WebNovels

Chapter 38 - Ritual

Zombie: "So, we're looking for his head."

Missy: "A head...? Wait, I thought you were human..."

Zombie: "Do I look like one? I'm a zombie."

Missy: "A zombie...?! Heh, that's interesting..."

Zombie: "And he's a Dullahan."

Missy: "Mystical creatures are so awesome..."

Zombie: "Can you help us?"

Missy: "Of course I can, but... I'm not in the mood for it..."

Zombie: "What do we have to do?"

Missy: "Since you're so eager to please, there is a cult somewhere disturbing my peace..."

Zombie: "Do you want us to kill them?"

Missy: "Killing is a strong word... Do whatever you want, I don't care... I just want to watch the moon in peace..."

Zombie: "Where?"

Missy: "Here, of course... the view is amazing..."

Zombie: "No, I mean... where is the cult?"

Missy: "I can give you a general direction, but I'm too busy to track down the exact location..."

She points to a distant mountain range. Zombie mounts Dullahan's horse and they arrive there in minutes.

Zombie: "What is this? I hear something..."

Dullahan: "..."

Zombie: "You're listening too, right? You're no expert in magic, but I can feel souls coming in and out of that cave."

They enter the cave.

Zombie: "Can you stay here for a moment? I'll investigate. If anyone escapes, kill them."

He sees torches and traces of recent presences. There is a red magic circle on the ground, but not a living soul in sight.

Zombie: "They're trying to resurrect someone..."

Someone punches him in the face so hard that it deforms slightly. He slams into the cave wall, causing the place to shake slightly. Before he can see the attacker, they punch him multiple times against the wall. He doesn't feel pain, but he can feel the damage his body is suffering.

It is an enraged gorilla. Its eyes are red and its strength and speed are enhanced. Zombie grabs its arm and throws it to the ground, making the entire mountain shake. Then he throws it against the wall and out of the cave.

He jumps off the mountain and kicks the gorilla. He pierces its heart with his hand and tries to rot it. Its body is injured, but it keeps moving. The gorilla rips off his arm. Zombie strengthens his magic and collects its soul, becoming stronger and healing faster.

He hears a rumbling from behind. There is a horde of gorillas coming after him. One hundred gorillas versus one zombie.

Dullahan also hears a rumbling, but it comes from inside the cave. It begins to shake more and more, until it splits the mountain in two. A huge golem emerges from inside, destroying everything around it.

He instinctively tries to cut off the golem's legs, but they are too tough to pierce. The golem steps on him and causes a massive eruption. Dullahan jumps up and punches him in the face, causing him to stumble and fall into the other mountains. 

He also unleashes a green slash that burns everything in its path. The golem takes little damage. It points its palm at Dullahan in the sky and releases a powerful orange blast, erasing the clouds in its path.

Dullahan takes damage, but lands on another mountain and stabs the ground with his scythe, creating a huge green circle that covers the entire horizon. Before he can cast it, the golem claps its hands and causes a nuclear explosion, erasing the mountain range.

Zombie and the gorillas fly away from the shockwave, taking little damage. Zombie punches a gorilla and releases a powerful black blast that damages a quarter of them. They gang up on him and begin tearing his limbs apart.

He punches the ground and rots the landscape, pinning the gorillas to the ground. As he recovers, he grabs his fallen arm and jumps. When he reaches high enough, he throws his arm against the ground. The impact releases black smoke and an explosion that destroys most of the place.

When he lands, half of them are still alive. They try to punch him, but he dodges dozens of attacks at the last second. He kicks some of them away to gain space. Then, he hits one of the gorillas in the heart with his palm and crushes it. A black orb flies into the sky and sucks out their souls.

The golem tries to strike Dullahan, who quickly dodges with his exceptional speed and tries to pierce its orange heart with his scythe. It's slightly exposed, but the golem slaps him away before he can penetrate its body.

Zombie punches it in the face so hard that it flies away, leaving a trail of destruction. Dullahan casts the green circle and burns the horizon, except for where he and his friends are. Lying down, the golem punches the ground and creates a huge hole, releasing a shockwave powerful enough to knock out some of the air and create a vacuum.

They have reduced mobility. Zombie mounts Dullahan's horse and points his hands backwards, releasing a black flame that increases their speed. The rider also propels them with a green flame and creates wings on the horse to fly towards the golem.

Zombie grabs the horseman, imbues him with dark magic, and throws him toward the golem's heart. Dullahan propels himself with his flame and pierces the orange heart with his scythe. It begins to overload.

In desperation, the golem claps its hands where Zombie is falling, causing another nuclear explosion, much larger this time. His body is completely obliterated. Dullahan jumps away from the core and catches his horse, flying away from the scene.

The core explodes, engulfing the entire landscape into nothingness.

???: "Infinite."

Zombie: "Huh? Where is this place?"

He is on top of a castle wall at sunset. A clown sits behind him, with his back to him.

Clown: "You did well."

Zombie: "Who are you?"

Clown: "A Hero... of the people."

Zombie: "Did I die?"

Clown: "This isn't the end."

Zombie: "How did I end up here?"

Clown: "You should know. This is your ability."

Zombie: "My ability?"

Clown: "Mine is to make people smile. What's yours?"

Zombie: "Being immortal...?"

Clown: "We'll help you find out."

Zombie: "'We'?"

Clown: "You're still on our radar. Think carefully before you answer. Do you want to become a Hero?"

More Chapters