41 Undead
What’s Paramita? Lumian was alarmed as he quickly turned to look out the window.
But what he saw outside was not what he expected. Instead of mountains, pastures, and trees, he was greeted by a desolate wilderness. The pale-white clouds in the sky blocked out all the sunlight, casting everything in shadow.
In the wilderness, strange figures roamed about. Most of them wore white linen clothes, with pale-blue faces, empty eyes, and agape mouths, looking anything but normal.
Lumian watched in horror as some of the figures ran crazily towards the edge of the wilderness, while others stumbled towards them from the other side. It was as if they would never stop, doomed to wander aimlessly forever.
At the edge of the wilderness, near a cliff, he could make out dark monsters with long horns and humanoid bodies, grabbing the white-clad figures and throwing them over the edge.
Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream pierced the air, right into Lumian’s and Aurore’s ears.
The sound of hooves echoed through the wilderness as a tall figure in full black armor rode a white horse. The horse was so thin that it looked like it had only skin and bones left. The rider moved slowly at times and galloped back and forth at others, as if shepherding sheep.
Lumian’s eyesight was sharp, and he could see the rider clearly from afar.
Inside the helmet that shone with a metallic luster, two deep red rays of light flickered like flames. A hideous wound on the rider’s neck extended all the way to their navel, almost splitting them in half and dragging out their pale-white intestines.
Without any need for further evidence, Lumian knew who it was: a Death Knight!
It was a creature that often appeared in Intisian folklore.
Suddenly, the carriage they were in came to a stop.
Naroka silently opened the door and stepped out.
Her pale face, empty eyes, and numb expression were starting to resemble the figures in white linen clothes that Lumian had seen earlier.
Aurore turned to him and said in a deep voice, “This place is filled with undead. You must stay by my side at all times.”
As she spoke, she took out a gold brooch and fastened it to her clothing.
Aurore took out a handful of grayish-black powder from her pocket with her other hand.
Lumian leaned forward to look at the carriage driver and realized that Sewell had become like Naroka—pale-faced and empty-eyed, slowly walking deeper into the wilderness as if he had been dead for a long time.
He said quickly to Aurore, “Grande Soeur, I’m already a Beyonder. You deal with these undead. I’ll drive the carriage and get us out of here as soon as possible!”
He knew he couldn’t fight the undead, so he could only be a temporary carriage driver.
But if the Death Knight showed up, he would do his best to block it.
Aurore was taken aback by Lumian’s sudden transformation, but quickly regained her composure. She reminded him, “Check the horses’ condition!”
Lumian looked ahead and saw that the horses were motionless, with their flesh and blood seemingly extracted, leaving only withered fur and skin wrapped around their bones.
“The horses are dead,” he reported back to Aurore.
Suddenly, the undead caught a whiff of the living and rushed towards the carriage, trying to enter.
“XXX.” Aurore uttered a word in a language Lumian didn’t understand.
As soon as Aurore spoke the word, the golden brooch in front of her lit up with a violent but not stimulating golden light.
The grayish-black powder in her left hand burned, emitting a flow of light that resembled water, spreading in all directions. The undead screamed as soon as they came into contact with the light, and cyan smoke rose from their bodies.
They wanted to retreat, but more undead surged forward, squeezing around the carriage, evaporating and disappearing.
Lumian watched enviously and solemnly, wishing he could do something to help. He yearned to advance in Sequence and gain more abilities.
But the powder in Aurore’s hand was about to run out, and the undead were still coming, ignoring the ones that had already been destroyed. Lumian knew they couldn’t stay there forever.
“We can’t stay here. Let’s make a run for it!”
No matter how many materials his sister had prepared, she couldn’t deal with so many undead!
The Death Knight and the creatures that looked like demons were still out there.
Their best chance was to use what resources they had left to escape from the wilderness known as Paramita.
Aurore nodded and said simply, “Follow me.”
The moment she finished speaking, the grayish-black powder in her palm vanished into thin air, and the desolate surroundings were engulfed by the undead.
Aurore wasted no time and retrieved another handful of materials, igniting them with the golden brooch before her. The materials combusted, creating a dazzling golden light
that decimated the approaching undead. Their agonizing shrieks echoed through the wilderness before they disintegrated into nothingness.
Aurore leaped off the carriage with Lumian hot on her heels, sprinting towards the nearest edge of the wilderness.
Suddenly, a hand jutted out from the golden blaze, snatching Lumian’s arm.
