Rain poured down as lightning and thunder raged outside."Rumble, rumble, rumble!!"
Hearing the thunder, the novice priestess—who was cleaning the temple—shivered.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing the pale look on her face, the nun beside her glanced over in concern. The novice priestess gave a sheepish smile.
"I-I'm just afraid of thunder…" she murmured, lowering her head in embarrassment.
"Don't worry. This is the Lady of the Lake's monastery."
Seeing the girl's reaction, the nun gently patted her shoulder. "The Lady is protecting us. There's nothing to be afraid of."
"But… but…"
At that, the novice priestess looked out the window uneasily. "Lately, I heard there were necromancers spotted nearby… I'm a little worried…"
"...…"
Hearing this, the nun fell silent as well.
For them—ordinary people without any combat ability—prayer was their only defense. But how long could prayer truly protect them?
"Thump—————!!"
Suddenly, the temple doors burst open with a loud bang.
Startled, the two turned around to see a tall, shadowy figure striding into the room.
Clad in a massive cloak and dark armor from head to toe, the imposing figure wore a strange, sinister helmet. Two glowing red eyes burned beneath it.
"Wh-Who are you!?"
Terrified, the novice priestess and the nun stumbled backward in alarm.
Then the fearsome knight raised his right hand, pulling aside his cloak.
From within, a silver-haired girl stepped out, dressed in elegant, noble-like clothing. She raised her head, gave the two a calm glance, then looked away and stood quietly at the knight's side.
"E-Excuse me… Who are you…?"
Perhaps it was the sight of the white-haired girl that calmed them slightly. The nun hesitated, then cautiously stepped forward and asked.
"...…"
The black knight raised a gauntleted hand and pointed to his chest.
Only then did the two notice the symbol of the Holy Grail etched onto his armor.
As soon as they saw it—and felt the unmistakable aura of the Lady of the Lake—their eyes widened, and they bowed deeply.
"Sir Grail Knight!"
"No need for such formality."
Waving them off, Duanmu Huai stepped forward.
"I'm just here to retrieve something. Who's the administrator of this monastery? I need to speak with her directly."
"Ah! I'll go fetch the Abbess immediately!"
The nun, surprised, quickly replied and hurried off toward the back of the temple.
The novice priestess lingered for a moment, then shyly pulled a handkerchief from her pocket.
"Um… Sir Knight, please use this to wipe off the rain…"
"It's fine. The armor's waterproof—no need to worry."
Duanmu Huai declined the kind gesture, then glanced around the dim interior of the temple.
"By the way… your defenses are seriously lacking. I didn't see a single guard on my way in."
"Huh?"
The novice priestess blinked in confusion.
"Really? But I remember there being quite a few guards. Maybe they all ran off to get out of the rain?"
"Hmm?"
Duanmu Huai's expression sharpened at her reply.
He looked around once more. Then, with a mechanical hiss, the box on his back opened—and a reconnaissance servo-skull flew out.
"Ahhh!!"
The novice priestess shrieked as the floating white skull zipped through the air.
"K-Knight… Sir Knight… What is that…?"
"...…"
Duanmu Huai didn't respond. Instead, he quickly scanned the glowing map now displayed before him—and his expression darkened.
"Not good! Follow me!!"
Without hesitation, he gripped his warhammer and stormed out of the temple.
Olgis followed close behind.
The novice priestess hesitated in confusion—but after a moment's pause, she gathered her courage and chased after them.
Passing through the temple and arriving at the monastery's backyard, everything had fallen into complete silence. Only the patter of rain echoed through the corridor. Rainwater streamed from the eaves like waterfalls, as if the entire monastery was being swallowed by the downpour. Everything around them was pitch black—almost nothing could be seen.
"W-What's going on?"
The novice priestess, who had followed Duanmu Huai and Olgis outside, was startled by the eerie sight. She clearly remembered that when she went to clean the temple earlier, the surrounding rooms were all lit. But now, the entire area was drowned in darkness. Not a single sound, not even a whisper, could be heard.
Duanmu Huai stepped forward and pushed open a nearby door. Under the white glow of the servo-skull's searchlight, the room was empty—only an extinguished oil lamp sat on the table, along with a few pieces of clothing laid casually beside it, as if the occupant had just stepped out.
"Where are the people?"
The novice priestess, peering in behind him, was equally shocked. She didn't even have time to be surprised by the glowing skull floating near Duanmu Huai's head—she was too stunned by what she saw.
"Where's the Abbess?"
"Sh-She should be in her room…"
"Lead the way."
"Ah—yes…!"
Realizing the urgency of the situation, the novice priestess quickly took the lead, hurrying down the corridor with Duanmu Huai and Olgis following behind. The only sound accompanying them was the steady drum of rain as they moved through the darkened hallway.
"It's this way! The Abbess's room is just ahead…!"
She turned to speak to Duanmu Huai. But just as she rounded the corner—
Thump!
She bumped into someone. Looking up, she was surprised to see it was the same nun she had spoken to earlier.
"Ah, you're here. That's great. Where did everyone go? Where's the Abbess?"
Relieved to see a familiar face, she quickly stepped forward and asked. But to her confusion, the nun didn't respond with her usual gentle smile. Instead…
She let out a low, guttural snarl.
Then, without warning, she lunged forward—lowering her head like a beast and snapping at the novice priestess!
"Huh…?"
The attack came so suddenly that the novice priestess didn't even react. Her eyes widened in disbelief as the nun's mouth stretched unnaturally wide, revealing sharp, jagged teeth—and a nauseating, bloody stench. The next instant, her vision went black.
Clang!!
Duanmu Huai stepped in just in time. His armored gauntlet blocked the nun's bite, her mouth clamping down hard against his power armor and taking a large chip out of it.
With a snarl, Duanmu Huai grabbed her head with one hand and slammed it violently into the wall.
CRACK!
The nun's skull burst like a melon—blood and brain matter spraying across the corridor.
And yet, she still didn't stop. Despite her smashed face, she clawed at Duanmu Huai again with twitching arms.
But by then, Duanmu Huai was already raising his warhammer.
Thump!!!
A blinding flash of lightning illuminated the hallway—followed by the thunderous crack of impact. The nun was blasted backward, her body charred and smoking, before collapsing into stillness.
"Th-th-this…"
The novice priestess trembled. Everything had happened so fast, she could barely process it.
But Duanmu Huai gave her no time to freeze. He grabbed her wrist and marched to the end of the corridor, throwing open the door.
Inside…
Blood was everywhere—splattered on the walls, pooled on the floor—but not a single body could be seen.
"Ugh… awoo…"
Just then, groaning wails echoed behind them.
Turning around, the group saw dozens of swaying figures slowly appearing from the passage, shambling into view… blocking every exit.
"I hate this kind of plot development the most."
Duanmu Huai narrowed his eyes and raised his warhammer, his tone dripping with frustration.
"Hey, are you ready? We're breaking through!"