Zone of Undead

The hours quickly passed by after Magnus took a photo with Blaze.

Through Javelin, Magnus observed as the city of Midseer made an almost-immediate response to the situation. Combatants were deployed and special Blessings were utilised to contain the spread of Undead Energy.

A lot of things happened all at once, from the issuance of an emergency situation to the missions made to entice many to fight the ghost horde.

Just looking at the rewards made Magnus greedy, but alas, killing ghosts was not his Blessing's forte. Gravity did not work so well against the intangible.

That, and Magnus' level was far too low.

All he could do was scoop out water from the sea— his efforts would be negligible. The only ghosts he could defeat were the 2-star basic ones. That and with difficulty. He had to sacrifice a bit of his own Spirit Attributes every time.

The wailing banshees and wraiths that danced in the air were all 3-stars in strength. He could not touch those without Restiel helping out.

What more, the ghost dragons that sat at 4-stars? What could he do to their numbers?

Nothing.

As such, if he was going to act, he was going to do so in secret. After all, his trump card against the undead was a living, breathing angel.

It would be weird to have two Restiels exist, even if they were one city apart.

"Meow~"

From a ledge, Javelin watched.

He watched as a lake of black darkness ebbed and flowed. The skyscrapers of Midseer were like stalagmites rising out of the horde of ghosts. Draconic beings of a ghastly white perched upon these towers, roaring at the living beings who stood outside a translucent dome of rainbows.

They were indignant. Seeking the taste of life and yet unable to reach it.

The ghost horde had been allowed to spread out for a kilometre around. A near-perfect circle of black now lay in northern Midseer.

It was a Zone of Undead.

As dubbed by the Interstellar Trinity.

"So, how long do we have until the shield disappears?" A deep, male voice entered Javelin's ears.

"Miss Ariel said she can keep the shield up for three days." A woman replied. "We have also interviewed some of the people and their Trials span the same amount of time. Something bad is likely to happen in three days."

"Something aside from the ghost horde?" The man asked. Worry and surprise had laced his tone. "How are our combatants in Vanthos? Do you think Grekus can spare even one of them?"

"I find it unlikely, Sir. Vanthos is a gigantic Gate, and only three of them are clearing the monsters inside. A horde of monsters from Vanthos can already annihilate Midseer. Sir Grekus cannot risk much. He feels it enough that Miss Ariel has been allocated to us. We have to manage with just ourselves."

"Shit!" The man cursed. The sound of wood splintering rang out. "This is the Overflow of a 4-star Gate! It's likely at the rating of 6-stars with the sheer number of those bastards! That's more than just city-wrecking level!"

Just then,

Ring ring!

Ring ring!

"Hello?" The woman seemed to have answered a call. "Ah... Yes... yes... Thank you so much! Sir Jinter will definitely be delighted! I will tell him now... Thank you again... Yes... Goodbye."

"Sir! Good news!" The woman spoke once again.

"What is it?"

"Quarteridge Protector Farlier is coming to Midseer to lend his aid. He's bringing Thawsore Protector Repoire with him as well!"

The man audibly gasped, "Then... With three 6-star threat combatants, we can deal with the ghost horde before us. Perfect! When will they arrive?"

"They will arrive tomorrow morning, Sir!"

Javelin blinked slowly as Magnus took note of those words.

Then, with a hop and a skip, Javelin brought his paws elsewhere.

.

.

.

"Luckily the undead are truly mindless." A cheery, summertime-like voice rang in Javelin's ears. "They don't know that they can simply go under my dome to attack!"

Laughter filled the area, bringing a pocket of joy to a grim cityscape.

Javelin took a peek into the lobby of one of the many buildings around. There, he found that Miss Ariel he had heard of earlier.

She had a head of golden blonde hair and eyes of shimmering blue. She was dressed very casually, despite the heavy armour she wore.

In her hand was a glass of wine that she sipped on from time to time. All while she chatted happily with a group of underlings who all had smiles on their faces.

Whether those smiles were genuine or not, Magnus was not sure.

All that he was sure of was that this Miss Ariel was a sunny personality.

"I heard that Farlier and Repoire are coming. Is this true? What about Uppershiv's Protector? Is she busy again, buried in her books?" Ariel asked in a lighthearted tone. Her voice was like a melody.

"It is true, Madame." An aged voice replied, prim and proper, "Though I am unsure of Madame Pillia's status. I don't dare assume what such an entity is up to."

"Oooh!" Ariel hummed, "I can't wait to see their faces again. I wish Pillia could come too, but that girl is too glued to her own hobbies to care about the lives of the people. I still find it a mystery how she became a Protector..."

Ariel's voice suddenly drew into a hush, "...Though that reminds me. Please come over here. Let me tell you a secret..."

Magnus' brows scrunched up from within the Hivemind. 'A secret?'

He commanded Javelin to inch closer.

But then, just as Javelin took that step forward,

WHOOOOOM!

