Edenteric

The End of Festival I

The festival's closing event, which was supposed to end hilariously, is now a major catastrophe. A swarm of Undead who had come out of nowhere ravaged the entire city.

The towering Atrium Tower was now shattered apart, leaving a blaze that spread to other buildings around it. The royal soldiers from the various divisions tried to evacuate the residents, keeping them away from the Undead attack.

The flames grew as the night wind blew through, causing it to spread to other buildings, dealing even greater damage.

Not far from there, a large horde of Undead was besieging the royal soldiers who were securing the residents, cornering them among the ruins of the Atrium.

One of the Undead with a large body lunged forward, raising his great weapon, trying to swing it towards the guards.

The set!! The set!!

The huge undead collapsed before launching its attack, its body was cut off then thumped to the ground.

Someone came, a man in silver armour with a sword in his hand. A red cloth covered his two blind eyes.

"Chairman!!" a soldier warned. The man called the chief turned his head back without looking, aware of another attack that was heading towards him.

The large horde of Undead attacked simultaneously, but with agility the man managed to dodge, counterattack, subvert some of the roaring Undead, fell to the ground and then melted into ashes. Yet another huge horde came to help, endless.

"We have to get out of here" said the chairman, giving orders, as he sensed the arrival of another Undead. This made him slightly off guard, opening a gap for the Undead to attack him.

But suddenly, there appeared a puddle of water that instantly froze, condensing into pointy ice that immediately hit the bodies of the Undead, making them fall instantly with the body split in two.

Some residents and soldiers there were surprised, a moment later the genanan water solidified, manifested into the figure of a blue-covered girl, he turned a little backward, towards the group of soldiers who were still trying to protect the residents.

"Vice Captain, Syifa!!" Said one of the soldiers there, trying to step closer, but some of the Undead came crashing back forward, jumping towards him.

Syifa, quickly swinging her hand, made another ice spear that came back to hit the creature.

"Quick go somewhere else, let me take care of this creature" Syifa said.

Understanding the orders being delivered, the soldiers began to move back, guiding the residents to safety.

But the Undead who seemed to understand if their prey was trying to escape, roared loudly, then ran crashing.

Syifa stared at the Undead horde running towards her, spread out her arms making a path of puddles that bound her to the Undead, then again attacked them with her ice spears.

The originally silent warrior chief now immediately helped Syifa, he lunged at the Undead line coming from the opposite direction, giving way to the residents.

Reinforcements arrived, forcibly breaking through Syifa's water defenses until the girl jumped back.

Then dozens of arrows shot out quickly, plunging right into the head of each advancing Undead, blasting them into flying shards of dust.

Syifa looked towards the arrow.

Just above the first veranda of the Atrium, Zayn stood with a bow in his hand.

Not much to say, Syifa went back to finish off the remaining Undead. Zayn helped the soldiers protect the population with his arrows.

"Go immediately to the castle." said Zayn while still aiming for the undead who tried to approach.

"Yoda, lead them there" he said again to the man with the blindfold.

Yoda immediately led his army towards the castle while Zayn and Syifa managed to stop the Undead attack.

"A disgusting creature" Sissed Syifa who then kicked one of the approaching Undead.

"There's no end to it.."

Zayn jumped down from the veranda of the Atrium, helping his deputy, subverting some Undead with his dagger.

"Truly troublesome!"

At that moment a white smoke shot above them, followed by Errol flying behind him.

Syifa saw him speeding towards the main gate.

"That must be Udzaa." said Zayn who remained focused on his fight. He managed to repel the incoming Undead.

"I think there's something interesting at the main gate"

"Should we go there? I felt a strong Cloe being flanked by the main gate" Syifa asked as she froze the 5 Undead at once.

Zayn smiled obliquely, snorting then blasting the remaining Undead into ashes.

"I think the main event is there, surely Nia has given him permission to rampage." said Zayn while saving his bow.

"Better, leave it to him.."

***

While it was raided by the main, Noey was pressed, his opponent this time could not be expected. He would almost die if someone didn't come to his aid.

Trang!!

"!!" The brown-haired male figure was shocked when his dagger that almost touched Noey's eyes, was held back by a lollipop.

"Give back your toy, or I'll melt it with you" said the little brown girl who appeared suddenly.

"Hmm?? Is that so??" The figure raised his eyebrows, his hands trembling as he tried to strengthen his dagger stab over the lollipop.

Dinda stared at the figure sharply, making the man slightly flinched and immediately jumped back.

"Yes so much better.." Said Dinda with a thin grin, then turned to look at Noey who was still unable to move in her place.

"How can you be this weak in just a few years?"

Noey scolded, not intending to comment.

"Beware of the man, his dagger is poisonous, a type of poison that can paralyze the nerves.." Noey said later.

Dinda squinted her eyes at the man. Then look at him sharply.

"Hoo, you deserve to be overwhelmed" Dinda took a few steps forward, glancing at Noey from the tail of her eyes.

