Chapter 124
“Our Commander sure sticks his nose into everything across the continent. I wonder if he’ll die helping others without ever getting married.”
Diogo’s grumbling, from the front ranks of the galloping Lighthouse Knights, drew loud laughter from his comrades riding nearby.
“This time, we might face those elf bastards again.”
“….”
At Kelvin’s words, this time everyone fell silent.
The battle in the north where they lost three comrades came to mind.
It was time to avenge their comrades, lost futilely, caught in an explosion.
For the past few months, they had undergone desperate training.
The painful memory of that day had made the Knights stronger.
“It will be different this time.”
“That’s right, this time I will definitely plunge my sword into their necks.”
Their determination to repay kindness twofold and exact revenge tenfold filled the air.
“Anyway, didn't the Commander’s letter say not to move recklessly? How dangerous could it be? We still have a Master-grade knight and five Superior-grade knights among us.”
“It means it’s that dangerous, I suppose.”
The members also looked slightly tense.
The previous battle against the undead and elves had been that threatening.
“Bairot is just ahead.”
The Lighthouse Knights raised their banner, depicting the black symbol of Essus on a white shield, high and marched confidently towards the gates of Bairot.
“…Vice-Commander, something’s strange.”
Definir, who could be called the senior Vice-Commander, was already looking at the empty gate even before the knight spoke.
“Aaaaaah! Help me!”
“Kuaaaaaaah!”
The surroundings were filled with screams.
Not long after the screams were heard, a group of people ran frantically towards the gate entrance.
The moment they passed through the gate, showing the slightest expression of relief.
A red, blade-like tentacle, appearing from nowhere, pierced the abdomens and hearts of four fleeing people.
“Keok…!”
With final screams, the four collapsed to the ground, vomiting blood instantly.
“All units, prepare to charge! Kelvin at the head!”
At the sight that unfolded instantly before their eyes, the Lighthouse Knights pushed down their helmets and raised their swords.
With the flag fluttering, Kelvin moved to the forefront of the Knights.
“All units…! Charge!”
The sound of warhorses’ hooves vibrated the earth, and the entire Lighthouse Knights began to advance forward.
White light surged from the sword of Kelvin at the lead, and a faint light shimmered from the swords of the knights following behind.
“Breakthrough!”
Leaving behind the horrific sights visible upon entering the city, the Lighthouse Knights began to cut down the monsters’ bodies, scattering light.
“Aim for the gap under the chin!”
Kelvin, quickly identifying the enemy’s weakness, slashed his sword under the chin of a monster clad in crimson armor.
The monster had blade-like tentacles for hands, a head that looked like it wore a red helmet, and its entire body was covered in armor-like carapace.
There were several such creatures, resembling demonic beasts from hell, throughout the city, and each one was strong enough to be difficult to deal with easily.
Realizing that their carapaces couldn't be cut without aura, the knights formed groups of 3-4, blocking the individual attacks and thrusting their swords into the gaps in the necks.
“There are too many!We can’t go on like this!”
Definir quickly assessed the situation.
The Lighthouse Knights alone couldn't defeat all those numerous monsters.
Piiiiiing!
Thwack!
Just then, a thick arrowhead flying from somewhere pierced the shoulder of a red tentacle monster.
“Kiiiiiiiik!”
As the beast’s cry, whether in anger or pain, was heard, the Lighthouse Knights quickly began to move, following a guide on the rooftops.
“Breakthrough!”
While moving following the guide, the knights could see that the entire city was filled not only with red tentacle monsters but also numerous other types of demonic beasts.
After riding their horses for about 15 minutes, they reached a large manor.
While the entire city was overrun by monsters, order was maintained within the manor.
The outer walls rose nearly 3 meters high, and threatening defensive structures were installed in various places, visible at a glance.
“Who are you?”
“I was sent by Sir Sancho.”
The guide showed a symbol from his bosom that the Lighthouse Knights recognized as theirs.
Definir nodded and followed the guide, and a section of the mansion wall beside the fence moved on its own as if activated by a mechanism.
A moment later, an entrance wide enough for horses to pass through was revealed.
“You’ve worked hard coming here, Sir Definir.”
“Sir Sancho!”
Having met each other several times while working with Karl, the two greeted each other warmly.
“What on earth happened? Why is the city in this state? And how is it safe here?”
“It’s a long story. Let’s go inside and talk first.”
The Lighthouse Knights joined the manor, and the opened entrance closed again.
After placing their horses and luggage in one part of the manor, they entered the mansion interior.
Despite 120 people entering, the mansion, including the basement and three floors, was capable of accommodating all this personnel.
“This is a safe house built by our organization. It was designed from the start with the premise of being used as an emergency headquarters, so it has excellent defense facilities. In addition, it includes a function to camouflage itself with magic circles. An astronomical amount of money went into this place.”
“Ah….”
“Of course, even so, if Sir Emilio here hadn’t been present, it would have likely fallen already.”
Sancho respectfully introduced the man in the gray robe standing next to him with both hands.
His massive muscular build and tiger-like face proved that he was indeed an outstanding warrior.
“You must be a knight of incredible skill.”
“….”
A brief silence filled the reception room at Definir’s genuinely impressed remark.
“This gentleman… is a Mage….”
“Ah…?”
For a moment, Definir and the knights present were flustered, unsure how to react, then smoothed over the situation by exchanging awkward laughs.
Sancho continued the story, explaining how Emilio had constructed magic circles to hide the manor and how an even greater threat might exist here.
