Soft footsteps echoed in the distance, soon drowned out by a cacophony of weightless, skeletal ones.
Zero strided forward, his black cloak hanging from his head covering him, staff on his back and book on his hip within his cloak.
Through the darkness of night, his eyes glowed deviously, the corners of his mouth widened the closer he got.
707 bone walkers marched behind him as they reached a 25-foot reinforced metal gate.
Zero stopped as he reached the front of the gate. Simultaneously the whole army halted behind him. Zero took a moment and peered to the top of the large metal gate.
Mana circulates through my body more naturally now, and my soul feels tougher too. He thought confidently.
He smirked
Time to test it all out
He placed his hand gently on the centre of the gate.
Instantly, both doors were torn from their hinges with surgical precision—ripped away cleanly while leaving the gate's frame completely untouched.
The heavy doors sailed through the air, crashing far into the town with resounding clangs that echoed off empty buildings. Yet somehow, no one stirred from their sleep.
Zero stepped through the empty frame, his bone walkers poured in behind him like a silent tide.
Without a single word or gesture, Bonewalkers spread throughout the town in perfect formation—groups of 176 moving to annihilate each guard post.
Zero continued down the main thoroughfare, passing rows of darkened buildings and empty streets. Minutes later, he emerged into the market square.
Then he spoke, using his mana to enhance his voice, allowing it to boom across the town.
"Any strong people come to the market square! I am the boss here; you want this to stop, you must get through me!" he said.
He closed his eyes, a playful grin on his face, as he waited for someone strong to show up, brilliant plan by me hehe! he thought tapping his foot patiently
5 minutes later he was still waiting.
Clanging of metal clashing could be heard more vividly now but Zero was unbothered still waiting for his own fight.
Another 5 minutes more….
His eyes still closed, a line of sweat came down the side of his temple, patience growing thin.
Another 5 minutes later….
Zero was sitting on the ground cross legged.
His voice boomed again "Hey! Anyone! Market square! Come now!"
Yawning he spoke to himself
"This is soo—booring !"
After even more time had passed, bells rang for emergency. All guard barracks had been hit hard by the assaults with only one completely taken out. Its captain and lieutenant being the only ones that survived.
The other three fought the bone walkers off by making them retreat and scatter around the town.
Zero was fast asleep cross-legged, head slumped on his hand.
5 warriors stood around him.
"Is that the boss or just a kid?" one of them questioned
A big heavy, armoured man with a large mace stepped up.
"I don't care, never seen him, so he must be the enemy!"
No hesitation, he raised his mace up and swung down on Zero in his slumber….
He gasped sharply
As his mace stopped on a small purple barrier that covered Zero.
"Wha. A barrier?... A-and.., it's draining my strength?" he said as his arms shook against the barrier.
His vision blurred slightly as he started to get wobbly.
"Lieutenant, what's wrong?!" one of the others shouted.
The voice barely reached him.
He wobbled and swayed in confusion as his vision mis-aligned
Too weak to even lift his mace up off the barrier.
"W-what's goin—on" he said
"Litentuant look out." One of the warriors shouted.
Zero's head was turned around, looking up with his weary eyes. Still trying to comprehend what's going on.
Noticing Zero he screamed, "Ah!!"
Mustering all the strength he could he lifted his mace off the barrier attempting to back away from the boy. But Zero held his hand out, his mana enveloped him stopping him in his tracks.
"Wait…"
He said groggily, while rubbing his eyes he got up and walked closer.
"Too tall" he said flatly
Zero's mana forced the litentaunt to his knees, His armour clanging against the stone beneath him.
Zero got up to his face, rubbing his eyes again to make sure…
Finally realising, Zero grinned cheerfully,
"Finally, people to fight!"
The man desperately struggled, but Zero's mana thinly coated him keeping him still and in place.
"Oh my!"
Zero Spun his body around, counting, "One. Two. Three. Four. Five… andddd"
Then pointing at the warrior he's holding still.
"Six!"
His expression darkened, putting two fingers to the lieutenant's chest and sending the big guy crashing toward the bottom of a tower which caused it to crumble down on top of him, blood soon seeping out from the bottom.
"I mean. Five." His tone dropped cold, hand still stretched out.
Everyone was stunned with shock, but as Zero turned around looking at all of them, they immediately readied their stances.
They all stood readying their weapons at different sides of Zero.
Zero's face turned smug as he raised his hands. His tone went back to normal.
"First, let's make this more exciting!"
Still facing forward, he casually turned one arm behind him and launched a tiny fireball toward the gate. As it travelled through the air, it began expanding rapidly, growing larger and larger until it became a massive sphere of soul-like flame, wider than the broken gate itself.
The explosion erupted with such force that waves of scorching heat reached all the way to the market square. Every warrior fell silent, some beginning to sweat as they stared in stunned disbelief at the sheer power displayed before them—by this seemingly ordinary boy.
The entire entrance was now engulfed in roaring soul-like flames.
"Also, those are not normal flames so don't even think about it! Anyway, what was I going to propose mmmmm" Zero thought with hand on his chin and tapping his foot.
The air was tense. With each tap, the warriors' anticipation grew, some of them visibly shaking, gulping even—Completely restless.
"OH! —Ok I got it. Let's play a game!"
First Zero bent down, and coated his fingertip in mana drawing a tiny purple lined circle about three feet wide around his feet.
Then standing up he spoke, raising his finger
"So basically, what will happen is I won't move from this spot, but I will let everyone try to hit me once and if you miss you die ok?" he said as he tapped his foot, the ring glowing in response.
Everyone was struck by a mixture of silence and confusion but one who caught on shouted "and if we hit!"
Zero's face turned smug; his tone dropped low.
"You can try, but you won't get that far."
….
He continued with a playful grin.
"Anyway, you can start now"
Everyone looked at each other
All of them were scared to go first.
