Chapter 17

Chapter 2: Crisis is an Opportunity (8)

***

Squeak - Thud.

Squeak - Thud.

Thanks to his left leg, which was functioning properly despite his broken right leg, he could move his body to some extent by leaning on a splint and using the remaining cane as a support.

[Warning - 'Mutation Blood' infection rate 40%]

"Keh! Grrrr!"

The professor's body shuddered from the strange pain seeping through his wounds.

'Thankful... to this extent.'

All the cells of the original 'Mutation Blood' carry two powerful characteristics: infectiousness and regenerative ability.

These cells, which follow the queen's will at the cellular level, begin to erode the host's body from the point of contact, taking control.

The eroded areas are recognized as part of the body, so they start to regenerate and repair the damaged parts.

In other words, if the wounded area starts to heal, it means that part has already escaped the host's control.

'My leg... or rather, has it reached my waist?'

It was a very peculiar sensation. It started as an itchy feeling, then turned into a sensation like ants gnawing at the wounds, and finally felt like small blades were tearing inside the wounds.

The pain was so intense that he wanted to cut out the wounded area with his own hands, but the professor was glad in this situation.

'At least, I can move more easily as the wounds heal.'

As he moved away from the battlefield where Charlotte and Edeorna were fighting, he kept thinking. What could he contribute to the invisible battle? While checking the warning messages of mental exhaustion that rang like a bell, he continued to move, fearing he would lose consciousness if he stopped.

'There's nothing I can do to intervene in this battle. The way to lead a battle to victory is to leverage the strengths of your allies and exploit the weaknesses of your enemies. There was definitely... something. It was a fleeting thought, but it was definitely there somewhere.'

He forced his head up, which kept drooping. Far away, soldiers were sporadically fighting the Mutes. And while he was unconscious after being thrown away, it seemed that Edeorna had attacked the knights and the central army command who were regrouping.

The professor approached the armor-clad graves like he was in a trance.

Click, click!

They were moving. A knight with a fist-sized hole in his side, his eyes bloodshot from burst capillaries, was still trying to grip his sword with his fingers. It was a movement close to rigor mortis, but clearly filled with will.

The professor looked into the knight's eyes. The two wide eyes, streaming with something that could be blood or tears, were fixed on the direction where Charlotte was.

'If the wounded area starts to heal, it means that part has already escaped the host's control.'

The professor's legs, which were already struggling, felt even heavier. But he was glad.

'At least, I can move more easily as the wounds heal.'

Charlotte and Edeorna's clash point was a bit away, and the professor saw the bodies of the Winged Knights and the Central Army command lying there.

Knight Nalick. Reporting for duty.

Click, click.

Behind him, more knights, who looked similar, were walking up.

Knight Dicarpo. Reporting for duty.

Knight Tagnal. Reporting for duty.

Knight McCullum. Reporting for duty.

Knight Rodim. Reporting for duty.

.

.

.

.

Click, click, click,

The knights, who had gathered around her, were standing with their swords drawn, their faces smeared with dirt, and their bodies swaying as if it was a struggle to even walk. But none of them had let go of their swords, and none of them had taken their eyes off the enemy.

"...A dog's death, Nalick. With that body, it will be hard to even hold a sword."

"I have no sensation below my neck. But I have not been negligent in my training, so I can hold on with my body at least once."

"The enemy is stronger than me."

"Did you see? When you cut off his arm, he had enough time to cut off Sir Agate and my head, but he kept his distance. Regardless of his combat power, he lacks combat experience."

"...If you had retreated, you might have survived if you had moved towards the city when you regained consciousness."

"While the sun is still on the battlefield, where can we go? Sun of the battlefield."

A smile formed on Nalick's blood-soaked lips.

'Unbelievable. His body has already turned into a monster, and he's on the brink of death, yet he can still make jokes.'

"...Hopeless bunch."

"Blame Sir Agate for teaching us that way."

