Meanwhile…

"Eve… can I talk to you?" Zeke asked quietly.

The person in question was bent over some kind of metal contraption on the table in front of her. "Umm…" She murmured, not taking her eyes from the device before her. "Sure, what's up?" She touched a finger to a metal rod and a brief glow flashed.

"Well…" Zeke started, hesitantly. "You know how…"

The door banged open behind him and Zeke jumped. He turned and saw Kyle saunter in followed by two other men, both carrying aluminum baseball bats. His 'tanks', as Kyle called them and they did look a bit banged up while Kyle was almost sparklingly clean.

"Hi guys." Zeke hurried over to them. "Need any healing?"

"Hello Zeke!" Kyle smiled at him and then passed by to head for his sister. "Hi Eve! I brought you some Cores." He exclaimed.

"Great." Eve said flatly as Zeke put a hand on one of Kyle's tanks. "Give 'em to Zeke."

[Purifying Light]

"Thanks Z." The man said quietly as he relaxed a bit under the golden glow. Zeke knew his passive Aura was already healing them but it would be faster with both Skills.

Behind him Zeke heard Kyle muttering something and the clattering of the Core Chips on one of the tables.

"So Eve…" Kyle said. "Why don't you take a break and come have lunch with me? I found a giant chicken out there, I bet it's…"

"Not interested." Eve said quickly. "Lots of work to do."

"Hitting on my sister… sleazy." Zeke thought, as he felt the first of the men's health stop regenerating. He switched to the other.

"Oh Eve," Kyle laughed out loud, but it sounded forced. "You'll come around one of these days but don't worry I'll keep looking out for you… and your brother." The last bit sounded like an afterthought.

Zeke rolled his eyes and saw the man he was healing grin at him before his health was full and the man gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Thanks kid."

"What's it like out there?" Zeke blurted out. "Are there monsters everywhere?"

"It's pretty rough." The man replied after a moment.

"I could go with…" Zeke started.

"Absolutely not!" Eve shouted before he could finish.

"But…" Zeke tried to speak up.

"I agree with Eve." Nate walked in through the still open door. "It is far too dangerous out there."

"But other people…"

"And," Nate interrupted. "You are far too valuable to risk." His voice was firm.

"I could help." Zeke said softly, already knowing it was a lost cause.

"You are helping Zeke." Nate stepped up in front of him. "You are keeping the Miasma away, you can heal everyone when they get back." Nate sighed. "You're just too valuable here."

Nate turned to Kyle. "I heard something about a Lair… tell me."

Kyle sighed and moved away from Eve, who was still ignoring him. "We got a message about a 'Beast Lair' after entering a big warehouse and then we were attacked by giant chickens."

"What was the message?" Nate questioned.

"That was it." Kyle said, sounding annoyed. "It said, 'You have entered a Beast Lair' and then we were attacked." He held a hand up above his head. "Giant chickens."

"Interesting…" Nate murmured.

"Also we couldn't find a way through." One of the other guys added. "It was a maze inside."

Kyle glared at him. "We could have… I was just low on Mana."

Nate nodded and then cocked his head. Zeke thought he heard a distant yelling, then Nate was sprinting out the door in a blur. "Incoming!" He yelled back. "Get to position. It's the Undead!"

Zeke felt a pit forming in his stomach as he heard Nate shouting and moving further away.

He started to follow and someone grabbed his arm. Zeke glanced back and found Eve holding onto him.

"I need to help." He pleaded.

"Inside." She stated and Zeke could see fear in her eyes. "We'll set up triage here." She looked at Kyle. "Spread the word, injured get brought here. Got it?"

"Don't worry Eve!" Kyle called as he headed for the door. "I'll keep you safe."

Zeke felt his sister's hand tighten on his arm briefly and then she was dragging him to the table.

"Take the Cores." She told him and turned back to her table. Zeke absorbed Cores while he watched her strap something to her forearm. It was bulky and had four tubes running down towards her hand like barrels of a gun.

