To the West

"So Morran? How was it?" the voice asked.

"Hmm... It's different from when I turned myself to an Elder Lich." Morran answered with a grunt.

The voice came from a whole in the glacier. It was a deep voice that echoed through the cave.

"Your soul will need time to recover. Last time I tried this, it took 200 years for the soul to reincarnate. Of course, he was a special case. Ancient magic Spells like the one she used on him, leave scars that are not easily healed." the voice explained.

"Well, it's not bad. Without attaching a body I can hold on consciousness, even for a little while." Morran said. He has been reduced to nothing more than a small ball of lighting, trapped in this starless dark abyss.

"I am very sorry Morran. With my powers, that is the best I can do." the voice said.

"Please do not talk like that. I should be the one apologizing for having you use your remaining strength for someone as trivial as me." Morran hurriedly responded.

"It is fine. The time of the prophesy is upon us. I do not need to save my Magic power any more. I am curious though. Why did you decide the violent approach? I remember telling you, there was no need for us to interfere that much." the voice said.

"You might be right. At the time, I felt that securing the Irregular in our hands was the best course of action. I see my mistake now. All we need to do is watch over him while he gets stronger and fulfills the prophesy. But I do not think my actions were a complete waste. If I can be a stepping stone to the Irregular's path, I will be glad to. As long as he keeps getting stronger, things will work out as they should." Morran said with optimism.

"I see. So it wasn't a waste." the voice responded.

"Yes, I believe so." Morran said in a slightly melancholic tone. He was talking about his life being taken after all.

The voice coming from the deep and Morran shared a moment of silence.

"I almost forgot to report this!" Morran suddenly said. "It seems the Irregular walks the Heaven's Path."

"Heaven's Path? I see... That is... Hm... No, that is certainly good news. He will be able to stand on his own without our help if that is so. If he doesn't loose his way, he will be able to obtain power on par with the false gods. That is good... I think..." the voice had some doubts. "As long as he doesn't stray from the path..."

"I think so too. There were two others at that battlefield. Not to mention the War God. I just hope circumstances will allow for them to become allies. I am sure the War God will be happy to, but it might take too long for them to meet." Morran responded.

"In which step is he?" the voice asked.

"It seems he is still at the first. The other two were already in the second step. I don't think it will be long before he catches up. He is the Irregular after all. The Heaven's Path suit him perfectly, as someone who does not answer to the false gods." Morran said.

"That is good. But we need him to climb to at least the third step of the Heavens. As long as he can do that, he will have the strength to stand up to everything, other than the false gods." the voice said, laughing.

"Of course, I already gave him a trial to make sure that happens." Morran said, as he laughed as well.

***

Nao was doing his best to push the Undead that were clustered in the front lines. Koba was supporting his back, while Keita and Anne were blindly attacking from above Nao's shoulders. Lia was raining fire balls to the front, cutting down the Undead numbers at a location that no ally should be and Reika was shooting arrows in a wide arc. Not only she didn't have to aim, if one of the Undead fell, it could trip others, lessening the burden to the front lines. Many other parties were doing pretty much the same thing.

Nonetheless, the Aerch Militia soldiers were being pushed back. The Undead were crashing onto them like waves.

Nao had the most difficulty. He couldn't fight with the same confidence and courage as usual. His shield was nothing more than scrap metal by now. His helmet flew away somewhere while he was fighting the Death Knight and his armor was missing the breast plate. All he could do was duck his head under the shield and stand his ground as best he could. Even that was a tall order though.

"Keita!" Koba screamed. He was about to fall.

"Anne, help Koba!" Keita shouted so his voice won't be drowned by the deafening howls of the Undead.

Anne immediately stopped what she was doing and pushed Nao's back with her own, while Koba changed his position to support Nao's shoulders. In any other situation, the two looked like they were about to kiss. Keita tried not to laugh at the scene and continued stabbing blindly.

Suddenly, the screams coming from the soldiers became even louder. Keita knew what happened even without watching.

"We are running away!"

"We are pulling back!"

"Retreat!"

The same order came from pretty much every party leader at the front lines. Those that didn't react appropriately were going to be killed.

The defensive formation that the Militia soldiers formed was just a temporary measure. The moment

one of the front line soldiers was pushed back, the whole formation would crumble. Keita and most of the party leaders knew that and were prepared to say those words the moment it happened. And that moment was now.

Keita gently pulled Nao, in case he couldn't hear him and shouted along the other party leaders. Everyone in the party reacted appropriately. Nao summoned his last bit of strength and pushed the Undead back before making an about face turn and running away. Koba was the first to run, while Keita and Anne were the rearguard. Nao dashed past them, to the front. But, no one was following.

Keita looked back while retreating. The few unfortunate party leaders that didn't retreat on time, were the first to be killed. The sea of Undead surrounded them when everyone else retreated and they were killed in a few moments. That was all it took though. Those few moments were enough for Keita and the others to put enough distance between them and the hordes of Undead. Keita looked at Anne and gestured to the front with his chin. Both of them, caught up with the rest of the party and Keita took lead.

"Where are we going?" Reika asked in a clearly panicked voice.

The closest city with sturdy walls was more than a week away. Even if the Undead slowed down because of the sun, their stamina wouldn't last. What's even worse, they left most of their supplies behind.

"For now, follow me. I will figure it out." Keita said as he run.

He took a glance to the back to see the state of the Undead army.

"W-wait... Seriously?" he said as his eyes widened.

The Undead formed a spearhead, heading towards Keita and the others, completely disregarding any other parties.

'Damn you Morran. Even in death you still are...' Keita though as he started to sweat. 'If things are like this... that's right, I don't have any choice.'

He headed straight towards team Shinning Sun.

"Kaito!" Keita shouted when he saw the man.

They were also preparing to run away.

"Keita? What the hell?" Kaito exclaimed in disbelief after witnessing the horde following Keita and the others.

"We are the bait!" Keita said. He had no time to explain anything more. If Kaito was the man Keita thought him to be, he was going to act even if he said nothing.

He passed Shinning Sun, leaving enough space between them, so they won't get in the horde's way.

"Jona." Kaito said. He was calmer now. He understood Keita's words perfectly, after he saw the distance between them.

"Are you sure? You were the one who asked me to save my mana." Jona asked.

"Yeah, just do it." Kaito answered.

Jona started casting immediately. After a small delay, a pillar made of fire appeared behind Keita's party.

'As I thought, Inferno Pillar is very effective against the Undead.' Keita thought with a smile.

The Undead calmly entered the flames. They knew no fear nor could they make their own decisions. That was their weakness. Inferno Pillar took care of a large number of Undead but there were still thousands more coming towards Keita and the others.

"Are we going back and doing the same thing?" Nao asked with a hint of excitement. His spirits were lifted, after seeing all these Undead burning to ashes.

"No, we can't. There is no way Jona still has enough mana to cast another Inferno Pillar or a Spell on the same scale." Keita said.

"So should I...?" Lia hesitantly asked.

Keita shook his head in response.

"We can't do that either. Your Inferno Pillar is too small in comparison and we need you to save your mana. Just follow me. We are getting out of here." Keita said.

"Where are we going? We are too far from a city to..." Anne said before stopping herself. She realized the direction they were headed. There were no Human cities that way. "Don't tell me... That way....?" she asked with a disgusted tone.

Keita was silent for a moment. Even he, didn't know how things were going to turn out if they went that way.

"Yeah. We are going West. To the lands of the Demons."