Tower of Paradise

KATHYIN GRAMONT'S POV

I swallowed uncertainly as I waited in the darkness after Arceus woke me up.

My throat moved nervously up and down, expectant of the unknown. To tell the truth, it was terrifying not knowing what kind of undead would appear this time. However, my anxiety to face them surpassed even my own fears.

Experience had taught me something fundamental: the greater the risk, the greater the reward. I stood in front of the rock like an impenetrable wall. As long as I was here, not a single undead would get through my position. However, I still couldn't shake off the ominous feeling that this wasn't going to end well. I didn't like this.

Suddenly, an approaching wave rose with a jump, spreading an intense yellowish glow as it lunged toward me. My vision was completely filled with enormous jaws with teeth as sharp as freshly forged blades.

I remained there with cold calm, shoulders relaxed and back straight. An elegant longsword materializing between my hands, pointing carelessly toward the ground as if what was coming was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

Crack!

My sword cleanly cut through the zombie's mouth, splitting it in half. With precise movements, I advanced and drove the blade deeper. With the additional force of the zombie's own attack, the steel penetrated its skull and protruded from the other side. The collapsing body also pushed me backward.

[You killed a zombie (F+)]

On both sides, two more zombies charged at me as I bent down to extract my sword.

Each of these bipedal creatures displayed a sickly white skin, with a disproportionately large head resting between their narrow shoulders, an image that could only be described as that of a macabre and deformed child. Their clawed hands and oversized mouths were stained a deep red, and their sharp fangs protruded from bodies torn by old wounds.

I pulled out my sword with a sharp tug and cut through the body of a zombie passing at full speed. I quickly straightened up. Another zombie landed behind me and I turned, ready to attack without hesitation.

Crack!

This time, the zombie's forehead was pierced through and through. I gritted my teeth as I was pushed back by the force of its charge. I jerked my head up.

I was forced to enhance my body with my ice attribute when three more zombies, with fangs and claws exposed, charged at me with blind fury. My sword flashed under the dim blue light and traced an arc in the air.

Swish...! Crack!

Just before my blade made contact, I raised my other hand and an ice blade pierced the mouth of the first attacker, and my sword split the head of the next one in half.

Whistle—

An ice barrier blocked the remaining zombie. The creature lost its balance in the air and crashed directly into me, like dead weight.

The zombie grabbed onto my shoulder and I staggered backward to pierce its exposed neck as the tip of my sword cleanly protruded through its head. Taking advantage of that moment of vulnerability, another zombie jumped toward me. Just as I was about to swing my sword again, the bright blue aura of another blade fell from the front and split the zombie in half. Thick blood splattered my face, warm and viscous.

I frowned and looked away, irritated by the intervention. Arceus, with his armor stained crimson, shook the blood from his spear with an elegant movement. Apparently, the confusion of battle had pushed me to his position. The metallic smell of blood heavily permeated the air. Around him lay several zombie corpses, some crushed and others split in two. Arceus, standing among them, evoked the image of a bloodied avenger, relentless and terrible.

— These aren't ordinary zombies.

I wiped the blood from my face with the back of my hand and stood up completely.

— I know —I replied dryly.

I glanced around. With the residual images and bright trails of zombies running in all directions, the area was absolute chaos.

Perhaps because the zombies had quickly lost several of their own, they no longer attacked with suicidal recklessness. Instead, they opted to ambush, circling and pouncing from blind angles. However, whenever they faced our weapons, their bodies burst into crimson splashes.

Arceus took the initiative in battle, making the most of his strengths. It was evident to me that he was holding back, not revealing the full extent of his true power. The battle had sharpened his senses, particularly improving his perception statistic. As a result, things invisible to the naked eye began to manifest vividly before his eyes.

While it wasn't something tremendous, it was still a significant increase in cognitive ability. We would need all that strength to survive.

However, his own movements also became slow, as if time itself had thickened around him. It was a curious phenomenon, caused by his physical abilities failing to keep pace with the speed of his thoughts.

Suddenly, a zombie jumped from the shadows and lunged at me with open jaws. I pierced its throat as quickly as possible with my sword, executing a precise and lethal movement.

The cold blade penetrated the rigid muscles and blue blood gushed like a macabre fountain. The zombie, more resilient than it appeared, roared with inhuman fury. I delivered a forceful kick to its chest and extracted my sword with a dry tug. Without wasting time, I ran toward the writhing zombie on the ground and pierced its head, ending its existence.

As I cut down zombie after zombie, my movements were sharp, efficient, and deadly, without wasting a bit of energy. Even without Arceus's help in the distance, I was perfectly capable of standing firm against the waves of zombies that continued to assault me relentlessly. A bright blue aura enveloped my entire body as my movements blurred, drawing deadly arcs with the blood of my enemies, while a thin layer of sweat covered my face and neck.

Despite finding myself surrounded by zombies on all flanks, I managed to focus exclusively on the enemies within my reach, blurring everything else.

Clank, clank...!

— Something's coming this way —I muttered to myself.

Someone, or something, was approaching. Every time this entity took a step, a metallic sound reverberated strongly in the narrow corridor.

Clank, clank...!

Hearing that peculiar noise, I tilted my head intrigued. Could it be dragging some kind of chained weapon?

I was curious, but there was no reason to get anxious. I would soon have my answers.

I firmly gripped the sword with the handle reversed and held my breath. It was a basic trick to prevent the opponent from detecting my presence through the sound of my breath.

At last I could make out the shadow of the enemy approaching and, without hesitation, I aimed directly at the side of its neck. But what I heard was metal hitting metal. The sword didn't penetrate as expected.

Metal armor?!

My eyes opened wide, surprised.

Finally confirming the identity of my opponent, I quickly stepped back several paces, assessing the situation.

Now I faced a knight fully clad in shining armor. His face remained hidden behind an ornate helmet and I couldn't see his features. However, the knight didn't even utter a word and simply lunged in my direction with hostile intent.

The knight charged forward like an enraged bull, trying to hit me with his shoulder, but I leaned slightly and easily evaded the attack. My opponent, unable to control his own momentum, continued running forward for a few more moments before finally stopping.

Perhaps it's not human?

I took the opportunity to take a quick look at him up close and noticed something didn't fit. I couldn't perceive the accelerated pulse that any living being should have during combat.

So it was most likely not human at all. Now I faced a type of monster I had never heard of before... A monster armed from head to toe, no less.

It was almost as if... Wasn't it like I was fighting against another real person?