What now?
Separated by roughly a hundred meters, Edwin kept an eye on Otto's side while cautiously observing that judgment cell operative. The cave had been in total chaos just moments ago, and no one had noticed when exactly he appeared there.
But before the Night Knights could react, a dim red orb quietly floated out from the opening above the judgment cell's head. It moved slowly; after dropping from the opening, it shifted direction and drifted toward the creature. The light shining through the hole was harsh in this dim cavern, making the orb's appearance far less noticeable than it should've been.
Even so, the creature noticed it. After all, the orb's speed could hardly be called fast, and it didn't even look threatening—but the creature immediately shifted right, as if trying to avoid it, completely losing the fearless momentum it had shown earlier when charging through gunfire. As for the red orb, it seemed to know exactly where the creature was, calmly drifting after it at the same unhurried pace.
"Shit!"
Of all the directions it could've fled, the creature was running straight toward Edwin's squad.
Its massive body rushed closer, like a hill being torn from the ground and hurled at them.
"Fall back!"
Trying to intercept a creature charging at you was one thing—but standing in the way of one that was fleeing for its life was something else entirely. Not to mention Edwin still had no way to take it down in a single strike. A desperate, reckless charge was no joke.
On the other side, Nordhausen's squad—temporarily out of danger—immediately sent a slanted stream of fire at the creature. Only then did they realize: the 20 mm autocannon rounds didn't seem to be doing much at all. The creature continued to writhe along the cavern wall, moving with frightening speed. Had their earlier assessment of the damage been too optimistic?
Meanwhile, six more judgment cell operatives dropped into the cavern one after another. From the standard longswords they carried, it was clear they were frontline melee fighters, but one among them held a weapon none of the Night Knights had ever seen.
It was a greatsword—one that, when stood upright, was significantly taller than the wielder. Its width alone was half a person. The weight had to be absurd. The patterns etched into the blade, along with the nested, flowing guard design, were unmistakably Holy Church craftsmanship. But the most unbelievable part was that the operative could casually carry it on his shoulder.
"What are they trying to do?"
"No idea…"
Hielaina asked the question while swapping magazines, but even Inaya didn't know. The two of them, curious in equal measure, watched the judgment cell operatives closely, waiting for their next move.
"Shift positions!"
But before anything else could happen, the creature—after circling around half the cavern wall—was already almost upon them. The situation flipped: Otto now led his team in retreat, while Edwin's squad provided covering fire from the other side.
At the same time, the judgment cell operatives in the center began their move. The man with the greatsword did something—no one could tell what—and suddenly launched the enormous weapon into the air. Yet instead of falling, it stayed suspended. The other judgment cell operatives formed a ring around him, alert to the battle's shifting conditions, but otherwise doing nothing.
The floating greatsword slowly rotated, its tip gradually aligning with the moving creature. Blue radiance began to emerge along the etched patterns on the blade. The glow brightened, then seemed to solidify, winding around the greatsword like silk ribbons.
Inaya could clearly sense the huge amount of magic converging within it—and the creature clearly sensed danger as well. It stopped circling the cavern wall and instead rammed its way into another tunnel connected to the cavern. But before its entire body disappeared inside, the greatsword shot toward it, dragging behind it a long trail of fading blue light.
In full view of everyone, the greatsword drove into the creature like a colossal nail. No flashy explosion, no earth-shaking spectacle. The portion of the creature's tail that hadn't yet entered the tunnel suddenly burst with dark-brown fluid, splitting into neatly sliced chunks. And that slicing force continued moving forward through its body in some incomprehensible way. At first, the cavern echoed with the creature's agonized roar—then everything fell silent. No sound remained.
The slow-moving red orb followed the creature into the tunnel as well, even though everything already seemed decided.
A dull explosion rumbled inside. A huge spray of foul-smelling fluid mixed with shredded flesh burst out of the tunnel, splattering across the ground and corroding rock and soil alike, releasing sharp, acrid smoke. At that point, it was almost certain: the creature was thoroughly finished.
"Ugh… the smell's even worse this time…"
Inaya frowned at the monster's remains scattered across the ground. The cave did have a tunnel leading outside, but the ventilation was almost nonexistent. Everyone else was more or less suffering from the stench as well, yet they all kept their eyes fixed on the judgment cell in the center of the cavern, watching their every move.
Their previous encounter with the judgment cell was still vivid in memory—and now Otto had only a single platoon with him. The Holy Church's fighters weren't as many as last time, but judging from their display just now, these ones were clearly stronger than the group they had met before. They might even be elites.
