Episode 168: Conclusion

The garden of the Kreving Earl’s estate. Countless shadows lay strewn across the ground, a pitiful sight.

“Gu…”

“Gah… ha…”

The groans escaping belonged to the Knights of Ignorance, Dunkelritter, under the command of the Kingdom’s Shadow, Umbra.

Anticipating the possibility of being stalled in battle against Celestina, Umbra had deployed them as a separate unit, attacking the earl’s estate from the opposite direction of his own forces.

But—save for one, all of them had been defeated, sprawled helplessly on the ground.

(Damn it, what the hell…!)

The last one standing twisted his face, a mix of panic and terror seeping through.

(The only one we were supposed to watch out for was Celestina, one of the Seven Great Calamities! What’s with this…)

Bathed in moonlight, the figure of an elderly gentleman emerged from the darkness, approaching steadily.

“What the hell is this old man!”

A scream that bordered on a wail echoed through the air. In that instant—

The old gentleman—Evan—rushed forward like a gale, his fist striking the man without mercy.

“Geh…!”

Mana Penetration Strike. Unable to withstand the impact that felt like it was tearing his insides apart, the man crumpled to the ground.

“…Is that all of them? Thanks to Lady Celestina taking on the formidable foe, I managed to handle this.”

As the elderly gentleman—Evan—muttered those words, a storm of humiliation churned in the chest of the fallen man.

(Don’t mess with me…! We’re the Knights of Ignorance, Dunkelritter…!)

They were the elite shadow unit directly under the king’s command. Though not on par with Umbra, they were among the kingdom’s top warriors. And yet, this old man had shattered their pride into pieces.

Evan remained vigilant, scanning his surroundings. But his thoughts were fixed elsewhere.

(Lord Siegfried…)

Quietly, he let his mind drift to the irreplaceable master to whom he pledged absolute loyalty.

 

◇

 

“Hii…! W-What the hell is this thing…!”

The middle layer of the royal capital—a small, secluded graveyard tucked away in a corner. Guarding that area was a small squad of city guards belonging to the kingdom’s army.

Trembling with fear, they barely managed to ready their swords.

Before their eyes, countless undead had crawled out from the graveyard. These were not under Lugdura’s direct command.

Drawn by the necromancer Lugdura’s mana, the corpses buried in the graveyard had transformed into undead, clawing their way out of the earth.

“Tch, this is bad…! W-What do we do…!”

“W-We’ve got no choice but to hold them off…!”

Their original mission was to keep watch and report—specifically, to notify their superiors if the Eastern Army appeared in the area.

But now, the kingdom’s chain of command had collapsed. They didn’t even know where their superiors were.

“B-But, can we even handle monsters like these!?”

“I don’t know, but if we don’t stop them here, they’ll flood into the residential districts! Even if we can’t defeat them… we’ve got to hold them back here…!”

It was at that moment.

At the guards’ feet, the ground swelled with a dull thud. Suddenly, hands of new undead emerged from the soil.

“Hiii!”

“Let go! Let me go!”

Seized by the hands of the dead reaching from the ground, the soldiers fell into a panic.

—But in that instant.

Red hair danced like it was cutting through the wind, and a lone knight leapt into the fray.

A slashing strike, swift as a flash, severed the undead’s arms in a single stroke.

“Are you alright!”

The figure who appeared was a female knight, exuding a resolute aura.

Her face was etched with fatigue, and parts of her armor were shattered—a testament to the fierce battle she had fought not long ago.

Yet, she stood unwavering, her posture unshaken.

“Y-Yes, we’re fine!”

“Th-Thank you… You saved us!”

The guards, their voices a mix of relief and gratitude, received a quiet nod from the red-haired knight.

“Good. In that case—I need your help to exterminate these undead. The capital is vast, and there are countless graveyards where the dead are rising. We need every bit of assistance we can get.”

“W-We’re supposed to fight these undead!?”

