Chapter 8: Undead Slayer

Vito cut down the small group of zombies that made the thieves’ treasure hoard their nest. Gold coins, jewels, jewelry, ornate weapons, and so on were all on clear display, scattered around for greedy people to view at their leisure. He found a silver bow with gold runes etched onto the sides and assumed it was the bow they were looking for.

He picked it up and felt the magic contained within. Following his instinct, Vito pulled the string and aimed at a large group of zombies. The bow drew magic from him to form an ethereal arrow. He loosed the arrow and watched it erupt into an arcane explosion. A crater and small rotting materials were all that remained of the group he targeted.

The undead creatures ignored Kaelyn and Galien to pursue Vito. He threw the bow across the room toward their archer. The two shared a knowing look. They’re targeting Vito, making them easy prey for her. Kaelyn held her bow on her back and began to use her new magic bow. She loosed three arrows, decimating large groups of zombies.

The chaos allowed Vito to search for their master. He saw a gaunt creature in tattered robes. Its skin hung from withered muscles and bones, a sight that nearly made him retch in disgust. Its dead eyes locked onto Vito and pointed a clawed finger at him.

“Death will claim you again!” It shrieked in a booming hoarse voice. Vito was stunned by his words and wondered if the creature truly knew that he was from another world. He held his sword in one hand and his knife in another as he leaped from the platform toward the bone lich.

Galien kept pace with him. The two brothers cut their way through the undead horde. Kaelyn rained explosive arrows down to whittle their enemy’s numbers. The bone lich simply created more zombies and sent them towards Vito. “Heh. It’s skeletons now.” Vito shattered a skeleton with a single swing of his blade and watched the bleached bones fall to the ground.

Another arrow from Kaelyn cleared the way to the bone lich. “What did you do to anger this creature?” Galien jokingly wondered as he steeled himself to face the most dangerous monster he had ever seen.

“He’s just jealous of my good looks,” Vito replied in a mocking voice.

The bone lich released another hoarse shriek, projecting its power and raw anger. “Death will take you once and for all!” it declared.

“Huh? Is it saying you already died?” Galien asked.

Vito shrugged. “My parents left me to die in a forest. I have no idea how it knows that, though.” He took an offensive stance, wielding his sword and knife. “Let’s just send this thing to the afterlife for good.”

The creature grinned, baring its sharp, jagged teeth through its ruined mouth. The undead monsters turned away from Vito and Galien and marched towards the exit, to the undefended Kaelyn.

“Damn! Galien, go!” Vito urged. Galien looked torn, but a confident smile and nod from his friend prompted him to rush towards their archer.

The bone lich licked its teeth and rotted lips with a slimy tongue. “A soul touched by the divine… Kehehe, you’re my salvation! My key to eternity!”

Vito looked visibly ill. “Please stop talking. It’s bad enough to be surrounded by filth and decay. I’ll have to bathe for half a day to ever feel clean again.”

The bone lich raised its long, clawed arms over its head and conjured two dark magic spheres. “Hallowed Orbs…” Darkness and death radiated from its spell, threatening all around it.

Vito dashed to his right to ensure Galien wouldn’t be in the bone lich’s line of sight. He used enhancement magic at the right moment to avoid one of the spheres as it hurtled toward him faster than he expected. An arcane explosion erupted right behind him, sending him flying.

Vito was smacked into something that felt hard as stone. He looked up through a daze while ignoring the pain and saw an armored brute zombie. “Oh. Hello. Sorry about that.” The brute held a large mace above its head and swung down to crush Vito. He leapt to the side and cleaved the brute’s head clean off.

He quickly leapt high in the air to avoid the bone lich’s second dark sphere. Magic rippled off his sword as he swung at the undead creature. “Fury Blade!” A jagged magic blade tore through the air and struck the bone lich. The first didn’t seem to do much more than slightly knock it back, but the following two pushed it against a wall.

He landed in a crouched position and dashed forward. “Brave Blade!” His sword glowed as he unleashed three swings, cleaving into the bone lich’s rotten body. He stabbed his knife into the center of the bone lich’s chest to finish it off.

The creature chuckled in a hoarse voice as it grabbed Vito in a strong, vice-like grip, pinning his arms at his side and lifting him into the air. Its mouth gaped open, and an unearthly blue glow appeared at the back of its throat.

Vito smirked and moved his leg back. “Mangia merda e morte, bastardo!” He kicked the handle of his knife and sent it flying through the bone lich, causing his opponent to retch and drop him. A blue glow emanated from the hole Vito’s knife made in its chest. The bone lich desperately tried to close it.

“Final Blade!” A layer of magic coated his sword and extended its length. He cut a horizontal line through the air, beheading the bone lich and carving a line in the walls around him.

The bone lich fell to the ground, its head rolling to a stop nearby. Cracks webbed through its body and head, and that same sickly blue glow peered through. A horrible shriek bellowed through the chamber as the bone lich’s body was reduced to dust and brittle bone fragments.

Vito turned to his friends. His heart lightened when he saw the undead horde fall with their master. He waved to Galien and Kaelyn, pleased to see them safe. His status window appeared and informed him of his growth in levels. He went from Level 23 to Level 26 and gained the “Undead Slayer” title, which affords him an advantage against undead-type enemies. He also gained a new skill: Scan, a skill that allows him to analyze and understand anything as long as his stats and Scan’s level are high enough.