Chapter 163

  Unexpected Appearance

  Having finally crushed the necromancer who had targeted them, Ryle started to calm down. Taking a deep breath, she finally managed to quiet down her rage and get back to her senses. Upon reaching that state, the blonde remembered the thing that had set off her right in the first place. She turned around and rushed back to Arkay’s side to check the cat boy’s condition after getting trampled upon by two of the necromancer’s zombies. Said undead creatures were laying on the floor with their controller defeated.

  “Arnie!” Ryle called out to her young companion as she knelt next to him and picked him up. “Are you okay!? Hey! Speak to me! Please!”

  “Ugh… I’m okay… Just a bit banged up,” Arkay said, wincing at the pain his body was in. “I kind of moved on pure instinct there, so I couldn’t think of a better idea. At least it worked, even if it was quite painful…”

  “Yeah, about that… I’m thankful for the help and it might have even saved me, but I would really appreciate it if you didn’t pull stunts like that,” the blonde said somewhat awkwardly. “I don’t want you getting hurt on my behalf like that, especially if it could end badly…”

  “I get that, but I need to do my part in this group, too,” the cat boy said while looking down in shame. “I didn’t want to just be a burden that needed to be protected.”

  “Hey, you weren’t being a burden, okay?” Ryle said, hoping to cheer up her young companion. “It was only thanks to you that we figured out the guy we were facing earlier wasn’t our real opponent and just a puppet he was controlling. And after that you led me to him, so we could finally put an end to this whole thing. If I’m completely honest, you were the most important person when it came to beating that guy.”

  “Really?” Arkay asked.

  “Yeah. So don’t look down on yourself so much. You’ve got an important part to play in our group and you just did that perfectly,” the blonde said before standing up and lifting the cat boy in her arms. “Anyways, let’s go back to the others! I’m sure they’re worried about us.”

  “Uhh… Sure, but… can you put me down?” Arkay asked awkwardly with a blush on his face. “I’m sure I can walk by myself.”

  “Nope! Not happening! You just got run over and are hurt, so I’m not allowing you to walk around in your injured state!” Ryle said happily. “Besides, I think I deserve some form of a reward for beating the necromancer.”

  As the two walked out of the warehouse, they didn’t notice movement happening in the rubble the necromancer had flown into.

  Back with the rest of the group, Lexton, Durge and Zeldana were breathing heavily while struggling to stay up. The kobold’s golem had long been overrun by the numerous zombies and destroyed, turning it into a large puddle of goo on the ground. The orc was leaning on a nearby wall to keep himself up, while the elf was sitting on the ground.

  The three of them had been just about to get overrun and torn apart by the horde of zombies surrounding them, but just as all seemed to be lost the undead monsters suddenly fell on the ground and stayed silent. After Durge carefully nudged one of them and it remained still, they came to the conclusion that Ryle and Arkay had defeated the necromancer and their battle was over.

  “Well… That got close,” Durge said while breathing heavily, the exhaustion from the battle and the damage done by the zombies having taken a toll on him. “To think that we only came here to have a meeting with someone… We just can’t have an easy day in our lives, can we?”

  “Only those fortunate enough to be born under the right conditions get to have it easy. For most of us, life is a struggle. We can only hope we are tough enough to take on the struggles ahead of us,” Lexton said. “Or that’s at least what my dad used to say. He also told me that those who live easy lives end up destroying themselves in the end, as they fail to build themselves up. Although, I wouldn’t mind taking that over THIS right now…”

  “...By the way, where’s Erin?” Zeldana asked, realizing that their redheaded leader was missing. “I know that we sent Ryle and Arkay after the actual necromancer, but we have no idea where she is right now. Do you think she’s still fighting that bald guy on top of that warehouse?”

  “I doubt that. Remember that the guy she was facing was actually just another zombie in the end,” the kobold explained. “Now that the one controlling him is gone, he should also stop moving, much like the rest of these things. I’m sure she’ll join us soon enough.”

  Almost as if summoned by Lexton’s words, Erin appeared before her companions, jogging over to them. While at first the three were relieved to see their friend alive and well, they soon noticed the state she was in. The redhead had cuts all over her body that were bleeding, almost like she had run through a forest made of knives.

