With a dry, whispering sound, undead soldiers rose from the sand in an endless stream. Simon glanced back to see the driver and Lisa trembling in fear inside the carriage.
"Erze!" he yelled, kicking another sand soldier in the face. "Protect the carriage!"
[Suuure!] a voice purred from the shadows.
Spiderwebs shot out, latching onto the carriage and horses. In one smooth motion, they were hoisted high into the air, safely out of the undead soldiers’ reach.
[Don’t you worry about a thing over here,] Erzebet cooed.
"I’m counting on you!"
Beside Simon, Kajan’s arm blurred in a vicious slash, tearing through three undead soldiers at once. But from the severed sections, new flesh was already bubbling up.
"How troublesome," Kajan muttered, swinging his arm again. "Simon, don’t these regenerating undead remind you of something?"
"They do." Simon’s expression hardened. "The Dungeon Addicts who became immortal during the Gold Mine incident."
The fact that they were standing on the very site of the former dungeon only strengthened the grim suspicion.
This time, Simon used Blade Form to slash open an undead soldier’s chest. It was as if time itself was frozen here. No matter how he cut and tore at them, the undead simply returned to their original forms moments later.
’There are too many of them!’
Their indestructibility was bad enough, but their numbers had already swelled to over a hundred.
An undead shrieked. While frantically dodging a thrusting spear, Simon’s foot sank into the sand, throwing him off balance. An undead soldier seized the opportunity, tackling him to the ground.
"Ugh!"
The creature opened its jaw wide, aiming for his neck. Simon calmly twisted his body, kicked the soldier off him, and scrambled to his feet.
"Watch out!" Kajan’s urgent shout sent a jolt through him.
A much larger, hulking undead was bearing down on him, its massive fist raised to strike.
"Pier!"
With a rapid series of clicking sounds, like interlocking machinery, Simon’s left arm was encased in pure white bone. He clenched his fist and threw a punch of his own, meeting the undead’s attack head-on.
The two fists collided with a deafening ’boom’. Cracks spiderwebbed from the large undead’s fist across its entire body, and it crumbled into a heap of dust and sand.
The surrounding soldiers shrieked and swarmed him again. He barely had a moment to breathe. Simon swept his sweat-soaked bangs from his forehead. "Annoying."
Bone assembled around his right foot with a series of sharp ’clicks’. Simon lifted his leg and kicked the air, unleashing a blast of wind that sent the undead scattering.
His left leg was armored next. Planting his two powerful legs, he charged forward, moving too fast for the undead to track, sending them flying. Even as he tore through the enemy lines, Pier’s bones continued to envelop him. Bone Armor solidified over his chest, connecting to his arms and legs. Pier’s cape settled on his back.
[Boy! To your side!]
Undead soldiers rushed him from the flank, axes raised. Simon lifted his right hand.
The Bone Gauntlet snapped into place with picture-perfect precision. Then, with a satisfying ’click’, Pier’s weapon, the Greatsword of Ruin, materialized in his grasp. He tightened his grip, planted his right leg firmly, and twisted at the waist. His gaze and the greatsword followed, and the world became a blur.
A single, horizontal slash cut through the air with a great ’swoosh’, pulverizing everything in its path. The hulking undead was split in two, its upper and lower halves flying in opposite directions before hitting the ground with a heavy ’thud’.
’Haaah.’ Simon felt a surge of exhilaration. The power coursing through him, the feel of the Greatsword of Ruin in his hand—it was intoxicating.
’This is the first time I’ve fought like this, with Pier’s full armor, since my second year began.’
[Mwahaha! Indeed!] Pier’s thoughts felt clearer and stronger than ever. [But it is not yet time to be careless, boy!]
As if to prove his point, flesh began to bubble up from the severed lower halves of the undead he had just cut down. Simon vaulted over the smaller soldiers, stepping on their heads as he ran, and brought the Greatsword of Ruin down on the regenerating monster.
’Slaaaaash!’
The blade bisected the creature perfectly. This time, it turned pitch black and crumbled to the ground like ash.
’As I thought.’
The Greatsword of Ruin’s blade possessed an effect that nullified regeneration and healing. A direct hit could eliminate these immortal undead for good. The problem was, more soldiers were rising from the sand with every passing second. They were even trying to climb the spiderwebs protecting the carriage, and Kajan was so swarmed he was barely visible.
Simon slashed and cut, but the undead were spawning faster than he could destroy them. And to make matters worse...
[Boy! A large number of humans are approaching from the ten o’clock direction!]
It was one disaster after another. In the direction Pier indicated, a cloud of dust billowed as a troop of cavalry thundered toward them. They flew a banner bearing the emblem of a black wolf.
Their strange, whooping cries echoed across the ruins. They were undoubtedly bandits from the Ganes Guild.
’Of all times!’
It was the worst-case scenario. Fighting the Order was one thing, but now he had to deal with their lackeys from the Ganes Guild as well. At this rate, the driver, Lisa, and even Kajan would be in grave danger.
’Ugh!’
Simon cut down the undead soldiers relentlessly, pushing forward. The Ganes Guild cavalry closed the distance in an instant, the ground trembling under their hooves.
He gripped his greatsword, planting his feet firmly. He lowered his stance, tilting the blade to the side. ’First, I’ll use a slash to take out the vanguard before they get any closer...!’
