The undead—creatures who naturally had high resistance to madness-inducing effects—were driven insane.
[[Race: Undead
Resistances: Disease (LV: 5), Curse (LV: 5), Madness (LV: 8), Poison (LV: 5), Defensive Cleaving (LV: 3), Frost (LV: 4), Fire (LV: 4), Slumber (LV: 5), Lightning (LV: 4), Death Status-effect (LV: 8), Corrosion (LV: 5)]]
The Keres was too much for them to handle, it was a force of natural order, embodying the concept of death itself.
"Shit, Itsuki, barrier you and Hinata, now!!" Koji turned around, fear evident in his eyes.
"W-What?" Itsuki, hesitant, lifted both hands and cast his magic. "Sanctified Barrier!"
Hinata, confused, watched the gigantic spirit spread its wings and conjure a massive jet-black circle in the sky above them. It was wide enough to cover the entire battlefield; extending to a radius of 1,000 meters with a full width of 2,000 meters.
[[EPIC SKILL — ABSOLUTE DEATH]]
Nothing, not even the undead, was safe from its power to enforce the 'Absolute Death' skill.
Despite the undead being outside conventional life and death, it mattered naught as a burst of black light shot from the magic circle, consuming everything on the battlefield and erasing it from existence.
The undead army—millions strong—vanished as if they had never existed. Giants, skeletons, zombies, abominations... all erased in an instant and turned into nothing.
Only the dome around Koji, Hinata, and Itsuki remained, cracked around the exterior as the Absolute Death wave crashed against it like a collapsing star a moment ago.
"I-It killed... everything with one attack. What a monster! Unbelievable!" Hinata couldn't believe her eyes with Asterion trembling in her hands. "How are we supposed to win? This isn't possible!"
"Tsk... damnit! This bastard is protecting its summoners! We need to find a way through." Koji gritted his teeth in frustration, frowning at the massive dark spirit.
(Itsuki POV)
No, this isn't right—this was never fair to begin with! He sent us to our deaths... Zeus sent us here to die!
He had no faith in us, he simply used us as a means to an end. He knew we were going to perish. He knew we were going to fight until our last breath.
Who in their right mind thinks 3 Heroes against millions of undead is even fair?
(Flashback. 3 Months Ago)
"M-My body?" Koji stood in the middle of an empty void, placing his hand on his chest, where he had been shot. "I'm alive?"
"Is this real? T-This has to be a dream..." Hinata, standing in disbelief, fell to her knees, feeling her face all over.
"What's going on? Where are we?" Itsuki, timid as ever, stood there in shock, widening his eyes.
Just a moment ago, they were gunned down in Hoshin High.
"Is this... hell?" Mumbled Koji, confused.
"It is not." All of a sudden, a loud booming voice echoed across the white void, capturing all of their attention.
"Eeeek!" Hinata covered her head in terror, feeling the voice rattle her to the bones.
"W-Who the hell is talking?" Asked Koji, facing upwards with a look of despair.
"I am Zeus, the King of Gods. Ruler of the highest order."
A blinding pillar of golden light erupted in the center of the void, forcing them to shield their eyes.
When the glow slowly diminished, a towering figure stood there adorned in white and gold with sparks of lightning flickering around his body. He had a long white beard with the appearance of a god.
Hinata was visibly shaken as she lowered her hands, but Koji clenched his fists.
Zeus looked down at them as if observing mere insects.
"You three have died an unjust death." He proclaimed. "But do not mourn your lives. For you have been chosen."
"Chosen?" Koji asked, stepping forward despite the anxiety coursing through his body. "By who? For what? We didn't ask for anything!"
Zeus didn't even acknowledge his anger.
"You will inherit the title of Otherworlder." He said. "And be sent to Gaia, a world under siege by ancient evils. You will fight, and you will restore balance. And through triumph, you shall earn a place among the chosen souls blessed by Olympus."
"I-I don't want that!" Itsuki whispered before he even realized he'd spoken. "We're just... students. Why us?"
Zeus' eyes, glowing bright like stars, fell on the androgynous boy.
"You three possess strong souls, and that is what's needed for you to become Otherworlders, and be Heroes. Those with strong souls can cross into other worlds without the risk of falling into the nothingness beneath reality."
