The Dead of the End

"Tiadam—Tiadam—" From the Giant Dead's corpse came an unceasing, soul-snaring demonic chant. "Tiadam—Tiadam—why didn't you come save us—"

The Canfor residents swallowed into the undead monster's body gradually transformed into undead. From their mouths still came the hymns the church priests had taught them, yet the songs' melody and tone had changed.

"Tiadam—you are the incarnation of the Holy Son—yet the Holy Son abandoned us—"

"Tiadam—you are the incarnation of the Holy Father—yet the Holy Father never heard our lamentations—"

"Death is not the end—nor is life the beginning—beneath so-called holiness lies endless filth—"

"Your Eminence—Your Eminence—"

Many lower-ranking clergy gathered before the Salat Church cardinal's private confessional, begging the bishop to answer their questions and call upon the High God. Those devout believers pounded on the bishop's confessional door.

"Lord Labrador—" the congregation cried in unison. "Lord Labrador, Canfor's residents need your wisdom and the High God's wisdom—Canfor needs your wisdom and the High God's wisdom. The monsters—the monsters have returned—"

No matter how they pleaded, the confessional door remained shut. Out of reverence for Lord Labrador, they attempted to use the wooden beam from the bronze bell to force open his door.

"No—no—" A nun stepped out from the crowd. She was Bishop Labrador's most loyal subordinate and the High God's most devout believer. "His Eminence is exhausted. He ordered that no one disturb his rest..."

"But Canfor needs the old bishop's wisdom now. Every minute, an innocent resident turns into a monster. We need His Eminence's help, Sister—do you truly wish to see those innocents suffer? You worship the High God as well. The High God teaches compassion. How can you watch the people suffer? Step aside. His Eminence and the High God will forgive us."

Seeing that the bishop gave no response, out of responsibility toward Canfor's people, faith in the High God's mercy, and respect for life, they shoved the nun aside and smashed open Lord Labrador's confessional with the wooden beam.

"Boom—boom—"

"Boom—boom—" Beyond the broken door was an empty confessional.

Inside the modest confessional stood a bookshelf and a broad table. The gold-cast six-winged angel, silver-cast four-winged angel, bronze-cast two-winged angel, ruby-inlaid quill... and the chest of Kralimaya Gold Coins placed in the center of the room had all vanished.

"My... God..." A lower-ranking cleric could not help but burst into tears. No one knew why she was crying. Perhaps she wept in sorrow because the many sacred scriptures on the bookshelf had not been taken away by the bishop. Perhaps she wept in fury because the chest of Kralimaya Gold Coins had disappeared. Or perhaps she wept in fear of her own approaching death.

"My lord—" Ivena knelt on one knee before Yetara. "The teleportation array has been set up. We can leave at any time."

"Oh—" Yetara replied simply. "I want to take one last look at this city... Wait a little longer... just a little longer..."

Every witch shop in Canfoer City lit up, their magic arrays and barriers shutting Canfor's residents outside their own doors.

"Damn witches—" A woman picked up a stone and hurled it at the nearest witch shop. "When this city was prosperous, no one knew where vermin like you came from, yet you shared in the profits this city brought. Now that the city is suffering, you're all preparing to run away one by one. Shameless bastards—"

"This is called having ability, understand? You pathetic bumpkins—" A witch poked her head out from her shop. "You little workshop scum deserve to die with this city. I won't be buried with useless people like you—"

"Witches—witches—"

More and more people picked up stones and threw them at the witches and mages fleeing at the last moment. More and more witches activated their arrays and left the decaying, sorrowful city of Canfor.

"Oyana, the teleportation array is ready. When are we leaving?" Lufa asked from within the flames.

"Just... just wait a little longer..." Oyana puffed on her hookah and looked toward Labi Village. Rows of buildings and city walls blocked her view, and an unpleasant feeling welled up within her. "Anyway... we can leave whenever we want... I want to stay a little longer..."

"Oh..." Lufa replied.

"Oh, right~ Has Yalila... woken up?" Oyana's voice was unusually gentle.

"Yalila is still recuperating inside the barrier. She hasn't woken up yet."

"Then... let's wait until she wakes up before leaving..." Oyana exhaled the smoke from her hookah, and it turned into a rosy cloud.

