Chapter 20
I finished off the zombie wearing priest robes. Then I hurried toward where Lucille had been.
Her sword now barely lifted to her waist.
The zombie, sensing her exhaustion, barked even more viciously.
I swung my club from behind in a sudden strike.
A dull cracking sound rang out and the impact traveled through my hand gripping the club.
“Kgh!”
Pain shot across my palm where the blister had burst.
It hurt sharply.
[Patience] only raised my pain threshold and did not erase the pain so I had to withstand it.
I gritted my teeth.
Blood dripped from my grip and fell to the floor.
I forced my awareness to stay steady and looked straight ahead.
Several of the zombies circling Lucille turned and charged toward me.
“Stay calm and take them one at a time.”
Joshua was not a Knight.
Before I possessed his body, this had been the body of someone lazy who did nothing.
He had no strength or agility and nothing about his physical form was impressive.
The only thing he had going for him was temperament.
Even with a clawed hand right in front of his eyes he did not shut them.
“Kyaaghhh!”
I swung the club at the zombie.
The advantage of a blunt weapon was that even a novice could use it effectively.
A zombie staggered as it took a direct hit.
It fell to its knees yet remained capable of moving.
Its upper body was still intact.
I drew the dagger I had taken from Zenit and threw it toward the zombie’s head.
The distance was close and the dagger struck cleanly.
The zombie’s moan softened.
“Huff, huff.”
My throat tightened from the violent movements.
My vision shook.
[Patience] insisted I was not done and pulled strength even from my last reserves.
Wouldn’t dying just be easier?
Yet even with those thoughts filling my mind my hands continued to move.
I stabbed another zombie that had leapt from the side directly in the nape of its neck.
The creature collapsed and dragged my body down with it. I could not push it away in time and fell together with it.
‘I have to get back up.’
Even while my consciousness blurred I knew what I needed to do.
How many were left?
I pushed the zombie off using my elbow and legs.
The ones that had turned toward me were the two I had already defeated.
Two remained.
They were still grappling with Lucille.
I pulled the dagger from the fallen zombie’s neck and focused all my attention on my fingers.
I flicked the dagger and sent it spinning through the air.
Swish! It struck the target in the back.
It was not fatal yet it stole several seconds.
Lucille was not someone who wasted those moments.
With elegant precision she severed the zombie’s neck and then dropped to her knees.
“…Hey, are you alive?”
Ah yes, I was.
I wanted to answer her but my voice would not come out.
Darkness swallowed me.
What followed would be left to Talleon below.
The passage was blocked but once he realized there was no alternative he would force it open.
I sank into the satisfaction of having completed my role and closed my eyes.
* * *
Talleon stared at the ceiling for a long time.
According to the plan, monsters were supposed to fall through that opening.
But the sound had suddenly stopped.
Unable to suppress his unease he turned to Austin.
“Shouldn’t we go up? He definitely called for help.”
The sealed gap in the ceiling still carried Joshua’s shout.
“Something must have gone wrong.”
“Yes! I think so too.”
“In that case all we can do is wait here. If everything is fine they will open the blocked hole from above.”
“What are you… If we hesitate like this those two might die. And Lucille is your comrade.”
Talleon spoke sharply.
Since Zenit, the boy had begun to doubt what it meant to be a Knight.
‘He does not throw himself into danger.’
Austin was a rational man.
He always chose the option with the highest chance of survival.
In that process, comrades were tools to be used. He discarded them when needed.
‘Why did he not even try searching for Zenit? Even if the situation was hopeless he could have voiced concern, no?’
Zenit was dead.
Himself and Joshua had killed him.
Searching for him would be pointless but the two Knights did not know that truth.
Yet they had followed us with suspicious ease.
A chill ran up Talleon’s spine.
What if something happened above and he was left alone with Austin?
It was obvious he would be used and thrown away.
‘I have to go up.’
He forced his stiffened body to move.
As if possessed he grabbed the ladder and climbed.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
“I cannot stay here.”
“You fool! You know there is fire up there, and you’re still trying to go up? Are you a moth?”
“No matter what you say I will not stop.”
“Retard! I’ve had it with you now.”
Bang!
Austin kicked the ladder in frustration.
The wooden structure swayed violently.
Talleon nearly slipped.
Had he lost his grip he would have fallen.
‘That was close.’
He remembered friends who fell from horses and broke bones.
The air grew tense.
Austin’s irritation seeped into it like heat.
“If you want to be a Knight you listen to your superior.”
“You are not my superior yet. Sir Joshua is my superior.”
“I admit the kid has talent. But he is still a fledgling. He scraped by until now but how long do you think that will last? He and you both need veterans like me to guide you. Joshua has not realized that yet.”
Talleon continued climbing.
The ceiling was still a distance away.
He dared not look down.
If he met Austin’s eyes the ladder might be broken for real.
“I am too stupid to understand any of that. But I’m going up because I just cannot sit still.”
“I am saying I will help you control that. So… uh, what was your name again?”
“It’s Talleon.”
