234. Spring of Hilash (3)
234. Spring of Hilash (3)
- 1 -
"S-save...!"
The stench of blood and rotting flesh stung the nose.
The sounds of flesh being pierced and bones being crushed echoed from every direction.
Puuk! Kwadeuk!
"Keuhihihi!"
The outskirts of the royal capital Hylash were already half-destroyed.
The nobles' district was being protected by the army and knights, but the commoners' quarter was not so fortunate.
The royal capital was vast to begin with.
With the Royal Guard and Imperial Guard concentrating their forces on the nobles' district, it was only natural that other areas received no such protection.
"Let us bestow sin and punishment upon them! The judgment of the Lamb upon the hypocrites!"
The hysterical laughter of the fanatics filled the streets.
The black fate that flowed from the mouths of the Undead swirled in the air like the traces of their rotting souls.
They whispered words of injustice and grudge to the corpses, and as if responding to those words, the decayed and crumbling Zombies spread out in all directions.
Both the Undead that had already risen and those who had just died rose and surged toward the nobles' district at the city center.
"Th-there!! The army...!"
"Save us!!"
The sound of soldiers' footsteps rang out along with the tolling of bells in the distance.
But they were all heading in the same direction.
Toward the nobles' district.
"Please! There are people over here too...!"
Even at the desperate cries, the soldiers did not look back.
The order to protect the nobles' district was everything to them.
"Look! You foolish hypocrites! They have abandoned you!"
With the fanatics' shouts, the wave of Zombies and Skeletons surged forward.
The helpless citizens could not even flee.
- They came over the walls!
- Stop them! St...!
The voices of the guards protecting the outskirts were cut off in the empty air.
Their corpses soon decayed, crumbled, and rose again, rushing at the citizens.
Even the adventurers active here and there, or some of the stronger soldiers, were equally unable to fulfill their roles against such overwhelming numbers.
Kwang - !!
Red flames shot up from the nobles' mansions.
But that was not salvation for the commoners' streets.
It was merely someone venting their anger.
"Our judgment begins!"
"We'll take it all and start anew!"
"Keuhihi!"
The fanatics' laughter blanketed the sky.
"Save me... please save me..."
The streets were filled with fanatics and shambling corpses.
In the eyes of those watching while hiding, only despair remained.
Even as their livelihoods crumbled like this, there was no one to protect them.
'There'd be no way for them to know that in reality, not that much damage was actually done.'
Libertas, who had been observing the entire situation, murmured inwardly.
The indiscriminate slaughter was carried out only by the fanatics and the corpses they directly controlled.
The other corpses, even if they destroyed the streets, did not harm those who did not interfere with them.
But what appeared in the people's eyes was nothing but a landscape already reduced to ruins.
Shops were destroyed, houses were burning, and the foundations of their lives crumbled in an instant—this spectacle unfolded before them.
That despair pressed down on their hearts even more deeply than the fear of death.
Fear, despair, and a sense of betrayal. All of it was Libertas's weapon, with which he orchestrated the situation.
"What are we supposed to do now..."
Someone's lament echoed through the streets.
That voice was soon buried beneath the wails of the corpses.
- 2 -
It was just as the people of the royal capital were being engulfed in despair.
"Everyone, gather beside me!"
A woman cloaked in dazzling radiance appeared in the southern part of the city.
A woman clad in green vestments and pure white armor.
In one hand she held the Saintess's banner, and in the other, a Hammer.
"The Saintess has come!"
"The Saintess came to save us!!"
"God's protection!!"
Hope bloomed on the faces of those who saw Esther's figure.
She had gathered the guards who were being annihilated at the walls one by one, forming a military force, and now she had come to save the citizens with that strength.
"Pray, all of you. The true King is watching over you."
Esther's voice rang out.
A bitter smile rose to the lips of the Saintess as she offered a prayer devoid of sincerity, but the banner in her hand poured out its power without hesitation.
The banner fluttered without any wind, and a subtle light spread from its folds.
A gentle aura of light spread over the shoulders of the soldiers and citizens who accompanied her.
