Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Devouring Darkness - Part 2

Kasou, who attacked the Holy Knight, thought he had launched a surprise attack.

However, this operation was nothing more than a trap set by the Holy Knight. Unaware that he was being manipulated, he ended up diving into the entrance of the trap.

"You fell for it!"

One of the Holy Knights shouted, activating his magic armor. His magic armor was a rare type known as an area-type magic armor. Area-type magic armors possess the power to affect specific areas. His ability was to manipulate mud.

The ground transformed into a quagmire, and the magic-wielding grass members had their feet instantly taken from them. However, the Holy Knight Order had been wearing magical boots from the beginning to make use of his magic armor. By wearing these boots, they could freely move even in precarious terrain.

"Get them!"

"Yeeeeaaaaahhhhhh!"

Thirty Holy Knights began their attack against the grass. The grass members, immobilized by the mud, had already become nothing more than targets. Their numbers were rapidly reduced.

Due to being thwarted from the very beginning, their morale quickly decreased.

"Dammit... Why!"

"Run, run!"

"These damn Holy Knights... such filthy scoundrels!"

"Shit! I'm sinking and can't move!"

"Help meeeee!"

The magic-wielding members of the dark organization were fundamentally not good at group actions.

The Holy Knight Order, who had been training and mastering cooperation with a large number of people, was unbeatable. Moreover, this was especially true in poor footing conditions.

In no time, the grass had reduced their numbers.

"Could it be that our attack was exposed!?"

"Lord Goldie! At this rate!"

"Shut up! I know that already!"

Goldie attacked the Holy Knights by throwing his own magic armor, which was a short sword. His magic armor was known as a combination of weapon-type and creation-type, allowing him to continuously generate short swords with all his magical power.

Throwing knives made using this ability became his means of attack.

However, due to the poor footing, it was difficult to aim accurately, and the power was also diminished. Furthermore, unable to move, he didn't know when he would become a target of magic.

Even Goldie was feeling anxious.

"Damn it! Retreat!"

Balancing his own pride and the lives of the organization, he chose the latter. It was precisely because he could make such judgments that Goldie, despite his unpleasant personality, was given a leadership role.

He was capable of assessing the situation.

However, the Holy Knight Order was not the kind to let them escape after going this far.

"Don't let them escape! Annihilate them here!"

The morale of the Holy Knight Order, who was pushing the battle in their favor, was high. In fact, there hadn't been a single victim among the Holy Knights yet. It was clear just how one-sided the fight was.

Even so, the grass members tried to at least let Goldie escape.

"Burn, you damn Holy Knights!"

"Blow them away!"

"Die, bastards!"

The sorcerer of Firegrass each tried to hinder the pursuit of the Holy Knights with their respective magic armor. It's not fun for the Holy Knights to get seriously injured after cornering them this far. Therefore, the desperate attack resulted in easing the pursuit of the Holy Knights.

"Now, Goldie-san! Please escape quickly!"

"Sorry. Take care, guys!"

The assault this time was a great failure. With a bitter expression on his face, Goldie attempted to escape. Using throwing knives from his magic armor to restrain the Holy Knights, he tried to secure a route somehow.

And finally, an opportunity arose.

"There! Let's go!"

"Yeah!"

"I'll provide cover fire!"

Goldie and his companion, an A-rank sorcerer who was nearby, tried to flee the battlefield together. The progress was slow due to the slippery footing caused by mud. However, they were about to break free soon.

And just a few steps away from escaping, Goldie shouted to his comrades.

"Let's keep heading west! We'll regroup at that branch!"

"Sounds good. Stay alive."

"I owe you a treat later, Goldie!"

And then, the three of them attempted to split up into three directions. They thought they could evade pursuit by fleeing separately. But it was naive.

In the excitement of the battle, they didn't notice the arrows flying simultaneously from different locations.

"Ah!"

"Eek!"

"Ugh..."

Three arrows pierced their heads at the same time, and they fell down on the spot.

Then, a man wielding a bow and arrow appeared through a gap in the nearby trees.

"We've got them, boss."

"Great idea. Let's have ourselves a carnival too, shall we? Right!?"

"Ooooh!"

