IRM Chapter 18

“We… are all dead.”

 

Upon hearing these words, Evan felt both puzzled and alarmed. “Why? How is that possible? Didn’t the angels notice your abnormality?”

 

The little undead shook his head and bit his lip without speaking.

 

Evan suddenly remembered. “Wait, wasn’t there one person who was fine? Didn’t you say he was still being eroded by dark magic? What does he know?”

 

“What’s the use of asking so many questions? Just go in and see for yourself.” Evan’s string of questions didn’t get him answers from the little undead, but instead made Saintess Coralie impatient.

 

She turned and dismounted from the magical beast, took out her wand, and looked back in the direction of the little undead. “But before we go in, I have a question. What else are you hiding from us?”

 

Her gaze fell on the little undead’s face, but also reflected Ji Chi’s figure in her pupils. For a moment, Ji Chi had the illusion that this question was also directed at him.

 

Seeing that he could no longer hide it, the little undead spoke in a voice so small it was almost inaudible. “The one being eroded doesn’t count as human…”

 

Saintess Coralie frowned.

 

“He’s still an angel.”

 

Saintess Coralie whirled around to face him. “What are you saying?! A fallen angel?!!”

 

The little undead became anxious and waved his hands. “No, no, Brother Reize hasn’t fallen yet. He just needs a lot, a lot of light elements.”

 

Saintess Coralie didn’t want to listen anymore. She grabbed the magical beast and was about to walk back. After walking for a while and seeing that neither Evan nor Ji Chi had moved, she looked at them incredulously. “You’re still not leaving? Are you staying here to die?”

 

As angels beloved by the God of Light, this race didn’t have a large population, but they were born with mastery of light magic, and their combat power had always been at the top tier of the Magic Sword Continent.

 

Their powerful light magic power protected them from harm by dark magic. However, once an angel fell, the ultimate light would transform into ultimate darkness, which would be an inevitable disaster.

 

“That’s a fallen angel! Do you know what this means?” Saintess Coralie was almost amused by these two fools. She pointed at each of them. “Not to mention a junior mage and a repeating student, even if Professor Joseph were here, he would have to obediently roll back and find the headmaster!”

 

Evan shrank his neck after being yelled at and defended quietly, “Didn’t you say he hasn’t fallen yet…”

 

Saintess Coralie’s sharp gaze swept over, and she smiled mockingly. “Oh ho, does Mr. Evan have a way to prevent an angel’s fall? Have you figured out the difficult problem that the Angel Kingdom has been researching until now?”

 

Evan pressed his lips together and said nothing, but he also showed no intention of leaving. His little eyes wandered between the village and Saintess Coralie, looking like he wanted to enter the village but was afraid of being scolded.

 

Ji Chi sighed and got down from the magical beast while holding the little undead. “Since we’ve come this far, let’s go in and take a look. Besides…”

 

Ji Chi squinted toward the village. “Since he’s still our senior, we can’t just ignore him, can we?”

 

“Senior…” Evan was stunned for a while before digging out the name Reize from his memory. His eyes widened. “I remember now! The repeating student with dual thunder and light elements that they talked about in the tavern!”

 

“So it’s him… how did he end up like this…” Evan’s tone was low and heavy, with an indescribable sense of regret, like seeing a brilliant radiance suddenly dim.

 

Ji Chi placed his hand on the little undead’s thin, cold shoulder. “Mm, since he hasn’t completely fallen yet, this village should be temporarily safe, right?”

 

As Ji Chi spoke, he recalled the plot. Back then, when he received the commission from the Holy Knight Order and came to this village, the undead here had already become mindless, aggressive undead, and the boss fallen angel had also completely lost his reason, attacking players on sight.

 

So the current timeline was before Reize’s complete fall. The little undead going to such great lengths to find light elements should be his effort to delay Reize’s fall.

 

Unfortunately, knowing the ending, Ji Chi’s eyes flickered slightly. The pure white angel would eventually fall, and the peaceful village would eventually perish.

 

This was the NPC fate carved into the main storyline.

 

Seeing that they insisted on entering the village, Saintess Coralie stopped saying anything more, but she didn’t leave either. She quietly glanced at Ji Chi’s back, released the reins of the magical beast in her hand, and also walked toward the village.

