We’re Uniting!

Lux cleared his throat and replied to Elara,

“As far as I know, they’re completely tamed now. They’re listening to your every command, Elara!”

Barely holding herself up from exhaustion, Elara groaned,

“Do I really have to… die… just to get something right?!”

She stood up slowly, faced the massive army of undead, and this time spoke without using her mind powers.

“Undead, take a few steps back.”

The undead instantly obeyed.

“Now… take two steps forward.”

They did.

“Alright, now… just follow what I do.”

She began doing a ridiculous dance — one that used to be a trend back in her world’s schools. The undead mimicked her every move.

Right in the middle of that nonsense, Lux jumped in shouting,

“You crazy girl! This is no time to fool around! There are people waiting for you to save them!”

Elara froze, then straightened up.

“Oh— right! Totally forgot. That’s enough!”

The undead stopped, standing by for her next order.

Just then, a group of adventurers passing by caught sight of the huge undead army and froze in fear.

But when they saw Elara standing there unharmed, curiosity won over their terror. They cautiously approached.

“Excuse me, miss… can we ask you something?”

Elara turned toward them — two men and two women, all looking like seasoned adventurers. Their weapons and armor were high-grade; one swordsman, one tank, and two female supporters. A solid team.

Elara glanced at them, then at herself. Something clicked.

“Wait a sec. Everyone important I’ve seen here — Ben, the adventurers — they all wear armor. Even these guys have top-tier gear…”

She looked down at her red hoodie.

“Why the hell am I walking around dangerous zones in this? That vulture Ben probably didn’t bother giving me armor ‘cause he knows I can’t die!”

The swordsman’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Um, excuse me! Are you okay? We just wanted to ask—”

“Oh! Sorry! Yeah, sure. What’s your question?”

He hesitated, then asked,

“Well… how are you standing in front of an entire undead army… and they’re not attacking you? We’ve been adventuring in these parts for a long time, and we’ve never seen undead ignore a living person.”

Elara chuckled, rubbing the back of her head.

“Is it really okay if I tell them? Maybe they could help too…” she mumbled to herself.

But before she could decide, one of the adventurers pointed at her right eye — the dark one. The moment the others noticed it, their faces turned pale.

“Oh, you mean that’s your ques—”

Before she could finish, all four of them bolted away.

Elara stared blankly after them.

“...Did I say something wrong, Lux?”

“I didn’t hear anything bad. Maybe it was the army behind you… or your eyes.”

“Eh, whatever. That’s fine. If I can scare off a four-man adventurer team with high-tier gear, then I can definitely terrify the groups I actually want to.”

“So, what’s your actual plan?” Lux asked.

“Nothing too fancy. I’ve got about three thousand undead standing here, and there are four bases nearby. I’ll scare each one just enough to force them into an alliance. They’ve gotten too comfortable thinking the undead won’t touch them anymore.”

“And once they join?”

“I’ll have the undead attack their bases — not to hurt anyone, just to cause chaos. Property damage only.”

She turned toward her own distant base.

“When they’re under attack, they’ll have no choice but to rethink things. I’ll make the attack on the one we visited yesterday stronger so they feel more pressure. Once all four agree, we’ll merge our forces — their troops and my undead — and launch one massive assault on that damn demon’s fortress. Hopefully, we’ll save everyone still trapped there.”

Lux blinked.

“I’m… actually impressed, Elara. Didn’t think that tiny brain of yours could handle a full strategy.”

“Whose side are you even on, Lux?”

“Don’t overthink it. You better get started soon — the longer you wait, the higher the chance someone notices this huge undead army marching around.”

“Oh, right!”

Elara turned to her army.

“Undead! There are four human bases in this region. One lies several kilometers west from here — 1,300 of you will attack that one. The rest, split into three groups and head to the other bases farther west. Your goal is destruction only — no casualties! Not a single human is to be harmed. Understood? Then go!”

She raised her arm and yelled,

“Move out! Finish the raid and return here as fast as you can!”

The undead began marching westward. The ground trembled beneath their thousands of synchronized steps.

Elara watched with a proud, serious face… which quickly melted into pure excitement.

“Lux! Lux! Tell me that was awesome! I sounded totally heroic, right?! Best commander ever, huh?”

Lux sighed.

“You’ve definitely grown, Elara… but you’re still unbearably childish.”

Her smile dropped.

“If you don’t ruin my mood at least once a day, you’d probably die, huh Lux?”

