As all this was going on, anther group was making commotion in Whistlewood Forest, which was near the southern edge of the continent. Even though it was night time, they were active right now, and it was quite intense.

Or rather, it appeared to be an all out brawl between two sides. Originally, it was just supposed to be a simple request, purify a buriel site, that was why they arrived originally. But, by the time they got here, everything was suddenly blown out of proportions to what they were originally told.

"I cant believe of all the things, of all the threats, it would be an army of undead!" Rayheart mentioned, slicing through another zombie with her holy sword and turning it to ash. Yulari meanwhile cut through a few more with her swords, cutting through their heads to destroy them while also doing a backflip and cutting through two more.

"Just remember! You cant just cut off the head or cut them in half, not without a Holy Sword anyways. Destroy the brains Yulari, or otherwise turn them to ash!"

Kotari threw a fireball at an enemy with one hand, while letting loose a beam of holy light from the other. That said, his accuracy could use some work, because even if his barriers were on point, his attack magic seemed less skilled.

Incidentally, in this world, zombies were not slow. They were undead, and they certainly looked like they were rotting, but trace magical power left in the body kept them together. As such, unbound by the brain's mental limitations and with the residual mana having some sort of restoration effect and animation effect upon them, housed by wild or angry spirits, zombies could and would use their fully physical abilities.

That said, they were still decomposing corpses, so they would be stronger dead then alive. But, it was still quite the shock for Rayheart and Yulari who were used to the idea of zombies being slow. To them, fast zombies were just unnatural.

"I am chanting the spell, I put some precasts and triggers up, but I cant help until I am done! Hold them off!"

Kotori warned them, as he began to chant his spell. At the moment, he was standing in front of a cursed tomb, having dropped to his knees as he crossed his arms and his hands reached his shoulders, the way that one prayed in this world. And also often used as a symbol to enhance Holy Attribute Magic.

Their job right now was to purify these grounds, so the zombie assaults upon the town of Helgram would cease. For two weeks now, every night once the sun set, the undead would rise and storm the town, and they were slowly whitling down their defenses and manpower. No matter how many they killed, more came.

"Seriously, what is with all of them?!" Rayheart said, slashing one while kicking another backwards, as she brought her sword back around and cut through the zombie next as it got back up.

"Rumor has it, this was the site of a mass buriel for an enemy army. Apparently, they didn't like the kingdom all that much, and I am sure a mass grave did not help things at all!" Yulari replied, as she kicked down another. "More importantly, where is..."

"Sorry I am late!" a female voice rang out, as what appeared to be an agile dwarf jumped over a zombie horde and landed in front of them. As the zombie horde approached her though, an explosion suddenly rang out and many of them were turned to ash or just rendered scattered upon this nighttime battlefield. "As expected, I was able to improve the explosives a bit!"

"That is great, Vivienne!" Rayheart called out, drawing the dwarf girl's ire.

"I told you, just call me Viv!"

Viv said this as she pulled out a crossbow, and began firing at the zombies. Placing a bolt right through their head each time, she did not let up at all.

"This reminds me of one of those arcade shooter games!"

Incidentally, she was also a Reincarnator, the only one the group had found during this whole time.

"Are you picturing their heads as cultist heads or something?"

"No, but that is a great idea Yulari!"

"Guys, please dont just go into thinking revenge is a good way to cope with a situation".

"Relax, we wont go murder crazy, but it does help me feel a bit better!"

Incidentally, she had also been kidnapped and nearly sacrificed by cultists. But right now, their main concern was stopping a potential zombie apocolypse.

"Just to confirm, these guys seem to be increasing in numbers I think!" Yulari shouted, as a few more clawed their way out of the ground, donned in heavy armor with much nicer looking weapons then the other soldiers.

"Its like the town theorized too! Someone is trying to raise a damn zombie army here I think! Kotori?!"

Rayheart asked her little brother for help, but when she looked back, she saw he was still chanting the spell. Considering the level of his holy magic, and the size of the area they were purifying, it made sense. This distraction let a zombie get close and strike at Rayheart, but a barrier suddenly appeared in front of her.

Kotori's specialty...time displaced spells. Something only the future sage of this world could do, and only with his natural power...

Rayheart thoguht that, feeling very proud of her little brother while slicing the arm off of the zombie that attacked her, before cutting it in half all together. It was stronger and tougher, but its still a holy sword against a zombie. The winner was obvious.

However, one zombie was not the horde, and the numbers were increasing. Viv backed up the most, while Yulari and Rayheart took more defensive positions, but they were pouring in. A few went behind them and charged towards Kotori, but they found themselves suddenly turned to ash from holy barriers that Kotori set up ahead of time.

"Kotori, please chant faster!" Rayheart shouted, as Viv used more explosives. They made dents, but the zombies were getting worse and worse.

"You dare stop the rise of my great army?!" a deathly shrill shrieked into their minds, as one undead floated above the army. With a staff in its hand, and magical power swirling around it, its identity was obvious.

"A lich".

"Great...you have got to be kidding me! A lich, seriously?!"

Great, I cant go and fight the lich. If I move, the defensive line will collapse and the zombies will reach Kotori!

