Chapter 7
Chapter 7
“Aaaagh! Somebody, help!”
Screams rang out from people fleeing between the collapsing buildings, as the firestorm swept through the village.
“Chelsea! Chelsea! Where’s my baby!”
A mother’s desperate cry as she searched in vain for her lost child in the chaos.
“Breathe, darling, please…”
A husband called out helplessly, trying to rouse the limp body of his wife, who no longer drew breath. It was a scene straight out of hell.
And at the end of Isabella’s gaze, the cause of this nightmare let out a monstrous shriek.
“Graaaugh!”
A grotesque creature with rotting flesh and twisted limbs – a monster.
“…Undead.”
Seeing the growing horde of undead drawn to the screams, Isabella clenched her fist and murmured.
“Why are they in such a small village?”
Baal answered beside her.
“Me thinks they’ve been summoned by someone, miss.”
“Then… there must be a dark mage nearby.”
Her voice sank low at the sight of the carnage before her. Almost instinctively, she stepped forward.
Just then, a group of Dullahans assigned to her guard blocked her path, slamming their shields to the ground. The shields, as large as torsos, bore grim visages carved so deeply they seemed almost alive, faces pressed into metal like severed heads embedded in steel.
The mouth etched into one of the shields moved.
“This environment is not suitable for your constitution, my lady. Leave this to us. Please return to the carriage.”
Despite the cold hardness of the Dullahan’s shield, the voice was composed, knightly in tone.
In that moment, Isabella seized the shield’s ‘mouth.’
“What? Are you trying to make me look like someone who turns a blind eye to suffering?”
Her expression was resolute.
“If this is the work of a dark mage, then as a member of House Hellen, it’s my duty to stop it.”
Driven by the pride her noble house held in their long-standing legacy of dark magic, Isabella stood firm.
“Move. You could save one more life in the time you’re wasting trying to convince me.”
The Dullahans hesitated, then wordlessly parted to either side, dropping to one knee in deference. As if to say, We will follow you.
Without hesitation, Isabella stepped into the disaster zone and issued her command.
“Find survivors. And if you spot the dark mage controlling the undead, report to me immediately.”
“By your command!”
“Awoooo!”
Even before the words had finished echoing, the Dullahans, along with liches and werewolves, scattered throughout the village.
Soon, Baal approached.
“Our lady commanding monsters… I’m utterly moved, miss, meeh!”
Baal, who often worried about how freely Isabella mingled with monsters, was now moved to tears.
Clearly uncomfortable, Isabella stepped back and waved her hand dismissively.
“Don’t overdo it. Baal, get moving too. I’ll take the right; you take the left.”
“Y-you’re not seriously going alone, are you, miss? That’s out of the question! If I’m not by your side, who’s going to protect you!”
“Who else? I’ll protect myself! Besides, aren’t you like my other self? Leave the rescues to the others. Your priority is finding the dark mage!”
“Y-your… other self…?”
Baal blinked in surprise at the unexpected phrase. Then he cleared his throat.
“Ahem. Of course! As your loyal shadow, I shall carry out your will. But if things get dangerous, you must call for me, miss!”
His twitching lips betrayed how pleased he was to be called her ‘other self.’
“Got it. Oh, and one more thing. Change your appearance. Don’t want to scare the townspeople.”
“Understood! I’ll be back soon, miss!”
With that, Baal turned and dashed straight into the roaring flames. Isabella watched him briefly, then turned in the opposite direction with a confident grin.
“Now… time to get started.”
Placing her palm against her shadow, she whispered:
“Grow.”
And then it happened.
Rumble!
The ground trembled throughout the village. Cracks split the earth, and from within them, something long and black began to squirm upward.
They looked like roots, dark, gnarled, and branching out in hundreds of directions like the tendrils of a massive plant. The black roots grew ceaselessly from every crack, sprawling to engulf the entire village.
“Aaaaagh!”
A scream came from somewhere nearby. She ran toward it and saw a man whose lower body had been devoured by the undead. Nearby, an old woman was surrounded by three more of the creatures.
“Kgh!”
“Keeeh! Grrrr!”
“S-stay away… Someone… please, help me!”
Isabella raised her hand at once. In response, a black root surged from the nearest crack, shooting up like a spear to entangle the undead.
The moment they touched the black root, their color drained to ashen gray, and they crumbled like sandcastles. With the threat gone, Isabella rushed to the old woman’s side.
“Are you alright? Can you stand?”
