Chapter 336: The Remaining Forbidden Zones(5)

Point-of-View: Belia Lasmodeus 

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No doubt about it, the Dragon Forbidden Zone is no more...in hindsight, I guess I should have made the outsides of the Forbidden Zones more secure...but in my defense, I never imagined that anyone would voluntarily break one down. 

Though even with the Dragons' full powers released, I doubt they can defeat Kuro at full power. Well, nothing I can do about it, so I'll just have to cut my losses as far as the Dragons are concerned. Now, then, here I am, at the wasteland for the second time in the last year...and I was right by the Forbidden Zone that held the Undead King and the Ghouls. 

Time to let them out, it's not right that they're the only ones still sealed in, after all. Now, then...shatter. 

With a snap of my fingers, the barrier shattered and disappeared in an instant, revealing the hundreds of Ghouls I'd sealed inside it, along with their leader, the Undead King, Korpse. 

"Lady Belia, it is good to see you again," Remarked Korpse, stepping forward and getting down on one knee with a bow of his head. 

"Yeah, it's been a while, Korpse, hope you're doing well," I greeted him with a smirk.

Appearance-wise, he looks like a skeleton that's coated in a heavy, dark mist, with two red glows where his eyes would be, under a hooded cloak that shrounded his body and face. He primarily ruled over the Ghouls, along with Icemen, Walking Trees, Banshee, Headless Walkers, Skeletons, Liches, Golems and Hellroaches.

He could use most of the abilities of those monsters as well as control and summon them as he pleases. 

Now, then, as for the Ghouls...there were about five hundred of them, and they're feral, vicious creatures. They aren't intelligent, which means they're technically lower-level monsters and respawn when killed, but...they're extremely dangerous. 

See, they love living flesh. Eating it, that is. Be it humans or the other races, so long as Korpse stays alive, I basically have an army of five hundred violent flesh-eating monsters that respawn instantly, unlike other respawnable monsters, which take a few hours to respawn. 

In terms of physical strength, the Ghouls stronger than they look, despite being around the same size as an average human, their raw power rivals monsters like Cyclops and Werewolves, and they're possibly the most agile monsters I've created.

And they tend to attack in groups, overwhelming their target the moment they're given the tiniest opening and then tearing them apart in a matter of seconds, before eating them up, right down to the bone. Korpse can summon them but he can't fully control them...if they see a living creature and he tries to prevent them from reacting, they'll resist the control and do what they want. 

Which really surprised, and kinda frightened, me when I first realized that was the case. But then I realized how chaotic that makes them, so I went with it. 

"I'll be needing you to serve me directly from now on, Korpse, I won't be commanding you from the shadows like I did in the past. Let's get going, I suppose I should introduce you to my current allies, huh?" I remarked with a smirk. 

"Allies, my lady?" 

"Heh, believe it or not, they're mostly humans...Sant and the other races, along with a nation of humans and monsters coexisting, are the enemies. I'll fill you in on the details later," I replied. 

"Understood, my lady."

As I opened a portal, I suddenly felt my connection with Draco disappear...is he dead? No, something feels different...let me see if I can find any of the other Dragons-...my Observation Magic isn't working. And I don't mean that I can't find them, just that I can't observe them, which means...they're still alive. 

Wait, I need to confirm this, what if I try to find Draco with my Observation Magic-...okay, something's definitely wrong. If he was dead, simply nothing would happen...but instead, my Observation Magic failed...which is what happens when I try to observe someone that's immune to it, like Sant, Kuro or anyone from Abyss-...oh...ohhhh...

...

...

"I'm sorry, you did what!?" Exclaimed Agatha Silvland indignantly. 

"Tch, what's done is done, but you could have at least informed us before doing it," Sighed Cusana Bronztan in frustration. 

"Yeah, that's my bad, but I really didn't have a choice, you know, Kuro just broke the other two Forbidden Zones and Abyss is now that much more powerful. I'm sure he was planning to go for the Ghoul Forbidden Zone too, but thanks to me, he failed! Also, I'm like ninety-nine percent sure that he recruited the Dragons to his side," I informed them sheepishly. 

