We follow a woman who holds the title of Herald of the Celestial King Amber.

For the past month, Eurisia had been monitoring the main roads leading to the capital without drawing attention. She observed soldiers, diplomats, and merchants heading towards the city, but among them, she felt neither the aura of the Dryad nor that of the people escorting her.

No matter how long she waited, she found nothing. Her frustration eventually took over, and she shouted:

"Stupid damn Dryad! I'm so tired of wasting my time in this place!"

Suddenly, a voice came from behind her:

"Eurisia, stop making a scene. You look so pathetic, and that makes Master Amber look pathetic as well."

Eurisia scowled, but she couldn't lash out violently as she had done with Rockson. The man standing in front of her was far stronger.

"Sir Chandler, could you please leave me alone? I'm in the middle of my work."

image [https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/082/526/057/large/duval-saul-23132123123.jpg?1733226172]

Sir Chandler was a man with the appearance of a noble. He wore elegant clothes and glasses that complemented his charming looks, but there was something deeply unsettling in his gaze. His eyes appeared lifeless, and though his speech seemed polite, it carried a tone of condescension, as if he were addressing a very foolish child.

“Yes, I’m aware. You were given the mission to find the Dryad, but you failed.” Eurisia tried to defend herself, but Chandler didn’t allow her to interrupt.

“Let me finish. You’ll definitely want to hear what I’m about to say. A few weeks ago, some intermediate-level zombies guarding one of my hideouts were defeated. Which was strange…

There were no signs of a fight. My zombies were destroyed unilaterally. I went to investigate and observed Ivan from a distance. He was sipping a fine wine, which was odd. That man never leaves his animals. How did he get that wine?

I had my suspicions, so I requested a report from my infiltrators in the capital regarding the entry of individuals in recent days. The report included a story about a mercenary from Khisphe who was arrested in the capital and locked in the underground prison.”

Chandler threw some documents at Eurisia’s feet. She picked them up, reading the report, and saw a picture of Ester among the papers.

Chandler continued speaking:

“I have a theory. That mercenary was one of the Dryad’s guards. He brought her to the capital and was arrested so no one would discover that the kingdom of Dredprism already holds the key to reclaiming the demon king’s lands. All because a little, foolish scorpion didn’t think they’d take the longest and most dangerous route.”

Eurisia trembled with rage. In a burst of anger, she tore the papers Chandler had handed her.

“That bastard was one of the Dryad’s bodyguards! All my work was in vain. I should have killed them all instead of retreating the moment I saw the Dryad torn to pieces!”

Eurisia composed herself and said:

“I don’t care if it costs me my life. I’m going to the capital, and I’ll kill that Dryad myself, along with any idiot who gets in my way.”

Chandler, with a calm expression, responded:

“I thought the same thing, but we need to find out where the Dryad is. The moment we enter the capital, the guards will attack us. If we go in blindly, we’ll only die, and that will boost the humans’ morale.

We can’t handle this alone. I’ll need your help, Eurisia. I have a plan to kill the Dryad and crush the humans’ morale, but I’ll need your strength. You’re vital to my plan.”

Chandler had a smile on his face as he plotted the largest attack on the capital of Dredprism in modern times.

…

…

…

Back to Prisoner Ester…

Today was just another normal day for me. I have no idea what day it is due to the lack of sunlight, but according to Yuruba, almost a month has passed. I’ve earned the respect of my fellow inmates. I no longer see them as criminals; to me, they’re my gym buddies.

It’s funny. I used to be a man surrounded by women, but now I’m surrounded by muscular, strong men. I’m surprised at how easily I’ve adjusted, though I really miss Chizze.

Ironically, when I was with her, all I could think about was Amelia. Now, I can’t stop thinking about Chizze—or how I wasted my chance to sleep with Yoko. When you’re locked up, you have a lot of time to think… about everything.