Worried.
Some would signal for another to go, but none would move.
As nerves continued to rise even higher, Zero voice cut through
"If it is easier I can just choose who I want to kill first—?"
One of them, a captain, with a jet black mohawk broke toward Zero.
Yelling at the top of his lungs, with dual swords in hands.
He swung one of his blades at Zero and missed as Zero moved his body to one side. "Nice hair!" Zero complimented.
Then the guy followed-up with a second slash horizontally, but Zero raised his finger, his mana stopping the mohawk captain mid action.
Zero swayed his finger.
"No cheating, I said once!"
Zero's grin grew wider than the mohawk itself as he raised his two fingers steadily toward the stomach of the mohawk captain, withering mana coalesced at his finger tips, mohawk man struggled trying to break free his face screaming with wordless panic before—
"Boom" Zero blew a tiny hole straight through his armour and out his lower back.
The wound fizzled and popped, with purple necrotic ooze for a heartbeat before the ooze itself dissolved into nothing.
"Captain!" A warrior with a bow and arrow shouted. And knocked an arrow on his bow.
The other warriors watched on with a mixture of anger and fear.
The mohawk captain fell hard to his knees, chest heaving and clutching his wound as hot blood spilled from his mouth, splattering on the cold ground in front of Zero.
Zero repositioned his feet turning to face the mohawk captain who's head lowered.
"Unlucky. Better luck next time…." he said with a plain face.
"oh, wait there is no next time!" His face twisted as he brought his fingers to the captain's forehead and telekinetically flicked him away.
"Four left, who's next!"
The mohawk captain crashed through a building. Dead.
As Zero spun around.
The man from earlier shot his arrow at Zero, but he stepped to the side dodging it.
Immediately after, many small blood needles formed from the mohawk captain's blood, around Zero in the air.
"Ready?" Zeros said, as he sent them toward the terrified arrow captain at blistering speed.
They Splintered him, each one hitting a nerve, causing him to fall to the ground convulsing frantically.
Before he ultimately died.
"Three"
But then another captain, a woman clad in armour.
Jumped over Zero trying to slash down.
"Interesting."
He said as he stopped her mid-air with telekinesis and dropped her.
She felt dumbfounded as she laid on the floor.
He shrugged "No one said I couldn't just do that..."
She got up, enraged as she swung her blade toward Zero's neck. But he already ducked under it, while two purple orbs materialised on either side of him.
Let me try this, Zero muttered as he ducked under the attack.
He touched her armour mid duck sending a wave blackened mana which washed over her whole armour—instantly it became rusted and crumbled into bits and pieces including her helmet leaving only her chain mail to protect her.
The woman warrior, recovering from her attack's momentum, went in for another attack, her voice yelling a warrior cry. But Zero straightened himself, creating two mini sized black orbs, within in his hand
"HAHA EAT THIS!" he said, shoving both black orbs in her mouth.
She jolted back as they entered her mouth.
Zero flicked his fingers, using his telekinesis to fling her up into the sky.
As she exploded, body parts and remnants of armour flew everywhere.
Zero eyes glinted, maliciously.
"Two left now!"
One warrior stepped back. "Forget this! I'm running!" dropped his weapons and ran away.
Zero's face shifted to disappointment as his shadow just grew, reaching under the man.
The man's eyes caught the shadow chasing him, "Where is this shadow coming from?"
Shadow snakes sprouted out of it, as they stuck to his ankles.
Dragging him slowly toward Zero by the ankles.
Then they bite his wrists and flip him around, his back facing the ground.
Zero smiled maniacally as he sat on top of the guy and put his hand to the man's face. His face slowly and gruesomely decays. The guy called out and shouted for help, but he didn't get the last person, a female warrior…
Just stood there petrified with fear.
"This is your punishment hahaha!" Zero cackled sadistically
The shadows of Zero's action were being portrayed on buildings behind her as she sank to the ground, holding her mouth, her legs trembling in terror.
Zero's laughter continued to get louder and louder smothering his screams of terror
...
Then
Zero let go of the warrior's face, parts of his skull now showing in the shape of Zero's palm.
Skin slipping off his face, in a horrible mush.
Zero nonchalantly stood up, commenting
"He would be a great undead…oh that reminds me I can summon new things now"
As Zero talked to himself, the female warrior was struck with so much fear, Urine started pooling around her.
Zero paid no mind to her as he now flicked through the spell book excitedly.
The female warrior sits stunned at the boy, her thoughts rushing.
"How could anyone defeat three peak E ranks and three E-ranks all at once?...He wasn't even taking us seriously either! I mean even a peak D rank like our commander, would struggle to defeat this many of us."
"Not even just that but he hasn't moved an inch from that spot"
Her eyes widened in terror, a realisation dawned on her
"What can I do? I am just a lieutenant, we are all doomed…"
She grabbed her spear lifting it….
Zero readjusted his focus on the last one.
Turning the spear's tip toward herself.
Let me just end it to save the trouble.
"NO! WAIT!"
She stopped just nigh from her throat
"You can't do it, please don't!" Zero shouted desperately.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" she said weakly.
"Well, I need to finish the game obvio—!"
She groaned, pulling it toward her throat but Zero flicked it away with his telekinesis.
"Nope, my game, my rules!"
"Fine. Whatever, just do it!" she gave in.
"And you won't feel pain"
"Whatever. Make it quick." She closed her eyes
Zero raised his arm up toward her, she put her head down waiting…
"Well…. Physical pain that is." He muttered to himself.
A bolt of soul-like fire shows up in his palm. He threw it. The fire phased into her and for just a second, she felt nothing at all.
She looked around, patting her body in confusion. "Why's nothing hap—"
Suddenly, an indescribable burning erupted from deep within her—not on her skin, but somewhere far deeper. She screamed as the fire consumed her from the inside out, her life force being drained away with vicious intensity
In the span of a heartbeat, flames engulfed her entire body. Through the inferno, only the dark silhouette of her skeleton could be seen, her very soul shrinking and crumbling apart before Zero's eyes.
