The sight was overwhelming. The swarming horde of zombies, screaming as they charged, was like a stormy sea at night. Aloken, fleeing amidst a constant barrage of blood explosions, was nothing more than a tiny, precarious boat about to be capsized. ‘How is this even possible?’
The zombies surged from every direction—above, below, left, and right. Aloken felt as if he were fighting an endless black tide. Worst of all, every new zombie that managed to latch onto the train immediately fell under the control of the man in the crown. "Yuda! Respond!" Aloken yelled, scattering blood droplets with one hand while holding a communication crystal in the other. -"This is Yuda. Is the situation resolved?"
A calm voice answered from the crystal. "No! Some freak necromancer has shown up and is stealing control of the zombies! Block their advance now!"
-"What are you talking about? How could someone else seize control of blood zombies animated by the Chalice of Blood?"
"I don’t know how! Just—!"
A zombie’s arm swung out, shattering the communication crystal. Aloken screamed in fury, flinging more blood droplets before leaping into the air. ‘What is that monster?!’
His gaze shot to Simon, who was observing the chaos calmly from his perch atop the zombie horde. ‘There was no one like that among the passengers!’
Just then, Simon’s eyes flashed behind his mask. [Seize him.]
The zombies on the roof linked their limbs, forming a long, living ladder. It shot out and snagged Aloken’s ankle as he tried to leap to safety. Instantly, two more zombies scrambled onto his back. Before Aloken could blast them off, Simon clenched his fist. ‘Corpse Explosion.’
’BOOOOOOOOM!’
A dark blue explosion erupted from the three zombies. Wracked with pain, Aloken tumbled from the air and rolled across the train’s roof. "Ugh!"
Blackened chunks of flesh rained down from his body—the remnants of his ‘Meat Armor’, a black magic that absorbed damage in his stead.
’More than half of my Meat Armor is already gone...!’
That was the problem. He could endure the zombies’ bites, but if he was caught even once, a Corpse Explosion was sure to follow. Worse, the man in the mask seemed to need no incantations or magic circles; he could detonate a zombie with a simple clench of his fist. He’d never witnessed a zombie master of this caliber. [Is this really the time to be spacing out?]
Aloken frantically scanned his surroundings, but the nearest zombies were still too far away. Then he felt a tremendous power stirring not in front of him, but below. ‘Damn it! He stuck zombies to the ceiling of the cabin!’
’BOOOOOOOOOOM!’
Caught in another Corpse Explosion that shredded the last of his Meat Armor, Aloken screamed as he was blasted down into the cabin below. "Ugh! Argh!"
It wasn’t over. As if on cue, several zombies swarmed into the cabin, their bodies already beginning to glow. Aloken was dumbfounded. ‘He’s spamming Corpse Explosion without any cooldown!’
Atop the train, a small smile played on Simon’s lips as he opened his palm. ‘By meticulously controlling the output...’
He clenched his fist. ‘Explode!’
’KABOOOOOOOOOM!’
The entire train car disintegrated. The train screeched, swaying violently, but narrowly avoided derailing. As the smoke cleared, it revealed the cabin as a ruin of scorched floor and twisted frame. On the far side, Aloken was fleeing, bleeding profusely, making a desperate retreat toward the tail of the train. [Chase him.]
The wave of zombies carrying Simon surged forward in a long arc, leaping over the ruined car and landing on the next one, right behind Aloken. In response, Aloken unleashed a new spell. Four fleshy arms erupted from his back, smashed through the cabin windows, and snatched screaming passengers. "Aaaaah!"
The captured passengers shrieked in terror. Aloken shot Simon a triumphant grin and hurled them from the train—a dirty trick to buy time. But Simon was unfazed. He opened a Subspace gate, sending his Bone Armor flying out. The armor pieces snapped onto the falling passengers, encasing them just before they hit the ground. ‘Retrieve.’
With a sweep of his arm, Simon pulled the passengers back inside the train. Aloken’s expression hardened. ‘His reaction time has improved. He’s like a completely different person from when we first fought!’
Even as he countered, the zombies carrying Simon moved relentlessly, arcing through the air to land just behind Aloken. Simon was sure he had him this time. A pure white divine magic circle materialized behind the fleeing Aloken. Simon clicked his tongue and leaped from the zombie horde. The zombies passed through the magic circle and were instantly ground into a shower of gore. After landing, Simon turned his head. ‘...A Heretic Inquisitor?’
In the distance, he saw the female inquisitor, panting heavily. She was covered in wounds but was already healing herself. ‘Did she mistake me for an enemy?’ As the thought crossed his mind, Aloken roared. "What took you so long! Kill that bastard now!"
"No! I didn’t come here for you!"
’BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!’
A barrage of light rained down from the sky. At its source was a girl wreathed in a storm of pure white energy. ‘Lethe!’
"What the hell do you think you’re doing? Your opponent is me!" Lethe charged, swinging her divine sword. The inquisitor threw up a series of barriers, but they were shredded with a single strike. ‘I can leave her to Lethe.’
Simon refocused on Aloken, who was grinding his teeth in frustration. ‘...Damn it! What is that Chimera doing? I went to the trouble of bringing her just to eliminate that Efnel girl!’
As if on cue, the shriek of the Hellhound echoed through the air. Aloken turned to see its head hanging off the side of the train, being ground against the railroad tracks, with Prince perched victoriously on top of it. [Hahahaha! Die, die!] He was overpowering the massive beast with sheer strength. Watching the Hellhound’s head being scraped into oblivion, Aloken finally grasped the gravity of the situation. ‘Where are all these monsters coming from?’
