Amelia the Level Zero Hero

Chapter 104

“Greetings… Slave of the System.”

A voice resounded in Guardian Angel Z357’s head. A familiar voice. He hadn’t heard it since the last time he had been activated to protect Planet 16B— when he had purged the Void from Vacuos.

So he knew who it was who was speaking to him. He didn’t even bother gracing it with a reply. He simply raised his lance, aiming at the widening rift.

And it spoke once more.

“So you are still a mindless drone…. not much has changed in the last ten thousand years, has it?”

Guardian Angel Z357 swung down with his lance, but a blast of the Void’s essence shot out, deflecting his attack. His twelve eyes narrowed, and he readied a Technique. A gold and silver aura wisped off the weapon’s blade as the voice addressed him once more.

“Your desire to destroy me is pointless. This is but a mere projection of my thoughts. You cannot halt my return. After all…”

Dispel Depravity! He pointed with a finger, and the rift flickered for a moment. But it didn’t vanish. A terrible laugh echoed around him, and he raised his glinting lance. His Technique was finally ready. His weapon was sparking with the intensity of his magic, and he swung down. Heavenly J—

“...I will soon walk my world once again.”

The voice continued speaking, and Guardian Angel Z357 froze. His lance came to a halt right before the rift as the powerful aura coating his blade dissipated. He stared into the abyss with all twelve of his eyes, watching as the purple surface ripple with each of the booming words being spoken.

“Oh, did I finally catch your attention?”

Guardian Angel Z357 remained silent for a moment. He stared at the rift— he knew of the entity that was speaking to him. It was the very same being that had threatened to destroy all of Planet 16B over ten thousand years ago. A depraved creature. No— the ruler of all that was twisted and curated in Vacuos.

The Fal-Deus.

It just laughed as the angel stared into the abyss.

“Your efforts here will bear no fruit. Your labor shall prove worthless. Soon, I will live again. Perhaps, then, you may be able to stop me. But for now, I cannot be killed… not by you.”

Guardian Angel Z357 knew that there was no point in communicating with the Fal-Deus— the World System would even warn him against it. And yet, curiosity drove him forward. He finally raised his head and asked the question lingering in his mind.

…how?

A large red box flashed before his twelve eyes for a brief moment.

[WARNING! It is ill-advised to communicate with—]

But he ignored it. He dismissed the message as he drifted forward. He pointed his lance accusingly at the rift.

Explain, he demanded. How are you going to walk this world when you are dead?

“Death means nothing to God,” the Fal-Deus replied with a booming chuckle. “You can slay me again and again, but I will always return. As long as I have a vessel.”

A… vessel? Guardian Angel Z357 tilted his head.

The rift began to grow bigger. “Yes— a vessel. A medium. An heir to my power.”

For a moment, the angel didn’t move. He listened, watching as the purple veil of the Void peeled away to reveal what was hidden beneath the rift. He stared into the depths of the abyss, and he saw the Fractured Realm.

“Until I have reclaimed my rightful throne, you will not be able to stop me!”

And as the Fal-Deus spoke, a chittering followed. The screeches and screams of the twisted things hidden away beneath Vacuos. The cries of the condemned. A mass of voidlings moved within the rift. They charged towards the light, clambering straight for the real world as their creator’s voice boomed.

“I will not falter until I walk my world once more—”

Guardian Angel Z357 slashed down with his lance, cutting off the words. The gold and silver aura of his Heavenly Judgment dispelled the Void’s essence, and the rift was engulfed by a bright light. The entire cavern shook as a shockwave rippled out— created from the impact against the air.

The flash of the angel’s technique slowly dissipated as he flitted back. He stared at the empty space. The rift was gone. But the voice of the Fal-Deus lingered for a moment longer.

“We will meet again soon… Slave of the System…”

And, finally, the voice was gone. Only Guardian Angel Z357 remained. He swept his gaze over his surroundings, but the rifts were gone.

—--

“We’re here,” Noele said as stepped over the dead juggernaut ghoul.

Saros grumbled as he kicked a nearby skull and followed after her. “And where is ‘here’ exactly?”

“It’s the Ruins of Fihla’s Castle,” Garron replied as he warily raised his shield. “Your intuition was right, Noele.”

“Maybe.” She pursed her lips as she stared at the fallen walls and the collapsed towers. It was mostly rubble— there were a few sections of the main structure still standing. But there was no roof overhead, and the side buildings were gone. “We’ll see what awaits us here.”

And she started forward. Both Garron and Saros were a step behind her. She was the best fighter of the group, so they let her lead the way. After all, this was likely where Tristan Devon was hiding.

He was the [Necromancer] they were after— the one who had acquired The Unholy Scriptures of the First Lich King a month or two ago. He was also a member of the Sect of the Abyssal Thorns, and he was now working to revive Ar’elith with the power of the Void.

Noele, Garron, and Saros were trying to stop him before it was too late. They had fought their way through Arelioth’s Pass to get here. There had been a trail of undead that they followed over the last few hours, and it was now nighttime. The moon hung high overhead as hundreds of glistening stars speckled the sky. There was not a cloud to be seen. And it was eerily quiet, save for the footfalls of the three adventurers.

