The Immortal Miracle

"Run—run—Mir, run—"

There was not a trace of light in the gloomy sky. Mir curled up beneath Canfor's city walls as the midnight bells rang without end, like the wails of the dying.

"They're coming—they're coming—they're here—I heard them, they're here—" The woman hiding in the corner screamed in terror. "Those monsters will tear us to pieces! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"

Her festering hands pounded desperately against the heavy city gates. Alderbu's walls, built from enormous stones, stood like a barrier guarding the safety of the city's residents—while also shutting out the commoners beyond them.

"Save me—"

"Save me—"

As the woman grew increasingly hysterical, the many refugees who had fled north from Canfoer City began to cry out as well.

"Save us—save us—"

"Dorahoya, quiet the people below..." General Lapidemian, commander of the city's defense, sat atop the gate tower, polishing the blade in his hand until not a speck of dust remained.

"Yes—" A man in silver armor answered quietly. A moment later, silence indeed fell beneath Alderbu's gates.

"General, those people below fled here from Canfoer... Isn't this a little too heartless...?"

The necromancer Boyapolo looked at the charred corpses below the city walls and could not help saying, "What a pity... what a pity... I had wanted to keep one or two for research..."

"Hmph—" Piladmi snorted coldly. "Haven't you watched from these walls long enough?"

"I suppose... I have..." Boyapolo lowered his hood, revealing his long black hair. It was as dark as soil, and if one smelled closely, there was even a faint scent of azaleas in it.

This elegant young man held a skeletal staff in his hand. Through the staff's magical power, Boyapolo could easily manipulate the dead, though such desecration of corpses was forbidden in Alderbu.

"If you've seen enough, then tell me what you found. Stop holding back!" Piladmi shouted.

"Yes, yes, yes... my general..." Boyapolo saluted the general defending this region with his hood in hand. "As everyone knows, zombies created through necromancy are not contagious. However, under certain conditions, some zombies can spread curses and plagues to the living. These curses are usually transmitted from the dead to the living through wounds, and the most obvious symptom in the later stages of infection is hysteria..."

"How many people beneath Alderbu's walls have been infected with the curse?" Piladmi asked.

"All of them—" Boyapolo did not sound as though he were joking. "If these refugees are allowed into Alderbu, then within two days, every resident of Alderbu will become a zombie... Your decision was most wise..."

"Oh—" Piladmi merely replied coldly. Then he stood atop the city walls and gazed toward Canfor several miles away. A long trail of blood stretched all the way from beneath Canfor's walls to here.

"They're here..." Mir rubbed her eyes. Before the twelve-year-old girl surged an endless tide of undead creatures.

Zombies, skeletons, ghouls... These monsters shrieked and roared. Tears no longer had any meaning. No one would save this girl, nor the poor people trapped outside the walls with her. The people beneath Canfor's walls knew their time had come. They all stopped sobbing, wailing, and praying.

"Come..." Mir whispered, saying her final farewell.

Fear came from the unknown, but when death truly descended, fear vanished as well. Crying, wailing, and unease became utterly meaningless in the instant one faced death...

"Radfu... I hope... after I become a zombie... you'll still remember me..."

Despair often arrived without warning, yet at the far end of the shadows, there was always light.

"May the Supreme God bless us—"

A solemn voice rang out from atop Canfor's city walls. Divine radiance illuminated the entire night sky and lit up the people struggling bitterly in the darkness. Mir stared blankly toward the source of that hope.

A nun, like a holy mother, stood before the countless undead monsters. Her bright white robes gave off warm golden light like the sun. Though her back was not broad, it steadily gave everyone hope. The domed cross in her hand gradually extended into a barrier, blocking the monsters from the refugees' sight.

"May the Supreme God bless us—" The nun's solemn voice rang out once more, and tears unconsciously streamed down Mir's face. The many survivors also found their voices again at that moment.

Tears—

Crying—

Tears shed for hope, anguished cries for life, prayers that the Supreme God had not abandoned his followers.

"Hope has never left..." Latmimi's voice shook everyone present—whether the surging tide of corpses, the refugees behind the barrier, or the city residents watching from the sidelines.