And since it was flying, it was an extra level of difficulty.

"Kotori, chant much much faster!"

Viv immediately fired various bolts at the Lich, some of which exploded upon contact with its magic barriers while some were just deflected. She loaded in a special mythril bolt and fired that next, and it seemed to penetrate the barrier. However, a focused barrier appeared behind it and stopped it in its tracks.

"You have got to be kidding me...this thing is toying with us, its flying up there just to taunt us!"

The lich screeched at them as more mana swirled around it, but nothing seemed to work no matter how hard they tried. Meanwhile, the mana became to manifest as a spell with a blackish aura.

"Its a Death Attribute spell...this wont be good!" Yulari shouted. Rayheart cut through another three zombies, but more and more were swarming her, and some whose limbs were blown off but not destroyed were crawling towards them on the ground, adding an extra level of danger.

"...and so, the holy mother guards us from all evil. Angelic Purification!"

But in that moment, Kotori managed to cast his spell. The lich cast a magic to try and counter it, but when the two came into conflict Kotori's magic seemed to win out easily, pushing the wraith back as he faded from their sight. The zombies meanwhile seemed to be reduced to ash, as the bright light errupted across the nighttime forest. A warm and friendly glow could be felt, making them feel safe and secure.

However, as the zombies fell, they heard a thud behind them. The group turned around, only to see that Kotori had passed out. The young boy didn't look good either, as the color had drained from his body by the time they made it over to check on him, to see if he was okay.

"Kotori! Kotori, what is wrong?!"

"Its mana exhaustion, of an extreme scale I think. He used too much mana at once, and he used it too fast" Viv told Rayheart, as she stepped on some glass. Looking down, she saw several empty vials at their feet. "And he probably raised it too much, and used too much mana then his body should be able to handle".

"Kotori is unresponsive...we dont know if this is something the Lich might have done to him though. We need to take him back to town, get professional healers to take a look at him! We are making a run for it!"

Rayheart declared that, while picking up Kotori and carrying him on her back. The sole boy of their party right now was her little brother after all, so naturally she was concerned quite a bit when things like this happened.

And so, the heroes party rushed towards the town.

"I told you...I am fine now" Kotori said, having woken up again as he was having a medical specialist give him a checkover. He was a man who looked like he was about twenty to twenty five mentioned, with a medicine bag with him full of herbs.

"I would feel better if you let us give you a full checkup though..."

"We dont have time for that...we should report the quest completion".

In truth, Kotori just wanted to get into his own bed and get some sleep after what had happened, but he didn't want the others to have some weird overreaction. He felt fine, and nothing seemed to be wrong.

"He should get examined by some priests to be safe, but based on my examination, there is nothing wrong with him" the man said, giving a slight bow. "Also, this is free of charge. Thank you for saving our city. Also, eat some of these. They are Rydra roots, they help restore energy and relieve fatigue, as well as restoring and purifying magical energy within oneself".

"It was our pleasure. Thank you".

Hearing that, the group left, although everyone was still mindful of Kotori.

"Well, we stopped a zombie apocalypse today, so I say we celebrate!"

"We have been up all night. Kotori is only a ten year old boy, he should get some rest".

"Yeah, he really should".

"Yes yes, I will go to bed...you all are really overprotective, but whatever, staying up all night left me tired still. Just, make sure you all get some rest as well".

He muttered that, as the group returned to their inn.

Once Kotori had undressed, he layed down on his stomach with a blanket and a blanket pulled over him. His clothes and shoes were folded up and ready for him by the bed, and he was now enjoying a nice day snooze. Rayheart stealthily pulled the covers up more over him, so he would be comfortable, before leaving the room.

"Okay. He is asleep. Its time for operation lets give Kotori a surprise birthday party!"

Yes, in truth, Kotori was no longer a ten year old boy, but an eleven year old boy. As such, Rayheart was determined to give him an amazing birthday.

This was their overall amazing plan, but they worked really hard to prevent Kotori, who was a future sage, to catch on.

Meanwhile, the medicine man who treated Kotori, or rather, Demon Lord Rassle, sat at the counter with an amused face.

"So, that person has finally started making their move".

As he muttered that, Ritz appeared next to him in an instant, before he was even called.

"Good, excelent timing Ritz. I want you to get something for me, since it looks like it is about time for the next event to occur".

"Of course. What is it that you need, master?"

At that point, a devlish grin appeared across Demon Lord Rassle's face, as if he had a thought of great entertainment and pleasure. A sort of smile that felt mischevous and dangerous, and even demonic in its very nature. A bad and naughty smile of treachery.

"I want you to retrieve an Elderstone. After all, I want to make sure things get set up just right".

"An Elderstone?! Right...of course, master. I will obtain it at once".

And just like that, Ritz disappeared once more.

"Rayheart, the legendary hero who has the Holy Sword. I wonder, what solution will you reach? What is the true depth of your resolve? How much do you truly wish to be a hero? Its time for your first test...it may not be the nastiest, the hardest, or the most difficult decision you will make in your life, but let this serve as your first point of growth".

Muttering those words to himself, all he had was a nasty smile as he awaited to see what the future would hold.