The monsters advanced in waves. Among them were mixed demon creatures.
There were easily hundreds.
A single village, even a medium-sized city, could be razed in a matter of minutes by such a force.
But their enemy was the Order of the Black Whale, the most powerful knight squadron in Alprosen, assisted by the kingdom’s elite and mages.
The spells were the first to fall.
Although the corrupts’ magic circle continued interfering with the flow of mana and reduced its power, the mages present were the best in the kingdom.
Lightning, flames, wind, storms, and the earth itself fell upon the first wave of monsters.
Even so, in the midst of torn flesh, broken bones, and scorched skin, the beasts screamed and continued their charge.
As if that were the sole reason for their existence.
But crossing that ordeal brought them neither light nor blessing.
What awaited them were knights with terrifying auras and blades sharp enough to split the world in two.
The heads of those at the front flew off their bodies. Those behind stumbled over the fallen corpses and ran into the shield wall of the soldiers.
At that moment, spears and swords surged forward again.
The flow was so natural it seemed like a magical contraption designed to massacre monsters.
“No wonder. Now I understand why the Order of the Black Whale is called the strongest in Alprosen.”
Luina was impressed. It wasn’t just individual strength, but the perfection of their formation.
So organic, so fluid, that anyone could imagine the amount of blood and sweat spilled to reach that mastery.
“And how do they compare to the Order of the White Lion?”
“Of course, the Order of the White Lion is superior.”
She responded without the slightest hesitation.
“The Order of the White Lion is not only the first of the entire continent but of the world. There’s no possible comparison.”
Fernan smiled, seeing how straightforward she always was when it came to knightly orders.
“You two seem quite calm. When those monsters are coming at us with such ferocity to devour us.”
The crown prince spoke, and Fernan replied calmly.
“The same could be said of you, Your Highness.”
“Naturally. I trust in my knights and soldiers. If not for this damned magic circle, those beasts wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“I share the sentiment. I’ve fought the corrupt so much that this no longer seems like much.”
The prince’s eyes gleamed with interest.
“I’d heard you fought alongside Aint Armian against the corrupt, but this much?”
“The corrupt are far more widespread across the continent than you imagine, Your Highness. Like cockroaches.”
Fernan tossed another empty bottle and pulled out dozens more from his subspace, surrounding them with sand to crush them all at once and pour the holy water in one go.
The magic circle trembled more violently.
“…There’s much I wish to ask you.”
“I’ll gladly answer. About the corrupt and also about what you wear around your neck, Your Highness.”
“…Ah, right. That.”
It wasn’t just that—it was the real reason why the prince had agreed to see him.
The photo with Rosalia.
How did Fernan know it was inside his locket?
“I really do have much to hear from you. But first, won’t you introduce your companions?”
“An honor to meet you, Your Highness. I am Luina Bercheff.”
“…Luina Bercheff?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The prince’s eyes widened in surprise.
Although the Bercheff family had relinquished their status as Prince Elector, their name had not lost prestige.
Even more so since recently, Count Bercheff and the Mercenary King had hunted a demon together, further elevating their fame.
“An honor. I didn’t expect to meet the illustrious knight of the Bercheff.”
“I am not worthy of such words.”
“And you?”
“I’m just a guard.”
“I see. Even the guards of the Pellenbergs are extraordinary.”
“Too much praise, Your Highness.”
“And the last one, who are you?”
After hearing such noble names, the prince’s expectations were high.
“Perhaps the most talented heir of the Altrierc, Alcmion Altrierc? Or the brightest genius of the Vienderk, Valoshi Vienderk?”
Gismond lowered his head, uncomfortable.
“…I-I’m just Gismond Ert, from House Ert. Fourth year at the Academy.”
“Ah, Gismond Ert, I see. A good family.”
But Gismond noticed it—the prince’s eyes hesitated.
“There’s no need to embellish it like that, I—”
He didn’t get to finish.
— Kyuu!
The first to react was Wooden.
“Something…”
Then Luina, then the Order of the Black Whale and Fernan. The prince, Gismond, the mages, and lastly the soldiers.
“S-something’s coming… I don’t know what it is, but something is…!”
Gismond pressed his lips and drew his sword. Luina followed.
Only Fernan remained calm, pouring the holy water without pause.
Ruuuuumble—
It was like a wave.
A tsunami of blood and intermingled corpses.
Fernan sensed it—they should not face it head-on.
Just touching it would bring terrible consequences.
He threw another bottle of holy water, drew his staff, and struck the ground.
Crackkk!
A torrent of colossal mana burst forth, clashing with the demonic energy and erecting a domain of its own.
A gigantic wall rose between the wave and the group.
It wasn’t like the barriers Fernan had summoned before.
It wasn’t earth or rock.
It was metal.
A wall of steel forged with magic clashed directly against the surge.
────!
A deafening crash that could tear eardrums apart shook the earth.
Fernan violently spat blood.
The steel wall crumpled like paper. It barely held for an instant, but that instant was enough—for in that brief moment, everyone had finished preparing.
The spells struck first at the tide seeping through the broken wall.
