Chapter 806

〈 Chapter 806: Part 3, Chapter 1, Episode 08 – The Great Escape 〉

“This is absurd! Heresy?! Are you kidding me?!”

Delpia slammed the table and shouted.

“I know he’s strange! But you can’t label him as a heretic!”

“And why not?”

The golden-haired elder sitting in front of Delpia lowered his cigarette from his mouth, exhaling smoke.

“He has blasphemed against our spirits.”

“So that’s because he lost his memory!”

“Lost his memory? His actions were too calculated for someone who supposedly forgot everything. It feels like he’s lying about it.”

“Inquisitor!”

The man called “Inquisitor” blew smoke directly at Delpia’s face. Delpia scowled fiercely, placing her hand on her sword—but the other knights standing near the Inquisitor raised their swords threateningly toward her.

“You’ve been very dedicated to your duties, I know that well. You even infiltrated yourself into that village to capture all the rapists there. But regardless, the issue remains—the guy’s identity is still unknown.”

“But—”

“No buts. His crimes go beyond just blaspheming.”

As the Inquisitor clapped his hands, the knights nearby unfurled a long scroll. On it was an illustration depicting some sort of scene.

“It’s testimony from a spirit nearby. Can you see the movements of the young man walking with your doppleganger?”

“…Yes. I see it. He looks like he’s just walking normally, but there’s restraint in his movements.”

“Exactly. It shows he received high-level training somewhere. Even seasoned veteran warriors don’t move so smoothly. And here…he *murdered* a spirit.”

“…”

Delpia fell silent.

While she was gathering evidence in the village, suddenly, a raging spirit appeared and began wreaking havoc. The young man pulled something out of his coat.

Bang.

Using whatever object he held, the young man gathered magic power, forming a short arrow-like projectile which he fired. The blue flame-infused magical arrow pierced through the spirit, incinerating it instantly.

The spirit collapsed. The golden-haired woman also dropped to the ground, and similarly, the young man fell forward, apparently exhausted.

“…Did he calm down the rampaging spirit?”

“Yes. But here’s where the real problem arises.”

The Inquisitor pointed at another part of the image. There, the doppleganger Delpia suddenly became alert, drawing a dagger and slashing wildly toward the young man.

Clang, clang, clang!!

“What the…?”

“The doppleganger instinctively tried to kill someone it perceived as a threat. With him unconscious, it was an easy target. But as you can see…”

The dagger didn’t even scratch the young man. Each time the blade touched him, it was as if a thin protective barrier surrounded his body, deflecting the weapon with a faint blue glow.

Kyaah!

The doppleganger Delpia grew frustrated and turned her anger toward another spirit lying unconscious on the ground.

“Aaah…”

“One of your dopplegangers killed a spirit. We don’t know why this unidentified spirit appeared, but the fact remains—it was murdered.”

“But if that’s true, then the crime of killing a spirit wasn’t committed by Phoenix but by me…”

“You’re one of the knightly guards of the Vishnia Kingdom. You’ve done great deeds, executing rapists on the spot when necessary. But we wouldn’t want you to take the blame for something involving an unknown elemental spirit and its conflict with a fiery spirit.”

“Inquisitor, don’t you understand how powerful he is?”

Delpia’s hands trembled with anxiety.

“His strength might even rival that of—”

“Tsk! Don’t say another word. That would be blasphemy!”

The Inquisitor sharply interrupted, pointing toward the door.

“Take a break. Your report was clear enough for us to understand. For now, rest…”

“Big trouble!”

Another knight rushed in, bursting through the door.

“The prisoner has escaped!!”

“…What?”

* * *

“Hey, mister. Isn’t this a bit too flashy?”

“Shut up. Trying to lock me up for ridiculous reasons like this? I’m not the type to sit around waiting patiently in a cell until my trial.”

I broke through the iron bars and came out. While escaping, I conveniently hired an explanation NPC…no, Miss Wagon.

“Hey, what did you say your name was again?”

“Can I use a pseudonym? My friends call me ‘Golden Lotus.'”

“That’s long.”

“How about just ‘Ha’? Easier to pronounce, right?”

“Alright. Stick close behind me. If you want to leave quietly.”

“Quietly? Are you serious? Look around!”

Ha pointed at the crowd surrounding us and snickered.

“When did beating up all the guards and knocking them unconscious become a ‘quiet’ escape?”

“I didn’t kill anyone. Didn’t cripple them either. No one got burned. They’re just temporarily knocked out.”

