The 1st Squad and their commander, who had set out with confidence, had vanished.
No, to be precise, news came from the viscount that they had not returned.
“What do you mean?”
Deline furrowed his brows and addressed the viscount, who had been waiting for them in front of the fortress wall.
“…Where is the 3rd Squad?”
“They arrived earlier and are currently standing by after hearing the news.”
“I need to meet them.”
Upon hearing that the commander was missing, Deline decided to first meet the captain of the 3rd Squad, who had arrived in advance and was waiting.
The rest of us knights naturally remained on standby in front of the castle gate.
“Are we working overtime today?”
“The commander has gotten into trouble again.”
Despite the serious situation, the atmosphere among the knights wasn’t particularly tense.
“Does this kind of thing happen often?”
Curious about their attitude, I carefully asked Vern, whom I had grown somewhat close to.
“Especially during the war. Our commander is quite reckless.”
He answered nonchalantly, as if this were nothing unusual.
…Really?
He doesn’t look the type, but I guess he’s more aggressive than he seems.
Perhaps the commander’s influence is the reason the 2nd Squad turned out this way.
“What should we do now?”
“We need to wait for the meeting’s conclusion first.”
Since the knights remained calm, I also felt my nerves settling down.
Right. The commander isn’t someone who would be taken down so easily.
After all, he was personally appointed as the knight commander by Margrave Boyd.
Having accumulated countless achievements in war, it was hard to imagine him falling in a place like this.
“Did I keep you all waiting long?”
Shortly after, Deline emerged from within the fortress, accompanied by the knights of the 3rd Squad.
“Captain, what now…?”
“We’re heading out for additional search efforts in the direction the commander went.”
The conclusion of the meeting had apparently been to conduct a search.
Deline issued orders to reorganize.
“Are you really going?”
“Yes.”
The viscount seemed surprised by Deline’s decisive response and questioned him, but Deline simply nodded expressionlessly and looked up at the sky.
The night sky was already pitch dark.
Once outside the city, it would be nearly impossible to see without the aid of lanterns.
However—
“The commander should be fine. He probably got lost after going too deep into the stronghold of the devil worshippers.”
Aura users have techniques that allow them to see through darkness.
That’s likely why they were able to decide on this search operation.
“…Then I’ll go as well.”
The viscount, perhaps moved by their determination to immediately go after their commander, volunteered to join them.
“I won’t refuse, but are you sure?”
At Deline’s question, the viscount nodded firmly and took off his coat.
“I was born and raised in this territory. I know the roads well. It’ll be better than relying on a map.”
“Good. Follow us.”
And so—
With the exception of the injured Gareth and Brienne, whom Deline removed from the mission, the entire 2nd Squad of knights.
Viscount Bellermark.
And, aside from two injured members, the entire 3rd Squad of knights.
A total of 15 aura users set out into the night to find their missing commander and the 1st Squad.
**
After starting the search.
After setting out, they quickly moved toward the location marked on the map.
Though the forest paths at night were rough, everyone—including the viscount, who had prepared his own gear—was fully equipped with armor, allowing them to push forward without issue.
Upon reaching the designated clearing, they were met with a scene of devastation: corpses scattered all around and shattered rocks littering the ground.
“This must have been a base for the devil worshippers.”
“Yes, judging by the traces, it’s certain.”
“So the commander went down there?”
In front of the shattered rocks—so thoroughly destroyed that their original form was unrecognizable—was a well-carved stone staircase.
Given the corpses and flesh strewn across the steps, it was clear that the commander had forcibly fought his way down.
“Take out the lanterns. We’re heading down immediately.”
“Yes, sir!”
The space at the top of the staircase was large enough to accommodate their group, and without hesitation, they followed the trail down into the underground passage.
As they descended, an enormous corridor revealed itself below.
“This place is definitely different.”
If this was truly the stronghold of the devil worshippers…
The corridor was vast—tall and wide enough for mid-tier monsters to pass through without issue.
“There was definitely a battle here.”
The passage was littered with bodies, their blood staining the ground a deep crimson. They appeared to be devil worshippers.
“Follow the corpses.”
“Yes, sir!”
Fortunately, the bodies acted as markers, leading them deeper inside.
“…The bodies just keep appearing.”
“The commander must have rampaged through here.”
The viscount, looking increasingly alarmed, muttered to himself as they proceeded.
After all, the corpses never seemed to end.
…This must have really taken a toll on his territory.
The number of people addicted to the Red Powder must have been staggering.
Regardless—
“The layout inside is a bit complicated.”
As they ventured deeper, Deline suddenly remarked.
“Yes, it seems that way.”
“There are endless branching paths.”
“No wonder the commander hasn’t returned.”
Indeed, while they had the bodies to guide them, the passageways continued without end, and intersections appeared frequently.
“…This is my failure. I had no idea such a facility had been built within my territory.”
