Roar of the Dragons (II)

"Another stupid ploy to keep themselves safe." Russ spat with disgust. He finally made his way to the top and stopped before he got burned alive.

"How are we going to get through, sir? There is no way in." The soldier next to him stared worriedly.

"Are you stupid? Use magic to douse the flame, for crying out loud. We have Mages, don't we?"

"But we're not sure we can clear such a large area."

Russ rolled his eyes. "Pick a spot and concentrate on it. Nobody told you to douse every single bit. Use your head. Douse the flames around the gates. We don't have time to play with fire." He poked the soldier in the head hard, emphasizing his use of his head.

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers saluted and ran towards the back, where the magicians were.

A moment later, a gust of cold air blew through the sky, and large icicles formed overhead.

"That stupid idiot had to bring mages." Zero growled. He did not like where the event was heading towards. Large clusters of icicles were forming by the hundreds, and like rain, they pelted downwards into two spots: both ends of the gates.

Zero did not stay long to watch what would happen; he had no time. He had to find his body even to take part in the fight. At the rate Russ was pushing, it would be a matter of time before Russ broke through the gates. It was not as if the gates were considered strong enough to hold for a long period; it was made with the rocks and wood around the forest wall.

He wished the village walls were like the City of Diadem. But unfortunately, the village he protected did not have the workforce to create such a high-level wall.

Looking down at his belly, the lifeline connected to him, his body shimmered even brighter. He knew that he was getting closer.

"Chief Librarian?" One of the Lunar Rabbits stopped to look at Zero.

"No time to talk. Lead me to my body, quickly!" Zero ordered, but the Lunar Rabbit's jaws dropped. His expression turned bewildered in fright.

"I-is that Chief Librarian?" A couple more Lunar Rabbits appeared before him.

"Hello? Can you hear me? Take me to my body, please." Zero emphasized the word please in the hope of getting the Lunar Rabbits moving, but to no avail; they wouldn't move. So instead, all he could do was stomp his feet in frustration. His body was flickering in and out between two planes: the living and the dead.

"T-t-that's a ghost!" The Lunar Rabbit squealed in fright. "Run! A ghost had taken the image of our Chief! Quickly summon the Bishop Anglo! We need to purify the land!"

"Wait a minute." Zero stretched out his hands to stop the nearest Lunar Rabbit. Instead, his hands slipped like water, and the Lunar Rabbit yelled in fright. They bolted away from him, running in the opposite direction.

"What the hell is going on? So they can see me but can't hear me?" Zero was confused. "Not the time to be dawdling around. I don't want to know what they meant by purifying the land."

With hurried steps, Zero headed towards the Library. The residents were in shock when they saw Zero running through the streets. They parted like waves as they screamed in fright and horror. They did not understand or believe it was the actual Ghost of Zero and thought it was an ill omen.

"Chief Librarian is dead?"

"No. That can not be."

"What's going on?"

"Gahhhhhhhh! A ghost of the Chief Librarian!"

"Call the Bishop!"

"This is bad! It is a curse!"

The morale of the residents sharply dropped, and they ran away.

"The Chief Librarian's ghost is here?" The nearby Adventurers walked over, wondering what the commotion was all about.

"Is he dead?"

"Where?"

"I don't see him?"

Zero continued to run and even went through people with care. He didn't have time to show everyone that he was dead.

"Did you see that? He just went through a person."

"Someone quickly kills the ghost!"

"Wait, can you even kill a ghost?"

"Let's not incur the wrath of Chief Librarian if he hears about us killing his ghost if that's even possible."

Zero thanked them that they did not attacking him right this moment. Honestly, he was glad that they didn't.

"Holy Light!" An unknown female's voice called out to Zero. A bright white light appeared above him. Like a ray of sunshine, the light poured onto his body, causing a temporary shock to his body.

"Urgh!" Zero stopped moving and fell onto his knees. What's going on? Did someone attack me? Looking around for the source, he saw a priestess that remembered. She was Coco, that was a Disciple of Infinity.

"Please send this lost soul to its rightful place under your wings." Coco prayed out loud as she raised her staff.

Zero had a splitting headache, and the world around him became a blur. For a moment, he thought he heard the whispers of voices—one malicious and one benevolent.

Come and sleep for all eternity. We can walk in the darkness together and rule the land of the dead.

No. Wake up. Don't listen.

Zero only one more step to walk eternally amongst the dead. Give us Revenge.

Revenge. Revenge!

Get up, Zero! You are not dead yet!

Zero bolted awake. He pushed aside the heavy thoughts and feelings and pushed himself to his feet. "I need to get to my body. I can't stay here." With great effort, he got up. "Leave me alone!"

A blast of powerful black and white energy shot out from his body. Black shadows that he overlooked before that prowled around him disappeared like smoke. Even the people alive were pushed back to the point where they all fell onto their backs.

"W-what just happened?" The people were shocked and confused.

"Is the ghost that powerful?"

"It's Zero," Coco spoke. Her words cut through the silence.

"Zero?"

"Chief Librarian?"

"The real one?"

"Is he going to save us?"

"Zero! Go to the Draconis Library!" A female's voice rang out through the crowd.

Without looking back, Zero ran. He did not stop and plowed through the people as if they were not there. Running, Zero entered the Draconis Library. The moment he took a step into the Draconis Library, he knew. His feet were taking him in the direction where he needed to go.

Running up the stairs and through the gated doors of the Attic, he saw his body encased in the crystal flower. Zero felt odd seeing his body floating midair; it was like he was just momentarily sleeping. Jumping into the water, Zero swam across. The flower released a steam-like sound as air escaped from the crystal flower. Reaching up, he pulled himself onto the crystal flower.

"Here goes." He breathed in and let out his worry. Then, without thinking about anything else, he reached toward his body. His hands slipped in, and he felt a force where he was roughly pulled into his body. It felt like he was falling from the sky and slammed into his body.

Zero was jolted awake. Rising like the dead, Zero could feel the cold air around him. Monsters didn't feel like he had been forcefully pulled out of his body. Instead, everything felt natural, like he had come home—multiple messages flooded before him.

Hibernation mode has been canceled. The body has been kept safe till the soul has returned to its host. The power output of Krustallos has increased by 100%. All skills and magic have been restored to 100%. The Draconis Village will float back up into the sky in thirty minutes. The countdown is initiated.

Since the completion of both Church of Infinity, the Resurrection Ring, and Bishop Anglo's prayer, a special protective spiritual barrier is in progress.

00:29:51 left

Bishop Anglo has gone around to bless the Village Walls. Upon completion, Draconis Village will be protected from malicious spirits as long as Bishop Anglo and the Disciples of Infinity are in place.

+ 100 increase in faith from residents.