ch. 7 Funeral

'The battles underway? What is she talking about about? Where am I? What happened? What about mom? And dad…?

As her unbridled confusion intensified, she grabbed her forehead as a painful headache broke out

"Kyaaaa!!" Someone suddenly screamed out.

Charlotte was startled and feel her headache intensify and she reflexively shot up from her spot.

A woman was pointing outside the window while backing away in fear.

"They… they're coming in! No! They've already breached the barricade!"

Everyone inside the monastery looked out their closest window, Charlotte too had quickly shifted her gaze outside and observed the current situation.

She saw numerous zombies fighting dozens of men, but for every zombie they killed, two more jumped the barricade!

The complexions of everyone inside the building grew as pale as a sheet of paper, some screamed while a few others hurriedly looked around for a place to hide.

However, Charlotte reacted differently from them.

'Zombies…!'

She reflexively reached out and grasped the leather tanning knife on the table next to her, before she started dashing towards the monastery's exit. The people were stunned by her actions and quickly stopped her by hugging her from behind.

"Charlotte, it's dangerous outside!" They said, half worried for Charlotte and half worried she'd draw the zombies attention to them.

Even though they were trying to stop her, they ended up getting dragged forward instead. Charlotte seemed to be gradually getting stronger with each passing step, despite the raging headache.

This was a display of sheer physical strength that no 16-year-old girl could produce!

The others who realize what was happening quickly intervened and they finally managed to stop her before she could draw the zombies attention.

Charlotte ungainly flailed about in their arms but didn't physically stop the people surrounding her.

She instinctively knew her strength had far surpassed a normal human and with most of these people in the monastery being elderly, Charlotte didn't want to permanently harm the others by accident.

This was why she stopped struggling. Even so, her gaze remained fixed outside the window. Her eyes were locked on a certain 'boy' standing outside the building.

She saw him jump high up while raising his shovel, slamming it onto the head of a zombie before quickly ordering the villagers about.

"What are you guys doing! A third of you can stay here and clean up, the rest need to get back and defend the barricade so no more get in!" The boys orders didn't fall on deaf ears as the villagers did as he said.

Most of the men moved back to the barricade and attacked the invading zombies, trusting the remaining men to not let the zombies within the barricade to attack their backs

Just as an interior zombie was about to grab onto the leg of a villager defending the barricade, a shovel slammed into its hand dismembering it!

He then swung the shovel into the zombies head, cracking it but also kicking it to land right in front of another zombie shambling towards him. Without any basic intelligence, the zombie tripped on the zombie corpse as Allen swung the tip of the shovel down on its neck, decapitating it!

This sight deeply stunned Charlotte, a boy about the same age as her, maybe even a few years younger, was stepping up to hunt down the zombies before the older and stronger men even had a chance.

The boy was panting heavily before he took a sip of his leather watersack, his deep and heavily breaths suddenly quited down until it was just a low pant of mild exhaustion before going after another zombie.

Charlotte thought the boy was a bundle of energy as all other villagers looked heavily exhausted but the boy constantly sprinted around and dealt with zombies quickly.

In just a few minutes, all zombies within the barricade were killed and the remaining villagers got back to the barricade to defend.

It seemed as if this Zombie wave had been the most of the zombies as just the occasional zombie was attacking the barricade now.

Charlotte watched as the boy slowly limped his way to the outside Monastery wall and place his back to it, using the shovel a rest. Looking at the boys tired face and bloodstained clothes up close, Charlotte realized he had multiple scratches and bite wounded that seemed to have been already turned to scabs.

It was around then, the people in the monastery let out a collective sigh of relief as they finally began talking once again.

"They did it, they actually fended off the zombies!" A scrawny woman with greying hair said.

"Where the hell did all of them come from anyway? Even if all of the surrounding villages all turned into zombies, it still wouldn't make up those numbers." An elderly man said.

"They must've come from deeper within the Land of Dead...." The Village Chief said, silencing all others.

The villagers heard horror stories about what dwells within the deepest parts of the Land of Dead, it was acceptable that zombie would show up, so long as nothing else did!

"What about that Imperial Prince-nim, who knew that wastrel could take charge and hunt zombies"

"Well, he's a prince from the Imperial Family, so of course he should know how to hunt down zombies."

The still-scared ladies continued to chat among themselves. There words stunned Charlotte again, though.

'He was an Imperial Prince?'

Now that she thought about it, she did hear a rumor that a vile Prince had come to live in dilapidated monastery as banishment.

She locked her gaze at the boy once more

***

The villagers had begun dragging the zombies away from the Monastery, the revolting smell was making it hard to concentrate.

Their breathing were extremely heavy and disarranged, but their eyes were still diligently scanning the over two hundred zombie corpses strewn about everywhere, making sure one didn't start moving.

Some plopped down on their butts, perhaps no longer having any spare energy left to even remain standing up. Others embraced the broken and rotting corpses while sobbing loudly.

