Sophia and her party continued to walk deeper inside, but the cave seemed endless.
Total darkness ahead.
“I’ll light a fire for us.”
Asha used Spirit Magic to create flames that illuminated the area, just like Nex had done before.
It was a situation similar to when Licht had entered the dungeon.
But there were many differences. Firstly, it was unnatural for there to be no guards in a place where the Apostle of Wrath was supposed to be.
“Why are there no guardians inside…?”
Unlike the high monsters guarding outside, there were no footprints or signs of fur.
If monsters emerged from this kind of place and blocked the entrance through which they had entered, wouldn’t that put them at a disadvantage?
The Apostle, who had deliberately drawn monsters down from the summit to create chaos, couldn’t have overlooked measures to protect such a hideout.
The brilliant strategist, Sophia Coldheart, kept walking forward, unable to shake off a lingering doubt in her heart.
If that white-haired man she had met a few days ago were here, would she have understood the reason for the contradictions she felt?
Moreover, it was too quiet. As if there were no people or animals from the start—strangely so.
“A pungent smell…”
Pina, with her keen sense of smell, detected something unusual first, making the others halt. The acrid scent of blood pierced their noses.
“I guess we need to use a bit more strength.”
Asha Aureus lit the flames again, and the place brightened instantly, like daytime.
“Ugh!!”
A girl, bound with ropes, lay sprawled on a stone altar. In this cold snowy mountain, where no snowflakes fell.
Her mouth was gagged with cloth so she couldn’t even scream. If Sophia’s group hadn’t arrived, she would’ve surely succumbed to death.
“What kind of lunatics…?”
Around the altar, a reversed pentagram was drawn in blood, surrounded by a mountain of monster corpses.
No, there were also some humans.
Due to the cold environment, the corpses appeared frozen rather than decaying. They looked as if they were merely sleeping, free from maggots or pests.
“Just like with the Head, these guys are really!!”
What on earth were they planning here?
Drake shouted loudly, as if to be heard. His voice echoed emptily.
“Wait, Pina…”
At that moment, Pina Grancia walked unhesitatingly towards the altar.
Her footsteps erased the bloodstains, sending a chill down everyone’s spines, but she didn’t care much about it.
Rather, she focused on saving the girl rather than the suspicious pentagram, moving toward the stone altar.
The transformation of the Glass Knight had much to do with a Black Knight who risked everything without sparing his own life.
“Ugh.”
Pina untied the ropes binding the girl and removed the cloth from her mouth. Finally, a freckled girl with red hair gasped for breath.
“Th-thank you for saving me…”
“Hey, what’s your name, kid?”
Seeing the girl’s red marks from being bound so long made Pina frown behind her helmet, soothing the child as she inquired her name.
“Esther… it’s Esther.”
The Northern Duchess and Asha felt a sense of unease looking at the girl, but the heavily armored Glass Knight picked her up, bringing her into their vicinity.
“Do you know what the Hero Church was trying to do here? Kid?”
The black-haired woman with bear ears didn’t let her guard down as she asked. This whole situation reeked of suspicious signs.
“I don’t… I don’t know… Waaaah…”
The girl started crying, overwhelmed by the trauma of seeing the corpses, tears dripping as she huddled next to Pina.
“Sophia, it’s bad.”
“…This certainly feels off.”
“Don’t cry, Esther. Stop it.”
Leaving the only witness, who sobbed too loudly to converse, behind,
“I think they were trying to do some human sacrifice for a summoning.”
The Spirit Magic expert concluded after organizing her thoughts. With the reverse pentagram and the altar used,
It was likely they intended to summon using the corpses and the child as mediums.
“This… could be for summoning a high-ranked demon. I don’t know why, but!”
Drake mulled over the events that occurred in the secret area where the sun never shone, contrasting it with what Licht had told him after everything ended.
Back then, it was said the Hero Church was punishing atheists, but now it seemed there was a clear unambiguous goal.
The continuous influx of monsters into the Northern land, all acting to break down the walls, a setup designed even before the Demon King of All Knowledge perished.
These three factors terrified the Dragon Slayer and made his hands tremble around the sword.
“Wait, Pina.”
“…What is it, Sophia?”
Pina gently patted the crying girl’s back, trying to calm her down.
“Get away from that kid.”
Watching the interaction, the duchess finally realized the source of the discomfort she had been feeling all along.
“The corpses around here have been dead for a long time, and if they were going to use them as sacrifices, they wouldn’t be this sloppy.”
Sophia drew the spear she had on her back, aiming the icy weapon at Esther’s neck.
“Furthermore, this is the most likely place the Apostle would hide.”
“Wait, Sophia!!”
Without hesitation, as Sophia swung the spear, the Glass Knight tried to block it, but it was already too late.
“If a kid like her is here, it’s strange that she isn’t involved.”
One must see the original nature rather than the superficial appearance. A common sense lesson learned from the mysterious man she had dined with that evening.
