Chapter 18 Aftermath

Hadrian-sama was truly a benevolent leader. While he felt infinitely grateful of said fact when it was directed at Nazarik's denizens, he couldn't grasp why said generosity would be directed at the low, pathetic creatures that conformed the human race. He really couldn't understand his insistence towards protecting these lower life forms, but who was he to question a decision of a Supreme Being?

If they had any use, then it would make sense. The Baleare alchemist family, for example, was useful for performing the experiments regarding potions, helping them discover new ingredients and methods as their investigation in Carne Village advanced. But he couldn't see any advantage in releasing the human prisoners he had taken from the Royal Capital. All he could think about was that, for some unknown reason, Hadrian-sama cared for their safety.

Maybe if it had been other Supreme Being, like TouchMe-sama, then he would have expected such reaction; but said manner of thinking had been completely unexpected. As such, he had failed to fulfill his Lord's wishes, since he had not taken into account his gentle nature.

Still, caring for pathetic humans…. what was this feeling? …No, that couldn't be possible. He was a Floor Guardian and the creation of the great Ulbert Alain Odle-sama, there was nothing to be envious about regarding such low creatures. He simply held negative emotions towards them for being the reason behind his first, and hopefully last, reprimand. That was all.

Where were these thoughts coming from? He mused distressfully as he walked towards the prison in the 5th floor, even if he didn't portray any such feelings. Being a NPC, he had no way of knowing their incomplete descriptions had been filled out with the personalities of their creators, and that Ulbert had been particularly weak to the feeling of envy. The reason for the conflict between Touch-Me and Ulbert had been, in fact, due to Ulbert's jealousy towards Touch-Me, since the latter enjoyed of better circumstances in real life.

Still contemplative, he tensed at the memory of Hadrian-sama's anger, feeling worried for having disappointed his Master in such a manner. Was there any use for subordinates who could not carry out their duties satisfactorily? And if the last of the Supreme Ones were to disappear with disappointment ... Demiurge froze with fear at the thought of this.

The purpose of the residents of Nazarik was to serve the Supreme Beings; they own their existence to them. Their creators, their gods, they had been allowed to exist for that purpose, and only for that. What use was there for them, if they disappointed their only remaining leader?

He had, thus, offered as volunteer to fix the situation, deeming it was the best he could do to redeem his actions. He had received Hadrian-sama's instructions regarding the plan to free the prisoners; and with that in mind, Demiurge tamped down his uneasiness with an iron will. His Master had ordered him to act, and he could not resist that command.

Placing the mask he had used for the character of Jaldabaoth on his face, he opened the door that led towards the containment cell. He felt slightly better at the cries of fear and panic his mere presence caused, but ignored them for the most part as he raised the Glaive his Lord had conferred to him for this action. Using the incantation kept within the weapon, the 6th tier spell [Control Weather] was activated, clouds forming at the top of the ceiling of the cell room. Before it could start to rain however, he took out a small vial with potion, saying out loud the code to activate the time-related destructive spell on the flask before throwing it at the center of the clouds that were only beginning to take form as a storm.

As instructed, the potion that came from his Master's original world was mixed up with the water naturally contained in the clouds, before the rain started to fall over the prisoners. The de-memorizing mixture should be enough to assure the details of Nazarik would not escape with them. According to the experiment he had made on a single prisoner, the people affected would lose a week of memories due to the concoction.

Closing the door, he waited for the mixture to take effect on the prisoners, before sending a [Message] to Shalltear so the vampire could open a [Gate]. Opening slightly the door, he used his passive skill [Domination Mantra] to order them to go into the opened portal. Since the room held a large amount of people, it took a while before all the prisoners were gone, but he supervised the operation silently from the small gap at the entrance, until the last one of them had left the chamber. Once there were no more citizens within the room, he opened the door completely and walked towards the furthest wall, the hard soles of his leather shoes clacking loudly against the ground as the echoes faded away into silence in the large, empty cell.

Opening a metallic door that led to another compartment, he bends down to grasp the back of the collar of the white-armored knight, since the male contained within was still unconscious, under the spell [RIP] courtesy of his Master. He drags the male human carelessly towards the gate before throwing him unceremoniously through it, doing it a little too harshly as he expressed few of his pent-up emotions.

The only reason the knight had been transferred into a different room was because they needed him to lead the freed people back, so his memories would need to be intact. They had made sure the human was unconscious for his whole stay at Nazarik, so he wouldn't be able to provide information about them once he woke up.