"Let me take care of it from here" he said again, then whispered softly, casting a spell.

Then simultaneously appeared a number of black shadows from behind his body, sliding straight like tentacles, slamming towards the male figure in front of him.

The figure managed to dodge it, but the shadows continued to chase after him, blasting out its spear-sharp tip, destroying the footing the man had left behind.

"God! This is your only ability??" Said the man dismissively, he moved here and there avoiding Dinda's attack easily.

"Cihh!!" Dinda increased the speed of his shadow, trying to catch the man, until he was cornered in the corner of the wall. But Dinda's shadows run out of time, fading and then disappearing.

"Cih..just play, I don't have time for a little girl like you" said the man as he threw his dagger straight at Dinda, then cast a spell that made the dagger he threw faster.

Dinda did not have time to dodge, but Frans came in time, making a barrier that removed the dagger from the path of his throw.

"Heh. Help again huh.." Said the man while grinning. He extended his hand forward calling back the dagger he threw. But something happened. A magic circle suddenly formed right where he was standing, emitting an increasingly dazzling light.

"!!!"

DUARR!!

An explosion occurred above the main gate barrier wall, sending black smoke into the air. From within the puff of smoke rising high in the dark of night, the man jumped out. His black robe had been torn here and there due to the explosion, leaving behind a male figure with a body full of wounds, his brown hair looked even messier than before, his red eyes burning with a strange burning passion that flowed all over his body. The landing was not smooth enough, the figure smashed into the wall behind him with a terrible sound. Even so the crazy grin on his face did not disappear.

"Khukhu.. Great" the figure chuckled, he tried to stand up but Iro materialized right in front of him, making a quick attack so that the figure had no chance to be surprised.

That figure did not look like a match for Iro. The Eighth Division captain beat him all out with such incredible speed that the man was unable to move in the slightest. Iro attacked him like a wild animal, swinging his black blade all the parts of the opponent's body that he could reach, leaving a new wound on his body that was already badly injured enough because of the first explosion. But all the wounds Iro had made a moment ago immediately healed themselves, giving his body plenty of room to be re-injured.

Iro ended his attack by forming a seal right on his enemy's chest, leaving a blackish mark that began to burn. Iro jumped back, away from the man who still could not move in his place with a crazy grin that he still showed as if he liked all the things Iro did to him.

The blackish mark Iro left was burnt to the ground, making all the wounds on the man's body heal instantly, making him quite astonished by it. All his wounds healed, even the wounds and pain from the first explosion also disappeared. But shortly after that something happened, the inevitable pain appeared in the place of the blackish marks made by Iro before, the longer running his body like electricity, like electricity, growing up turns the initial pain into unbearable pain. All the wounds on his body that had disappeared, now re-emerged in the form of excruciating pain making every muscle in his body convulsed, every breath felt like death. Blood gushed from his mouth, his body again injured, incisions that had disappeared again appeared but felt many times painful, painful, from each wound was bleeding until then his body was completely bathed by his own blood.

Meanwhile, Iro tried to make sure Noey's condition. Poison was his specialty, but Iro was surprised to realize that the poison he was facing now had never seen before.

"Even in a dream, I never saw him" Iro explained, smelling the scent of poison he had taken from the ground with the tip of his sword. The dark-colored liquid emitted a number of hot vapors like lava. Iro immediately threw it back.

Mou jumps in, she joins up with her friends and is shocked to realize that quite a number of guards have been killed. Mou stared at the most terrifying figure among the corpses, the figure on the other end whose body was filled with blood, sitting quietly in its place.

"Iro! You used that curse again!? I've told you over and over again, it's really terrible!"

Iro had no intention of answering. Frans is trying things out to at least slow the spread of the poison in Noey's body. He was quite surprised to see the situation of the First Division Captain, Iro believes the poison used by the man is a type of poison that attacks the nerves, damaging every enemy cell to finally stop heart function. Frans can also smell quite a lot of poison in Noey's body, seeing his current condition makes Frans quite amazed he can still survive.

"Too many poisons" Frans said, the golden glow in his hand faded after examining Noey's condition. Noey himself was completely unable to move, he was breathing short, his chest was painful.

"Even more than all the soldiers who died, the title of strongest woman in Edeneria might indeed suit you"

"I don't know what to be proud of or what." said Noey weakly, Frans laid him on the floor.

"Can you handle it?" ask Dinda. He had just finished moving the bodies of the dead soldiers elsewhere.

"Yes, I think I can." said Frans but his tone did not sound sure, he rose from his kneeling position. Noey tried to get up but Frans forbade him, saying that maybe the poison would spread faster if he moved his body a lot. Iro had already said that it was a poison he had never seen, which meant that it would be quite difficult to remove it from Noey's body, but it was not impossible.

"It will take a major operation" Frans said again.

"Oh right, a big operation is what I need" said Noey weakly, he denounced himself who could not move at all. The pain in his chest began to make him crazy, his legs tingling, felt lame if moved.

