The Ruined Citadel
A small wayside tavern.
Since they had a long journey ahead, Roan's party decided to stay the night and stepped inside.
―Slam!
"I'm telling you!"
The rowdy voices of drunken mercenaries echoed through the air, their mugs slamming against the wooden tables.
"I saw it with my own eyes! Grayhill is a total disaster zone!"
"So the Elpoldo Knights really were wiped out. Honestly, I thought the rumors about the citadel being torn apart were exaggerated."
"It was bound to happen sooner or later. They did nothing but eat and play, despite all the lavish support they got from the Empire."
"All they ever did was march in circles around the walls, right? No wonder they went under."
"But I heard there's a survivor?"
"Isn't that even more shameful? It means he crawled away like a dog to save his own skin while all his comrades died."
A scoff of pure contempt.
It was clear they felt no need to show respect to those who had met such pathetic ends.
Rude bastards.
Jane grumbled inwardly and glanced at Roan.
He seemed dead set on recruiting that guy. Roan might be a bit crazy, but he really cherishes his comrades...
She worried a fight might break out.
If I need to suppress them in a tight space...
Jane began running through the most optimal spells for close-quarters combat, but Roan didn't even blink.
"...Hey, Del Roan. You okay?"
"About what?"
"Those guys. They're trash-talking the guy you want to recruit."
"It's fine," Roan replied instantly. "People who waste their energy tearing others down only do so because they lack confidence in their own abilities."
Roan raised his voice, clearly intending for them to hear.
Yet, the mercenaries didn't retaliate.
Instead, they flinched and quickly averted their eyes.
It was only natural.
Roan, the explorer of the ninth basement floor, and Jane, the genius mage.
These two were already becoming legendary figures around the Magic Tower.
After spending a quiet night in the now-silent tavern, the next morning arrived.
Beyond the sunlit forest path, a massive stone wall came into view.
Grayhill, an imperial citadel.
However, it was far too ruined to truly deserve the title of a fortress.
The collapsed walls were charred pitch-black, and the surrounding ground was heavily scarred with deep craters.
"Ugh... another place like this? I hate these kinds of ruins..."
Jane grimaced as she peered through the shattered gates.
The landscape was desolate, devoid of any signs of human life.
Tattered flags fluttered weakly in the wind, and the eerie cries of carrion birds echoed from above.
"You always did hate dark and creepy places, didn't you?"
"I do not!"
"Good to hear. Because we're going deeper inside."
Roan pointed toward the citadel. Specifically, toward the entrance of the main keep.
"W-What? Why...?"
"That's where the knights lived. There should be traces of them left."
"Wait... wouldn't that place have been completely looted by now?"
She was right.
Since they were wiped out, the interior had likely been ransacked to the bone.
But that was no reason not to go.
"If you don't hurry up, I'm leaving you behind."
"Ah, seriously...! Fine! I'm coming, okay?!"
Roan watched Jane scurry to catch up as he pushed the heavy door open.
The interior was far more gruesome than the outside.
The stench of rotting blood grew thick and suffocating.
Scraps of armor scattered across the floor were caked with what looked like dried human flesh.
Their flickering torch sputtered and died, as if it had finally exhausted its purpose.
And at that exact moment—
―Drip, plop!
Something fell from a crack in the ceiling.
Squelch!
A bloated, amorphous lump of flesh began crawling across the floor.
Twisted limbs clattered against fused pieces of armor as the monstrosity forced itself upright.
"Eek!"
Startled, Jane reflexively unleashed her magic.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A violent dance of flames erupted in a rapid three-fold burst.
The monster's body vaporized instantly, scattering into ash.
Jane stared down at her hands in disbelief.
"...Huh?"
It was a complex spell that normally required a lengthy incantation.
Yet, thanks to the crest engraved on her runestone, she had cast it in the blink of an eye.
"Looks like you've finally gotten the hang of it," Roan remarked casually. "But don't let your guard down. If you rely on it too much, you won't be able to cast properly later."
"...Hmph."
Jane snorted, trying to look unimpressed.
Even so, her fingertips trembled slightly with a sense of accomplishment.
She had successfully cast her magic without letting fear paralyze her.
Finding no immediate clues, Roan's party ventured deeper into the keep.
―Squelch.
With a wet, bubbling sound, something crawled out from the walls once more.
Monsters that crudely mimicked the human form.
They emerged in packs, moving with bizarre, unnatural gaits.
And there was a distinct pattern to their shapes and movements.
Broken swords, fragments of armor, tattered banners, and melted shields were fused into their bodies.
As if that weren't strange enough, they began to exhibit an even more baffling behavior.
―Squelch... drag...
Dragging their slimy feet, they were desperately trying to form a line.
Like a knightly order.
"...Something's weird about this," Jane muttered, a fireball flickering in her palm as she watched them in confusion.
"Yeah," Roan agreed.
