A wave of frozen stillness lingered across a wide section of the battlefield.
The bodies of several undead lay rooted in place, held by layers of Time Magic,
Their magic flow was completely immobilised.
Julius Novachrono stood calmly, eyes focused.
Each zombie was trapped mid-motion—
One mid-swing, another with its mouth open as if to chant.
"Fascinating..."
Julius murmured with a childlike glint in his blue eyes.
"These aren't ordinary undead... they're retaining traces of their original mana pathways. But how...?"
Beside him,
Marx Francois scribbled furiously into a glowing, magical logbook,
Recording mana patterns, names from torn squad insignias, and any oddities Julius pointed out.
"Julius-sama,"
Marx said, adjusting his glasses,
"Some of these uniforms are from mages declared dead over few years. This is more than necromancy—it's... resurrection through mana reconstruction."
"Which means,"
Julius added thoughtfully,
"Whoever is doing this… has cracked the magical structure of the soul or their magic related to this undead."
Near the Western Edge...
Ben stood in a slight clearing surrounded by tangled roots and thick mist.
He was flanked by two of the most fiery women in the Clover Kingdom:
Mereoleona Vermillion, wild and battle-hungry.
Nebra Silva, graceful but proud, her breath slightly visible from her cold-type mist magic.
"____"
Originally meant to explore alone, Ben now found himself between volunteered protection and a strategic assignment.
As they scanned their surroundings, Mereoleona suddenly halted, her wild instincts flaring. She shoved Ben to the side with a growl:
"MOVE."
A blazing arc of water sliced down through the air where Ben had been standing.
"Tch. Water magic from the trees? Sneaky bastards,"
Mereoleona grinned, cracking her knuckles.
Grin~
"I was getting bored."
The group looked up to see 15 undead mages dropping from the massive trees,
Some use magic to slow their descent, others simply crash down, unfeeling and relentless.
One conjured a wall of mist, another raised jagged water spears, and yet another began to chant a spell using bone magic.
Nebra narrowed her eyes.
"This mist… It's mimicking my own magic. Whoever made these things knows our techniques."
Ben stepped forward, slowly rotating his Omnitrix dial.
"Guess it's time I joined the fun."
Before he could transform, Mereoleona stepped into the clearing, flames already wrapping around her body like a wild inferno.
"Back off, Your Majesty,"
She smirked.
Smirk~
"This one's mine."
Looking at her battle-hungry look on her face, which sent chills down his spine.
"____"
He made a decisive decision, which is to step back and watch.
She leapt into the horde like a blazing meteor, her fist smashing one zombie into the earth and lighting it aflame.
Another undead fired a blast of freezing mist, only for Mereoleona to evaporate it with a glare.
"I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE DEAD! COME AT ME!"
At the same time, Nebra raised her hand, a chilling mist coiling from her fingers.
"I'll cover the king,"
She said softly, and later with a hint of jealousy, seeing Ben was looking at Mereoleona with interest, standing back-to-back with Ben.
"Just try not to get distracted by the show she's putting on."
Ben chuckled and replied with a wink:
"Can't promise that."
As Mereoleona fought like a demon of fire,
Reducing one zombie after another to scorched remains,
And Nebra elegantly used her mist magic to confuse or redirect ranged attacks.
Ben's fingers hovered over the Omnitrix dial, eyes scanning the situation.
Ben's sharp eyes scanned the battlefield.
He noticed something disturbing.
The zombies that Nebra had struck down with her elegant and chilling Mist Magic were beginning to heal.
Their pale skin slowly restitched, and their white, pupil-less eyes rolled back into place.
But the ones Mereoleona had burned—
They stayed down.
Some of their bodies were still smouldering, reduced to cinders.
"Damn… Mist Magic isn't enough."
Ben muttered, stepping beside Nebra.
With a commanding voice, he shouted:
"Nebra! Lure them toward Mereoleona! FIRE magic is the only thing stopping their regeneration!"
"____"
Nebra's eyes widened briefly in surprise,
Then narrowed in sharp focus.
"Understood, Your Majesty."
With a sweep of her arm, her mist thickened and swirled, corralling the remaining zombies toward Mereoleona like a chilling shepherd guiding sheep to the slaughter.
Mereoleona noticed the change and grinned wildly.
Grin~
"Oh? Feeding me more? That's a good strategy, I like your mindset, Your Highness!"
Ben nodded and turned toward the descending wave of undead still trying to flank them from the trees.
"Guess I'll turn up the heat, too."
He slammed his hand down on the Omnitrix, the green light bursting forth as the dial rose.
With a rapid twist and a push down—
FLASH!!!
"HEATBLAST!"
In a flash of brilliant green, Ben transformed.
His body erupted into glowing magma veins, his face a blazing inferno of living flame.
The forest around him shimmered in the sudden heat.
"TIME TO TURN THESE DEAD BACK TO ASH!"
With a wave of his hand,
Heatblast summoned a massive plume of fire, launching it into the incoming undead.