When the flames finally died out, she collapsed—nothing more than a dried, empty husk on the ground.
"Well, that was fun. But surely that can't be all the strong fighters right?" he said, dusting off his hands.
"Hey!" Someone shouted behind him, interrupting.
Zero turned around intrigued
He then gasped in amazement.
As he saw a fully armoured and bulky dwarf holding a war hammer with one hand, while pointing at him.
"Did you cause all this, kid!" he said looking at all the body parts and blood everywhere.
Zero was stunned beyond belief as he scurried toward the dwarf. Until he stood over the dwarf.
"Did you hear me?! Did you do it or not!" the dwarf face tensely locked onto Zero's, curious face.
Zero used his hands, and measured from his head down toward the dwarfs head, to see the difference in height between them both.
"Hey, what are you doing up there!" the dwarf yelled
Zero eyes scanned the distance between his height and the dwarfs height.
"No way…" he muttered under his breath.
"what! Answer dammit!" the dwarf recalled.
Zero's face twisted as he struggled to suppress a laugh, his lips twitched with barely contained amusement.
The dwarf looked visibly creeped out as Zero's twisted gaze bore down on him from above.
"Eh..." The dwarf stared back, confusion written across his weathered features.
Then Zero burst into uncontrollable laughter, throwing his head back and clutching his chest as he doubled over with mirth.
The dwarf's face flushed red with anger and embarrassment.
"Whatever it is, say it to my face, you stupid kid!"
Then getting all in his face Zero said "kid? Who are you calling, kid? Am only five foot four inches in height, what are you like four foot eleven inches hahaha!"
The dwarf height reached up to Zero's upper chest.
His face got even redder to the point of shaking with it.
Zero kept laughing in the dwarfs face.
His anger had boiled over when Zero had patted his head saying "ohh did I make you angry—little guyyyy!"
Zero kept laughing
The dwarf then gripped his Warhammer tight and raised it up in the air with two hands.
"RRGGHAAA"
Zero instinctively backed away, with a smug smear on his face and gaining some distance.
A yellow sigil glowed on the face of the Warhammer
Zero's eyes caught this, "Oh. This might be fun"
The dwarf slammed it down, it sent out sparks of yellow mana which travelled toward Zero rupturing the ground as it went.
From the ground stone spikes suddenly formed. Way too slow hehe. Zero thought Inches before it impaled him, his form went shadowy as he dashed through every single one even through the dwarf.
The dwarf felt chills all over his body.
Now back-to-back, Zero turned his head, a twisted smile spreading across his face as soft giggles escaped his lips.
"Hehehe..." His laughter echoed like the whisper of a haunting ghost, chilling and unnatural.
A blue beam is fired from the side, without even turning to look at it Zero had already phased through the dwarf again.
A beam soared sparkling with a moon lit glow, through his outline and hit a crumbled tower, exploding it.
The dwarf phased through again, had a shivered feeling now all over his body
"Ahhh!" He screamed dropping his weapon
He fell to his knees, clutching his shoulders, shaking now caught in this uncomfortable sudden chill.
Zero appeared further into the square.
Looking over smugly he shouted
"What's wrong?" he said knowingly
Holding himself, the dwarf said, "Stop doing that!" his voice cracking with annoyance
with a single tear sitting on the bottom lid of his eye.
Zero boldly cackled at this.
One mage woman came in from the side knelt next to the commander, as she spoke
"Commander, we have regained control of the situation and dealt with the majority of the enemies, what now?"
The commander wiped his eye, standing up and picking up his Warhammer
"Did your captain survive?"
"Yes we are the only ones from the barrack that survived but we parted ways, shortly before I made my way here."
"Alright then! Get ready for your first real battle, lieutenant Morwen"
Morwen turned her head and gasped, holding her mouth in shock.
"What rank is he commander!"
"Not sure but he's probably quite high considering he caused this mess."
She gulped hard, her eyes darted around at the scattered corpses littering the ground.
Her gaze stumbled upon one particular body.
Zero's entire hand was embedded through its face, the imprint grotesquely clear in the decaying bone and flesh.
She quickly looked away, clamping her hand tight over her mouth as her stomach lurched, fighting back the urge to be sick.
He glanced back, "I know how you feel, but get ready we are entering battle!"
Calming herself, she raised her staff defensively, gripping it with both hands. She wore a long, dark blue dress that draped across her entire body, its hem pooling on the ground around her feet. Her staff was a towering piece of craftsmanship—longer than her 5'7" frame—topped with a decently sized spherical crystal that caught the dim light.
Her pastel blue hair fell in unkempt waves around her shoulders, and her striking, lunar eyes. Contrasted against her weary, battle-worn appearance. Despite her slight exhaustion, she held her ground, staff at the ready.
They are both readied themselves, as Zero just watched completely amused.
"Well since everyone is here…"
From behind him a bandaged captain snuck up behind Zero, dagger in hand
"Oh that's right, I forgot about the battlefield." he said while grabbing his staff from his back and raising it in the air.
A necrotic wave of mana comes from his staff of deluxe spreading out all around him.
Spreading through the town.
Each dead corpse in town was touched by it.
Corrupting. Void spirits swirled. Inhabiting. Starting to animate.
All corpses with flesh rose as thralls.
All defeated bone walkers rose again stronger.
Any dead animals rose as thrall like beasts
Dominating their minds with his authority, as they all wreaked havoc.
The captain behind Zero saw this as an opportunity and thrusted his sword toward Zero.
It hit a barrier. But Zero didn't care to acknowledge it. The Captain, seeing this, continued his thrusts at the barrier.
Zero then puts his staff on his back again and raises his other hand up.
