The Blue Knights exchanged glances in silence. This was no ordinary statue. Those who disappeared 19 years ago have now become something other than humans or demons.

“…From now on, we will enter one by one, keeping a certain distance. Everyone, please remove your outer garments so that your bodies do not touch the statue.”

People glared at Emmett’s face, filled with bluish disgust. Just pass through that corridor? How can you pass through without touching it?

If one’s foot slips or loses balance, even for a moment, they will end up touching the statue directly. And then, they will all end up like Baron Bornein…

“Sir Emmett, have you lost your mind? This is suicide! Most of the people here have broader shoulders than that corridor! What about tall people? Look over there!”

One of the White Knights pointed at a statue of a knight holding a sword. Unless they hunch down, their hair or earlobes will touch the blade.

“It’s impossible to pass through the corridor without touching the statue! To choose that path means death for everyone!”

And everyone was trembling in fear. Even if they walked without tension, it would be unlikely to pass through, but right now, with hands and feet shaking like chainsaws, their chances of passing were slim.

Even Emmett, who usually spoke without hesitation, was tense and stiff. Seeing that he couldn’t easily refute, it seemed that he was prepared for some degree of sacrifice as well.

“Let me go first and try installing a defense barrier.”

Then, Raiden, who had thrown off his military uniform coat, spoke with a determined voice.

People looked at him, leaving only a thin shirt and pants, with bewildered eyes. With his sleeves rolled up, Raiden stood in front of the open door with a somewhat tense expression.

If the statue is recognized not as a demon but as an object, he could put a hex on it and create a defensive barrier. So it was worth a try.

Emmett silently patted Raiden on the shoulder as he was about to leave. The two exchanged a quiet glance, being long-time friends and comrades.

“Well then, I will go.”

Raiden, who finally received a torch, stepped into the hallway. He tilted his body to avoid the statue’s statue-like figure from touching his broad shoulders.

One step, then another.

Before him stood the statue, raising its hand and screaming. He became more anxious than expected. Although he still had some room to spare, if he made even a slight mistake in raising his hand, he would touch the statue and be in trouble.

“Hoo.”

Raiden, who took a deep breath to calm his nerves, gathered his hexes. A red light emanated from Raiden’s outstretched hand, enveloping the back of the statue.

Raiden walked slowly, infusing hexes into every statue he encountered. Each statue turned red. Thanks to that, even without a torchlight, the hallway was clearly visible.

The people outside the door watched Raiden’s back and felt their vague sense of fear dissipate. But the duration of the spell was only a few minutes at best. Afterward, he needed to replenish the hexes again.

Emmett gestured to the support soldiers first. Unlike the knights, they had little or no magic resistance.

The reason Bornein couldn’t resist the tentacles at all was also because of that. If the support soldiers had a chance to pass through the hallway, it was now.

“Please proceed quickly!”

Emmett shouted to the hesitant people. Taosa, who had some experience with caution, closed his eyes tightly and entered the hallway.

Although there were moments when the back of his hand or shoulder lightly touched the statue, fortunately, nothing happened.

Realizing that they could pass through safely, the hesitant nobles also started entering the hallway one by one.

One person, two people, three people… And suddenly, it was Rosé’s turn.

Emmet lightly pushed Rosé’s back as she hesitated in front of the door. It was his own way of giving her permission to go first.

When Rosé passed through the corridor, the red light was gradually fading. Raiden seemed to be doing his best to supplement the hex, but it would be difficult to hold on for a long time.

“After you, please.”

Emmett yielded his turn to the White Knights. They turned pale, as if waiting for those words, and headed towards the corridor.

One person again, two people… They started walking through the space between the statues, keeping a certain distance from each other.

The next turn was for Aaron, who had been trembling since earlier. He ran straight into the corridor as soon as his colleague in front of him took three steps.

“I don’t want to die….”

He walked through the corridor, glancing at the statues. He was moving at a slow pace, almost as if he had to personally check the flickering hexes to feel at ease.

The anger of the people behind me grew stronger. The speed was slowing down because of Aaron.

“Hey, Aaron! Walk faster!”

“What are you doing up there! Can’t you walk?”

“Damn it! What the hell, Aaron!”

Cold sweat dripped down Aaron’s forehead. He rolled his bloodshot eyes and looked at the statues.

Now he realized it. All these people were the ones who had been trapped on the border 19 years ago.

If they didn’t defeat the Quamad, they would become like them too. An unbearable fear surged within him as the stone-faced statues screamed.

“I… I don’t want to become a… s… stone.”

Aaron hesitated and took a step back. The person behind him gestured for him to move forward, but Aaron continued to face backward.

In the process, Aaron’s shoulder collided with one of the statues. Startled, he began running backward through the corridor.

The eyes of the White Knights lined up behind them widened in surprise. They were about to collide at this rate!

“Oh… don’t, don’t do it! Aaron! Stop!”