The cold-hearted Sophia suddenly recalled that saying and attacked the red-haired girl.
“…Ah, you found me.”
Esther blocked the spear with her small palm, a wide grin spreading across her face. Pina looked on in shock, not sensing anything strange.
“I thought I tricked you well. How was I found?”
The reason Pina could not see through the lies lay in the fact that Esther’s name did belong to the Apostle of Wrath and she had intentionally withheld her knowledge.
“Well, I guess… I can make one person angry at least!”
Esther locked eyes with Pina, who stood closest to her. No matter how much a masterpiece, Pina Grancia’s glass armor was tuned for elemental magic.
“Oh, now wait…”
This was an utterly unfamiliar realm for her. As she was overwhelmed with rage, her eyes began to glow red, and her golden aura became tinged with crimson.
“Damn!!”
Drake immediately recognized the change and swung at Esther’s neck, but the girl died with a content smile, having achieved what she desired.
“…”
However, even after the caster disappeared, the princess didn’t make a move. The red eyes behind the glass helmet instilled fear in everyone around.
“Is it a death effect? I’ve heard about it from the Apostle of Gluttony too…”
This might have been her plan from the beginning. Purposefully allowing someone to approach and anger the most troublesome individual among them.
“Pina, are you okay…? You’re, uh, alright, right…?”
Sophia called Pina’s name, trying to confirm if she was in her right mind,
“Glass… Knight…”
Instead of answering, Pina began chanting glass magic, and a giant glass knight emerged from behind her, wielding a massive sword, just like during the academy’s exam.
“Pina, hang on! Calm down!!”
Bang! A massive glass sword struck towards the Northern Duchess, barely blocked by Drake, preventing any injuries.
The ground shook, and debris fell from above. Despite the confined space, the Glass Knight continuously launched attacks.
“This is a disaster. If she retreats her spirit, monsters might descend on the North…”
“Even so, I can’t pull a blade on the princess’s daughter!”
Seeing the enraged Pina, the others began to hesitate.
Moreover, they were in a narrow cave. If the Glass Knight rampaged carelessly, the area itself could collapse.
“Even if we dart to the entrance, it’ll be too late…”
The duchess, worried about her transformed friend, made her assessment. Even if they dashed back, Pina’s attacks would ensue.
“What should we do…?”
Even aimed to counter with Spirit Magic, Swordsmanship, and Spear Techniques, it was impossible to suppress Pina without causing her harm. Who could incapacitate a princess without hurting her?
“Pina, snap out of it. You’re just angry, right…? Hmm?”
In the end, the only solution was to calm her down. Sophia tried to freeze her with ice to stop her movements.
“Let’s think this through clearly, shall we?”
Crack, crack. Ice shards began encasing Pina, but she remained unfazed, continuing her actions.
Mirror Mirage.
She summoned clones that shattered the ice wall rising around her. Seizing the lapse in defense, she charged at the remaining three individuals with many glass illusions.
“If this keeps up, the cave will collapse!!”
“Melting glass has its limits!”
Drake and Asha fought back using sword strikes and Spirit Magic, but the Glass Knight intentionally smashed the cave ceiling, sending rocks tumbling.
It was a critical moment where someone desperately needed to intervene.
“Did you miss me, our princess?”
Someone dashed in from the side towards Pina Grancia.
Possibly using Wolf Fang, a dazzling cobalt flash raced across the cave at incredible speed.
Clang! Crash! Metal clashed with glass, and as the clones charged, the man dodged the attack and broke through.
“…Why are you angry? Pina.”
The individual wearing a Black Knight helmet, having dealt with the Glass Knight using Reverse Scale Stab and Red Wood, felt a sense of déjà vu staring at the glass knight.
“Junior!! The princess is in trouble because of the Apostle of Wrath!!”
Licht, freed from his captivity, sighed as he met Pina’s red-eyed gaze.
“Pina, even if you’re angry, don’t take it out on others.”
“…”
Unlike during the academy exam, Licht, knowing the identity of the figure in the glass armor, calmly spoke, as if he had expected this.
“If you’re upset, just take it out on me.”
No words wasted. Right as the giant glass knight swung its enormous sword at Licht. He reacted instantly, dodging to the side.
“Concentrate, Recall.”
Summoning another Mind Sword, he thrust the black lever into the great sword, creating a small crack. Crack! Crack! A fissure began to form in Pina’s Glass Knight.
The cracks grew larger as they ran up the knight’s body, soon bursting with a loud shatter, the glass magic was broken.
“…If it’s something you’re doing.”
As he spoke, Licht took a stance like a shadow fang. Repeating the events of the academy exam, Pina raised her sword high in challenge.
In truth, her Heart Slash was a difficult move to block. Avoiding it was the best option, but,
“I’m ready for whatever you throw at me, whether it’s imprisonment or pure love.”
Despite everything, the Black Knight continued calmly, wearing a hint of nostalgia behind his helmet.
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