydra gathered up a large amount of energy in its five mouths, holding that ball of energy above its head.
Luke pointed his sword at that ball of energy. Then a small golden ball of energy formed at the tip of his sword.
A streak of light charged through the air without a sound, shining like a water droplet reflecting the sunlight.
But then the Hydra's energy ball was obliterated and an expanding energy of golden light swallowed it up completely. It wasn't a violent explosion, simply an expanding ball of energy that swallowed the Hydra completely.
Luke could sense many of his classmates and other students in the forest so he didn't want to use an ordinary aura blast.
'Keeping an aura blast under control is really difficult…' he heard from Sebastian that aura blasts can be utilized this way if you have a high degree of control over your aura.
He also said that Arnold was able to perfect this at the age of 10. He could make his aura solid to add additional protection to his body. And he could freely control his aura instead of just sending it flying like a cannonball.
Luke wasn't yet at the level where he can do that.
'But someday I'll reach that level of aura control and blow Brother's mind!'
After the Hydra fell, Luke ran through the forest and rescued the students that were still outside the barrier. Sadly, a few had died (their corpses looked like they've been sucked dry by something). He concluded that the necromancer had something to do with it.
'I have to find Elizabeth. She should be able to revive those who died…' looking at the corpses being carried by their fellow classmates, a pit formed at the bottom of his stomach.
'If I could use my aura without this sword… I could've saved more lives… I could've acted sooner!'
A knot formed in his throat, as if the students who died were strangling him in an attempt to bring him down with them.
He had to run back to his room just to get his sword. If weapons were restricted on this trip, all of them would've been doomed. But the academy was smart enough to make an exception for him.
He found Elizabeth observing the battlefield.
The undead weren't even touching her, merely walking past her, in search of newer victims.
Luke quickly eliminated them with an aura blast.
'Could this be because she's also a dark magician?'
But that doesn't make sense since Luke knew one of the dead students to be a dark magician as well, so maybe it's because of something else?
Elizabeth has control over life and death, her ability transcending even the most famous dark mages throughout history. It wouldn't be a stretch to assume the undead saw her as one of their own.
Or they simply feared her.
"Ms. Elizabeth!" hearing her name being called, she glanced at him as he ran towards her with the others.
"What is it?" even in the midst of this chaos, she appeared calm.
"Can you please revive those who died in the fight? And please defend the camp with us! We could really use your help!" he placed a girl's lifeless body down. The other students followed.
Elizabeth is a very mysterious girl. She seems to hold no regard for these people's lives. While yes, she can revive anyone, no one wants to experience death so she could've helped out in the defense.
Luke didn't hate her for this. So long as she's nearby, she can revive anyone. It was better to stay in this person's good books instead of turning her into an enemy just because he doesn't like how immoral she is sometimes.
With Elizabeth nearby, Luke never has to worry about losing his loved ones.
"I can't."
"But why!? Professor Remri was just slain too!" his voice drew the attention of everyone fighting for their lives.
"…I'm not saying I won't. I really can't do it. Something is suppressing my Rebirth Magic. I think a Dark Mage stronger than me is the cause of this."
"No way… There's something stronger than you controlling these undead?"
"Yes. It's best to kill that thing fast. I'm currently using a spell to keep everyone's souls trapped here and can't move while inside the magic circle. But this spell is only effective for a few hours."
"You're doing that…?"
She nodded.
So that's why she's not using her magic… Luke misjudged her. She's just concentrating to maintain the spell keeping them here.
"Don't look relieved yet. Every minute wasted is a minute a portion of their lifeforce is taken away. So… finish the necromancer by the half hour mark if you want everyone to be the same once I revive them. Memories start fading away in the first hour. Personality in the second. The third hour is the lifeforce itself then nothing but an empty body remains—no will or thoughts of its own."
"Thank you, Elizabeth! Truly thank you for looking out for everyone!" He bowed to her, cursing himself inwardly for misjudging her.
"Mm." Elizabeth then cast a spell that summoned a magic circle where two monsters covered in dark energy appeared from, "I can't move from this spot as I'm in the center of the ritual circle I'm using to keep everyone's soul close to their bodies but I'll lend these monsters to fight with everyone. Each should be on par with an SS-rank monster."
"O-Okay."
"Thank you, Ms. Elizabeth!" the other students thanked her as well.
**
Luke had the dark magic summons go help elsewhere as he ran through the base by himself to look for more skeletons that got through.
'Such a strong magician is by Brother's side.' Luke recalled Elizabeth's presence when he stood in front of her.
She didn't give off the scent of a demon but she had a signature just as sinister as one.