  “Guys, you’re okay!” Erin said in a relieved tone. “I was worried what might have happened to you!”

  “Forget worrying about us! You should be worried about yourself!” Durge exclaimed in a shocked voice. “What the hell happened to you!? You look like someone threw you in a blender!”

  “The guy I was fighting was a lot tougher than I expected. It didn’t help that I didn’t have all of my gear on me. As you can see, it kind of did a number on me,” the redhead explained. “Speaking of which, Zeldana, could you give me some medical assistance? I kind of need it…”

  “Can I just have a minute!?” the elf asked angrily. “I just finished fighting against an army of zombies here! Is it too much to ask for a moment to catch my breath!?”

  “And I was obviously just having a leisurely picnic, while you were doing that,” Erin said in a sarcastic tone. “Now how about you get your ass over here and do your job, before I bleed to death?”

  “Oh, fine! If it stops your bitching!” Zeldana said in an exasperated tone as she got up and walked over to the redhead. “Seriously, baby gets a little cut and immediately starts crying! These are just simple and basic wounds! Nothing interesting at all!”

  “I don’t think injuries are supposed to be interesting in the first place,” Erin said as she glared at the elf. “Can you do something about them or not?”

  “Are you trying to insult me? This type of work is the basic of the basics!” Zeldana said as she gathered magical energy on her hands and began to ran them over the wounds, closing them in the process. “Just give me a minute and I’ll have these closed in no time.”

  The elf was soon done with treating the wounds and took a step back. No longer worried over her life, Erin took a look over her friends and noticed that two of them were missing.

  “Where’s Ryle and Arnie?” the redhead asked, worried over the safety of the two. “Don’t tell me something bad happened to them!”

  “Relax. Those two should be alright,” Lexton said reassuringly. “They went after the necromancer in order to put an end to this, which you can see that they succeeded in. Arnie was able to detect where the magic was coming from, so we had him lead Ryle to where the one controlling these things was hiding and take him out. And since all the zombies have now stopped moving, I’d say that they were able to do just that.”

  “Okay, but why only send out those two?” Erin asked. “Wouldn’t their chances at winning have been better, if you all went after the necromancer?”

  “We were kind of busy over here. I’m sure you can see why,” the kobold said in a sarcastic tone as he motioned towards all the zombies surrounding them. “We needed to hold back the majority of the enemy’s forces, so that they wouldn’t have to worry about getting overrun from the behind.”

  “...You know, you could have told me that without the sass. I can understand reasonable explanations just fine,” the redhead said with a frown, not liking the tone Lexton had used while talking to her. “Is it too much for you to be actually friendly for once? That’s the kind of attitude that’s going to get you into a lot of trouble at some point.”

  “Give him a break. He’s just being a bit moody over what he’s been through,” Durge said. “After all, things got a bit heated for him and he might have-”

  “DON’T YOU DARE,” Lexton said in a threatening tone as he glared at the orc. “I don’t want to hear anything coming out of your mouth!”

  Durge simply shrugged, not too bothered by the threat. This still led Erin confused, as she wondered what had happened.

  “What are you two talking about?” the redhead asked. “Just what happened with you guys?”

  “Nothing!” Lexton shouted defensively. “Absolutely nothing happened here and you don’t need to worry about anything!”

  “He screamed and cried in terror, as the zombies almost got him,” Zeldana said as she snickered, causing the kobold to turn and glare at her. “You should have seen it. It was priceless!”

  “I DIDN’T CRY!” Lexton shouted angrily. “I might have panicked, but I think that’s pretty freaking understandable! My golem got destroyed and I’m not exactly equipped for close combat! What did you expect me to do in that situation!? Laugh maniacally!?”

  “Hey, I can understand being scared and all, but I never imagined YOU to actually start crying!” the elf continued teasing the kobold. “I mean, you’re always acting so tough and serious, yet there you were, bawling like a baby! What a sight to see!”

  “For the last time, I DIDN’T CRY!” Lexton shouted. “Do you see any marks from tears on my face!?”

