Apocalypse Reset: My Crab Can Heal the World!

— A few minutes ago, outside the castle —

The battle against the monster horde and the Adventurer's Guild wore on. All of the Adventurers had entered the castle grounds at this point, and there was foam coating nearly every surface of the plaza.

On either side of the long walkway from the gate to the fountain, there was an entrance to a large hedge maze.

These mazes were filled with monsters that were now trying to pile out the entrances, but between all the monstrous corpses littering the ground and the strategically placed foam, the monsters could only come out one or two at a time, making them easy prey for the Adventurers.

Haima dodged backward, falling away from the front lines. She'd used her Secret Art to its absolute limit and needed rest. She forces two goblins to shank each other and falls to the ground.

Yunie rushes to her side - the Moderator wasn't participating in the battle but she was still helping to spread the foam.

"Are you okay?" Yunie asks, offering her a healing potion of some sort.

Haima holds up her hand in refusal of the drink. "I'm fine. Just been overdoing it.

Haima looks ahead at the horde. How many had she killed so far...? She'd lost count. Their tactics had been working, though. So far, there were only three human casualties, and a chance that Barns might be able to bring them back to life as well.

It depended on whether or not their soul was still present. For example, Barns would not be able to raise dead-but-intact humans out of their graves. A body only lasts a few hours before the soul begins to detach, and once it's gone, it's gone.

All that being said, Barns had not yet tried the Resurrection technique on humans that had already been Resurrected once.

At the vanguard, Godrick the Blade Dancer had taken command ever since Clancy advanced with Barns. Any monster that came within twenty feet of him was alive for mere seconds before he slashed and dashed them into ribbons, lopping off arms, legs, but nothing vital. The Adventurers had all been explicitly told that beheadings and eviscerations were to be used as a last resort only.

'If I didn't have to hold back, this would be a real show,' Godrick smirks to himself, impaling two goblins with an upward sweep and smashing them dead back on the ground in unison.

Just then, Godrick looks up. His vision in the dark is excellent, and the sun had only just begun to peek out over the horizon.

Godrick gasps. The monsters - they were coming. Close to a thousand of them, barreling from the north side of the castle.

They figured out a way out of the hedge maze, and circled back. And now they were about to descend upon the Adventurers in full force.

"Everyone!" Godrick roars at the top of his lungs, pointing one of his swords at the advancing horde. "They're coming! Into the foam, quick!"

Godrick charges forward. He had to run toward the advancing horde to get to the foam, but he was closer. He and his fellow Adventurers, one after the other, run into the rising colossus of foam that was being pumped out by the fountain. But the Adventurers and support team toward the back get caught up in the rush, and the hedge maze entrances are no longer defended. Monsters pour out of them and begin to overwhelm the Adventurers who stayed behind.

Haima and Yunie are toward the back and watch two Adventurers on either side of them get cut down. Yunie screams. They were about to be surrounded.

Haima raises her hands and her eyes begin to glow red. Dark energy like blood rises from the ground around her.

"Secret Art: Bloodlock!"

Suddenly, the nearby monsters lock up and fall to the ground, alive but fully limp. The blood in their veins feels as if it's turned into ice, and they are motionless. Haima continues to use her technique, opening a tunnel through the descending horde and forging a path directly into the foam.

As they run into the safety of the cleansing foam, Haima falls to her knees and vomits blood.

Everyone who remained of the Adventurers was now in the cloud of foam, and the monsters had completely surrounded it. They were safe for now, but there was no escaping this. Everything was up to Barns, now.

...

"Clancy?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Barns leans down next to the defeated crab, shaking his shell lightly.

"Come on, King. You know you always scare me when you sleep like that. You never move an inch."

There's no response, but suddenly Barns can sense it. A faint energy emanates from within the shell. Barns lets out a shaky breath, tension draining from his body like water.

"Damn it, King. You really had me that time."

Barns rises from his unconscious friend's side, relief washing over him like foam from a broken fountain.

"Call off the monsters and let me perform the Resurrection."

Osmond looks to Maria for approval.

"Yes!" she shrieks. "Do it!"

"Osmond bows his head. "We agree, littl- er...Barnacles."

"You can call me Barns."

The two walk outside, Barns keeping a careful eye on Osmond and checking for the 'murderous aura'. Osmond keeps his head down, raising his arms in the air and murmuring commands in a language Barns has never heard before.

"Is that monster-speak?" Barns asks as he finishes. "Tell them to march into the foam."

"I already have," Osmond confirms.

The horde of monsters, already surrounding the foam pit, begin to walk into it. Screams erupt from the foam as the Adventurers realize what's happening, but the monsters are not aggressive. They each walk in, as deep as they can before falling over as the foam burns them alive.

Barns and Osmond watch the macabre procession from the front of the castle. It takes some time, but eventually all of the monsters have entered the foam - and all of the Adventurers have found their way out.

Barns raises his sword in the air. He'd never tried to use the technique over such a wide area, but now was as good as any time to try.

The blue-tinged blade of his sword, Crashing Wave, glitters in the light of the dawn. As loud as he can, Barns shouts: "Resurrection!"

A wave of light washes over the area, emanating from Barns. It touches everything, living and dead, with warming light. It extends over the foam pit, the entire plaza, and the hedge mazes, all the way to the castle gates. All of the dead that it touches are coated in yellow light, and brilliant puffs of angelic feathers begin to burst from the corpses.

Hundreds, no - thousands of revived souls spring into being in the courtyard. Some monsters do not regain their life - they need to be doused in the foam, still. It was a task he could trust Yunie to fulfill - he gives her a thumbs-up from the front of the castle and she returns the gesture.

Barns turns back to the castle. They weren't over quite yet. Clancy was just then returning to consciousness, climbing to his feet shakily. Maria still lays on the ground.

"Those are cool handcuffs, huh?" Barns gloats. "Anyone caught wearing them has all of their powers sealed. No superhuman strength for you, Maria."

"So what, you're going to taunt us now?" Maria bites.

"Just admiring the foresight of a good friend," Barns quips. Yunie had given him those handcuffs the night before when he inquired about equipment. He knew capturing Maria was the preferred outcome, so the handcuffs were the perfect tool for the job.

"Those powers of yours, anyway..." Barns starts, but Maria has something else she'd rather talk about.

"Listen, Barns. You won. Osmond and I aren't going to fight you anymore. If you'll allow a demon in your kingdom, we will stay and help you with the apocalypse reset. If not, Osmond and I will find a place to go in exile. That island you grew up on sounds nice."

Barns took a deep breath. "I'm happy to have you both, but Osmond. Shouldn't I cleanse you?"

Osmond looks at Barns nervously. "You...cannot," he says. "I was born of...how shall I say...a cesspool of gluttonous desire. And Maria is my drug. I am not and have never been a human, Barnacles. I belong to her."

Maria's eyes glaze over as she thinks about the past. Osmond was once the embodiment of gluttony - a perfect fit for Dimartino. Eating, drinking, consuming - when he arrived, it was a monstrous party every day. But when he beheld Maria for the first time, something in him changed. The only thing he craved in excess was her.

She shakes her head - time enough for reminiscing later. There's one other thing they have to do before they can reach a final resolution - though not something she was thrilled about.

"Barns," Maria says, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I would like you to resurrect the royal family."

[Final Step: Make sure everyone is resurrected. And you know what I mean by everyone.]