"What is that?" Zeke asked.

"Progress." She growled and bent over the table again, hands glowing as she grasped a long metal tube with a sphere on one end and a spike on the other.

Zeke finished with the Cores and pulled up his Status.

Status

Name: Ezekiel Mitchell

Race: [Human](F Rank)

Traits: [Loves to Heal]

Titles:

Class: [Faith Healer(Initiate VI)](Rare)

Class Skills:

[Purifying Light(Weakened)(Initiate VI)](Rare)

[Purifying Aura(Weakened)(Initiate VIII)](Rare)

Attributes:

Strength: 17

Vitality: 18

Dexterity 16

Perception 19

Intelligence 20

Willpower 17

Faith 9

Soul 10

Non Class Skills:

Buffs:

[Purifying Aura]

Debuffs

"Faith is still low…" Zeke tried not to remember the first night when his faith had dropped but failed. He shook slightly as he clenched his fists and tried to focus. "God, please give me the faith to help these people." He prayed silently.

Otherwise Zeke felt stronger than he'd ever thought possible, he knew that he could jump all the way up to the high ceiling with barely an effort and yet...

Outside something exploded and he spun towards the sound. Someone screamed. Zeke clenched his teeth. "God please help us all."

More screams and explosions sounded, shouts echoed down from the makeshift walls outside the windows. Zeke walked hesitantly closer until Eve yelled at him. "What are you doing?"

"I… if I get closer my Aura will heal them on the wall…" Zeke was trembling as he spoke. "Please God, deliver us from evil!"

Some of the screaming sounded bad… really bad.

"Stay out of sight from the windows." Eve finally said and Zeke crept closer.

The shipping container walls were not far enough away from the building for him to see the top until he pressed up against the inside wall and peeked out the window.

He froze. "God save us!" He whispered, while staring in horror.

A zombie with glowing red eyes stood on top of the wall. A glassy eyed body beneath its feet dangled limply over the edge of the wall. Blood was dripping from the zombies mouth. "Not again!"

A spear impaled into the Zombie and small golden flames flickered on its body but it ignored it all. It only stared down from the wall, through the window and directly into his eyes.

Zeke was transfixed by the red glow coming from its eyes. He trembled under that evil gaze as he struggled to think of anything that he could do and fought against the memory of that first night when monsters like this had shattered his world.

Then a fire surged around the zombie with a woosh and it was gone. Zeke staggered back with a screaming sob. "Oh God! Oh God!"

"What is…" Eve yelled, then the sound of her voice was drowned out by a screeching, screaming sound of tearing metal and something came through the makeshift shipping container wall outside.

Zeke thought he heard Eve yelling but it was unintelligible under the cracking and splintering of the wood and plaster wall being ripped open by the monster coming through.

Zeke backed into something and toppled over. Blue-white beams flashed over his prone form and towards the invader. He scrambled upright and finally saw it clearly.

It was a Zombie. Glowing red eyes, much brighter than the other, shown out from a previously human face. Normal human looking teeth could be seen in its open mouth as it laughed. One hand was held up and Zeke watched another beam flash towards it… and scatter uselessly against a magic barrier in front of its hand.

"There you are!" It roared.

Zeke froze in shock at the sound. The voice was deep and scratched at his ears but he could understand the words clearly. "God help us!"

"Hahaha!" It roared in cruel laughter as Eve's shots stopped. "Show me what you got, Purifier!"

Somehow the challenge snapped Zeke from his shock and he thrust his hands towards the thing.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

[Purifying Light]

He screamed defiantly as golden light beamed from his hands and seared into the monster. Small golden flames flickered to life across its body, then it laughed.

"Pathetic!" It roared. "Let me show you real power!"

Its hands moved and dark light flickered and grew behind them until a ball of blackness shot away from it and straight at Zeke.

"God save…"

He saw Eve diving past him. In each hand she held a spike with a metal sphere on top. She hit the ground just before the magic reached them and drove the spikes into the floor.