“Aaron, stop!”

Aaron started running, his arms and legs colliding with several statues. Frightened, Aaron continued running.

Finally, he collided with the White Knight behind him, swaying to the side. Crash! Four nearby statues fell like dominoes.

Ignoring them, Aaron kept running until he reached the door. All of the people behind him who had been walking briskly collided with him, sending him tumbling into the statues.

Crack! Even Raiden’s protective barrier began to shatter.

Emmett grabbed Aaron’s shoulder as he rushed out of the corridor and shouted.

“What the hell did you do, you son of a b*tch?”

“I, I, I, I… didn’t want to… die.”

“F*ck!”

Eventually, Raiden’s defense barrier broke. The statues started moving. The White Knights, who remained in the corridor, screamed.

Between the cracked stone fragments, grotesque tentacles emerged. The items hanging above the suction cup-like mouth were the missing victims’ eyeballs, and the stems forming the body were the missing victims’ blood vessels.

“Aaahhhh! Help me!”

Crunch!

Amidst the scream, one of the White Knights had their face torn off. Bloodstained brain fragments wriggled on the corridor floor.

The statues that Aaron touched as he passed began attacking the White Knights in earnest. Blood splattered, and pieces of flesh flew everywhere.

“Brody!”

Emmett, who carelessly pushed Aaron aside, urgently looked for Brody. He could control the movement of the demons, although only for a moment.

Sweating with tension, Brody watched the moving statues with his eyes and drew a complex diagram in the air. Then, when he fully opened his hex, the maw of the tentacles began to close slightly. It had an effect.

“Commander, no more…!”

But his abilities didn’t even take a minute. No matter how many of them there were, they were only second-rate at this level of magic.

Emmett swiftly drew his sword and entered the corridor. Dead bodies were scattered all around. The corridor was narrow, making it impossible to help the White Knights without trampling on them.

“Emmett, here!”

Thwack! Just in time, Emmett’s swung blade cut through the tentacle’s body. But the creature’s mouth remained intact. It kept moving, even when cut into pieces.

Damn it. This is why cannibals… Emmett, who trampled on the writhing tentacle, shouted to the White Knights.

“I’ll handle what comes after this, so keep moving!”

The area in front of the corridor was still safe, as Aaron hadn’t stepped on it yet and the tentacles hadn’t emerged. If they walked carefully, they could safely reach the end of the corridor.

The White Knights nodded and slowly started walking along the path that Raiden’s hex had vanished from.

Although they were afraid of touching the statues, the only thing behind them was a field of tentacles that devoured humans. There was no option to go back from the beginning.

Seventeen people remained behind. While Emmett fought off the tentacles, Kevin and Brody commanded the knights to move along the corridor.

Aaron, who had fallen into a panic, was kneeling in front of the door, repeating that he didn’t want to die.

Aaah!

It was the scream of one of the White Knights who had been walking ahead. Stretching out his leg, he failed to notice the stone statue sitting in front of him and tripped, crashing into several statues with his body.

The statues that consumed him then swarmed towards Emmett, who was next in line. Emmett, surrounded by statues, couldn’t make sense of what he saw.

Kiiiiiiii!

The tentacles pierced through the stone statues’ bodies and sprang out. Several of them simultaneously opened their mouths and bit Emmett’s arms and legs.

“Argh!”

He hastily suppressed the magic that flowed into his body, but it felt like he was being burned by fire.

But there was no time to recover his body. He had to clear the way quickly for the knights who were about to follow.

Kiiii!

Kiiiiiaaa!

Every time blood spurted from the tentacles, his sword wavered. It was evidence that the sword couldn’t withstand the magic.

Bringing a lightweight sword to a formal party was a huge defeat. An ordinary sword couldn’t endure a Grade 2 magic for long.

Emmett struggled to catch his breath. Black pus oozed from his wounds. It was a serious case of magical poisoning.

If he were an ordinary person, he would have died in 10 minutes. In his case, maybe just a few hours. Either way, once time passed, death was inevitable.

“Commander! It’s on the right!”

With only its mouth left, a surviving tentacle rushed toward Emmett at full speed. Kevin shouted loudly, but Emmett was preoccupied with confronting other statues and had no room to think.

“Damn it!”

Kevin hurriedly drew a formula. The formula emitted a black light and was aimed at the corpse of the fallen White Knight.

“Urkh….”

“Ugh….”

Soon, the corpses that were once white knights twisted and stood up. For a brief moment, these resurrected corpses could display 20, no, 30% of their former abilities.

Although they couldn’t offer much help in battle, they could serve as a decoy for Emmett.

The corpses swung their swords at the tentacle that was attacking Emmett. But in no time, they too were swallowed by the tentacle, even their remaining faces.

Kevin turned his head away. The reason he had avoided using his powers until now was because of this cruel survival method that sacrificed the dead for the living.

“Aaagggh!”

“Captain Kevin! Please save us!”