Episode 5

The light and blast wave faded, and their vision returned.

Aaron’s group, who had been at a distance, was unharmed. The knights sheltered behind the ice wall were also safe.

All but one.

“H-He wasn’t… human?”

“If that looked human to you, you’re beyond saving.”

Zeke scanned the area. He showed no sign of lowering his guard.

“Zeke! Someone’s coming from behind that building!”

Where Ciel pointed, a human silhouette staggered forward. The clothes looked like a farmer’s, but the footing was unsteady—just like the former “villager” from before.

“Gun woman—don’t fire carelessly. —Frozen Geyser.”

An ice pillar erupted beneath the corpse, launching it upward. An instant later, an ice spear pierced it—and it exploded.

“Damn… that’s a nasty explosion.”

“It’s a relief they’re acting alone, but… Ciel, any other reactions?”

“…It seems they move in response to the living. If they aren’t activated, they’re hard to detect.”

Something that had once been human reacted to nearby living people—almost as if trying to reclaim the life it had lost.

“A-Another person died…”

“Relax. That was a walking corpse. The only one you got killed was a single knight.”

Maenof stared blankly. He’d been fixated on the corpses and explosions, but now he noticed metal fragments scattered across the ground—mixed with red.

“Two more are coming! From that barn!”

“Tch. What a pain.”

Zeke began forming another spell—but the corpses moved differently this time.

“A… AAAAAGH!”

Two corpses slipped through Zeke’s magic with irregular, jerky motion. They sped up, clinging to the ice wall.

“H-Hii—what are these things?! Stop—stop it already!”

Maenof screamed, still collapsed. The other knights were panicking too, raising swords meaninglessly in confusion.

The corpses radiated heat and began to glow.

“No—! They’re going to explode at point-blank range?! Ciel—your barrier?!”

“It won’t work! The distance between targets is almost zero!”

Two lights swallowed the area.

A moment later, a violent explosion engulfed Zeke’s group.

A tremor shook the earth. Most of the village buildings were blown apart. The blast wave reached even Aaron’s group at a distance.

“Such a beautiful light. That must be Ciel’s barrier, yes?”

“Forget that—Zeke! We have to help him!”

Sanctuary—a silver, shining barrier.

A defensive art built purely from sacred arts, a pride of the Diabaret Kingdom.

“Don’t worry. This won’t sink him… look.”

The ice wall at the center of the blast remained intact—unscarred and absolute, like it embodied Zeke’s unshakable will.

“Though… repeated hits might be trouble.”

“—?! This is…”

Multiple corpses crawled up from the ground. There were more of them than Maenof’s knights.

“They killed the entire village and turned them into specter soldiers.”

“How can anyone do something so cruel…”

A ruined village. Slain residents.

Even in death, they were being used conveniently.

A desecration of life.

Because they had each once nearly lost their own lives, Ciel and Selen couldn’t forgive such depravity.

“Hii—d-don’t come near me, monster!”

Maenof was still paralyzed with fear.

The corpses all turned their gaze toward Zeke’s group and began to shamble forward—slow, but steady.

Then someone cut in.

“AMOOOOORE! The star has arrived!”

Spinning as he leapt, Aaron landed in front of the ice wall—positioned to face the incoming corpses.

Zeke grimaced at the bizarre theatrics; the corpses stopped, as if unsettled.

“Listen to my soul—Lightning Howl!”

A deafening roar split the air. A lightning spell that paralyzed targets in a certain range and sealed their movement—an abnormal-status effect.

Zeke immediately understood Aaron’s intent and dropped his magic.

Perfect timing, wordless coordination.

“Now, knights! Run toward tomorrow!”

Aaron took off toward the carriages. Selen and Ciel began preparing to depart as well.

“——Aaaah…”

The drooling corpses were completely halted. Aaron’s magic worked even on the specter soldiers.

“What are you doing? You want to join them?”

Zeke’s voice finally snapped the knights out of it. They all sprinted for the carriages.

“W-wait! Don’t leave me! —Wait… don’t go…”

Maenof pleaded with tears in his eyes, but none of the knights answered.

None—except the villain.

“Don’t misunderstand. You’re still useful.”

“…Huh? —Guh?!”

Zeke grabbed Maenof by the scruff and ran. His speed was overwhelming—he passed the knights and caught up to Aaron.

