I Can Purify Corruption Through Intimacy in the Apocalypse

The estate's courtyard formed a forty-by-forty-meter square paved with cracked, uneven gray cobblestones stained dark with old blood. At its center stood a dry stone fountain about three meters across, where the broken statue of a cherub angel lay toppled inside the basin.

Four massive stone pillars stood at the corners of the courtyard. Two remained intact, while the other two were cracked and partially collapsed, serving no purpose beyond decoration. Half a dozen stone benches were scattered across the grounds, and four gates opened toward the cardinal directions, with the western gate leading directly into the estate.

Ava's ears twitched ever so slightly.

"...The Hollow Knight is only a few dozen meters away."

Lucien and Ava remained crouched behind the southwestern pillar, keeping their bodies tucked well within its shadow.

Ava's usual relaxed smile was nowhere to be seen. Crouching low, she cupped both hands around her ears, listening intently to every sound beyond the walls.

"Is it coming through the eastern gate?" Lucien asked quietly.

"It should."

Elsewhere in the courtyard, Kira waited behind the northeastern pillar, while Thane, Isolde, and Sylphie hid behind the one to the northwest. All of them had positioned themselves carefully to remain out of sight from anyone entering through the eastern gate—the route the Hollow Knight used. Both groups had someone with exceptionally sharp senses; Kira and Thane.

Kira's hearing was exceptional since he is a Wolfkin, but Thane possessed a different talent. By sensing vibrations through the ground, the half-dwarf could estimate the number of approaching creatures, their locations, and even their approximate size from a considerable distance.

They couldn't afford to ignore the possibility of wandering Hollows.

Ravenous and Unmade types, in particular, could appear without warning, so the plan hinged on bringing down the Hollow Knight before anything else wandered into the estate.

Lucien tightened his grip on his daggers.

He was confident in the plan. It was flexible, covered nearly every pattern the Hollow Knight had shown so far, and kept the risk as low as possible.

...Assuming the Hollow didn't have any tricks they hadn't seen yet.

"It'll be here in a few seconds," Ava murmured.

Lucien didn't need the warning.

By now, he could already recognize the unmistakable rhythm of heavy armor.

Clank...

Clank...

Clank...

The metallic footsteps echoed beyond the eastern wall, each measured step growing clearer as the Hollow Knight approached the gate.

Alright... relax.

Lucien let out a slow, controlled breath.

The tension gradually drained from his muscles as his breathing settled into an imperceptible rhythm. Darkness naturally gathered around him, his concealment blending seamlessly with the surrounding shadows until his presence became strangely difficult to notice.

Above them, a handful of birds still brave—or foolish—enough to inhabit the Corrupted district chirped softly among the branches.

He ignored them.

A moment later, the armored footsteps crossed through the eastern gate and entered the courtyard.

Clank.

Clank.

Clank.

Everything was unfolding exactly as expected.

According to the route Lucien and Ava had observed, the Hollow Knight would stop briefly at the fountain before continuing its patrol.

That brief stop was the cornerstone of their plan.

The moment the Hollow Knight halted, Kira would strike first from behind. Thane, Isolde, and Sylphie would immediately reinforce him, locking the Hollow into a frontal engagement. While its attention remained fixed on them, Lucien and Ava would move in from opposite flanks, using the distraction to deliver their surprise attacks before the Hollow could react.

If everything went according to plan, the Hollow Knight would suffer several injuries before it ever had the chance to fight back.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Lucien's mouth.

Maybe I should stop expecting the worst for once.

The thought had barely settled when a harsh caw rang out above the courtyard. A broad shadow drifted lazily across the cracked cobblestones, drawing his gaze upward almost on instinct.

A bird…?

Perched atop the very pillar concealing him was a raven, its glossy black feathers stirring gently in the breeze as it surveyed the courtyard with complete indifference.

His brow furrowed.

At that moment, Lucien suddenly recalled something about Guardian Hollows.

—Aren't they notoriously territorial toward any living thing that enters their domain?

A cold sensation slowly crept down Lucien's spine as the implication settled over him. Almost simultaneously, he realized something else had changed.

The steady rhythm of armored footsteps had vanished.

Damn it.

FWOOOM!!

A violent shock shuddered through the courtyard without warning. The ground lurched beneath his boots as a series of thunderous impacts erupted from somewhere beyond the pillar, each one arriving with terrifying speed. Whatever the Hollow Knight was doing, it was no longer walking.

"Tch. Dodge at the last possible second," Ava muttered, irritation creeping into her voice as she reached the same conclusion. Lowering her center of gravity, she shifted onto the balls of her feet, every muscle coiled like a drawn bow.

Lucien mirrored her stance, steadying his breathing and relying entirely on his hearing to judge the moment he needed to move.

The raven, blissfully stupid, remained exactly where it was.

Lucien forced himself not to move.

He waited until the armored giant was almost upon the pillar before exploding into motion alongside Ava. They launched themselves from opposite sides of their cover at nearly the same instant, and a second later the Hollow Knight drove shield-first into the stone.

