Cecilia headed toward the engine room with neither a hurried nor a slow pace.
Behind her trailed thirteen people, mimicking a game of train play.
“Lady Cecilia, is it really as simple as going in and just breaking the dungeon’s core to end this?”
“Hmm… probably not.”
The sword hanging loosely at Cecilia’s side dripped with Demon Race bl**d.
They had been cutting off the Dullahan’s arms and legs along the way.
Just in case, the passengers were each holding one of the severed limbs of the Dullahan.
“It seems like the dungeon is interconnected as a whole. When we destroy the core, the train will vanish too.”
“That, that’s terrible!”
“Yes. So, we need to prevent that from happening.”
“How?”
“Very well.”
“…”
‘Was it not entertaining…?’
It was supposed to be a great joke, but it seemed to have failed.
“We can k*ll the Dullahan simultaneously, which would cancel out the contingency.”
“Aha! The core must be designed to explode when destroyed, causing the Dullahans to detonate accordingly! And there happens to be one in each carriage!”
‘Good job.’
Cecilia felt like a proud mother.
It was akin to the level of excitement one feels when a newborn takes its first steps.
“But Lady Cecilia, if that’s the case, shouldn’t we have brought the Dullahan along? They’re too far apart in each carriage to k*ll them all at once…”
“It’s impractical. Once a Dullahan in any carriage disappears, another one spawns.”
The simplest solution would be to place the twelve ‘ticket-less’ individuals in each carriage, then signal them to eliminate the disabled Dullahans simultaneously.
But there was a catch: no one knew what those who had fallen victim to ‘mental contamination’ might do.
Thus, the most orthodox method to tackle this dungeon would be…
‘To k*ll everyone who has a ticket.’
‘This dungeon likely forces you to choose between saving the train or saving the people.’
Another option would be gathering all the people into one carriage and abandoning the rest of the train.
However, neither choice appealed to Cecilia.
If she didn’t like it, she wouldn’t do it. It was a very simple truth.
“You don’t need to worry about that part. I’ve got an idea.”
Cecilia stopped walking.
“Is this the engine room?”
Using the Dullahan’s arm, she opened the door to the engine room.
A grotesque purple creature, unpleasant to look at, was clinging to the engineer.
Cecilia poked the purple monster with the tip of her sword.
Ting, ting.
‘It’s tough.’
She blinked.
At this point, using Blessing would be necessary.
The problem was that doing so meant she couldn’t handle the Dullahan.
After all, Cecilia only had one right arm.
“Lady Cecilia, he’s still breathing. He’s merely unconscious.”
Beatrice, who had checked the engineer’s vital signs, reported.
As Cecilia stared intently at Beatrice, she smiled mysteriously.
That smile filled Beatrice with foreboding.
“Can you do it?”
“…What?”
“Bettie can do it.”
“No, surely not…”
Beatrice turned her head away blankly.
The repulsive purple monster was making gurgling noises.
“Should I… cut it down?”
“I need to deal with the Dullahan.”
“…!”
Beatrice swallowed hard.
Carefully infusing her sword with Blessing, she struck the dungeon’s core.
‘It’s tougher than my sword.’
Realizing her Sword Technique couldn’t even scratch it, she looked at Cecilia with a flustered expression.
“You’ve trained hard until now, Bettie.”
“…”
“It’s time to show what you’ve learned.”
‘Though unintended, this will be excellent practice.’
“I trust you, Bettie.”
“I… ”
Beatrice’s eyes widened for a moment before dimming.
‘She trusts me this much.’
What was all the training for?
To be of help to Cecilia.
And that moment had arrived sooner than expected.
“Yes. I shall definitely sever the dungeon’s core.”
“Very good.”
The rookie had made up her mind.
She looked beautiful and worthy of pride.
Now it was time to teach her how to run.
“Imagine the clearest line possible, Bettie. A straight path that moves forward unobstructed by anything.”
Without the energy to respond, Beatrice focused entirely on her sword and the core.
A good kind of focus.
“Invoke the Blessing. The purest light you’ve ever summoned. Pure light can pierce through anything. Slice. With your skills, you should be able to cleanly sever only the dungeon’s core.”
No further explanation was needed.
Cecilia leaned against Bettie’s back, looking towards the last carriage with her sword raised.
“The moment Bettie strikes, I’ll pierce the Dullahan’s heart. Let me know when you’re ready.”
“…Lady Cecilia, may I ask one question?”
‘Ah, this was perfect timing.’
She had delivered a fantastic line.
From here on, action would have been ideal, but Cecilia responded regretfully.
“Yes.”
“How are you planning to defeat the Dullahan? What technique do you have in mind?”
“Does knowing that help you cut the dungeon’s core?”
“Yes, I need certainty. Who taught me the art of the sword?”
Cecilia smirked.
“I’m going to Deploy Domain.”
‘I’ve wanted to try this once.’
“Also known as ‘All-or-Nothing 0.1 Second Wind Shear.’”
Meanwhile, at Teresia Northern Station.
Rude was smiling contentedly as he held a photograph up to the sunlight.
It was a picture of Cecilia making an inverted V sign.
“What’s that?”
“Is it a typhoon?”
“It looks like someone’s drawing something…”
Rude lifted his head upon sensing an unusual magical power.
Not far away, a storm was brewing in the sky.
The storm churned and formed an odd shape.
“…She looks incredibly urgent.”
Cecilia, the representative younger sister of the Windsor Knight Order.
Though she occasionally did absurd things that left others baffled, she didn’t joke around with matters like this.
‘An emergency situation.’
Rude immediately sprang into action, heading towards the supply route.
“There you are, insignificant being.”
“Ho, how did you know I’d come?”
“Pathetic creature, daring to enter Lord Human’s territory.”