That was it. Whether they made it back alive or not, it was up to them now. He sincerely wished they would however, if only because Hadrian-sama would be happy with that outcome. Tail twitching with a feeling he refused to recognize, he left the cell room as he thought pensively in different plans to redeem for his mistake, before deciding to follow the most logical one.

Failure was not an option; he must show a result that clears his previous failure.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the [Gate] the unconscious body of Climb collided against a wall of stone, the only part of the structure in ruins that remained standing, since the ceiling and other walls had fallen down many years ago. His fingers twitched once, twice, before the last remnants of the sleeping curse lifted, and he was conscious enough to feel the pain that was caused by the harsh collision.

The rays of sun bothered his closed eyelids, so he frowned slightly before opening them begrudgingly. His body feels drained, as if he had just woken up from a coma, and his back hurt from the impact. As soon as he is capable of forming coherent thoughts however, he stands up in a quick, ungraceful movement, his last memory coming to the front of his mind.

He and Brain had been leading the survivors through the battlefield, with the thief being in the back to make sure no one stayed behind, when something had collided against him at great velocity. All he saw was a blur of white before he lost consciousness, darkness eating away his vision.

Seeing he was not alone, he turned his sword towards whatever was surrounding him, before noticing the attire of the people around him. They were citizens… What the hell was going on? Lowering his weapon, he asks to the closest people if they knew anything about their current situation, but only got confused, disoriented looks.

"I was buying dinner. Why am I here?"

"Tell me about it. I was discussing with my wife…"

"Where's my daddy?"

Several voices overlapped each other as they spoke at the same time, their confusion turning into worry at the unknown situation. Climbing the wall he had collided against, he stood upon it to get a clearer picture of his surroundings. He could see an immense amount of people was reunited in the clearing, all of them discussing agitatedly with each other.

Turning towards the nearest male, he asked if he remembered anything about what had happened after the demons took them away.

"Demons? What demons? I was at a bar… were you with me? maybe you drank too much?"

What…? How could he not remember? Had the memories been so traumatizing the mind of the male had pushed it back to the point of forgetting it ever happened? He asks to the people closest to him, but instead of looking rightfully fearful or in shock, the only thing that greets him are disoriented looks.

No one seemed to remember anything about the nightmare they had miraculously survived. Whatever that white blur had been, Climb assumed he had been taken by the demons as well. Still, he couldn't understand what was happening, why were they in a clearing? He would have expected a sacrificing ritual, a torture chamber, or appearing at the heart of an active volcano or whatever hideout Jaldabaoth had. But everyone was seemingly fine and the day was ironically warm and clear as if there was nothing wrong in the world.

What was the objective in any of this? Was Jaldabaoth getting their hopes up because it would be more entertaining to crush them that way? But if that were the case, he wouldn't have needed to erase the memories of the citizens… why was he the only one that remembered though? No matter how much he delved on this kind of thoughts, he couldn't get closer to the answer.

The demon's evil thinking was something he couldn't begin to understand. That being the case, it didn't matter whatever plot Jaldabaoth was planning, his duty was to lead this people back to safety. The mission his Princess had bestowed upon him was to rescue the citizens of the Royal Capital, so he would follow his orders and worry about Jaldabaoth's plot at a later date.

Making up his resolve, he shouted to drag the attention of the people, but only managed to receive it from the ones that were closest to him. Truly, they were simply too many, there was no way he could possibly guide them all to safety. Traveling with such a huge group posed a lot of problems, since they could easily attract the attention of predators, and there wasn't any food or refugees for all of them…

But he still had to try. Looking around at the large, empty plain surrounded by a permanent fog that blanketed the whole area, he could see a few old buildings scattered around and in ruin, much like the single remaining wall of the structure he had used to get to a higher position. Filling with dread, he recognized exactly the location they were at. The Katze plains.

Numerous undead beings were rumored to inhabit this land, spawning naturally due to its use as battle ground in the annual war against the Baharuth Empire. It was inevitable that due to the high number of casualties sustained by both sides every year, the place had become a hot spot for undead creatures to spawn. This ranged from zombies to skeleton warriors and even Skeletal Dragons.