Hours later, the undead reached the four bases. They burned tents, smashed structures, tore through everything except the walls. No one was hurt — but everything else was reduced to ash.

Even Damian’s golden chamber — the leader who had refused to help Elara — was completely destroyed.

By nightfall, the undead had finished their rampage and returned.

Damian’s base suffered the worst losses, though no one was injured. He stood among the ruins, his jaw tight with anger and worry.

Nick, his first officer, rushed toward him, breathless.

“Sir! We just received word— the other bases were attacked too! Same destruction, same fire! Every base in the area has been hit by undead!”

Damian clenched his fists.

“That’s… bad news. What about our own base? How bad is it?”

Nick swallowed.

“Almost everything’s gone, sir. The tents, the weapons, the storage — all burned. We’ve got nothing left to arm our soldiers.”

“In other words… we’ve been disarmed. That’s not good.”

He took a moment to think, then barked,

“Pull yourself together, Nick! Don’t let the others lose morale. Order the guards to grab anything they can use as a weapon — no civilian is to be harmed, understood?”

Nick nodded quickly.

“On the bright side, sir… not a single person was injured.”

Damian paused, then muttered,

“Good. Prepare a squad. I’m heading to Talon Base myself. You stay here and hold the line.”

“Yes, sir.”

Meanwhile, back at the rendezvous point, Elara counted her undead. None were missing.

“Okay… so what do I do with them now? Can I even hide this many?” she wondered aloud.

Lux spoke up,

“As the wielder of the Dark Eye, you can cloak them in shadow. Just visualize it.”

“You mean, imagine them sinking into darkness?”

“Exactly. To bring them back, just imagine the opposite.”

Elara closed her eyes — and one by one, the undead faded into the shadows until not a single one remained.

When she opened her eyes, her jaw dropped.

“By the gods… they’re actually gone! Lux, did you see that?!”

“Yes, yes, I saw. Congratulations, shadow girl.”

Elara jumped up and down in excitement — then spotted a large group moving toward her base.

“Lux, who are those people? They’re heading straight for us!”

“Not sure. Try zooming in with your Dark Eye. Think of it like a telescope.”

“You’re kidding. My eye’s a telescope now?!”

“Yes, Elara. Just focus and look.”

“Alright, alright…”

She activated her Dark Eye, and the distant figures came sharply into view.

“Oh my god— I can see them! That’s Damian! He’s actually coming here already!”

Lux chuckled.

“That’s a good sign. But don’t celebrate yet. Go meet him — and convince him to join the alliance.”

“I’ll do my best, Lux!”

Elara hurried back to her base and waited near the main tent. Moments later, one of the guards shouted,

“The leader of Talon Base, Lord Damian, wishes to speak with your commander!”

Elara nodded for them to open the gate. Damian entered, his eyes locking with hers.

They stared in silence for several seconds before Damian finally spoke, voice calm but heavy.

“Not going to greet your guest properly, young lady?”

Inside the tent, they sat across from each other.

Damian broke the silence.

“A few hours ago, my base was attacked by an enormous group of undead. Everything — treasures, supplies, weapons — all destroyed. Thankfully, no one was hurt… but it was still a serious assault.”

Elara smiled faintly.

“I’m truly sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Damian continued,

“From what I’ve gathered, the other bases were hit too. Same story — no casualties, but everything else in ruins…”

Damian was talking when Elara drifted into thought:

"I'm really weak compared to Damian when it comes to talking. If he picks up on my words or my answers, he might figure out that I was behind this attack… I should use Dorian's power. His green eye boosts his speech and influence incredibly… Wait a second, I actually got the green eye power after taking the Dark Eye! I should activate it right now!"

Damian continued speaking:

"It's strange that no one was hurt or robbed during these attacks… What do you think?"

Elara activated the green eye but kept her natural eye color so they wouldn’t notice any difference from their first meeting. Calm and confident, she replied:

"You make a good point, Chief Damian! That an attack was carried out by the Undead, yet no one was killed or robbed, is definitely suspicious and unusual—I agree with that… But it could also be a trap or a setup."

Damian raised an eyebrow:

"What exactly do you mean?"

"I mean that you and the other bases lost all your weapons and resting areas. Now, you're completely vulnerable and weakened… Am I right?"

Damian nodded in confirmation.