"Headmistress—Headmistress—" Chi hurried over from Ellina's Home's courtyard. Even the Forest Elves who never left the premises had realized that something was terribly wrong in Canfor.

"This is bad—Headmistress—the monsters... the monsters have..." Chi tripped before the headmistress's office door.

"Chi... why are you so flustered..." Archmage Dilanna sipped freshly picked black tea as she spoke. "You'll get hurt easily if you keep rushing around like this..."

"Oh... oh... I understand... Headmistress..." Thanks to Dilanna's Levitation, Chi did not fall to the ground.

The innocent Forest Elf slowly returned to the position she had been in before tripping. Blinking her blue eyes, she said, "Headmistress Dilanna, a large undead monster has appeared in southern Canfor. Should we set up a teleportation array and leave...?"

"The monster is in the south, while Lady Dilanna's Ellina's Home is in the north. So... please stay here without worry..." Beside Lady Dilanna sat a lavishly dressed man who appeared to be a merchant.

"May I ask who you are?" Chi asked.

"This is Mr. Eliyi..." Dilanna introduced him. "He is a merchant and an old friend of mine. We used to chat and drink tea together often."

"An old friend... You look so young..." Chi said.

"That's normal... Gods do not age easily, you know~" Eliyi said with a smile.

"A god?!"

"That's right. Mr. Eliyi is one of the incarnations of Modraki, the God of Wealth—the Auctioneer." Dilanna spoke with some solemnity.

"Then... then should I kneel?!" Chi straightened her appearance and said excitedly, "It's my first time seeing a god!"

"I don't think you need to kneel..." Eliyi said. "If you kneel when you meet me today, you will never need to stand again for the rest of your life."

"What does that mean... I don't really understand..." Chi asked blankly.

"Because Mr. Eliyi has allowed you to join the hero's mission to defeat the Demon King," Dilanna answered. "You will meet more gods throughout the rest of your life..."

"The hero's... party!" Light shone from Chi's eyes. "I can actually go defeat the Demon King alongside the hero—when do we leave?!"

"Don't rush... We'll talk after this performance is over." Eliyi replied with a smile.

"I never understood why that guy Elandor sacrificed himself to protect such boring people..." Tiadam tucked his polished dagger into his clothes and picked up the warhammer he had been tricked into buying from a goblin blacksmith.

"Though I usually use a sword, using a hammer once in a while is a nice change..." Tiadam strode out of the inn where he had been staying. The entire street was filled with kneeling people. Some cried, some shouted, some worried, some grieved, but the moment they saw Tiadam emerge, hope for life ignited in all of them.

"Incarnation of the Holy Father—incarnation of the Holy Father—" Canfor's residents cried in unison. "Tiadam—Tiadam—you are the hero..."

The hymns the priests had taught them finally found a valiant purpose.

"Hero—"

"Hero—"

"Hero—"

The crowd's chanting reached its peak, their voices carrying hope for survival as they rang out. "The hero will triumph!!!"

"I have to... admit..." Tiadam looked up. "No wonder that guy Elandor... abandoned his wife and child and scattered his family fortune to resist the monsters—being revered by ten thousand people really... is intoxicating..."

"But... can I really bear their hopes?"

Amid the crowd's cheers, Tiadam's heart wavered slightly. Having nothing, he could face death calmly. With no one expecting anything of him, he could risk everything. That was how Tiadam had lived for nearly ten years. But now that he carried hope, could he truly bear that hope?

"Am I really... a hero...? And is their reverence truly sincere...?" His willingness to die alone began to crack apart within the red-haired man like a fissure.

"Tiadam—wait—wait for me—"

Though the crowd's cries were deafening, they could not drown out that person's voice. Tiadam set down his warhammer and caught the hurriedly approaching Denolan.

"W-wait for me..." Denolan said between gasps. "I want... I want to go with you... to drive back the monsters!"

"You bastard—" Tiadam lightly hooked an arm around Denolan's neck. "I told you to leave, but you wouldn't. Now I'm definitely dragging you with me to die—"

"It hurts, it hurts—you're choking me—I can't breathe—" Denolan said.

"You... idiot..." The crack in Tiadam's heart seemed to have been filled by something...