Blue souls from the three captains and lieutenants left their bodies and hovered above Zero.
The souls filled the space with an eerie whisper which pierced the ears of everyone. Until Zero swiped his hand, shattering all of them into ten fragments each.
He then brought his hand back and closed his palm, which caused purple mana to consume them from inside out, corrupting them.
Turning them into fragmental shadow wisps.
Faint globes of light drifted in the air, ghostly spheres tinged with pale blue and black, like dying embers swallowed by purple shadow.
The sheer number of them swirled in the air like a dark storm, sixty fractured souls hovering and twisting, their black-and-blue forms flickering like shards of dying light caught in a violent wind.
Everyone marvelled at the display.
As they all looked stunned at it.
Drogna emerged from beneath his cloak, her scaly form slithering up behind his neck. She crawled partially around his neck, her sleek body half-visible as the master ebon coil was still wrapped around her torso.
She moved closer to his ear. Sensing her presence, he tilted his head toward her, offering his attention.
She opened her mouth once, then closed it without making a sound.
His expression immediately turned serious.
"Alright, thank you," he said calmly.
She immediately returned under his cloak
"Oh. And Drogna!"
She came back up.
He held up his hands doing symbols and gestures
She nodded her head returning back again.
"Now then" He said, As he turned around all the wisps spread throughout the town.
Covering it with their terror going in homes and attaching to people leaching them dry of their mana.
Empowering themselves.
While making people run with fear.
As they terrorised, it aided the thralls devouring flesh by scaring people toward them, which helped wear down soldiers.
So, bone walkers could strike them down easier.
The captain behind Zero, had completely got out his awe, and gritted himself as he lashed out toward Zero who had fully acknowledged him—but Zero didn't even let him get close, as with the flick of his hand, the captain's weapon arm was ripped straight from his body in motion with effortless precision.
Blood sprayed across the ground as the captain collapsed backward, screaming in agony.
Now towering over the fallen man, Zero gazed down with a grim expression.
It's sad that I must end this so soon. It was just getting good, he thought, his face darkening with disappointment.
But the Dwarf appeared behind him "GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
Without moving or reacting Zero phantom dashed—backwards, phasing through the dwarf.
He was now in between both the dwarf and morwen.
The dwarfs turned around shaking off the chills and even angrier than ever the dwarf raised his warhammer flipping to its other face, which has a different yellow sigil. Mana sparked off it.
Morwen had her grimoire open, chanting the incantations for a powerful spell, while five moonlit arrowheads floated around her, all aimed at Zero and ready to fire.
The dwarf slammed his Warhammer flat into the ground with all his force.
The impact caused a quick, spark of yellow mana on the ground. Before the earth beneath him rumbled. Instantly, numerous large stone spikes erupted from the fractured surface floating around him.
All the upward-facing stone spikes suddenly pivoted, their jagged points now aimed directly at Zero.
He roared as he stepped forward, with a mighty swing of his Warhammer, he launched them all hurtling toward his target.
"TAKE THIS!" his voice echoed with primal fury.
Zero, noticing all the attacks around him, he smiled crazily "MAYBE I CAN HAVE SOME FUN!"
He stood there taking the brunt of the attack with his mana barrier, then as the dust and smoke billowed, four Zeros emerged from different sides of the haze. Two shot into the air while the other two stayed on the ground, all spreading outward and making silly faces at Morwen.
Disgusted, she instantly fired at them, her missile spell tunnelled toward each, one hitting without fail.
As they exploded necrotic ooze splattering everywhere.
I got them all. He's still in that smoke. I need to be quicker with this Tier 3 spell, she thought to herself, though her face tightened under the intensity, the pressure mounting as her mind tried to keep up.
As soon as both Morwen's attacks and the dwarfs had finished, Zero phantom dashed straight through the smoke leaving no disturbance in the smoke, toward the dwarf.
Zero appeared in front of the dwarf swinging with a naked palm and his staff was no longer with him nor his book on his hip.
I thought he was a mage and he's trying to palm strike me? Why would he try to enter close combat with a warrior? Surely he knows my warhammer will get to him before he can.. And his palm doesn't even seem to have a spell there—though knowing mages it must be a spell.
The dwarf war hammer instantly swung down with such speed that even though Zero was already in motion to attack, and the dwarf was slightly late, the dwarf was bound to hit first and slam Zero into ground.
Morwen far behind him was shaken up as she had felt an immense chill all over her body which distracted her but she regained her position.
Come on, just a bit more, she thought to herself
She was about to finish her spell as two blue magic circles appeared overlapping in front of her.
Zero didn't give her a chance as he jutted two fingers toward her far behind him while mere seconds from being crushed by the dwarf.
Mid-way through her incantation she is silenced as her mouth closed shut.
The magic circle shattered along with her concentration.
Impossible, he can still keep track of me while distracted like that? He's not even facing me and he used a spell, she thought puzzled
Shakely sighing, a lines of sweat formed on the side of her temple.
She shook her head, "let me try this!" gripping her staff as her mana surged through it. It crackled with power. She thrusted it forward, sending a massive wave of mana toward them both.
In that same instant, Zero with his palm still outstretched, twisted away from the incoming attack. Mid-twist, he swiped his finger across the dwarfs armour, blackened mana pulsing across its surface, busted his armour into pieces then,
Still in motion, he spun upward and leaped into the air, behind and atop the dwarf. With both hands held wide at his sides, he smiled wickedly before swinging them forward.
The dwarf desperately coated himself in mana reinforcement, as Zero used the sheer force of his telekinesis to send the armour less dwarf deep into the ground, his entire body embedded in the crater. Cracks spider-webbed outward from the devastating impact. A tremor shook the entire town, the cracks stretching further across the broken stone.
Zero cackled as debris and dust settled around them.
"I got a tad bit hasty there, but surprisingly my body was able to execute nicely."
