Chapter 119: What Lurks in the Darkness Part 1

-Grrrrr…

It was an ominous noise, like the scraping of iron nails on a steel plate.

"Zombies."

None of us could move easily, and we held our breath. I exchanged a glance with Lloyd. He already had his hand on his sword. I quickly counted the zombies.

"…At least thirty of them."

It was not a small number. Moreover, at a glance, their condition seemed good. Probably because the cold of the Silver Mountains prevented decomposition. Their skin was only slightly peeled, making them in relatively good condition for zombies which meant they would be troublesome to deal with.

"Tsk."

"Tsk."

Just as Khalid and Didier clicked their tongues and began to chant spells, I raised my hand to stop them.

"Shh."

"..."

"..."

"Don't."

I whispered to them in a low voice. Khalid and Didier looked at me with puzzled expressions on their faces. Especially Khalid who had a look as if I was speaking nonsense.

But surprisingly, the ones speaking nonsense were the wizards themselves.

I already knew what kind of magic they were trying to use. The first syllable they uttered was the same as the first syllable of the explosion spell. Flame explosion. It was one of the best spells for blowing away zombies. After all, there was no better way to deal with zombies than burning them all to ashes.

But in this place, it's akin to a suicide attempt.

Was it because both Khalid and Didier were the type to isolate themselves? They seemed quite inexperienced in real battle. Of course, such high-level characters like them would rarely be deployed to such extreme places, but still…

"If you use an explosion spell here, we'll all be annihilated."

"What?"

"Huh?"

"This cave is too narrow. There are too many zombies, and there might be gas accumulated inside because of them."

"..."

"..."

"It might be fine on the cursed lands, but not here. If the cave blows up, not only the zombies but we will die too."

I whispered in a low voice and took out a bag of seeds from my pocket.

[Special Morning Star]

The [Special Morning Star] created by Lynshaka, the goddess of the forest and earth, and Nemeya, the goddess of the moon and mercy, was indeed extraordinary. Unlike ordinary morning stars that only bloom when the moon rises, this special morning star bloomed only on the new moon when the moon was absent. This flower bloomed in place of the moon. When it bloomed, a gentle moonlight spread around it, and the effect of the [Moon Light] skill was doubled or tripled.

This meant it was a plant optimized for dealing with the undead.

The moonlight emitted by the morning star burned only the unholy beings so no explosions would occur. Therefore, this was the only safe method here.

Lloyd and El could step forward, but the space is too narrow which would make it difficult to deal with the zombies. Besides, if they got bitten… they would turn into zombies before we could take them to the temple.

I poured the seeds from my pocket into my palm. The light seeds rolled around and started tickling my hand.

This is my first time using the special morning star. I wonder how effective it will be…

It was enough to weaken the zombies moderately. After that, Lloyd and El could just cut them down.

"Hoo…!"

I took a deep breath and blew hard on my palm. The seeds scattered lightly before spreading in all directions.

It's done.

After waiting for the seeds to settle on the ground, I kneeled on one knee and placed my hand on the cave floor.

-Grrrrk…!

-Keek…!

Perhaps because the human scent was gradually spreading, the zombies that had been staring into the depths of the cave started to slowly turn their bodies. They sniffed the air and began to approach, step by step.

"O Lynshaka, grant me the strength to take root in this barren land…"

I whispered as quietly as possible, and green energy began to spread out from the tips of my fingers. The magical power that received Lynshaka's blessing found the seeds and made them sprout on their own.

-Tak!

-Swoosh!

-Pop!

I could hear the delightful sounds of seeds sprouting and buds bursting open!

It was truly spectacular to see the cave floor filled with sparkling silver morning stars instead of bright yellow morning stars.

Zombies wandering among the morning stars… This has a strange charm in its own way.

The preparation was complete.

I exchanged glances with Lloyd and El who were standing beside me.

Once the [Moon Light] emitted by the morning stars incapacitated the zombies, we would kill them.

The two stood ready with their swords. I quietly recited the incantation as I savored the freshness of each morning star.

"…Please grant your light here…"

-Flaaash!!!

Before I could finish the incantation, the morning stars began to emit radiant moonlight. It was a clean and cool silver light, that was completely different from the brilliance of the sun! The light exploded in all directions…

-Kieeeek!!!

And it was literally burning the zombies.

If I had used ordinary morning stars as a medium, [Moon Light] would only have burned the parts it touched. As a result, if the undead changed direction to avoid the moonlight, things would become troublesome…

-Kieeek!!!

