Arpious of the Planes

(Ester POV)

Another unsettling feeling sunk in as more undead rose from the murky water. I glanced at my party members and saw that they were sweating profusely, and it wasn't just from the humid swamp, but it was the same unsettling feeling that made me back up slightly.

The First Horseman of the Apocalypse… Plague.

It was clear from his warped personality that he was a horseman, but being able to identify that he was Plague wasn't that hard as well.

In the stories, he was said to be a monster that had been zombified and gained a human form… but the man in front of me shows nothing close to being zombified. He was handsome and had clear hair and skin… but just like every other horseman, his personality is warped.

Another similarity between the man in front of me and the plague horseman in the stories is the zombified horse he sits on. He sits on it almost as if he's a noble… just like those damn nobles in our kingdom.

I grit my teeth in anger before being snapped back to reality by the finally formed undead army charging towards us.

Their smell wasn't that bad, but you could already guess the horrendous smell that filled our nostrils and sinuses covered it up. It was so bad that it made thinking 10x harder, making our teamwork crumble whenever we made one mistake.

"Finn! Keep blocking them, and I see that you're running out of stamina but hang on for a bit longer! We need to push through before he can summon another wave of the undead!" Tayber says.

Taybers words fill me with courage, making a small smile creep onto my face once again.

That's right, and this guy only knows how to use the undead to his advantage. He doesn't seem to be that physically strong, maybe around Ted's level. In addition, he's not even carrying a weapon, so that close combat will lead to our inevitable victory.

As Tayber, Ted, and Finn charge towards the front lines, I try to support them as much as possible by covering their blind spots.

My first move was ducking under Finn's arm and slicing a zombie that tried to reach for Tayber. I kicked the zombie away and then stabbed my dagger directly into where its heart is supposed to be.

Killing undead is extremely difficult.

If you cut off the zombie's head, they can still move. If you cut off their limbs, they will still attack you because they feel no pain. If you aim for one of their rotting vital organs, nothing will happen… besides hitting where their heart is or used to be.

Their heart serves no purpose if it is there or isn't but what matters is the core inside the heart or where the heart used to be. It's pretty large, and it's a dirty white that is the same color as their remaining skeletal system.

"Eeep!" I hear Eloise shout.

I snap my head around and see a skeleton reaching its bony hand towards Eloise. She tried to defend herself by swinging her staff randomly, but that did absolutely nothing as it had no power behind it.

Clenching my fist, I throw a punch directly at the skeleton's weak spot... it's head. Its head instantly smashes open, shards of white bones flying everywhere.

Eloise shields her eyes from the shrapnel as the skeleton collapses.

"Be careful and stand a bit farther back," I say before Eloise regains her composure.

Eloise's golden aura calmed me down, but it didn't actually affect Eloise herself.

"I-I can apply more buffs!" Eloise shouts.

"No! How much mana do you have left!"

"I-It's fine-"

"Quick!"

"126 out of 500- W-watch out!" Eloise shouts.

Just as Eloise calls out a zombies attack, I duck down, swiftly pivot my foot, and stab my knife into its core. The zombies' already dead eyes seem to grow duller as it collapses to the ground.

"TAYBER! WE NEED TO BACK UP A BIT AND WAIT FOR SUPPORT!" I shouted to Tayber, who was clearly struggling.

"TAKE A LOOK AT THE BATTLEFIELD! EVERYBODY IS BUSY WITH THEIR OWN THINGS! EVEN THE HEROES ARE BUSY!" Tayber shouts back, also stressed by the situation.

"DAMN IT! TAYBER, THEN WE HAVE TO PUSH FORWARD NOW! WE CAN'T RUN THE LONG GAME!"

"I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING! ALRIGHT, MAKE SURE TO BACK US UP! Finn! Ted! We're pushing forward now!"

Tayber, Ted, and Finn nod in agreement as they activate almost all of their skills. I do the same as Eloise pushes her buffs to the maximum.

Tayber's normal metal sword exploded with a yellow aura, and slight hints of the blade turning yellow were visible. Though it wasn't nearly on par with the current Light Hero's power, I could tell why he was selected as the next Light Hero.