Wounds healed, and terror subsided.
With each wave of the banner, more blessings were bestowed.
"God is with us!!"
"Wage a holy war!!"
The cries of the abandoned soldiers echoed out.
There was no longer any fear in their voices.
"Return to your rest. You pitiful ones."
Esther's Hammer rose toward the sky.
The pure white flame blazing at its heavy head soon engulfed her entire body.
Kwang!! Hwareureuk - !!
A pure white flame blazing along the trajectory drawn by the Hammer.
The Hammer struck the ground, creating cracks in the earth and spreading that flame in all directions.
- Kyaaak!!
- Keuhaak!!
The Zombies and Skeletons that were even slightly touched by that fire collapsed on the spot or crumbled into ash and faded away.
"Oooh..."
"All by herself, that many Undead...!"
The people's praise poured out.
And the fanatics' curses poured out as well.
"God's harlot has appeared!!"
"Die!!"
The fanatics rushed at her.
Even if they were drunk on the power they had obtained for the first time in their lives, the notion that they could stand against the Saintess was madness beyond recklessness.
"Judgment!"
Kwang!!
The Hammer struck the first fanatic.
The pure white flame shot up and engulfed the fanatic's body.
There was no smell of burning flesh, nor any fate, but his scream was truly that of one who beheld hell.
"Keuaaak!!"
"Hiik, hiik...! It burns, it burns! M-mommy...!"
The bodies of those exposed to the holy fire convulsed.
They collapsed, writhing in the agony of their bodies and souls being purified.
- Dalkak
- Cheolkeok
Skeleton Knights emerged with heavy footsteps.
There were knights wielding rusty greatswords, knights gripping polearms, and knights holding maces.
Their armor was worn, but the dignity they possessed in life remained intact.
They charged at Esther.
Kwang!!
Hammer and greatsword clashed.
The Skeleton Knights' strength was not to be taken lightly.
Moreover, more Undead were surging in behind them.
"Catch that wench and kill her!!"
"Kill the harlot and offer her as a sacrifice to the truly great ones!"
The fanatics' shouts came from behind the Undead.
"In my master's name."
Esther's eyes shone coldly.
Her eyes were filled with the darkness of worshipping her master Libertas, yet the power spreading from her hands was still light and divinity.
She had never once abandoned her heart for the weak.
Her maddened loyalty toward her master and her compassion as a Saintess formed a strange harmony within her.
The hand gripping the Hammer rose high once more.
- 3 -
If the Saintess's light rose in the south, then in the north, another darkness pushed back the darkness.
"G-get a hold of yourselves!! This way!"
Those who saw the small figure that appeared near the north gate cast puzzled glances.
She was far too small and frail-looking to be a savior.
A girl in a white dress with hair mingled gold and black.
"That person... I've never seen her before...?"
"She's wearing the royal crest, isn't she?"
"That's what matters! Look, that person...!"
The answer to the people's questions came in the form of the girl's power.
Kuung - !!
- Keuaak!!
- Kyareuk!
A formless impact pressed down upon the space.
The path where Zombies were surging was flattened in an instant.
As if a giant hammer had slammed down, their bodies were crushed and obliterated.
"Come this way! I'll make a path!"
The girl's voice was urgent, and her gestures were not particularly reassuring.
Kwakwang - !!
Kureureung!
But her power was undeniable.
Wherever she reached out her hand, massive impacts surged forth, and the Undead shattered to pieces and collapsed on the spot.
"The royal oppressor has appeared! Even bearing the blood of the great ones, she intimidates us!"
"That girl's head must be placed on the guillotine!"
"The youngest Princess! She is a sacrifice that will please God!"
Along with the shouts ringing out from among the fanatics, figures with hoods pulled down low emerged.
Mages with dark energy rising all over their bodies.
Beside them, the seniors who had died and been buried in the graveyard were also present.
Bare bones and rotting hands clutched orbs and staves.
"As the Lamb has shown us resurrection..."
- Keudeudeuk - !
Blue flames, black lightning, and dark winds flew in.
But at the spot where Yurena's hand pointed, an invisible impact arose and shattered all the magic.
