The Undead!
The most despised and reviled monsters in this world, bar none.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
The gates shook violently. In the pitch-black night, the undead swarmed like ants, their shrieks and roars echoing as they hurled themselves again and again against the walls of E-Rantel.
They had no will of their own, driven only by the instinct to attack the living. Now they used their own bodies as weapons, slamming into the gates in a frenzy and piling atop one another in a grotesque tower, trying to scale the walls.
"Damn it, there are too many! I'm almost out of mana!!"
"The gate won't last much longer!"
A black spear pierced the corpse in front of him and shoved it off the ramparts. Yago panted heavily, wiping the sweat from his brow as he looked around, exhaustion written all over his face.
Ainzach's final Holy Light had bought them a brief window, allowing them to suppress the tide of Undead for a short time. But it had only been a temporary reprieve.
There were simply too many Undead…
And humans had their limits. At first, they could manage. But as the battle dragged on, the relentless strain on both body and mind began to show. The soldiers and Magic Casters could still grit their teeth and endure, but the ordinary townsfolk were already at their breaking point.
With Ainzach dead and an endless sea of Undead before them, despair had all but consumed everyone.
"This can't go on."
With a single punch, Innkeeper Ajjie blasted the Undead in front of him apart and shot a sideways glance around. The situation was grim. Fatigue was clear on nearly every face.
The ever-helpful innkeeper's eyes shifted as a thought crept into his mind. Should he look for a chance to slip away? Even the Guildmaster of the Adventurer's Guild had died. What could an ordinary man like him possibly do?
Just as Ajjie began edging backward, ready to make a quiet escape while no one was looking, a thunderous explosion erupted behind him, accompanied by a blaze of dazzling light. He froze mid-step.
Startled, Ajjie turned around.
A figure clad in dark mage robes approached at a steady pace, staff in hand. One multicolored magic circle after another bloomed into existence, orbiting him like stars around the moon.
In the next instant, another hooded figure shot forward. Cold violet eyes stared down at the Undead outside the wall. With a casual flick of the dagger in his hand, dozens of Undead were cleanly severed at the waist.
Moving at a speed the naked eye could not follow, he carved through the Undead attempting to climb the walls. All people felt was a faint gust of wind; when they looked again, the Undead before them had already been split in two.
"What's going on?"
Before anyone could process what was happening, a figure clad in golden armor, wielding a pure white blade, appeared atop the wall.
Beside him stood a giant hamster and a black-robed figure, both silent.
"Momonga, Herohero, and Naohara?"
Ajjie stared blankly at the three figures and couldn't help calling out.
Naohara glanced back at the battered Ajjie and gave a small nod. Then he turned his gaze once more to the army of Undead before him and slowly raised the blade in his hand.
The runes on his armor flared to life, radiating a brilliant golden light. Naohara seemed like a miniature sun. Bathed in that glow, everyone felt a warm, comforting heat spread through their bodies.
Genesis Dragon Knight Armor Effect: Light of Purification!
[Slash]
Bathed in golden radiance, Naohara gave a light sweep of the blade in his hand. The air rippled, and a golden Slash burst forth, tearing toward the Undead horde beyond the city walls with unstoppable force.
The thunderous impact drew every eye on the ramparts. The blinding brilliance forced them to shut their eyes instinctively.
When they opened them again, a massive gap had been carved into the once densely packed sea of Undead.
The soldiers and adventurers on the wall stared in shock, mouths hanging open.
"Is he really just a Gold-ranked adventurer?"
"That Slash just now was on par with a fourth-tier spell!"
"One strike wiped out over a hundred Undead. Could he be Orichalcum? No… that's not it. That's Adamantite. He's definitely Adamantite-ranked!"
"His companions are strong too! They don't seem any weaker than the Kingdom's Warrior Captain!"
Seeing the golden insignias on Naohara and his companions' chests, the crowd erupted into rapid discussion. That kind of strength was impossible for mere Gold rank. It had to be Adamantite, a powerhouse who had stepped into the Realm of Heroes.
Among them, Yago stood frozen in disbelief, only one thought running through his mind.
"No wonder I couldn't get Naohara drunk… Sigh. Looks like I've missed my first chance."
He let out a sigh, his feelings a mix of relief and something more complicated.
"Leave this to us."
Naohara nodded toward the crowd. His voice was calm yet commanding, carrying a natural magnetism that reassured everyone who heard it.
"Naohara… be careful."
Boss Ajjie stepped forward, wanting to say more, but in the end, all he managed was a simple warning. His emotions were a mess. What was this supposed to be?
My three Hero-tier friends?
"Don't worry. We'll have a drink together when I get back."
With a faint smile, Naohara leapt straight from the wall. Gripping his pure white longsword, he walked toward the tide of Undead below.
On the ramparts, Clementine and Hamsuke exchanged a glance and jumped down as well, following behind Naohara.
Meanwhile, the Doppelgänger disguised as Momonga and Herohero remained atop the wall. They were responsible for safeguarding E-Rantel.
Though the Doppelgänger felt some resistance toward protecting humans, the Supreme Ruler's command forced them to suppress their displeasure.
