Clang! The sound of metal clashing sent chills through the entire body as the tip of the sword left a long crack on the engine room door.

Soon, the thick iron door split along that crack and collapsed down with a thud.

Hot white steam hissed out, making the blurry interior gradually become clearer.

The first thing that caught the eye was the ‘Flame of Refinement’, the primal fire blazing atop a large, thick stone pillar.

Centered around that pillar, metal pipes and gears were intricately connected, with the four thickest pipes extending to each corner directly linked to the airship’s engines.

The engine room, which should have been neat, was now in a state of chaos like a giant spider’s nest.

Spider webs draped like nets everywhere and sticky eggs visible here and there.

Underneath, a still-active black magic circle was glowing red.

“The black mage summoned magical beasts as well.”

As Matian scanned the inside and adjusted his grip on his sword, three giant tarantulas hidden in the mist lunged at the soldiers.

“Ah, ahhh!”

The dwarf air force soldiers, aiming their gun barrels forward, hesitated to pull the triggers for fear of damaging the engine and panicked.

“Wh-what should we do, Captain! Do we pull the trigger?”

“Are you trying to destroy the entire engine room? Don’t fire, maintain formation!”

The air force captain ordered, but one frightened soldier ended up pulling the trigger.

“S-save me!”

Bang! Bang bang!

“That crazy bastard! Can’t you stop? Someone take that guy’s gun away first!”

“Th-then Captain, how do we defeat the magical beasts!”

“Draw your swords.”

“But that way we can’t fight properly.”

Dwarves had many superior weapons like bombs and long guns.

Even when living in Muspelheim, they mainly utilized those weapons, so their skills in directly using their bodies, like swordsmanship, were only learned as basics.

“No excuses, prepare! Will the great dwarves give up here!”

The air force captain, drawing his sword, began slashing at the spider beasts starting to pour out of the engine room one by one while continuing his lecture.

“But, Captain… Ahhh!”

The soldier collapsed right there.

The body of a soldier who had lost his head, eaten by a magical beast, flew this way.

Bulletproof vests blocking bayonets were of no use against magical beasts. What was needed now were mages and swordsmen.

Rukna quietly tried to infiltrate the engine room while vividly watching how an army that relied solely on technology crumbled.

“Rukna!”

Matian, who had spotted Rukna at a glance amidst the chaos of magical beasts and dwarves entangled, called out to her.

In that short time, he must have cut down quite a number of magical beasts, as green blood was dripping from the sword he held.

“I’ll just check inside for a moment and be right back.”

Rukna mouthed towards Matian who was some distance away. This much should be enough for him to understand.

‘Bisbi, I’m going in trusting only your word, so protect me properly.’

“I always prioritize the master’s survival above all else.”

Although entering a spider’s lair was not at all pleasant, she had no choice due to the holy sword’s nagging since earlier.

Matian tried to follow Rukna, but spider beasts that had just hatched from eggs flowed out in swarms, blocking his path.

Meanwhile, not a single one rushed at Rukna.

‘Strange. The magical beasts seem unable to see me.’

“This is all thanks to the great Bisbi using his power, master.”

‘Oh, thank you?’

“Master, I don’t feel any gratitude in your tone at all. Avoid the spider webs and enter deeper inside. We must stop the sacrifice ritual.”

‘Sacrifice ritual?’

“It’s a ritual of offering sacrifices when using high-level black magic. It is presumed they are trying to use magic to contaminate the surrounding space in order to separate the Flame of Refinement from the airship.”

Rukna sneaked into the center of the engine room, avoiding spider webs hanging everywhere.

Thunk thunk thunk, screech! The sound of large gears noisily meshing and turning reverberated in her eardrums, and steam gushing out from here and there blurred her vision.

Every time her body grazed a hot metal pipe while avoiding the baby magical beasts crawling on the spider webs, her clothes burned.

She also got burns on her arms and legs, but had to clench her teeth and swallow her groans.

Even the holy sword seemed unable to do anything about this.

‘It’s hot and humid, I can barely breathe.’

The closer she got to the center of the engine room, the more sweat poured down like rain.

Rukna finally reached where the Flame of Refinement was by crawling on the floor, avoiding spider beasts and bent metal pipes.

A golden torch stand shaped like a goblin cup was visible atop a massive stone pillar.

The Flame of Refinement was blazing vigorously in the elegantly designed torch stand.

There, Professor Todley from the Taming Department of the Officer Academy was busy drawing a magic circle centered around the stone pillar.

