Trample Them (Day 2, Evening)

(Caution: depiction of corpses.)

[Checkpoint at the South Bank of the Nameless Bridge]

Of the ten knight orders, Marie had mobilized nine, and the five from the southeast were the first to arrive, having chased after Rāja.

"From here on, we will cover the withdrawal of the Toshima Daikan and the residents of Hiratsuka."

So saying, Rāja led the knight orders and the rabbits toward the battlefield. The Daikan's party had already fallen back to near the checkpoint on the south side of the Nameless Bridge, but among the residents there were those weak in the legs, and those hauling large daihachi handcarts piled high with belongings, so the Daikan's men were slashing at the pursuing zombies, thrusting at them with spears, and only just barely holding them off.

"Lord Toshima Daikan, withdraw to the checkpoint with all speed. Beyond the checkpoint it will become exceedingly dangerous, so on no account are you to set foot outside it."

"Your reinforcements are most welcome."

"Abandon your belongings. The zombies will catch up to you."

The knight orders and the rabbits slashed at the zombies. Even with their arms and legs cut off the zombies did not stop moving, but the severed limbs simply lay where they had fallen on the ground. Thrust them through with a spear and no blood came out; one could physically hold them back, but the zombie itself would not stop moving. However, by whatever means, once the torso was severed, the zombie vanished.

"No! Sooner than leave it behind, I'd rather be devoured by the monsters!"

"Then by all means do so… That won't quite do, of course. You footmen and menials there, take the elderly and the wounded on your backs and bear them to the checkpoint with all speed. The knight orders and the rabbits will charge in and halt the zombies, if only for a moment."

Ordinarily, when a person died within the Library-City Dungeon's sphere of influence, dungeon energy could be acquired; but in this situation, there was a high risk it would instead serve to strengthen the enemy.

[Tier-Group 3: Control Room]

"So the spinal cord is the essence of a zombie after all."

"It would seem so. There is still a great deal we do not understand, though. If the dead would only act as the dead should, chant their prayers, and pass swiftly on to paradise, it would be a great help."

"We'd be of no use for that. But as for a high priest, in this dungeon… And in all likelihood there are no kith or kin of zombies anywhere in this world either. And if you're bitten by a zombie, you turn into one, was it?"

"A zombie virus and the like are things of fiction, so they would be difficult to reproduce outside a unique law, and beyond the enemy dungeon's sphere of influence the danger of it is low, I should think. Still, even if there's no infection, whether it's a zombie or a caterpillar, I would rather not be bitten. At least these have no heads, which is some small mercy."

"A caterpillar?"

"Caterpillars cannot tell the difference between a plant and an Asura, so they mistake us for food and bite. They judge by chemical compounds. The mint family suffers relatively few pests, but with the rose family you can have a caterpillar bite into you in your sleep and end up in a dreadful state. Then again, those roses who normally put on such handsome airs getting their faces bitten all over by caterpillars would be quite a sight."

"Depending on a dungeon's functions, there could even be such a thing as a caterpillar monster that bites people indiscriminately."

"At Tanzawa Hills, I'm told, there are creatures of just that sort."

A dungeon that, while a nightmare to most Asura, humans, and Beasts alike, yielded precious timber. Should the Library-City Dungeon ever mass-produce lumber, the adventurers would stop coming, and in time its energy would run dry and it would collapse, but that was surely a long way off in the future.

[Checkpoint at the South Bank of the Nameless Bridge]

Rāja, from horseback (not an animal horse, but horse-legs), cut down a zombie clawing after them with her naginata, and the Toshima Daikan's party entered the checkpoint. The matter of how Rāja and Haruna would each be stronger fighting with a weapon in hand was one that must not be touched upon.

[Tier-Group 3: Control Room]

"Toshima Daikan's withdrawal confirmed."

So Mint reported.

"Commence Operation Juggernaut."

The three colossal Panjandrums waiting beside the checkpoint slowly began to move.

"They're slow. Made them too big after all, perhaps."

"No, so long as they are faster than the zombies, there's no problem. The dungeon's sphere of influence extends only to a range of three or four kilometers from the checkpoint and does not include the vicinity of Hiratsuka, so please see that they do not leave the sphere of influence."

The zombies merely walked slowly toward where the people were, showing no sign of even noticing the unmanned ground-leveling rollers. Roughly ninety-five percent of the zombies were headless. A small number of zombies with heads were mixed in among them, but these in particular gave no sign of being commanders, and though they had eyes, they did not appear to be trying to see with them.