“Huu…”
Twelve resurrected corpses in total.
Their physical abilities were greatly enhanced, making them too difficult for ordinary soldiers to face. However, they were no match for Olivia and me.
There may be countless beings stronger than me, but I, too, belong to the realm of superhumans who are on a completely different level compared to ordinary people.
I took down five, Olivia six, and the awakened guards apprehended one, which I finished off. Just as the corpses purified by Tiamata's power ceased to move, Olivia seemed to have drawn upon the power of Tu'an to halt their movements.
However, the situation was gruesome.
The area was littered with corpses that had been bitten on the neck, had their heads smashed, or limbs torn apart.
There must have been at least fifty corpses.
A massacre had taken place in a very short span of time.
Many had fled, but countless others sat frozen in place, their legs having given out from sheer terror.
If they had believed these people were followers of the devil and killed them, they would have had to consider the possibility that something horrifying beyond their comprehension might occur. Although I didn't feel like mocking those who were paralyzed with fear when such an event actually transpired, I couldn't help but feel a surge of indignation.
“Th-Thank you for saving us… What on earth is this…?”
Although many of the dead were armed guards who had been near the awakened corpses, those who managed to regain their composure had fought with their weapons.
The person who appeared to be in charge, as well as the other guards, still wore expressions of terror.
“First, tend to the people. I don't have time to explain who I am.”
“Yes, yes, sir!”
Not everyone recognizes sacred artifacts. They might not know what to make of the Tiamata in my hand, but they would likely consider it an unusual object.
I hadn't planned to make an appearance in this manner, but I suppose I would become known as a hero who leaped into an unexpected massacre to vanquish the undead.
Olivia approached me from a distance.
“Reinhardt… This must be…”
Olivia trailed off.
I knew what she wanted to say.
The possibility of dark magic couldn't be dismissed, but she seemed to focus on another possibility.
The power to revive the dead.
It was also the power once exhibited by the cursed Tiamata, and it belonged to Kier, the nemesis of Tu'an.
It was highly likely that the divine power of the devil was being used. This meant that the real cult of the devil might be involved in this situation.
And furthermore.
Although the situation in the square had been resolved, there were no signs of additional guards arriving.
“Aaaahhhh!”
“Please, save me!”
“Run for your lives!”
Screams could be heard in the distance.
Olivia must have sensed the mixture of awe and terror directed at us by the guards and the people whose legs had given out.
Her eyes were filled with sorrow.
The people must now understand what they were up against.
It was unlikely that they recognized Olivia and me.
In the terrible situation, people gazed upon the men and women of the mysterious order who appeared like salvation and displayed their immense divine power. It was clear what they would do.
“The gods have sent us angels...!”
“They have come to save us!”
People looked at us, nodding their heads and prostrating themselves. Olivia watched them with a complex expression.
Some would arbitrarily hang someone, while others would worship someone just as arbitrarily.
Olivia looked away from those people and gazed at the large square.
The area was filled with corpses that had appeared in an instant, but there were no longer any living corpses moving about.
"Let's go, Reinhardt."
They had to do something about the bizarre events unfolding in Rajeurn.
* * *
The catastrophe at the large square had been quelled, but the revived corpses exhibited physical abilities surpassing those of ordinary humans.
More importantly, it seemed these events were happening not only in the large square but throughout the entire city of Rajeurn.
“Aaargh!”
“Run for your lives!”
An uncontrollable fire was engulfing the city, its origin unknown, and the spectacle of the revived corpses biting and tearing at people was unfolding everywhere.
As dead bodies revived and attacked people, it was natural that the scale of the disaster would grow.
If this continued, Rajeurn would become a blazing inferno swarming with the resurrected corpses.
“Shit!”
"Damn it..."
As I cut down the living corpse with Tiamata, a white divine flame blazed from the severed section, burning away the evil energy.
If this was the true power of the Demon God Kier, then Kier and Tu’an would ultimately purify each other's existence with the same power.
“Aaargh!”
“Please, save me!”
Rajeurn was already in chaos, but now it was transforming into chaos mixed with slaughter.
And that wasn't all.
“Ugh”
"Damn, they're coming back to life."
The corpses that Olivia and I had dealt with did not revive, but the corpses in the streets began to grotesquely contort and move after some time had passed.
