Chapter 47: A FIRE IN THE SKY (2)

The dead villagers rose and pounced on the living players.

Higashi slashed at the villagers who approached him, but no matter how much he wounded them, they rose up again and extended their bloody hands toward him. Higashi freaked out and only calmed down after chopping the corpses into pieces.

Then he looked at his surroundings. His clan members had lost their morale due to the bizarre predicament they were in. Many of them were being killed by the villagers they had already slaughtered. Even when Higashi’s clan members stabbed their stomachs and slashed their throats, the villagers didn't die. Instead, they glared back at the players with resentful eyes and ruthlessly stabbed Higashi’s clan members with their broken weapons. It was hell.

Higashi looked at the man who was the cause of all of this — Necromancer Iron, a middle-aged man. Darkness branched out from Necromancer Iron like vines and dominated the battlefield. As a living being, Higashi instinctively felt fearful of him because the necromancer’s energy was the polar opposite of everything alive. Nevertheless, he couldn’t back down now as the vice-leader of the Yamato clan and a high-ranker.

He ran past his screaming clan members and charged toward Iron with his shield. However, he had overlooked the fact that his opponent wasn't a warrior. Darkness crept up to him and brushed his neck. A chill ran down his spine as it expanded and surrounded him. Something was wrong.

Higashi was thrown to the ground with a cracking sound, and the sky and ground in his view flipped over all of a sudden. Higashi didn’t understand what was going on. He tried to get up, but his ears were ringing, and he was unable to find his balance. He barely managed to raise his trembling body by supporting himself on his sword.

Iron spread his rake-like hands toward Higashi and said, “Don’t resist. You will regret it.”

It was the truth. If Higashi continued to resist, he would see horrendous things that would scar him for life. Iron was the worst necromancer because he was a demon’s spokesman. He had made a contract with a being he shouldn’t have summoned. That was why he hadn’t logged onto

Elder Lord

for a while.

Iron was different from other necromancers who merely revived the dead. Although he wasn’t a high-ranker, he had entered a contract with a demon who could make even a high-ranker kneel. But the demon only granted favors in return for a price because the demon that Iron had entered a contract with was a Demogorgon!

“Life to death, laughter to screams.”

As Iron uttered those words, his soul was released from his body. A demon appeared and settled in his body.

The demon used Iron’s mouth to say, “There are many of them out there, those cursed by the stars. What a joke.”

The demon who had overtaken Iron’s body laughed. Iron’s body was no longer under his control, and he could only accept the sensations his body was subjected to—even pain.

“Contractor, it has been a while since we last saw each other,” said the demon.

He scratched his chest with the tip of his finger and made a scar. It was a punishment for Iron, who could only swallow the pain.

The demon that Iron had formed a contract with shouldn't exist in a game. Iron had protested to the Elder Saga Corporation a few times, but the corporation had merely said the demon was a part of the game and refused to do anything about it.

The Demogorgon was a vicious demon that could even steal a player’s control of their own body!

The Demogorgon asked Iron, “Have you been well?”

While inwardly cursing at the demon, Iron replied cheerfully, “Yes, sir! Demogorgon-nim! How have you been? Haha.”

“You seem to be well.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Demagorgon-nim! I haven’t been able to visit because I have been so busy, but I think about Demagorgon-nim every waking moment. Hahaha! I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”

“As expected, you are my most loyal contractor,” said the Demagorgon as he cackled.

“Of course,” said Iron while cackling back.

Iron had been able to enter a contract with a high-level demon for one reason—he could flatter the demon with the social skills that he had sharpened as the head of the sales department!

His vision skill was Sales Force (Essence)! With this skill, Iron had been able to enter a contract with a demon that far exceeded his capacity. The demon used his extraordinary powers to help Iron, but Iron had lost his autonomy and was forced to humor the demon.

“I will grant your wish since it has been a while. Why did you summon me? Do you want to bring hell to this world? Do you want to blur the lines between life and death and reenact the eternal fight of demons?” the Demagorgon asked Iron.

