"Well, that's a problem."
"Is that so? Can you believe I didn't notice?" Dito responded sarcastically.
"Hey! Virgin Knight, tear down the barricade!" Zero demanded, pointing forward with her sword.
"What makes you think I can do it?" I asked.
"I don't know! Why don't you take another giant weapon out of that bag of yours or use your strange magic to clear the way?" Zero replied with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot impatiently.
I sighed irritably; apparently, Zero's good mood only lasts until the first inconvenience she encounters along the way.
We saw Four's fortress on top of a mountain in the distance, but to get there we would need to cross a long dark stone bridge suspended over an abyss.
The problem? The bridge was heavily fortified with barricades made up of wooden stakes, gigantic metal shields, and a large iron gate behind it.
How the hell does Zero expect me to deal with this? Looking to the side, I saw Zero and Dito staring at me impatiently. Sighing again, I approached the barricade with Eupherbia following me.
"Wow! Traveling with these two is a pain! They expect you to do all the heavy lifting!" Eupherbia exclaimed beside me.
"That's one disadvantage of having a wide variety of skills, people expect you to have the solution to every problem." I responded, pulling out my catalyst and conjuring a flame at its tip.
"I'm glad no one expects anything from me, being just one in the crowd has its advantages."
"I don't think a fairy would go unnoticed in a crowd." I laughed.
Concentrating. I dimmed the flame at the tip of my catalyst, accumulating all of its power in a single point, making the flame change to a blue hue.
"You know what I meant. Changing the subject, do you need help?" Eupherbia asked, looking curiously at what I was doing.
"Well, if melting the metal isn't too much for you, a little help would be appreciated."
"Hump! You can count on me! A little bit of rusty metal is nothing to the great Eupherbia!" The fairy responded, raising her nose, and placing a thumb on her puffed chest.
"Well then what is the great Eupherbia waiting for? Let's get to work!" I laughed, touching the first large shield with the flame on my catalyst, turning the metal orange and causing sparks to fly to the sides.
"Right!" Eupherbia spoke, concentrating her magic in her hands and firing a magic beam right after, melting the metal faster.
It was a peaceful few minutes, but that peace ended as soon as I heard a familiar set of footsteps.
"What do you want Zero?" I asked without taking my eyes off my work.
"How did you know it was me?" Zero asked.
"Who else besides our little group is around at the moment? Besides, I've gotten used to your step pattern; I know in advance when you're approaching."
"Creepy." Zero said disconcertedly.
"But useful. Careful, slow, and heavy steps usually belong to knights due to their training and equipment weight, hurried and out-of-rhythm steps belong to poorly trained soldiers, light and almost inaudible steps belong to merciless assassins, and so on…"
"How do you know that?"
"Let's say that some time ago; I had to choose which enemies I could fight directly, which ones I should ambush, and which ones I should avoid. Learning the noises your enemy makes is a good way to know what you're dealing with without seeing it."
"Well, that's…"
"Listen, I'm loving our little lesson on combat, but could you guys hurry up? It's getting colder and colder!" Dito complained, chattering his teeth audibly.
"Hm… The blizzard will arrive soon… I will see what I can do, but it will take some time."
"Oh! Let me help!"
A familiar childish voice shouted. Looking up, we saw Mikhail diving towards the bridge with flames coming out of his mouth.
"No!" The Black Dragon spoke, flying after Mikhail.
"Mikhail wait!" I screamed.
"Don't even think about it, you idiot!" Zero exclaimed.
"Son of…"
Dito didn't get to finish his insult, as Mikhail spat a gigantic fireball towards the barricade, and we were in the way.
With a cacophony of frightened screams, we ran away from the barricade, jumping as soon as we heard the explosion behind us.
I threw myself to the ground, holding Eupherbia in one hand, and using the other to hold up my shield, protecting both of us from the flaming debris.
I heard the cracks of the barricade's flaming fragments colliding against my shield, and then everything went silent, I waited a few seconds, preparing myself for something else, but when nothing happened, I stood up, placing my shield on my back and released Eupherbia.
