The Viscount was an outstanding Aura user.
However, based on what I had seen so far, I believed my chances of victory were higher.
Of course, with the support of a mage and the hidden strength the Viscount had yet to reveal, the outcome wasn’t certain.
I had only rushed in with the intention of buying time with Sienna’s support.
Crack—! Crrrack—!
White spikes suddenly sprouted from the Viscount’s back.
Boom!!
They shot forward, deflecting my sword.
“What in the…?”
“At first, it was really troublesome.”
Whoosh—
After spinning my sword once and adjusting my grip.
Boom!!
I dodged the mage’s incoming roots and took another step forward.
“I only intended to take out the Count’s knights. I didn’t expect the Margrave to send reinforcements.”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Despite my struggle to advance.
The spikes emerging from the Viscount’s back multiplied, forming a dense barrier in front of me.
“How are we supposed to stop Sir Barts? Sending the commander of the Black Wing Knights as reinforcements—what kind of crazy old man does that?”
“…You sure have a lot to say all of a sudden.”
“The more secrets you have, the more burdens you carry.”
The serious young man from before was gone.
The Viscount now wore a hazy smile, like someone intoxicated by drugs.
“Do you know how much we had to sacrifice just to trap Sir Barts in here? I don’t know the exact number, but more than half must have been lost.”
[…What an insane plan.]
“But it worked, didn’t it?”
Even as the Viscount spoke, more spikes continued to sprout from his back.
Beyond those blocking my way.
The white, bone-like spikes twisted together behind him, spreading like wings.
“Well, in any case, the ritual is almost complete.”
Then, as if he had never been smiling, the Viscount stretched out his hand with a suddenly expressionless face.
“There’s no need for more sacrifices.”
At that moment—
Kwaaaah—!!
The white spikes coiled together in a spiral, enveloping the Viscount’s arm.
It looked just like a knight’s lance.
“Heh.”
…That power—it clearly came from a contract with a demon.
And his presence had changed.
To think he had hidden this level of strength all along.
Tsk.
It was clearly dangerous.
I instinctively took a step back.
Then—
“Sienna!”
After gaining some distance, I called out to Sienna to signal her.
“Trying to pull a trick?”
The Viscount, now completely arrogant, stepped toward me.
‘Vision Track.’
I activated Vision Track, which I had been holding back until now.
The moment I did, the world slowed down, and a faint red mist rose between the Viscount and me.
Then—
Whirrr—!!
Two hand axes, thrown by Sienna, shot past my back toward the Viscount.
“How pathetic.”
Boom!
A normal person wouldn’t have even registered them before they struck their skull.
But the Viscount effortlessly swung his spike-covered arm, swatting them away like flies.
In that brief opening,
I launched myself toward him.
“You fool!”
At the same time, more spikes shot from the Viscount’s body, aiming directly at me.
In that split second—
Moving even faster than my perception could process—
I simply swung my sword by pure instinct.
The impact of Rush from earlier still lingered in my body.
But I forcibly circulated my Aura, pushing through the pain and leaving everything else to my senses.
Swiiish—!!
A sixth sense beyond my five.
The same intuition that had saved my life countless times in the Colosseum.
Now, paired with my battered body, it sharpened my sword even further.
And so—
With a sensation as if swinging my sword from another dimension—beyond even my perception—my blade carved its trajectory.
And then—
“Arghhh!!”
Before I knew it, my sword had sliced past the spikes and severed the Viscount’s left arm.
[Viscount!!]
…Even I wasn’t sure how I managed to cut off his arm.
My body was moving faster than my mind could comprehend.
Whoosh.
Barely regaining focus, I readjusted my grip on my sword.
Just as I was about to drive my blade into the Viscount’s neck—
“You bastard!!”
Boom!!
The Viscount swung his spike-covered right arm, striking me full force.
“Gahk!”
The sheer impact lifted my feet off the ground.
My body was sent flying through the air without any resistance.
[Die!]
Drifting midair, without a foothold, my mind went blank from the shock.
A barrage of spikes shot toward me.
Swiiish—!
…Could I even survive that?
Just as I was about to sacrifice my abdomen and escape somehow—
Boom!!
A sudden explosion erupted to my left.
“R-Run!”
Sienna, moving at an incredible speed—almost as if using Fleet—snatched me out of the air, dodging the spikes.
“Sienna?”
“Vern has taken care of the Captain!”
In just a few words, she explained what had happened while I was buying time.
Boom! Crash!
[You’re not getting away!]
“Kyah!”
With me slung over her shoulder, Sienna desperately dodged the whipping roots.
