While Maru and Necros were in the middle of a meeting, Vice Captain Liana of the Knights of the Church was also busy.
“S-save me!”
A noble stumbled out of a large mansion. The noble was running with his clothes askew.
Though a noble might value honor, Baron Traken was only focused on escaping.
A few soldiers followed the baron as they fled.
Seeing the noble and soldiers running away, a paladin spoke.
“Vice Captain, is it okay to let them escape like this?”
The paladin’s name was Venerick.
He was a direct subordinate of Vice Captain Liana.
At Venerick’s words, Liana looked at the receding back of the noble.
“Let them go. They won’t live long anyway.”
Liana replied nonchalantly.
The place she was in was utter chaos.
Surrounding buildings were engulfed in flames and collapsing, and bodies stained with blood were scattered everywhere.
The streets were already filled with skeletons.
Given the situation, how far could that noble possibly escape?
Liana had already stopped caring about the fleeing noble.
“Then what about their remaining family and servants?”
Inside the mansion, servants and the baron’s family trembled in fear, but Liana remained resolute.
“Leave them be as well.”
Skeleton monsters appeared inside the noble’s mansion.
Normally, it would have been right to take the residents of the mansion for investigation, but the kingdom’s current situation was dire.
Furthermore, with the small number of paladins, escorting prisoners would be foolish.
They had simply given up for now.
“We’ve already investigated the Baron’s mansion, so we move to the next!”
The paladins gathered at Vice Captain Liana’s command.
Their current mission was to investigate the mansions of the nobles in the royal capital.
However, no prior notice was given; it was more of a raid.
They had the authority to investigate the nobles.
After all, an envoy from the Church had visited the Sail Kingdom for investigations.
Priests and paladins heading to the Sail Kingdom had gone missing one after another. In response, the Church leadership dispatched an envoy to investigate the Sail Kingdom.
Liana’s investigations were all legitimate actions.
This was possible due to the Church’s immense power.
“…”
Vice Captain Liana surveyed the Baron Traken’s mansion from which the noble had just fled.
There was nothing more for her to do here.
‘I didn’t expect to find them here too…’
But her heart sank.
This was because she had found skeletons in the noble’s mansion they had just investigated.
It wasn’t just finding them; the skeletons were disguised as knights. It was more fitting to consider it infiltration.
Not only Baron Traken, but also most of the nobles previously investigated had skeletons disguised as knights in their mansions.
“What the Messenger of the Goddess said was all true.”
Just as Venerick said.
Everything was as he had said.
She assumed he had foreseen these events and assigned the mission.
Vice Captain Liana had infiltrated the kingdom several days before the Church envoy.
As a result, she encountered a new serendipitous encounter during the investigation.
She met a serendipitous encounter named Maru, the messenger of the Goddess.
His appearance was that of a skeleton. However, he possessed Holy Power. This was something ordinary undead monsters could never do.
It was truly a miraculous sight. And Liana and her subordinates witnessed this miracle.
Such a miracle could only be possible from a messenger of the Goddess.
Liana revered the messenger of the Goddess.
Though she didn’t know why he had descended to the mortal realm, everything was surely the Goddess’s will.
Liana and the paladins who witnessed the miracle at the time had sworn loyalty to Maru, the messenger.
They decided to act solely for the Goddess and for Maru, the Goddess’s proxy.
And Liana was given one mission.
– Investigate the nobles of the Sail Kingdom.
At the mission given by Maru, Vice Captain Liana and the paladins were in the midst of investigating the nobles.
“That’s right. Maru predicted this situation beforehand. How dare they commit such acts! They have deceived the Church!”
The owner of this voice was Eric.
Eric, also a paladin, shouted in a voice filled with anger.
Eric was the only paladin who could understand and convey Maru’s words. Conveying the words of Maru, the messenger of the Goddess, was equivalent to conveying the words of the Goddess.
Therefore, Liana listened intently to Eric’s words.
“Judging by these events, it’s possible that the nobles of the kingdom set a trap to check the royal family.”
Eric cautiously conveyed his opinion, glancing at Liana.
Of course, this was not his actual opinion.
Eric’s true identity was a Banshee controlling the paladins.
It was merely conveying Celia’s orders verbatim.
