Holy Light

The heavy doors were once again sealed shut with the thick iron beam, blocking out the pounding and roars on the other side.

Looking at the remaining squad of barely a dozen knights, Nikus jammed his broadsword into the ground, producing a harsh grating noise.

With anger he couldn't suppress, he growled, “Those damned traitors... I will definitely make them pay!”

Then, he began asking about the situation.

“What happened after we left?”

“Captain! After you left...”

A knight stepped forward and briefly recounted what had transpired.

As it turned out, after the knights entered the castle, Nikus and several squad leaders had been invited to see Countess Elizabeth, and Vera had gone with them.

Back then, Nikus had believed Elizabeth was merely being deceived by a vampire, and that catching the vampire would solve everything.

This was a common occurrence across the continent.

Vampires loved disguising themselves as high-ranking advisors, lurking beside nobles to slowly corrupt them.

Once the vampire's true colors were exposed, nobles would usually order their execution immediately.

Therefore, after the commanders left, the remaining knights waited in the main hall for orders.

Not long after, servants pushed carts inside, claiming to deliver refreshments by the Countess's command.

Just as the carts came to a stop beside the knights, a blinding flash of light exploded, followed by a deafening roar.

The servants near the carts, the maidservants in the hall, and several Norman Knights were instantly engulfed in the blast.

If the accompanying cleric of Light hadn't immediately raised a barrier to protect the survivors, every single one of them would likely have perished right then and there.

Right after, the ambushing rebel soldiers swarmed in.

They sought to exploit the chaos and attack the knights before they could recover from the shock.

However, the knights' combat prowess far exceeded their expectations, resulting in heavy casualties for the rebels.

Just as the knights were about to break out of the hall, the heavily armored halberd formation arrived.

A forest of steel blocked the exit, and the doors on the other end were barred as well.

Then, rebel crossbowmen began picking off the knights from their high vantage point.

Individual martial prowess proved useless against a tight military formation.

Pinned down from above and below, the knights suffered heavy losses once again.

Fortunately, they were protected by the cleric's barrier.

Later, Rosie drove away the crossbowmen and dropped down heavy crossbows, finally giving the knights a brief respite.

Even so, they had still lost over thirty knights.

Every member of the Order of Norman Knights was born of nobility, which explained Nikus's extreme rage; as their commander, he bore unshirkable responsibility.

Rosie steered the conversation away from the grim topic. “Why did feral ghouls flood into the castle? I thought the castle walls were pretty high?”

Vera sighed. “Just as you said earlier, Elizabeth must have abandoned everyone in the castle. She deliberately let the feral ghouls in.”

“As long as everyone dies, no one can prove she ever colluded with a vampire. Once things settle down, she could even return under the guise of a ‘surviving countess.’”

“I will never allow such a thing to happen.”

Nikus straightened up and spat out each word with deliberate weight.

“The traitor must die! No matter where she flees.”

“Then we need to get out of here quickly,” Rosie said.

Her gaze passed over Nikus's shoulder, landing on a white-robed figure standing in the corner.

The cleric of Light appeared to be in his fifties, with a lean face and a solemn expression. The hem of his white robe was stained with dust and blood.

Rosie walked up to him and bowed slightly. “Your Reverence, I have a favor to ask of you.”

The white-robed cleric raised his head and looked at Rosie.

Her brigandine armor was covered in blood, and the edges of her shield showed visible dents—clearly the mark of a hard-fought battle.

Earlier, when his barrier had been on the verge of collapsing, it was this girl who had cleared out the crossbowmen on the second floor, enabling them to hold out to the end.

The cleric nodded slightly and asked in a calm tone, “Speak. As long as it lies within my power.”

“There are victims kidnapped by the vampire down in the dungeon,” Rosie said. “They urgently need divine magic to heal them.”

The white-robed cleric didn't answer right away, instead turning his gaze toward Nikus.

The captain gave the cleric a firm nod.

The white-robed cleric turned back to Rosie. “Very well. Lead the way.”

