Outside the Khetmenet, time flowed differently. In the world of Gaia—the continent of Greek Mythology—a day would equate to a month in the Khetmenet; the continent of Egyptian Mythology.
It’s been a few months since the mass shooting in school, and the reincarnation of Keiko in the world of Gaia, but... there was more to it than what meets the eye.
Others had come into this world as well.
Otherworlders, to be exact, and there were three of them.
But instead of reincarnating like the daughter of Bubastis, Keiko, they were transmigrated.
Hinata, the popular girl of Hoshin High.
Koji, the so-called ’lucky chad’ who stood up for everyone in times of need.
And Itsuki, the androgynous male who appeared shy, and usually timid.
Together, they were appointed as Heroes in the state of Sparta as Otherworlders; individuals who either reincarnate or transmigrate into other worlds from their respective universes.
In the Universe of the Axis Mundi, they were considered heroes with the strength to slay even the most powerful foes—usually given powerful artifacts or skills from the Gods above.
And now, with their newfound strength, Koji, Hinata, and Itsuki stood in the front lines of battle, slaying their enemies with overwhelming power.
"Haaaaahhh!!" A young woman with long blue hair and yellow eyes, dressed in armor fit for a hero, cleaved through an army of the undead with her divine blade. "It’s futile!" She was Hinata Amane.
"These damn things just keep comin’! We need to find the person who is summoning them!" Holding a sword engulfed in flames, was Koji Hayate, slashing through a legion of skeletons and turning them into ash. "Itsuki, some backup, please!"
Both Koji and Hinata were shown to be injured with deep wounds after fighting for hours on end. And standing on the sideline was Itsuki Kazehara—watching the battle unfold nervously; but he wasn’t the type to let his comrades fall.
Holding up both hands, he erected a blue magic circle, nodding his head.
"R-Right!"
"Hurry up, you idiot!" Yelled Hinata, parrying the blade of a skeleton before cutting it in two.
"Ascension Heal!"
After awakening a divine skill with the help of the gods—who blessed all three of them—Itsuki imposed his craving onto the world, overriding the laws of reality.
Ascension heal restored all wounds, regardless of the damage. Physical, mental, spiritual, or ontological, it would all be healed by the grace of his Divine Skill.
Both Hinata and Koji were covered in a bright green light, feeling their wounds vanish in the blink of an eye, and their stamina recovered.
"Hell yeah! That’s more like it! Oryaaaa!" Koji ran straight into a horde of zombies, slashing his way through at a rapid pace.
"That damn fool!" Said Hinata, furrowing her brows.
Together, all three of them were fighting in a battle against the undead. Millions—literally millions—of undead flooded the plains outside Sparta, stretching far beyond the horizon. It looked like an impossible victory to achieve, especially with their rate of growth.
"Keep pushing! Don’t let them break formation!"
"We might need reinforcements!" Koji shouted. "There are too many of them, we can’t hold out forever!"
Itsuki tightened his hands into fists, watching his friends dive headfirst into armies that could swallow entire nations.
"I-I’ll support you! I’m not letting you all die." He took a deep breath, summoning another magic circle. "Not here... and not in this world! We will find a way back home after we save the Axis Mundi! That’s what we all promised, right?"
They fought as if the world itself depended on it, and honestly, at this point, it did. But even with all their strength, the battlefield looked endless.
Somewhere in the massive army of the undead was someone responsible for summoning them.
After their lesser undead fell, they started manifesting stronger ones; those that towered over buildings and were stitched together from dozens of bodies, wielding rusted weapons bigger than carriages.
Koji’s flames slashed through another wave, but more just poured in behind them.
Hinata started to grit her teeth at this point.
"This is insane... how does one have so much mana to summon so many?"
Itsuki couldn’t answer her, or make a comment. Every time he opened his mouth, his voice trembled, so he just bit down on his lip and raised another magic circle; one bright enough to illuminate the battlefield.
"Everyone, gather around!"
They all turned to face Itsuki before moving in closer.
"Sanctified Barrier!"
A dome of light erupted around all three of them, and the moment it formed, a massive undead giant slammed its fist against it.
