There were many differences between the Red Dragon Unit's second battle compared to its first.

At Taris, the town was still holding against the Harkelan Empire's assault. But at Founwell, the enemy had breached the walls. Like ants over a mound of sugar, Harkelan forces were all over the city.

The Red Dragon was able to catch the enemy off guard at Taris, but the enemy was prepared to receive hostiles. Seeing the enemy's formation facing them, everyone knew a surprise attack was off the table.

To make matters worse, this Harkelan army was more numerous and was on average stronger than the last one they faced.

And the most glaring difference might be that the enemy's ranks were mostly made up by the undead.

Skeletons in armor with eerie green fire in their eye sockets and ribcage. Zombies of the freshly dead Latias knights, grim fate of the fallen Founwell stalwart defenders. A variety of dead monsters. Immaterial creatures that roamed in a world they didn't belong. They were all leashed to servitude.

There were high tier undead too, like generals to the lesser ones. Some looked like abominations, like dullahans, like priests, but all dead. These beings had high battle power and auras that buffed the rank and file. They were the pillars of the undead army.

But these formidable scourges were but appendages of the one controlling them, the necromancer.

In the heart of the Harkelan army, the master of these dead was doing something magical and profane. Such was the magic in the air, and they all felt it. Meanwhile, the necromancer's limbs kept damaging the Founwell and its people. Thousands of Latias people were at the mercy of the undead.

Time was against them.

***

Croix convened a war council.

He called the ten squad leaders of the Red Dragon Unit to discuss strategy. Each squad leader led ten Pathseekers. The unit was something that was cobbled together at the start of war so they were pretty diverse. Some squads consist entirely of men who didn't know each other, others from the same city or Knightly Order. For one reason or another, these men joined the duke's call for war.

The Latias military command, which currently meant Duke Valentine's strategists, put together a balanced unit before putting them under Croix's command. The squad leaders were Level 3s, while the rest were Level 2 with a few of 3s.

Viers didn't know these people except one. He probably could have known everyone's dirty secret if he opened his databases of soul-searched information in the magic item Recordkeeping Mirror, but Viers deemed it was too much effort and didn't bother.

On a separate note, while most of the unit was men, there were a few women. Though they were less than ten.

Besides the original ten squad leaders, there were Viers and Boram and a guy that was the leader of Taris' reinforcements. Sakuya slipped into Viers' shadow before the meeting so she could listen. Naturally, she asked Viers' permission first, very politely.

"Your Highness, we're wasting time having this meeting. We should attack immediately! We're Founwell's only hope!" One of the squad leaders said.

"Precisely because that is so, Sir, that we must not fail," Croix replied sternly. "Our enemy is forminable."

"The banner is unmistakable. It's the Harkelan Army's Death Hand Division. Its leader, Tevr, is quite famous," another squad leader added. "He first appeared in the Empire's northern battlefield, where the undead raid from the cursed land is constant. He fought the undead with the undead and quickly rose through the ranks. In just a few years, became in charge of a division. He's brutal, ruthless, and highly skilled. We should not underestimate him."

"Yes, but we have the prince's dragon with us! What undead doesn't fear fire? And not just any fire, dragon fire! A hundred or a thousand, all will burn like dry firewood!"

"You'd dump all the responsibility on the prince!? Have you no shame?"

"What did you say!"

"We are facing a necromancer in the height of his power, with a near-peer force but outnumbered us by ten to one. That is, if the enemy isn't a summoner." Viers interjected before he lost more time uselessly than he already was. "Attacking head-on is suicide."

"Maybe for you," the hot-headed squad leader scoffed. "We Latias knights can take a hundred or two hundred of those rotting bones before breakf-... Hey!"

"Considering future battles in the days ahead. We should not engage in costly battles," Viers continued speaking as if he wasn't interrupted, ignoring the young, minor noble squad leader. "I propose we strike at the enemy's weakness, the necromancer himself. With him gone, Tev or whatever, his undead will outright be destroyed or severely weakened."

"Do you have a way, Avel?" Croix asked.

"Simple. Sneak, stab, done."

Most of the squad leaders let out voices of outrage.

"A small team?" Croix asked calmly like a still lake. "How small are we talking?"

"Just me is enough."

"Master, I-"

"The spider webs are too difficult for you to slip through, Boram. I'll do it."

"Prince! You can't possibly-"

Viers looked Croix in the eye. "The necromancer is in the middle of an Ascension ritual to Level 4. His attention is divided. If you want to save Founwell as soon as possible, this is the fastest way."

