Two days passed and Lylia already returned to the Twilight City to defend against the demons. The battle began in the plains in the south of the city. Beside her is a legions of undead, warriors who chose the same path as her to fight in the war that has yet to end.
The four archmage also left the city with all the mages we left out in the cold, bracing themselves for the impact of the war. The battle will be too far out league for those who grown up in a crippled world, but they are still doing everything they can.
April went with Lylia to fight, saying it's a big event. In just two days, thousands of wanderers gathered and joins the immortal army against the demons.
As for me, I am responsible for setting baits that I came for. Yup, like loosening the seal on Tiggly and the gate to lure the demon and dragons out. They are on the losing side after all, if they can't open the abyssal gate then they will never have another chance. The current battle against the demons can also be used to mask it as a coincidence, a perfect plan that will only work because of how desperate they are.
I have prepared 700 years to wipe them out. Every risk has been calculated and every plan has been reviewed. Numerous back-up plans already in place, while failure is simply not a possibility. Gwehehehe
I am wallowing in joy, before I hear Lir's soft voice.
'Gobuda, you look very murderous right now.'
I freeze.
… I am?
… I suppose I am.
I hate the void, I hate the demons, and I hate the dragons. Lylia has taken the demons away for me, and the void creature has also been taken away, leaving the dragons only.
If I am here alone, and have to deal with all of this alone, I might really break down.
It's painful, really painful to be alive.
'It will all be over soon, Gobuda. When everything is over, we can leave everything to the juniors of this generation and relax, frolic and live without care. We can live on proper lifespan rather than this frozen time. We can build up our power, build another city, build another kingdom this time. Gea, that cockroach can be the king, Ronia might be called the demon general, I will be the high priestess, and you will be the prime minister. Goblins reproduce insanely fast right, just by crowding together, mana will condense and spawn another one of us. We can build a big enough army with strong enough goblins, and one day raid the abyss and kill all the demons. Then we can…'
I chuckled.
You know that is impossible, right?
But your right…
…that doesn't sound too bad.
I open my eyes. In front of me is no longer a battlefield of undead and demons, no longer is there any sword or spells decorating my eyes. There are only the walls of a cavern, a tomb of millions of warriors.
I am no longer in the wanderer's body, but my own undead body. Taking the form of an elven women, perhaps in the thirties by human standard, with skin pale as death, and eyes cold as frost.
It was right to turn myself into such state even though the elves abhor the undead. The children living today are far from strong enough to weather the calamity, though it has never been their responsibility.
Thanks to that, I gained the name of Death even though I am the renown Sage of Life.
"…Rudolf."
"Yes, my lady."
I look at the death knight standing by my throne. He is a Seer, different, but equally powerful as Lir. He is wearing a torn and rotting robe covering an equally miserable armour and has a wounded and festering body underneath.
Undeads are not immortal, time still wears down on our flesh, weakening our body and strength. That's why we lay below the earth, away from heat and the sun in the Underground built by species close to the earth or lived in the dark. It has been converted into a tomb, a massive graveyard to maintain our body, a spell devised by the greatest minds before the world was crippled. It was used by me, Aruk, as well as the Saintess.
I remember my old friend I've met on this excursion and I cannot help but feel sadness. He is broken, incredibly so.
Goblins is a race that came into existence 700 years ago, brought by the influence of the abyss. Aruk, Lirthusia, Ronia and Geahnol are the first goblins to come into existence, yet they lived far longer than that.
Other than dragons and undead, the only race that can naturally live beyond 3000 years are the Spirit Race. They used to exist beside the Human and Monster Race, yet, as personifications of nature, they fell into extinction as the world lost most of its vitality. As long as the world is alive, they will rekindle and be born again, though in an unknown time in the future.
If the dragons signify the Monster Race and the humans represent the Human Race, then the spirits are led by an organisation, the Supreme Court, or the Court of Fay.
Aruk himself was the strongest Fay, the Chancellor of the court.
The court only had one mission, and that was to protect the world. So before they returned to the world, every Fay voluntarily fell into the influence of the abyss and faced corruption, turning into goblins.
"…I am in no place to complain, even though I became a Lich."
I stretch out my pale fingers.
Spirits are pure and incredibly sensitive. It is hard to see because spirits are born lacking in intelligence and self-awareness, but they are influenced easily with emotions. Most Fay went to sleep for this reason as they cannot bear the consecutive loss of close friends.
Aruk alone, had to stay awake.
That will not matter much longer, right now the problem is the demons.
"Rudolf, did you find all of them?"
"Yes, every one that escaped the last battle, I remembered and found them all."
"Well done."
Then it is time to break open the casket of time.