That's the pinnacle of dark magic in the body of a young girl.
If possible, Luke wants to befriend her. Not only will her magic greatly help him in future battles, she has the ability to revive anyone from the dead.
"Luke!" faces pale, the professors called out to him when he ran by the transmission station (judging by the giant crystal and machine sitting behind the desk of military-grade transmitters). Standing outside was the soldier Castacia had given the strange transmitter device to, his face blank and looking at the ground with no light in his eyes.
The others shared similar expressions.
Something was going on.
But what?
His question was answered in the next moment—
"…The demon cult is attacking the empire."
"!" the color drained from his face.
Now…?
Why now…?
His body began to tremble and his pupils shook.
If they summon another Kaiju Demon, no one will be able to survive…
"…B-Brother Arnold is still in the capital so h-he'll definitely save them with Archmage Freya, right?" he tried to think positively.
If Arnold could take on the Kaiju Demon, he'll be strong enough to protect the empire even without the other heroes.
"…Luke, Archmage Freya is fighting alone with the Great Nobles…"
"T-There's no way! W-Where is Brother then!?"
"T-The person on the other side said there's no sign of Lord Arnold anywhere. P-Princess Ronia has been preparing to go to his city so we should be able to know within a few hours if he's there or can send reinforcements. As of now, even the emperor hasn't returned to the empire yet so the imperial army isn't at full strength at the moment." Said one of the soldiers, face pale and voice stuttering.
"I can't wait that long…!"
Luke looked at the soldier who made the report.
"Is there an airboat I can use to get back? I need to save my family!"
"C-Calm down, Luke." Castacia placed both hands on the panicked youth's shoulders. "Arthur is still in the capital—"
He stepped back, "I'm not placing my family's lives in the hands of an idiot who doesn't know how to use his power responsibly!"
Hearing him say that, all of their eyes widened.
It was clear to them all that Luke trusted Arnold's judgment. They saw it that day but weren't so sure. But now even under panic, he's shown that he despises Arthur.
No one attempted to change his mind.
There was no time to.
"—Young Master, all the boats and airships can't leave the compound until the barrier is lifted." A voice came from above. With no regard if anyone could see her panties under her pleated skirt, Lauran flew with a magic circle behind her back.
"L-Lauran!?" seeing Lauran flying down towards them, Felicia shouted in relief and jumped into her friend's arms, "What happened to you? Did you get hurt?"
"No… I'm fine…" though her hair was a bit disheveled and she was smeared with mud, she didn't seem injured.
"That necromancer used some strange space magic to suck me into some dark dimension and we fought there for a bit. I only managed to escape after killing him so we should be fine for a while but we shouldn't stay here."
Sighing with relief, Felicia hugged her again.
"We need to leave the camp now. Everyone, I can only teleport up to 50 people with my remaining mana. Even at full power, I can go up to 120 but we're almost 300 people here so if I can't come back to bring you to the empire, take the airships and escape when the barrier falls!" she ordered the knights and mages.
"Roger!" without a commander (he died in the fight), they could only listen to a student. She was clearly one of the strongest people here right now.
"Lauran, who did you fight? Is he—"
She cut Luke off, "I killed him but I can still sense his mana. Since the trees are rotting and vegetation is being drained of vitality, he's using the mana and lifeforce of the world to revive himself. I had a certain feeling that he's not at his full strength so it was easier to beat him even with Sixth-Rank spells."
"We will stay here and defend the camp!" the soldiers shouted, "Please make sure the students make it back safely!"
"Yes… and we must also take Remri—"
"Leave Professor Remri's body to Ms. Elizabeth." Said Luke in a hurry, "Ms. Elizabeth said that she'll be able to revive everyone once the seal on her magic is lifted."
"…" Castacia looked unsure but, probably remembering how Elizabeth could revive an Ancient Dragon in a display of pure supremacy in magical power, she trusted Luke's words.
Lauran quickly chanted the spell of teleportation, making a blue magic circle—which stretched two roads across—appear on the ground next to the station.
"Everyone, step onto that magic circle. We'll leave immediately. I should have enough mana left
"S-Shouldn't we wait for Elizabeth?" asked one of the students.
Lauran looked towards Elizabeth in the distance—calmly staring back at them, "…I wouldn't worry about her."
Then they vanished.
**
After Lauran came back and teleported the rest back to the empire, the compound was now deserted, except for the bodies of the fallen still waiting to be revived.
The magic circle in the forest was gone now.