Charlotte looked at each of the knights standing beside her. A smile and moisture had formed on her face.

Thud, thud.

"If you survive, I will report your names... to His Majesty the King... and bestow honors upon you."

"It is an honor to share our twilight with you, Knight Charlotte."

"Hehe, the rumors about the kingdom's greatest knight being a crybaby were true."

Charlotte did not hide her tears. Twilight. It meant they were ready to burn their last life to the end, even as their bodies turned into the enemy's. No one would call a single tear a luxury when sending off such honorable knights.

A light resembling the sunset began to spread from Charlotte's body, enveloping the knights.

The enemy was still watching from a distance. His half-turned body, ready to flee at any moment, seemed to be afraid, as Nalick had said.

'...I cannot let their resolve be in vain.'

Charlotte raised her voice.

"White monster. Are you afraid of us!"

"Keh! Shut up! You lowly meat!"

"If you're afraid, run. Your mother, who has been waiting for you for days, will go hungry today! Go back and beg her for another arm with that pathetic body!"

"How dare you... insult my mother!"

The enemy, who had been retreating, started to charge forward with wide, tearing eyes at the provocation.

Swoosh-

Charlotte took a step forward.

Whoosh!

A burst of sunset-colored energy rose from her feet, enveloping her entire body and flowing into her sword.

"Knight Lotheric! Draw your swords!"

Squeak!

"From now on, we will slaughter the enemy for the peace and prosperity of the kingdom!"

"Yes!"

"Today! Today is the day! In the name of the late king! Go forth without a single blemish in the sky! Our sun rises from the embrace of our homeland!!!"

"We will lose on the battlefield!!!"

"We will lose on the battlefield!!!"

"We will lose on the battlefield!!!!!!"

"Die! Apologize to your mother with your life, you lowly meat!"

Click, click, click, click!

Swoosh-

.

.

.

.

BOOM!!!!

Thus, the knights, united as one, charged forward and collided with the white monster.

***

Thud!

'Starting... huh...'

The professor lay a little distance away, looking at the area where Charlotte and the knights were likely to be.

"The situation will be very different from before, you monster brat."

Charlotte de Agate's true strength as a hero is not her personal combat power. It is her unparalleled tactical command and buffing ability, which allows her allies to perform at 200% of their combat power by reading the battlefield and placing them in the most appropriate positions.

The first knight of Lotheric is strongest when fighting alongside his allies.

Rumble!

Seeing the white and orange flashes intertwining in the distance, the professor collapsed.

Beep! Beep!

[Warning: 'Mutation Blood' infection rate 92%]

He was lucky to have a wound on his back. After the spine was affected, he no longer felt any pain.

"Haha, I really got carried away. It's just a game, after all. Why did I get so invested in it..."

Though he spoke with a sense of resignation, he knew the answer.

As he moved around the battlefield, pouring the Mutes' blood, which was like poison, into the dying knights, none of them showed even a hint of hesitation.

He wasn't that stupid; he knew what they were thinking, even if they didn't say it.

In their eyes, there was something. Something he couldn't describe, but it was something that had slowly worn away and disappeared from people after the world's destruction. Something that made his eyes well up just by looking at it. Something that made it impossible for anyone to just walk away.

"...I don't know. But it was fun. If the game was fun, that's enough."

'Limit.'

The professor's eyelids, which he had been struggling to keep open, slowly began to close.

Beep!

[Warning: Abnormal logout detected. If you do not log out in a safe area, your character will move autonomously according to the game's situation. Do you really want to log out?]

"Do as you please. I'm going to die anyway."

The infection had started to affect his brain, causing hallucinations. There was nothing he could do about his character now.

[Do not give up]

As the professor slowly lost consciousness, his father's voice echoed in his ears like a hallucination.

"...Even the dead are busy. I saw it. I'm not giving up. Don't worry... go inside... and rest..."

As he lost consciousness, the professor thought he heard his father's laughter.

***