Let's go back in time…

While the defenders of Corpsenburg were sighing in relief after their first night of survival, Maximilian was awakening to a strange scene.

Lin-Lin was still asleep, nothing unsual seemed to have happened to her. What Maximilian was surprised about was the big cocoon, placed exactly where Octavia had gone to sleep the night before.

*Okay...that's strange, to say the least.*

Maximilian stood up and went near the white sphere. Putting a hand on it, he could feel the warm aura coming from inside, that and the rhythm of a heartbeat.

He scanned it, making sure what he had in front of him was still Octavia, and not something else. It was still her, but her class had changed. In place of “Monster Spider", she was now an "Arachne".

*Arachne...is it the same as in my old world's legend? A human/spider hybrid?*

Not really knowing what to do, Maximilian decided to call to the one sleeping inside the cocoon.

"Octavia? Can you hear me?"

The cocoon shook a bit, then nothing happened for a few seconds, before it started to tremble. Maximilian stepped back, giving space for Octavia who visibly wanted to get out.

The ruckus woke up Lin-Lin who, when she saw the scene, quickly jumped on her feet and came next to her master, spear ready in her hands.

"Master? What is this? Where is Octavia?"

"Two answers in one; this is Octavia...or at least what is inside."

Tearing through the cocoon's silk, a long white and golden leg came into view, quickly follow by a second one. What appeared next surprised the man and panda girl, two human hands. They grabbed the cocoon and tore it open, finally revealing the new appearance of Octavia.

The upper body of a beautiful girl, or more a young lady if Maximilian had to judge by the spider lady's chest, with white hair so long and thin Maximilian first thought they were silk thread coming from her head all the way down her back. As she blinked, Maximilian remarked that her eyes had the colour of rubies, but she only had two now, the six others replaced by tiny ruby-red points on her forehead.

She took a few steps, supported by eight spider legs attached to a spider body that began where her belly button was supposed to be. There wasn't a clear frontier between the human and spider body part. It looked a lot like the human parts had come from the spider body, like a flower would have grown from a tree, it was hard to clearly say where the spider parts ended and the human parts began.

But, after all, there was nothing not pleasing to look at. Her spider parts had kept the same theme of colour; white with golden streaks, but had changed a bit in form. The simplest way to describe it would be that it had taken a more feminine form. Her body, when she was only spider, was big, thick. It was impossible for a stranger to say if Octavia was a male or a female at that time. But now, as if by a will to embrace her new human lady parts, her spider parts had taken a more thinly elegant form.

On the other hand, a quick scan assured Maximilian she hadn't lost any defences in the process, far from it actually. When her spider parts became thinner, it also changed in the composition, losing for good her "furry" texture to take a stronger, bonelike appearance. The white fur was now like smooth ivory bones with streaks of gold running on it.

"Octavia?"

Maximilian called after her. The spider lady turned on her eight legs, facing her two companions.

"Are you okay?"

She looked at her hands for a bit, discovering the new appendages.

"I...think so...!!!"

She spoke without thinking about it, but was clearly surprised when she realised she did. Lin-Lin seemed as surprised as her.

"Octavia, you can talk?"

"I...yes...yes! I can talk! This is my voice, I can speak with you now!"

The big smile on the young lady's face didn't let any doubt about the fact she was happy about it.

Lin-Lin stepped further, turning around the new Octavia, observing her.

"Wow, you are so beautiful, Octavia. Your hairs are so long, the gold on you+r legs and abdomen is so shiny. What do you think, Master?"

Octavia stepped further, fidgeting a bit. The scene was as funny as cute, at least more than it would have been with her as a spider before.

"Does...my form please you, Master?"

Maximilian arched an eyebrow.

"You are calling me Master too?"

She nodded, a smile on her face.

"Yes! Maximilian is Lin-Lin and Octavia's master. You guide us and teach us, we follow and learn from you. When it is time to fight, we wait for your order. We trust you, you are our Master."

Octavia's phrase made Maximilian smile. A lot of what she said, he was kind of aware of it, but hearing it from her mouth was a pleasant feeling. He scratched the back of his head while smiling.

"Now… now, if you talk like that, you're going to make me blush...to answer you, Octavia, I think this new form suits you quite? well. But, in the end, it is not me you should please, but yourself..."

With a hand gesture, he made a mirror of water appeared.

"Now look at yourself, does your new form please you?"

For a few long minutes, Octavia stood in front of the mirror, examining her reflection. She first touched her cheeks, then blinked several times. She passed a hand through her long hair to discover how they felt. She passed a hand over her skin, from her belly to her shoulders, passing on her breast while doing so. She let out at little gasp when her fingers brushed against her nipples, blushing a bit. Seeing that, Maximilian turned, giving her a bit of privacy.

"So...Lin-Lin, take care of breakfast please, I have to look for something to wear for Octavia."

"Good idea, master. She can't go around like that, without any clothes on her."

This seemed to surprise Octavia.

"What? Why? I wasn't wearing clothes before. Is there a reason why I have to wear some now?"

"There are two actually...hey!"

Lin-Lin had just gently elbowed her master's side.

"Master! That's indecent!"

The panda girl's reaction made the man laughed, then he went to look through the Havenbag, already having an idea.

....................................................................................................................................................

"You can do what…?"

"I can weave something to cover my chest, Master."

"Good. Weave some underwear for yourself then, I have something for you to put above it."

In a few seconds, Octavia had made some kind of silk bra around her chest. Basic, but doing what it needed to. Maximilian turned around when she told him it was done.

"Impressive. You're even quicker now with your weaving silk than you were before."

"Indeed. My transformation seems to have accentuated my skills. I think I'll be better at fighting too."

"Really? We'll see about that. For now, put this on. I think the size will be just right for you."

She did as told. Maximilian had given her a Mithril chainmail, just a bit longer than her human parts, so it looked like some kind of short robe on her. Above it, he helped her putting on new armour parts, light silvery metal so close to her body you could have sworn it had been painted on her. The armour was covering her bust, arms and belly. All were different parts, so the Mithril vest underneath would have to protect the slight space between them.

"Like this, your upper body will be protected. I could give you a full armour, but I don't want your movements to be impeded. Move a bit, let's see if it fits well..."

Doing what he asked of her, she stretched around, moving her arms up and down, turning her upper body on one side then the other, all was fine.

"Perfect. I think I have some armour for your underparts, but I'll have to adjust them before I give them to you. They seem to be a bit too big for you at the moment."

"Don't worry, master. My underparts are naturally resistant and....I think I'm still going to grow."

Maximilian thought for a bit.

"Hmmm...you're right. Seeing you, it is evident you are still young so it is almost certain you will grow again...Very well, we'll see about it when the time comes. Lin-Lin, how long for breakfast to be ready?"

"I'm warming some soup, master. Give me ten minutes or so."

"Perfect, it gives us time."

Octavia tilted her head on the side.

"Time for what, master?"

"To see how well you have evolved, of course. Same as before, attack with all you have. Try to touch me, ten minutes, surprise me."

"Yes, master!"

Her evolution had at least the effect of a better confidence. They went off to a bit on the side, then Octavia attacked.

When Maximilian had scanned her earlier, he had seen all of her stats had gained some points, even magic, but that was something he would check with her later. What the scan didn't tell him was how well she was now using her stats and skills.

Everything he taught her the training session before, she remembered. Not coming straight at him anymore, she was running and jumping from left to right, right to left, at an impressive speed.

"Very good, Octavia. Your movements have improved a lot."

Maximilian was evading the Arachne with ease but was willingly slowing down to accentuate her feeling of improvement.

At that moment, Octavia managed to surprise him. She spat a little ball of web that extended just before it was supposed to hit him. The man jumped up by reflex but was surprised by Octavia who followed him in the air. She hands split the air, strings of web coming from her fingers. In an instant, a gigantic net was formed behind Maximilian and she pulled, using the net to pull him in her direction.

