In the middle of the cemetery, there was a hill with steep cliffs on one side and gentle slopes on the other. Above it stood an old abandoned castle that sheltered all the tombstones beneath its earthen feet. No man dwelled in this ancient structure except for a human figure, who was staring at the battle of the living against the dead, behind the glassless stone window. Agosh Grendi had been living in the castle all this time. He was thrilled to see such a blood-soaked scene. He felt his plan was going to crumble, but he could not help but feel excited at all the chaos it had caused. The morbid, wide grin remained plastered on his face, not shortening a single inch.
He saw Alicia from a distance approaching him. Agosh chuckled, knowing she was the first cause his army of wandering corpses did not stand a chance. But at least the plan was not a complete failure.
Agosh took his sceptre. The skull on its tip gaped, its eyes flamed a sinister red. In an instant, all the undead, either crawling on the ground or floating in the air, were stupefied without the bother of gravity.
The troops of human beings halted their move for a moment also, as they were filled with confusion. Strongbark saw a shine behind the distant castle window, which turned out to be the sceptre of the necromancer.
"Look! That's the fucking necromancer!" Strongbark said.
"Then what are waiting for? We shall attack him!" said another wizard.
Haddock held them off, "Halt!" he said. "No one is approaching him without order. It could be a trap."
Alicia, her family, and friends were also bewildered. "What is actually happening?" asked Donar.
Still in the castle, Agosh spoke again in his absurd tongue.
