Thanks to the summoned magic beast, Ludger and his party were able to conserve their strength.

Though the giant slug familiar moved slowly, it was like an unstoppable tank.

And really, its slowness was only relative to its bulk—by human standards, it was more like a brisk walk. Not bad at all.

Its most remarkable feature? As it sucked mana from the shadow knights, it continued to grow.

It had already been huge to begin with, but now it was practically filling the corridor.

“Lame name, but damn good ability,” Arfa eventually muttered.

Both Sempas and Ludger flinched involuntarily, but fortunately, the feared consequence didn’t follow.

There was no reaction from Loina, who was walking right behind Nngnng.

Or rather—there was a reaction.

A clenched fist. Trembling shoulders.

It was obvious she had heard Arfa’s comment.

But she pretended she hadn’t—acted like she didn’t hear it at all.

So she is ashamed of it after all.

Not only was its appearance grotesque, but the name was laughable too.

You could argue that a summoner can’t control the form of their familiar—but the name? That was all Loina.

She’d probably regret naming it that for the rest of her life.

But once a name is given, it can never be changed.

A name becomes part of the contract carved into the familiar by the summoner. The moment it's decided, it becomes the beast’s essence.

Changing it would be a denial of its identity—rendering its powers unusable.

Come to think of it, I should’ve warned my students to be thoughtful when naming their familiars...

But that had slipped his mind in the chaos.

Normally, people choose cool names or ones that sound pleasant to them.

Who would’ve thought he’d witness such an extreme example in a place like this?

Meanwhile, the party pressed forward through the corridor.

At some point, Loina’s familiar, Nngnng, stopped growing.

Instead, it began secreting sticky slime from its body, covering the walls, floor, and ceiling.

Arfa recoiled as the goo clung to the soles of his shoes.

“Ugh.”

“This is liquefied mana.”

Ludger recognized what it was right away.

The goo was the result of the familiar discharging the mana it had absorbed in a transformed state.

Loina, leading the group, answered proudly.

“Correct! It's a semi-solid gel form with higher viscosity than regular liquid.”

“That too is part of your familiar’s ability?”

“My familiar’s not really suited for direct combat. It’s more of a support type.”

“Support, you say.”

Ludger glanced at the goop-covered surroundings and felt a creeping suspicion.

“You don’t mean to tell me...”

“If you ingest it during mana depletion, it restores your reserves. It’s basically a freshly brewed mana potion.”

“...”

Ludger was speechless—for more than one reason.

First, there was the sheer concept of a familiar that could create mana potions on the spot.

Sure, it needed to absorb mana first—but even with that limitation, the end result was amazing.

It was like drawing dew from the desert—an emergency lifeline.

Among all the familiars Ludger had ever seen, this one was easily among the top for support capabilities.

But what really shocked him... was the form of the potion.

“You’re telling me, you have to eat this to recover mana?”

“Of course. How else are you supposed to absorb it? Nobody rubs a potion on their skin!”

Eating slime secreted by a giant slug?

Even if he were dying from mana depletion, Ludger would pass.

What bothered him even more was the certainty in Loina’s response.

“Have you... actually eaten it?”

“...”

Loina looked away.

But with her lips slightly protruding, she muttered like she was trying to defend herself.

“...It kinda tastes good.”

“...”

Ludger took a step back.

Loina shrieked.

“Hey! What was that for?!”

“Please don’t come any closer.”

“What?! What’s so wrong about trying what my familiar makes?!”

“The act of eating it is the issue.”

“I-It was for science! A part of research! It’s only natural for a mage!”

“I, for one, won’t be eating it.”

“....”

Loina decided not to mention how, the more you ate it, the more it felt like jelly and actually kind of tasty.

She could tell there was no winning this.

“Well... any other effects?”

“Nope.”

Then—“Ah!” Loina suddenly lit up.

“What now?”

“I tried applying it to my skin once. It felt really cool and refreshing.”

“To your skin?”

Ludger glanced at her skin.

Fair and smooth for someone who clearly didn’t work out.