Her two front legs were stretched forward, like two spears ready to impale him.

Using both hands, Maximilian gripped the two legs, only to have Octavia put her arms around his neck, a big smile on her face.

"Touched you!"

They landed together, Maximilian laughing heartily.

"Well done, well done, Octavia. You managed to surprise me."

They let go of each other and Maximilian patted Octavia's head, a gesture she seemed to like as much as Lin-Lin.

"Are you proud of me, Master?"

"Indeed. You clearly have improved a lot. That means the training from now on will be harder. Think you will be able to handle it?"

"Yes, Master!"

They all ate together. Maximilian tried to explain to Lin-Lin what happened with Octavia, only to have the panda girl telling him she heard them talking the day before while she was on his back, and later when he thought she was sleeping.

"My my, aren't we a cunning girl, my dear Lin-Lin...that means you were faking when I was carrying you?"

"NO! I...I mean, not really. I was unconscious, but not all the time, that's all...please forgive me, Master."

The timid answer of the panda girl made Maximilian laughed.

"Don't worry, Lin-Lin. After all, I was planning to explain everything to you at some point...so, what do you know, exactly?"

"Hmm, it's your blood that allowed Octavia to transform but you weren't sure about it, so you decided to test it on her, but only if she was willing to."

"That was the idea. Now, it is clear this is working. I mean, it's that or the most beautiful natural evolution I have seen so far."

Octavia didn't say a thing but suddenly seemed very interested in the bottom of her soup bowl, a bit of red on her cheeks.

"Now, Lin-Lin, I want your attention please..."

The panda girl straightened herself.

"I'm all ears, Master."

"Now that I know my blood can help you evolve, we have to be careful. I want you two to become stronger, but I don't want you to depend on that to grow. What I mean is, I'm willing to give you and Octavia some of my blood when your progression comes to a stop, but that mustn't be used as a shortcut in your training. I gave some to Octavia, but only as a test. Now that we're sure it works, I have the same rules for her as I have for you. Do you have questions?"

"Actually, yes, Master. You said that it would be a shortcut, but hasn't Octavia gained power thanks to your blood?"

"Indeed, a bit. But, thanks to my scan, I know for a fact she hasn't won a single level. It was the same with Giliane. What my blood seems to do is make your class change, and you can win a bit of power by doing so, but it doesn't really boost your stats that much."

Lin-Lin seemed quite surprised by what he just said.

"But...when you two fought earlier, she was clearly better at it than before."

"You are right, she is better today than she was yesterday. But it is more because she used what she learned than just thanks to my blood. Now I won't say it didn't help her a bit, that would be lying, but it is just a slight improvement."

Lin-Lin nodded.

"I...think I got it...so you think now is not the time for me to have some of your blood, is that it?"

"What do YOU think, Lin-Lin?"

The panda girl looked at her hands, covered by the gauntlets her master gave her.

"I...I think I still have things to learn. I can still improve before I evolve."

When she looked up, she was rewarded by her master smiling warmly at her.

"That's what I wanted to hear. The answer you gave me proves I can trust you with this..."

Maximilian took a small string from the Havenbag. On the middle of it, he let some of his blood drop from a cut on his palm. The drops joined together to form a blood red stone, the size of a playing dice. The crystallised blood formed into some kind of pendant Maximilian attached around Lin-Lin's neck.

"I think you are serious enough to decide yourself when the time will be right. I know you won't abuse the gift."

She took the string between her fingers, looking at the stone reflecting the sunlight.

"Is it...the same as with my slave's clothes?"

"Indeed. And as you did before, I trust your judgement will be just fine. Now, Lin-Lin, you have to be very careful. This present I give you, you mustn't let it fall into the wrong hands. Keep it on you all the times, do not lose it. And, when you judge the time to evolve has come, simply put the stone in your mouth, the rest will happen by itself."

Lin-Lin nodded at her master and put the pendant under her dress, hiding it from others view.

"I'll watch over it, Master. I promise no one will take it from me."

Maximilian patted the panda girl's head, to what she smiled with contentment.

"That's all I wanted to hear."

...................................................................................................................................................

They walked for several hours. Octavia was having fun running as fast as she could a hundred meters away before coming back, enjoying the wind in her hair.

Maximilian had an idea of training for Lin-Lin while they were walking. He made her threw stones with magic at him, stones that he stopped mid-air before throwing them back at her and she had to create a wall to protect herself from the projectiles.

She missed the first attempt, but quickly got the idea and did very well at that exercise. They practised while advancing and stopped at midday to eat something.

"I'm going to prepare something to eat. While I do that, I want you two to train together."

"How so, Master?"

"Well, fight each other, of course. I have health potions if you hurt yourself...but please, don't go and kill each other, okay?"

The two girls looked at each other than answered in one voice.

"Yes, Master!"

Maximilian was careful to sit facing them while cooking, observing them sparring.

With her spear in one hand, Lin-Lin was slowly stepping on one side while Octavia was doing the same on the other side, keeping the panda girl in front of her. They almost made a complete turn before Lin-Lin used earth magic to throw a rock at Octavia who jumped to evade it. The spider lady spat some web balls at the panda girl who made a stone wall come out of the ground to protect herself.

They exchanged one or two ranged attacks like that before Octavia started to quickly run around Lin-Lin who was doing her best to follow her with her eyes, ready to evade. Suddenly, the Arachne jumped straight in her direction, her two front legs ready to pierce. Turning on herself, Lin-Lin evaded the thrusting attack and tried to hit Octavia's side. The Arachne parried the spear with one of her middle spider legs, using her spider anatomy to defend herself. That surprised the panda girl who lost her spear in the counter attack.

Suddenly, the Arachne jumped straight in her direction, her two front legs ready to pierce. Turning on herself, Lin-Lin evaded the thrusting attack and tried to hit Octavia's side. The Arachne parried the spear with one of her middle spider legs, using her spider anatomy to defend herself. That surprised the panda girl who lost her spear in the counter attack.

Seeing a chance, Octavia faced Lin-Lin to attack but was driven away by a stone wall coming out of the ground just in front of her. Not losing a second, the Arachne jumped on it, deciding to surprise the panda girl by using it.

Surprised she was, seeing Octavia just above her, smirking at her adversary. By reflex, she broke the wall in a hit.

From where he was sitting, Maximilian was very impressed by the two.

*They have really improved, Lin-Lin managed to break her stone wall like it was nothing. I wonder if she has noticed she was using earth magic to do so? Is she doing it instinctively already? She’s learning very quickly. And Octavia, she’s adapted to her new body perfectly...what now?*

Octavia had fallen, turning on herself to land correctly on the ground. She was almost immediately attacked once again by Lin-Lin who was now using her claws to try and touch her. Was it by reflex or a premeditated attack, Maximilian didn't know, but it was effective. The Arachne was on the defensive for a bit, forced to step back a bit by the furious attack of Lin-Lin. They arrived where the panda-girl had lost her weapon. Finally retrieving her momentum, Octavia attacked too, using her human arms to tie down Lin-Lin with her web while her two front legs were keeping her occupied.

The fight ended when Lin-Lin felt some web on her and rolled to get back her spear. She pointed it at Octavia, right at the same moment she was pointed at by the two front legs of the Arachne, the two only a gesture away from killing the other. The two were breathing hard and deep, but it was a smile that could be seen on their faces.

They had their attention taken by a clapping sound coming from Maximilian, applauding them.

"And it's a draw. Well done, you two. You clearly earned your meal. Come and eat, I want to discuss the fight with you."

The two came over sitting with a growl, the fight having tired the ladies.

It was the first time Maximilian was seeing Octavia sit since her evolution. He remarked she had kept the same position as when she was a "normal" spider, sitting on her abdomen with her legs crossed under and before her.

Maximilian let them eat while he explained the few errors he saw them make, but didn't forget to congratulate them for the good points.