He casually slipped his hands into his pockets, head tilted down as the Morwen's mana wave finally reached him, clashing against his barrier in brilliant sparks.
But Zero simply flicked his head toward it, dispersing the entire wave effortlessly. His eyes flashed with deep, twisted purple delight.
Mana radiated off him, like mist as he pranced directly onto the dwarf's buried head. Burying it deeper.
"Ahahahaha!" His sadistic laughter echoed across the battlefield.
So absorbed in his gloating, he didn't realize...
Morwen finished her spell as two blue magic circles completely overlapped, then spread apart her arms. A thick yellow thunderbolt darted toward Zero, flashing across his face before he could even react. His barrier took the hit and began to crack.
Zero stared at it, almost entranced and stunned by its raw power as it shattered his barrier completely.
At that moment, he tried to phantom dash backward, but the commander already reached for his leg.
Managing to clutch on Zero's foot just before he could phantom dash, Zero still entranced, didn't even fight back.
As he fell back, the dwarf barely managed to keep hold of his foot.
The wounded captain—his arm now bandaged with his ripped clothes—crawled forward and used his good arm to spin his leg around, kicking Zero's head up directly into the path of the lighting spell.
The bolt went straight through Zero's head, obliterating it along with his neck. His body collapsed to the ground, necrotic pus bubbling and oozing out of his remnants.
Morwen cheered happily, We won? We won!"
The dwarf commander laid down painfully laughing, while the other captain cheered with morwen, "yes we did it!"
"Don't you think it's too early for a celebration?" Morwen froze.
Before she could do a thing, Zero's staff pierced straight through her lower back, the pointed end protruding from her stomach. Purple veins sprouted from the wound.
He yanked it out as she collapsed. "No—" Her voice hitched as she fell to the ground.
Zero grinned down at her. "Also, thanks for the spell. It's pretty cool."
His eyes glowed with the killer's intent that radiated toward the two remaining warriors.
The dwarf struggled to his feet, stumbling but pushing through with sheer determination. Sighing heavily, he said, "I'm sorry, to the people , I am sorry to everyone single one of my soldiers. This is my final stand." pieces of his armour clanked to the ground as he stood up fully, warhammer in hand. His face and body were battered and bruised.
He then rushed forward, gritting his teeth, the sigils on the faces of his weapon glowed and surged with power. Creating a small sphere of mana at both faces of his hammer.
Zero kept walking calmly toward him as a purple magic circle formed in front of his outstretched hand, sparking with purple electric mana.
The circle fired a massive, deep purple thunderbolt.
The dwarf met it head-on with his Warhammer. "RAAAAAA!"
Electricity sparked in all directions, scorching the battlefield around them. Mana arced everywhere as the bolt slowly pushed him back, his Warhammer beginning to crack under the pressure.
"I can't..." He glanced back at his town and the remaining captain. General, I served my part. I served the people. And I lived a life full of vigor and purpose.
He let go.
The thunder obliterated his head instantly, then gradually became larger, consuming his entire body. The beam continued toward the captain.
The captain simply knelt there, looking up at the approaching destruction with a peaceful smile. "We all served the people the best we could."
The thunderbolt eviscerated him completely, then continued straight through the town and the flaming rubble of the gate until it struck a distant mountain, exploding in a massive burst.
Zero looked around at the destruction, frowning slightly. "Well, I had a bit of fun."
He saw some souls rising up to the sky.
"Been awhile now. Time to get a move on now."
He turned around, refocussing and looking at his surroundings.
"Oh, fragments survived!"
With his finger he curled his finger toward both, the dwarf, which was a yellow fragment, the captain which was a red one.
He lifted his hand up.
A shadow wisp appeared,
He gave it to the fragments, and it quickly devoured and absorbed them.
It turned a Firey orange in colour.
The wisp flew around him in delight of its new power.
"It's interesting. how it affected it mmmm"
Zero looked over to the girl.
She lay dead
Purple veins stretched across her entire drained face and lifeless body.
A pool of blood surrounded her as he walked to her.
Standing over her, you could tell she was dead. But something seemed to persist. Persevere even.
Zero crouched down, hand on his chin, straight faced, wisp buzzed around him,
"Fascinating…"
He brought out a small, tinted vial of black liquid out.
His finger traced the vial, as he pondered for a moment—then smirked, still looking at the vile.
"You're probably wondering where I got the venom from. Well, this specific vial, I got from an alchemist, I didn't know much about alchemy and potions so, he showed me around, naming each one and how it worked, it was boring, until he told me about the venom, I instantly grabbed it." he explained while swaying the vile.
"He told me; this specific venom weakens the body by eating your mana and the more mana it eats the more it damages and cripples your body. Ingredients are really scarce in Viscura, so he told me it would cost more especially because it was the only one in his store."
He paused for a moment, his eyes darted at her dead body.
"Am sure you know how that ended."
His eyes went back to the vile, as he rubbed his chin, inspecting it closer.
"Anyway, I placed only a drop of venom on the end of my staff then magically infused it with necrotic mana, so that it not just targets the body but the soul too,and by now it was supposed to diminish both…"
"Mmm" he put the vile away and began inspecting her.
"The soul usually lingers in the body after its death, for around 10 minutes before a soul completely passes, obviously it's not been 10 minutes completely yet, But aside from the effects of the infused necro venom, the point is…"
The wisp flew around Zero's head and past his face.
"Souls during this time feel very faint. But yours now that I am paying attention it's still very vigorous"
He brings his hands out over her body.
Morwen's soul floated into Zero's palm.
"Wow, it's not just your A rank soul quality that's impressive, your soul..."
He looked further into it seeing flowing patterns in it.
"hm? Is this the soul trait thing Alana was telling me about?"
"Think she said it was powerful traits that are extremely rare and can be found in anyone and equally in those of minimal talent"
"Alright then I have made my mind up completely from your strong abilities and your immense talent, I will make you mine!"
