The battle was over.
Or rather...
The slaughter was over.
Covered in blood, Acheron finally took her last step across the devastated battlefield.
The blood staining her clothes did not belong only to the spiders.
Several cuts scattered across her body made it clear that, even without their queen to command them, those Awakened Demons had still managed to wound her.
She cast one final glance over the sea of corpses.
Then she walked toward Samael.
Elizabeth, Liu, and Vanitas stood around him.
No one said a word.
Acheron simply nudged Liu and Elizabeth aside with a light shove.
Neither of them complained.
Her gaze settled on Enkidu.
The young man remained kneeling beside Samael.
His Aspect was active.
Roots delicately threaded through the boy's wounds, while tiny flowers bloomed across his bloodstained skin.
It was a strangely beautiful sight.
Especially because it concealed the severity of the situation.
In the center of Samael's abdomen was a massive hole.
His internal organs had been gravely damaged.
Even with regeneration, the flesh was slow to mend.
Every inch seemed to demand an absurd amount of essence.
— So? — Acheron asked.
Enkidu did not answer immediately.
His face was growing paler by the second.
His soul essence was being consumed at a terrifying rate.
After several moments, he let out a long sigh.
— It's bad.
His voice was heavy.
— That spider was venomous.
He continued manipulating his Aspect as he spoke.
The roots slowly absorbed the black poison spreading through Samael's body, but the process was painfully slow.
— I'll be able to save him...
Enkidu paused briefly.
— But it's going to take time.
Elizabeth lowered her head.
Her hands trembled ever so slightly.
Vanitas remained silent, staring at Samael without looking away.
Liu merely clenched her fists.
None of them dared interrupt.
— At least two months before his wounds heal completely.
Enkidu took a deep breath before continuing.
— And even after that... he'll probably remain unconscious for some time.
Silence once again engulfed the forest.
Acheron crossed her arms.
Her expression remained completely serious.
She watched Samael for a few moments.
Then she turned toward the others.
— Let's head back.
Her voice was calm.
But firm.
— We need to talk to Cyrene.
She cast one last glance at Samael before concluding,
— She'll decide what our next step will be.
No one objected.
At that moment...
All they could do was hope that Samael would survive the consequences of that battle.
At that very moment...
Samael slowly opened his eyes.
Before him, the beautiful cemetery remained motionless.
In the distance, the gigantic raven watched everything from atop the stone walls.
— I'm back, Tenebrae.
His voice came out weary.
It was still hard to believe he had returned.
That sword... those arrows...
I think I'm safe.
He let out a long sigh.
I didn't want to trouble them...
But returning now would be pointless.
Elizabeth, Vanitas, and the others were with Acheron.
There was no reason to worry.
Besides...
He would finally have time to explore the rest of the Kingdom of Rime.
— Are you ready, Nephilim? — Tenebrae asked without even looking at him.
— Yes.
Samael stared at the gigantic tree on the horizon.
— Looks like I'll be here for quite a while.
— At least until we reach that tree.
Without replying, Tenebrae simply raised one hand.
The entire enormous cemetery began to move.
The gravestones trembled.
The walls groaned.
It was as though the cemetery itself had come to life.
— Protect the cemetery.
His voice echoed like a command.
— For the next three days, we cannot stop. While I move this citadel, it will be your duty to defend it, Nephilim.
Samael hesitated.
For an instant...
The memory of the hand piercing through his abdomen surged back with full force.
His entire body seemed to relive that pain.
...There can't be anything more terrifying than that.
He took a deep breath.
Gripped Folly's hilt.
— Let's go.
It didn't even take half an hour.
A grotesque wolf with two heads and six legs came charging toward the cemetery.
Samael leaped from the walls before the creature could reach them.
A crooked smile spread across his face.
— Today, I'll be the guardian angel of a demon's cemetery.
...
What an embarrassing line.
Good thing no one heard it.
Even so...
A small smile appeared on his lips.
But cool one-liners are awesome.
The next instant, a claw the size of his head came crashing toward him.
Samael leaned his body to the side.
The claw barely missed him.
Slower than it.
Folly traced an arc toward the creature's neck.
One of the wolf's heads opened its jaws and bit down on the sword before it could reach its target.
Without wasting a moment...
Samael twisted his hips.
His kick struck the wolf square in the abdomen.
The creature was sent flying several meters backward.
His essence was almost completely depleted.
But ever since reaching the First Stage, he had been able to strengthen his body using spirit alone.
It was still enough to fight.
He dismissed Folly.
The Ascended Spear appeared in his hand.
Looking at the weapon, he sighed.
I think I need a new spear.
The wolf charged again.
The long shaft kept the creature at bay.
Thrust.
Another.
And another.
Small cuts began appearing beneath its fur.
As he fought, Samael discreetly kept track of the cemetery's progress.
Fortunately...
The great creatures of Rime seemed incapable of perceiving the moving citadel.
Some mystical effect was probably concealing it.
Otherwise...
The journey would have ended on the very first day.
The wolf lunged once more.
One of its mouths snapped toward him.
Samael dodged.
In the same motion, he drove his knee into the creature's jaw.
The impact left one of its heads dazed.
Without wasting the opening...
The spear pierced straight through its skull.
The head exploded.
The other head, however, clamped its jaws onto his shoulder.
— Hngh...
Samael suppressed a groan of pain.
With his free hand, he summoned Folly once more.
The sword traced a silver arc.
The second head fell to the ground.
The Spell's voice echoed.
[Congratulations. You have slain a Great Monster.]
Samael remained still.
Confused.
— A Great Monster...?
At most, it was an Awakened Monster.
Maybe slightly fiercer than the serpents from the Forgotten Shore.
Then his eyes drifted toward the horizon.
There, a colossal beast walked slowly through the distance.
The creature towered hundreds of meters into the sky.
The wolf he had just killed looked like nothing more than a diminished version...
A mere shadow of what that creature had once been at its peak.
I see...
The Spell judges the creature based on its original form, not the weakened version created by Rime's sorcery.
Samael shattered the Soul Core and absorbed its soul essence.
Curious, he opened his attributes.
[Soul Core: 246/400.]
His eyes widened.
— Forty fragments...
A slow smile spread across his face.
A greedy smile.
Almost predatory.
Without a second thought, he placed his hand on the corpse.
His Aspect activated naturally.
The gesture was so instinctive that he didn't even notice it.
A moment later, the Spell's voice echoed once again.
[Congratulations. You have received a Memory.]
[Name: Predator Spear.]
[Rank: Ascended.]
[Tier: I.]
[Enchantment: Predation.]
[Enchantment Description: This spear may feast upon the blood of its prey, temporarily increasing its power.]
[Description: A spear created by the Honest Trickster from the body of the beast that, in life, had once been the national animal of a small mortal kingdom of antiquity. After its kingdom became the stage for divine machinations, it succumbed to corruption.]
Samael reread the description twice.
— So there really was a kingdom here before the conflict...
His interest was immediately piqued.
— How interesting.
— Hurry up already, filthy Nephilim! — Tenebrae shouted from afar.
The enormous cemetery continued its slow journey.
And, distracted by his new Memory, Samael was already beginning to fall behind.