  “Alright, that’s fair enough. There’s no proof that you shed any tears and you probably didn’t,” Zeldana said with a shrug before a mischievous grin spread over her face. “But I’m sure we can all see the proof that you pissed your pants!”

  Just as the elf had said, there was a dark spot around a certain area of the kobold’s pants that Erin now noticed. Upon realizing that his shameful spot was now the center of attention, Lexton did his best to cover it up.

  “Y-Y-You asshole! You were just riling me up with false accusations so I would forget to cover that!” the kobold said in a voice that was mixed with anger and embarrassment. “And it’s not what it looks like! This is just drool from the zombies! It just happened to fall on that place!”

  “Oh? Should we test it out then?” Zeldana said with a grin, leaning closer towards Lexton. “I’m sure we can figure out just what this mysterious substance truly is!”

  “STAY AWAY FROM ME, YOU CREEPY GODDAMN PERVERT!” the kobold yelled desperately.

  Erin let out a sigh and rolled her eye at the antics of the two, before walking up to Durge, hoping to get a much clearer picture of what actually had happened.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “So mind telling me what really went down here?” the redhead asked the orc. “Something tells me that if I listen to either of those two, I will only get what they want me to believe.”

  “You mean lies? That’s pretty likely, seeing how those two are,” Durge said as he glanced over to Lexton and Zeldana arguing. “Although, is this really a topic you should be focusing on? I’m pretty sure that there are more important things for us to discuss.”

  “I… guess you’re right,” Erin said, embarrassed over the fact that she had focused on something so unimportant. “I can’t believe I actually got swept into the stupidity of those two…”

  “Hey, sometimes it’s just easier to go with the flow, you know? Makes things a lot easier to handle. That’s how I lived a good amount of my life at least,” the orc said with a shrug. “Anyways, I don’t think you need to worry about Ryle or Arnie. Like Lexton said, it’s obvious that they win, since the zombies stopped moving. They’ll probably be here any second now.”

  “That might be the case, but shouldn’t we still go looking for them?” the redhead asked. “I know Ryle is strong and all, so she’s probably fine, but what about Arnie? He can’t really defend himself here, so he could have gotten hurt.”

  “That might be true, but I think you’re forgetting something. Do you really think Ryle would allow anything to happen to him?” Durge asked with a raised eyebrow. “Besides, we don’t know where they went exactly. If we go looking for them, we might miss each other, so it’s best for us to just wait for them to come back. Not only that, but if there are any other enemies around, we might get ambushed by them while scattered around. The best thing we can do now is remain calm and collected.”

  While she didn’t feel good about not being able to really do anything, Erin knew that the orc was right. Going on around and searching randomly would only cause more issues, so it was better to have faith in her currently missing friends and wait for them.

  Luckily for the redhead, she and the others didn’t need to wait for long, as they soon heard the sound of approaching footsteps and saw Ryle running towards them while carrying Arkay in her arms.

  “Hey, guys! We’re back!” the blonde called out to the others happily. “We found the creep and kicked his ass big time! You can come and get your autographs right now!”

  “Good to see you’re all fine and in good spirits,” Erin said with a smile, relieved to see that her two friends were alive and well. “Is Arnie okay? Is he hurt, since you’re carrying him?”

  “Well, he took a bit of a-” Ryle began to say, only for the cat boy to cut her off.

  “I’m fine. No need to worry,” Arkay said. “Just got a bit roughed up, but that’s to be expected in battles like this, right?”

  “I guess that’s true,” Erin said. “So what exactly happened over there? I assume you found the necromancer and defeated him?”

  “Oh, we did more than that! We completely destroyed him and the zombie gang he had set up!” Ryle said as she set Arkay down. “You gotta hear this tale of awesomeness and just total badassery!”

  As the blonde went on to tell the tale of her and Arkay’s exploits in their battle against the necromancer, which she was making a lot more grandiose than it actually was, the other part of the story backed away. The cat boy didn’t feel like taking part in the storytelling, as he felt like he didn’t have anything interesting to add to it. Instead, he went on to sit on a nearby bench, hoping to rest up a bit after a tough battle.

