Chapter 59 - If There Is a God (2)

Dealing with the golem itself wasn't that difficult.

The moment its body could be sliced with a single slash, its massive frame was nothing more than a large target, and its sluggish movements were far too easy to dodge.

As for the surrounding interference, well, I wasn't so unskilled that I couldn't overcome it. Once the Patchwork Golem's aggro was drawn to me, it wasn't bad, as it was quite fun inducing friendly fire.

Yeah, it was fine right up to that point.

The fact that the Patchwork Golem's vitality was incredibly tenacious was definitely a problem.

At the very least, if its limbs were cut off, its thick body felled, and its neck carved out, it should have the decency to die.

I looked at the body parts that were still weakly thrashing even after being separated from the torso, and finally looked at the head I had gouged out. Amidst the caved-in face and sagging skin, bloodshot eyes were looking straight at me.

"You filthy demon."

So, I stomped on that round head with my foot and raised my sword.

"Do not dare look me in the eye."

STAB!

The blade perfectly pierced the brow, right above the snub nose.

Black liquid began to trickle out from between the cracked gap. What I faintly saw inside was a bizarre creature, resembling an embryo magnified hundreds of times in size.

SWISH.

I flicked off the black liquid and confirmed the golem's death. Its eyes grew dim, and its thrashing limbs went limp.

It was definitely dead.

"T-The monster is dead..."

"The monster is dead!"

"Quickly, push back the zombies!!"

"Kill these sons of bitches!"

Although the situation wasn't over yet, the biggest headache was dead. The people, who had been slowly gaining hope since the moment I appeared, finally raised their morale.

SCREECH!

I tore through the body of a Gargoyle pouncing at me and took care of the enemies that were too difficult for the people to fight.

Thanks to that, I had to engage in a few aerial battles I had never expected in my life... but it didn't feel bad. Perhaps it was because of my experience going toe-to-toe with the Sea Dragon on the ocean, but it actually felt rather comfortable. After all, back then, falling meant instant death!

ROAAAR!

"Eek!"

In between, I saved those who were almost killed by their former comrades and severed the necks of all the pirates belonging to the Bipurit gang.

Now that all the Gargoyles were dealt with, the only ones left were humanoid enemies.

"U-Ugh, urk, ghk."

"...! Finn, Finn?!"

"Crazy bastard, get away!"

But as for whether that was easy, well. I thought it would have been better if two Patchwork Golems had appeared instead. Those only cause a lot of temporary damage; once you kill them, it's over.

Putting the Bipurit gang aside, that wasn't the case for the zombies. I thought they were demon parasites, but getting bitten caused infection here too, just like standard zombies. The same went for the time delay before the symptoms manifested.

They were the most troublesome demons to clean up after, and left a bitter taste in my mouth. With humans and zombies completely mixed together now, it was awkward to wipe them out all at once.

"Finn, snap out of it!"

"I said get away, do you want to become a zombie too?! It's already too late for Finn!"

"Finn!"

For instance, just like right now.

GRAAAH!

I snatched the one who was gagging and trying to attack their comrade.

CRACK. When I exerted force in my hand, their neck snapped. The sensation of crushing flesh and breaking the bone inside was truly vivid.

'They're demons, after all.'

But because they were demons. Even if I wanted to give them a chance to regain their senses, the situation had to allow for it.

If the Demonic Energy Antidote worked, maybe, but even that wasn't certain. And even if it did work, I didn't have any on me right now.

"Finn!!"

In the end, I ignored the resentful gaze of the onlooker and aimed for the other targets. There were still many enemies left to kill.

"Damn it, why, why again!"

"Y-You didn't get bitten, right?"

"Those who got bitten, confess right now! This is different from 40 years ago! Report immediately if you're bitten!"

"Gather at the castle gate, we'll regroup there!"

For now, I only dealt with those wearing red cloths and those who had already manifested symptoms. There might be bitten people among the survivors, but I didn't have the time to find them one by one.

Since Windhand had asked me, I had to find the Lord.

"Hey."

So I grabbed one of the people searching for the bitten. His clothes were very casual, but the way he was barking orders to his surroundings didn't seem like a normal rank.

And a higher rank had a higher probability of knowing something.

"Ah, you are..."

"Where is the Lord?"

"T-The Lord?"

However, it seemed I had chosen the wrong person. The other party only looked to be thinking and didn't easily give an answer.

Of course, I wasn't sure if he wasn't answering because he suspected me, or if he just didn't know.

"The Lord is inside the castle—no, they are inside, sir!"

Fortunately, there was someone else to answer me. It was someone wearing a soldier's uniform, who seemed to work at the castle.

His injuries were severe, but seeing that he had someone supporting him, it seemed there was less worry about infection.

"There's a high chance she escaped through the secret passage, but the Bipurit gang entered the castle with the zombies! They must be targeting the Lord!"

I couldn't tell if he was just quick-witted, or if his loyalty to the Lord was that high.