“Ah, right. I forgot for a moment, Talleon.”
Talleon quietly cursed him.
How could he entrust his life to someone who could not even remember his name?
‘No! Never.’
He reached the ceiling and confronted the blockage.
A sticky fragment brushed his cheek and slid down.
Cold and clammy, it made his skin crawl.
‘...I feel like I know what this is.’
They were monsters.
For some reason it had plugged the opening with its flesh.
Talleon took out his axe and struck.
A chunk tore away.
Pieces fell across his face and clothes.
The stench was unbearable.
Because of that, he gagged violently.
“Blegh!”
He endured and continued.
Light grew as the hole widened.
With a strong push, the mass collapsed and a hole large enough for him to pass opened.
He pulled himself up.
His breathing was ragged and dizziness struck hard, but he moved on.
“…Huff, huff! I thought I was going to die.”
He straightened and scanned the area.
Green blood splattered across shattered wooden furniture.
Monster limbs lay scattered.
He had made it.
Just as relief washed over him he saw two figures resting nearby.
Joshua and Lucille.
“Why are you so late?”
Lucille was the only one awake.
Her cold gaze made his spine tingle.
Excuses flashed through his mind.
However, he believed no words could calm her down.
“I am sorry, I’ve no excuse.”
“Sigh. What use would it be to blame a kid like you? Where is Austin?”
“About that… he has not come up yet.”
“…You came alone?”
“Yes.”
Lucille felt as if struck on the head.
Several minutes had passed since the passage was blocked.
More than enough time for assistance.
Austin had simply watched.
While this boy risked himself alone, so he could help.
His help meant little in effect but the difference in their intent enraged her.
“Boy do I feel betrayed. Ha, we shared a unit for months and spent time together for quite a while too.”
She sighed.
Faded camaraderie left a bitter taste.
To think it was no better than the relationships she had with the boys she just met.
“Then why did you come up?”
Curiosity struck her.
Talleon had been shaking under the weight of the atmosphere and only barely managed to pull himself together.
“If it were Sir Joshua, he would have done the same… no, that is not it. The truth is… I thought staying with him would give me a better chance of survival.”
The boy rambled, unable to grasp his own feelings.
Lucille guessed that the words he uttered at the end were his true thoughts.
“Either way, it means he has your trust.”
Lucille smiled faintly.
Even on their way to the cathedral, her evaluation of him had already begun to change.
And through this battle, that change had become complete.
Joshua was no longer the lazy man she remembered.
“Move.”
Lucille stood up and approached the opening.
She slowly lowered her face toward it.
Austin was still down below, not moving an inch as he observed the situation.
Holding back the anger that had nearly flipped her eyes, she opened her mouth.
“What are you doing?”
“Lucille! You are alive?”
“Do I look like a ghost then?”
“So the situation up there ended huh? I am coming up now!”
“Hey!”
As Austin grabbed the ladder Lucille shouted.
“Who told you to come up! Seriously, I let one thing slide and now you think everything goes your way.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
When Lucille answered in an irritated voice, the smile disappeared from Austin’s face.
He kept his hands on the ladder and lifted his gaze upward.
“Where was your support! The situation ended ages ago. And from what I heard, this kid climbed up on his own rather than because of your orders. When exactly were you planning to come up?”
“When the situation changes, waiting is basic protocol. You should know that since you are a knight.”
“No, you are wrong. The rule is to act according to your own judgment. You waited only because you decided to.”
“Are you trying to say you are upset because I did not come to help you? Do not act like a child. You are a knight. A knight must remain calm no matter what.”
Lucille frowned.
If she broke down his words, none of them were irrational from a purely logical standpoint.
But she realized his personal emotions were deeply mixed into them.
If that was the case, then what she was about to do would be the same.
“Fine, do as you want. I will do as I want too.”
“…What did you say?”
“You and I are done. As of this moment.”
Lucille swung her sword and cut one side of the ladder.
Losing one of its supporting poles, it tilted to one side, unable to hold its balance.
“Stop! Do you not see the bag on my back? There is food in here.”
“Enjoy yourself to your heart’s content. Even without that, we plan to get what we need elsewhere and leave this village.”
“This is a serious crime. If this is reported, you will be expelled from the Tower.”
“Perhaps so. But before that, perhaps you should worry about your own situation first, yes?”
This time she cut the other side.
The ladder fell helplessly and shattered to pieces with a loud crash.
Austin stared blankly at the broken fragments.
“You wretch! I will find you and kill you. I will tear you apart and throw you to those monsters.”
“Whatever you say. Just not having to listen to your tiresome rationality makes me feel ten years younger.”
Lucille closed the opening she had left open.
“H-Hey! Wait. Stop, I said stop!”
Bang! The hatch closed from above.
The burrow was swallowed by pitch black darkness.
Austin looked back at the passage he had come through and cold sweat slid down his spine.
He remembered that the burrow was filled with traps.
And he realized again that he had crossed safely only because of Joshua’s help.
“...”
Austin said nothing.
His body was trembling slightly.
He was clearly terrified.