"Well, at least the madman has been removed" Dinda just finished saying as a dagger darted rapidly at him, sticking right by his neck. His companions were shocked, turning towards the dagger it came from, looking straight at the mad man who had just bounced back after receiving many fatal attacks on his body.

Meanwhile Dinda slammed to the side due to the force of the throw is strong enough, he hit the wall hard. Fragments of the wall flew a bunch of dust into the air, then crashed missing revealing the figure of Dinda among the basin formed by the impact earlier.

"She!!" Frans runs towards Dinda only to find that her friend is seriously injured. The dagger was still stuck in her neck, but Dinda had changed almost completely.

Now it looks terrible. Half his body burned turning his porcelain skin dark, his left eye completely blackened without pupils, something sticking out from the left side of his forehead forming horns along all three segments of his index finger. Dinda grimaced with the pain in her neck, her teeth clenched to reveal a sharp fang there.

Frans was quite surprised to see it, this was the first time he had seen Dinda in that form since the great war ten years ago. Her black Cloe pressure was strong enough to leave Frans stunned for a moment. Meanwhile Dinda pulled out a dagger on her neck violently, making a certain amount of silvery blood gush out.

"I'm fine, ugh" he said in a raucous voice. He tried to cover his neck with his hands.

"No need to worry about me, I can take care of it, you better help others" he said again while glancing the other way.

Their enemy, that crazy man is somehow still alive. Though Iro's attack should have condemned the man, Frans could not imagine how many wounds the man had received. But now Iro is back to face him, assisted by Mou. But their opponent was not like a human, the man continued to move even though his body was full of open wounds, melting the blood of every part of his body. A moment later Iro and Mou were knocked back.

"Ugh, it's starting to be fun" said the man as he wiped the blood off his face. He frowned in pain, he tried to heal himself, but his efforts were in vain, the wounds he could get back again.

"Then this is a curse eh?"

Iro tried to lift his head that had hit when he fell earlier. He looked towards Mou who was also thrown not far from where he was. Mou was injured in the head, blood flowing from her forehead forcing her to close her left eye so as not to enter the blood.

"How can you still be alive? Who the hell are you?"

The man showed an ordinary crazy grin. His appearance now looks more sinister than the Undead who are wandering down there. He was practically no longer wearing clothes that seemed to have been taken off, his body was covered in wounds as well as blood which now even looked like a robe covering his body. His black pants were torn here and there, his legs were also no better than his body. However, there were no signs of the pain that should have lasted until he died, at least after receiving the curse of Iro.

"A pretty terrible curse for a pretty girl like you" he told Iro.

"The point is to give as many wounds as possible to your enemies, no matter if they are small or large, because once your seal is embedded in the body of the enemy, it will suffer tremendous pain. All his wounds would heal quickly only to reopen with increasing pain, ending in death" the man laughed. Iro managed to stand up as well as Mou who was ready to attack back.

"For the size of a man, you talk too much huh" Mou moved forward lunging at the man while chanting the spell. Half a dozen magic circles formed around him as he ran. His hair fluttered due to the magic aura, he jumped straight at the man while releasing a barrage of magic shots.

The man dodged all of Mou's attacks, but shortly after Mou increased the speed of each shot of her magic by hundreds of times, burying the man with a slash of magic bullets that jostled horribly. Iro darted following Mou's steps, releasing another burst of magic before the man could handle Mou's attack. The explosions went off on a fairly large scale, enough to make them bounce back.

"You okay?" asked Iro to Mou who was beside him, the girl looked quite exhausted from having cast a powerful enough magic. Mou breathed short, obviously tired.

"Never used it for years" he told Iro, his eyes twitching, eager to spit out his dinner at the time, but not a good choice.

"Lack of training I guess"

The explosion subsided, the wind swept away the flying dust, revealing the figure behind it. Something they would never have thought of, but real. The man was still standing there with a fully healed wound. No more wounds, no more blood. It looked like he had just been reborn.

"How can you?"

The man chuckles in a voice that Mou thinks is quite creepy. The night wind blew unhelpfully, giving freshness to their opponents who somehow always escaped the attacks they launched.

"I think less strongly, a really lucky person" Mou commented.

"This time we try stronger" Iro nodded in agreement. Frans, however, advanced to prevent them from launching an attack.

"Don't attack him again, it's a waste" Frans said, which clearly left both friends confused. Frans explained something about what Dinda said. He argues that their opponent is not an ordinary human, and they agree to it given the attack of the curse Iro is unable to kill him.

"He's absorbing life" Frans' words obviously can't be digested. But the man laughed again.

"You're smart enough" the man stepped forward. He leaned over, touching the corpse of a soldier he killed right under his feet. Then the corpse melted, or rather evaporated leaving behind a clean slab of human skeleton as if it had long since died.

The three stared in disbelief, Dinda joined them, looking quite exhausted, her body trying to suppress another form of her that seemed quite difficult. The man saw it quite charmed.