  However, due to the noise from Ryle’s ramblings and being too tired to pay attention to his surroundings, Arkay failed to notice something approaching from behind, until it was too late.

  The necromancer he and Ryle had defeated, Desmond, was still alive. Much like they had theorized, he himself had been an undead creature, a deadborn, as people like himself were known. This meant that most attacks that would be lethal to regular people weren’t able to kill him, as he no longer had the same requirements as people normally did. That is how he had survived Ryle’s attack, which would have easily killed most opponents.

  While he might have survived, Desmond was far from fine, as the lower part of his body had been blown clean off, forcing him to crawl on the ground with just his hands. Not only was he left unable to move around properly, but he was left powerless after his battle.

  If he could, the necromancer would have used this opportunity to escape and find some way to get a new lower half for his body, but he couldn’t. After failing to take down such important targets, he knew that returning would mean certain death at the hands of Golorath.

  With no chance of getting out of this alive, Desmond decided to do what he could in order to make his defeat at least less humiliating. He was going to take one of his opponents with him. That way he could accomplish more than all the other assassins so far had.

  The one the necromancer had decided to direct his wrath towards was none other than Arkay, whom he blamed for his defeat. He had originally underestimated the cat boy as a weakling that wasn’t able to do anything, only for that supposed weakling to not only reveal his trick, lead another fighter to where he was hiding and even exposed his real hiding place. If it weren’t for Arkay, Desmond was certain that he would have won.

  With no other options, the necromancer was going to at least take the one person he blamed for his downfall with him.

  Having crawled over to where Arkay was resting, Desmond gripped a knife he had taken from one of his fallen zombies. With a scream filled with rage, the necromancer lunged towards the cat boy from behind, holding the knife high in order to stab his enemy.

  Time seemed to slow down, as Erin and the others turned their attention to where the scream had come from. Eyes went wide as they all moved to defend their youngest companion, but they were not going to make it in time. Arkay himself tried to move out of the way while bringing up his arms in front of the blade, but there was no way that he was going to survive this encounter.

  Just as it seemed like the cat boy’s fate was sealed, an unexpected savior came down from the sky.

  A figure fell down upon the undead necromancer, crushing him beneath it and crashing to the ground. The impact was so powerful that it sent Arkay flying away and stumble to the ground, and kick up a massive cloud of dust that covered the figure that had just come down.

  Despite the sudden arrival having saved their companion, Erin and her friends didn’t know who this person was, so they got ready for another fight. It was only when they heard a familiar voice coming from within the cloud of dust that they could ease up.

  “Arriving from the skies, the savior of the people! The one and only magnificent hero of the Western Continent!” the voice of Rayleen announced as she appeared from within the dust cloud, striking a heroic pose as she did so. “The incredible! The beautiful! The simply stunning! RAYLEEN IS HERE!”

  After finishing her boastful speech, the warlord stood in silence while holding her pose and waiting for a reaction. Much to her displeasure, all she received was an awkward silence as Erin and her companions stared at her.

  “HEY!” Ryaleen shouted angrily. “WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THIS LACK OF REACTION!? DON’T YOU THINK I DESERVE AT LEAST SOMETHING!?”

  “Well… It’s just that… None of us really knows how to react to what we just saw,” Erin said. “I mean, what was that supposed to be? Some sort of a cheesy super hero entry?”

  “Cheesy!? You called it cheesy!?” the warlord asked in disbelief and anger. “How dare you call my entrance cheesy! Do you know how much I practiced in order to hone all of it to perfection!? The landing! The pose! The speech! All of those are the results of my blood sweat and tears! I think I deserve at least some clapping of hands for what I just accomplished!”

  “Sure. Here you go. I’m clapping my hands,” the redhead said bluntly as she clapped her hands a bit, which was far from genuine. “Is this enough?”

  “You aren’t even trying! That’s more like you’re mocking me than praising me!” Rayleen complained. “Besides, did your buddies lose the control of their arms or something!? Why are you the only one that’s even giving me that much!?”

  Erin turned to look at her companions, who all gave her a look that pretty much asked if she was seriously considering the warlord’s demand.