Anyway, I understood. The information that the Lord was still inside the castle and could be in danger was at least very useful to me.

"Understood."

The next place to go was inside the castle.

I grabbed the scruff of someone who had begun manifesting symptoms and was bizarrely twisting their body with cracking sounds, and walked toward the castle.

CHOMP!

When their teeth sank into my gauntlet, I simply tossed them forward and slashed their body as I passed by. CLANG. A curved sword, much like a scimitar, fell to the ground. It looked quite useful.

"Wait, are you heading inside the castle?!"

The soldier, along with a few others whose attire made it hard to tell if they were soldiers or civilians, looked at me and asked. TAP. In the next moment, my foot kicked the scimitar upward, and I grabbed it in my hand.

It was obvious that the Zweihander would become inconvenient once I went inside the castle, so I intended to borrow it for a while.

"We want, we want to go too."

Honestly, I wouldn't care even if they didn't ask for permission one by one. In fact, since I didn't know the way inside the castle, it might be good if they tagged along and guided me.

But there were still zombies and pirates left, so was it really okay for them to follow me? Weren't they going to look after their subordinates?

Even if things were slowly dying down, shouldn't at least one commanding officer stay behind? Everyone volunteering to tag along looked like they were quite capable.

"If you get in the way, I'll leave you behind."

However, my concept wasn't the type to stop them. Respecting their choice, I smashed the castle gates and entered inside.

Suddenly, my right arm grew itchy as it pointed in a certain direction.

"Kill all the pirates! After that, seek out the bitten and defend the castle gates! If any zombies approach, kill them all!"

Some of the people who said they would follow me left instructions for those staying behind and hurriedly stuck close behind me.

Since my walking pace was on the extremely fast side, they somehow managed to keep up while grimacing from the pain of their injuries.

"The secret passage. Do you know its location."

"... I don't know that much."

"Useless."

Come to think of it, it would be weirder if he did know the secret passage, but regardless, if he didn't know, he was useless. Being unreasonable like that, I moved toward a strangely bothersome direction.

Soon, those infected by zombie bites began to attack us. Some hadn't even managed to get infected and were just torn apart, their gouged flesh decorating the floor.

CLANG, CLASH! CLANG!

"...!"

Then, the sound of blades clashing rang out from one side. I increased my speed.

"Hold the line, hold it!"

And the moment I saw armored figures fighting against a horde of zombies, pirates, and a robed Demon Contractor, the borrowed curved sword moved.

GHK!

My sword slashed the rearmost zombie and pierced the heart of the Demon Contractor who was chanting a spell under its protection.

"What the!"

It wasn't one, but two of them? I grabbed the head of the next Demon Contractor I saw with my right hand.

SMASH!

The head smashed straight into the stone wall, splattering blood as it slid down.

"What on earth!"

"Damn it, they're dead!"

"Hurry up and kill him!"

This curved sword is pretty good.

Satisfied with the not-so-bad grip for a substitute, I swung the sword while infusing it with mana. The very lightly fired slash stretched forward and sliced the torsos of several Bipurit gang members.

"We're here!"

"Are they reinforcements?!"

"Hold on a little longer! We came to save you!"

"It's reinforcements!"

"W-We're saved!"

Was this all the enemies? There were quite a few of them, but none were particularly strong.

I narrowed my eyes and reaped the lives of the surviving bastards. Pushed to the defensive and holding out on pure grit, the knights finally took a breather.

However, there didn't seem to be anyone among them who looked like the Lord.

"The Lord."

"The Lord is... Ah!"

One of them urgently pointed to one side. It was something like a fireplace.

"We have to save the Lord! A gaseous monster phased through the wall and followed her!"

A Draugr. I easily identified the target and looked at those who were barely holding on.

"Open the door."

After hesitating for three seconds, the knight bit his lip and manipulated something. The secret passage opened.

"Aaaagh!"

A scream echoed from beyond the secret passage.

"The Lord!"

Since the sound of clashing blades continued, wouldn't it be safe to assume the Lord hadn't been killed yet?

With that thought in mind, I kicked off the ground. It seemed like traps were triggering here and there, but it was useless because I was simply too fast. As for the branching paths, I just had to follow the sounds of fighting.

Of course, it seemed the people following me were going to suffer a bit... but I believed them suffering was better than the Lord dying.

"R-Run—."

"Tia!"

WHOOOOSH.

And when I reached the source of the fighting. I saw a materialized Draugr raising its blade against a woman.

Directly beneath the Draugr laid a freshly dead person and the dropped torch they had been holding.

"You."

With a SLICE, my sword severed the Draugr's head.

I felt like it took two hits in the past. Perhaps because my level had gone up, or because I had swung with more force than usual. The Draugr's gaseous body melted and scattered downward.

"Are you Lord Piuon?"

As I dispatched the Draugr like that, a woman with pointed ears and a slightly wrinkled face came into view.

