025. Merry Christmas! -4

**

Blood splattered around; flesh got sliced apart. Farming tools were used in hacking away at the moving corpses.

Charlotte and Gril were participating in the battle near the outer walls alongside the other villagers.

The groups of soldiers and convicts got into a messy tangle with the undeads. However, not a single one of them displayed signs of fear. Their roller-coaster of emotions controlled by the atmosphere were enough to drive away the terror in their hearts.

Charlotte and Gril had been supplying equipment to those in need until early dawn, and that was why they happened to be near the outer walls.

After grabbing a nearby farming tool with his fellow villagers, they began hacking away at the undead that managed to get past the destroyed outer walls and the soldiers defending it.

"You bastards! You bastards! You bastardssss!!!"

After hacking down at the fallen undead, Gril continued swinging his farming tool at the horde of zombies approaching him.

"Haha! Hahaha!"

As a matter of fact, he even had a smile on his face.

Soldiers were roaring out in the ecstasy of victory even in the middle of the battle. Gril was affected by this atmosphere and seemed to have forgotten all about the undead's terror.

While delivering various equipment, Charlotte glanced at the wagon filled with steel shields and swords. Just before she could reach out and grab one though, Gril called out to her.

"Charlotte! It's dangerous, so stay behind me! I'll protect you!"

After accepting her as his adopted daughter, Gril became extremely protective of her. It wasn't just because of the weight of responsibility he now felt, but also because he treated her like his real daughter, that's why.

Charlotte could only smile wryly at him.

The way Gril fought against the zombie horde looked really amateurish. She prayed that he wouldn't force his body too much and hurt himself trying to 'protect' her.

"It's the Vampire...!"

"Protect His Highness the Imperial Prince!"

Charlotte reacted immediately when she heard the words 'Imperial Prince'. Her gaze quickly shifted to the distance and took in the sight of a giant entering the outer walls while crushing the soldiers fighting over there.

Its hulking physique was well over three metres tall. Demonic energy poured out from its hands and by using that, the monster rowed past the crowd of soldiers before it.

- So that's where you've been hiding, you accursed Priest! I shall repay you for the humiliation I suffered!

The Vampire roared as it looked at someone. Its expression was hideously contorted out of sheer rage. Using its tall height, the monster discovered the whereabouts of the 'Imperial Prince'.

"You Vampire...!!"

A man's enraged voice could be heard next.

Paladin Harman stood before the Vampire to fight it. His divinity-cloaked sword clashed noisily against the hand enveloped in crimson demonic energy.

The two opposing forces collided, creating a powerful explosion.

Harman was flung away from the impact and crashed into the outer wall. He groaned in pain but even then, his eyes never left the Vampire. He gritted his teeth and tenaciously resumed his attack.

His sword, brimming full with divinity, cleaved a portion of the Vampire's leg flesh. The monster wobbled unsteadily before glaring at Harman.

- You bastard...! What are all of you doing?! Take care of this pest!

The Vampire's roar caused dozens of dullahans to break through the ranks of soldiers and appear near their future king.

The headless knights filled with spear, sword, and even arrow wounds attacked and tied Harman down on the spot. He quickly looked around the surroundings. "Viscount Jenald!"

Jenald, while flailing about breathlessly among the zombie horde, heard the Paladin's call. He responded by turning his exhausted body towards the latter.

"His highness is in danger!"

Only then did the viscount sense the urgency of the situation and looked around as well. The Vampire was clearly targeting someone by breaking through the army to get somewhere.

"Knights, protect the Imperial Prince!"

The feudal lord's cry prompted the knights to quickly make their move. They shoved aside the undead around them and urgently rushed towards the Vampire. However...

- You lowly insects dare to...!

The Vampire Count suddenly sucked in a deep breath. Its neck and cheeks ballooned up like a bullfrog's.

The swell of crimson demonic energy could be seen through its thick hide before the monster spat it out. The breath of death enveloped the knights, soldiers, and convicts below it.

- Fu-wooooo...!

Their bodies instantly began rotting away. But then, the dead men instantly rose back up as an undead and howled out loudly.

The Vampire Count watched all of this happen and began guffawing grandly while grabbing its stomach.

Only two things remained on the path it treads on – become either the meat paste of human remains, or an undead that would serve the creature.

Just as the Vampire expressed satisfaction over its own creations, a bullet containing divinity flew into the creature. The barrier made out of demonic energy shattered into fine pieces and scattered everywhere.

The Vampire's grin was wiped off in an instant. It recalled the horrifying wound inflicted upon it a couple of days ago as it quickly turned its head towards the source of the bullet.

- …You bastard!

A Priest carrying a musket rifle was busy running deeper into the fortress's interior. And as if to protect him, groups of knights formed a cordon around the Vampire.

They secured huge steel shields on the ground and raised their spears.

"This is as far as you go, Vampire!"

- What a humorous bunch of fools!

The Vampire Count quickly made its move.

It didn't need to worry about these small fries after all. However, that particular Priest was another story. That human was capable of firing a divinity projectile which was capable of smashing through the protective barrier made out of demonic energy.

