Chapter 15: The Gate of Truth
Carlos is done for.
I watched the Bearded Swordsman striding towards me, clutching a struggling figure in one hand while lost in dark contemplation.
This isn’t a simple “chop off the head and feast” situation.
First, I’d have to skin him, pluck his feathers—wait, wrong species—drain his bl**d, chop him into bite-sized bits, dunk him in boiling water, splash in some cooking wine, sprinkle with scallions, ginger, garlic, black pepper, and let him simmer for two hours until he’s tender and the broth is divine.
Oh, and can’t forget the vinegar! It not only masks the gamey flavor but also helps dissolve the calcium in the bones, enriching the broth—chef’s kiss!
And to ensure that fresh taste, salt should wait until the final stir—just like my patience with you, Carlos!
How dare you drop my pie on the floor and dirty my clothes!
I could almost taste the vengeance bubbling inside me, my eyes narrowing to menacing slits that sent an involuntary shiver down Carlos’s spine as he looked around, bewildered.
“Let me go! You, let me go!”
The figure in Carlos’s grip squeaked, and Carlos, clearly not a fan of dramatics, delivered a not-so-gentle punch to the guy’s chest.
“Behave yourself!”
He didn’t put a lot of muscle into it; otherwise, that guy would have flown into tomorrow. After Carlos’s fist connected, the dude let out a muffled groan, finally shutting up—probably too pained to speak.
Carlos unceremoniously tossed him at the feet of the Captain of Knights, and with a smirk, he weighed the stolen bundle in his hands. Holding it up to his nose, he sniffed like a fine wine connoisseur before popping it open. With a decisive nod, he declared, “Contraband, it’s Lotus Seed Grass.”
The Captain nodded, now glaring daggers at the lead merchant whose previous indifference vanished faster than a kid’s candy on Halloween.
“Do you have anything to explain?”
At this point, denying it would be about as helpful as bringing a spoon to a kn*fe fight. The lead merchant trembled like a leaf, his lips quivering as he struggled to form words, glancing helplessly at the intimidating Carlos.
“Take them all away!”
The Captain’s statement sent the crowd into chaos.
“What?! Honorable Knight, please tell us what has happened! What did that guy do?”
“Yeah, sir! We don’t know anything! Why are we being taken?”
Some merchants looked befuddled, their confusion blossoming into panic as they saw the Church knights gearing up to haul them off.
Seeing the terror on their faces made me feel a tad sympathetic.
But I also understood the gravity of the situation. Selling Lotus Seed Grass under the Church’s nose using a specialized transit route? It was clear they were hiding something—a front for something far more sinister. Taking them all back for questioning was a smart move.
The Captain had no need to respond further; he turned and walked away.
I glanced at Carlos, who was also about to walk off. Sneaking a little closer, I prepared to quickly slap him into unconsciousness.
But then, a twist of fate occurred.
Suddenly, a frantic voice erupted from behind me.
“Hey! What are you doing?! Stop!”
“What’s that guy doing? Is he trying to off himself?!”
I whipped around in shock.
There, on the ground, lay Lyuz, now looking like he’d just walked through a tomato factory. Most of his body was a mix of black and red. He cradled his gushing neck with one hand, while the other brandished a dagger, stabbing repeatedly at his own stomach.
“Cough… ugh—HA… haha!”
His mouth twisted into a mad grin, looking like he was auditioning for a horror movie.
A knight rushed forward to disarm him. But as he got close, Lyuz sent him staggering back with a single punch to the armor, producing a sound that echoed like a cracked bell.
The knight stared in disbelief at the image of Lyuz rising, almost like a horror minion refusing to stay down.
“Clink, clink, clink—”
The rest of the knights immediately drew their swords, surrounding Lyuz.
“HA… haha…”
Ignoring the encirclement, Lyuz stood swaying, muttering to himself.
Suddenly, he erupted in flames! But not your ordinary flames; they were thick, bl**d-red flames that wove a terrifying tapestry around him.
“…Uh—AH—!!”