"...All in all, I'm content with what I've seen. Lin-Lin, once again, you made good use of magic in a combat situation. Octavia, I'm glad to say you have acclimated to your new body with ease, your counter attack when Lin-Lin attacked you from the side was very well made."

"That's right, I thought I had you. You surprised me."

"Thank you, you caught me with your surprise attack after you made me fall from your wall."

Maximilian was glad to see them on good terms after the fight was over.

"Good girls. That's the right spirit to have, to learn from each other. Give your all when you fight and bond together while doing so. It's a good thing to fight seriously, but never forget that you are companions no matter what."

"Yes, Master." They both said together.

....................................................................................................................................................

After they ate some dry meat, soup and bread, plus a bit of a health potion for both Lin-Lin and Octavia (That and a sip of a mana potion for the panda girl), they continued on the road, a light breeze making the flowers and grass slowly dance along the way.

"This is truly is a good weather to travel with."

"You're right, Master. We've had good luck until now, the cold season won't come for some time, so it is still easy to travel."

"True it is...tell me, Lin-Lin, how are the cold seasons in these lands?"

"I...do not understand your question, Master."

"Is there a lot of snow, or does it get very rainy? Is there a lot of wind, does it get really cold, that's that kind of info I'm asking for."

"Oh, well...we usually have snow covering the fields, but not too much. It is still difficult to travel through, though."

"Why so?"

"I don't know how the nobles see it, but for us slaves and poor, it is not uncommon to not have shoes to wear, so...the snow burns like fire after a time."

"Ah yes, that is certainly not a good experience to have with snow...how about festivities? Is there some kind of events I should look out for?"

"I've heard the nobles organise some kind of party’s on the night of The Day of Carendar and..."

"Sorry, Lin-Lin, the day of whom? "

The panda girl looked at him, surprised by his question.

"Well, Carendar, Master."

"Who is it?"

"The God of Light...you've never heard of him?"

"Nope. The only one I know of is Odds."

"The Mischievous? Don't tell me...Master, are you worshipping him?"

The seriousness of the question interpellated Maximilian.

"What if I did? Is it a bad thing?"

"Yes and no... I'm not an expert, but I've heard Odds is parts of the Grey Gods."

*The last time I saw him, he was more black-and-white than grey...*

"What do you mean, ‘Grey’ Gods?"

This seemed to bother Lin-Lin a bit.

"Please excuse me if I don't explain as good as a priest, Master, slaves aren't exactly the most educated ones on the subject..."

"As usual, do your best, that's all I ask of you."

She took a deep breath.

"Very well. I've heard that the gods are "classified" into three categories. The White Gods are the most known, and it is commonly accepted that they are the one who you should pray when you are a person of virtue. Carendar is one of them, the Light Bringer. The Day of Carendar is on the last day of the year, and it is on that day's night that we celebrate the new year by thanking Carendar for bringing light to the year coming."

"That seems okay to me...what about the other categories?"

"There are the Black Gods...I'm sorry I really don't know a lot about them, Master. I just know that worshipping them is forbidden and punishable by law. I've heard of some who have been sentenced to death because they were found guilty of that."

"Isn't that a bit extreme? I mean, I can understand some people can have trouble accepting difference, but killing people because they worship some other god..."

*No...actually, people killing others for their belief seems to be a thing that doesn't change from one world to another...*

"It's because those are the Black Gods, master. They are the reason bad things exist in this world. They are the god’s demons worship, or so I've heard."

"The demons, you say...alright, the last one’s are the grey, right?"

She nodded.

"Yes, they are neither good nor bad. It is generally acceptable to worship them, but not by all. Odds, for example, is called The Mischievous..."

"And…?"

"Well, he is the God of the Frivolous, The Players. Those who worship him are those who reply on luck to guide their lives."

"See, Lin-Lin… you know far more on the subject then I thought you would. So, what you mean is that if I worship Odds, it means I am a frivolous man, is that it?"

Maximilian's words seemed to send an electric shock down Lin-Lin's spine, she stood before Maximilian and bowed.

"I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO SAY..."

She was interrupted by Maximilian's hand patting her head as he passed next to her.

"No hurt feelings, I was just joking."

Lin-Lin sighed as she ran back to Maximilian's side, pouting for a bit.

"Please don't do that, Master..."

"I'm sorry. To answer your question, It's not exactly that I worship him, I'm just thankful for what he has done for me, that's all."

"He has ‘done’ something for you?"

"I'll explain it all to you one day...and what about you? Is there a God you worship?"

"A Goddess; Valariane the Loving One."

Seeing the panda girl being all serious about it, Maximilian decided to ask for more information.

"Can you tell me more about her?"

"She is the Mother Goddess, protector of pregnant women, children and orphans. Since I've known about her, I have thanked her for every good thing that has happened to me."

"Very pious of you...I've never seen you praying, though..."

"That's because I only thank her. I don't need to be on my knees for that, Master."

"Good point...what about you, Octavia? Is there a God or a Goddess you worship?"

The Arachne kept silent for a bit before answering.

"...What is a God?"

The question surprised the other two.

"Well...that's a bit complicated...think of them like a powerful being you ask for help or thank when something good happens to you. They are the ones you generally ask advice when you don't know who to turn to anymore...Sorry, it's a bit hard to explain like that."

"Are you a god, Master?"

Maximilian nearly tripped on the road at her question.

"Me? Why that question, Octavia? What could make you think that?"

"Well...Master is powerful...if I have troubles or questions, it is to you or Lin-Lin I turn to...and I am thankful for all you've done for me already...isn't that the same?"

"Not really...but thanks for those words."

"If it's not that, then I don't know."

Lin-Lin seemed curious.

"You don't know about any God?"

Octavia looked at her.

"Lin-Lin...before today, I was only a spider. More intelligent than the others, yes, but a spider nonetheless. Spiders don't care about Gods and Goddess, we care about what or who we are going to eat, getting bigger and stronger, then mate and lay eggs."

"But...didn't your mother teach you this?"

Octavia sighed at the question.

"The only thing my mother has done for me is laying my egg. Once I was born, the only message for all her babies was ‘Eat or be eaten...’"

Lin-Lin seemed ashamed of herself. She looked down at her feet a bit while walking.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said what I said...It made you remember something horrible."

Octavia came on Lin-Lin's side and, imitating Maximilian, patted the panda girl's head. This surprised her and Maximilian.

"I know you are as happy as me when Master does this, so I thought..."

This made the panda girl laugh a bit. Maximilian sighed.

"You two are something..."

....................................................................................................................................................

"So, Lin-Lin, do you think we'll arrive at Corpsenburg today?" Maximillian asked.

"Not before the sun is down I'm afraid, Master. But if you are willing to walk through the night, we could reach the town before midnight."

"Alright then, I propose we don't stop and eat while walking, let's continue until we reach the town, is it alright for you two?"

The girls agreed. They didn't stop when the sun went down, the town not yet in sight. Maximilian took out some dry meat and bread to eat, giving some to the girls. They shared the waterskin, not bothering with cups.

To see where they were going, Maximilian made a sphere of fire appear, lighting the way before them.

"Magic is very useful..."

That came from Octavia, looking at the fire sphere while walking.

"Indeed it is...would you want to learn magic too, Octavia?"

The proposition put a big smile on the Arachne's face.

"Really? You would teach me too?"

"Of course. Just like Lin-Lin, all you have to do is choose an element to concentr..."

"Wind!"

The quick answer made Maximilian arched an eyebrow.

"That was a quick decision...may I ask why?"

"Because of the wind in my hair, Master. It is the feeling that represents my evolution the best, I like it so much. Every time I feel the wind on my face, I remember how you helped me grow and I'm overjoyed...is it a good reason?"

"The reason is good enough if you decide it is, Octavia. When we get back on the road after Corpsenburg's bridge, I'll help you with that."