Leaving him alone was simply too dangerous!

The Vampire then threw its hefty frame forward. It stomped past the knights blocking its path, and with ungainly steps, ran towards where the Imperial Prince was.

Charlotte, who was watching the proceedings from afar, gritted her teeth.

The Imperial Prince in danger. She unhesitantly picked up a shield and a sword resting on the wagon.

"C-Charlotte??"

As Gril watched her rush into the alleyway, he alternated his flustered gaze between her distancing back and the outer wall. Before long though, he was chasing after her, the farming tool still tightly gripped his hands.

**

(TL: Back to 1st person POV.)

"Y-your highness, you need to escape!"

Knights shouted out as they stood before the vampire.

The hulking monster continued to come after me, its eyes gleaming in madness.

Holy sh*t, that's terrifying!

I slung the rifle on my shoulder and hurriedly ran deeper into the fortress. But I didn't forget to sneak a glance behind me though.

Another huge explosion ensued and knights were flung into the air. They were crushed by the Vampire's feet, and their heads were ripped off after getting ensnared by its huge hands.

Those dead knights with intact heads invariably stood back up as zombies and scattered in all directions. What a horrifying scene straight out of a horror movie that was.

"That'll be my fate if I get caught, huh..."

Still, running with such a huge body would be a bit too much, right? If I focused on moving through narrow alleyways, I should be able to lose the damn thing.

Not only that, defeating ten thousand undead should become a much easier job with the vampire leaving the destroyed outer wall. As long as I succeeded in luring away their commander, our side should emerge victorious.

After quickly entering a narrow alleyway, I then took a look behind me.

"...Son of a b*tch!"

The Vampire Count continued chasing after me by destroying the houses on either side. Its hefty physique acted like a bulldozer as it mowed down everything blocking its path, all just to get closer to me.

I thought the damn thing wouldn't be able to advance that fast, but then, it was closing the distance at a considerable speed all thanks to its long gaits.

Blood was staining all parts of its muscular body. What a horrible looking monster it was.

"Oh dear Gaia. Grant me the strength to pierce the..."

I brought the rifle near my lips and breathed into it while offering my prayer. But then, my entire back suddenly felt a creepy chill. I turned my head back only to discover the roof of a house flying in my direction.

"Oh, shi..."

I reflexively leapt into the alley next to mine.

The spot I was in only a moment ago was swept away by the roof crashing down. The entrance of the alleyway was now blocked by the debris.

I raised my head to look around. My eyes caught the sight of a hand grabbing the corner house of the alleyway before a huge head abruptly peeked out from around it. A disgusting smirk was etched on its chubby cheeks.

- You rat-like bastard!

…And you're a stinking monster, dude.

I hurriedly scrambled back up and started running again.

It seemed that the enemy was rather sensitive towards 'divinity'. Well, it did fling a whole roof in my way as soon as I tried praying to gather more divinity, so this hypothesis could very well be true.

Creating a bullet by gathering divinity would take at least one minute, and if I were to add the praying bit on top, then I'd need another 30 seconds, too.

Trying to attack it even once this way would probably result in me getting killed instead.

I didn't really have much of a choice here. Now that things have gotten to this stage, I might as well run around and waste time until a rescue party shows up...

It was then, a huge shadow was suddenly cast down on me.

- I shall turn you into dust!

The vampire was floating in the air. It spread its arms wide open and was sucking in a deep breath.

That thing... could fly?

Hang on, isn't that... what I saw just now? That 'breath' thing?

My complexion turned deathly pale. Even I had no way of defending against that.

- Become an undead!

The breath of death shot out from the vampire's mouth.

Its crimson breath, eerily similar to huge swelling flames, crashed into the alleyway and left me with no immediate escape route.

It was then, someone suddenly dashed out from behind me.

The figure pushed me down by my shoulders, and then stepped in front of me while raising a humongous steel shield that was far bigger than her slender physique.

"...Charlotte?!"

Her eyes were as scary as that of a venomous snake's.

She planted her feet on the ground as firmly as she could. Her actions caused the ground below her to cave in. After she stabbed the sword down, both of her hands grabbed the shield's handle, securing her grip on it. Her slender arms were now bulging with thick veins.

"Uwa-aaaahk!"

Gril popped out from the alleyway before I even noticed him, then quickly supported the shield along with Charlotte. Once I saw what they were doing, I reflexively supported them from behind as well.

Right then, the breath of death smashed into the steel shield.

The weighty impact of the strike forced all of us to slide back. From the tips of our fingers, our bodies began rotting away little by little.

"Wuu-wuuk...!"

Charlotte and Gril shut their mouths in agony.

We couldn't defend against this attack like this. I even sensed that the shield was beginning to melt down.

In that case...!

I reached out and touched the shield. "Give it your all and push back!"

[Divine Aura has been activated.]

[Equipment will temporarily be reinforced.]

A blood vein-like symbol appeared on the shield as divinity began swirling within.

Just reinforcing equipment? No, this alone wasn't going to cut it!