With his throat slashed and engulfed in such horrific fire, Lyuz released a primal roar that felt less like agony and more like a twisted adrenaline rush.
He charged at the knights.
“Crack, crack, crack—”
In the blink of an eye, a blast of Frost Mist rushed forth, dampening most of the flames around Lyuz and quickly freezing half his body, bl**d included, solid.
And then, Carlos appeared out of nowhere. He jumped mid-air, aiming a kick straight at Lyuz’s head.
“Zzap—BOOM!”
His intention was clear: one shot, one k*ll. There was no sympathy in his kick as Lyuz’s neck twisted at an unnatural angle on impact, sending him crashing into the snow and laying still.
Fires slowly fizzled out.
The spectators stood frozen in shock at this bizarre spectacle, and before anyone could breathe, a new scream rang out.
“AH—!!”
The lead merchant, perhaps trying to become the next action hero, pulled a dagger from his cloak and charged at me while I was momentarily distracted.
What, did he think I was the soft target? Wrong choice, buddy.
I sidestepped, effortlessly dodging his stab, and with my dainty hand, slapped him hard across the face.
“Thunk!” His head smacked down into the snow. Not much cushion; that should hurt.
“AH—ugh…”
The merchant cried out, still struggling. I swiftly grabbed his throat with one hand while the other conjured a sharp shard of ice hovering threateningly above his right eye.
“Don’t move.”
“Shay! Don’t engage with them!”
Carlos shouted, but before I could react, the merchant stared at me with fiery determination and slammed his head toward the ice, aiming for a grand finale.
“POW—”
The ice pierced his eye, sending bl**d flying and painting the snow red like a twisted Jackson Pollock painting.
Just when I thought I had him, flames ignited on his face, spreading rapidly along the bl**d.
Startled, I quickly quenched the fire on my hand and stepped back, perplexed by the burning merchant.
“What the heck?”
“Talk later! No mercy, take him down!” Carlos urged.
Take him down? I hesitated. I mean, just look at the state of his face! No way he could last much longer, right?
But in a twist of irony, the merchant suddenly surged to his feet, lunging at me with a speed that almost whisked me away.
“d*mn!” Carlos hissed, yanking me aside, then booted the merchant down like a soccer ball.
The merchant crumpled, his ribs clearly broken, but shockingly, he sprang up again like an overly ambitious rubber chicken, charging again.
“Thwip—”
An ice shard shot through his leg, making him topple over. A second dose of Frost Mist rolled in, freezing him stiff.
Carlos leaped in like a gladiator, delivering a kick to the flaming merchant’s face that sent him soaring backward.
This time, he didn’t get back up. The fire started to extinguish, finally.
Carlos brushed off his leg and turned to the now dazed Captain of Knights.
“Take these people back, secure them, and not a single one gets away… and try not to let them bleed.”
“Mr. Carlos, what was that back there?”
Carlos cast him a side-eye, barely registering the question as he mumbled a single term.
“The Gate of Truth.”
The Captain paled at the mention, looking like someone who just remembered they forgot to turn off the iron.
Realizing he had a lot on his hands, he promptly turned, organizing how to bring back the stunned merchants.
I looked down at my slightly burnt hand. A bit swollen, but nothing grave. For me, it was just a scratch—no biggie.
I followed the group back to the camp. After climbing into the War Chariot, I finally asked Carlos, “So, what’s the Gate of Truth?”
“A bunch of demon-worshipping cultists, heretics, masquerading as saviors, offering their bl**d to demons in exchange for power that could rival deities… The Holy Church has been trying to wipe them out, but they’ve been as stubborn as a toddler refusing to eat broccoli.” Carlos gazed at the merchants, a rare look of concern gracing his face. “Were they not always causing trouble on the Eastern Continent? How did they land here?”
“Demons?” I tilted my head, slightly baffled.
So, in this world full of deities, demons existed too?
“Yep, demons. The heretics call it the God of Truth. Honestly, even after years in the Eastern Continent, I couldn’t decipher its true nature. Maybe it’s all a front… The one person who claimed to be a demon was taken out by the Sword Saint over twenty years ago.”