"So we can conclude there are only two possibilities: either this attack is a preparation for a bigger assault, or it’s simply to make sure you aren’t capable of striking back…"

Damian was silent for a moment:

"That makes sense. Do you have any plan to protect yourselves or the other bases from this threat?"

"True, a few tents and weapon storages remain intact in our base, but we’ve also lost a lot of troops and resources. However, you and the other bases still have your forces, and we have weapons for your troops…"

Elara fell silent, waiting for Damian to respond.

After a few moments, Damian spoke:

"Very well, then. Cooperation seems to be our only option. If we want to prevent anyone else from getting hurt, this is the best course…"

Elara smiled and replied:

"Exactly. Though this could have been avoided with a simple 'yes,' right, Chief Damian?"

Damian blushed and said:

"Let’s move on. We also need to inform the other bases…"

Elara said:

"Right, but leave the rest to me. Our base has lost a lot of troops over the past few days, so there’s plenty of space for people to settle. You can bring your people and the others from the other bases here—after all, this has been the largest base in the region."

Damian replied:

"Thank you for your generosity. My people and I truly appreciate it."

Elara was shocked:

"Hey, no! There’s no need for that. You should rest properly, since we don’t even know if we’ll strike first or if they will… You might not get another chance to rest."

"You’re right, Leader Elara…" (he turned to his people and continued) "Alright! Everyone, find a tent to stay in and be kind to one another… Soldiers, make sure you rest as well. I don’t want any civilians getting hurt."

All of Damian’s people headed toward the tents, while Damian and Elara went to the main tent.

Once inside, Elara looked back and turned to him:

"Oh? Damian? Did something happen? I didn’t notice you come in."

"I wanted to talk to you for a bit. I’m really worried about the people and ourselves. I’d be glad if you could tell me what plan you have in mind, Leader Elara!"

Elara’s cheeks flushed:

"Thanks, but could you please not call me leader… I’m not used to it, it makes me nervous… About the plan… maybe it’s better to say there’s no concrete plan yet…"

"What do you mean no plan? Are we really just going to sit back and die?"

Elara shivered slightly:

"Wait, no! That’s not what I meant. I just mean I don’t have a unified plan yet… but I have plenty of ideas to put into action."

A few seconds of silence passed before Damian said:

"Alright. If you don’t want to share your plans with me, that’s fine. I just ask one thing—don’t let anyone else die…"

He left the tent…

In that same quiet moment, suddenly Lax’s voice rang out:

"Hey there, little lady. Made some new friends, huh?"

Elara was startled:

"Damn you… can’t you just start talking normally? You nearly gave me a heart attack with that!"

Lax cleared his throat:

"I just wanted to tell you that right now, you’re allowed to transform into a queen. But you need to awaken two things inside you to do it, and on top of that, you’d have to give up your original world…"

"I haven’t given up my original world yet, so maybe don’t even mention it… I don’t think I’ll ever want to transform."

"It’s not that simple, Elara. The battle ahead is going to be really tough. Like I told you before, the Dark Lord in front of you has way more experience than you. But unlike you, his power only reaches up to the Dark Eye… Beyond the Dark Lord, his generals are powerful enough to take him down themselves. You better think carefully, or you might never see any world again, Elara."

Elara paused, responding in an annoyed tone:

"So now you’re threatening me with death, huh? Worthless voice?"

"I’m not threatening you, you dumb girl. I’m saying if you don’t make the right choice, you might not survive…"

"Not survive?? That’s a joke, right??"

"No, I’m completely serious. You could die… Didn’t I tell you before?"

"No, I had no idea…"

"Well, now I am. Be careful—this path could get you killed, Elara!"

"Wait… isn’t my race immortal? The story’s about immortals, and now you’re saying I could die?"

"I never said you will die, Elara. I said you might die!"

Lax sighed and continued:

"Look, your race is naturally immortal and invulnerable, but if an attack from someone with comparable or greater power hits you, it overrides your immortality and can actually harm you."

"You mean… if I get hit by the Dark Lord, it really can hurt me?"

"You got it exactly, Elara. Aside from those with the Dark Eye or higher, no one can make you die or suffer serious injury."

"You should’ve told me this sooner—I’d planned so many things counting on my immortality, idiot!"

"Don’t get worked up, you’ll ruin your nerves, Elara. Once you ascend to the Light Eye, even the Dark Lord won’t be able to touch you—unless you mess things up badly."

"Whatever… I really have no idea what I’m going to do now… I’m just going to sleep. Maybe something good will come to mind by tomorrow."