The Third Brother
Shweeeeeaaaargh!
Shweaaaaargh!
Black death flew from the tip of the Grand Duke's bow.
Hundreds of undead vanished with a single shot, and the mountain range beyond them was carved away. Far in the distance, one of the Abyss's undead nests came crumbling down.
An overwhelming display of majesty.
Every time her bowstring was drawn, countless fallen ones scattered into powder on the wind. Alone, she was dominating an entire army.
[Come forth, Hate.]
At her gesture, Hate — Manager of the 2nd Legion — appeared. The headless knight lifted her onto its steed, then transformed its own body to coil around the Gale Bow.
Kiiiikiiikiiikiii!
As the string of the transformed bow stretched taut to its very limit, the wail of a phantom rang out across the battlefield.
When she aimed an arrow at the sky and loosed it, the gray snow-clouds above were punched clean through in a donut-shaped hole. A moment later, a bruise-like darkness rippled across the heavens, and a rain of jet-black arrows poured down all at once.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
The black rain fell and delivered judgment upon the enemy. Holes punched clean through the undead's bodies, they collapsed like sandcastles.
"In-credible!"
"As expected!"
"We have the Grand Duke!"
UWAAAAAAAH!
The northern army, which had been crawling on the ground since the undead kingdom army's appearance, surged back to life at the Grand Duke's solo charge. She galloped on horseback, firing arrow after arrow without pause.
She's incredible.
Even Simon could only watch, mouth agape.
"What are you all doing?!"
Grand General Ganiro bellowed.
"How long will you leave the Grand Duke to fight alone?! Follow the Grand Duke's lead!"
OOOOOOOOOOOH!
The northern banners snapped in the wind as warriors hurled themselves forward, each roaring a furious battle cry.
"For the liberation of the North!"
"You goddamn mongrels!"
"Kill them all!"
The northern army crashed in with murderous momentum and began carving up the undead kingdom army in the truest sense. They had caught the tide at last.
"Grand Duke."
Grand General Ganiro ran to her side.
"You have fought hard enough. Leave the rest to us. You must conserve your strength for the final battle against the Northern God."
[Understood.]
Only then did the Grand Duke dismount. The bow, the saddle, and the armor shifted and melted back into Hate's form.
[Do not halt the offensive.]
"Yes, my lady. Leave the rear to Ganiro!"
The northern army moved to the front line, while the 2nd and 7th Legions pressed in from both flanks, driving the kingdom army back.
Having spent her strength to break the enemy's momentum, the Grand Duke turned back to command.
[Lower the left banner and prepare for a flanking assault. Archers, fall back ten paces. The riders of the third squad are pushing too far ahead — keep in step.]
Even as she commanded the northern army, she was simultaneously controlling the 2nd Legion in minute detail through her thoughts. The sight of them collapsing the enemy line in perfect coordination was something to behold.
Simon had no intention of being outdone.
Erzsebet! Fall back and lure your opponents into the spiderweb! Prince! Use your crown to freeze the zombies at eleven o'clock!
[Yes, Legion Commander!]
[Got it!]
Thanks to the Grand Duke's and Simon's exploits, the barrier of the new Three Brothers the Northern God had prepared was slowly being dismantled.
However—
Kiiiieeeeng!
Kiiiiiieeeng!
The sky turned red. A reddish energy soaked into the undead like paint, making them stronger and stronger still.
[Hahahahaha!]
Simon turned his head.
Chronos — shredded by the Grand Duke's arrows — had reappeared, laughing. Above the chest he still wore the shape of a zombie, but below it his body had been hastily reassembled from bone, like a skeleton's.
[You will never defeat the great Northern God!]
Red moons rose into the sky one after another.
The moment Chronos unleashed his specialty, the undead began to strengthen. Enemies a single warrior had once cut down with ease now grew so powerful that three or four warriors together couldn't bring one down.
"The zombies have swollen into monsters!"
"What the hell is that?!"
