46. Side Mission: Sunset Stroll
*
Deep into the night, the sky was burning white. The forest, along with the ashes, dust, charcoal, and flames that once formed it, now scattered chaotically like a colorblind painter’s canvas across this remote mountain village.
Amidst it all, four men walked through the flames.
A man, Angelo, blocked a falling wooden pillar with his shield and stepped back. Meanwhile, another man passed by his side, stabbing the base of the tree with his sword. He soon picked up a shiny stone.
“This is David’s mark. He must have caused this mess.”
“If it was David, he must have had a reason. Pedro, go east with Hermino. Kirilz, stay with me and head straight. Pedro, how far to the target point?”
“35 meters.”
“We’ll approach the target from both sides. If no enemies are confirmed at the entry point, we abort the mission. Regroup at Rendezvous Point-1.”
“Glory.”
“Glory to Vaitas.”
The two men, Pedro and Hermino, disappeared into the bushes. Angelo and Kirilz drew their swords and advanced.
*
The village entrance was half-collapsed, crumbling in the flames. The long walls surrounding the village had partially collapsed, and among the thatched houses visible inside, only the distant bell tower remained intact.
The bell tower, engraved with the emblem of Vaitas’ Keyblade, must have once been the heart of the village.
Angelo and Kirilz stopped for the first time after entering the mission area. They gazed at the half-destroyed village entrance. Corpses were tied to the burning pillars at the entrance.
With strange scars carved into their foreheads, their bodies were so twisted around the pillars that they could hardly be recognized as human, except for their heads.
“David’s alive…”
“He must be alive.”
Cutting off Kirilz’s casual remark, Angelo spoke mechanically. ‘Newbies.’ But Angelo didn’t show it.
A leader’s emotions are poison to subordinates. But they are vipers and daggers of Vaitas, only poisoning demons, heretics, and witches.
Angelo swung his longsword, cutting down those entangled in the pillars.
-Crunch.
It sounded more like charcoal falling than bones or corpses.
Angelo meticulously stabbed each of their skulls one by one. Then he stepped into the village.
“Ah, Angelo. Pedro’s team isn’t in sight yet.”
“The target position is the bell tower. Kirilz. If you want to back out, you can leave now, but at least follow me until the bell tower. Someone needs to inform the Church about this. The more accurate the information, the better.”
Kirilz made a face, unnerved by the thick stench of death implied in Angelo’s words. He slowly followed Angelo into the village.
The sound of the burning village was eerie, mingled with screams that couldn’t possibly be mistaken for anything else, screams that resembled the wind, and other screams mixed with the wind. Sometimes close, sometimes far. Men’s, women’s, children’s.
“All things evil, fear Lord Vaitas. Sons of man, ‘Found it?’ Praise the Lord. And in His steps…”
Kirilz recited a hymn in a low voice, slightly slurring the end. Angelo didn’t bother to interrupt Kirilz’s prayer. After all, praying itself could be positive in this situation.
Though, if he’s praying while trembling in fear, does it even mean anything? Angelo ignored it and slowly scanned his surroundings, walking straight toward the bell tower. Now 10 meters.
“Sons of man, now prove ‘Found it?’ When you rise and pray, be pure as you follow the Lord. The Lord sees you ‘Found it?’ always ‘Found it?’…”
Angelo suddenly clutched his head and staggered. A headache. Flames, sorcerous screams, the bright and dark night sky, and the forest. It felt like everything was calling out to him.
Kirilz’s prayer felt distant. But he was looking straight at Angelo, following him. He was still quietly muttering the prayer.
“Found it?”
“…What did you say?”
Angelo tightened his grip on the longsword and looked at Kirilz. Kirilz tilted his head and stopped in front of Angelo. He pointed toward the bell tower, still holding a rosary in one hand and a sword in the other.
“Angelo, now ‘Found it?’ is less than 7 meters away ‘Found it?’. But Pedro still ‘Found it?’ Should we turn back ‘Found it?'”