KRRRRAAAASH!!

The impact thundered through the courtyard like a siege ram striking a fortress wall. Deep fractures raced across the weathered pillar, chunks of stone blasted outward, and a dense cloud of dust swallowed the entire corner of the courtyard.

"—ugh!"

Lucien barely managed to raise an arm in front of his face before the debris hit him. Jagged fragments slammed into his shoulder and ribs, while a spray of smaller shards struck his eyes and forced them shut. Sharp pain flared across his vision, but he ignored it and kept moving, stumbling through the dust as he fought to clear the danger zone.

By the time he could see again, the sight in front of him made his blood run cold.

The Hollow Knight was already facing him.

Its greatsword was thrusting straight toward his chest.

I can't dodge that in time—

Yet somehow he did.

"—?!"

His foot caught on a broken chunk of masonry, and he pitched forward headfirst onto the cobblestones. The greatsword screamed through the space where his torso had been an instant earlier.

B-But my nose...

White-hot pain exploded across his face. He immediately felt warm blood pouring down his upper lip, and breathing through his nose became almost impossible.

Did I just break it?

Before the Hollow Knight could follow up, Ava's voice rang out across the courtyard.

"Hey, big guy! You wanted the stronger fight, didn't you?! Forget him—I'm the one you're after!"

Despite Lucien lying sprawled among the rubble and clearly being the easier target, the Hollow Knight's helmet turned sharply toward her.

The taunt had worked.

The Hollow Knight abandoned Lucien without a moment's hesitation and charged straight for Ava.

A grin immediately tugged at her lips.

"There we go."

She gave ground without the slightest hint of panic, retreating with light, measured steps that kept her just outside the knight's reach.

"Hurry up and get over here, Wolf Kid!"

The shout carried cleanly across the courtyard.

Lucien pushed himself upright with a grimace, fresh pain pulsing through his battered nose as he sucked in a shaky breath through his mouth. Wiping the blood away with the back of his sleeve, he looked toward the others.

Thane was already charging in his direction, Isolde close behind with her staff gripped tightly in both hands. Sylphie followed a few steps back, though unlike the others, her silver eyes never left Lucien. The worry written across her face was impossible to miss as she hurried over the broken cobblestones.

"I'm fine!" Lucien called, waving a hand before she could say anything. "Just a broken nose!"

As Lucien moved to regroup with them, his attention drifted back to the fight.

Ava had slipped naturally into the role of bait. Every sweeping slash from the Hollow Knight met nothing but empty air as she flowed around its attacks with practiced precision, her footwork economical and effortless. Whenever the smallest opening appeared, her rapier flicked forward with a crisp shhk, leaving another narrow puncture before she glided safely away again.

Kira had adopted much the same approach that had worked against the bearkin.

Dropping onto all fours, the Wolfkin circled the Hollow Knight like a predator harassing prey larger than itself. He would burst forward in a blur, draw his bastard sword only long enough to unleash a single heavy slash, shhk!, then sling it across his back again before bounding out of reach, only to repeat the maneuver from another angle a few moments later.

Unfortunately, the tactic wasn't nearly as effective as it had been against the bearkin.

The Hollow Knight was encased from head to toe in thick plate armor, leaving almost no exposed flesh to exploit. Most of Kira's attacks either skidded harmlessly across polished steel with a harsh Screech! or landed with heavy, jarring Clang! that could do little more than bruise whatever lay beneath the armor—if they managed even that.

Still, neither of them appeared to be under much pressure yet.

By the time Lucien reached the others, Sylphie had already stepped in front of him. Her silver eyes lingered on the blood still smeared beneath his nose, and her expression softened with quiet guilt.

"I'm sorry..."

The apology was barely louder than a whisper.

Before Lucien could answer, she gently raised both hands toward his face.

He offered no resistance.

A moment later, another quiet hymn flowed from her lips in the language of the Nephilim.

The elegant syllables grated against his senses the instant they reached him, sending a familiar irritation through his Inferni blood. At the same time, warmth spread across his broken nose, followed almost immediately by a deep, aching pain that made him wince.

It felt as though the bones were knitting themselves back together while he remained fully conscious of every moment.

After the chant faded, Lucien cautiously touched his nose.

The bleeding had stopped.

His breathing was clear again.

Satisfied, he lowered his hand and found Sylphie looking at him with quiet guilt, as though apologizing for the pain the healing itself had caused.

"Thank you."

Sylphie lowered her gaze and gave a faint shake of her head, still looking apologetic.

"It's only my duty."

There was no time to dwell on it.

The clash of steel echoed across the courtyard once more.

CLANG!

Lucien turned toward the fight, where Ava narrowly slipped beneath another sweeping strike while Kira darted in from the opposite side, searching for an opening that refused to appear. His gaze shifted to Isolde, who had been studying the Hollow Knight with narrowed, calculating eyes ever since the battle began.

"You think you could hit it with Water Lash?"