#139
The Undead King’s Surge (3)
With a loud bang, the Undead King violently tilted his head back.
crackle—
Flame lightning covered his head as an eruption rose.
At that signal, the fierce battle between the Undead King and the hero momentarily paused.
“…Saint?”
For some reason, Heinrich stepped back with a serious expression, raising one hand to stop others who were about to launch an additional attack.
As if he sensed something.
And at that moment, the Undead warriors, who had been viciously clashing with humans, abruptly stopped, and simultaneously began to retreat.
Those fighting against them suddenly faced the absence of their opponents and tensed up, watching their surroundings as they caught their breath.
For just a brief moment, the battlefield was engulfed in silence.
Hoo—Kuhuhaha! Ah—This is quite impressive!
After a moment, a sinister voice broke the silence.
It seemed that Harris’s attack, due to the disparity in tension and magical density, hadn’t dealt significant damage to him.
But it couldn’t be dismissed as a meaningless attack.
As proof…
thud—
The bizarre mask, synonymous with the Undead King, shattered and scattered on the ground.
Only fragments remained, still clinging to his face.
“Hmm.”
“That’s…”
And then, revealed through customization, an overwhelmingly charismatic beautiful skeleton was on display.
A sleek skull boasting perfect shape, sharp jawline, neatly pointed teeth, and glowing eye sockets that flickered with fire.
“…Indeed, it’s terrifying. I’m almost afraid it might come to me in a dream.”
“ Hoo— Damn, I can’t even meet his gaze…”
However, the public’s opinion of him wasn’t very positive.
Of course, it wasn’t so much about his appearance but the sheer fear of his existence, yet outright showing such reactions in front of him was somewhat off.
If Hans wasn’t someone with a strong mind, he would have certainly been hurt.
“ Cough cough… No matter how I look at it, that’s not a normal human skull, what kind of race is he? Don’t tell me he’s from the Demon Race? No, without horns, he must be mixed blood?”
Among them, someone with keen eyes like the Great Mage noticed Hans’s transformation, but right now, that wasn’t the most important issue.
The Undead King, looking down on them arrogantly as if he owned the world, began to speak.
[I never thought the little pawn I dismissed as nothing would be capable of this. Quite interesting indeed.]
His gaze turned towards the elves standing in front of the barrier.
Harris, still composed, Cecily, who stood firm while sweating profusely with tension, and Shapiron, who looked almost faint.
Even the other beings around them focused on Harris, who stood at the front, wielding an unusually ominous bow.
The heavy energy still rising from the bow indicated he was the one responsible for the earlier attack.
In fact, the Undead under the King were riled up, ready to tear apart that impudent elf who had been rude to their king…
[Hmm— I’ve changed my mind. I’ll take my leave for today.]
With a single word from Hans, they had no choice but to gather their energy and retreat.
However, the first to react angrily to his words was…
“Who do you think you are! Do you think you can just come and go as you please here?!”
“Saint.”
Liesta, who had stepped forward in excitement, halted at Heinrich’s call and turned to him.
“We aren’t actually ready to fight right now. Unfortunately, the damage incurred so far is too great.”
“…But!”
It hadn’t been long since the Undead King invaded, and even with the aid of the holy barrier, powerful beings had already lost over ten lives.
Moreover, the number of injured had reached several dozen, most of whom were knights who, despite lacking skill, joined the battle out of a sense of duty.
In contrast, the losses endured by the Undead army amounted to just broken Undead.
Of course, there were a considerable number of them that had been completely obliterated, leading to permanent loss, but how could that be compared to human lives?
Furthermore, unlike the Undead, who could recover from their remains, this situation was taken even more seriously.
‘This incident will shake the Holy Church Order’s standing considerably.’
Allowing an invasion would be a manageable offense, but fatalities during an event hosted by the church was something they could never escape responsibility for.
Politically, they would likely suffer severe losses.
Especially since this was, after all, their home ground.
In a way, it was akin to Hans causing a significant disruption right after Heinrich handled a prior situation.
However, this incident was far from meaningless chaos.
‘This is a chance to appeal Hans’s danger and the existence of Heinrich to the world, plus Harris’s debut. As long as the Undead King and the hero exist, the church’s voice will only grow stronger.’
If anything, one could argue that adjusting the excessively strong influence of the church wasn’t such a bad thing.
Doing so would make it easier for Heinz, who was entwined in the Talia Kingdom, to act.
“… Hoo.”
Liesta sighed deeply as she briefly met Heinrich’s gaze.
Ultimately understanding, she bit her lip and stepped back, allowing him to step forward to face the Undead King directly.
The hero confronted by his nemesis, looking battered and disheveled from the fierce battle.
It was evident Heinrich was just as exhausted as everyone else, but his presence remained undiminished, not yielding an inch to the Undead King.
As if to emphasize to the world that he alone was the true rival to the king.
[Kuhuhah— This entertainment has gone on a bit long. I originally thought I would just greet you and leave. But indeed, it was quite impressive.]
The Undead King, bursting into a shameless laugh, looked down on them mockingly.
No one in this place could comprehend the change in his mood that led to his sudden attack and now retreat…
After all, how could ordinary people grasp the thoughts of an being from the Abyss like the Undead King?
‘That should be enough, right? It’s time to start making my exit, I think?’
…Everyone thought that way.
Swoosh—
One by one, the Undead began to fade into the darkness of the floor.
The invading foes were clearly retreating, but the champions of each faction, whose momentum had already been broken, simply let out sighs of relief that the immediate fight was over.