It was common knowledge that in places where the undead gathered, more powerful undead were born. When these more powerful undead gathered, even more powerful undead would appear. This chain of events would continue naturally, like a spiral, constantly spawning ever more powerful undead beings. If left alone, it was potent enough to destroy an entire city, so it was known as the "Death Spiral."

This was the reason high-ranked adventurers would be sent to lower the undead population at periodical intervals. Only mithril and upward could be recruited, since another trait of the plains was that the fog that surrounds it registered as a lifeform, so performing detection magic against undead was useless in this area.

But no adventures had been sent this past couple of months; which meant the undead population would be at its peak.

This was bad, such a large concentration of living people was going to attract the undead's attention, and once that happened many citizens would fall prey to ambushes from the undead spawn. He really hoped the rumors regarding an infamous Elder Lich who haunted the plains on a Ghost Ship were just that; rumors. There would be no hope it they encountered such a high form of undead, said to sail among the mists that forms around the plains…

In a way, it was both, lucky and unlucky to be here. Unlucky for all the reasons he had previously considered, but lucky because the civilians were usually recruited for the war, since the only way their nation could resist the Baharuth Empire was with numbers.

As such, most of the citizens present had fought here at least once, and thus were able to recognize their surroundings and the danger that lurked within. Climbing over the wall once more, he uses the higher position to his advantage, calling for attention a second time. The nearest are the only ones that look up at him, so Climb asks them to pass down his message to the people that was further away.

He could do this! For Renner-sama!

Meanwhile, in the Royal Capital, they were still many issues to solve once the battle with the demon ended. Since Jaldabaoth had affirmed to be searching for an item, the Warrior-Captain Gazef had guided the investigation group through the warehouses, until they found a very disturbing magic item. The Magician's Association was still analyzing and investigating it, but considering the fact that it had been imbued with abnormally powerful magic and the information Jaldabaoth had let slip, it seemed likely that it was the item he had been searching for.

As a result, the Adventurer's Guild had gathered strong veterans in order to stand watch over the item until they figured out how to dispose of it. Gazef, being the one that had found said item, was naturally involved in guarding it, and right now was his turn of standing on the warehouse's back entrance.

The Warrior-Captain frowned in unconcealed fury as the feeling of impotence got a hold of him. It was so annoying, the fact that the Eight Fingers could not be punished for bringing this item to the capital…

The magic item which had led to the tragedy in the capital had been found in a warehouse that was positively linked to the smuggling division of the Eight Fingers. That being the case, they should have immediately moved to destroy them, even the nobles would not oppose such action, since their lands had been at jeopardy as well. However, there was a crucial reason why they could not do so, and only a few people knew about it.

They had started searching for the item because Jaldabaoth had leaked information about it. That being the case, the demon might have been counting on the humans to find the object his troops could not, which was why that information had gotten out in the first place.

Since everyone understood the implications of that leak, they had suppressed all information about the artifact, and as such, it could no longer be used as a reason to attack the Eight Fingers. He clenched his fists at his sides, feeling powerless at the situation. Trying to distract himself with other matters, he attempted to speak with Brain, who had been assigned to guard the item along with him, but the ex-mercenary remained silent as if he had not heard him, with a pensive look on his face.

Since Climb's disappearance, Brain had been acting even more distant than usual, but that was to be expected. He probably felt guilty for not been able to interfere in the young knight's kidnapping, even when it had happened in front of him. The devastated face of the Golden Princess when she received the notice had only made things worse for him.

And then, there was also the ungratefulness that came from the few citizens that had survived the nightmarish ordeal. They had heaped blame and scorn on Brain, muttering phrases like "Why did you only save us" and so on. They had taken their anger -at the loss of their families, at the loss of their wealth- and poured out the bowl of their wrath upon him. They would have probably turned against Climb too if the male hadn't disappeared, but as it was, Brain had been the main figure in the rescuing mission. Even knowing the citizens did it because they didn't have anyone else to blame, Gazef couldn't help but curse at their attitude.

Couldn't the citizens see it was nobody's fault but Jaldabaoth's? That Climb and Brain had risked their lives in rescuing them? Considering Brain's group had been the one to deliver the final blow to that mighty demon in order to save them, the inhabitants should have realized just how much effort they had put into fulfilling their mission. The demon they had encountered was on a completely different level from any of the others, with a snake-like tail, bat wings and a goat skull for a head, it could have beaten him or Brain with strength to spare, had they fought against it alone. In the end, it was only because all of them had worked together to wound it that they had been victorious.