The spider girl jumped, excited.

"My, aren't you impatient..."

"Sorry Master. But since I've seen you and Lin-Lin using spells, I have wanted to do it too. Now that I can, I'm so happy!"

....................................................................................................................................................

After another hour, Lin-Lin finally said;

"The town should be in sight after the next hill."

"Good, Even if we aren't short on food, I will enjoy a night at the inn...did you hear something?"

As they were approaching the top of the hill, battle's clamour could be heard.

"I heard it too, master. It sounds like fighting sounds...what is happening?"

"Let's hurry!"

The trio ran to the top of the hill, only to stop dead in their track when they saw the horror of what was happening.

They saw, at the other side of the small valley, a small army currently attacking the town's wall.

"Is that an army of undead?"

"It looks like it...what is that big thing, growing in front of the doors?"

Even from afar, they could see the big greenish undead inflating. When it blew up, the sound made the two girls stepped back a bit, Maximilian not even blinking to not miss a second of what was happening.

"What happened?"

"One of the undead exploded...and he blew up the door at the same time..."

They could see from where they were that the undead wave was already going inside.

"Master...what should we do?"

Maximilian looked at the two girls, waiting for him to give an order.

"We've got to help the people inside...They certainly have gathered in one place to barricade themselves in, so we're going there. Let's run straight for the wall, we'll jump over. Octavia, don't wait for us, run ahead. We'll catch up on you."

"Okay, Master."

The Arachne started to run in the town’s direction. Maximilian took Lin-Lin in his arms, bridal style. That had the effect to make the panda girl blush a bit while questioning her master's actions.

"Octavia has eight legs and I'm even faster. I don't want you to arrive tired on the battlefield. Hang on to me, okay?"

She simply nodded and gripped her master's neck. Maximilian ran in Corpsenburg's direction, quickly catching up on Octavia who seemed surprised to see him.

"Master is fast!"

"Yes, I am. Listen to me well, you two. We're going to jump over the wall and use the houses roofs to reach the place where the people are quicker. Stay with me for now, I'll see how we'll act when we reach the place."

"Why aren't we attacking them from behind, Master?"

"I like your enthusiasm, Octavia, but if we do that, we risk arriving too late to save anyone. Don't worry, you two will have your share of dead meat."

It took them more or less fifteen minutes to reach the city's wall. It was a long time for the defenders inside, but it would have taken twice that long for a man on a horse to cover that distance.

*God I'm still impressed with what I can do, this is quick.*

"Octavia, are you okay, not tired?"

"I'm okay, Master. You can count on me."

They passed the wall. Maximilian by jumping over it, Octavia by jumping and climbing it in a few seconds. Maximilian put Lin-Lin down, figuring she would be more than able to jump the small distance between the different house rooftops.

"Alright, we're in. Let's follow the undead flow and we should find where the citizens are."

They quickly covered the distance, arriving at the inn just as the ghouls were going inside and the undead in the street were breaking through the door. Maximilian scanned the undead.

*Their only strength is their numbers, if taken one by one, they are not a threat for the girls.... very well!*

"Octavia, listen. We are going to enter by the window like those monsters just did. Kill one or two if they're on your way, but your mission is to go down as fast as possible. I know your web is very resilient, so use it to protect the people inside. Lin-Lin, you come with me first, we'll see about afterwards."

The two nodded and replied: “Yes, Master!”.

Octavia jumped and used her spider anatomy to run along the walls, getting inside at an impressive speed. Maximilian and Lin-Lin did the same. Pointing at the nearest ghouls, Maximilian ordered Lin-Lin.

"Lin-Lin! Kill those two!"

"Yes, Master!"

One ghoul had it’s head crushed by a rock and the other pierced by the panda girl's spear. Taking out his sword, Maximilian quickly took care of the ones still liv... still breath...still able to kill, cutting the five monsters in two.

"Just in time it seems."

Some of the people there seemed to recognise him, the adventurer's leader from the inn before pointed at Maximilian.

"YOU!!??"

Maximilian saluted them with a hand sign, imitating a military salute with two fingers, before going in the windows direction.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just passing through...and killing undead while doing so."

Pointing his sword at Maximilian, the leader seemed to have forgotten about the undead.

"I still haven't forgotten about our fight! I'm going to make you pay for what happened at the inn and..."

*Really? Good priorities...*

"Yeah, yeah. Later with the threats, there are undead who require my attention out there. Lin-Lin, go help Octavia, help protect the people."

"Yes, Master!"

And Maximilian jumped out the window.

....................................................................................................................................................

Back in the present time…

Maximilian landed on an undead, crushing its skull doing so. He turned on himself, cutting the undead heads all around him, his high strength and legendary weapon making this as easy as cutting butter. Once he had taken care of the nearest ones, giving him more space to work, he shouted at the two girls, not really bothering about the others at the moment.

"I'm going to take care of every undead from here to the cemetery. You two take care of the two dozen or so I leave behind!"

From the first floor and just behind him, inside, he heard the two girls respond.

"Yes, Master!"

A feral smile appeared on his face as he heard them.

"Good girls."

Some undead were already getting close to him, he lifted a hand straight before him, pointing at the wave with his palm.

....................................................................................................................................................

Back at the Inn…

"Wait! Who are you people? And what was the creature who passed through here just now?"

Lin-Lin was already going back down, the question was coming from the Captain.

"I am Lin-Lin, that man is my master. And the "creature" is our friend, Octavia, who is currently protecting the people downstair!"

As she disappeared down the stairs, quickly followed by the group upstairs, to rejoin Octavia who was still protecting the rest of the adventurer's group and the civilians.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I did as master told and protect everyone."

The Captain spoke to the others, but to no one in particular.

" Hmm...now what do we do?"

Lin-Lin and Octavia turned around, facing everyone in the room.

"Master asked us to protect you from the undead while he takes care of them. Didn’t you hear his order, Octavia?"

"Yes. I'm ready when you are."

"Ready for what?"

The one who had spoken was Kerele, with Sorco and Travia at her sides. Octavia looked at Lin-Lin, deciding she was the one who would answer.

"Once our master has taken care of the undead, he will advance in the cemetery's direction. He asked the two of us to get rid of the two dozen or so he will leave behind."

Kerel smirked at that.

"Oh? And why so? isn't he strong enough to kill them all?"

Lin-Lin and Octavia looked at each other as if the question was stupid. This time, it was Octavia who answered.

"Simple. They are a training present from Master to us. We will get stronger by killing them."

"Why not start killing them now?"

"Because my web is the only thing stopping the undead from killing you."

The orc stepped forward, nearly twice the size of the girls.

"SORCO NOT AFRAID!"

Lin-Lin simply pointed behind him.

"And what about them? Your lady friend has one arm unusable, and the rest are terrified."

Octavia seconded her friend.

"Indeed. Wait just a bit while our master does what only he can do, and after that, we will be able to attack too."

Not paying attention to them anymore, Lin-Lin discussed with Octavia, their conversation rhythmed by the growls of the undead, actively trying to get to them but being blocked by the web's string.

"How do you think we should act?"

"Hmm…I can easily climb down through the window and attack them from behind...what about your magic? The undead here will be stuck between us and the web, maybe you could..."

"Good idea! But using earth magic inside is going to be messy..."

"Don't worry about it!"

That came from Travia.

"Madam?"

"This inn is mine, and if you're going to help us with the undead, be as messy as you need to be."

Kerele questioned her.

"Are you sure? We don't know them, this one is a beast girl and the other one a...sorry, but what are you exactly?"

"I'm an Arachne."

"And this one is an Arachne; although this is the first time I’m seeing one. How can we be sure they are really going to help us?"

She turned in their direction, not clearly hostile, but doubtful.

"I'm sorry, but the last day's events don't make me inclined to believe you two just like that."

"Oh, but we aren’t asking you to believe us."

