Chapter 63 - The Great War Between Orthodox and Demonic Forces (2)

The Apothecary went deathly pale.

Just as she began to scream, trembling all over—

"Ee—"

"HUUUUUUGH!"

Another scream erupted, more than loud enough to swallow hers whole. It was the Medicine King.

The old fellow was old enough to be friends with the Sword Star, but when it came to screaming, he could put most youngsters to shame.

"Run! Run away! I've never seen anything like that even in Silicon Valley! Huuuugh, we're doomed! The world is going to end!"

"This world has already ended!"

I quickly drew my holy sword and slashed at the nearest zombie. Unlike martial arts fiction, I'd seen plenty of zombie movies and TV shows, and I'd even fought them myself on the thirteenth floor. Perhaps that was why my blade instinctively took off its head.

SKREEEE!

The zombie's head snarled even as it flew into the air. Its headless body lunged at me too, flailing its arms and legs. Damn it. Was this the kind that only stopped moving when its brain was destroyed? That was the worst-case scenario.

"Let's get out of here first!"

"W-who are you people?!"

The two martial artists finally noticed us. The old man from the orthodox factions and the woman from the Demonic Cult looked our way, just as horrified to see our party as we had been to see the zombies.

"... You old fossil, I fear my eyes have finally gone to shit. I see living, moving humans. Not one, but four of them. Is Yama calling me to the underworld?"

"I-I see them too. Perhaps all your calling me a complete fucking idiot has truly made an idiot of me."

"You two need to run too!"

I hurriedly hoisted the Apothecary onto my back.

"And while you're at it, tell us where we should run!"

The two martial artists looked at each other.

"Good heavens. They truly appear to be alive, old fossil."

"Could we already be dead, looking upon the scenery of the afterlife...?"

"Then either you and I died and went to the Peach Blossom Paradise together, or we both fell into hell."

"Having served righteousness and chivalry as the Murim Alliance Leader, I doubt I would go to hell. It must be the Peach Blossom Paradise. Yet there are no peach trees here, nor celestial maidens, and the place is crawling with living corpses. Above all, you're here, you bitch. That makes it a most peculiar paradise."

"Then this must be reality, not a dream."

"And these people are alive?"

"These arms holding me are warm. At the very least, he doesn't seem to be a living corpse."

You might have guessed from the two martial artists' leisurely comedy routine, but we were already fleeing the forest of zombies. Viper had picked up the orthodox old man, while I had scooped the Demonic Cult woman into my arms.

"Where in the world did you come from?"

The Demonic Cult woman looked up at my face in wonder.

"You have learned some curious footwork. Are you children from beyond the borders, perchance? Do barbarians still survive in the frontier lands?"

"We're..."

I didn't quite understand what she meant by beyond the borders, but I got the gist. She was probably asking if we'd come from a world outside Murim. While I wondered how to answer, a sound from behind spared me the trouble.

KREEK, SKREEEEE!

UOOOOOH!

It was the zombies. Apparently fully limbered up now, they came running after us.

No, could that really be called "running"?

What kind of zombies were so lively that they covered ten meters in a single stride? It was less "running" than "flying." The sight of hundreds of zombies swooping in like a flock of seagulls was truly shocking and terrifying.

"W-what the hell?!"

Viper was aghast.

"What kind of zombies fly through the sky?!"

"That is a lightness art of my own invention. I borrowed a little from those wretches of Kunlun and refined it."

The Demonic Cult woman puffed up proudly.

"Look at them! Beyond Treading Snow Without a Trace, they are Walking Through Empty Air! Are they not the Demonic Cult's elite, taught by my own hand? They have not forgotten their martial arts even in death. These are true demonic warriors."

"W-wait a second."

I spoke up. Even if the barrage of bizarre terminology meant I could only grasp the general gist, she'd just said something I absolutely couldn't overlook.

"They don't forget their martial arts even after they die?"

"Oh? Being children from beyond the borders, you know little of our affairs."

The Demonic Cult woman tilted her head in my arms.

"A martial artist can use martial arts even after becoming a living corpse. Is that not common knowledge?"

"I've never heard of that kind of common knowledge!"

Good God. Zombies that used martial arts!

If this were a comedy, I could have laughed it off, but we weren't in a comedy. This was a genuine martial arts world. This was no joke.

"Those children, in particular, are elites of the Demonic Cult whom I personally instructed. Under my tutelage, the body learns to react to killing intent even while asleep. Hah. How admirable to see them perform lightness arts even as corpses."