Though that could be the result of sixth-tier mana purging impurities from her body.

Still, he couldn’t shake the strange image of women scrambling to rub themselves with Nngnng’s secretions in the future.

Not important right now.

Ludger turned his gaze to Nngnng, who was producing even more slime.

He couldn’t help but feel like it was nearing its limit.

Loina seemed to sense it too.

“This is bad.”

“Has your familiar reached its limit?”

“Yes. Nngnng’s absorbing more mana than it can discharge. The output rate can’t keep up with the intake.”

Even now, the beast was absorbing mana from the knights as it advanced.

But no matter how amazing a familiar might be, it still had a limit.

If this continued, it would forcibly unsummon.

Determined, Loina reached out and scooped a large handful of slime from the window frame.

“If it’s come to this, I’ll just cast a big spell again—kyaa!”

Whack!

She shrieked as Ludger smacked her on the head with the sheath of his swordstick.

Loina teared up and glared at him, eyes filled with the question, “Why?!”

“Please do revolting things somewhere out of sight.”

“R-Revolting?! That took a lot of resolve, you know...”

“No need for that. We’ve arrived.”

The massive slug, leading the way, suddenly turned aside.

A wide chamber revealed itself ahead.

It was a vast hall, much like the grand central foyer they had entered through.

At its center stood a magic circle.

Hovering in the middle of that circle was a crystal, and around it, shadow knights began rising.

But what drew the party’s eyes weren’t the knights.

It was the people stationed around the circle.

Them.

The ones behind this entire incident.

Just as Ludger recognized them, the enemies noticed the intruders.

“Shit! How did they get this far?!”

“Forget it! Send in the knights!”

The knights charged all at once.

“Nngnng!”

Loina shouted.

The now house-sized slug took up the vanguard, blocking the incoming assault.

The knights unleashed attacks, but thanks to its slick skin and thick body, the damage wasn’t fatal.

Still, the wounds were adding up.

From its gashes, the mana it had absorbed began leaking rapidly.

“It can’t hold out much longer!”

“That’s fine. It’s enough.”

Ludger stepped forward and leapt high into the air.

The shadow cloak draped across his shoulders unfurled wide like wings.

Soaring above the knights, Ludger landed right in the middle of the enemy formation controlling the magic circle.

“Enemy!”

“There’s only one! Kill him!”

The Black Dawn’s officers didn’t recognize him.

His face was hidden beneath a mask of shadow—that had been the point.

If they had recognized him here and acted like they knew him, things would’ve gotten messy fast.

All around, staves were raised and aimed at him.

All the Black Dawn remnants gathered here were skilled mages.

They were likely the elites under Lesley’s command—naturally, their level was high.

Whooooosh!

The swirling surge of mana was so intense that even Ludger’s skin, protected by Aether Nocturnus, could feel its pressure.

They were preparing to cast high-tier magic—strong ones at that.

Dangerous spells to unleash in such close quarters...

But for those who have already accepted death, that doesn’t matter.

What made the Black Dawn especially unhinged was their attitude toward allies.

They didn’t care if their own were caught in the blast and killed.

It wasn’t selfishness.

It was a fanatical desperation—a determination to protect this place, even if it meant dying by a comrade’s hand.

Some of them began setting up defensive magic to counter Ludger’s attack.

They had a clear split between the offensive and defensive units.

“Die!”

One of them—likely a Second Order—shouted ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) and unleashed a spell at Ludger.

Four massive pillars of ice blasted toward him like cannons.

Until then, Ludger had stood perfectly still. Then, suddenly, he dropped beneath the floor as if sinking through it.

CRAAASH!

The ice pillars missed their target and instead plowed through the other Black Dawn members and a freshly risen shadow knight.

“He disappeared!”

The Second Order whipped his head around, panicked.

But he didn’t get far.

Thunk!

Ludger rose silently from the shadow behind him, plunging his swordstick into the man’s heart.

“H-How...”

“No matter how saturated this mansion is with mana, moving this short a distance is nothing.”

