“Sir, what will happen on the mountain?”
Although neither Bernhardt nor Shade had uttered that specific word during their previous conversation, the perceptive girl had sensed something. Seeing that Shade was truly about to leave, Miss Swift asked with a hint of trepidation.
“There is no need to worry.”
The Outsider patted the shoulder of the flaxen-haired young witch.
“Keep a close watch over this place. The situation outside was worsening as I ran here. I believe the final battle is about to erupt; you are now the highest authority here.”
He smiled and prepared to depart, but Miss Swift caught his sleeve.
“Just as that vampire said, must you really go up the mountain? The path is treacherous. Souls from every era have appeared; the In-Between is releasing them into our world in full, regardless of whether those souls are willing.”
“I must go.”
With his hands behind his back, Shade patted the fishing rod he had carried all the way.
“I must go.”
“Then please, do not yearn. Yearning will draw souls connected to you into reality, creating more enemies for you. Good luck.”
As he crossed the city once more toward the entrance of Mount Sicar, there were actually far fewer undead on the streets than before, but the elements of whispering within the thick white mist had grown stronger.
Sounds of explosions and roars of unknown origin echoed from every corner of the city. The light emanating from the five churches in the city was radiating across the entire region with increasing intensity.
The ritual of the “Scar of the Holy Tree” was nearing completion. In the city, which was being transformed into a sanctuary, evil spirits were being rapidly expelled. However, this also meant that in the mountainous regions where the power of civilization was thin, the fighting would be even more fierce.
The “Scar of the Holy Tree” ritual could only be truly completed after all evil spirits in reality were expelled; therefore, the current battle was likely the decisive one.
Tracking the red glow from the city to the foot of the mountain, he encountered almost no resistance. But as he approached the mountain forests, the dense crowds of souls patrolling within the thick white mist were nearly as numerous as those he had encountered in the In-Between.
There were traces of the ritual on the mountain ground, but not every inch of land was bathed in the light of divine arts. Bursts of spiritual light appeared occasionally at higher elevations, and abnormal golden lightning flashed intermittently in the high sky.
Even with the blessing of the Witch Emperor upon him, Shade inevitably encountered fierce combat after ascending the mountain.
With the divinity gone from his soul, the resulting sense of emptiness left his mental state in poor condition. Without the Night Watcher in his hand, he couldn't even use solar rays for area-of-effect attacks.
Though he wasn't swallowed by a tide of undead, every step forward cost him more time. Holding two Moonlight Greatswords, the radiance of the silver moon accompanied Shade's every stride, yet the undead rushing out from the dense forest seemed endless.
Fortunately, as a silver-white radiance erupted above the mountain peak, the phantom of a giant red rose bloomed in the sky.
A massive brass Thirteen-Ring Life Ring appeared above the rose phantom. Subsequently, as countless crimson petals drifted toward the mountains, the thick mist in the region actually thinned considerably.
Shade even discovered that the petals were physical when he touched them. According to “her” prompt, consuming these petals could restore spent Spirit and even heal injuries.
“The Thirteen-Ring Warlock remaining in reality is Principal Andre Pigman. As expected, he would definitely act at a time like this.”
Shade looked up at the giant blooming rose with awe. He remembered Grandma Cassandra mentioning that Professor Pigman had come to support Midhillburg with a Grade 0 Relic. The Church's three Thirteen-Rings were all in the In-Between; only this Principal of St. Byron's was in reality.
“A Thirteen-Ring combined with a Grade 0 Relic... truly impressive.”
The falling rose petals soon covered the ground. The slight dissipation of the white mist caused most of the violent undead to hide back within the sheltered forests, instantly reducing the pressure of his advance.
However, this state did not last long; the uncontrolled In-Between soon regained the upper hand. As the roses in the sky vanished, the white mist surged back, and Shade was forced to face the dense crowds of enemies once more.
“This won't do. At this rate, by the time I catch up to them, it will be too late!”
Just as he thought this, a sudden *bang* of a gunshot rang out from the side of the mountain path, and a familiar figure leaped from the woods.
Dressed in the uniform of the Delarion Royal Army and holding a pistol, it was a corporal. He was the young corporal who had died before Shade's eyes when Shade first entered the In-Between, the one who had asked him to deliver a relic to the Red Water Camp.
The agile soul leaped from the forest, and the transparent bullets fired from his weapon quickly drew the attention of the enemies blocking Shade's path.
“Sir, I'll lure them away for you, go quickly!”
Without even giving Shade time to thank him, the corporal led the enemies away and vanished into the mountain forest.
Shade pursed his lips, looked toward the dense woods, and continued his ascent.
As he ventured deeper into Mount Sicar, he could gradually sense the presence of the Church's Ring Warlocks. The appearance of the roses had given them a chance to rest and readjust, but the fighting remained incredibly intense. Figures occasionally flew overhead; it was unclear whether they were high-ring warlocks from the Church or another organization.
After using the Grade 0 Relic, Professor Pigman did not act again. Instead, the traces of the divine ritual on the mountain ground grew brighter shortly after, with spiritual light and thick mist intertwining as if conducting a final test.
Not only the Church's Ring Warlocks, but Shade also heard dense and violent gunfire. The Delarion Royal Army, coordinating with the Church to blockade the forests, must have also encountered undead attacks. Bullets had no effect on spiritual entities, but the mountains held more than just spirits; physical enemies like ghouls and zombies were their true opponents.
