Today, once again, Sissy and Bobo weren’t here to play with her.

Clara looked out the window of the wooden room she found herself being in a lot more than she realized. Sitting on the ground with a plushy pillow for her bottom, she watched out the window out to the town where she had been staying for a long time now.

Everything felt so crazy just recently, and now things were calm, but completely different than her usual life. However, all she could do was sit around all day while Sissy and Bobo were out, probably having lots of fun without her.

But no, she shouldn’t think like that. She knew why Sissy and Bobo were out there, and it wasn’t anything fun. She still remembered the horrible place they were sent to.

The hallways and the knights, and the pain that came after that was still fresh on her mind. Some nights, she would cry out to either Sissy or Bobo, depending on who was closest, to make sure that she wasn’t there.

Where everything tried to hurt them, to hurt Sissy or Bobo. Every time, Sissy and Bobo together would come and tell her that it was alright, and she believed them.

As long as they were there, she would be safe. And more importantly, they were safe as well.

But now they weren’t here. More than being afraid of returning back herself, she was afraid that those two would be back there, in pain again. The screams still echoed in her mind when she remembered Bobo getting hurt with that giant sharp sword. How Sissy would cry out when she got cut up multiple times.

She doesn’t understand why everything wants to hurt them, but she knew not to question Sissy and Bobo. They were the smartest people around, especially Bobo. He was a lot smarter than Sissy. He read so many books. A lot of books!

But if there were trouble, Sissy would always be there to protect them, being a lot stronger and faster than Bobo. Despite doing so much fighting, Sissy seemed a lot more excited and happy compared to their past life.

When she remembered how life was like before all of this, she recalled her family, her Mama in particular.

Her Mama was… strange. She knew she was her Mama, but she wasn’t as close with her like Sissy. Even Sissy didn’t like her, even though she was her Mama too.

But she can’t remember her Papa for some reason. Ana would ask who her parents were, and all Clara would answer is that she had a Mama, but no Papa. She swore she had a Papa too, but then there were two, and somehow Ana gets confused and then said to forget about it.

When she first met Ana, she seemed scary at first. She was loud, obnoxious, and overall really annoying, like all the other kids in her class before she was taken to this place. But after hearing Bobo’s words, she realized that Ana wasn’t bad.

Instead, she was nice, and really fun to hang out with. If she hadn’t listened to Bobo, she would have not realized it.

Every chance they get, they would play a game or hang out with Sissy and Bobo, because her parents are always so busy.

But they were important people in this entire place. They were in charge, so Clara understood immediately why they would be busy, as Sissy and Bobo would be busy despite not being in charge. Ana, however, didn’t care about it as she just wanted to play.

“Clara, pay attention now,” The teacher said, her voice calm and cool which got her attention.

Clara felt red-faced as she tried to pay attention. They were currently in school, just like how she was in the old place they were at. However, this was a much more fun class than listening to her teacher talk about a lot of things she didn’t really care about.

After all, they were talking about magic. Bobo can use magic, so if Clara can learn magic, she could use the same magic Bobo used when he summoned those pretty birds.

Those butterbirds were so pretty and beautiful, it made Clara want to see them again. She would always ask Bobo to make them appear again, but Bobo refused. She tried asking Sissy, but she also refused. For some reason, they feared Clara would run around again, but why wouldn’t she? They were so pretty, she had to catch them.

So she will focus and learn how to do magic so she can summon them and play with them whenever she wants. She focused intently, noticing the teacher, who is named Vivian, smile at her.

“Good girl,” The nice lady said, smiling at her. “Perhaps you’re worried about your sister and brother, but I’m sure they’ll be fine. After all, the lords are with them.”

Clara nodded. She was worried, because they could be in pain like before. But she remembered that the nice man and woman who they were living with, Ana’s Mama and Papa, were with them. Ana’s Papa taught Bobo a lot of things, including how to make the butterbirds, and Ana’s Mama helped Sissy by fighting with her and learning how to use those sharp weapons..

She didn’t like her Sissy using such dangerous things, but she always seemed to be enjoying herself unlike before, so she didn’t say anything. As long as Sissy was happy, then Clara was happy too.

“Vivian!” Ana raised her hand, catching her attention. “Why are they taking so long?! They should be back by now!”