Rosie stood in place with her hand resting on her sword hilt, her mind racing.

In truth, she had no idea how to get to the dungeon.

Back then, she had simply followed Alysia through a maze of twists and turns to reach the cell holding the victims.

The castle was a labyrinth of stacked walls and winding staircases. Narrow embrasures admitted only a few dim rays of light, making it easy to lose one's bearings with the slightest lapse of attention.

Rosie sheepishly looked over at Vera, silently pleading for help with her eyes.

Meeting her gaze, a subtle hint of gloating flickered across Vera's expression before she finally spoke up:

“Castle basements usually have more than one entrance. Servants' passages, cargo ramps, and the preparation stairs behind the banquet hall kitchen all lead down there. I don't know the exact layout either, but we can find someone to ask.”

“Good idea.”

Rosie nearly slapped herself. She had just asked someone for directions earlier, yet she had completely forgotten about that option, inviting Vera's mockery for nothing.

“Then let's move,” Nikus said, ready to set off immediately.

The group sprang into action.

Before they had gone far, a sudden flurry of hurried, chaotic footsteps echoed from around a corridor corner ahead, accompanied by terrified cries and screams.

Seven or eight figures dressed in coarse linen skirts and old coats stumbled into view at the end of the corridor.

Seeing the fully armed group ahead, they recoiled in fright at first, but then, like drowning people catching sight of a floating log, they began shouting incoherently:

“Help! The monsters have broken in! They're everywhere!”

Before the words could fully settle, a hunched grey figure lunged violently out from the shadows at the corridor's corner.

The servant bringing up the rear was slammed to the ground.

He had time for only half a short shriek before the feral ghoul bit into his shoulder, tearing away a chunk of cloth along with the flesh beneath.

The feral ghoul chewed twice and swallowed, then raised its head, its murky eyes locking onto the next running target.

A crossbow bolt skimmed right above the heads of several servants and struck the feral ghoul square in the head.

The feral ghoul's body stiffened for a second before collapsing straight backward.

The servants running ahead ground to a halt; some collapsed directly to the floor, while others leaned over with hands on their knees, panting heavily.

At that moment, the bitten manservant suddenly began trembling violently.

His skin took on an unhealthy grey hue, his hair fell out in clumps, and his nails lengthened at a visible speed as a ghastly, unhuman rasp issued from deep in his throat.

Another crossbow string twanged.

The bolt thudded into his forehead. The manservant's body jerked backward violently, then went limp on the floor, motionlessly still.

Vera lowered her repeating crossbow without a single wasted word.

In her eyes, once mutated, they were no longer human.

“What is this, an isekai Resident Evil...?”

Rosie grumbled under her breath.

Then she stepped forward and grabbed one of the manservants.

“Where is the dungeon?”

The manservant froze for a long moment before his eyes finally focused on her face. “D—dungeon?”

He swallowed hard, his voice still trembling.

“W—what are you going to the dungeon for?”

“There's a secret passage in the dungeon leading outside the castle,” Rosie lied on the spot. “If you don't want to die here, guide us right now.”

Rather than asking for directions step by step, it was better to let these people lead the way themselves.

Sure enough, as soon as the trembling servants heard the words “secret passage,” it was as if they had been injected with a burst of new life.

“I know!”

“I know how to get there!”

“This way, this way! I've delivered meals to the dungeon before!”

The servants crowded around, all talking over one another to answer.

Vera shot Rosie a glance. She didn't say anything, but the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

Nikus's eyes lit up, and he stepped over in a few quick strides, his voice filled with excitement and anticipation:

“Really? You know about a secret passage?”

Rosie really felt like slapping him.

But she maintained a solemn expression and continued, “Totally. Every castle has a secret escape passage, isn't that common knowledge?”

Nikus gave a heavy nod. “Then let's set off immediately! I can't wait to capture that traitor Elizabeth with my own hands!”

Rosie felt like she was being roasted over a fire.