Rude looked at the demon with disdain as he reached into his pocket.
“Self-destruct.”
“Hahaha! What a foolish human. Were you trying to imitate a dragon? Saying self-destruc… huh?”
The demon exploded its own neck.
For the final sin of Pride among the Seven Deadly Sins, it was a rather pitiful d*ath.
Mage Rude.
It was the price paid for failing to recognize the third-ranked member of the Windsor Knight Order.
“Thank you for your efforts, Rude.”
“Well, it wasn’t much. Cecilia deserves credit for uncovering this beforehand.”
“…Indeed. I wondered why she suddenly mentioned inspecting the train, but she must have anticipated this.”
With more troops mobilized to the north, they required more supplies than usual.
Interrupting the supply line at such a time would be catastrophic.
Once disrupted, it would take three months to restore.
If invaded during that period, unimaginable disasters could occur.
‘She keeps proving herself again and again.’
Kairon closed his eyes with mixed feelings.
There was one place he didn’t want to send her to.
Even if he had to send her, he intended to go along.
However, Cecilia was showing her resolve through actions rather than words.
‘I’ve grown up enough. There’s no need to worry about me so much.’
So—
“Preemptively stopping the threat, truly commendable. Shouldn’t you offer some praise if she comes?”
When Edward spoke beside him, Kairon remained silent.
He simply waited for the train while staring at the empty tracks.
And after a long while.
Choo choo choong—.
The train entered the station.
Chiiik.
The doors of the train, which had stopped while emitting steam, opened.
“It’s fortunate. It seems like Ria succeeded. The train doesn’t seem to have taken much damage.”
At the moment Edward’s expression visibly stiffened upon seeing the perfectly intact train,
Cecilia stepped off the train supporting Beatrice.
Beatrice had fainted.
Cecilia’s pristine white shirt was stained with bl**d.
Moreover, her emotionless pupils were cold and lifeless.
“!!”
“Cecilia!”
Kairon rushed over and grabbed Cecilia by the shoulder.
“This bl**d isn’t mine.”
“That bl**d…!”
Cecilia’s pupils lowered slightly.
“It’s not my bl**d.”
“Then…”
“Rather, Bettie used excessive magic.”
“Rude. Please take care of it.”
“Yes sir!”
As Rude quickly carried Bettie away and flew into the sky, Kairon looked at Cecilia.
“…Cecilia. What happened to the other passengers?”
“I apologize deeply.”
Cecilia bit her lip tightly.
Kairon’s eyes widened.
At that moment, Edward approached with an unbearable smile on his face.
Patting Cecilia on the shoulder, he said,
“You chose to save the train over the passengers.”
“…”
“It was an excellent decision. Don’t be too disheartened. By securing the supply line, you saved many more lives.”
“…?”
Cecilia tilted her head in confusion.
Her slouched posture straightened, and she blinked her eyes.
“Although some experienced hallucinations and lost consciousness, no one died.”
“…What?”
Edward’s amused grin gradually faded.
“Then why…”
“If unconscious passengers file for damages, what will I do? I don’t have money for that.”
“…Go get some sleep.”
“Carry me.”
Silently, Kairon picked Cecilia up and carried her on his shoulder as he walked away.
The drooping Cecilia thought to herself,
‘I’ve got a bump on my forehead. It hurts.’
Though she successfully cut down the Dullahan with the All-or-Nothing 0.1 Second Wind Shear…
Due to manual operation, she couldn’t keep up with the speed and ended up crashing at the end.
This technique probably needed to be permanently sealed.
‘I am but a mere mortal.’
Hic.
Cecilia was deeply sad.
“Hehe. Now I think I’ll take a modest northern mission and go on a trip with Bettie.”
But there was something Cecilia hadn’t considered.
Namely, the impact of her recent feat was enormous.
Blocking the Demon Race's plan to blow up the supply line.
And achieving complete success without a single casualty or loss, not even a dry biscuit.
Windsor Knights prove their abilities through 'missions.'
Cecilia was a fully verified knight.
No longer just a mascot or a promising prodigy of the Windsor Knight Order.
She had reached a level where taking on 'important responsibilities' was natural.
“Cecilia. This is a top-secret mission. You are to be dispatched to the northern front to investigate the Demon Race's movements simultaneously with the northern expedition. Her Majesty the Queen appoints you as the commander of the Northern Expeditionary Force.”
Even though she was only sixteen years old, such a heavy responsibility was entrusted to the young Sword Heroine for two reasons.
First, the originally favored candidate, 'Mage Rude,' had exhausted most of his magic and needed recovery time. -Rude doesn't have great mileage-
Second, the other strong candidate, Edward Windsor, strongly recommended her saying, “Though it’s unfortunate, in terms of stability, Cecilia surpasses me. Since the purpose of this expedition is to observe trends without major losses, she is the best fit.”
Most importantly, the queen welcomed the decision with open arms.
Even Kairon accepted due to this incident- leaving Cecilia unable to utter even a 'G' of refusal before being abducted.
“??”
To the north.
“????”
While riding the 'Direct Express Train to the Demon King’s Castle,' Cecilia glanced to the side.
Beatrice awkwardly smiled, then hastily took out pudding and offered it with a spoon.
“Please eat.”
Cecilia ate it first, then resumed scanning her surroundings like a pigeon.
There were no passengers on the train; only rough-looking Windsor knights.
Even worse, most of them smelled bad.
Instead of a cheerful adventure to the Demon King’s Castle with Bettie,
It was a mountain climbing club with sweaty uncles.
Cecilia couldn’t believe the reality.
Until the moment she arrived in the north.
“??”
Despite the biting snowstorm, Cecilia stood motionless, staring blankly at the 24 knights lined up before her.
