Chapter 289: Big Commotion (2/2)

“DaMn yOu!!!” [Prison Guard Ghoul]

“Hmph!” [Schieber]

A ghoul lifted up its club and approached, but a swing from Schieber-san’s halberd easily deflected it.

“Gurururu!!” [Prison Guard 1]

“Kihi!!” [Prison Guard 2]

“K-Kill…” [Prison Guard 3]

“Come. I shall be your opponent.” [Schieber]

The prison guard ghoul was thrown back into its comrades, causing the small group of elites to halt in their tracks, while Schieber-san called out to them. The mana emanating from his body was a lot stronger than ever.

“Ka――” [Skeleton Warrior]

A skeleton warrior stepped out from the group, but its head was promptly obliterated as Schieber-san’s axe crushed its skull along with its helm. Then Schieber-san raised up the butt end of his halberd to send the body flying away before sweeping with the blade.

With every swing of his halberd, undead bodies flew; with his violent winds, they were transformed into dust. As undying as the undead might have been, when so thoroughly carved upon and crushed, even their undeath could not save them.

The fight might appear rough, but that wasn’t actually the case. Schieber-san was skillfully and meticulously handling his halberd to give rise to those violent winds. Moreover, those winds didn’t affect us or the undead behind, only the prison guards that were hostile.

“He’s really going at it. Hopefully he doesn’t use up all his strength midway through.” [Remilie]

“I can hear you! I haven’t gotten so rusty as to miscalculate my own strength, you know!” [Schieber]

Schieber-san’s movements showed no signs of stopping. He wasn’t in any danger at all, and before long, the prison guards were reduced to just one.

“Rebels, must…” [Prison Guard 4]

“You’re the last. Rest in peace now.” [Schieber]

“――”

The last undead raised up its weapon, but it seemed to have been frozen from fear and was promptly cut down while mumbling something. The undead prisoners all started making a racket.

It was just like when the villain was defeated in an action movie and the audience started cheering and praising, or like when you see someone you don’t like suffer, and you laugh and say, ‘serves him right!’ That was the sort of gesture that spread among the undead.

“Thank you for your hard work. Would you like some water?” [Ryouma]

“It’s fine. We didn’t have to fight as much as we were expecting, so I have plenty of strength and mana to spare. More importantly, continue with the memorial service… It would be great if you could send those guards to the gods too.” [Schieber]

“Alright.” [Ryouma]

I changed the image I had in my mind from ‘purification’ to a ‘memorial service’ and made the fire stronger. With that, the undead that fled from the prison guards returned to bathe in the smoke.

…Perhaps, they were excited that the guards were gone, or perhaps they were feeling a sense of liberation,but regardless, though they showed no signs of causing trouble, their movements were a lot more intense than before.It might be strange to say this about the undead, but they seemed full of life.

“…It’s almost like they’re dancing.” [Remilie]

“Huh?” [Ryouma]

“Look, that skeleton, and that zombie too. Notice how some of the wraiths are throwing themselves into the smoke and some aren’t? Their movements aren’t uniform, but I don’t think they’re just wobbling.” [Remilie]

“There are some sitting or lying down too. It’s just like a festival.” [Reinbach]

Some sat or laid down to bathe in the smoke close to the ground, some simply appeared to eat or drink, and then some seemed to be merely drunk or asleep. Then there were those that moved about restlessly, as well as excited ones that danced about within the horde. Indeed, now that they mention it, it certainly appears to resemble a festival.

I’d intended for this spell to be a ceremony to send the dead off, but it was really just a spell I came up with. It’s not a proper religious ceremony and isn’t anything noble or prestigious. Rather than a solemn ceremony, really it’s a lot closer to a festival at some tavern.

“In that case, it might be better if we had some music.” [Ryouma]

I took out my guitar from my Item Box and made sure that it was in good condition. I wasn’t sure what kind of music they’d like, so I just casually played a piece I learned recently.

“Oh, isn’t that the song from the Semroid Troupe?”

“Yes, I got acquainted with them when they visited Gimuru for the Founding Festival, and they taught me a thing or two.” [Ryouma]

A song played during one festival should do just fine in another. And just as I couldn’t help but be drawn to the festival music upon hearing it, the music livened up the place, and as it spread, even the undead far away were drawn.

“Do you think it’s safe to pull back the defensive line of the grave slime?” [Ryouma]

They told me it wasn’t a problem and to ‘go all the way’, so I instructed the grave slimes to split up. I left only about 10% to continue blocking the road, while the rest I ordered to spread out along each road and use the Attract Ghosts skill.

“Seeing them lined up so orderly makes for quite the beautiful sight.” [Reinbach]

The pale glow of grave slimes adorned the central staircase like guiding lights. It would be a bit sad to refer to them as mere lights, but similar lines should have formed in all the other roads too, and all of those together should serve as a convenient landmark that would guide the undead coming from afar.

As I played my guitar with mana, I called out to all the undead with thoughts such as, ‘come here, it’s fun’ and ‘we have delicious food and drinks,’ and before long, I too started to have fun.

Concepts from another world, Slime Farming, the liquor from Fatma Territory, the song from Semroid Troupe… Everything that I’ve experienced until now meshed together to give birth to a new spell. It was still rough around the edges, but it was gradually taking shape. I found that interesting and fun, but if it could also make someone else happy, then all the more so.

While such a sense of satisfaction filled me, the undead passed on one after another, and before long, the stars and the moon filled the sky as twilight welcomed the gentle night.