After tearing off the mask of the jet-black knight, Philiana knocked him out with a single blow.
“Arisugawa, hey, snap out of it!”
Sharin’s shaking brought me back to consciousness with a jolt. I had been staring blankly at the female knight lying on the ground, her blood dyeing the ground even blacker.
“Honestly, why would you do something so reckless! You scared the life out of me!”
“Hiroaki-san, are you alright? It’s my fault for saying… ”
Pauline also came running up. Did we win? Good… Oh, it hurts, the left side of my chest where I was cut suddenly aches. There’s also a dull pain in my stomach from being kicked.
“Ouch, ouch, sorry, I might have overdone it a bit.”
“Hiro-san, hhaa, thank goodness you’re alive. Pauline-chan, could you tend to his wounds?”
Philiana, who had also come running, let out a big sigh. Meanwhile, Nina snorted as she looked at the fallen enemy.
“Despite your protests, it all amounts to the same thing in the end, doesn’t it? Lauren, it’s your turn now—tie this one up and hang him from a tree. Fortunately, he seems to be alive.”
Lauren emerged from behind a tree and began hanging the enemy from it with Philiana. Meanwhile, Pauline was efficiently tending to my wounds. Fortunately, the injuries weren’t too deep. Still, it was a significant cut, so I had to be careful not to reopen it.
“Is Nina alright? She seemed to cut her hand earlier.”
“That stopped bleeding ages ago.”
Come to think of it, how was the enemy’s wound? There was a large gash from the woman’s collarbone to her neck, from which a lot of blood was flowing.
“Hah, she’s fine. Isn’t that for the best? A little bloodletting might cool her head.”
I felt a bit bad doing this to a woman, but there was no other way. Now, I wondered if the members who went to the town were alright? With Sharin and Pauline’s help, I managed to stand up, and the sound of flapping wings echoed from the sky.
“Everyoneeeee, hhaa, hhaa, I found you! It’s an emergency, a real emergency, hurry up!”
Piyo descended from the sky, looking very flustered. She must have rushed here, as she was covered in sweat.
“What’s wrong? What’s the situation in town?”
“There were lots of ghosts! Umm, it said to gather because there might be other Dark Elves? For the time being, the dead are coming back to life, and it’s chaos!”
Other Dark Elves? Could it be that this knight wasn’t the only one? Well, that was to be expected. If this was all there was, it would have been too easy. Besides, the Light Elves wouldn’t have been on such high alert for no reason. The dead are coming back to life? Zombies, perhaps a Necromancer?! Is there one among our enemies too? Could it be that man from Arachne? Is that the way this is going? I had no choice but to go and see.
“Understood. Let’s hurry.”
“Are you alright? You should rest at the inn.”
I assured Sharin, who looked worried, and then mounted behind Pauline and Philiana. Following Piyo, we headed towards the town center. As we approached the buildings, their tragic state became increasingly apparent. In the darkness, buildings burned with a fierce red glow, and the screams of people and the angry roars of guards filled the air.
“Haa, haa, see? It’s a mess, isn’t it? Veronica and Elana are fighting right now, but they won’t be able to make it in time.”
“I see. Lead me to everyone.”
Piyo soared into the panicked town. The neatly aligned buildings and the beautiful road were now littered with rubble and luggage. Along the way, we passed horses that had likely escaped from their carriages. The rising fires and hot smoke burned my eyes and throat, making it difficult to breathe. Piyo, flying overhead, must have had it even worse.
“Elena! Veronica! I’ve brought them!”
As Piyo shouted, Elana emerged from the corner of a building.
“Oh, you’ve come? Did you defeat that knight?”
“Well, for now. More importantly, about the corpses?”
“That’s over here.”
Following her, we emerged onto the road leading to the large square. There, guards were fighting against a horde of living corpses.