“Hmm.”
Angelo lowered the hand clutching his head and slowly, very slowly, gripped his shield. He stepped a few paces away from Kirilz and said.
“Demon-class mental contamination entity. Brother, abandon the mission and return to the rally point. Receive the purification sacrament and report this to the Church. I will continue the mission.”
“Found it? Found it? Found it? Found it…”
“Enough. If you don’t attempt to return within 3 seconds, I will consider your mental contamination progressed and begin exorcism. 3, 2.”
Kirilz hesitated at Angelo’s words, then stumbled and ran back. Good. Angelo muttered to himself.
Kirilz wasn’t contaminated, or at least not as much as he himself was. He shook his head a couple of times and turned back toward the bell tower.
“Found it?”
Right in front of his nose stood a man. He had appeared silently, staring at the bell tower, muttering something continuously.
Angelo decided to ignore his hearing, assuming the man might be saying something else. He carefully raised his shield and stabbed the man’s back.
“Found it? Found it? Chaaahaaahaaahaaahaa?”
-Crunch.
The man’s head snapped back… twisted, and made a bone-crushing sound as it turned completely backward. His body was still facing forward.
With a strange mark on his forehead, the face looking at Angelo was pale and bloodless.
“Found ittttttt?”
“Turn around and kneel. Brother.”
David stared at him without moving, grinning. Angelo sighed at the sight and slashed his sword. David’s head paused in mid-air for a moment before falling and rolling.
‘The smell of the demon is faint. I consider myself partially mentally contaminated.’
Angelo slowly watched David collapse.
He pushed his body forward like a shield and walked straight into the bell tower.
*
Inside the bell tower, two men were surrounding a child. Since the bell tower was a stone structure, it seemed the flames hadn’t yet reached the interior.
Angelo decided to ignore the broken chairs, the headless corpses scattered between them, and the occasional rolling heads of David. Every time their eyes met, they whispered into Angelo’s ears.
‘Found it?’
‘Found it?’
“Brothers. Report.”
“Angelo. Where’s Cyril?”
Peter pointed his sword at him and spoke. Judging by his expression, his mental corruption had progressed quite a bit. He was trying hard not to fix his gaze on any one corner.
“He returned to the Church.”
“Why didn’t you abandon the mission at the entry point?”
“That’s what I wanted to ask. Brother. You’ll write the report after the mission is over. Who is that child?”
“A demon-possessed survivor.”
Angelo turned his head to look at the child. It was a skinny boy. The boy was trembling, wrapped in a white robe, and kept nodding his head. Angelo walked toward him and asked.
“Survivor. Explain the situation.”
“Wh-who are you?”
“Who I am is not important, survivor. What’s important is who *you* are.”
“I-I’m ‘Found it?’! P-please, save me! Save me!! There’s a demon, a demon in my head right now!”
“Pray.”
“Huh?”
“Pray. To any god. Say anything. Sincerely.”
The boy stopped nodding and tilted his head.
“Why?”
“Peter, the neck.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Peter swung his sword toward the boy’s neck. At that moment, Ermino’s sword blocked Peter’s.
-Clang!
“Have you all gone mad? What are you saying… Brother! Get a hold of yourself!”
“It’s not me who needs to get a hold of themselves. Why are you protecting the demon?”
“The demon isn’t Angelo, it’s that kid!”
Ermino trembled as he gestured to Angelo. Peter paused for a moment, then looked at Angelo. Slowly, Peter spoke to Angelo.
“Angelo. Pray.”
“Ermino. Are you saying that child looks like me now?”
“Pray.”
“Hmm.”
A high-level mental corruption entity. A troublesome opponent, especially when working in a task force team.
Angelo quietly raised his rosary and rolled it in his hand. He slowly counted to five in his mind. Peter and Ermino were sweating bullets, each pointing their swords at the child and Angelo. The smell of the demon was thick in the air. Angelo asked Peter.