That day, with Yuruba’s help, I cut my hair. It had grown too long and messy. As usual, I spent the day working out. It was an entirely normal day… until everything changed as I was about to sleep and heard a loud noise.

There was an explosion. The mana crystal that restricted prisoners from using their mana and magic was completely destroyed.

Yuruba and I looked at each other… we both knew things were about to get ugly.

The explosion shattered the cage in our prison yard, and within seconds, a riot broke out. The guards tried to contain the prisoners, but the inmates far outnumbered them. Without the mana crystal restricting their powers, the prisoners overwhelmed the guards in both strength and numbers.

Yuruba and I stayed in our cell, observing the chaos. I looked at him and asked,

“Aren’t you going to join them and escape?”

He replied,

“No. I refuse to fight the knights. My mother was one of them. Now that I think about it, you weren’t expecting your companions to get you out of here. Surely, they weren’t the ones who caused this.”

I grabbed my head with both hands and thought aloud,

“They would never do something like this. This must be a demon attack… no offense.”

“Don’t worry, Ester, I don’t take it personally. Like my mother, I am human, and I will live as a human. Even if I spend the rest of my life locked up, my humanity is all my mother left me.”

I took Yuruba’s hand and said,

“Let’s jump through the hole above the cage. It’s very high, but I think you’re strong enough to do it. We won’t hurt anyone. Besides, whatever is happening here might also be happening outside.”

Yuruba squeezed my hand, and we leapt out of the cage we called the underground prison. Once outside, a few guards tried to attack us.

I had no intention of fighting anyone at that moment. Using my speed, I got close to the guards and applied my degenerative magic:

“Nervous System Paralysis.”

The guards were left writhing on the ground. The whole exchange lasted only a few seconds. Yuruba, seeing this, looked at me with a frightened expression. I assured him that my paralysis wouldn’t harm them; it would just keep them still for a while. Yuruba didn’t seem entirely convinced but trusted me, having no other options.

After that, we infiltrated the guards’ locker room and stole full-body armor.

Once disguised, we could leave. However, I felt the need to restore order in the prison one last time before leaving in peace.

We ran to where the prisoners were fighting the guards. By this point, both prisoners and guards lay on the ground, many of them lifeless. Without wasting time, we started fighting my gym companions.

I already knew their fighting styles from training, but now, with their mana and magic unleashed, their strength was on another level.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Our strategy was simple: Yuruba acted as the vanguard while I got close to paralyze them.

It took time, and Yuruba was gravely injured, but we won. I was exhausted, but there was still much to do. I healed Yuruba, and after helping the surviving guards, we used the chaos to escape the underground prison.

Once outside, we saw that the capital city of Dredprism was under attack by demons. Buildings were ablaze, people were fleeing to the outskirts of the city… It was chaos, a stark contrast to the peace I had seen the last time I was here.

Yuruba asked me what the plan was. I told him I needed to go to a house where I had been staying.

I had memorized the address, but I didn’t know how to get there. Yuruba said,

“Give me the address. I know the entire city.”

I gave him the address written in the general’s letter, and we ran across the rooftops of buildings. We ended up in front of a large mansion.

“Yuruba, are you sure this is the address?”

“It’s the only house with the address you gave me, Ester. I didn’t know you were a rich kid.”

The house looked a bit different from the general’s memories. I supposed it had been renovated since he was hospitalized.

I trusted Yuruba and entered the mansion looking for my companions, but I only found a maid I didn’t recognize.

“A demon! Don’t kill me!” the woman cried out upon seeing Yuruba. I could see those words hurt him.

I approached the woman and said,

“Miss, do you know where my friends are? My name is Ester. I am the general’s protégé, and I’d like to know if my friends are here.”

The maid stopped crying and pointed at Yuruba. I said,

“I know he’s scary, but he’s not bad… just ugly.”

I regretted saying that when I saw Yuruba’s teary eyes.

