My head felt funny.
Somehow I had blacked out earlier and couldn't remember anything again. Which was weird...
I definitely remembered arriving at the castle. I remembered seeing that Rose, out benefactor, was actually the Princess of Albatross.
And that she was extremely beautiful as well.
But something about her made my heart feel weird.
Regardless, I remembered getting extremely angry about something. Then nothing at all.
Now all of my friends were acting strangely around me. Everyone except Nasumi, of course. She stayed at my side more than ever as we followed the Princess down the castle halls.
"Is there a reason you're so close to me, Nasumi?" I asked.
"N-no reason! I just have to make sure that your head is alright. Th-that's all!" She said.
Her face was red, though she tried to hide it.
Which was also weird... Still, I just assumed she was afraid of me like everyone else. It made no difference.
Eventually, we made it to the back of the castle and entered one of the less-used portions. We entered an old wine cellar in an unused part of the castle dungeon and the Princess bowed respectfully to us.
"All of you, this part of the castle is rarely used. It contains a secret exit for the royal family in case of emergency," Princess Isabella said with a smile.
Her smile was too cute... I felt myself quickly falling for her.
But I knew it would be wrong. She had a husband already, even if she hated his guts.
Nasumi suddenly looked very unhappy...
And I could tell that Kronos was staring a lot as well...
"There are probably lots of secret passages...right, Princess?" Kronos said.
"There are. I have memorized nearly all of them. And no, I will not disclose their locations. That is a confidential piece of information. Regardless...this is the one you want."
She pulled an old sconce out of the wall and turned it ninety degrees. Then she pushed it back in.
A click was heard along with stone grinding together. Next to the sconce, a doorway opened up with stairs leading down into darkness.
It smelled awful.
"Eugh...everyone, get ready to hold your noses..." Kronos said.
"Purify air," I said.
I cast a spell to purify the air around our group, centering on myself.
"Wooow! Good job, murdery Mizzy!" Mori said.
"...Could you please not call me that?" I asked, feeling rather annoyed.
"Hmmm...Mizzy likes murder. So no. Murder Mizzy!" Mori said playfully.
"..."
"Fitting name, to be honest..." Kesia mumbled.
Some of the others nodded in agreement.
"Excuse me...you lot should probably treat your friend better. Would that not be the right thing to do?" Isabella said.
Ah...she's taking up for me... She's an angel...
"I...I agree! Let's be nice to Mizik! He deserves it after how hard he's been working!" Nasumi quickly said.
"Nasumi...it's alright. We were only joking...haha..." Mako said uneasily.
I could feel his eyes glaring at me.
Still...
"It's fine. Princess Isabella, what exactly should we expect to find down there?" I asked.
"The scouts said they saw skeletons and zombies. Many zombies matched descriptions of people that went missing a while ago. Some recent. We want whoever is responsible for this mess to die. How that is accomplished is unimportant."
"Sounds good. Since you people just want to stand around and make fun of me, I'll lead the way. Don't get left behind..." I said.
I walked forward and made my way down the stairs. As I moved, I cast night vision on myself.
"W-wait for me!" Nasumi said.
She quickly followed and walked beside me.
Eventually the others did as well and caught up. Kesia held a rune in her left hand and kept the tunnel lit for everyone without night vision.
"Nice leadership there, Mizzy. But I'll take it from-"
"I don't think so, Kronos," I said quickly.
"Uhh...you serious?"
"Dead serious."
"Wow. That's funny. You should be a comedian. You know I'm the leader, right? You can't just-"
"GUUUUUHHHH!!!!"
A loud groan was heard as several zombies approached us.
The others hesitated for a moment and scrambled to ready themselves for battle.
I simply turned and raise my hand.
"Incinerate."
I turned all of the zombies to ashes and looked back at Kronos.
"You want my opinion? You lot are weak. Weak-willed, weak-minded, and cowardly. You would rather sit back and try to 'save everyone' while ignoring reality."
"That's enough, Mizik-"
"NEWS FLASH, ASSHOLE! YOU CAN'T SAVE EVERYONE!!! NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, SOME PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS DIE!!!"
He was taken aback by my words.
"Mizik...?" Nasumi said quietly.
"That little girl would have died because of you, Kronos. Stop hesitating. We're surrounded by enemies right now, so you should be ready to fight at all times. And Kesia? Douse the light. You'll draw them to us like moths to a flame. While you're at it, everyone here should endeavor to move silently unless you wanna be surrounded and eaten alive."
"We can't see without the light, idiot!" Kesia said angrily.
"Ugh...it's like I have to do everything! You lot are a bunch of undisciplined children. Night vision group. Greater stealth group."
I casted the two spells on everyone and turned away.
Nasumi quickly hurried to be by my side again.
"S-sorry, Mizik...I didn't mean to-"
"It's fine, Nasumi. At least one of you is remorseful. I'm just tired of being treated like an outcast. Bastards..."
"I really want to get along with you. Deep down...I know Mizik is a lot nicer than what the others give him credit for..."
I almost smiled.
Nasumi...really wasn't so bad.
"Thank you, Nasumi. I appreciate it. You're very kind."
I saw her smile out of the corner of my eye.
Meanwhile, I sensed the presence of the others approaching.
I used a oculus spell to view the area behind me. Kronos was seething with fury. Kesia and Mako were as well. Garen and Mori remained quiet, seeming sad about their behavior. I was glad I checked, because I didn't want to get stabbed in the back.
After I dispersed the spell, I stopped at a corner and used the oculus spell again to look around it.