"That stupid dragon! He almost burned us alive!" Eupherbia shouted, looking up for Mikhail.
"Cough! Cough! I'll rip his scales off when he lands!" Zero exclaimed, stepping out of the smoke cloud left by the explosion, waving her hand to dispel the smoke.
"You can count on me to help you!" Dito spoke soon after, crawling out of a pile of debris.
Looking at the two, I noticed that their clothes were slightly burned and torn; their hair and face were also covered in soot.
"If you are done complaining, I suggest we move on, despite his hasty action, Mikhail cleared our path." I spoke to the two, pointing to the path ahead.
"Tisk! Fuck it!" Zero muttered, walking with hurried steps.
"Hey! Can someone help me here?" Dito said face down on the ground.
Sighing, I approached the disciple and grabbed him by the back of his shirt, pulling him to his feet.
"Thanks." Ditto muttered painfully.
"Better hurry up, Zero is irritated." I spoke to the disciple, walking behind Zero soon after.
"And when she isn't?" Ditto asked sarcastically.
I stopped for a moment, thinking about what he said. Good question.
"Seriously? The goofy dragon almost killed us and you guys are going to act as if nothing happened?" Eupherbia asked, flying next to me.
"Considering how much the situation has gotten out of control lately, I thought you would be used to the near-death experience." I answered.
"What kind of person gets used to almost dying all the time?"
"Me!" I responded, raising my hand.
"Me too!" Zero spoke, raising her hand without turning towards us.
"Put me out of this! The day has barely started and we've already been through a whirlwind of emotions! I just want to finish what we came here to do!" Ditto exclaimed.
"Hump! You complain too much, the worst is over. From now on it will be an easy trip to Four's fortress." Zero replied arrogantly.
However, as if fate heard those words, the bridge suddenly shook. We all stopped and stared at Zero with irritated looks.
"You had to open your mouth." Ditto spoke monotonously.
"Look what you did! You tempted fate and now we will all suffer for it." I scolded her.
Zero's response is to blush in embarrassment and look away.
Then everything that could go wrong did. The entire bridge shook with an audible noise, and cracks formed in the stone construction below our feet, starting where the barricade had previously been and spreading out to the sides.
Sections of the bridge were propelled upwards while others fell towards the river below us.
Wasting no time, we ran towards the other side of the bridge as everything collapsed behind us.
"This is your entire fault Z!" Ditto shouted.
"Shut up before I rip your tongue of!" Zero replied angrily.
"I swear to whatever God is listening, you two will be the end of me!" I shouted at both of them.
For a moment, it looked like we might make it, but suddenly the path in front of us disconnected from the bridge and with the rest collapsing behind us, the section we were on tilted back.
I stuck my sword into the ground to stop myself from falling, Dito and Zero did the same, but as the bridge fell, it swayed more and more.
"Zero!" Mikhail shouted, diving towards the bridge.
"Edric/Human!" Eupherbia and the Black Dragon shouted as well.
Eupherbia remained behind me, pushing my shoulders and trying to stop me from sliding backward, as the dragon approached, preparing to catch me.
Suddenly the bridge shook again. Dito, who was in front of me, was the first to fall; I removed one of my hands from my sword and caught him with my arm.
"Thanks, dude!" Dito shouted, smiling nervously.
I didn't have time to respond, as the bridge shook again and Zero was the next to fall. I leaned to the side, holding her in the same arm as Dito.
"You're getting bold." Zero flirted.
"Not now!"
Looking up, I saw the Black Dragon and Mikhail approaching, they would soon reach us, but there wouldn't be time.
"You two better get ready." I said to both of them.
"Ready for what?" Zero asked.
"To fly!" I screamed, throwing them both up, taking them off my arm, and holding them by the back of their clothes.
So I advanced with quick and heavy steps, repeatedly sticking my sword into the ground to prevent myself from falling, when I reached the end of the bridge, that is, the highest part, I pulled my arm back and threw Zero and Dito upwards.
"MIKHAIL CATCH!"
Then the bridge collapsed, and I glimpsed Mikhail picking up Zero and Dito on his back, the Black Dragon ignored them and came after me, with Eupherbia riding on his head.
