The cold never ceased throughout the year.

Aurelia and the members of the first subjugation squad remained faithful to their commitment, standing where they were and guarding the Dragon.

"....Are you tired Aurelia? It's been several months since we've been here. Isn't it okay if you take a break?"

Daphne looked around.

"Reinforcements from the town should also get back here soon. When they come, we'll be able to tell them of the situation."

"....."

Despite Daphne's words, Aurelia's attention remained fixed on the Dragon before her.

The mana in her body was rapidly draining and her face was pale. She was hungry and she was thirsty. Her body ached, and she was cold.

Despite that, she kept her hand fixed on the Dragon.

"M-must..."

It was as if nothing else could distract her.

"Ah! They're here!"

Or at least, until she felt a few presences in the distance and her head turned.

Four silhouettes appeared in the distance. They looked familiar.

"Ah!"

She was just about to talk to them when Daphne screamed.

Awooooo!

And the cry of a wolf echoed in the air.

Before any of them had any chance to react, several wolf-like creatures appeared, lunging towards the reinforcements that had come.

"Ah, no...!"

Aurelia screamed, but her voice reached nothing.

"Ahh!"

"H-help!"

"Hellhounds! What are they doing here?!"

Blood littered the earth as Aurelia stood paralyzed.

"What are you doing Aurelia!?"

Even despite her party members' protests, she remained still.

Clank! Clank!

The sound of fighting echoed in the distance.

One that eventually ended with the cry of the creature.

"....."

When all was said and done, silence reigned over the surroundings. One that was shattered by the voices of her comrades.

"Haaa... Haaa..."

"W-where did those beasts come from?"

"Oh, no...!"

Daphne rushed to aid the wounded, but it was already too late.

"Please hold on. I-I will... Jackson. It's me, Daphne. H-hold on."

Despite her words, Jackson lay on the ground with his eyes wide open. He wasn't staring at her, but at Aurelia who looked back at him.

He continued to stare at her until his very last breath.

"Jackson!!"

Daphne's cry of despair echoed throughout.

"...."

Aurelia continued to stand alone in silence.

One that she inevitably broke with her own step.

Scrunch.

She came to a stop when she was near Jackson's corpse. There were three other corpses around. Aurelia could recognize their faces. They had been at their farewell ceremony. Right before they departed for this journey.

Jackson, Monica, Clara, and Austin.

Aurelia knew their names too.

".....What are you doing?"

Disregarding Daphen's voice, Aurelia bent down and placed her hand over Jackson's corpse.

A faint purple glow emitted from her body.

[Corpse Control] - A beginner-type spell that allowed one to control corpses. Belonging to the [Curse] category, it wasn't a common spell and was somewhat frowned upon. However, Aurelia was in possession of it.

It was a spell that Aurelia hated with her guts.

Loathed.

The spell was after all the cause of her parent's death. Her outstanding talent in the [Curse] field was what pushed her parents to acquire the spell.

If not for the...

Groooowl!

Jackson's eyes flared open as a growl escaped its lips.

"This...!"

Daphen's eyes widened, and her head snapped to face Aurelia.

"Did you just...?"

"Wait, what are you doing?"

The others also showed signs of protest, but Aurelia ignored them yet again and moved on to the next corpse.

Austina.

He was about a few years older than her. A talented archer. Had he been given a bit of time, Aurelia was sure he would've been one of the strongest people in the town.

Groooowl!

Unfortunately, he too fell prey to her spell.

"Aurelia, you shouldn't be doing this. These are people that we know. We should"

Groooowl!

Despite what the others said, nothing could get through Aurelia as she continued to cast her spell over all the members of the reinforcement group.

Groooowl!

When all was said and done, four familiar figures stood before her.

Aurelia could feel the looks of astonishment and disapproval from her friends. Just as they were about to say something, she cut them off.

".....They died."

"Yes, but!"

"More people will come."

Aurelia continued to speak, her eyes slowly losing their luster.

".....This will happen again. We need to stop it."

"But"

"This is the only way."

Aurelia turned around and moved back to the Dragon. As she walked, she looked for the hellhounds, but there was no sign of them.

It was as if they had no interest in them.

"I'll kill them all..."

She pledged to herself.

Time passed.

The next group came. This time, it wasn't just one group. It was several. Aurelia could recognize each member.

Awoooo!

But the same scene from before occurred.

The Hellhounds attacked.

"Ahhh....!"

"H-help!"

She, alongside her group members, tried to help, but it was no use.

"Hic... Hic... H-how did this happen?"

Yet again, everyone died.

Groooowl!

And more undead joined their group.

It was a never-ending cycle. Every few months, or year, the town would send its best warriors to where she was, only for them to die at the hands of the wolves.

Sometimes, they would be single groups, and sometimes, they would be large groups with hundreds of people.

But each time they'd come, they'd lose at the hands of the hellhounds.

"No, stop...!"

She screamed.

"Don't come."

But no one listened.

"You can't defeat them! Stop!"

