Gugugug-
The heavy mace rose upward and fell down.
Dolores swung the mace and thought of the past.
She remembered how, after the incident with the Hell Tree, she had doubted her powers and had personally asked Pope Nabokov I to train her.
At the time, Nabokov I had told her.
'A third-class healer heals their allies when they are injured.'
'A second-class healer heals their allies immediately when they are injured.'
'... but a first-class healer does not.'
Nabokov I's teachings have shaped Dolores today.
"Eliminate the risk of injury to your allies before they get hurt!"
Dolores' mace came down like a bolt of lightning.
And it smashed Pedro's face flat.
… Thwack!
With a terrifying sound, Pedro's body flew backwards and crashed to the ground.
Bianca asked in a dazed tone.
"...How do you carry that mace?"
"Umm. Normally, I'm supposed to slip a sack between my back muscles and use my strength to tighten it, but I don't have that kind of muscle and strength yet, so I just sneak it on my back with a string, and cover the mace part underneath with my skirt!"
Finishing her explanation, she picked up the mace once more and began ruling out any factors that might injure her ally.
ppeoeog-
Another mace came crashing down on Pedro's head as he lay dazed on the ground.
"Ahh!?"
Pedro snapped back to reality.
His eyeballs felt like they were going to pop out, no they actually popped out.
He wasn't sure if the burning in his vision was from exposure to divine power or the pain of the physical impact.
"W-what do cavalry do!?"
Pedro shouted for help, but the Invincible Cavalry was no where near.
Sinclair's golden wall, Bianca's arrows, falling rocks, and Dolores's holy shield were blocking their charge.
Furthermore, with Pedro's mental magic weakened, the knights within the cavalry were unleashing their brainwashing one by one.
Pedro gritted his teeth.
He had made a mistake by being too greedy to capture Tudor and Bianca.
He'd made a bad decision in the first place, choosing a steep mountainous terrain that wasn't conducive to cavalry.
"If I can just get this guy, I'll be fine."
Tudor's assessment of the situation was equally quick.
Behind them, mercenaries hired by CindyWendy and reinforcements from the various Families descended to block the cavalry, while Dolores, Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, Bianca, and Sinclair focused on Pedro.
"How dare you brats!"
Pedro shouted back, his Graduator Superlative and demonic aura radiating from him.
Demonization. Just as Pedro's form was about to turn terrifying.
…Flash!
Dolores's even more powerful Holy Shield crushed Pedro's entire body.
Above him, Sinclair summons countless golden hands to crush the demon's body.
Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, and Bianca also used their full power to cut off Pedro's limbs.
[Aaaaahhh!]
As a demon, Pedro wriggled violently, but he was helpless until the mercenaries sent by CindyWendy arrived and fired arrows at him.
In the end, only after the twenty-four stakes that Dolores had given divine power were driven into his torso did Pedro become quiet.
With his capture, Don Quixote's Invincible Cavalry halted.
They awoke from their dazed stupor and slowly began to recognize reality.
"Where am I?"
"Huh! Why am I in this place?"
"Tudor, Master Tudor!?"
Tudor stared at the knights of the main family who were slowly regaining their senses.
Only a few members of the Invincible Cavalry had gathered here, and most of them were probably far away in the civil war.
"What a tragedy, the proud knights of La Mancha dying in vain, brainwashed by a mere demon."
Tudor's hateful gaze turned to Pedro, who lay on the ground, groaning.
"You should have died long ago when you sent my friend to prison. Sweeten the death you have been granted."
[Now, wait! Spare my life, spare my life, I'll do anything, I'll tell you everything, but spare my life...!]
Pedro had been in a similar situation once before, when he was escorting Vikir to Nouvelle Vague.
He had survived by selling information and begging for his life before, so everyone except Tudor decided to interrogate him a little longer.
Tudor, who had been arguing for Pedro's execution, agreed with everyone.
"You're going to have to tell me everything you know, honestly and completely, or I'm not sure I can guarantee your life."
[hiig-]
"But if you answer honestly, I will spare your life. On the honor of Don Quixote."
Behind the calmly speaking Tudor, the knights of Don Quixote, who had been brainwashed, were searing with rage.
Pedro groaned in pain, but managed to answer each question.
As a result, the Night Walkers were able to learn many things.
They learned that the true name of their target was Cimeries, and that Cimeries had the power to make humans reckless and brave.
Other information included that most of Don Quixote's Invincible Cavalry had been dispatched to the conflict zone, that the Invincible Armada was at anchor far away from the family home due to the drought, and that Cimeries, who was wearing the shell of Pasamonte, was currently prioritizing the safety of Tudor.
"Why do you want to take me and Tudor alive? If you're just going for static elimination, why not just take our heads? Wouldn't that be a lot easier?"
[I, I don't know! I'm serious! He didn't tell me!]
Pedro shook his head in response to Bianca's question.