But Jane seemed even more perplexed by his calm response.
"That's it? I thought for sure you'd know what was going on."
"Hey, I don't know everything. If I did, I wouldn't have had to search for Rowell like this."
His tone was light, but his eyes were deadly serious.
Just then, the monsters squirmed, squeezing out raspy, strained voices.
"Ah, I get it now," Roan said, a look of understanding dawning on his face. "Someone already swept through here. These things are mimicking the knights they devoured, begging not to be killed because they think we're like them."
"...Which means there's someone incredibly strong nearby."
Jane's eyes narrowed as the pieces clicked together.
"...Wait. Is it that knight you mentioned? Cedric Rowell?"
Roan remained silent.
The image of the black iron Ego Armor flashed in his mind.
In his past life, Cedric had been chosen by that armor and grew immensely powerful.
But it wasn't a blessing without a curse.
From midway through their journey, the armor had slowly been devouring his body.
...My body feels a bit strange lately.
He remembered Rowell's quiet confession.
Come on, we're all exhausted. We've still got a long way to go, so just hang in there a bit longer.
Roan and the rest of the expedition party had brushed off his warning signs as mere fatigue.
And in the end, Rowell's journey had concluded with him becoming a vessel for a transcendent entity.
...But this time, I know.
Roan reassured himself, but then a sudden realization struck him.
Wait. In this life, Rowell is still just an ordinary wandering knight. He shouldn't be strong enough to terrify these monsters to this extent...
A cold dread began to pool in his chest.
The monsters groaned, their chilling chant turning his suspicion into absolute certainty.
"...Jane."
"What's with the sudden serious face?"
"We need to move. Fast."
Declaring this, Roan charged straight into the cluster of monsters.
The monsters were visibly trembling with fear.
Yet, as Roan's party closed in, their survival instincts took over.
Unleashing a murderous aura, the amorphous beasts lunged forward in unison.
―Boom!
The lead monster was violently repelled by Roan's shield, and in the same breath, Jane's flames incinerated the rest.
Blood and black smoke mingled, filling the air with a pungent stench.
Their comrades had vanished in an instant.
Faced with such an overwhelming disparity in power, terror seized them once more.
Unable to withstand it, the remaining monsters scattered, fleeing back into the walls and the shadows.
"They're trying to escape—"
"No, let them go. We don't need to chase them."
Roan stopped Jane.
His gaze was fixed on the ground, specifically on the items dropped by the vaporized monsters.
Shattered armor pieces and broken sword fragments—and on top of them, a deep handprint pressed into the solid metal by something incredibly hard.
Next, the interior, illuminated by Jane's lingering fire magic, caught his eye.
Entire chunks of stone had been violently gouged out.
The destruction was too savage to be human, yet too precise to be the work of a mindless beast.
And the trail led straight out of the citadel.
"...Did you find him? That Cedric guy?"
"For now. I've got a solid lead."
With that, Roan stepped back out of the citadel.
The wind blew with the same intensity as before, but somehow, it felt a little colder now.
Roan looked down at the ground.
Amidst the scarred earth he had initially dismissed as battle damage, he spotted footprints.
They were awkward, uneven strides, as if the walker's center of gravity was completely off.
The trail stretched deep into the surrounding forest.
"Let's go. Before it's too late."
"...What happens if we're late?"
"The armor will consume him."
"Wait, so he's already wearing it? What are you going to do, just rip it off him and smash it to pieces?"
"No."
Roan recalled his past life.
Before the armor revealed its true nature, Rowell had displayed combat prowess that was nothing short of miraculous.
It was fair to say he was the only one who could truly master its power.
At this point, even Roan found it hard to imagine Rowell without his armor.
Besides, I want to see everyone alive and well, just like they used to be.
Offering himself that silent excuse, Roan marched into the woods.
"I won't destroy it. Though he's going to need some... re-education."
He added an explanation that Jane couldn't possibly understand.
Re-education? What on earth does that mean—
"Huh?"
Jane cut her thoughts short and stared ahead.
Deep within the forest.
A man stood at its center.
He was clad in a suit of black iron armor.
A chilling glow gleamed from within the massive helm, as if the armor itself had swallowed the man whole.
His gaze was fierce and brimming with absolute confidence, like someone possessed.
Like a lone wolf, he began to circle them in wide, sweeping strides.
"...There's so much blood. And corpses are scattered everywhere. It's like he's showing off."
No answer came.
Normally, Roan would have offered some sort of reply, however brief.
Jane turned her head.
She saw Roan staring blankly at the armored knight before them.
And the moment their gazes locked—
The clinking of metal, the howling wind, and the silence of the forest all seemed to freeze in unison.
―Boom!
The heavy armor violently tore up the soft earth.
And with unbelievable lightness, the massive armored figure lunged forward.
It was the strike of a wolf, leaping to tear out the throat of an intruder.