Chapter 16
THE VALKYRIES were not subtle. Within moments of taking their place on the field of battle, they dazzled the citizens with their martial prowess and unmatched beauty. Valiant adventurers on the verge of being overwhelmed suddenly found themselves reinforced. Their morale soared as the tide of the fight turned against the undead.
As the number of zombies diminished, the defenders began to go on the hunt in active search for the dwindling number of beasts. Often, they would find themselves beaten to the task by another group of adventurers or one of the Valkyrie sisters.
“No matter how many zombies there are, they’re just a rabble with the Valkyries here,” Asval observed during a brief pause. “Guess this is what I can expect from the pupil of the One-Man Army.”
Shouldering his large hammer, Asval glanced about with a relaxed smile. All around him, the zombies had been halted as they were cut down by adventurers. Whether trapped in narrow alleys and dispensed with spears and polearms, hacked apart with axes and swords, or bludgeoned with maces and quarterstaffs, none of the beasts seemed up to the challenge of taking on the combined might of the guild members and the Valkyrie sisters. It was only a matter of time until the city was secure.
Or so he believed.
“Master! Look to the sky!” Alfina landed in their midst and glared upward.
Something was floating above them. Surrounded by a black mist, the stars obscured by the object seemed diminished, as though they had been infected by a slow-acting poison.
“What is that?” Mira frowned as she looked up and tried to make out the hovering figure in the darkness.
“The nature of its magic leads me to believe it’s a half-demon,” Alfina replied.
“A half-demon?!” Mira could hardly believe it.
Abominations born of the union between a demon and a human, they were beings of solitude. Unable to become true demons due to their human ancestry, and unwelcome among humanity because of their corrupted power.
“Yes, but…” Alfina seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment. “My lady, I believe this one…this one is dead.”
“Oho, another zombie, then?”
“Y-yes. It seems that a strange magical power blanketing the area is the cause of both. The cause is yet unknown, but it’s indiscriminately reanimating buried corpses and causing them to run amok. I have procured a sample for you to review.”
Each of the Valkyrie sisters possessed a special set of skills, and Alfina bore a sphere that could condense and contain magical energy. As she spoke, she produced a small globe and held it before Mira. The orb was so black, it appeared as a hole in space resting atop her palm, and Mira peered at it with curiosity.
“Hrmm, so that’s what we’re dealing with, eh?” Mira arched an eyebrow. The effect of an orb would vary depending on the quantity and type of magic it contained, but this one was surely dangerous.
“This could be put to use, should you desire. What is your opinion, Master?” Alfina asked.
It was tempting. There would be battles to come, and the ability to reanimate the fallen and send them back into the fight might come in handy. Mira pondered for a moment, then sighed and said, “We don’t need it. Get rid of it.”
“Understood.” Looking slightly relieved, Alfina banished the orb. “What shall we do about the half-demon?”
“If the zombies were created from nearby corpses, then that half-demon must have been buried somewhere in the vicinity,” Mira surmised, peering into the sky.
“I would agree.”
Mira wondered what that meant. Half-demons were a rare species and very conspicuous. Why would one have been buried in a place like this? From the fog of memory, she recalled something from the past.
There had once been buzz among players about a strange and hostile NPC. It appeared out of nowhere, was overwhelmingly strong, and would attack players on sight. After a number of players had been killed, there was an official announcement made regarding a sudden in-game event. The goal was to eliminate a half-demon that was running rampant across the continent.
Thousands participated. Thousands were killed.
Despite numerous respawns, the players finally succeeded in bringing down their foe somewhere near Karanak, City of Requiem. Mira—well, Danblf—had been present at the final moment, of course. As such, Mira was well acquainted with the power and abilities of a half-demon.
“This is going to be quite a nuisance,” she grumbled while squinting skyward.
“I’m sure you can handle such a foe, my lady.”
“Indeed. The first time we met, I was quite a bit less experienced. It was a difficult encounter.” Mira gave a wry smirk.
“Was the fight truly that difficult? Then we should strike before it completely revives itself.”
“What’s that? You’re saying it’s not yet completely revived?”
“Correct. My sisters and I have this in hand, my lady. No need to concern yourself with this foul beast.”
Mira felt relieved and disappointed at the same time. With a hint of haughtiness in her voice, she replied, “Hrmm, very well. Show me what you can do.”