But since I used the special morning stars as a medium, [Moon Light] was on a different level.

Instead of just burning the parts they touched, the silver flames, as if made of concentrated moonlight, clung to the zombies' bodies, spread, and grew until they completely engulfed the zombies and burned them to a crisp!

This power is terrifying…!

The zombies started screaming within the silver flames until they soon turned into dust-like powder and disappeared into the air. One by one, the silver flames consumed the zombies. The flames grew large enough to reach the ceiling of the cave, but they burned nothing except the zombies. It seemed to affect only the undead. Even when I picked up the hand of a burning zombie and touched the flame, all I felt was a slight coolness.

"My goodness…"

I heard Aquila mutter in astonishment from behind. There was the sound of Lloyd and El sheathing their swords with a click and a clatter.

"What is this flame?"

"It's completely different from ordinary fire."

Khalid and Didier were touching the flames on the zombie corpses; the two of them looked quite amazed. Well, that's typical of wizards and witches.

"Whew…"

The magic used consumed more energy than the usual [Moon Light] and made me feel slightly dizzy. It seemed that the special morning star absorbed a lot of magic. The power was incredible, but I needed to think carefully before using it.

"What incredible power."

Clap, clap, clap, Khalid clapped his hands and smiled broadly. I shrugged my shoulders.

"It's my first time using it. I didn't expect it to be this powerful."

"Don't be modest, druid. Just be honest."

"What do you mean?"

"This isn't an ordinary spell."

Khalid dangled one of the burning zombie's fingers as he spoke. Well, I figured someone like Khalid would notice the peculiarities of this spell…

"I prayed very hard."

"...."

"Oh, do wizards not pray?"

It was something I could easily brush off. When I made a joke to lightly poke his pride, Khalid didn't pursue the matter any further. As expected, wizards and faith didn't mix well.

-Crackle.

As I moved to explore deeper into the cave, something caught on my toe. Everything should have burned away. I bent down and picked up the rattling object.

"This is…"

It was a gold necklace chain. The part where a gem should have been was empty. Could a zombie have been wearing it?

"There are more here…"

There were many glittering items scattered around. Gold necklaces, silver bracelets, platinum tiaras… There were many ornaments. However, all of them…

Don't have any gems?

The parts where the gems should have been were all empty. What on earth was going on…?

Let's take them for now.

Even without the gems, gold, silver, and platinum were all valuable. I put the ornaments into my empty pockets and walked further into the cave.

"Oh!"

Deeper inside, there was an open chest. And a faint light was flickering from inside the chest. I could tell that it was the light that came from 'treasures".

Even though the chest was small, it would still be worth a considerable amount if it was filled with precious metals. So, this was what the zombies had been guarding! I got down on one knee and inspected the chest. Unlike the ornaments I had picked up from the cave floor, the items in the chest were properly encrusted with gems. Large and vividly colored gems. Even at first glance, they looked high-quality. Wow, who would've thought I'd find such a treasure here!

"Don't touch it!"

"…Huh?"

At that moment, Aquila shouted. She was waving her hands frantically and her face was pale as she looked at me.

"Calm down; we'll share everything."

"Th-That's not what I'm talking about!"

"Then what is it?"

I withdrew my hand which had been reaching into the chest and looked at Aquila. If she wasn't worried about me taking everything, then what was it?

"Th-That, that's an item possessed by a mountain spirit!"

"A mountain spirit…?"

Aquila pointed at the chest with trembling hands and shouted. A mountain spirit? But we had just dealt with zombies.

"If you touch it, your soul…"

"This kid is right."

Didier interrupted Aquila. Even though she also heard Aquila's warning, she casually reached into the chest and took out a magnificent necklace before examining it closely.

"If you touch it, your soul will be taken!"

Aquila shouted in alarm, but Didier laughed heartily as if amused.

"Kid, I am the witch of the Silver Mountains. This kind of thing can't take my soul."

Whether it was true or not, the gem in the center of the necklace Didier held began to hum, but nothing happened. Didier gripped the gem with her sharp black nails and began to chant an unknown spell. Then…

-Crack!

The gem shattered into pieces.

"A simple trick, but it's effective for destroying greedy humans. It's not something Tondra would use… Is there something around here?"

If it wasn't a trap set by Tondra, could it be…?

"… The Crows?"

When I muttered that, Didier's piercing eyes turned to me.