CHAPTER 9: THE BATTLE FOR HUIROT

We took the time to rest while we evacuate the civilians to the east. The general strategy was to remove the people from the undead-infested areas, then slowly clear the population centers, as well as the trade routes. The formation and slow march that we did was pretty tiring, so in the meantime, the soldiers took their time to pause.

But as a precaution, we posted a few of them on the walls just in case the undead suddenly began its attacks.

Griffyth came to me and reported, “The men were tired, and the evacuation was going slower than usual. Some civilians insisted on searching for their lost loved ones before leaving.”

“Don’t let them,” I told him, “We need to get out of here and as soon as possible. Have some men keep the corridors open.”

“Alright,” Griffyth then set off with my orders.

Once the mercenary captain was gone, my vice-captain, the Dame Atkins, also appeared with a report, “Kuro, walls.”

“Yeah?”

“Hole, west.”

“Damn…must be the work of the undead, that’s why Sir Simon and his men were forced to retreat to the keep,” I pondered, “Anyway, could you fix it at the soonest possible time?”

“Will try.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Then Dame Atkins went on her way.

“…”

Honestly, I don’t like the fact that we’re being slowed down by the evacuation of the civilians. Time was of the essence. Even though the men were resting, there’s no telling of when the undead would resume its attacks. Plus, the magicians and Maddie were still recovering.

We’re pretty much unprepared for a resumption of the conflict…

----------

Speaking of saints, we haven’t encountered Seirna for a while.

“Probably, she retreated?” Maddie suggested, “But then again, I doubt if she would. Seirna’s pretty stubborn and tricky. She could prepare a surprise for us.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of,” I admitted to her, “Honestly, the men were still exhausted from fighting, and I doubt we could hold out well if we get attacked now.”

“!!!”

We suddenly heard a gryphon squawk overhead. Then it circled above before landing in front of us. Its rider turned out to be Sir Dane.

“Sir Dane!” I reached out my hand for a shake, “You and your men did great in bombarding that undead to smithereens.”

“Yes, thank you, Sir Kuro!” the knight seemed to be in a hurry, “However, I think we need to hurry with the evacuation of the civilians to the east.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“My men scouted far from Huirot, and they saw large hordes of the undead swooping across the countryside and would converge here soon from the west and north. Moreover, they were attacked by a flying lady who killed two of my men and let the other one escaped back.”

“A flying lady?” I asked, with an idea of who it might be, “Seirna!”

“Well, I guess we have to get going, Sir Kuro,” Sir Dane then tapped me on the back as he returned to his gryphon, “I’ll have my men rest for a bit since they were tired shooting off those magic spells.”

“What’s the problem, Kuro?” Maddie asked me.

“It’s Seirna. Sir Dane from the Gryphon Knights told me she’s on the move once again.”

“And just when my magic’s still recovering.”

“In any case, let’s begin the retreat—”

I was interrupted when we heard three blasts of trumpets. Then we could feel the ground shake as Sir Dane suddenly shouted…

“Sir Kuro! It’s the undead, from the South.”

“What? I thought they were still a distance away?”

“It must be Seirna,” Maddie quipped, “I suspected she’s preparing a surprise for us.”

The hissing and screaming of the zombies running towards Huirot struck fear unto the civilians we’re evacuating, and panic and chaos spread as we scrambled to man the town walls.

“Magicians to the walls! Warriors to the front!” Maddie was quick to give orders, “Shoot the slashing wind spells and earth spikes at will!”

“Sir Dane, can your men fight some more?” I asked.

“We’ll try what we could do!” said the brave Chancellor before flying off with his men.

----------

Soon, the skies were glowing once again from the fires of the incinerate spells being poured by the Gryphon Knights on the rushing zombies. It would have been an easy fight, if not for…

“They keep on coming! More to the south!”

“More of the undead to the west!”

“We need reinforcements here on the northern walls!”

Sensing that now was the time to use her ability, Lily put herself forward. She collected a motley group of men, and they rushed to help defend the western wall—where a breach was earlier reported. Sir Simon and the Prince of Stadtsberg, with a third of the army, commanded the southern defenses, while the rest of the men under the Duchess of Henristone defended the northern side of Huirot. Maddie and her Paladin Corps guards took charge of keeping the eastern corridor open for evacuation.

