Mythos Of Narcissus: Reborn As An NPC In A Horror VRMMO

Erika's words sent a chill through the air, and a sudden silence fell over the bastion. Every head turned to where she pointed, and I saw their heart sink before I squinted into the horizon. Three dark, spectral shapes loomed, hazy yet unmistakable, like distant storm clouds on the march.

Three Abyssal Harbingers.

Even from afar, I could feel the oppressive dread they radiated, as if their presence alone was devouring the very light around them. The brief relief from our victory evaporated, replaced by a sense of doom that settled over us like a second, suffocating skin.

Verina turned to me, her expression unusually anxious. "I'll try not to be frugal with my lifeline this time."

For a moment, there was no sound but the faint rustle of equipment as the bastioneers tightened their grips on their weapons, their expressions a mix of horror and grim determination.

"Brace yourselves!" I commanded, attempting to shake off the deep dread clawing at my mind. "We've faced one Harbinger before and won. Three might be an overstatement, but we'll endure this together!" I forced as much assurance into my voice as I could, hoping it would rally the others.

Verina readied her musket, casting an anxious glance at the faint glow of our holy symbols. "They worked once," she muttered, "It will work three more."

Kuzunoha was already preparing another barrage of enchantments and spells, her face appearing to be that of an amusement puppeteer, genuine with her intention to help, but vague in her true feeling. "I can interfere as I did before, but I won't but doing so without any casualties this time," she warned, her gaze piercing as she met my eyes. "If you are to push through this, darling, you'll need more than just wit."

She was basically implying that I should shift to my Valtherion form.

As much as I wanted to finish this job done and dusted, I sensed a faint etching of pride inside me.

If I were to always rely on my Valtherion form, I won't be able to grow as a leader and a person.

I'll see at the very edge of danger on whether I should transform into my Valtherion form or not.

"Keep an eye on their distance, and notify me of their advancement!" I said, already starting toward the workshop.

The bastioneers moved into position with nearly military precision, each one visibly steeling themselves.

My heart swelled with pride at their resolve, but my mind raced with worry. I threw myself into my workshop, slamming open the door, hands already reaching for tools and materials to craft more crosses, more crescents, more stars—anything that could hold even a semblance of holiness.

It was during this desperate effort that Verina's voice called urgently from the wall. "Narcissus! You need to see this!"

Without a second thought, I dropped my tools and rushed to her side, heart pounding.

When I reached the wall and peered out, my breath caught.

Moving with a commanding presence across the battlefield was a human figure unlike any I had ever seen.

She stood tall, clad in armor of burnished gold layered over heavy metal, inscribed with holy symbols and intricate patterns. A crimson cape flowed behind her, adorned with golden litanies that seemed to glow with an inner light, each word a small testament to faith.

From her waist hung banners bearing sacred texts, swaying gently as she moved, and strapped to her back was a giant, two-meter cross, gleaming with technological intricacies that made it appear both ancient and advanced.

Her skin was a deep, ashen gray adorned with elegant tattoos of golden text covering every inch of her visible surface—only her face remained bare, save for two thin, golden lines that stretched from her forehead to her chin, framing her radiant, luminous gold eyes that could be seen shining from afar. Her shoulder-length white hair framed her face, the stark contrast making her look like a celestial avenger.

In one hand, she wielded a spiked mace, which blazed with ethereal light. In the other, a whip braided from sanctified leather and chain, tipped with a holy emblem that glowed with a fierce energy. She was a living monument to faith and strength, each step exuding a radiant authority that was as calming as it was terrifying.

And in her direct confrontation with the three Abyssal Harbingers, her deep and mature voice boomed as though her presence was bigger than the battlefield she was in.

"Where the darkness gathers, there must the light be sown," she proclaimed, her voice both fierce and reverent. "In the wasteland devoid of society, I am but a shield raised high, a flame held against the endless night!"

Her speech was so cheesy! But it strangely fit the occasion!

With each step, she grew closer, her massive cross shifting on her back, catching glints of light in its intricate holy engravings. Her gaze, unwavering and fixed on the Abyssal Harbingers before her, burned with a golden fire that seemed as ancient as it was resolute. Her armor gleamed with every movement, each etched line of holy scripture visible even from afar.

"Doubt may steal the hearts of those unguarded, and shadows may consume the timid." Her hand tightened around the sanctified whip in her grip, the spiked emblem glowing with ethereal energy as she continued, "But we, who have pledged our lives to virtue and to faith, are bound to meet despair with unyielding steel!"

She planted her feet, lifting her mace with purpose as she glared up at the spectral giants. Her furrowed gaze was as sharp as the sanctified edges of her armor, glinting as she addressed the figures towering above her.

"I stand here a vanguard!" she valiantly declared, "Armed not by mere weaponry but by the endless hope that lives in each soul that has ever dared to dream of light within the dark. You, creatures of the abyss, know this well," she called out to the Harbingers, her voice echoing with challenge, "Where there is darkness, so too shall light grow. You may shadow the earth and poison the air, but your dominion falters before the faithful heart. For I am no mere mortal in your path—I am Dame Theresa, a member of the martyred Sisters of Aegis, and my faith shall shatter you!"