Chapter 181
-Kyaaaaah!
It was an overwhelming sight.
The swarming horde of zombies shrieking as they charged forward resembled a stormy night sea.
Aloken, fleeing while repeatedly triggering Blood Explosions, was no different from a fragile little boat caught in it.
'Is this situation even possible?'
Zombies charged from above and below the train, left and right, without discrimination. Aloken felt like he was endlessly fighting off crashing black waves from all directions.
But the biggest problem was that all the new zombies clinging to the train were now under the control of the man wearing the crown.
"Yuda! Respond!"
While scattering droplets of blood around him, Aloken grabbed the communication crystal with his other hand.
— This is Yuda. Has the situation been resolved?
A calm man's voice came through the crystal.
"No! A strange necromancer barged in and is taking control of the zombies! Cut off their movement right now!"
— What are you saying? How could someone take over control of Blood Zombies that move through the Holy Grail of Blood?
"I don't know either! Just—!"
Clang!
A zombie's swinging arm shattered Aloken's communication crystal. He screamed in rage and sent blood flying in all directions as he leapt into the air.
'What the hell is that freak?!'
Aloken's eyes turned to Simon, who stood calmly above the zombies, observing everything from on high.
'There definitely wasn't someone like that among the passengers!'
At that moment, Simon's eyes gleamed from behind his mask.
[Grab him.]
The zombies on the train roof linked their limbs to form a long biological ladder, which reached out and grabbed Aloken's foot as he tried to leap into the air. Immediately, two zombies climbed onto his back.
Before Aloken could blast them off with Blood Explosion, Simon clenched his fist.
'Corpse Explosion.'
BBOOOOOM!
A black-blue explosion erupted from the three zombies. Severely damaged, Aloken fell back down, rolling across the train's roof.
"Urgh!"
Chunks of pitch-black flesh scattered from his body. It was Meat Armor, a dark magic spell that absorbed damage on his behalf.
'Already lost more than half of the Meat Armor reserve...!'
And that was the issue.
He could endure zombie bites with Meat Armor, but if they caught him even once, it would trigger a Corpse Explosion.
Worse yet, that masked man didn't even need incantations or magic circles, it was as if simply clenching his fist made the zombies explode.
He'd never seen a necromancer like this before.
[Is it okay to stand there stunned like that?]
Simon's voice echoed ominously as he raised his fist again.
'What now? He's going to explode more?!'
Aloken frantically scanned his surroundings, but the zombies were still far away. Then, he felt a massive energy surge from below, not the front.
'Damn it! He stuck zombies to the ceiling of the cabin!'
BOOOOM!
Caught in another Corpse Explosion, Aloken lost most of the remaining Meat Armor and screamed as he crashed into the passenger cabin.
"Urgh! Guh!"
It wasn't over. As if waiting, several zombies rushed into the cabin, and light began glowing from their bodies simultaneously.
Aloken was dumbfounded.
'He's spamming Corpse Explosion without any delay?!'
Simon raised the corners of his lips and opened his palm.
'Fine-tune the output.'
Then clenched it again.
'Explode!'
KA-BOOOOOM!
An entire cabin car blew apart. The train screeched and rocked side to side, but narrowly avoided derailment.
Soon, as the smoke cleared, the cabin was reduced to just its floor and frame, a hollow ruin. On the far end, Aloken, bleeding profusely, was seen retreating.
He was planning to flee toward the tail car of the train.
[Chase him.]
The zombies carrying Simon surged like a wave and leapt in a great arc.
They jumped over the ruined car in a single bound, landing on the next one where Aloken was fleeing.
Crash-rattle!
Aloken then cast a new dark spell. Four meat arms rose from his back, smashed through the cabin windows, and grabbed passengers.
"Kyaaaaah!"
The passengers screamed in terror as they were seized. Grinning wickedly, Aloken hurled them.
A filthy trick to buy time.
