They advanced.
The ghoul-like monsters hurled themselves toward the expedition.
The sheer number swarming across the open ground was enough to inspire fear, yet one man stepped forward.
It was Jonathan Cena.
"Come and have a go!"
Jonathan Sina swung the axe in his hands with tremendous force.
The axe had once belonged to his ancestor, one of the Twelve Heroes, and had been passed down through the North.
The runes engraved upon it shone as he slammed it into the ground.
Kuuuuung!!
A cone-shaped shock wave spread outward.
The charging ghouls were forced to take the full impact head-on.
Crack! Crunch!
The limbs of those at the very front shattered, sending them collapsing to the ground. The farther away they were, the weaker the damage became.
It did not matter.
The attack had only been meant to buy time.
He had merely been waiting for them to slow down and bunch together.
"Mana Bomb!"
A monster's greatest weakness was pure mana.
Mana Bombs cast by mages of the Fourth Circle or higher were extremely concentrated and could sweep across a wide area.
"Kieeek!"
The ghouls convulsed and collapsed with piercing shrieks.
The pure mana acted as poison, extinguishing their tenacious lives.
In the Demonic Lands, mages played the most important role.
There were three of them: Erika, a Platinum-ranked adventurer; Ferda, Regent of Valdrova; and a veteran Gold-ranked adventurer who specialized in magic.
'They're all incredible!'
It was only natural that Erika, a Platinum-ranked adventurer, could produce such overwhelming power.
Ferda, however, was different.
Expectations for him had initially been low, but the spheres he created were enough to leave anyone in awe.
There was no shortcut in magic.
Even someone who had advanced rapidly could easily collapse if their foundations were poor.
Yet the spheres Ferda produced were so precise and refined that they could only have been achieved through relentless practice, day and night.
His cleanly executed magic struck its targets with perfect accuracy and poisoned every monster in the surrounding area.
'He wasn't exaggerating when he said he wouldn't hold us back.'
It was enough to change the impression that Ferda was merely an arrogant little brat.
Despite performing so spectacularly, Ferda himself felt as though he were about to die.
'This truly is an environment where mages cannot perform properly.'
The demonic energy constantly clung to his body, making it difficult to maintain his concentration.
He could not help wondering how Erika and Erdes had managed to defeat the Demon King in a place like this.
The advance that had been halted at the front line began again.
After assessing the situation, Erika shouted,
"Rear-line attack complete! Lize!"
"Yes!"
Lize swiftly drew a rune and brought both hands together.
A golden tree sprouted from his body, its lush leaves spreading outward to form a hemispherical barrier around the expedition.
"Kieek!"
"Kieeeek!"
The monsters were unable to break through the golden leaves.
The sight of the golden magic caused the adventurers' eyes to widen.
"That is...!"
"The Sacred Area I've only ever heard about!"
Although its appearance was different, its abilities were similar.
Within the Alte Order, it was an advanced spell that could only be used after attaining the fifth revelation. Unless one accepted a commission from the Order itself, it was nearly impossible to witness.
"You have one minute, everyone!"
"Rear line, regroup! Front and middle lines, eliminate as many as possible!"
Under Lize's protection, the expedition began a one-sided massacre.
Every time an adventurer swung their sword, a monster was cleaved in two.
The one who stood out most was undoubtedly Jonathan.
"Horyaaaaah!"
Jonathan swung his axe in a wide arc, sending the monsters clinging to the barrier flying backward.
They had assumed the creatures would be easy to kill because of their slender bodies.
They were wrong.
"Why is their regeneration so fast?!"
Even when their bodies were split in half, thick demonic energy clung to them and restored their flesh.
Erika continued supplying them with the necessary information so that no one would panic.
"If you're going to split them apart, aim for the heart! That is the hardest part for them to regenerate!"
After hearing Erika's advice, Jonathan concentrated solely on smashing the monsters at the front.
"It's about to end!"
Lize's warning rang out.
A moment later, the golden branches faded and returned to his grasp.
The barrier that had been blocking the recklessly charging ghouls disappeared.
The monsters closed in.
Despite how many they had killed, there were still far too many remaining.
They needed to buy more time.
Erika resorted to a decisive measure.
"Front line, move in!"
Jonathan and the armored knight stepped forward to form a living wall.
"Look at me!"