The wisp continued buzzing around him in wild excitement, Zero face twitched—and suddenly the wisp imploded violently, its miasma floating in the air alongside two now shadowy fragments they pulsed with their distinct colours.
He snatched the fragments from the air, crushing them together in his closed fist. When he opened his palm, it revealed an orange, transparent orb with a core that burned like a steady furnace.
As her soul hovered in his other palm, he forced the orb toward it. Slowly, her soul began absorbing the orange mana, the orb's light dimming as it was consumed…
Deep in a black void,
She floated weightlessly; her body curled in a fetal position. The outline of her form was barely visible against the darkness, her hair drifting like it was underwater, lunar-eyes half-closed in exhaustion.
"Why did this have to happen to me? Why today of all days... I finally did what everyone kept pushing me to do—joined the Order just a month ago. Now look at me: stuck in the middle of nowhere, dead." She let out a bitter sigh. "At least I don't have to deal with life anymore. I can just sleep forever."
She slowly stretched her body out, embracing this strange clarity.
"No more getting nagged. No more worrying about expectations. No more disappointment. No more ridicule. No more pressure."
A peaceful feeling resonated within her.
"The only downside is there are no books to read here."
—"HEY!" a voice suddenly interjected.
Her eyes snapped open in shock, as she faced him.
"Who are you?!"
She backed away frantically.
"It's me, obviously. Dummy. I'm here to give you orders."
"I'd rather stay dead, so just leave me alone," she said, her voice calm but firm.
"Oh, I know. That's exactly why I'm not asking."
An enormous soul-like orange orb appeared beside them, crackling with violent mana.
She looked up at it in horror. "What the—?"
"I'm forcing you into obedience. But first, you need to absorb this."
She tried to flee. "No! Leave me alone!"
He flicked his hand casually, sending her hurtling directly into the orb.
She screamed in agony, fighting desperately as the mana consumed her.
Back in the real world—
Her soul floated upward, transforming into an ethereal blue spirit with glowing white eyes and a wisp-like body that blazed with mana.
Zero smirked, his eyes shut in satisfaction.
"Well, that worked, the void spirit mixed with those other soul fragments I corrupted was strong enough to suppress her consciousness completely for now…"
This will give me time to sway her to my side, I could easily force her into obedience, her soul is weaker than mine so it wouldn't be hard to dominate it, but that just wouldn't be fun would it. So I will add extra layers of suppression, then a little precaution for myself, just in case something does go wrong. Zero said as he manipulated her soul, with his own mana and coated it.
Then once he had done he thrusted his hand forward.
Her body crackled with purple mana surging with even more power as her wisp-like form shifted from blue to deep purple.
"All finished I've given you authority. Now that's out of the way, time for a name!"
Crosses formed in the air made out of her mana above her, spelling out No.
"Spirit Lady?"
No.
"Ghost Lord?"
No.
Zero continued undeterred.
"Wisp Queen?"
No.
"Will-o'-Wisp?"
She formed another crossed No in the air.
Until Drogna went to his ear whispering.
Zero just nodded.
Drogna comes out of his cloak perching on his shoulder, and jumps off it on the ground.
Hard yet softly.
Zero feels a lightness on his back
"ohhh I feel so much better now!"
Drogna slapped her tail, on ground
Zero flinched "yah yah, whatever." he said
He began drawing a large magic circle on the ground quickly and efficiently
"Anyway, since I don't have time."
He stood up after making a large magic circle holding his staff an inch before it.
"Your instructions are to follow Drogna to the check in. keep him alive as you finish eradicating this town, pile up all corpses in that magic circle," he pointed toward the one he just made. "Then rally the army at the magic circle I planted outside the town and use it, then charge to the first town you see." he pointed outside the town.
"I will meet you there. Also, you should devour some souls while you're a—" he tapped the tip of his staff on a smaller magic circle he made around himself.
Teleporting
The wisp turning Itself into long slope of mana like mana it carried Drogna as she pointing out the way
In the next town raid
A bit of distance away from the original town
There lay a large magic circle
Its pulsed as Zero teleported in particles mana, spreading out as he appeared
Leaving his staff at the edge of the massive magic circle.
"Reinforcements will come soon."
So, follow me.
They did without a word.
…
The town itself was being attacked but everyone was alert.
All the bone walkers lay on the outside attacking the gate.
But they couldn't get in; many mages and soldiers were shooting them down one by one from atop the gate.
Inside the town.
in the chairman's office.
The chairmen sat under his desk. Scared for his life.
"Commander, are you sure we are safe!"
She sighed softly "Yes. The captains have it under control, My artisans are the one the strongest in the whole order of nobility, we are the artisans."
A woman sat at the side, her skin a luminous blue with an ethereal complexion. She had piercing clear blue eyes and sleek black hair that contrasted beautifully with her otherworldly appearance.
She wore a practical outfit of white cloth and brown leather, topped with a traditional mage's hat. Her ears came to subtle points, marking her as something more than human.
She sat to the side reading a small book, her gaze lingering on each page...
As she thinks to herself, the appearance of undead in a land such as this is so absurd, honestly I haven't been here very long. I came shortly after the land had reformed fully but to think a necromancer could be here of all places. I would be lying if i said i hadn't been told stories of their history with chaos, i just never believed them fully but now that i am here… It's very interesting to say the least but that's nothing me or my guild can't handle by ourselves…
A few minutes passed before a voice cut through the silence.
"HEY!"
The booming voice echoed across the area. The commander kept her eyes on her book, completely unbothered.
The chairman jumped in fear, smacking his head against the underside of his desk with a loud thud.
The commander rolled her eyes at his pathetic display.
"Can the commander come out already?! It's getting boring out here!"