Moreover, the Banshee controlling Eric could stand confidently before Vice Captain Liana thanks to the enhancement from their great Master.
Since the Banshee also possessed Holy Power, Liana did not suspect anything about Eric.
Instead, Liana nodded upon hearing Eric’s words.
It certainly made sense.
However, even she could not fully grasp the unfolding situation at the moment.
“Indeed, that possibility is quite high. Let’s think broadly for now.”
While acknowledging it, Liana did feel a sense of unease.
She had many questions about the events unfolding in the kingdom.
Why were there skeletons disguised as knights in the nobles’ mansions?
This was the most fundamental question.
Not only that, but the kingdom’s streets were also filled with skeletons.
‘Is it really the nobles’ doing, as Sir Eric said?’
Perhaps they attempted a rebellion using monsters. But their plan was discovered.
Given the circumstances, it was highly probable.
Because skeletons were found in the nobles’ mansions.
Otherwise, why would they try so hard to hide skeletons on the pretense of disguising them as knights?
But another question arose here.
‘Did they really think they wouldn’t be caught?’
With an envoy from the Church visiting, would they openly summon monsters?
In fact, the nobles claimed their innocence.
While they didn’t immediately believe their stories, they planned to investigate separately once the kingdom stabilized.
‘…And the kingdom collapses so easily due to monsters?’
The street she was on was the royal capital of the Sail Kingdom. In other words, it was the city where the royal palace was located.
It was strange that the city where the King resided could be breached so easily.
She didn’t want to believe it, but something that had happened earlier came to mind.
The incident where the sky was swallowed by darkness.
And the scene where red dots appeared was clearly a sign heralding the birth of a 7-star.
‘What if that disaster is real…?’
What if the existence of that 7-star manifested in this Sail Kingdom?
Liana closed her eyes.
Her mind became complicated.
This was the worst-case scenario for her.
If indeed a 7-star monster had appeared in the Sail Kingdom, then the current situation would make perfect sense.
‘I wish it were just a simple Monster Wave…’
The phenomenon of endless emergence from dungeons, Monster Waves.
Since the Sail Kingdom was geographically adjacent to mountain ranges, monster waves occurring would not be strange.
However, the current situation was different.
There was something suspicious about it being an ordinary monster wave.
After organizing her thoughts for a moment, Liana decided on her next destination.
“Let’s head towards the High Priest and the Captain! We’ll join them and consider our next move!”
It seemed safer to unite now rather than scatter.
Therefore, she needed to join High Priest Titan and Captain Gerard.
If, as she suspected, there was a 7-star monster in the Sail Kingdom, it would be a difficult fight.
But even so, she did not give up hope.
‘After all, it happened hundreds of years ago.’
While they might not have been able to handle it back then, the Church’s power had grown stronger now.
The paladins of the past and the current paladins of the Church differed greatly in their combat capabilities.
Therefore, she believed that even if a 7-star monster appeared, they could put up a decent fight.
Vice Captain Liana led the paladins forward.
High Priest Titan and Captain Gerard were at Count Beerton’s mansion, so her destination was naturally set.
‘Please, let them all be safe…’
Sudden worry struck her.
However, High Priest Titan and Captain Gerard were of the highest caliber.
Therefore, she believed in them.
“Everyone, move quickly!”
The streets around them were soon surrounded by skeletons.
“Clack!”
“Clack! Clack!”
Eerie bone sounds echoed.
“In the name of the Goddess, I shall condemn these vile monsters!”
Liana shouted, drawing her sword.
The holy light emanating from her sword shattered the skeletons.
Dozens of skeletons vanished without a trace with a single blow.
With Liana’s attack as a signal, the paladins behind her charged towards the horde of skeletons.
Liana and the paladins pushed back the overwhelming horde of skeletons with their Holy Power and began to advance.
The battle itself was clearly one where the paladins had an overwhelming advantage.
Skeletons were undead monsters, having an opposing attribute to the Church.
Furthermore, they were 1-star, the lowest rank skeleton.
This should have been an easy victory.
However, as the battle continued, the paladins found themselves in a worsening situation.
While they were reducing the number of skeletons, more and more skeletons kept pouring out, replacing those that were destroyed.
Even now, skeletons were emerging from the alleys.