"Ahh.. a Dhampire? I rarely see him"

"Be careful, he can absorb someone else's Cloe. No matter the victim is alive or dead" explained Dinda whose body returned to normal. A sweet girl with sharp eyes. He gasped for breath while enduring the pain radiating from the side of his neck. His wound was still gaping, forming a cavern large enough to be by his neck. Instead of blood, something silver-colored flowed quite profusely from there.

"I hate to admit it, but his abilities are almost like mine"

"likeyou? Don't joke, you're not even like me" said the man, his blood-red eyes staring intently, passionately at the kill. He stood back up, making him look fit again after absorbing Cloe's corpse.

"A weak Dhampire likens herself to me. Oh that's an insult to me" she let out quite a large Cloe, her aura so strong as a strong wind coming out of her body.

"Cloe's painful pressure" Mou murmured indistinctly as she tried to hold her foot on the ground. The other three friends were also no less tired, trying to survive where they stood.

"Friends, I think we need a plan"

"I hate to tell you this the truth" Iro whispered softly, attracting the attention of the three friends. He never imagined he would say this. But there seems to be no other choice.

"We've got to hold it back until help arrives, Noey can't move, and we can't fight him alone, but I think the four of us can hold him back a little bit"

Dinda voiced her agreement as well as Frans.

"I think that's his only choice"

"You want to fight me?" the man laughed again, now louder as if to tell them that their choice was the worst stupidity. His usual red eyes staring intently were now twitching wildly. The murderous passion flowed back into his veins.

"I'm really going to kill you!"

"You really talk a lot, go ahead if you're a man!" threaten Mou's. Dinda looked at him with a look 'do you really want to die?'.

"What?"

"Yeah, that's what we need right now.Thank you for miss not being able to cook over there" Dinda said in an annoyed tone. It should be enough to make Frans laugh, but it's not the time for that.

The man cast a long spell. While he was sprucing up a fairly large magic circle formed before him. From the color of the magic circle formed they were quite certain it was a black magic, and looking at its size that might be able to make a powerful enough magic laser.

"It may be a little late, but I think I will introduce myself, as a form of appreciation before you die of course" he said with a creepy grin.

The magic circle was finally finished, an unpleasant aura hung in the air, the wind stopped blowing, even the commotion in the city due to the attack of the Undead felt galloping away.

Frans whispered a spell. He had no intention of using it, but he had no other choice. He intended to make a shield of light that he thought would protect them from attack, only he was not sure enough. On the other hand Mou seemed to be thinking the same thing, trying to cast defense magic which Frans said was quite large. But before it could form, Mou's magic circle just disappeared, making her surprised. Frans also felt the same way, the glow in his hand disappeared like it was swallowed up by night.

"Ahh, that's the big difference I mentioned earlier, miss Dhampire" said the man who made Dinda stare annoyed.

"And remember this, I am Zach the best pawn of the god of darkness" he exclaimed with pride. Then he detonated his magic that darted fast forward. Zach loved this part, where fear flowed out like a river from a human just before death. And now he grins crazy.

Frans stared intently at Zach, waging an eye-piercing challenge. He was prepared to welcome death, if it was his destiny, but deep down he did not expect his destiny to interfere for now. He was busy sending various curses to the man in front of him until he saw a shadow darting, moving quickly walled himself and his friends from death.

Noey got up with the remnants of the energy he had. He will die of poison sooner or later. But he did not want to die without doing anything. He ordered his body to move to protect his friends. It was quite difficult to move with the damaged nerves, he was no longer able to take out Cloe in the slightest, practically he just stretched out his hand, receiving Zach's massive attack without any protection.

Frans screaming. Just as the three friends were lunging forward, trying to help Noey. But all too late, a great explosion occurred, filling the darkness of the night with another darkness, like a blanket made of empty air like the color of a nebula. Noey's smile was the last thing they could see before the void blinded their eyes.

***

The city is still bad. Edenteria has never looked like this before. Huge fires were still burning in various places, it seemed like the Undead had always taken the time to at least burn down a building before they passed through it. The largest fire was seen in the Atrium right in the middle of the city, some of the sponges were devoured by fire which then struck other parts. The night wind blew unhelpfully, exhaling a tongue of fire that was even getting bigger. Some residents have been evacuated to parts of the castle or taken to hospital wards.

The Atrium section was trying to be controlled by the Sixth Division Captain along with his deputy, although as the Undead troops continued to arrive from all directions, the Atrium section which was the center of the city made the place reachable from many directions, it wasn't very profitable to see a large group of Undead had reached there.

Zayn and Syifa were forced back and forth by the Undead horde, two humans against the group of Undead numbering in the hundreds was not a good plan. Plus their attacks could not reduce in number at all, as every few Undead were scattered into dust, a dozen of them came from behind, pushing the herd in front of him forward. Therefore the two could only survive, at least they agreed not to let the horde pass through the main road leading to the castle.