"Å̵̗̰̟̰͚̒͜s̶̨͇̉́̎̀̋̈́͑p̷̨͎͖̭̦̙͇͈̟̜̩͕̩̪͖̽̎̀i̵̫̠̯͇̒̅͒͜͠ŗ̴̮̗̣̺̲̦͓̀̋͗̈́̾͂̏̍̀̅̅̈́͠͠ỏ̸̧̪̮̘͖̖̈́̑t̶͇̼̘̞̰͇̟̘̼͉̭̤̰͈͛̾ͅh̸̨̡̦̳͎̞̙̪̥͇̝̰̍͑̈́͛͜ ̸̛̜̱̱̀̋̇̀̏̐̐̄͠͠H̴̹͚͓̯̮̟̭͎̠́ͅǫ̵̰̳̯̣̩͎̫̮̣͂̎̅̈́͒͛͛͆́̈́͋͛̏͝g̷̤͉͎̱̞̣̭͈͇͚̣͙̠̼̐̂͑̍̀̌̓̔͗̄̋̿̎͝͝o̸͚͊̔͊̈͋͒̿̈̊t̵̢̪̻̖̻̹̪̬̥̰̪̫͉̭̀̋͆̇͛͋̾̓̒ẖ̶̠̥̹̭̦̻̞̤͖̬̱̹̪̓̏̅̂ ̵̧̢̨̛̛̘̝̜̘̘̹͈͎͎̬̃͂̀̽͒̃̎̑͐̈́͘͜͝͝ṭ̷̨̠͍̳͙̙͗̉̚a̷̡͈̟̝̭͂̉̍̐r̸̢̮̥͓̫͓͍̻̖̠̳̽̃̅͊̃̈̊͜͜a̷͓̝̱̾͗͠z̶̡̞̰̦̖͕͕̰̲̹̬͔͌͜͝e̵̛̱̳̊̈̈̈́̌̃͌̀̽́̕ẍ̴͍̩̩͉͎̠̪͉̹͈͖́̋͒̔̚y̶̜̼͖̜̆͆̑͑̾́̅̈́̐̅̿͝͝ñ̵̨̝̼͙̩͂̏̇̇͘͝ͅͅx̸̦̯̟̺͚̮̫̤̒͐͌́͋̚t̵͖̖͍̝͇͉͔͈͇̥͆́̐̔̂͂͆͂͂́̓̅̈͊̃͜į̴̨̢͎͍͍̫̼͎͚̘́͂̿͆̐̌͑̑̂̍͜ś̷̨̪̤̱̪͙̪͖͋s̸̡̛͇̦̑̔ŷ̷̢̡̧̥̜̦̹͉̱̫̭̟͔͓̓̈̌̈́͒̐͌͝͠!̵̧̢̙̼̫̼̱̯̩͓̞̅͗̎͆̍̑̆̀̂̄̇͂̃͘͜͝ͅ ̶̡̢̢̱̬̖̘͍͚͎̭͖͉̳̠̂̈́̂͛̔̀̌͑͑̏͐͠͠M̷̨̠͖̣̫̭̱͙̪̗̯̖̭̗̱͋̍͑̒́͝ṷ̴̖̝͍̪̱̈́̍̀̆̿̂͝i̵̪̳̔̄̈̾̑̀x̴̪̍̆̉̇͌̕ȃ̷̧̖̪͇̟̜̩̺̜͍̽̾͋̇͜d̸̛̰͓̭͔̬̺̱̫̀̈́̀̀̀̑̉̈́̐̔̈̈͘͝l̷̹̻̙̃̈̓̑̈̒̀͗̈́͋̌͌̕ą̴̙̝̩̝̰͔̻̩̦̟̍̂̔̀f̷̺̺͇͑u̸̧̠͈͖̾̋̀̃̏̋̃̕͘͝w̷̠͇̬̻̞̮̺͕̹̟̼̭̃̐͜͜͜ö̸̟̯͑̈́̽̌̇̈́̕̚͘͝ë̴̛̖͖̰̫͇̭̺̭͕͙͕̩̲̪́̋́͆̅͑̽̈́͆͑͜͝i̵̤̺̞̙̦͉̬͔͓̞̲̰͍͓̔̇̽͆͆̂̍͠p̶̣͓͙̪̼̈́́̊͐̀̍͝ṟ̴̩̥̻͇̫̜̤̺̹̳̃̈̏͊̐̉̑͑͂͂̏̄̋̕̚͜ ̴͙͖͈̿́̀̈͋͐͛̈ͅg̸̞̭̭̤̘̹͕̥̳̜̖͚͕̲͒̋̒̿͑̈́̓͌̽̾͝͠h̷̢͇̭̓͐̄͐̎ţ̵̱͈̗̲̺̑̈́o̵̢̼̜̖̝̺͙͔̺̥̞̯̳̟̓̅͗̇̋́̋͑̍͐̚͠͝ͅz̷̳͍̝̝͈̫̐̇͛̔̿̉͛̈̒̑̈͝ḽ̸̛̏͒̀̒̐̏̋̐͆̕̕á̶̧̧̢͚̥̩̙̩̥͖̺͈͈̙̱̉̄̐̇̐a̶̡̨̛̤͖̱̤͚̤̓̋̀͠ͅȩ̸̪̀̽̏̍ẁ̶̡̭̐͌̏͗͐̈́́̇͘ȓ̷͔̘̥̹͓̝̾̽́̓̊̒́̋̉̚͜͝͝e̸̪̼̪̪̞͎͌͘͜͜ċ̶͚̀̅̌͗͛͂͐̔̀̃͛̕͝.̷̡̲̯̣͍͉̳̻̠͈͙̒̈́̓͒͌̌̂̎͌̚ͅb̷̢̨͓͇̹̙̹͍̼̜͔͌ẑ̴̳̈̂̊͋̉͂̊̇͆́̕͝≠̢̢̩͎̻̟̯̘̙͖̖̊͗̔̓̌͌̓]̵̟͖͚͌̊́̆̂̂́͘̕͘"̡̟̘̖̗͎̻͉̙̱͙̪
The undead turned their backs on them. They ran, gathering at one point near the cliff. Those despicable creatures did something beyond the belief of the living army, making them both amazed and shiver: The undead piled themselves up, gluing themselves together. Hugs, embraces, pinches, grips, bites, whatever made them stick together. Their number in the thousands, increasing with the appearance of corpses in various forms from the torn dimensions as they slowly formed a humanoid as high as a three-storey building scattered across Eidyn. The gigantic creature consisting of a lump of flesh, bones, and dismembered body parts had seven eyes. They were all parts of the undead that fused in the most disgusting ways imaginable.
"Oh shit," Leith muttered, still frozen in the shadows of the giant zombie pile.
