Academy (11)
The undead were weaker than I'd expected. They carried no weapons, and their movements were sluggish. On top of that, the moment they spotted me they tried to flee rather than charge — which made dealing with them almost convenient.
"That makes twenty…."
I'd already put down twenty of them.
I piled the corpses in one place and burned them with flames of Holy Power.
Still buzzing from my first real fight in a long while, I roamed the village with enthusiasm.
While clearing undead, I also checked on Investigator Liza and Sister Mary from time to time. Investigator Liza had gone into one of the buildings we'd already cleaned out and seemed to be searching for something.
"Find anything?"
Curious about what she was doing, I asked.
"Yes, well…."
What she held in her hands was hard to put a name to.
"Things the villagers used…."
Nothing that would fetch a price. Objects of no real value.
I didn't need to ask why she was collecting them. I already knew.
"When this is over, I want to gather them all in one place and make a grave for them, at least."
Her eyes, fixed on the distant mountains, carried a quiet sorrow. Hearing her say it like that, I almost felt I ought to help.
"Don't worry about that. Just focus on putting the undead down."
"Yes."
Curiosity satisfied, I went back to hunting undead.
And as I chased them around, one thought kept rising to the surface….
This is annoying! Tracking down undead that ran the moment they saw me was a genuine pain. If they'd just charged me head-on, all I'd have to do was fight — easy. Instead I was searching buildings, cutting off escape routes… what a hassle!
I swept my spear through a wide arc with my right hand, pinning the zombie's movement, then drove a seething fireball from my left fist straight into its body. Holy Power surged and roared, and the zombie began to burn from the inside out.
"Hah. Easy enough."
Fighting them was simple. Finding them was the real ordeal. If they'd just attacked us properly, this would have been so much more convenient!
Before long, we decided that sticking together wasn't efficient.
"I can handle them fine on my own. Let's split up."
"Mary will take the escort duty."
"Th—!"
I moved before Sister Mary could object, tapping the butt of my spear against the ground.
"I'm the stronger one. Understood?"
"Hah… fine."
I dumped even the luggage on Sister Mary. The moment my body felt light, I was off.
"Hmm-hmm, hmm."
Humming under my breath, I hunted undead and cut down every one I found. Searching for them was still a nuisance — the second I got close they scrambled to escape, so I had to chase them down. Still, traveling alone meant I could move freely.
"That makes ten!"
I spun the spear in my right hand, switched it to my left, and swung. The violent Holy Power packed into the blade burst an undead's head clean apart.
"Mm. Was that a bit much?"
Maybe a clean separation of head from body would have been better. I cast a flame spell on the remains and burned what was left.
While hunting, I also burned the piles of corpses my sister and the young master had already dealt with.
The village was large enough that clearing it all took longer than expected.
Once I felt I'd handled a reasonable number of undead, I headed back to Sister Mary.
She looked at me with a worried expression. But I wasn't the one who needed worrying over. Scorch marks from burned corpses ringed both Investigator Liza and Sister Mary, and scraps of flesh clung to Mary's mace. Without me nearby, the undead must have come for them.
"Are you all right?"
I checked first on Investigator Liza, the one we were supposed to be protecting.
"Yes. The sister kept me safe."
Sister Mary looked a little embarrassed.
"You used the mace, then?"
"Yes. A zombie came close, so I put it to some use."
It was a weapon we'd paid good money for. If it had done its job properly, that was all that mattered. When the young master and my sister rejoined us, we prepared to wrap things up.
"All that's left should be the southern cemetery."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. We've already put down more than a hundred and fifty undead."
I'd confirmed the count while burning the corpses my sister and the young master had left behind. The number was solid.
"I see…."
Investigator Liza still seemed to struggle to believe it… but did she understand that the force we had here was overkill? Two fighters at Knight Class, two Holy Power users….
The four of us could handle what would normally take several veteran adventuring parties. We were a formidable group.
"It may be dangerous from here on. What do you wish to do?"
The young master asked carefully. We had no idea how many undead waited in the cemetery — our final objective.
Sheer numbers would be manageable. But if something strong was among them? Guarding someone while fighting at full strength would be difficult.
Still, I figured we'd manage somehow….
"I want to come with you."
"Understood. We'll do our best to protect you, but please be prepared for anything."
"Yes."
We advanced slowly toward the south, where the cemetery lay.
"By the way — how are your mana reserves?"
I checked on my sister and the young master.
"Fine."
My sister seemed all right….
"Yes. That wild ginseng we took earlier is still working remarkably well."
