Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

'How bitter…' raising one hand toward the sky, covering the reach of a faint emerald light, limb wavering from side to side, fingers twitching, golden intertwining with the gem-like glow, drowsy and confused…

With snap, all came back to memory, rising upper body, Milo found himself in a sitting position, surrounded by the bandaged and broken form of his allies, he himself felt invigorated, tearing the strips of white doused in healing concoctions, he found his grievous, mortal injuries to be all completely gone.

He looked around, believing himself to still be on the battlefield for a split moment, expecting the dreadful form of Loimos to be standing just mere steps away, but he was only greeted by a calming sight, without realising, he moved.

Wide fields of tall grass, their colour a gorgeous, sparkling, bright blue, over in the distance, great towers of luminous white rose, their higher portions spreading to the sides, holding up in the air without clear pillars to support those extensions, but even taller than those magnificent wonders of architectures, were tall, ethereal trees, their canopy not even visible as they rose beyond what Milo could perceive.

Lifting his head, he was able to gaze upon the sun, a sun casting a shine of emerald, indeed, there was sunlight, Milo had not even taken it in just yet, but natural light existed once again, no longer were they confined to the oppression of eternal dark.

"Where… Where is this?" he wondered aloud, so taken by the scenery all around that he did not notice the people around, or Minli walking up to him, her short brown hair pushed back and sticking to her head, covered with sweat, the little healer was most definitely in dire need of rest.

"This would be the king's safety net, I guess… Do try to circulate your mana willingly" she said, and without questioning it, Milo tried to, finding it oddly difficult, or rather, despite applying the teachings of Rosemary, it felt just like when he was just a beginner, doing it incorrectly.

"I think I read about in the library, of other realms… Not just realms of spirits, but what some called alternate realities, it seems like the king's final act of defiance was to take us to a place where death's influence could not reach" explained the healer in between a few heavy breaths.

Indeed, each and every person that had managed to find their way to the hidden rooms, be they noble warriors who fought back against the undead blight, or regular citizens that had been lucky enough to be taken there ahead of time, quite a few people had been saved, at least, it was many in the consideration that the rest of Tamaris had been slaughtered without mercy, men, women and the children too, no distinctions were made.

And in the end, only a few hundred people or so had escaped the clutch of The Prince Of Death and his army of malevolent carcasses.

"...And as many separate realms are said to be, the laws of reality are not an exact match from what we are used to, the circulation of mana, the casting of spells, it seems just different enough to throw us all off…"

"Does it…?"

"Don't worry, the others are all fine, well, fine is a big word to use, some of them will remain scarred like this, I am not Rosemary, I can't regrow limbs on a whim, no matter how recent, I could have tried to reattach them, but I am missing the disembodied body parts" Minli had done a tremendous job to keep them all alive, some of them had been severely injured and had lost the majority of their blood, it was of the realm of miracles.

"I see- What about… Griar?" he asked with hesitation, already knowing full well that he was not amidst the people laying upon the ground.

"It seems like the transportation to this realm did not bring those that were no longer alive, his body was left behind, I am sorry"

Griar would not receive a proper burial, in fact, it was obvious that his fate would be much similar to that of David…@@novelbin@@

"I… See, is Helena alright?" he switched the subject swiftly, not wishing to allow his mind to dwell upon this subject. Enjoy new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

"No need worry about her, she is disgustingly tough, even getting battered by that thing did not leave any lasting damage, as for you, it seems like your golden element worked of its own when you were unconscious, you just have a scar on the side of your chest, if it hurts, do come and tell me" Minli may not have ever been even scratched by the loathsome undead, but she was not exactly looking in top condition, having clearly expanded both mana and stamina extensively in her work to preserve everyone else alive in spite of their very much lethal wounds.

Stretching herself thin, the petite woman had also tended to the wounds of all other warriors that had been transported there.

"If everybody is stable now, you should probably take a rest… Is there anything dangerous in the surroundings?" he spoke, the healer considering just falling backwards and sleeping right there, or remaining standing for a little while longer, just in case.

"I don't know, we have only been there for a few hours, from the looks of it, there are people living here, but impossible to know for sure how they might react to our presence, and since this is no longer Viridis, we might not even be capable of communicating…" hanging her head low, she slowly settled down, the tall blue grass made for a most soft and inviting bed.

'Only a few hours…' it had certainly seemed like a much longer span of time to him.

Sighing, he picked up the lightweight healer and actually put her closer to the group, lest someone stepped on her inadvertently, having been enchanted by the scenery, he had not noticed the smell just yet, it smelled of flowers in spite of only the same type of grass being around.

The twelve talent holders, seven of the eight elemental champions, Milo, Helena, and many others, such as death hunters who looked especially gloomy at the moment, undoubtedly, retreating from undeads was a dishonour unlike any other to them.

But it was not surprising, the legions of oblivion had been overwhelming, in numbers, in strength, in resolve, the last livings of Viridis had not stood a chance, their final stand was overflowing with hope and bravery in the face of fear, ultimately, it amounted to nothing.

'Next time…'

"Next time I'll have your head, Loimos…"