Javelin suddenly found himself drenched in immense heat. It was a heat that tore through his fur, his skin, his flesh.

Even his bones.

And then,

In the blink of an eye...

Javelin was reduced to ashes after a concentrated beam of rainbow-coloured light consumed his tiny form.

"M-madame!" The many underlings were shocked to see their boss suddenly act up. "Just what—"

"It's nothing." Ariel waved her hand, interrupting them, "I just felt someone spying on me. That feeling is gone now."

She then let go of the amulet that hung around her neck. Exerting an offensive power took a toll on her Spirit Energy reserves and even required a special artefact. After all, her Blessing, Rainbow of Searing Light, was a defensive-support type.

It was the opposite of Blaze's Focal Point Inferno. Her powers had to be exercised in a wide area, and it weakened the more it was focused on a singular purpose.

—Like beaming something into ashes.

.

.

.

Several blocks away. At another cheap hotel.

Rie's expression warped. She fluidly invoked,

"I am the master and maker of the Hivemind,

The mind behind minds,

The one who stands above humanity,

And the one civilizations despise."

Magnus and Klaris appeared beside her at that moment.

"...What just happened?" Rie asked, taking her eyes off of the MagiPhone's holographic display.

"Javelin had been annihilated. I don't know what happened afterwards." Magnus replied, his expression slightly grim.

"It seems like your stalking has finally met its match. Should I say, as expected of a 6-star threat? Their senses are as insane as I heard."

Magnus chuckled, as his expression eased up, "Indeed... I wonder what Spirit Technique she nurtures to have such senses."

Magnus' Soul Devourer Art was an Undead-type Spirit Technique, granting him abilities along the lines of undeath and devouring. Intuitively, he could feel that his devouring abilities would grow along with his level.

Restiel had the Stargazing Art. It was an energy-absorption type, allowing one to have a constant influx of Spirit Energy. The original Restiel probably chose this art given his weak Curse.

Klaris' Hydra Hearts Art was of the energy-storage type. Magnus and Klaris chose this Spirit Technique to multiply the latter's Spirit Energy reserves for the sake of the Hivemind.

As for Rie...

"On that note," Magnus closed his eyes as if sensing something, "What's your Spirit Technique, Rie?"

During their time in the Aosouru of the past, the original Rie hadn't mentioned anything about this.

Rie also closed her eyes, circulating her Spirit Technique based on the body's reflexes and muscle memory.

"I'm not sure... Let me cross-reference what I feel with the information on the MagiNet." She said, biting her lip.

Klaris and Magnus glanced at each other. The former shrugged and spoke up,

"Well, I'll be heading out to find more things to sell. I've had enough sleep." He said, before walking out of the hotel room and masking his face with a half-mask and hood.

"I guess I'll wait..." Magnus muttered to himself as he disappeared with a flash of light.

He had originally wanted to steal Javelin back from the Mirror World, but he had other ideas with the opened-up slot.

He was eyeing someone's memories.

Specifically,

[ Miss Samantha's memories, ]

Magnus cackled.

[ What better way to complete the Hiding Rats II Trial than to assimilate her into the Hivemind? ]

Thus,

While Rie and Klaris did their things, Magnus concocted a small plan to assimilate an actual mind into the Hivemind for the very first time.

[ I will act tomorrow morning. ]

When those Protectors are scheduled to arrive.

Surely, there will be a battle.

And, given the nature of the members of Emerald Twilight, it was likely that "Samantha Barrei" would be there too.

.

.

.

4 am next morning.

The sun had yet to rise on a new day.

Magnus stood amongst a crowd of armed Otherworlders, unbothered by the possibility that he would be hunted down as the [Gatemaker]. Those with Blessings effective against the ethereal were all gathering in one place, no matter how weak they were.

Magnus was out of place. He was looking for a green-haired woman, thinking that spotting her wouldn't be hard at all.

He was quite wrong.

With the helmets and the hoods all being worn, spotting a head of green hair seemed a lot more difficult. For all he knew, Blaze could be wearing something on her head as well.

"I should have asked for her contact number..." Magnus muttered to himself.

If only he had thought far enough.

Unfortunately for him, he was the more spontaneous type. Plans would come when needed, but he would never plan too far ahead.

After all, what thrills could there be if everything went according to what he wished for? It was much more fun to leave many things in the dark.

Thus, Magnus wandered closer to the Zone of Undead.

The howls and screams of the ghosts just inches away from him were resounding throughout his body. He could feel their wails in his bones. His heart literally shook from the roars of the dragons overhead.

The only thing stopping them from wreaking havoc was the dome of rainbow-coloured light made personally by the Protector of Midseer.

After three hours of lingering about and searching, he arrived at the southern base set up by the Interstellar Trinity overnight.

It was here that Magnus finally spotted a familiar face.

But it wasn't the face he was looking for.

"Heh," A small smirk blossomed upon Magnus' lips. "It's those three again. The others must be nearby."