'Oh, no.'
Rudger muttered to himself as he looked at Casey, who was staring at him in disbelief.
He heard the sound of a fight, so he moved quickly to join them since they weren't far away, but he couldn't believe it was Casey and Trina.
They were later spotted by Belaruna and Chris, who were walking out of the passage Rudger had cut and their faces brightened considerably at the thought of their new companions.
'Oh well.'
Since they were already facing each other, they had no choice but to move together, even if it made things a little uncomfortable.
"So this is how we meet."
Rudger was the first to speak, unable to stand still and watch.
Casey didn't respond, just glared at Rudger. Instead, it was Trina who spoke up.
"Yes. I didn't expect to see you here, Mr. Rudger Chelici."
"The same goes for me, Trina Ryanhowl."
"Wasn't your group supposed to leave immediately after analyzing the World Tree?"
"We were going to, but we got stuck in the middle of nowhere, so we were forced to move inward."
"I see, but that's a good thing. No one got hurt, and we're able to join up like this."
Trina glared at Belaruna as she said that.
Rudger and Chris were one thing, but the elf woman was someone she didn't recognize.
"Who is she?"
"This is Belaruna Petana, who is traveling with us this time. She is an expert on the World Tree."
"Isn't she an outsider? Besides, I thought Chris Benimore was supposed to be in charge of studying the World Tree."
"It can't hurt to have one more, and she's an elf whose identity is vouched for by the First Princess, so you don't have to worry."
Rudger used the name of the First Princess to assure Trina just as he did with Chris.
Trina's eyes narrowed at the words, and her forehead wrinkled.
'Princess Eileen?'
Of all of them, Trina was the one who had the closest relationship with Princess Eileen. But even she, if asked if she knew the Princess perfectly, would have to say that she did not.
Eileen was a difficult person to get to know.
As Rudger had said, there was nothing strange about the sudden addition of an elf to the existing group given Eileen's tendency to hide things and not reveal her plans even to her closest confidants.
Rudger's words left no doubt.
'Furthermore, given the stories I've heard within the command center, it seems that the First Princess has had a prior meeting with Mr. Rudger Chelici.'
Trina nodded her head, dismissing her doubts.
"Have you learned anything about the situation?"
In response to Trina's question, Rudger said yes, and explained what he knew to Trina and Casey.
He told them about demonic power that was sealed within the World Tree, and that the warlocks were trying to harness it.
"I see. I wondered why the Liberation Army's members turned into monsters like that, but it was demonic power."
Casey, who had been listening silently until then, spoke up.
"I never thought demonic power could exist in a place like this, let alone be used by our enemies."
"If you put it that way, it's strange that there's such a secret mega-facility underground in the capital, with the roots of a dead World Tree at its center."
"That's……."
"It's obviously real since it's already happened but what we need to do is stop being surprised that it exists and start stopping the Liberation Army and the Warlocks as quickly as possible."
In that sense, it was fortuitous that the scattered forces came together in one place.
As Rudger emphasized the importance of the situation, Casey nodded reluctantly.
There was still so much she wanted to tell him but for now, every minute counted. There was no time for personal matters.
'Even if I told him now,' she thought, 'he'd just brush it off as usual. Well, I'll ask him later, when this is all over.'
Of course, she knew that by then she wouldn't have the courage again but if she didn't make up her mind now, this uncomfortable knot would never be untied.
"Then let's move quickly."
With that, the group of five began to move at a brisk pace toward the center hollow.
Along the way, they were met by a second wave of chimeras but they were no match for Rudger and the others, now nearly double in strength.
With each swing of Trina's two-handed sword, the creatures were cut to pieces, falling to the ground before the magic of Rudger, Chris, and Casey.
Their previously sluggish movement began to gain momentum.
In the midst of the battle, Casey found himself inwardly marveling at Rudger's magic.
'It's amazing.'
Rudger's magic was neither flashy nor large-scale. Considering the prevailing attitude among wizards that hierarchy is a measure of strength Rudger was hardly considered a 'powerhouse'.
However, anyone with a keen eye for magic would have been astonished to see Rudger in battle.
He did the most with the least. No magic was ever wasted, and there was no waste in the process of casting a spell. His magic was flawless, free of mistakes and errors, like a mathematical formula.
Rudger's magic aimed only for the deadly sharp point when dealing with an enemy. Its simplicity was so overwhelming that it was almost dehumanizing.
'Strong, even if this isn't his true skill.'
Casey knew that Rudger was not using his full strength.
Back when he was Professor Moriarty, Rudger had fought her with a whistle while cloaked in black shadows.
She didn't know what kind of magic it was, but she figured that at the very least, his powers were stronger now than they had been then, not weaker.
After all, the man she'd faced at the Kunst Auction House had even managed to subdue the Beast of Gévaudan.
'And that magic of leaping through space that I saw then. He hasn't used it yet, but it could be enough to turn the tide of battle.'
Just as she was beginning to wonder how far this man would go, the entire underground passageway began to vibrate once more.
"They're trying to change the terrain again!"
Trina immediately noticed and warned.
The group's reaction was swift, as they had been through this situation several times before.
As if on cue, Rudger and Chris stepped forward as a giant flower-shaped magic tree bloomed behind Chris's back, shooting vines toward the passageway that was about to be divided into sections.
The light green, translucent vines spread out like roots the moment they touched the wall, stopping the blocks from moving but the block's movement was too strong, pulling the vines taut and threatening to tear them apart.
"Hurry up, it won't hold for long!"
At Chris's shout, Rudger grabbed his staff with both hands and stamped it into the ground.