  “Just humor her, guys,” the redhead said with a sigh. “The sooner we get her on a better mood, the quicker we can get out of this whole mess.”

  After hearing the request of their leader, everyone in the group started to clap their hands slowly and awkwardly, similar to how Erin had done it earlier. Instead of pleasing Rayleen, this seemed to only further irritate her.

  “Stop! STOP! That just pisses me off further!” the warlord screamed angrily. “Fine! Forget showing proper appreciation to my stylish entrance! Can’t expect everybody to have good taste!”

  Rayleen turned her back towards Erin’s group, like a sulking child that got the wrong toy for birthday. Everybody looked at each other awkwardly, wondering what to do.

  It was then that the youngest member of their group acted by running up to the warlord.

  “Umm… Excuse me? Ms. Rayleen?” Arkay called out to the warlord, getting her attention. “I’m sorry for not showing proper gratitude just now. It’s just been a long day and we’re all very exhausted. From the bottom of my heart, I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life earlier.”

  Rayleen tried to keep a stern expression, but it began to crack immediately. Soon a big smile appeared on her face, as she pulled the cat boy into a hug, much to the displeasure of Ryle.

  “Awww! I can’t stay mad when someone like you is being so darn earnest!” the warlord said happily, as she rubbed her cheek against Arkay’s. “And no need to worry about being saved and all that! It’s just what I do!”

  “I-I see… Still, it’s only right to show gratitude when someone does something good to you,” the cat boy said awkwardly, having not expected the embrace. “I take it that you are no longer upset with us?”

  “Oh, I was never truly upset! I just like to show off here and now, and I was expecting more of a reaction from you guys! No need to worry about it!” Rayleen explained. “Anyways, I saw earlier how you were able to figure out the necromancer’s plan and all! That was some very impressive work you just did! Would you be interested in joining my forces? The pay is really good and the benefits are even better!”

  “NO WAY IN HELL HE IS!” Ryle shouted angrily, as she walked up to the two and pulled Arkay away from the warlord. “He’s part of our group and is not going anywhere, so don’t you even think about taking him for yourself!”

  “Oh boo… I just want to have one person around me who isn’t a total stick in the mud! Is that too much to ask!?” Rayleen whined. “Besides, if he was with me, he wouldn’t have to risk his life as much as with you guys while contributing to a really good cause!”

  “Sure! Because getting you and your goons into power is such a good cause!” the blonde said in a sarcastic tone, before she seemed to realize something. “Hang on… Now that I think about it, where are those thugs of yours? Aren’t you supposed to be like a big shot or something? It’s pretty suspicious that you’re not with at least a couple of bodyguards.”

  “Huh? I just came here alone because I could do so faster!” the warlord said. “Besides, even I need some time away from those guys! Do you have any idea just how uptight they are!?”

  “...Where’s your mask?” Ryle asked.

  True to her words, while it was pretty much mandatory for you to wear a gas mask in Gasrick due to the poisonous air, Rayleen wasn’t wearing one. Unlike Erin and her companions, the warlord’s face was completely uncovered, much like the zombies they had faced.

  However, this fact didn’t seem to register with Rayleen.

  “Huh? Mask?” the warlord asked. “What are you talking about?”

  All of a sudden, Ryle jumped at Rayleen and began to pull at her face, almost like she was trying to see if it was real or not. The warlord had been caught off-guard by the sudden act, so she couldn’t immediately react. It didn’t take soon for her to get over her surprise and for the anger to rise.

  “OW! Cut it out, you ass!” the warlord yelled angrily before slapping the blonde in the face. “What the hell was that for!? My face isn’t made of rubber!”

  “Ryle, what is with you now!?” Erin asked angrily. “I know that you have your antics and all, but what could have possibly compelled you into assaulting Rayleen’s face like that!?”

  “I wasn’t assaulting her! I was checking if she was the real Rayleen and not some zombie impostor!” the blonde argued. “Isn’t it weird to any of you that she came all the way over here on her own without any escorts!? Not only that, but she’s not wearing a gas mask around here!”

  The others took not of Ryle’s observations and realized that she was right. Even if the warlord had somehow been able to come to them all on her own, it still didn’t explain how she could be breathing toxic air without any issues.

