Prologue

The sun bathed the still field in an amber glow as it slowly set, casting long, dark

shadows behind three figures dressed all in black.

At a glance, it was clear these three were cat people, as evidenced by their pointed,

feline ears and long, swaying tails. However, the figures were a fair bit larger than the

small, lithe forms typically associated with cat people.

The hulking figure leading the group stood at an impressive 2.3 meters tall, and ran

through the tall grass at a speed seemingly impossible for his massive build. Even a

horse would have struggled to keep up with him, though the other two managed to

keep pace.

The three cat people came to a large wheat field, but even the tall stalks didn't slow

them. The wheat rustled as if struck by a strong gust of wind, raining leaves and

kernels down upon the runners.

They were still a ways off from their objective, but a strange scent in the air caught their

attention. Mountain people, after all, were renowned for their superior sense of smell.

"Goemon…"

One of the trailing men called out to their leader, without slowing.

The man up front, Goemon, looked back and nodded.

The air smelled of war—a unique blend of blood, fire, and steel—and stank of death.

It had been far too short a time since Goemon had last encountered this scent.

When he'd traveled to the southern continent, he came across the very same mix of

smells as thousands of undead soldiers laid waste to the peaceful human settlement

of Tagent. The scene had been seared into his mind.

Despite this troubling scent, Goemon pushed on, not slowing his pace until they finally

left the wheat field and caught sight of their objective: the capital of the Delfrent

Kingdom.

The capital was surrounded by a massive wall to keep out intruders, though it now lay

in ruins. The town beyond could be seen through large gaps in the once-strong

defenses. Fires raged in the streets, and dark, billowing smoke rose up to blacken the

sky.

Goemon drew to a stop so he and his companions could survey the besieged city.

Thanks to their superb eyesight, they were able to make out figures moving within.

Though Goemon and his two comrades were some of the most highly trained members

of the Jinshin clan, the sheer number of invaders was enough to give them pause.

Goemon spoke in a low, steady voice as he scanned the battlefield. "Quite a few out

there."

Hordes of undead soldiers stretched as far as the eye could see, interspersed with the

occasional man-spider overseeing the carnage.

There had to be at least 10,000 outside the wall alone.

However, they seemed to be milling about aimlessly, almost sluggishly. Their lack of

aggression suggested that the battle was already won, that the capital had fallen. But

if that were the case, they almost certainly would have moved on to their next

objective. They must be looking for something, then.

The capital itself was quite large, its population plentiful. It would take some time to

completely obliterate the city. As for what the undead intended to do with the surviving

populace, the obvious answer was that they would add the citizens to their ranks.

This was a horrific fate, no question, though Goemon struggled to summon sympathy

for humans, who'd subjugated both his people and the elves at the behest of the Hilk.

He didn't take any particular joy in watching their destruction, but neither did he feel

sorrow in seeing those who'd burnt down his villages suffer.

Besides, there was no way he and his two companions would be any match for the tens

of thousands of undead soldiers lurking about. Even if he'd wanted to help, there was

nothing he could do but watch their numbers swell.

"Goemon, look." One of his companions pointed at something off in the distance.

Goemon followed the man's gaze.

On the walkway of the ruined city wall stood a lone figure. Even with their impressive

eyesight, the cat people couldn't make out any features, though they could tell that the

person was young.

At first, Goemon thought the figure might be a survivor of the carnage below, but they

didn't seem particularly troubled by the hordes of undead milling about.

Suddenly, the figure turned and looked straight at them. Goemon scowled back, briefly

locking eyes with the diminutive individual before they jumped down off the wall.

"Whaaa?!"

This caught the three cat people completely by surprise. The small figure landed easily

on the ground and began rushing straight toward them.

It moved in a fast, jerky manner, almost like a leaping insect. Whatever it was, it clearly

wasn't human.

"What is that thing?"

Goemon ignored the question and focused on the approaching figure, trying to figure

out how this humanoid creature could move so fast. He turned to his two comrades.

"Return to the rendezvous point as planned!"

The two men nodded, then took off back toward the sea of wheat. They soon vanished

from sight.

Goemon glanced at the oncoming creature before taking off in another direction,

slipping away into darkness as night fell upon the plains.

***

The sprawling city of Lione, once the proud capital of the Delfrent Kingdom, had been

transformed into a necropolis.

On any normal day, the early evening hours would find the streets full of residents in

search of a drink or other worldly pleasures. This merriment had been replaced by the

ominous clank of hundreds upon thousands of undead soldiers searching for lingering

survivors.

