......What the Hell?
“......What the hell?”
Alzahar had cornered Yoahim and Haellagos using the power of Kakali's holy relic, reversing the tide in one fell swoop. His flesh and muscles had long since rotted away completely, but if he could, he'd have narrowed his eyes and grimaced right then. What was unfolding before him was that bewildering.
“Apostle Yoahim......”
Haellagos, who had been sent tumbling across the floor by the unexpected blow, struggled to his feet. He stared at the source of the immense heat radiating even from afar. A storm of flames raged wildly.
It resembled magic, yet its foundation was different. Not fueled by mana, but by life force—these violet flames, impossible in nature, burned with the apostle's vitality as kindling. Everyone present knew it.
“Hahaha! You foolish apostle! No matter how mighty your blood magic, do you think it can best me now that I've claimed the holy relic's power? It's all meaningless thrashing!”
Boom!
Alzahar stomped the ground hard, sending tremors through the floor as wraiths rose. Empowered by the relic, he had summoned a portion of the undead from the battlefield. No elite Death Knights among them, but the skeleton horde numbered over two hundred.
Enough feeble skeletons to overwhelm even Haellagos if they swarmed. The two hundred charged at once, kicking off the earth.
“Foolish apostle scum! I'll kill you fi—”
Whoosh!
Alzahar's shout drowned in the roar of surging flames. A pillar of fire erupted from floor to ceiling with overwhelming force, incinerating the charging skeletons in an instant. Hellfire heat melted bones to ash. The scorching gust that followed scattered the gray powder without a trace.
The flames that devoured two hundred skeletons in one go twisted hungrily, seeking more prey. The pillar reshaped into a living serpent, jaws gaping toward Alzahar.
“You think I'll just take it?!”
Alzahar swung his scythe to slash the serpent's maw wide. But the instant scythe met flame, a thunderous explosion rocked the chamber. The shockwave shook the floor; chunks of ceiling rained down. Thick smoke obscured vision, and Alzahar swept his scythe wide to clear it.
But something pierced the haze first.
Whoosh!
A sharp spear tip stabbed into Alzahar's eye socket. No eye remained—just an empty hollow—but it was still part of his body. Bone fragments sprayed instead of blood. Alzahar screamed, staggering back a step.
Then, as the spear yanked back like retrieving a harpoon, a crunch echoed, tearing away part of his face. But the assault didn't end there.
As Alzahar reeled from the sudden loss, a blade raked his ribs viciously. Slash! Several bones clattered to the floor.
The lightning-fast barrage left Alzahar clueless mid-attack. Pain hit moments later, undeniable.
“Gaaaargh!”
His brief opening had battered him. Roaring in fury, Alzahar charged his merciless assailant—Haellagos.
“You filthy demon! I'll kill you!”
Alzahar ran heedless of pain. Watching, Haellagos raised his spear-axe a beat too slow. He'd landed a critical hit, but he too was covered in wounds. Battle fatigue dulled his movements.
Alzahar, though injured, had conserved stamina and now ignored pain through relic power and rage—putting him at an advantage.
“Come on then! I'll split that bony skull, Alzahar!”
Haellagos gripped his spear-axe tighter with both hands, bellowing a war cry. Objectively, Alzahar held the edge. Undeniable.
But war wasn't fought alone.
“Over here!”
Whoosh!
Massive flames coiled around Alzahar's charging legs. His robe ignited, crumbling to ash in seconds. The blaze greedily consumed his leg bones next.
Yoahim's fierce flames—born of burning life force—were no easy thing to shrug off, even for Alzahar.
“Insolent worm! You dare mock me with that pathetic sorcery? I've mastered every magic, transcended death itself! Think this petty blood magic can touch me?!”
Alzahar's rage manifested physically: thunder crashed with a boom, the ground quaked like an earthquake, his scythe whistled through air. He even summoned hundreds more skeletons. They charged foes only to fall to sky-falling lightning—then rise as if untouched.
The relic's power blanketed the castle in immortality; his undead were truly unkillable.
“Meaningless struggles! I am strong! I am invincible! I am Alzahar!”
Indeed, Alzahar was mighty. Mana overflowed like an endless sea despite drains. His body shrugged off massive wounds unscathed. Countless undead fearlessly obeyed, ignorant of death.
Yet Yoahim and Haellagos never considered defeat. Not bravado—sincere conviction.
Because war wasn't fought alone.
“My―lord!”
A black-armored knight dropped through a ceiling hole. Thud! The floor shook slightly as he charged Alzahar, swinging his massive greatsword.
