"H-How could this be..."
The color completely drained from Alan's face. His previous arrogance vanished without a trace, leaving only boundless terror.
Mike and Rhode's legs turned to jelly from fright, their earlier disdain turning into utter despair.
The three of them were only between LV22 and LV25. While they might manage to handle one or two Necromancers of the same level, facing a horde of Necromancers that vastly outnumbered them...
"We're finished..."
Alan collapsed onto the freezing mud, his eyes unfocused.
The other two male students and the three female students also collapsed to the ground, shivering uncontrollably, completely robbed of even the strength to flee.
However, just as the Necromancers raised their bone staves and eerie blue mana condensed at the tips, ready to launch an attack—
A lone figure resolutely stepped forward, interposing herself between the six collapsed students and the horde of Necromancers.
It was Victoria.
There was not a trace of fear in her gray-blue eyes, only calm focus and... a subtle hint of excitement.
Having experienced far more dangerous battles on the second layer of the Academy Dungeon, these Necromancers before her were less of a threat than an ambush by a few Shadow-Stalkers.
"Silvia, buff me! Senior Catherine, use Wind Blade to disrupt the slow casters on the left flank!"
Victoria barked her orders with rapid precision.
"Okay!"
Though Silvia's face was still pale, hearing Victoria's command made her raise her hand almost out of reflex, casting a soft yet powerful holy light over Victoria.
At the same time, with a wave of her other hand, several bursts of 【Flash】 erupted within the Necromancer horde. Although it couldn't blind them, the powerful holy fluctuations visibly disrupted their mana gathering.
Catherine reacted immediately as well. Though she complained in her head that she wasn't Victoria's subordinate, her hands didn't pause for a moment as several precise Wind Blades whistled forth, aiming straight for the staff-bearing arms and forming spell nodes of the Necromancers Victoria had singled out.
Empowered by the buff and freed from interference, Victoria took a deep breath and raised her magic conduit high above her head as surging mana flooded into the staff's body.
"Flame Storm!"
It was not the full-fledged version of 【Flame Storm】, but a modified variant she had developed through actual combat in the dungeon, reduced in range and power!
Although its power was much weaker, it allowed for instant casting just like Flame Burst.
A crimson flame tornado erupted with her at its epicenter, carrying a scorching will to purge all impurities as it roared forward to sweep through the horde of Necromancers!
BOOM—!!!
The flames collided violently with the dense death mana, producing a deafening blast.
The scorching heatwave pushed back a significant portion of the surrounding mist.
The protective necrotic barriers of the Necromancers crumbled like paper before the violent flames, their bodies catching fire, carbonizing, and turning into ash under the holy light-infused fire.
With just a single area-of-effect spell, more than half of the Necromancers in front of them were wiped out.
The remaining ones were systematically finished off by Catherine's follow-up Wind Blades and Silvia's subsequent 【Holy Light Arrow】.
In less than a minute, the battle was over.
In the area where the thick mist had been temporarily dispersed, nothing remained except charred marks on the ground and drifting ash.
The suffocating horde of Necromancers had completely vanished.
Victoria lowered her staff, breathing slightly heavily with sweat on her forehead, but her eyes were gleaming.
She turned around, looked at the six people who were slumped in the mud as if petrified, and asked casually:
"Hey, you guys alright?"
At this moment, in the eyes of Alan, Mike, Rhode, and the three girls, the gray-haired girl standing amidst the ashes and embers—sparks still dancing at the tips of her hair—appeared grand and imposing, like a Valkyrie tearing through the dark.
Her face, slightly smudged with dirt yet unable to hide her heroic aura, looked incomparably beautiful and powerful under the glow of the fading flames.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The hearts of all six beat wildly. Then, as if synchronized, they all prostrated themselves face-down in the mud before Victoria, their voices trembling with excitement and awe:
"Please let us follow you!!!!"
Victoria: "...Huh?! What the heck?!"
She was completely stunned by this turn of events.
She originally intended to reject them outright as usual, but just as the words reached her lips, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind:
If that guy Greg were facing a situation like this... what would he do?
He would definitely... exploit it without a moment's hesitation, wouldn't he?
Just as Victoria was lost in thought—
Rumble...
The entire cemetery ground shook violently without warning!
It felt as though something massive was turning over underground, causing the dense mist to churn violently.
"Eek!"
Silvia squeaked in fear and instinctively drew closer to Victoria, anxiety returning to her pink eyes:
"W-What was that tremor just now...?"
Catherine also furrowed her brow, walked over to Victoria's side, and analyzed the situation in a low, rational tone:
"Something isn't right. The sudden appearance of that horde of Necromancers was abnormal enough, and now there's this unidentified tremor... I think our gains so far are already quite good, so we should evacuate immediately before things spin completely out of control."
She had no intention of gambling her safety on a situation that had clearly spiraled beyond the scope of the mission.
However, Victoria's thoughts were entirely different.
Although she didn't know the cause of the tremor, her experience of easily clearing the Necromancer horde combined with the six followers before her caused her confidence and sense of mission to swell like never before.
Why shouldn't I be able to do what that fellow Greg can?
There are definitely still many students trapped in danger inside the cemetery who couldn't escape in time.
If I rescue them, organize a massive team, and then subjugate all the undead in this cemetery, wouldn't I gain both fame and fortune?!
Such a bold plan quickly took shape in her mind.
She puffed out her chest, her gray eyes sweeping over the anxious Silvia, the frowning Catherine, and the six people still prostrated on the ground gazing at her with fanatical eyes, and spoke aloud:
"No, we can't leave now!"
Her tone was firm, carrying an unquestionable decisiveness.
"There are definitely still many fellow students trapped in danger who need help here! The academy's commission is to purge the undead and investigate the anomaly. Now the anomaly is right in front of us—Necromancers appearing in hordes, and unknown tremors coming from underground... How can we turn our backs on the safety of other students and just walk away simply because we're safe for the moment?"
She gripped her magic conduit tightly, her eyes burning brightly as she looked toward the deeper parts of the cemetery:
"I'm going to keep moving forward to help those who might still be trapped inside!"
Hearing this, the light in the six followers' eyes practically materialized. They shouted in unison, their voices filled with excitement and worship:
"Please let us lend you our strength!!!"
"Huh?! W-We're still not going out?!"
Upon hearing that, Silvia's small face instantly collapsed, and tears began welling up in her eyes once more.
Being unable to immediately leave this terrifying place was absolute terrible news to her.
Meanwhile, Catherine stood where she was, her azure eyes quietly watching Victoria, who seemed to be radiating light at this moment.
Looking at her unfeigned, resolute eyes that genuinely wanted to help others, and listening to her declarations—which sounded naive and even foolish to Catherine as a merchant...
A thought suddenly surfaced clearly in Catherine's mind.
This spirit... of being willing to reach out to help others in times of crisis, even at the cost of putting herself in danger... or rather, this fool-like drive to take action...
Is this... the real reason Greg Sass hopes I can give her help in the future?
Rate on N.U.
