Dagger Maid (3)

Imperial Palace of the Argentia Empire, Western Gate Defense Line.

-Crash!

“Hold your formation! They’re just a bunch of Lake Serpents!”

“B-but there are too many of them! We should retreat and call for reinforcements…!”

-Crunch!

“If we retreat now, the entire Imperial Palace will be overrun! Hold the line!”

The dozen or so Imperial Guards maintained their formation despite the dire situation, tirelessly cutting down the swarming Lake Serpents.

The monsters, each as thick as a man’s thigh, kept surging forward endlessly, relentlessly pressuring the western gate’s defenses.

-Thud!

“Aaaargh!!”

“Damn it…! These cursed monsters just keep coming!”

Individually, a Lake Serpent wasn’t particularly strong.

While they might pose a significant challenge to an ordinary person, every soldier here was a member of the Imperial Guard-

An elite unit composed of the finest warriors in the empire, fully capable of handling creatures like Lake Serpents with ease.

“Agh… M-my arm…!”

“Huff… Huff… Huff…”

However, when faced with an endless horde of monsters, even the Imperial Guards couldn’t help but tire.

After just thirty minutes of relentless combat, the soldiers began showing signs of exhaustion as they cut down the monsters emerging from the darkness like an unending tide.

“……”

-Swoosh!

…And yet, amidst this chaos, there was one who showed no signs of fatigue as he silently dispatched the monsters.

Ethan Richard Blackwood.

The young noble of the Blackwood family, summoned by Orion to defend the palace, swung his sword without uttering a single complaint.

The greatsword bearing the Blackwood family’s twin-headed eagle emblem was already descending upon another monster’s neck.

‘…This much is still manageable.’

-Swoosh!

‘Compared to the training Father put me through, this is nothing…!’

Of course, even he was feeling the strain after swinging his sword for over thirty minutes.

But he suppressed his fatigue, focusing solely on silently eliminating the monsters and holding the western gate’s defense line.

Ethan understood well that his composed demeanor alone could bolster the morale of the other guards.

“Even the young master of House Blackwood fights tirelessly! How can you Imperial Guards collapse before him?!”

“”No, sir!!””

“Fight to the death! Hold the line! Imagine your wives and children are inside the palace and fight with your lives!!”

“Aaaargh!!”

…Right, he couldn’t afford to fall here.

Just as the knight said, he had to risk his life to protect those inside the palace.

Because among them was his personal maid-Lilith-who had accompanied him as his partner today.

‘I shouldn’t have brought her.’

Why had he insisted on bringing her to Princess Seraphine’s masquerade ball, exposing her to humiliation and now this danger?

His selfish desire to dance with her as his partner had put Lilith in harm’s way.

So, at the very least, he had to hold the line to ensure she remained safe.

If he failed and the monsters breached the palace, injuring her, he would never forgive himself.

‘At least she didn’t insist on joining the defense.’

Ethan had been worried, recalling Lilith’s aggressive stance during the Blackwood territory defense a year ago, fearing she might rush into this battle as well.

Thankfully, she had stayed put this time, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

Though the plan had been for Orion, Agnes, and himself to split up and defend the northern, eastern, and western gates respectively, the sheer number of monsters made him uneasy.

‘We expected the northern gate to bear the brunt, but… this is too much…’

If the western gate was already struggling like this, how many monsters were assaulting the northern gate?

Even if he held this line with all his might, it would all be for nothing if the northern gate fell.

Such distracting thoughts briefly crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed them, focusing solely on cutting down the monsters before him.

-Slash!

“…Hah.”

-Swoosh!

All he could do was pray that Orion and Agnes were holding their own on the other fronts.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

As the southern gate-the main entrance to the grand hall-was breached, the horde of monsters began flooding into the palace.

Dozens of serpent-like monsters surged into the shelter, instantly turning the scene into utter chaos.

-Crunch!

“Gyaaah!!”

A noble’s son screaming as his leg was bitten by a Lake Serpent as thick as his thigh.

-Ssssh!

“Eeeek!! H-help! Somebody help!!”

A noble lady shrieking and flailing as a monster crawled into her dress.

“Damn it all…!”

-Crash!

‘Ggeeehk…!’

And amidst this pandemonium, the Imperial Guards struggled to thin the monsters’ numbers.

In no time at all, the scene became a nightmarish blend of people and monsters.

“Miss Liz, stay right there.”

“…Huh?!”

“If you run off, I might not be able to protect you.”

“……”

The young lady of House August remained silent, perhaps too terrified to speak.

Well, it didn’t matter. My only concern was slaying the Lake Serpents charging at us.

Lake Serpents were Level 4 monsters.

Some might scoff at the idea of being cautious against such weak foes, but for the noble youths here, even Level 4 monsters were no joke.

No matter how magically adept they were, their untrained bodies couldn’t overcome the level gap.

And with multiple serpents attacking at once, Level 1-2 mages stood no chance.

I couldn’t protect every noble here. They had to fend for themselves.

“Stick together! Guard each other’s backs!”

Some nobles had already paired up, using swords or magic to fend off the serpents.

If I ran around trying to save every helpless noble, I’d only endanger Liz, whom I was sworn to protect.

For her sake-the one who had given me this dagger-I focused solely on swinging my blade.

‘Sshhk!’

“Eeeek!”

-Crunch!

I smashed the skull of a Lake Serpent charging at Liz with the silver dagger, pinning it to the floor.

The monster twitched a few times before going limp.

Even with my dagger mastery skill, I hadn’t expected a one-hit kill.

This silver dagger from Lady August was better than I thought.

“M-miss…? A-are you okay…?”

“Yes. It’s a good dagger.”

“N-no, I wasn’t asking about the dagger…”

-Crunch!

“Eeep?!”

This time, I skewered a serpent lunging at me-not Liz-with the dagger.

The second Lake Serpent collapsed, its head pierced, dead on impact.

“…Not the dagger, then what?”

“N-nothing! Forget it!”

“……?”

What’s her deal?

At least she was staying put now, making it easier to fight.

“Eeek! Get off! Get off me!!”

If Liz had panicked like that noble lady stripping and running around, protecting her while fighting would’ve been impossible.

Luckily, we were positioned between two walls, making defense easier.

All I had to do was hold out until Seraphine and Agnes resolved the situation.

This monster wave would likely end once they defeated the ‘Boss Monster’ at the western gate.

‘Given how Lake Serpents swarm like this, the boss is probably a King Serpent.’

Seraphine and Agnes could handle that much.

Agnes’s Giga Fireball and Seraphine’s lunar magic under the full moon would be more than enough.

-Crunch!

‘Ggeeehk!’

As I killed the third serpent charging at us, a series of violent impacts and monster shrieks erupted from the southern gate.

-Thud! Crack! Crunch!

‘Ggeh…!’

‘Kgh!’

…That familiar sound-no way.

The distinct rhythm of kicks triggered an uneasy realization.

Because, as far as I knew, only one person in Luminor Academy fought primarily with kicks.

The thought that it might be her-someone who absolutely shouldn’t be here-sent chills down my spine.

As my mind raced with dread, I turned toward the southern gate, where a golden-haired figure emerged, crushing monster skulls with a flurry of kicks.

“…Huh?”

“P-Princess Seraphine…?”

Though still masked, no one could mistake her identity.

The sudden appearance of the Moon Shadow Princess drew everyone’s attention.

My gaze, however, was drawn to her for a different reason.

‘Why is she here?’

This was the moment I witnessed firsthand how drastically the story had diverged from the original.