Rematch

The battlefield fell into utter chaos the moment the undead made their move. They did not differentiate between the knights or the bandits, attacking everything in their vicinity. However, the undead were not the only ones that were running wild.

Screams and shouts which originated from the bandits led to even further pandemonium as several of them had gone rabid and started attacking their own allies. Among those that had lost their sanity included no small number of those whose strength reached that of the captain level.

Finally, the demons also made their own entrance as they appeared from three different directions. First were those who had disguised themselves as bandits, now free to reveal their true nature. Next was a familiar sight of the tunneling demons dragging unwitting humans into the ground. Next was a new appearance of large dog-like creatures who appeared to have been formed by magma.

“It’s time for the both of us to make our return to the stage. Don’t worry, we’ll have a stand-in for you shooting arrows from cover.”

Mateo studied the demon as he shifted over to his true appearance. Somehow, Mateo thought his new appearance as some type of humanoid weasel really fit him. Next to the weasel demon was another demon appearing from the shadows around them, holding his hand out. He handed over his bow, then took out the stone amulet and donned his armor again.

“What’s our target?”

“My target is the Bandit Leader and the Demon Blade. Yours, on the other hand, is the same as last time: your little friends.”

Without giving any type of confirmation, Mateo left the demon behind; however, he did not charge straight into the battle. After circling so his appearance would not coincide with the direction from which he had been firing arrows, he finally made his presence known. His location of choice had not been random either, he now found himself directly behind his classmates.

While he had been aiming for the mages and healers at the back of the makeshift party, he was intercepted by Stephanie, a Spear Knight, who had been hanging back to protect the squishier members.

Mateo was easily able to work around this opponent as he just walled her off and continued his charge. By the time he made it to the backline, Noah had quickly set up a barrier beneath their feet. Mateo had already foreseen this though as his party already knew how effective this method was against him.

He held out his hand and felt the pommel of a long sword slip into it before he stepped onto the barrier. Without a moment's hesitation Mateo went directly for the closest of the two priests, Erika. Unfortunately, Noah was standing the farthest from him, which meant he would have had to force his way past Erika, Blair, and Helen.

His first move was to sever the hand outstretched in front of her as she gathered light–an offensive divine power. It was apparent the girl had never really been in close combat as she only stared dumbly at the missing appendage. Not giving her a moment he swung his sword again and decapitated her.

He heard a scream of rage as he saw a massive ball of magic power hurtling his way. The source had been Blair, who was currently glaring daggers his way. Instead of taking the attack straight on, he released his longsword in front of him after casting a spell on it. The next moment, the sword changed form and an earthen wall stood between him and the arcane ball.

He dashed back until he escaped the range of the barrier and once again conjured a sword from the ground beneath him. He didn’t stop there, though, as spears of stone shot from the ground and were heading straight for the winded Archwizard. Blair realized she made a mistake when she found herself momentarily too drained to cast a defensive spell.

The biggest mistake a wizard could make was to pump a large amount of mana into a spell without following the proper steps. Doing so would leave the caster briefly weakened and unable to control their mana.

The rage that had clouded her judgement was now replaced with fear as the stone spears reached her. Fortunately, help had arrived just in time as a hand grabbed her by the shoulder and flung her back. Standing in front of her was Alicia, who had broken away from her confrontation with the Bandit leader and, with pinpoint accuracy, pierced all four projectiles one after the other in a split second.

Mateo, looking at the new opponent, disregarded caution and once again stepped upon the barrier, meeting his party member with a clash of blades. This time, instead of a fight that focused purely on their sword skill, the duo used arts and spells in rapid succession. Alicia’s arts were speed-focused: they either subjected Mateo to at least rapid three attacks or had her flashing around him, forcing him to defend from all directions.

Mateo, on the other hand, used the sword in his hand as a catalyst, drawing on the earth from which it was forged. At times, a projectile of earth would shoot out; at others, it would try to ensnare his opponent. Unfortunately, every time he would do so the length of his sword would shrink.

