Blood Barrier

"Th-that... is that... the undead invading Canfor? It's... it's so huge..." Denolan said, eyes wide. "How... how could just the two of us possibly... deal with a monster like that?"

"Hey—"

Tiadam shouted, "Denolan, if you want to run, I won't blame you. You've already come this far with me, and I have no right to make you die with me—"

"We've already come this far together. How could I possibly leave now—" Denolan's reply was somewhat timid. He had never seen a magical creature before, much less fought one.

The Giant Dead towered like a mountain. Tens of thousands of corpses within its body wailed helplessly, trying to escape the aggregate. Other undead remains could faintly be seen beneath its yellowish-brown skin. This monster condensed from curses was far more terrifying than any curse. Its hatred for the living made it continuously exhale the breath of the dead.

Standing beneath the undead's feet, Denolan and Tiadam were like ants in comparison.

"Ah—" Black evil energy poured from the undead's mouth. The bright starry sky turned into polar night, and even the pale moon was obscured by the dead thing's evil aura.

"I... I have the ability to fight alongside you. We are... we are..." Denolan trembled as he shouted at the undead's enormous body, "We're business partners—if you die, I'll be in a lot of trouble—"

"Same here—you dying would put me in a lot of trouble too—" Tiadam smiled at Denolan. "Don't you die on me—"

Boom—

The undead's ankle swept across the ground before Denolan. A fierce wind slammed into the man before he could recover his senses, and the pressure knocked him down. Denolan rolled twice across the ground before stopping.

"Ti... Tiadam..." Denolan's voice trembled in his throat. "What... what happened... it was only... for a moment..."

Dust shedding from the Giant Dead transformed into lower undead, which swarmed toward the Upper District. Only after calming down did Denolan realize that he was merely an ordinary man. No magic, no bloodline, no wealth... and no courage. Facing so many undead, all he could do was kneel on the ground and quietly await his death.

"The Hero... the Hero is dead—"

The dreadful news of Tiadam's death entered Canfor's Upper District alongside the lower undead. Whether they were devout believers kneeling in prayer at Salat Church or ordinary citizens watching the battle between the Hero and the monster from afar, Canfor's entire order collapsed almost instantly.

Looting, curses, and trampling followed one after another. Those who believed death was near began their final revelry. Martyrs committed evils that even demons could not commit. Firebearers set the statues of gods ablaze, while those with blades drew their weapons and hacked at others...

"What a perfect scene—"

Ivena led Lord Yetara's servants down the streets as though nothing had happened, breathing in the sin born from chaos.

"I truly hope the entire world falls into such a state—" The demons grinned madly. Not a single star remained in the black night sky, while wails and screams rang without end.

"Please don't make jokes like that—" the butler Ivena said coldly. "You were summoned by Lord Yetara not merely to watch a spectacle. Please take up your cleaning tools and handle your duties properly."

"Understood—" the demons answered loudly.

"Alright—those whose names are called, step forward. Ikasa, Vichy, Jurmily, Milando..." Ivena said as she opened the roster in her hand. "Your task is to assist Lady Klauna in exterminating the lower undead monsters entrenched in the south of the city. As for the demon servants whose names have not yet been called, under my authority, restore order within Canfor. Do your best to ensure that the chaos brought by refugees from the south does not spread to the north and west."

"Yes—" The demons answered once more before vanishing without a trace.

"Am... am I already dead...?" Denolan said, pinching his own face. "It seems like I'm not dead yet..."

"If you want to die, I can grant that wish right now—" Klauna flew beside Denolan on her enormous black wings. Denolan was now thousands of feet above the ground, and the Giant Dead below looked as small as a teacup.

Only from here could Tiadam see Canfor in its entirety. Canfor was lower in the southeast and higher in the northwest. To the southeast lay the decayed Elrina Forest, while the northwest connected to the snowy plains of Timirora Peak. The Giant Dead was rampaging through the south of Canfor, while the buildings in the other three directions had not suffered much damage.