As I expected, several skeletons were waiting, poised to shoot with crossbows. There was a group of them waiting in the shadows in the back as well.
Probably hoping to shoot anyone dumb enough to rush in.
Nasumi, however, kept walking.
I grabbed the back of her kimono and pulled her to my side.
"Eh!? M-mizik!?" She said suddenly.
"Shhh..." I said quickly.
"What's going on...?" Garen said.
"There's a group of skeletons waiting to shoot us around the corner. They probably know we're here already. You all stay back. I'll handle this by myself," I said.
"Hmph. Don't get shot too much..." Kronos said dismissively.
"I'll try to save a few bolts for you," I said.
After that, I created a shield of ice on my hand. It was about the size of small buckler.
I turned the corner, deflected one bolt and dodged another.
Then I fired several magic arrows at the skeleton's heads in an instant. Two were destroyed as my senses allowed me to duck, dodging two more bolts.
I killed two more skeletons afterward using the same method, then deflected one last bolt.
I picked the final skeleton up with psychokinesis and stopped for a moment.
I could see the threads of magic controlling it.
So...I severed it. Then I put the skeleton under my control.
Something about this felt familiar. Like I was used to fighting hordes of undead with another horde of undead.
Somehow...a lot of spells were already present to allow such a thing to be possible. I simply shrugged and began summoning several extremely powerful skeletal knights and mages.
I conjured a greater banshee equipped with sound magic and two vengeful shadow wraiths armed with battle axes.
The others finally turned the corner and stopped.
"Mizik! What the hell are you doing!?!?" Kronos shouted angrily.
"What the fuck does it look like I'm doing, you idiot? I'm summoning a group of undead to fight the other undead. Get over it."
"That's evil! You can't just disturb the dead like that!" Kronos protested.
"Man...this is sickening to look at..." Kesia said as a hulking, putrid lizard man skeleton rose up, covered in a sickly green corrosive aura.
"How am I supposed to believe that all of you are adventurers if you can't handle the sight of a few undead? Fight fire with fire is what I say..."
"So...cool..." Nasumi said.
Cool? This is cool to you? I thought you were supposed to be the sweet one...
"Nasumi!?" Mako said suddenly.
Nasumi approached me quickly.
"Hey Mizik...if you summon undead to fight, what happens to the souls in their bodies?" She asked.
"There aren't any. It's a modified type of necromancy. Normally, souls and bodies are enslaved to create undead. I don't do that because it's a liability. I can control an inanimate corpse or even undead monsters to do my bidding. That way..."
"We won't have to fight? We won't have to hurt anyone ourselves?" Nasumi said.
"Uh...yeah? Is that all you're worried about?"
"I don't like fighting. So it's perfect!" Nasumi said.
She might be a bit twisted deep down. Oh well...
"Wait a second, you bastard!" Mako said.
"What?" I said dismissively.
"Mako! Don't call Mizik names! Apologize!" Nasumi said.
"Wha...Nasumi!? Come on! Seriously!? Look at him!" Mako protested.
"I agree. He called us names earlier. Why didn't you stop him?" Kesia said.
"Because it was justified. All of you have been terribly rude to Mizik ever since he woke up. Is it really right to treat him like this!?" Nasumi said angrily.
"He's a mass murderer, Nasumi. Think about it," Kronos said.
"But...I hate fighting. You know this. Why do we keep fighting? If I stand next to Mizik...maybe I won't have to fight anymore..." Nasumi said.
The other party members seemed to turn pale.
Regardless...
"If the lot of you don't keep up, I'm liable to leave you behind. If you're finished with your drama, let's get moving," I said.
I turned and started walking. My squad of high-level undead began leading the way as I directed them.
Nasumi walked beside me. She seemed to move extra close.
"Any particular reason you took my side? You didn't have to do that," I said.
"All of this...is wrong... I hate it... But I have to follow orders... I don't like seeing them bully you... It isn't right."
"I'm used to it, Nasumi. It doesn't bother me that-"
"But it's not fair! Why aren't you allowed to be happy...? Why do they have to trample you... You deserve it as much as the rest of us! After all...you're one of us. Always have been..."
I wasn't sure what she was really talking about.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
Her eyes went wide and she shook her head.
"S-sorry...I'm not allowed to say..."
"Whatever. You don't like fighting?"
"I never have... I'm not any good at it either. I was assigned to support, but for a long time now, Krow has had me fight on the front lines. He says I have to learn proper swordsmanship for my own safety... And to heal anyone that gets hurt quickly..."
"And you think standing by my side means you won't have to fight?"
"Yes. Because deep down, I know you have compassion for others. I know your type, Mizik. You act angry and distant...but you really do care. If I'm by your side, maybe I won't have to fight... Maybe I can just support you instead..."
"That's fine. Don't even bother to raise your sword if it suits you. I'm experienced enough fighting alone, anyway."
"So cool..." She said quietly.
I glanced over to see her staring at me with eyes full of wonder.
It was kind of cute.
I patted her on the head and ruffled her hair a bit. She smiled and quickly fixed her hair.
And then...more zombies appeared.
But my death knights slaughtered them with ease.
"Wow...you didn't even have to do anything," Nasumi said.
"I don't need any of you to accomplish anything. Not even a little bit. But if you want to support me, feel free to do so. I wont stop you. And I'll even protect you if you want."
"Yes...please. I would like that. I'm tired of fighting..." Nasumi said quietly.
I allowed a very slight smile to cross my lips.
Looks like I finally have an ally.