Chapter 20: Trials of the Dead

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Overlord: Celestial Crusade

"Good morning,welcome back!"

It was morning

Aethaion and Emmef were at the Adventurer's Guild as their Theon and Elaine selves, with the Guild being full of adventurers and both were greeted by the guild's counter, only for a huge and muscular adventurer to approach them.

"Hey, newbies, someone was looking for you these days you were missing." he said with a grin.

"Huh? Who was it?" wondered Emmef and the adventurer pointed out, with them seeing the man that took the goblins and ogres from their first quest and the man saw them too with a relieved face.

"Finally, I found you!" he said relieved, making Aethaion curious.

"What's wrong?" he asked curious.

"Well, your request for a promotion test has been accepted." he said, with Aethaion and Emmef smiling.

"Really? That's great!" exclaimed Draco excited and the man turned around.

"Follow me, I will give you the details on the road." he said while beckoning them, with Aethaion and Emmef following him to his carriage.

Meanwhile

The base of the goblins and ogres was totally ruined and inside the cave, the man known as Dunkelheit was going deeper and deeper, with him stopping before the glowing tree and seeing in annoyance Mimir's headless body, with him touching it and making it glow an eerie blue color for some seconds, with him then grinning.

It was night

Aethaion and Emmef were now outside a big graveyard "Here we are, you two.As I said, the test is simple:If you survive the night in this graveyard, you get promoted." explained the man and as they got down from the carriage, the man commanded his horse to move on "I will pick you up in the morning, good luck!" he shouted as the two waved their hands goodbye.

"Now, let's enter it." said Aethaion eager and once they entered, they saw a vast graveyard as far as the eye could see "Wow, it is huge!" exclaimed Aethaion surprised "I may be an Immortal Human, but I don't think I will not get tired." he said exhausted from the thought.

"Just say the word and I will do the patrolling all by myself." said Emmef respectfully, with Aethaion doing a dismissing gesture.

"It's ok." he said and then looked in front of him above "Oh, we have company." he said eager as he saw a swarm of half-rotten vultures with aged feathers still clinging to their skeletal bodies.

"**Turn Undead!**" he said as he extended his hand, with it glowing and turning to dust the swarm.

"Now, what's next?" he thought and as he said that, as if responding to his question, numerous Skeletons holding swords, bows and staffs appeared en masse.

"Do they respond to holy power or something?Anyway, Widen Magic:Turn Undead!" he shouted an the glow then erased the undead.

"Something is wrong. The reports didn't mention the graveyard having so many undead spawning." said a troubled Emmef in thought.

"Indeed. Either there is an accumulation of negative energy or..." he thought and before he could finish, a squad of black armored undead with big shield and horned helmets rose from the ground "...someone summons them." he deduced serious.

"Let me-" she tried to say, but Aethaion stopped her.

"No, it is a nice chance to exercise a little against these Death Knights." he said eager as his hands were now pointing at both of his sides each " **Summon Angel 5th: Hollyphant!**" he said as two glowing circles appeared from which two miniature elephants with luminous gold fur and small, rapidly fluttering wings that were keeping them afloat appeared.

"Excuse me, Lord Aethaion, but how are these exactly angels?" asked Emmef dumbfounded.

"Well, they aren't, but Summon Angel spells can summon also holy beings like these two 50 level cuties." explained Aethaion with a smile and then, the Death Knight began running at them.

"Alright, my cute Hollyphants, purify them!" he ordered fired up while extending his hand, with them unleashing a beam each from their trunks, with the beams engulfing and destroying the squad of Death Knights.

"Alright, whoever you are, show yourself. I know these undead are summoned." demanded Aethaion serious and as he did, two big dragons made of bones with four red eyes each appeared.

"Skeletal Dragons?Indeed, quite a choice.My Hollyphants can't do anything to them that are immune to 6th tier magic and lower." he admitted with a smile "However..." he said and extended his hand "...they can't do anything against this,Summon Angel 7th"Dominion Authority!" he shouted and then, the night sky was enveloped in holy white-blue light as an angel whose head and body were obscured and was covered with numerous glowing feathered wings, six in total, and was decorated with royal tablets and at the front of its head, a glowing divine magic circle was being emitted.Just the mere presence of the angel purified numerous low level undead while the dragons took a step back in fear.

"Let Heaven's judgement befall the wicked dead.Use **Holy Smite!**" ordered Aethaion, with the circle before Dominion Authority's head glowing and a column of pure light falling on the Skeletal Dragons, with them breaking apart until nothing remained of them.

"Hahaha."

A voice could be heard in the area without anyone being present "Show yourself already." demanded Aethaion as he and Emmef were looking around alerted.

"As you wish." said the voice and then Dunkelheit appeared before them instantly.

"Who are you?" asked Aethaion alerted, with Dunkelheit laughing.

"Lord Theon asked who are you!" said an angry Emmef.

"Shut up, NPC." said Dunkelheit while pointing his staff at her, with both her and Aethaion being shocked.

"What did you-" tried Aethaion to say.

"Saving the Bafolk village, wiping the Holocaust Scripture Squad, severing that damned Mimir's head, saving the queen of the Holy Kingdom and subduing the coup d'état.You are a player and if I could guess from your name...Aethaion of Seraphim?" deduced Dunkelheit.

Aethaion's mind was now full of confusion and questions while getting into a fighting stance "Who *are* you?" he asked again, with anger in his voice this time.

Dunkelheit then turned around "The Angel of Death bearing the name of darkness.Farwell, Aethaion, we will meet again, hahaha." claimed Dunkelheit and disappeared through a Gate with a laugh, leaving Aethaion and Emmef puzzled and alerted.

Morning came

"Amazing, to think that you managed to endure in this graveyard through the night!" said the man that brought them there amazed.

"Well, they weren't so many undead." assured him Aethaion with a smile, with the man then getting on the carriage.

"Alright, get in and when we arrive, you would officialy be Iron ranked adventurers!" he said, with the two entering the carriage.

"Emmef, when we return to the city, we must immediately go to Elysium Fortress after the necessary procedures." said a serious Aethaion.

"As you wish, my Lord." said Emmef bowing her head and Aethaion was now in thought.

"*Who could this man be?*"