Apostle of the Creator King

The inside of the temple was immaculately kept.

Magical lights were set into the pillars, making it far brighter than the cave outside.

The white walls were almost blinding.

"Azu, I'm fine now, so put me down."

Azu was still a little worried, but Kazusa had asked, so she let her down.

Kazusa was still dragging her fractured leg slightly, but Azu lent her a shoulder.

The Skeleton had already gone further inside.

The innermost room stood open.

There was no sign of anything in the temple.

Most likely, no one else was here besides the Skeleton and Azu's group.

They entered the back room a step behind the Skeleton.

An altar stood there, and behind it the Skeleton waited.

What caught Azu's eye first was the girl lying face-down on the altar.

A girl who looked just a bit older than Azu, dressed in battle garb.

But her chest wasn't moving at all.

It didn't take Azu long to realize the girl wasn't breathing.

"Curious about her?"

"Um, yes."

"Your story first. Tell me about the Ash King as he is now. If you're lying, I'll take your head."

With that, the Skeleton lowered himself into a built-in chair.

Azu and Kazusa sat across from him.

The girl weighed on her mind something fierce, but the Skeleton held the power of life and death over them right now. She had no choice but to comply.

Azu took a sip from what was left in her canteen, wetting her throat.

"Ahh, right. Humans need water. It's been so long I'd forgotten."

The Skeleton crooked a finger bone, and the canteen filled to the brim with water.

Azu drank a bit more and passed it to Kazusa.

While Kazusa drank, Azu took a deep breath and organized her thoughts.

She needed to hold the Skeleton's interest.

Azu recounted the events in the catacombs slowly.

She'd debated whether to mention Elza, but there was no way to tell the story without her.

"A priestess of the Creator King faith named Elza…?"

The Skeleton reacted slightly to Elza's name, though it seemed more like the words "priestess of the Creator King faith" that caught his attention.

When she described the Apostle of the Sun God's resurrection and the Ash King's assault, a staggering wave of fury and killing intent poured from the Skeleton.

Azu managed to continue in a trembling voice.

Kazusa squeezed her hand tight, and that was just enough for her to keep going.

She told him of the cataclysmic battle between the Apostle of the Sun God and the Ash King, and finally how lending the Ash King her sword had secured his victory.

The Skeleton slapped his hand against his thigh and roared with laughter.

His skull's jaw swung wide, clattering with the sound of bone on bone.

"Ohhh, ohh! The Ash King pulled it off! How many years has he waited? If what I've heard of his appearance is true, he transformed himself into a fiend and waited all this time. His will never broke, unlike mine!"

The Skeleton's mood was night and day from moments ago.

He was clearly thrilled that the Ash King had slain the Apostle of the Sun God.

"You used that sword, did you? Aye, that would do the trick. It's simple, and that's why it's strong. Though an amateur like you wouldn't draw out its true potential."

The Skeleton was looking at Azu's sword, the Sealed Sword Grungaus.

Azu was a tiny bit miffed, but she kept it to herself.

There was no point in arguing, and it was the truth. Compared to the Ash King, Azu was hopelessly weak.

Better to prioritize what she'd been wanting to ask.

"Um, who exactly are you?"

"Hmm. I suppose I never said. Now, where to begin."

The Skeleton stifled his laughter and rubbed his jaw bone with his skeletal hand.

The scrape of bone on bone was oddly comical.

"I… have long since forgotten my name. But I wasn't from this continent to begin with. Long ago, I cut down my lord back home after a falling out. I fled to this continent."

"There are other continents?"

"What, you didn't know, girl? Study harder. And keep quiet while I talk."

"Y-Yes."

Azu shut her mouth.

"I was young and brimming with confidence. The quarrel happened precisely because I was too strong. Even in a new land, I had no worries."

The Skeleton gazed upward.

"And sure enough, I made a name for myself quickly. I hunted monsters, hunted bandits, hunted those who found me an eyesore and tried to get rid of me. Then I met the Ash King. In his living days, of course."

The Skeleton drew his katana.

The blade was pristine, not a single nick on it, and that same overwhelming aura radiated from it.

"He was strong. For the first time, I knew defeat. And I came to want to follow this man. You understand the Ash King was of the Creator King faith, yes?"

He paused for acknowledgment, so Azu nodded.

"In those days, this continent was in the thick of the war between the Creator King faith and the Sun God faith. The Ash King saw through the Sun God faith's wickedness and led his kingdom on the front lines."

The Skeleton rose and moved close to the prone girl.

"The Ash King took great pride in being a guardian of the Creator King faith. I merely went along with him; I had no personal belief. But he was utterly devoted to it. And part of the reason was this girl."

The girl lay still, not breathing.

No wounds were visible. She had an almost sculptural beauty, like a finely crafted doll.

"Do you know who she is?"

"No…"

"If you stand on the side of the Creator King faith, remember this. This girl is an Apostle of the Creator King. The Fourth Apostle, and the last to remain in this world. She fought alongside the Ash King and struck down the Apostle of the Sun God in a mutual kill."

An Apostle of God. A being granted divine authority, a transcendent existence between human and god.

Azu wasn't actually a follower of the Creator King faith, but she decided to keep that to herself.

"By the time I came to this continent, the Creator King had long since entered a deep slumber, and this girl was the sole symbol of the faith. Losing her meant the Creator King faith could no longer stand against the Sun God faith, and it vanished from this continent. Amid all of that, the Ash King and I suffered fatal wounds fighting the Sun God's other Apostle."

The Skeleton pointed upward.

"That was here. Wind elements and magic gathered, and the place became a labyrinth… The Ash King entrusted this girl's body to me and died. I managed to carry her to this temple before I gave out.

"After that, I spent an eternity here, and then I woke. In this form. Prolonged exposure to dense magic and wind elements must have turned me Undead."

"I… see."

"I wrestled with whether to go outside. With both the Ash King and the Creator King's Apostle gone, there was nothing left to fight for. But the Ash King felt differently. What indomitable will. That's why he was strong. He sensed that the Sun God's Apostle would return as Undead, so he died and became a fiend himself, waiting an eternity to destroy it."

Having said all that, the Skeleton fell silent.

He was likely reliving the past.

Azu waited quietly so as not to disturb him.