"CAN YOU PLEASE HANDLE THIS, COMMANDER TRISH?!" he squealed, pleading desperately with her from under his desk.
She sighed heavily, slowly lowering her book and slipping it into the satchel beside her chair.
"Okay, okay. I'm heading out," she said, her voice remaining perfectly calm.
As she walked toward the door, she added, "I'm starting to get pissed off anyway."
Her soft blue eyes lit up with dangerous intent.
The chairman lay defeated under his desk, muttering weakly, "Finally..."
She vanished in an instant, leaving only a powerful gust of wind in her wake.
The necromancer was standing amongst the bodies of all 8 captains and lieutenants.
The town had also been breached completely.
People screamed
Blood covered the ground, body parts and bits of flesh lay scattered across the field.
Corpses were littered, some stuck in the ground, some sent into buildings or structures, and some were just torn limb from limb.
The Necromancer stood, satisfied, humming a tune happily while tapping his foot…
Waiting for his challenger.
The commander looked on the mess with disgust and surprise
Just a kid? And how could he—Take out 8 high end E ranks? From my guild? And be completely unscathed! she thought appalled.
"Hey! Finally you came, I have not, got all day you know."
Her face twisted into a wretched look as veins popped on her forehead.
Only a moment passes as Trish's rage builds.
"Eh… can we fight now, I am getting bored with just staring at each other."
Trish's eyes filled up with violent blue mana, along it flaring up around her.
"You want a fight, I will give more than that!..."
Charging up powerful bolts of concentrated mana in both hands she blasts at him continuously.
The necromancer sidesteps them with his shadowy dashes.
"Oh you're strong!"
Then he dashed up to her face.
Trish gets shocked, stopping her assault
"Wait" he said raising his finger, "let's play a game"
She fumed internally
There is no way this murderous fiend is trying to seriously PLAY A...
Her mana surged around her in thick waves.
"GAME!" she bursted out loud
He dashed backward, but she instantly conjured a massive fireball and hurled it toward him.
"Woah, that's huge!" He braced himself behind a barrier.
As he did, the very air warped behind him. He glanced back to see her materializing, both hands raised, firing a rapid barrage of concentrated mana bolts at him.
The overwhelming assault sent him crashing directly into her fireball.
A massive explosion erupted, the intense heat singeing the corpses scattered across the ground. Her eyes never left the blast site, still blazing with fluorescent mana
He hit the ground hard, black smoke rising from his body. He stood up slowly, wobbling to one side with his head hanging low...
Then came. The grin.
He dashed straight through her again, faster than before. She didn't realize what happened until she felt him phase through her body.
"As I was saying," he said casually, now positioned behind her.
She spun around, firing more concentrated mana bolts.
He kept dashing side to side, easily avoiding her attacks.
"I can't use any spell that I have. I can only use ones that you use."
He's too fast. I will need to change my tactics!
He zipped in front of her again.
"The game starts now!"
He backed away no phantom dash. No barrier. No nothing. Only what she shows him.
They stood off.
This kid's going to pay! I will show him how strong I truly am. With one hand she sends a large mana wave his way.
The necromancer holds his block up high. No mana. He tumbled along the ground being pushed far back.
Trish was surprised "what, why did he do that?" Then she smiled "whatever I can use to my advantage!"
She hovered in the air and started to speed toward him at high speeds.
While flying, she takes two fingers out and compressed air at her fingertips and fired them like bullets.
The necromancer tried to get up, his expression darkened as he was pelted heavily with a barrage of wind. The necromancer in an attempt of pushing through tried stepping forward but instead he fell to one knee, blood trailing down the corner of his mouth.
She sent even more but this time the necromancer managed to push through being pelted and started running toward her.
Trish stopped her charge skidding on earth, and thrusted her hands up, as a small wall of earth sprouted in front of her.
The necromancer sprinted forward, his hand outstretched as wind and his necrotic mana compressed within his palm. The combination creating a ball of wind with a sickly violet hue. He blasted the wall, and on impact it shattered into pieces.
This gave the necromancer full view of Trish, as she backed. making space.
Her eyes widened, Dammit didn't think he would get through. No matter! she thought resolutely.
Trish stretched her hand out but so did the necromancer…
A burst of embers exploded beneath him, but he retaliated instantly, dark purple flames erupting under her feet. She managed to cast a quick mana barrier around herself, but some of the soul fire slipped through before the shield fully formed, catching her wrist as continued to make space.
She flailed her arm frantically, trying to extinguish the clinging flames. After a few desperate moments, she managed to put them out.
Her hand was left charred and scorched, the skin blackened from the necrotic fire.
Only surface burns—no soul damage thanks to my bloodline, she thought with relief.
The necromancer stumbled toward Trish, charred from top to bottom.
He walked with his arms hanging, lifting himself from his hunched posture and straightened himself.
How does he keep going? Mages are not this physically tough!
Desperate, she sends out a beam of light.
From her palm
He smirked using his finger and at the last second before it reached him, he sent out a ray of darkness that erased the light immediately.
Lasering a whole straight through her hand, as she holds it in pain. "AH"
Necromancer lifted his head as his face lit up smirking.
"HEH how do you like that; I call it the abyssal ray!" the necromancer remarked loudly while breathing heavily.
She shoved her hands to ground
"Shut it! you insufferable fiend!"
A pillar of earth raised as a jagged spire from the ground it slashed at his leg leaving a deep gash, as he jumped to the side.
He tumbled on the ground.
"Ack!" he squirmed a bit.
She instantly fired another light beam from her charred palm, as he tried to get up, it punched straight through his shoulder.
In the same moment, she conjured a water whip that lashed out and caught him, wrapping around the torso, coiling tightly as it bound him.
With her good hand, she swung him like a ragdoll—first hurling him through a cluster of buildings on one side, then whipping him around to smash through structures on the other. For good measure, she slammed him into the towering spire before finally bringing him crashing down in front of her.
