Hero's Coffin Chapter 13

Chapter 13

At first, he was startled, thinking the shout was a scream, but it was repeated several times. It even sounded quite irritable, and just as he was beginning to wonder, Kalterik returned, panting.

"It's not here! You bastard, did you lie to get revenge on me?!"

His approach, pointing accusingly, was very threatening, but rather than cowering, he just felt bewildered. He had only told them in which direction the core was located and mentioned any peculiar landmarks that could serve as guides. The knights had divided the locations among themselves and dispersed on their own.

"How was I supposed to know you'd take the 12 o'clock direction?"

"You little—!"

"Kalterik. Don't pick unnecessary fights."

Mela, who had returned quickly, sighed. Harenir, who had gone to the farthest location, hadn't returned yet.

Still, Mela seemed to have gained some trust in his information and suggested they check the 12 o'clock direction together again. Even Noi seemed to view him a bit differently and said casually,

"Sir Kalterik is rather hasty, so he might have really missed Isaph's clue..."

"What? Even you, Noi!"

He was pleased by the situation where it seemed he had gained more allies. Yes, even if Isaph's infamy was at Lv.999, they couldn't deny his abilities. After all, that reputation itself must have been built on tremendous necromancy skills. Why, even dark guilds are avoided as ominous, but their quest success rate is still acknowledged as 100%, right?

Yes, yes. Now I might even receive trust from my companions and perhaps even special treatment...

"...It really isn't here."

However, at the scene they arrived at, it was his expectations that shattered instead of finding a core. He blinked blankly. The 12 o'clock direction Kalterik had headed towards had more distinct features than the places the other knights had gone. Two tree trunks were strangely intertwined, and there was a clearing around them, so it couldn't have been mistaken.

But the area in front of the trees was empty. As he looked around in confusion, Kalterik exploded in anger.

"This bastard really is trying to screw us over!"

"If we can't destroy the core, I'd be screwed too, wouldn't I? I definitely saw it here..."

At his rebuttal, Kalterik seemed to lose his words and shut his mouth. Regardless, he frantically turned his head. He had clearly seen the ominous crystal at this location through the souls' vision, so why...

Rustle—

At that moment, along with a faint sound from behind, the hair on the back of his neck stood up.

"Ah."

A chilling realization struck his brain like lightning. The blood drained from his face at the sudden shock, and a terrible tension gripped his entire body. Until now, everything he had seen through the souls matched the actual landscape, but there was a difference in just one place. The truth this pointed to was singular.

"...The core moved."

Whoosh! Something flew towards them. The ferocity was so intense that he instinctively dodged. Bang! The object that had barely grazed right past him collided with a tree, spreading a thick smoke.

Kalterik and Mela raised their swords, on guard. A being that could move the core, and aggressively charge at the group in the Encroachment Zone...

[Kihihihi.]

The moment he directly faced the figure that appeared from the smoke, his skin crawled. It had a human form, but its imposing build was at least twice the size of a well-built adult male. Above all, the fact that all the colors making up its body were 'black and white' evoked a sense of rejection stemming from the dissonance. Its clothes, which looked like armor, were purely black, as if carved from the crystals they had been destroying until now.

Its arms were abnormally thick, and its four long fingers were stretched out sharply, looking like weapons in themselves. Its legs were relatively thin, but its feet were large, with the same number of toes as fingers. Its mouth was stretched up to its cheekbones in a ghastly grin, adding to its eeriness.

Moreover, the most distinctive feature was the horn protruding from the center of its forehead.

"D-Dium..."

Though it was the first living creature he had seen, it was, as predicted, a monster from the Encroachment Zone. The Dium, the being that had brought catastrophe to the world over 20 years ago.

Noi trembled and exclaimed in shock.

"How could this be... It's impossible..."

His reaction didn't deviate one bit from his prediction. If he had guessed the flag this accurately, shouldn't he be given some possession experience points? To commemorate leveling up, they should unlock a hidden skill or at least award some points.

Then, using those points to increase stats like health, wisdom, or attack power—isn't that the typical structure of game possession stories? Why was there still no change!

What a terrible game, as always.

He looked around the scene indifferently. Though surprised by the Dium's appearance, he had predicted this situation itself, so he calmed down relatively quickly. In contrast, everyone else was frozen stiff, unable to even breathe.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to eliminate it?"

