“This… What is this?”
“Uh….”
Sienna and I both lost our words as we watched the branches devouring people.
This is seriously messed up.
Looking around, not only the villagers who were in front of us but also people from all directions were floating into the sky.
“…It looks like it’s only taking those who are addicted to the Red Powder, right?”
“That does seem to be the case.”
Turning my gaze toward the city, the most densely populated area seemed strangely untouched.
Just as Sienna said, it seemed like it was only absorbing those addicted to the Red Powder.
…Retrieval? Or restoration?
My eyes turned toward the ominous and enormous tree.
What in the world is happening?
“For now, we should run.”
“Y-Yes!”
Well, it’s not like the entire kingdom will collapse, right?
As long as we escape the Viscounty, we can get treated in the Count’s territory and then make our way to the nearest capital.
Lowell should be there.
No matter how the world falls apart, I believe I’ll be safe as long as I’m by Lowell’s side.
With that in mind, we kept moving in the opposite direction of the tree while riding the Forest Bear.
How long had we been running?
I never realized the Viscounty was this vast. As we continued moving until the sun reached its peak—
Boom!! Boom!!
Up ahead—
A group of people were fighting against devil worshippers.
“Those people…”
“They look familiar.”
And as we got closer, the figures became unmistakably recognizable.
“Huh? Rookie?”
As we approached, we saw the remaining members of the Black Wing Knights fighting the devil worshippers with a carriage positioned at the center.
“You bastard! You’re alive!”
“Uh, yeah….”
So this is where they ended up.
It looked like they had managed to secure a carriage and were trying to escape as well.
But more importantly—
“Capture them all!”
“Don’t let them escape! Offer them as sacrifices!”
The devil worshippers fighting against the knights were acting unusual.
Boom!! Sizzle!!
Their bodies were sprouting spikes, and they were releasing acidic fumes.
“This is….”
“It seems like something has changed.”
Thinking about it—
Since the devil has ascended against the heavens and revealed itself on the surface, wouldn’t its worshippers also receive its blessing?
That might explain their transformed appearances.
Even so—
“Kill them all!”
“You bastards!”
They were no match for the Black Wing Knights.
All the knights from Squad Two and Squad Three who had gone underground earlier were here.
No matter how much of a ‘blessing’ they had received, the devil worshippers were slaughtered in an instant.
“Hah… Tough bastards.”
“…Have you been fighting continuously?”
Vern looked disgusted as he glanced at the devil worshippers who had been spewing acid moments ago but now lay bleeding on the ground.
It seemed this wasn’t the first time they had been ambushed.
“Yeah, they’ve been chasing us all the way from the city.”
“So the city was dangerous too, huh.”
Since the Viscount had betrayed us, it made sense that devil worshippers were also lurking within the city.
Our decision to escape the Viscounty immediately instead of going through the city was the right one.
“By the way, the carriage…?”
“The squad leader and the injured are inside.”
“Ah.”
There were two more injured knights from Squad Three, and Garen from Squad Two as well.
It looked like they had gathered everyone from the city and were now fleeing.
“More importantly, how did you survive? We thought we were completely screwed.”
“Sienna saved me.”
“Brat, seeing your shameless face again is strangely nice.”
“…What?”
More importantly.
Seeing Vern and the knights of Squad Two, it was clear they had been worried about us.
I could see a brief look of relief flash in their eyes.
“You look pretty banged up. Want to get in?”
At the moment, I had gotten off the bear for a bit.
Noticing the bandages wrapped all over my body, Vern pointed at the carriage.
“…No, I’m fine.”
“You look like you need it.”
“I need to see this through with my own eyes.”
I gestured toward the massive tree behind us.
The devil worshippers’ ritual, which they had been planning for decades, had succeeded.
Even as we escaped the Viscounty, events would continue to unfold.
I needed to witness it all with my own eyes.
There would be countless battles against the devil worshippers in the future.
I needed to remember what it looked like when their plan succeeded, so I’d know what to expect.
“Well then, follow along.”
“Understood.”
And so—
“Alright, climb aboard.”
“Yes.”
“Hold on tight….”
Once again, I got onto the Forest Bear with Sienna.
“The hell is that position…?”
“…This is the best way.”
“Yeah, must be nice….”
“….”
It was a little embarrassing, especially with the other knights watching.
But given my condition, this was the most practical choice.
“By the way, how’s the squad leader doing?”
As we traveled, I asked Vern, who was riding alongside the carriage.
Would Deline be alright?
He had taken a direct hit from the Viscount’s ominous Rush attack.
“Not good. It looks like he took the full force of it.”
“Damn….”
…As expected, his condition was serious.
We needed to get to the Count’s territory as fast as possible.
“Back when we escaped….”
With a bit of breathing room now, Vern started explaining what had happened after he secured Deline.