Alzahar swung his scythe to counter the knight's fierce momentum—but cleaved only air with the knight's swift dodge.
“Grah!”
A heavy stab pierced his instep. Alzahar irritably kicked the knight away. Armor clanged against stone.
“Aljes!”
“I'm―fine―!”
Despite Yoahim's worried shout, Aljes sprang up unfazed, gripping his sword and charging again. Skeletons shattered and flew with every step.
“You stupid Death Knight! Think that changes anything?!”
As Alzahar reached for necromancy—
“Over here, bone freak!”
Neigh!
Hooves thundered amid a horse's cry. A phantom steed blurred through skeletons like a point of light, lancing forward.
Crack!
The cavalry lance shattered Alzahar's shinbone, embedding deep. He howled.
“You dullahan bastard!”
As he stomped with his good foot—something flashed from his blind spot.
“Kiiiiieeeek—!”
A chilling, horrific shriek. Even Alzahar flinched.
Gellios safely retreated, yanking his lance free. “Nice one, Tilia!”
The wailing banshee Tilia had fully exploited her powers, scattering Alzahar's focus. She darted nimbly, grating his nerves further.
“Crush bones! Kill enemy!”
The massive Living Dead giant charged brutishly, striking hard. Billad's full-force impact shook Alzahar's frame.
“You arrogant mongrels! Come to save your master's life like Haellagos's dogs? Fatal mistake! Utter stupidity!”
Haellagos's lieutenants had gathered. They should be commanding troops above— their presence here was anomalous. Abandoning subordinates spelled gain for Alzahar; his army needed no leaders, but Haellagos's did. Leaderless, it'd crumble under undead waves.
“The fool is you, Alzahar.”
“What?”
“My subordinates are tougher than you think. My army has plenty of capable commanders beyond these aides. And...”
Haellagos added lowly, “Forgot this war ends only when one of us dies?”
Roar!
Thunderous cheers erupted as Haellagos's aides charged en masse. Even Alzahar couldn't easily handle Haellagos plus them all.
Nor could Haellagos's side. This war ended here—when one fell.
“Pointless! Think I'll die here?!”
Boom! Lightning struck. Rumble! Quakes hit. Whoosh! Blades whistled.
The mighty lich unleashed calamities; skeletons shattered and reformed endlessly. Battle intensified over time.
Haellagos and his aides accumulated wounds. Aljes's sword snapped against the scythe; Gellios's armor crumpled. Billad's body frayed; Tilia spat blood from overusing her voice.
Haellagos fared no better. His sulfur-flamed spear-axe dulled; thick armor hung in rags.
Yet they pressed on, smashing skeletons, lunging at Alzahar without cease.
Chilling...
An alien sensation. Alzahar flailed his scythe and hurled black magic, bewildered by the unfamiliar dread.
If alive, he'd liken it to a fist squeezing his heart.
What is this?
Alzahar had lived fearlessly. A prodigy mage in life, he wandered towers for knowledge. The world was vast, geniuses scarce. Arrogance grew; he wielded magic whimsically—killing annoyances, stealing desires, smashing obstacles.
Only death could claim him, so he transcended it. Simple for a genius.
Studying Kakali's faith with black mages' aid, he became a lich effortlessly. Death conquered, fear forgotten.
Nothing remained to thwart him.
No... I know this feeling.
The one who subjugated lich-Alzahar with death's aura. The overwhelming presence that recalled forgotten terror when pledging loyalty as would-be apostle.
I'm afraid. Of dying...
Terror resurfaced, identical.
Alzahar unwittingly stepped back. Then two, three, four steps. He blinked—against the wall.
I retreated?
Battered, facing charging foes, he barked a hollow laugh.
Not over yet. The phylactery lives. Hidden where they won't find it—revive and escape when chance comes...
Thought shattered. Instinctual dread gripped his nonexistent heart.
What? What the fuck is this? Why feel this?!
As Alzahar whipped his head irritably—
“Hah!”
Eyes met. Absolute death.
“It's over, Alzahar.”
Kakali's apostle stepped forward.
Death approached.
“Me?! Die?! Here?!”
Alzahar shrieked hysterically, waving to rip open a portal—fleeing Yoahim at least.
But.
“Can't―go!”
Aljes seized his left leg. Gellios stabbed the right instep. Billad grabbed the right leg. Tilia screamed, disrupting his chant.
Haellagos lunged, clamping Alzahar's waist.
“Go, Apostle!”
Immobilized, Alzahar roared futilely.
Blazing flash. Hellfire—life force burned, death aura cloaked—streaked straight.
“For Kakali!”
The light delivered death.