Finally, when he casually threw out a comment, everyone flinched. It was fortunate that the Dium was just staring, as if assessing the combat power of those present, creating a gap; otherwise, things would have already gone awry.

"Damn it. They were definitely all gone... How the hell..."

Kalterik ground out a curse. His face contorted for a moment, then he stepped forward, swinging his sword so fiercely that it created a whooshing sound.

"Fine! I guess a runt managed to hide and barely survive! Now I'll kill you perfectly again!"

"If it's one with a single horn..."

Mela also stepped forward, holding her rapier vertically. The two charged forward almost simultaneously, strongly enveloping their bodies in holy power. While Mela thrust sharply, Kalterik attacked as if crushing heavily.

[Grr, aaaaargh!]

Attacks rained down on the Dium without giving it a chance. The Dium couldn't properly respond to Mela's quick movements, and just as it barely adapted and tried to counterattack, Kalterik's greatsword flew heavily. He couldn't help but admire their perfect coordination.

Whoosh! However, just as Mela and Kalterik's attacks were about to pour in from both sides simultaneously, the Dium leaped upwards. Ah, it dodges at the last hit. While he was feeling disappointed, the two knights quickly dashed after identifying where the Dium would land.

But the two knights chasing the Dium stopped abruptly with a start. The Dium had fallen closer than expected...

"It's not just one..."

Noi sighed in dismay. Diums rushed out of the forest in droves. He was surprised to see that there were easily thirty of them, but there was no fear on the knights' faces. They were just taken aback by the fact that more Diums were alive than expected, and even Noi didn't seem worried about them.

Well, they had just easily overwhelmed the one-horned one, treating it like a small fry, so it should be fine. As he was vaguely optimistic, he soon saw Kalterik stumbling backwards.

Kalterik muttered in disbelief as he withdrew his threatening greatsword.

"P-people...?"

Several humans appeared from the forest along with the Diums. They walked unsteadily, constantly looking around with cloudy white pupils, and wildly swinging their arms, looking very much like zombies. But even more shocking than that was the fact that their entire bodies were in black and white.

They looked just like contaminated beings from the Encroachment Zone.

Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to the clothes they were wearing. On the tattered clothes of the man standing at the front, there were traces of other fabric patched on.

'I think that uncle was wearing an orange work uniform. Even though it was old and worn, he didn't throw it away, but kept wearing it after his wife mended it...'

He vaguely remembered hearing such a story a few hours ago when gathering information about the missing persons in the village. Even though he had overheard it from a distance, that voice suddenly came to mind. Although the color had faded and was indistinguishable, the traces of other fabric patched onto the work uniform were unmistakable.

Noi, who had spoken with that villager, sighed painfully.

"The missing persons...?"

Did staying in the Encroachment Zone for a long time turn them into colorless zombies like that? No, perhaps they turned out like that if killed by a Dium. That must be why the time when they ran rampant was called the 'Great Catastrophe'.

[Grrrrrr!]

The zombies charged forward, making strange noises. The way they twisted their bodies oddly and thrust their arms forward as they rushed was quite threatening. But the ones facing them, Mela and Kalterik, were knights. Knights skilled enough to serve as vice-commanders of the Holy Knight Order.

However, no, because of that, hesitation tainted the knights' swords. Though the villagers were already dead, they seemed unable to bring themselves to cut them down and stepped back hesitantly. Whoosh! Kalterik swung his greatsword widely, but even that only pushed them back with the flat side.

Attempts to knock out the zombies didn't work either. Even when struck on the back of the neck, they quickly got up again, or even crawled to cling to the knights. The Diums fiercely pushed through the gaps that were gradually forming. The knights were blocking well, but just as it started to feel dangerous—

Crack, cra-cra-crack—

Suddenly, the ground shook. As he was about to fall, staggering from this completely unexpected anomaly, tree trunks suddenly shot up from the ground. Barely avoiding falling flat by grabbing onto one, he looked around in a daze. About ten trunks had sprung up, creating a prison that engulfed the Diums and zombies.

Those trunks contained a vibrant 'color'. Like new buds that had just sprouted from the ground, trees full of vitality. The light brown trunks and the glimpses of light green leaves between them were incredibly fresh. He immediately turned his head to look for the being that came to mind.

Around Noi, who had his hand on the ground, a green light was rising like a heat haze.

"Quickly find the core and destroy it!"