Unless purified with divine power or utterly destroyed to the point of being unrecognizable, the dead bodies would rise again after a short while.
“Crunch!”
With a hardened expression, Olivia crushed the head of a corpse that was just starting to move under her foot.
Her lips were tightly pursed, and her expression was terribly twisted. Even if they were undead, she was crushing those who had been alive just moments ago.
“Don't be afraid!”
“Cut off their limbs! Cut them off!”
One piece of good news was that the sounds of battle and shouts could be heard from somewhere.
This fight was not a simple military exercise; priests and holy knights were needed.
However, it was doubtful how many high-ranking priests would be present in the small Kingdom of Levaina. In fact, the priests who were in the large square lost their nerve and could do nothing before they were killed. They were not accustomed to battle.
"When will the empire's reinforcements arrive... or will they even come...?"
Olivia murmured with a desperate expression.
With the existence of the Warp Gate, once the news reached the Empire, support troops would arrive, and there were also the special agents from the Empire, so there would be some degree of countermeasure. But could Rajeurn survive this bizarre situation where dead corpses were coming back to life?
In Rajeurn, which had suddenly turned into a living hell, Olivia and I ran to find the source of this calamity.
While running, we encountered reanimated corpses, which we sliced, cut, and crushed.
-Rumble!
Burning houses were collapsing.
Naturally, a fire couldn't spread this quickly.
It was impossible for Rajeurn to turn into a sea of flames in an instant unless someone had intentionally set the fire in an organized manner.
"Reinhardt! Over there!"
After running for quite some time, Olivia pointed towards the end of the long, straight road.
There, a group dressed in black robes could be seen.
As someone waved their hand over an intact house, a wave of flame erupted like a tidal wave, swallowing an entire building. We could see it clearly.
Someone was setting the fire.
Was it magic?
And among those in the black robes, there was one person riding a horse.
No, not just an ordinary horse.
"A phantom steed...?"
It was a translucent horse with only a blurry, pale blue figure.
The phantom steed, as it was called.
In the midst of the group, the being riding the phantom steed turned its head towards us from afar.
Due to the flickering flames in the distance, we couldn't see the figure inside clearly.
But it was unmistakably felt.
My intuition warned me.
It was watching me.
Both Olivia and I could see the being in the black robe spurring the phantom steed from afar.
We didn't know who it was.
But it was approaching.
"Tiamata is now in your hands."
"Right."
I was certain that Olivia wasn't a combatant without her weapon.
Tiamata was in Olivia's hands, and Alsebringer was in mine.
The phantom steed didn't run; it glided across the distance at an unbelievable speed, charging towards us.
-Swoosh!
The figure in the black robe approached us, wielding a long twin-bladed polearm. Its face was hidden within the robe, appearing as a mere black mass.
It held a spear in its left hand and a sword in its right, riding the phantom steed as it charged towards us.
In an instant, the knight closed the distance, attacking Olivia with the spear and swinging the blackened blade towards me.
-Clang!
-Screech!
My hand throbbed with pain as I was flung back, and Olivia's stance wavered significantly.
We weren't injured, but the force imbued in the weapons was difficult to withstand.
-Growl
An unknown black energy surrounded each weapon held in its hands.
"What the hell are you guys doing?"
After a single attack, it quickly created distance between us. I questioned the phantom rider, and a slow voice emerged from the darkness.
"For the Demon King."
The knight riding the charging phantom steed spoke softly.
"He desires the destruction of Levaina."
...What?
When did I!
—---
I don't even know these people.
Yet, suddenly, what kind of nonsense is it that the Demon King wants the destruction of Levaina?
I can't understand.
And if the power of the Demon Cult is this great, why have they been silent until now? Have they been expanding their influence in the meantime?
There was nothing certain, only uncertain conjectures.
However, the Phantom Rider came charging again, wielding two weapons tainted in darkness.
It was on a different level than the speed of a galloping horse.
This time, it attacked targeting only Olivia, as if it knew it had to eliminate her first.
-Hwooong!
The first attack was hard to withstand, but now, Olivia was imbuing Tiamata with a powerful divine force. Tiamata would be more efficient when used by Olivia than when I held it.
-Screech!
A fierce shockwave exploded as the sword collided with Olivia. Olivia did not back off this time, but the Phantom Rider passed by her without any significant damage.
