(Damn it! Damn it all! We got in way over our heads!)
Ramune, one of the Imperial Six Knight Generals, inwardly cursed his own carelessness as he sprinted desperately alongside his fellow general, Kirki.
Following that insane battle against the beekeeper who seemed to belong to the underworld, Kai Heinemann had scooped up the two youths and dashed toward the plaza. Losing sight of him in an instant, their panicked decision to give chase had proved to be their undoing.
Along the way, they had strayed into a sector shrouded in an inexplicable black mist. Just when they thought they had finally broken free, they ran straight into a pack of undead.
Currently pursuing Ramune and Kirki were several monsters resembling zombies.
"Hey, Ramune, they're definitely toying with us!"
"I know!"
Just as Kirki said, the pursuing undead kept an agonizingly steady distance—neither closing in nor falling behind, making no overt move to attack, yet keeping them encircled as they gave chase.
"Either way, we're just running out the clock at this rate! Kirki, let's take them!"
Spinning around, he activated Holy Ward, one of the abilities of his tetrahedral holy relic—the Four Lights. A regular tetrahedral barrier of pure silver snapped into place around them. With this, the undead could no longer easily breach their perimeter, buying them precious time.
All that remained was—
"..."
Glancing at Kirki, he saw her nod resolutely before drawing her longsword.
"I'll take them on."
Kirki's weapon was also a holy relic, much like Ramune's Four Lights, and the two shared extraordinary synergy. Though it appeared to be a standard longsword at first glance, it possessed the unique effect of imbuing its slashes with holy energy.
Because the barrier was sustained by the Four Lights, it could move alongside them. All they had to do was unleash a relentless barrage of slashes from within the protective ward while steadily falling back.
Naturally, maintaining the Four Lights demanded intense mental concentration, preventing them from moving at their full speed. Even so, being able to withdraw safely was a massive advantage.
In a sense, it was like pitting one monster against another—trading a tiger at the front door for a wolf at the back—yet the monstrous Kai Heinemann had a high likelihood of being able to crush these undead as well.
A silver aura gathered around Kirki's blade.
"Hah!"
A gleaming silver slash surged straight toward one of the headless undead. As if swatting away a bothersome insect, the creature simply batted it aside with its right hand.
"What...?"
"Huh?"
Just as stunned cries escaped their lips, the headless undead vanished from sight.
"R-Ramune!"
Her mouth gaping in shock, Kirki pointed behind him. Whirling around on pure reflex, Ramune froze. Standing directly inside the silver barrier—a place that should have been an absolute safe zone—was the headless undead.
"I-Impossible—"
Before the cry of shock could fully leave his throat, a heavy blow hammered into the pit of his stomach, instantly snuffing out Ramune's consciousness.