Chapter 45: Hell

Chapter 45: Hell

Around them, on the rocks and ruins, a thick black smoke spread and engulfed everything around. A creeping sound could be heard and multiplied.

Kraim cocked his arrow.

"What pain, it seems like there are many of them."

The sound gradually grew louder and suddenly, from the smoke, a swarm of creatures emerged.

Masks on their heads, gray bodies in decomposition, and equipped with weapons of all kinds, Hope shuddered.

"Undeads?!"

"Let's go!"

At Kraim's signal, the members of Shining Sword rushed toward the swarm.

"Brave aura!"

A wave emanated from Leon's body, armed with his great sword, he leaped several meters and swung his sword, sweeping away several undead at the same time.

"Materia." n/-o(-V--e-/l.)b)-I-.n

Marie, alongside Sana and Liliana summoned 10 puppets equipped with armor, a shield, and a one-handed hammer.

"Cover everyone!"

The puppets rushed forward and each supported a fighter.

Hope, paralyzed, looked at the chaos around him when a spear landed on the puppet's shield at his side.

"Oi, the Knight, stop daydreaming!"

He jumped when he heard Kraim's voice and clenched his sword.

"What am I doing? This is what I was waiting for, this is my moment! I've trained so much for this... Hey, everyone, sorry for the bad show, from now on, Hero Hop-"

A group of undead rushed at him, but Morgiana disintegrated them all with a powerful spear strike.

"Are you stupid? Stop playing around you idiot!"

"Aah... Ah, s-sorry..."

Cid passed by him with a mocking look.

"Why aren't I surprised? Pathetic, look how it's done."

He raised his hand and conjured an orb of light and a blue orb, a cloud formed above them.

"Thunderbolt."

He fired the bullet into the cloud and a strong electrical reaction followed, a cloud of lightning violently shattered the cloud of smoke and several undead.

The members of Shining Sword and Kraim had to step back to avoid being caught in the barrage.

"This... Is this guy crazy? Hey! Watch out, you idiot!"

Erick exclaimed furiously.

"Hmph, I don't receive orders from weaklings, everyone, stand back, I'll take care of every-AAAAARGH!!!"

A black spike stuck into his knee and went right through it. He collapsed painfully, uttering shrill screams.

"What... Oh shit! Mages!!!"

Kraim alerted the group, on the rocks and ruins, several undead were firing projectiles in the form of spikes at the group.

Marie guided her puppets to absorb the shock but the attacks multiplied.

"Ngh!!!.... Lilia, cover me! I'll summon more."

"Alright, body enhancement!"

A red and orange aura emanated from her body and, with exceptional speed, the girl parried the projectiles.

Sana rushed to Cid and used her healing magic, to no avail.

"Argh... Why are you so slow? Hurry up!"

"I'm trying... Heal!.... S-Something is wrong, the spike doesn't disappear!"

"Do something! You're the freaking healer! It hurts dammit!"

Kraim fired several arrows, eliminating many shooters, but a barrage of spikes fell on them.

"Damn... Hey, do what you did again! Kill the shooters!"

"I'm losing my leg, for fucking sake!!!"

It seemed ridiculous to imagine this overconfident boy suddenly whining over an injury, but the reality was far from it.

The spike had crossed his knee joint and came out from behind, but added to the unbearable pain, the spike spread in the form of black crystals covering his leg.

"Heal.... Heal... it doesn't work, we need to take off the spike by force!"

"My fucking leg is in it!"

"Materia... Can someone do something about the shooters? I'm running out of energy, Leon and Lilith will be exposed!"

The swarm of melees undead was getting closer to the center, Lilith was giving violent horizontal blows, 4 puppets ensuring her protection, Leon was closer to the ruins, 5 puppets on him, but every second a puppet was destroyed by the shooters, and replaced immediately by Marie who was exhausting herself.

Leon was breathing heavily, his eyes shot with rage.

"Not... This time!... I will win... I will win!"

He moved closer to the cloud of smoke, sweeping more and more undead around him and not even noticing the puppets getting destroyed.

"Everything depends on this... Everything depends on this victory! I will win... I will wi-"

A gigantic hand emerged from the cloud and smacked him into the air, before he fell heavily in front of the group, coughing blood.

"Oh no! Leon!"

"My leg... Hey! Don't stop Healing! Aaargh!!" Cid yelled.

Marie placed one knee on the ground.

"Please... Anyone... Lilith is..."

Left alone in front, Lilith had fallen on her knees. The giant hand gave way to a gigantic undead, the body more ravaged than the others, and a skull covered with shreds of flesh.

The young girl, crystals spread on her arms, was trembling all over. Morgiana rushed towards her but the barrage of spikes resumed.

"D-damn... Lilith, Ruuuun!!!"

But the girl couldn't hear her anymore. Paralyzed by fear, she forgot how to move and even talk.

The group was prisoners, around them the swarm of undead, above, the pikes rained down and between them, discord reigned.

Marie was reaching her limits, Liliana, Erick, and Morgiana were doing their best to ward off the undead and Hope was once again paralyzed by fear.

Kraim, desperate, turned towards the back where Eryl and Dora were.

"Hey! Bastards! We need...!!!"

But his surprise was great. While they were in hell on earth, on Dora's side the situation was unexpectedly worse.

Piles of undead and body parts were around them, and a significant amount of black crystals rose from the ground. The situation was worse for them, but no one was injured.

The girls were inside a bubble while Dora and Eryl stood outside, motionless.

"H-Hey!!! We need help! Heeey!!!!"

None of them reacted. Eryl looked at her wrists, covered by small crystal fragments.

"... I see... I made an error by touching them... This is why... They targeted us at first... those... hm... Crystals... We need to.. ."

She put a hand on her forehead, the undead were surrounding them.

"Haha... In a D-rank... rift... how pathetic of you... are you that scared?..."

Dora glanced at her, a few crystals were spread on his arms. The woman in front of him, on the verge of fainting, was using her last energy for cursing, she was supposed to be the strongest in this place, but she was succumbing with no effort.

But something was different, unlike everyone else insulting him, her behavior was strange. She had a mocking tone, as if taunting him, but never looked at him.

She grabbed her head with both her hands and giggled with a cracked voice.

"... Hehehe... Do you... understand the conc... sequences?... if you're so... eager... why won't you come here?... Envy."

At these words, Dora blacked out. His body swayed like a puppet with cut strings. His eyes turned black, completely. He grabbed his head and staggered.

"....? Nngh... Wha...? Wha..."

The crystals on his arms fragmented and a black aura emanated from his body.

Freya banged the bubble, anxious.

"Let us out! We must fight too! Hey!"

"I was wrong... I was hella wrong..."

"Hey, what's goin' on?"

Around them, the undead stopped their attacks altogether and turned to Dora.

The black aura swirled around him as it rose, and he began to cry out in pain.

Morgiana took this opportunity to rush to Lilith and pick her up, but as she ran towards the group, a sinister scene occurred.

The undead raised their arms towards Dora, chanting eerily.

"What... is going on?"

Dora fell on his knees and laughed, under the stunned gazes of the 3 girls in front of him, and suddenly...

"Yes... Yes, I feel it... this is real... We are real..."

He stood up looking at his hands, a smile on his lips.

"Ah... Finally... After so long... So this wasn't just an impression... I was... Huh? Oh..."

He noticed the undead around him and smiled.

"Haha... The party has begun."