Zek unleashed his murderous intent. It oozed like a black miasma, a deathly aura hanging around him. It wasn't just for show; it was a passive magic aura that killed weak opponents that came close to him.
His appearance was like a premonition of death. His body was entirely a skeleton, covered only by fine ropes enchanted to increase his defense. They were the same robes he wore the last time Gina saw him as a human.
"Don't you have anything to say? After so many years without seeing each other, I thought you would be a bit more eager to talk."
"I don't have anything to say to you undead. Zek Trevelis Oron died a long time ago. You are just a monster borrowing his memories." Gina didn't hesitate. She was determined to put this soul to rest after purifying him.
"Monster? How convenient when it was your country that betrayed me. No, they betray us all. But it is not like I expect an apology or something like that. Your life and extinction is the only thing you can offer me."
Zek let his black book float in the air and his minions prepared themselves for combat.
On Zek's side, he was surrounded by 20 Apocalypse Knights, 3 Orbs of Madness, 2 Flesh Giants, and 2 Dark Assassins. All of them were high-level undead that could wreak havoc with ease. Of course, the biggest danger was Zek's magic prowess. He was almost full of mana, and his black book contained a myriad of spells.
In front of the Holy See, Gina Adler raised her specter, and the door behind opened. A dozen members of the Faith, along with the Supreme General, Lor Kingston, and three of his generals: July, Andrea, and Dobois.
"I see you left the poor commoners to fend for themselves in the middle of an assault, only to have a chance to defeat me. So much for the army who always defends the people."
"Shut up, monster! The reason we are here is that we'll defend the citizens. For that, we need to bring you down with all we've got! We must win this battle! Even if we all have to die to bring this dark wizard down, we must do it! fight with everything you got!"
"YES!" they all yelled, as they responded to the Supreme General. It wasn't only for show. If Zek dies, a lot of the undead army will also crumble along with him. Having a legion of this size meant he used a ritual to tie them to himself. Destroy him and the lesser undead will crumble.
Not only that, but they were also waiting for reinforcements from the Kingdom and the Draconic Empire.
As they felt their morale rising, Lor used one of his special abilities and Gina a spell.
"[Unbreakable spirit]"
"[Mass Holy enchantment]"
[Unbreakable spirit] gave resistance against mental attack for a time and [Mass Holy enchantment] imbued holy damage in the weapons of everyone. That was the start of the battle. Zek didn't have the intention of letting them prepare more. He raised his finger and cast.
"[Fireball]" a basic and weak spell, but infused with some extra mana, made a giant ball of flames. It was almost like the breathing of a dragon. The fact that it was this big when Zek didn't have any class affinity with fire meant it was only a fraction of his real power.
The [Fireball] threatened to consume them all. One of the generals, Dobois, jumped in front and raised his shield.
"Don't underestimate me. I'm the shield of the Republic!" Dobois's shield consumed the ball of fire inside of itself without suffering any damage.
The Shield of Magic Negation was a powerful magic object that could absorb a spell three times in a single day. It was a fearsome item to use against a wizard or any magic caster, but the fact that he had to use one of the charges at the beginning wasn't a good sign.
Behind the giant fireball, the horde of Apocalypse Knights engaged with the humans. The battle began among the troops from both sides.
The Apocalypse Knights were very strong, and their armor and weapons were enchanted. The only ones who could hold their own were the generals. The members of the Faith were the elite, but they were taking too many wounds.
Gina and 2 other priests cast [Heal] and [Greater Heal] to help them, but Zek did the same.
"[Negative energy]" every time one of his knights was about to suffer too much damage, he cast it and restored them.
As the troops were fighting, the Orbs of Madness came closer and casted [Mass hallucination]
Waves of madness and terrible nightmares made their way inside everyone's minds. If it weren't for Lor Kingston's special ability, they would be scratching their heads in pain, screaming random things in total madness. Instead, they only had to suffer a headache.
Lor killed the first of the Apocalypse Knights and went toward Zek.
"[Boost] [Great slash]" He moved at superhuman speed and, combining it with another ability, he sent a powerful slash in front of Zek.
The giant arm blocked the attack. It made it bleed, but the Flesh Giant began to regenerate.
"Punishment sword activate!" Fire erupted from inside the wound.
"That's a powerful fire enchantment if it can stop the regeneration of the giant, but you need more to take them down."
The giant punched Lor with his other hand, sending him several meters away. Lor could feel his bones reverberating inside from the impact.
"[Waltz]" General Andrea used her special ability and moved like a ghost through the battlefield. She killed one of the knights and then slashed two of the orbs in half with her daggers.
