A Temporary Conclusion

A world without hope—

An existence without value—

Without a trace of light—

Trapped within his own mind, Tiadam felt his entire body grow sticky. His limbs could not move, as if something were dragging him down, leaving him unable to escape. Suffocation and helplessness came one after another.

"What... is happening to me...?"

Tiadam tried to find something to brace against and escape this predicament, but there was nothing in the endless darkness. The stench of blood was like a swamp, trying to drag Tiadam in and assimilate him.

"Am I... dead?" An unknown liquid poured into Tiadam's nostrils.

"Cough, cough—"

"Cough, cough—" Tiadam coughed violently. He felt his alveoli beginning to burst, the near-death sensation of drowning endlessly echoing in his mind. Something seemed to be corroding his hands and feet, his heart began to stop beating, and fear of death consumed the hero's heart.

"I don't want to—I don't—I won't—die here..."

Just as Tiadam prayed, an inexplicable light appeared before him. In this indescribable darkness, that light was undoubtedly a beacon, and Tiadam desperately swam toward it.

"Dear hero, we meet again..."

Beyond the light stood a sword. It was plain and unadorned, yet carried extraordinary meaning.

"Who are you...?"

Tiadam felt as though the blade possessed life, while this endless darkness was merely her veil...

"I have waited for you for a long time..."

"Do you want power?"

"Do you want to become a hero?"

The sword's voice grew fainter and fainter, and the light seemed ready to fade with it.

"I want... I... want to."

Tiadam desperately stretched out both hands, trying to grasp that last sliver of hope.

"I want to become a hero—"

"I want power—"

As Tiadam awakened, a pillar of light erupted from the skies. It was brighter than the sun and gentler than the moon, annihilating the undead that even the demons could not kill.

"He succeeded... He proved that he could wield the Holy Sword."

Dilanna and the children of Ellina's Home watched the descending beam of light together. Beside her, Chi Ze was lost in fantasies of adventure.

"Lord Hero... I knew I had not misjudged you..." The elven grand duke Veer Nas gently licked the white chess piece representing a knight in his hand, then placed it heavily before the black queen. "You will be my first step toward returning to Dimil Riago..."

"The hero has been born once again. That means the struggle between the Old Gods and the new gods has only just begun..." Paladin Lapidemi stood atop his city wall, watching the light descend toward the ground.

The pillar of light lasted for several dozen seconds before beginning to dim. The evil miasma spewed from the Giant Dead, along with the victims assimilated by it, turned to dust as the light vanished and were ultimately scattered by the northern monsoon.

As the Giant Dead completely disappeared, the eastern sun rose at just the right moment. At dawn, Tiadam and Denolan fell from the sky, and Klauna swiftly grabbed them by the ankles, flying toward Canfoer City's Upper District.

"Not bad, kid..." Klauna said in a somewhat haughty tone. "As a descendant of the hero, you're qualified enough."

"What... did I do?" Tiadam asked groggily.

"I saw a beam of light erupt from inside you. It purified that monster," Denolan answered.

"Is that so... Blergh—" A stream of filth spilled from Tiadam's mouth. "Miss Demon, can you put me down... Hanging upside down feels awful..."

"Shut up—we're almost there. Don't make trouble for me," Klauna threatened. "Say another word of nonsense and I'll drop you and your brother."

"She's... so fierce..." Denolan said softly.

Due to the undead invasion, the slums south of Canfoer City all the way to the Upper District—an entire section of the city—had been reduced to mounds of earth and ruins. Most of the residents who had lived there were already dead.

"Looks like it'll take quite some time to rebuild the south side of the city..." Yetara struggled to rise from a pool of blood. Behind him stood an elderly woman nearing ninety.

"Since the south side has been destroyed, you could try shifting your focus to the east. You should know that Labi Village is a place... blessed by the gods..."

"Your suggestion is excellent... Demon King..." Yetara panted heavily. The feeling of being near death was not pleasant, but compared to death, being alive was still a far better experience.

"Is this the place?"

"According to Lord Boyabolo's calculations, that zombie created lesser undead somewhere nearby."

Among the ruins outside southern Canfoer City, Paladin Deqilai led his ten-man squad in search of the zombie that had created the Giant Dead, following General Lapidemi's orders.

Based on necromancer Boyabolo's understanding of Necromancy, such a massive amalgamation of corpses had to have been created by a high-level monster. Simply creating such an enormous undead creature from nothing required immense magical energy, and the magic needed to make it move would be even more staggering.

"If we can capture that zombie, Master Boyabolo's research might succeed..." said a black-haired girl. She had a pair of pale green eyes, wore an apprentice-standard mage robe, and carried a notebook recording the necromantic spells she had learned.

"Tarimilan, I'm warning you—" Paladin Deqilai drew his weapon and pointed it at Tarimilan. "We came here to eliminate the zombie that created the Giant Dead. If you dare entertain any improper thoughts, I'll be the first to kill you!"

"Tch—"

The girl snorted coldly and retreated to the back of the group.

Several hours passed in the blink of an eye, yet Deqilai's party found no clues concerning the zombie. The once-bustling slum black market was now desolate. The shattered ruins were filled with broken wooden beams, crumbling walls, and scattered cobwebs.

"Strange..." Paladin Deqilai drew his sword and swept aside the cobwebs in the ruins. "This is clearly where the Giant Dead appeared. Logically, there should be many corpses here, so why isn't there a single one now?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Tarimilan explained. "The remains of those victims must have all been pulled into the undead amalgamation. The corpses and negative energy needed for a Giant Dead as tall as a mountain certainly wouldn't be a small amount. I'd guess there isn't a single living thing left in these southern slums. They were all dragged into the amalgamation."

Deqilai said, "No living things?"

Tarimilan said, "Right. There shouldn't even be a cockroach."

"Wait... if there are no living things, then... where did all these cobwebs come from?" Deqilai looked at the webs winding through the ruins and felt a chill creep over him.

At that moment, a careless paladin reached out and tugged at a cobweb hanging in the ruins. It felt strange—rougher than ordinary spiderwebs.

"Strange... It seems to be stuck..."

As he spoke, the paladin removed his gauntlet, but the webbing in the ruins lightly fell onto his hand.

"Oh no, it's wrapping around me..." The coarse strands coiled around his hand as if alive. "It hurts—it's so sticky—"

"Help—" Before the paladin could finish, the cobwebs in the ruins swarmed over him.

"If there are no living things here... then... then where did all these cobwebs come from?" The belatedly alarmed Deqilai drew his sword. It bore no intricate patterns and was simply forged from Mithril.

Bang—

Bang— One black-and-red humanoid spider after another burst out from beneath the ground, staring greedily at the group.

"Everyone, stay alert—" Deqilai raised his sword and shouted, "The gods are with us!"