I quickly headed west, where Dame Atkins and the other soldiers were helping in plugging the hole in the wall. Griffyth and his Band of the Oak men were also doing the construction work. They knew of the incoming undead hordes, that’s why they were rushing to cover the gaps in the wall.

“Griff! Leave the work to the other soldiers,” I told them, “Order your men to the walls and bring out their demon weapons!”

“Alright! You heard the man, demons out!”

At once, the mercenaries got their matchlocks out and marched outside the defensive walls, under the cover of the magicians and the Gryphon Knights.

“Dame Atkins, head back to the east and help Her Holiness command the defense there! Tell her to prepare to leave once all the soldiers had retreated.”

The vice-captain immediately did as I ordered and disappeared into the crowd.

The Gryphon Knights scrambled in the air to bombard the undead from afar, and the magicians attacked it midway. The matchlock-armed mercenaries caught those who could get past the fire bombardment.

And Lily and her warriors protected the gunners, as well as their flanks, from the rest of the undead.

“Same as what I taught you in Gebrei!” I ordered the volley formation for the mercenaries, as we positioned ourselves just outside the western defenses, “Aim for the heads. And once you fire, retreat immediately in 5 paces.”

“Kuro, Tarasca, and the others could deploy the magic traps, right?”

“Yes, deploy them in front and around the gunners. We’re going to attract these bastards here in the western walls so that the east corridor would be safe!”

“Alright, here goes the zombies! FIRE!” Griffyth quickly shouted his command, “Deploy the spikes!”

The first line of the charging undead immediately fell or got tangled on the earth spikes laid by Tarasca’s magicians.

“Five paces to the back, hurry!”

“Incinerate them!”

The magicians on the wall fired the Incinerate spells that got the second and third waves of the undead. Then, the Gryphon Knights took care of the other successive waves, allowing for the gunners to reload their guns.

“Fire!”

Another salvo felled the charging zombies before we retreated to the open gates. The magicians posted on the walls, as well as the Gryphon Knights, once again chanted their Incinerate spells to cover our retreat.

I think the sounds of the guns worked, for most of the zombies shifted their attacks on the western walls.

----------

Attracted by the sounds of the matchlock guns, the battle became focused on one point, the western walls of Huirot. To the north and south, there were sporadic attacks, which the defenders easily took care of, while to the east, some soldiers kept the evacuation route open.

As for us who were fighting, we had to reallocate the steadily decreasing resources we had. It was not rocket science that once a man was bitten by the undead; we had to kill him. Maddie was working hard to heal those she could heal, but her magic was still recovering, and she was easily exhausted.

Because of this, our formerly overwhelming numbers dwindled so long as we fight. And the more of us who got killed, the greater the numbers of our enemies grew. Things took for the worse when the Duke of Greene was gravely injured, and Kevin and Stephan were lost defending the western walls.

I had to kill them, for they didn’t want to become the undead after being bitten.

“…”

We have no time to grieve our losses. Soon, it became apparent to us we’re about to get overwhelmed.

“Retreat to the Eastern Gates!” I finally gave the signal for the defenders to abandon our current positions. Since the evacuation route lay to the east, I decided that’s where we would make a stand, while the others retreat to our original lines at Jeveneria.

“Kuro!” it was Winters, “We need someone to distract this undead so they won’t easily follow us!”

“I’ll do it!” the young girl of the Band of the Oak, Kashca, volunteered. She showed us a trumpet which she took from an injured soldier.

“Right! Kashca could move through the roofs of the houses fairly quickly,” Griffyth told me.

“Alright, please go!” I tapped Kashca’s back, to which she nodded in reply.

Soon enough, we heard her trumpet sounds—though it was terrible, it attracted the hordes to her direction. The lull gave us time to escape to the eastern walls relatively unscathed.

----------

**Madelaine**

The battle was turning in for the worse as hordes upon hordes of the undead were swarming the defenders of the town of Huirot.

“Retreat!”

“Run for your lives!”

“Don’t look back, hurry to the eastern gates!”