Jonathan's voice roared like a lion.
True to his northern blood, he could not restrain the heat boiling within him and charged forward.
The monsters all leaped toward Jonathan at once.
A new rune formed in Lize's hand and flew toward him.
Golden light enveloped Jonathan's body before hardening into something resembling a shell of glass.
The attacks of the ghouls aiming for his body were stopped by the barrier.
Meanwhile, the armored knight had been given no protective measures at all.
But it did not matter.
Erika already knew how durable that armor was.
No matter how fiercely the ghouls attacked, they would never be able to penetrate it.
Besides, there was little need for any special precautions.
The armored knight—Valdrova—watched the approaching ghouls and recalled her assigned role.
'Clench my fist.'
She extended it forward ever so slightly.
Bwoom!
A shock wave erupted, reducing the ghouls to chunks of flesh.
Fragments of bone became bullets, striking down the monsters approaching from behind.
Its power rivaled the Fourth-Tier spell Force Rush.
No, it was even stronger.
'Incredible.'
'Was that person once a monk from somewhere?'
Every time the knight threw a punch, the air exploded and the monsters were driven backward.
There could hardly have been a more reliable wall.
Even so, it was not enough.
Everyone was fulfilling their assigned role, but a defensive wall formed by only two people could not possibly stop everything.
The smaller ghouls that slipped through the front line were handled by those stationed in the middle.
They were all formidable fighters in their own right, but even they could not cover every gap.
"Watch out!"
"Virgil! One's coming your way!"
A monster that had slipped through sprang at the blond-haired Virgil, exposing him to the ghoul's attack.
"Uwah!"
It was already too late to prepare another attack.
Virgil instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.
Shhk!
Something was pierced clean through.
Yet no pain followed.
It had not happened to his body.
"Krr... Krr... Krr..."
The armored knight's gauntlet had punched straight through the creature's agile torso.
Clutched in the knight's hand was a purple heart.
The knight then hurled the monster's body toward the other creatures charging from behind.
Kugugugung!
The ghoul's body became a heavy cannonball, sweeping away everything in a straight line.
Countless thoughts raced through Virgil's mind.
How had the knight crossed the distance and reached him before anyone in the middle line?
And how could the knight destroy those monsters so effortlessly?
His mind was in turmoil, and only a dazed stammer escaped his lips.
"Um..."
"Th-thank you..."
The words of gratitude did not come easily from Virgil's mouth.
Before he could force them out, Erika's shout snapped everyone back to attention.
"Front line, fall back! Middle line, stay focused! Otherwise, everyone will die!"
"Yes!"
The armored knight merely nodded and returned to their position.
The knight moved far more slowly than when they had rushed to Virgil's aid, but was still remarkably agile.
Inside the armor, Valdrova thought,
'Someone almost died.'
That sentence continued to circle through her mind.
She had reacted to that brief scream and run backward, momentarily forgetting her own assigned role.
'My duty is to protect everyone.'
What she needed to do in order to accomplish that was simple.
It was what she had always done.
"I will advance."
She would make certain that every enemy's attention was fixed upon her.
Leaving behind Jonathan, whom the monsters could not easily break through, she moved forward.
Even if she wore armor that nothing could penetrate, advancing alone before so many monsters was still reckless.
Nevertheless, the armored knight kicked off the ground and charged.
Her powerful leap swept through the hundreds of monsters that still remained.
The only weapon she possessed was her own body.
Yet that alone was more than enough.
Every time the armored knight swung a fist, a ghoul died instantly.
Even the speed of her attacks surpassed the movements of the ghouls themselves.
"Is she really going to beat all of them by herself?"
"It certainly looks that way..."
The members of the expedition could not conceal their amazement.
Even Jonathan, who had felt humiliated by their earlier contest of strength, stared in a daze at the dazzling display.
'What is even more astonishing is that this is not her limit.'
Erika still believed the knight was nowhere near using her full strength.
Inspired by the armored knight's unstoppable advance, the expedition drove the ghoul monsters back.
Although the battle had initially seemed endless, the knight's performance allowed them to conserve half of the strength they had expected to expend.
"Please check for any survivors!"
"South and west, clear!"
"East and north, clear!"
"There are no remaining signs of life."
"Everyone, well done."
The violent storm of battle had passed.
