Ludwig’s vision returned to the present, and he shook off the lingering unease from the mask’s strange abilities. The artifact on his face held many secrets, some useful, but it was not something he could fully trust. It was both a boon and an affliction.
[Congratulations! You have stopped the ritual by killing the preparator! All the souls attached to the Ritualistic Tree have been freed. If their bodies are still alive, they will find their way back]
“Well, at least that’s some good news,” Ludwig muttered as he watched the souls unchain themselves from the cursed tree. They ascended into the air, a swarm of ethereal lights breaking free and disappearing into the void, their torment finally at an end.
As the last of the souls vanished, another notification popped into his view.
[You have received the information regarding one of the Usurpers of Death, The Glutenous Death.]
‘I see what the quest meant by information regarding the Glutenous Death…’ Ludwig muttered to himself. “So the Glutenous Death is close to the Black Tower academy… that’s not that good. As for that guy…” Ludwig thought to himself as he remembered the inhumane look that feral man had on him. That amount of unnatural hair all over his body, and those canine-like features and jawline.
‘Werewolf… and that lantern… it’s similar to mine… he’s an apostle of death.” Ludwig confirmed the thought because what that creature had was definitely a Soul-Letting Lantern.
“OVER THERE!” a loud booming voice sounded from afar.
Ludwig’s head snapped toward the sound. Voices echoed, the heavy tread of boots growing louder with every second.
‘People were coming in, perhaps Djinn?’
“Great,” Ludwig muttered, tightening his grip on his scimitar. He readied himself for another battle.
[Sudden Quest!]
“Huh? Another one?”
[Sudden Quest! Survival]
Another challenge approaches.
{A group of humans have noticed the location of the dark magic. They are rushing down the Djinn Dungeon. If you are to be noticed for an Undead you will be forced to fight them and win. You have been given two choices!}
You have two options:
Fight the human intruders and defeat them all to hide your secret.
Reward: 1 Pseudo-Eternal Soul.
Difficulty: ☠☠☠☠☠. {Impossible}Find a way to survive without engaging in combat.
Reward: N/A.
Difficulty: Unknown.
You have 30 seconds to decide.
Ludwig scanned the choices and let out an exasperated sigh. The first option promised a tempting reward, but the word “Impossible” flashed ominously in his mind. He knew better than to overestimate himself, especially in his current state.
The second option was far more tempting. Enjoying wealth and souls needs one to be alive after all.
But how is he going to get himself out of this mess?
He glanced around the room, weighing his options. The broken handle on the door, courtesy of the Sheikh’s final tantrum, would only delay the intruders briefly. If the quest stated thirty seconds, then he had even less time to act.
He needed a way out. The gears inside Ludwig’s head spun rapidly as he was thinking of a solution.
A cacophony of voices echoed from outside.
“Here! The daughter of the Urbaf family! She’s heavily wounded, Healers! Any healers!” the voice of many more people were far too close outside the room for any semblance of comfort.
Ludwig grimaced. They’d found Alva, in a bad state. And between the desecrated corpses, the horrifying tree, and the zombies shambling aimlessly, Ludwig knew how it looked: he was the perpetrator.
Ludwig hesitated for a second, should he act like a skeleton?
No, with the zombies here… they might just outright purge the entire place.
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While he was looking for a spot to hid in, he remembered what Necros did to the lantern.
He placed his hand on his lantern.
[Would you like to put the Divine Camouflage back on?”]
“Yes!” Ludwig mentally shouted.
His appearance shifted in an instant. Gone was his skeletal, undead visage, replaced by the broken, bloodied, and all-too-human figure he had used to fool others before. Only this time he had his arm attached to his side.
He had one last move to make.
“HELP!” Ludwig shouted, his voice hoarse and desperate.
A pause followed.
“Did you hear that?” someone on the other side of the door asked.
The guttural growls of the zombies slowly rose. The sudden shift in Ludwig’s appearance agitated the undead. Drawn by his “living” aura, they began lumbering toward him. “The door isn’t budging!” someone said.
A zombie arrived to Ludwig’s side, Ludwig kicked it in the chest and backed off, with a broken scimitar in hand.
More zombies were agitated by Ludwig’s current appearance as they felt more and more hunger welling up inside their pit like stomachs.
One of the Zombies managed to grab Ludwig by the foot, but he cut one of its arms off, the other tore at Ludwig’s clothes, but he moved to the side, looking at the tree, Ludwig leapt forward and managed to grab onto one of the branches, desperately pulling his body up and away from the grouping Zombies.
Soon all the Zombies in the room surrounded the tree. The undead gathered beneath him, clawing and moaning in frustration as they tried to reach him.
“GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR!” a loud vigorous voice sounded from behind the door, Ludwig didn’t know if the warning was for him, or for the people behind the door.
Seconds later, the door, wall and all that was attached to it was blown away. The force sent dust and debris flying through the air, some of it pelting Ludwig as he clung to the tree.
Once the dust settled a bit, Ludwig was able to see the group of people behind the broken wall.
About twenty of them, and one of them he recognized, it was the old man who he played chess against this morning. While one of the people at the front seemed to be as massive as the Djinns themselves though he was even more so thanks to a set of armor cladding his entire body.
Behind these two people was a bunch of soldiers of mixed drabs, some wore knightly armors, and others were wearing leather armor, while a small group of five had a set of armor that was disturbingly familiar.
It was the same armor set that Ludwig saw in the vision where he was killed by the small boy. All thousands of those armed paladins wore that very set of armor.
Ludwig’s heart tensed, though he had no heart.
“What in god’s name is this?!” someone asked in surprise. While another with a far less weaker stomach expressed his discomfort by spilling his last week’s dinner on the floor.
The stench of death and decay finally hit them, as they saw the desecrated corpses, the mangled bodies, the Zombies and the corpses attached to the tree, it all painted a picture of unspeakable evil.
[You are in a hostile Environment]
‘Shit…’ Ludwig cursed inwardly, after all, if anyone were to look at the situation, they’d all think Ludwig was the preparator.
One of the soldiers aimed a bow at Ludwig, “Dispel this darkness!” he shouted at Ludwig, “REMOVE THIS FILTH!” he howled once again.
Ludwig raised both arms up, “As you can see,” he said with a bloodied face and too broken of a body for any human to even be able to speak comfortably in his stead. “I’m a victim here…” Ludwig said.