"Yup. We're deid," Gilmore chimed in with his eyes still bulging in disbelief.
"Introducing, Leichenhaufen! This is a weaving artwork of Necromancy! How beautiful, isn't it?" shouted Agosh Grendi cheerfully. "It will be even more beautiful when you join together with him!"
Agosh flew over to Leichenhaufen's shoulder, then hurled insults at those looking from below. "Accept, accept, accept this honor!"
Eidyn's earth shook as Leichenhaufen started running and swatted the less agile wizards away from it.
Haddock approached Alicia who still seemed unmoved after seeing Leichenhaufen.
"You didn't say we are about to face the walking piles of corpses, Grand Magus!" exclaimed Alicia.
"What do you expect when facing a mage, Alicia?" Haddock retorted, "You're fighting mages, not just a simple Protos particle addict. Here's a new lesson for you: Always prepared for unexpected spells, Alicia!"
The two watched the wizards busy hailing Leichenhaufen with bursts of Arcane plasma. Parts of the giant's body were easily scattered due to the shots. Many corpses fell strewn inheriting it with many holes. Of course, Agosh did not create Leichenhaufen to crumble with ease. As long as his totems kindled, thousand of fresh dead should come out and wriggle, replacing their fallen brothers in arms. Time was essential for them to patch all the holes.
"Yon giant can't be destroyed before the three totems behind it are destroyed first, will it not?" Alicia gulped. "He won't let us close to the totems."
"Change of plans, then," Haddock said, "I'll focus on distracting Agosh and that pile of rotten flesh. Keep your focus still on those totems, Alicia."
Haddock gripped Alicia's shoulder hard, "You may doubt in your mind, dear. But don't make your body doubt too. Prove to them you are indeed the one chosen by the Arcane might!"
Alicia put on a face as if tough while nodding for the Grand Magus. Haddock patted her on the shoulder before gliding back into the air.
Limb after limb of Leichenhaufen melted from the pure Arcane stabs. Both the wizards and the civil guards surrounded and tried to circle around the pile of walking corpses in order to unveil for the rest, the path to the three totems it protected.
"Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic! Is that all you got with the pure Arcane? You guys are no better than that Crimsonmane bitch!" Agosh sneered at them behind the pile of corpses squirming at each other like worms overheating. "Leichenhaufen, let them taste those pieces of meat they squandered!"
Looked like the corpse pile formed an artificial hole that resembled an opening of a mouth, then spat out blackish red mucus at them like a burst of a waterfall. The liquid turned out to be a mixture of blood and mucilage from decayed organs but as corrosive as acid. Yes, pieces of organs did not miss piercing them. The torrent was so large that it nearly dewed the entire frontline army. Unfortunately, those who were not adroit enough had to accept the fate of losing limbs or dying in acid baths with their wands still flowing the Arcane.
Leichenhaufen also shook his head, causing the stream of profane liquid to splash more widely on the rear echelons. Just like that, their formation dispersed. The troops scrambled to save themselves. Not to mention the smell released by the liquid, which turned out to be part of its magic. It stung their olfactory nerves, to the point of disturbing their sensory and motor nerves.
Alicia collapsed as she could not stand the smell. She had not wholly fainted yet, but how could she even withstand such a fragrant? Her ears were ringing again the same as yesterday, her eyes felt sore although glasses were still attached to her nose bridge. She could not even lift his drooping arm to wipe her eyes.
"Alicia!" Donar and Leith landed. Nadine and Gilmore also rushed to her "Oh no! Hold on, Alicia!"
With all the pleas not to submit to the darkness, they were no better than her. Even if they attempted to cover their nose and mouth, the smell still entered and poisoned them as well.
"I… can't see… my ears… the smell…." Nadine and the others coughed and fallen a stupor. But Alicia could not join them. No, she absolutely could not, for everyone depended on her. This was the moment they desperately needed Arcane to show its miracle! With the rest of her consciousness, Alicia built the holy force field, and the poisonous smell inside vanished right away.
"Not enough!" Alicia exerted her might even harder. She and Orb extended the Arcane force field's coverage to almost a block!