"...us!"

The black ball of death exploded.

Zeke screamed as he watched Eve vanish underneath the expanding cloud of darkness, even as he desperately pulled at the golden light inside him. "Eve!"

Then the darkness swirled and rolled back. Underneath he saw Eve, each hand clenched on the spikes as the magic raged around the globes at the top of each. He watched the darkness getting sucked into those spheres and running down and around the shaft until it slammed into Eve.

She screamed in agony and Zeke could see black lines crawling up her arms even as her hands withered and rotted in front of his eyes. "God! No!"

Eve pulled a hand free and skin ripped from her palm as she did. She never stopped screaming as she raised her crumbling hand, gauntlet around her forearm, and opened fire.

Four blinding beams of energy snapped out, blue-white and now swirling with blackness. The beams slammed into the Zombie and he staggered back, four holes burning into his chest before he lifted a hand and his shield appeared again.

"Stop interfering!" It roared. The Zombie stepped forward and swung a foot towards Eve as she screamed and her gauntlet spat out beams of glowing fire again and again. Zeke was diving towards his sister, golden light leading the way as it fought against the black corruption consuming her.

The monster's foot blurred towards Eve's head… and missed.

"Run!" A deep voice called out as the Zombie snarled.

Zeke saw him then, Byron, the wonderful giant! He was holding onto the Zombie by its arms and dragging it back, away from them.

Zeke slapped his hands onto his sister, as gently as possible, and poured golden healing light into her. "Oh God! Oh God, Eve!" His eyes were blurring as he looked at her. "Your hands!"

Her hand on the spike was almost skeletal with rotten flesh drooping and falling from it. The other was almost as bad but her arm… the gauntlet had melted into glowing hot slag and he could hear her flesh sizzling. "Run… Zeke…" She whispered.

"No! Eve!" Zeke was shouting as he pulled at his Core, pulling desperately for more of the healing light. "God! Save her!" He screamed. "I have faith!"

He glanced up to see Byron, his hands turning black as well where they gripped the monster. It wrenched an arm free and turned on the big man, its fist taking on a dark glow.

The Zombie punched Byron, it's blows causing light to flash from him as he used a skill to defend himself.

Blackness spread into Byron from each impact but the big man didn't release the other arm. Instead he pulled the creature closer, until he wrapped it up in both of his arms and hugged it tight. "I won't let you have them." He said loudly and firmly. "I won't fail again."

The Zombie bit into Byron as it roared and thrashed. Black lines were spreading rapidly across Byron's body and his flesh was sloughing off. But he didn't let go. "Never again." He rumbled as his eyes closed and he continued dragging it back. "Never…"

Then he vanished.

The Undead stumbled briefly as he spun back to face them. Then he smiled. "Humans are such fascinating creatures."

Zeke followed its gaze and saw Byron lying on the floor behind him, a small child leaning over his dying body and glaring at the Zombie with tears in his eyes.

"You!" Zeke recognized the boy who kept popping in and out all the time.

The Monster took a step and Zeke spun his head as he put a hand on Byron and tried frantically to heal him.

The Zombie stepped the wrong way… it turned around and frowned at them before trying again. It took a step away. Zeke glanced at the boy and saw him trembling as sweat ran down his face.

"Clever." The Undead exclaimed. "But you're too weak." It took a step and the boy collapsed as it moved closer.

"I…" The Zombie loudly proclaimed.

It burst into flames and Zeke felt a surge of hope. "Kyle!"

"I'll save you Eve!" Kyle yelled from the doorway, then the flames subsided and the monster was frowning towards the man, apparently undamaged. "Ahh!" Kyle squeaked and vanished from the doorway.

Zeke felt his brief hope dying. "You coward…" He cursed after the man.

"Now where were…" A figure blurred into view and a brilliantly glowing fist slammed into the Zombie's head and sent it across the room and through the wall.