The impact shook the ground, but the barrier held firm, rippling like water from the powerful blow.
Itsuki now staggered forward, gripping his trembling hands.
"Hinata... Koji... we need a strategy to beat them. W-We can’t win like this. At this rate, Sparta will fall..."
Hinata looked at Itsuki, but didn’t answer right away. She just stood there, lowering her sword in her hand before gazing at the ground in thought.
She hated admitting weakness, even for a second.
But Itsuki was right.
This wasn’t a battle they were dominating, despite their status as heroes.
Koji slammed his flaming sword onto the ground, angry at their situation.
"Damn it! Even if we kill a thousand, a hundred thousand take their place! At this point, I’m starting to think this whole thing is a sick joke! Didn’t the Gods say once we saved Gaia, we would return home?! It’s looking impossible!"
Hinata narrowed her eyes at his words.
"This obviously has Malgrith’s hand all over it. He’s one of the Four Heavenly Kings. He’s naturally stronger than all of us combined..."
Itsuki placed a hand on his chest, trying to steady his breathing.
"Even then. There’s no way a necromancer could control numbers like this alone. Not even a hundred. There has to be something else animating them."
Hinata finally turned to him, lifting her brows.
"What are you saying?"
Itsuki swallowed pretty hard before facing her timidly.
"There has to be an Umbraviir who’s responsible for this."
Koji paused, lifting his brows at Itsuki’s comment.
"A what? That sounds like bad news..."
"It is." Itsuki said, lowering his head. "When we were brought into this world, I did a bunch of research into learning about its history, and creatures, and I came across the Umbraviir." He looked shaken up just by the name alone. "They’re spirits who embody natural forces of the world... so this one has to be one of the spirits of death, known as the Keres."
Hinata widened her eyes, evidently confused.
"A Keres? So they’re responsible for summoning this many undead?"
Itsuki nodded his head.
"Y-Yes, most likely... but I never saw one in person, so I don’t know how they’d look."
Koji blinked at him as if he’d just spoken another language.
"A spirit of death? Shit. As if the giant corpse monster wasn’t enough."
Hinata, on the other hand, went completely still.
"Keres..." She muttered under her breath. "That would logically explain the unending waves, and the way the dead are stitched together."
Another slam struck the barrier—this time from a different direction—as more giants pounded against it like a drum. Itsuki winced as the dome flickered, showing cracks of light crawling along its surface like spiderwebs.
He didn’t have long left before it broke.
Koji glanced at the barrier with panic seeping into his voice.
"Uh, guys, any ideas? We should brainstorm faster."
Hinata was staring into the battlefield with confusion, feeling sweat drip down her brow. She wasn’t good at making strategies; she was just a girl who got popular at school and got all the guys. There was no way she could get them out of this.
But Itsuki spoke again.
"But that does mean... if Keres is here, then we’re not fighting an army of undead. We’re fighting an anchor point." He looked at them both. "Something that is tying the spirit to the material world."
"Huh?" Said Koji, lost in thought.
"...Something tying the spirit to the material world? So conjurers?"
Itsuki nodded his head.
"It takes at least four conjurers to sync their mana together to keep a spirit manifested. My best bet is that they’re at the far end of the army of undead, protected by stronger ones."
"Shit. The far end, huh?" Koji looked out of the Sanctified barrier, staring at the undead that surrounded them. "I don’t have any flying skills, nor does Hinata."
Hinata furrowed her brows.
"This isn’t looking good for any of us. And we’re going off of assumptions here."
Koji took a deep breath, gripping the handle of his blade even tighter.
"Itsuki, this barrier. What does it do, exactly?"
"Huh?" Itsuki widened his eyes. "W-Why?"
"Just tell me!"
He flinched once Koji raised his voice.
"I-It’s part of my Epic Skills, reflecting any attack aimed at its exterior. B-But it can only reflect so many!"
Koji turned to face his comrade, smiling.
"Good, that’s what I like to hear."
Both Hinata and Itsuki tilted their head in confusion.
"Itsuki... put the barrier around me. I’m gonna charge in, head first."
"Huhhh?!"