Then, Tudor asked.
"And my father? Is he safe?"
[....]
Pedro was silent for a moment.
Then, in a stuttering tone, he said.
[Well, of course he's fine. His health isn't the best...]
"Really! Is my father really okay?"
[I, I'm a demon myself, but I was once a knight of Don Quixote, I don't lie!]
"Thank you, God. For protecting my father...."
Tudor closed his eyes and said a prayer of thanks.
Pedro looked up and opened his mouth.
[Now I've told you everything I know, I mean it. Release me. I'm so drained of magic, I have no strength to resist. Surely, a Knight of Don Quixote would not break his word of honor?]
For a moment, Tudor's eyes narrowed.
"Yes, sir. I promised my honor. As a Knight of the Don Quixote family."
[Yes. A knight of La Mancha is more honorable and dignified than anything else. I am not even worthy to speak of it. ....]
Pedro said gloomily, in a self-help tone.
But Tudor shook his head.
"Yes, you are unworthy of Don Quixote's honor, but neither am I."
[...?]
Pedro looks up, puzzled.
In front of him, Tudor slowly raised the broken blade of his spear.
"My name is Tudor."
The blade gleams brightly.
"No surname."
It plunges straight down toward Pedro's throat.
Pedro's head was cut off without any time to shout.
Dark blood spattered the ground.
Tudor continued in a low voice.
"So the honor of Don Quixote has nothing to do with me."
* * *
Deep within the interior of Fort Tochka. The meeting place of the Night Walkers.
"Let's retreat."
Tudor said.
The way a general from the Warring States period who appears in the historical tale usurped the country is to withdraw the army and take the throne.
"We'll make it look like we're returning with no earnings, march bloodlessly to Don Quixote's territory, then sneak into the castle and assassinate Pasamonte."
Everyone nodded in agreement that it was a good plan.
Even the usually skeptical and cantankerous Cindy Wendy agreed for once.
"As it is, Don Quixote's army is blocking our supply routes. If we don't get Don Quixote back, we won't have enough food and water to feed the refugees, and that's a problem for Vikir's plan."
Moreover, since they know that Night Walkers are gathered at Tochka Fortress, they need to move as quickly as possible.
Advantage. If there's going to be a fight, it's a hundred times better to strike first.
Tudor's body seemed to be shaking at the thought of saving his father and restoring his family name.
Dolores turned to everyone.
"Among us, Sinclair and I are probably the only ones who have directly experienced the power of the Ten Corpse."
Dolores had faced Dantalian, Belial, and Amdusias, and Sinclair had faced Belial.
The power of the 10 Corpses that Dolores and Sinclair talk about is so enormous that it cannot even be compared to someone like Pedro.
"Even now, after all this time, it's probably even stronger, so we need to be prepared."
Even Vikir had always been prepared when dealing with the Ten Corpses, and if that wasn't enough, he would risk his life.
Everyone's expressions became determined at the thought of finally going to deal with the culprit.
"I'm familiar with the troop deployments and terrain within the family."
Tudor briefly drew a map of the family's territory.
Everyone watched as Tudor gave a detailed briefing on where the traps were and where the secret passages were hidden.
Suddenly, Piggy muttered in a low voice.
"...I wish I had Vikir with me when this happened."
All eyes turned to Piggy.
Piggy waved his hands in embarrassment.
"Oops! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound weak...."
Dolores smiled and put a hand on Piggy's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Piggy. We all have those thoughts."
"Well, I'm still... sorry. I thought I threw cold water on it."
Piggy lowers his head in a whispering voice.
Tudor comforts him.
"I think about that sometimes, too, how happy we'd be if he miraculously appeared in front of us. But he can't be here right now, trapped in Nouvelle Vague."
"...That's right."
"What we need to do now is not vaguely dream of him being with us, but to do the homework he left us to do, and more importantly, to get him out of Nouvelle Vague."
Tudor's words echoed in everyone's minds.
"Vikir is definitely alive, and we will see him again one day, but we must perform well enough to be worthy of his presence before then."
Dolores echoed Tudor's sentiments.
"We need to grow up too, so that Vikir doesn't have to do it all on his own. We want to let him know that he can rely on us a little bit more."
Sancho, Bianca, and Sinclair nodded wordlessly.
Even if they don't open their mouths to speak, they all know what they mean.
Only CindyWendy was fiddling under the table with a letter she had received relatively recently containing an announcement from Nouvelle Vague.
An official report from the Nouvelle Vague.
It stated that Night Hound had died in a failed escape attempt from Nouvelle Vague.
'I suppose I don't need to tell them this.'
CindyWendy crumpled it up with a small sigh.
'For those who walk the night, Vikir is an unbreakable faith.'
It was impossible to break that faith.
'...I'm going to need a miracle, really.'
Even CindyWendy, who never believed in luck or miracles, had this thought, and everyone hoped and waited for the return of Vikir.