The Order of the Black Whale resonated their auras together, intertwining and reinforcing them until they formed an even more solid energy that faced the torrent head-on.
The wave split, but only slightly.
“This is going to haunt my nightmares!”
And into it fell Gismond’s explosive thrust.
‘I see it…!’
Then came Luina’s slash.
Her sword entered precisely through the opening the knights had created.
‘Everything has a flow.’
She cut that flow, stopped it, and broke it.
Swoooosh!
The wave collapsed.
The entire village was submerged in crimson blood.
“Aaaagh!”
“What is this?!”
“Protect your bodies with aura! Don’t let the blood touch you!”
The blood carried embedded demonic energy and acid. The splashes corroded clothing and armor.
The mages raised the ground to divert the water, but that wasn’t all.
“…Corpses!”
“Damn it, how many are there…?”
Amid the nauseating stench of blood, lifeless bodies floated.
At a glance, there were hundreds.
“What… what is this…?”
The prince murmured, stunned.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands of corpses. Seeing it with one’s own eyes was unbelievable.
“How could something like this happen in these lands without anyone knowing…?”
He clenched his teeth.
No one had informed him that so many subjects had died. Nothing had reached the court.
Was it ignorance, or was it hidden?
Had the corrupt infiltrated the kingdom to its core? The doubt was no longer doubt, but certainty.
“I swear I’ll rip those damned corrupt out by the root…!”
“I’m afraid that will be difficult, Your Highness.”
A human voice suddenly interrupted, drawing all eyes forward.
From the source of that bloody wave, someone advanced, pushing through the liquid that now reached their ankles.
“…Viscount Lorencios?”
He was someone known throughout Alprosen.
“It’s been a while, Your Highness. Curious to meet in a place like this.”
A nobleman with blue hair and black eyes.
“How can it be…? Could it be…?”
“Exactly. What you fear is true.”
Viscount Lorencios wore a ceremonial uniform that didn’t match the scene.
In one hand, he held a skull; in the other, a book.
‘A book.’
Fernan held his breath. Another corrupt wielding one of those tomes.
How many were there? What were they really?
‘I won’t let him escape this time.’
He had to take it.
But he didn’t lower his guard. For someone to reveal their identity so arrogantly, even in front of the prince and the Order of the Black Whale, meant he had come prepared to leave no one alive.
‘Luina, be ready. Strike when I signal.’
‘Yes.’
While Fernan waited for the opportunity, the prince and Lorencios faced off more fiercely.
“…Was all this truly your doing?”
“I prepared it with great care for you, Your Highness. Are you pleased?”
“Pleased? How can a noble murder the subjects he is sworn to protect?”
“By giving their lives for their lord, they too find satisfaction.”
“What a repulsive fallacy!”
The prince’s eyes filled with blood.
“Sir Krams!”
“At your command!”
The captain of the Order of the Black Whale bowed.
“Bring that traitor to my feet now! I will execute him myself for betraying the kingdom with the blood and bodies of the innocent he swore to protect!”
“At your command!”
The twenty knights, who had dismounted to form the barrier, returned to their saddles.
“At your command!”
Their cry echoed powerfully. Without the slightest hesitation, the twenty knights charged through the blood.
The auras enveloped both men and horses.
Dudududu.
The hooves thundered with fury.
“Well… as much as you’re the prince, if you intend to kill a noble, I’ll have no choice but to defend myself.”
Lorencios’s twisted smile widened.
“So this isn’t treason, Your Highness. It’s self-defense. A noble’s right to protect his status.”
“Insolent scoundrel! Your blasphemies end today!”
He opened the book. Black energy surged like a torrent.
The space cracked, and from those fissures hordes of demonic creatures emerged.
But the Order of the Black Whale did not falter.
The spears aligned in unison, their auras resonated until they formed one colossal spear.
In an instant, knights and demons clashed.
────!
The clamor of hooves and the howls of beasts intermingled.
The torn bodies were the demons’. Only the demons.
The combined spear remained intact, cutting a path toward the traitor.
The wave of monsters split in its wake, leaving a trail of corpses.
“Do you still not understand, Your Highness?”
Lorencios smiled calmly.
“Today, I came prepared to lose everything.”
Whooosh—
Dozens of pages opened at once. Black flames consumed them.
Immediately, the blood flooding the village began to stir.
The magic circle glowed more intensely.
“…The blood…”
The demonic energy and the blood, the dark magic and the bodies, fused into a single flow.
All of it converged on Lorencios, merged, condensed.
Like a rising whirlpool, the blood ascended to the heavens.
The horses stumbled before the trembling wave, the knights fell to the ground.
That which absorbed everything in the village took form.
It had arms, legs, a head.
A body made of blood and corpses.
An abomination born of humanity’s lifeblood.
And finally—
───!
The blood giant, now complete, roared.
“W-what is that…!”
“A monster…!”
“Heavens above…”
Its size and pressure were so immense that despair seized everyone.
Fear, horror, and disgust overtook them.
— Kyuu, kyuun, kyuu!
Except one. Not a man, but a spirit.
____
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