The space trembles.
For such a vast underground area to shake like this… something is definitely wrong.
“Let’s move first.”
“W-What about the children?”
“We can’t take them with us. Just remember their location.”
“Ah, okay…!”
There’s no time to worry about the children right now.
Normally, I would have hesitated, but…
“Haa… haah.”
“A-Are you okay?”
“Yes, but the shaking is taking a toll on me.”
My body is not in a normal state.
I was caught up in Rush at close range and took a direct hit from the viscount’s attack.
Just looking at my armor, it’s dented and caved in all over the place.
“Let’s move quickly.”
“Yes…!”
And so, we left the room where the children were.
We moved through the corridor, where debris from the ceiling continued to fall due to the tremors.
I knew that walking in this condition was dangerous.
But whatever is happening right now, I can’t just stay put.
Thus, we continued forward through the passage.
Before long, a fork in the path appeared.
“Oh.”
Left or right.
We had to choose one.
“…Wait a moment.”
I crouched down and examined the ground.
Even though my vision wavered from the accumulated shock to my body,
I focused on finding even the slightest footprints.
The area was well-maintained, but there should still be some traces left behind.
As I carefully examined the ground.
I spotted a trail—something had been dragged across the floor.
“Let’s go left.”
“Ah, okay!”
It looked like something had been transported that way.
That meant it was the more important path.
So we turned left and kept moving.
Thud… thud…!
The vibrations grew stronger, becoming more rhythmic.
Thud…! Thud…!!
Like a heartbeat.
I suppressed the growing unease in my chest and pressed on.
Then—
Step, step.
Footsteps echoed ahead.
Soon, two devil worshippers in hoods appeared.
“Hm?”
“Intrud—!”
And in the next instant—
Crack! Crunch!!
An axe embedded itself in their heads before they could finish speaking.
“L-Let’s hurry….”
“Y-Yeah….”
…That was fast.
Sienna must be just as tense as I am.
“Hold on.”
I pulled back the hood of one of the fallen devil worshippers and checked his belongings.
I had hoped to find a key, but there was nothing useful.
…Are there no locks in this place?
Come to think of it, the door to the children’s room had opened without resistance earlier.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Considering this facility could only be accessed by passing through the garden, it was likely that security measures like locks were deemed unnecessary.
Anyway, we continued forward, taking down any devil worshippers that appeared along the way.
Honestly, given my condition, I was worried about whether I could fight properly.
But—
“Gah!”
“Urgh!”
Before they could even react, Sienna’s axe found its mark.
I barely needed to lift a finger.
“Let’s go.”
“…Yes, understood.”
We stepped past the corpses, the vibrations growing even stronger with each step.
“Over there…”
Illuminated by the lights embedded in the walls, the passage ahead was clearly visible.
And at the end of it—
A knight in white armor stood, motionless.
“Looks like we’ve arrived.”
“Yeah…”
Whatever this place is, we’ve made it.
I could see a door behind the knight.
“I’ll take the lead.”
“Be careful…”
With my sword in hand, I approached the knight.
I knew reasoning wouldn’t work on someone in that state, so I prepared to take him down quickly, even if it meant getting injured in the process.
But then—
“…Kill me.”
Thud.
The knight lowered his sword—not to attack, but to surrender.
“What…?”
A trap?
Some kind of trick?
I kept my guard up, studying him closely.
“Please… while I still have my mind.”
Beyond the visor—
I saw bloodshot eyes, tears tinged red streaming down his face.
“Kill me as a knight….”
…Son of a b*tch.
Slash—!!
I forced my body to move, cutting him down in a single stroke.
“Rain…!”
“Those bastards.”
A wave of disgust crashed over me.
The viscount had said they needed the knights—
which meant they’d likely used them as sacrifices.
This knight was probably one of the few who hadn’t been used yet.
For someone to end up like that in just a few days…
What kind of hell did he go through?
“Hah…”
For a moment, my head burned with fury.
But I’d already seen too many victims.
The rage inside me quickly burned out, leaving behind nothing but a deep-seated hatred for the devil worshippers.
Thud…! Thud…!!
The tremors were still intensifying.
I refocused and stepped past the fallen knight, stopping in front of the door.
“I’m opening it.”
“Yeah….”
We had come this far—I had to see what was inside.
I pushed open the door the knight had been guarding.
And then—
I saw exactly what I had feared.
“This is….”
“A manufacturing facility, it seems.”
A massive space stretched before us.
Towering glass pillars lined the room, nearly reaching the ceiling.
Inside each pillar, a dark red liquid bubbled and churned.
Thin tubes connected the pillars in an intricate web, like a giant spider’s web.
That same red liquid pulsed through the tubes.
Against one wall, a large metal device rumbled violently, shaking like a washing machine.
Dark stains—bloodstains—marked the area around it.
“…F*cking hell.”
There was no mistaking it.
This was a devil worshipper laboratory—
A grotesque factory of horror.
Hatred boiled up from the depths of my gut as I scanned the area.