He shoved Maenof roughly onto the driver’s platform of the Lagias carriage. Zeke’s personal carriage was built large—even the driver’s seat.

“Mr. Maenof. Keep your distance. Bad smell.”

“We’re ready on this side. The knights will… follow on their own.”

The knights scrambled to mount horses and carriages. Their initial dignity was gone. Some even clung to the cabin.

“Move, Aaron!”

“Yes! Everyone, follow me… HAIYAA!”

The horses neighed and the Lagias carriage surged forward, taking the lead.

Ciel’s carriage followed, then the knights.

They detoured around the village ruins, continuing onward. Turning back wasn’t an option.

“My spell should be wearing off soon.”

“Why is this happening to me…”

Maenof held his head on the driver’s platform. No one had ever told him about humans turning into moving corpses.

“…Looks like it already wore off.”

Zeke, watching from atop the cabin, looked behind.

A “force” was charging after them, kicking up dust.

“That can’t be… we’re on horses.”

“That’s not human movement.”

Nearly fifty corpses pursued them, wailing with resentment—a scene like the end of the world.

“We could choose to escape, but…”

If they all shared the same build, then they likely all carried self-detonation. Even if they shook them off, other people could be harmed. If explosions chained at that scale, it would be catastrophic—blowing apart the capital’s gate would be easy.

“Bad… they’re faster than horses.”

“No…”

The distance was shrinking. It was only a matter of time before the last knight carriage was caught.

“Hey, coward.”

“!? M-me…?”

Maenof felt a flood of mana surging from Zeke—something beyond common sense even for someone ignorant of magic.

A rocking carriage. A precarious cabin top. Even imagining forming spells under those conditions felt insane.

“Because of your blunder, that knight died.”

“—!”

“Drowning in fear, without understanding anything.”

“Sh-shut up! A Lagias lecturing me?!”

Dark clouds gathered overhead. The temperature plunged, breath turning white.

“Because of your selfishness, the other knights nearly died too.”

“So what?! We’re here to protect! If we can fulfill our duty and die, that’s an honor!”

Ciel and Selen looked up at the sky. Aaron remembered the sight from two years ago.

“Even after death they’re tormented, humiliated, and vanish in pain. Seeing that—what do you feel?”

“Shut up! Are you saying it’s my fault?! The mastermind is to blame! …And you Lagias—how much evil have you done?! Don’t talk down to me! Compared to that, one or two deaths—”

A violent roar thundered from the sky. Destruction was close.

“I see. …I’m relieved you’re just trash.”

Zeke had endured Maenof’s insults again and again, but earlier there’d been emotion in his cold gaze.

Now there was nothing.

Colorless, drained—an inorganic stare.

“Sleep now—Icicle Meteor (Inverno Gate).”

A star-stone of ice was called from afar.

Inhuman destruction poured down from the heavens.

A vast freezing force trampled the specter soldiers—meteor impact and layered self-detonations overlapping until sound itself seemed stolen away.

The shockwaves of cold and blasts surged toward them—

But didn’t reach.

A frozen sanctuary expanded behind them, shielding them completely.

“Double Cast… deploying high-tier spells simultaneously. I’m impressed.”

“Hmph. Ending it isn’t enough. I’ll crush them completely. They need to understand who they picked a fight with.”

A doomsday magic spectacle: a massive meteor falling from the sky.

Maenof was struck speechless. Ciel prayed for the dead. Selen felt awe.

“Higher precision than two years ago, power on another level… and simultaneous deployment, too. I’d love to witness your path of conquest to the end.”

“I’m not interested. …We move on.”

“How’d it go, Pariaach?”

“…Phew. Not great. We only killed one knight. The rest are still full of energy.”

Inside a room at an inn in the post town, two figures spoke.

“Lagias definitely noticed. The only ones who fell for it were those dumb-looking knights.”

“…How did he see through it? Even sacred arts shouldn’t be able to detect it easily.”

“No idea. Maybe monster intuition?”

They had turned the villagers into death soldiers and implanted explosive formulas in every one of them. Pariaach could share vision through them.

“They were special farmer bombs… and he blocked with magic, then—meteor BOOOOM! Total chaos.”

“You’re as disgusting as ever. How are the others?”

“The Silver Saint matches our intel, and her guard is tricky. The worst is the third son of House Isosar. Even I got a little numb.”