Tilting my head to the side, I saw the water approaching, there wouldn't be time. Raising my hand in front of my face, I saw that I still wore my Cat Ring.
Well, the fall won't be that bad. The last thing I saw before I hit the water was Eupherbia screaming my name with a desperate face and the dragon... Well... I guess he cares a little since he took the time to try to catch me.
Then, I felt my body being carried away by the current as my consciousness disappeared.
-XXXXXX-
-Four Fortress-
"Miss Four, it seems that Zero and Dito are approaching the fortress." Decadus spoke, entering his Intoner's office after receiving a soldier's report.
"Hm... None of our forces is capable of stopping her. Fortunately, I have the knights my dear sister sent. I dispatched some of them to deal with Zero; this will give us time to evacuate." Four spoke, surveying the knights in silver armor who stood guard on either side of her office.
"Evacuate, Miss Four?" Decadus asked hesitantly.
"Yes, we will go to Cathedral City where we will meet with One and plan how to deal with Zero and Three." Four replied getting up from her chair and watching the snowy mountains through her office window.
"But what about our men, Miss Four?"
"They know what I plan to do; our soldiers will delay Zero to give us time to evacuate."
"I understand. If that's what you, wish. Then I will prepare your airship immediately." Decadus replied politely.
"Do this, and then…"
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Four didn't finish, as she was interrupted by the fire of the cannons positioned on the walls of her fortress.
"Zero is here already?!?" Four exclaimed surprised.
"Miss Four!" A soldier exclaimed, barging into Four's office and kneeling shortly afterward.
"Speak!" Four ordered.
"We are being attacked!"
"Yes, I know that, but by whom?" Four demanded.
The soldier looked away, hesitant to respond, but slowly and in a low voice, he responded.
"By the dead, Miss Four."
-XXXXXX-
There was a legion of creatures outside the fortress. They stopped being human a long time ago. The beings were thin and pale-skinned, with glowing red eyes, they moved stiffly, letting out high-pitched, incomprehensible screams as they swung their weapons erratically.
If one looked closely, one would see that these beings should not be standing, as some of them were missing limbs, leaving only a stump with flesh and bone exposed.
Others were covered in wounds, stained with dried blood, and some had organs hanging out of their bodies, dragging them along the ground.
The beings didn't appear to be a cohesive force, as some of them were dressed as soldiers, while others appeared to be normal people of various ages, ranging from children to old people.
This legion of undead threw themselves against the walls of the fortress, without any care for their lives, the soldiers on the walls stood firm, firing their cannons and volleys of arrows, and little by little, the legion was eliminated.
However, the abundance of bodies on the ground created a disadvantage, as slowly, a small ramp of corpses was built in front of the walls.
Suddenly, the red glow in an undead soldier's eyes intensified and with a furious scream, he charged towards the walls, running up the ramp, ignoring all the arrows that pierced his body.
Taking a final leap, the undead soldier grabbed the edge of the walls with one of his hands, but before he could pull himself up, one of the soldiers pierced his head through his left eye.
The undead lost his strength and fell off the wall, becoming another corpse on the ramp.
Unfortunately, that undead was only the first of many, as a cacophony of screams echoed across the mountains and the undead ran toward the walls.
-XXXXXX-
Leaving her office and running towards a balcony overlooking the fortress courtyard, Four analyzed the situation in front of her.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Why is this happening to me?!? What did I do to deserve this?!? I didn't do anything wrong! I… I…" Four muttered to herself as she bit her nails.
"Miss Four, calm down, please. We need your leadership if we are to win the coming battle." Decadus spoke, placing a comforting hand on his Intoner's shoulder.
Four took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
"You are right. As ruler of the Land of the Mountains, I must fulfill my role; I must act responsibly, as a leader. What would Sister One think of me, seeing me like this? Decadus come with me!" Four said with a determined face.
"Yes, Miss Four!" Decadus responded with a smile.
"But prepare my airship, if everything goes wrong we'll get out of here!"
"Yes, Miss Four!" Decadus responded again.
