Chapter 8: The Black Armor’s Rampage

The Next Day—

They had already reached the region where the Black Armor was known to roam. According to the records of its five previous attacks, it always struck during daylight hours.

“It’s already noon,” Ael observed, gazing up at the sun. The midday light filtered into the deep forest, casting a spectrum of colors that made even the leaves shimmer.

It was hard to imagine such a radiant forest could be cursed by a demon.

“Naya, could you tell us more about the Black Armor?”

“It has four tentacles,” Naya replied, taking a moment to confirm the number in her mind.

“Tentacles like an octopus?” Leon asked.

“How disgusting,” Ael declared, her aversion to tentacles palpable.

The thought of an armored knight sprouting tentacles—what an absurd image! A kraken knight, perhaps?

“No, no, they’re more like black, bandage-like tendrils,” Naya corrected. “They’re as swift as arrows and can easily pierce through steel.”

“Is that so?” Hearing Naya’s description, Ael unslung the shield from her back, holding it ready in case of danger. “But my shield is made of Mithril.”

“Mithril!?” Naya gasped in astonishment.

‘Heavens above! This shield must be worth an absolute fortune!’

“Is Mithril a very rare metal?” Leon inquired, noting Naya’s extreme reaction.

“No weapon can destroy Mithril,” Ael stated.

“Indeed, it’s far harder than steel, yet significantly lighter,” Naya explained. “No wonder you carry it with such ease, Ael. Leon, when we’re rich, I’ll definitely buy you a Mithril sword.”

‘A single Mithril sword would likely cost ten times its weight in gold,’ Naya mused. ‘And Ael’s shield… the Second Prince, patron of the Ecclesiarchy, truly has a lavish hand!’

‘Alas, we were just discussing the Black Armor, and now we’ve veered off into Mithril,’ she thought with a sigh.

“So—besides its tentacles, does it have any other weapons?” Leon asked.

“No, it fights bare-handed,” Naya replied. As she spoke, she was drawn into a dark memory—a companion’s head exploding from a single punch by the Black Armor right before her eyes.

“And… it suddenly appears from a cross-shaped spatial rift, so be wary of ambushes,” Naya continued, her voice trailing off. Each detail she recounted was a reminder of how one of her former comrades had died.

“Unprepared ambushes, then? Should the three of us walk back-to-back to counter that?”

Leon sighed. “…That sounds rather foolish.”

“Indeed…”

They had been wandering for half a day already. Would the Black Armor truly appear?

***

Meanwhile, the five members of the Hunter’s Blade squad had adopted a different strategy. Four of them were concealed in the trees, as there was no evidence to suggest the Black Armor could suddenly appear on branches.

The Trap Master remained on the ground as bait. As a seasoned hunter, he was accustomed to the thrill of waiting for his prey.

A net of traps had been meticulously laid, yet their greatest fear was that the prey wouldn’t show. Fortunately, the scales of luck truly tipped in his favor.

A cross-shaped spatial rift silently tore open behind him, and an armored hand reached out! The Trap Master, however, had coated himself entirely in a special oil beforehand.

When the hand seized his neck, he slipped away like an eel, evading its grasp!

“Hahaha!” the Trap Master chuckled triumphantly. The moment the Black Armor stepped out of the rift, it triggered a mechanism!

A massive bear trap, capable of severing a bear in half, instantly clamped around its waist! Yet, even that couldn’t shatter the armor!

But then—”GAME! OVER!” The Greatsword Wielder, who always shouted this phrase when finishing off opponents, leaped from the tree, raising his colossal sword high.

He brought it crashing down upon the Black Armor!

The impact was tremendous, and usually, battles would conclude at this point. However, the reality was stark: the Black Armor had raised its crossed arms and withstood the blow!

In that fleeting instant, his gaze met the Black Armor’s. Within its hollow helmet, dark flames flickered, seeming to whisper of lament and ill omen.