“Judging by its state, it must have been constructed over a long period of time.”
Deline responded coldly to the viscount.
This was not something built overnight.
It had likely taken years to construct.
The timing of their emergence must have coincided with the territorial war.
That the viscount had unknowingly initiated the war while such a hidden base existed within his lands was undeniably his own responsibility.
As they pressed forward deeper inside—
“There are no more bodies here.”
At some point, the number of corpses had dwindled until none remained.
“Are there any other traces?”
“There are footprints.”
“Let’s follow them.”
Fortunately, the dust covering the stone floor made the knights’ footprints clearly visible.
However, there was one problem…
“They split up here.”
“Sigh, why did the commander divide the Squad like this?”
At the three-way fork ahead, the footprints diverged into three separate paths.
“At least they left markings as they split.”
“That should make it easier to track them…”
It seemed the 1st Squad had anticipated splitting up, as they had marked the stone walls with red chalk.
It was a special imperial-grade chalk, one of the standard supplies issued to the knights.
“What should we do? Do we split up as well?”
Markings were useful, but they still had to decide how to proceed.
All eyes turned to Deline, the captain of the 2nd Squad.
In the Black Wing Knights, if the commander was absent, the 1st Squad captain held decision-making authority. But if the 1st Squad captain was also missing, command fell to Deline, the 2nd Squad captain.
The decision of how to proceed rested entirely on him.
“Hmm, we have fifteen people, right? If we split into groups of five, it should work.”
After a brief moment of contemplation, Deline quickly divided the personnel with a gesture.
“You five, take the right path.”
“Yes, sir!”
He assigned the entire 3rd Squad, excluding its captain, to the rightmost path.
“Sir Bance, take the left.”
“Understood.”
He then sent the 3rd Squad captain along with four knights from the 2nd Squad down the left path.
And as for the remaining group…
“We’ll proceed straight ahead with the viscount.”
“Understood.”
Deline, the viscount, Vern, Sienna, and I formed a team and headed straight down the central corridor.
*
As we moved through the corridor—
“There’s a body.”
Vern, who was leading with a lantern, suddenly stopped and made the report.
“Same as before?”
“No. Judging by the armor, this appears to be a viscount’s knight.”
… A knight of the viscount?
Hearing Vern’s report, Deline moved forward while I looked at the fallen corpse.
The knight wore silver armor that reflected the lantern’s light with a faint red hue.
The odd thing was that his head had been cleanly severed.
Whoever did this executed a precise strike.
Taking down a maddened, rampaging knight wouldn’t have been easy.
“Did we find the right place?”
Deline mused as he examined the knight’s body.
“It seems that way.”
If knights had been stationed here, it must have been an important location.
“Then let’s hurry.”
With that, we quickened our pace.
We continued moving down the seemingly endless underground passage.
There was no way to tell how much time had passed, but it felt like at least ten minutes of walking in a straight line.
“…There’s a door ahead.”
“It’s not functional anymore.”
A large iron door lay shattered on the ground before us.
Its center was dented in, as if someone had simply kicked it open with brute force.
“We won’t need the lanterns anymore.”
Beyond the ruined door, bright light spilled into the passageway.
It seemed we had reached the end of the tunnel.
“Let’s see what kind of lair they’ve been hiding underground.”
Deline stepped past Vern and took the lead.
Shing—!
As he drew his sword, the rest of us followed suit.
And then—
“Whoa.”
“What in the world…?”
We emerged into a scene that left us speechless.
“This… is this even possible?”
“Damn devil worshippers, their tricks never cease to amaze.”
Despite being underground, the area beyond the door was illuminated by a bright, almost natural light.
Lush green grass covered rolling hills, and a massive ancient tree dominated the landscape.
And beneath that enormous tree—
Between the hill and its roots—
A woman lay bound, wrapped in thick, entwining roots, her eyes closed as if asleep.
“…That woman…”
“Do you know her?”
Shockingly, I did recognize her.
“She’s the mage from the forest.”
The very same woman whose head I had pierced clean through.
“…Should we finish her off?”
“It seems the commander ignored her and moved past.”
She remained motionless, eyes shut, as though lifeless.
“We don’t have time to waste. Let’s just kill her and move on.”
However—
Having already been attacked once in the forest, the general consensus was that she needed to be dealt with.
It could be a trap, but Deline confidently stepped forward with his sword raised.
The moment he did—
A brilliant flash.
The seemingly lifeless woman snapped her eyes open and glared at us.
“…I could have slept longer.”
Deline smirked at her words and dashed forward.
And then—
BOOM!
[Aah, so it’s you again? Interfering with the refinement of the ‘Vessel’?]
A voice sharp enough to carve through the air echoed around us.
From the grassy hill, thick thorns erupted from the ground, tearing through the earth as they surged toward us.