After the Viscount’s betrayal, Vern had rushed in the direction the Squad Three leader had gone.
Since the Squad Two leader was already down, that was the first place he thought to go.
“The underground was shaking like hell….”
Apparently, the ground had begun trembling violently.
Because of that, Sir Barnes, the leader of Squad Three, had been on his way back, which made it easier for them to regroup quickly.
“Then I left the squad leader in the care of the knights and went back to the garden with Sir Barnes.”
“…The garden?”
“Yeah.”
After that, Vern had returned to the garden to check if I was still alive.
“But that b*tch must’ve pulled some trick….”
The tree roots had completely sealed off the garden entrance.
They couldn’t even get in, so they were forced to return to the city instead.
From there, they had gathered the wounded, secured a carriage, and started their escape.
And in the meantime, they had been constantly attacked by devil worshippers.
“Hah… So that’s what happened….”
“More importantly, what happened to you guys?”
“Oh, we…”
After hearing Vern’s story, I noticed him glancing at the Forest Bear we were riding and explained our side of things.
How we escaped from the garden thanks to Sienna.
How we discovered a room filled with sleeping children but had to leave when the underground started collapsing.
How we later found a manufacturing facility and destroyed it, leading to a battle with the devil worshippers.
And how we interrogated a captured enemy and learned about the escape route.
“…That doesn’t even sound real.”
After hearing everything, Vern stared at me like he couldn’t believe it.
“We were lucky.”
“Yeah, maybe you guys were just meant to survive.”
“Oh, and also….”
And while I was at it.
I also relayed the information we had extracted from interrogating the devil worshipper.
“…A plan that’s been in the works for decades?”
“Yes, we got caught up in something way bigger than we expected.”
“Shit, no wonder something like that just popped out of nowhere.”
Vern cursed as he pointed at the tree.
Even as we fled, that ominous tree remained still, quietly absorbing only the townspeople.
“Does it make sense for a devil to just suddenly appear?”
“…So, that thing is—”
“Yeah, it’s a devil.”
Honestly, I had my doubts.
The idea of that tree itself being a devil conflicted with my common sense.
But no, it really was a devil.
Then again, it was foolish to apply human logic to something like this.
“By the way, the devil worshippers seem… different.”
“Yeah, ever since that tree emerged, they’ve completely changed.”
Vern gestured toward his sword.
“They’re spewing acid, and some of them are growing spikes from their hands, just like the Viscount.”
His sword was in terrible shape—
It had been constantly exposed to acid and clashed against those spikes, wearing it down.
“…This is becoming a problem.”
“Yeah, and it’s the same for everyone else.”
We needed to get out of the Viscounty as soon as possible.
Still, with more than ten knights here, we had a good chance of escaping without much trouble.
At least, that’s what I thought—until…
“Everyone, halt!”
A sharp voice rang out.
It was Sir Barnes, the leader of Squad Three, leading at the front.
“Hm?”
“What’s going on…?”
At his command, everyone immediately stopped, turning to face whatever was blocking our advance.
I half-expected another ambush from devil worshippers, but—
“There you all are.”
To my surprise, there was only one person standing in our way.
“… Viscount?”
It was none other than Viscount Bellermark, the traitor, standing confidently, blocking our path.
“Is he out of his mind?”
“Step aside.”
He was alone.
Unlike before, there was no mage at his side, no reinforcements.
Yet, he was standing in the path of over a dozen knights—by himself.
However—
Instead of relief, an eerie tension spread among the knights.
Because—
“What’s wrong? Are you all scared?”
The Viscount’s appearance was anything but ordinary.
His presence alone was overwhelming, but his form—that was what unsettled us.
It was as if his entire body was encased in twisted armor made of spikes.
And in the center of his chest, a glowing red gem pulsed ominously.
Just like the other devil worshippers…
The Viscount, too, had received the devil’s blessing—
And considering his contribution, he had clearly been rewarded generously.
“Hmph, how dull.”
Whatever power he had gained, it had made him even more arrogant than before.
He reached out toward us with an air of absolute confidence.
“Prepare for battle!”
Sir Barnes remained composed, stepping forward as he commanded his knights.
And at that moment—
“Let’s end this all at o—ugh!”
The Viscount’s boastful words were cut short.
A thin silver line appeared across his body.
And then—
Slice—
His body, along with the spikes wrapped around him, split cleanly in two.
“W-What…?!”
The Viscount barely had time to comprehend what had happened—before he collapsed.
His upper body tumbled to the ground, separated from his lower half.
And behind him—
“Commander!”
“H-How are you here…?!”
The long-missing Commander of the Black Wing Knights had finally appeared.
“My apologies for the delay.”
Sir Barts stood there, sword in hand, having ended the Viscount in an instant.
