Scenes floated above the pure white field.
Fragments of images slipped by like disorganized documents. The panting breaths and the jolting heart made me briefly think that my excitement was excessive.
A voice came from afar. A clear and sweet tone, one I seemed to have heard somewhere before.
“…You had a younger sister?”
With this, the world began to be filled with color. Inside the tent where the lanterns flickered, a woman sat opposite me, holding a bottle of wine in one hand. Her light pink eyes were striking.
Inflammation and regret leaked from her indifferent face. Even in her gaze, there was clear impatience.
It seemed as if life itself was boring.
Perhaps that was why she was engaging in all sorts of eccentric behavior. I remembered that she had once been a model priestess, but the woman I saw after a long time was entirely different.
Her past, as I had heard through the grapevine, was also flamboyant.
From smashing the Archbishop’s head with a bottle for admonishing her frequent drinking, to assaulting a devotee who came for confession, she had countless instances of raising her voice and fighting with the residents in the slums where she volunteered.
How did she become so delinquent?
I couldn’t help but offer some advice with a hint of curiosity.
“Is it alright for you to keep drinking? I heard it’s not favored in the Holy Kingdom…”
“If you’re worried, tell them to excommunicate me.”
With a sneer, the woman generously tipped her bottle. I could distinctly hear the glugging sound as it slid down her throat. She soon wiped her mouth with a puff and gave a cynical smile.
“Do you think they could maintain the front lines without me? Cowards who borrow the name of God, let’s see how long they stay cooped up in the sacred city…”
“You’re being excessive.”
“Yes, yes, do report well to His Majesty the Emperor… But more importantly, what about your younger sister?”
Instead of answering, I tilted my glass. It was a mild expression of my unwillingness to speak, but the other merely crossed her arms, appearing more interested.
She was indeed a woman notorious for her bad temper.
Knowing better than anyone that rebellion was futile, I averted my gaze as a sign of surrender.
“…She went missing.”
“Was it during the Perkus Manor incident? Hmm.”
The Saint brought up my painful memory as if it were nothing.
It was an act with not a shred of hesitation. To casually mention the tragedy of that day in front of a noble who lost both family and territory.
It was more than unpleasant; it was absurd.
As I held back a hollow laugh, the Saint, with her chin resting on her hand, opened her mouth, lost in thought.
“There’s no helping it; we have to obey.”
I felt a surge of emotion rising up to my throat.
“Obey,” you say? You mean to say I should just follow along. I had lost my family, my territory, even my respected mentor and beloved partner. The command to accept such a tragic fate felt violently overwhelming.
I unintentionally spoke in a rebellious tone.
“Is that the will of God?”
At my retort, the Saint made a peculiar sound and stared at me blankly.
For a while she stayed that way.
Her lips twisted, and another question was thrown at me.
“Are you dissatisfied?”
“…Isn’t it natural?”
My voice heated up after a long time. A flame ignited in my gradually worn emotions.
Even so, the Saint wore a smile instead.
“Oh, how nice. You seem human. I had no idea because you always spoke so rigidly.”
It felt as if she would clap and laugh at this rate. As my expression grew colder, the Saint stifled her laughter.
Then, she offered some advice filled with pity.
“However, it’s unfortunate. The tribulation of fate won’t end with just one.”
One time? I had already gone through countless experiences.
I could hardly imagine a life worse than this. So, I simply took a drink and kept silent.
Yes, until then, that was how it was.
On the battlefield, before reuniting with my younger sister while wielding an axe.
A girl, covered in blood, was smiling.
“Hello, Brother.”
Around her were dozens of crushed corpses, and I froze as I met her golden eyes.
It was the gaze of a monster.
The blade of the axe, plunged down, sent brain matter and flesh splattering.
The smell of blood and the sensation of ground flesh sticking to the skin were always unpleasant. I gasped as I searched for the next victim.
Corpses donning black robes lay scattered with hellish holes. The humans with torn facial skin had a grotesque presence by their very existence. But they were all dead now.
The hellish holes that invaded the tent were smaller than those outside. They were monsters modified for ambush. Their intent was glaringly obvious, and I could hardly contain my excitement.
How dare they touch anyone.
It was my younger sister. I had no intention of letting her be taken away by anyone.
Absolutely, no matter what it took.
I would see to it that it didn’t happen. Before long, my eyes were bloodshot.
As I turned my body roughly to seek out the enemy again.
Suddenly, I caught sight of my younger sister in my field of vision. In her gaze, lost in thought, I could see a faint fear reading itself.
A trembling voice tickled my ears.
“O, Brother…”
Only then did my clarity return.
Liya was a merchant. She was inexperienced in battles and had never seen me fight up close. So, it must have been the first time for her to witness me rampaging with a hand axe.
Realizing this, I inadvertently let the hand axe slip from my fingers. Following that, stammering language tumbled from my lips.
“Uh, um. So… Liya?”
My younger sister was still trembling. My heart ached even more at the sight.
“…Are you alright?”
At my kind tone, tears welled up in Liya’s eyes.
Soon, the girl rushed into my arms, sobbing.
“No, I’m not alright! Wuhh, sniff… S-suddenly monsters swarmed in… faceless people shouting… Waaaah…!”
I held the sobbing Liya close. Even as I gently stroked her hair, her cries didn’t cease. Meanwhile, my gaze quietly surveyed the scenery inside the tent.
Four hellish holes, and three figures cloaked in black.
Given Liya’s combat abilities, I had ample time to kill or severely injure them. Yet, it appeared as though there were no bloodstains within the tent before I arrived.
The blood that had just fallen was fresh and crimson.
Then, the objective was clear. It meant they intended to take Liya while touching her as little as possible.