And after that life and death struggle, the only thanks Brain had received were the aforementioned complaints. Why were the people so fast to point accusing fingers at their helpers? If it wasn't for his presence, Gazef was sure the few citizens present in their immediate surrounding would throw harsh words at Brain.

He was taken out of his dark musings when the sun reflects on something, or rather, someone as an armored warrior walked towards him, his sides flanked by two females. The smallest was talking to no end, looking up at the male adamantite adventurer, while the other girl stared expressionlessly at their interaction, tilting her head curiously but not participating in their conversation at all.

"-you sure? You did the Kingdom a great favor; it's only natural that his Majesty wishes to convey his gratitude to you-" was the broken sentence of the petite female, the magic caster he recognized as Evileye from the Blue Rose adamantite team.

"I simply completed a request as an adventurer; it's nothing worthy of a king's personal attention. To be honest, everyone who took part in this battle should receive accolades as well. This was a battle fought by the Kingdom's Adventurer Guild as a whole"The hero that had defeated the terrible demon Jaldabaoth, James, said with a polite voice, stubbornly humble on his victory.

The conversation seems to end at that, at least for the moment, since they were close enough to him and Brain now. Gazef was about to greet them, but not a word leaves his lips since Brain's hopeful shout cut through the air.

"Have you heard anything? Found anything?" the ex-mercenary asked, bolting from his resting position as he all but leaned forwards with an expectant gaze. The blue eyes of the male adamantite adventurer seem to sadden for a moment, before James shakes his head in negative.

"Nothing at all. Even the tracking magic of the Magician's Guild Master doesn't seem to be enough to locate him" They were, of course, talking about Climb, that young boy that always trained so hard in the mornings, even when he had no talent at all…

Princess Renner had refused to give up on her knight, for even if Climb had died, he could be resurrected by Lakyus if his body was preserved enough. Needless to say, this meant time was of essence. She had hired all the highest ranks among the Magician's Association, even going so far as to contact their Leader, in hopes of finding Climb before it was too late.

"I… see" was the disappointed sigh of the ex-mercenary.

"I'm sorry Unglaus, I wished I could deliver good news" James seemed sincere as he stated this, sending a sympathetic look at Brain before continuing "But the truth is, I've just come to bid farewell. I'll be returning to E-Rantel shortly"

There was something odd in James' voice when he said that, but Gazef didn't have time to dwell on it, as the adamantite turned towards him.

"This is the first time we meet right? I apologize for the late introduction. Is an honor, Captain-Warrior Stronoff, I've heard numerous tales about you."

"An honor? Nonsense, you have far surpassed me James-sama" he said smiling good-naturally "If anything, I'm the one that feels honored to meet you-"then, remembering the scene were the adventurers of all classes had reunited around James to make presentations, he felt the need to justify his impoliteness "Ah, I should apologize for not coming to greet you before the battle, it was a great discourtesy from my side-"

"None at all, is understandable someone with your title would be busy with other matters." James interrupted him, making a dismissive motion with a polite smile.

"Stronoff-san must have been terribly busy with his assigned duties" although said emotionlessly, he could sense some layer of annoyance in the adventurer's companion, Shizu, but the leader of the adamantite team simply patted her head a couple of times before adding "It's fine, really." which caused the female to utter a soft, cute "Uwahh" as if embarrassed, a small smile on her face.

If Gazef kept apologizing it would be an infinite, repetitive circle of "I'm sorry" and "no problem" so he decided to let the matter rest at that, changing the course of the conversation.

"For how long will you be staying James-sama? If possible, I'd like to inquire about the details of the battle from your perspective" information-gathering was the best they could do, to prepare in case that devil came back. While Jaldabaoth had stated that he would not attack again, due to fear of James' battle power, it would be foolish to disregard a possible retaliation from the defeated enemy if the adamantite warrior choose to move away from the Kingdom. Adventurers were free of alliances like that, being able to migrate from one country to another without holding any ties.

"Now is my turn to apologize Stronoff-san, there are magic casters that have been tasked to help me return to E-Rantel and they are already waiting for me" with a small, apologetic bow of the head directed at Gazef, James turned to Evileye suddenly, as if stricken by an idea "Ah, but Evileye-san was able to witness some of it. Would you do me a favor and explain a little to the Captain-warrior?" he asked gently, lowering his gaze towards the mask the petite female always wore.