“Escapes I’ve heard of involve slipping away without being noticed by the guards.”

“There’s no reason to do that.”

After all, they didn’t confiscate all my equipment, and I’m far from powerless. No one could possibly stop me from breaking out.

The combat power index based on twenty years of Earth or Tera’s magic power is almost identical. If the gods of this world are SSS Rank, equivalent to synchronized goddesses, then…

Knights like Delpia or the guards are at least C Rank to B Rank. Considering the thirty guards I already defeated were all C Rank, this world seems to have way more special ability users compared to Earth over twenty years.

‘That means there are plenty of enemies too.’

If all the monsters and villains from Tera who crossed over to Earth between the year 2000 and 2025 were crammed together, it’d be comparable to this place.

Meaning, there will be countless obstacles ahead of me here.

“Uncle, are you really going to escape like this? A bounty will be placed on your head.”

“If they put a bounty on someone who hasn’t committed any real crime, so what? I only need to confirm one thing here.”

“One thing? What is it?”

“Not necessary to tell you that.”

I grabbed Ha’s hand and pulled her closer. She gasped in surprise as I tightly embraced her waist.

‘Absolutely not touching her.’

I internally justified myself. A protective layer of magic power surrounded my body, meaning even though we were pressed together, there was a thin air gap between us.

Yeah, like the meeting of a condom-covered penis and vagina. Sure, sensations pass through the barrier, but…

“What’s your crime anyway?”

“Why do you care about mine when you won’t tell me yours?”

“Because your crime sounds unjust. Want to escape together? Or should I leave you here?”

“…You’re ruthless.”

Ha closed her eyes briefly before opening them again with a smile.

“My crime? Being too beautiful is my crime. The priestess locked me up because she thought I was too gorgeous.”

“The priestess?”

“Yeah. Unfair, right? Men fought and died over my beauty—not once or twice—and afterward, I was imprisoned.”

It does sound absurd, but considering Ha’s appearance, it makes sense. Her looks and figure were honestly more impressive than Karna’s.

“So, what now?”

“What about what?”

“Help me escape?”

“If I help you escape, will you take responsibility for me afterward?”

“Nope. I’ll just help you escape. After that, you’re on your own.”

Ha blinked in shock. Clearly, she hadn’t expected me to rescue her and then abandon her afterward.

“Can you really leave someone as unfairly treated as me behind like that?”

“I understand injustice, but I’m helping you escape because you want to escape. Besides, you have one major issue that prevents you from traveling with me.”

I pointed at the sky. By now, we’d reached a wide courtyard outside the prison, where the open blue sky stretched above us.

“There’s only one sun floating in the sky. So, what color is the sun?”

“Obviously gold!”

“Wrong. Answer correctly, or I won’t help you escape.”

I spread my wings behind me. Just then, new guards armed with weapons approached.

“Uh, uh, wait…”

Ha hesitated while glancing around nervously. Losing patience, I loosened my grip on her waist and flapped my wings—

“Blue!”

“Correct.”

With that, I soared high into the sky, carrying Ha with me. We ascended so high it felt like we could reach the heavens.

“Wow…”

From above, the prison guards looked like tiny ants below.

“Don’t drop me, okay?!”

Terrified of falling, Ha clung tightly to me, trembling with genuine fear.

“Don’t worry. I won’t even pretend to drop you as a joke.”

“R-really? Then that’s a relief…”

Ha relaxed slightly.

But I knew her peace wouldn’t last long.

Why?

Because I sensed a strange magical presence approaching from afar.

‘It’s really you?’

An old acquaintance, both welcome and intimidating. From the immense power radiating from it, I instantly understood the situation of this world.

Gyaaaooouuuu——!!

A deafening roar shook the heavens.

My wings wobbled momentarily from the sheer force of the shout, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Not yet, huh?”

“H-Hey! What the hell are you talking about?! Y-You’re totally screwed!!”

Despair clouded Ha’s eyes.

“The Angel of Death is coming!”

“Angel of Death?”

“Yeah! One of the Eight Paladins of the Priestess! Supposedly the fastest among them—”

Ssshhhhhh…

A dazzling golden figure materialized before us, towering over 20 meters tall. Clad in revealing golden armor, wearing a falcon-like helmet, and wielding a massive sword, the figure blocked my path.

[Prepare to be judged, sinner.]

“Hmph.”

Garura, good to see you.