Open field near the temple.
"I brought lunch, Father!"
Hannibal lifted a basket with a bright smile.
"With another big battle coming up in a few days, we need to make sure to get proper nutrition! Come, let's eat together!"
"Well, thank you for bringing lunch, but..."
Zenith was sweating nervously, glancing around.
"Why is High Priestess Rosetta here...?"
"..."
Likewise, Rosetta, who had also been dragged out by Hannibal, looked flustered.
Hannibal, who had brought both of them together, simply tilted his head innocently with a carefree smile.
"Isn't it nice to eat together? Don't you think so?"
"Uh, yeah, it is... but..."
"..."
Quietly sweating, Rosetta nudged Zenith in the side. Startled, Zenith turned to look at her, and Rosetta whispered under her breath.
'Why is he doing this?'
'I have no idea, sister.'
Hannibal had recently been making frequent attempts to bring Zenith and Rosetta together.
Both Zenith and Rosetta were bewildered, but telling Hannibal to stop felt weird and seemed to make them more conscious of each other, so they just let it be.
But how long were they supposed to let this go on...?
"Hmm. So, Zenith."
Rosetta called out to Zenith and then frowned.
"By the way, changing your name from Zenith to Xenith... it's just a cover-up, isn't it?"
Zenith looked sheepish.
After his fake funeral, he had tried to take on a completely new name, but it didn't work out, so he had changed it by just one letter as a stopgap measure.
"The pronunciation is slightly different."
"Whatever. Anyway, Zenith."
Rosetta spoke seriously, and Zenith straightened up.
"Yes, sister."
"We're facing zombies in the upcoming battle, right?"
"Yes."
"Holy power is the most effective against the undead. So most of the priests will be on the front lines this time."
Zenith swallowed hard at Rosetta's words.
"Many may get hurt or die."
"..."
"Even though you've already experienced a symbolic death as a priest, I'm asking you... protect the temple members as much as you can. I know you can do it."
Since his fake funeral, Zenith had fought as an independent mercenary. Sometimes he cooperated with Rosetta on missions, but he kept his distance from the priests, thinking it was the right thing to do.
However, Zenith had also learned something while rolling around in death on this front.
You have to stay alive to discuss what's right.
"I will, sister."
Zenith nodded readily.
"Trust me. I'll make sure all those zombies are sent back to the Goddess in accordance with the natural order."
"..."
Rosetta looked at her boastful younger brother with a complicated expression.
"Alright, enough of the heavy talk!"
Hannibal jumped in between them.
"If necessary, I'll summon the Spirit King to protect everyone! So don't worry too much about the upcoming battle!"
Hannibal placed sandwiches in Rosetta and Zenith's mouths.
"Let's just enjoy our meal now!"
"..."
"..."
Both of them chewed on their sandwiches, pondering.
Why on earth is Hannibal doing this...?
***
Ariane Kingdom's military camp.
"..."
Yun lay on a bed with a much-improved complexion, but she still hadn't regained consciousness.
Kuilan, who visited her every day, was once again sitting beside her, quietly gazing at her face.
"Once this next battle is over..."
After a long silence, Kuilan spoke.
"And the next one after that. Once the war against the monsters is finally over."
Kuilan reached out and gently stroked Yun's pale cheek.
"Will I be able to face you when you wake up, Yun?"
There was no answer.
Kuilan continued to stare blankly at the still-sleeping Yun.
***
Evening. Lord's mansion.
I was reading reports on the defense preparations for both the Crossroad main castle and the forward base in the dungeon.
Then, there was a knock at the door. I spoke without much thought.
"Come in."
The door opened quietly, and light footsteps approached me.
I glanced up, expecting to see Lucas or another companion, and jumped up in surprise.
"Whoa, Serenade?!"
It was none other than Serenade, the head of the Silver Winter Merchant Guild, who had entered!
Holding a tray with a teapot and a plate of cookies, Serenade approached with an awkward smile.
"I haven't seen you much lately, so I came to visit. Am I interrupting your work?"
"No, no! Not at all! Come over here."
I placed the tray on the table and seated Serenade on the guest sofa, then sat on the opposite sofa.
Serenade, however, stood up from the guest sofa and moved to sit next to me. Gasp...!
With a playful smile, Serenade narrowed her silver eyes and grinned.
"I heard you've been extremely busy preparing for the next defense battle. I thought it would be nice for you to take a short break. I brought tea and cookies for you."
"Thanks..."
Serenade poured tea into a cup and handed it to me. Feeling strangely shy, I avoided her gaze as I accepted the cup.
'Come on, when will I stop acting like a clueless rookie?!'
Even after merging with the true Ash, I still haven't improved in this area. Despite absorbing all of his experiences, I'm still just a fool in front of my first love!
"Ahem! Have you prepared for the evacuation?"
I tried to regain my composure, sipping tea as I asked Serenade.
The next battle would be against the zombified demons, a boss stage.
While it should be objectively easier than fighting the Night Bringer, the state of Crossroad's defenses was so poor that letting our guard down could be disastrous.