[Ah, it’s been chaotic lately, and I can’t keep up because of the insane monsters, right? It seems you enjoy the carefully prepared gift I arranged, so that puts me in a good mood.]
“…Hannibal Strauss, you bastard!”
[Kuhuhuh, you must be busy, yet I’m taking too much of your time. Go ahead and struggle as much as you want. I’ll be sure to enjoy the show.]
“Ha! Next time, it definitely won’t end this easily.”
[Right, that could be interesting.]
Having gathered all the Undead, Hans glided through the air and flew out through a large hole in the window at the back.
Since the fight broke out right after the meeting, outside was already engulfed in dark shadows.
[This isn’t the end. Despair hasn’t even begun, so strive a little more. Otherwise…]
Then, in the midst of a night sky where not a single moonbeam was visible…
A voice that would instill fear in its listeners echoed quietly.
[You cannot avoid annihilation.]
With those ominous words left behind, the Undead King who had attacked the assembly vanished.
“…”
“… Cough.”
An uncomfortable atmosphere hung in the assembly hall.
In this chaos, everyone frowned as they felt an inexplicable unease at the Undead King’s seemingly prophetic words.
‘Fine, it was a bit cringy, but it was a decent closing line. I think I’ve gotten used to this from doing it so much.’
The actual subject of the event had no such thoughts.
*
“Whoa… I never imagined it would come to this, truly remarkable.”
“Indeed, Lord Laforey, you think so too, right? I was right next to you and couldn’t believe my eyes! Delegates from other countries were also keeping an eye on Harris!”
Laforey and Cecily examined Harris as if he were something extraordinary.
It was the first time they had directly witnessed someone earn that status so suddenly beside them.
“Ugh— It’s so unfair that you’ve advanced alone…”
Shapiron mumbled from a corner, but when Harris silently handed her a bag of popcorn, she quickly fell silent again.
“Hah— What’s going to happen next?”
Cecily sighed lightly, gazing out the window of their lodging.
After the Undead King vanished, the Rosellia Temple had to endure a sleepless night.
They had to sort through the aftermath of the incident separate from the delegation sent to their lodging.
Fortunately, there were no casualties on the side of the Enamel Continent, including the Elven Kingdom.
The representative from Wild Land sustained considerable injuries but managed to get back on his feet quickly thanks to the Holy Church Order’s healing without significant side effects.
“Well, right now, the Holy Church Order is probably the most frantic, so let’s wait a bit.”
As Laforey mentioned, the church endured chaotic days for several days afterward.
They tidied up the casualties of the battle and cleaned the assembly hall that had become a battlefield.
Moreover, security was tightened with a level of defense akin to a wartime state.
It felt almost pointless to fortify a meeting ground that had already been breached, but they could hardly afford to just sit back and do nothing.
Additionally, investigations into the breach by the Undead King, who had previously succeeded in invading, were undertaken once again.
This time they undertook a detailed inquiry with the assistance of the head of the Magic Tower, but sadly, the results remained largely unchanged.
Yet even as they continued to deal with the aftermath, they did not forget what was truly important.
What was most urgent and needed to be addressed now.
Just three days after the invasion by the Undead King.
In a different meeting hall, the ‘Continental Summit’ resumed normally.
“I believe you all understand the seriousness of the situation.”
Shortly after the second meeting began, Cardinal Cordelia uttered in a low voice.
Differently from before, everyone present maintained serious expressions, listening intently to her words.
“The Undead King of our time, Hans, has consistently shown unpredictable movements. Moreover, his powers are equally unpredictable, making responses difficult.”
This was something most present had experienced firsthand.
Even the newly dispatched representatives who had come after the murder of their predecessor understood the situation similarly.
“Regrettably, our Holy Church Order was unable to properly prevent the Undead King’s invasion. As a result, many lives were lost again.”
Her self-reproachful words twisted the expression of Prince Simon.
Having already been engaged in intense debates for the past few days, he hadn’t voiced his thoughts even in this assembly, but losing a subordinate who was practically his right-hand man left him agitated.
Yet the conclusion drawn from this introductory statement remained unanimous.
To swiftly conclude this meeting by combining everyone’s powers and prepare a response to the Undead King.
There was no room for dissent in her words, and all agreed, proceeding with the subsequent discussions smoothly.
With everyone feeling a sense of crisis, the awkwardness shown during the first meeting was hardly felt at all.
‘It still feels a bit forced, but… Well, this can’t be helped.’
Since they were positioned to represent their respective organizations, it was only natural that they would advocate for their own interests.
However, witnessing them cooperate without conflict as they did now could be seen as a considerable improvement.
Thus, several days later, one morning.
As the representatives were about to step out of their lodging for the meeting as usual, shocking news reached them.
“Suddenly…? How?!”
“No, what on earth happened!”
Everyone responded with a similar flabbergast.
Astonishment and confusion at the news that came without warning.
Yet among them, one reacted particularly intensely…
“Wh… What? No, this doesn’t make sense! It was fine just yesterday, so how could it suddenly…!”
The Grand Duke of the Rohan Principality, Dennis Rohan.
Ignoring the upcoming summit, he dashed straight to where the temple’s gates were, accompanied by his subordinates.
There was no helping it.
– Rohan Principality, collapse of all defensive lines.
The news that his once steadfast homeland had crumbled in an instant was devastating.
And with that news, most others couldn’t help but share the same thought.
– [This isn’t the end. Despair hasn’t even begun, so strive a little more. Otherwise…]
– [You cannot avoid annihilation.]
The ominous warnings uttered by the Undead King.
This was precisely what it meant.
