No! Don't Use the Holy Relic!
"Form ranks!"
"Do not fall back!"
The endless assault of the massive hounds crashed against them without pause. The cardinal stood at the very front line, spiked mace in hand, shattering the skulls of the duplicated Void Hounds one after another.
—Crack!
"They're nothing but oversized dogs that happen to be a little tougher! Don't be cowed by their looks!"
The true Void Hounds that belonged to the Legion carried regeneration, mental barriers, intimidation, and a host of other skills. The duplicates, however, were simply large dogs.
Granted, they were enormous, thick with muscle, and sheathed in chitinous armor that made them far stronger than ordinary hounds—but compared to the real thing they were weak. In a one-on-one fight even regular soldiers could bring them down. Yet…
"There's too many of them!"
"I know! So are you going to die? If there are many, kill many!"
At every fork the numbers poured in without end. Casualties among the assault force steadily mounted. If this dragged on any longer their stamina would give out and they would be wiped out completely.
"We link up with the vanguard! Punch straight through the front!"
"Heeheehee… coming our way, are you?"
Enemies mimicking the knight order that had gone ahead as the vanguard barred the cardinal's path, maces raised.
"Use the holy relic!"
"Yes, Your Eminence!"
A holy knight in white armor standing beside the cardinal drew out a golden gem.
—Crack!
The gem split cleanly in half. White light spilled from within and wrapped around the holy knights and the cardinal alike.
"The Lord watches over us!"
"Uwaaaaah!!!"
Bodies reinforced by the white light, the holy knights smashed through the doppelgangers' line and pressed forward.
"Woof! Woof!"
"Slay the unholy things!"
The cardinal, spiked hammer raised high, crushed enemy skulls at the forefront while roaring the order. Bolstered by the relic's power, the main force advanced—until a troop of monkeys suddenly blocked their path.
"Kii!!"
"As the Lord wills—!"
—Thud!
The holy knight leading the charge had his head burst open by a stone flung by a monkey.
—Clang!
"Raise shields! Anyone without a shield, take cover behind the rocks!"
The cardinal batted a flying stone aside with his hammer and bellowed the command. Shield-bearing holy knights advanced under the rain of rocks, but the monkeys simply turned and fled whenever the enemy drew near, opened the distance again, and resumed throwing.
"Damn it! Fall back!"
Encumbered by heavy plate, the holy knights could never close the gap. If the Temple Knights pulled too far ahead, the rest of the soldiers would be isolated and slaughtered. Monkeys ahead, Void Hound packs behind—they were trapped.
"Damn it, how are we supposed to—"
"Your Eminence! Are you all right?!"
A woman's voice rang out from far beyond the monkeys.
"That voice… the Saintess?!"
"I'm coming to you now!"
"Ukki-kki!!"
The knight order that had gone ahead as the vanguard had seized the rear of the duplicated Void Monkeys. With only a single narrow passage, the monkeys were isolated. They hurled stones in desperate resistance, but before long every last one was hunted down.
"Saintess! Are you unharmed?!"
"I'm fine. Anyone who's wounded, gather here!"
"We'll handle the perimeter! Rest for now!"
The knights who had rejoined the main force turned to hold back the wave of duplicated Void Hounds still pressing from the rear.
"Woof! Woof!"
Realizing they could inflict no further damage, the doppelgangers withdrew as one.
"Haa… what in the world is going on…"
"Commander, we found a large cavern nearby. No other exits except the entrance—advantageous for defense."
"It could just as easily become our tomb… Tch. No choice. All units, move out!"
A cavern with only a single connecting passage. Easy to defend—yet if things went wrong there would be nowhere to run and they would be annihilated. Right now, however, restoring their spent stamina was the absolute priority. The combined forces of the Empire and the Holy Kingdom made for the cavern.
"Fortify the entrance and set up a temporary camp!"
"This is enemy territory! Even when you rest, rest ready for battle! Is that how the pride of the Empire rests?!"
They sealed the sole entrance and finally allowed themselves a moment's rest. The knight commander approached the cardinal, who was recovering off to one side.
"Your Eminence, a moment…"
"What is it?"
The commander glanced toward Lucia and wore an awkward expression.
"Could you spare a little time?"
"Ahem. Come this way."