The answer surprised Kerele.

"What?"

"I say we don't ask you to trust us. All we ask of you is to not get in our or our master's way, that's all."

As they spoke, some loud sounds and growls could be heard from outside. The adventurers and the Captain looked at each other before running back upstairs and going to the window to look outside. More or less, they had the same reaction.

"What the hell is happening?"

Lin-Lin, who had followed them after she made sure Octavia was okay with the plan, came next to them.

"This is a chance for you to see my master in action, and I don't want you to miss a second of it."

After she had seen what was going on, she nodded for herself and went down, getting ready for what was to come next.

....................................................................................................................................................

Maximilian could have ended the fight in an instant, but he was unsure of how much power he needed to use.

When he pointed at the nearest undead with his palm first, it was to do a test.

"Fire Spear."

A spear of fire appeared from a magic circle who drew itself in front of is hand, passing through the undead wave, killing dozens of them in one attack.

*Okay, they are very vulnerable to fire. Now I have to push them out of the city. A big magic attack from here would destroy the town...that would be unproductiv.*

Opening his arms wide, he made an earth wall as large as the town's street, came out of the ground just before him.

"And now I push you out!"

And he did just that. He put his hand on the wall and, by a big impulsion, pushed the wall that advanced through the street at an impressive speed. On his way, the wall collected all the undead in the street, leaving none behind. When the street got wider, by the small place before the town itself, the wall pushed all the undead against the wood wall before it stopped, disappearing back in the ground.

While the undead were trying to get up, the entire wave amassed in a big pile of rotten flesh, Maximilian calmly walked down the street in their direction.

*What I need to do is to make them completely disappear, or there is a slight chance they could rise again someday. Crushing them would be a mess, drowning them would do nothing, cutting would just be bothersome...fire it is, then.*

He stopped a meter or two from the undead wave, some of them had managed to stand up, only to be pushed around by others trying to do the same. One or two weren't even bothering, simply crawling in his direction, trying to reach him with their scraggy hands.

"You are really a sore sight to look at..."

He simply lifted a hand, palm facing the pile of rotten flesh. Magic energy gathered around him as a magic circle started to appear, then...

"Fire...Obliteration!"

From his hand came no spark, no flame to look at. What came was a wave of heat, rhythmed by his slow heart-beat. At each pulse, that could be heard even from afar, a line of undead turned from flesh to ashes. Like a piece of paper in a cremator, the advancing army of undead was now done for.

.........................................................................................................................................................

"Where are you going, Berot?"

Biryl and the Captain had seen the adventurer going for the window and, passing outside, going on the nearest house rooftop. Sorco and Kerele were still downstairs, not leaving the place from where they could see the undead from inside.

"I'm not going to stay here and do nothing; I want to see what's going on. Did you see what he just did? He made a wall appeared like it was nothing and pushed away an army of undead. Who knows what he's doing now?"

The Dwarf and the Captain looked at each other.

"Berot, I won't be able to follow you on the rooftops. Dwarves are made to stay on the ground, you know. I'm going downstairs to see how things are going. Captain, what will you do?"

"I'm going with him, I'm kind of curious too..."

The old man went outside with the adventurer, leaving behind Biryl and the other defenders.

"Take care, you two."

The two went on the rooftops, not knowing if the streets were safe yet.

As Biryl was turning around, he saw a spider girl coming from downstairs. By reflex, he pointed at her with his crossbow.

"By the ancients! What the hell are you?!"

Not wanting to risk a bolt in her chest, Octavia spat a web ball at his weapon, blocking the projectile on the thrower. Biryl cursed, not quick enough to shoot before it happened.

"Sorry but I don't want to risk an injury. I'm Octavia, and I am the one who saved your friends downstairs."

"And I should trust you just like that? Why?"

The dwarf let go of his crossbow and tried to pull out his axe, but was surprised by her fast movement, her front legs respectively blocking his arm and pushing against his throat.

"Because, Sir Dwarf, if my master had wanted you dead, you would already be. Think about it, it is the ghouls who died by my legs, not your friends."

The dwarf swallowed slowly, his eyes warily looking at the spider leg on his throat. He let go of his axe's handle, slowly putting his hands up in a surrendering gesture.

"Okay, I...I get it..."

Seeing him surrender, the Arachne smiled and stepped back.

"Good. Now if you could move aside, my master gave me an order and I intend to follow it."

Passing next to Biryl who was trying to get the web off his crossbow and the others in the room, who had observed the scene without knowing what to do, the Arachne jumped out the window, landing in front of the inn, on the backside of the two dozen undead still brainlessly pushing to reach those inside.

"LIN-LIN! I'M READY!"

....................................................................................................................................................

Inside the inn, the panda girl had created several walls, making them come out of the stone ground one after the other while Octavia was maintaining her web. Once she was done, Octavia had gone upstairs to pass by a window to attack the undead in the back when she would have finished her attack.

Behind her walls, she heard her friend call her at the same time the web was starting to give way. Shouting to be heard, Lin-Lin warned her friend.

"STEP ON THE SIDE, I’M ATTACKING!"

"What little panda do?"

Sorco had stepped back a bit to give her more room to work when she was working on her walls but was now curious.

"Now, I'm going to make rocks rain on them, then we will just have to take care of the last ones. Help or don't, do what you want."

"Sorco will fight."

The panda girl smiled at him, showing all her teeth.

"We'll let you have one or two then."

She faced her walls once again and, like she had done with Octavia before, striking it with her palm. But this time, she used magic consciously at the same time.

"EARTH PROJECTILES!"

It was as if explosives had been placed inside the walls. the walls broke down into rubble, all little pieces flying at high speed like bullets at the undead, completely passing through the first line of five, destroying them, before going inside the second five, destroying three more and making the two others fall.

Not waiting, the panda girl dashed at the undead, quickly killing the two on the ground before stepping back just a bit to evade the rotten hands and rusty swords trying to kill her.

Behind the undead; the Arachne had begun her attack too. Actively piercing the walking corpses head with her front legs, as efficient as spears.

Sorco, not wanting to simply look at two little girls fight while doing nothing, gripped his swords with two hands and charged into the fight, instantly beheading one of the undead. Octavia, being slowly surrounded, stepped back a bit, making seven or so undead follow her outside to catch her. There, with more space to fight, she could easily attack one while the others were only walking to try and get her. She had killed six when the seventh one almost managed to reach her, only to have his head pierced by a crossbow bolt. Looking up, Octavia saw Biryl saluting her with his hand. She nodded at the dwarf with a little smile before going back inside.

The dozen or so undead who were still standing were quickly been taken care of. The civilian, not wanting to bother them more than helping, had stayed behind their "barricades" made with tables, not missing a single moment of the action. When one of the undead managed to pass, Kerele attacked it, but her damaged arm proved to be too painful and the undead managed to push her down. Even injured, her high agility allowed her to evade a bite aimed at her neck. The undead was going at her again, but a knife came piercing his jaw. Travia, her two hands on her cooking knife handle, was pulling back with all her force to try and pull the undead off the thief.

"GUYS! A BIT OF HELP HERE!"

Seeing her strength would not be enough, she called after some of the civilians who quickly jumped over the table to come and help. Two of them planted their farming forks in the undead's chest, pushing it off Kerele, before the blacksmith arrived and crushed the rotten skull with his hammer. Spitting out the bit of filth in her mouth, Kerele stood back with the help of Travia before being pulled back by the civilians behind the tables.

"Thanks, you all."

"Come behind, they can handle them!"

Looking at the three fighting, it was pretty clear the blacksmith was right, so Kerele accepted to stay behind for now.

After a while, the last undead finally fell down, his head pierced by Lin-Lin's spear. Octavia sighed, shaking her spider legs a bit to try getting off the blood as much as she could.

"Mission accomplished! Master will be glad."