A shiver ran down the Greatsword Wielder’s spine, and he swiftly leaped away.

“Get out of the way! Ah—! Ah—! Ah—!” Malgo the Ironclad charged forward in a blur. Fully armored, he slammed into the Black Armor, pushing it relentlessly.

He didn’t stop until he crashed it against a large tree, a truly flawless handover!

“As expected of the boss! The tree nearly snapped!”

“Hey, hey—that final blow should be mine!” The Dark Knight rushed forward, eager to land the finishing strike. According to his beliefs, delivering the killing blow allowed him to absorb the opponent’s soul and augment his own power.

“Even enduring an attack like that—” Malgo the Ironclad’s last words were cut short. A flying tentacle pierced through his gauntlet, shield, armor, and body, all in one swift motion.

“Boss…? Hey, hey… this can’t be real, can it?”

Malgo was silenced forever, his body resembling a punctured, bleeding can.

The Black Armor casually pushed the corpse aside. It then snapped the bear trap and stepped out of the deep indentation it had made in the tree.

“Argh! Die!” The Dark Knight roared, using all his might to slam the Black Armor back into the tree with his sword. The Black Armor retaliated, striking him with all four tentacles, turning him into a sieve.

These tentacles rendered all armor useless; to be touched was to die—what a monstrous ability!

The Dark Knight collapsed beside Malgo, his eyes wide in disbelief, their bodies lying side-by-side. The next second, the Black Armor pulled the sword from its chest and tossed it aside.

The Blade Dancer flicked his left hand, then his right. Eight throwing knives, held between his fingers, shot out!

They struck with perfect precision, all hitting vital points!

The Black Armor recoiled slightly, then lashed out with its tentacles towards him.

The Blade Dancer recoiled slightly, and then he was dead.

‘This isn’t good…’

The Trap Master frantically turned and fled. “This is impossible, we’re wiped out, retreat!”

What good was being covered in oil now? The next moment, the Trap Master was impaled by a barrage of tentacles right before the Greatsword Wielder’s eyes.

The Greatsword Wielder stood frozen, dumbfounded.

“This can’t be real…”

The renowned one-star team, “Hunter’s Blade,” was annihilated…

“W-wait a moment! I remember you sparing one survivor! I’m the only one left! Don’t kill me!”

The Black Armor, indeed, did not move.

For a moment, the Greatsword Wielder truly believed he was saved. Then, a “whoosh” sound suddenly echoed from not far away.

Fireworks? He glanced in that direction, only to see Ouka, the one-eyed bounty hunter, hidden behind a bush, igniting a flare into the sky.

The Black Armor looked at the commotion in the bushes, then back at him… and decided to turn the Greatsword Wielder into a sieve.

***

When Leon and his two companions saw the burst of fireworks, they realized the distance was not as great as they had thought.

“Someone lit a flare?” Leon instinctively gripped his sword hilt.

“I thought they wouldn’t use a flare unless they were in trouble,” Ael remarked.

Upon seeing the flare, Naya immediately cast a Shield of Light upon Leon.

“Never mind that, let’s hurry over! I hope they’re still alive; I was just saying how I wanted to spare them from harm,” Leon declared, charging forward first.

Ael swiftly followed, rushing after Leon.

“Wait! I haven’t cast a Shield of Light on you yet!” Naya exclaimed, exasperated, and had no choice but to follow Ael.

When they arrived, they found clear evidence of a fierce battle. The five members of Hunter’s Blade had been reduced to five corpses.

The Black Armor, the entity that seemed to carry its own ominous background music, stood amidst the circle of fallen bodies. Silent, dark karmic flames emanated from its entire form.

Facing it, Naya felt as though she was reliving the horrifying moment her previous team had been annihilated.

Ael, however, was ignited with a different emotion. She wore an excited smile, as if righteousness itself had finally cornered evil.

Raising her hand, she pointed at the Black Armor. “A demon, you say? I, Ael, shall deliver judgment in Aio’s name!”