The one who appeared here was the dark organization Akatsume.

Furthermore, even their boss made a personal appearance.

He had crimson hooked claws as his magic armor, capable of cutting through anything with intense heat.

"First, let's deal with this muddy situation, shall we?"

As the Akatsume boss said so, one of his subordinates, who controlled ice magic, directed cold air towards the muddy ground. As a result, the moisture in the mud instantly froze, making the ground slippery. The Holy Knights seemed unaffected thanks to their magical boots, but the sorcerers of Firegrass were thrown into further chaos.

"Let's go, you bastards!"

And thus, the Akatsume boss took the lead and jumped into the midst of the chaotic battlefield. First, he cut down the Firegrass sorcerers who were trapped in the frozen mud within his reach with his hooked claws. With the heat and sharpness of his claws, he could effortlessly cut through their armor without any resistance.

If they were using armor-type magic, it could sometimes deflect his attacks, but in that case, another subordinate who controlled water magic would suffocate them. The Firegrass sorcerers who fell victim to surprise attacks had already crumbled.

"Kill them, kill them! Kill the Holy Knights!"

"This is our chance to make a name for ourselves!"

"Firegrass is barely breathing. Don't let a single one escape!"

"It's a festival! A blood festival!"

The bloodthirsty Red Claws Mages fearlessly confronted the Holy Knights without fearing death. However, the Holy Knights were beginning to show signs of fatigue.

The Dark Organization Mages were stronger than anticipated, causing a tough fight. To become a Holy Knight, one must be at least a B-ranked Mage. However, the Red Claws, a part of the Dark Organization, had high morale due to their successful surprise attack, and the only option to avoid casualties was to defend themselves.

For the Holy Knight Order, this operation was crucial to eradicate the Dark Organization. The thirty Holy Knights who had come as decoys were strictly ordered not to die.

"We have magical boots. Don't worry about your footing!"

"Don't break up the teams of three. Be cautious of surprise attacks."

"That Mage over there is the boss of the Red Claws! Be careful. He's fast!"

They formed groups of three, back to back, eliminating blind spots and fighting back. Since they were outnumbered, their only choice was to defend themselves if they wanted to stay alive.

However, this was also puzzling.

Normally, choosing to defend was done in hopes of reinforcements. If there were reinforcements or hidden troops, defense would make sense. But if that wasn't the case, they would eventually be defeated. Therefore, some members of the Red Claws considered the possibility of reinforcements from the surroundings. By the way, the possibility of hidden troops was never in their minds from the beginning.

They didn't know that this was a trap set by the Church.

That's why they didn't notice the puzzling nature of the situation.

"Push forward! Crush them!"

"We're gonna slaughter those Holy Knights ourselves!"

Considering the possibility of reinforcements, swift execution of the operation was necessary. The Red Claws planned to crush the Holy Knights by overwhelming them with their surprise attack. As long as the boss of the Red Claws was fighting on the front lines, their morale would remain high. They had reached a level where they could fight with sheer determination alone.

However, the situation changed once again.

"What...?"

The Red Claws boss was the first to sense something strange. He had sharp senses like a wild beast and immediately noticed an unusual odor in the air. He knew right away that it was caused by drugs.

Having connections in the underworld, he quickly understood what kind of drug it was.

"This is a paralysis poison...!"

However, the boss didn't feel any discomfort in his body. He had developed resistance to this level of paralysis poison. Powerful paralysis poisons would affect him, but it was difficult to acquire such drugs in sufficient quantities.

Nevertheless, there were only a limited number of opponents who could gather enough of this moderate paralysis poison to spread it over such a wide area. Especially now that the mid-level and lower dark organizations had been wiped out.

"Tch... So the Lotus Blossoms are involved too!"

The Dark Organization Lotus Blossoms specialized in drugs, including narcotics.

The substance scattered in this area was a moderately potent paralysis poison. It was a relatively strong poison that could be obtained in sufficient quantities. Someone like the Red Claws boss, who had developed resistance to poison, could endure it without any problems. However, there were many others here who didn't possess that resistance.

"Ugh... I can't move my body!"

"Damn it! What is this?"