But why?
However, there was no longer any time for me to delay.
A rumbling vibration traveled beneath the ground. It was a clear sign that something was closing in on us.
The hellish holes.
I promptly lifted Liya into my arms. Although I wanted to project my aura underground, I had already exhausted too much magic for the day.
The only safe place now was one.
The location where the main force of the military camp was stationed.
That night, the battle continued throughout. The hellish holes relentlessly stalked Liya and me to the point of boredom. It wasn’t until dawn that the assaults from the hellish holes finally ceased, leaving a mountain of corpses in the military camp.
Corpses of monsters that were not human.
It was a victory I had never anticipated. The camp echoed with cheers, celebrating our victory all day long.
Voices praising my and Raymond’s exploits. Once freed at night, I was listening to a priest’s explanation beside the quietly sleeping Liya.
“You were merely surprised. There’s no abnormality in your body.”
“Did you also investigate the corpses in black robes?”
The priest averted his gaze subtly and remained silent. It was, of course, a futile act of resistance.
“You know who I am, don’t you? My younger sister was attacked, and the perpetrators were likely…”
“It was indeed the Dark Cult.”
As the mid-aged Knight entered, lifting the cloth that covered the tent entrance, he spoke. It was the Knight who had his arm broken while trying to escort me. And someone I had saved.
Upon hearing this, the priest stood up in surprise.
“Sir Deputy Commander! But they said to handle information sharing cautiously from above…”
“Are you saying I should hide such an important fact from the victim and the hero of our camp? Even considering future relations with the Empire, this is not something that should happen.”
There was no room for rebuttal, and the priest lowered his head. It seemed he wanted to convey the truth to me as well.
The man referred to as the Deputy Commander let out a long sigh.
“Go outside. I’ll tell the rest.”
With a brief nod, the priest exited the tent, leaving the Deputy Commander to bow deeply.
“I apologize, Sir Ian. I didn’t wish for you to become embroiled in our nation’s unfortunate events…”
“That’s alright. I was the one being obstinate.”
I quickly gestured for him to stop and said so. More importantly, I wanted to hear what he had to say.
“First, please tell me about the Dark Cult. Isn’t it the most important matter?”
“Yes, I understand. I’ll speak without hiding anything.”
Summarizing the information I received from the Deputy Commander, it was as follows.
The beings in black, with torn facial skin, were indeed related to the Dark Cult. According to the results of the inspection conducted by a priest dispatched from the Holy Kingdom, traces of forbidden magic were discovered.
The details of the spells were unknown. However, by tracing back to the original records, it could presumably be associated with contracts made long ago with demons that exchanged mental and physical sacrifice for power.
The implication was as follows.
“So you’re saying that those in black were beings controlled by the Dark Cult?”
“At one time, yes. But judging by the traces of magic, the general consensus is that it was already too late. Their minds and bodies had already been consumed to the roots. So, even if they lived, they weren’t really alive.”
Their bodies and minds moved according to the will of others. It couldn’t be called living. It might have been better to put them down.
Yet, I could not shake off the lingering displeasure, so I clicked my tongue.
It was a somewhat rude act, but the Deputy Commander looked as if he understood.
“It’s a very insidious magic. You couldn’t detect it unless you dissected the corpse.”
“But it shouldn’t be easy to hide traces of magic that controls others, right?”
“Because it’s a contract made voluntarily.”
The Deputy Commander continued explaining in a grim tone.
“Magic that forcibly imprints a spell and controls someone leaves traces because it requires subduing the consciousness. However, this spell activates only if the target voluntarily agrees to the contract.”
“Are you saying they willingly offered their bodies and minds?”
“Yes, that’s right. While we don’t know what manipulations took place during the process… at the very least, those are the facts that have been revealed by the Holy Kingdom.”
I rubbed my face and suppressed a groan.
The actions of the Dark Cult were all unpleasant and sinister. To induce humans to willingly sacrifice their bodies and minds, and then use them as disposable tools afterward.
By now, I had heard all the information worth gathering. A ceremonial greeting slipped from my lips.
“By the way, you must have gone through a lot. Although the casualties were few, the material loss must be substantial.”
Hearing this, the Deputy Commander waved his hand and smiled, as if to say not to worry.
“It’s surprisingly not that severe. The monsters targeted humans meticulously, and we recovered quite a number of monster corpses. Selling these should cover the losses sufficiently… Oh, and let me offer you a fair reward based on your achievements…”
“It’s alright. I merely did what I had to do.”
“Ah, that’s troubling. I happen to have heard similar words from Mr. Raymond.”
The Deputy Commander stroked his chin before suddenly slapping his palm as if a good idea had come to him.
“Then how about selling goods from your sister’s company at a low price? There are not many companies that can handle such quantities, and it would be a way to repay a favor to the Holy Kingdom.”
“Is that really alright? I’ve heard that quite a few companies gathered to bid for the monster corpses…”
“Unfortunately, it can’t be helped. We must consider the possibility of failure in a bidding process, don’t you think?”
I thought for a moment before readily nodding my head.
There was no reason for me to refuse when it meant helping my younger sister. Plus, with a solid justification, there shouldn’t be any gossip behind my back.
In the end, the one who faced difficulty over this decision was an unexpected person.
The next morning, a representative from a company hastily visited me and respectfully placed a crystal orb on the table. Soon, a shimmering light of magic began to coil around it, and vivid images started to project from it.
It was a real-time communication magic.
The figure visible beyond it was a woman whose face I had seen not long ago.
“…Nice to meet you, hand axe fool.”
The silver-haired beauty, wearing a nonchalant expression.
It was Senior Shiene Alphenhausen.
The puzzle was coming together piece by piece.
