By the Grace of the Gods: Volume 14 [Parts 1 to 3] by Roy

Author:Roy
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter 8, Episode 21: Pandemonium

The screams had come from the direction of the tower in the center of the city. Even at a distance and in the dimness of the night, I immediately spotted the origin. The Undead were scurrying in all directions, making a clearing in the sea of them. In that opening stood a small group of Undead, less than twenty, wearing ancient but well-made gear that contrasted the tattered rags worn by most Undead that had any clothes on. The group was pursuing the other Undead, chasing them off with batons and whips.

“Are those the wardens you mentioned?” I asked.

“They worked for the prison in life,” Sever said.

While they were very small in number compared to how many other Undead monsters swarmed in the city, they still acted like punitive wardens, aggressively attacking the others as if to torment them. The other Undead—the former inmates—showed some sign of resistance, but were mostly on the run as they had been in life. Yes, the wardens’ equipment and position in life played a part in them overpowering the absolute majority, but there was something more.

“The wardens move more fluidly than the other Undead,” I noted.

“They must be ghouls or skeleton warriors under their armor,” Remily said.

Ghouls were an advanced species of zombies, and skeleton warriors of skeletons. The anatomy of both advanced species were more similar to that of a human corpse, which made them more dextrous and dangerous. Another difference I noted about them was a form of black mist that seemed to cling to them. Even though they were still far away, I felt a strong distaste for them, more so than I had with any Undead so far. The black mist must be the concentrated cursed energy we’d discussed earlier.

Remily’s expression had darkened, as if to confirm my theory.

“Are they that troublesome?” I asked.

“They’re just annoying,” Remily answered. “Cursed energy is like a cloud of poison. It’s dangerous to get too close, and any Light magic gets canceled about, which means extra work. Their combat capabilities aren’t too different from other advanced species. They’re slightly more violent, if anything, but that doesn’t matter too much to us. Normal Undead are so unwieldy that they’re barely as nimble as the average human.”

“We were fairly certain of their existence, and it doesn’t change what we have to do. The quicker we eliminate them the better,” Sever said.

The wardens had sent all the Undead into a frenzy, so it didn’t seem like any of them would find peace as long as their tormentors remained.

Will my spell work on the wardens? I wondered.

“Let me try,” I said, and added more food to a bowl. I could feel the heat of the roaring flame as I prayed for their souls and sent the smoke slimes to the wardens. As close as they could comfortably get, anyway. Something told me that it wouldn’t be wise for the slimes to get too close.

The scattered smoke converged, passing through the inmates and down the central stairs like a gray river that concealed the feet of the Undead.

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