The Dead

It was a war hidden in the darkness—dark, silent, and fierce.

From the outside, the gloomy old mansion seemed unchanged. Only the occasional flash of light from a window showed that things inside were not as peaceful as they seemed.

Star Trace flashed.

The gleaming white blade tore through the air first, its howling sword wind sweeping the battered debris along with it. Scarlet flames followed close behind, growing more ferocious with the wind at their backs. The Evil Spirits emerging from the walls and floor were swallowed up before they could even attack. When the flames passed, nothing remained but charred scorch marks—not even a scrap of ash.

Rhode and Flame Slayer were working together with increasing ease. This mission was not just meant to give Lize a chance to develop her abilities; it was also an opportunity for Rhode to refine his coordination with his summoned creatures. After all, summon cards came in countless forms, and the three cards Rhode currently possessed were all ones he had never owned in the game. There were similar alternatives, but the differences between them still mattered. It was essential to make the most of this time to practice and adjust. His earlier fight against Sereck had been a good example. In the end, the two of them had barely managed to call it a draw. If Rhode had been more familiar with Flame Slayer's abilities and not had to rely solely on his instincts to direct it, he might have gained the upper hand.

But there were no "what ifs," and it was not too late to make up for it now.

Rhode pulled back, sword in hand. Sensing an opening, the Evil Spirits surged toward him, but the black hound quickly moved to intercept them. Its sharp claws and fangs, along with its flames, filled the gap Rhode had left as he retreated.

Advance and retreat, perfectly timed.

The flames swept across the room again, engulfing the Evil Spirits. These lowest-grade Wraiths were even weaker than the ones in the Mist Ruins, making them perfect practice dummies.

Close beside Rhode, Lize kept a serious expression. Her right hand moved constantly, and beams of light came crashing down from above, hammering the Evil Spirits. The young Spirit Master was certainly a quick learner. In less than an hour, she had already mastered the technique and begun experimenting with adjusting its power and speed.

Rhode knew this was only a stopgap measure. Power might have no good or evil in itself, but it still needed definition. A stone, for example, only had meaning as an object in this world because it had the identity of a "stone." Magic incantations worked the same way. The ancient languages passed down through the ages held not only mysterious knowledge, but also the means to define and explore the mystery itself. Water was water, and ice was ice. If you treated water as ice, or ice as water, the results would naturally be poor.

Lize was at just such a stage. She was not yet level ten, so she could not learn offensive holy spells like Sword of Judgment. But that did not mean her abilities would go to waste. Her angelic blood could make up for the loss of power caused by her "fuzzy definition." And in the long run, it was a good idea to get her used to the rhythm of attacking as soon as possible.

"Stay focused and watch your rhythm. The Evil Spirits aren't fast, but you still need to watch out for your safety. Among the undead, there are plenty of monsters that specialize in ranged attacks. For example... to your left!"

Rhode suddenly grabbed Lize by the collar and yanked her aside. At the same moment, a blue-green bolt of light grazed the girl and lodged in the wall beside them. Looking up, he saw several skeletons at the far end of the dark corridor. They gripped rusty iron bows and arrows, coolly aiming at their prey. Flames of spirit light flickered in their empty eye sockets.

So they had finally arrived.

Rhode tightened his grip on his sword. A few Evil Spirits alone would never have been enough to keep this rundown house unattended for so many years. Deepstone City was full of powerful people. Even Shining Swordsman could have cleared the place alone. But this house was not so simple... and now the real trouble was beginning.

"Lize, put up your shield!"

As he spoke, Rhode raised his sword and pointed ahead with his left hand. At his command, Flame Slayer immediately charged forward, darting through the swarm of Evil Spirits and straight toward the Skeleton Archers behind them.

"Fwoosh! Fwoosh!"

The blue-glowing arrows flew once more, but as soon as Shield of Protection appeared, all they could do was glance off the golden barrier and veer away. They could no longer pose much of a threat.

Rhode swept his sword aside, driving off all the Evil Spirits surrounding them, then grabbed Lize's hand.

"Come with me. Watch out for yourself."

Without waiting for Lize to answer, Rhode led her out of the Evil Spirits' encirclement and toward the staircase on the left.

After another volley of arrows, the black hound had reached the Skeleton Archers. Its flame-wreathed form stood out sharply in the dark corridor.

