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Chapter 198

Yet, it doesn\'t mean that all the undead were gone. Signs of non-human presence could be seen throughout the meandering main road and the randomly connected alleys. Some of them exuded a distinctly tainted magical energy.

Even those who died from the plague have risen again.

It was likely that they were buried inside the walls. The chaos might have started with them. Using the distant church steeple as a landmark, Ian stepped into the alley, his gaze turning icy.

"Grr... ugh...."

"Grrr..."

The sound of shuffling footsteps and phlegm-laden breaths grew clearer. Philip, noting the shadows in the alley, raised his shield to eye level and whispered.

"My lord, perhaps we should offer a prayer before facing those things? The blessing of the God of Battle might be very helpful right now."

Ian let out a chuckle involuntarily and responded, "He’s not the type to answer prayers."

He’d be more likely to mock us for being cowards.

Ian re-gripped his black sword and led the way.

"So just get ready to fight. We’re not stopping until we reach the church."

As if in response to his voice, the corrupted undead began pouring out from beyond the alley. One creature, covered head to toe in pitch-black tumors, stood out. Long tendrils wriggled like tongues from the center of each tumor—a grotesque sight. Ian remembered seeing such a creature in the game.

...Was it that those who died from the plague turned into these?

If he recalled correctly, they were called Hosts of Decay.

Tatatat—

With that thought, Ian charged.

"Damn it... Lu Solar, please let me die rather than return as one of those...." Philip muttered a prayer with a sigh, then followed Ian, sprinting with all his might.

***

Crunch! Slice—

Ian advanced, his sword never resting.

The corrupted undead kept crawling out from somewhere in the alley, blocking his path, but he never stopped. There was no need to kill them outright. Severing their upper and lower bodies and kicking them away was enough. The Hosts of Decay, with their writhing tendrils, were incinerated with Fireball and Fire Beam before they could get close.

Crack! Thud!

Philip quickly adapted to Ian\'s methods. Soon, he only used his relic’s divine power to block the sludge. Unlike Ian, he couldn’t cleave the undead in half with a single stroke. Instead, he hacked off arms, heads, and legs, then bashed them away with his shield.

Damn, he’s really grown a lot.

Ian let out a faint, involuntary laugh as he occasionally checked behind him. Before they realized how long they had advanced,

Thwack— Crunch!

"...!" Ian’s eyes flashed as he kicked away the severed body of an undead. A path had opened. At the end of the alley leading to the main road, the towering steeple of the church came into clear view.

"Philip!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Philip, who had just beheaded a crawling undead with severed legs, quickly followed behind Ian. Only after they fully exited the alley did they slow their pace.

"Hah... hah...." Philip panted heavily, glancing back.

Dismembered and partially severed undead filled the alley they had passed through. The entire alley seemed to squirm, as if alive. The high number of undead was partly because many had been chopped into pieces, turning one into two or three. Philip’s eyes naturally dimmed as he stared at the nightmarish scene. This very street had been full of laughing and chatting people just yesterday.

"What are you looking at?" Ian’s rebuke snapped Philip back to attention.

Even as he spoke, Ian wasn’t looking at the church. He was watching beyond the main road on either side.

"We can’t see the front gate from here...?"

Philip’s frown deepened as he turned his gaze. Undead were emerging from various directions. There were over ten visible, including a woman who appeared freshly revived, dripping dark blood from her mouth.

"It seems there were quite a few casualties, even during the evacuation."

Philip narrowed his eyes at Ian’s observation. Shouts were now echoing not too far away. The growls of the undead and the clash of weapons were faintly audible.

"They seem to be struggling more than expected. That’s surprising, considering the three of them went together. ... Then again, if they’re evacuating civilians, simply neutralizing the undead as we did might not be sufficient. They’d also need to maintain formation."

"It could just be that the situation itself is difficult."

"...!?" Philip whipped his head around to look at Ian.

Unlike Philip, Ian wasn’t even breathing hard.

"Should we join them?"

"No," said Ian.

Ian turned, adding, "We just need to do what we came to do."

Finally, taking in the sight of the tall church building, Philip resolutely stepped forward. He quickly moved past Ian, speaking as he did.

"You’re right. If we stop this damned ritual, it will solve all the problems. Such madness... it’s unforgivable."

"Agreed, but...."

Did those bastards even know what kind of situation they were creating?