Chronos's ultra-wide-area curse. It empowered his own undead while simultaneously weakening the northern army.
[This is my true worth, now that I've become the 'First Brother.']
Countless moons hung in the sky.
[I will command the strongest army on the Continent — one that never loses!]
Shweeeeeaaaargh!
The Grand Duke's arrow flew at once. Every time she shattered one of the red moons spread across the sky, the enhancement curse afflicting the undead vanished with it.
[You keep interfering with me to the very end! Grand Duke!]
Chronos spread his moons again.
[Hmph. Then let us see who wins.]
The Grand Duke smiled and set her bow in motion as well.
The battle between the two titans — one spreading moons, the other dropping them — unfolded with savage intensity.
[What are you doing, Second Brother!]
Chronos shrieked.
[Bring me that woman's head, now!]
PUOOOOOOOOONG!
From within the northern warriors clashing at the vanguard, soldiers suddenly went tumbling as if a geyser had erupted beneath them.
"Hm?"
"Something's coming!"
DUDUDUDUDU!
With hoofbeats shaking the very earth, a man with arms sprouting from his throat swung his sword.
GWAAAAAAANG!
Slash-shaped spikes burst from the ground along the arc of his swing, impaling the warriors where they stood.
[Kill me... kill me... kill me...!]
It was Romario, the commander turned undead.
More arms had risen all across his body. As though giving form to Romario's tormented state of mind, every one of them twisted and coiled, thrashing in agony.
[Kill me...!]
He gripped his sword in both hands and dragged it downward. A pitch-black mountain of thorns erupted from the ground, and the warriors' bodies became honeycombs.
"Kugh!"
"Gahk!"
The warriors collapsed, vomiting blood.
KWABOOM!
Romario charged forward on horseback, savage and unstoppable. Nothing could halt him. The warriors' spear thrusts and arrows were caught and deflected by the hands sprouting from every part of his body.
"Damn it all, he's disgustingly strong!"
"The kingdom army's commander, turned into one of the Three Brothers!"
Romario picked up speed. His destination was the direction of the Grand Duke.
It was the Grand Duke herself.
Seeing him approach, even the Grand Duke broke off her containment of Chronos and leveled her bowstring at Romario.
[Kiiiill meeeeeeee!]
The moment Romario was about to reach her—
KA-RA-RA-RA-RANG!
A man came hurtling in like a bolt of lightning, sword swinging. So powerful was the single stroke that Romario's massive frame was shoved back along with his horse.
"Your opponent is me! Romario!"
Ganiro's eyes blazed.
[Kill me! Kill me! Kill me!]
Romario's mental state raged wildly in response.
"What in the world have you become, Romario! You look pathetic!"
CLEEEENG!
The two warriors exchanged brutal, furious blows.
"Haah... haah."
Sweat beaded on Simon's forehead as he commanded the battle.
The enemy's numbers are far greater than I thought!
The undead kingdom army hadn't been everything. The Northern God was still pouring in fresh reinforcements without pause.
An endless stream of undead poured down from the mountains. Colossal yeti zombies, even skeletons. Empowered by Chronos's red moons, they had grown far more ferocious and fast.
Shweeeaaargh!
Shweeeeeeaaaargh!
The Grand Duke's arrows kept piercing Chronos's moons and hunting down the named undead, but the enemy horde was endless.
Her jet-black energy was not infinite. And on top of that, she was firing while controlling the entire 2nd Legion.
Our legion has reserves — we need to take the initiative.
Simon swept his arm out.
Akemus! Block the enemies descending from the northern mountains!
[Yes, my young lord!]
Pier, loop around and cover our rear!
[Keh heh heh! Understood, boy!]
Simon held back the undead converging from every direction while tightening the encirclement around the kingdom army. The Northern God seemed to understand how much this battle mattered as well, dispatching even more forces all the way from its main nest in the Abyss.
Simon could feel it — this battle was the decisive turning point.