Then Four headed towards the walls of her fortress, with her disciple and her sister's knights accompanying her, and halfway there, Four saw the soldiers fighting the undead who were slowly managing to climb the walls.
-XXXXXX-
"Well, it looks like he died this time; I can't say I'll miss him." Dito spoke, watching the remains of the bridge sinking into the river below.
"Hump! How much do you want to bet that we'll find the bastard later?" I said to Dito, standing next to him and watching the river below.
"Oh! What makes you so sure?" Dito asked curiously, moving away from the edge of the remains of the bridge.
"I don't know. Something tells me this is the case, intuition perhaps?" I replied, staring at the river for a few seconds before moving on.
"WWWAAAHHH! Edric!" Mikhail cried, hovering above the bridge.
"Hey, stop crying! He didn't die!" I shouted at the dragon.
"But Zero, the fall was huge!" The dummy replied.
"If a fall like that could kill the virgin knight then he would have died a long time ago, traveling with us!"
"For your sake, I hope you're right!" The dragon that accompanied Edric spoke, flying above us.
"Is this a threat?" I demanded, pointing my sword at him.
"No, it's a statement." The dragon responded, flapping his wings and flying away along with the annoying fairy.
"So, what's up with you and the Tinhead?" Dito asked, standing next to me with his hands behind his head and a teasing smile.
"Shut up!" I replied, running towards Four's fortress, with Dito following close behind.
We were at a mountain pass, but to get to the fortress, we would have to pass through an outpost. Nevertheless, before I could continue, Dito and I were stopped by the freezing wind that hit us.
"BBBRRR!" Dito gritted his teeth, rubbing his hands together to keep himself warm.
Extending my hand, I watched as a few snowflakes fell from the sky,
"Let's go! Unless you want to freeze in the coming blizzard." I said, returning to my run soon after.
"You don't have to say it twice!" Dito exclaimed, staying by my side.
Nevertheless, as we progressed, the weather got worse and worse, dark clouds covered the sky, blocking the sunlight, the wind got stronger and stronger, blowing snow into our eyes, and the cold, for the first time in my life I regretted the way I dress.
"Hey, you still haven't answered my question." Dito spoke next to me.
"If you have time to talk then you have time to run faster, Four is just ahead."
"Come on, since when do you care about someone that much? You never cared that much about me."
"You speak as if you are worthy of any care."
"OUCH! I was just curious!"
"Have you never heard the saying? Curiosity killed the cat."
"Yes, but cats are not magical disciples with superhuman strength. Are you going to answer my question or not?"
"Well, I admit he has my attention."
"And why is that?"
"He manages to fight me without dying in the first five seconds, he never takes off his armor for anything, which makes me curious, and he's shredded under his armor. I can't wait to rub myself on those muscles."
You haven't escaped me yet Edric, I will have what I want, one way or another.
"And how the hell do you know that?" Ditto asked in disgust.
"Well, let's just say that the few times I've managed to get my hands on him, I've done my best to feel beneath the armor, and I'm not disappointed."
"Damn it!"
"What is that? Are you jealous?" I provoked.
"No, just wanting to vomit. If there's one thing I hate on the same level as Five, it's huge, well-defined muscles, those things can't be normal. Other than that, I couldn't care less with who you fuck."
"Well, you don't know what you're missing."
Fortunately, our conversation kept me entertained enough that the trip to the outpost was tolerable, but it did nothing to improve the worsening snowstorm.
I could barely see what was in front of me, but the little I saw made me feel like something was wrong. The outpost was empty, but there were signs of fighting.
Barricades and fortifications were scattered across the ground, next to the bodies of Four's soldiers, their blood staining the snow red.
Approaching the median stone fort that served as a post, we saw the remains of cannons hanging from the walls, with the bodies of soldiers hanging from the battlements.
The wooden gates were broken into the fort, their remains dangling precariously on their hinges.
I stopped in front of the fort, facing its entrance.
"Hey, why did we stop?!? We'll freeze out here!" Dito exclaimed, shivering from the cold.
"Don't you notice anything wrong?" I asked, drawing my sword and taking in the area around me, the snow hitting my eyes not helping much.