Keeping her composure, she turned to the servants and urged, “Lead the way, quickly.”

The servants hurried forward, and Nikus, surging with battle intent, followed right behind them.

As Lucius passed by Rosie, he cast a look at her.

Clearly, this sharp-chinned knight, just like Vera, knew she was talking complete nonsense, but he chose not to expose her.

Guided by people familiar with the castle's internal layout, their pace picked up noticeably.

Along the way, the party encountered scattered feral ghouls from time to time—sometimes only one or two, sometimes a dozen.

The castle was vast and complex.

Not only was Rosie turned around after coming inside, but the feral ghouls were clearly bewildered as well.

After flooding into the castle, they had dispersed across countless intersections and passages, divided into small, scattered groups by layers of walls and staircases.

If it were a massive grey tide like the one in the main hall, even warriors of Nikus's and Vera's strength would have no choice but to run.

But against isolated stragglers, any single member of the squad could handle them individually.

After navigating through the labyrinthine castle for a while, the group arrived at a storeroom filled with old wooden barrels and broken furniture.

One of the servants stepped briskly to a corner of the room, knelt down, ran his fingers along the gaps in the floorboards, and grabbed the edge of a plank that looked no different from the rest, pulling upward with force.

The floorboard lifted away to reveal a pitch-black square opening, with a narrow stone staircase extending downward into the deep shadows.

A cold, musty draft surged up from below.

“Down below used to be a wine cellar, later partially converted into storage, connecting to the first underground level.”

The guiding servant straightened up and pointed downward.

“However, to get to the second level where the dungeon is, we still have a bit of a walk.”

Vera unhooked an oil lamp from the wall, lit it with a tinderbox, and took the lead down the stone steps.

Rosie followed behind her, followed by the white-robed cleric flanked by several knights in the middle, while Nikus brought up the rear with the remaining knights.

Ten minutes later, deep within the second underground level's dungeon.

“This is the place... Huh?”

Rosie stood before the cell door. The victims were still there, and even the oil lamp she had hung earlier was still burning, but Alysia was nowhere to be seen.

However, the gaunt elf was still lying against the wall.

The elven druid wouldn't just abandon her fellow kin and run off, so had something happened to her?

Suppressing the odd feeling in her heart, Rosie turned to the white-robed cleric and pointed at the huddled figures in the corner.

“Please help them.”

The white-robed cleric didn't say much.

He squatted down, checking the pupils of each victim, then examining their overlapping old and new wounds...

Moments later, he stood up and said:

“Their vitality has been severely drained. Even if I cleanse the blood poison, I fear they won't have much lifespan remaining.”

Rosie looked down at the figures huddled on the straw, then said to the white-robed cleric:

“Let's stabilize their condition first.”

The white-robed cleric said no more.

He unfastened a palm-sized golden holy symbol from his waist, holding it in both hands. Closing his eyes, he bowed his head, his lips moving softly as he began chanting a prayer.

“O Supreme Lord of Light, hear the prayer of your faithful servant and grant me the power of light.”

As the final words of the prayer fell, the golden holy symbol in his hands flared with light.

Radiant golden light illuminated the huddled figures in the corner like a miniature sun.

The golden light gently caressed their emaciated bodies and crisscrossing scars. The victims' brows seemed to relax slightly, and their breathing grew more even.

Standing a few paces away, Rosie quietly felt a gentle warmth brushing against her skin as the light washed past.

A notification slid silently into view at the edge of her vision.

【Optional Quest Completed】

【Reward—Divine Magic: Holy Light】

【Holy Light: Summons a beam of holy light from the Light Realm to heal a creature's wounds. Effectiveness depends on the Wisdom attribute. Usable up to 3 times, recharges through deep meditation.】

Knowledge suddenly flooded into Rosie's mind—knowledge about summoning light!

I finally have a healing skill of my own, Rosie thought with secret delight.

But before she could examine it in detail—

Nikus, standing guard outside the dungeon, suddenly barked, “Who goes there?!”