Ah — so the increase in mana capacity meant they had no problems. Thinking back on that incident still made me wince at the waste.
At any rate, it was a relief they still had room to spare.
The closer we drew to the cemetery, the thicker the miasma became. As we approached, a chill settled over us cold enough to raise goosebumps.
An ordinary person would have struggled to endure this miasma and cold.
"Ugh. This feels awful."
I glanced back at Investigator Liza. Her face had gone deathly pale.
"Haa…."
I immediately drew up Holy Power and cast a blessing over her. Strength flooded her body, and color returned to her face.
"Better?"
"Y-yes… thank you."
"Anyone else need one?"
I asked the others just in case.
"I'm fine."
"I'm good."
Knight Class, as expected.
We arrived at a place that was unmistakably a cemetery. Up to that point, we hadn't encountered a single undead. My presence might have played a part… but something else seemed to be at work as well.
I checked the contents of my pouch. How was this thing supposed to be used? Just throwing it probably wouldn't do it….
Did it need a flame? But there was no fuse.
Infuse it with Holy Power?
I'd never used one before, so I had no idea. I'd try injecting Holy Power and throwing it first. If that didn't set it off, I'd hit it with a fireball.
Standing at the cemetery entrance, the tension crept back in.
"Hoo…."
Everyone else looked fine. Was I the only one wound too tight? I lifted my spear.
"Something's off."
Even accounting for my influence, not meeting a single undead on the way here was strange.
Someone — or something — was commanding them.
As we moved toward the heart of the cemetery, the miasma grew denser still. Before long, a horde of undead came into view. Dozens at the least — more likely well over a hundred.
"That's a lot…."
Even the young master seemed a touch tense as he adjusted his grip on his sword. Sister Mary set down the bags and drew her mace.
"Stay back unless you absolutely have to."
I warned Investigator Liza.
Sister Mary cast blessings over us without needing to be asked, reinforcing our bodies. I started to prepare a spell, then reached for my pouch instead.
"We'll open with this."
I pulled out a dark crimson stick I'd made with alchemy and held it up for them to see.
"Understood."
As we closed on the horde, a massive presence radiated from its center. With my enhanced vision, I made out a powerful-looking undead. A knight? It wore something close to a knight's attire.
"Ah — Father…!"
The cry from behind startled me for a moment.
The presence dominating the field wore armor and carried a sword. It was playing at being a knight.
"You said… Father?"
"Th-that armor. My father wore it when he was alive. And that sword, too…!"
Investigator Liza explained in a rush of emotion. Her father had been the village chief — a retired knight. A proud man who had always put himself first to protect the people of this village.
Yes. Putting himself first was exactly the problem.
"That's how he caught the plague as well."
He'd sent his daughter to safety and stayed behind himself… now I understood why she had clung so desperately to this place.
So her father — once Knight Class — had become an undead?
Then that thing was a Death Knight?
"We'll need to be careful."
The young master, who had looked relatively at ease until now, fixed his eyes with sudden seriousness.
"Ready?"
"Yes."
My sister nodded. We'd already received our blessings — no point wasting time.
I poured Holy Power into the dark crimson rod that still had no name. As the power took hold, the stick began to change. Crimson blotches glowed and writhed, coiling like living flame.
So Holy Power was the answer after all. I planted the butt of my spear in the ground to free my hands, then set my stance to throw.
The light in the rod seemed to hit its critical point.
If I didn't throw it now, it would be dangerous — so I threw. Mimicking a pitcher's windup, I lifted my left leg, stepped forward to plant, and twisted my hips. The force traveled from waist to arm, and I hurled the stick with everything I had.
It streaked toward the center of the undead horde at impressive speed. But when was it supposed to detonate?
Just in case it didn't go off, I prepared a spell.
In that instant, a fierce crimson light erupted from the rod as it hit critical mass, and something seemed to contract inward.
What followed was a blast and a shockwave so violent the force reached even us.
"Whoa…!"
The bomb had gone off. The power was staggering. Undead near the stick had been reduced to almost nothing, and even those farther out were riddled with damage from the blast.
"I-incredible!"
Everyone stood stunned by the sheer force of it.
"Is this really the time? They're coming!"
I snapped at the young master, who was still staring my way in awe. Thinning their numbers with the bomb was good — but the undead horde was already charging toward us.
A crushing hostility rolled off them. So having a commander really did change everything….
Was a commander's presence that significant? The undead moved differently now.
Where had those slow, shambling corpses gone? They were fast.
"They're coming!"
At Sister Mary's cry, I loosed the fireball I'd already prepared straight ahead.