Snow-white wings spread from behind Latmimi. The domed cross transformed into a battle axe. This sacred four-winged angel flew like a sword into the sea of the dead, and amid the endless corpses, Latmimi seemed to notice some other... anomaly.

"Lackey of the new god..." Eliyi looked disdainfully at Latmimi, who was fighting the horde of corpses. "Though your sermon was quite successful, unfortunately, you are not the protagonist of this incident..."

The wind in the darkness seemed to be whispering something. In the gloomy, unfathomable courtyard, Tatuqi's candles cast a bleak, cold glow. Evergreen trees grew exceptionally large in this greenhouse-like garden, while roses, Chinese roses, carnations, lilies... delicate flowers decorated every empty space in the courtyard.

Along the pebble-paved corridor, Yetara, dressed in thin gauze, danced a waltz toward the center of the inner courtyard. The marble phonograph on the table endlessly played The Voices of Spring.

"Hero~ Hero~" Even his loud humming could not conceal the joy in his heart. "Ah~ Lord Hero... Lord Hero, I can finally taste you again—"

Beneath pitch-black wings shone the splendor of night. The Fourteen Witches had had their names engraved in hell. As hunters of souls, they possessed power approaching that of gods.

"Clawna—Setana—heed my summons! In the name of the Fourteen Witches, appear before me—" As Yetara chanted the spell, an unusual glow appeared around him. The contract he had signed with the demons of hell began to take effect.

Arcane energy surged continuously above the formation used to recall demons. Twisted inverted crosses revealed the true names of the Fourteen Witches.

Blood—severed arms and mangled bodies—poured into Yetara's courtyard through the dark formation.

"Samara—I XXXXXXX!"

An unidentified object shot out from the formation toward Yetara at the speed of light. Half a second later, Yetara and the object rolled together into the manor. With a series of clatters, his pots, bowls, and dishes shattered all over the floor.

"This guy..." Yetara carefully examined the "unidentified object" that had crashed into him: black hair, golden eyes, a slightly stubbled jaw, and that... familiar scent.

"This is Lord Hero's descendant—" Yetara hugged the unconscious Tiadam and shouted, "Lord Hero—Lord Hero—I finally have you today!"

"Hey—Samara!"

Before Yetara could even celebrate, a pair of feminine feet stepped onto his face. Dark silk stockings, slender ankles, and the scent of blood.

"Hey—Samara, I'm warning you! Don't ever give us such dangerous work again. Our contract with you isn't just for show. Don't actually treat the two of us like your household maids—"

The demon sisters Clawna and Setana each planted one foot on Yetara's face.

"Wh-what happened..." Yetara was pinned to the ground by their feet, unable to move. "My dear friends... what exactly happened...?"

"What happened?" Clawna pulled her sister Setana closer. "Look, just look! Because of your mission, the right half of my sister's body was eaten!"

"H-how is that possible!" Yetara said in shock. "You two are high-ranking demons. How could you have been beaten into this state by this boy... Even Lord Hero at the height of his strength did not possess such power! This is impossible!"

"Who said Lord Hero's descendant did this!?" Clawna pressed down even harder. The broken ram's horn on her head and the half of a bull's tail left on her lower body were slowly regenerating. "The one who ate half of Setana's body was one of the Demon King's subordinates..."

"What is going on?" Yetara was completely baffled. "Wasn't the evil god Rosa Kevin already slain by that brat Okasht with the holy sword... How could this be...?"

"I don't know either..."

As she spoke with Yetara, Clawna's injuries had already healed completely. But her sister Setana's wounds were growing worse. "Perhaps it was a subordinate who escaped by chance when Rosa Kevin was slain... But no matter what..."

Clawna reached toward the wall, and a blood-red barrier opened within it.

"Setana's injuries are too severe. I need to care for her for a while. Do not disturb us during that time! Also, double the number of souls offered during her recovery—"

"Eh???"

"You disagree?" Clawna pressed down even harder.

"N-no problem..."

"Good—" Clawna took what remained of Setana's body into the barrier. "Then we won't delay your happy time together... May you have sweet dreams..."

"B-bye..." Yetara said timidly, like a rat.

Clawna had no desire to spare Yetara another glance and vanished straight into the barrier. Letting out a long breath, Yetara slowly stroked Tiadam's chest and said:

"Dear Lord Hero... now it is time for just the two of us..."