City Of The Dead

"Wounds caused by daemons always leave marks."

Felix spoke these words as I examined the scars I got on my right shoulder and chest.

The one on my chest was stretched vertically over my sternum. I gingerly touched it, feeling the scar tissue.

Pretty nasty, I must say.

But as long as my face is fine, I don't care if my entire body is riddled with scars.

No scars on this beautiful face, I tell you!

Felix waited as I put on my Deathwalker uniform which had automatically mended itself.

After Merlin had left me, I stayed in the ward for another day before the healers looked me up and deemed that I was well enough to function. Felix came to pick me up afterward.

Althea is among the busiest places in the Shield. As soon as I got up from my bed, staff members quickly changed the sheets and brought in an injured Deathwalker, a girl of about 17 years who was gritting her teeth and had an expression of intense pain.

She had lost both of her legs.

Using my genius intellect and experience I guess her legs were sliced clean off in a single swing, probably by a greatsword. And it happened just recently.

The stumps are wrapped in bandages that are slowly turning red from her blood. Emergency treatment, I presume.

"Not again.", she muttered through clenched teeth.

Interesting. This is not her first time losing limbs. No wonder she isn't screaming.

Felix noticed me looking at the girl and the Althea staff trying to make her comfortable.

"She'll be here until the Scavengers find her legs.", he said.

"How long does that take?", I glanced at him.

He shrugged, "Depends on how the battle went."

He looked at the girl and then around the ward, taking in the steady stream of Deathwalkers being brought inside.

"Seems like today is one of those good days."

I narrowed my eyes, "What constitutes a good day in Blood Valley?"

He turned to me, "The battle you fought was called a good day."

"Oh."

What felt like a block of ice plummeted into my stomach. All that devastation and death was a good day?

I don't even want to know what constitutes the worst day.

Ah. My self-confidence. Why art thou running away from me?

"To get the bloody hell out of this fucked up situation!", spoke my self-confidence, flashing me a rude gesture.

Felix noticed my hopeless expression, "Shall we get out for some fresh air? I'll even show you the interior of the Shield, Necropolis."

"The city of the dead?", I asked in an uneasy voice.

"Uhuh.", he nodded proudly, "A fitting name for a city of Deathwalkers, don't you think?"

"Very fitting."

I sighed, "Very well. Let's go."

Anyplace is better than this.

I looked back at the general ward of Althea. My eyes fell on the many Deathwalkers lying on beds, Althea's staff and healers walking to each patient.

I will be frequenting this place in the future. Better get used to this sight.

"This place reeks of blood.", I muttered and left with Felix.

*******

I did not expect this.

After leaving Althea, which occupies ten whole floors, Felix and I walked along a corridor slightly larger than the ones of the Dawn Palace.

It is painted glossy white and has light panels embedded in the ceiling. Apart from those, there are no noticeable features except for the continuous glowing blue strip and the security cameras placed in certain intervals.

We passed many Deathwalkers along our way, they nodded to Felix and some even greeted him.

I am not surprised. Felix is a two-year veteran in the Shield and is well known. He even has some fans, judging by some of the interactions.

I received mostly curious looks and whispers as I walked away. It doesn't take a genius to guess what they are whispering about.

But I am not concerned about that. I already have a terrible reputation. How worse can it get?

"Hey. Isn't that the Failed Prince?"

"Yeah. I heard he is still using his pacifier."

"And I heard he is a very randy person."

"Oh my. At such a young age?"

These whispers floated into my ears.

Okay. My reputation is much worse.

Alright then. These guys are dying by my hands.

Felix noticed my murderous expression and chuckled.

"Just don't take them seriously."

"Why? Those guys are insulting me!", I demanded.

He held up two fingers, "There are two reasons, Mordred. One, you are far weaker than those guys and you will likely experience a tremendous ass-whooping from them. Currently, you are the weakest Deathwalker in Necropolis."

Ouch. Sometimes the truth is painful.

"And two, Deathwalkers spread the wildest stories to pass the time. Most of them are faker than Merlin's smile."

I was so impressed by the comparison that I forgot I was mad, "That is a good one."

Felix grinned, "I know right?"

Speaking of Merlin, "Has she left?", I asked. He nodded.

"Yep. She left as soon as she saw that you were okay."

He looked at me, "She may be a carefree and nonchalant person. But she was worried about you."

I scoffed, "No way!"

Merlin? Worried about me? I'll believe that when pigs fly!

Hm. Now I wonder if there are any flying pigs in this world.

The corridor soon opened up and what I saw took my breath away.

We arrived at a huge balcony on what is probably the sixteenth floor. It stretched on both sides and had many arched entrances to corridors similar to the one we just exited.

Balconies like the one we are standing on extend out of the inner walls into many floors and over to the ceiling.

The ceiling comprises special panels that mimic the sky outside, complete with the real-time movement of the sun and clouds. Glass walkways chaotically spanned between the balconies.

