Chapter 42 (1/2)

Chapter 42: Appearance after Defending

Where did they all come from?

Loren couldn’t find out the answer to that question, but he could speculate.

They were probably in a facility underneath the city.

Someplace people wouldn’t go near.

Loren guessed that they were gathered in the sewers that ran underneath the city.

Zombies and revenants did have some resistance to the sunlight but having resistance didn’t mean that undead didn’t hate the sunlight.

More so if they were monsters like ghosts or wraiths, which couldn’t exist under the sunlight at all. So, it made sense that they were in a place where the sunlight would never reach.

Loren thought maybe that place was the sewers.

No matter how thoroughly he would explore the surrounding area, he wouldn’t think about searching the sewers or the drains.

To put it simply, it was dark and stinky down there.

But undead don’t care about things like that.

Unlike when they were alive, undead were indifferent about those kinds of stimuli.

“I’m getting a bad feeling about this.”

The groaning and moaning that echoed throughout the city got louder as soon as the sun set, and now they could hear it coming from everywhere.

Loren and the others managed to set up a barricade made of rubble around the clinic and made bonfires to light their surroundings.

If their opponents were living humans, turning off all the lights and staying low would’ve been a good countermeasure, but that kind of strategy had no effect on the undead.

They were drawn to the presence and warmth of the living.

The light and heat coming from the bonfires might catch their attention.

But even if they put that into consideration, to Loren, securing vision was the highest priority.

Because around them was already under the rule of darkness, and darkness always sided with the dead.

“This got pretty messy, but are you ready?”

Klaus, with his long sword in hand, nodded silently to Loren, who had his great sword on top of his shoulder.

Loren thought he looked quite nervous, but it wasn’t surprising.

He had no idea how much undead were inside the city, but it was probably way past the hundreds or thousands, and they were right in the middle of them. It was impressive that he even had the will to fight in this situation.

“If we die, the injured inside the clinic will die as well. Keep that in mind.”

“I know. You don’t have to remind me.”

After he replied, a pale light wrapped around his arms and legs.

The light spread onto his armor and weapon as well, and eventually his whole body shone under the dark of the night.

“Convenient. I’m jealous.”

“Not really.”

Lapis b.u.t.ted in.

She applied the anti-evil ritual on the whole clinic and made it somewhat harder for undead to break inside.

Loren thought that she could’ve done that for all the adventurers who were a part of this quest. But when he asked her, the only thing she said was that it was too much work.

“Klaus’ ability is indeed effective, but to the undead he will look bright and shining. Their focus would be on him.”

The undead attack the living due to resentment and jealousy towards them, but another reason is that they are attracted to vigor and mana.

Lapis explained that the power of Klaus’ Gift was converted from his life energy, so it was very attractive to the undead.

“Bring it on. I’ll send all of them back to the underworld. I won’t let them lay a finger on my friends.”

“Well, not all of them became like that because they wished to be, I guess.”

As he said that, Loren took out one of the silver knives he had made earlier and suddenly raised it about his head and threw it.

The silver blade twirled in the air and lodged deeply into a zombie’s chest and it fell and stopped moving.

Now that Loren knew there was indeed undead lurking around, a thought suddenly occurred, so he asked Lapis.

“I’m pretty sure they’re coming up from the sewers, but they won’t pop up from one of the toilets inside the clinic, right?”

“It should be fine. I made sure to block off those doors very carefully.”

It wasn’t the cleanest thing to say, but the undead had no consideration for cleanliness.

There was a possibility that they could come up from the toilet.

Lapis seemed to have already thought of that and made sure that nothing could enter nor exit the restrooms.

“Even if Broas and the other wake up, they can’t use the restroom, huh…”

“They’ll have to keep it in somehow…Since I nailed the doors shut so that it wouldn’t open.”

If one of the people inside woke up and went to the restroom without knowing about their situation, there was a possibility that everything could’ve crumbled from the inside, so Lapis made sure to get rid of that possibility.

“Getting attacked from behind is never pleasant, after all.”

Loren muttered and threw another silver knife.