BANG!

The surroundings shook as I took several steps back.

"Ukh...!

I felt a sharp pain in my chest as I clutched it to stop the bleeding.

"Hur! Hur! Hur! It seems like you're having a hard time, aren't you!?"

Gork's loud voice reverberated throughout the grounds as he laughed at my misfortune.

"You can do more than that!"

"Give him some slack!"

On the other hand, Daphne appeared to be on my side.

"He's tired after everything that he did with Aurelia. Don't be too hard on him!"

"Tsk."

Clicking his tongue, Gork charged at the Hellhounds.

SHIIING!

".....Let me have my fun."

Despite being surrounded from all sides, the atmosphere was rather lively. I stood at the center of it all as the Hellhounds attacked from all sides.

Groooowl!

Unlike before, the zombies were on my side, covering my back. It was a rather new experience and I couldn't say I disliked it.

"I can get used to this."

"Pay attention."

At the front of all this was Aurelia who utilized the zombies in a way that made it hard for the Hellhounds to reach me.

It was an astonishing sight.

Especially after she had used so much mana to seal the Rock Dragon temporarily.

The fact that she was still able to fight so well was mind-blowing.

Does she even run out of mana?

"....Aren't you tired?"

"I am."

"How are you able to continue?"

"....."

Aurelia didn't answer immediately. After a short moment, she looked ahead and just faintly, I was able to catch a glimpse of her features beneath the hood.

"I want to go back."

Her gaze swept the surroundings.

".....That's why I can continue."

Swooosh!

A thick pulse swept the surroundings following her words. A purple film covered the zombies on the ground, forcing their detached limbs back together.

Groooowl!

A familiar scene replayed in front of me as the zombies stood up once more and returned to block the Hellhounds.

I stared at the scene in silence.

It was cold. Just as it had been on the very first day that I had come to this place.

"Hahaha! What are you bastards even thinking of doing!? You aren't getting past me!"

And yet, despite the cold, I felt that the scene before me was anything but cold. I couldn't see the expressions on their faces, but from their voices, I could see just how excited they were to go back.

They almost sounded like little children.

"Don't be reckless! Don't die before we manage to return!"

"Won't be a problemEuk!"

"Idiot...!!"

"Help!"

Was it because I was also excited, or was it because I had already lost it? Seeing the scene in the distance, I felt the pain in my chest disappear.

My body also felt lighter as I took a step forward.

"Akh...! My leg! It's got my leg!"

"Stop! Don't move....!"

"You idiots!"

Even Aurelia was starting to speak more as Gork was flung in the air by a Hellhound.

"Nooo!"

Seeing such a scene, I laughed.

"Looks like I really need to step up. At this rate, we'll be wiped out!"

Slapping my cheeks, I threw all caution out of the wind and joined the fight.

In the rocky grounds where the cold pierced.

It didn't feel so cold anymore.

***

Ellnor.

"You're the strongest person in this town?"

Captain Reijnder's tone was deadpan. Lowering his head to stare at the middle-aged man before him, his eyes squinted.

"You seem a little too weak to be a captain. What's the deal with this?"

"Ah, well..."

Embarrassed, Captain Travis replied.

"We used to be a lot stronger. Our strongest warriors of the past may not have been as strong as you, but we were definitely not weak."

"Then...?"

"Thirty years have passed since we started fighting the Necromancer. In that time, all our best warriors have died during the battle. I'm only the captain because there's no one else that can take the mantle."

"I see."

Frowning, Captain Reijnder nodded.

He had been briefed beforehand about the situation. Glancing around, he sat down on one of the wooden chairs in the room.

Crossing his legs, he placed his hand on the table.

"So you're saying that this situation has been going on for thirty years?"

"Ah, yes."

Captain Travis replied curtly.

"Wow."

Captain Reijnder looked at him in amazement.

"You're also telling me that for thirty years you've sent over so many people just to deal with a single necromancer? I've heard you've sent over two hundred and fifty-five squads in the time that elapsed. Is that true?"

".....Yes."

Captain Travis replied with his head lowered.

"A squad comprises of four members. From the moment the second subjugation squad didn't come back, a large raid with over several dozen squads had been prepared."

"Ah."

Understanding dawned on Captain Reijnder who closed his eyes.

"So you didn't send 255 individual squads, but rather, large raid teams that comprised several smaller squads."