 

As she passed Ji Chi, she glanced at him with her peripheral vision and said in a low voice, “You’ve been doing this on purpose since last night. I believe you’re not someone who seeks death, but I also hope you can be more honest.”

 

Ji Chi slightly closed his eyes and sighed inwardly. Indeed, forcibly following the plot still seemed too deliberate, but there was no other way. To understand the hidden truth, he had to actively change some nodes.

 

Ji Chi didn’t regret it. Instead, he began to feel excited. Would the fate of the fallen angel being killed be reversed by him?

 

****

 

Due to its connection with the Angel Kingdom, Bien Village didn’t have a large population, but it was considered a wealthy small village.

 

The village at the edge of the forest was surrounded by a circle of sturdy wooden walls, making it difficult to see the situation inside from the outside. One could only sense waves of ominous aura surging within.

 

The village was deathly quiet. Although the houses and paths were neat and clean, there were no signs of recent human activity.

 

Saintess Coralie walked at the front, gripping her wand with a cold expression. A bright light gathered at the tip of the staff, appearing out of place in the thick dark elements.

 

Seeing their battle-ready appearance, the little undead felt very uncomfortable. He bit his lower lip, broke free from Ji Chi’s hand, and ran forward.

 

As he ran, he shouted, “Everyone! I’ve brought the light mages back! They’re here to help us!”

 

He repeated this for a long time, then stopped and looked back at Saintess Coralie with a crying tone, “Don’t be afraid of us, we won’t hurt you.”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, doors in the houses along the path opened one by one, and the “villagers” came out. “They” looked quietly in the direction of Ji Chi’s group, neither speaking nor making any movements.

 

Evan stared blankly at the “villagers” before him. He instantly understood the hunter’s description of “living things, but definitely not living people.” His eyes shook with disbelief. “How could this be…”

 

The villagers before them could no longer be called human. Their bodies consisted only of severed limbs and fragments. Some had only half a torso standing on the ground, some were heads connected to arms floating in mid-air, and others had only a palm or forearm swaying in the void.

 

“Lower-level undead,” Saintess Coralie frowned.

 

This was the lowest-level branch among the undead, usually formed when ordinary people couldn’t withstand overly intense dark elements and had parts of their bodies eroded and pulverized.

 

Lower-level undead weren’t considered intelligent magical creatures; they should only know how to pursue fresh flesh and blood. But the undead before them obviously still retained human consciousness.

 

The group walked along the central path of the village, with the broken undeads hiding in shadows and watching them. The cool morning breeze swirled through the eaves, leaving long echoes circling in the village like a requiem for the not-yet-dead.

 

This should have been a scene that chilled one’s heart, yet it inexplicably evoked a trace of sorrow.

 

Saintess Coralie gradually lowered her raised wand and observed those undead inconspicuously.

 

Her gaze inadvertently stopped on a girl who had half a face remaining. The girl was staring blankly at Saintess Coralie in the sunlight. When she suddenly noticed her gaze, she hurriedly turned her head away, hiding her half-beautiful face and exposing the dark void on her face.

 

An undead uncle beside the girl saw this, reached out to embrace her shoulders, and comforted her in a low voice. “Don’t be sad, our family’s Anna is still the most beautiful…”

 

Saintess Coralie turned her head away and completely lowered her wand. A subtle anger ignited in her eyes, and her steps toward the front became resolute.

 

The little undead led them to the only stone building in the village center—a small chapel that wasn’t large but was solemn and magnificent.

 

He pushed open the chapel’s heavy solid wood door, and the first thing that caught their eyes was the merciful and holy statue of the God of Light at the front of the chapel.

 

The statue was made of a white jade-like lustrous stone material. Sunlight streamed through the intricate rose window, covering the statue with a layer of radiant divinity.

 

However, the figure directly below the statue completely destroyed the sacred scenery in the chapel.

 

The angel in the midst of falling slept at the feet of the God of Light, his four spread wings covering nearly half the hall. On his abundant wings, half flickered with immaculate white light, while the other half was tainted with intense darkness.