"...Very well. Make it so, Avel."

"Prince!"

"Yes, my lord."

Viers said and bowed like one hell of a butler. Before he left the tent, he paused. To silence the voice of discontent, Viers opened his mouth.

"If by sunrise the necromancer is still in this world, you can have my head."

Without further delay, he walked towards the woods. The sky had started to redden as the sun was starting to set.

***

Viers' eyes, enhanced with the Euryale Sight Arte, saw many things. Hidden and invisible things were as if in plain view.

He saw the necromancer's encampment like a giant spider web. The undead were connected by threads. Many lesser undead were connected to the higher undead and then they to someone in the center of it all. A soul connection.

These threads also acted as sensors. There were also invisible wraiths patrolling around the perimeter. With the important ritual underway, the necromancer was on high alert.

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Seeing the spider web of soul threads, Viers was sure this necromancer was a soul user, and their greatest enemy of a Soul Pathseeker was another Soul Pathseeker.

Viers waited until dark. The undead's power grew during nighttime, courtesy of the necromancer, but Viers felt the trade-off was worth it. Meanwhile, he studied the infiltration route and weakness in the enemy's formation.

Entering fortified hostile places was his specialty, thanks to video games.

"It's time."

"If you wish to go alone, should I remove myself, Viers-sama?" Sakuya showed herself.

She was wearing her ninja garment now. Her long hair was tied up, and the lower half of her face was covered.

"What? No. I'm counting on you for my backup."

"But what you said earlier in front of the others-"

"I just don't want to expose you to them."

Boram was a blunt instrument. Viers trained him as a bruiser, stealth was not his forte.

You don't send the Hulk on an infiltration mission, you send him to smash castles.

Sakuya, on the other hand, was a natural choice with her skill set.

"I can do it alone, but there's no telling what will happen in battle. Having you around is reassuring."

"Yes," Sakuya sounded happy. "You can count on me."

"Give me your twin blades."

Viers asked as Sakuya did promptly. Sakuya fought using two short swords, just like he remembered in the Book World. Viers imbued the two blades with power.

"Now, these can cut ethereal beings for a while. There are quite a few down there. If you train your soul with your arcana card, you'll be able to do simple things like this on your own. Paina and Farley are already at this level."

"Thank you, Viers-sama."

"Then follow my lead. I'll show you my cool side," Viers grinned.

"Umm..."

"What is it?"

Sakuya looked bashful and put her index fingers together while avoiding eye contact.

"I also want to show you my cool side... desu."

Viers let out a laugh that came from the heart.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Two shadows on a cloudy night approached the undead forces.

The night was far from tranquil, for the city of Founwell was in a tight spot. Pockets of fighting were still ongoing in the city from the sounds and occasional Artes.

Sakuya was impressed.

She knew Viers was a formidable Pathseeker from the time they shared in the Book World but it seemed like his stealth skills were incredibly refined. It was in no way inferior to hers and she was a specialist that had received training since childhood.

It was only natural since Viers was using the Vanish in Abyss Arte.

When he was still a green Pathseeker, Viers learned the Fade in Shadow Arte from a minor assassin. Vanish in Abyss Arte was the original, stronger version of it. The latter he learned from a Level 4 big shot femme fatale assassin that tried to betray him not too long ago in the Zetel Magisterium Tower.

Vanish in Abyss, like its derivative, could be used by anyone regardless of their affinity. It worked best if used with darkness or shadow affinities, but it was very usable even without. As expected of a core Arte of a devil god worshiping cult.

While Viers wasn't able to become completely invisible, he could hide in the darkness, and there was plenty of darkness in the night. The Arte masked his presence, erased sound and scent, insulated his Victa from outside detection, and many more. He could also perform minor teleportation in the form of jumping from shadow to shadow. Truly, a thief's ideal technique.

A strong Arte for sure, but what impressed Sakuya was more than that.

Viers' way of avoiding the spider webs of soul detections, magical traps, and the enemy's senses were all top-class. Timing of movement, the silent kills, speed, sabotage... Precise and lethal, Sakuya felt like she was on a mission with a high-ranking ninja.

As expected of Tanael... Viers-sama. Even without using his true strength. You also need to step up, Sakaki Sakuya! To stand on the same stage as him!

Sakuya used a different Arte and she kept with Viers' maneuver. The enemies weren't able to detect her either.

