Elliott and the elite knights were engulfed in confusion, unable to comprehend the sudden appearance of the creature before them.
Fortunately, their rigorous training and instincts honed from battles against magical beasts kicked in, allowing them to quickly retreat and assume a defensive stance.
“What in the world…?”
“Be careful! It seems this is also an Undead Beast…!”
A nearby member of the clergy urged caution while casting a barrier. Hearing this, the elite knights hurriedly began to purify their swords with Holy Water.
Elliott stood frozen, his eyes wide open.
—An Undead Beast? Is this… not over yet?
The briefing from their commander, Count Agreas, had not mentioned anything about such a creature.
—How am I supposed to fight this without the Holy Sword…?
His heart thudded uncomfortably, and a chill ran down his spine.
“…Elliott, you should purify your sword with Holy Water too,” came Lloyd’s voice, who was anxiously scanning their surroundings. A hand on his shoulder snapped Elliott back to reality, and he quickly began to cleanse his Replica Sword with Holy Water. In the chaos, everyone was so focused on the monster that they seemed oblivious to Elliott’s minor actions. Was this truly a blessing? His fingertips trembled violently.
The Replica Sword merely glimmered faintly under the Mage’s magic, resembling a sword in appearance but lacking any true power.
Suddenly, a thunderous crash echoed as if a rock wall had crumbled. Elliott turned to see a massive, dark-red tentacle-like appendage smashing through a corner of the VIP Seating.
“This is bad! The King is over there! Prepare for combat!”
An elite knight shouted, and the surrounding knights sprang into action. Yet, confusion clouded their movements, each knight hesitating.
“How do we engage? Where’s its head?”
“Is this a dragon-type Undead Beast…? I can’t see its head from here…”
Voices of uncertainty echoed among the knights. If the massive Undead Beast before them had a head, they could defeat it by severing it. But the unfamiliar form only deepened their anxiety.
“For now, let’s draw it away from the VIP Seating!”
Marcus, one of the elite knights, shouted as he and several others attempted to flank the creature with a feigned attack.
However, as Marcus’s sword struck with great force, the blade emitted a white smoke before crumbling to pieces.
“Wha…!?”
“What happened!? What’s going on!?”
“This… this isn’t a dragon-type Undead Beast! What is this… a Viscous Magic Fungus!?”
The sight of the severed section melting away and Marcus’s ruined sword sent waves of panic through the knights.
“Marcus, your sword… Is that an Iron-Eating Slime!?”
Marcus’s sword was now a battered, reddish-brown mess, half of it missing. The Iron-Eating Slime was a Viscous Magic Fungus that literally corroded iron for sustenance. While the slime itself posed little threat to humans, its nature made it a formidable opponent for knights.
“So this is an Undead mass of Iron-Eating Slime…? How are we supposed to defeat something like that!?”
Marcus and the others looked up at the towering mass with pale faces.
The surface of the massive Iron-Eating Undead Slime began to undulate, shifting its form toward them.
“…It’s coming!”
Unsure of how to respond, the knights readied their swords. The ground trembled again, and a smaller mass emerged from beneath the floor, resembling a smaller version of the creature. It was no longer a matter of countering; everyone was merely trying to protect themselves.
A gigantic mass, shaped like a worm, twisted and slithered toward Elliott and the elite knights.
Amidst this chaos, Elliott caught sight of Emily peering down from the elevated VIP Seating, her face etched with worry. Behind her stood the King, the Prime Minister, high-ranking nobles, and wealthy spectators, all watching with bated breath. The common folk outside the view must also be watching in fear.
In truth, this was not an opponent the knights could hope to fight. Even as his mind urged him to retreat and create distance without drawing his sword, the instinct to defend himself, ingrained from years of wielding a sword, took over.
“Elliott…!!”
A voice called his name, laced with concern yet tinged with hope.
The dark-red mass of Iron-Eating Undead Slime split and branched out, aiming one of its appendages directly at Elliott. In a reflexive motion, he swung his sword to deflect it, trying to alter its trajectory.
He knew what would happen as a result.
A sizzling sound echoed, like water splashing onto hot iron, as white smoke billowed from the Replica Sword, which was merely a facsimile of the Holy Sword.
The blade he swung began to corrode, turning a reddish-brown, crumbling to pieces.
—Ah, it’s all over…
He felt a scream of despair resonate within him, as if it were his own. Before the eyes of many, his loss was laid bare in the most catastrophic manner.
The mass of Undead Slime did not destroy anything; instead, it suddenly melted away, losing its form and engulfing everything around it like water. Trapped in the viscous liquid, Elliott found himself unable to move as he struggled to breathe. Through the murky haze, he could see the VIP Seating, where Emily’s face twisted in fear and despair as she shouted something. Beside her, Count Agreas wore a cheerful smile, laughing heartily.
Though the distance was great, he could still sense the jarring sound of his laughter.
—In the end, did I misunderstand everything until the very end?
As he sank deeper into the dark abyss of despair, he realized he had likely been trapped in a deep pit long before this moment, foolishly pretending not to notice, solidified by lies.
The Iron-Eating Slime is modeled after the iron bacteria MIZ03 strain discovered by the RIKEN research institute in 2021.