Healers worked overtime in hospital wards two blocks from the Atrium. The northernmost part of Edenteria was also filled with a horde of Undead trying to enter, breaking through barbed wire barricades that had been installed around the hospital ward. The Five and Nine Divisions took control of this section, and Iqbal and his army managed to hold the Undead to stay behind the barricades. Meiza's deputy, meanwhile, led the healers of both Divisions in dealing with every wounded person. He led it himself because Kiruru had to help heal the castle area.

But unlike the Atrium, the Undead in this section can be controlled a little and the number is not too much. Division Nine is a group of troops with light-type magic, helping to purify the scattered Undead so as not to return to existence. Even so, it is still not as easy as thought because other groups continue to arrive.

In the south Bella led a combined three Divisions, the First, Eighth and a dozen troops of the Nine Divisions. Then Faruq came to help with some of his Division after spreading some of the others towards the Atrium. Seeing Faruq coming, Bella immediately broke up the First Division, ordering some of them to move towards the hospital ward.

The royal barrier walls collapsed on this side, creating a special entrance for the hundreds of Undead who stormed from the forest. Just like the others, this side also did not experience any meaningful progress. Each defeated Undead gave rise to another half-dozen from the forest. Those who disperse also re-make a moment later.

"It would be impossible without light magic" Bella said as she slashed through the small group of Undead who were rushing wildly towards her. Faruq who was also fighting not far from him nodded in agreement. He smashed his silver shield against the face of one of the Undead, turning it into a pile of dust.

"Unfortunately the number of this disgusting creature is also quite a lot" Faruq replied, he ogled a small group of troops of the Nine Division at the very back of the line, he said, cast light magic from far away that shot every Undead who was quite reckless approaching. Faruq dodged the swing of the huge axe of the annoying-faced Undead figure, he slashed it into dust instantly.

"I hope those stupid Aldrich intervene right now" Faruq swung his sword sideways madly slashing at the large group of newly emerged Undead from the forest.

"The third Aldrich will laugh at the words coming out of your mouth" Bella twisted her body to disperse the three Undead at once, while Faruq snorted resentfully behind her.

Bella leaps forward, thrusts into the middle of the Undead, then swings her sword as if she were dancing in the middle of a death ball. With bending he moved his body here and there to disperse every skinned dance party guest burned to the ashes of a funeral. He ended his movement with his graceful silver sword dance.

"Moonlight Dancer.." whispered subtly followed by the disintegration of large numbers of Undead.

Faruq grumbled indistinctly, he smashed another Undead with his shield as the largest Undead he had ever seen barged in from the shattered wall.

Undead is large, about three meters high, full-fat body without skin that makes it look more disgusting. The huge undead shouldered a large tree on its back. His face did not look smart, although Faruq was not sure which part of his body could be called a face because everything looked reddish without skin. Where there should be eyes that look empty, hollow, not visible to any eyeballs, but his big mouth wide open let out a big sound that clearly did not sound melodious.

"Oh sure, it's great why don't you just send Giant to me" he said annoyed.

Even so, it keeps on advancing. Some of his troops moved back as the huge Undead appeared, swinging the huge tree in his hand wildly, smashing at anything he could reach, destroying a favorite tavern that was already half-burned.

"Good, I do need someone to blame for the fire at my favorite store" he said.

The fire from the burning taverns brimmed the leaves of the huge tree, making the huge Undead look like a giant wedding flower-carrying girl in bloom, he said, trying to inflame the spirit of marriage or even roasting the two brides on a barbeque grill.

Faruq wished he was wearing his armor, but in reality he was not. He had never expected the festival to end so fervently.

Faruq lowered his head, avoiding the impact of the fiery tree. Then it slid past the bottom of the Undead, not forgetting to give some nicks in its legs. The Undead roared again, he moved wildly looking for Faruq's figure between his legs, but Faruq was already preparing to attack him from behind. Just as the great Undead turned his head, Faruq was already on standby with his sword then leaped up and plugged the silver blade right into the ugly face of the Undead.

The huge undead roared then exploded into dust grains. Unfortunately, the big tree did not fall. The fiery tree slid down just above Faruq, while the Undead attacked with large groups from all directions.

"You really pissed me off!" he said while releasing a number of Cloe from his body, which not only threw dozens of Undead, but also scattered them, as well as a large fire tree that fell on it which now turned into a rain of matches.

"Mighty Roar, remember the names of these ugly creatures!" it means the pile of Undead dust around him. Then he jumped wildly while screaming in heat as a burning match fell into his shirt.

***

Meanwhile Dimas stepped out of a room in the castle. The Seventh Division Captain yawned lazily, his head still feeling dizzy. He jumped up from his sleep because of the sound of a big explosion out there, making his head hit his own bed.

Maybe some fireworks as a festival cover sounds pretty good, but fireworks with the explosive power of a magic bomb? Just be right. The explosion made him have to leave his precious sleep, he did not accept it. He intends to beat Alvian, because as far as he knows the man who is a technology enthusiast who designed fireworks for the closing ceremony of the festival.

Dimas turned the corner of the hallway, passing through the throne room. He walked straight towards the Aldrich's study after thinking that the research division was located quite far away. He chose to curse the Aldrich instead of Alvian.

