The senior knights, including Marcus and Richard, were rescued from the viscous embrace of the Undead Slime by the Knights of Beresford and were now gathered in one place, receiving treatment. Among them, the sight of former Knight Commander Lionel caused some to nearly break down in tears, their faces contorted in despair. Hearing that Agreas had already been captured brought a mix of relief, regret, and anger surging within them.
Just then, Elliott arrived, accompanied by Lloyd and a junior knight, his expression grave and troubled. At first, his sudden declaration of wanting to clear up misunderstandings left everyone bewildered, but as he spoke, the group fell silent, heads bowed. The heavy silence was born from each knight’s disappointment in themselves.
“…We have wounded the dignity of a woman due to our own baseless assumptions,” Marcus murmured, his vacant eyes reflecting self-reproach, and the other senior knights nodded, biting their lips in agreement.
“The root of the problem lies with me… I was the one who succumbed to the allure of unexpected power and went mad. I used everything as an excuse for my own infidelity. I cannot blame Agreas’s schemes for this. I was the one who made the first mistake.”
Elliott spoke as if savoring his regret, his words carrying the weight of the punishment he felt he deserved. Marcus realized he was equally guilty. They had stoked the flames of the deception Elliott had fallen into, and now he understood that it was none other than themselves who had failed to admonish their comrade’s infidelity. At the same time, he recognized his own foolishness for not even considering the idea of correcting their ally’s wrongdoings, a thought that now filled him with shame.
A junior knight who had accompanied Elliott pleaded with them not to hurt her any further, as she had already moved on. Unable to even apologize, they all remained silent, burdened by their own guilt.
The unbearable weight of their inaction pressed down on them, and they longed to do something, but their weapons and armor had been melted away by the corrosive slime, leaving them with nothing. If only their enemy had taken the form of a magical beast, they could have at least served as decoys or shields, but facing the Undead Slime rendered them utterly useless, a mere hindrance.
Watching the mercenaries, who looked like ruffians, and the Knights of Beresford wielding weapons imbued with light, a sharp pain pierced Marcus’s heart. Realizing he felt jealousy towards them at such a moment only deepened his despair.
“…To lack the power to fight is truly painful,” Lloyd muttered softly. Elliott nodded in agreement, his head hanging low. All the knights present, who had lived as warriors, were experiencing for the first time the bitter sting of helplessness in the face of a threat.
Eventually, a peculiar old woman carrying a pot approached them.
“Hey, you lot, the Undead Slime has already entered your bodies, hasn’t it? Would you prefer to drink this special soup yourself, or shall I pour it down your throats with a funnel?”
“I-I’ll drink it myself!” Marcus replied in a panic, causing the old woman to chuckle.
“What’s with the heavy atmosphere? If you want to confess, just pray.”
The senior knights realized that this was indeed the last refuge left for those without power.
With no weapons and unable to fight, the role assigned to Elliott and the others was merely to keep watch over the captured Agreas and the Knights of Jiemeld. However, Lionel stood nearby, likely to prevent the knights from being swayed by Agreas’s deceit once more.
“I share in the responsibility for your downfall. Don’t let your guilt paralyze you,” Lionel said, his face also tinged with regret. The senior knights now understood that Lionel had acted for the sake of the people, having cast aside his honor and position. They could not possibly think of using his status to lessen their own sins.
“Haha… You’re still as soft-hearted as ever,” a jarring voice interrupted, causing everyone to turn sharply. The air thickened with anger as Agreas, having regained consciousness, laughed mockingly.
“Still, I never thought that the process of becoming Undead would be reversible… I, too, have been naive.”
Agreas glanced at his restrained form and then looked directly at Lionel again.
“Lionel, you should have killed me back then. You could have easily severed my head from behind, yet you were caught up in the ideals of justice and gave me time—what a foolish decision.”
Priest Sidney, who had noticed Agreas’s awakening, approached with arms crossed, his face twisted in concern. A mercenary who had come to check on the situation also wore a grim expression.
“That one seemed to be controlling the Undead Slime. The sudden quietness back then might have been due to some trick he had up his sleeve…” the mercenary remarked, to which Agreas silently smiled.
Lionel turned to glare at the towering, dark-red Undead Slime that formed a massive pillar in the center of the arena.
“We don’t know the full extent of that thing. Should we retreat to regroup?”
Just as he spoke, a significant tremor shook the ground, different from the previous quakes, as if something was pounding from beneath the floor.
“I haven’t done much. I merely ordered that you not escape from here. That’s more than enough,” Agreas said, smiling serenely.
“This is bad; the ground here is collapsing. The barrier—!” Priest Sidney exclaimed, his expression severe as he expanded a spherical Wide-Area Barrier in all directions. The supports along the arena walls began to crumble one after another. Thick wooden planks splintered with a loud crack, revealing a floor below that was piled high with dark-red Undead Slime, resembling a sea of blood.
The carriage and all personnel were enveloped within the spherical barrier as they began to fall. They landed with a splat, barely floating atop the viscous liquid. However, the slime was piled so deeply that there was no escape.
“How long can the barrier hold?”
“I’m sorry, but even with the Clergy’s assistance, I can only maintain it for half a day at most…”
“This is dire… If the barrier breaks and we’re engulfed by this amount of Undead Slime, we’ll be completely immobilized. Even with the goddess’s blessing…”
In a place where there was hardly any footing, being trapped in such a massive quantity of Undead Slime would render them unable to fight, wasting precious time. If that happened, they would have no means to resist this situation.
“There’s still some time left. We have options,” Dolf said, his tone surprisingly relaxed. Behind him, Gilbert and Flora wore worried expressions.
“You’re being too laid-back. To say such things in this situation…” Agreas, still bound, remarked with a hint of disbelief, but Dolf maintained an equally nonchalant demeanor.
“Of course, Agreas, was it? If you intend to destroy everything, then we can’t afford to be relaxed. But you don’t want to kill us or the people; you don’t intend to bring ruin to this country either. What you’re trying to do is turn everyone into Undead and reshape the world. If that’s the case, then we still have a chance to win.”
With that, Dolf burst into hearty laughter.
“Haha, you’re quite good at bluffing. You’ll just end up captured alive, unable to move. Well, I’ll admit I’ve been naive as well… But I do know what the key point is that needs to be suppressed. I observed earlier and calculated everything.”
Suddenly, an out-of-place, cheerful laugh echoed through the air. Agreas turned his cold gaze toward the source of the sound, where Barbara stood, her face lit with mischief.
“Old Guide Mage, what’s so amusing?” Agreas asked, his tone sharp.
“Oh, I’m sorry for laughing. I had a feeling something was off when the carriage was attacked earlier, but now I’m certain. Hehehe…” Barbara chuckled, her mood remarkably high.
“Because you think that only me and Flora-chan are the mages, don’t you?”