Ian pondered this as he continued walking. Of course, this seemed more like an unexpected crisis, with several unforeseen variables. Looking back at the game, even with thorough preparation, the situation wouldn’t have been much different. Philip, pushing against the firmly closed church door, turned to Ian with a puzzled expression at that moment.

"My lord. It won’t open."

"Did they lock it from inside?"

"I’m not sure. It doesn’t budge at all."

"Step aside."

Did they lock themselves in and hide after causing all this chaos?

As soon as Philip stepped aside, Ian swung his black sword, aiming precisely at the gap between the doors.

Crack—

But the black sword didn’t cut through the gap at all, leaving only a slight scratch on the surface.

It didn’t cut through?

Frowning, Ian tossed the black sword into his pocket dimension and extended his arms forcefully to check if the door wouldn’t budge as Philip had said. If it didn’t, they’d need to find another way.

"...!" His eyes widened the moment his palm touched the door. The hairs on his body stood on end, followed by a fleeting vision. Somewhere on the fringes of the void, a massive entity with countless tendrils squirmed. An unintelligible but strangely tender whisper scratched at his mind. The vision lasted only a moment.

As Ian looked down at his hands, Philip glanced around and asked, "Why did you stop?"

The undead were still steadily approaching. They were now only about ten meters away—close enough that their sludge would soon reach them.

"We can’t open this. It’s sealed by the ritual."

Ian turned away and said, "Follow me."

He walked toward the church’s exterior wall, stopping under the tall steeple. He leaped up and grabbed a protruding brick. Even with the Blessing of Battle, it wasn’t a height he could reach in one jump.

Climbing up using magic would leave Philip behind. So he had to climb. Besides, the church had no actual windows, only small openings near the top to let light in.

They really go all out.

As Ian climbed the wall like a spider, Philip muttered to himself as he looked up.

"You’re not seriously going up that way...."

Then, seeing the approaching undead, he sighed, slung his shield onto his back, and clung to the wall.

"Lu Solar... if I must die, let it be from falling."

Chuckling quietly at Philip’s murmurs, Ian continued scaling the wall. The ominous feeling from within the building grew stronger. Most people would only sense an unsettling vibe, but Ian could feel the distinctly turbulent chaos energy. The shards of chaos within him resonated in response.

Something truly dangerous must have emerged. And that must be the real result of the failed ritual.

Finally, Ian reached the parapet of the steeple. He briefly considered climbing onto the church roof but figured it wouldn’t be much different given the state of the door. The church interior was effectively a makeshift dungeon.

"Phew...."

Shaking out his tingling hands, Ian took in the scene beyond the parapet. The city was in shambles. Beyond that, he could see people gathered at the castle gates, like frightened herbivores, with soldiers holding back the undead.

Charlotte and Thesaya were visible, easily standing out as they fought fiercely at the front lines. Their efforts seemed to keep the formation intact. It appeared that there were far more mutated or resurrected individuals than rescued civilians.

Sure enough, the curse spread faster than expected.

It seemed that the undead infected by the Hosts of Decay also carried contagious properties. Mev was nowhere to be seen. Judging by how the residents were gathered without venturing outside...

... So, they’re swarming outside the castle too.

Ian clicked his tongue as he saw a flash of red light beyond the wide-open castle gates. He had initially noticed the traces of sacrificial victims buried beneath the walls.

Naturally, those probably had all resurrected. Moreover, with numerous houses lining the road outside the walls, they had become easy prey for the Hosts of Decay. Joining forces at the church was out of the question. They might need to finish things here as quickly as possible and go help.

Just as Ian was mulling this over internally, a voice called out from below.

"My lord... please help me... I’m about to... join Lu Solar...!" Philip\'s voice, weak and on the verge of collapse, echoed from below.

He looked as if he would faint at any moment, hanging on for dear life.

Almost there, and he’s complaining.

Ian quickly bent down and pulled him up with all his strength. Philip, now sitting on the floor, gasped for air.

"Lu Solar..."

"Enough with the prayers, get up."

Ian grabbed Philip’s shoulder and helped him to his feet, pulling out his black sword from the pocket dimension.

Philip, his face covered in cold sweat, urgently questioned, "Do we not get a moment to rest?"

Without answering, Ian pointed his sword ahead and stepped onto the staircase leading into the church.

"...?!" Philip, looking around in a daze, finally noticed the situation at the main gate and widened his eyes. He held his breath for a moment. Then, urgently retrieving his shield, he followed Ian down the stairs without further complaint.