"Eh? Oh, sure, sure…" the voice of Evileye sounded slightly disappointed, as if she didn't like the thought of staying behind "After I accompany you to send you off"

"Thank you, I'm sorry to trouble you with my request" a small smile was directed at the short female, along with a grateful nod.

"Not at all! Please don't worry about it!" she answered hurriedly, moving both hands from side to side as if to dispel something. Evileye was known for being cold, the kind of person that said the undisguised truth on every topic whether others liked it or not, so it was amusing to see her act so juvenile.

Smiling at the scene in front of him, he felt slight regret that his source of information was going to get away, but it wasn't like this would be the last time they met. Maybe one day with more luck, he would be able to hunt for more information about the demon Jaldabaoth.

He had wanted to request a spar as well, but it would have to be at a time and place where there were no witnesses, so his reputation and the one of the adventurer would not be compromised by the result of the battle. While it was clear Gazef would lose, he still wanted to train and improve, testing his strength and techniques against a stronger opponent.

"It can't be helped. Well then James-sama, please take care of yourself. Thank you for saving this city, I am very grateful that you have helped to protect the Royal Capital." James smiled knowingly at this, the kind of smile that let you know there was something more to the picture, but he couldn't really understand what exactly had triggered such reaction. Deciding to muse it over at another date, he turned towards Evileye, thanking her for her time and expressing he would be waiting for their reunion once everything was calmer. She nods at him dismissively, before turning her head towards the male adamantite adventurer once more. Oh, so it was that kind of relationship—

"I wished I could stay longer in the Royal Capital" James said apologetically as he extended his hand to shake Gazef's in farewell, accidentally interrupting his line of thought. He then turned towards the silent ex-mercenary, who had observed the interaction with almost vacant eyes "Brain, they still have a few days. Give them time and don't lose hope, I'll get in contact with you if I hear anything about their findings"

"Yeah… yes. Thank you" Brain seems to get out of his stupor, but was far from being his usual self "If only James-san were a magic caster instead of a warrior…" he whispered softly, as if speaking to himself. James nods at him, expression saddened once more before patting Brain's shoulder in a comforting manner with a muttered farewell.

A magic caster? That was right, if they could contact Ainz Ooal Gown! but he had no idea where to search for such an extraordinary individual… still, he could comment his suggestion to Princess Renner or the King. Maybe the Magician's Guild Master would be able to locate a fellow magic-user more easily than it was to locate Climb. With that last, determined thought, he watched as the group of adamantite adventurers got further away from the warehouse he and Brain were warding, silence reigning over them once more.

He couldn't do this! He could not! Climb cursed as he destroyed another Skeleton Warrior, the people running in panic as they scattered away like disturbed ants.

It had been alright at first, the veterans were in charge of guiding the way back to E-Rantel, that was the closest populated region, while Climb stayed back to ensure no one was left behind. The large number of people had attracted the attention of the undead beings sooner than he expected though, the creatures bringing with them terror and death.

It would not be so bad if the citizens had any sort of weapons with them, if there were not children and elders among the group, if they were organized and had multiple leaders to guide them and confide into.

But as it was, the people were running away from the group of undead beings, pushing against each other in their attempt to escape from the oncoming horde as fast as possible. In such situation, it was inevitable that some people would lose their balance and fall down, and it was similarly unavoidable that they would not be able to rise again, dying as the rest of the citizens ran over them.

"Haaaah!" a male shout was heard as one of the lowest undead, a simple, unarmed skeleton was defeated with a shovel. There were a few among the group of people that had managed to conserve tools for gardening, for cooking, and so on, and while those were no weapons, they could still defend themselves a little. This group was a minority, but the group of undead beings that were attacking them was not that big either. It should be tolerable so long they didn't encounter anything nastier.

And so, with Climb at the center, he killed as many as he could before they reached the people behind him, focusing on the stronger branches of undead and leaving the basic ones to the somewhat-armed citizens. One after the other, after the other, they (Hah!) kept (guh!) coming!

The only positive thing he could think of in such a dire situation was that at least the people was running towards E-Rantel, instead of dispersing in random directions. At that pace, some would be able to reach the fortress, alert the guards that were there, and some help would be sent. They were not too far away from the city.

That was the only thing he could hope for, because if they didn't… if help didn't arrive soon… he didn't know what would happen. While he was ready to abandon his life for the sake of the mission Renner-sama had conferred to him, how many citizens would really survive once the small line of defense was defeated? A third of the original amount?