As he lay stunned, another stone spike erupted from the ground, impaling him through the stomach. He coughed up blood, gasping in pain.
Using telekinesis, she lifted him off the spike and dropped him on his back directly at her feet.
She gazed down at him with cold mockery. "It's unbelievable that you thought playing that little game would benefit you in any way."
Three stone spikes shot up from the earth, pinning him to the ground—two through his arms and one through his chest.
Then she crossed her arms and cast a healing touch on herself. All her wounds, burns, and physical ailments disappeared as restorative mana flowed through her body.
I handled it like I said I could chairman. Time to finish it. She thought to herself
Eyes closed in slight relief; she allowed herself a moment of rest.
Then rumbling came from below her, her eyes snapped open.
She dodged out the way as bone spikes shot up from the ground.
She watched on, stunned, as the necromancer pulled his arms off the spikes, blood smearing them.
Then he clasped both on the spike through his chest, and began to pull and twist, his body and face tensed. His teeth grinded, flesh tore as broke the spike off, which left a stub that was still stuck through his back from the ground.
He then slapped his hands under him as he pushed up self off the rest of the spike, Trish was just terrified, as saw she the necromancers, malicious and serious stare.
His bodied stained with blood, "My game isn't finished yet..."
Trish immdiately realised the danger, but it was too late.
A bone spike powerfully shot out from infront of her shattering her,
Instead of keeping up its assault it stopped just nigh of her, as two more bone spikes shot at her, one slashing her waist and other going through her shoulder arm.
Necromancer just walked steadily, holes in his body, blood streaming down as he moved with painstaking effort.
She quickly destroyed the spikes around her and with glimpse of the necromancer coming toward her mind raced, I need to make space between me and him, so I can recollect myself.
Thinking this she flung her arm forward, shouting, "Blur!"
The necromancer's vision immediately blurred, rendering her invisible to his eyes.
Suddenly, a ground spire fused with bones of the dead erupted upward. It caught her eye slashing it open, but she managed to back away before the entire spike could impale her.
Gaining distance, she quickly began healing herself again.
"A mirror image, huh..."
Zero walked straight through the illusory duplicate she had created spotting Trish as she finished healing her wounds.
Huh? He knew?
She charged up a mana bolt, but Zero weakly swiped his hand, sending a wave of mana toward her.
The wave struck her directly, forcing her spirit outside her physical body.
What's happening? Why is my body over there?
The necromancer's voice cut through her confusion as he placed his hand on her physical shoulder.
"Hey there."
Bringing her back instantly.
She looked petrified
"How…"
She felt cold and sluggish
"You know something I just learned about healing magic?"
"It's that, about 10 seconds… 10 seconds is the time the healing mana lingers on the wound it was healing before it dissipates."
"This also makes the mana disposable during that time."
"So, this mana no longer just belongs to you, it belongs to anyone who wishes to command it."
She opened her eyes wide in terror
Her wounds start to appear again.
Her burnt skin.
wounds, cuts and lancerations.
Bruises.
The hole in her hand.
The cut on her eye.
Everything started to reappear.
The necromancer on the other hand began healing.
Every single wound he received healed and closed up
"This spell I just created is called reversal touch."
"And there is one more spell that I created as soon as I saw that water whip of yours,"
Her body contorted and expanded.
"Little note, it involves blood and a…"
she contorts even more and expands until she goes…
"Pop!"
Splattering everywhere.
Blood all over him.
Body pieces strewn across the ground Zero walked over all of it.
"Well, that was a cool idea my first time taking hits like that…"
He observed himself "I could have ended this much earlier, if I just used the barrier she used or even the earth shield, but I wanted to test out how much damage I could take before reaching my limit."
"But it seems I could push it even after all that is way more durable than I originally thought haha! I am amazing!
"But I was a bit surprised at first at how useless I can be without any spells at all... it was kind of…" Zero fist tightened as he refused. "No if I had my normal power I would have dominated instantly. I would never face a foe too strong for me!" he said, smiling from ear to ear.
"But overall, I think this test of my power has been good."
Suddenly, Zero's expression turned deadly serious.
Something rustled in the rubble nearby.
"Come on out now. You've caused quite the ruckus."
Silence.
Then suddenly, a figure was yanked from the debris by Zero's telekinetic grip, pulled directly in front of him.
Zero held him suspended in the air with his power, fixing him with an intensely cold glare before dropping him hard to the ground.
"Hey, I'm sorry!"
"I didn't mean—"
"I don't care about your reasons." Zero's voice was ice cold. "Tell me, what was our vow?"
Zero raised his hand, his eyes shimmering purple as the village burned around them. Wind whipped through his hair.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"Um... um..."
"It's the vow of obedience." Zero answered
The outline of a transparent, pulsing purple heart appeared in Zero's palm.
"Is that my...?!"
Zero closed his fist slightly. The man squirmed in agony as his heart was compressed.
"What was our vow?" Zero pressed, his voice deadly calm.
"Okay, okay! It was to keep everything a secret!"
"And what was my side of it?" Zero pressed again.
"That you wouldn't hurt me."
"And what do you think is going to stop me now that the vow is broken?" Zero pressed even further
"Wa... wait!"
No remorse. No hesitation.
Zero crushed his fist closed, obliterating the transparent heart. The man dropped dead, blood streaming from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
"I don't need people like you around."
He turned to the side, holding his arm out. His staff flew to his hand.
"Well, I guess now I should just wait for reinforcements."
But in that moment, a massive army of 2,000 undead came charging into the village, with the spirit carrying Drogna on its back.
As they approached, the spirit gently transferred Drogna to Zero. She climbed onto his back, and he felt her familiar weight.
"Hey, spirit. Deal with this town. The lead Drogger here will guide you to our meeting point, so finish up here and head there."
He drew a magic circle beneath his feet and teleported away.