Chapter 48

  The undead army in the front, the people unable to fight in the back, the full fighting force of the kingdom led by the Hell Star struck in between the both. The story continued.

  The Hell Star made the first contact with the undead, his hammer crushing the undead into a paste of rotten flesh. Melody handled the ivory soul-capturing wand, capturing the souls. Then the Hell Knights, who reassembled into units forming a formation under the prince's command, divided the troops and commanded the destruction of the undead army in their own styles, slowly decimating the army.

  Lara, on the other hand, with Leo, both together were a force of nature to be reckoned with. They cleaved through the undead like they were but water. The undead army numbers dwindled. The army advanced halfway between the castle and the undead king.

  By now the army of common demons had reached their limits. Out of the 1000, only 600 now remained alive, but half of the undead army forever rested. The 24 units were now in defensive position. The Hell Star alone strode forward. Lara and Leo accompanied him, covering his rear. Melody was in the middle of the defensive formation providing them with buffs.

  The undead king came forward, his aura carrying death with him.

  “Father, you have come a long way,” he spoke as he came face to face with his father.

  “Why are you doing this, Garry?” asked Grey, not as a ruler of the Hell Star domain, but as a father.

  “Didn’t you tell me, father, only strength has any say in this world? So I am going to become strong—so strong that all exist beneath me,” he said.

  Grey replied, “My son, strength is needed, but what use is strength if all you need to protect are dead?”

  “Father, didn’t you scorn me for being weak? You set me aside. You even brought that woman out of nowhere and announced her the heir, all because I was weak. Hahahahahaaa… Now say, father, am I qualified now? Am I strong now?” asked Garry.

  “You are right, Garry. I set you aside. I didn’t give you the love you deserved. But it was not because you were weak—it’s because I was. I couldn’t bear to lose you too. I was too scared to lose another one of my precious sons. I didn’t dare love again. I didn’t dare hope again. It’s because of your father’s foolishness. But I never thought you were weak.

  When I came home after the dreadful night twenty years ago, you were but a small child, eight years old. I couldn’t forgive myself for not listening to your brother’s words earlier. I wanted to end myself. It was your smile that saved me that day.

  My son, if anything, it is I who was the weakling. I was the fool. On the contrary, even after all the shunning you received, you never wavered. After all the times the knights put you down, you never stopped swinging your sword. I should have said this long ago. My son, I am proud of you.”

  Hearing this, the undead king started to cry tears of blood.

  “Father,” he said, coming closer to him.

  “I forgive you.”

  He hugged him. The old man too teared up. Leo and Lara both were happy.

  Then Garry let go.

  “Let’s go home, my son,” said Grey.

  “Yes, fathe—”

  As he was saying this, a staff pierced the back of the undead king.

  It was the head blood wizard, Fin.

  “Nooo…!” shouted the Hell Star as he swung his hammer at Fin.

  Fin, as he took out the blood tear from the undead king and swallowed it, transformed into the new undead king. He raised his hand, the cursed mana shielding him, and he swung his staff, forming a mana wave hitting Grey, Garry, Leo, and Lara, making them fly away in the air from the impact.

  Fin started speaking.

  “After twenty years, I am finally here. Thanks to the foolish father, I created the blood tear out of the corpses of the demons, forever robbing them of their peace. Thanks to the foolish son, who acted as the perfect mana reservoir, I rose up all these undead without burning away my life. Now as a thank you, I shall send you off with all the pain and agony in the world.”

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  As he said that, he chanted a spell, making huge arms out of the corpses, making them hold onto the Hell Star, Garry, Leo, and Lara as they lay injured.

  “I am sorry, father,” asked Garry.

  “My son, it is I who should apologize. My prince, I am sorry. Forgive me for becoming unable to protect you,” said Hell Star.

  “We did our best. It was an honor fighting with you all,” said Lara.

  Leo circulated his mana using his all-seeing eyes, pouring all his mana into one final blow. He released the mana outward, shattering the corpse claws, and headed towards the undead king Fin.

  “Die, traitor!” he shouted as he swung his sword down on his neck.

  Fin, without any effort, expressed his cursed mana outside his body. The weight crushed down Leo, pushing him unconscious.

  “Noo, Leo!” screamed Melody and Lara.

  Leo, bleeding from his wounds, coughed up blood. The hands began to constrict the bodies of the four. The undead army began to gain the upper hand over the 24 units in the middle, their defense on the brink of collapse. Death stared at their faces.

  At that moment, a scream was heard on the castle top.

  The undead king, his army, the demon army, and the Hell Knights all turned around to look at the sky-breaking scream.

  It was an undead.

  At a closer look, Melody observed—it was Gilbert.

  He jumped down the huge wall. Small white figures popped up upon the wall. First tens, then tens turned to hundreds.