Flames burned bright as the soldiers ravaged once-proud houses, casting an eerie,

hellish glow across the city. Bizarre, mutated creatures that looked like a sick

amalgamation of human and spider roamed the streets as well.

Fiery pillars of former homes illuminated the large, open squares where the inhabitants

had once shared their happiest moments, keeping the encroaching night at bay… for

now.

Man-spiders dragged the residents' corpses into one such square and piled them high,

creating a literal mountain of bodies. The scene would have roiled even the strongest

of stomachs, but the creatures continued their duties, seemingly unfazed.

Even the undead, who'd once been among the corpses that lay before them, moved

about with no hesitation, as if they were performing any other menial task. It all would

have made for a rather alarming sight, had there been any onlookers.

Dressed in ornate, flowing robes and wielding a holy scepter, an ominous figure with

a veil draped over his face knelt in front of the mound of bodies, apparently praying.

From a distance, one might easily mistake him for a high-ranking member of the

clergy.

However, what the man was actually doing was a far cry from any natural prayer.

The end of the scepter hit the cobblestones with a loud clack. The man raised his right

hand into the air, and a stone sitting in his upraised palm began emitting a dark,

swirling light.

The glowing stone rose from the holy man's hand and shot soundlessly into the pile of

corpses.

The bodies twitched, like ragdolls dumped onto the floor. Soon, they began standing

under their own power.

At first glance, it looked as if the man were using magic to perform some kind of

resurrection. But upon closer inspection, there was no life to be found in the reanimated

residents' eyes, which rolled around without purpose as they all dove into the giant

pyre in the middle of the square.

The flames charred their flesh, filling the air with the choking stench of burnt meat.

After allowing their flesh to be completely consumed by flames, the bare skeletons

lurched back out of the pyre, leaving trails of charred skin and muscle behind them.

The priestly looking man waved his hand, and the skeletons formed ranks in the square,

standing at attention.

"I hate having to recruit my soldiers manually. It's such a hassle."

The holy man let out a sigh and turned his attention to the next mound of bodies.

The man's name was Thanatos Sylvius Hilk, and he was pontiff of the Hilk church, the

most influential religion among humans on the northern continent. He was also the

one responsible for turning this glorious capital into a city of the dead.

Occasionally, superheated air from the pyre blasted past the pontiff, sending his veil

fluttering in the breeze. Had anyone been around, they would have seen nothing but a

skull with a flickering red flame where his face should have been.

Thanatos looked around, sensing that someone was near, and fixed his gaze on a young

boy emerging from the shadows. He stood out like a sore thumb among all the undead.

Blond-haired and blue-eyed, the stunning young man seemed entirely untroubled by

the bizarre scene unfolding around him. He walked straight toward the pontiff and

took a knee.

"Apologies, Your Holiness." A high-pitched voice betrayed the boy's young age. "I spotted

what appeared to be three beastmen outside the city walls, but I'm afraid that I wasn't

able to catch any of them."

Thanatos nodded and gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Worry not, Tismo. The

Delfrent Kingdom has no relationship with the beastmen. There is little concern that

they would utter a word to other humans about what happened here."

The pontiff let out a laugh that reverberated in his hollow skull.

After all, it was on the Holy Hilk Kingdom's orders that its neighboring kingdoms had

expelled all elves and beast people from their lands over the past few decades.

These non-human creatures had the ability to sense when the undead were present.

They posed a threat to the pontiff's plans, so he'd taken it upon himself to drive them

out of the surrounding regions once he'd taken his place as ruler.

He'd pursued them to their hidden settlements in the mountains and burned everything

to the ground, using their bodies to swell the ranks of his undead armies.

After securing a large enough force, he'd begun collecting rune stones. It was then a

simple matter to manufacture the weaponry needed to arm his soldiers.

His forces now numbered in the millions.

It had taken a great deal to get this far, but it had all been worth it. Now was the time

for his armies to shine.

The young man standing before Thanatos was Tismo Ghoula Temprantia, the youngest

and most powerful of the pontiff's seven cardinals.

"I need to focus on creating as many additional soldiers as I can. I want you to stay on

alert. If you see any signs of trouble, handle it. This task will take some time to complete."

"Understood."

Cardinal Tismo bowed low in acknowledgement before leaving the courtyard with

several man-spiders in tow.

Thanatos's jaw clacked in another ominous laugh.

"The real game is finally about to begin."

He turned his attention back to the task of creating more undead soldiers.