  “Now that you mention it… That does seem weird,” Durge said. “There are so many poisons in the air that almost no living thing could live here, yet she’s completely fine.”

  “Yeah… Not to mention, this is the first time we’ve seen her after that whole incident with Stacey,” Erin said. “There’s been plenty of time since then, so anything could have happened to the real Rayleen and her crew. Them getting found out and turned into zombies as punishment is entirely possible.”

  “That’s what I’m saying!” Ryle exclaimed. “Considering how the whole thing was just a big trap, I wouldn’t be surprised if she got caught! Hell, even the messenger we met might have been a zombie as well!”

  “I don’t know which is more frightening. The fact that this scenario could be true or the fact that Ryle of all people made these observations and came up with a very likely explanation,” Lexton said. “Are we sure YOU are the real Ryle and not a zombie impostor?”

  “I’LL KICK YOU SCALY ASS ALL OVER THE PLACE, LEX!” the blonde shouted angrily.

  “She’s the real thing,” Erin said bluntly. “That still leaves the mystery of the Rayleen before us, though…”

  “What mystery!? I am ME! Who else could I be!?” the warlord argued. “If you really need to make sure that I’m not a zombie, how about you have someone in your group with medical skills come and do a quick check up!?”

  “If you insist,” Zeldana said with a shrug. “But don’t get too mad, if my hands wander into places you’re not comfy with.”

  “...You better make sure those fingers never cross any unnecessary boundaries or I’ll shove them where the sun doesn’t shine,” Rayleen said as she glared at the elf.

  Zeldana simply shrugged at the threat and went in to check warlord in case she was just an undead impostor. She checked her pulse, heartbeat, pupils and body heat. This only took a few seconds, but everybody could tell that Rayleen was not happy to be subjected to such treatment.

  “Well, what’s the diagnosis?” Erin asked, once Zeldana was done. “Is she the real deal or not?”

  “She’s the real Rayleen alright,” the elf replied. “Her vital signs are completely normal, so she shouldn’t be a zombie.”

  “Like I told you! All you had to do was believe me and we wouldn’t have needed to go through that whole process!” the warlord complained. “Seriously, did you need to touch me all over the way you did!? I’ll never feel clean again after what you did!”

  “That was too much for you? All I did was a thorough medical check up! Considering what we’re talking about here, I’d say I did just enough to confirm your condition,” Zeldana said. “If you really want to feel dirty through my hands, I’ve got worlds to show you…”

  “Keep your hands away from me, you beast!” Rayleen shouted while covering herself with her arms.

  “Alright! Alright! Enough with the antics! I’m sure we have actual business to get to!” Erin said loudly in a commanding tone that left no room for arguments. “I still have to ask, though, how are you fine around here without a gas mask? We were pretty much forced to buy our before we could get in here.”

  “Huh? That’s what go you guys all worked up?” the warlord asked. “Do you have any idea who I am? I’m a freaking warlord! I’ve had to survive assassination attempts more times than you can count, including ones through poison! It got to the point where I developed a technique that allows my magic to burn any toxic stuff that goes into my body before it manages to affect me! I got so good with it that nowadays it goes to work automatically.”

  “So that’s why you were able to come here without any protective gear,” Lexton said in an impressed tone. “That’s very impressive and I have to say that I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

  “Finally seeing just how awesome I am? About time!” Rayleen said, putting up a front of pride and bravado. “Hell, I didn’t even know that there was toxic gas in the air when I came here! That’s how well my skill works!”

  “The fact that you just blindly rushed to possible death aside, I wonder if I could make something I can sell based on that idea?” the kobold said. “I can already smell the money I’ll be swimming in.”

  “As long as you name the product after me, I don’t see why not!” the warlord said.

  “Okay, we’re getting sidetracked again!” Erin shouted in an angry tone. “Can we get back to the actual business at hand!?”

  “We are talking about business here!” Lexton argued.

  “Not that kind of business!” the redhead shouted. “What I’m looking to find out is why did you, Rayleen, come here in the first place!?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” the warlord asked. “I’m here to tell you your next job.”