Now that the danger was gone, the civilian started to get out from behind the barricades. The blacksmith, next to Travia, spoke for the others, clearly not understanding what was happening.

"Mission accomplished? But there was an army outside, where are they now?"

Octavia showed the open door, leading to an empty street where, if you didn't count the little pieces of rock here and there that Maximilian's wall left behind, looked like it would have any other day. Except for the few undead corpses from those Octavia (and Biryl) had killed a few minutes ago, the street was empty, the houses untouched. If someone was to come now, he would not have believed there had been an army of undead standing there less than an hour ago.

"Look for yourself. Master has taken care of the rest of them. You can now get out and ...well, I don't know, live your lives I guess."

Lin-Lin came out, followed by Octavia.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"Where, you ask? At our master's side, of course!"

And so the two started running in the cemetery's direction.

....................................................................................................................................................

"Do you know what is happening?"

Berot and the Captain were laying on one of the rooftops, observing the unbelievable scene on the little place behind the doors. They had run on the rooftops to catch up with Maximilian. Even if he had a bit of head start at first, the fact the man wasn't in a rush allowed them to arrive just as he was reaching the pile of bodies. The Captain, clearly overcome by all the events, was questioning the adventurer, hoping he would be able to enlighten him.

"I'm not an expert, but that was magic. If I heard right, he used an earth spell...but at a level I've never seen in my life. I would have preferred if Filian was here, he is the magic specialist in our group."

"Look! He's doing something again."

From where they were, they had a perfect view on Maximilian pointing at the dozens of undead amassed together with his palm, just before...

"Fire...Obliteration!"

All the two men could do was look, not knowing what to say as they saw one man singlehandedly reduce an army of death to ashes. From their position, they could hear his heart rhythm, with the nearest dozen of undead turning the dust at each beat. After a few minutes, the entire zone before the man had been cleared. From the corpses to the wall they had been pushed against, nothing remained. Even the opening that had been made by the large undead before seemed insignificant compared to the one now made in the wood wall, the contours fuming strongly.

The two men were a good hundred meters away from the zone, but even from where they were, they could feel the heat as if they were above a fire.

"He...he destroyed them! There's nothing left! How did he...?"

"I don't know! I told you, I'm not a magic specialist! Wait...where is he going?"

"To the cemetery, it seems...should we follow him?"

"Of course we follow him! I don't know about you, but I sure as hell am not going to retreat before I'm sure he is not an enemy!"

"An Enemy? But he saved us all!"

"Maybe, or maybe he was the one who created them , to begin with. Think about it, we are attacked by an army of undead, who nearly killed us all and then he appears with his two slaves to save us at the last moment? And, to put the cherry on the cake, he happens to be a powerful mage who knows how to deal with an army of undead in less time than it took us to kill a dozen? I don't trust that guy, so if he is going to the cemetery, I'll follow him and discover what he is all about. And if I don't like what I see..."

He put a hand on his sword's pommel, clearly signifying what he was not saying. The Captain looked at him, then at Maximilian walking away, before nodding at him.

"Alright, I will follow too...but only to know the truth, I still don't believe he is a bad guy."

"We'll see about that...."

....................................................................................................................................................

"HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!!! WHAT HAPPENED?!"

The Necromancer was clearly not happy about the situation. When the dwarf had cut off his link with the ghoul, he took him one or two minutes to retrieve his concentration and then to re-establish the connection again. He didn't have the pleasure to see them die, but at least he would have the satisfaction to look upon their dead corpses eaten by the ghouls.

But, as he tried again and again, he couldn't connect with any of the ghouls he had sent.

"That's impossible. Those vermin were on the verge of destruction, how could they...really annoying...well, there's nothing to worry about, I'll simply look through a lesser undead's eyes, that's not as clear, but it's better than nothing...WHAT THE HELL!"

As he concentrated on his undead army, he could feel their presence. First, a dozen or so were destroyed in a second; then nearly all of them had been pushed back near the cemetery entrance while the ones who had stayed behind were starting to "die" one after another. The Necromancer quickly established a link with one of the undead inside the inn, and then he saw them.

One was a Beast-kin, a bear type he hadn't seen before, the other was...

"An Arachne? How is it possible? And why is she helping humans? No, no no no no no no NO NO NO!!!"

His view through the undead’s eyes fell on the injured thief. A feral smile appeared on his face.

"I at least will kill that one, she's one of those adventurers...KILL HER!!!"

The undead nearly killed the thief woman, but she was saved by others of those maggots, severing his connection once again.

"YOU INSECTS!!!"

In a cry of rage, he kicked the nearby table filled with parchment, making it fall on the ground.

"I don't know what happened, but I must take back control of the situation...my army, where's my army? Hahaha, near the doors and...WHAT!!!??"

He looked by through one of the undead eyes on the pile, not really understanding the situation at first. As he looked around, he saw a man standing in front of his army.

"What are you waiting for, KILL HIIIIM…!!!"

The Necromancer was screaming his order as if it could have made the undead move quicker. The man lifted a hand and used a spell. The Necromancer saw his pawns vanished one after another before the one he was looking through turned to ashes too.

This time, the pain hurt him a lot, like someone had set his eyes on fire.

"GYAAAAAH!!! FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!!! I'LL KILL YOU, I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR THAT...."

After a minute or two, he managed to ease the pain in his eyes but wasn't less angry in the least.

"I'll show you! I still haven't used all the tricks in my sleeve..."

He went to the end of the room where, next to the mirror, silently floating mid-air on a pedestal was a black crystal. Taking it in his hands, the necromancer started to incant like he had done the days before, letting the crystal take his mana to create what he wanted.

"I'll show you! I'll show you!"

....................................................................................................................................................

"So…now that the rest of the army is taken care of, let's check out this cemetery..."

Walking inside the cemetery, Maximilian was observing the place around. Everywhere there were holes from where the undead had come, from that had just been burned away.

"Now that I think about it, maybe the people won't be happy that I destroyed their ancestor’s remains...oh well, better that than dying. Hmm? Is that a magic energy I'm feeling?"

From under his feet, he felt the aura of the black crystal currently nourished by the Necromancer.

"Yep...that's dark energy I feel there...now how do I go down...there!"

Looking around, he saw a vault entrance still closed. He was intrigued by this one because all the others were already wide open. As he approached, the doors opened by themselves. However, it wasn't magic who opened it, but a big undead, with greasy skin and fat for head. It looked at Maximilian and advanced in his direction, grunting slowly.

*This one looks like the fatty who blew the doors up...I'm not going to take the chance.*

Maximilian advanced in the Fat Undead's direction. As he came closer, the rotten bomb started to inflate, confirming Maximilian's idea and he violently kicked it from underneath, projecting the inflating monster into the sky, twenty meters upwards. Without looking up, he threw a fire spear at it with a simple hand gesture. The thing caught fire and exploded in the sky, not doing any damage on the ground. Calling out around, Maximilian taunted the one he was sure had sent the undead.

"IF THAT'S ALL YOU'VE GOT, YOU'D BETTER SURRENDER NOW! THAT WOULD MAKE ME WIN SOME TIME!"

He couldn't be sure, but Maximilian thought he heard a rage scream coming from under him, from inside the vault.

"Oh, susceptible one..."

Maximilian smiled mockingly and stepped inside the vault, descending the stairs. The smell inside was awful, it was clear the dead had been out of place for too long, empty coffins were everywhere and the dark energy could be felt everywhere in there.

He arrived at some kind of chamber, or at least where someone was living. There was a bed, a table with some food on it, a working table on the ground, with parchment all around.

At the end of the room, a human sized mirror stood, emitting magic energy and, next to it with a dark crystal in his hands, was the Necromancer.

"Sorry for the intrusion, are you the little douchebag who had the bad idea to play with the dead?"

From the smirk of rage the person showed, it was clear Maximilian’s attempt at humour wasn't well received.