He brought down his sword again, defeating another Ghoul. This was a kind of low-ranked, scrawny undead that was little more than skin and bones, but possessed sharp yellowed claws at the end of their limbs. This kind of creature was used to attack in groups, so it was the tenth or so ghoul that Climb defeated, but he never failed to make a face of disgust as the creatures spread a dirty fluid similar to bile instead of blood when he cut through them.

Resist, we only need to keep resisting. Help will arrive.

Just as he thought this with as much self-conviction as he could muster, the earth shook slightly. It was not an earthquake, the tremor too weak for that, but the vibration on the ground was repeated constantly, almost at determined intervals.

It was…like steps. Approaching steps of something really, really big as whatever was out there came closer. The mist was thick, so they couldn't see that far away from their defensive line as they waited with a feeling of dread to discover their new, stronger enemy.

Climb's eyes opened wide with shock once the creature- no, creatures, were close enough to their position, the armed citizens behind him taking steps back as their survival instincts practically screamed for them to leave.

It was not only one, but two Blood Meat Hulks. While the entity that stood five meters tall was only capable of attacking with brute force, the undead possessed regenerative abilities to make up for it. Facing a single one of this large, bulky undead with fresh red muscles and fats was difficult enough that a Mithril-ranked adventurer group would have troubles, and now there were two of them striding towards their defensive line.

An orichalcum team may have been barely enough to win against the two creatures, since these undead could only be defeated when faced with physical attacks on par with their unnatural strength, but there was no one with such ranking among them. Even Climb, who was the strongest and better equipped of them all, only considered himself to be a Gold plate, if he had been an adventurer that is.

"Step back, focus on the lower branches of undead and don't let them advance towards the others. Keep moving back until I have defeated the Hulks" There was no way he could win against one of them, let alone two, but they needed to stall for time. If these huge, carnivorous undead were to reach the people that was escaping, more than half of the survivors would perish in a horrible, painful death.

He needed to focus on their legs. Even if Climb could not defeat one, let alone two of them, all he needed to do was impede their movement, so the people escaping to safety would have more time. This was all he could strive for, for the sake of the citizens, for the sake of the mission the Princess Renner had bestowed upon him.

With a war-cry, he ran towards his imminent death, heart beating a mile per hour as he prepared his sword to fight with all his might. Once there was about a meter of separation between them, the earth beneath his feet trembled like an earthquake, the heavy steps falling with a thunderous sound. Anyone would have fallen, but he managed to keep his balance as he took aim at the giant ankle and—

"Haaah!"

Climb brandished his sword. Since the Blood Meat Hulk was still walking forward, the enemy's own speed was converted into a weapon that would tear at the edge of his sword. That was the reason he had calculated his strike, waiting for the undead creature to move.

In the instant the meat and the sword collided however, a massive impact ran through the weapon and into Climb's arms. He felt as if his arms had dislocated, so he used all the strength he still had and managed to hold the sword in his hands, but the pain spread throughout his body. Whether it was his muscles, his tendons, every part of him ached from the exertion to which he had subjected his body.

His feet planted firmly on the ground, they left two ditches in the surface as Climb was dragged backwards, before he lost his balance and fell painfully over his back.

"Gwaaargh!"

Climb breathed hard, and watched helplessly as the other Blood Meat Hulk looked down on him, the giant body coming closer to his limp, unmoving form. A chill that had nothing to do with the temperature filled his body, fearfully shaking as he came to terms with what would happen to him. He tried to raise his sword, so at least the massive foot that was about to trample him would be injured, but in that instant, the creature stepped back with a painful cry, huge arms raising to his face as if to protect it.

Climb tried and failed to move, before he finally could sit up shakily and slowly, forcing his back to stay into a slightly crouched position since he just wasn't capable of straightening. The arm that held his weapon was broken, since it had withstood the blow, but he considered himself lucky that the sword had not broken as well.

Blinking several times to get rid of his blurry vision, once he was able to distinguish figures again he stared in disbelief at the unmoving Hulks. Both creatures were standing still as they swayed their massive arms around their heads, in a manner similar to someone that was trying to dispel flies.

Why? Why did the monsters halt in their attack?

"That's enough!" a resounding, familiar male voice was heard through the whole clearing, as if coming from the sky above them "Citizens of the Royal Capital, do not move! Your life is not endangered anymore!"