"Is this not an enemy attack!? Who did this?"

"Protect those who can't move! We didn't anticipate drugs!"

Already in a state of devastation, the brave Ashikusa and even the Holy Knight Order had not anticipated an attack with drugs. Well, the Holy Knight Order had considered it as a possibility, but they deemed it difficult to gather a sufficient quantity and abandoned the idea.

Even if there were skilled practitioners of drugs like the enchanting lotus flower, distributing a quantity large enough to cover this area would attract attention. However, it seemed that the enchanting lotus flower was one step ahead of the church. The church couldn't even fully monitor the drug trafficking routes associated with the enchanting lotus flower.

And this is the result.

"Ku...hahaha! What a bunch of idiots."

"Who said they should gather in one place?"

"A perfect target for paralysis poison, isn't it?"

"Now that they can't move, are they really targets?"

"No doubt. Now, let's do it."

The enchanting lotus flower magic knights emerged from between the surrounding trees. With vulgar grins on their faces, they gazed at the immobilized or slowed-down Ashikusa, Red Claw, and Holy Knight Order magic knights.

The paralysis poison prepared by the enchanting lotus flower for today was massive. And the enchanting lotus flower magic knights had previously ingested drugs to counteract the paralysis poison.

Therefore, the enchanting lotus flower magic knights were not affected by the paralysis poison.

"Attack! We, the enchanting lotus flower, have won!"

The enchanting lotus flower, believing they had outsmarted the Holy Knights, Ashikusa, and Red Claw, leaped forward all at once. They prioritized killing the paralyzed Holy Knights.

And then, one of the enchanting lotus flower magic knights extended their sword towards a fallen Holy Knight...

"I won't allow it."

"Gyaaaaaaah!"

The right arm of that magic knight was sliced off.

Standing in front of him was a Holy Knight who resembled a nobleman. He was so famous that everyone present recognized him as the strongest man.

"Fool! Why is Celestar Altrein here?!"

The S-rank magic knight and the strongest Holy Knight who had achieved awakening.

Celestar, who was supposed to be in Altra, was here in this place. He hadn't been seen or sensed any trace of his presence or overwhelming magic power. It was as if he had teleported to this location.

"Hehehe. My vice-captain is extremely capable. We managed to outwit you all."

"We are honored to receive your praise, Captain."

Following Celestar's words, the vice-captain also appeared by his side.

In this silent battlefield, Celestar and his vice-captain stood out remarkably. Celestar, who appeared suddenly with a storm-like aura of magic power, couldn't go unnoticed.

"We're... running awayyyyy!"

"I won't let you escape."

By chance, the Enchanter of the Yourenka who had been fighting on the side of Selshtar turned to escape. However, Selshtar mercilessly pierced their heart from behind with the magic rapier.

"Gaah!"

With one strike, the male Enchanter lost their life and collapsed. Blood splattered everywhere, and Selshtar casually wiped off the bloodstains. No one witnessed the moment the heart was pierced.

"Too fast..."

Amidst the silence, someone muttered.

However, Selshtar ignored it and instructed the Vice Captain.

"Prepare the barrier. Make sure no one escapes."

"As you wish."

The Vice Captain whispered softly towards a certain magical device. As a result, the entire area was enveloped in a pale blue barrier. It was a grand barrier that could be activated by multiple Holy Knights simultaneously using positive demonic arts.

The Vice Captain had prepared it in order to eliminate every member of the gathered dark organization without letting a single one escape.

And with a smile, the Vice Captain addressed the silent Enchanters of the dark organization.

"For those of you who can't understand the situation, let me explain briefly. My magic armor is a territorial type... Its ability is translocation. It enables instant movement within the limits of magical power, regardless of distance."

Using that ability, Selshtar was called from Alta and the Holy Knights who cast the grand barrier were positioned.

*Bzzt...*

"Hmm...?"

Selshtar heard a sound like something snapping in the sky. Everyone present in this place heard it, and they all looked up at Selshtar as if waiting for instructions.

There, a white light burst, creating a sound as it struck the air.

It was an obvious magic or a lightning-based attack by means of magical armor.

The Wind's Eighth Staircase, "Great Discharge," had been activated.