“Here—this way!”
She hurled herself toward a passage on the opposite side of the garden.
Boom!!
Even as she leaped away, the roots continued to slam into the ground behind us.
Tap, tap, tap—!
Still carrying me, Sienna sprinted down the corridor.
After what felt like an eternity—
“Gah!! Cough!”
“A-Are you alright?”
“Huff… Huff…”
I spat out a mouthful of blood before sliding off Sienna’s shoulder.
“…Yeah. Don’t worry.”
My entire body was still numb from the impact.
Thud!
Even as we escaped, I hadn’t loosened my grip on my sword.
…My fingers wouldn’t even open properly.
I had been gripping it too tightly, my hand stiffened from the strain.
“We should keep moving.”
“They don’t seem to be chasing us right now. Rest a little.”
“No. We need to secure a safe location first.”
From what I last saw—
Deline was out of commission.
Vern seemed to be in relatively good shape, and he had carried the captain through the passage.
If the other knights were still unscathed, they’d likely regroup soon.
No matter how strong the Viscount was, even with a mage on his side, if the remaining knights from Squads Two and Three were still standing, our forces would have the advantage.
The real issue was Sienna and me.
“You should still rest…”
“I can manage.”
In our haste to escape, we had ended up deeper inside the enemy stronghold.
On top of that, my body was in bad shape, and Sienna wasn’t suited for fighting in enclosed spaces like this.
“We need to find a hiding place.”
“Right…!”
At this point, our best option was to find a room to hide in until we could recover.
If there was an exit ahead, that would be ideal.
If not, we might have to retreat back through the garden.
The Viscount had lost an arm, but that wasn’t the real issue.
The two of us alone wouldn’t be able to break through the mage who had fortified their position in the garden.
We needed to wait for reinforcements.
…The best-case scenario would be finding Sir Barts where we entered.
But with the multiple exits in the garden, the chances were slim.
And so—
“Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yes, I can still move.”
Carefully, Sienna and I continued deeper into the passage.
Fortunately, glowing lights along the walls illuminated the way, so we didn’t need a lantern.
And before long—
“Oh… there’s a door here?”
“…I see.”
While walking down the passage, we came across a door.
“Should we go in?”
“Wait a moment….”
I pressed my ear against the door to check for any sounds inside.
…Nothing loud could be heard.
Creak.
I carefully turned the door handle. It moved smoothly.
It wasn’t locked.
“I’ll go in first.”
“Got it.”
My body was in rough shape, but that only sharpened my senses further.
Staying on high alert, I took the lead and stepped inside.
And then—
“This is….”
“…Children.”
The room was large enough for a group of grown men to stay in together.
Yet, in this room, children lay on beds, crammed closely together, as if lifeless.
…Why are children here?
“What’s their condition…?”
“They seem to be asleep.”
Moreover, they looked healthier than the ones I had seen before.
Their clothes were a bit dirty, but they didn’t seem malnourished.
Most importantly, the room was clean.
It was made of the same stone as the passage, but the lack of dust suggested it was regularly maintained.
“What… is this place?”
As Sienna and I inspected the children, my eyes landed on an empty bed.
The blanket was crumpled, as if someone had been lying there until just recently.
…But there were no other children missing from this room.
Were they moved? If so, where?
Or… did they leave on their own?
At that moment, I recalled what the Viscount and the mage had said earlier.
They had mentioned something about a vessel and a ritual.
…Kidnapped children, a vessel, a ritual.
And this place belonged to devil worshippers.
If that were the case…
“These children… are the vessels?”
“What?”
Like pieces of a puzzle coming together, a hypothesis formed in my mind.
“They might be vessels for summoning a demon.”
“T-They’re summoning a demon? Is that even possible?”
“…Whatever it is, it’s definitely something dangerous.”
The Viscount had said that the ritual was almost complete.
I quickly reorganized everything he had rambled about in my head and tried to piece it all together.
Then what about the Red Powder?
If the Viscount was already on the side of demons, why go through the trouble of such a convoluted plan?
And why did they need the Viscount’s knights as sacrifices?
Why were the children left here unharmed?
And what kind of demon were they worshipping that caused spikes to sprout from their bodies and made them exude an acidic aura…?
“Haa….”
“A-Are you alright?”
“Yes… I just need to think.”
It had been a long time since I had to use my head like this.
The strain gave me a splitting headache as I desperately tried to make sense of the situation.
Rumble… Ruuumble….
“This is….”
“…Something’s starting.”
The entire space around us began to tremble.
Unfortunately, it seemed like we didn’t have much time left.