This was a boss stage leading up to the final boss fight. It was not going to be easy.
So, as always, we were prioritizing the evacuation of civilians. Given the state of the walls and the risk of infection, civilian casualties could be severe in this stage.
"Yes. The entire guild is ready to move, and I'll be leaving tomorrow."
"Thanks for always doing this."
"Haha, it's part of being a merchant. We always need to be on the move to find good products. It's not a hardship, but a joy."
The confident look Serenade gave me made me blush. She seemed so proud, as if she had just secured a great deal. Stop looking at me like that!
"Speaking of which, it seems like a lot of people in Crossroad are caught up in complicated romantic entanglements these days."
Escaping from my own romantic troubles, I turned the conversation to the others.
After explaining the complex 'love lines' forming among our friends, Serenade laughed, covering her mouth.
"Haha, with so many young people gathered together, it's natural for romantic feelings to bloom."
"Yeah, but romance doesn't always lead to happy endings."
I thought of the heroes who had loved each other here before.
Those who died, fell into comas, or went missing...
On this frontline where we constantly faced death, romance rarely led to purely happy stories.
"Your Highness, is there anything in this world that always guarantees a happy ending?"
But Serenade responded maturely.
"Whether here on the front lines or anywhere else, failure is more common than success. Is love between people any different?"
"...I guess not."
"Success is nice, but what's wrong with failure? We learn from that pain too."
Just as she had advised me to live with all my pieces scattered, Serenade was embracing people's failures from the start.
"Even if it hurts right now, if they find a path to the next happiness, even thwarted love will have its own value."
"Is that so?"
"It is."
Serenade added,
"Of course, it's best if they fall in love properly from the start and have a smooth relationship without any pain!"
"Haha... Is that from experience?"
"Of course. Thanks to a certain cold and oblivious man, I learned it after much hardship."
Cold, oblivious, and an idiot who fumbles around... I quietly reached out and held Serenade's hand. As always, her hand was pleasantly cool.
Serenade blushed slightly, bit her lip, and then exhaled as if making a resolution.
She looked at me.
"Excuse me, Your Highness."
"Yes?"
"I'm no longer satisfied with just holding hands."
"Yes...?"
Serenade's face turned bright red, and she leaned towards me.
Startled, I leaned back. But my back hit the sofa, and I couldn't go any further!
Serenade, like a feline predator, licked her lips and gradually closed the distance between us... Eek!
"Wait! Serenade! Let's calm down and talk first...!"
"I'm leaving tomorrow and won't see you for a while, and you keep talking about other people's love lives...! It's time to seriously consider our progress too! We're moving to the next stage today!"
"Your eyes are scary, Serenade! Calm down! Aaaah, wait! Wait!"
Aaaah...
My desperate screams didn't carry far beyond the office and soon faded away.
***
And time flew by...
The next defense battle, Stage 45, was just around the corner.
***
Lake Kingdom Dungeon, Zone 10.
Abandoned Cathedral Forward Base.
With the magic wall I regularly installed, the wall of will I manifested from the survivors, and various defensive artifacts and fortifications provided by the human side,
The abandoned cathedral had already become a formidable fortress. Zombie
monsters couldn't even attempt to breach it.
Having regained some composure, the demon legion contacted other surviving monster legions, sharing defensive resources with them.
Now, survivors had set up fortresses throughout Zone 10, where zombie monsters were being destroyed and repelled.
'One more day.'
The old demon, the 'Elder,' thought while inspecting the state of the abandoned cathedral.
'At this rate, we can survive without any issues...'
Yes, they could survive.
But...
"..."
It was then.
"Elder! We have a big problem!"
A subordinate guarding the main entrance rushed in. The Elder looked at him, puzzled.
"What is it?"
"The zombie monsters... their movements are strange!"
"Strange? How?"
"See for yourself!"
The Elder hurriedly followed his subordinate and looked outside the main entrance of the abandoned cathedral.
And he saw it.
"...?!"
The zombie monsters, which had been surrounding the cathedral densely, were now all moving back in a swirling motion.
Groaa...
Groaaaar!
The countless hills of corpses, which had been standing in disarray, began to shift as if collapsing.
It was a chaotic, disorderly movement, but clearly, they were all making way for something.
As if someone was commanding these zombies...
"No way...!"
Rumble!
The hills of zombie monsters around the cathedral exploded and crumbled like a landslide. Flesh, bones, and blood flew everywhere.
The zombies forced their way, creating a path.
And then,
Thud-!
Through the path of corpses, she appeared.
Her ornate masquerade mask clung to her face, and her torn dress was blackened with blood.
Her once sensual red-skinned body was now swollen and decayed, turned black, and grotesquely enlarged.
Her iconic large antlers, which had grown endlessly like branches, were filled with an eerie green energy, connected to the surrounding zombie monsters.
"Aah...!"
The survivors gasped in unison when they saw her.
"Lord Cromwell...!"
The Demon Guard Legion Commander, and the leader of the zombie monsters.
"Graaaaah-!"
Cromwell let out a terrifying roar and charged towards the main entrance of the abandoned cathedral.