“Where is the girl named Sandra?”
“She is within a magic circle created by Sir Emilio.”
“I am suppressing the demon’s seed as much as possible to prevent it from hatching… but I don’t know how long it will be possible. As the surroundings become completely demonized, the seed within that child’s body will eventually resurrect as well.”
According to Emilio, all the seeds spread throughout the city so far were failures.
True demons did not possess such crudely hideous appearances.
“What exactly are those elves aiming for?”
“The overturning of the world. The extinction of humans, I suppose.”
The elves’ fury was terrifying, stemming from the fact that the continent's dominance had shifted to humans, and various other races had disappeared amidst human exclusion.
The elves of the West Continent revered combat and worshipped strength.
Humans ostracized elves the most among the numerous races because they were capable of doing anything to gain power.
Since the elves also defined humans as an evil that needed to be eradicated from the continent, the current horrific incidents could be seen as the elves' declaration of war against humans.
“And the Commander?”
“Not yet… It seems something is happening with the Holy Knights as well. Judging by the difficulty in contacting them….”
“What do you plan to do now?”
Definir asked for Sancho's opinion, as he had been on the scene longer.
“Saving the city's people is impossible. We must hold out here until the Commander arrives with the Holy Knights. We have enough food and water, and with the defense mechanisms, you knights, and the knights here, we should be able to hold them off. As long as nothing else happens inside here….”
The lack of confidence in Sancho’s tone was due to Sandra, who was in the room where the magic circle was installed.
He seriously debated whether to send her outside right now, but Sancho shook his head.
“It will be alright. Just like it always has been.”
“We must hope so.”
***
“Ugh.”
“Are you alright, Master?”
Emilio stood before the sigil in the room drawn with a magic circle, sweating profusely.
Bright light emanated from his gray staff, and each time the emitted light touched the magic circle drawn on the floor, the magic circle glowed brightly.
“Uuuugh….”
The problem was that the light emanating from the sigil grew fainter each time it touched the red light flowing from Sandra’s body.
“…At this rate, we won’t last long. The power coming from that child’s body is beyond imagination. In the current state, we can only hold out for 2-3 days at most.”
“…What happens if the seed in that girl’s body resurrects?”
“Well… I don’t know that either. According to literature, it was said that a true demon could reveal itself to the world.”
“Will the world end?”
“It depends on which demon reveals itself in this world.”
“Aren’t all demons the same?”
“There are a staggering 72 true-named demons mentioned in literature. All of them had distinct personalities. It’s said that some among them even lived alongside humans, so it’s impossible to know.”
At his master’s words, Oliger’s expression turned puzzled.
Then, couldn't it be that this demon wasn't necessarily an incarnation of absolute destruction and slaughter?
“There were times when the world was on the brink of destruction due to a demon’s devastation.”
“Ah….”
Oliger prayed that if the resurrection couldn't be stopped anyway, a demon capable of conversation would emerge.
Just then, a massive roar that shook the mansion was heard.
Kwaaaaang!
The moment they felt the entire mansion shake from the tremendous tremor, the sound of knights equipping gear and running inside the mansion was heard.
“It seems what was bound to come has arrived.”
Emilio had done everything he could here, so he rose without lingering attachments.
What happened to the girl now was up to the heavens.
As Emilio and Oliger exited the room, the red light within the room spread out even more intensely.
The red light formed a barrier, sparkling like crystal, enveloping the girl.
Her somewhat short hair lengthened, turning into a vivid red, and her bone structure also subtly transformed, becoming more delicate.
No one in the mansion noticed the girl's transformation.
***
“They’re pushing in!”
The Lighthouse Knights and other personnel formed a defensive line at the mansion entrance, and the half-demons began to swarm towards it.
Besides the demons with red blade-like tentacles, there were also demons resembling centaurs, with the lower body of a horse and the upper body of a human.
There were also monsters in human form but lacking eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, completely pitch black from head to toe.
These demons flew towards the knights with movements incomparably faster than ordinary humans.
“Focus on the red tentacles first!”
At Definir’s command, the knights simultaneously charged towards the red tentacles.
They wielded long tentacles and had the highest attack power, so their numbers needed to be reduced as much as possible.
“First line, fall back! Second line, forward!”
Since Sancho had also hired about 50 knights separately, the Lighthouse Knights cooperated with them, taking turns in groups to face the demons.
Arrows and long spears shooting out from the defense mechanisms flew towards the demons, lessening the knights' burden.
“This seems manageable?”
It was just when Kelvin lopped off the head of one charging demon with aura.
Several demons in front exploded on the spot.
Even Kelvin, who had created a wall with aura at the forefront, was not safe from the explosion.
“Kelvin! Are you alright?”
“Cough…! Do I look alright?”
“Your mouth is still running, so you seem fine. You should have watched your mouth.”
It seemed several demons at the entrance were also caught in the earlier explosion.
“Still, shouldn't their numbers have decreased a bit?”
Kelvin, spitting blood but rising with the expectation that the enemy numbers had dwindled, froze as he saw the endless procession of demons stretching from the mansion entrance.
Just then, from very far away, red eyes glinted.
With pointed ears, golden blonde hair, and gleaming red eyes, the figure walking through the demons was clearly an elf.
“Interesting. Is it you again? Why isn't Sir Karl Meyer visible?”
The elf with a playful smile contrasted by sharp eyes was Mikhail Chenov, the lord of the West Continent elves.