"Everyone, get in here!" cried the girl. Those who survived directly entered the enormous bunker, avoiding the more severe magic effect. Leichenhaufen spat out more liquid into the protective dome, which made Alicia feel the same agonising pain as before.
Alicia sighed and grimaced. Tears came out of her eyes holding back all the pain.
But then she saw how seriously injured most of them were. Those who were so exhausted they couldn't even lift their wands. She saw pairs of regretful eyes. She saw the gazes of still willing to fight but the toxic waste left them near paralyzed. She saw a thousand and one meanings in the eyes of the partisans as they looked back at the girl, who was putting all her efforts.
Her whole body might be shattered formless, but not her pride because of the act of sacrifice for her brothers and sister in arms. She was no longer upset about how not to die, but how to keep them safe, how to keep the city of Eidyn safe.
How hard Alicia gritted her teeth, she let all the stabs from the friction of Khaos and Arcane destroyed her nerves.
Suddenly, Haddock, Bartholomew, and an air assault wizard unit entered the safe area. Bartholomew and the others were almost sprawled out and coughing. Haddock saw the quivering Alicia, bearing the weight of the friction of the two primordial forces. He waved his wand.
"𝘐𝘈𝘕𝘐𝘛𝘖𝘙!"
Another layer of protection was created by Haddock's Wizardry magic. Strengthened by the power of Arcane, his magic was no less potent against the exposure of the disgusting liquid. But constructing a shield one block wide with limited Arcane access was an impossible task for long.
"Those who can still raise their wands, use the power of Arcane to create the protective magic!"
Arose the dozen of them. They lent their magic and cast the same spell.
"Alicia, stop it! Stop torturing yourself, we can do it," Haddock said.
Alicia took his word for it. Her Arcane force field vanished to be replaced by another protective force field. She immediately fell to the ground, but the others caught her before her body hit the rock. Haddock took a small elixir bottle from his pocket and tossed it to a witch to pass it to Alicia.
"Alica, please, drink," said Haddock as the potion was handed to her. Alicia opened her mouth slightly and took a sip with the help of another magician. Suddenly her face became sour and coughed as if she wanted to vomit.
"B-bitter…."
"I know it's bitter indeed, but it's a rare potion to recover your manna tenfold. It should've been used for the last moment, but considering we are in your great need, I think this is a good time to use it."
It didn't take long for Alicia to feel the effects. She slowly felt a little fit and her limbs are movable with no pangs. Alicia could sit without the support of a backrest. "If I h-have to guess, this must have your favourite stillmajik chamomile in it," she mumbled.
A smile crossed Haddock's face. "You almost made me think I was talking to your mother."
Alicia finally got back on her feet although there was still slight tiredness that rebelled, forcing her to lie down.
"Many thanks for the help, Grand Magus," said Alicia, "Now let's heal the others with the potion!"
"Uhh… not everyone gets the potion, kid. I told you it's rare."
"Wait, what do you mean?"
"Only my elite mages have it, along with the fewer ordinary ones. Each person only has one."
"So the potion just now…? You…."
"Oh, don't mind me, Miss Crimsonmane!" Haddock played strong in front of the girl, even though he was indeed strong. "I barely drank my rations since the last magic war. They couldn't have made me a Grand Magus if I couldn't hold that much manna inside me!"
"I owe you a lot, Grand Magus!" The primed Alicia began to prepare her stance, ready to dash towards the three heinous totems.
"You can pay it off by destroying those totems and then defeating that damned Agosh Grendi!" he replied excitedly. "Alright, another new plan, I guess! Since only a few could go on, some magicians including myself will have to release the protective magic and leave the rest in charge of it! My team and Barthie's will again distract the creature. Alicia, you will fly with another unit, rush to the three totems, and destroy them immediately!"
"I… will ride a flying broomstick?"
"Of course. It's about time a magus like you tried the broomstick, innit?"
"But I'm afraid of heights!"
"Is that so? What a shame! Do heights frighten you more than thousands of corpses piled up to form a seven-eyed giant?"
"I don't know. Maybe?"
"Then you're still flying, Alicia. I don't want to know."
"Oh, come on!" []