  At that moment, Melody remembered.

  “The silver back apes are usually peaceful, but when someone touches their family, they turn crazy.”

  The apes followed Gilbert. They raided the battlefield. In a flash, they covered the field.

  “Stop the apes!” Fin commanded.

  But they were too many, too cunning, too agile. Quickly they provided relief to the 24 units.

  Then Gilbert reached his brother and father with Melody. They rescued them, and then Lara and the unconscious Leo.

  “Retreat to the castle!” the Hell Star commanded.

  The army, with the help of the apes, slowly but safely retreated to the castle.

  The undead king Fin was furious.

  “It’s not enough. I need more… more army.”

  He started a ritual.

  The demon army retreated to the castle. The magic shield was up. Inside, the army of apes and the demons all stood exhausted. 456 of the 1000 remained alive. 20 of the 24 Hell Knights survived. Garry was heavily wounded, but under treatment. Hell Star and Lara were in better condition. Leo was the worst—a feeble pulse was present but nothing else, no response to any potion of healing. The mages saw him and gave up hope.

  Lara looked at Leo. Tears streamed down her eyes.

  “Forgive me, my prince,” said the Hell Star as he carried his injured son.

  At that moment, “It’s not time to sob. The war is not yet over,” said Melody.

  “We should survive—that is what he too would want,” she continued with moist eyes tearing down.

  The Hell Star spoke out, “The apes may have been a good distraction, but it’s not enough to kill them.”

  “Yes, we are in a dire situation indeed,” Lara continued.

  “Aba, aba,” spoke Gilbert as he came closer to Melody. He grabbed her ivory wand. Lara nodded her head seeing this. Melody let go.

  The undead kept the wand near Gilbert. The light from the wand glowed. It healed him. Gilbert was floating in the air. The cursed mana of 5000 souls spiralled around him, healing his wounds.

  At the same time, in the west of the castle, the graveyard reserved for the Hell Knights, the undead king did his ritual, and from above the ground they rose.

  “You foolish prince, saying no to this power. This is why you don’t deserve it.”

  As he said that, 200 soldiers rose from the ground, all wearing their armour, carrying their arms, each rivalling a Hell Knight—even stronger now than when they were alive.

  He took the army with him and stood in front of the gates of the castle.

  “Come out, you cowardly Hell Star. Face my army of undead knights,” he said.

  At this moment, the Hell Star turned around. The healing was completed. Garry was on the castle top standing on his own legs. Beside him were Lara, Melody, and Gilbert and his ape friends.

  “Now come out and meet your ends at the hands of the very army that protected this place,” said the undead king Fin.

  “Hahahahahaaaahahaha… you fool,” called out Garry.

  “Still alive, huh, prince? Open your eyes and see the power you refused to grasp—the proof that I am superior to you in any and all ways,” he replied.

  “You fool, look again,” said Garry.

  At that moment, the files and columns of the undead turned around against the undead army and Fin as they formed a defense array around the castle.

  “Just what is going on?” asked the undead king, baffled.

  Garry replied, “Just who do you think you woke up? They are the old demons who dedicated their very existence to protecting this land and its people. It’s in their every fibre of existence. Do you think a mere curse could turn the Hell Knights against their own people?”

  Hearing this, Fin got furious.

  “No, no, no, no… this is not right. I was supposed to rule the demon realm. I can’t fall here. Yes, that’s right—I still got that.”

  The dead Hell Knights started killing the other undead.

  “Join them!” the Hell Star commanded.

  The artillery, now recharged, joined the task. The ivory staff wielded by the half-undead Garry now helped seal the deal.

  When all seemed to be going well, Fin finished his chant.

  He raised his arm in the air. He pierced his heart and took out the blood tear.

  He spoke out:

  “By using my soul as the wager, I summon thee who is asleep under the land. Get up, give me thine body and do mine bidding. Rise, the Hell Hound of death!”

  As he said that, his body and the undead all began to dissipate into the air as dust. They flowed around the blood tear, along with the undead Hell Knights who rose under his mana—they also succumbed.

  From the ashes, bones were born. Around the bones, muscles and ligaments were woven by the rotting flesh. The Hell Knights’ armour reassembled, covering the gigantic four-legged beast—the Hell Hound of the legends, on whom the Hell Knights were named after.

  The ritual was over.

  The soul of the undead king now fused with the Hell Hound’s body. His mana suppressed all life. The common demons all began to suffocate under the mana. Gilbert, Garry, and Grey all fell to the ground under the pressure. Lara barely stood. Melody was totally flat on the ground.

  All hope was lost.

  The beast growled, sending spine-chilling fear upon anyone who heard it.

  The beast now moved towards the castle.

  All of the demons’ fate—what will happen to them?

  Wait and find out.