His wavy blond hair had fully turned yellow, and it slightly grew even larger as it waved in the wind. I couldn't suppress a blush while looking at Taybers new form… he was extremely handsome and cool.

"Snap out of it," I mutter, slapping my cheeks before glancing at the other 2 members of our party.

Finn's massive metal armor was enveloped in rocks, making him look like a giant earth golem, holding a massive shield and massive greatsword.

His shield had been fully coated in rocks, and it glowed a slight brown color.

But the most noticeable part about Finn was his glowing red eyes and inhumane roar as he lifted both of his massive weapons into the air. The normal white aura that enveloped him soon turned blood-red as he started to swing at the waves of undead.

Ted, on the other hand, was calm while he released a steady red aura. The fire that wrapped around his spear exploded out, increasing the temperature even more.

He also used the fire from his spear coating skill to manipulate a few wisps around him that were sent flying at the undead.

Fire and Light were extremely effective against them, so that's why Ted and Tayber were put on the frontlines with our tank/berserker. If they weren't undead and were just regular intelligent monsters, we would've used our normal formation.

Finn at the front. Tayber and Ted supported from the back. I helped fill in any holes between Tayber and Ted while Eloise was right behind me, providing as many buffs as she could.

"Phew…"

『Status』

[Name: Ester]

[Race: Human]

[Status: Stressed]

[Level: 86]

[HP: 429/500  MP: 273/500  SP: 136/300]

[Strength: 100]

[Defense: 100]

[Magic: 80]

[Speed: 100]

[Luck: 1]

[Charisma: 30]

[Skills: [Body Enhancement] [Enhanced Senses] [Enhanced Regeneration] [Contortion] [Concentration] [Tangible Bloodlust] [Wind Walker] [Silent Steps] [Pickpocket] [Presence Eraser] [Grand Dagger Enhancement] [Dagger Coating: Wind] [Wind Control]

[Titles: [Hard Worker] [Grand Assassin] [Hero]

…

I activated almost every skill I had, causing my body to burst with a white aura. As I did a few warm-up steps, bursts of air shocked me from side to side. My breathing slowed as my eyes could only grow colder.

This was my perfect state as an assassin. Absolutely no bloodlust, emotion, or distractions…

"3… 2… 1… GO!" Tayber shouts

We all charge through the horde of undead with Eloise at the center. Her calming aura helped our decision-making and support, but most of all, her buffs made it an overall easier time.

I slip through a zombie's guard and stab him in the core before ducking another limp swing sent by a skeleton. The skeleton showed no reaction even as I squeezed my fist and punched it straight in the temple.

I was struggling and even got scratched and hit by a few of the undead. Thankfully the zombies weren't plagued zombies as their scratches would've turned me into one of them.

But the skeleton punches, on the other hand, were catastrophic. It felt like a boulder collided with my ribs every time a bony hand punched me. Even Finn, who had defensive rock armor, struggled as hundreds of cracks appeared all over it.

『Status』

[Name: Ester]

[Race: Human]

[Status: Stressed]

[Level: 86]

[HP: 198/500  MP: 273/500  SP: 136/300]

[Strength: 100]

[Defense: 100]

[Magic: 80]

[Speed: 100]

[Luck: 1]

[Charisma: 30]

[Skills: [Body Enhancement] [Enhanced Senses] [Enhanced Regeneration] [Contortion] [Concentration] [Tangible Bloodlust] [Wind Walker] [Silent Steps] [Pickpocket] [Presence Eraser] [Grand Dagger Enhancement] [Dagger Coating: Wind] [Wind Control]

[Titles: [Hard Worker] [Grand Assassin] [Hero]

…

Dammit, we're so close, but I'm about to die!

I gritted my teeth as I continued to retaliate against the summoned undead. The horseman just continued to look down on us from his zombified horse without making a single move.

After another 5 minutes of struggling, we were right next to the horseman, and while he tried to summon more undead, they couldn't reach us in time as we used our full-on attacks.

A sword of light reached towards the horseman, a spear coated in blazing flames reached towards the horseman, a massive greatsword reached towards the horseman, and finally, I took a risk and threw one of my daggers at the horseman's heart.

WHOOSH

We were blasted back by a gust of wind.