A burst of magic power shot out from the tip of the staff, spreading in concentric circles across the ground. The energy immediately interfered with the facility's moving devices, generating magic from within.
Pillars of stone soared from within, destroying the core device that moved the blocks.
The bulkhead that was about to descend in front of them stopped, and the blocks in the other sections stopped as well.
"It worked!"
Belaruna shouted in triumph as the shifting stopped. So far, it was neither the chimeras nor the Seconds test subjects that had bothered them the most, but the terrain changes.
It was blatantly obvious, especially now that they had increased their numbers. However, they relied too much on this feature and kept doing the same thing over and over again.
They'd been beaten so many times that they had a rough idea of how the internal structure worked and the result was this.
By destroying the key machinery that transforms the underground facility, the liberators could no longer change the terrain.
In other words, no one could stand in their way.
After summoning the magic tree back, Chris adjusted his glasses and exclaimed,
"I was nervous when I heard the plan, but you really did it."
"If the structure inside is powered by an elaborate mechanical device, all you have to do is destroy it."
Rudger made it sound easy, but this was impossible without the help of the [coordinate designation spell].
The key device was deep within, invisible to the naked eye and knowing its location didn't make it accessible.
It was Rudger's magic that made it possible since as long as he knew the coordinates he could strike across space as the key device was immobile and in place, so it was an easy target for them.
"That took care of the most annoying problem."
Casey didn't seem to marvel at the reality before her, as if she'd known the plan would work all along.
Rudger's behavior so far had been too outlandish for that so it was hard for her to be surprised anymore.
"They must have realized there was a problem, though, because they went all out."
As if sensing something, Trina tightened her grip on the sword in her hand. With the keen senses of a master knight, she detected a number of figures moving toward them from a distance, at least five times as many as the ones that had come earlier to stall for time.
The enemies must have gotten impatient, realizing that it would be impossible to use the device to block their path.
"All hands on deck. From here on out, it's a battle of stamina."
But their most troublesome enemies were not the experiments.
Now that the advantage of being able to change the terrain at will was gone, the fight ahead would eventually be decided by the difference in pure 'strength'.
"It's going through!"
With a shout from Trina, her twin blades sliced through the first of the charging chimeras.
The other members followed suit, using magic and their own skills to sweep through the creatures. Only Belaruna approached the bodies of the fallen test subjects and snatched samples from them unnoticed.
"Hehe."
* * *
"Repairing the tracheal unit? Anyone available?"
"Send in the chimeras! Buy us some time!"
The Liberation Army members and the Warlocks panicked.
Their goal had been to buy time before their enemies got here in the first place.
From the way the First and Second test subjects were dying one after another, they knew their enemies were not ordinary.
If they were knights, they were masters and the wizards were at least at the fifth rank.
The enemies that actually came in were what could be called a one-man army since only a fool would think of confronting them head-on.
They tried to buy time by using the terrain to their advantage, but it didn't work since Rudger destroyed a key piece of machinery.
"Damn it! Wasn't the core device more than a hundred meters away in the thick rock? Even a Swordmaster couldn't penetrate it!"
"This is bad, more than half of Seconds we sent in have died!"
"They've sped up, at this rate they'll be here in ten minutes!"
The pale-skinned warlock shuddered in contemplation as he heard the horrific news one after another and glanced anxiously at his mentor, Andrei.
"What is it that has you so disturbed?"
"Well, Master, it is……."
"Forget it. You can't get angry in a situation like this, it means they're strong."
It wasn't that Andrei wasn't angry. Even now, he was suppressing his anger but the reason he didn't panic or show his emotions was because it would be very illogical.
He knew that at times like this he had to be rational.
"What's the status of Test Subject Third?"
"We're still not completely finished with the coordination. We're about to go through the final stage, but I don't know if it will be successful……."
"Let's skip the last step and proceed as quickly as possible. Inject all the rest of the demon's power into it."
"Ha, but what will happen if we do that…….?"
At those words, Andrei glared at his apprentice with a vicious gaze. His eyes glowed with a furious fire, and the apprentice immediately clamped his mouth shut.
"Are those words coming out of your mouth under these circumstances?"
"That, that……."
"That's why you shouldn't. At this rate, the enemy will reach us before you open your eyes and this whole thing will be for naught."
So it was better to get Third up and running right away, even if something went wrong.
"Do you understand? We're not in a position to waste time right now."
"Well, even so, I need more time to wake up Third now!"
"Do it anyway. I'll buy you some time."
"What?"
Before the apprentice could ask anything, Andrei stood up and used his magic. An unbelievable amount of power erupted from his frail body and enveloped the area.
The warlocks and the Liberators froze in their tracks, terrified, and turned to look at Andrei.
"Don't be stupid and do your jobs."
Andrei flicked his gaze toward the passageway leading outside.
"I'll deal with them."
There was a loud bang and the barred door exploded, sending up a cloud of dust.
Two figures emerged from the dust. One was Veronica Deville, a white-uniformed knight with black ponytail. The other was the Imperial servant mage who had come with her.
Andrei looked at them, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
"Ho-ho. Unexpectedly, here are the first ones."
"……."
As Andrei looked at Veronica, she realized that he was the strongest enemy here.
She drew her sword with an icy gaze. The coldness of the blade's tip made it clear that she was not using an ordinary Aura.
The Cold Steel Knights of the Empire were said to imbue their blades with the chill of the North.
"Interesting."
The black robes around his body fluttered wildly as Andrei prepared his magic.
"Considering the guests have arrived, I should welcome you."