Chapter 1288: Four Fragments
We broke into the outpost and repelled the fiends. That went pretty well, but...
There was a subtle tension between the Red Knights and us.
From their perspective, we were the main forces of the foreign nation of Kranzel. Despite that, we came here alongside Sibylla and inexplicably saved them. It was hard to make sense of the situation.
Many held feelings of confusion or anger, especially towards Fran, the one responsible for defeating the most Red Knights, including two captains. They couldn’t simply move on and thank her for saving them.
In the midst of this, the Blood Maiden Captain Roza approached us.
She wore the same dress armor with a red base and purple accents, maintaining her flashy appearance. The huge gauntlet-type relic, Blood Maiden, was attached to her left arm and exuded a tremendous pressure.
As everyone watched with bated breath, Roza spoke with a somewhat stern expression.
「I heard everything from Sibylla. Thank you. You saved us.」
「Nn.」
「...To be honest, my subordinates and I have yet to truly come to terms with this situation. Even so, we are the Red Knights. All of us are prepared to sacrifice our lives to protect this land, so joining hands with a former enemy is easy enough in comparison. We must rescue the civilians that are still alive.」
Roza extended her hand to Fran, who shook it. The atmosphere among the Red Knights shifted.
Of course, they still had reservations about the visitors from Kranzel, but for now, they were comrades fighting together. It seems viewing this handshake reminded them of the fact.
Roza intentionally expressed her feelings in front of everyone, not just for Fran, but also for her subordinates to hear.
This wasn’t enough to unite our hearts and minds, but everyone was undoubtedly facing the same direction. They could now fight together.
With that said, it wasn’t feasible to charge into the capital in this condition. The Red Knights were completely exhausted and could not endure another battle. The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))
Everyone agreed to rest up in the outpost first. Since it was already in the middle of the night, we might as well rest up and fight during the day. Charging in at night would only give the fiends an unnecessary advantage.
Of course, the fiends wouldn’t simply leave us alone, so we divided ourselves into squads for taking turns resting and fighting.
Fran and I were assigned the first watch. We set up a purification magic ward around the outpost to prevent enemy infiltration as much as possible.
This might not be very effective against the high-level fiends we fought earlier today, but shutting out the annoying small fry would make things considerably easier.
Fran and I defeated all the fiends at our post before taking a breather. We were stationed at the entrance to the escape route leading from the royal castle, which was a reasonably spacious room in the basement of the outpost.
「Why?」
All fragments of the Evil God contain unimaginable power, so why this one in particular?
Moreover, all fragments had the ability to control others to some degree. It didn’t seem particularly formidable to me.
「...I suspect the Malice influenced the minds of the dukes... I felt some interference myself on one occasion, which Chariot protected me from.」
「I see.」
Perhaps its specialized abilities in domination allowed it to act through the slightest gap in the seal?
The dukes were clearly twisted due to their years of villainy, but it could be that the Evil God’s Malice was what pushed them over the edge.
「It may be capable of controlling anyone without a divine sword.」
「Don’t worry, it won’t work on me.」
「Is that so?」
「Thanks to the power of this super amazing sword!」
「O-Okay...」
「Nn!」
Besides, it’s not like the other fragments were weak. The Flame Sac and Blade Tail seemed completely combat focused, which would make their destructive power unparalleled.
Not to mention the Tear Gland’s extremely troublesome spawning ability. While it specializes in creating fiends, it apparently also has the ability to absorb energy from its spawn to power itself up.
That sounds kinda like the Abyss Eater. It makes sense for it to have a similar ability since the Abyss Eater also contains part of the Evil God.
「All of them must have power beyond our imagination.」
Kareid lowered his head as he spoke. Telling Fran this information had forced him to face the reality of his opponents again. His expression was grim.
Meanwhile, Fran took something out of storage and headed it to Kareid.
「Here.」
「What is this...?」
「Curry. Eating it will make you feel better.」