The Second Order’s eyes widened at the calm voice echoing from Ludger’s mask... and then faded in death.

The others noticed his death too late and tried to retaliate.

But Ludger’s magic was faster.

At the same moment he skewered the Second Order, he activated a [Source Code] spell.

A single thin thread of mana appeared in front of him.

But contained within that line was a precise, complex array—a system of spells that functioned like clockwork.

Magic activated.

A barrage of spells erupted from Ludger, launched in all directions, tearing through the Black Dawn mages.

“D-Defend!”

Some, quick on the uptake, began casting shields—but it was pointless.

Ludger wasn’t alone.

BOOM!

An explosion went off behind the enemy ranks, engulfing several members just as they were about to mount a counterattack.

Sempas and Arfa had joined the fray.

Loina had cleared the path with magic, and through that opening, Sempas and Arfa had broken through the enemy lines.

It was no longer a proper battle—it had devolved into a chaotic brawl, indistinguishable between friend and foe.

But neither Sempas nor Arfa shied away from the mud-slinging fight.

What makes chaotic skirmishes so dangerous is the difficulty in telling friend from enemy.

But Sempas was an automaton with unerring discernment, and Arfa was a combat mage who specialized in this kind of melee.

The two of them tore through the enemy ranks like they were competing.

Though the Black Dawn had superior numbers, they felt surrounded—like they were the ones being encircled.

On the surface, it sounded ridiculous.

But in terms of individual skill... it wasn’t wrong.

“Hold the line! Guard this place with your lives!”

“We can’t let the plan fall apart!”

The Black Dawn didn’t flee.

They gritted their teeth and chose to fight to the end.

But the desperate struggle of the weak was nothing more than a meaningless waste of life.

It didn’t take long before every last one of them lay cold and dead.

Clink!

Ludger shattered the floating crystal at the center of the magic circle.

In that instant, the endlessly spawning shadow knights dissolved like mirages.

With the knights that had been filling the hall now vanished, the party could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Loina, especially, had suffered the most—holding the frontline with her familiar against wave after wave of knights.

“Looks like everyone used up a lot of mana. Want some?”

“......”

“......”

Loina held out a handful of the jelly-like slime.

Ludger and Sempas gave no reply.

Arfa, who wasn’t a mage and therefore had no stake in the matter, just turned his head and whistled.

And so, once again, Ludger had to take the bullet.

“I’m fine. I didn’t use that much mana.”

“Don’t lie. You think I wouldn’t notice? You used a lot!”

“......I have my own potions. I appreciate the thought.”

“You never know, so you should conserve those. This is a natural mana supplement—you can eat as much as you want!”

Loina, apparently deciding she might as well lean into it, kept aggressively trying to push the slime onto him.

At this point, she clearly had the “If I go down, you’re all coming with me” mentality.

“Come on. Try it. It’s kinda tasty, you know?”

Her eyes were starting to look unhinged, and Ludger was just about to tell her to knock it off—

—when it happened.

─!

Loina’s eyes widened, her body stiffened, and then she collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.

A completely unexpected turn.

But everyone reacted instantly.

Ting!

The sharp thread of mana that followed was deflected by barriers cast by both Sempas and Ludger.

An ambush.

A new enemy.

That word flashed in everyone’s mind at once.

Sempas moved to retaliate, but Ludger shouted:

“Don’t block—fall back!”

Sempas heard the warning... but it was already too late.

The next attack was a massive blast of mana, meant to follow the stealthy opening strike and smash through any active barrier.

CRASH!

Sempas’s shield shattered, and the force of the blow hurled him backward, coughing up blood.

But Ludger didn’t even have time to check his condition.

If I show the slightest opening, I’m done for.

The enemy was powerful.

Even for someone like Ludger, turning his back here would be suicide.

He steadied himself and faced the lone opponent now stepping forward.

“So you came after all.”

His blue eyes held the faint glimmer of bitter emotion.

“Elder Limray.”

“Yes.”

Clack.

The old man emerged, twirling his scepter in hand.

“I didn’t want to come here, you know.”