This was all part of the plan.
Below, within the Undead horde, Naohara swung his longsword with effortless ease. Each time the golden blade fell, dozens of Undead were reduced to dust, their shrieks swallowed by the glow of purification.
Hamsuke lashed out continuously with her scaled tail, sweeping through the surrounding Undead. In her intelligent eyes, a fierce fighting spirit burned brightly.
Clementine did not make a move. She simply stood behind Naohara, smiling as she watched him fight. From time to time, a faint glimmer flashed across her eyes.
Under the protective radiance of the Genesis Dragon Knight Armor, not a single Undead could breach the one-meter boundary around Naohara and his companions. That was why Hamsuke and Clementine were so at ease.
Demon Brains, Brain Monsters, Demon Summons, Skeleton Kings, none of them could slow Naohara's advance.
One dragon, one Vampire, one giant hamster.
As they pushed forward, the three inhuman figures gradually disappeared into the distance, steadily advancing toward the cemetery.
Once Naohara and the other two vanished into the distance, the remaining Undead surged back toward the walls, ready to launch another assault.
Up on the ramparts, just as everyone braced themselves to fight again, the Doppelgänger disguised as Momonga stepped forward, drawing every gaze.
"Leave this to the two of us. Mere humans... ahem. Everyone, just rest."
He coughed twice as he spoke, his heart pounding. He had almost ruined the Supreme Ruler's plan.
Be kind. Don't expose yourself.
He repeated it to himself over and over. This was all part of the grand plan.
He didn't even know the details, but that didn't matter. If the Supreme Ruler ordered it, he would carry it out.
Every move the Supreme Ruler made was filled with wisdom. He was simply too foolish, nowhere near capable of catching even a glimpse of that brilliance the way Demiurge could.
As he silently berated himself and praised the Supreme Ruler, one thing felt certain. As expected of a Demon serving under Demiurge.
He raised an arm and looked down at the Undead below, calmly drawing on the magic within him.
Magical particles flooded the air like a tide. Seven magic circles, each a different color, appeared in an instant. The sheer pressure of that mana sent the Magic Casters present into a near frenzy.
To a Magic Caster, nothing was more intoxicating than an unknown spell.
[Summon Elemental Spirits]
The seven great elements seemed to sing in unison, as if praising the moment itself. Invisible magic condensed into seven streams of light and poured into the seven circles without end.
Wind, Earth, Lightning, Plant, Water, Fire, Ice!
As the elements converged, the circles reshaped them into seven terrifying figures that manifested before everyone's eyes.
Fire Elemental, Lightning Elemental, Earth Elemental, Plant Elemental, Water Elemental, Wind Elemental, Ice Elemental.
The seven elemental spirits hovered in the air, their overwhelming elemental power warping the space around them. On the wall, people swallowed hard, staring as if they'd forgotten how to breathe.
"T-this... is this Fifth-Tier Magic?!"
One Magic Caster reached out without thinking, as if he could touch those dreadful silhouettes, murmuring to himself.
People nearby nodded instinctively. No one even dared to consider sixth-tier.
After all, the highest tier humans could use was fifth-tier. Sixth-tier magic was impossible unless the caster wasn't human. But if they were the heroes saving the city, how could they not be human?
Beside them, the Doppelgänger disguised as Herohero watched their reactions and gave a faint smile before stepping forward.
"My companion can use fifth-tier magic, and I'm an assassin of the same level. Naohara... Naohara is a warrior even stronger than we are."
"So relax. This Undead disturbance will be over soon."
The crowd hesitated for a beat, then their faces lit up with wild relief. After that Slash earlier and this spell now, they believed every word.
Under countless hopeful stares, the Doppelgänger disguised as Momonga calmly swept his arm and pointed at the Undead legion below.
"Wipe them out!"
In the next moment, all seven elemental spirits roared. Elemental power surged from their bodies as they plunged downward like starving beasts.
Gales, boulders, lightning, vines and trees, flames, torrents of water, and freezing snowstorm cold burst forth. Terrifying magic patterns flared across the spirits' bodies, sweeping the entire area clean of Undead.
Tens of thousands of Undead threw themselves against the seven elemental spirits. Watching the battle below, the people on the walls stared with shining eyes, especially the Magic Casters. If others hadn't held them back, some of them might have leapt down on the spot.
Burning, melting, blooming, superconducting, overloading, electrocuting, freezing, evaporating, diffusing, crystallizing...
As the elements collided, all kinds of bizarre reactions erupted one after another, tearing through the Undead and leaving them in ruins.
"Boss."
Standing beside Boss Ajjie, Yago nudged his shoulder.
"We're watching a miracle happen. New heroes. The strongest Adamantite Adventurers. At least three powerhouses who've stepped into the Realm of Heroes!"
Yago sounded awed. He'd never imagined that a drunk like him could end up connected to people like this, and on decent terms at that.
"Yeah."
...
Not far away, the corpse of Ainzach, long since forgotten by everyone, began to change. The deathly pallor on his face slowly warmed with color, and his skin-and-bones body started to fill out again.
Amid the cheering and shouting, his brow tightened slightly.