'We survived! Even if the paladins don't show up, we've trimmed the number of zombies to manageable levels and after drinking my Holy water, the villagers are somewhat plague resistant. Everything is going great!"

Allen was really wishing he'd chosen a 'melee ' profession when he started up that old computer, or at least choose a profression after reading them all.

The Heretic profession he picked was a dark magician class, insulating it was psychically weak but had powerful spells.

Taking one final sip of his leather watersack, feeling his fatigue go away and his injuries start itching, Allen stopped the farmer Gril who was carrying a zombie leg.

"Gril, have someone distribute the rest of my Holy water to those most injured. Just a sip! Refill it from the Divine puddle if you run out" Allen overbearing voice said as he shoved the water sack forward.

"You remembered the name of a farmer?" Gril was more stunned by Allen remembering his name than the Holy water.

"Farmers are the backbone of civilization, of course I'd be competent enought to remember name of my local farmer. Now go distribute the water!"

Gril seemed to be a bit stunned. After a few seconds, he nodded his head energetically, looking as if he was flustered before quickly instructing a villager to distribute the water to the injured.

'I got to make sure not to call people by name, i might accidentally use identify on them and call them by name before they even introduce themselves.'

Thinking about the Holy water, Allen suddenly remembered something and spotted the young farmer who lugged around bodies with grill.

"Hey tou, what ever happened to that girl that nearly killed me? Did she wake up?"

"That girl? Ah, you mean Charlotte, your highness? She's safe and sound, and I think the ladies inside the monastery should be taking good care of her."

Allen casually glanced at the monastery, only for a sickly feeling of someone's gaze locking onto him but he couldn't see any faces.

"I see.... Tell everyone to take a thirty minute break, and treat their injures. After that we'll have to begin giving the dead proper burials."

"Does that have to be done today?" Gril said disheartened.

Looking over at the villagers before glancing back at Gril, everyone was dead tired right now except Allen. However he didn't like procrastinating and putting things off.

"Like I said you guys can take a thirty minute break, after that we need to put their souls to rest!" After saying this, Allen walked out of the barricade and into the graveyard to begin digging alone.

***

Directing the villagers to help dig out a burial pit next to the cemetery, the mass funeral was simple and concise.

Building multiple large bonfires, the villagers stacked the zombies onto them to burn as Allen read scripture from a book in the monastery, detailing how they can now move on to the after life.

As the fires died down, they then poured the remains into the large pit they dug and buried, all the while Allen spoke the words of scripture. As the final words of the prayer was finished, Allen felt the Divinity inside of himself increase decently.

Praying and performing duties for the Gods was the only way Allen knew to grow his Divinity further, so he took every opportunity seriously.

"Let's head back to the monastery. We'll wait for the paladins to arrive but we still need food and water to survive. We'll have to split into two teams, one to scaveneger for any food in the villages and the second to draw water from th-"

Allen felt shivers down his spine as he spun around, once again a gaze that Allen didn't enjoy receiving landed on him, and his stomach began churning in worry for some reason.

Not taking chances, Allen summoned the village chief before him.

"Yes your highness!"

"Did any strange events happen around here in the last few days?"

"When you say strange events…?"

"Like, for example, a strange object showed up or maybe a stranger came to visit the village."

"Hmm...I don't think so. Just the things you'd expect from the plague, survivors from collapsed villages begging for help, animals dying off, and other phenomenon."

'Hmmm...' Allen looked at the dozens of villagers that stood before him, before he raised his head up and began sniffing the air.

They all looked at him weirdly but Allen's face couldn't help but frown.

'There a scent in the air, but it's too faint. It's either super far away, or its close but something is blocking the scent...'

***

Letting out an involuntary yawn, Allen was sitting in his small bedroom inside of the monastery. His mind was extremely tired and demanded sleep but that scent in the air raised all of the alarms in his mind.

The pitter patters of rain hitting the old monastery was melodic and it took all his willpower to stay awake. Allen felt the calls of slumber but he refused to answer, his mind too worried on thise strange feelings he was getting.

"Kyaaaa!!!" A scream resounded alongside a thunderclap.

Allen was startled awake from his half conscious state as he immediately grabbed his shovel and left for the main part of the monastery.

As he opened the door, a flash of lightning occured and lit up the white haired and crimson eyed girl who's expressionless face was like that of a sheet of ice.

"What are you doing outside of my door?!" Allen said, a hint of hostility in his voice.

"....…" The girls expressionless face faultered slightly but she remained silent.

The tension between the two was raising but was cut immediately off as the Gril rushed over, his face covered in cold sweat.

"Highness! Your highness!"

"Stop shouting! What happened?" Allen's sleeplessness and mental fatigue resulted in headaches and Grils yelling only exasperated them.

"Your highness, someone's has been kidnapped by zombies!" Just then, the thunder clap was heard.