The older knight was shaken by this. “Impossible! Why did those attacks get through?!”
“Unfortunately for you, that’s just how it is.”
The knight’s agitation was reflected in his blade, heavily tilting the fight in Keele’s favor. Although the noble just barely managed to block Keele’s next attack, he was unable to dodge the follow-up strike as it landed squarely in his chest. He was unable to scream as blood overflowed from his lungs and poured through his lips.
“That’s why I told you to use your fuckin’ blood caliber. Ugh, how boring. That dame was way stronger,” Keele spat. He had already lost interest.
Nagi ran over to the corpse of the knight Senak had been fighting and pulled out his arrow. He thought it could be reused if it wasn’t broken, but the arrowhead came off and remained inside the knight’s cranium. All that remained on the shaft was an eyeball. Nagi tossed it aside, eyeball and all.
“You’re an amazing shot!” Senak shouted as he slapped Nagi’s shoulder.
From Nagi’s perspective, it had gone so well thanks to the Crestfolk warriors. From them, he had learned of both the weaknesses of a knight’s equipment and the idiosyncrasies of humans locked in combat. The outstanding hunter was slowly becoming an outstanding warrior.
“Let’s get moving,” Keele said, pulling his sword out of the knight’s body. He then headed down a nearby staircase into the underground dungeon.
The others followed him in a hurry. After their descent, they ended up in a dimly lit corridor lined with jail cells on both sides. Their footsteps echoed through the damp, gloomy chamber.
There were prisoners within the jail cells. A sour stench filled the air. There was also some other stench which had Nagi’s heart strangely disturbed. He took a look into one of the jail cells, and upon realizing what was within, he nearly vomited.
There was a naked woman inside tied up with chains. She had swollen wounds like earthworms all over her body. Some were festering, while others were half rotten. The wounds around her groin were particularly deep.
Once his eyes had gotten accustomed to the darkness, he could see that the cells around the entrance to the underground dungeon were all occupied by women like this. The first woman he saw was actually on the better side of things. There were those with their breasts cut off, those without limbs, and those with patterns drawn on them with puncture wounds, probably words of some kind. Nagi couldn’t read, but there was no way anything good was written on them.
It was so ghastly that it was questionable whether many of them were still alive. Those who looked like they were conscious all observed their visitors with glazed and emotionless eyes. Nagi couldn’t even avert his gaze. If he did, he would simply be met with the sight of another pitiful woman.
“They’re probably women arrested from villages who didn’t fulfill their taxes of blood offerings and bloodpence...” Senak said in a cold voice. “They get used as playthings for the knights.”
“Aren’t we saving them?” Nagi asked.
“After.”
That was all Senak had to say as he marched on. Nagi followed him. He wanted to get away from here as quickly as possible.
“Are you Dimitri?” Keele asked, peeking into one of the cells.
“Hmm, how unusual for me to have guests. May I ask who you are?”
The man answering Keele spoke in such a calm voice, it was disquieting. He peered at the group from behind his mop of gray, straggly hair as if appraising them.
“We’re Cobalt. We’re here to save you.”
“Save me? That sounds lovely, but unfortunately, I don’t know you.”
“Well, we need you. We’ve got Halahala, and you’re the only one who knows how to make it.”
“Halahala, eh? That stuff is nothing but a failed product.” Dimitri seemed offended by what Keele had said. He looked rather uninterested.
“We can chat later. For now, we’ve gotta get out of here. Open the lock, Senak.”
Senak had pilfered a key from the young knight they’d defeated above, which he used to unlock the cell door.
“How dull. I have no interest in that lousy poison. It was a mistake to sell that crap. I got thrown in here for it and had my research stolen from me.” Even though the door was open, Dimitri showed no intentions of leaving his cell.
“Our leader has a message for you,” Senak said. “We’ll cooperate with your Amrita research. When the fighting is over, we can supply you with Sovereign’s Blood.”
“What?!” Dimitri’s eyes flew open, suddenly filled with a light that hadn’t been there before. He closed in on Senak. “Sovereign’s Blood?! Really?!”
“I’m not lying. We managed to ally with a blood relative of the Sovereign. The nobles took her back, though.”
Nagi immediately understood that he was talking about Saya. Saya’s a blood relative to the Sovereign? He didn’t know much about the Sovereign, but he at least knew they were a great figure who ruled over Agartha. Evidently, Saya was related to them. Strangely enough, Nagi could understand this. Lernaean and Jubilia’s attitude toward her suddenly made sense. He finally understood why a high-ranking noble like Lernaean had acted so reverently toward Saya.
“A blood relative to the Sovereign... So royalty really exists?! If what you say is true, then I’ll do more than cooperate. I’ll make as much of that useless Halahala as you want! Let’s get going already! What are you dawdling for?!”
After hearing what Senak had to say, Dimitri was in a rush to get out of the prison, urging the others to get going.
“What’s with this guy?” Keele murmured as he witnessed Dimitri’s sudden change of heart.
“Wait a bit,” Senak told him. He then addressed everyone in the prison. “We’re going to open all the cells. We are Cobalt! We fight to defeat the nobles! All of you who have the courage to fight by our side, come along!”
Noise filled the underground dungeon. Once the cells were unlocked, there were some who came out and others who stayed put. Many of the women continued to cower expressionlessly as if they hadn’t heard Senak. Watching this unfold, Keele turned to the rest of the squad.
“All of you, go on ahead. You too, Nagi.”
It wasn’t up for debate. Seeing this, Senak looked extremely uneasy. “But Keele...”
Keele’s next words had enormous weight. “I’m Tainted. It’s better for me to do it. Same as always.”
Senak hesitated, but made his decision. “No, I’ll do it too. You’re not Tainted. The Crestfolk are our allies now, remember? I can’t just push everything on you.”
Keele’s eyes widened in surprise. “I see. Do as you like. Everyone else, get the hell out of here.”
Nagi and the others waited outside the dungeon. There was a strange tension among the others waiting with him. He wanted to ask what was going on, but the atmosphere didn’t really allow for that. A few minutes later, Keele and Senak emerged.
“Let’s go.”
They smelled horrible, like a boiled-down concentration of the rot that had been down there. Senak was pale, whereas Keele looked composed.