"We can't extend the fight for too long." Defeating Zek was the priority, but he was being guarded by his minions. To distract him, she went toward the last Orb who retread to save itself.
While Zek wasn't paying attention to her. She activated the spell inside her daggers.
"[Shadow step]" banished in the shadows, she reappeared behind Zek.
Right behind him, she used her most deathly combination.
"[Waltz] [Double skill] [Critical hit]" A fast and precise attack that dealt massive damage amplified two times.
The undead crumbled under the power of Andrea, but it wasn't Zek. Instead, one of the Dark Assassins took the attack in his place.
"How?"
"I'll tell you before sending you to the afterlife. Dark Assassins have the ability to take any attack in place of an ally that's close. [Drain]."
Zek grabbed Andrea's face and sucked the life force with his skeletal hand. In only a few seconds, she became an old woman and then turned to dust.
A holy lance was about to hit Zek, but the Flesh Giant used his own body to take the hit.
"Getting impatient, Gina? is just one more human. How many people have been killed in this city? One more is like a grain of sand in the desert."
He could see the anger inside her stoic face. Killing that general definitely upset her.
"You can pretend to be a cold person, but I can see how every time one of your allies falls, your heart gets angrier."
She ignored his remarks and watched the battlefield. The current situation wasn't good. They had lost too many people, and there were still 10 Apocalypse Knights.
General July killed another knight as he protected Gina along with his priests. He was wilding the Whipping Fury, a whip-like sword that cut through normal armor like a cheese. But even this weapon was having trouble piercing the undead knights.
"We need to do something. The Supreme General is busy fighting that giant, and the necromancer still has one assassin to save himself in case of a surprise attack. What should we do?" He asked Gina, but before she could answer, a blade pierced him from behind.
"July! [Smite]" she raised her specter and hit the Dark Assassin with holy magic. Gina wasn't a fighter, but her magic was so powerful she disintegrated the undead with a single blow.
"Hold on, I'll heal you!" She walked to his side, but July raised her hand.
"Poison... Don't waste mana on me... The Supreme General needs your help..." He refused to save himself. This was a battle they had to win. If Gina couldn't cast a spell because she spent too much mana trying to save him, then it would be their loss.
She bit her lip with regret but understood the meaning of his words. Before she could look up, another [Fireball] came flying toward her.
"I won't let you!" Dobois used his shield once more and consumed the flames.
That was only a distraction as Zek raised his other hand and the black book turned the pages in a lightning spell.
"[Ten heavenly rays]" from his finger, a ray of light went toward the skies and turned into a dark cloud looming over them.
Gina had never heard of a spell like this before, but she could tell it was powerful. All of them could die depending on what was going to happen.
"[Light Shield]!" She managed to cast a defensive barrier before the first ray struck her.
Her shield broke, but she was unharmed.
"Tchh…" If Zek had a face, he would be making a frowning expression.
[Ten heavenly rays] Used almost one third of his mana. He had ten powerful rays, but the prerequisite of the spell meant that he couldn't target the same creature two times in a row.
The second ray fell on top of Dobois. He had to use the last charge of his shield. When he felt the electricity moving around him, he could tell he wouldn't be able to survive a single ray.
"[Light Shield]" Another fell on Gina, and yet again the shield withstood the power. She was dangling on the border of death, with only her spells keeping her alive.
"Lady Gina… I'll leave it to you." Dobois gave her a parting smile as he was consumed under the ray.
Gina raised her shield three more times and saw how the Supreme General took three rays along with the Flesh Giant.
Thanks to his special ability, he brushed off the damage from two rays, but he couldn't withstand the last one.
She couldn't even heal him. It was an instant death. The cloud passed and the spell ended. She looked around. She was the last one standing. The Supreme General and his subordinates, the members of the Faith, all of them were dead.
She thought about casting [Resurrection] on the Supreme General, but she would be out of mana. Was that the correct choice? No, she couldn't get close enough to touch him. The seven remaining Apocalypse Knights surround her.
It would take a miracle for her to defeat them and defend herself from Zek's spells at the same time. Even if she tried a desperate attack against Zek, the Flesh Giant would block it. It was hopeless, a hopeless ending.
"Look at the bodies around you, Gina. They put their faith in you, and what can you even do? Do feel it? The sensation that no matter what you do is useless? That's exactly what I felt when your people betrayed me!"
The Knights charged at Gina and...
A blazing inferno fell on the Holy See, but she didn't feel any heat. The flames touched her body, but they were almost like an illusion. Unlike her, the knights burned down along with the last Orb of Madness and the body of the Flesh Giant that shielded Zek.
"Sorry for the delay. I took a detour to pick up some help."
The Wise Golden Dragon, leader of the Draconic empire, arrived.