Kwaaang - !!
The empty air resonated with a vibration.
A wave that pressed down upon the entire space, as if a giant bell had rung from all directions at once.
"Collapse...! 「Breath of Silence」!"
Another wave burst from Yurena's hand.
She reproduced, almost exactly, that impressive magic she had witnessed recently.
Mana extending in a straight line, and from it, countless waves spreading out like branches.
Tung -
The subtle and deadly vibration that Libertas had used when suppressing her magic spread out toward the living.
"Keok...!"
"What is this magic...!"
All the living fanatics present collapsed, bleeding from their ears and eyes.
She lacked the precise manipulation ability of the blood kin she had just met, but she compensated with destructive mana, producing a new effect.
Some among them died, and some lived but could not move.
"Huh...?"
Yurena, who had not expected her magic to operate so brutally, froze for a moment.
'Get a hold of yourself...!'
But her confusion did not last long.
For she was someone who, despite her small body, had already killed countless 'human-like' things.
Besides, she was not in a position to dwell on her confusion.
"How dare...!"
- Dalgeurak.
More mages appeared behind those who had collapsed.
The dark mana rising like black fate surged toward her.
"Everyone, run...!"
Without forgetting to shout toward the people, she drew upon her power once more.
The same power as that wielded by those Undead.
The power of the demon tribe.
'As my sister said...!'
To follow her will... no, the will of her newly met 'guardian.'
- 4 -
'This much should do.'
Looking down at the surface, I nodded inwardly.
The battlefield overview and coordination using soul magic and necromancy had been perfect.
I could see everything: the despairing hearts of the refugees cornered into alleys, their deep sense of betrayal toward the kingdom, and the Undead that cornered them but did not kill them.
'Just as planned.'
The fanatics had attacked without distinguishing between nobles' mansions and commoners' streets.
To create the situation I wanted, it had been enough to drive some of the Undead they weren't controlling toward the nobles' district.
The fanatics' frenzy ensured that no one could suspect a thing.
"Where did all the knights and mages go..."
"All the taxes I've paid all this time...!"
The people believed the royal family had abandoned them.
In reality, there had simply been no room to spare, but in truth, that was the same thing.
It was discrimination in their choices, after all.
'And then Esther and Yurena appeared.'
Their overwhelming abilities swept through the city.
In fact, a considerable number of the Zombies that collapsed had not been brought down by Esther.
They were ones I had rendered immobile by withdrawing my mana.
Considering what was to come, the Saintess needed 'leeway.'
"Saintess!! Thank you!!"
"Follow the Saintess! Others are still in danger!!"
And that intent worked perfectly.
Not only the soldiers but even the citizens moved, following behind her as she displayed overwhelming prowess.
Following her banner, toward the west of the city, which still overflowed with Zombies and Skeletons.
"A royal opposes us!!"
"Why do you suppress us with our own power!!"
The fanatics' shouts that echoed toward Yurena were also under my direction.
Beneath the deeply pulled-down hoods were hidden the faces of nobles who had become mimic-type monsters.
They were performing their roles perfectly.
Every moment I had orchestrated to create this situation was coming together and blooming.
"Well then, now..."
I decided to use my power directly, to make them into heroes.
Kureureureung...!
The skies to the west and east of the royal capital were covered with dark clouds.
The black clouds writhed as if alive, and within them, thunder like someone's breath rumbled.
The clouds in the east were larger than those in the west, but what meaning could that have?
The Saintess and the Princess had already headed west, and the royal castle's forces would belatedly rush to the east where the wealthy merchants were concentrated.
"Come forth. 「Hundred-eyed Argos」."
A massive shadow was cast beyond the clouds.
Hundreds of eyes flashed between the clouds, every one of them glistening with madness.
At last, a 'giant' appeared from beyond the clouds.
"Play to your heart's content."
Jjak!
As my clap resounded, the monsters within the clouds were released.
- Keuhahahahat!!
A hundred eyes flashed toward the surface, and the laughter that burst from their mouths engulfed the city.
It was time to adorn the finale of the performance.