"You...do you know how much work you've destroyed today? This was supposed to be a present for my master...THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO OPEN SO MANY DOORS FOR ME!!!"

Maximilian put on his best poker face. Pointing at it with a finger, he said.

"See this face? That shows you just about how much I care..."

Sniffing a bit, and grimacing because of the smell, he added.

"Now, if you're done crying about your shattered dream, I think there are a lot of people out there who you should apologise to..."

"Me? Apologise to those insects...ha...haha...HAHAHAHAHA."

The Necromancer went on with a laugh that would have put any mad scientist to shame. Maximilian waited a moment for him to finish.

"You really think I would kneel before them to be spared? You really don't understand anything..."

Maximilian seemed surprised by the man's words.

"Me? No, I think it is you who isn’t understanding something..."

....................................................................................................................................................

Berot and the captain had followed Maximilian from afar, not wanting to reveal their presence too soon.

They were hiding behind the wood wall when they saw another big undead coming out of a vault. The memory of the one who had blown up the doors was still vivid in their mind.

"We must warn him!"

"No! Wait! If he is responsible for all this, it won't attack him..."

As Maximilian approached the undead and it started to inflate, they looked at each other and were going to call after him, but they didn't have the time, as Maximilian took care of it in a few seconds. They looked up at the monster exploding above their heads.

"So...what now? Is he still guilty? What do you think?"

"I...I'm just thinking how it would have been easier for us to defend if we could have done that with the one who blew up the doors...okay, let's follow him."

They were going to go after him but were stopped by pointy things on their necks.

"Why are you spying on Master?"

In front of them came the panda girl who had helped them earlier.

"Yes...I'm curious too..."

And behind them was the Arachne, whose legs were currently pointing at their necks. Berot’s hand reflexively went for his sword but a tap from the panda girl's spear handle dissuaded him.

"We haven't heard an answer yet..."

"Ouch! You freaking h..!"

"I wouldn't anger them if I were you..."

"The old man is wise...we don't have time to waste, so I suggest you don't lie to us and just simply answer directly."

The Captain was kind of impressed by the adult tone of the panda girl. He looked at Berot for a second, then answered;

"I'll tell you the truth...we are following your Master because we don't know if we can trust him..."

"Yeah...for all we know, he could be the one who started all this. So if he is responsible for our losses, we will make him pay!"

"YOU WILL WHAT?!"

That came from the Arachne behind them, who pushed the pointy legs against their skin.

"Octavia! Wait!"

"But...Lin-Lin...Master has come to help them, and they insult him by claiming he could be the one behind all this!"

The Arachne was clearly not pleased with the two men, pushing them down on their knees. Her red eyes were burning with anger.

"I should kill you here and now for what you said!"

"Octavia, Stop!"

The panda girl was trying to stop the Arachne, but was having trouble doing so. Then, she had an idea.

"Octavia, what would Master do?"

In an instant, the fire in her eyes disappeared. The Arachne calmed herself as she responded.

"He...would show them. He would prove they can trust him...but, Lin-Lin!..."

"Let them go, Octavia. They will see the truth by themselves. They aren't enemies, just idiots who judge too fast..."

"...Alright, I will trust you...but only because you're Master's first disciple and I respect your judgment, Lin-Lin...you two! Get up! We've lost enough time."

The two stood up, following Lin-Lin while Octavia walked behind them, just in case they were going to make trouble.

They quickly went down the stairs and arrived just before the room where Maximilian was talking with the Necromancer. They stopped there, observing the scene.

....................................................................................................................................................

"So it is me who don't understand? And what is it? TELL ME!"

"What you don't understand is that you won't survive this, that's all. What I offer you is a quick death after you've apologised to them. Or you can choose to fight me, but you won't win."

"AH, you are so full of yourself! I raised an army of undead and I'll do it again once I've dealt with you. Can't you feel it? The power of the dark crystal is too great to be stopped by a mere insect like you!"

"You mean that broken thing in your hands?"

His words surprised the Necromancer who lifted the crystal to examine it.

"Broken? It is not br..!"

The black crystal, at that moment, was pierced by a small ice spike before shattering in the trembling hands of the necromancer who couldn't take away his eyes from the broken pieces.

"Broken… Yes, it is...now if you don't mind, I would prefer it if we could go outside...or I can also pull you out and drag you to the village, your choice..."

"What...WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!!!"

At that moment, the mirror emitted dark energy as a silhouette appeared in the reflexion.

"...Report..."

The Necromancer came kneeling before the mirror, visibly not caring about Maximilian at the moment.

"Master...this fool has broken your crystal! He has destroyed the army of death I was preparing for your glory and..."

"Silence..."

The silhouette didn't raise her voice but a single word was enough to petrify the Necromancer in fear.

"I have been generous enough to give you another chance, yet you continue to disappoint me..."

"Master!... It wasn't my fault, I..."

"Silence! I think I was too hasty with you. Trusting you with one of my black crystals was clearly a miscalculation, I won't make the same mistake again..."

"Master...I beg you..."

If the Necromancer could have fused with the ground, he would have at that moment, bowing so low on his knees his head was touching the ground.

"But rejoice, you can still be of use to me..."

A slight hope in his eyes, the Necromancer sat up.

"All you want, my master..."

In a second, it was over. A black hand, materialised from what Maximilian felt was the silhouette's aura, came from the mirror and pierced the Necromancer’s chest. However, there was no blood. It was as if the hand was made of some kind of smoke. What was pierced wasn't the Necromancer’s flesh, but his soul.

"Become part of my army... Your soul will be the price of your failure."

The hand retracted and the Necromancer fell down, already dead. Maximilian stepped forward and the silhouette looked at him, small grey eyes looking at him from the mirror.

"So...you are the one who managed to disturb my plan...what are you? One of Carendar's paladin’s?"

"Nothing so fancy, just a traveller."

"Well, traveller. Be sure that I will remember your foolishness...after you die!"

The hand came out of the mirror once again, aiming for Maximilian's chest. But, as it was about to touch him, it stopped. This greatly surprised the silhouette in the mirror.

"What! How..."

"Simply. Like you..."

Maximilian concentrated on the silhouette in the mirror and...

"...with my aura!"

The air in the room changed in an instant. The black hand clenched in a fist, as if in tremendous pain. The silhouette in the mirror didn't say a single word but made the hand disappear as it realised it wasn't going to win the fight. As if to protect itself, the silhouette disappeared from the mirror before it broke down and shattered in a shiny dust, cutting all links between this place and where the silhouette was.

"Well...seems like I made a new buddy..."

Looking at the Necromancer's corpse on the ground, he sighed.

"And you managed to escape any form of trial...lucky son of a bitch you are."

"Master?"

Maximilian turned to see Lin-Lin and Octavia accompanied by two other people.

"Lin-Lin? Octavia? What are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, master. We accomplished our mission. The undead you left behind have been taken care of. Once it was done, we thought it would be better to come back to your side..."

Coming near the two girls, Maximilian patted their heads, smiling at them.

"You've done well, you two, I'm always glad to have you at my side. And what about you two?"

Lin-Lin looked at Octavia from the side, before answering her master.

"That...is a bit more complicated..."

....................................................................................................................................................

Far away from Corpsenburg, in a room plunged into darkness, a man was heavily breathing in his chair, a shattered mirror in front of him. A servant who had been alerted by the noise of the furniture breaking down came running.

"Master?! Is everything alright?"

With a gesture of his hand, the man beheaded the poor man, his head rolling on the ground until it stopped against the man's chair. Surprisingly, the eyes on the head looked up and the mouth started to talk.

"Master? What has happened?"

The man kept silent for a bit, before finally starting to talk.

"There is a new enemy who has appeared...an illusionist..."

The beheaded body advanced in the man's direction, stopping to pick up the head.

"An illusionist, Master?"

"Yes, and a skilled one at that..."

Silence came back in the room before the man started to laugh.