Suddenly, Alicia dashed back and raised her sword in a familiar manner. Seeing this, Mateo couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow under his helmet. Was she really trying Blink Thrust again? As he saw her charge forward he couldn’t help but admonish his party member in his head. Her habit of aiming for the heart had not changed.

The two were now in a familiar situation where Alicia’s sword was being stopped by his sword guarding in front of his heart. He didn’t stop there though as the familiar scene played out again with him grabbing her sword and aiming his elbow at her face.

To his surprise though she released her sword this time and ducked under the incoming elbow. She unsheathed a knife that had previously been hidden and aimed it at his armpit while holding it in a reverse grip. Mateo immediately knew he had been played; she had baited him for this exact moment.

Not willing to test the durability of his armor, he hurriedly cast a spell on the sword in his hand. The sword detonated in a spectacular flare, sending the two reeling as shrapnel tore into both of them. While Mateo was mostly fine–his armor had deflected most shrapnel, injuring only his hand–Alicia, on the other hand, suffered a concussion from her proximity to the blast and had several pieces of shrapnel embedded in her skin.

Before the two could continue with their bout, they heard a cry of pure sorrow from nearby. Taking this moment of lull they both looked over and saw the Bandit Leader clutching his severed wrist as he glared at a certain individual with tears of blood running down his face. It was no surprise as the figure turned out to be Tilch, who pried off the hand still attached to the Demon Blade now in his grasp.

He looked down upon the Bandit Leader with a ridiculing sneer on his face.

“Thanks for playing your part, now it’s time for you to make your exit.”

With a maniacal grin he used the blade in his hand to slit the Bandit Leader’s throat. His sadistic tendency shining through as he made sure to fully watch as the man clutched his neck in fear and unwillingness as the light left his eyes.

This scene had drawn quite a bit of attention as the bandits appeared to have finally regained their sanity but lost all of their courage and tried to flee. The knights on the other hand had pushed the undead back somewhat and were able to create some breathing room so as to regain order in their ranks. As for the party members who had been facing off against the Bandit Leader this entire time, they huddled together with their shields raised.

Previously, their only objective was to use their sturdy nature to contain the Bandit Leader; however, Tilch had suddenly barged into their battle and dealt the finishing blow to their adversary. The problem though was all of them were in some state of disarray with their shields and armor sporting some serious gashes and disrepair.

Then there was the person who had been observing this entire time, who had now decided to step into the light.

Before anyone could register what happened, all the bandits who had been fleeing suddenly fell over dead. A dark, miasmic, gas rose from their bodies and drifted in the direction of a figure, who collected it in his bony grasp.

Next, he toyed with the foul energy for a moment before flinging it toward the group of knights. Whatever it was had bypassed any type of protection they had and seeped into their bodies. Those who were affected started to whither and age at a visible rate.

In mere moments they turned into just skin in bones and collapsed to the ground, but the very next instance they once again rose, but as undead. The beings final move was to launch another attack, this time towards the three Shield Heroes. The three hurriedly raised their shields coated with a Shield Art while another barrier formed in front of them.

Noah’s barrier only halted the miasmic projectile for a moment before it shattered. The spell exploded the moment it impacted the students’ combined defenses, forming a giant cloud of gas.

Two of the students were sent flying out, both unconscious, as signs of some type of infection were visible on their skin. When the cloud finally cleared, the body of their classmate, Patrick, lay prone. It was clear to all that a second hero had died that day: his entire body was purple and his veins black. Even the white of his soulless eyes was completely purple while black tears fell.

“I believe I have your attention now.”

The ancient voice oozed pure arrogance while the figure swept his gaze over those still alive. The Lich stood there cloaked in a black robe lined with gold as another swarm of undead stood behind him.

“I believe now is the time to give you a chance to surrender. Listen carefully: either surrender or die–either way, even in death you will serve me.”