Nate was breathing heavily as he looked at Zeke and took in the wounded people around him. "If you have any miracles ready…"

A black blur slammed into Nate and sent him sliding across the floor. When he stopped Zeke saw the Zombie, glowing black fist pushing against Nate’s own glowing crossed arms. The black energy didn't appear to be hurting Nate and Zeke felt a resurgence of his hope. "Thank you God!"

"Don't thank God!" Nate yelled as he started exchanging blows with the Zombie. "Run!"

Zeke looked down at his sister, at Byron, the boy whose name he still didn't know. "Run?" Eve was in bad shape but Byron was so much worse. "Run and leave them behind? Leave Eve?" He thought. "Why would I bother… I can't escape… if I can't save her… It would be better to just die with her."

-1 Faith

The room was shaking as Nate fought against the Zombie. Glass rained from every window as shock waves reverberated back and forth.

"I don't have enough faith to save anyone… not even myself." Zeke looked on in numb despair as the duo battled.

Then the Undead was violently slammed into the floor as Nate pulled off some kind of throw. The Zombie roared, outraged. "Enough!" It blurred up from the ground and Nate was sent tumbling across the room. More zombies surged through the windows and piled onto him as he tried to charge back into the fight.

"Play with those until I'm ready for you." The Undead spat towards the struggling pile.

"As for you…" It stepped towards Zeke. "I'm sure now that you didn't kill my brother." It stopped, looming above him. "You're weak. Too weak." It hissed at him. "A Faith Purifier!" It laughed aloud. "My favorite."

The Zombie paused to watch Nate for a moment and Zeke saw one of the zombies in the blurring swarm, suddenly fly across the room, slam into a wall and collapse to the floor, headless.

The monstrous Zombie looming above Zeke roared and more zombies climbed into the room and joined the melee.

"That one has potential… maybe I'll take him…" It murmured. "Might make a better body than this one did…"

Zeke was silent as he watched and he looked up when the Undead turned its attention back to him.

"I love watching those like you as your imaginary gods fail you." It grinned. "And I see now that you've already realized it."

"So before I devour you… tell me, who killed my brother?" It growled.

-1 Faith

Zeke had tears running down his face as he felt the light coming from his hands dim. "It's not true…"

"Haha! There it is!" It crowed. "There's the despair!"

A rotting hand touched his cheek. "Eve…"

"Don't… worry… little… brother…" She smiled up at him. "I… love…"

A foot kicked her hand away and stepped onto her arm, the metal melted into her ruined flesh still sizzling. Eve groaned as the Undead leaned forward and bent his face closer.

"There shouldn't be anything on this new Dungeon that is capable of destroying one of us."

It growled as it loomed over him. "So tell me who or what killed…"

A rippling thrum of power rolled over everything. "Fear! Pain! Anger!"

The Undead paused and glanced out the window. "What was…"

Eve started laughing, a pained bloody laugh. "Haha ha!" She gasped.

"What is…"

"That…" Eve croaked. "...Is what killed your brother." She kept laughing.

Zeke was confused. "What is…" It was a familiar feeling… "Stanley?" Zeke suddenly realized what he was feeling. He remembered the first morning… the old man and his dog, the message about a Raid Leader.

Then later… the dead crab… the bleeding man.

Who then flew away and brought back a whole bus stuffed full of people. "Is he coming back?"

He struggled with flickering hope and glanced at the patched wall where the old man had reappeared earlier that morning.

He had knocked out most of them… and then unlocked the Soul Attributes of everyone in the room… just by looking at them.

+1 Faith

Another pulse washed over them. "Pain! Anger! Rage!"

"Was it the one with the small beast?" The Undead asked, cocking his head.

Eve laughed. "Yes!"

"Caffeine!" Zeke remembered that friendly little giant dog.

"My brother went after him." The Monster smiled evilly down at them. "He is stronger than me and it looks like he is torturing your human as we speak." It sounded satisfied and smug. "Even if he does have an unusually loud Soul."

