Though a bit apprehensive, Briar got ready for whatever creatures that would emerge.
Although he was not really sure, he had a hunch of what those creatures may be.
Holding the hilt of his sword, he angled himself a bit forward as if to shield Atropa from the incoming attack.
His heart beat fast and goosebumps formed on his skin as the groaning and the shuffling of feet became louder. It seemed there are a number of them.
Then, out from the hallway, a child emerged. Briar's eyes widened and his blood ran cold as his eyes laid on the child.
The child was pale as if he was drained of his blood. His eyes were blank as if he was devoid of his sight.
Groans come out of his mouth. Some of his teeth were jagged and were stained with blood. Coagulated blood oozed out of his mouth and dried up towards his jaw.
"This child might be one of them." Briar thought that this undead might have been one of the victims of the ritual.
Normally, a necromancer could call a dead person's soul back and could allow the dead to inhabit the body. The necromancer could manipulate the dead he had resurrected to do his bidding.
But if the necromancer failed to give the demands for righteous exchange, failed products such as these walking dead are oftentimes produced.
That was what had happened before when the Suzerain tried to resurrect his wife. He failed to give the correct demands. He was not able to offer another life and his wife's soul had been long gone.
As consequence, people around him who had recently died had turned. Most of his soldiers were made up of walking dead and ghouls, which were controlled to do his bidding. The same is happening right now.
He took note of the gaping wound on its chest where its coagulated blood had spilled. Blood had drenched some parts of is upper clothing which was already in tatters.
"This child must have been here for a little over a few months" Briar made a rough estimate using the undead's features.
The child walked a bit slowly and his hands were outstretched. As he drew near, Briar's nose was assaulted with a strong pungent odor.
"definitely not pleasant." he muttered to himself.
The prince was brought out of his musings when Atropa suddenly screamed. "A revenant!"
As response to the noise, the child turned towards them and suddenly attacked.
It was a good thing that Briar was quick to his feet. He immediately swung his sword and severed the child's head.
As the head was severed, the body crumpled to the floor and was rendered immobile.
The flaxen haired sighed. "Such a waste. I wanted to save him."
But he knew that the only way to save the child was to 'kill' and purify him.
Since the child was already turned without completing the righteous exchange, there was no way to revert him back to life.
The prince produced a circular amulet from his pocket.
Using a stored spell from the amulet, he produced a pentagram and reduced the body to ashes.
Turning to Atropa who had grown a bit pale, he asked. "Are you scared of these things?"
"O…Of course not!" she stammered while looking away.
Though she had denied that she was afraid, Briar observed that Atropa was slightly shaking.
Through the dim glow of the amulet, he noted that her face had drained of its color. A few tear drops were leaking from her eyes.
"Is this the first time you saw an undead?" he asked as he made his way near her.
She shook her head. "No... I had seen and met several undead such as incorporeal ones: ghosts, wraiths and poltergeists and the likes."
"I have also had encounters with a vampire and a ghoul but not a walking dead." She added which made Briar frown.
"Vampire and ghoul?" he asked in curiosity.
"There were a few of them who would occasionally visit Hemlock." she answered.
"You were able to visit Hemlock despite being a lower noble from Majoram." he commented.
"We do trade in Hemlock." the girl reasoned out. "the vampires also trade for some time but the ghouls are just appearing there to make trouble."
"So you're not scared of them?" the prince inquired.
He wasn't able to meet those creatures yet so he doesn't really know what to feel or how he should react.
"Vampires are handsome and beautiful beings. Unless you show hostility towards them, they would leave you alone." she answered in a slightly calm tone.
"But the ghouls are quite entirely different. If they stray in Hemlock, the authorities or elders from the covens are called to deal with them." she calmly imparted.
Briar gave a sigh of relief. It is quite a good thing that Atropa had calmed her nerves a bit.
"Still scared?" he asked.
"And it is not that I am scared… it is just…" she stopped short as her eyes grew big while looking behind Briar.
Briar turned around and saw several undead children emerging from the hall.
All of them are minors, around the age of seven to twelve. It is most likely they were orphans or abducted children judging from their worn out clothes.
"What a nuisance!" He swung his sword and got ready to fight.
"They are quite slow, so I don't have any qualms in getting rid of them. But when they attack in droves, they're annoying." He muttered as he felled a few of the undead children who had gotten near him.
He was momentarily distracted when Atropa suddenly shrieked. "Don't come near me!"
One of the undead begun closing in on her, so Briar hastily ran over and cut its head off.
"I did not know you would lose composure over this." He commented while pushing the girl behind him so that he can protect her.
"I may be a witch but not a necromancer! I am okay with other monsters, spirits or even demons. But I am not into these!" she cried out.
"This is desecration of the dead!" she added with indignation.
Then she produced a pentagram in reddish hue. From within it, a red orange flame was produced and incinerated most of the fallen corpse.
"Even though you are a witch, are you capable of using holy or light attribute magic?" Briar queried as he kicked another undead.
"Your highness, as a witch, I specialize in dark arts. But I do have a purification spell or two." She answered.
"Try it then. If you can purify these children, all the better. " He ordered while lopping off the head of the zombie who had drawn near them.
Using her amulet as catalyst, Atropa sang an incantation. A bright light radiated from the amulet and formed a white pentagram.
When the light from the pentagram hit the undead, the spell holding them gets nullified. They got purified and their bodies crumbled down to dust.
As the light died down, all of the undead children in the vicinity had vanished.
Atropa suddenly sagged down. It was as if her strength had left her. After all purification spells consume more mana than other attribute spells.
"Are you alright?" the Prince asked as he supported the lady.
She nodded while giving him a weak smile. She had somehow regained a bit of her color although she was weakened a little.
"Why are you okay with this?" she asked.
Briar was a bit confused so she had added. "Why are you so calm? You did not even bat an eyelash when those undead showed up."
Scratching his nape, he answered. "I am not really okay…Not being able to save those kids left an awfully heavy feeling in my chest. I should have done something before it had reached to this point."
"You seemed so used in fighting the undead. Were you able to encounter them in your travels?" she curiously asked the prince.
"This is a first actually. I had fought a skeleton before but not a walking dead." He confessed.
"but since I am investigating the rouge caster, a possible necromancer… I had already anticipated that we may ran into various types of undead. I already have a hunch earlier."
With a frown she said. "You should have told me."
And she added in a low voice. "I wouldn't have gone out of my way and help you with this investigation."
Briar was taken aback by what she had said. But when he observed her face, he discovered that she was just playing with him.
"I apologize. I did not know that we would actually ran into those things." he seriously conveyed.
"And I am very much grateful for your assistance." Smiling, he reassured her. "But don't worry. I'll protect you. Even if it'll cost me my life."
"Don't be like that! You are a prince. I am just a servant. You shouldn't be saying things like that, your highness." Atropa turned away.
Briar chuckled as he had noted the red tinge marring her cheeks before she managed to hide from him.