“Brother. For the glory.”
“For the glory of Vaitas.”
Peter answered without hesitation. Angelo nodded and swung his sword—
-Slice.
He struck Peter’s neck. The speed and precision were such that neither the child nor Ermino could react.
Peter floated in the air for a moment with a shocked expression, then—thud—fell to the ground. Slowly, Peter’s body collapsed, and hot blood poured out. Angelo spoke to the child and Ermino.
“Leave. I won’t listen anymore.”
“How did you know?”
Peter’s rolling head whispered to Angelo. Angelo stabbed a longsword into Peter’s forehead. Peter fell silent. But far away, the statue of Vaitas in front of the altar spoke.
“How did you know?”
Angelo walked toward the statue and said.
“I won’t listen anymore.”
“You look like a demon worshipper who just killed two of your comrades.”
“Demon.”
“What?”
Angelo stopped in front of the statue and looked at its mocking face. Then he swung his sword and slashed through its back.
-Swish!
The sound of fabric tearing echoed in the empty space. Angelo turned around and stomped on the writhing tentacles on the ground. A human-shaped mass of tentacles, split in half, squirmed violently.
“H-how did you find me?”
“Demons can’t hide their smell.”
“Who, who are you?”
“Diemonica Inquisition Officer. Angelo.”
“Heh. You’re Angelo? The thirty-eighth Angelo I’ve met.”
“Don’t open your mouth any further. Demon.”
Revealing a baptismal name to a demon is like revealing the demon’s true name. Demons and priests were opposites. Their names were secrets to each other. They always used code names during operations.
Angelo (a), Peter (b), Cyril (c), David (d), Ermino (e).
Angelo stabbed the fist-sized eyeball in the middle of the writhing tentacles with his sword and thought. He waited until the tentacles’ last movements ceased, then slowly stood up and walked out of the bell tower.
He took out an incense burner from his pocket. Soon, a blue messenger appeared and perched on the back of his hand. Angelo slowly wrote the report and placed it in the messenger’s mouth.
The messenger disappeared into the night sky. Angelo rubbed his eyes and sighed. The Phaeirn Royal Family had now been completely purified. With this, the Eastern Kingdom had passed a critical point. Even if it was only a brief peace.
It had been a long, exhausting pursuit.
*
[Operation Report: Sunset Stroll]
Operation Area: Phaeirn, Talian Barony, Checkpoint 13.
Operation Summary: [Case Name: Phaeirn Royal Family] 11th investigation and suppression mission. Pursuit and elimination of the mastermind.
Operation Progress:
1) Estimated location of the suspected demon mastermind.
2) Lead investigator Marzel Gamel went missing during pursuit.
3) Investigation commenced after splitting the squad; Squad 2 went missing.
4) Lead investigator Marzel Gamel found, judged a heretic, and executed.
5) Target point secured; high-level mental corruption entity confirmed and eliminated.
Operation Task Force Team:
1) Diemonica, Zephis Shiravast – Returned.
2) Heretica, Elian Kyle – Missing.
3) Heretica, Felix Jericho – Returned.
4) Enmagika, Marzel Gamel – Deceased.
5) Heretica, Julian Muller – Missing.
We shall burn demons, heretics, and witches.
Operation Commander: Zephis Shiravast.
*
By the time one Inquisition Officer completes training and enters the field, over ten Inquisition Officers have already fallen in battle. Thirty years since the sealing of the Temple of the Gods. The darkness of humanity is spreading like mold.
We swore to become the brightest, most fiercely burning torch. Inquisition Officers always delve deeper, and deeper still, into the shadows of civilized society.
Our epitaphs will always read ‘Courage and Sacrifice.’ The remaining ashes will prove that we once shone.
Zephis lowered the incense burner and stroked his rosary.
[You shall always seek refuge under the Lord’s care.]
So it shall be. If light descends upon the corpses of our brothers, and if humanity can finally survive and stand tall, then so it shall be.
So it shall be.
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