She cried.

"Hic... Hic... C-call for help from the Empire."

But no one heard.

"Stop being so stubborn!"

Each year, Aurelia would plead with them. But her words couldn't reach them.

"....."

Gradually, she lost her voice.

Grooowl

"Kill the necromancer!"

"I'll kill you!"

"You evil bastard...! If not for you my family would still be here! Fuck you!"

Aurelia could feel it. The deep-seethed anger and thirst for revenge were already rooted in the citizen's eyes, forcing members to come back each time even though the situation was hopeless for them.

And...

They were all directed towards her.

"Wakey, wakey~"

"....Um."

An annoying voice woke me up from my slumber.

My vision was clear once again.

It was Gork.

"Did you have enough rest...? You feeling better?"

"..."

I sat up and groaned.

My body felt like shit and my head throbbed.

Looking around, the sun was starting to set. Rubbing my neck, I was just about to stand when I paused.

"....Uh?"

"Hurr... Hurr..."

I heard a rough laugh coming from above. It was Gork.

"It seems like you've finally noticed."

Noticed?

Noticed what?

"Your body feels better, doesn't it?"

"....It does."

Or more like, I felt more in control with the [Curse] element in the air. It was flowing a lot more smoothly.

"Hurr... Hurr."

Gork laughed again.

Before he could explain, Liam, who was standing behind him, started speaking.

"A certain someone helped you while you were asleep."

"Helped me?"

I looked around.

Who?

"Ah."

And my eyes soon locked on a certain figure.

"Her...?"

I tilted my head.

"But didn't she say she wouldn't help me?"

"Hehe, she's a softie."

Daphne said from the side, playing with a wooden stick and drawing circles on the dirt. I looked at what she was drawing.

It looked crude. It was a small house with two people.

She continued to fiddle with the stick, adding trees, grass, and flowers. It looked like the drawing of a five-year-old.

Of course, I didn't tell her.

".....Even if she says she won't teach you, it's mainly because she doesn't want you to die."

"But-"

"Die because of her."

"....."

Daphne raised her head and our gazes met.

"Try feeling your body."

"....."

I did as I was told. Closing my eyes, I took a proper look at my body. When I did, my eyes flashed open.

"This..."

Maybe I was still unconscious and I was dreaming, but checking my body, I found that a lot of my injuries were healed. There was still some damage, but it was a lot better than before. Especially when I had damaged my body trying to practice my spell.

"She's shy."

That was all Gork needed to say for me to realize.

Aurelia.

Despite her cold response, she still wanted to help me.

In a way, this was her own way of teaching me.

Her way of acknowledging my efforts.

"....."

Staring at her back, I kept my mouth shut. There was no need for me to say anything. Even if I said it, she wouldn't react.

All I needed to do at the moment was train hard.

'Right, I need to train.'

Time was limited.

And each second mattered.

"Huu."

I had just taken a breath and gotten ready to start training when Daphne's voice reached my ears.

"Oh, it's starting."

Starting?

"What is st-"

I abruptly cut off my words as my eyes widened and I looked around me. Just as I spoke, the sun started to set and an extremely powerful pulse of energy swept the surroundings.

Following the pulse, the zombies that were surrounding the five of us disappeared.

It was a familiar scene.

"Uh...?"

I looked around in shock before settling my gaze over to Aurelia who still had her back turned against me.

"Where did they go?"

My voice didn't seem to reach her as she remained quiet.

It was Daphne who answered in her stead.

"You already know the answer."

"But-"

".....Focus on your training. You're safe around us."

"I..."

"Don't ask."

There was still so much that I wanted to ask. However, I could see that it was going to be pointless.

'Maybe she's doing it to stop the town's knights from coming here?'

It made sense when I thought about it.

Still...

'What if I give the zombies a message? Would they...'

"No."

I was quick to scratch such a thought.

Besides the fact that I had no pen or paper, thinking about how the knights would attack the moment the zombies showed up, the message was probably going to get destroyed in an instant.

Still, I raised my head.

"What about me? Is it not possible to send me back with the zombies?"

"Zombies?"

Daphne cocked her head curiously.

"....What are those?"

"Ah, right.

My lips twitched and I corrected myself.

"Undead."

"Zombies. I like that name."

Daphne seemed to smile beneath the hood. It looked as though she was about to answer when Liam beat her to it.

"It can only be done to the undead. Do you think we'd still be here if it was possible?"

"Right..."

That made sense.

The little hope that I held shattered just like that.

"Don't worry."

A hand pressed against my shoulder.

"Just keep practicing. We have faith in you."

Facing them, and seeing them, I eventually nodded my head.

"Alright."

Clenching and unclenching my fists, I let out a long breath and closed my eyes.

'I'm at 73%... I need 27% left. I can do it.'

Yet again, I fully immersed myself in training.

Lvl. 1 [Hands of Malady] EXP + 0.2%

Lvl. 1 [Hands of Malady] EXP + 0.07%