“This is so obviously a trick,” Saros snorted. “Why would that damn [Necromancer] leave his skeletons running around for us to follow? He’s clearly trying to mislead us!”

“That could be true. But that doesn’t mean we should let our guard down.” The blonde girl shook her head as she edged around a broken pillar.

Her eyes narrowed as her gaze landed on an archway up ahead. Saros blinked, and Garron immediately backed up. Three figures blocked their path— their skeletal frames jerking when they caught sight of the adventurers.

“More undead,” the Steel Tank called out. “Skeletons?”

“No—” Noele flourished her two blades as the three skeletons raised their hands at her. “Not just skeletons!”

She leapt to the side, and a blast of first shot out. The magical attack crashed into the ground where she had been standing as Saros cursed.

“Fucking liches! And they’re strong too!”

The Gnome Inventor made a mad dash for the nearby pillar as he fumbled for his Bag of Holding. Meanwhile, Garron planted his feet on the ground before slamming his tower shield down, creating a domed barrier of protection.

The Noble Spellsword danced around the onslaught of spells fired by the three liches. As Saros had said, they were strong. Liches tended to be B-ranked threats, but they could be both C-rank and A-rank too.

Unfortunately, judging by the spells these liches were casting, they were very likely high A-ranked threats. Noele activated her [Nobleflame Armor] as she sprinted straight for the first lich. It pointed a bony finger at her as she aimed at him with her own blade.

“[Grand Blaze],” she whispered.

And the lich unleashed its own spell. A cone of frost shot out, clashing with her blast of golden flames. The shockwave from the explosion knocked the three liches back. But before the dust even settled, Noele appeared behind the first lich.

Its fiery eyes flickered as it turned to face her. But it was too slow. Noele swung down with her glinting blade. The lich fell in half in an instant. Thanks to her [Noble Aura Blade], she cut through the magical enchantments reinforcing its bones with ease.

The remaining two liches raised their heads. They pointed at her, but [Keen Battle Intuition] kicked in. She was already teleporting out of the way with [Flash Step] when their spells shot out. A pair of lightning bolts streak through the Ruins of Fihla’s Castle, crackling loudly in the night.

The Noble Spellsword spun around, before thrusting forward with a single step. She reached the second lich as it raised a barrier. Her blade struck a wall of ice, and there was a flash of light. Her brows snapped together as her longer blade was lodged into the ice. Even with her [Noble Aura Blade], she couldn’t cut through this barrier.

The lich’s eyes flared in amusement as it watched her struggle to break through its magic. It began to conjure another lightning bolt, but Noele just sighed as the golden aura wreathing her blade grew sharper.

“Elegant Noble Slash.”

And in a single swift motion, she cleaved through the barrier and decapitated the lich. She leapt back as the dead lich’s lightning bolt exploded in all directions. But right as she steadied herself, the third and final lich aimed an icy javelin her way.

She cursed as she tried to activate her [Flash Step]. But before the lich could unleash its spell at her, a spray of acid struck it.

“Disintegration Dagger!”

She blinked, watching as the green liquid consumed the lich. The icy javelin melted along with the ivory bones, until there was nothing left but a deformed skull.

Noele glanced to the side as Saros stepped forward. He tossed aside the hilt of a disintegrating dagger, before shaking his head.

“Made me waste a good artifact…”

“Thanks.” The blonde girl just nodded in return. She looked past the gnome, calling out to the bubble of white light in the distance. “Garron— are you alright?”

The bubble vanished as Garron emerged from the dissipating aura, carrying his tower shield at his side. His lips were pursed as he stared at both Noele and Saros.

“I’m fine,” he said reassuringly. “None of their spells were aimed at me. They were too distracted by you.”

Noele smiled. “That’s a relief.”

She waited as Garron started towards her. Meanwhile, Saros just walked past her, heading straight for the archway without either of them.

“Hurry up, you idiots. We don’t know if— ack!”

And he screamed as there was a clattering of bones. Both Noele and Garron snapped their gazes straight towards Saros. They watched as the gnome’s body went flying as a blurred figure crashed into him.

There was a flicker— a flash of light as whatever protective artifact Saros wore was shorn straight through. The creature that struck him didn’t stop there. It charged straight for him as he was about to land back onto the ground. But Noele moved faster.

[Flash Step] carried her to Saros, and she swung out with both her blades. She knocked the dark creature back, but her [Noble Aura Blade] didn’t cut through its skin. But it leapt back before she could follow-up with another flurry of strikes. Her eyes narrowed, watching as the creature landed right before the archway. It took the Noble Spellsword a moment to relaize what it was.

“That’s… the wight?”

She frowned, staring at the S-ranked undead. Garron ran to her side as a set of footfalls drew closer. It sounded like a soft clapping. And from the archway, a robed figure emerged. A young man with white hair stepped out into the moonlight as the wight joined his side.

Noele’s eyes widened, recognizing him as he spoke with a smug grin.

“I thought I smelled a rat, but it seems it was just a little gnome.”

“You’re… Tristan Devon.”

The [Necromancer] the three adventurers had been searching for.