No matter how favorable the attribute, or how superior the quality, there was no answer against sheer numbers.
The paladins were starting to grow weary from the endless waves of skeletons that, even when killed, continued to swarm.
“Vice Captain, this is strange! There are too many monsters!”
Venerick shouted, swinging his sword.
At his words, Liana frowned.
No matter how many skeletons they cut down, their numbers did not decrease. In fact, they seemed to be increasing, which was a bizarre sight.
This was far too many.
‘It seems there’s an Arch Lich.’
An Arch Lich could endlessly spawn skeletons as long as there were corpses.
In the worst-case scenario, where a 7-star monster might already be in the kingdom, a 5-star monster had now appeared…
‘I hope there isn’t a 6-star monster, though?’
If so, it would be the absolute worst situation.
Hoping such a situation wouldn’t occur, Vice Captain Liana continued to press forward.
* * *
Baron Traken ran desperately, terrified.
Following the dark, narrow alleys, he eventually found himself in a quiet area.
Fortunately, there were no infernal skeletons in sight here.
“Th-there! I’ll take refuge in that building!”
The baron spotted an intact building, not yet engulfed in flames.
Traken shouted to the soldiers following him and ran.
If he could hide inside, all this would be over.
The baron quickly entered the building with the soldiers.
“Quick, block the door!”
And using the surrounding objects, he barricaded the door.
The baron finally felt at ease when the soldiers moved to completely seal the entrance.
“Hoo. I thought I was going to die. What in the world were those things?”
Baron Traken had fled to escape the paladins.
He didn’t know why there were skeletons in his mansion.
However, if he had been caught by the paladins, he would undoubtedly have been branded a heretic, so he simply fled.
It wasn’t an action taken with the future in mind.
He just ran and ran with the thought that somehow things would work out if he escaped.
As he fled towards the outskirts of the royal capital, there were no skeletons visible in this area.
This was a great relief.
“As long as we survive here, everyone stay focused!”
The baron exhorted the soldiers.
It would have been better if knights with Aura abilities had followed him, but he was grateful to have soldiers with him now.
Once his mind settled, the baron inspected the interior of the building.
“Huh?”
And in the center, he saw a stone sculpture.
“What is that?”
It was a sculpture of a winged demon.
Its appearance was utterly bizarre.
The baron slowly approached the sculpture with the soldiers.
And then, someone walked out from behind the sculpture.
“W-who’s there!”
It was difficult to see due to the darkness.
Still, the figure appeared to be human.
“Please don’t be alarmed. My name is Dampir.”
It was the voice of a man.
“Dampir?”
Fortunately, the man seemed to have no ill intentions.
The baron relaxed his tense expression and spoke to the man.
“I am Baron Traken. It’s quite chaotic outside, so I’ll be staying here for a moment.”
The baron revealed his identity.
This place seemed relatively safe.
He intended to stay here until the situation calmed down, so he made the first move.
He never considered that he might be turned away, especially as a noble.
However, the man’s words were different.
“However, this is quite inconvenient.”
Inconvenient? What was?
Did he mean he was going to turn away a noble like himself?
“I am waiting here according to the orders of my Master who took me in. And currently, humans are not allowed to be here.”
Master? Humans?
What was all that about?
The baron understood one thing the man said.
“Master? Who is the Master you serve? Is he a noble?”
But the man ignored the baron’s question.
“This is inconvenient. Surely Necros’ plan was to gather as many humans as possible towards the Princess… I’ll ask what to do. Please wait a moment.”
The man was murmuring nonsensical things.
It was then that Baron Traken sensed something was amiss.
As the man continued to mutter, one of the soldiers behind the baron approached him.
“Um… Baron?”
The soldier spoke in a low voice.
“Dampir. I don’t think that’s his name…”
“Not his name? What do you mean?”
The baron listened to the soldier’s words.
“Dampir refers to a half-breed born between a vampire and a human.”
Upon hearing the soldier’s words, the baron frowned.
It was the first time he had heard the term.
“Are you joking at a time like this?”
“No! It’s true. ‘Dampir’ as a species is so rare that you might not know about it-”
But the soldier’s words were cut short.
“Ah, I finally have a response. According to the message conveyed through shadow…”
The man placed his hand on the sculpture.
“The order is to kill any humans who deviate from the plan.”