If a fight broke out now, Nordhausen and Edwin's squads were in completely different positions. They could divide the enemy's attention, but if the enemy's offensive capability surpassed what a single squad could handle, they would risk being taken down one by one…
"They're coming…"
The judgment cell finally began to move.
They first retrieved the greatsword, using some sort of magic to send it gliding back up through the tunnel overhead, delivering it to the Lexomancers stationed on the surface. Then the warrior who had carried the sword, along with six others, slowly walked toward Otto's group.
"..."
The atmosphere tightened. Both sides watched each other closely—any sudden move from one would immediately trigger a reaction from the other. Otto hoped to avoid clashing with this squad, but retreating carelessly might provoke a chase. As for the judgment cell, they truly showed no intention of initiating an attack.
Seven warriors in long robes and breastplates walked with unhurried steps, like they were simply passing through. Their standard longswords were already sheathed on their backs. And most importantly, the tunnel that the 4th platoon had used to enter lay directly behind Otto's team—perhaps the judgment cell really was only passing by. Of course, that was the ideal assumption; they could also be closing the distance on purpose, attacking only once they got close enough. So Otto led his men to slowly shift aside, giving them the path while also widening the gap between them. Far across the cavern, Edwin's squad had likewise prepared to open fire at any moment.
"Hey, shouldn't you put that blade away…?"
As they passed the platoon's front line, the greatsword-bearer turned his head. His gaze traveled past the Night Knights in front and landed on Shatiel. Inaya couldn't see his face—there was a mask beneath his hood—but from experience alone, she could tell from those empty, abyss-like eyes that he was extremely dangerous.
"No need."
Shatiel could also tell this man wasn't simple. His true strength was definitely far above what he had shown earlier, yet Shatiel displayed no fear. She simply stared back in silence. Then she deliberately twirled her longsword around and reversed her grip—blade facing backward, spine along her forearm—so that the greatsword warrior and his companions would clearly notice what she was holding. The tension reached its peak the moment the judgment cell squad stopped walking.
"Get ready…"
Not only Otto's group—Edwin, seeing the situation souring, had already ordered his team to raise their weapons. If the judgment cell made any sudden move, his squad would immediately open fire from the flank.
But the clash never came.
The greatsword-bearer merely stood there, tilting his head slightly as he observed the Night Knights. Shortly after, he withdrew his gaze and led his squad away.
"Wait!"
To everyone's shock, Hielaina suddenly stepped forward and called out to the departing judgment cell.
"What are you doing?!"
Inaya's face was a mix of panic and disbelief. They were ridiculously lucky that these walking disasters had decided to leave on their own—why poke the hornet's nest now?!
"This tunnel connects directly to a village west of here. Everyone there has gone missing. Do you know anything about that?"
The greatsword warrior turned his head slowly, his lifeless pupils betraying no emotion. He stared at Hielaina for a moment, then answered:
"Dead."
That rasping voice sounded like it came from a decaying corpse—deeply unpleasant to hear. And with that brief response, he said nothing more and continued on his way.
Only when they were a good distance off did Inaya finally exhale in relief. Otto, however, didn't lower his guard too soon. He maintained combat readiness until the judgment cell's silhouettes completely disappeared into the tunnel.
"..."
The atmosphere did not lighten after the danger passed. The greatsword warrior had offered no proof, but his identity alone made his words difficult to doubt. Thinking back to the state of the cellar, and how the monster moved… if the villagers really had ended up where Idri said…
In the following search, the 4th platoon found no trace of any villagers in the cave or the other tunnels. The outcome was now painfully clear.
"Why did they leave just like that?"
On their way back, Hielaina shifted the topic. It was indeed something worth noting. After all, the Church was openly involved in the southern conflict—why would these judgment cell fighters simply ignore their enemy?
"Maybe the fight with that monster drained them too much, so they didn't want to provoke another confrontation."
Nordhausen gave his calm assessment from a soldier's perspective. War wasn't always an endless cycle of kill-or-be-killed; under certain conditions, both sides could reach some tacit understanding.
"Mm… that's possible…"
Hielaina understood the logic. She had learned plenty of similar cases in her military history courses—even situations that forces sold their own equipment to the enemy in exchange for food.
As they neared the cave entrance, Hielaina glanced back at the monster's "remains." Nothing noteworthy.
Some time after they left, the heap of rotten flesh suddenly twitched. A worm-like creature struggled to push its head out, trying to crawl free. But before it could pull itself from the weight of the piled meat, it gradually lost all vitality—eventually falling still, just like the rest of the decaying mess.