I would have made a difference, if not for my magic getting exhausted in erecting and maintaining that barrier to protect the eastern side of Chersea. However, I still wanted to help, so I remained to defend the eastern walls of Huirot until Kuro and the rest of his men finally retreated from the western defenses.

After all, he said to leave once all the soldiers are accounted for.

With me were the Paladin Corps, headed by its vice-captain, Dame Sasha Atkins, as well as my friend, the 2nd Prince of Nerfes, Simon Hugh Reed, and the rest of his men who remained to fight. We were manning the eastern walls, towers, and the keep to the northeast, which we set-up as our main base.

“…”

We could hear the noises of battle from the west part of Huirot getting louder, a sign that it was coming near our positions. Soon, the first wave of survivors had come running and hurriedly passed the eastern gates.

“Your Holiness! Please run!”

“The Western Wall is being overwhelmed!”

“The battle is lost!”

“What about Sir Kuro and Princess Lilyhaven?” I asked. I was worried for them, for I knew they were the last to retreat and the most vulnerable to being overwhelmed.

“Milady, the rearguard is also retreating!” a soldier from the frontline called out from below, “I believe they are in there.”

“Fetch me a horse—” pulling out my sword, I was close to jumping from the wall and into the fray below. However, my companions stopped me.

“Maddie, calm yourself!” Simon said, “If you wanted to go, then let me be the one to search for them instead. You stay here!”

“Your Holiness, please don’t go!” Sir Lange pleaded, “It’ll be a big blow to our morale if we lose you as well.”

“Ah…y-yes.” Finally, back to my senses, I remained in my spot, waiting for Kuro, Lily, and the rest of the rearguard to appear, “Simon, please remain here,” I pleaded. Though I wanted to check on Kuro and Lily, I didn’t want someone else to do it for me.

“Nah, it’ll be okay, Maddie!” he winked at me and patted my shoulder, and turned to Dame Atkins and Sir Lange.

Both of them agreed to stay with me.

“Alright, thanks!” Simon then equipped his sword and went down the walls, gathering some men to search for Kuro and Lily.

I hope everything will turn out fine in the end.

----------

**Kuro**

The battle for the western walls was already lost. Our defenses were being overwhelmed by the dead, and all that we could do was to retreat eastwards. However, I was not giving up just yet…

“Retreat in order! I kept on shouting orders at the remaining magicians, “The first line, fire your incinerate spells! Don’t worry about the houses; burn everything in sight!”

The magicians fired like there’s no tomorrow, partly because of my prodding, and partly because of our desperate attempt to keep the undead hordes at bay.

“!!!”

The rushing undead was burned in an instant. However, it kept on coming, like a tsunami that would engulf its victims in one determined rush.

Though the first zombies were burned to ashes or caught fire, soon it was extinguished by the hordes that were trying to overwhelm us. The magicians had no choice but to fire their last mana reserves. Lily and her warriors were all exhausted or unconscious from the fight, so we had no other option but to fight from a distance.

“Kuro, the others have already retreated!” Griffyth tapped my shoulder, “They’ve also evacuated the Iron Princess!”

“Someone has to keep the undead from following us!” I told him, “Where’s Kashca?”

“She already retreated,” Griffyth told me.

In fairness to Kashca, she distracted the undead long enough for us to cover half of the town of Huirot in our retreat. However, the temporary repairs were done at the breach of the western wall of the town eventually gave way, and the zombies poured into that, overwhelming the western defenses.

“Great. Now go!” I urged the magicians as well to escape with Griffyth.

“What about you?”

“Of course, I’ll run as well!” I told him, “However, someone must distract these bastards from coming after us!”

“I’ll fight with you!” Griffyth offered, “And you can’t say no to me!”

“Alright!” I was laughing, reloading the matchlock gun and attaching the bayonet, “Let’s do something that will be legendary!”

“Haha! I knew you would say that!”

And so, the two of us—Griffyth and me, blocked the undead from reaching the escaping soldiers of our army to the east. It was strange that I felt no fear during this moment. Maybe it’s because I got someone with me?

Well, now’s not the time to think about such things!

