Celestial — Explosion
-Kyaaaaaak!
It was an overwhelming sight. A writhing horde of zombies came surging forward with shrieks tearing through the air, like a storm-wracked sea in the dead of night—and Aloken, desperately fleeing while triggering Blood Explosions again and again, was nothing more than a tiny, fragile boat lost within it.
Is any of this even possible?
The zombies charged without discrimination—over the train, under it, along both sides. Aloken felt as though he were fighting an endless black tide pressing in from every direction at once.
And worst of all was the fact that every new zombie latching onto the train fell entirely under the control of the crowned man.
"Judas! Respond!"
Scattering droplets of blood around himself with one hand, Aloken snatched up his communication crystal with the other.
-This is Judas. Has the situation concluded?
The unshakably calm man's voice drifted from the crystal.
"No! Some insane necromancer has crashed the party and he's stealing control of the zombies! Block all zombie movement, now!"
-What nonsense are you spouting? How could anyone possibly wrest control of the Blood Zombies away from the Holy Grail of Blood that drives them?
"How the hell should I know? Just hurry and—!"
Crang!
A zombie's flailing arm smashed Aloken's communication crystal to bits. He howled in fury, spraying blood droplets wildly, then launched himself into the air.
What the hell is that monster?
Aloken's gaze rose to Simon, who sat perched atop the surging zombies, serenely observing it all.
There was definitely no one like that among the passengers!
At that moment, Simon's eyes flashed behind his mask.
[Seize him.]
The zombies on the train linked their limbs together into a long living ladder of flesh, and with it snatched at the very tips of Aloken's feet just as he tried to leap skyward. Two zombies immediately clambered up onto his back.
Before Aloken could tear them away with a Blood Explosion, Simon's fist clenched first.
'Corpse Explosion.'
KWA-AAAAAAAANG!
A pitch-black blast erupted from the three zombies all at once. Aloken, having taken massive damage, dropped from the sky and came rolling across the train's roof.
"Ghhk!"
Black flesh rained off his body in clumps. It was the dark magic known as Meat Armor—a sacrificial layer that absorbed damage in his stead.
The reserves of my Meat Armor are already more than half gone...!
That was the real problem. The zombies' teeth were one thing—he could fend those off with Meat Armor well enough—but the moment he was seized even once, a Corpse Explosion went off instantly.
And the masked man didn't even seem to need to perform calculations or draw magic circles. It was as though all he had to do was close his fist and the zombies detonated.
He had never once seen a zombie mage like this.
[Do you really intend to just stand there daydreaming?]
Simon croaked out the words in a low, sinister tone, his fist already tightening.
What now? Something else about to blow?
Aloken whipped his head around frantically, but the zombies were still far from him. Then he felt an enormous force churning—not in front of him, but below.
Oh no—the zombies in the passenger car, pressed up against the ceiling—!
KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!
Caught in yet another Corpse Explosion, Aloken lost the vast quantity of Meat Armor bonded to his body and plummeted into the passenger car with a scream.
"Gahk! Hrk!"
It wasn't over. As if they'd been waiting, several zombies burst into the car—and in the same instant, light began to swell within their bodies.
Aloken was dumbfounded.
He's spamming Corpse Explosion with no delay at all?!
On the train's roof, the corner of Simon's mouth curled upward as he spread his palm.
'Fine-tuning the output.'
He clenched his fist.
'Explode.'
TOO-KWAAAAAAAAAAANG!
An entire passenger car blew apart. The train shrieked against the rails and lurched side to side, but narrowly avoided derailing altogether.
When the smoke cleared, the car was nothing but floor and skeletal frame—and on the far side of the ruins, Aloken could be seen fleeing, drenched in his own blood. His plan was to retreat toward the rear of the train.
[Chase him.]
The swarm of zombies carrying Simon rose like a wave, then surged forward in a long, sweeping arch.
They vaulted clean over the ruined passenger car and crossed in a single bound to the next carriage, where Aloken was running.
Shaaaaaaak!
In response, Aloken cast a new dark spell. Four fleshy arms sprouted from his back, smashed through the carriage windows, and seized the passengers inside.
"Kyaaaaaa!"
The passengers clutched in his arms screamed in terror. Aloken flashed a mocking grin—then, with all his strength, hurled the hostages away.
A filthy stalling tactic.
