“Something is near,” Suna said.

  The twitching of his rabbit ear grew incessant. He wondered how he looked from the outside. If he had to guess, the Rabbit Spirit Cloak carried mystique rather than silliness.

  “Yes, that thing has been moving a lot,” Jack commented. “Can you tell from where?”

  A heavy gust blasted them, throwing a cold draft of ice across their faces. Suna grunted and pulled his Rabbit Cloak up again.

  He tried to see where the Rabbit Cloak was warning him, only to realize he didn’t need his eyes. A prickle of sensation went through him, like something nagging at him. Suna pointed through the now-heavy blizzard. His eagle eyes followed, and he made out the faint shadows of two figures.

  “There’s something there. They’re strong.”

  “How strong are we talking?” Jack asked, and he propped his spear. Shadow rustled about like a fire despite the heavy air.

  “About my level, I think.”

  “How do you know that?”

  The Rabbit Spirit Cloak told him, not literally, but as if a new sense had awakened inside him. Suna was sure both enemies were on his level. This confidence was something he could bet his life on.

  “It’s the Rabbit Cloak,” Suna said, unsure how to explain further.

  “That thing is useful,” Jack whistled. “Well? What to do then? Do we fight? If they’re about your level, then there are really only three choices.”

  The Humans, Thiefmasters, or The Undead.

  It could be that the Rabbit Spirit Cloak interpreted strength as level, but for some reason, he was confident that this time their level was the same as his.

  The shadows moved through the heavy snow.

  “They’re coming!”

  The two figures wore cloaks, and their outlines slowly grew clearer until one of them started to run toward Suna and Jack.

  [Undead Berserker. Lvl 50]

  “I see one running,” Jack said. He propped his spear in a throwing motion.

  The figure skidded to a stop and pulled something back—A glint of steel flashed—Archer Instinct tingling him. He quickly summoned Gale Bow and drew an Emberwind Arrow.

  The figure hurled something. A whirling force that cleaved through the now weakening blizzard. It tore through the snow and headed straight at Jack.

  Suna released his Emberwind. His arrow banished the cold as a heat blaze through the air and rushed into the projectile.

  His Emberwind lit up his surroundings, and he saw an axe clash against his arrow. The Axe knocked off its trajectory, and the Emberwind burst forward toward the still-charging figure.

  Before the arrow hit, the figure opened its left hand, and the axe it had just thrown spun back toward it. With its right hand, it raised another axe and slammed it against the Emberwind Arrow. A resounding crash of steel and fire hissed through the air.

  His arrow was beaten down and destroyed, but the explosion of fire revealed an unmistakably human figure covered in a fur cloak, its upper body bare, wearing only brown shorts, not bothering to hide its decaying skin. Its green eyes and bulging green veins twisted its face into something even uglier.

  The [Berserker] screamed; it was meant to be a howl, but its voice was unable to produce one, so it came as a shriek.

  The rushing snow drowned its voice, and another two Emberwind Arrow Suna had released back-to-back.

  The darkness between them ignited with two flashes of flame, and it batted both arrows aside with swift swings of its axes.

  Suna’s drawing hand still flared with ember, and he started to feel the all-familiar rising anticipation that made him eager to draw more. So he did. Now his passive would lend aid to him, so it was time for a different flavor.

  “Stay, Jack, just in case it gets close.”

  Suna fired five Sootroot Arrows in tandem. Darkness covered each arrow—a perfect sneak attack while the [Berserker] was preoccupied.

  The Undead’s body snapped as the five arrows struck. Vines shot up and entangled their limbs. One arrow lodged near its neck, and a thick vine swelled beneath the skin. In its last struggle, the [Berserker] roared, sweeping the snow apart and forming a small clearing around itself.

  Its voice shook the air, and snow blasted apart around Suna and Jack. The Undead’s shrill cry stabbed into Suna’s ears.

  Jack stumbled on one knee, his spear planted against the snow.