A shockwave of flame roared forward, engulfing the first wave of zombies—
Their limbs disintegrating under the sheer heat, their magic attacks cracking like brittle glass.
Several undead tried casting Ice and Earth magic in retaliation,
But Heatblast's intensity vaporised their spells mid-air.
Nebra, ever graceful, began redirecting more of the zombies toward the path of fire with precise mist barriers.
"Your Majesty, you've gotten more dramatic."
Grin~
"YOU SHOULD SEE ME DURING A VOLCANO ERUPTION,"
Heatblast replied, grinning.
Meanwhile, Mereoleona—
Fired up by the extra wave of enemies—
Began competing.
"Hey, Fire King! Don't hog them all!"
The flames of royalty and rage collided as the Heatblast and the Crimson Lioness fought side-by-side.
Each swing, punch, and burst of fire brought a thunderous explosion through the trees.
Smoke rose like pillars.
Burned earth crackled beneath their feet.
From high above in the trees, a hidden undead scout watched with empty eyes.
"____"
Its body trembled… not from fear—
But from the signal it had just sent.
Deep underground, in the unknown cave, Eberius suddenly opened his eyes, sensing the loss of his puppets.
The shadow with glowing teeth laughed darkly.
KUKUKU!
Unknown Cave...
Eberius stood up from his stone chair, his pale cloak rustling slightly.
The dim torchlight cast sharp shadows across his gaunt face as he stared toward the entrance of the cave,
Where the faint rumble of distant magical clashes echoed.
His voice, calm but laced with intrigue, broke the silence.
"They've already depleted half of my puppets… far sooner than I expected."
The shadow figure, half-merged with the wall behind him, let out a low, rumbling chuckle.
Chuckle~
Its sharp teeth glinted unnaturally.
"You seem surprised. But you wanted them tested, didn't you? Now you see how weak your precious corpses are compared to true predators."
Eberius ignored the taunt, his eyes glowing faintly.
"____"
"I want to see them… those who trespass. If my creations fall this easily, I must know who I am dealing with. Take me there."
The shadow paused for a second, grinning widely.
Then, with a crooked smile, it stretched out one long, clawed finger, pointing it forward like a dagger.
From the tip of the finger, a viscous, black liquid began to leak—
drip… drip… drip—
Before suddenly surging outward like it was alive.
The black slime twisted mid-air and bloomed into a twisting, vertical portal,
Its surface rippling like oil-covered water, emanating a cold, wet sound.
"As you wish… but beware,"
The shadow hissed.
"You may not like what you see."
Eberius didn't flinch.
With a sweep of his tattered robes, he walked forward, stepping into the portal.
Plop.
He vanished into the dark.
The shadow licked its jagged teeth, then slithered in behind him, the portal collapsing with a wet snap behind them.
Eberius narrowed his pale eyes, hands clasped behind his back.
The lingering chill of necromantic energy clung to his cloak.
Watching the magical displays ripple across the forest below, he clicked his tongue.
"____"
"So… they are strong. To decimate my entire undead squad... fascinating."
Beside him, the shadowy figure chuckled.
Chuckle~
Its sharp teeth gleamed like jagged shards in the moonlight.
Its elongated, clawed finger extended skyward, twisting slightly.
With a disgusting squelch, a portal of dark, slimy liquid erupted from the tip—
Forming a floating, vertical disc that rippled like tainted water.
Above the Battlefield...
Suddenly, a flat disc of black liquid formed far above the forest—
Floating in the sky like a dark moon.
Standing atop it were Eberius and the shadowy figure, both silent as they gazed down at the chaos below.
The forest had become a battlefield of fire and magic.
From their vantage point, they could see:
Mereoleona roaring through a dozen zombies, her fire magic igniting the treetops.
Heatblast soaring like a comet, releasing torrents of lava-like blasts that turned the undead to ash.
Nozel's silver mercury slicing through magical zombies that tried to regenerate.
Yami, having finally drawn his katana, cleaves through zombies with a precise Dimensional Slash.
And in the centre, Wizard King Julius, surrounded by frozen zombie corpses—studying, calculating, unravelling their magic composition.
Eberius narrowed his eyes, intrigued.
"That one… Is he a human or a monster? His magic is...."
"He's the current Clover Kingdom's king."
The shadow answered.
"____"
Eberius turned slightly.
"Interesting. A king who fights on the front lines. Rare… but reckless."
Then, his gaze shifted to the zombies burning in the fire.
He scowled.
"So… it is fire. The natural enemy of rot and curse."
His gloved hand clenched slightly.
"I need stronger corpses. These were only the first wave."
"And you'll get them,"
Said the shadow gleefully.
"The ritual must continue. But this—this-this was merely a greeting."
The shadow extended its arms wide, the air around him rippling with dark curse energy.
"Let them enjoy their victory. Soon, their nightmares will walk in daylight."
As they both stared down from their shadowy perch, the portal behind them pulsed, showing more undead rising in other hidden caves—
being prepared for something much bigger.
The sky darkened briefly—
Not from clouds, but from the unseen evil growing in the depths.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N)Thanks for reading the chapter!
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