Rite Castle, Attack (2)

The hierarchy of demon worshippers was simple and clear.

<The strong rule over the weak>

Niel was stronger than Slaua, but weaker than Targan, so she had to follow his orders.

-You go up to the surface. Go kill the humans and attack them from behind as you come down through the tunnels.

-Yes sir!

If it were Keli or Slaua, they would have frowned and muttered curses to themselves.

But Niel didn’t do that.

It wasn’t out of respect for Targan.

Nor was it because she revered the hierarchy like some kind of belief.

It was just because Niel was extremely bored.

Niel didn’t pass up the opportunity for slaughter that had come after a long time.

She crawled up the small passage leading to the entrance of the abandoned mine.

It was a major crisis where, if things went wrong, everyone at the ground command post, including Count Sharian and Cecil, could have been horribly murdered.

But.

Like a child, Niel forgot what she was supposed to do and followed interesting things.

This always happened when there was no colleague supervising.

“Interesting mushroom!”

Distracted by the bioluminescent mushrooms growing along the passage.

Niel came out through a different exit.

“Ooh! A butterfly!”

She followed a butterfly she encountered as soon as she came to the surface.

Fortunately for Count Sharian, the butterfly’s path was towards the forest, not the mine entrance.

Niel completely forgot what Targan’s order was and jumped into the forest.

After chasing the butterfly for a while like that, she heard rustling sounds through the bushes, and when she checked, this time she met eyes with a deer.

“Deer! Deer!”

Niel chased after the frantically fleeing deer just for fun.

After running, sleeping, and running again for two days like that.

As Niel was walking along the forest path while eating the liver of the exhausted deer, her eyes caught sight of.

Billowing smoke.

“Oh?”

Following the source of the fluffy smoke.

There was a village and Rite Castle.

Of course, the guards stopped Niel who came running to the castle gate, hopping along.

“What’s this girl?”

“I don’t recognize her face from around here. Did a beggar from another village drift all the way here?”

“I want to go in!”

“Wait a moment. First, we need to check your identity-“

Slash!

As Niel swung her hand, the guard’s upper body was diagonally cut.

“Hu, huk!”

“You’re not fun either!”

Crunch!

She forcefully stomped and burst the abdomen of the outer castle guard who had fallen and was crawling backwards due to his legs tangling.

Then she ran into the castle, accompanied by people’s screams.

And ended up discovering something more interesting than smoke.

“Twisted thread!”

Niel called it that – the phenomenon only observed in people whose very fate was twisted by the world’s great laws.

Twisted thread.

For those who could see it like Niel, it was quite an apt metaphor.

It looked like tangled skeins of twisted fate threads shining in various colors.

“A new friend?”

She said while licking her lips.

Demons only picked out and took in children with twisted fates.

Niel was the same.

She ran eagerly, thinking that maybe this time she might make a friend who could communicate well.

“Who are you!”

“Me? Niel!”

Seeing signs of trying to stop her, Niel blew off the guard’s head before even answering.

Blood splattered across the castle wall.

The guard was put on alert.

But the main forces had been dispatched for the monster colony subjugation.

The remaining forces were only minimal guards and three apprentice knights.

“Not fun either!”

Like autumn leaves falling listlessly.

Those who stood in Niel’s way were cut to pieces and scattered down.

The last man looked a bit impressive, so she pulled out his heart and tasted it, but.

“Tch! This one’s no good either. Rude people are all like this.”

She kicked the door open with a bang and went in.

And finally met.

A child born twisted like Niel.

“Oh! Found you. It’s you? Nice to meet you~”

Fun playtime!

“Let’s play!”

“No!”

“…What?”

At the unexpected answer.

Niel’s face turned bright red.

“Say that again.”

“I said no!”

Kenny angrily swung her hammer around.

“Hey, Kenny. Don’t provoke her unnecessarily.”

Hwalin hugged Kenny worriedly and whispered, but.

Kenny shook her head vigorously from side to side while fuming.

“Play should be fun! But what’s this? You killed all these people!”

“But that’s what’s fun?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Yes! I don’t know what that means, but Targan called Niel crazy!”

A moment of silence.

Yuria saw for the first time the clever Kenny at a loss for words.

‘This is not good.’

Through the half-open door, the knights they had just been greeting were lying fallen.

A monster that didn’t even get a scratch when three apprentice knights rushed at her.

Such a being was now standing in front of Yuria.

‘This is not an opponent I can handle alone.’

She calmly chose magic circles from her cross bag.

Defensive magic, attack magic, summoning magic, and so on.

But Yuria had no idea how to combine them to drive away that monster.

At that moment, Hwalin calmly spoke to her.

“Teacher Yuria.”

“Yes?”

“I think it’s best if we slowly, slowly back away without provoking her.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

There was no point in continuing this standoff.

The group slowly backed away.

Fortunately, the demon worshipper who called herself Niel didn’t rush in immediately.

“How about we go to the room and request help from Ethan-nim via mana messenger ball?”

“That’s the only way.”

