David watched as the Dire Ghoul charged towards the helicopter, it looked like a tall humanoid covered in fur. It stood at 10 feet(~3M) tall from foot to the base of its moose-like antlers. In response to its charge, David desperately pulled back on the yoke, trying to get the silent helicopter off of the helipad.

 

The helicopter leaned back and began to swiftly lift off of the ground, however, before it got out of reach, a large, shaggy hand grabbed firmly onto the landing skid. David was healthy and weighed 200 pounds(90KG) and he had a good height at 73 inches(185CM). The Princess’ weight was a sacred number that David was never allowed to know, but with the addition of the Dire Ghoul, they were way over the 1200 pounds that this helicopter was designed to handle.

 

“....! ....! ….!” David screamed out silently, the enchantment robbing all of the sounds.

 

Why the hell does this shit keep happening!

 

The helicopter was turned sideways and swung off the roof of the helipad precariously. It went over the wall and began to fly sideways towards the street that ran between the neighboring building in the military facility. Pulling on the yoke and maneuvering the pedals skillfully, he managed to avoid smashing into the ground.

 

The helicopter began to swing like a pendulum above the street filled with Walking Corpses, all of them reaching towards the large metal object that was floating over their heads. The Dire Ghoul was trying to climb the helicopter, it had already gotten the scent of humans and was salivating heavily. The Dire Ghoul was like a bloodhound that would roar when it scented the living and lead large hordes of undead with the sounds.

 

David barely managed to avoid slamming into the street, but now he was swinging towards a large storage facility. He could see large steel tanks of oxygen and other chemicals used in the compound, just as he barely managed to clear the wall with the landing skid. A large vibration rang through the body of the helicopter, and it was jerked back towards the street and started spinning.

 

“.....................................!!!” David roared silently as he pulled on the yoke with all of his strength, his feet dancing over the petals.

 

David barely managed to stop the helicopter from hitting the wall on the other side of the street and instead the helicopter began to make its way down the 3-lane road. It spun around slowly in the air, the Ghoul hanging onto the skid with both hands as it was vertical in the air. The Helicopter was wobbling and the tail and blades would occasionally make contact with the walls sending sparks showering through the air.

 

We are flying right towards the Willow of the End! I need to get rid of this thing now!

 

Just as David was desperately trying to figure out what to do, he saw the blonde woman stand up steadily from her seat. She reached up and grabbed a strap that was used for securing a gurney when the helicopter was in flight and tied it to her waist. David then watched her move with the helicopter, using its erratic turning to make her way towards the large closed sliding door.

 

David found his attention was being split, as he both tried to keep the helicopter in the air while also not hitting any of the surrounding buildings. From the corner of his eyes he saw the blonde woman slide the door of the helicopter open, she then pulled out a knife and began trying to trace a rune onto it. David turned his attention back to trying to turn the helicopter away from the giant tree they were flying towards.

 

It will release poisonous gas if it is damaged…  and then all of the undead in several miles will go berserk!

 

David looked back at the blonde woman and was shocked at what he was seeing. She moved around the back of the swaying helicopter with incredible grace and balance, her movements were all smooth, almost like a dance. David watched as she quickly traced a rune on the blade and a sharp flame burst from the bone, she then threw it effortlessly at the monster.

 

His attention was being split between the swiftly approaching tree as the helicopter continued to spin, but her movements were so clean and practiced it made him pause. The woman had already used two separate knives but he was unable to see the creature on the landing skid. He wanted to yell out to her to be careful, he also wanted to curse at the gods for this situation he was in.

 

Suddenly David felt the helicopter jerk upwards, he began to spiral strongly towards the sky. He began to rapidly smash his feet on the pedals and was able to get the helicopter back under control. Just as he was about to turn his head to look into the back, he felt two small arms wrap around his chest.

 

Turning his head around suddenly he saw the blonde woman's dead fish expression as she stared back at him. She had wrapped her arms around the back of his seat and was holding onto him tightly, it was much more strength than her frail frame should have allowed her to exert. A thought suddenly crossed David’s mind.

 

Was she a gymnast before she went insane?

 

The naked pictures of her that David had seen flashed through his mind, she had toned legs and arms in the photos. Her stomach was toned abs and she had only an average-sized bust with muscle underneath. But even in those photos, she had the same expression that she currently showed now, it made him wonder about the mystery of the woman.

 

I can think about this after we get out of here!