The castle looks so quiet, what time is it. Dimas thought it seemed like he slept too long. Maybe everyone is looking at the fireworks out there, considering that the huge explosions are still being heard. Dimas up in front of Aldrich's study, he pushed open the brown door, then stepped in.

"Hey-hey, what time do you think it is?" dimas protested while yawning, his drowsiness still lingering in his eyelids that were difficult to open.

"I mean, wasn't the fireworks overdone like a bomb, remember, some of us need a good night's sleep!" it means the figure of Aldrich who was on the porch.

Dimas stepped jokingly, he tried to open his eyes that were still yellow, from his blurry vision he saw quite a lot of people in the main sign tonight.

"Dimas!! What the hell are you saying! Where have you been!!" Lian stepped up to him, while Dimas just wiped his tired eyes and then yawned again.

"Goodoo, so noisy! Let me go to sleep, stop the fireworks" Dimas raced on the sidelines scratching his head slowly, trying not to drop his sleeping cap, he said, a black cone with a motif that matches the trousers he wears now, a starry night sky motif. Dimas will continue to grumble indistinctly if Lian does not immediately hit his head.

Dimas immediately felt refreshed, his sleepiness gone from the blow. He had just wanted to avenge the blow until finally his eyes caught the many people standing on the main porch. Far away the dark night sky was stained with orange light, like every lamppost in the city was overpowered so brightly. But he realized a moment later, a tinge of orange in the sky not because of the street lights, but the tongue of fire that dances wildly in almost all parts of the city. And finally he realized that the explosion he heard was not fireworks, but an actual explosion.

"What's? What the hell is going on?" ask Dimas immediately. He could see the figure of Nia on the wall of the porch accompanied by Kevin, then several heads of soldiers with full armament. Finally, he found Kiruru trying to heal a girl lying in a pool of blood not far from him.

Lian could not explain. Dimas finds out the situation is right when he streams his Cloe. His five senses sharpen again, he can feel Cloe belong to his friends scattered throughout the city, also feel Cloe dark that he knows as Cloe monster. But Cloe's strongest so far is at the main gate, along with some of Cloe's friends.

"Rouge!! Bleu!! Rose!! Violet!!" Dimas called out the name quickly, as quickly as the four representatives emerged from behind a black circle that seemed to tear through the air. The four of them faced Dimas in sleeping clothes.

"Where are you!!" ask her fiercely.

Rose replied with an innocent expression behind her strange red pajamas.

"Master ordered us to sleep, right?" his words were greeted by nods of his three sisters who were also wearing nightgowns with a completely strange bright color. While Dimas muttered something like 'emm, anoo' when he realized Nia was looking at him from behind Kevin's back.

"I'll beat you up later" he said, trying to ignore Dimas, he was too focused on the sudden. Nia doesn't look so good tonight, Dimas is convinced of that. Nia looks pale than usual, her Cloe flow is also not as strong as usual which is a strange thing, considering the chaos that occurred until the head of the soldiers gathered here. At least Dimas could guess the danger mark had already been lit on level three or so.

"What matters now are those jerks" Nia said. As if not understanding Dimas turned towards Lian.

"Middle-level undead, numbering in the hundreds or even thousands, kept coming.." explained Lian, who was cut off when a soldier stormed into the main porch, giving bad news about the defense that had been penetrated.

"The Division Nine cannot be broken down anymore, because then the hospital ward will be in great danger" Lian told herself.

Kevin moved from where he stood.

"Let me go to the hospital ward, I'll help them, at least Iqbal will have enough time to hold them off as Division Nine spreads" Kevin gave the idea. But Lian shook her head, a rejection.

"You stay here, learn the attack pattern, I'll go" said Lian who then turned to Dimas. Dimas seemed to understand the meaning, but he even yawned lazily. Moving his hand formed a gesture as if expelling the third Aldrich.

"Yayaya. I understand, besides my sleep is quite good, my Cloe is ready to standby this time" he said while Lian nodded in understanding and then left shortly after he commented on the sleeping cap he wore.

"Remind me to beat him up after this" Dimas told one of the army chiefs who answered so confused as to what to answer.

Dimas stepped closer to the edge of the veranda, Kevin followed. He had a bad view down there. A sight he had never seen in years.

"There are three main points" Dimas turned to find Kevin talking to him.

"One of them is a hospital ward, Lian is on her way. Then the south side, Faruq and Bella handle the Undead who managed to break down the barrier wall, then the worst one is in the Atrium right in the middle of the city, the Undead who are there more than anywhere else, I've put Zayn and Syifa to take over the Atrium, but it looks like they're outnumbered" Kevin explained at length about the battle map.

"They're just the two of you?" tanya Dimas was immediately confirmed by a nod of Kevin. Dimas rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"It is just worth losing!! Why don't you send troops there if the Atrium has more problems, you're stupid or you're.." Kevin raised his hand, making Dimas stop groping.