"HUUUUGH! They're catching up! They'll catch us at this rate, you damned School Master!"

The Medicine King screamed from Viper's back. The martial arts zombies soaring into the air swooped down like vicious hawks, nearly ripping out his hair.

"Run harder! Can't you run any faster?! If I get bitten and become a zombie, you're the first one I'll sink my teeth into!"

"Fuck, who the hell dragged this old geezer into our party?! Where does that bastard live?!"

Viper bellowed.

"And why do I have old men front and back, while you've got two women, Death King?!"

"We're about to get beaten to death by zombie martial arts! Does that matter right now?!"

"If we're about to die, what else matters?!"

The attendant spirit, who was watching our backs for me, shouted.

"Zombie! Zombies!"

Oh, fuck.

"Weaknesses!"

I addressed the Demonic Cult woman.

"Don't those living corpses have any weaknesses?!"

"They stop moving if you crush their skulls."

"Not that! Something a little easier!"

In truth, I resigned myself to death at that moment. Ordinary zombies would have been one thing. A world full of zombies that flew through the air and used martial arts was quite another. We'd need an all-star team with not just the Sword Star, but the Witch and the Inquisitor too, before we could even begin to see a chance of clearing it.

"Hmm."

The Demonic Cult woman nodded.

She raised a finger and pointed over my shoulder.

"They stop when the sunlight comes out."

"...!"

Of course. It was simple when I thought about it.

I'd merely been too shocked by the sight of zombies coming to life before my eyes, then flying toward us with lightness arts, to think of it.

"Lady whose name I don't know! And Apothecary!"

"Hmm."

"Yes?"

The Demonic Cult woman answered calmly, and the Apothecary replied in a trembling voice. I concentrated aura in my arms.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to throw you! Please land safely on your own!"

"Hmm."

"... What?"

Then I threw the woman and the Apothecary, one after the other, as far as I could. I put every ounce of strength into it, like an Olympic javelin thrower.

The woman didn't make a sound as she flew. She simply landed headfirst in the snow with a muffled thump. The Apothecary, on the other hand, came down with a magnificent scream. She left an enormous spread-eagled imprint in the snow.

"I'm sorry!"

After apologizing one last time, I stopped.

When I turned around, hundreds of zombies were charging at me.

GRRRRRAAAH!

SKREE!

UOOOH! KROOOOH!

Goose bumps rose all over my body.

I'd fought zombies on the thirteenth floor, but these martial arts zombies flying down like a swarm of mosquitoes were on another level entirely. Seriously, they were pretty damn scary.

"You're going to die!"

For some reason, the attendant spirit was delighted.

"To think I'd get to watch this Zombie bastard get killed by real zombies again! Ah, wonderful! That's one more item off my bucket list!"

Was this guy still making bucket lists even after becoming a ghost?

"I'm not..."

In the middle of the snowfield, I faced the zombie horde.

"...dead yet!"

I drew the holy sword of protection from its scabbard.

Staring at the teeth of a zombie right in front of my nose, at someone's flesh frozen solid where it clung to those teeth, I hastily called out in my mind.

'Sparkle!'

[Sparkle answers her Hero's call.]

'Sparkle!'

Light burst forth!

A fragment of a constellation. Idol, the first of the five sister holy swords, blazed with light. The snowfield reflected the sword's radiance, shining brightly.

And I realized that I had a talent for naming things. Calling Sparkle "Sparkle" had truly been the right choice.

UAAAAH!

GROOOOO...

They froze.

The zombies caught in the holy sword's light stopped in midair all at once. Like mosquitoes hit squarely with bug spray, they fell to the ground. Since none of them broke their falls, the snow covering the field was riddled with holes like a honeycomb.

"HUUUGH!"

The Medicine King groaned. A zombie had just grabbed him by the hair, and now it was frozen in place, still clutching his white locks.

"A-am I alive? Have I survived again? Oh dear, if it weren't for that bastard Markus, I'd never have come to the Tower. Oh, my miserable lot..."

"Is everyone all right?"

I didn't lower my guard. Not yet. The dark clouds hadn't cleared from the sky, and the ground was still shrouded in darkness.

The holy sword of protection was our only source of light.

If its light went out for even a moment, those terrifying martial arts zombies would start moving again.

"Ugh. Yes, my face hurts a little, but I'm okaaaay... Thank you for saving me, Death King..."

"Fuck, first the Sword Star, now this guy! I just want to live a life far away from old men!"