 

David took a deep breath as he now had no fear of flying into the Willow of the End, and he started to adjust the helicopter and level it out. Just as he got to a safe distance over the ground, he saw something that made his jaw drop to the floor. Around the large military base that was once used for training, he could see several large will trees that were exuding bones.

 

3, 4, 5, 6, 7… 12!

 

Skeletons and walking corpses could both evolve into a large variety of different terrifying creatures. A single Willow of the End could produce over a hundred of these fodder in a single day, and through cannibalism, they could eat each other to produce even bigger undead. The Willow of the End was also capable of evolution if given enough time, they were as close to a calamity as it was possible to get.

 

It’s no wonder that the other military bases were not able to react… This is enough to turn the entire state into a forbidden zone…

 

David felt a deep sorrow tear at his chest when he thought of the place he had spent his entire life. As it stood he had been to this large city several times, but it was currently nothing like it had been before. Throughout the large city, he could see more large WIllow’s of the End pushing up through the asphalt streets, inside of buildings, and through the various parks.

 

There must be hundreds of them!

 

David suddenly realized it would have been certain death to move through the tunnels under the city, it would be impossible for the tunnels not to be filled with undead. Feeling the dainty arms release him, he looked up to see the blonde woman detach the strap she tied to her waist and spun to her chair. She sat down gracefully, and stared forward with her flat expression, it was like her face didn’t seem to work. 

 

“...” David tried to thank her, then stopped when he realized they were still under the silence enchantment.

 

He instead focused on piloting the helicopter away from the city but looking out the window he saw something terrifying. Flying after the helicopter was a large skeletal creature that looked like a large serpent made of bones. It was easily over 500 feet (~152M) long, and its giant rib cage was filled with dense soul fire which was how it flew.

 

For the first time in his life, he had the strongest craving for a cigarette, looking at the giant skeletal creature flying towards the helicopter, this was the first time he ever wanted one. He glanced at the blonde woman next to him but she was staring at him with her usual expression. Thinking of how she dealt with the last creature, but that stare from her seemed to be saying ‘now what?’

 

David smiled sadly, as he reached for a switch that was located between the two pilots' seats. He looked at the blonde woman sitting next to him and used his free arm to start moving her hands and feet on the controls. When her hands and feet matched him, he hit the switch that gave control to her. 

 

Standing up, he looked out the window to see the helicopter was still flying in a straight line out of the city. David nodded as he carefully reached over and grabbed the thick yellow strap the woman had used earlier. He grabbed it and began to carefully tie it around his waist, and once he was satisfied he started moving towards the back of the helicopter.

 

David tried to mirror her graceful movements as he tried to move towards the closed sliding door, he managed to take three shaky steps before he rammed into the metal wall at the back of the plane. This caused several small trays to pop out and some medical equipment was revealed. What he began to carefully extract was a green and steel tank that had the word “oxygen” written on the side.

 

David reached into his pocket and pulled the hand grenade that he removed from the wall and used some plastic air hose to join the two. Reaching over to where his bag was secured to the wall, he pulled the mace free that was attached to the side. Taking the head of it apart by undoing a few fittings, he took the nearly spent magic stone out of it and used some duct tape to add it to his makeshift bomb.

 

A smile crossed his face as he appraised this creation, he then shakily made his way to the hatch holding it. He pulled the metal lever, and slowly pulled the door open. Unlike the princess who could easily keep her balance while throwing her weapons, he decided to sit down instead. Placing his feet on the landing skids, he felt his foot hit something.

 

Looking down he saw two large furry hands that were attached to the landing skid with ice. Two blades pierced the palms, pinning them in place. He could then see where she had sawed through the wrists with another blade. It looked like it had been done slowly and steadily, with almost surgical precision. 

 

Oh, hell! What have I gotten myself into?!

 

Looking towards the cockpit, he could see the blonde woman staring back at him using the mirror on the side. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he used the strap to hold himself as he sat in the corner of the door. He set the small oxygen tank in his lap and reached a hand into his pocket. 

 

The magic stone he took from the Butcher Ghoul, it was all he had and was very important for the ability he was going to use. Using his free hand, he created a thick strand of mana the size of a finger. He then looked back at the large snake-like creature that was quickly gaining on the helicopter.

 

I won’t be able to use this arm to cast spells anymore, but I will be able to use it to heal myself, as well as take in extra mana.