Just as he prepared to attack, a single white feather drifted down and landed on his shoulder.
[Hello?] a voice whispered.
Simon’s eyes widened, and he immediately halted his attack.
The hundreds of cavalrymen charged right past him, plowing straight into the ranks of the undead.
They ignored Simon and Kajan completely, focusing solely on the undead soldiers. Swords swung, lopping off heads. Slings whirled, and undead skulls burst like overripe melons. The air was filled with the thunder of hooves and the harsh snorting of warhorses. Simon turned, his expression one of utter shock.
[You missed me, didn’t you?]
The voice belonged to the only woman among the horde of bandits. Riding a conspicuous white horse, she led the charge, a playful smile gracing her lips.
"Serne!" Simon’s mouth fell open. "What’s going on? Why are you leading the Ganes Guild?!"
[It’s nothing special,] her voice echoed from the feather. [I just decided to take that guild for myself.]
Watching the bandits tear the undead to pieces, Simon let out a hollow laugh. ’As if it’s something you can just take because you want to.’
Still, thanks to her, he could finally breathe. He kicked off the ground and rejoined the fray, using the Greatsword of Ruin to finish off any undead that tried to regenerate.
"Hmm~ Hmmm~"
At the head of the charge, Serne was calmly filing her nails. Feathers danced around her, fighting in her stead, while another feather, embedded in the back of her horse’s head, guided its movements.
"My Queen! We have just broken through the enemy lines!" Karak, the bandit leader turned faithful slave, reported.
She didn’t even look up from her nails. "Circle around and go again."
"Yes, my Queen!"
The cavalry wheeled around to prepare for another charge. The undead ranks were in shambles, more than half of them smashed to pieces. Just as the Ganes Guild was about to charge again, a scout cried out.
"M-My Queen! They’ve come!"
From the opposite direction, silhouetted against the setting sun, another troop of cavalry was charging toward them, kicking up a storm of dust. A flag bearing the crest of the Tarados domain fluttered in the wind.
"It’s the Tarados domain’s soldiers!"
"Hmm—"
Serne decided to deal with them first, leaving the undead for the moment. She re-formed the bandits’ ranks and gave the order to charge the Tarados soldiers.
"This is perfect!" Karak roared. "Let’s take this chance to wipe out those domain soldiers we’ve always despised!"
"For our great Queen!"
Their warhorses, monstrous crossbreeds, snorted and galloped forward. The Tarados soldiers met their charge without slowing. The distance between the two forces shrank with terrifying speed.
He said nothing.
Suddenly, a strange light flickered in Serne’s eyes. She had made eye contact with someone at the head of the Tarados soldiers.
"How persistent~" she purred with a smirk. "To think we’d get entangled even out here."
Muttering to herself, Serne raised her arm and gave a signal. The Tarados side raised a signal in response. The two forces, which had been about to clash head-on, simultaneously veered their horses.
’RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!’
They converged on the undead soldiers in the center.
’Thwack! BOOM!’
Simon leaped out of the way just in time. The cavalry of the two forces crashed into the undead from both sides, smashing them to pieces.
’...Haha, what is all this?’
Serne was one thing, but now even the domain soldiers were on his side. Simon turned his head. Leading the Tarados soldiers was a knight in full plate armor, and beside him rode a girl with red eyes in a Kizen uniform. There was no mistaking her.
’Lorraine!’
Mounted on her horse, she wielded two daggers stained crimson. With every flick of her wrists, undead soldiers in the distance split apart. Not to be outdone, Serne sent her feathers soaring into the air, transforming them into a Dark Flare that rained fire down on the enemy.
Watching the immortal army being decimated, Simon allowed Pier’s armor to recede, leaving only the Greatsword of Ruin in his right hand.
"Simon! What is this situation?" Kajan demanded, appearing at his side.
Simon shrugged. "It seems Serne has taken over the Ganes Guild, and Lorraine has taken over the domain soldiers."
"...Why are they in Tarados?"
"I guess we’ll have to ask them."
Two powerful allies had arrived at the most opportune moment, turning two formidable threats into reinforcements.
’This is unbelievable,’ Simon thought with a weary smile. The only enemy left was the Order itself.
’BAM!’
Nirti, the head of the Order’s Tarados branch, slammed her fist on the armrest of her chair. "That’s ridiculous!" she screamed. "Did you check properly? The Ganes Guild and the Tarados regular army have both fallen into the hands of students? ’Just students’?"
"Y-Yes, ma’am," a subordinate stammered, bowing his head. "Black Wolf Ganes is missing, and it seems General Amin has already sided with Kizen..."
She pressed a trembling hand to her forehead. "How is that possible? They’re not even third-years, they’re second-years!"
"A-Actually, we’ve just received the personal details of all the members." The man bowed again and unfurled a scroll. "Kajan Edvalt, undefeated for two years; Serne Aindark, the official heir to the Ivory Tower; Lorraine Archbold, daughter of Nephthys. And..." He paused, his voice dropping. "The Kizen Student Council President, Simon Polentia."
Nirti stared blankly, as if she’d been struck by a hammer. A hollow, disbelieving laugh escaped her lips.
"...What is this? Did they come to hunt a dragon or something?"

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