“Now now, Ana,” Vivian looked like she was exhausted already, but that is how Ana is. It took a while for Clara to get used to it as well. “You should know by now that your father and mother are very busy people. They are doing something very important to protect our town and our people. If they come back too early, our people will get hurt.”

“But… won’t they get hurt too?” Ana asked, now looking worried. This was the first time Clara saw Ana like this. “They said they were going to a ‘dungon’. I heard that is dangerous.”

“Hah, you mean ‘dungeon’,” Vivian smiled sweetly at her. “And yes, those are very dangerous. Which is why your mother and father had to go, along with your sister and brother, Clara. They are all needed to protect us from the danger of the dungeon. That’s why you must be good little girls and wait for them. For now, pay attention. That is the best of what we can do to make sure they don’t worry about us.”

Clara looked over at Ana, noticing her grumbling and frowning. She knew what to do, so she placed a hand on her own hand, catching her attention.

“It’s okay,” Clara said with a smile. “Bobo and Sissy are there. They’ll protect them.”

“Hey!” Ana shouted back. “Mommy and Daddy are way stronger than your Bobo and Sissy! Their levels show it!”

“Nuh-uh!” Clara shouted back. She hated when Ana kept mentioning how strong they were. She saw Sissy and Bobo fighting herself, there was no way they were weak. “Bobo and Sissy are stronger!”

“Mommy and Daddy taught them how to fight!” Ana said with a devilish grin. Clara only grumbled as she tried to fight back.

“Now, now, that’s enough. No fighting,” Vivian tried to calm them down, ready to step in if anything happened, but Clara refused to back down.

Then, a very loud bell rang out in the distance. Both she and Ana flinched at the sound, being so loud that everyone in the town would hear it.

“What?” Vivian suddenly shifted, her eyes turning very scared. “That can’t be… an attack? By who?”

“M-Monsters are coming!” Ana shouted. “And Mommy and Daddy aren’t here!”

“Neither is Sissy and Bobo…” Clara said, her voice trembling at the idea of those horrid monsters coming in again.

“Don’t worry,” Vivian turned from being scared to being serious, looking at the two of them. “We have powerful people on our side, protecting us. We will be fine. However, let’s get ready to leave just in case…”

Then a powerful blast occurred right outside the building where they were, causing the windows to crack from the force outside. The girls screamed, and Vivian quickly jumped down and covered the two with her body. Shards of glass fell over in a torrent, their small ears ringing.

“Vivian!” Ana’s voice cried out, tears already brimming her eyes.

Clara watched in horror as the nice lady Vivian looked hurt, red liquid pouring from the top of her head, and worst of all from where her back was facing the window.

Just like when Sissy and Bobo got hurt for her. Just like when she was when they were leaving. She was hurt, and in pain.

“Vivian!” Clara cried, tears already falling down her face.

“Don’t worry…” Vivian breathed, her voice pained but kept smiling all the same. “This is nothing. Now come on, let’s go!”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Without hesitation, Vivian picked up the girls and ran out of the room. It was Vivian’s house and they were at a large room where most of the kids would be in. Though for now it was just the two of them, so Vivian didn’t had much trouble picking them up.

Clara watched as they reached the outside, as clearly where they were now was too dangerous. What she saw made her face fall.

A lot of people running, scared looks in their eyes and screaming. Some of the children were crying for their parents, while the soldiers were running towards what felt like the cause of all this.

There was a large burnt crater right in front of the building. It looked like something landed there, causing the explosion to occur.

“Vivian!” One of the soldiers shouted, a young man Clara remembered sparring with Sissy at one point. Despite getting hurt multiple times, he thanked her for the training. He now ran at her, his sword and shield at the ready. “Oh gods, you’re hurt!”

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. Pele, what’s going on?” Vivian asked, trying to wipe off the red liquid covering her face. “Are we under attack by monsters again?”

“No, it’s worse,” Pele shook his head, causing Vivian’s face to frown. “It’s other soldiers. They’re… they’re attacking us!”

“What?!”

Vivian shouted so loudly it got the girls to flinch. She apologized afterwards, but she quickly glared back at Pele.

“Why?!” Vivian shouted, anger clear in her voice. Clara knew it wasn’t aimed at her, but she still felt frightened just the same. “How could they do this? When our lords are out with most of our elite soldiers at this time…!”

“We don’t know, but they launched an assault without any warning. All of our soldiers are responding as we speak. Right now, I need you all to follow me. We’re evacuating the non-fighters to the shelter.”