Lumian’s instincts kicked in, alerting him of the imminent threat. He pivoted his forearm and delivered a swift blow to the hand.
Pa!
It felt like he had punched a block of solid ice. A shiver ran through his body, rendering him immobile for a moment.
Lumian’s teeth clattered as he caught sight of the hand’s owner.
It was another undead clad in white linen, but it donned a mask made of white paper over its face. The figure disintegrated slowly under the golden light.
The peculiar undead lunged towards Lumian, but before it could make contact, a beam of pure, holy light descended upon it.
The masked undead halted in its tracks, burning fiercely before dissolving into black vapor.
“Keep moving!” Aurore shouted, withdrawing her hand from the golden brooch and darting forward.
Lumian shook off the cold and picked up his pace to follow his sister.
The duo relied on the grayish-black powder and Warlock spells to traverse the wilderness. The golden light eradicated countless undead garbed in white linen.
Unfortunately, Aurore couldn’t simply rely on one material to stuff every bag. As a Warlock, she had to anticipate various scenarios.
Before long, the bag containing the Sun Flower powder was empty, and they were still hundreds of meters away from the wilderness’s edge. The undead horde seemed never-ending.
What frightened them even more was the Death Knight’s approach. The horse-mounted knight had sensed the turmoil and was galloping towards them.
...
Aurore’s expression changed several times in the golden light. She slowed down, gritted her teeth, and spoke urgently to Lumian.
“When I shout ‘three,’ run towards the edge of the wilderness and don’t look back!”
Lumian opened his mouth to protest, but Aurore cut him off.
“Don’t worry, I’ll follow you. If you stay, you’ll only interfere with my use of a powerful spell and slow us down when we try to escape.”
As she spoke, Aurore removed the golden brooch from her chest and handed it to Lumian, giving him instructions.
“Focus your spirituality and extend it to this brooch. Repeat this word when you’re running: ‘XXX’!”
Lumian didn’t understand the word, but he committed the pronunciation to memory.
As soon as he took hold of the golden brooch, he felt a warm light envelop his body, banishing his dark thoughts and slowing down his racing mind.
Instinctively donning the brooch, Lumian concentrated his thoughts according to his sister’s directions, extending his spiritual energy.
Seeing that the grayish-black powder in her hand was running low, Aurore retrieved another material and shouted out, “One, two, three!”
In order to avoid slowing down his sister, Lumian sprinted wildly towards the edge of the wilderness, shouting the word Aurore had given him with all his might.
...
“XXX!”
The golden brooch emitted a golden, radiant glow, illuminating Lumian as though a miniature sun was hanging on his chest. The undead in his path instinctively avoided him.
Thud thud thud!
As he ran, Lumian couldn’t shake his worry for his sister. He cast a glance back at Aurore, who remained in her spot surrounded by a cloud of black gas.
The undead were drawn to the gas, abandoning Lumian to swarm towards her.
Lumian wasn’t a fool. When he saw this scene, he understood that his sister was lying when she said that she would follow him.
“Aurore!”
He shouted, halted abruptly and spun around, running back towards his sister.
Aurore looked back and saw that he had stopped. She hurriedly shouted, “Are you stupid? Run!”
Lumian didn’t say anything and ran towards Aurore. The undead parted before him, clearing a path under the golden light of the brooch.
Seeing this, Aurore lowered her head and cursed softly, “What an idiot…”
She then took out another iron-black substance and sprinkled it on Lumian, causing him to be pushed to the edge of the wilderness by an invisible force.
He struggled to break free, but he was in midair with no point of leverage.
“My stupid brother, live well…” Aurore whispered with a melancholic smile before the black aura consumed her completely.
She was directly exposed to countless figures and the Death Knight.
“Aurore!”
Lumian’s eyes bulged with terror, his skin and eyes turning red with blood vessels.
However, he was still pushed to the edge of the wilderness.
But suddenly, all the undead stopped in their tracks.
Something was happening in the distance.
Aurore sensed the shift and looked up in shock. She saw an open carriage passing by, pulled not by horses, but by two demonic creatures with goat horns. The carriage was a deep red color, resembling a conch or a cradle, and a woman resembling Madame Pualis wearing a flower crown and green dress sat inside.
But unlike Madame Pualis, she was very dignified.
The Death Knight abandoned his target and turned his horse towards the carriage.
All the undead followed suit, clustering around the carriage as it headed towards the hazy mountain range beyond the wilderness.