"Yes! Everyone here is dead! And?"
"Watch! There are two types of bodies here! Both from Four's soldiers but look how the bodies are lying around." I responded, swinging my sword around.
"Hm... They killed each other." Ditto spoke thoughtfully.
"Yes, but there is a problem, one group of corpses is fresh, while the other is rotting, as if it had died a long time ago."
"What are you suggesting? That the dead came back to life and attacked the living?" Dito responded sarcastically.
"Maybe I am." I replied, narrowing my eyes as I caught a glimpse of something moving through the blizzard.
"That knight put ideas in your head. Do you honestly believe the nonsense he says?"
"Strange things are happening, Midgard is crazier than usual. But that's not the point." I heard a different noise; there was someone there beside us.
"So what it is?!? I'm getting tired of this! My ass is freezing here! Just tell me what's the problem?!?" Dito shouted in my ear.
"Don't you think it's strange that everyone died? That no force was left behind to guard the fort. If Four's soldiers killed each other, which killed the remaining soldiers?"
I glimpsed realization dawning on Dito's face as his eyes widened.
"Shit! We're not alone, are we?" Dito asked, drawing his spear and looking around.
"Hump! It took you a while to realize."
A few tense seconds passed; the only noise being the wind blowing around us. Suddenly I heard a metallic noise approaching me; I saw a blue light shining through the snow.
Something jumped out of the blizzard, and that thing turned out to be a knight wearing silver armor, a longsword, and a shield. However, his most notable feature was the bright blue light coming out of every opening in his helmet.
The knight let out a war cry, swinging his sword towards me, I raised my sword, blocking the blow, but I was surprised to feel my arms and legs tremble for a moment due to the strength of the blow.
Okay, I didn't expect that! Who the hell are these guys?
"Holy crap!" Dito shouted after me.
Looking back, I saw Dito on one knee, using both hands to hold his spear to block another knight's blow. Dumbass, I told you something was wrong!
Focusing on the knight in front of me, I parried his sword to the side, shooting sparks into the snow, and quickly, I slashed towards his neck.
Nevertheless, the knight was quick and protected himself with his shield, a metallic crack echoed through the fort, but the impact of my attack created a small shockwave, blowing the snow around us and sending the knight backward with his feet sliding across the ground, creating lines in the snow.
"Who the fuck are you?!?" I demanded, pointing my sword at the knight.
However, he didn't respond, he assumed a fighting stance, with his shield protecting his torso and sword raised, advancing shortly afterward.
"Hump! So this is how it's going to be? Your funeral then!" I shrugged, preparing for the fight.
The knight threw a vertical blow, trying to cut me in two, I took a step to the side, dodging it, and tried to cut him in the neck, but the knight quickly adjusted his posture and blocked my attack with his shield.
However, I didn't stop, I unleashed a barrage of attacks, blow after blow, the knight did his best to block, but I was faster. Although it didn't hit anything vital, I left several cuts around his body.
Along with this, I wore down his shield, applying more strength to each blow, and pieces of metal were thrown away.
In an opening, the knight thrust his sword forward, trying to pierce my stomach, but I raised my sword and parried his downward swing, pinning his sword to the ground.
The knight, expecting my next attack, raised his shield to protect himself, but before he could do so, I delivered a spinning kick to his arm, knocking his shield away.
Nevertheless, before I could cut off the head of the bastard in front of me, I saw a blue light shining in the corner of my eyes, jumping back; I dodged a blow aimed at my neck.
Another knight came out of the blizzard, but as quickly as he appeared, he retreated, disappearing into the blizzard again, the knight I was fighting previously did the same.
Holding my sword in both hands, I looked around for the knights; I caught a glimpse of the blue light of their helmets shining in the snow, then another, and another, and another.
Suddenly, several blue lights surrounded us, hiding in the snow.
I felt Dito placing his back on mine.
"So, are you still alive?" I asked.
"Heh! That guy almost took my head off." Ditto replied.
"Too bad he didn't do it; I would finally have some peace."
"You would miss me. Who else would keep you busy at night?"