As the words echoed around him, a rain of thousands of arrows came from the heavens, their tips glowing with magic as they killed effortlessly all of the low-ranked undead beings Climb and the others had been fighting against.

There was no doubt; the presence of the adamantite group was the reason he had managed to survive. The Hulks were reacting to the projectiles as well, swaying their arms with a pained cry as they tried to protect themselves from the magically imbedded arrows, their injuries not healing themselves as they were supposed to.

A warrior's cry was heard not long after, a male figure dropping from the top of a ruined building and landing on the ground without a sound, completely ignoring the extreme height of the fall as he descended in a matter of seconds.

Once in the ground, a single thin sword was launched at the giant undead, surely such a weapon was not the best to fight against-?

SPLAT!

The massive head exploded in a curtain of blood as the heavy figure fell down with a resounding thud, the ground shaking considerably due to its weight.

H-how in the heavens?! How much strength did the adventurer have to achieve such a thing with a thin sword?!

The weapon flew back to the awaiting hands of the adamantite warrior, as the male leaped high towards the remaining creature. The massive arms are too slow to impede the attack of the adventurer, so its throat is pierced without resistance, in a manner a knife would cut effortlessly through butter.

The moment the blade comes in contact with the undead, a slash travels so fast down the massive body that Climb's eyes were completely unable to follow the movement, but the result was undeniable. Cut in half vertically, the creature falls down with a rain of blood and inner organs, the smell of something rotten reaching his nostrils.

In less than a minute, both creatures had been defeated.

The remaining citizens, upon seeing the threat annihilated, cheered and cried in joy, raising their arms in celebration.

"Follow the path that has been marked by the arrows and your safety will be guaranteed" was the statement of an expressionless, female voice. The people recognized who was talking to them, so they began to form some lines, walking calmer as they adjusted to the settled path and concentrated on a single point before advancing. Compared to the dispersed formation of before, this was much more manageable, easier to control in case any other creature decided to strike at them.

"Is everyone alright there? Do you need any healing potions?" the adamantite warrior James shouted at what remained of the defensive line, jogging closer to them. Not a single drop of the monster's blood had fallen on his person.

"T-that's—!"

"Ohhh James-sama! he came to save us!"

"My son told me about him—"

Various exclamations and snippets full of admiration came from the people that had fought along Climb, finally relaxing in the presence of the pinnacle of humanity, an adamantite adventurer. Some sat down, succumbing to the tiredness and injures the battle left on them, while others laughed in relief before letting go of their improvised weapons.

"No one seems to have sustained heavy injuries, I'm glad" James said in a relieved voice towards the brave citizens, before focusing on Climb's more distant form "Climb! You're alive! You really made a lot of people worry, you know?" the adamantite reached his position in nothing but seconds, immediately giving him a once-over to assess his injuries. Upon seeing Climb's lamentable state, James offered a healing potion at him, the blue liquid swaying slightly with the movement.

Should he accept the item? Truth be told, he could not even consider this as a total defeat. For him to be defeated, it would mean that he had fought, and he had not even been close to fighting.

Fresh blood flowed from his bitten lip as he tried to refuse the potion with a slow, small shake of the head. With the movement however, an intense pain flared up from every part of his body, something he tried to suppress so James would not notice.

Needless to say, he failed completely at it.

"Climb, don't be stubborn. Drink" the tone had changed from friendly to commanding, the kind of voice one would expect to hear in the middle of the battlefield as their general delivered instructions.

Almost on automatic, he followed the directive and swallowed the liquid in one-go, immediately relaxing once the potion took effect. He was not completely healed, but he could now move without issues. Climb let out a relieved sigh, which turned into a chuckle once James patted his shoulder in a very soft, friendly manner.

"Glad to see you're ok" the voice was back to its kind tone, blue eyes genuinely relieved as they looked at him. Climb smiled at him sincerely, glad that not only did the back-up arrive on time, but it had been the best they could have asked for.

"J-James-sama, how did you find us so soon?" he asked with a raspy voice, not yet recovered from the arduous fight he had had.

"I was leaving E-Rantel when I saw a few people running towards the gates. The panic was evident in their mannerism, so I stayed to listen to them just to make sure E-Rantel wasn't going to be invaded"

Upon hearing the answer, Climb couldn't help but laugh freely, thanking all the deities he could think of for the good luck that not only let him stay alive with few, non-fatal injuries, but that let the vast majority of the citizens survive as well.