The maid composed herself and asked me a series of questions to confirm my identity. They were questions about the general, the contents of his letters, and the names of my companions.

After answering her questions, the maid realized I was the real Ester.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Ester. I am Seres, the maid in charge of this mansion.”

Once she was calm again, I asked her what had happened, why the capital was under attack, and where my companions were. Seres took a deep breath and said:

"Since your companions arrived, they’ve followed a fixed routine. Chizze and Yoko go to the military academy every day.

Misses Kharla and Victoria often go out and stroll through the city. I assume they were gathering information on how to find you, judging by the conversations I overheard between them and a knight in armor who calls himself the Prince of Rusthia. His name came up frequently in their talks.

Sometimes, he is accompanied by an albino woman with pink flowers in her hair.

Today was no different. Chizze and Yoko went to the military academy, and Misses Kharla and Victoria were having tea in the garden.

I was simply performing my duties, serving their tea, when we heard an explosion near the entrance to the capital.

Afterward, several more explosions occurred, and a man’s voice boomed from the sky:

…

…

…

‘People of the capital, I am Chandler, a herald of the Amber Heavenly King.

Contrary to what you might think, I am a human, tired of this country’s hypocrisy. While you live in peace, the people of Amster suffer, bearing the brunt of the war, and you send your best soldiers to die.

I’m fed up. I’m only looking for one person. Once I find them, I will leave in peace. But if you defend them, everyone in this capital will die, and it will be a human who ends your lives.

We will only kill those inside the capital. If you want to live, leave the city, and I promise you will not be harmed.’

…

…

…

After that speech, more explosions followed.

Lady Victoria said:

‘I never thought they’d come looking for the Dryad in the capital. Kharla, we need to protect her quickly.’

They left immediately, and I hid in the mansion."

Now I understood. I needed to make sure that herald didn’t kill the Dryad or my companions.

“Yuruba, I’m sorry to ask this favor. Could you take care of Seres and the mansion? I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

Yuruba looked at me and said:

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but I’ll trust you. And Miss Seres, don’t worry. I’ll keep my distance and limit myself to protecting you.”

At that moment, we stepped outside the mansion due to the loud noises. We saw an army of zombies approaching us.

image [https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/082/526/020/large/duval-saul-eweqwqew.jpg?1733226093]

"Go find your companions. I’ll protect your house."

I trusted Yuruba and ran off while he tore through the zombies.

…

…

…

Meanwhile, at the military academy, just before the chaos began, Chizze and Yoko were training as usual. By now, the class had fully accepted them as companions.

They were training with the best students in the class: Demian and Marian. The focus was no longer on fighting each other but on learning how to cooperate.

Neither Chizze nor Yoko objected to learning how to fight alongside others since, in the war zone, they would have to battle in teams with complete strangers against the demons.

Typically, Demian refused to cooperate with any students other than Marian, but since his fight with Chizze, he had developed feelings for her. Being young and unsure whether these were feelings of friendship or love, he simply focused on cooperating during training. Marian, for her part, was a woman of few words, but she didn’t seem bothered by their new teammates.

Midway through the training session, the explosions and Chandler's speech occurred. Chizze immediately realized the severity of the situation.

Everyone fell silent as they listened to Chandler’s words. Once the speech ended, Chizze broke the silence:

"It’s exactly as Master told me. They want humanity to destroy itself."

Yoko added:

"And they must be desperate to attack the Empire’s capital. Was that Dryad really such a threat to the Demon King’s plans?"

There was no time to reflect. Meteors fell from the sky as if heralding the apocalypse. From a distance, the meteors began to shift and crack open, resembling a bird breaking out of its shell.

The creatures inside the meteors exuded the stench of death. From some of the cracked shells, fire emerged. It wasn’t clear what was happening until they saw various types of zombies: some shaped like dogs, others humanoid, and the most dangerous, flaming zombies that exploded upon contact with any humanoid being.

