Chapter 44 - It’s a Trap!

Chapter 44 : It’s a Trap!

===A Certain Undead With Communication Disorder===

「I-Is that the royal capital?」

After traveling for a while, I finally saw the silhouette of a city.

The size of the city and the height of the ramparts were far less compared to the previous kingdom’s royal capital, but after entering this country, I knew that the city before me was the most flourishing city in this country.

After the ambush of that crazy woman in the hot spring, I—who was forced to run naked—managed to somehow secure a new set of clothes.

After strolling for a few days like a stray kid, I finally arrived in what looked like the royal capital of this country.

「…Uhh? Isn’t this… too empty for a royal capital?」

I was already so close to the royal capital, and yet, there was not a single sign of life along the desolate highway.

And just like that, I arrived right in front of the gate of the royal capital.

「The gate is open, but…」

No one was guarding it. Let alone a gatekeeper, there was not a human in sight.

There were no soldiers stationed, even though the process of entering a city should be quite strict. To top it all off, they left the gate wide open.

「…Excuse me~ Anyone here?」

Welp, I was already inside.

The city was as quiet as a ruin.

I didn’t see a single person, but I saw many signs of life scattered all around the place.

It was as if there was some sort of emergency evacuation.

「This presence… An undead?」

I was stopped in my tracks upon sensing that presence.

「From the center of this city, huh.」

Perhaps the undead I sensed was from the aftermath of the necromancer.

Thus, I relied on my instincts and headed toward the source of that presence, all the while praying that it wasn’t an undead like that muscular aberration again.

Finally, I arrived in a plaza.

There was no one in this spacious, circular plaza.

There was only a cage-like thing placed right in the center of the plaza.

「Is that a… caged human…? Or not…」

I realized right away that the undead’s presence came right from that cage.

When I got closer to that cage, I saw numerous zombies locked together in that cage.

「「「UAAAAAAA!」」」

「「「OAAAAAAAA~」」」

They moaned.

They were also known as rotting corpses. Even though they kept their human forms, their bodies were rotting in various places, just like their nickname. Some of their bones were even exposed.

Naturally, they were extremely stinky too.

Maybe because I had some resistance as an undead, I didn’t take them as unpleasant beings. Even so, they were still quite stinky.

「I don’t know who did this, but that person must have really bad taste… ‘Kay folks, here’s your FIREBALL.」

To show my compassion for the zombies who were locked together in this place like they were on display, I decided to help them ascend immediately.

The raging flame instantly wrapped around the entire cage, burning the zombies inside.

「Yup, purification complete.」

My fireball did not just burn their meat, it also purified their souls.

「NOW!」

When I was praising myself, I suddenly heard a loud voice, and people started to emerge from the shadows of the previously desolate buildings.

Those people were holding canes and wearing magician-like robes. They chanted something with loud voices.

「Multi-Chant―Prison Barrier」

And then, a gigantic magic circle appeared beneath my feet.

It seemed they’d prepared this beforehand. In only a moment, the magic had been deployed.

It looked like a dome of light, maybe to prevent me from escaping from the area.

And thus, I was already trapped inside a hemisphere-shaped barrier.

Following that was the appearance of the woman who attacked me some time ago.

She came with the female holy knight who I met before too.

Did she chase after me all the way?

Such tenacity.

But they came to a stop in front of me.

…All but one person.

「It’s been a while.」

「!!!」

I knew her.

She was the crazy woman who suddenly attacked me in that hot spring.

The only difference with that time was the fact that she wore proper clothing and armor instead of being naked.

Her clothing had a similar design to the one worn by the female holy knight. However, the one worn by the woman in front of me seemed to be better in terms of quality.

「I’m really glad to see you fall so easily into such a simple trap.」

She entered the barrier as she spoke.

「…」

I unintentionally flinched back when she came close.

W-What should I do now?

I mean, off all people, they actually chose this woman to come close…

I might have been able to strike up a conversation if the one who came close was a chatty middle-aged man.

BUT since I had zero experience in handling women, my communication disorder would plummet into the negatives when I was facing them like this.

Although both of us wore proper clothes right now, it didn’t mean that communication was possible.

Moreover, since I accidentally burned her naked figure when she attacked me back in the hot spring, I couldn’t bring myself to see her right now, even if she wore proper clothes.

…Okay, I should escape from this place.

Thus, I arrived at that conclusion.

I turned around and ran.

「GAH?」

But I crashed into something as soon as I ran, falling on my rear.

Dammit… I forgot that they set up a barrier that would prevent my escape.

「It’s a barrier created by 28 barrier masters. Moreover, we’re also using rare ore to enhance the barrier, making it the strongest barrier in the world. Don’t think that you can escape from this place.」

Ah… Is that so?

If that was the case, it meant that the two of us were currently locked inside the barrier.

A chill ran down my spine upon realizing that fact.

But wait… didn’t the barrier crack when I crashed into it just now?

—When I was about to try to punch the barrier.

「I see… it seems Lumile was right. You really don’t harm humans.」

「…」

Of course not!

I mean, what was the good in doing that?

All I wanted was to pass on, purified.

「But… that doesn’t mean I will overlook your very existence.」

The woman declared so.

「ABOMINABLE UNDEAD―NO LIFE KING. I, THE COMMANDER OF ALBERT’S HOLY KNIGHT ORDER, WILL PURIFY YOU RIGHT NOW!」

Commander of the Holy Knight Order?

No way… such a young woman was a knight commander?

No, to be able to become a knight commander at such a young age was a testament to her incredible talent.

She might be able to grant my wish―NOT.

I suddenly recalled the event a few days ago at the very last moment.

I received a few of her attacks and came out literally unscathed.

It was doubtful that she had become strong enough to kill me in just a few days.

「…Guess, I can’t expect anything from this one either…」

I ended up voicing my disappointment as I heaved a sigh.

Maybe because she heard what I said, the female knight commander seemed to be pissed off.

「…You seem to look down on us… But let’s see if you can ridicule us again after you witness the power that became the origin of our holy knight order’s name, Divine Sword Albert, the sword that can purify every kind of undead.」

Seriously? Even though you failed to kill me with the very same sword a few days ago?

Although the sword’s blade was wrapped in an enigmatic light, all it made me feel was a tingling sensation, unlike the proper pain from a few days ago. That was all it did, far from enough to kill me.

「Fufufu, if you think that the power of this sword from a few days ago was its true power, you’re greatly mistaken. That was only the power of my faith alone after all. But now―I bring many people to support me.」

「?!」

Before I realized it, the area around the plaza was surrounded by numerous people.

So the citizens of this city really hid themselves.

But I didn’t think she added them for the sake of an all-out brawl against me.

「Everyone! Pray to God!」

With a cue from the female knight commander, all of them started to cup their hands in front of their che*sts, offering their prayers as if their lives depended on it.

And then, the sword’s blade—the divine sword in the hands of the female knight commander—exuded a brilliant light.

She then raised her sword, pointing at me as she spoke.

「THIS IS THE DIVINE SWORD ALBERT’S POWER! IT WILL CONVERT THE POWER OF FAITH INTO THE STRONGEST POWER TO PURIFY EVERY SINGLE ABOMINATION!」

OOOH, SO COOL!

A new hope was born in me.

Thus, I spread my arms, ready to accept her attack.

「Tch… I see, you’re confident with your power, huh. Bring it on. Your overconfidence will send you to the afterlife!」

===