"Come on then, let us go back to city" James began to walk away, with nothing but a small head-motion that seemed to say 'follow me' directed at Climb as he approached the defensive line, congratulating the citizens for their good work.

In the end, the people accommodate for a few days in E-Rantel, as they recover physically and emotionally of the unplanned fight in the Katze plains. After that, little by little, they go back to the Royal Capital, reuniting families and friends alike as the newcomers learned their home had been attacked by demons.

On everyone's lips were the names of Climb, James, Shizu, as well as other well-known characters like the Captain-Warrior and Princess Renner. Everyone sang praises to their heroes, their saviors that had helped the citizens of the Royal Capital not only once but twice.

No one knew why the kidnapped citizens had been stripped from their memory, nor did anyone know why they had appeared in the desolated clearance near E-Rantel. At least, that was the case until one night, after everything was settled and a resemblance of peace had been regained, the item the demon Jaldabaoth had been searching for disappeared from its hiding, top-security place, the dead body of Gazef Stronoff and their guards lying limp around it.

It was clear for those that knew of the existence of the item, that a powerful demon had arrived infiltrated among the survivors that came back to the Royal Capital.

Extra:

Harry walked calmly towards his office; taking a slight deviation he knew would make him cross paths with the demonic Floor Guardian.

"Don't kneel." is the first thing he says upon seeing the NPC, waiting for the other to stand still before continuing "Thank you Demiurge, using Nazarik's POP undead to ensure most citizens survived was certainly a nice touch" he had recognized the naturally spawned creatures the Great Tomb of Nazarik created daily, since he had felt the connection that designated them as allies. The undead had not been summoned by Harry, but any member of Nazarik could order them around without issues.

Patting the demon's shoulder in a grateful manner, he dismissed the sixth- or was it the seventh?- apology the Guardian muttered in response, smiling at the loyal and worried NPC as Harry reassured, also for the seventh time, that he had been forgiven. As if to comfort the distressed devil, Harry declares that Demiurge can keep the recovered item a high-level summoned demon had regained, an action Harry had taken in order to justify Jaldabaoth's actions in releasing the kidnapped people.

Dismissing his now much calmer servant, he continued to stride towards his room. Harry seemed to unconsciously search for friendly contact, if the amount of soft pats he had given during the last few days was any indication. He wanted someone he could speak normally with...

Decision taken, he chose to hang out with Death for the remaining of the day. The immortal being may act childish and teasing, but he was still the closest friend he had, the only one he could speak freely with not only about this world but about many other, long past experiences.

AUTHOR NOTE:

Aaaand that was it! So, I took the de-memorizing idea from "Fantastic Beasts and where to find them" film, which was quite an epic scene in the movie and ranked among my favorites.

Oh, and before I forget, Demiurge is mostly bothered by Harry caring about deaths/safety of people he has no connection to, since he considers it a threat somewhat. Not only him, I think any other Floor Guardian would have thought as much, thinking the outside-world was kind of stealing their Lord away from his rightful home even when everything inside Nazarik is obviously so much better.

Also, I forgot to mention it last chapter, but from this point forwards things will differ more from the light novels. I don't have anything set in stone except for the ending, the very last chapter, so let's see how things turn out in the end. Wish me luck!

Hope you liked it and see ya' around, even if not as soon as I'd like to.

…What follows is just an author's rant and has no relevance to the story. Feel free to skip the next words; you're not missing anything important.

Truth be told, I had wanted to change so many things when I started to write. But when I arrived to the Lamp chapter, basically the first plot-important chapter that was completely different from the light novels, I got so many negative reviews~ so, being my first story, I got scared and back-pedaled at an amazing pace, with thoughts like "Nope, not ready to write original things yet, fuck it let's stick to the original plot. That's bound to be easier…"

Now, that I've written… not more stories per se, but at least more chapters, I feel confident enough that even if it ends up badly, at least I'd have had more fun doing it. So, let's see how it turns out shall we?

Thanks for those that stayed following this story, I don't know if I'm imagining things, but I could swear I lost quite a few readers in the last chapter! haha how sad, but it can't be helped. If there are a few that liked it, then I'll keep writing and publishing it, instead of writing to myself like I was used to.

Writing is a really relaxing hobby after all.

*Words in this chapter: 7.6K = 16 pages in Word.