I looked below the glass railing and gasped.

A few floors below me is a vast plaza with different establishments built along the sides. The floor is made up of what appears to be white marble.

Numerous different designs made of colored tiles and even colored glass stood out on the floor like beautiful paintings on a white canvas.

I saw a beautiful eagle made of golden and amber tiles, a silver lion made up of, well, silver tiles, and mythical creatures like a phoenix made of red, golden, and orange tiles and I swear its eye is a ruby the size of my fist.

Entrances to different corridors opened along the glossy white walls of the inside, some are even located between two stores. They probably led to other areas in the Shield.

Speaking of stores.

They are spread out on the plaza for basically anything that can be found in a small city. I saw cafes, one or two restaurants, a major clothes store, a huge store for ardor items, and different weapons stores that displayed a variety of weapons.

I saw what looked like a theatre, a book store, a library, and a huge store for all kinds of electronics, smartphones, laptops, washing machines, and so on.

There is even a video game store where you can rent a gaming system and play any game available.

At the center of the plaza is a giant tree with a very wide trunk, the top of which reaches the tenth floor. A beautiful white fountain placed in front of the tree created different shapes with the water coming out of the top.

The biggest design on the floor, a draconian serpent biting its tail made from tiles of the purest black surrounded the tree and the fountain. The symbol of the Pendragons.

I gulped. This place is amazing and has everything that is needed to make your life comfortable. This is not what I imagined the inside of the Shield to be.

It is more of a mini underground city than the inside of a fortress. It looked impossible. How can such a vast place be found inside the confines of a bloody wall?

Felix smiled at my dumbfounded expression. With a hint of pride, he held out his hand at the Plaza, "This is Necropolis, the city of the dead. The central plaza down there is just a small part of the whole thing. Pretty incredible, isn't it? "

"Very.", I nodded and looked at him with an expression of awe and confusion, "How-"

"How can such a large complex be built inside the Shield?", he finished my question.

I nodded, "Yeah. Isn't the Shield only a hundred meters thick? I mean, that is quite big but there is no way it will be able to accommodate a literal underground city."

Felix nodded, "You're right, Mordred. The answer is clever ardor engineering."

He walked to the wall behind us and touched the blue strip. As soon as he did, a portion of the strip turned into a string of peculiar characters that glowed blue.

"Runes.", I said, recognizing them from the books the previous Mordred read. To put it simply, They are the language of ardor.

Every code and enchantment is created with runes. They are essentially the fundamental units to access the power of ardor.

"Yep.", Felix removed his finger and the characters faded into the blue strip.

"The interior of the Shield is enchanted with powerful Locus runes, warping space and making it bigger inside."

He gave me an amused look, "Do you seriously think the Shield can hold this many Deathwalkers if the interior was made the usual way?"

I shook my head. He is right. There is no way a hundred meters will be able to accommodate every Deathwalker of the Shield.

And there are a lot of them.

Deathwalkers milled about the central plaza like in any busy city, all of them wearing the Deathwalker uniform. I noticed that uniforms can be customized to the wearer's preference, as long as the basic design is not changed.

Will I be able to customize my uniform in the future? Well, assuming I survive the coming future.

Ah. My gloominess has come back.

I looked at the Deathwalkers walking around in the plaza. Most are in their late teens and early twenties with only a few who are older.

Many walked with their friends while a few individuals sat on the benches placed in the plaza and read books or were hunched over their smart devices.

Many more walked past me and crossed to the other balconies by the walkways.

The different shops along the plaza are brimming with Deathwalkers. A young woman with pink hair is checking out a wicked-looking scythe while her friend, maybe, is telling her about something.

The restaurants were packed with Deathwalkers as it was lunch time and many flocked to the cafes.

I noticed that the mood in Necropolis is completely different from the battlefield. I don't see any of the dread felt on the battlefield. Instead, I saw a whole range of emotions around me.

A group of young men relaxed at the foot of the tree, laughing and joking around. On the other side of the tree, I saw another group of Deathwalkers who looked to be in grief.

Looks like someone from their group had died today.

On the other side of the plaza, a crowd has formed around a guy and a girl in their late teens who seem to be having a spar or perhaps even a fight.

Judging by the profanity flowing out of the girl's mouth. I guess it's the latter.

Don't ask me how I was able to hear that when I am sixteen stories up. My ears are somehow sensitive to curse words and I am not proud of it.

I was amazed by what I saw. Everything here is so chaotic but most important of all.

"Everyone is so carefree. This is totally different from the battlefield.", I spoke aloud.

Felix nodded and crossed his arms, "I know right? The human mind is so incredible at coping with stress. Perhaps Necropolis is a place where a Deathwalker can retain their sanity."

He then looked at me with a maniacal grin.

"Or perhaps all of us are already cracked."