".....For the most part, yes."

"I see."

Ta, ta, ta

The captain's fingers drummed over the wooden desk as silence reigned over the space. It felt rather oppressive. Especially since the two other members of his squad were standing behind him with straight faces.

They two gave off an extremely intimidating pressure.

Eventually, the drumming stopped and the captain's eyes locked onto the town's captain.

"There's a few things that I don't understand. I need you to clarify me on that."

".....Please ask."

Captain Reijnder leaned forward as his expression turned extremely serious.

"Explain to me why for thirty years you've allowed this to happen?"

The more the captain learned about the situation, the more unbelievable he found the situation to be.

For thirty years, this town had constantly sent over their best warriors to deal with the necromancer haunting them.

For thirty years, they were defeated. And yet, for some reason, they kept sending their soldiers to their deaths...?

What sort of nonsense was this?

"This whole entire situation would've been resolved had you called the Empire for help. Tell me. For what reason did you allow for this to happen?"

"....Ah."

Captain Travis's face turned pale at the question. Looking around, his lips quivered slightly. However, under Captain Reijnder's oppressive gaze, he had no choice but to open his mouth.

"T-the undead."

"The what...?"

"T-the undead. Th-ey... T-hey were all citizens of this town. Family."

Trying his best to suppress the quivering in his voice, the captain continued.

"I-imagine if your loved ones died and transformed into undead. Mindless puppets whose sole purpose is to come back to attack us?"

His body trembled, as his fist clenched tightly and his face turned red.

"How would that make you feel?"

The more he spoke the louder his voice became.

"To know that the ones you loved are being used to attack us...?"

The stuttering had also stopped.

"The seed of hatred and revenge has already corrupted the minds of all citizens. All they can think of is revenge! We have long known that what we've been doing is stupid, but we are reminded. Every. Single. Day. Of the their deaths."

Bang!

The captain's fist came smacking against the wooden table.

"It's as if the necromancer is sending them to us every day in order to remind us of what it did to us. To show off its trophies...!"

"....."

As spit flew out of the small town's captain's face, Captain Reijnder remained quiet the entire time.

He was starting to get a better picture of what was going on.

"Haaa... Haaa..."

And taking the opportunity when Captain Travis was out of breath, he calmly asked,

"How many deaths have occurred in the town when the undead attacked?"

"Haa... Deaths?"

Out of breath, Travis looked up.

"None... Haa... yet."

"None?"

"The... haa... undead aren't very strong... haa..."

Swallowing, Travis caught up with his breath.

"For now, we've been able to handle them daily. They are slow and aren't very strong. However, they don't die. For years, they've been trying to force their way into the Town. We've managed to hold them back for so long, but we can't do it anymore."

Lowering his head, Travis stared at his arm. It was trembling.

"....We can't hold on any longer. It's for this reason that we've asked for help. B-because after thirty years, we..."

He bit his lips.

"W-e understand that all our efforts have been meaningless. We can't get our revenge."

His head lowered after that. To all those present, it was clear that he was unresigned by the decision. The anger within him had been clear for all those to see.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Turning his head, Captain Reijnder turned to face a familiar face.

"Inquisitor. Do you have anything to add to that?"

"No, not much."

Inquisitor Hollowe shook his head.

"The area is dense with the [Curse] element. I presume it's coming from deep within the Mirror Crack rather than the necromancer, but you already know that."

His gaze fell on one of the knights standing behind the Captain.

He was just about to continue when he stopped.

It wasn't just him, but almost everyone in the room stopped.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh

In unison, all heads flicked towards a certain direction.

"This..."

The eyes of all those present widened as they rushed out of the room and made a run for the city walls. It took them little to no time to reach the walls, and without hesitation, they ran past the city gates where their figures blurred, only coming to a stop a certain distance away.

".....!"

"This...!"

Their expression changed as their gazes swept the distance.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

In the distance, thousands of figures appeared. Their steps echoed in unison as they marched forward.

At the helm, five figures led the march.

One figure, in particular, stood out. His clothes were tattered, and he bore cuts all over his body. Engaged in conversation with those around him, he abruptly halted his steps and glanced up as if sensing their presence.

His hazel eyes met with the group's and the army behind him stopped.

"Ha..."

A sound escaped Captain Reijnder's mouth as he looked at the scene ahead.

"Weren't they supposed to only show up at night? What are they doing here...?"