"Imagine this...he managed to make me believe he was more powerful than me for a second..."

"That explains the broken mirror..."

"Silence!...Now, I want you to call my lieutenants. I don't want this man to go around and continue to interfere my plans..."

The beheaded body bowed to the man before turning and walking to the exit.

"It will be done, master...as soon as I will have stitched myself..."

Alone once again, the man contemplates the broken mirror before him.

"Really, a skilled illusionist..."

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

"AAARG!"

That was Berot, rolling on the ground for the fifth time since they had all come out of the vault.

Maximilian and the girls had quickly taken what could be from the Necromancer's possessions. He had a bit of money on him, some scrolls of magic, but nothing more. Well, that was if you didn't count his robe and a small dagger, but nothing else worthy of interest. The crystal and mirror were completely destroyed, there was nothing to salvage from them anymore, so they just left the vault with the Necromancer's body on Maximilian's shoulders like a bag of potatoes.

Once they were out, Berot hadn't been able to keep silent.

"So? Now that you've saved us all, I suppose you're going to ask for compensation!"

At first, Maximilian decided to let it slide.

"Why not...I think me and the girls deserve a cut on the chamber's fee after what we've done..."

"DON'T PLAY INNOCENT!"

The adventurer had come to stand in front of Maximilian, pulling out his sword. In an instant, Lin-Lin and Octavia were before their master, legs and spear at the ready, prepared to kill.

"Your timing is just too good! I can't believe you just happened to pass by!"

Stepping further, Maximilian smiled at the two girls.

"Thank you, girls, It's alright... Berot, was it?"

"...yes..."

"Until now, I've been generous enough to ignore your little tantrum, but I'm starting to getting bored with you. So if you have something you want to say or do, get on with it. "

"You...can't you see I'm challenging you to a duel? Take out your sword."

"Why? It's not as if I had to..."

"TAKE OUT YOUR SWORD!!!"

Maximilian smirked at Berot.

"...Make me."

"YAAAAH!!!"

Shouting his frustration, the man dashed at Maximilian, who simply turned on himself, his martial arts skill combined with his high stats allowed him a simple evasion of the attack. Finishing his turn, Maximilian kicked the man on his side, making him fly two meters away before rolling onto the ground.

"So...as I was saying, Captain, do you think the innkeeper would be inclined to accord us a discount?"

"I...ahem..."

The Old Captain was looking from Maximilian to where Berot has landed, then back at Maximilian. He was about to answer, when Berot stood back up.

"YOU! DON'T MAKE A FOOL OF ME!"

Octavia looked at Lin-Lin.

"Don't you think we should take care of him?"

The panda girl shook her head.

"It's alright. Master is teaching..."

Once again, Berot dashed at Maximilian who simply stepped to the side before kicking him once again, this time in the town's direction. They started to advance again. Maximilian continuing his conversation with the dumbfound captain.

"Of course, I can understand that we will have to take care of your death before we discuss that..."

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

His face red with rage, Berot once again attacked, this time not dashing but swinging his sword at Maximilian who calmly evaded a dozen quick slash attempts from the adventurer before he kicked him again from underneath, making him fly. This time, the adventurer landed on a defender's body, one of the guards to be precise.

"So, what you say is that those undead appeared like that? Simply coming from their tombs at once?"

"Indeed...shouldn't you pay attention to him?"

"It's alright, Captain, I don't pay attention when a little child is just throwing a tantrum."

Panting hard, Berot was getting up again, spitting blood. The injury he received from the powerful kicks troubled his view. Still, he came back in front of Maximilian, his sword in hands. The Captain was getting frantic.

"Berot, it's enough. Can't you see you're no match for him?"

"STEP ASIDE, OLD MAN!"

The Captain, as if impressed by the fire in the adventurer's eyes, did as told. Maximilian arched an eyebrow.

"Still up? I must say I thought you would stay down after the second kick..."

"sh...SHUT UP! ALL OF THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"

"Oh come on, you know as well as I do that it was that asshole who was responsible for this mess..."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE UNDEAD!!!"

"oh...please explain then..."

His sword trembling in his hands, the adventurer advanced in Maximilian's direction.

"If we hadn't met you...we wouldn't have been here when this happened!"

The adventurer started as series of attack, easily evaded by Maximilian.

"If you hadn't forced us to move hastily, Kerele wouldn't have been hurt! Filian wouldn't be lying unconscious! I NEARLY LOST ALL MY FRIENDS BECAUSE OF YOU!!"

"Because of me? BECAUSE OF ME?"

Far quicker than Berot, Maximilian surprised him with a head-butt who propelled him a meter backwards, before he fell on his knees, using his swords to keeping himself from lying down.

"Stop blaming others for things you bring on yourself. If I remember correctly, YOU were the one attacking me in that inn, so don't come crying to me now."

"AND WHAT SHOULD I DO? THOSE PEOPLE WHO DIED! ALL THOSE PEOPLE I COULDN'T PROTECT, WHAT SHOULD I DO ABOUT THEM?"

Once again, the adventurer stood up, pushing on his sword to not fall. It was pure rage that allowed him to scream in his condition, blood drooling from the corner of his mouth. He lifted his sword up once again, advancing in Maximilian's direction.

"If I don't blame you, then what should I do?"

The sword came down on Maximilian, who stopped it between two fingers, his strength so much higher than the man before him his blade wasn't even a threat. Without any effort, he took it from the adventurer's hands, before throwing it at Octavia who caught it without any problems.

"I'll tell you what you should do..."

Closing his fist, Maximilian hit Berot in the gut, making him roll for the fifth time.

"AAARG!"

Maximilian gave the Necromancer's body to the Captain, asking him to take care of it for him. The man nodded and went to show it to the others, leaving Berot with Maximilian and the two girls. Lin-Lin and Octavia's master came crouching next to Berot, lying on his back, too weak to stand at the moment.

"Now that you've calmed a bit, hear my words. What you have to do is to remember this moment. Never forget the nights that just happened. Never forget that you weren't strong enough. And with that memory, learn... learn from your mistakes, become stronger, so next time, you'll be ready. Live with your mistakes like you live with your victories..."

Maximilian stood up, Berot silently crying.

"I failed the people here...no-one should have died..."

"I...don't think it's true..."

That came from Lin-Lin, who had stepped further.

"I think everybody was supposed to die that night. You weren't able to save everyone, but you saved a lot of people nonetheless, that's what is important."

Octavia stepped further too.

"Everybody dies at some point, that's how it is...thanks to Master, this night wasn't your last, so you should be thankful."

Berot wasn't saying a thing, his forearm hiding his crying eyes. Maximilian turned in the Inn's direction.

"I made sure to not break anything. You're going to be sore for the days to come, but nothing more. Don't count on me to heal you, I think this little bit of pain will be good for your education... "

Maximilian went on the way, followed by Lin-Lin and Octavia, who put down Berot's sword next to him.

"This is yours..."

Once they were far enough, Lin-Lin asked Maximilian.

"Don't you think we should have taken him with us? I don't think he will be able to stand by himself..."

"Not my problem..."

Lin-Lin was going to say something when they crossed path with Sorco, Kerele and Biryl. Maximilian simply pointed at the doors with his thumbs, pursuing on his way. Lin-Lin looked at the three go help their friend and she smiled.

"You knew they were going to go search for him, didn't you?"

"Who knows..."

Lin-Lin and Octavia went on their way, going for the inn.

"What do you think will happen now, Master?"

"First, they will cry for the dead, and then they will drink and laugh with the ones who are still alive while talking about the dead, and probably cry some more. There will be rejoicings and tears, and tomorrow the sun will rise once again as life will continue."

"Do you think they will be able to go on after all this?"

"You know, Lin-Lin...I've learned something a long time ago. Death is harsh; death is everywhere and comes at sometime or another. But, even at the darkest hour, when you think all is lost, life always’s finds a way..."