Pariaach started stretching. It seemed like the kind of formula that drained the mind.

“Given the saint’s personality, she won’t turn back. So the question is how we strike next…”

“Hmm. If we can separate Lagias, I think there’s a chance.”

“The operation has only just begun. We can’t waste power carelessly. I’ll handle Lagias.”

Pariaach nodded with a chant of “one-two-three-four,” clearly wanting nothing to do with Zeke.

“Roger. Lagias is Dex’s problem. …Then I’ll take on the three. I’m getting excited.”

“That is, if the others don’t drop first.”

After repelling the pursuing corpses, Zeke’s group had suffered only one casualty. Everyone else was safe.

“It’s about time we restore the horses’ condition. Break time.”

They’d advanced far faster than planned.

Fighting alone wasn’t an issue—but the corpses’ self-detonation trait meant they had to respond quickly and decisively, in sparsely populated farmland.

After confirming no enemies nearby, they stopped the carriages.

“I-Is it over?”

Maenof sagged on the driver’s platform. He’d only ever ridden in a cabin, never even on horseback.

“I’m tired. Let me rest a litt—Guh?!”

Maenof was tossed off the platform. Zeke looked at him like he was garbage.

“You’re in the way. Don’t enter my sight.”

“W-what… are you… doing…”

His voice shrank away. What Maenof now felt toward Zeke was fear—an instinctive understanding of the difference in “rank” as a living being.

“A big… no, small piece of baggage. Why did the ducal house bring this along?”

“Unfortunately, even the knights lack experience. Wouldn’t it be better to send them back to the capital?”

Selen and Aaron’s criticism made Maenof look around in panic—but the knights were exhausted, hardly able to respond.

“The damage at that village… I think it would’ve been hard for anyone to predict. It may not be entirely Protocol’s fault alone.”

Ciel’s words revived Maenof. He wore a smug look, as if vindicated.

“Lady Ciel! …Did you hear that, you commoners?! Lady Ciel’s words are justice here! Trying to pin responsibility on me is pointless! …As expected, Lady Ciel is best suited to me, Maenof Protocol—”

“But…”

“I can’t overlook your disrespect for the dead. And that was your subordinate—a knight who also served as your guard. Yet you…”

Ciel didn’t raise her voice. She was simply, quietly angry.

Gentle people were often the scariest when they truly got mad. Ciel was exactly that kind.

“Hm… my friend. If this continues, it may only increase casualties. Wouldn’t it be better to have them withdraw?”

“I don’t care. Do what you want.”

Zeke spread a map and scanned the surroundings. To him, Maenof’s safety had nothing to do with the request. His attitude made that obvious.

“Whether that trash is here or not changes nothing.”

“!? We refuse. I’ll report to my father that your presence, Lagias, ruined the operation.”

“…And what do you think your father will say?”

“What?”

Zeke put away the map and pulled a notebook from his chest, checking something without looking up.

“Your duty was guarding the woman called the Silver Saint. Instead, you not only abandoned that—you were harshly criticized by her, your men died uselessly, and the ducal house’s trust in you is… needless to say.”

Maenof went pale.

Objectively, he’d achieved nothing. If he returned like this…

“If they judge you useless, they cut you off without mercy—no matter who you are. That’s how the people of this country work. If you have royal blood, you should know that much.”

Ciel’s past—well known among nobles. Maenof couldn’t dismiss it as someone else’s problem.

“Used as a political tool. Or human experiments using sacred arts. Either way, I don’t care what end you meet.”

“—?! I have other places to show my true worth. …Hey, you! Prepare the rest setup immediately!”

Maenof hurried toward the knights. In his panic, he tripped over a small stone and fell.

“Interesting. He’s obviously dead weight, so why keep him?”

Selen tried to peer into Zeke’s notebook as she spoke, but he noticed and snapped it shut.

“Good grief. Ruthless. Lord Actol is a wicked man.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing to worry about.”

Aaron concluded, brushing it off.

Ciel felt he’d dodged the point.

“Set up camp. Either way, the horses can’t move for a while.”

“Right… After resting, we check the surrounding villages next? We can’t leave this alone anymore.”

“It might already be too late.”

What began as day one turned into savage combat.

The missing villagers were all dead—and had been turned into enemy death soldiers.

That truth weighed heavily on everyone’s mind.