Within a minute, the military academy was under siege, surrounded by zombies. The instructor shouted:

"The weakest, barricade yourselves inside the academy! The strong, fight the monsters! The strongest, protect the people!"

An improvised team was formed, with Demian in the rear providing support for Marian, Chizze, and Yoko.

They used the strategies they had learned in class. Demian applied his wind armor to Marian and Yoko while teaming up with Chizze to guard their rear against the flaming zombies.

It was an intense battle, but thanks to their teamwork, they were able to hold off the zombies effectively.

The problem was their sheer numbers. After defeating the zombies near the academy, they were already exhausted. The only one still in optimal condition was Marian, thanks to her peculiar armor, but the rest of the group was drained.

Without a moment to rest, a man descended from the sky, enveloped in a radiant blue light.

image [https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/082/526/024/large/duval-saul-qweewewwe.jpg?1733226096]

It was a zombie similar to the others, but it was covered in electricity. It was as if a lightning bolt had struck right in front of them. The zombie couldn’t speak; it only wanted to destroy everything in its path as violently as possible.

“Chizze, I think this is the last one left…” Yoko said.

Chizze, through sobs, replied:

“I doubt it. These things are like cockroaches… but Chizze has never lost to cockroaches.”

Marian charged at the zombie, taking significant damage that her armor absorbed. Demian used his reinforcement to protect Chizze and Yoko since they didn’t have armor like Marian. They managed to keep fighting at first.

However, the zombie didn’t seem to weaken. No matter how much damage it took, it remained just as strong. Attacking it in close combat only electrocuted whoever tried. The group of four began to fall back.

Essentially, they hid behind Marian, knowing that if she fell, they would all die at the hands of that zombie.

“This is pointless. Chizze could kill that cockroach if the dumb Kharla were here to help… how frustrating,” Chizze said.

She tried to attack the zombie, but it grabbed her hand, electrocuting her.

“Let go of Chizze, you damn monster!” Yoko shouted.

She tried to help her, but the monster pushed Marian onto Yoko, pinning them both down. Meanwhile, Demian, drained of mana, could barely move.

Demian watched as the zombie hurt Chizze right in front of him. He began crying in frustration.

“Let her go… LET HER GO! Someone help, please… HELP!” he screamed desperately, even though he didn’t think anyone would hear him.

Then, he heard footsteps. In front of him appeared a man dressed like a knight and prison guard.

The man ran toward the zombie and grabbed it with his hands, electrocuting himself in the process. However, he shouted:

“CELLULAR DESTRUCTION!”

The zombie, which they hadn’t been able to harm, began to lose its strength. Its body seemed to melt into an amorphous mass, saving Chizze in the process.

The man gently took Chizze into his arms, and Demian saw him cast healing magic. Chizze was unconscious. The man laid her softly on the ground and approached to heal Marian and Demian.

Still in shock, Demian said:

“Thank you so much, Sir Knight. Who are you?”

He then heard Yoko shout:

“Ester, you came to rescue your beloved wife!”

Yoko, still injured, threw herself at Ester and stole a kiss from him. Despite the situation, Ester healed her while she clung to him, unwilling to let go.

“Wait… you’re Yoko’s husband? Wow, you’ve got strange taste,” Demian commented, relieved that his companions had been saved from such a dangerous situation.

Marian also looked at Yoko with an expression as cold as ice.

When the kiss ended, Chizze threw herself at Ester and cried:

“Master, I thought I’d die without seeing you again. Chizze missed you so much!”

Chizze was sobbing as she hugged him tightly.

Perplexed, Demian asked Yoko:

“Hey, why is Chizze hugging the man you called your husband?”

Yoko placed a hand on Demian’s shoulder and, with a face full of pity, replied:

“I’m his second wife. Chizze is the first.”

Demian’s eyes widened as his heart shattered.

Beside them, Marian, who had been listening to the conversation between Yoko and Demian, was trying her hardest to stifle her laughter.