"Can. But the Undead can't be eradicated without light-type magic and that makes us unable to send help carelessly, as it will only add to the casualties. Division Nine was too few to break down into three parts, if forced, would not be so effective given the sheer number of Undead. Our top priority at this time is to protect the residents and guests of the kingdom who are now partly being evacuated to the cliff along with Akuma and Jose and Djabo and part of the Eight Divisions" he explained while glancing towards the cliff behind the castle, which is another way to get out of the Edenteria region.

Dimas can see small points that are clustered up the stairs on the cliff wall, towards the vast grassland at the top.

"Our point of defense is this place and the hospital ward, so that part of Division Nine I put there, Meiza is working to treat those injured including the residents. Iqbal who led his Division there could buy more time that Meiza needed to treat every injured person with the help of Division Nine. Some of the wounded can't be taken there.."

"Therefore Kiruru is here" Dimas continued, staring at Kiruru who was waving at him but remained focused on his healing. Kevin nodded.

"I just ordered Faruq to send half his Division to the Atrium, the Second Division is an army with a strong defensive pattern, enough to help buy time for us" Kevin continued.

"You keep talking about stalling, what exactly are your plans!! What are you waiting for?" Dimas looks annoyed with the hooded young man in front of him.

"I told you our first priority right now is protecting the population. And our defensive point is here and the hospital ward. Therefore these two sides should be cleaned first. The hospital ward is the worst part right now, we have to protect Meiza who is treating the wounded, so I put most of Division Nine there, and I just ordered Bella to send half the First Division there so that that side can fight back and beat back the Undead. On the other hand where Bella and Faruq are quite far from the castle, therefore there is still enough time for them to survive while we concentrate the attack on Iqbal's forces" explained Kevin quickly, Dimas did not comment, now he understands Kevin's plan.

"Zayn and Syifa are long-range fighters, they might be overwhelmed by the number of Undead attacking but when part of Division Two comes, they can last longer, but in the end, they still had to retreat. But it doesn't matter because the distance of the Atrium to this place is the same as the side of Faruq and Bella. If Iqbal manages to get rid of the problem he will break his army into Faruq and Bella's sides, helping them clear that side. When finished they would all pound the Atrium from all directions, trapping those Undead and then PUFF!!.." Kevin showed a gesture exploding with both hands.

"Prepare your umbrella, tomorrow's weather forecast is a rain of zombie dust" he said again.

Inevitably Dimas smiled, but he did not want to, making him smile mixed with a grin that looked strange. Kevin looked at her with a look of 'you're fine'. Nia turned towards Dimas.

"You know the plan.."

"Well, whatever, that fool was having fun like that, but I sure felt the big Cloe at the main gate" Dimas said. Nia understood, then explained that Udzaa would take care of her. Dimas doesn't look happy.

"Yayaya... quickly tell me which part should I attack first?"

"Why should you choose?" kevin's words really confused Dimas.

"It's true that I've already devised a plan, but you're already here, why not attack all of them at once?" said Kevin again who made Dimas groan annoyed. But then he throws his conical sleeping cap at Kevin, forcing him to swear to look after the hat.

"You know, you're a real bitch" said Dimas, who looked at Kevin as if he said 'Your Chloe is on standby, right?'.

Dimas jumped on the wall of the porch he stared at the chaos scattered throughout the city. He called his four representatives. He cursed Kevin for telling him to do this, even though he had not used this style again for many years. He sighed then ordered all four of his representatives to go to the Atrium.

"I'll catch up with you guys later" the four deputies changed their clothes into battle mode then darted rapidly towards the Atrium leaving Dimas still up there.

Dimas closed his eyes, concentrating his Cloe flow. Then his sword appeared in his left hand, while his right hand gave off a black aura that licked wildly like a tongue of fire. He looked at Kevin.

"I'll leave Hermes here to stand guard, or send him to Djabo as a favor or whatever you have to do." he said with a brief nod.

Then Dimas raised his right hand covered in blackish flames into the air, as if grasping the air itself firmly, followed by a black frown in the empty air like a crumpled paper. Then he jumped, sliding down from the main veranda. As he slid down, his right hand split the empty air above him, tearing apart the void, opening up another black dimension behind it. Then the dark rips revealed hundreds of pairs of flaming eyes, releasing a huge stream of Cloe.

"Hermes stays here with Kevin and the others, obey his orders, the rest destroy all the ugly zombies you meet" Dimas ordered as he set his foot on the ground, then rolled forward and ran towards the Atrium.

"Pump up!!" a moment after that hundreds of pairs of eyes peeking from the black dimensional tear leaped out with the form of hundreds of servant-clad Voids, spreading all over Edenteria, ready for battle.

***

Frans was fixated where he stood, his eyes wide open to see Noey's body thumping to the ground not far in front of him, then no longer moving. After that time seemed to stop forever, moving so slowly that he was unable to move even a fingernail.