At that moment, the eyes of the stone sculpture flashed red.
“Aaaargh!”
What happened next was instantaneous.
The sculpture moved and, in the blink of an eye, bit into the neck of a soldier.
“When did?!”
The sculpture in front of him had suddenly approached and bitten the soldier. Even more surprising was that the statue could move freely.
Startled by the sudden event, the baron fell to the ground.
Red blood gushed from the soldier’s neck, a truly grotesque sight.
To survive, anything had to be done.
“He’s the only one over there! If we get past him, we can escape!”
Baron Traken pushed the terrified soldier’s back.
The soldiers, having no choice, drew their weapons and slowly approached the man.
If what the soldier said earlier was true, the man was definitely not human.
At least, he was alone.
Perhaps they could defeat him if they were lucky?
The soldiers slowly advanced with their weapons drawn.
“Ack!”
But this time, Baron Traken screamed.
Something bit his leg.
As the baron looked down, a small creature was wriggling on the ground.
A snake.
But it was a snake with three heads.
Before he could even think about what it was, extreme pain surged through his leg.
It felt as if his leg were melting.
“Ah, that’s a Hydra that my Master captured. Fortunately, it’s not an adult, so you won’t die.”
The Hydra also bit the legs of other soldiers.
All they could do was scream on the ground.
“S-save me! Please!”
The baron desperately begged for his life.
But the man didn’t even pretend to listen.
“Lord Gargoyle, since I don’t have a weapon, please take care of the rest. Celia’s order is to not spare anything that deviates from the plan.”
The bloody rain inside the building subsided.
The individuals present here were torn to the point of being unrecognizable.
The blood dyed the floor a crimson red.
The Gargoyle, which had been tearing apart the humans just a moment ago, slowly returned to its original position and became rigid like a stone statue again.
As if nothing had happened.
However, its mouth was stained with dark red blood.
“I’ll eat the rest.”
Finally, the Dampir licked his lips and moved.
Silence once again enveloped the interior of the building.
* * *
“Heh, that way is the direction towards the royal palace!”
Count Beerton, wielding a pickaxe, walked down the street. Following him was Death Knight King.
Although skeletons filled the surroundings, they paid no attention to Count Beerton.
Instead, they passed by as if there was nothing there.
‘Y-yes, indeed!’
The count rejoiced at this sight.
‘It was the right decision to pledge allegiance to the monster!’
He presumed that because he had pledged allegiance to the monster, the surrounding monsters were not attacking him.
Count Beerton walked on towards the royal palace, thinking this.
He didn’t know why the streets were filled with skeletons.
But all of this was an opportunity.
‘If I just attack the royal palace like this!’
With the power of the monster behind him, he could do anything.
Becoming king was no longer an impossible dream.
The count dreamed of a brilliant future.
‘Heehee. With the power of that monster, I can rule the entire continent!’
He was confident that he could conquer all the nations on the continent, not just this kingdom.
Count Beerton marched forward with confident steps.
After walking for a while, a group of people was approaching from afar.
“Is that… paladins?”
Count Beerton was the first to react.
He recognized the person at the front of the procession.
“Could it be Vice Captain Liana!”
Count Beerton smiled maliciously and spread his arms wide to his sides.
And his gaze met with the paladins led by Vice Captain Liana.
Liana also recognized Count Beerton and immediately drew her sword.
At the same time, a question arose in her mind.
Why was Count Beerton here?
‘Weren’t you with the High Priest!’
More importantly, the dark entity standing behind him was particularly bothersome.
“What in the world have you done, Count?”
A slight tremor could be heard in Liana’s voice.
She shivered with her entire body from the strange power emanating from the being behind the count.
“Heehee. This person will make me king!”
The count laughed madly at Liana’s question.
“Hahahahaha!”
Liana felt a chill down her spine at his maniacal laughter.
“You’ve gone completely mad, Count.”
She scanned her surroundings suspiciously and commanded her paladins.
“Everyone, gather the light! The Count is not in his right mind! Be especially careful of that monster behind him!”
Her premonition was not good.
Liana quickly circulated Holy Power throughout her body.
The paladins simultaneously aimed their weapons.
However, upon seeing the figure behind the count, they were all gripped by fear.