Pele looked back at the girls. Despite the obvious fear in his face and tone, he still tried to smile, showing a trustworthy face.

“Come with us. You’ll be safe. We’ll hold them off and defeat them all!”

Ana nodded, though she still looked worried as she tugged on Vivian for support. Or rather, to support her as she looked like she was swaying about. Pele noticed it quickly and grabbed onto her, helping her over to the shelter with the girls in tow.

Clara, however, didn’t believe it. This place was supposed to be safe, but now other people are attacking them. Is nowhere safe now?

Sissy, Bobo… please, help us.

She prayed for her siblings to come back, because she didn’t want anyone else to be in pain like she was. Like Vivian was now.

…..

She roared as she plunged her sword straight into a giant zombie’s chest. With her Heavenly Strike, she killed it with ease. Despite how tough the higher level zombies were, Heavenly Strike killed them easily.

Without a barrier to hide in, the zombies were becoming more and more dangerous to handle. Now that Zeke was gone–her nerves were frayed beyond belief.

Her teeth were grinding on edge and her mind was pulled taut to find any zombie that could go after her without warning. She tried to scope out as many enemies as possible as she returned back to her comrades to support them. Right now, the leaders were doing their hardest to push back the rising number of zombies going after them, pulling out more and more power to counter the lack of defenses brought with them.

She once thought that relying on Zeke’s barrier was a crutch. How if one kept relying on a barrier made by another person, it signified their weakness to keep moving forward. Not that she believed it was wrong–it was still suggested to not rely too heavily on his barriers all the time.

But now she knew that Zeke was truly essential to the group. His barriers alone would bring out the best in a dungeon raid, and along with his own healing and runes to use, he was invaluable. She never once thought that without him, going through a dungeon is equivalent to going on a trek with a small chance of escaping unscathe. In a dungeon filled with the rare and dangerous Undeath aspect, there was a smaller chance of escaping alive.

Due to that, they had already lost two soldiers. The spearman from earlier, and the mage Lisa who Zeke knew. The spearman was bitten multiple times by surrounding zombies when he was pulled away by force from the opposition. They clearly separated him from the group, and eventually turned him into a zombie. It only took a swipe from Myra’s burning spear to take him out.

Lisa, whether fortunate or unfortunate, died of natural causes. Without a barrier to hide in, she was struck on the back by a zombie archer, then once more straight to the back of the head. Philip screamed in rage and killed the archers instantly, but the deed was already done.

She died before Cloud could heal her back up. Philip went on a rampage after that, burning everything around him. Only Myra could provide backup as her Fire attunement and Incendiary Grasp somehow gave her resistance against his powerful flames.

They were currently in another room, where rather than being surrounded by long platforms at random places, they were now in a large convoluted hall where one can easily go over the walls to the top. Chains hung restlessly as they rattled, only now realizing that the chains were actually being used by the zombies to create a spell called Noise-Funnel.

It was an incredibly noisy spell made by a zombie mage, which once again made Mikella truly hate the zombies for being so diverse. Cloud did surmise that for their special abilities, they shouldn’t have anything to resort to turning them into the undead, so Mikella went after the ones that were the most troublesome. Val followed suit, taking out the stronger ones that she couldn’t handle by one-shotting them.

Zacharia became the tank, as it were, taking the most hits out of everyone. His armor was strong enough to handle the bites of the zombies, but even if that failed, his high Endurance and Vitality is enough to counter the powerful undeath that could turn him. Mikella couldn’t imagine the horror of facing a turned Zacharia if otherwise. That beast can just go straight to hell.

Of course, all the while, she fought the urge to run and find Zeke. She knew he was still alive somewhere, she just had no evidence of that. All she had was her special status that was linked to his. As long as it remained the same, that meant that Zeke was still alive. It was her own small hope that she kept in her chest as she lunged after another zombie who was ready to strike her with a spell.

It was a zombie mage, and it was different from the others as it wore a robe and a staff like a common mage. There was a ball of burning ember floating in front of it, ready to strike, but Mikella flew in with Dragon Descent, powered by Aerial Advantage and struck it down with an easy pierce through the chest. It could barely do a thing before it fell to the ground.

At the same time, the madness, something that she was picking up recently, was broiling inside of her. She worried whether the class would take over her once again.

Yet, it was as though her class and herself were one. If there was one thing they shared–it was the tenacity to live through this struggle with might. As though her mind broadened, she was able to find more zombies encroaching her surroundings, trying to go after her comrades and take them away.