“Over there…”
Sienna pointed to the corner of the room.
“…Red Powder.”
“Yeah….”
Dozens of large sacks were piled up, some of them open.
Inside, they were filled to the brim with Red Powder.
“So this is where they make it….”
“Quite scientific, actually.”
I had no idea what kind of chemical process they used,
but it was far more sophisticated than I expected.
As I looked around, something caught my eye.
“…Damn it.”
“What is it?”
“Forget what I just said.”
Behind the glass cylinders, a faint, ominous symbol was drawn.
“This is….”
“It looks like a devil worshipper’s ritual.”
The pattern was unlike anything I’d seen before, yet it radiated an unmistakable sense of dread.
It felt as though this could be the very ritual used to create Red Powder.
“Let’s destroy it.”
“Ah, yes…!”
I didn’t have the power to burn down this entire facility.
But I could still do what needed to be done.
After stepping back to gain some distance, I swung my sword lightly at the glass cylinder.
Crack—Shatter!
A web of fractures formed before the glass collapsed.
Hisssss—!
The dark red liquid inside spilled out, releasing a noxious smoke as it splattered across the floor.
Crash! Shatter!
One by one, I struck down the other nearby cylinders, shattering them all.
Saaah—!
Then, I grabbed one of the sacks and dumped its contents—Red Powder—directly into the acidic liquid.
Sizzle—!!!
The powder burned away instantly upon contact.
I hurriedly emptied the remaining sacks, disposing of as much as possible.
But—
“Intruders!”
“We have intruders!”
From the hallway beyond the door, voices of devil worshippers rang out.
They must have found the bodies.
“W-What about the rest of the powder?”
Despite my efforts, there were still too many sacks left.
“We needed at least some of it.”
“Huh?”
I waved my hand through the thick smoke, clearing it slightly, then listened carefully to the corridor outside.
“We need to escape, don’t we?”
“Well, yes, but….”
“Then we need to catch someone who knows the way out.”
Footsteps approached.
And then—
Bang!!
The door burst open.
“Filthy intruders!”
A devil worshipper stepped inside.
“W-What is this atrocity?!”
He froze at the sight of the ruined facility, eyes wide in shock.
“What in the…”
“This can’t be…”
Behind him, several other worshippers stood armed, their hoods concealing their faces.
“We only need one alive.”
“Got it!”
The rest were unnecessary.
Sienna’s axe cleaved through the air.
Swish.
I forced the last of my strength into my grip, drawing my sword.
Thud!
“Guh…!”
“Kill them all!”
With the first devil worshipper falling to Sienna’s axe, the others charged in, filling the narrow corridor.
The battle began.
*
“Huff… Huff…”
Time passed.
I sat atop the corpse of a fallen devil worshipper, catching my breath.
“A-Are you alright?”
“Yes… I’m fine.”
Thunk!!
After calming my ragged breathing, I unfastened my armor and threw it to the ground.
The metal had been worn down beyond repair.
It had taken too many blows, enduring the relentless onslaught of devil worshippers.
Dented to the point of restricting movement,
and with gaps forming where the acid had eaten through it—
it was no longer of any use.
“That blood….”
“…I can still move.”
My armor was in tatters.
And my body—covered in wounds.
There wasn’t a single spot unbruised, and blood seeped from the cuts where blades had struck me.
I quickly wrapped the worst ones with the knight order’s emergency bandages.
Even so, considering what we had just gone through, this was a small price to pay.
Dozens of devil worshippers had stormed in, yet we had taken them down.
Even Sienna, who rarely got injured, had taken her share of wounds.
But now—
“M-Monsters…!”
The only one left alive was the one we deliberately spared.
He had been the first to enter the laboratory, meaning he likely held a high rank within their group.
At the very start of the battle, I had struck him with the flat of my blade, knocking him unconscious.
It seemed he had regained consciousness.
Thud!
“Kugh!”
I stepped closer, grabbing his hair and yanking him up.
His hood had already been removed, revealing the face of a middle-aged man.
“D-Do you even know what this facility is?!”
“A filthy manufacturing lab. What else?”
I dragged him forward.
Pulled him toward the sacks of Red Powder.
“W-What are you trying to do?”
“Where’s the exit?”
I lifted his head, forcing it toward the open sack.
“Speak. Unless you’d like to drink this.”
“I-I can’t tell you!”
“That so?”
Thud!
I shoved his face deep into the powder.
“Mmph! Mmmph!!”
He thrashed violently, struggling against my grip.
Funny.
His own people had forced this poison on the residents of the viscounty—
But now, when it was his turn to consume it, he wasn’t so eager.
I doubted even he would willingly swallow this trash.
The drug was nothing but a crippling, addictive poison.
“I’ll pull you out when you feel like talking.”
Hopefully, he’d cooperate quickly.
Sizzle—!!
My gaze flickered toward the dark red liquid still burning beneath the shattered glass cylinders.
If he still refused to talk—
I’d dunk his face in there next.