Her hair, braided into eight sections, caught my eye for a moment, but I organized my thoughts as I recognized the situation.

"... Indeed. And you are?"

Wow, I saved her by a hair's breadth. Although the escorts all seemed to be dead... if it hadn't been for their sacrifice, I wouldn't have been able to save Piuon either.

I respectfully wished for the repose of their souls as I shifted my sword to my right hand. Then, I extended my empty left hand.

"I have come at the request of Windhand."

Piuon's eyes wavered.

"Suriya did?"

"Stand up."

As I gave my hand a slight shake to assert my presence, Piuon quietly shed a tear while taking my hand.

"Did that child... succeed?"

"Are you asking me again after seeing the result with your own eyes?"

"... Right, of course."

I helped her up and turned around. I didn't know where the end of the secret passage led, but I figured it would be better to return to the castle. The soldiers were there, after all.

"The knights outside..."

"Lord!!"

"... They are alive."

The voice ringing loudly through the secret passage required no explanation from me. I moved forward at a pace that held no consideration for the Lord.

Since I was keeping track of the distance between the Lord and myself by the sound of her footsteps, there was no need to occasionally look back.

"Y-You...!"

"I am fine, so do not worry."

"Lord!"

It was great that the escorts were joining up, but excuse me. What are you doing blocking a narrow path. I glared at them and parted my lips.

"Clear the way, right now."

The knights bewilderedly stepped to one side.

Now, it was time to head out.

"How is... how is the situation? How many survived?"

"There are only three knights left, including myself... and only five soldiers."

"And outside?"

"It's a mess. Fortunately, with his help, we've dealt with the giant monster and most of the zombies and pirates... but the infection spread too fast. The village must be in ruins."

Facing a passage that felt much longer than when I had entered, I pondered what to do next.

Since I saved the Lord, should I guide her to where Windhand is? That seemed too inefficient.

Then, should I deal with the remaining enemies outside? I had prioritized coming to the castle, but earlier I had seen a few more Gargoyles flying around the village.

Or maybe it would be good to investigate the castle walls where the Patchwork Golem had crossed over. Bastards like Demon Contractors might still be lingering around.

"Lord."

However, I lacked the information to choose the latter option. On the other hand, if I were to go and search on foot myself, I would just be wasting time if there was nothing there.

"I will ask you. Are these all the enemy forces that breached the castle?"

"From what my knights have gathered... yes."

"Then do you know when and where the demons appeared from? Is there anything else as dangerous as the Patchwork Golem? Where does support seem to be needed most? Can you answer any of these?"

I decided to just ask straightforwardly. I didn't usually speak this long, but there was no one else to ask on my behalf, and the situation was what it was.

Above all, there was absolutely no one here who knew my concept, and it wasn't like they would go around blabbering that I had asked a long question once, so there was little risk of being found out later.

I could put aside my worries about breaking character and focus on resolving the incident.

"I probably know that better than the Lord. I watched it from almost the beginning to the end, after all."

But someone in casual clothes stepped forward, interrupting the conversation between the Lord and me. It was the person who had followed me into the castle.

"Explain it to him."

At the Lord's command, he tapped his fingers and continued speaking.

"It started at Amsen Pier. While the flying monsters wreaked havoc on the port, three ships reached the docks... and the monster you took care of earlier appeared right after. The Bipurit gang also disembarked from those ships."

Uh, uh... Right. I had no idea where Amsen was, but okay...

"When the pirates unleashed something, some of the people turned into zombies. After that, some spread into the village, and the giant monster came up the path behind the castle and smashed through the walls."

"Is that all."

"Yes. It didn't seem like there was anything else as dangerous as that giant monster. However, the zombies and pirates scattered throughout the entire city..."

I didn't know the map of this place, so I didn't quite understand the enemies' movement routes. But if there were no enemies on the level of the Patchwork Golem, that was enough. It meant there was no place I needed to rush to right this second.

Then all I had to do now was calmly set priorities, roam around, and clear out the areas...

"Where is Amsen Pier."

I could skip the castle since they said there were no more enemies inside. I should target the pier where the Demon Contractors and pirates had disembarked.

Given the nature of those insidious demon worshipers, there was no telling what they were preparing after landing. Just as the zombies had started from there, further disasters might unfold.

"If you leave the castle and head south, it's right there...? Wait, why don't you know the location of Amsen Pier..."

"Go out through the hole the monster smashed open, turn to the right path, and go straight down the hill, or exit the castle gates, turn left, and head south to reach the pier."

The Lord, who knew I was brought by Windhand—and thus an outsider—quietly added her words. It was a very useful interjection.

"Hold out in the castle until I return. You can at least do that much, right."

I exited the secret passage and approached the window of the room where the secret passage's entrance was located.

"Where will you go?"

CRASH.

The Lord's voice and the sound of the window shattering rang out one after another.

"I am going to kill demons."

"Wait—."

My body plummeted straight down from the height of the 4th floor.