“...You can do all that? I am in awe of your strength and talent. Hahahaha! But those guys aren’t worth the trouble. Just scold them a bit so that they won’t covet this place anymore,” Iron replied.

“Hahahahaha! Is that so? Will that be enough?”

“There’s a saying that you don’t need to use the knife intended for a cow to catch a mouse. Besides, you aren’t a cow but a dragon—the ultimate weapon that will crush this world. Small fry like them don’t deserve such treatment. Please take care of the situation, Demogorgon-nim!”

“Hahahahahahahahahaha!” The Demogorgon that had overtaken Iron’s body erupted in laughter.

'When was the last time I had a contractor I got along with so well?'

The Demogorgon grinned while scanning the enemies in front of him.

Higashi, on the other hand, was seized by fear. From his perspective, the necromancer appeared to be out of his mind, muttering to himself and suddenly bursting into laughter.

Iron’s body looked at Higashi in front of him.

“You. Do you know...?” asked Iron’s body.

Higashi raised his shield and sword. “What do you mean?”

“Do you know... what visits you without a sound, what unexpectedly shatters your life, and what can’t be undone?” a voice whispered in Higashi’s ear. “Death.”

Higashi turned around, taken aback, but there was no one behind him. He flinched in a panic.

The voice whispered in his ear again, “...Eternal sinking.”

Higashi blocked his ears and looked around him, but he couldn’t see Iron. There was nothing but the corpses that had risen from the dead and his collapsed clan members being beaten to death. It looked like a scene from hell.

“...Do you want to know?”

Something touched Higashi’s spine. The Grim Reaper’s touch reached beyond his flesh, skin, and muscles, going further into his spine and nervous system.

Higashi collapsed in his spot. He couldn’t breathe. Pitch blackness began to descend from the sky.

“...I will show you.”

Everything turned dark.

***

Raizen, master of the Napoleon clan and a high-ranker, couldn’t believe what was going on. It had initially been a simple task—to form an alliance with the other three clans and reduce an unknown village to ashes. The plan had been to crush the weak village, which didn’t even have an army, and use it as a stepping stone for leveling up their new clan members as well as increasing their clans’ wealth and authority.

The task had seemed easy and efficient for their goals, so everyone had nodded approvingly in agreement with the plan. However, Raizen had not anticipated the appearance of ludicrous role-players in their clans’ impressive scheme.

“Soldier! So cool! You are the best!” fussed an elf lady.

“I’m a soldier chosen by the great sage,” said the long-bearded sorcerer while nodding.

“Hey, stop doing all the cool stuff by yourself.” The soldier with the sword ran his finger along the bottom of his nose discontentedly while tapping his teammate’s shoulder.

Then Soldier Bob, who was the subject of everyone’s praise, raised his shining sword and exclaimed, “My Holy Sword Exgeiger is howling for justice!”

Raizen had a realization while watching him.

These people were crazy. They were crazy about role-playing. Raizen didn’t want to interact with people who were as out of their minds as them, but the problem was that these crazy people were ridiculously strong.

“His gaze! Wicked eyes tainted with evil!”

“We must punish them.”

“The sage can see everything.”

The members of F4 spoke in succession.

‘No, don’t come closer, you crazy people,’

thought Raizen.

Raizen scanned his surroundings. The fight had just started, so the clans’ members were trying to push back the villagers. A middle-aged man who appeared to be the leader of the villagers directed and encouraged them, but they were being driven back by the clans due to a big difference in strength.

Right when Raizen had been about to wipe out his opponents with his powerful range magic, the role-players suddenly appeared and began attacking him. As one of the role-players raised his sword into the air, all of the magic Raizen had gathered scattered away. The whole area was now devoid of magic!

The role-players displayed extraordinary powers and blocked the Napoleon clan’s march in an instant. Although the role-players were an unexpected variable, the Napoleon clan could still handle them.