“It would be my pleasure,” Alfina said with a bow before rising with a cold smile. “I have but one request, Master. Will you authorize Imitation Code G?”
“That’s a new one. Going to try a new technique on this thing?”
“You are correct, Master,” Alfina said with the same cool smile.
It was common practice for players to take opportunities for test runs of new skills, spells, or techniques to make sure that they were comfortable with their usage. That a former NPC was about to do the same was a sign of how much the world had changed. Alfina’s elated anticipation of trying a new technique on a worthy foe was a feeling Mira could both understand and relate to.
“Then by all means.” Mira nodded and gestured at the floating form in the sky.
“With your blessing, my lady.” Alfina bowed and leapt away, running down the main street as if gliding through the air.
Danblf would often invite observers when he attempted a new summoning. Now, the Valkyrie sisters—her summons!—were about to wow Mira and the assembled adventurers battling the incursion all across the city.
She might not know much about necromancy, but there was no doubt that the discipline of summoning was about to come screaming back from the grave. Mira chuckled to herself at the thought.
Unwilling to miss the coming show, Mira scrambled up to the roof of a nearby building that offered a good view of what was to come.
A moment later, Alfina appeared with her sisters arrayed in formation around her. They jumped, each landing on a different rooftop and raising their weapons to the sky. Rays of light stretched from their swords to converge below the black mist, drawing a circle of light in the heavens.
“This is certainly something, isn’t it?” said Mira to herself, wishing she had some popcorn.
The luminous magic circle enlarged, and elaborate crests began to appear around its rim. As it glimmered and gleamed, the fighting on the ground came to a halt as all eyes were drawn upward.
Seven pillars of light soared skyward, and Alfina leapt to land in the middle of the hovering magic circle.
Those designs resemble a summoning circle, Mira thought as she looked at Alfina and waited for what might happen next.
With the whole city watching, Alfina bent down and plunged her hand into the magic circle. The light converged and swelled before bursting an instant later in a brilliant flash.
As onlookers blinked to banish the afterimage, Alfina descended. In her right hand, she bore a golden spear, and her eyes were fixed on the half-demon hovering above.
“Die!” she bellowed, launching the golden spear skyward. In the blink of an eye, it was a ray of light that pierced her foe and continued up into the stars.
First came the roar—rising like distant thunder. Then a shockwave swept across Karanak, shattering windows and blowing light objects into the street. Then came the light, a growing luminosity that shone like the sun.
In the dark of night, Karanak was lit up as though it were midday. Anyone on the ground who was foolish enough to stare into the light found themselves unable to see for a few minutes after it had faded.
“The half-demon is defeated, and the magic energy erased,” Alfina reported, dropping onto the rooftop next to Mira.
“Hrmm, very well done.” Mira blinked away the afterimage of the blast as the rest of the sisters joined their eldest sibling. “A splendid technique.”
“We are honored by your praise, my lady.” Alfina bowed, allowing a smile to leak onto her normally stoic face. The other six were less reserved and let their pride shine as they bowed as well.
“Well, good job. Go get some rest.” Finally able to see the sisters again, Mira prepared to send them back.
“As you command,” replied Alfina as light began to envelop her.
Christina in particular looked overjoyed. She grinned and gave a thumbs-up as she faded away.
Mira looked back over the city, now much quieter. She shimmied her way back off the rooftop and found the rest of her party.
“Mira, did I just see Alfina throwing a spear? What was that?!” Emella babbled as she approached.
“They said it was a new technique.”
“A new technique?” Asval arched an eyebrow and let out a low whistle. “That was some power.”
“Shoot, did the sisters already leave?” asked Zef, disappointed.
Mira took a moment to appreciate that the rogue had his priorities and he stuck by them.
“A new spear-throwing technique?” Emella muttered to herself, resolving to bring the matter up with Alfina should she ever encounter the Valkyrie again.
“Whatever it was, it looks like it got the job done. That summoning of yours is quite a power.” Asval smiled in admiration.
Mira’s smirk was astronomical in scale. “Exactly! Exactly as I said! Tell your friends. Tell everyone.”
Through all of this, Flicker just kept looking up into the sky. She appeared to be in ecstasy, as if she had seen a truly revelatory sight.
***
After a few more hours on alert, the Knight Patrol and the guilds jointly declared an end to the emergency. Citizens sheltering in the guild buildings were allowed to leave and return to their homes, while knights and guild members looked on in envy. It was time for cleanup.