“My boy… My poor, poor boy…”
But the old woman’s attention was fixed only on her son, now reduced to little more than a torso. There was no time for mourning.
“Graugh!”
More undead had caught the scent of blood and were approaching fast.
“D**n it…!”
She let out a sharp whistle. Almost immediately, a werewolf bounded toward her in response. Seeing the creature arrive, Isabella urgently pulled the old woman to her feet.
“Come on, Grandma! We need to move! You’ll die if you stay here!”
“No… I can’t leave my boy lying in this cold dirt…”
“Grandma!”
Her heart pounded as the undead drew closer. But the old woman only clutched her son’s body tighter.
Gritting her teeth, Isabella nodded toward the werewolf beside her As if reading her thoughts, it grabbed the old woman by the scruff and hoisted her over its shoulder.
“Oh! Heavens!”
“Take her outside the village for me.”
The old woman yelped in surprise, but Isabella had no time to comfort her. She was too busy carving an escape path with black roots and fending off the undead.
“Awoo!”
The werewolf let out a howl of acknowledgment and began to move when suddenly—
“W-wait!”
The old woman clung to Isabella’s sleeve.
“I don’t know who you are, but please… please save Chelsea, my granddaughter!”
“Your granddaughter? Where is she?”
“We got separated at the end of that road! Please, she’s in danger!”
The desperate grip on her sleeve spoke volumes.
“Hmmm…”
But Isabella didn’t answer right away. The direction the old woman pointed was where the dark energy was thickest.
‘If she’s there… then she’s probably already…’
She shook her head.
‘No. It’s too soon to give up.’
Changing her mind, Isabella took off running in that direction.
“Leave your granddaughter to me! You go somewhere safe and wait!”
Grabbing the hem of her long dress to keep from tripping, she pressed deeper into the village.
The situation had worsened. The number of undead had grown exponentially, and the bodies littering the streets were mangled beyond recognition.
‘Whoever did this… will pay.’
Rage surged in her chest. Then she smelled it.
“Ugh! What is that stench?”
As she neared an open clearing deeper in the village, a sour, gag-inducing odor struck her. She covered her nose and turned toward the source and saw it.
Like clouds spiraling around the eye of a storm, hundreds—no, thousands—of undead had gathered in one place. At the very center stood an Undead King, gripping a massive axe.
‘There you are!’
She was certain the dark mage who had summoned them was somewhere within that swarm. Just then—
“GRAAAUGH!”
The Undead King let out a terrifying roar the moment their eyes met. In that instant, every undead turned its gaze on her. Thousands of glowing blue eyes, flickering like tiny flames, all locked onto Isabella. Even she shuddered under their focus.
“Graaah!”
One lunged at her, and then others followed.
“This is bad!”
Panicking, Isabella summoned black roots to push the undead back. But there were too many. She couldn’t handle them all alone.
Thinking quickly, she used the roots to form a wall, buying herself a moment’s reprieve. Slamming her palm to the ground, she shouted:
“Return to me, Ba–!”
Boom!
Before she could finish his name, the Undead King slammed into the earth and leapt toward her, swinging his massive axe. She barely managed to block it with the roots, but the sheer force knocked her backward.
“Kyaaah!”
Luckily, the tangled roots caught her like a net, softening the blow, but she was stunned. By the time she gathered her senses, the Undead King was looming overhead, axe poised to strike.
‘I should’ve listened to Baal…’
Only now did she realize how much she had come to rely on him, how much he’d always quietly protected her.
Still, she wasn’t about to die here.
She gathered her magic in both hands and raised them to block the blow. But then, a silver-blue cloak embroidered with a horned wolf swept in front of her.
Clang!
Metal clashed with a deafening screech.
But Isabella’s attention was entirely on the man who had blocked the attack.
With flames reflecting off his long silver hair, he stood tall, back straight. His hair reached his waist. At a glance, he might be mistaken for a woman. But his broad shoulders, towering height, and the overwhelming pressure he exuded left no doubt he was a man.
Then, he shoved the axe back with his longsword and charged at the Undead King.
Slice. Slash. Sever.
Like slicing paper, his blade moved effortlessly. First one arm, then the other, then the neck, then the torso.
“GUAAAAARGH!”
Thud!
With a final shriek, the Undead King fell.
The man shook the blood from his blade and turned to face Isabella.
……
T/N: Please tell me that’s the ML! Me loves ML with long hair kyaah~!
