Claudia, Cindy, and Merida were still processing everything they had just learned when Knox finally lowered his sword and turned toward them.
"....Alright. Merida, Cindy, both of you carry Rick and Cami out of here. Clara, you lead them. If possible, take them back to Kizen's gathering point where we started."
"Hmm? What about you, Knox?" Cindy immediately asked.
"I'm going after Meilyn." Knox pointed toward one of the underground passages without hesitation. "Don't worry. I can already sense traces of living beings moving in that direction."
What Knox said wasn't exactly a lie. He could indeed sense traces of life in that direction, but the one who had contributed the most to pinpointing Meilyn's current location was actually Beru.
Just moments earlier, the Shadow Ant King's voice had echoed inside his mind.
[My liege! I've captured some interesting humans at the mansion from earlier. Should I interrogate them?]
Knox had nearly stumbled when he heard how casually Beru reported that he had already captured someone, but his response came immediately.
"Focus on finding out where Meilyn is first. After that, you can interrogate them for anything else they know, but don't kill them."
[Yes, my liege!]
With Beru handling that side of things, Knox could focus entirely on rescuing Meilyn.
"....Okay." Claudia looked at him seriously. "I won't waste time saying something like 'It's dangerous!' to you, especially after everything we've seen you do. But still, make sure you come back safely."
Cindy and Merida nodded firmly beside her.
"Hehe, don't worry~." Knox gave them a confident grin. "I'm a man who makes the impossible possible!"
Then his gaze shifted toward the skeletal figure who had remained nearby.
"How about you, Mr. Pion?"
Knox asked the question with a perfectly innocent smile, yet for some inexplicable reason, both Simon and Pier felt something was terribly wrong with that expression.
It was almost as though Knox's smiling eyes could see straight through the skeletal helmet, through Pier's armor, and directly at the person hiding underneath.
...Why do I feel like he already knows everything? Simon thought nervously.
Even Pier was unusually quiet.
"...I'll pursue Prince," Pion finally answered. "You should all be careful as well."
Before Knox could say anything else, Pion immediately kicked off the ground and jumped through the hole Prince had smashed into the ceiling earlier, disappearing from sight almost suspiciously quickly.
Claudia stared at the hole for several seconds.
"Is it just me... or did the Commander of the 7th Legion look like he was running away?"
"...Me too," Merida quietly agreed.
Cindy, however, seemed more concerned about something else.
"But Knox, are you really sure we can just let him go like that? You should remember what the 7th Legion is."
Her concern wasn't without reason.
The 7th Legion had once been regarded as one of the most powerful Legions in the Dark Alliance, led by Simon's father, Yona, who now went by the name Richard, the strongest Legion Commander of his era. However, everything changed when Richard fell in love with a priest.
And she wasn't just any ordinary priest. She was Anna Cross, the Miracle Saint and one of the most powerful saints of her time.
During the war, Richard turned against his own allies in order to save Anna, ordering the 7th Legion to attack forces from the Dark Alliance itself. His actions made him a wanted man, and the Legion was eventually disbanded while its surviving members were hunted throughout the continent.
From that moment onward, the once-renowned 7th Legion became known by another infamous name.
The Legion of Betrayal.
"Alright, don't worry about that for now." Knox deliberately brought their attention back to the immediate situation. Whatever secrets surrounded Pion and the 7th Legion could wait. "We have more important priorities. I'm going after Meilyn, while you three get Rick and Cami somewhere safe."
He looked at the three girls one last time. "Be careful, okay?"
Merida gave a quiet nod, while Cindy proudly thumped a hand against her chest.
"Leave it to this lady!"
"Don't worry," Claudia added. "We'll take care of them."
"Good."
With that settled, Knox turned toward the opening Prince had created above them. He bent his knees slightly before kicking off the ground, shooting upward through the hole and disappearing from the girls' sight.
Now there was only one thing left for him to do.
Find Meilyn.
***
Meanwhile, Prince arrived at the mansion with Meilyn slung over his shoulder.
The moment he entered the garden, he was greeted by a gruesome sight. Zombie corpses were piled up everywhere, while streams of black blood flowed across the ground and stained the garden like a filthy river.
[Sigh, Pier really went all out.]
Prince glanced over the destruction without much concern. Losing this many zombies was certainly annoying, but if sacrificing them had been enough to keep Pier occupied and buy him time to escape, then the loss was still acceptable.
With that thought, Prince casually walked toward the mansion.
"Two people got captured? What the hell were you doing?"
"S-Sorry!"
"It all happened in an instant...!"
Human voices could already be heard from inside. Prince frowned upon hearing the commotion and immediately kicked the door open.
Bang!
The door slammed against the wall, causing the three humans inside to visibly flinch.
[When did you get here, Javier?]
The person Prince addressed was an elderly necromancer with deep wrinkles covering his face. He held a staff in one hand, while two cigars rested between his lips as usual.
"Hohoho! You're here, Prince!" Javier greeted him with the warm smile of a kindly old man.
"I only just arrived myself. Had to stop by for our usual transaction, you see."
At Javier's gesture, his subordinates pushed forward a cart carrying a large box.
"I added two more units on top of the amount we agreed upon. Go ahead and check."
Prince stepped forward and opened the box. Inside were numerous black rocks resembling lumps of coal, each one actually a piece of obsidian infused with high-purity Darkness.
[The amount seems about right.]
"Heheh, when have I ever given you the wrong amount?"
Javier was a retired professional necromancer who now made his living through the corpse trade. He and his men collected bodies scattered throughout Death Land that had yet to become natural-type zombies, then sold those corpses on the market for profit.
Naturally, conducting such a business inside Prince's territory wasn't free.
In exchange for allowing Javier and his men to collect corpses throughout Death Land, Prince received regular offerings of obsidian, something he needed to consume in order to maintain his powers. Their arrangement could therefore be considered a mutually beneficial relationship.
[Good.]
Prince made a small gesture, and several zombies waiting nearby immediately approached to carry the boxes of obsidian away.
"More importantly, Prince..." Javier's attention finally shifted toward the unconscious girl hanging over his shoulder. "What's with the girl?"
[Found her.]
Prince casually dropped Meilyn onto the floor.
Javier initially gave her only a passing glance, but after taking a closer look at her uniform and appearance, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Isn't that a student from Kizen? How did such a precious young lady end up all the way here in Death Land...?"
[Apparently they come here once a year for some kind of class.]
Prince walked over to the sofa and dropped himself onto it, tilting his head back with an irritated expression.
[Must be nice, living that kind of carefree life.]
"But why did you bring the girl here?"
[There's someone I want to kill. If I keep her, that guy will come crawling after her sooner or later.]
Prince's answer immediately made Javier curious.
Someone Prince wants to kill?
The question briefly crossed his mind, but he knew better than to pry unnecessarily. Instead, his gaze returned to the unconscious Meilyn lying on the floor.
His tongue flicked slightly as his eyes scanned her from head to toe.
"Sell her to me."
Prince slowly turned his head. [I thought corpse dealers only dealt with corpses. Didn't know you were moonlighting as a slaver.]
"Sometimes living people have their uses as well." Javier smiled. "I'll give you twenty obsidians for her."
That immediately caught Prince's attention.
Twenty obsidians was no small amount. It was nearly half of what Javier had just delivered for their regular transaction, and Prince had little reason to care what happened to Meilyn as long as she continued serving her original purpose.
[Do whatever you want. I only need her to lure that guy here.]
"Hehehe!"
Javier happily nodded before gesturing toward his subordinates. The two men immediately approached, lifted the unconscious Meilyn from the floor, and carried her away.