The Apothecary and Viper each confirmed their safety in their own way.

I nodded.

"Heavenly Martial Sect's leader, please look after the others while I deal with the zombies."

"What are you going to do?"

"Take them out quickly while they can't move."

I pointed my holy sword at a zombie.

"It'll take a while, since I have to mash up each of their brains, but it shouldn't be difficult—"

"Wait a moment, child from beyond the borders."

The Demonic Cult woman rose from the snow.

She slowly brushed the snowflakes off her martial robes.

"First, I must thank you for saving me, a perfect stranger. But if you intend to slay the living corpses, I have no choice but to stop you."

"... Why?"

All sorts of possibilities ran through my mind.

Could the zombies be under some peculiar curse that would transfer to whoever killed them? Few monsters had as many variations as zombies. Depending on the setting, they could be trash mobs or a terrifying catastrophe.

But what the Demonic Cult woman told us was completely unexpected.

"They are all talented members of our Demonic Cult."

"What?"

"They are my disciples and subordinates."

The woman was serious.

"A great war to root out those orthodox bastards is upon us. We desperately need every master we can muster. We are already short on numbers. We cannot afford to lose any more of our elite."

What the hell kind of nonsense was this?

Our party couldn't understand her. A great war? The world of Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon was already on the verge of destruction. There couldn't possibly be any forces or people left capable of waging war.

The Librarian had told us while sending us into the apocalypse:

「When you open your eyes, you will find yourselves in the world ten days before Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon meets its unfortunate discontinuation.」

「I do hope you will show me a splendid ending.」

Only ten days remained until complete destruction.

I didn't know how many survivors remained in this world... but in ten days, they would all be dead anyway. Neither the Demonic Cult woman nor the orthodox old man could escape that fate.

Whether or not they knew of that future, the two martial artists remained perfectly calm.

"That old geezer and I..."

"The Murim Alliance Leader, Axe Immortal."

"...have been carrying on this great war for three years now. Today marks precisely 989 days since the Great War Between Orthodox and Demonic Forces was declared. The old geezer and I swore upon our names that neither of us would leave this place until one admitted defeat."

The Demonic Cult woman spoke gravely.

"Though they have been reduced to living corpses, those who use the Demonic Cult's martial arts are demonic warriors. They are subordinates whom I must care for. Do not kill them recklessly. If you must kill any, pick only those fellows in monks' robes—"

"Absolutely not! Do you know what it took to gather those elites of the great orthodox schools?!"

The orthodox old man jumped in outrage.

"Did we not make a pact, you Heavenly Demon bitch?! We would leave the living corpses untouched, and you and I alone would see the Great War Between Orthodox and Demonic Forces to its conclusion!"

"Pacts are made to be broken."

"You wicked bitch! Then I'll smash every one of those demonic corpses' skulls myself!"

"You scoundrel! The head of the orthodox factions intends to break a pact?! You have shown your true colors, hypocrite!"

Just as they had before the zombies started moving, the pair looked ready to launch into a duel to the death at any moment.

I was dumbfounded.

"... The world has ended, and you're still carrying on this Great War Between Orthodox and Demonic Forces or whatever?"

"You have the order wrong."

The Demonic Cult woman, whom he had called the Heavenly Demon, shook her head.

"The world simply went and ended on its own while we were fighting our great war."

"..."

In other words.

The orthodox old man, the Murim Alliance Leader, and the Demonic Cult woman, the Heavenly Demon, had staked their fates on their battle. There was nothing wrong up to that point. But then a virus had suddenly spread, turning all their subordinates into zombies.

Ordinary people would have stopped the war then, and fled or hidden or done whatever they needed to do...

"That is no reason to postpone a contest already begun!"

Martial artists were not ordinary people.

The Murim Alliance Leader and the Heavenly Demon... had not stopped their war even after every last one of their followers became a zombie.

Not only had they refused to stop, they still treated their followers who had turned into living corpses as their followers.

And so, in a world overrun by a zombie apocalypse, they had carried on the Great War Between Orthodox and Demonic Forces for three years.

"I will not stop until I wrest victory from that old geezer. I still have five hundred corpse soldiers left. I shall lead them to crush the orthodox bastards."

"Those are my words, demon! The pillars of Murim stand with me, fighting against you even as restless spirits! I shall put an end to this tiresome war that has lasted 989 days!"

Yes.

Our expedition wasn't the only thing bereft of dreams and hope.

This world itself had neither dreams nor hope.