The others lowered their weapons and caught their breath.
Unlike them, the armored knight remained motionless, fists still clenched.
"Sir Knight?"
"..."
Erika called out, but there was no response.
She cautiously approached and spoke.
"Sir Knight, the operation is over. You may rest now—"
Whoosh!
The armored knight's figure vanished for an instant.
When it reappeared, a violent gust struck Erika across the cheek.
The knight's gauntlet had stopped directly in front of her face.
The two stared at one another for a long moment before Erika asked,
"Are you all right?"
...Nod, nod.
"That is a relief. You worked hard on the front line."
After offering the armored knight a few words of encouragement, Erika turned away.
Pretending to inspect their surroundings, she faced away from everyone.
'This is bad.'
Her emotions were leaking out.
The fear she had failed to suppress was plainly visible on her face.
'What... in the world was that?'
Though she had the outward appearance of a human, Erika's eyes had been blessed by a dragon.
She had survived countless battles and took particular pride in her reaction speed.
Yet she had been unable to respond at all.
By the time she perceived the attack, everything was already over.
Although the strike had stopped before connecting, Erika knew with certainty—
'Had that hit me, I would have died.'
Even with extraordinary luck, she would never have remained the same person she had been before.
Despite that, Erika could not reprimand the armored knight.
The knight was even more shaken than she was.
Erika was certain of it.
She could not see through the armor and therefore could not read the knight's expression, but the movements of their body made it obvious.
There was a distinct hesitation, the kind shown by someone who had just made a grave mistake.
As the leader, Erika pushed aside the instinctive terror rising within her.
She had no choice but to pretend that nothing had happened.
Having finally returned to her senses, Valdrova lifted her head and looked behind her.
Everyone was safe.
After defeating more than three hundred ghoul monsters, the path had finally opened.
Yet even after reaching the entrance of Gyeonghuigung Palace, no one celebrated or stepped inside without hesitation.
"Do you think there are even more of them inside?"
"There is no way to know."
"I really hope that was the greatest trial waiting for us..."
Though fear remained in their hearts, they continued forward with determination.
The first place they encountered upon entering resembled the entrance hall of a grand mansion.
Its structure made it ideal for an ambush by anyone lying in wait, so this was one of the most tense moments of the expedition.
"No monsters are being detected."
The group relaxed slightly after hearing the mage's detection results.
"For now, we will use the entrance hall as our base and conduct a preliminary mapping. There are three paths branching from here, so we will divide into three groups and first determine their general layouts."
There were three major passages extending from the entrance hall.
One was a long central corridor, while the other two were comparatively short side passages.
The most dangerous area would be handled by four people: Erika, Virgil, Jonathan Cena, and an unidentified swordsman.
All three of the others had previously carried out monster-subjugation operations under Erika's command.
"Lize, take these people and investigate the left passage. Everyone else will take the right."
The remaining group consisted of Ferda, two adventurers whose names he did not know, and the armored knight.
"I look forward to working with you."
"The pleasure is ours."
With the groups organized, they began exploring the right side of Gyeonghuigung Palace.
They had thirty minutes.
The purpose of this preliminary mapping was to observe as much as possible within that short period and report what lay ahead.
Since this was their first time entering an unknown location, they only needed to record the approximate number of rooms and any notable features that caught their attention.
The two seasoned adventurers therefore spoke to Ferda and the armored knight.
"Please remain behind us and follow."
"And do not touch anything along the way."
Because the mission was dangerous, the veteran adventurers intended to rely entirely on their own expertise.
Ferda and the armored knight were forced to walk side by side, three paces behind them.
They had never been particularly close, and Ferda was already beginning to feel uncomfortable.
"Is something wrong?"
Shake, shake!
The armored knight could not conceal their nervousness.
They had seemed perfectly composed before entering, but once they stood beside Ferda, every movement became stiff.
The way the knight kept stealing glances at him almost made Ferda wonder whether they were waiting for an opportunity to strike him from behind.
'It would probably be better to join Lize's group.'
He decided he would speak to Erika about it later.
The two veterans continued drawing their map while inspecting the shape of the corridors and searching for traps.
As Ferda followed along behind them, one particular room caught his attention.
It resembled a study, with numerous books lining its shelves.
Ferda felt an immediate intuition.
Perhaps the answer he sought was inside.
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