The conversation they were about to have was not one of hope. Both the commander and the cardinal intended to step aside out of consideration for the young Saintess—
"Just talk here."
Lucia, who had been resting, rose to her feet.
"Even in a situation like this you're going to treat me like a child? I am a grown adult."
"…Forgive me. Your Eminence, do we have any word on the rear guard?"
The assault force had been divided into vanguard, main body, and rear guard. By the nature of an assault force—those who went first cleared the dangers—the rear guard was the weakest contingent.
"I'm sorry. We had no leisure to spare for anything else."
"I wasn't assigning blame. Merely exchanging necessary information."
"What if we formed a rescue party?"
Lucia let light bloom in her palm.
"I still have divine power to spare. If I take just a few holy knights…"
"Saintess."
The cardinal bowed his head toward her.
"I am sorry. The chance that the rear guard still lives is slim."
"B-but still…"
"Once we have rested we will force an escape route toward the surface. That path will take us past the rear guard's last known position."
The cardinal drew a small jewel case from his breast.
"Your Eminence, this is…"
"Better that the Saintess survive than an old man like me. When the moment comes, do not hesitate to use it."
He pressed the jewel case into her hands, then turned to the knight commander.
"Entrance watch will be handled in two shifts by the Temple Knights and the Imperial Knights."
"We will take the first watch."
The commander looked toward the entrance—the only passage leading out. The vice-commander, who could wield aura, sliced a massive boulder free and sealed the opening with it.
"…Don't grow too complacent."
It was common knowledge that doppelgangers could not use aura. The enormous boulder blocking the entrance looked as impregnable as an iron fortress.
"We move in one hour! Everyone rest!"
At the commander's order the knights finally let the tension drain from their bodies and savored the brief respite.
"We leave in ten minutes! Everyone prepare!"
The short hour of rest ended. One by one the people rose.
"Keep the meal light! From here until we break out to the surface there will be no more re—"
—Boom!
Just as the commander was rallying the troops, a tremendous vibration and roar thundered from the entrance.
"What was that?"
"Did that come from outside?"
—Kuuung!
A massive tremor rolled through the cavern.
—Crrrack…
Fissures spider-webbed across the boulder sealing the entrance.
—Tuk, tuk.
Chunks of stone rained from the ceiling under the shaking.
"What in the world could be doing that to the boulder…"
A rock that should have been unbreakable without aura.
—Kwa-jik!
"A-all units! Battle stations!"
Grasping the situation, the knight commander took position near the entrance.
"Defensive formation!"
"Yes, sir!"
—Crrrack… KWAANG!
The massive boulder exploded outward and something strode into the cavern.
"Oh God…"
Four meters tall. Body sheathed entirely in chitinous armor. Claws the size of a grown man's lower body.
"Kwoooooooar!!!"
"S-stop it!"
The gigantic Void Hound charged straight at the knight commander.
"Woof!"
"So this is where you were all hiding?"
Immediately afterward a host of Void Hounds poured in, followed by a man dressed in the formal court attire of an Imperial noble.
"Count Rudrick!"
The marquis cried out at the familiar face.
"So this man's name is Rudrick, is it? Heh heh heh."
The doppelganger mimicking the Imperial count who had been overall commander of the rear guard smiled.
"All gathered so nicely together… I can just kill you all at once."
"Stop that monster!"
The doppelganger stepped into the cavern and taunted them, yet every eye remained fixed on the Void Hound whose height exceeded four meters.
"I hear the Lord failed quite a few times trying to duplicate this one. Over a thousand attempts, I think…"
The doppelganger smiled as it regarded the gigantic Void Hound that was a copy of Poppy. The knight commander and vice-commander, both capable of aura, moved to block the duplicated Poppy—yet the copy simply overpowered them with raw physical force, slipping past their aura as it fought.
"If you'd just kept running without resting from the start you might have escaped… Ah, but the basilisk army is coming down from the first floor anyway, so you'd have died either way."
"Damn it! Use the holy relic!"
The cardinal, still smashing ordinary Void Hound duplicates at the front, roared the order.
"Archbishop! Every remaining relic—"
"No! Don't use the holy relic!"
From somewhere a clear, pure voice completely unsuited to the situation rang out.
"…Hm?"
Startled faces turned toward the Saintess—
"That wasn't me!"
