Apocalypse Reset: My Crab Can Heal the World!

Osmond is on the way back to Dimartino, only about an hour away, when the sky begins to darken.

’Impossible,’ Osmond thinks. ’This technique is just like the First Vampire’s…’

He abruptly twists his head toward the woods. A figure he recognizes all too well emerges from the shadows, holding a large black parasol over her head.

"Ozzie, Ozzie, it sure has been a while, hm? What brings you all the way out here?"

Adea smiles back at him, swaying back and forth and showing off her fangs. She twirls the parasol around in one hand while tapping her giant meat cleaver against her thigh.

"Just visiting my sister, thanks," he says coolly. His fingers reflexively stretch toward his staff.

The sky is almost completely dark, but it doesn’t bother Osmond any. As a demon, he has excellent night vision.

Adea chuckles to herself, a sinister and ugly grin plastered on her otherwise beautiful face. "You know, Ozzie, I’ve been hearing all kinds of rumors about you lately. It really is a shame. Reputation is everything around here, you know. Why, I hear even one of the Seven Sentinels is coming to look into the gossip! Oh, but it couldn’t possibly be true, could it? COULD IT!?"

She ends her monologue with a hissing snarl, and her pupils turn into slits. She lets go of her black parasol, and it floats up into the sky, vanishing. It’s fully dark now - she no longer needed a shield from the sun.

"Are you looking for a fight, Adea? Because I’d be happy to oblige."

"Where’s the fun in killing a stupid little demon?" she scowls. "You’re the last person I’d ever want to kill. You aren’t even real. Just a little doll sewed together by the Lord of the Apocalypse. My god, he didn’t even put you together properly - just look at all the cracks on your skin!"

The veins in Osmond’s arms tense, and the geometric cracks along his skin begin to glow with violet light. His demon magic courses through him like a torrent, and his vision hones directly on to his target. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"All I want to know is what you’re planning with Francois," Adea frowns. "You can crawl into a hole somewhere and stay out of my way. I only care about killing humans."

He can’t remember the last time he’s been so activated. Even when he fought Barns, he didn’t feel this intensity. That day, a part of him was resolved to die if he needed to. But today - he isn’t going anywhere.

His violet magic begins to spark, and tendrils of energy dart over his skin like crackling lightning. He allows the mana to completely consume him, and it wraps around his entire body, his horns becoming conduits.

"My, my," Adea bites down on her lip so hard that blood begins to gush from her mouth. She swirls it around on her tongue. "Aren’t you all fired up? Fine, little Ozzie boy. Let’s fight! A Demon Lord versus a Master Vampire, now won’t this be fun?"

She points her cleaver at him. "Though you know you have no chance of winning, don’t you?"

Osmond’s eye twitches as he glowers at the fiendish vampire. It was true - according to what he’d learned from Francois. He didn’t have any of the ashes on him, and he was certainly not a blood relative.

She might be immortal, but she wasn’t invulnerable. If Osmond could stop her here, and capture her, then he would be able to deal with her properly later.

That’s right. He could win without killing her. But that doesn’t mean he needs to hold back - not at all.

"Get ready, Adea. Your reign of terror ends today, and I will serve you on a platter to my beautiful Maria!"

…

Elsewhere, near Ordella.

Barns huffs and heaves in a storm of white feathers as the last of the chickens pops in midair. Haima, who delivered the killing blow, drops to her knees, exhausted and out of breath. Blood runs out of her nose and ears - she’s overdone herself.

"Damn, girl. If I ever need chicken nuggets, you’re my first call."

Barns reaches his hand toward Haima, helping her up. She struggles to get to her feet. Her mind is blank and woozy, and her powers at their limit.

Moments ago, as the horde of vampire chickens beset upon their army, Haima activated a large-scale Secret Art and began to implode the chickens one after another in midair. Even with all her power brought to bear, the chicken attack was devastating. Several of their legion were bitten and scratched, and she no longer had the power to seal their wounds. Nearly half of their party of a hundred or so were injured at this point, either from the gators or the chickens.

"Barns," she wheezes. "I need a break. A lot of us do."

His fist trembles in his gauntlet. She’s right, of course. They’d sustained heavy injuries, and if Barns couldn’t resurrect the recently dead, they’d be down several bodies already. He looks over his regiment. At the very least, the more capable fighters were mostly unscathed, and among the injured, nobody is in a life-threatening predicament.

"Eldrie. You’re quick on your feet. Take a team of the three fastest among us and report back to Dimartino. We need to establish supply lines - we can’t move all of the injured right now. Can you do that?"

The former vampire’s eyes light up when he’s called on. He’s humbled to be considered for such an important task.

"Yes, sir!" Eldrie salutes. Thanks to Maria’s prank, Eldrie takes the salute more seriously than anyone.

"Good. Haima, I know you’re injured right now. Can you look after everyone here?"

She shakes her head. "Not like this," she admits. "I need an hour or two to recuperate. My blood is-"

As she talks, she spits up a mouthful of blood onto the ground and starts coughing. Barns watches her with trepidation. ’Her power takes so much out of her…’ he thinks to himself.

He looks around. Who else could he turn to? Proceeding any further without either Clancy or Godrick was too much of a risk. If only Maria or Osmond were here - he’s low on people he can rely on.

"Excuse me…" comes a voice from the crowd. It’s someone he doesn’t recognize, one of the newer Adventurers. "I know a few Secret Arts. I would be glad to take the lead!"

"I know how to make barrier charms!"

Multiple voices from the crowd each call out, offering their unique skills and specializations. Barns couldn’t help but smile, the stress melting away into the darkness. He had many people he could rely on - that’s what having this army is all about.

"Got it! Those of you who are still fighting, with me!"