----------

The fight was desperate, yet Griffyth and I slowly gave ground as we retreat to the east. At least, even as we knew that we’re slowly getting overwhelmed, the army could escape with lesser casualties than it had to be.

Griffyth showed his skills as a warrior during this time. His sword had already cut down multitudes of the undead, his armor battered by his efforts to bash the heads of these creatures so that he could protect my back.

“Heh! For something like mercenary work, I got way too involved with you, Kuro!”

“And I thank you for that!” I shouted to him as I slashed the heads of two zombies from its mouth.

“Nah! At least, I get to do something worthwhile!” Griffyth answered, “I think Kevin and Stephan would do the same too, wherever they are right now!”

“Her Holiness will take care of their souls!”

“Yes!”

Though we could feel our arms getting tired and our blades becoming dull, we continued our slow retreat. Slash here, bash there, thrust to the left and right. We were like berserkers mercilessly killing their victims…

The battle was chaotic and getting tense. However, a strange thing happened. The undead suddenly stopped attacking, and there was a lull in the fighting.

“Griff, I guess the others have finally escaped now!” I shouted once again, “Let’s run!”

“K-Kuro!” it was Griffyth’s voice, “You…you go ahead…”

“What are you saying—”

“…”

Much to my surprise, I saw Griffyth in the air, skewered by a sword held by…

“Seirna!”

The Saint of the Flame stood amidst the hordes of the undead, with Griffyth on the other end of her blade. And then she threw his dying body down on the ground, to be devoured by the undead.

“Stoooooppp!” I tried to rush beside him to defend his body from the zombies, but she threw me with her wind spell.

I could only watch in horror as they attempt to tear Griffyth’s body apart. But the mercenary only smirked at me and pulled something from his side. The next thing I knew, he erupted in flames, taking with him a considerable number of the undead.

“Hello, Fist of the North Lands,” Seirna walked towards me, “We meet again. It’s a pity the Prince of Elebor won’t join us in this reunion anymore.”

“You!” I could feel the tears of anger fall down from my eyes. My body was shivering; instead of fear, rage was forming within my chest, “I’ll kill you!”

“Try me, Kuro!” she let go of her sword, “You wanted to kill me for the deaths of your friends, right? Here I am then!”

“…”

Honestly, I could feel my indignation welled up from within me. I wanted to kill Seirna right there and then, for her guard was down. However, even though I was raging, there’s something inside my head that’s telling me that this was a trap.

“Well, if you’re not attacking me, then I will kill you!”

“!!!”

Seirna then rushed to me, as if unarmed. However, she pulled another sword from her hand and attacked me with it. Fortunately, I parried her blade with my bayonet just in time and followed up with a counter, using my gun’s buttstock.

Seirna quickly evaded that, but I already swung my foot towards her, and it hit her in the shin.

“!!!”

“That was a good attack, Kuro!” she commented, “You sure are quick to learn the ways of fighting.”

“Yes, and it’s all thanks to you!” This time, I was the one who attacked. I attempted a thrust of the bayonet to her body, which she easily parried with her sword. But then, I once again followed up a counter, pulling my dagger and slashing her neck with it.

However, Seirna had seen through my attempt at the last minute, and she dodged. I only cut her cheek.

“!!!”

I could tell that she was surprised as well.

“You!!!” Seirna was enraged, “There are only a few people in this realm that hurt me like this!”

“Well, I’m glad I’m one of them!”

“Yes, and like them, soon you’ll be dead as well!”

“!!!”

“Slashing wind!”

I quickly ducked to avoid getting hit. However, her attacks became relentless and filled with rage. It’s as if Seirna wanted to slice and dice my body ’till she’s satisfied.

But as furious as her attacks may be, I quickly countered her with a swing from my gun’s buttstock that hit her in the head, fair and square.

“!!!”

Even I was surprised that I landed a clean hit. However, I didn’t have time to marvel at my successful strike, for Seirna, in her desperate attempt to push me away, chanted another wind spell that blew me away.

“Raging whirlwind!!!”

I flew a few distances away from her and landed on my back, which was terribly painful. I immediately tried to stand up as she quickly attacked me. However, I think I got a few of my bones broken…I couldn’t move without crying out in pain.