Chronos in particular, now the 'First Brother' of the Three, was a far more troublesome enemy than he'd imagined, and he absolutely could not be allowed to escape. He had to be captured here and now.
[Legion Commander! Undead are swarming in from the right, sir!]
I'll go myself!
The Grand Duke had ordered everyone to conserve their strength, so Simon was fighting without donning Pier, devoting himself entirely to command.
But the conviction that he had to do something burned in him. Simon sprinted headlong into the fray and activated a magic circle.
Simon Polentia Original — Royal Guard
Vmmmm!
Vmmmm!
Cyan-tinted jet-black energy surged skyward and settled into the skeletons Simon drew from his subspace. Blades rippled with fluorescent light, and cyan capes billowed.
Let's go!
Crowning himself, Simon personally led his Royal Guard, cutting down the onrushing undead.
Chronos's curse kept shifting, and so the undead's enhancements kept changing as well. One moment their bones and flesh hardened; the next, their speed became extreme.
Of course, every time an effect took hold, the Grand Duke shot down its moon and nullified it.
[You never know when to give up, do you, Grand Duke!]
Chronos's voice carried from far away.
[And our youngest — Third Brother! You're the only one left! Are you finally ready?]
"!"
At those words, Simon froze.
Come to think of it, the 'Third Brother' still hadn't shown itself.
Think. If the First Brother is Chronos and the Second is Romario, then who's the Third?
Simon bit his lip and scanned his surroundings.
Someone among the kingdom army who could become the Third Brother.
As his gaze swept rapidly across the field, he spotted a familiar face.
There!
Count Boldmont.
Now a zombie, he was shambling forward with a vacant stare, moaning, "Uhhh..." Simon clenched his jaw and charged.
Follow me!
The odds that Count Boldmont was the Third Brother were high. He had no idea what ability the man might possess, but he had to be eliminated now, before it could fully manifest.
Simon plunged in, and the Royal Guard followed.
Every time the cyan blade-light flashed, zombie heads went flying.
-Keeeee!
-Kiiiii!
As if determined to protect their Third Brother, the zombies all rushed forward at once to block Simon's path—
SHWAAAAAK!
Fluorescent arcs crisscrossed the air countless times, and the zombies tumbled to the ground in chunks of meat.
Simon wedged himself through the gap and leapt. In midair, he adjusted his grip on the Royal Guard's sword in his hand.
SHING!
He cleaved the head clean off. The zombie Boldmont's head soared high into the sky.
Rest in peace, Count Boldmont.
Offering that silent prayer, Simon straightened up.
Thud—
Tumble, tumble, tumble.
The zombie Count Boldmont's head struck the ground.
And then, a thought came to him.
That was... way too easy?
Count Boldmont was just an ordinary zombie.
He wasn't the Third Brother.
[Ahaha.]
Plop.
Simon felt a hand settle on his shoulder.
He hadn't sensed any approach at all. Chill running down his spine, he turned around.
!
[It's been a while, Simon.]
The undead before him was a face he knew.
Long hair, pale skin, scratch wounds all over.
And a tall, female zombie.
She gave him an easygoing grin.
SHING!
Simon swung his sword, but she leapt high and evaded it. His arm trembled violently.
"Why... are you here?!"
Simon shouted.
"Grayson!"
Grayson the milkmaid grinned her easygoing grin.
[Heheh.]
She spread both arms wide.
FLAPFLAPFLAPFLAP!
FLAPFLAPFLAPFLAP!
Behind her back, countless undead birds began to take wing.
[Sorry. Looks like I'm the 'Third Brother.']
"...!"
For a moment, Simon lost himself in the shock of it, as though a hammer had struck the back of his skull. Then, barely, he gathered his wits.
Calm down.
He took a slow, deep breath and recovered his composure.
Grayson was part of the kingdom army too.
What had already happened couldn't be undone. The question was how to deal with what came next.
Pier.
[What is it, boy?]
Simon raised his sword before him and drew his focus tight.
Is there any way we could bring the Three Brothers into the legion as our undead?