Dinda and Iro raid Zach wildly along with the natural magic Mou unleashes, launching dozens of tree branches that somehow burst out from the stone floor beneath them. Iro darted between the branches of the tree that continued to grow higher while Dinda crushed some and threw them at Zach.

Zach laughed louder and louder, welcoming the attacks directed at him with a burning passion.

Frans knelt beside Noey's body, saying nothing. Noey did not budge at all, his body was covered in wounds, he was unconscious. Mou knelt down next to him after previously turning the border wall into a giant hedge.

Mou pointed at Noey's silver armor with two fingers, then cut it diagonally with a burst of fire from her fingertips, melting the armor. Now Noey's armour has been completely dated. Mou looked at Frans quickly who was understood by her.

Frans placed his hand which then shimmered over Noey's chest. Frans felt his heart throbbing weaker and weaker.

"You have to take him to the hospital ward immediately" Mou said.

"We'll hold him back.." But Mou couldn't finish her words, she was thrown aside. Zach was standing there, right in front of Frans at the moment with his crazy grin.

Frans was surprised, he saw Iro and Dinda far ahead, trapped between rocks and tree branches. While Mou was thrown aside, hit the wall and fell immobile.

"I know he's not dead yet, give him to me, I'll kill him" Zach stepped closer.

Frans rose up, summoned his golden spear from nothing and then smashed it forward. Threatening Zach not to come closer. The man stopped, waved his hand at Frans, making the blond girl flung backwards.

Frans hit the wall hard, he felt some of his ribs broken. But there was no time to complain, he forced himself to get up, running towards the man who was directing his hand towards Noey.

Zach looked at Frans who hit him with a spear, he did not try to avoid, he chose to welcome the golden spear.

Zraash!!i

"Khukhu" Zach chuckled even though Frans' spear managed to pierce through his body, causing him to spurt blood.

"You're satisfied to have hurt me?"

"What do you want from us!!" Frans shouted menacingly, his hands shaking clasping his spear violently.

"I'm just looking for an opponent to play with, and it just so happens that your friend is quite entertaining, so I'm going to give him a beautiful death reward" Zach said, madly, his red eyes flashed as if confirming how he wanted to kill.

"Your friend is quite interesting, let me kill him and I won't touch another" he said, glancing at Noey, who was lying helpless on the ground.

Frans sent a sharp gaze right into the blood-red bead in front of him. Trying hard to imagine himself who will tear the man in front of him. Frans was getting stronger grasping his spear, intending to sink it deeper. His mind is raging, his house is destroyed, his friends are injured, Noey is on the verge of his death. All of them gathered together into one, resting on the tip of his spear, giving off a jolt of electricity that his opponent could feel.

Zach swerved, he frowned. Staring at Frans with an incomprehensible look. He clasped the spear that pierced through his chest weakly.

"You-you can't"

Frans didn't know what was going on, but whatever it was he did it anyway. Pushing his spear to further pierce the side of Zach who was now trying to hold the spear stab even further.

Zach tries to break free, kicking Frans' stomach so hard that the girl is pushed back, her spear is pulled forcibly from Zach's chest, spitting out even more blood.

Zach staggered back, his eyes twitching. He didn't understand what just happened. For the first time since he fought tonight, his chest hurt so much, a spear had just pierced through his chest. Zach doesn't understand, he shouldn't be able to feel pain, his body is dead. But now the tearing sensation gnawed at his body, rustling all over his joints. His heart is pumping fast.

"What did you just do!??" Zach stared at the angry blonde girl in front of him.

Frans tried to stand up, relieve the pain in his broken ribs. It made his spear a focus. He looked at Zach with a look of hatred he had not felt for a long time. His breath raced, sending adrenaline of war that he had never felt for a long time. Deep in his head voices were calling out for hatred. Ordered his body to run crashing, taking out all his enemies. His blue eyes glittered sharply, sending the trembling of everyone who looked towards him.

Zach felt that, surprised when he met Frans. That blue bead, as if burning it, he felt a wild instinct from there. He thought quickly and then found the fact that made him laugh.

"You-you!!! I can't believe!!" Zach's body trembled with passion. He concentrated his energy, making the hole in his chest close quickly, leaving behind a trail of blood.

His silver dagger floated up to him out of nowhere. He laughed even louder and then let out an incredible amount of Cloe pressure.

"Be happy, I've lost interest in your friend" he said in a raucous voice, glancing at Noey's body not far from where he was standing

"In exchange, I will kill you!!!" Zach darted quickly towards Frans, his dagger clasped firmly, directed at the blond girl.

Frans tried undaunted, ready to welcome the attack. His left eye throbbed crazily, something like it was about to tear him from within. Frans was ready with his horses, pulling out his spear.

But when just a few more meters the two met, something shot towards them, sending them bouncing backwards. Frans took refuge from the shards of the stone floor that was flying with the dust in front of him.

The dust slowly disappeared, revealing a black-robed figure standing there right next to the blue crystal-eyed greatsword. Pounding among the black fog, the fourth Aldrich stared furiously at his enemy.

***