Lucia shook her head with an expression of pure injustice.
"It's the enemy's trick! Don't listen—"
"Nooooo! Don't use iiiit!!!"
A woman's scream tore through the air from outside the cavern.
"What? Who did the Lord duplicate this time…"
—KWAANG!
"My holy relic!"
"Kwoang!"
A woman astride a gigantic Void Hound came crashing into the cavern, blasting duplicated Void Hounds aside as she entered.
"Ukki-kki!!!"
"W-what?!"
"Amateurs! Don't move!"
At the same moment a black phantom swept in and unleashed a flash of crimson eyes.
"Hhk… L-Lord…"
"Freeze!"
"Lucy! I told you not to attack those people!"
"Ah, right!"
The Void Hounds and Void Monkeys that had been attacking the assault force until moments ago—creatures identical to them—now tore into one another.
"Ukki!"
"Kiek!"
Void Monkeys hurled stones at one another's heads.
"Woof!"
"Woof!"
Void Hounds raked with claws and sank fangs into each other's throats. At a glance it looked like identical creatures fighting—yet the monsters that had arrived later utterly overwhelmed those that had entered the cavern first.
"Poppy! There's your duplicate over there!"
"Kwoang!"
The gigantic Void Hound that had smashed the boulder sealing the entrance—the duplicated Poppy—was overpowered by the real Poppy and had its throat torn out. The doppelgangers were being cleaned up in an instant.
"I-ik!"
"Fakes die."
Haram casually beheaded the red-faced doppelganger. The copy that had been mimicking the Imperial noble reverted to a black silhouette the moment its head hit the floor.
"All units! Do not lower your guard!"
Even though every doppelganger was dead, the knight commander still refused to sheathe his sword.
"Th-those… monsters…"
Knights with faces gone deathly pale trembled as they stared at Haram's Legion.
"Um, hello? We just saved you…"
"Stay back!"
"Well, I suppose my babies are just too cute for you to trust them, huh?"
Haram glanced around and casually stroked the nearest Void Hound.
"Lord Leonhardt! These people are not enemies!"
"…Count Rudrick?"
"Yes! It's me!"
"Wait. What did we eat together on the morning of the departure ceremony?"
"Lord Leonhardt claimed an upset stomach that morning and ate nothing at all!"
"Not a doppelganger, then."
The knight commander lowered his sword.
"How did you…"
"They saved me! Not only me!"
The Legion parted left and right, and dozens of people poured into the cavern. Their numbers were fewer than before, yet they were unmistakably the rear guard that had been following behind.
"Ron! You're alive!"
"Brother!"
"So now you know we're not enemies?"
"…Thank you. Once we escape this place I will repay the debt without fail."
"No? You can repay it right now."
"Hm?"
Haram turned and walked toward the clergy.
"Hello?"
"Uh… well…"
"Thank you for saving us."
The Saintess Lucia, eyes bound in bandages, stepped forward and bowed her head.
"A heart as beautiful as your face. I swear upon my name that this grace—"
"Names are fine. Just do one thing for me."
"Pardon? Are you injured somewhere…"
"No. Looking at you, you're clergy, right? You brought holy relics with you, didn't you?"
Haram's lips curved upward as her gaze landed on the jewel case peeking from Lucia's pocket.
"We're going to take down the Doppelganger Lord. Mind cooperating? Ah! Knight Commander, dig out every spare item you've got left too."
The cardinal's eyes fell on the monsters still packing the cavern entrance. From the beginning there had never been any right of refusal.
"By the way… can you see my face?"
"Pardon?"
The Saintess's expression froze in flustered confusion.
"Earlier you said my face was beautiful… was that just empty words?"
"Ah… well, the truth is…"
"Haram! This bread unnie's eyes are amazing! She can see even with the bandages on!"
"Really?"
A silver-haired little girl who had appeared from nowhere pointed straight at the Saintess's face.
"She's hiding power in her eyes! I saw a word for this on the Hunter Gallery once… Ah! Middle-school syndrome?"
"…Lucy, you're banned from the community for six hours."
"Ehh! That's not fair!"
Lucy tugged at Haram's hoodie.
A short while later the combined forces of the Empire and the Holy Kingdom left the cavern under the Legion's escort.