But Simon remained unfazed. He instantly opened subspace and sent out Bone Armor. The people flying out of the train were successively clothed in Bone Armor.
'Retrieve.'
With a wave of Simon's arm, the passengers were pulled back into the train. Aloken's expression hardened at the sight.
'Even his response is different. He's a completely different person than when I first met him!'
Even amid this chaos, the zombies carrying Simon continued advancing.
The zombie wave reached Aloken's back. Simon thought he had finally caught him properly this time.
WUUUUUMMMM!
A bright white holy magic circle spread out behind the fleeing Aloken. Seeing it, Simon clicked his tongue and leapt out of the zombie swarm.
SHRRRRIP!
As the zombies passed through the magic circle, they were sliced into minced meat that scattered across the floor. Simon landed and turned his head.
'...An Inquisitor?'
In the distance, a woman in an inquisitor's outfit was panting heavily. Though wounded, she was healing herself with magic.
Did she mistake him for an enemy? As Simon wondered this, Aloken suddenly shouted,
"Why are you so late?! Hurry up and take him down!"
"No! I didn't come here on purpose—!"
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!
A barrage of holy light rained down from the sky. At its origin was a girl riding a whirlwind of pure white light.
'Lete!'
"What's all this crap? Your opponent is me!"
Lete charged in and swung her Holy Sword. Though the inquisitor tried to raise multiple barriers, several of them were cleaved apart with a single strike.
'I'll leave that side to Lete, then.'
Simon turned his gaze back to Aloken. Aloken clenched his teeth.
'...Damn it! What's the chimera doing?! I brought it with me even though it was a stretch just to eliminate that Efnelle girl!'
— KIEEEEEE!
Just then, the chimera—Hellhound—let out a scream.
When Aloken looked over, the Hellhound's head was sticking out of the train, being ground against the tracks, and on top of it stood Prince.
[Hahaha! Die! Die!]
He was overpowering the Hellhound with sheer force.
Watching the Hellhound's head get shredded on the rails, Aloken felt the severity of the situation.
'Where the hell are all these monsters coming from?!'
At this point, he had no choice but to bet his life. Aloken slashed the air with his finger, drawing a red magic circle on the train's ceiling.
— KGRRRRK!
Another Hellhound, prepared in advance, appeared above it.
"I'll show you the true power of a Blood Heaven Bishop!"
After spraying blood to push back the approaching zombies, Aloken approached the Hellhound. Its ribcage split open and swallowed Aloken whole.
The ultimate version of the necromancer's defensive technique, Meat Armor.
The Hellhound's body rippled, then stood on two legs.
Its hind legs reformed with muscle, becoming bipedal, and its head lowered into its chest. Its forelegs fully evolved into functional hands.
Now only Aloken's head remained visible, he had worn the Hellhound like armor.
"Kuahahaha!"
When he swung the Hellhound's arms, blood droplets exploded in all directions, blasting the zombies once again. Even in this form, he could still use dark magic.
'Now that's a necromancer for you.'
A truly necromancer-like dark spell. It confirmed the suspicion: active necromancers always seem to have at least one insane technique.
'Ugh.'
At that moment, Simon staggered.
He had worn the crown for too long. Controlling so many zombies at once was beginning to take a toll on his mental strength.
Meanwhile, Aloken collapsed the train's ceiling and charged at Simon.
Swatting away the zombies rushing in to protect Simon with his massive body, he swung his hulking fists. Gritting his teeth, Simon raised his arms.
'Open Gate!'
The six Overlord Blades clashed head-on with the Hellhound's fists, producing a deafening boom. The fist twisted to the side, and the blades scattered with a clang.
In that moment, zombies climbed up the Hellhound's body, and Simon stepped back, clenching his fist tightly.
'Corpse Explosion!'
BOOOOOM!
A series of dark blue explosions erupted, but Aloken covered his head with his arms and emerged from the blast unscathed.