Eve laughed louder. Zeke didn't know why she was so happy but it gave him a feeling of… something.

Hope.

+1 Faith

The golden light shone brighter from his hands and into Eve as Zeke felt something surging up inside him.

"You're only making him angry." Eve croaked with a bloody smile. "I watched him rip your fucking brother and his fucking army to shreds!" She screamed, defiant.

Another rippling pulse of power, much stronger this time. "Rage! Rage! Rage!"

[Dungeon Alert]

An Enemy Raid Leader has been Defeated. Contributions Earned by participating Defenders.

Defeat or Drive Out the remaining Invaders to claim your Rewards.

Eve laughed and laughed. "I told you." She grinned and spat blood out of her mouth. "You fucked up!"

"Impossible!" The Zombie standing over them was frozen in shock, staring to the south.

Zeke felt the rippling power, it was not stopping this time. "So much anger…"

He felt Stanley, felt his attention settling onto them. His rage. Narrowing down, focusing.

"Feel that?" Eve whispered, leaning forward as much as she could while flat on her back, eyes boring into the now uncertain Zombie. "He is coming for you now." She grinned as her eyes closed. "Coming to kill… you… fucker…" She sagged into unconsciousness.

"Stanley…" Zeke thought, as he continued pouring out healing light. "He wouldn't give up." Zeke felt the defiance in that screaming, raging power. "He would fight against anything just to save Caff…" He remembered that desperate unstoppable drive when he'd thought his pug was hurt.

He'd seen that same refusal to ever say die in Eve's eyes. "I can't give up either…" He looked at Eve's faintly grinning, unconscious face. "I won't!"

+2 Faith

Faith Threshold Restriction Removed.

(Weakened) Removed for Skill [Purifying Light]

(Weakened) Removed for Skill [Purifying Aura]

Golden light exploded from Zeke.

The Zombie screamed and leapt away as golden fire engulfed it from head to toe. It was still backing up when the expanding dome of light reached Nate. The zombies around him burst into raging gold bonfires and Nate appeared, flying straight for the only Zombie left standing.

The Zombie screamed in pain, the looming rage arrived, settled around them. Reached for the Zombie. "Rage! Rage! Kill!"

In a flash of black light the Zombie vanished.

The Rage faltered, stopped. There was a flash of pain and it was gone.

The Golden light spilled outside and Zeke could hear zombies screaming and burning until they fell silent and the only sound was human cries of victory.

Nate smiled at Zeke as he slid to a stop in the spot where the Monster had been. "Good work Zeke."

Zeke tried to smile but he could feel something wrong, something next to him.

He looked down at Byron as fresh tears blurred his vision. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "Forgive me for my weakness." He choked back a sob. "Thank… thank you for saving Eve…"

A hand fell on his shoulder and he looked up into Nate’s eyes.

"Look at his face." Nate said softly with a sad smile. "He died doing what he believed in."

Zeke looked at the smile frozen on the dead man's face and let the sobs free. "I'm sorry my faith was weak." The corruption had been obliterated from Byron by his Light but the wounds remained, although his face was surprisingly free of blemishes. "I'll protect them for you from now on." He swore to the man.

"Don't lose hope Zeke, we're still in this." Nate squeezed his shoulder softly and stood up. "I'm going to check on the others." Nate stopped next to the unconscious boy who had tried to save Byron.

He smiled at the child and gently moved him away from Byron and lay him next to Eve.

"Poor kid." Zeke thought. "It's not your fault… You tried your best." Zeke reached over and touched him with his Purifying Light. "It's my fault." Even though he knew that his Aura had already healed any damage. But just in case…

Nate walked out and Zeke sat somberly in the Golden Light of his Aura and held his sister's healed hand as he rejoiced in the victory and mourned the costs of that victory.

He could feel the power from his Aura, flowing out from his Core, healing and revitalizing the wounded all around him.

And the little pockets where it was now too late for his power to heal anything.