The time was nearing seven in the evening, and many people tried to resume normal life as swiftly as possible. Some shops reopened, and many pubs tried to attract patrons.
Mira, Tact, Emella, and Flicker mingled with the onlookers in the center of the street, while Asval and Zef helped stack the remains of some zombies onto a wagon to be disposed of.
“Is the whole city like this?” Emella muttered while watching. “It’ll take days to clear this all away.”
“Leave it long enough and I’m sure we’ll have new forms of undead on our hands,” Flicker said, staring at the pile.
“Ugh! Don’t say that!” Emella pursed her lips and tried to imagine what might emerge.
As if summoned by that thought, something nearby suddenly began to stir. A moment later, Mira saw a form emerge.
“Hey! Something’s still moving!” called an onlooker as a humanoid figure crawled out of the pile so slowly that everyone stopped to watch instead of springing to action.
Eventually, the zombie slowly stood up. Its vacant face, made of dirt and vegetation, scanned the crowd as though searching for something.
Then someone in the crowd let out a bone-chilling scream.
The zombie stopped moving and stared. Its gaze was fixed on a plump woman of middle age standing near Mira. The onlookers started to murmur as they watched the scene unfold.
Unsettled by the ominous stare, the woman stepped back to escape the gaze of the zombie and it tried to give chase—but the creature’s body had reached its limit. It lurched forward and stumbled, then crawled, dragging its feet behind it like withered stalks. The terrified woman screamed again and slumped to the ground in fright.
Mira and Emella moved closer to the woman and took a defensive stance, keeping themselves in a blocking position, and a moment later, a Knight Patrol officer stepped forward. His sword flashed through the air, leaving a shining trail in the light of the streetlamp.
Cut in two, the pitiful wretch crumbled silently to the ground and stirred no further. There was a brief moment of silence, then a burst of applause as the people commended the officer for his quick response.
“Hrmm… Was that zombie trying to say something?” Mira placed her finger to her chin.
At the moment of its collapse, Mira thought she saw its mouth trying to form a word. But whatever it said was too quiet for her to hear. Perhaps it hadn’t said anything at all.
“Mother.” Emella stared at the corpse.
“Hrmm?”
“It said, ‘Mother.’”
As Mira turned about, she saw the stunned look on Emella’s face. Apparently, she had heard the zombie’s last word but could scarcely believe that the creature had managed to say anything at all.
“I wonder what it meant?” Mira thought back to the incident.
The zombie’s face had been as expressionless as a broken clay figure—yet somehow, it seemed melancholy, as if it bore a great weight. She stepped closer to the corpse to inspect the pitiful creature.
There was something in the gap between the tattered cloak and scarred leather armor. Reaching down to pluck the item from the corpse, she found it was long and thin and wrapped in luxurious cloth. Inside was a scuffed dagger.
“Isn’t that a memento blade?” Emella asked, peaking over Mira’s shoulder at the blade in her hands.
“Is that so?”
“I think it is. The scabbard is engraved with the symbols of the trinity, after all.”
Sure enough, carved in the wooden scabbard—somewhat awkwardly—were the symbols.
“It’s a bit rough, but you’re absolutely right. Any other observations?” Mira asked, hoping to learn more of the dagger, and more of the world that had existed during her thirty-year absence. She remembered the temples dedicated to the three gods, but she passed the blade to Emella to find out what other information the elven swordswoman might have.
An instant later, the plump woman had snatched it from Emella’s grasp. “Please, let me see that!”
While she and Mira had been talking, the lady had moved closer to see the zombie that had frightened her and now she stood with the dagger in her hands, trembling. With a fearful expression, she grabbed the hilt and pulled the blade from the scabbard.
“Why…? Why did this thing have Dustin’s…?” She wailed before collapsing, tears pouring from her eyes.
Flicker knelt and gently offered her a handkerchief. “Who is Dustin? I’m sorry to ask, but could you tell us more?”
The woman nodded as she wiped at her tears. She closed her eyes to calm herself and clutched the dagger to her chest.
“I gave this to my son.” She opened her eyes and withdrew the blade once more. “His name is engraved here on the metal.”
“Where is he now?” Flicker asked.
“I haven’t heard from him in over a year.”
The silence stretched out until Flicker finally spoke again.
“Ma’am, I believe that was your son.”
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