As ranged attackers, the Skeleton Archers were not very dangerous up close. They had barely managed to react before the black hound pounced on one of them, knocking it to the ground with a claw. It quickly shattered into fragments, no longer a threat. The ones that managed to retreat had no time to launch another attack before the second wave hit.

The third floor.

Rhode climbed the stairs, hearing the distant barks and the rumble of flames behind him. He knew Flame Slayer would not last much longer. The thing that had noticed his intrusion grew more frenzied as danger approached. But it did not matter. Summoned spirits were the sort of creatures that could come back even after dying. As long as he had enough spiritual power, there would be no problem.

"Um, sir... You're not planning to burn this place down, are you?"

Lize managed to glance back in the middle of the chaos. Seeing the flames and black smoke slowly spreading through the corridor below, she asked with some concern.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to tear the place apart. After all, it's our base—"

Rhode abruptly fell silent and raised his sword.

"Whoosh!"

A wild gust of sword wind tore through the air. A massive two-handed sword swung sideways and slammed into Rhode's blade, sending his slender body crashing into the wall. The wall was already badly decayed and absorbed some of the impact, but Rhode still sank deep into it.

"Attack!"

As soon as Rhode spoke, Lize, who had been hiding beside him, thrust out her hand. A beam of white light came crashing down from above onto the head of the undead monster that had suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs to block their way. But unlike the Evil Spirits they had fought before, this undead monster was not so easy to deal with. Hit by Lize's attack, it only stumbled back a few steps instead of vanishing into thin air. Still, a startling hole had appeared in its shrunken, rotting skull.

Only then did they get a clear look at their enemy.

It was a burly man nearly two meters tall. He had no flesh left on his body, and his thick bones were wrapped in dull gray skin. He wore armor that had become impossible to identify and wielded a greatsword. Lize's sudden attack made it loosen its grip on the weapon. It roared and staggered backward. No matter what, undead creatures that had defied death could not withstand holy power.

"This is..."

"A Rotting Corpse... I'll take the lead. Watch both sides."

Rhode swung hard, knocking the greatsword aside. Then he moved with the lightness of a cat, leaping onto the railing beside the stairs before springing up again. His sword turned in his hand and thrust straight toward the giant's chest.

Just as Rhode was about to land the finishing blow, a sword suddenly came down from the side. Someone had been lying in wait around the corner of the wall, staying quiet until Rhode appeared before launching a surprise attack from the flank. At the same time, the undead in front of Rhode roared and lunged at him with arms outstretched. A move that traded the enemy's life for one's own was unthinkable for a living human—but the dead had no such concern.

Facing the undead lunging at him, Rhode remained calm. He turned his right hand, and ripples like flowing water suddenly appeared across his sword, which shimmered with specks of stardust.

Blade Art, activated.

As the undead's hand closed around Rhode's shoulder, his sword had already cleaved through its left shoulder without resistance. Blade Art made the already sharp edge unstoppable. Neither the rough, desiccated skin nor the hard bones could halt its path. A flash of white light, and the tall mercenary's undead body was sliced cleanly in half on the left side, as easily as paper. Its severed arm dropped to the ground, no longer a threat.

At that moment, the sword from the other side was upon Rhode.

Seeing this, Lize's heart nearly leaped out of her chest. She had spotted the figure lurking around the corner as soon as he attacked Rhode, but before she could warn him, the blade was already at Rhode's ear. In another two seconds, that rusty old sword would have taken his head off.

But then Rhode did something entirely unexpected.

After cleaving through the enemy in front of him, he did not retreat. Instead, in that instant, he leaned to one side and threw himself into the other attacker's arms as if he had lost his balance. The sword that should have taken Rhode's head missed its target and cut through empty air.

The stench of the corpse made Rhode falter, but he quickly came to his senses. Gritting his teeth, he slammed his shoulder into the brute and knocked it aside, then swung his sword forward without pausing.

Moonlight's blade of light cut through the air with a howl.

The dead paused.

They stopped moving, standing blankly in place. Then black lines spread across their desiccated bodies, and the chunks of flesh that could no longer hold their shape finally fell apart.

"Phew..."

Climbing out of the pile of corpses, Rhode brushed the dust and grease from his shoulder and waved away the stench surrounding his nose. The game had never gone so far as to simulate smells. Now that he was experiencing it firsthand, Rhode finally understood why the description said Rotting Corpses had a powerful stench. It really was no exaggeration... It looked like he would have to throw these clothes away when he got back.

"Let's keep moving."