She turned and dashed towards the next zombie who was approaching Piker. He alone was facing more than four zombies at once, using his bastard sword to keep them at bay. He was heavily injured, having to take a brunt of the attacks along with Zacharia. No matter how strong he was, there was no way that a single person could take on so many monsters at once.

She really started to wonder just how there could be so many zombies in this damn dungeon. There should be a limit, right? They must have faced hundreds at this point, though they were the annoying types that ran rather than keep going like the beasts from the outside. The only ones that seem to have a death wish are the ones that bite the others and turn them.

She stood by Piker’s side and took out the zombies that were trying to go at his back. Piker used his Ice magic to pierce the zombies ahead, taking them out with a piece of ice stuck in their heads as they fell.

“I’ll be fine,” Piker shouted to Mikella. At this point, he referred to her as a fellow comrade as he pointed his bloody chin at another side. “Go help them while I retreat. Can you handle that?”

“Got it!”

Mikella did as he said, no longer having issues with him. At this point, who cares about their earlier hostility? It felt so petty to think about when people were dying.

And that was true even as she saw ahead of them. The twin brothers, Maxie and Jackie, were forced against the wall by the zombies that seemed to be increasing in droves.

Not only that, they were the undeath zombies, the ones that Mikella easily recognized by now as the ones capable of turning people.

She ran faster and faster, noticing the large distance ahead. As the twins fought bravely, using their shields to defend themselves as part of their training, Jackie ran out to stab a zombie that was coming after them.

Then another, and another, and another again. He kept stabbing them, but it wasn’t strong enough. The zombie that didn’t get stabbed through the head, but the chest instead, rose behind him.

Jackie didn’t realize as he was caught in his bloodlust, trying to take out as many zombies as possible. His attunement was just basic, so he only had a stat increase rather than magic. Mikella screamed as she noticed the zombie coming straight at Jackie with an open jaw.

Jackie only managed to turn around in time from Mikella’s scream to find it too close to do anything. Then, someone else got in between them.

Maxie stabbed the approaching zombie, but the jaw has already latched onto Maxie’s open neck, biting it straight through the skin as blood pooled out.

“Maxie!”

The zombie died, but soon Maxie followed as he fell to his knees. Jackie ran after him, holding him up by the shoulders as he tried to dress the wound.

But just as quickly, Maxie turned around and grabbed Jackie’s wrist. Jackie watched in horror as his twin brother looked back at him, dark veins covering his head and the rest of his body while blood and gunk dribbled down his mouth.

His eyes turned white as death itself. Maxie turned.

“Maxie…” Jackie shook his head slowly. He wasn’t able to comprehend what was going on.

He just kept standing there as Maxie opened his mouth, ready to bite his own brother without realizing it. But there was no point. Maxie was gone. Only a zombie remained.

Mikella didn’t want to lose anyone else at this point. She jumped, pulled out her spear from her bag, and threw it right at Maxie. Her heart grew heavy as the spear pierced Maxie’s head, then dragged it straight to the ground with a heavy thump.

Just like that, Maxie died. Blood and gunk covering his mouth, his eyes looking to the side.

Jackie knelt, his breathing turning ragged and hard. Only then Myra ran over, her face covered in sweat, blood, and panic as she saw the scene.

“Jackie!” Myra shouted as she knelt near Jackie, grabbing his shoulders and looking at his twin’s now corpse. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, then opened them. There was a lot of pain in that short moment, but she turned back to him. “Come on, let’s retreat. He’s gone now. But you’re still here.”

Those words, however short and decisive it was, brought Jackie back as he nodded. Mikella finally reached them, looking over at both Jackie, and the now deceased Maxie.

She pulled out her sword, but then Myra got over to Maxie’s corpse, then pulled her spear out of him. She pushed it towards Mikella, a determined look on her face.

“We gotta keep going,” Myra said, heat in her voice for her enemies. “Keep going and never look back.”

Looking at that determination in her face, Mikella nodded as she took her spear back, her sword in her other hand.

Mikella took a friend’s life away. Myra’s best friend from her childhood and Jackie’s twin brother from birth. Yet, she accepted the weapon that killed him with no hesitation.

Perhaps it would be painful, but for now, Mikella took it on with confidence.

There were still plenty of zombies to kill, and Zeke to find.