 

An ascetic monk had studied the vampire's ability to drain mana from blood to quickly cast spells. He instead used magic stones directly and developed a method for taking in large amounts of mana and storing it inside the limb itself and slowly filtering it into the body. By tempering his limbs, he was able to make them into additional magical stones, this allowed him to use abilities endlessly.

 

I want to be a mage, but I just don’t have the magical reserves… I realized that after seeing the princess cast so many spells so effortlessly… Now I can only hope that my body can resist this ability without tempering!

 

David took a deep breath, the entire world around him was silent due to the enchantment. The large snake-like creature was only 40 feet(~12M) away, and it would soon be able to attack the tail rotor. David wrapped the thick rope of mana around his makeshift explosive, he immediately felt a deep drain on his mana.

 

Here we go!

 

David squeezed the magical stone in his hand, as a dark light was emitted from his palm. Cracks began to form in the magical stone as a stream of dark light was absorbed into his flesh. This immediately caused a change to the skin on his arm.

 

Damnit! It hurts so much!

 

Focusing on the snake creature flying towards the helicopter, the mana strand suddenly became much more solid. David pushed the bomb out heavily, with his arm sending it flying. The thick strand of mana soon acted like a rope that he used to move the bomb towards the mouth of the snake-like creature.

 

You need to die!

 

This thought passed through his mind as tears began to come from his eyes, this was because of what was happening to his left arm. The skin was bubbling and red, and steam was hissing out of several areas of it. It was so painful he felt his teeth grinding away from the pressure he was putting on them.

 

Through his tears he watched the bomb approach the creature, it was now also starting to move towards it. Smelling the living on the creation, it opened its jaws and bit down heavily, denting the canister. This also caused damage to David’s magical thread, causing his mana drain to increase again.

 

Smoke and the smell of burning flesh began to fill the helicopter, this was because his left arm had combusted. David was able to smile through his tears, creating a horrifying image. This was because he was finally able to pull the pin on his explosive, and he also disconnected the string of mana he used to control it.

 

David was just about to start weakly reaching for his flaming arm to put it out when he felt a burst of chemicals hitting him. He tried to look through the thick smog, and he could vaguely see a blonde woman holding a red canister spraying it at his flaming arm. The fire extinguisher quickly suffocated the two of them, and David found himself struggling to breathe.

 

He began trying to reach for his inhaler, but just as he fished it from his pocket with his unburned arm he ended up dropping it when the helicopter suddenly shook. David looked up through his fading vision and saw the blonde woman with tears streaming down her face, her mouth was shaking as if she was trying to say something.

 

Sorry princess, I am just not that cool…

 

This thought passed through his mind as he lost consciousness, his body still secured with the strap. Through his fading consciousness he could hear a loud explosion rip through the air and cause the helicopter to shake.

 

-

 

“Your equipment will betray you.” The Machine Lord said.

 

The Machine Lord was walking down the street wearing his tattered black shorts, they were all that remained of his clothes. The street looked like some kind of light blue concrete that seemed to glow lightly. The field of light that was composed of millions of threads that were thinner than stacked atoms continued to flow out of him.

 

A giant steel suit covered in runes charged towards the Machine Lord, it stood at 35 feet (10M) and made the ground shake with every step it took. Behind the Machine Lord, a large army of golems and drones were forming from an ocean of parts that followed him like his loyal subjects. 

 

“Hahaha! Come, join me!” He said laughing loudly as he spread his arms as if to embrace the giant powered suit.

 

David watched in his dream-like state as the armor faltered when it hit the edge of the field, then it started shaking as it approached the Machine Lord. A few steps away from him the giant armor stopped and seemed to kneel before him. Screams could be heard from the cockpit before a series of crunches came from inside of it.

 

Splash!

 

Blood painted the ground at his feet, and the screams of the citizens from the city came from all around him. He began to hum a song he heard some of the guards from the monument he was sealed in humming. Looking around he took in the sights of carnage he was causing.

 

Large buildings that reached towards the sky and had floating platforms connecting them were starting to fall and crumble. Smoke rose from various hanging parks and floating greenhouses. Entire sections of the city were designed to float lazily around the large castle that was built to showcase the might of the Tullens family.

 

A line of destruction was being carved into the city, and everywhere he went everything was falling apart. The sound of all of the parts rolling or bouncing on the ground created an eerie sound that followed the frail man’s steps. He looked up towards the large castle that was surrounded by pieces of the city like a giant puzzle.

 

“I can’t wait to take it all apart!” He Yelled out madly. “Hahaha! You will now start to pay me back for every second you have wasted of my time!