"Fine. Hide wherever you want. Just stay silent. Skeletons don't have eyes, so they might rely on sound."
"They don't have ears either. How would they even hear us?" she quipped again.
"Fair point. They're basically missing half their body—how do they hear?" I wondered aloud, turning my attention back to the door.
"Why are you asking me?" Suna replied. "Ask Anna; she's the one who's read every book in the kingdom."
"I wouldn't know. I only studied how to heal people—not how to treat the undead," Anna snapped.
Seeing this, Suna and I exchanged a chuckle.
"Hey! What's so funny? Are you making fun of me?" Anna protested angrily.
"She gets so cute when she's mad," Suna said, glancing at me.
"I can't disagree with that," I replied.
Anna's face turned bright red. I added, "Especially when her cheeks turn crimson like that."
Now completely flustered, Anna covered both sides of her face with her hands.
"Oh come on! Don't be so shy. Let's just get inside the wardrobe—this way Attu won't see you," Suna teased, grabbing Anna's hand and tugging her toward it.
Suna opened the wardrobe doors. Inside was a hanging section for clothes and an upper shelf. She parted the clothes and said, "Alright, get in."
"What about you?" Anna asked.
"I'm coming in too. You go first and get settled. Then I'll join you," she said, helping Anna duck inside.
Once Anna was tucked inside, Suna slowly backed in and began to close the door. She paused and peeked out.
"Attu," she called.
"Yeah?" I responded.
"When this is all over, you better open this door like a prince on a white horse and rescue us. Got it?"
"What else am I supposed to do?"
"For now? Just do your job. Don't even look at me!" she barked, slamming the door shut.
I stood near the entrance with my sword in hand, keeping watch. Elsewhere in the house, Valorant and Gustav had taken up hidden positions near the front door, waiting.
The skeletons slowly advanced toward the doorstep. Seeing the door was closed, one stepped forward and threw it open wide. Ten of them entered. The house was completely silent.
Suddenly, the door slammed shut, and a glowing green sword slashed through the darkness, slicing bones, shattering spines, and reducing the undead to piles of scattered remains.
Then the sword's light faded. Silence returned.
More skeletons entered—again, the glowing green blade returned, and again it disappeared after cutting down its foes.
From a distance, the necromancer raised his left index finger and pointed toward the house. Then, using the same hand, he flipped open his grimoire, causing the remaining undead to rush forward in greater numbers.
This time, they didn't just use the door—they smashed through nearby windows as well.
Despite the break-ins, the room's darkness remained nearly untouched. The glowing blade appeared again. Skeletons swung their own weapons at it, but it moved too fast.
One skeleton with a helmet tried striking the sword directly—but as he raised his weapon, the green sword dropped to the ground in front of him. The skeleton bent to inspect it.
In the blink of an eye, his helmet and head were both sent flying.
Now outside, the other skeletons began throwing torches through the windows to light the interior. The room began to brighten—and then Gustav was visible, charging in.
A skeleton tried to attack him from above, but Gustav dodged and smashed it apart at the ribs before it could strike.
On the other side, Valorant burst forward, kicking a skeleton so hard it shattered, then grabbed a nearby rusty sword and began smashing the others.
After two swings, the sword broke.
Seeing his own weapon on the ground, Valorant dove under an incoming strike, grabbed the blade, and took down the skeleton in a single, clean blow.
"We're changing the plan!" he shouted. "They're trying to burn down the house—we need to take care of the ones outside!"
"You go! I'll handle the ones in here," Gustav replied.
Valorant dashed out the front, slicing through four skeletons on the stairs.
All remaining undead surged toward him. Valorant weaved through their attacks, slicing and dodging.
One skeleton charged straight at him—he dodged it. Another came from the side—he ducked again. But they were closing in fast, surrounding him.
Realizing this, Valorant broke through the encirclement and glanced around.
He saw some skeletons circling to the back of the house.
[They're flanking the building… Gustav won't be able to hold them off.]
[Attu… the rest is up to you. I just hope… you'll be alright.]
Valorant had experienced countless battles like this. He knew better than anyone that making a hasty decision without assessing the surroundings could lead to disaster. That's why he didn't rush into using the Flaming Wrath techniques.
Inside the house, Gustav was engaged in a fierce fight with the skeletons that had entered. Unknowingly, he had let a few slips past him—there were just too many, and they had overwhelmed the entrance.
Meanwhile, after locking the door, I stood there gripping my sword tightly, my gaze fixed anxiously on the door. Not a sound came from the other side. The silence in the room was unnerving—too calm, too still.
[This room is eerily quiet. It's starting to make me nervous.]
Suddenly, I heard a noise. I darted toward the sound and struck at the room's only window. My sword sliced through the head of a skeleton trying to climb in. Its bones shattered and rained down to the ground below.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Looking down, I saw several skeletons climbing the wall below the window. At the same time, something heavy slammed against the door behind me.
"Damn it—coming from both sides?!"
The skeletons behind the door were pounding at it with everything they had. With each blow, the door shuddered, about to burst off its hinges.
[The door can hold for a bit longer, but those—]
I quickly began counting the ones climbing up from below.
"One, two, three… ten."
I knocked another one down as it reached the window ledge.
"Now there's nine left."
Since the others were still a bit far from the window, I turned my attention back to the door.