"So Canfor is this big..." Denolan could not help saying. "By the way, are you ***?"

"***? Don't joke around—" Klauna said, touching the ram horns atop her head and the cow tail behind her. "One look at me should tell you I'm a demon."

"If you're a demon... then why did you save me? Do you want to eat my soul?" Denolan asked ignorantly.

"You haven't even been baptized. Why would I eat your soul?" Klauna looked at Denolan with contempt, as if he were an idiot. "Besides, I don't care about your soul. What I care about is how you got that lamp at your waist."

"A lamp?" Denolan instinctively touched his waist. The emerald-green Twin Lantern was glowing faintly. "I bought this lamp from Oyana's witch shop."

"Oh, so that's how it is..." Klauna continued, "Then what is your relationship with the Hero? Friends, family, or..."

"The Hero... you mean Tiadam?" Denolan thought for a moment. "We're business partners."

"Oh, business partners... then keeping you alive should still be somewhat useful—"

Klauna snapped her fingers. A pair of mid-rank intermediate demons flapped their wings and pushed Tiadam out from the clouds. Due to his fear of heights, Tiadam was currently unconscious.

"This place is safe for now, so you two stay here..." Klauna flapped her wings and flew toward the Giant Dead. "The Levitation spell will vanish at dawn. If I don't make it back in time, you'll have to fend for yourselves..."

"Fend for ourselves?" Denolan shouted. "Lord Angel—you—"

Before Denolan could finish, a ball of light shot from Klauna's hand and exploded not far from him.

"I already told you once that my race is demon. Don't make me repeat myself—" Klauna warned.

The demons commanded by Yetara began gathering above Salat Church in the south of the city. This time, to resist the Giant Dead's invasion, Yetara had summoned dozens of demons. Among them were three high-rank intermediate demons, five high-rank lower demons, and eleven mid-rank upper demons. If this demonic force were measured as an army, their combat strength was roughly equivalent to a hundred and fifty thousand well-equipped holy knights.

"Everyone—" Imira said, flapping her bat-like membranous wings. "Thank you all for coming from Hell. Though I am unworthy, Lord Yetara appointed me as the overall commander for this battle against the Giant Dead..."

"Wasn't Lady Ivena supposed to be the overall commander? Why did it become you?" a doubtful voice asked from among the demons.

"Against the undead—hehe—pay attention—" Imira replied. "Lady Ivena is commanding the overall situation and maintaining order within Canfor. The great task of fighting the undead will naturally be handled by..."

"By your head—"

A beam of blackish-purple light shot toward Imira from above the southern district. As a high-rank demon, Imira hurriedly raised a pale-gray energy wall, barely blocking the light projectile. However, the purple-black energy splashed onto Salat Church's dome and violently smashed off the head of the Holy Son statue inside.

"You useless trash—what are you still doing down there? Get up here right now—" Klauna shouted from high in the sky.

"A high-rank upper demon—Klauna Carter. Why is even she here..." Imira was stunned by Klauna's appearance. "Shouldn't she be..."

"What are you idiots still standing around for?! Hurry up and help—" Another purple-black sphere of energy gathered in Klauna's hand and flew straight toward the demons still watching from above Salat Church.

"These damned idiots should have crawled back to Hell long ago—"

Pure black energy shot from Klauna's mouth, but this time it was aimed not at the demons, but at the Giant Dead formed from countless lower undead monsters.

The black energy pierced straight through the Giant Dead's head, but it was meaningless. The yellowish-brown lower undead quickly filled the hole. The undead's lament gathered in its eyes, and two yellow-green beams of energy erupted from them.

Blood Barrier—

Four crimson walls of blood slowly rose from beneath the Giant Dead's feet, blocking the decaying energy it had fired and firmly trapping it inside.

