Chapter 5: Terror! The Undead Army!

After learning just how powerful Seretine’s magic was, Yario was delighted to have gained another strong ally and continued on his journey.

“Hmm… The weather doesn’t look very good.”

Yario looked up at the sky.

Dark clouds were spreading overhead, making him think that it might rain.

“It’s also getting late. Let’s stay in the village up ahead for the night.”

Seretine pointed toward a village near the forest in the distance.

It seemed like the perfect place to stop.

Yario decided that they would rest there.

However, neither of them knew…

Something terrifying was waiting for them.

When they entered the village, all they saw were old, dilapidated houses.

The villagers themselves looked completely drained of life.

“Ah…”

“Are you… a hero?”

“I am Hero Yario.”

“I have the ability to transform any weapon into a spear.”

“…And you are?”

“I am Galdeen, the village chief.”

Standing before them was an elderly man with silver hair and a long beard.

Beside him stood a young woman who appeared to be his daughter.

She looked timid and frail.

“Ah…”

“This is my daughter, Galko.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you…”

They were led to an empty house where they could stay.

Inside was a bed stuffed with cotton.

“There are many empty houses in the village.”

“That’s because so many people have left…”

“Did something happen?”

“Well…”

The village chief hesitated, clearly reluctant to speak.

But his daughter immediately stepped forward.

“Please help us!!”

“Countless Skeleton Swordsmen have appeared in the graveyard behind the village!!”

“Hero!”

“Please destroy them!!”

Yario and Seretine widened their eyes in surprise.

“Ah…”

The girl began explaining everything.

There was a graveyard behind the village.

It had been built very simply.

The villagers had a custom of burying the dead beneath wooden crosses.

Nothing unusual had ever happened there before.

But then, one day…

Skeleton Swordsmen began appearing in large numbers.

“Hey, what is that?!”

“What are those things?!”

Three strong men from the village were there at the time.

White skeletons slowly rose to their feet.

They held swords in their hands.

From the dark hollows where their eyes had once been…

A red light, like an eye, stared directly at the men.

“Clack clack clack!”

“This land belongs to us Skeleton Swordsmen!”

“Clack clack clack!”

“Anyone who enters shall become our prey!”

“Accept your fate!”

“O living ones!”

The Skeleton Swordsmen laughed eerily.

“Hehehehe…”

Then one of them swung its sword down at the man in front of it.

“Gyaaa!!”

The man was killed instantly.

The remaining two gritted their teeth.

“Damn it!”

“We have no choice but to fight!”

They raised their hoes as weapons and charged.

But…

The hoes passed straight through the bodies of the Skeleton Swordsmen.

They did not cause any damage at all.

“Swish! Swish!”

“Hahaha!”

“Fools!”

“Physical attacks are completely useless against the Undead!”

“Just as the name Skeleton Swordsman suggests!”

“Everything passes right through us!”

“That is the origin of our name!”

“Without purification magic from priests…”

“The magical power of Elves…”

“Or a Hero’s Holy Sword…”

“You can never defeat us!”

“Give up!”

The two men fell into despair.

There was no way for them to fight back.

“Gyaaa!!”

They were cut down by the Skeleton Swordsmen.

From that day onward…

The graveyard was occupied by the army of Skeleton Swordsmen.

And even now…

No one in the village had been able to deal with them.

That was why so many people had left.

“Hmm…”

“If physical attacks really do pass straight through the bodies of the Undead…”

“Then ordinary villagers truly wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“But if I’m a hero…”

“I can’t ignore something like this!”

“I understand the situation.”

“I’ll take care of it!”

Hearing that, the village chief and his daughter immediately brightened.

That night…

After finishing dinner…

At midnight, Yario and Seretine headed toward the graveyard behind the village.

“T-This place really is scary…”

“Being afraid won’t solve anything.”

“Ugh…”

The graveyard was vast.

Wooden crosses had been planted at regular intervals across the ground.

Suddenly…

Thump!

Thump!

The earth began to shake.

From beneath the ground…

Skeleton Swordsmen started crawling out.

Yario and Seretine immediately readied their weapons.

“Whoa!”

“They really did appear!”

It was also Yario’s first time seeing real Skeleton Swordsmen.

“Clack clack clack!”

“You came back after all!”

“Fools!”

“You’ll end up just like those strong men!”

The army of Skeleton Swordsmen charged toward them.

Yario trembled slightly.

But Seretine said:

“If it’s a Holy Sword…”

“It should be able to damage the Undead.”

“Ah!”

“That’s right!”

“It’s called a Holy Sword!”

“So of course it should be their natural enemy!”

“What are you muttering about?!”

“Hero, die!”

One of the Skeleton Swordsmen lunged at him.

Yario transformed his sword into a spear and thrust it straight into the skeleton.

“Gyaaa!!”

Blood sprayed everywhere.

The Skeleton Swordsman collapsed and died.

“All right!”

“If it works, then there’s nothing to be afraid of anymore!”

Seretine was an Elf as well.

She threw a punch.

Her fist pierced straight through the skeleton’s rib cage.

“Gyaaa!!”

It died instantly.

Elves were not known for great physical strength…

But they possessed tremendous magical power.

That meant they could still damage the Undead.

However…

There were still dozens of Skeleton Swordsmen remaining.

“Then we’ll overwhelm you with numbers!”

“We outnumber you!”

“Die!!”

But by then…

Yario had noticed another weakness.

“Sorry, but…”

“I’ve found another weakness of yours!”

“What?!”

Yario kicked one of the Skeleton Swordsmen onto its back.

It tried to stand up.

But it was far too slow.

Immediately…

The Holy Sword pierced through it.

“Gugyaa!!”

It coughed up blood and died.

The Skeleton Swordsmen began to tremble in fear.

Yario smiled confidently and pointed at them.

“I knew it!”

“You have the advantage of being Undead, so physical attacks are ineffective.”

“But…”

“Skeletons don’t have muscles!”

“That means your strength is extremely low.”

“And naturally, your movement speed is slow too!”

“What?!”

“You discovered our weakness?!”

“Then…”

“Does that mean we have no chance of winning?!”

“So he really is a true hero…”

“I refuse to believe that!!”

One Skeleton Swordsman rushed forward in protest.

But Seretine immediately punched straight through its chest.

“Gyaaa!!”

It died in agony.

“Elves aren’t known for great physical strength.”

“But punching through a skeleton with no muscles is ridiculously easy.”

“This battle is already over.”

“That’s right.”

“Prepare yourselves!”

The Skeleton Swordsmen fell completely silent.

In the end…

They became prey to:

Yario’s Holy Sword.

And Seretine’s power.

“Gugyaa!!”

The next morning…

The village chief and his daughter saw Yario and Seretine off with bright smiles.

“Thank you both!”

“Thanks to you, we can finally sleep peacefully at night again!”

Another village had regained its peace.

Another place had been saved.