“Knight Order! Reinforce the barrier! Block the exit!”

The roof was gaping in the aftermath of the hail of mucus. The Knight Order had barely begun to fight when they were forced to fend off the vicious attack. Modeleine was the only one who hadn’t participated in the creation of the barrier, and he swung his sword with a determination that would not let the demon in front of him go, no matter what.

“Vice Commander, the mana drain is……!”

But time was not on the Twilight Knight Order’s side.

Holy knights could use magic, but they were only half-magicians. The amount of mana they could handle was extremely limited. Holy knights were meant to make up for that deficiency with their swordsmanship.

Even so, the reason why they squeezed every last bit of mana out of them was that the compatibility between Ergo and swordsmanship was the worst.

They had somehow managed to scrape together enough of their dwindling mana to maintain a double barrier, one to keep the mucus at bay, and a broader barrier overlaid on top of it to block Ergo’s exit. Standing outside the barrier to attack, Modeleine shouted, scattering sword energy at the flying mucus.

“Give it all you’ve got until the end, then it’s close combat.”

A ranged magician who dealt with poison. When they got into close combat, it was certain they would be cornered in no time. However, it was impossible to escape in a hurry just because the barrier had disappeared.

They were holy knights, and knights didn’t back down in times of crisis.

‘Is Sir Cadel still far away…….’

In times like these, he longed for the power of his commander, a man far greater than he, without swordsmanship or mana. It was better for him to join Cadel than to remain in Hachellan Town.

“I’m getting tired of hanging out with you.”

A filthy voice, like phlegm boiling. Ergo, who had blocked all of Modeleine’s sword energy, curled the corners of his mouth lazily.

Modeleine gritted his teeth at the arrogance.

“Don’t slack off. There’s no way you’re getting out of here alive.”

Ergo only snorted at the sincere and cold assertion.

“You’re the ones who can’t get out of here alive.”

With an unearthly laugh, the house they were in began to vibrate.

Rumble—

The amount of mucus covering Ergo’s skin was increasing. It dripped like sweat and soaked the floor.

Straining his lower body to keep his balance, Modeleine’s gaze suddenly darted downward. A crack in the wooden floor slowly widened with the vibrations. Beyond, a rapidly filling pool of mucus, bubbling like boiling water.

The Knight Order’s barrier did not protect the floor. Modeleine turned urgently to his men.

“Get out of here now!”

The planks shook in the flooding mucus. Sensing trouble, the knights hastily drew back the barrier and attempted to retreat.

It was too late.

“Keugh!”

“Vice, Vice Commander! I can’t avoid the mucus……!”

The rise of the mucus was faster than their flight.

There was no barrier to protect them from the mucus, no room to dodge. The overflowing mucus melted the Knight Order’s boots. The exposed soles of their feet burned in the ensuing agony.

However, if they collapsed in pain and missed the timing to run away, the mucus underground would explode through the floor.

“Ignore it and run!”

It was too late to cast protective spells now. Escape was the priority, even if it meant being trampled.

The moment when Modeleine, having judged that, pushed the backs of the stopped knights.

Spurt—

From the feet of one knight near the exit, a thick column of mucus erupted.

“Uaargh!”

“Sten!”

The pitiful scream died away in less than 3 seconds. At the spot where the pillar had quickly swallowed the fallen knight, there was nothing left.

At the sight of his subordinate melting away without a trace, Modeleine’s eyes narrowed.

‘How could this…….’

The odds were stacked against them, but they were the Twilight Knight Order, and they had triumphed in the face of all odds.

A member of the Twilight Knight Order who had won countless battles. How could such an unbreakable man, so easily, so instantly, lose his life?

Should he have cast a protective spell, even if it took a while? Should he have ordered that the barrier be maintained from the start? Even if it was a close call, it might have been safer. At least his men wouldn’t have been killed like that.

Even as Modeleine stiffened with doubt about his judgment, Ergo’s attack continued. Another pillar of mucus rose from the shaking floor. This time, it was right under Modeleine’s nose.

“Dietze, dodge!”

Reacting late, he opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was a beat too late to reach the knight in front of him.

“Oh God…….”

Even as the soles of their feet melted away, the knights let out a gasp of horror instead of a scream. Never in their lives as members of the Twilight Knight Order had they imagined such a futile death. The miserable sensation seized their entire bodies.

Their despairing gazes turned to their comrade, who must have disappeared without a trace in the sinking column of mucus.

However.

“Ha, hah hah…….”

Unlike the first knight, the knight who was hit by the second pillar squarely emerged unharmed. A transparent barrier was drawn around his gaunt face. The mucus that had failed to penetrate it dripped down its surface.

“Barrier……?”

“Everybody get out of here!”

A calm shout cut through the heavy air. Modeleine’s gaze swiftly turned to the exit.

“Sir Modeleine! Come on!”

Into his trembling eyes stepped Cadel, the magician he had been waiting for.