The Rider stared at Olivia. In the pitch-black darkness, I couldn't tell what the Rider was thinking.
It seemed that the Phantom Rider had decided to confront the two of us, and the robed figures had disappeared from the edge of the street.
There was no escape.
The speed of the phantom horse the Rider rode was not that of a regular horse.
As if to ignore the laws of physics.
-Screech!
“Argh!”
In the blink of an eye, the Rider dashed and swung down his weapon, passing by in the opposite direction and then returning without any sign of inertia.
Despite moving as if unaffected by inertia, the speed and strength of the weapon were real as it swung down or thrust.
“Reinhardt! Be careful!”
-Clang!
“Argh!”
Even while maintaining my Magic Body Strengthening, just deflecting the spear the Rider thrust caused a powerful pain in my wrist, as if it would shatter.
However, the Rider's fearsome ability wasn't just in the destructive power of his attacks.
After striking once, he would terrifyingly rotate and charge without giving me a chance to recover from the impact.
-Sheeek!
“Damn it… Son of a…”
Without any backlash from his movement, the Phantom Rider thrust his spear at my face as he charged.
I don't know why, but is this right to try to kill me while claiming to be on the Demon King's side?!
-Screech!
Just before the Rider's spear pierced me, Olivia rushed in and knocked it aside.
-Kiiee!
In an instant, the Rider turned the horse's head, recovered the spear, and circled around to the side.
“Are you okay, Reinhardt?”
“Yes, for now.”
I couldn't know his full capacity, but the Phantom Rider's ability far exceeded my current level. I wasn't sure how he compared to Olivia, but it was clear that he found her annoying.
“What should we do about that horse?”
The phantom horse moved as if ignoring the laws of physics. The Rider's strength was a problem, but in his current state, riding the phantom horse, he had an overwhelming advantage.
“I'll try to hold him somehow.”
Of course, the Tiamata that Olivia held was glowing with a white, divine light in her left hand as well.
With her Magic Body Strengthening and divine power enhancements maximized, Olivia didn't quite fit the current situation, but she looked like an angel descending upon the battlefield.
In this scene where everything around her was burning, it seemed as though she had come not for salvation, but for judgment.
Screeeech!
The phantom horse let out a strange cry, charging at Olivia and me once again.
Clash!
A deafening noise, almost unbelievable for the collision of weapons, resounded, and this time, the rider did not pass by Olivia.
No, he couldn't.
He was pushed back by the counterforce of Olivia's weapon.
But that wasn't the end.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Rather, Olivia pressed her attack so that the horse couldn't move, driving the rider into a corner. She aimed at the horse and swung her weapon, but the rider seemed to know, deftly parrying Olivia's every attack with his spear and sword.
Olivia was incredible, but so was the phantom rider.
Handling a sword and spear with both hands, he was able to skillfully block Olivia's Tiamata swings.
This was an absurd monster.
However.
A joint attack is absolute.
While the enemy focused on protecting the phantom horse from Olivia's assault, I seized the rider's back.
First, we had to knock him off the horse before we could plan our next move.
What we needed now was not strength or skill, but speed.
It's been a while since I've used this in actual combat.
Swift.
I concentrate the power of self-suggestion on speed.
Another power adds to it.
The stronger the enemy compared to me, the more Alsebringer empowers me. The enemy is clearly stronger, so the condition is sufficient.
One step.
The moment I took a step.
I seized the rider's back with a speed unfamiliar even to myself, so fast that I was astonished.
However, it seemed as if the rider reacted to my speed, swinging his spear to block my charging sword.
Grind!
“Tsk!”
It was the fastest speed I could muster, but the rider reacted to it.
But as I said before.
In the end, a joint attack is absolute.
With his left hand's spear blocked and his right hand's sword intercepting Olivia's sword strike, the phantom rider was momentarily trapped, unable to move forward or backward.
He moved as if defying the laws of physics, but he never moved sideways.
The moment I blocked his retreat.
Snap!
With her free left hand, Olivia boldly grabbed the rider's sword. Wrapped in light, she gripped the rider's sword and forcefully twisted its direction.
Slash!
With the Tiamata, she sliced off the phantom horse's neck.
Screeeeaaam!
With a chilling scream, the phantom horse turned into a blue mist and scattered, and we immediately put some distance between us.
Only then did the rider descend from the unnaturally moving horse to the ground.