It looked like condensed darkness itself. It was bizarre and terrifying.
“Count! Have you perhaps made a contract with a demon!”
Liana shouted again in an enraged voice. But the count merely laughed.
“Haha! A contract? This one is my new Master, my God!”
The count raised his hand and pointed at the monster.
“Now, my God! With your power, kill these filthy paladins!”
At that moment, a red glow flashed from the monster’s eyes.
Sensing danger, Liana shouted to her subordinates.
“Everyone, fall back! We cannot face this being!”
The paladins hastily tried to retreat, but it was too late.
A massive shadow shot out from the darkness and enveloped the paladins.
Terrible screams echoed, and blood stained the air.
“Ah… no…”
Liana stumbled back.
The monster mercilessly slaughtered her subordinates.
“What in the world…”
Liana’s body trembled, but she raised her sword high.
However, fear consumed her mind.
Eventually, she dropped her sword from her hand.
“Ah… My Goddess…”
She would die like this.
She sensed her death.
Now she understood.
That being was the 7-star disaster.
The disaster had appeared in the Sail Kingdom.
And High Priest Titan and Captain Gerard must have met their end at the hands of that monster.
As Liana squeezed her eyes shut.
“Stop! You servant of the devil!”
Another being appeared.
It was Princess Irena, leading the knights.
* * *
Death Knight King mindlessly followed Count Beerton.
“Heh, that way is the direction towards the royal palace!”
He had been ordered to remain silent, so he was suppressing his power as much as possible.
However, if his identity were revealed, he intended to immediately eliminate any witnesses as per General Administrator Celia’s orders.
But he kept Count Beerton alive.
The reason was simple.
In this plan, there were a few humans who were not to be killed, and Count Beerton was among them.
Since it had come to this, Death Knight King gave Count Beerton a pickaxe.
Merely handing him the pickaxe, Count Beerton smiled as if he had received a great treasure.
“…”
To be so delighted upon receiving a pickaxe.
He thought this Count must be a talent suited for serious construction.
Thinking so, Death Knight King developed a liking for Count Beerton.
Originally, he should have stayed put at the count’s mansion earlier.
But since the count was acting this way, he couldn’t help but follow.
Death Knight King intended to take Count Beerton to the dungeon after this incident, so he stayed close to him to avoid losing him.
And then.
“Could it be Vice Captain Liana!”
“…What in the world have you done, Count?”
A new group appeared ahead.
It was the paladins of the Church.
The problem was that he saw a human amongst that group who was not to be killed.
– Vice Captain Liana.
Death Knight King was in a dilemma.
Clearly, Vice Captain Liana was more important than Count Beerton in terms of priority.
But to lose Count Beerton, who showed such talent for serious construction?
That would be a significant loss.
Count Beerton was someone who would succeed him, remaining alive.
“Now, my God! With your power, kill these filthy paladins!”
Count Beerton, who showed talent for serious construction, made a request.
“…”
Death Knight King’s deliberation was short.
Since it had come to this, wasn’t it enough to kill only the other paladins?
As he thought this, he dashed forward like an arrow.
And he began tearing apart the paladins from the back.
He planned to only injure them moderately, as killing too many might disrupt the plan.
And finally.
“Ah… My Goddess…”
Vice Captain Liana’s will to fight was lost.
Thinking that this was probably enough, Death Knight King was about to leave his position.
“Stop! You servant of the devil!”
A new unwelcome guest appeared.
It was Princess Irena.
She was the key figure in this plan.
“…”
What was going on?
Death Knight King was bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
And then. Necros appeared from behind.
Necros glanced at Death Knight King, nodded, and recorded it in his notebook.
– Death Knight King, why are you here?
According to the original plan, Death Knight King should not have appeared here.
Even Maru, who was beside Princess Irena, was tilting his head in confusion.
Necros quickly tore the recorded paper and handed it to the shadow behind him.
The shadow took the paper handed by Necros and disappeared.
However, the shadow quickly reappeared and returned the paper to Necros.
The paper contained Celia’s orders.
– Plan revision. Show as much power as possible to Death Knight King, then pretend to be dead. With this plan, Princess Irena will become the Queen and the Saintess.
Since it had come to this, Celia intended to establish a connection with the Church through Princess Irena.