"Oh Gaia...!"

Charlotte's, Gril's, and even my hand, were rotting away.

"Grant me your power to protect these poor lambs..."

More divinity poured out and permeated into all of our bodies. Our flesh repeated the pattern of rotting away before fully regenerating.

"Grant us your love and mercy, and lead your flock to light."

More divinity gathered with these words.

On the other hand, it also felt like divinity inside my body was rapidly drying up.

"With your power, grant us a shield strong enough to protect us against the undead."

The huge shield started developing large cracks.

"Your faithful servant, Allen Olfolse, offers this prayer!"

The shield eventually shattered. But at the same time, another shield created out of divinity replaced it.

Two opposing forces – divinity and demonic energy – collided against each other.

The Vampire Count still spitting out the breath of death witnessed this event and its brows shot up much, much higher.

- N-no, it mustn't...!!!

A humongous explosion resounded out.

Every single structure nearby was forced back before exploding into millions of pieces.

The vampire's mouth, used to spit out its breath of death, was viciously ripped apart by the blast. Its demonic energy barrier shattered too as its hefty figure crashed down to the ground below.

The once-narrow alleyway had now resembled a wide-open field.

"..."

The sacred shield protecting the three of us couldn't endure anymore and shattered while dissipating into light particles.

I no longer had any energy left in my legs. Before I fell down, Charlotte with wide open eyes hurriedly propped me up first.

"Are you alright?"

Of course not...

Right now, I didn't even have enough energy to stand up straight. Not only that, it felt like all of my bones had turned into powder, too.

I glanced to my side and discovered that Gril had passed out on the ground. Oh, how envious I felt just then; wishing I could just collapse and pass out like that, but...

- Ah... Ahhh, aaahk!!

…But the Vampire Count was still alive.

Various parts of its body were ballooning up as if boils were growing on it. Those 'growths' then began rupturing noisily next. While screaming in agony from the holy flames burning it, the Vampire desperately rolled around on the ground.

"Holy water..."

I barely managed to summon a bottle of holy water from my item window. However, I didn't even have enough energy to hold it and ended up dropping it on the ground. Charlotte picked the bottle up and cautiously tipped it against my lips.

And that's how I got to drink my stash of holy water.

My body recovered to a certain extent after that, allowing me to move again. However, my current divinity reserve was still empty.

Even if I prayed, I wouldn't be able to use any skills whatsoever. It'd be a prudent idea to run away from this place before that damn vampire recovered itself.

To be honest, I'd much prefer if soldiers showed up and lent us some help right about now. I mean, this would be the most optimal time to kill that vampire, what with its current condition and all.

"Let's retreat for now. At this rate, things will get dange..."

I took a step back while saying this, before sensing my foot touch something.

A weird emotion flooded my mind as I stared at a certain 'skull' rolling around on the ground next to me. It was the skull of a mountain goat, a type of animal that always seemed to be used as a symbol of the devil. It was so big that one could probably wear it like a full-face helmet.

It was also the item the vampire wore like a necklace too.

But why was it here...? Did it land here due to the explosion?

I continued getting this strange hunch from it. Even I could tell that it wasn't just an ordinary skull.

"Is it a... magical item or something?"

I used [Mind's Eye] on it. Regular items wouldn't show any response with this skill, but what if it was a magical item instead?

[Necromancer King Amon's skull.

Abilities: Depending on the user's standard, demonic energy is amplified by between the minimum of 20% to a maximum of 200%, plus the addition of a 10% recovery effect. All abilities related to demonic energy will increase by 10%.]

The results were in.

And I became utterly speechless by what I saw.

This thing amplifies demonic energy by 20 to 200%?! Alongside 10% recovery? Not only that, all skills and abilities improved by 10% too?

What a legendary-class item this was.

Hang on, demonic energy was it? Did that mean I couldn't use it?

For some reason though, I didn't feel any rejection from this item, despite it being supposed to be operated only on demonic energy.

I cautiously pushed Charlotte away, and as if in a trance, picked the skull up. The remaining divinity in me was smaller than a rat's tail. Even if I roused it up by giving it my all, I still wouldn't be able to use a single skill.

Instead, I activated [Divine Aura] and reinforced Amon's Skull.

[Equipment will temporarily be reinforced.]

[Temporarily reinforced Necromancer Amon's Skull.

Abilities: Depending on the user's standard, demonic energy amplified by between the minimum of 40% to a maximum of 400%, plus the addition of a 20% recovery effect. All abilities related to demonic energy will increase by 15%. Possible to summon the Armour of the Dead Souls.]

An exclamation left my lips all on its own.

I began stroking the skull of the Necromancer King. Maybe because of [Divine Aura], I had the feeling that I knew how to use this item, too.

There was a type of 'activation code' for this thing.

My body moved instinctively as I placed the skull of the mountain goat on my head. I bowed slightly.

"I am the legion," said I as my eyes locked on the Vampire Count while it was ungainly standing back up. "...And I am Gaia's inheritor."

< 025. Merry Christmas! -4 > Fin.