He had no choice but to risk everything. Aloken drew a finger through the air, and a red magic circle materialized on the train’s ceiling. From it emerged another Hellhound he had held in reserve. "I’ll show you the true power of a Blood Heaven Bishop!"
Aloken flung a final volley of blood droplets to hold back the zombies, then ran toward the Hellhound. The beast’s ribcage cracked open, swallowing Aloken whole. It was the ultimate form of the necromancer’s defensive art, ‘Meat Armor’. The Hellhound’s body rippled, and it rose onto two legs. Its hind limbs reshaped into a bipedal form, its head sank into its chest, and its forelimbs evolved into fully articulated hands. Aloken now wore the Hellhound like a suit of grotesque armor, only his head exposed. "Khahahaha!"
He swung one of the Hellhound’s arms, and blood droplets shot out in all directions, annihilating another wave of zombies. Even in this form, he could still use black magic. ‘So this is a necromancer’s power, huh.’
It was a truly necromantic technique. It seemed every active necromancer had at least one insane trick up their sleeve. ‘Ugh’
Simon staggered. He had worn the crown for too long. The strain of controlling so many zombies at once was beginning to overwhelm his mind. Seizing the opportunity, Aloken charged, his immense weight causing the train’s roof to buckle. Zombies rushed to protect Simon but were swatted aside by the monstrous form as it swung a brutish fist. Simon gritted his teeth and raised his arm. ‘Open Gate!’
Six Overlord blades met the Hellhound’s fist, and the resulting impact was deafening. The fist was knocked aside, and the blades scattered with a loud ‘twang!’ In that brief opening, more zombies swarmed onto the Hellhound’s body. Simon retreated, clenching his fist tightly. ‘Corpse Explosion!’
’BOOOOOOOOM!’
A series of dark blue explosions erupted, but Aloken merely shielded his head with his arms and emerged from the blast unscathed. Gasping for breath, Simon fell to one knee. The crown slipped from his head and clattered onto the roof. A satisfied smile spread across Aloken’s face. "Yes, of course. An artifact of such power couldn’t possibly come without a price. This is what happens when you wield power beyond your station."
Panting, Simon looked up. He was still smiling. "Don’t you think something is strange?"
"What?"
Come to think of it... Aloken turned his head. The train had stopped. ‘What the—!’
Countless zombies had piled up beneath the tracks, bringing the massive train to a halt with their brute strength. "Now."
Simon picked up the crown and swayed to his feet like one of the undead. Then, with a theatrical flourish, he placed it back on his head. [Let’s get started for real.]
Beyond the stopped train, a black tsunami of zombies surged into the air. Everyone who witnessed it stared, their eyes wide with disbelief. [Follow me.]
At Simon’s command, thousands of zombies descended upon Aloken. He fled, scattering blood droplets in every direction. The black wave washed over him, but he blasted his way out and leaped into the air. ‘I have no chance in a direct fight! I have to retreat—‘
But as he ascended, he saw another horde of zombies arcing through the air, positioned to intercept him. ‘No way! He read my movements!’
[Your escape pattern is always the same.] Simon’s teeth flashed in a grin as he opened his palm. <Barrier of Interception>
At that exact moment, the inquisitor fighting Lethe deployed another divine magic circle in front of Aloken. She knew that if he fell, she stood no chance. ‘Yes! A brilliant assist!’
Aloken was in the air. The divine barrier was in place. The horde of zombies was falling. He was certain they would be ground to bits just like before. But. [I can do anything.]
Simon murmured, his eyes closed. No, that wasn’t enough. [I am—]
His focus was absolute. In this moment, free of all distractions, Simon felt a sliver of pure joy. [Omnipotent.]
’WOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!’
A massive burst of Divinity exploded from the crown. A flash of white bled into Simon’s golden eyes. The zombies, which had been wreathed in black smoke, were instantly bleached bone-white. "What?!"
The horde, now radiating holy power, passed through the divine barrier without resistance. They seized Aloken and dragged him crashing to the ground. Countless divine zombies swarmed over him, forming a great, white mountain of undead. At the same time, Lethe, having finally knocked the inquisitor unconscious, looked up, her body trembling. ‘...By the Goddess.’
Metin, who had recovered enough to climb to the roof to help, could only stare, his mouth agape. ‘Is this even possible?’
From the tail car, Ellen, having defeated the last of the cultists, looked out the window, her pupils shaking. ‘...Simon!’
Clutching the crown, Simon took a deep breath and raised his left hand to the sky. The eyes of all who watched followed his gesture. Countless divine magic circles spread above him, threatening to eclipse the sky.
Compello. The absolute insight that touches truth. The formulas of the magic circles shifted thousands of times a second, locking into place. When the calculations were complete, the myriad circles vanished, leaving only a single, perfect one before Simon’s hand. [Celestial—]
Simon made the sign of the cross, then clenched his fist. [—Explosion.]
The world turned white. An explosion of pure light and shadow erupted, swallowing all sound as it expanded in every direction. Colorless, odorless, silent. A great, pure-white detonation. Only the aftershock remained, shaking the train and uprooting the forest. "Aaaaaaaaaaargh!"
"Ugh!"
Passengers dove for cover as windows shattered and objects were tossed through the air. It was impossible to see anything. ‘Whoooooooosh!’
After the massive shockwave passed, Simon slowly lowered the hand he had stretched toward the sky. A single, dazzling ray of light shone down upon him.

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