Thud!
The rider in the black robe didn't say anything about being speechless. Aside from that first remark, it didn't say a single word, and its emotions and mood remained unreadable.
Clank!
Casually discarding the spear, which was longer than its own height, the rider grasped only the darkness-swirling sword.
"What are you lot?"
Olivia spoke to the rider, who silently held its sword and watched the two of us.
"Minions of the Demon King?"
Although the rider's skill was a problem, Olivia seemed to think it more important to identify who they were.
From within the robe, the mysterious rider looked at us and said,
"Yes."
This is absolutely insane.
When did I!
I don't know you people!
A stranger claims to be my subordinate.
"We will complete the task that the Prophet failed to accomplish."
The Prophet.
Judging by the fact that they called the Demon King a prophet, these people must be followers of the Demon Cult.
I didn't fully understand the situation or how it had come to this, but I seemed to have an idea of their purpose and intent.
Since the Demon King failed to raid Levaina, do these people, who consider me a prophet, intend to finish my failed task by attacking Rajeurn?
The situation is so tangled that it has come to this.
Rumble!
Black energy began to stir in the sword it held.
It was quite different from the rider’s previous momentum.
It wasn't that the rider’s combat power weakened after dismounting, but rather, it seemed as if the rider were finally about to reveal its true strength.
The weapon, oozing dark energy, seemed as if something eerie would happen the moment it met its target.
"Fine."
A sardonic smile appeared at the corner of Olivia's mouth.
"There's no way the Demon King would do that."
Olivia didn't come here to discover the truth behind this incident.
If the Demon King's minions were turning Rajeurn into a mess in real-time.
She seemed to have gained confidence that there must have been another reason why the Demon King had saved her.
She needed certainty.
And so, she had just obtained it.
No matter how hateful and disgusting human behavior may be, could the essence of all humans be evil?
However.
Although she couldn't know the essence of all demons.
Aaargh!
Sa, sa, save meeeee!
Kyaahhhhhhh!
If the Demon King was behind such actions.
The Demon King must be an evil being.
Olivia was certain.
"Moreover."
With Tiamata in hand, Olivia Lanze stared at the phantom rider with a chilling, expressionless face.
"There's no need to plead any longer for the power of divine grace."
Olivia had forsaken the gods.
But she was still using holy power, and they were lending her strength. However, it seemed like Olivia was now trying to deny even that principle.
"Light."
It wasn't a plea to save us.
It wasn't a plea to guide us.
It wasn't a plea at all.
"Come to me."
To the light, she said, follow me.
Olivia commanded.
Woo-woo-wooong!
The white light enveloping Tiamata gradually intensifies, eventually adopting a golden hue. Olivia Lanze employs Tiamata in a manner unlike my own.
By now, I know that divine power fuels Olivia in some way. Thus, there is no need to pray or to strive to believe.
Olivia has been chosen by the gods.
Chosen, so that regardless of her actions, the gods lend their power to her.
Now, she commands the power to manifest.
-Krrrrrr!
The air stirs violently as Olivia Lanze is engulfed by a torrent of immense divine power, her fierce gaze fixed on the phantom rider.
Riverrier Lanze was never like this.
Although Riverrier Lanze held the upper hand in practical abilities, the sheer divine power in Olivia surpassed Riverrier Lanze's.
Even I, standing nearby, could feel the atmosphere roiling from the tempest of divine power.
However, the wicked being before us did not back down in the face of Olivia's onslaught.
The dark energy boiling within the phantom rider was ominous, but the storm of divine power radiating from Olivia was colossal.
Already immense, Olivia's divine power, amplified through Tiamata, seemed capable of enveloping the world with just its release.
Olivia, cloaked in light, and the rider, shrouded in darkness.
The phantom rider charges towards Olivia.
But it appeared as feeble and insignificant as a small boat facing a tidal wave.
As the phantom rider advances, Olivia focuses her divine power on Tiamata.
A dazzling golden radiance begins to concentrate within Tiamata.
The divine power-imbued Tiamata, seemingly on the verge of exploding, collides with the sword of the phantom rider.
Olivia thrusts her sword from above, downwards.
A straight thrust, but wielding a pressure that seemed capable of shattering the world, she strikes down.
The moment the two swords clash.
-Flash!
I saw the storm of light engulf the world.