“Everyone, gather here! We just have to capture them!” screamed Raizen as he retreated.

At Raizen’s command, powerful members of his clan gathered around him. Regardless of how strong the role-players were, their clan was much greater in number. In fact, the four unidentifiable men and women seemed slightly nervous. Raizen grinned at this sight. It didn’t matter how strong the role-players were; it was still too much for them to face all of these clan members on their own.

Right then, some villagers came forward to fight alongside the role-players after realizing the role-players were on their side. Numerous villagers now stood shoulder to shoulder with the party of four players role-playing as soldiers. Raizen’s face crumpled again.

“We will fight together!” yelled the villagers.

They raised their rusted weapons and farming tools and resumed their positions. Although they looked inexperienced, their eyes shone with determination. This was their village. They had to protect it.

The Napoleon clan members faltered upon seeing this scene.

“Aren’t you glad we came?” said one of the F4.

“Yeah.”

“It’s the best stage.”

The four role-players exchanged glances as they stood alongside the villagers. They were in a good mood. No, it was beyond good. It was the best.

The four of them had created and destroyed worlds for a long time. They had rolled the dice together as role-players, but they had felt empty inside. It was only after entering the world of

Elder Lord

that they realized the reason why. They needed comrades to stand shoulder to shoulder with during adventures. What they needed were not just fictional characters that were unraveled by a game master with the roll of a die but living, breathing comrades who thought of their own accord, cried, laughed, and even got furious at times. Didn’t a party of soldiers always have supporters to whom they could entrust their backs? Today, they finally had the opportunity to stand on the stage as heroes in a world that needed them.

Bob raised his sword high in the air and exclaimed, “Right now, my Holy Sword Exgeiger is thirsty! It is not quenched by water, liquor, or the blood of my enemies!”

“...Do you really have to say it?” whispered Elia as Bob began spewing his nonsense.

However, Bob was ecstatic. Nothing could stop him at this moment.

“What my sword needs—!” yelled Bob.

Elia, Joseph, and Gary couldn’t help but smirk. They knew what Bob was going to say next. They had always begged him to stop because it was so cringy, but they decided to play along today.

“Is Justice! Justice! Justiiice! Just—ice!” shouted the four players together.

Raizen wanted to laugh at the ridiculous scene, but he couldn’t because they began charging toward him like madmen.

***

Crockta gasped for breath. He swung his sword like a madman, but the enemies continued to increase in number. He roared his battle cry as he crushed his enemies, but more and more clan members arrived to provide their clan with support. Moreover, several high-level players were systematically keeping Crockta in check. Whenever Crockta tried to help the villagers, they bombarded him with attacks while maintaining their distance. So, Crockta could only helplessly watch the villagers collapse to the ground.

Crockta clenched his teeth. It wasn’t enough. He didn’t have enough strength. He needed more. Despite Crockta charging forth while channeling his remaining strength into his next attack, it was thwarted by the high-level players’ combined attacks. Crockta had disregarded his need to defend and swung his greatsword. He could have killed a player with this attack, but it failed because the players had bombarded him with attacks simultaneously.

His blood spilled, and his flesh tore. Crockta dropped to one knee.

“Just give up, orc,” said the players as they laughed at him.

Crockta shut his eyes. Ultimately, he was still weak. He clasped his greatsword tightly. Was this the end? If so, that was fine. He had done his best; he had done what he could. He couldn’t stop the inevitable.

Nevertheless, he would definitely make a lasting impression before his last breath.

Crockta opened his eyes. He was about to put his life on the line and do something he considered his last resort, but the earth suddenly began rumbling and shaking vigorously.

“...?”

Everyone on the battlefield looked at the source of the sound as dirt rose into the air in the distance.

“Wh-What?” Crockta also raised his head in surprise.

A loud rumble reverberated through the earth while the ground continued to shake. A black mass was charging toward them. Everyone watched as the mass grew closer, and the ground trembled as if there was an earthquake.