“These undead are not particularly formidable opponents. You are soldiers, are you not? Then—you should be more than capable of fighting them.”

The female knight’s gaze carried a conviction that her words were true.

That quiet certainty ignited a spark in the soldiers’ hearts. They found themselves nodding almost unconsciously.

“G-Got it…!”

“I’m grateful. My subordinates should arrive here soon. They know the capital’s layout, but they’re unfamiliar with the locations of smaller graveyards. Your knowledge as city guards is indispensable. Work together to handle this. For now, set aside distinctions of friend or foe—let’s cooperate to protect the citizens from these undead.”

With those words, the red-haired knight spurred her horse and galloped off.

Watching her depart, one of the guards muttered softly.

“She said to forget about friend or foe, didn’t she…”

“No way… Was that knight under the Kreving Earl’s command!? From the Eastern Army…!?”

The guards exchanged glances.

“W-What do we do?”

“What do we do? We fight the undead with them. She saved our lives, after all.”

Respect for the red-haired knight pushed him forward. —No, it wasn’t just that.

“Besides, I’m done following His Majesty’s orders. Forcing commoners out of the capital, and now letting these monsters tear the city apart… I can’t keep up with this anymore.”

Tears welled in his eyes, his frustration spilling over.

They, too, were of commoner origin. They hadn’t wanted to drive the commoners out of the capital. But they had no choice but to obey.

They had convinced themselves that Luverios must have some deeper plan, some justice guiding him. But where was the justice in a situation where undead endangered countless citizens?

And then—the comrade standing beside him muttered softly.

“…Yeah, you’re right. Fighting the Eastern Army on His Majesty’s orders, only to get eaten by undead in the end… That’s a joke. Protecting the citizens makes a hell of a lot more sense.”

 

◇

 

Across the royal capital, Kirchherion, undead were rising in droves. Individually, they weren’t particularly powerful. But their numbers were overwhelming.

As the Eastern Army and the kingdom’s forces dealt with exterminating the undead and evacuating citizens, the lines between them blurred, and eventually, those boundaries dissolved entirely.

What united their hearts was the overwhelming presence of “death” emanating from Lugdura, radiating from the heart of the capital.

This was no longer an extension of war—it was a calamity akin to a natural disaster, like a volcanic eruption or a massive meteor strike. In the face of such a catastrophe, everyone began to understand.

—There was no time for fighting among themselves.

And then—

And then—a tremendous surge of mana swept through the entire capital.

With a single flash, Lugdura’s mana vanished without a sound.

The undead, deprived of their driving force, stopped moving one by one, collapsing into mere corpses on the ground.

In that moment—Siegfried’s subordinates, scattered across the city, each murmured their own words.

“Lord Siegfried…!”

The red-haired female knight cast a respectful gaze toward the direction where her master must be.

“He did it. —Well, I figured he’d win.”

The gray-haired beastman slightly curled the corner of his mouth.

“—He took it down, huh. …Tch, what a pain in the ass.”

The tanned young man let out a small sigh.

 

◇

 

Near the heart of the capital—the noble district.

There, the decisive battle between the “Seven Great Calamities” and the “King of Evil” had finally reached its conclusion.

Lugdura’s body shattered under the blow of Absolute Calamity’s Scattered Dust.

The unleashed torrent of mana shook the entire capital, blowing away even the deathly mana that had controlled the undead.

Lugdura’s broken body mingled with the blood dome spreading around it—and was ultimately absorbed into Siegfried.

“—”

After whispering something to the last remnants of Lugdura, Siegfried quietly began to walk away.

 

◇

 

And then—the heart of the capital.

“Ha… ha…! Finally… I’m out…!”

The once-majestic Kirchhen-Almas Castle was now a pile of rubble. From the gaps in the collapsed stone, a single man crawled out.

His ice-blue hair was soaked in blood, and the scarlet mantle, a symbol of his kingship, was torn. His clothes and face were smeared with mud and dust.

This was the king of the nation—Luverios.