“Kuro…never in my whole life that I saw someone as determined as you,” Seirna menacingly walked towards me, with blood flowing down from her head—a result of my successful hit on her earlier, “However, you’ve come to grow too dangerous to exist in this world…”

“…” I desperately tried to crawl away from her, but like a predator coming to kill its cornered prey, Seirna stalked me.

And then a dead end. Raising her sword arm, ready to strike at me, she smiled maniacally as she uttered the words…

“Say hello to Madelaine for me in the afterlife!”

----------

**Madelaine**

The last of the group of soldiers had finally arrived, together with an unconscious Lily—who was extremely exhausted after using her Bloodbath skill.

“Where’s Kuro?” I kept on asking those who would arrive, “And where’s Simon?”

However, the soldiers never answered. Instead, they hurried away from the battlefield, which became strangely silent.

From that moment, I knew something must’ve happened to Kuro and Simon.

“Fetch me a horse!” I ordered the vice-captain of the Paladin Corps as I unsheathed my sword.

“Dangerous!” Dame Atkins told me.

“I don’t care! Let me fight with them!”

However, Dame Atkins and her fellow paladins surrounded and restrained me.

“Let me go, please!” I pleaded, “I would fight together with Kuro!”

“Keep Her Holiness down!” the paladins tried their best to hold unto me, who was already thrashing around.

“Your Holiness, please,” Dame Atkins tried to calm me.

“Kuro! Simon!” I don’t want Kuro to die! I don’t want Simon to die! Why, of all times, my magic has failed me again? Why do I keep on losing the people that I love?

“Yes, it serves you right, Madelaine! How does it feel to lose your loved ones?”

“!!!”

Much to my surprise, I saw my godfather, Prince Umberto Benicci, pointing a demon weapon against me. And he wore the same clothes as Sir Lange! Why is he here?

Don’t tell me…that’s him in disguise—

“Don’t!” I heard Dame Atkins shout as a loud explosion tore through the air and I felt a strong pressure hit me in the chest. Then I blacked out.

----------

**Kuro**

“…”

“…”

Seirna and I locked stares as blood trickled down from her.

“Kuh…” She stood up and staggered as she backed away from me. Her hands were on the wound on her neck, attempting to stem the flow of the blood.

“…” Even I was shocked at what happened. Perhaps it was all because of the adrenaline rush, but at the last moment, as she was about to kill me, I summoned my last strength, pulled Luisa’s broken blade, and threw myself on her as I aimed for her neck.

I never thought I would be successful in my try, “That is for Luisa and Griffyth, you fucker!”

“Y-You…” the gargling voice of Seirna came out from her mouth, now filled with blood, “Y-You…kof…will…regret this!”

Though she was struggling to breathe and her legs were wobbling, the Saint of the Flame still ordered her zombies to attack me.

I braced myself for those creatures, however…

“!!!”

The zombies suddenly were lit in black flames. It also caught Seirna’s clothes, and she screamed in pain as she ran away in panic…

…and with that, the Saint of the Flame disappeared into thin air.

“Whew! It’s good that we arrived on time and drove that bastard for good!”

“!!!”

I turned around, for I heard a familiar voice. Then, behind me, lo-and-behold, was the 2nd Prince of Nerfes, Sir Simon, and the long-lost black-haired saint…

“The Saint of Darkness has just arrived to kick some zombie ass!” she said.

“Natasha!” I could only blurt out.

----------

What happened next was a miracle for me. Not only did the black-haired Saint appeared, but she also brought an army as deadly as the undead with her…

Yes, an army of demons.

“Clear these disgusting creatures!” Natasha told their commander, “Don’t let any of it survive, or it’s a grave insult to your ghouls.”

“Your Dark Holiness! You’ll never know how much I’m glad to see you!” I greeted her. If only I could embrace her, I would do it. However, common courtesy dictated that I shouldn’t.

“Pardon for the late arrival, Kuro,” Natasha sadly smiled, “You lost a lot of friends because I was too late.”

“Please don’t blame yourself.”

Sir Simon then patted me on the back, “Hey, Sir Kuro! I’m happy that you survived that! We’re really worried about you. Good thing, Her Holiness the Dark Saint Natasha arrived just in time to turn the tide.”