  Suna pulled his hood tight as the Spirit Rabbit Cloak healed his ears. Yet the sheer pressure from its voice still made the air heavy.

  Suna wanted to draw his bow, but if he removed his hand from his cloak, the voice would overwhelm him.

  So, he did the only thing. He charged forward. The gust built up on his feet, and he rushed through the snow that plastered his face with a draft of coldness.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  He entered the small clearing the [Berserker] had made. The voice still pressed against the air. Suna planted his feet and launched himself forward, tightening his grip on his hood. He landed in a skid, right in front of the [Berserker].

  His vine had died out, all because of the Undead’s scream. Which was exactly why he needed to silence the bloody creature.

  The [Berserker] noticed him and tried to split his head with both axes. But Suna already flowed to his next movement, with Gale Step surging through his right leg. He whirled and slammed his foot into the Undead’s face, sending the creature flying.

  It somehow still clung to its axes as it spun through the snow.

  The [Berserker] managed to rise using its momentum. It was about to scream again—until its attention was caught by a dark spear rushing through the bleak snow toward it.

  He raised both axes to parry the spear, but the moment they were about to connect, the weapon phased out of existence, only to reappear and impale the [Berserker]’s chest. The Undead’s body snapped back, pinned to the ground by the shadow spear.

  The spear vanished, and Jack rushed forward, resummoning it into his hand. He spun it, sending a sweep of shadows cutting through the air toward the [Berserker].

  That spear was a bit too overpowered…

  Suna followed with an Emberwind Arrow. Both projectiles sank into the Undead’s skin—flame erupted, and a wave of shadow carved through its body. But when the smoke cleared, the Undead [Berserker] still stood. Its body was a charred ruin, a deep gash running from its shoulder down to its chest.

  Is it still alive?

  Suna drew another Emberwind Arrow. Jack moved beside him, preparing the same attack he’d unleashed earlier.

  “That's enough,” a voice rang through.

  The other figure emerged through the weakening blizzard, calmly walking between the Undead [Berserker] and into the crossfire of the deadly spells Suna and Jack held.

  [Undead Truth Maiden. Lvl 45]

  “This is not necessary.” The Truth Maiden looked youthful; her skin was as smooth as Delia’s, and the resemblance didn’t end there. She wore a dark veil that faintly revealed her face, and in her hand she held a swinging pendulum that swished softly through the air.

  Suna didn’t lower his arrow, and Jack didn’t lower his spear either.

  “My Lord had invited you into negotiation, provided both Thiefmasters agreed, did he not?”

  Jack looked at Suna, who in turn answered, “Yes.”

  “Good,” the Truth Maiden said with a small smile. “That is the truth.”

  Suddenly, a barrier was erected right in front of her. It was mirror-like, forming a cube that also covered the [Undead Berserker].

  “Lower your weapon. Let’s not bring this into a further conflict. The negotiation hung in balance, close to being voided thanks to the damage your comrades have done and are currently doing.”

  “What did they do?” Suna asked, lightly loosening his arrow.

  The smile the [Truth Maiden] had shown—and the power she now wielded—might have been the result of the “truth” he’d given earlier. Should he have tried to lie? Or would that have ruined the negotiation entirely?

  Before Suna could decide on his next move, Jack steadied his spear, letting the unruly shadow gather into a spearpoint.

  The Tiefling just canceled the spell.

  “What of them?” Jack asked, his voice tight with urgency, unable to hide his desperation. “Are they fine? The Thiefmasters?”

  “I will only answer if you promise not to harm any of us during this talk,” the [Truth Maiden] said.

  “Of course—”

  “Jack!” Suna tried to stop him, but he was too late. Jack dropped to one knee and would have collapsed entirely if the Mana backlash hadn’t caught him—his whole body trembling under the strain.

  “What did you do?” Suna poured in more mana, and the tail of flame burst like woven embers, melting the snow around him.