"Demons, Vampires and now Dragons too? Abyss sounds more and more of a threat with every report and update," Frowned Cusana, before shifting her gaze to Korpse, who was standing behind me, "And this literal shady character is...?"

"One of the last remaining Monster Kings, the King of the Undead, Korpse," I replied, introducing him. 

"So then, all undead monsters are on our side now?" Inquired King Rustlands nervously. 

"Well, in a way...," I trailed off awkwardly. 

"Meaning...?" Prompted Cusana with a frown. 

"It's about the Ghouls...given how much your ancestors sucked at keeping historical records, you probably don't know much about them, do you? Well, allow me to enlighten you, they're basically feral creatures that attack any and all living things indiscriminately, and their hunger is so strong that even their Monster King can't control them," I explained, before adding, "They're currently all sealed up in a large barrier in the south outskirts of the Rustlands, so yeah."

"I suppose I can understand some of all that, but I still say that was extremely reckless," Said Cusana with a grimace. 

I mean, that's kind of a compliment to me, so...

"I agree, you cannot just make such important decisions that affect this nation without consulting us first," Added King Rustlands.

Wow, look who's starting to grow some balls...guess seeing all these confident, competent women take charge of his throne room has made him insecure. How cute. 

"They're right, you know, if you'd told us what was going on, we'd probably have agreed to this plan," Chimed in Agatha. 

Okay, not gonna lie, this is starting to tick me off... 

"You cannot simply do as you please when you please, this is-," Cusana began. 

Alright, I'm not taking this. 

"That's enough," I remarked icily, shutting them up, "If you turn out to be more trouble that I think is worth it, I'm happy to drop you and leave the Rustlands, along with all my forces, and then, we'll be enemies again. I think you're forgetting who I am, humans...no one tells me what to do, got that? Know your place."

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Point-of-View: Sylvar Miirphys

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"Any idea what this is about?" I asked Bell curiously. 

"No, I do not know...hm, perhaps the new Earth Sage has been selected?" She suggested uncertainly. 

"That is not the case, it will still take a while...the two of you should know this," Pointed out Maie.

Oh, right, I almost forgot...when we became Elemental Sages, it took a long ass time, a ritual that literally lasted for like three weeks, our bodies enter a sort of meditative state while the Elemental Spirit inhabits and fuses with us. 

It is possible to resist that meditative state, but it's not recommended at all, you'll just feel all lazy, sleepy and irritable the whole time, and in the worst case scenario, it could have lasting side effects...specifically, a permanent lack of motivation and lethargy, you'll be naturally lazy pretty much all the time. 

It's not like you'll have zero motivation and drive or whatever, but you will have a lot less than the average person, and apparently, that can be really hard to resist. From what I've heard, one of the previous Lightning Sages went through that and was a real pain to deal with. 

Anyway, the three of us were currently heading to meet Sant, after he'd contacted us using his telepathy and told us to gather as soon as possible. Not sure what this is about, but talk about bad timing. 

That human girl, whose name we found out was Gela, finally regained consciousness and we were about to start interrogating her. Whatever this is about, it'd better be important. 

"We have arrived," Said Maie, as the wooden gates came into view, the guards pushing them open and stepping aside as they saw us coming. 

We walked in and as they shut the gates behind us, we stepped forward and bowed before Sant, as he sat up on his chair before standing, a strange look on his face...he looks serious and determined, instead of his usual passive expression. Seriously, what is this about, anyway? 

"I thank you all for responding to my summons...now, then, I shall get right to the matter at hand. I have been asked to carry out a certain undertaking, by a higher power. I must eliminate both Belia and Kuro Black, along with most of their forces. I ask that you assist me in this endeavor."

...huh? Okay, who is this guy and what did he do with Sant!? 

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Point-of-View: Kuro Black 

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Oh, come on, you've got to be kidding me, this is why he looked so serious yesterday!? And by 'higher power', that can only mean one being...grr, that rotten deity or whatever he's supposed to be, he'll pay for this. Sincerely, fuck you, not-God. 

It's a good thing I happened to check in on the Laus Domain when I did, because this is not good...not good at all, we can't count on the other races staying away from us any longer. Damn it...let me re-emphasize, fuck you, not-God... 

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