Chapter 1248: Vs Hero Zombies

Fran’s face lit up upon hearing about the legends of King Yuvel.

「A million goblins? That’s amazing!」

「Right? I’d love to get the chance to fight a warrior of his caliber!」

「Nn!」

Despite the praise, Yuvel only sighed with a frown.

「A million, you say? I see they’ve exaggerated history quite a bit. It was around 300,000 at most.」

「Even that is a tremendous feat!」

「Nn.」

「…Enough of this. We have work to do.」

「Oh, but of course! You are completely right!」

Yuvel and Apollonius turned towards us, and the other Hero Zombies quietly readied themselves for battle. I knew this was coming. Yuvel said his orders were to take the staff from Klimt.

Let’s try to stretch out the negotiations and buy as much time as――

「Kill them first and we can find the staff later! Die!」

『Tch!』

No room for negotiations, huh!

Without a word, Begareth pulled the trigger of the Crimson Flame. Thus signaled the start of the battle.

We dodged the lasers and returned the favor with purification magic. I invoked Area Purify, enveloping the Hero Zombies with a brilliant flash of white light.

However, my spell wasn’t very effective. Our enemies possessed so much mana and evil energy that they couldn’t be fully purified.

「…!」

『This is bad! Klimt!』

Fran’s rapid movements resulted in shaking Klimt’s body. Minor tremors that wouldn’t usually be a problem could potentially prove fatal in Klimt’s current condition.

Fran responded by restraining her speed. In the meantime, I used restoration magic, but it didn’t seem to have much effect on Klimt. He must have completely drained himself, and maybe even shaved off some of his lifespan.

The recoil seemed even more severe than that of divine energy. So this is the price of unleashing the Great Spirit’s full power…?

We couldn’t afford to make any sudden movements while holding the half-dead Klimt. Meanwhile, our enemies had their gazes constantly fixed on him, since he was their main target.

Perhaps we could send Klimt away with Urushi and hold back our enemies from pursuing. However, that strategy fails if half of them split off to chase him.

「Klimt, wait here for a bit.」

In the end, there was only one road forward: putting Klimt down and protecting him with Guardian Deity’s Shield, then defeating all our enemies before they can kill him.

However, Klimt called out to Fran before she went to challenge Apollonius and the other zombies.

「…Hold on…」

「Klimt?」

「L-Let me… give you this…」

Klimt reached out with trembling hands, gently bringing Fran’s forehead to his mouth. Immediately afterward, I felt a surge of mana from within her.

Klimt did not simply share his mana with Fran.

A ball of pale blue light formed above Fran’s head, which gradually transformed into a miniature girl that would fit on the palm of her hand.

「Marle.」

The girl smiled faintly in response to Fran’s murmuring. After becoming a spirit, Marle was sleeping within Fran all this time.

It seems Klimt somehow rejuvenated the sleeping Marle. The spirit girl perched on Fran’s shoulder and turned to face me directly. She must know who I am.

「Klimt, thank you.」

「It’s nothing…」

「I’m heading out.」

Marle herself might not be all that powerful, but receiving support from her and Klimt was very reassuring. The blue light surrounding Fran glowed brighter as Marle gleefully flew around us.

Fran stepped outside the barrier created by Guardian Deity’s Shield, then reduced it to a narrow size just enough to cover Klimt. Any means to minimize fatigue will help us prepare for the intense battle ahead.

「Well, well! Your aura has become more impressive in a short time! Excellent! I’m looking forward to our clash!」

「Can’t say I agree. Only a madman is delighted when their enemies grow stronger. That said, it seems we must eliminate this girl before we can reach the elf. In other words, there’s only one thing left to do!」

「Indeed! Young girl, try and resist us with all your might!」

The two moved into action simultaneously, with Apollonius charging at us with a cloak of flames. Meanwhile, Begareth did the opposite and made some distance.

Begareth’s words implied some sort of conflict with Apollonius, but their coordination was spot on. They’ve likely fought together on the battlefield back when they were alive.

The other Red Knights also moved to positions better suited for their respective skills. However, I didn’t manage to track all of them. Apollonius was so formidable that we had to concentrate on him.

「I am Apollonius, the Wings of Flame! You shall know the origin of my alias!」

Apollonius flew towards us at lightning speed by creating a flaming explosion behind himself. This happened so quickly that we only barely managed to dodge in time. Moreover, it seems he maintained fine control over his movements.

Just when I thought we had avoided his initial charge, he spewed additional flames from his side. This made him slide directly toward us, putting us in range of his halberd.

I managed to deflect his swing with telekinesis, though the sheer heat still scorched Fran’s skin. Her regeneration quickly healed the damage, but taking additional hits might cause her concentration to waver.

However, the searing heat only reached Fran once. She was now covered by a light blue membrane which shielded her from heat and embers.

（Marle!）

『Whoa! This is quite helpful!』

Even a little bit of support is greatly appreciated in such a hard-fought battle. Unfortunately for us though, Apollonius wasn’t our only enemy.

「Hey girl, let me get a smell of your burning flesh!」

「Oh dear, Begareth. Your lack of manners is as revolting as ever!」

「Grgh…! Silence, Violetta!」

「Bwahahahaha! Death has done nothing to change his rotten personality!」

「You can say that again!」

「Zinga, Lucard, how about I roast you idiots first?」

The red-haired lady must be Violetta of the Blood Maiden Knights, while the tall elderly man with a bow was Zinga of the Dusk Rain. Finally, the short and muscular young man was likely Lucard of the Vermillion Eye due to his red eyes.

Violetta wore the same armor as the current Blood Maiden Captain, Roza. It must be an heirloom passed down through the generations.

Despite their bickering, the Hero Zombies had their eyes focused on us. Dealing with all of them at the same time will be incredibly troublesome.