"All demons assigned to exterminate the Giant Dead, pay attention to your positions—" Blood mage Yetara stood atop his own tall building, casting his magic. Through their demon contracts, Yetara could easily communicate with the demons. "Those outside the Blood Barrier, enter it immediately. Slaughter this monster formed from lower creatures within the Blood Barrier—do not let it destroy Canfor's other districts—"

"Tch..." Imira muttered quietly. "At a time like this, he still cares about that. If this lousy city is destroyed, then so be it..."

"Imira—I can hear what you're saying—" Yetara said. "And it seems your Death Contract is still in my hands..."

"Lord Yetara, right away—I'm on my way—Blood Barrier—" Imira flapped her wings and flew toward the Blood Barrier.

The Blood Barrier deployed by Yetara was a variation of curse magic, a spatial spell that used arcane energy to manipulate blood as its medium. Within the Blood Barrier, creatures with demonic attributes were nourished by blood, greatly increasing their agility, attack power, and magical strength. Undead creatures and magical monsters, meanwhile, suffered varying degrees of magical damage depending on their size.

"Everyone, I'm late—"

Imira flapped her thin wings and dove down from above the Blood Barrier. With a single strike, the Demon Spear in her hand pierced through the Giant Dead's entire body.

"My apologies..." Imira said pretentiously. "I had a brief chat with Lord Yetara, and things turned out like this. Everyone... why do you look so miserable? You don't look like high-rank demons at all~"

"Worry about yourself first—idiot."

As Imira flew over, the demons quickly scattered.

Boom— A yellow-green Lament of the Dead blasted away half of Imira's body.

"Ah—"

Caught off guard, Imira hurried into the Blood Barrier and used the magic within it to rapidly restore her body. "Didn't my Demon Spear pierce that thing...? Even the highest-ranking undead monster shouldn't be able to recover this quickly..."

Within the scarlet barrier, Imira saw the split Giant Dead divide its body into two interconnected masses. The two bodies then each grew a pair of arms made from undead flesh. Immediately afterward, hundreds of energy projectiles carrying decaying power fired from the mouths of the smaller undead on those arms.

"Don't scatter—don't scatter—"

Klauna commanded the demons, "Use the Wall of Lamentation—use the Wall of Lamentation—those energy missiles are too fast—we can't dodge them—"

"Klauna, you worry too much—"

An axe demon responsible for the frontal assault ignored Klauna's warning, summoned its demonic weapon, and chopped directly at the undead's projectiles, intending to use the wind pressure from its swinging axe to deflect them.

"Roar—"

The axe demon's air blade sliced halfway through the Giant Dead's arm, and one of the Giant Dead's heads fell in response. The lower undead scattered from the blow were immediately consumed by Yetara's Blood Barrier. On the surface, the demons had temporarily gained the upper hand, but...

The undead's decaying projectiles were not deflected by the wind pressure from the swinging axe. Hundreds of energy shots struck the axe demon, turning it into a sieve in an instant.

"Even if it's only an intermediate demon, that thing was... too careless..." Imira said, mostly recovered. "If this vessel is destroyed, it'll have to stay in the Hell of the Fourteen Witches for at least a century or two..."

"Imira, open your eyes and take a good look at what happens when those projectiles hit someone—" Klauna shouted from within the Wall of Lamentation.

"Other than going back to Hell... what else could happen... ah..."

As Imira watched the axe demon gradually collapse, she suddenly realized a terrifying fact—the energy projectiles fired from within the Giant Dead could corrode souls.

"What is this... Radila's soul... her soul... it's disappearing..." Imira shouted.

The demon whose vessel was a blade gradually turned to dust. Her black armor and pink hair vanished together. Rust slowly spread across the blade in her hand, while her high heels and the Death Contract branded upon her body turned to nothing the moment they hit the ground.

"It can actually corrode a demon's soul... this thing... this thing... is definitely..." Imira said with a slight tremble as she looked at the Giant Dead condensed from countless dead, "a remnant of the Demon King from back then—"