My Harem of Dangerous and Crazy Women as a Reincarnated Necromancer

Chapter 255: A Prayer Come True

On a cold night, rain fell mercilessly over a small town.

It was one of the towns of a recently raised settlement at the edge of the great forest, that immense band of giant trees that divided the lands of humans from those of the semi-humans.

It was a quiet place, home to simple folk who had never asked for more than to live in peace.

And yet...

That night, flames rose amid the rain, devouring houses and stables alike, dyeing the night sky orange as the smoke mingled with the downpour.

Through the streets, all that could be heard were screams and weeping in equal measure.

The few soldiers still standing did everything they could to hold back the invaders and buy the civilians some time to escape, but it was clear they wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer.

After all, those attacking them weren’t even human, but an enormous horde of semi-humans that had poured out of the forest.

Humanoid ants with massive mandibles, serpents that slithered through the rubble, and mantises whose bladed limbs cut down anyone in their path advanced without stopping.

And through all that chaos, a priestess with long gray hair ran beneath the rain.

She was guiding a group of terrified children through the streets toward the town’s church, while the little ones cried, stumbled, and clung to her robes. But she, despite the immense terror she felt, kept her voice steady.

"Don’t stop! We’re almost there!" she told them, still running, carrying the smallest in her arms. "Everything’s going to be all right, I promise! The goddess will protect us!"

When she reached the church, the priestess pushed open the heavy wooden doors and ushered the children inside one by one.

"Inside, quickly! Hide and don’t make a sound!" she ordered urgently. "And remember, don’t come out no matter what!"

And though she had managed to get all the little ones to safety, she herself was not so lucky...

For just as she was about to step inside with them and shut the doors, a group of semi-humans caught up to her.

One of the humanoid serpents coiled around her legs and threw her down into the mud, dragging her away from the church while the other creatures closed in around her.

The priestess could only watch, helpless, as those creatures narrowed the distance between them, jaws gaping and claws ready to tear her to pieces.

Realizing she had no escape left, she shut her eyes, clasped her hands over her chest, and prayed with all her strength.

"Oh, great goddess... I know I am not worthy to ask for more than you have already given me," she whispered through her tears, the rain lashing her face. "But I beg you... if you truly hear my prayers... don’t let these children die... Please... SAVE US!"

And against all odds, her prayers were answered.

A blinding flash lit up the night sky, so intense that for an instant the night seemed to turn into broad daylight.

A torrent of light descended from the clouds, striking the very center of the town with a roar that made the earth tremble.

Every semi-human froze in an instant.

For a moment, the town was bathed in that unearthly light, so intense that it forced everyone to look away.

And as quickly as it had appeared, that light vanished again, and at the same moment, the rain stopped completely.

At the exact spot where that torrent of light had fallen, right in the center of the town, there now lay a figure sprawled on the ground.

It was a knight, covered head to toe in heavy, massive armor of thick plates that seemed carved from gray stone.

Beside him rested an enormous shield, while an imposing halberd was strapped across his back.

Every semi-human turned to look at the fallen figure, and for the first time since the attack had begun, none of them dared to move.

They stayed motionless, watching him warily, until a few seconds later the knight let out a low groan and slowly began to sit up.

"Aggh... shit," he muttered, bringing a hand to his head, his voice echoing inside his helmet. "I swear to God I’m never shooting that garbage into my veins again as long as I live... I nearly died."

He stayed sitting on the ground for a few moments, waiting for the dizziness to pass.

But he quickly noticed that something wasn’t right.

He looked down at his hands, then ran his gaze over the armor covering his body and, still confused, began patting his chest and arms before finally bringing his hands up to the helmet covering his head.

"What the...?" he muttered, touching the helm with growing confusion. "What the hell am I wearing?... And where the hell am I?"

And when he finally looked up, he discovered he was surrounded by a horde of monstrous creatures.

There were ants the size of a man, serpents with human torsos, and enormous mantises whose bladed limbs looked like real scythes.

All of them stood motionless, staring at him fixedly beneath the glow of the burning town.

The knight blinked several times behind his helmet, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Damn... I’m still high," he said in a weary voice. "That, or I’m dreaming... yeah, this has to be a dream... a really weird one."

He let out a nervous laugh.

"There’s no way this is real... serpents with arms and humanoid bugs... Sure... all perfectly normal."

And as if they’d been waiting for that exact moment, all the demi-humans lunged at him from every direction.

The knight closed his eyes on pure instinct, convinced that this was where the dream would end.

But that didn’t happen.

All he heard was the sound of metal clanging over and over.

The creatures scratched, bit, and struck with desperation, but every one of their attacks bounced off the armor without leaving so much as a scratch.

The knight opened his eyes again nervously, only to find himself completely unharmed in the middle of that rain of blows.

"...Huh?" he said, bewildered.

But then one of the humanoid ants landed a sharp blow right on his helmet.

CLANK.

The sound rang out inside his helm.

And while the blow didn’t hurt, it startled him.

"HEY!" the knight exclaimed, spinning toward the creature, more offended than afraid. "What’s your problem, you son of a bitch?! Who the hell do you think you’re hitting?!"

And by pure reflex, he shoved it to get it off him.

Or at least, that’s what he thought he’d done.

The humanoid ant went flying as if it had been hit by a truck at full speed, bursting against the wall of a burning house with a wet crunch and ending up completely wrecked.

The knight slowly lowered his gaze to his hand.

Then he looked back at the creature’s remains... and then at his own hand again.

"...Okay," he said slowly. "Didn’t see that one coming."

The other creatures hesitated for a moment before hurling themselves at him again en masse.

But this time, the knight decided to stop asking questions and start hitting back.

What followed was a one-sided beatdown.

Every shove, slap, and kick the knight dished out sent one of those creatures flying through the air, destroyed.

And though he didn’t know how to use the halberd on his back, he didn’t need it either. His own gloved hands were more than enough.

The semi-humans who had sown so much fear among the soldiers, who had massacred the town’s garrison, now fell one after another before this man.

’Okay... for a dream this all feels way too real’ he thought as he grabbed a humanoid serpent by the neck and slammed it into the ground. ’The mud, the rain, the smell of burning... since when do dreams smell like anything?’

The knight didn’t stop moving until the last creature fell dead.

And when it was finally all over, he stood in the middle of the plaza, surrounded by the remains of the horde.

His breathing hadn’t even quickened, and he didn’t have a single wound.

Meanwhile, the town went on burning around him, and the last surviving townsfolk watched him from their hiding places, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.

And then, footsteps approached him.

It was the priestess.

She was soaked, trembling, her eyes full of tears.

When she reached him, she dropped to her knees in the mud, clasped her hands, and bowed her head in reverence.

"Thank you... thank you so much... I knew it... I knew the goddess wouldn’t abandon us," she whispered, her voice broken by weeping. "I knew she would hear my prayers and send us a savior."

She lifted her gaze to him, with a trembling smile.

"You... you are the answer to my prayers... The champion the goddess has sent us."

He looked at the woman kneeling before him, gazing at him with absolute devotion, as if he really were some kind of divine envoy.

"Huh?"