“Yes, and thank you for coming with her as well.”

“Oh, by the way, Kuro!” Natasha told me with a wry expression on her face, “You shouldn’t just thank me. Thank your slave, too…”

“Huh? Her Holiness Ruro of the Wolf?”

“Yep. She’s the one who freed me from Seirna’s Consciousness Prison spell, and asked for my help,” the Dark Saint narrated, “In fact, I wouldn’t be able to come here if it wasn’t for her!”

“Man, I feel like giving her a year’s worth of cookies and tea.”

“Please don’t,” Natasha replied, “She’s got a bad stomach for those, even though she loved it. And don’t come near her for now…I think she told you why, yes?”

“Oh…right.” Well, Natasha and I both knew the real reason Ruro couldn’t show herself.

“Well, anyway. At least, you’re safe now,” Natasha smiled, “By the way, let me introduce you to the commander of the demon army that came to help you.”

“Ah, please, let me express my thanks to him.”

“Yes…” Natasha then called the commander’s attention, and much to my surprise again, I knew this guy! “This is His Infernal Highness, Hurion Devras IV, the prince of the demon clans. He also loves to play as a merchant in the human world. I believe you met him before, in Fen?”

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**Madelaine**

When I came to my senses, the battle for Huirot was over.

Demon soldiers roam the land, but not as our enemies. Since they knew about the spells in controlling the undead, they took over us humans in fighting those creatures.

Kuro and the others were nowhere to be seen. But a paladin assured me they were all fine. I would visit them later…

“…”

In the meantime, I went to take care of an urgent matter.

My would-be assassin and godfather, Prince Umberto, was already restrained by the paladins and other soldiers who came to help. They put him inside the Huirot keep’s dungeon for the meantime, so I took the time to talk to him.

“…”

I could only stare at him in silence, as the other paladins told me what happened. Dame Atkins shielded me from his demon weapon, taking the bullet herself. Fortunately, she got hit on her arm, and her wound wasn’t life-threatening.

“…”

“Why do you keep on staring at me, Madelaine Rubinforth?” he asked with a scowl on his face, “Why don’t you kill me, like what you did to my family?”

“Your Highness…”

“Don’t call me that, whore!” he shouted, “It’s better for you to kill me now than to let me live; for I’ll come back for you!”

I could only swallow my pride, for I knew I was at fault here, “Prince Umberto, I understand that what I did is unforgivable. Despite that, I would want to apologize for my foolishness back then. So, whatever you wanted to do to me, I will gladly accept.”

“I’ll kill you if I could!” However, he could only spat on my face, “Just kill me now, Madelaine!”

“However, if you wanted me to eliminate you, I wouldn’t do that.”

“!!!” The Prince was shocked to hear that from me.

“I already saw my stupidity, and immaturity as a person. I know the blood of the people I killed or caused to die, will remain as a stain in my hands,” I bowed low before him, “And I don’t want to correct my mistakes in the past by doing another mistake. You’re a good man, Prince Umberto. You cherished your family…and I took it all from you!”

“You’re right! May it be a curse in your life, for as long as you live!”

“Yes…however, I only ask of you not to forgive me, but let me reverse every wrong I did in the past.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know my crimes, Your Highness,” I reminded him, “I massacred people in the past wars. I killed every rival that has risen against me. I destroyed families, like yours. And when I became the saint, my single-minded vision for peace caused hardships and deaths for many who hasn’t able to adapt to the changes.”

“And what do I care about those?”

“I’ll let you kill me,” I removed his shackles and put a dagger before him.

“!!!”

“But will you please let me try to fix my mistakes first?” I pleaded, “If you deemed I must face death when the time comes by all means, do it. I won’t run away from you.”

The Prince then fell silent as he pondered for his options. It was a long, tense moment. But in the end, he sighed, took the dagger, and kept it with him.

“What you did is unforgivable, Madelaine Rubinforth, and killing you now would be too good for you,” he said, never removing his eyes from me, “I’d like to see what you’re trying to tell me about this ‘fixing your mistakes’.”

And with that, I stood up and gave my uttermost respects to the person I owe my second chance in life. I’d make sure I’d never disappointed him.