  The [Truth Maiden]’s eyes widened, and she stepped back, almost tripping over the Undead [Beast Master].

  At the very least, she was quite obvious with her expression.

  He could blow this shield apart.

  “I cannot in good conscience do this with our life hanging in the balance,” She babbled, words almost spilling out.

  “I ask again, what did you do? Jack! You good there?” Suna glanced at the Tiefling, who was slowly standing while leaning on his spear.

  “My Mana was halved,” Jack said, with his body shaking.

  Looked like that’s not all.

  “We can still—”

  “If you don’t answer, I’ll blow that flimsy barrier apart,” Suna said, and he meant it. Perhaps that was why the barrier suddenly shattered, and the [Truth Maiden] began to shake, not from cold but from fear.

  “It's my skill! If anyone answers me truthfully, then I can tap into deeper power. If anyone lies, then I can take away their mana and some of their strength temporarily!”

  “You seem to know my threat is real, too.”

  “Y—yes.” She stumbled over her tongue. “I can…”

  “Return his strength then.”

  “I can’t!” She shouted, then the strength of her knees gave out, and she went down onto her knees just like Jack did.

  Now both of the Undead had fallen onto the snow, and Suna was still unsure what had happened.

  “What are you doing?” Suna demanded. He was about to look for another threat, until Jack suddenly tapped his shoulder.

  “I got my Mana back and my strength,” Jack said.

  Suna blinked at the information, then both of them looked at the Undead [Truth Maiden], whose face was pressed into the snow.

  “Did you lie?” Suna asked, doubting it.

  The Undead [Truth Maiden]’s shoulders shook, and Suna heard a sniffle.

  Did he imagine it?

  “Suna, you made her cry,” Jack stated.

  “Oh, come on.”

  The [Truth Maiden]’s head snapped up, then she slammed her face back down and cried—an undead crying… “I’m so sorry! It's just a bad habit of mine, I swear! It's not intentional, sir!”

  Sir?

  “Please don’t kill us! We’re already Undead, and bound to that… that damned Necromancer! At least wait until we complete our quest so we can undo this Undead form and become a human again! Please, please!”

  “You..” Suna's mouth stopped working. “You still alive? Like…”

  “Yes! Yes, I am! If the [Necromancer] wants to keep the Rune inside our body active, then he needs to pour so much mana. One way to bypass the mana cost is by keeping us alive and turning us into Undead while we’re alive!”

  “And? He can’t control you? How come you can just… blurt out things like this?” Suna demanded. This sounded like a trick. Still, he slowly lowered his Emberwind Arrow, although he replaced it with a Sootroot Arrow, ready to fire at any time.

  Interesting. This might be why the [Necromancer] can’t send any of his strongest Undead upstairs.

  “I—” the Undead began to say, but then she looked around and then down at her palm. “Right, why can I do this? His hold over me has lessened… Did you by any chance kill one of his aides?”

  “Aide?” Jack said. “Do the Undead sisters count? Because we defeated them.”

  That wasn’t entirely accurate, but Suna let it slide.

  “Defeat them? B—but… That shouldn’t be enough. The system would choose an Undead to promote and send Delia’s power to someone else… Unless…”

  “The Sisters’ power goes with them,” Suna answered. “Then yes, that’s exactly what happened.”

  “What? How?” She asked.

  “Looks like we should find a place to sort this out,” Jack said as he noticed the blizzard picking up again.

  Suna removed his Rabbit Spirit Cloak. He wanted to try something. “This cloak might be able to heal your Undead condition, and I can lend it to you if you answer our questions.”

  “Of course I will! I used to be human, just like you! You think I want to stay here?”

  Suna wished Delia had told him about this, but she had said she wouldn’t reveal anything that could endanger the [Necromancer]. Still, this was all the more reason for him to believe he had just found the first key to defeating the Undead Boss.

  “All right, is there anywhere we can talk without this blizzard? I want to know what been happening here. Everything.”