Elizabeth sensed that the seal on her revival magic was being lifted. Maybe this undead wanted to make sure that—if by some miracle Luke is killed—Elizabeth wouldn't be able to revive him. Of course, preventing the priests from reviving was probably also part of his plan.
The dark energy Elizabeth had been sensing from afar approached her. It moved so fast, she blinked once and could already see a cloud of black energy enter the barrier.
"—Such a desolate place—just like the realm between life and death."
The dark energy spoke before a hooded figure came out of it, holding a bony hand.
'It seems Lauran wasn't able to eliminate him completely.' If he could revive endlessly, it would be a troublesome fight.
Elizabeth glanced in a certain direction. In that direction was the closed dungeon they were supposed to be studying for this week-long trip.
The dungeon was still devoid of energy so she concluded that the dungeon wasn't what kept this being alive.
'Could it be… it transcended death and can't die?'
That would be absurd.
The moment that thought surface, the hooded figure was right in front of her, staring down at her with his bony face and purple lights in his eye sockets.
"Hmm… You were the one who radiated that sinister energy. Quite surprising for a young girl such as yourself."
The lights in his eye sockets flared, "…I see… You are not ordinary."
He then glanced around, "No one here besides the dead on the ground and you, hm?"
"…You summoned so many undead yet you're not going to kill me?" she found his calm demeanor strange.
"…I have no desire to make an enemy out of Aedri. Perhaps when I regain my true strength after taking that vessel."
"True strength… And you'll do anything in your power to obtain that vessel?"
"Naturally. Girl, we are the same—disciples of death. Though we have different masters, we are two sides of the same coin." He offered a boney hand, "Why not team up to rule the River of Lamentation together and decide the fate of mortals ourselves?"
Elizabeth's eyes suddenly glowed white and a different voice came out of her, "Mumulbur, you will not manipulate this child into serving that despicable master of yours."
"Kukuku. My, if it isn't Goddess Aedri." He bowed exaggeratedly, "I hope you're doing a good job keeping the Dark Forces at bay."
"Leave, Mumulbur. Your vessel is going to the capital, where a hero with the holy sword resides. Don't think to yourself you will get what you want easily."
"…Ugh…" He groaned at hearing that. "Promethius has a successor… This will be troublesome…. But it can't be helped. I will have to summon the strongest creatures of the dark to aid me in the battle."
"Why must you choose a human as your vessel? You are an immortal being and will live to see the end of this world. What need is there for more power?"
"My desires are none of your business, Aedri." A massive purple magic circle, stretching as far as several kilometers, appeared in the sky and through them, several Ancient Dragon corpses came out of the circle.
but that wasn't all.
"You… You desecrate the corpses of a god?"
The Dragon Lord of Light—Thalgrimm Krydrak—was the final undead that came through that magic circle.
"Promethius killed my first vessel—Archmage Peulik who orchestrated the Demon-Human War—so I think it's only just that I get to take something from him."
The dragon roared, making the entire world tremble. Even though it was a corpse, there was almost no signs of decay, as if its body was so full of lifeforce that even hundreds of years of decay could barely do anything to it.
"The dragon lords won't stay idle if you bring this undead on the battlefield."
"Let them come. I could use more puppets as strong as them once I possess that girl's body."
With a final elegant swing of his arm, he flew up and landed on Thalgrimm's head. Its white scales gleamed in the moonlight and its wingspan spread one kilometer across the forest.
Next to this behemoth, the undead ancient dragons looked like moths.
Thousands of trees were flattened by the wind pressure released by Thalgrimm's wings.
Aedri watched him fly away with sweat running down her cheek.
"How will that girl handle such a calamity…"
**
Soon after Mumulbur left, Elizabeth was able to revive everyone.
'Arnold said he was going to be outside the empire for a bit…' watching the full moon, she thought of him.
Should she go back? It might be dangerous in the empire but she should be able to protect herself. Elizabeth might not have family left but there's still something she needs to protect there.
Perhaps sensing her thoughts, Aedri's voice resounded in her head.
--Where are you thinking of going, my child?
"…I need to protect Arnold's family so I'm going to their villa."
He'd probably have measures in place to protect everyone he loves so that might be unnecessary. But she should still be there in case someone needs to be revived.
Demons must be flooding the streets right now so she needs to hurry.
--I see… Word of advice, child…
"?"
--A strong desire to see the dead radiates from that villa. Whatever you do, do not break the rules of life and death like Mumulbur did. Do that, and you will destroy the soul of whoever you bring back. It will haunt you for all eternity. You may be an immortal now but you're still human.
"…Yes, Goddess Aedri…"
--Be safe now child.
Aedri's voice faded away after leaving that ominous warning behind.