Thud.
Simon dropped to one knee, panting.
The crown on his head fell to the train ceiling. Seeing this, Aloken grinned with satisfaction.
"Yes, yes. No way something as powerful as that artifact comes without a price. That's what happens when you try to wield power beyond your means."
Simon, still gasping for air, looked up. He was still smiling.
"Don't you think it's a little strange?"
"What?"
Then it hit him.
Aloken turned his head.
...The train had stopped.
'What the—!'
Countless zombies had somehow stopped the train by force, pressing up from below.
"Now then."
Simon, having picked up the crown again, rose like a zombie, swaying on his feet. Then, with a theatrical motion, he placed the crown back on his head.
[Now it really begins.]
RUMMMMMMBLE!
Beyond the halted train, zombies surged up in a massive black wave. Everyone who saw it widened their eyes in shock.
[Follow me.]
At Simon's command, thousands of zombies simultaneously charged at Aloken.
Aloken fled, scattering blood droplets in all directions. The black wave engulfed him once, but he blasted his way out with Blood Explosion and leapt into the air.
'I can't win in a direct fight! I have to retreat for now...'
Just then.
From a point even higher than Aloken's airborne escape, a horde of zombies descended in a soaring arc straight toward him.
'No way! He predicted my direction?!'
[You always flee the same way. Upwards.]
Simon grinned wide, flashing his teeth, and opened his palm.
At that exact moment, the Inquisitor fighting Lete cast another holy magic circle directly in front of Aloken. She, too, knew that if Aloken fell here, their side had no chance.
'Perfect! What an assist!'
Aloken, midair. The holy barrier. And the zombies falling in an arc.
Once again, Aloken thought the zombies would be shredded passing through the holy barrier.
However—
[I can do anything.]
Simon closed his eyes and murmured.
No, even that wasn't enough.
[I—]
It was crystal clear.
With no distractions, entirely focused on one ultimate goal, Simon felt a brief flicker of joy in this moment.
[—am Omnipotent.]
WUUUUUUUUUUUM!
A massive burst of holiness exploded from Simon's crown.
His golden eyes turned partly white. Then the charging zombies, trailing black smoke, turned completely white, bleached of all darkness.
"What the?!"
Now holy zombies, unaffected by the holy barrier, broke through without resistance and grabbed Aloken midair, dragging him down to the ground.
BOOM!
Aloken slammed into the ground as a multitude of divine zombies piled atop him.
A mountain of huge, white zombies formed. At the same time, Lete, having knocked the Inquisitor unconscious, looked up.
Her body trembled with awe.
'...O Goddess.'
Metin, who had climbed to the roof to assist the battle, stood there with his mouth agape.
'Is this even possible?'
Ellen, having defeated the cultists in the tail car and looked out the window, saw it. Her pupils quivered.
'...Simon!'
Simon gripped the crown and took a deep breath, raising his left hand toward the sky.
Everyone watching followed his gaze upward. Above Simon's head, countless holy magic circles bloomed across the heavens.
Compello.
The absolute insight that reaches truth.
Even in this moment, the formulas of the circles changed hundreds, thousands of times, stabilizing their positions.
When the calculations finished, all the magic circles vanished, leaving behind only one holy circle before Simon's hand.
[Celestial—]
Simon made the sign of the cross and clenched his fist.
[—Explosion.]
The world turned pure white. Then, the explosions of light and darkness erupted in succession, swallowing sound itself and expanding in all directions.
Colorless, odorless, silent.
A great white explosion.
Only the following shockwave shook the train and uprooted the forest.
RRRRRRRRRRRUMBLE!
"Kyaaaaaaaah!"
"Urgh!"
The passengers threw themselves to the floor.
Windows shattered, objects flew. No one could make sense of anything.
WHOOOOOSH!
After the enormous shockwave passed, Simon slowly lowered his hand from the sky.
A single beam of radiant light shone down upon him.