If they were lucky, the subjugation team might already be withdrawing.

They might be almost at Rite Castle.

If they send a letter and hold out in the room using all available defensive magic.

The returned main force will take care of it.

But what if the subjugation team is still in operation?

‘I should also think of ways to escape from the castle.’

Niel seemed too busy fuming angrily to herself to notice.

They were planning to run straight down the corridor as soon as they turned the corner.

“Bleh!!”

Kenny provoked her.

“Hey, Kenny!”

“You, youuuuu!!!!”

Niel, heated up to the top of her head, came running.

Then Kenny jumped out of Hwalin’s arms and.

-Clang! Clang! Clang!

Hit the wall three times with her golden hammer as if she had been waiting for this.

“Bad kids like you don’t need to play, you need to be punished! Wake up, guys!”

Then in an instant, the corridor wall itself twisted and transformed.

Two stone golems as tall as adults stretched.

“Hey! Get out of the way!”

The golems were half-destroyed by one of Niel’s punches, but.

They quickly self-repaired and grabbed Niel’s ankles.

While the battle between the two golems and Niel continued.

Kenny grabbed Hwalin and Yuria’s hands and ran.

“Run!”

“To create golems on the spot. Was that possible?”

The blacksmith admired but ran hard to survive.

“That’s because I fixed up various parts of the castle. You did it with me too, didn’t you?”

“…I thought we were just doing simple repairs.”

“I installed them as a defense system while repairing. How is it? Efficient, right?”

When the count returns, he might get angry saying ‘Who played such tricks in my castle!’ rather than being grateful.

But since it saved their lives, the blacksmith decided not to point it out.

“So, did you prepare anything else? Of course, something flashy enough to take down that thing.”

“Of course!”

Looking back, the two golems melted after being hit by a red beam.

Then Niel flew over, stomping on the fragments.

“Stop right there!!!”

“Would you stop if you were me?”

-Clang! Clang! Clang!

This time, the inside and outside of the corridor walls flipped with a swish.

Six devices with rotating turrets popped out from inside.

“Eat this!”

Kenny raised her left middle finger while riding on Hwalin’s back.

-Ratatatatata!!!

The automatic magic bullet launchers that detected the target poured out countless bullets.

“Kyaaaaaah!!!”

Niel fled beyond the corridor, splattering blood.

“What on earth is this…”

“It was in the recipe book. It said it’s a machine that automatically attacks when it detects enemies. It’s my first time seeing it work too.”

Kenny had taken all the books on technology, machines, and engineering from the recipe books Ethan had laid out.

They contained products of imperial magitech engineering that are currently lost.

Kenny learned them all, staying up all night.

As a result, even a demon worshipper with a body strong enough to crush a person with one gesture.

Could be suppressed with firepower strong enough to make regeneration impossible if hit for a long time.

Niel, who was peeking around the corner, clicked her tongue.

“Tsk! If I use that here, Targan will scold me.”

But Niel, who wanted to play with that little one right away.

Couldn’t hold back and took out a pouch from her bosom.

That thing with murky energy imbued in a green crystal.

Niel dropped it on the floor and stomped on it hard.

-Crash!

As the crystal shattered, a sudden gust of wind arose in the windless interior.

“Come out! Come out and tear apart everyone except that little kid!”

-Awoooooo~!!!

A huge, translucent green wolf spirit howled fiercely.

-Ratatatatata!!!

The magic bullet launchers that detected hostility opened fire, but.

The spirit easily withstood it and rammed into the launchers, destroying them.

“This is totally bad.”

Watching the turrets being destroyed one by one.

Kenny’s expression furrowed.

Conversely.

Niel became triumphant.

“Kyahahahaha! Do you feel like playing with me now?”

“I said no!”

“No? Then I’ll kill the ones next to you one by one. Elkar, bite the red one first!”

She was pointing at Hwalin, who had obviously red hair.

Yuria hurriedly spread a defensive magic circle, but.

-Crash!

It shattered helplessly as the spirit’s front paw slashed through the air.

“Ah, no! Hwalin, dodge-“

-Wooargh!

“Kyaaaaaah!!!”

Just before the wolf spirit’s jaws swallowed Hwalin.

-Flash!

Hwalin saw it.

A bright light bursting for a moment from the necklace hanging on her chest.

And.

-Kachachachak!!!

The wolf’s attack was blocked by a solid barrier.

‘The necklace!’

The skill copy necklace Ethan had given her.

The <Brilliant Shield> he had copied for her activated.

‘I see, Ethan-nim foresaw even this far!’

Only then did her fear subside and reason return.

‘Why did he try to protect me of all people? Could it be…’

The spirit, startled by being blocked by the shield, showed an opening.

Discovering this, Hwalin found the one solution.

‘Fascination.’

The power passed down in her clan.

An ability that can only be used 3 times in a lifetime, but.

‘If saving these people is what He expected of me. Gladly.’

Hwalin used the ability without hesitation.

A deep energy flowed from her crimson pupils.