But Simon didn't waver in the slightest. He opened his subspace at once and sent out Bone Armor. The people flying from the train were enveloped by the Bone Armors one after another.
'Retrieve.'
Simon swept his arm, and the passengers were drawn back inside the train. Aloken's expression hardened at the sight.
His adaptability has changed too. He's a completely different person from the one I first ran into!
Even amid all this, the zombies carrying Simon moved briskly. The arch of bodies reached Aloken's back—and Simon thought he'd finally caught him for real this time.
Vuuuuuum!
A pure-white divine magic circle unfolded behind the fleeing Aloken. Clicking his tongue, Simon leapt down from the zombie swarm.
KAGAGAGAGAK!
The moment the zombies passed through the magic circle, freshly ground mounds of meat went tumbling across the floor. Simon landed and turned his head.
...An Inquisitor?
In the distance, a woman in inquisitor's garb was gasping for breath. She was wounded in several places, but healing herself with her own holy magic as she went.
Had she judged him an enemy? The thought had barely formed in Simon's mind when Aloken roared out.
"What took you so long?! Kill him, now!"
"No! I didn't come here on purpose, I—!"
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOM!
Bombardments of light came crashing down from the heavens in clusters. At the heart of that barrage, a girl advanced, trailing a maelstrom of pure white in her wake.
Lethe!
"What the hell is with all this crap? Your opponent is ME!"
Lethe charged, swinging her sacred blade. The Inquisitor threw up barriers in rapid succession, but a single stroke of the blade sheared through several of the veils at once.
I can leave that side to Lethe.
Simon fixed his gaze on Aloken once more. Aloken ground his teeth.
...Damn it all! Where's the Chimera?! I strained our resources just to bring that thing along to eliminate that Efnel woman!
-Kyeeeeeeeeeh!
Right on cue, the cry of the chimera—the Hellhound—rang out.
Aloken turned his head to find the Hellhound's head poking out beyond the train, grinding itself to shreds against the railway—and Prince riding on top of it.
[Hahahaha! Die! Die, I say!]
The little prince was subduing the Hellhound through sheer brute force.
Watching the Hellhound's head being shredded along the rails, Aloken finally grasped how dire his situation had become.
Where in the world are these monsters popping out from, one after another?
It had come to this—he had no choice but to stake his own life. As Aloken traced quick strokes through the air with his fingers, a crimson magic circle etched itself across the train's ceiling.
-KEHGGGGGUK!
Out of it emerged a second Hellhound, prepared and waiting.
"Behold the true power of a Bishop of the Blood Heaven Sect!"
Aloken flung out blood droplets to repel the incoming zombies, then approached the Hellhound. Its ribcage yawned open with a wet tearing sound—and enveloped his body whole.
The ultimate version of the necromancer's defensive art known as Meat Armor.
The Hellhound's body rippled, and it rose onto two legs. Muscle reformed along its hind limbs, shifting it into a bipedal form; the beast's head sank down into its chest, and its forelegs evolved fully into hands.
Aloken had become a figure wearing the Hellhound like a suit, only his own head remaining exposed.
"KHAHAHAHA!"
When he swung the Hellhound's arms, blood droplets sprayed in every direction, blasting the zombies to pieces yet again. Even fused into this body, he could still wield his dark magic.
They call themselves anything but necromancers, huh.
That was a decidedly necromantic brand of dark magic. Simon couldn't help thinking that active necromancers really did all seem to carry at least one absolutely insane technique.
'Ugh.'
At that moment, Simon staggered.
He had worn the crown too long. Commanding far too many zombies at once was beginning to weigh on his mind.
Seizing the opening, Aloken caved in the train's ceiling and hurled himself at Simon. The zombies that rushed to shield him were batted aside by the massive bulk, and a brutal fist came swinging down. Simon clenched his jaw and raised his arm.
'Open Gate!'
Six Overlord blades met the Hellhound's fist head-on, and a thunderous impact tore through the air. The fist wrenched sideways, and the blades scattered with a resounding clang—
—and in that gap, the zombies swarmed up the Hellhound's body while Simon fell back and squeezed his fist tight.
'Corpse Explosion!'
KWAAAAAAAAAAAANG!
Pitch-black blasts erupted one after another—but Aloken, shielding nothing but his head with both arms, walked out of the explosions entirely unscathed.
Thud.