The red glow of Grace and Helen first ascended the mountain along the main road, but then unexpectedly turned into the dense forest. As Shade entered the woods, vines immediately shot out from the surrounding trees, entangling his legs. Only then did Shade notice in the darkness that these were not trees, but rare undead creatures—Tree Demons.
He swung his sword to sever the vines at his feet, but more vines continued to shoot in from all directions.
“Silver Moon!”
The erupting moonlight temporarily repelled the withered vines, but before Shade could leave, the vines surged back.
“This place has become a Tree Demon Grove. I can't waste too much time here.”
Suddenly, the sound of wind brushed past his ear, and a transparent, dark object flew from beside him, triggering a violent explosion upon landing in the woods. Shade turned in surprise to see an agent of the Kingdom of Carsonric—Professor Higgins, whom he had buried in Mount Sicar.
The spirit of the bespectacled linguistics professor, holding steam bombs obtained from some unknown source, rapidly threw them at the Tree Demons while shouting
“Grey Hawk, go!”
Professor Higgins' soul had been sent directly into death by Shade at the time and should not have appeared here. His current appearance didn't seem like a soul, but rather a sort of obsession, similar to the shadows that lure living people into the In-Between.
“But Professor...”
“Go! Remember, eternal loyalty!”
Professor Higgins' “soul” entangled the Tree Demons, allowing Shade to escape the grove and continue deeper into the forest.
The red glow did not go further up the mountain but instead lingered halfway up. Simultaneously, Shade keenly noticed that the white mist in the mountains was gathering above Midhillburg below, gradually forming a giant mist cocoon over the city, as if nurturing something.
A silver-white light pierced the sky as the Principal of St. Byron's flew toward the giant white mist cocoon, though this had nothing to do with Shade for the moment.
The forest was lush, and to save time, Shade leaped between branches. However, he soon discovered that blood-colored streaks had appeared within the thick white mist. As the blood mist permeated the white mist, the trail tracked by [Blood Echo] became intermittent.
While it hadn't disappeared completely, it was enough to make Shade lose his direction in the nighttime fog.
“Damn it, that ritual is affecting the power of blood.”
Mount Sicar was so vast that searching for a lost target in the dead of night was nearly impossible.
But just then, a young lady wearing the robes of the Midhillburg Mechanical Academy slowly walked out of the mist. The transparent spirit looked at Shade and then pointed toward the southeast.
Shade was stunned.
“You are... one of those killed by the serial killer Henry Wall...”
He hurriedly thanked her and entered the mist again. Following the direction indicated by the soul, he indeed saw the traces of the Blood Echo once more. As he continued, whenever Shade lost the target, a new female soul would emerge to guide him.
Their appearances were close to evil spirits, with their chests and abdomens sliced open to reveal transparent organs, yet their expressions remained gentle.
Although Shade did not know them, he guessed they were all innocents murdered by Henry Wall. Now released by the In-Between, they had returned to the world of the living.
Shade had done many things in Midhillburg this autumn, but he had never imagined that he would be helped by those who had already departed.
He continued to track Grace and Helen, but the direction unexpectedly turned back down the mountain.
“Are they going in circles?”
He followed them down through the forest, then realized the current location looked familiar. The spirits of the victims had all appeared; no one else would come to guide him, but Shade had already guessed the destination.
Before he could think further, a heavy sound emerged from the dense forest ahead. Accompanied by a slight tremor of the ground, the undead of a heavy-armored Headless Knight walked out from the woods.
This was a member of the Sage-grade relic [Headless Knight Order] that had assaulted the In-Between Cathedral. Now, blood-colored thorns entwined its body, as if it were being controlled by the thickening blood mist.
“The vampires prepared quite thoroughly, even utilizing the undead. But I don't have time to tangle with them now.”
He intended to avoid it, but the undead knight had already caught up. Relying on its spiritual nature, the knight charged through the trees, raising its longsword to cleave down toward Shade's head—
*Clang!*
But it wasn't Shade's sword that blocked the attack. A familiar figure leaped from the forest, blocking the knight with a rapier before actively engaging it.
It was a lean middle-aged man dressed in a black formal suit, with a somewhat ridiculous red flower tucked behind his ear. It was Count Dalark of Candra, the third nail who had once dueled Shade in the mist.
“Mr. Hamilton, go quickly! I'll hold him off!”
Though his body remained lean, his spirit was remarkably healthy.
“Count?!”
“Leave this place quickly! The In-Between is nurturing the final undead aggregate; even you cannot defeat it. Go, find the Church of the True God!”
As he spoke, the Count fought the Headless Knight, moving backward until he too vanished into the intertwining white and blood-colored mist.
The giant white cocoon above Midhillburg was trembling; the final power of the In-Between was about to emerge. Although the blood mist created by the vampire ritual had not spread, its color grew increasingly deep.
Shade watched the departing figure of Count Dalark, momentarily speechless.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the sky. Looking up, he saw undead in the form of unknown birds battling Ring Warlocks using divine arts, flying further into the distance. A piece of black metal fell as a result, igniting the nighttime forest.
In the mist, in the fire, and in the gunpowder smoke, a voice sounded in his ear
【You aren't the only good person. Outsider, don't think of this world as being so terrible.】
“She” was chuckling
【In this era, you have left deep memories for many who have departed. That they happened to reunite with you tonight is not an arrangement of fate. Originally, the living must yearn for the dead to enter the In-Between; now, the dead remember the living, so they appear in reality, by your side.】
The Outsider remained silent, continuing to walk into the thickening blood mist.
【Kind acts aren't always meaningful, but at least at this moment, they have meaning, don't they?】