Before I could respond, I heard the noise of something approaching from my left, I quickly turned towards it and swung my sword, only to hit the air and let out a grunt of pain as I felt my arm being cut.
"Damn it!"
Looking back, I saw Dito holding a wound on his right side.
However, I had to ignore that for the moment because again, I heard the noise of the approaching knights. Nevertheless, where would they come from?
I swung my sword to the right, but it didn't hit anything and I received a cut on my shoulder. Grunting in frustration, I continued attacking; trying to hit the knights, but the process repeated itself. I missed and was cut back.
"OK! This isn't helping us at all! Any plan Z?" Dito asked, with some bloody cuts across his body.
Come on Zero! You've been through worse! Kill these bastards and move on! Hm… It's easy to say, but with all this snow, almost blinding me it's difficult to do it.
If I can't trust my eyes then maybe... Damn! Just look at me! Considering the lessons of others!
I tried to concentrate, raising my sword in front of my face, I tried to drown out all the other noises around me and focus on the knights. This was difficult, as I am an Intoner with better senses than everyone.
I heard the wind blowing in my ears, the snow falling around me, Dito's complaints, but there was something else. Something heavy touched the snow; it was a metallic sound, careful, slow, and heavy steps.
This noise approached from my right, I heard the sound of a sword cutting through the air, but as soon as it got closer, I took a step back, dodging the blow.
This surprised the knight, and before he raised his shield, I thrust my sword forward, piercing the front of his helmet with the tip of the sword emerging from the other side.
The knight let out a deafening scream accompanied by a bright flash of blue light, as the light disappeared, the knight's empty armor fell to the ground, I swung my sword, removing the helmet and preparing for the next attack.
"Well, you killed one, mind dealing with the rest?" Ditto asked sarcastically.
"Shut up! I'm doing all the hard work here! Stop trying to see the knights and focus on the noise!" I answered.
Leaving that aside, I went back to worrying about my own life, taking a deep breath, I sang, activating my Intoner mode. I heard a knight approaching again, this one coming in front of me.
As soon as the sword approached, I quickly parried the blow and decapitated the knight before he could react; there was a scream, a flash of light, and the sound of armor hitting the ground.
"Ha! Take that!" Ditto shouted.
The familiar scream of the knight came soon after.
"PPPSSSHHH! What an idiot, thinking you are the best because you managed to kill one. Watch and learn Dito." I said to the Disciple.
The knights got tired of being careful after three of them were killed, as their steps became more hurried and erratic, what came next was an all-out attack.
I jumped back; dodging a blow aimed at my stomach, and pierced the knight in the chest, through his shield and body.
I quickly ducked; dodging a blow aimed at my neck, and tripped the knight, knocking him to the ground. Standing up, I pierced his heart right away.
I heard two knights approaching, one from the left and one from the right, both tried to pierce me with their swords, but I leaned back, dodging the blow.
Throwing myself backward, I balanced myself on one hand as I threw a kick directed at the knights' swords, throwing them up. Standing up, I jumped and delivered a spinning cut, decapitating both knights.
I heard a set of hurried footsteps approaching, there was a loud noise and suddenly they stopped. Where would they come from?
I had my answer when I heard the metallic clicks of armor coming from above, I did a backflip, avoiding the three knights who landed where I was previously, planting their swords in the ground.
Before they got up, I rushed towards them and delivered three quick slashes, making all three disappear. I raised my sword, ready to continue, but the noise stopped.
Were they the last?
Looking back, I saw Dito covered in cuts, piercing the chest of a knight on the ground, making a disappointed face when the knight disappeared.
"And that was the last one." Dito smiled, resting his spear on his shoulder.
"Don't brag about it. If it weren't for me, you would be swinging that spear like a child until you die." I spoke, walking towards the fort.
"Well, you didn't seem to mind the other times I swung my spear at you." Dito replied suggestively.
"Not now."
"And why not?" Dito asked, following me.
"These knights, they were too strong to be normal people. I'll ask the Virgin Knight if he knows these guys, he seems to have an idea of what's going on here."
"You still think he survived... MMMPPP!"