"This place will do," Viers spoke to her mind. "We need to clear the enemies in this area."

"Roger."

Sakuya and Viers split up for the cleaning duty. They must not make a racket. They were surrounded by enemies now. She sneaked into the back a watchful ghost with five heads and twenty-two eyes. A sentry created by the necromancer.

Arte - White Petals Eightfold Slash!

With the ghost cut into pieces, Sakuya jumped from the scout platform to a group of skellies below her. There wasn't even a sound of crumbling bones as she dispatched them, swiftly and beautifully.

A patrol of two undead knights approached from the corner. Ranks 3s, the same as her. But Sakuya moved without hesitation. She threw seeds to the left knight and charged towards the right knight. She placed a holy talisman on the undead.

"滅!" (Metsu!)

With a simple exorcism chant on her lips, the unholy power that kept the corpse animated was purified. As for the other one, plants grew from the inside of its armor, immobilizing the undead, draining its necrotic energy to its eventual demise.

A flock of fleshless carrion birds attacked her from above. Sakuya jumped and threw shurikens and kunais at them with deadly precision. All eleven were struck mid-flight and turned to dust.

She landed on a wooden post and heard a strange sound.

"Bravo."

Turned out it was Viers. He had taken care of the rest of the undead in this small area. The sound she heard was the camera shutter sound effect.

"Ah, Viers-sama's magical picture creation. I still have the one we took together in the Book World," Sakuya jumped down from the wooden post.

The Fatal Soulframe Arte could easily take a life, but Viers could reduce its attack power to zero and just produce a magical photo. He showed the latest one he took to Sakuya. The sight of her slender body in the ninja garb, a touch of smokey-like aura, scarf swaying, kunai in hand, serious eyes, and a cloudy moon in the background, taken from a low angle.

"Now I can see your cool side anytime I want," Viers grinned.

"Uuu... It's embarrassing, Viers-sama."

"I can give you a copy if you want."

"It's fine, thank you."

Viers chuckled and pocketed the photo. It came out very good since Viers added a few edits like in a game's photo mode. "Alright, time to strike at our necromancer."

"Well, we got here successfully but the target is still far away. What do you mean to do, Viers-sama?"

Viers explained while drawing a magic circle on the ground.

"The necro is in the middle of becoming a Level 4. To ease his Ascension and increase his odds of success, he plans on using the souls of the dead, the fresh dead harvested from the city. The ritual is conducted here, in a Power Spot with a slight soul affinity. Not perfect but it's the best he could find in these circumstances. With abundant sacrifices and completely extracting the power of the land, his chances of succeeding are pretty high."

"I see," Sakuya observed Viers' work with her hands behind her. She also kept watch for any signs of trouble. She wouldn't let anyone interrupt Viers.

"Ascension is a difficult and delicate affair. The higher your Level, the harder. When you're in the middle of it, you're vulnerable... Hehehe."

"What's so funny?"

"When I was doing my Ascension to Level 4, intruders tried to take me out too. I killed most of them and ransomed the rest. Now, I'm doing the same thing. Funny how the world works, isn't it?"

Back then, Viers didn't need to conduct a magic ritual to supplement his Ascension, but the necromancer wasn't Viers.

Sakuya gave an awkward smile, not sure what to say.

"The necromancer is at the center of the Power Spot. We're nowhere close, but our current position is one of the nodes. Do you realize he positioned his undead army as a substitute for a big magic circle?"

"Is that so... I didn't realize it."

Viers finished making the magic circle and threw away the tree branch he used to make it. He placed twelve candles outside of the circle before stepping inside. When he did, the magic circle began to glow with soft white light.

"From here, I'll strike at the ritual's master. The necromancer, the undead - I'll wipe them all out in one swoop!"

"Arte - Fatal Soulframe Second Form: Exequies Butterfly!"

The color of the magic circle became bright orange and the candles were lit spontaneously. From the fire, Sakuya saw ethereal butterflies emerging.

The butterflies looked as if they were made of flames. They scattered red flakes as their wings flapped. They reminded Sakuya of the fireflies of her home village during summer nights, but these were... more spiritual. Their color mystically drew Sakuya's attention.

"Crimson..."

Sakuya said as if she was daydreaming. A single butterfly landed on the back of her hand, yet she didn't feel the heat of fire from them.

"The inspiration for this Arte came from the land of your ancestors. Go, my pretties."

At Viers' behest, the butterflies flew to all directions with a dreamlike beauty.

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