Rukna immediately drew the holy sword from her necklace.

And as she walked towards the professor, someone tripped her legs, making her fall.

Ugh! As she fell and grazed a metal pipe, the back of her hand turned bright red.

“Hehe, it’s Rukna Golden.”

The one who tripped Rukna was her classmate, Randall.

‘Isn’t this the guy I mistook for Matian before boarding the airship?’

He was a cadet who lived as quietly at school as Rukna before her possession.

But then one day, he suddenly dyed his brown hair black like Matian’s, wore a fake medal similar to the one Matian received on his jacket’s welt pocket, or used things identical to Matian’s belongings, acting like an eccentric.

Some cadets criticized such behavior from Randall, but each time he brushed off the mockery with a gentle smile.

Just like Matian.

Of course, now he was revealing his true colors in front of Rukna.

“It, it itches. It itches. It’s because of you!”

He kept scratching his arms and legs while glaring at Rukna.

“At, at first there was nothing, but from the next time. Is, is it because of that damn pollen?”

Randall rambled incoherently while scratching his arms until they bled. His eyes were already hazy as if he had lost his reason.

‘Pollen? Is he talking about the Alechi that Matian gave me?’

It seems the story about Alechi leaving pollen on intruders trying to enter when placed by the window, causing a rash, was true.

Since it was recent that she received the Alechi from Matian, Randall’s words meant he had secretly invaded her room lately.

“You, you entered my room? No, that’s not it. Were you also the thief who broke into my room a few days ago?”

Rukna asked as she got up from where she had fallen.

To think that the mysterious intruder who had turned her room upside down without stealing anything was Randall.

And he even broke in one more time. It gave her goosebumps.

“Haha, yes. It was me. I had to find out. I, I suspected you.”

“What?”

“To, to become exactly like Matian, for that, I had to suspect you too. As, as the holy sword thief.”

So you were the only one looking at me like that. With such persistent eyes like that. The reason for looking at another man with such eyes could only be that.

Yes, to find the holy sword.

Randall muttered the rest while scratching his red and swollen arms and legs.

“But, but I didn’t find anything. Why? Why? Why?”

“…What are you talking about now, Randall.”

“I, I tried to have the same hair, same clothes, same body as that guy. I tried to think the same thoughts as him but I don’t know. I don’t know. I’m telling you I don’t know. I don’t understand what’s inside that damn student council president’s head.”

“Randall?”

“And, and why does everyone ignore me? They, they should admire me. They should admire me, like the student council president!”

Randall, who had been rambling while scratching his whole body, pointed at Rukna with wide eyes.

“If, if I discover it first. If I prove that Rukna took the holy, holy sword, yes, if I prove that, if I get to hold the holy sword! I’ll, I’ll become greater than Matian. I’ll be even greater.”

Randall, with eyes wide open, stared at the sword Rukna held in her hand.

“Yes, that. Th-that. That sword with the unpleasant aura flowing from it!”

At the same time, Randall lunged at Rukna like a beast.

Startled, Rukna suppressed her emotions as much as possible and spread her two feet appropriately to balance her body.

As she gripped the sword hilt tightly, the holy sword flashed and transformed into the long club shape she preferred, and Rukna immediately swung it to strike Randall’s shin with a thwack.

Ugh! Swallowing a groan, Randall rolled to the side.

His body, stiff like a wooden block, sprawled on the floor then abruptly stood up.

The movement of his joints was unnatural and grotesque.

“I, I was right after all. I was right. Th-that, that’s the holy sword, right? It’s mine. It’s mine. It’s mine!”

Randall laughed creepily and lunged for the holy sword once again.

You crazy bastard! Rukna ducked to avoid Randall’s two arms, then slid forward to aim for his back.

The club fell heavily right onto Randall’s nape.

She must have put too much strength into it, as there was a sound like strongly striking a chunk of meat.

“Kuk!”

Randall’s heavy body rolled on the floor and crashed into a corner.

It was a bitter ending for such a grand entrance.

“The human tainted by malice has lost fighting spirit. The soul contamination level is high, so perfect purification is difficult, but shall I perform emergency treatment?”

‘Okay. If possible, I’d like his memory erased too. It’s unsettling that this guy knows I have the holy sword.’

Rukna planted the club she was holding onto Randall’s solar plexus as if stabbing it.

“I will attempt as requested by the master.”

Soon, holy power enveloped the club, shimmering before seeping into Randall’s heart.

Now that he’s been purified to some extent, he won’t be used as a sacrifice for the ritual.