As soon as we entered the fort, I covered Dito's mouth, interrupting him. Suddenly, the dark interior of the fort was illuminated by an abundance of blue lights.
Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, I lost count after fifty, but I estimated over a hundred knights here with us. Soon they came out of their hiding place.
From inside the corridors, wooden walkways above us, and dark corners of the fort.
There was a small army between the exit on the other side of the room and us.
I only said one word to Dito.
"Run."
I removed my hand from his mouth and ran towards the metal door on the other side of the fort, Dito did the same a few seconds later, but the knights acted as soon as they saw us run.
They jumped from the top of the walkways, trying to pierce us with their swords; others ran towards us, swinging their weapons, trying to cut us off in the middle of our run, while others formed shield walls, ready to stop our advance.
A soldier jumped from the walkway towards me, I kicked a wooden crate towards him, sending him away, and another got in my way and swung his sword towards my neck.
I threw myself to the ground, leaning back and sliding with my knees, rising up quickly, escaping a blow aimed at my back.
Dito ducked, also dodging a blow aimed at his neck, he jumped onto a table, using it as a springboard to jump over a shields wall.
In addition, he threw his spear, killing a knight who was running towards him, retrieving his spear halfway.
With effort, we crossed the fort, unfortunately, a crowd of knights made a large shield wall in front of us.
"Dito! With me!" I shouted, activating my Intoner mode again, and readying my sword.
"Right!" Dito responded, pointing his spear toward the shield wall.
As soon as we got close, we both launched our attacks, destroying the shield wall and sending the knights flying.
With a kick, I opened the metal door in front of us, and with Dito's help, we quickly closed it behind us before the crowd of approaching knights arrived.
A few minutes passed before the door creaked and shook, with dents forming in the metal, suddenly, an armored hand passed through the door and I saw a knight staring at me through the hole.
"Let's get out of here!" I said to Dito, leaving the fort aside and running towards Four's fortress.
"No need to say it twice!" Dito replied scared, running after me.
-XXXXXX-
As we approached the fortress, we realized that the fort we passed was nothing more than a preview of what was to come. Four's fortress was in flames, forming large columns of smoke on all sides.
There was a sea of bodies in front of the fortress's main gate, with mountains of corpses in front of the walls, forming a ramp.
"Look at this! This place is a paradise! So many bodies rotting! I can see that guy's guts all over the floor!" Dito exclaimed happily, pointing to the deceased around him.
Why do I keep him around anyway?
"Because you're a bitch who needs someone to stroke your ego and give self-assurance at all times." A voice in the back of my mind responded.
I shook my head, ignoring the voice, and ran into the fort. I stopped for a moment and widened my eyes at the scene in front of me.
Complete chaos, in the fortress courtyard, on the walls, in the towers, everywhere, there were two groups of soldiers fighting, both belonging to Four, meanwhile, airships were bombarding the fortress.
There was an obvious difference in the soldiers.
One group was missing limbs, rotting, and with organs scattered on the ground, but even so, they were still standing and fighting.
The other group, on the other hand, was more lively and fighting desperately to stop the undead, but every time a living soldier was killed, he would immediately get up and attack his comrades.
"Hahaha! I will have so much fun today!" Dito exclaimed, running past me and heading towards the fortress courtyard.
Grumbling in frustration, I ran after him, slashing through the undead that stood in my way. Reaching Dito, I grabbed him by the shoulder, stopping his advance.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!?" I screamed in his face.
"Well... Looking for Four? You're here to kill her, aren't you?" Dito replied nervously, looking away.
I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could do so, something fell from the airship and hit the ground next to us, kicking up a large dust cloud.
Suddenly, a metallic noise echoed throughout the fort, accompanied by the sound of thunderous footsteps that made the ground shake, a large shape blocked the sunlight, creating a huge shadow that covered Dito and me.
We both pointed our weapons at the dust cloud, but I felt my mouth open as the thing came out of the cloud, revealing itself to everyone.
With deafening footsteps, the thing approached us, and Dito and I only had one thing to say.
"Holy shit!"
END OF CHAPTER