Simon dropped to one knee, gasping for breath. The crown on his head clattered onto the train's ceiling. Seeing it, Aloken broke into a satisfied smile.
"There, there. An artifact with power that tremendous couldn't possibly come without a price. Overreach for strength beyond your station, and this is what happens."
Simon lifted his head, still breathing hard. And he was still smiling.
"Doesn't something seem strange to you?"
"What?"
Now that he mentioned it—
Aloken's head turned.
...The train had stopped.
What in the—!
At some point, countless zombies had wedged themselves beneath the train, physically blocking its path and forcing it to a halt.
"Now, then."
Simon picked the crown back up and rose unsteadily from where he knelt, swaying like one of his own zombies. Then, with a flourish, he set the crown back atop his head.
[Now I'm really coming for you.]
GU-GUGUGUGUGUGUGUGU!
Beyond the halted train, the zombies surged upward into a single jet-black tidal wave. Every eye that beheld it went wide.
[Follow me.]
At Simon's command, thousands of zombies hurled themselves at Aloken all at once.
Aloken fled, scattering blood droplets in every direction. The black tide engulfed him once, but he tore free with a Blood Explosion and leapt into the air.
I can't win a head-on fight! For now, I need to fall back from here—
Just then.
Higher than the ascending Aloken, a swarm of zombies was arcing through the sky and bearing down on him head-on.
No way—did he read my escape route?!
[Your airborne escape pattern is always the same.]
Simon grinned, baring his teeth, and spread his palm.
<Barrier of Severance>
At that very moment, the Inquisitor battling Lethe unfolded another divine magic circle directly in Aloken's path. She, too, understood—if he escaped into the sky, no one would win.
Perfect! What a magnificent assist!
Aloken suspended in midair. A holy barrier. And the horde of zombies arcing down toward him.
This time too, he was certain, the zombies would be shredded the instant they crossed the barrier.
But.
[I can do anything.]
Simon closed his eyes and murmured the words.
No—this alone is not enough.
[I am—]
It was vivid. Crystal clear.
In this moment, freed of every stray thought, focused wholly and absolutely on a single truth, Simon felt—for just an instant—pure, unadulterated joy.
[I am omnipotent.]
VUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!
An immense divinity detonated from Simon's crown.
White threaded into Simon's golden eyes. And the zombies, which had been plunging forward wreathed in black haze, all bleached bone-white in an instant.
"What—!"
The horde now radiating holy power passed through the divine barrier without the slightest resistance, seized Aloken's body, and dragged him down to earth.
GU-WUUUUNG!
Aloken crashed into the ground, and countless holy zombies blanketed over him.
An enormous white mountain of zombies rose into being. At the same moment, Lethe—who had just subdued and knocked out the Inquisitor—lifted her head.
Her whole body trembled with a shiver she couldn't suppress.
...O Goddess.
Metin, who had climbed up to the ceiling to shake off his wounds and join the fight, stood gaping, his mind blank.
Is this... something that can actually happen?
In the rear car, having wiped out every last cultist, Ellen turned to look out the window—and her pupils shook.
...Simon!
Gripping the crown, Simon drew a deep breath and raised his left hand above his head.
Every gaze watching him followed, tilting skyward. Above Simon's head, innumerable divine magic circles unfurled, spreading as if to blanket the heavens themselves.
Compello. The absolute insight that touches upon truth itself.
Even now, at this very moment, the equations of the magic circles were shifting hundreds, thousands of times over, refining themselves toward their final form.
When the computation finished, the countless circles all vanished—and before Simon's hand, only a single divine magic circle remained.
[Celestial—]
Simon traced a holy sign and clenched his fist.
[—Explosion.]
The world turned pure white—and in the next breath, light and darkness detonated in sequence, the blast swallowing even its own sound as it spread outward in every direction.
Colorless. Scentless. Silent.
A pure-white cataclysm.
Only the lingering shockwave followed—rocking the train and tearing the forest up by its roots.
GU-GUGUGUGUGUGUGU!
"Kyaaaaaaak!"
"Guhk!"
The passengers threw themselves flat against their seats. Glass shattered, objects whirled through the air. No one could tell what was what anymore.
GOOOOOOOH!
As the colossal shockwave finally passed, Simon slowly lowered the hand he had stretched toward the heavens.
A single shaft of blinding radiance shone down upon him.