Hinata practically choked on her breath.
"M-Mr. Zeus..." She said hesitantly, bowing as if speaking to a teacher instead of a god. "If you're really who you say you are... can't you fix this yourself? Why us?"
Zeus raised his hand as light swirled in his palm, now casting a magic circle.
"Heroes are forged in desperation. You three hold the intangible qualities—such as powerful souls—to defeat the Heavenly King, Malgrith."
"Malgrith?? Heavenly King? What the hell is all of this supposed to mean?!" Shouted Koji in confusion.
Zeus glared at him, causing his body to lose its strength by sapping his willpower.
"Nghh??" Koji fell to his knees, wincing his eyes.
"Watch your tone, boy." He furrowed his brows before continuing. "A Heavenly King is a title given to someone who's slain a God." Zeus' voice became grim. "Malgrith has been known to defeat Thanatos, the God of Death. He possesses a power that only heroes can rival, together."
Hinata's face went pale at his words.
"H-He killed Thanatos...? The god of death?" She whispered, stepping back as if her legs couldn't hold her weight. "T-Then what chance do we—"
"Silence!"
Zeus's command hit her like a thunderbolt as Hinata froze, instantly.
Ituski could feel his stomach twist as Koji clenched his fists and forced himself back up despite the drainage of willpower.
"So that's it?" Koji said. "You're sending three random kids to fight a god-killer? That's your big divine plan?"
"You are not random." Proclaimed the god. "You are chosen, by the Sisters of Fate themselves."
"Sisters of Fate?" Itsuki questioned. "But we never asked for fate... or any of this. I-It's not fair!"
Zeus ignored Itsuki and extended his hand. Three magic circles formed before their very eyes.
"W-What is that...?" Asked Hinata.
"Your divine blessings."
And thus, three orbs left the magic circles with each one having a unique color. Gold, Red, and White.
Zeus spoke the names of each orb like law itself.
"Hinata. You will receive the Blade of Asterion, the strength you will need to carve a path through darkness."
The golden orb suddenly shot into her chest as Hinata gasped, clutching her shirt in disbelief.
"Koji. You will receive the Inferno Emberheart, the fire that never yields, even in the jaws of despair."
The red orb plunged into Koji like a burning meteor as he staggered, coughing from the shock, but held himself upright through sheer stubbornness.
"And you... Itsuki."
Zeus's final orb hovered toward him. Unlike the others, it didn't shine like fire or gold, but was pure white.
"It looks... different from the others?" He said, stepping back.
"Your blessing will be a divine skill. You will awaken a power born from your craving."
"I-I don't want it!" Itsuki turned away in fear.
"You were not offered a choice."
The orb thus shot into his body. Unlike the others, he collapsed to his knees, clutching his chest, unable to breathe.
Koji yelled out in worry.
"W-What are you doing?"
"Malgrith seeks to consume Gaia. The undead, and the spreading of corruption all stem from his dominion. After he defeated Thanatos, he inherited all of their powers, so now, only he rules over death. And nothing can stop him."
Koji gritted his teeth, breathing heavily from the Emberheart's impact.
"So we're supposed to just... fight all that? With what? With what training? What weapons? We died, man! We weren't soldiers! We were kids in high school!"
Zeus suddenly hovered closer to Koji.
"You will learn, adapt, and survive... just like the other heroes who failed before you."
"Wha..." Koji widened his eyes, as did everyone else.
"Pwa ha ha! What's the matter, did you think you were the first heroes who stood up against Malgrith? Do not be fools. Millions have died trying to stop him and his army. Perhaps you'll be the saviors, or perhaps... failures."
(Present)
Millions of other heroes died in the past trying to stop Malgrith—so we're no different. We're going to perish, just like them, and then someone else will take our place.
The gods don't care about us, we're just a means to an end. Nothing more or nothing less.
But perhaps... dying like this would free us from this world so that we can move on.
Even though we made a promise to one day leave Gaia together—that's starting to look unlikely. Maybe the only way to escape this world is through death... as much as I hated to admit that.
It was the truth.
There was no way we were going to survive this.