What would it look like if you dipped your face in lava and pulled it out just before it melted?
With his sunken eyes, melted nose, and shriveled ears, Aslan’s appearance was truly hideous. He quietly put his helmet back on and said.
“…You might find it hard to believe, but I’m actually one of the lucky ones. Some of my brothers lost their voices completely when their vocal cords melted.”
His words made the three men think a lot.
Kyle felt a sense of anxiety that his abundant divine power, which protected him, could also lead to a terrible outcome. Colin, who had listened to him assuming the worst-case scenario of the archdemon, cursed inwardly when a god suddenly popped up in the situation.
And Ruon, for the first time, harbored a serious doubt about the god Gannicus.
The courage to see the truth, the world of lies.
He couldn’t help but wonder if those strange sentences had something to do with why he came to this place.
It was Kyle who broke the ensuing silence.
“Why did you turn your back on Gannicus, even at such a cost?”
His question was perhaps natural.
In a world where gods actually existed and their influence reached the earth, it was very rare for a believer to abandon their faith.
Even if it was a misguided belief, weren’t there people who couldn’t let go of it? Wasn’t that why the archdemon and his followers existed?
“The reason…”
Aslan trailed off and looked at Kyle. His eyes, flickering inside his helmet, seemed to reminisce about his past through the young knight, or maybe just envy him.
“Sword of Mercy. You must know this. A deepened faith can sometimes become a sturdy pillar that can withstand any storm. But what would you do if that pillar tried to destroy everything you had?”
Kyle didn’t answer. He couldn’t.
“We and our brothers only made a choice.”
Ruon couldn’t guess the feelings of the knight who had burned his own sacred power that he had accumulated for his whole life. He didn’t know what kind of determination it took, or what he wanted to protect so badly that he became such a monster.
So he put aside the consolation that he could only guess and brought up another topic.
It was a question about the knight of Gannicus, who had killed the Thunder King Imerk, allied with the witch Fleur, and might have something to do with Belducias.
When the not-so-short explanation was over, a small sigh came out from behind Aslan’s iron helmet.
He said.
“To hear his story from you… He is a being called the Revelator in the order. The incarnation of Gannicus, who dedicated himself to the earth to escape the corrupted world… That’s what the believers learn, but they think he’s just a symbolic figure. There are few who know the fact that he actually exists.”
Revelator? A cult leader-like bastard.
Ruon snorted and asked.
“So you’ve seen him in person?”
“Yes. I received his grace directly on the day I succeeded as a paladin.”
Kyle muttered.
“Not to mention the magic circle that opens the abyss, he also secretly took over the whole order… The more I know, the more he seems like the axis of evil.”
Ruon, who had a similar thought, said.
“One last thing. I heard that you are no longer knights of courage. How did you join the reinforcements?”
Aslan answered without hesitation.
“Of course, we impersonated them. The order wouldn’t send any reinforcements anyway.”
“Huh?”
The story continued as Colin let out a deflated sigh at the confident answer.
“We didn’t come here without a plan. My brothers and I searched the archives of the Order thoroughly and found a clue about the whereabouts of the Revelator. He left a message to the Archbishop that he would use the north, and we followed him here. Of course, in the process, we burned our holy power and freed ourselves from the Order’s pursuit and the Revelator’s corruption.”
There was more talk for a while, but in short, it was like this.
Some of the knights, led by Aslan, had doubts and fears about Gannicus’s doctrine, and they burned their own holy power to uncover the truth. And they chased after the Revelator, the being who controlled the Order from behind, to the north. As if they had answered a dispatch.
Ruon smiled faintly.
“Maybe the barbarians became like that because of that bastard, the Revelator. He must be too busy doing all kinds of dirty deeds to have enough bodies.”
Then Aslan slowly rose from his seat. He looked out the window at the pitch-black night sky and said.
“That’s all I have to say. I thought it was a secret that I had to keep until the day I die, but it’s a bit funny that I spilled it all. But you deserve to hear it, since you’re the hero who killed Velthucias. That’s enough.”
He finished his words and opened the door and walked outside. No one in the party could say anything to his weary back.
Then Colin shook his head with a stunned expression.
“···Damn it, what did I just hear?”
“Why? You wanted to go all the way.”
“No, no, there’s a limit to going. This is too much. I may not be able to speak convincingly because I’m not well-educated, but I know that Gannicus is insane. How can I stomach the shock that the god I prayed to every day for courage on the battlefield is a lunatic?”
Ruon shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, that’s possible.”
Colin snapped and lay down on the floor, flailing his arms and legs.
***
“Ha ha ha, I don’t know.”
Ruon muttered to himself as he pushed Colin, whose screws were half-loose, behind him.
“…The courage to see the truth.”
As everyone dug into their own wells of thoughts, the night deepened.
***
Nothing much had changed for the group overnight, even though they had heard a shocking story the day before.
They still stood on the wall, looking at the army of barbarians that approached them.
Colin, who had cleared his complicated mind, murmured with a brightened face.
“People’s hearts are really treacherous. I feel like it’s natural to see those monsters climbing the wall after watching them for a few days.”
Kyle clenched his shield tightly and retorted.
“Getting used to it is a good thing, but we can’t fight like this forever. I hope they give up today.”
“I wish that would happen.”
As the two conversed, the lord was shouting loudly with a stern expression from a faraway place.
As usual, he gave a long speech to boost the morale of the soldiers and instill hatred for the enemies. Meanwhile, Ruon quietly observed the barbarians that were coming.
But today, their march was a bit strange. Normally, they would run as fast as they could, competing to see who was faster, and climb the wall without hesitation. But now, they maintained a proper distance and adjusted their formation.
The soldiers, who were more tense by the unusual behavior of the enemies, heard the lord’s booming voice in their ears.
“Don’t be afraid! Nothing has changed! They are just pathetic creatures who have no siege weapons and realized their limits!”
He raised his voice so high that it seemed his throat would be damaged.
“How about us? The wall is still sturdy and on top of it, we have two heroes who killed the great demon and the knights of courage with us─!”
The soldiers cheered loudly.
As he said, they were fighting with beings that were hard to meet even normally.
As the lord was about to open his mouth again with the help of the hot enthusiasm, the army of barbarians began to split to the left and right.
Someone walked out slowly in an orderly manner that they had never seen before.
Ruon and Kyle, who were in different places, muttered the same words at the sight.
“…Amela?”
The faint blue robe that appeared among the barbarians who wore rough fur without even skinning it felt more unreal.
She had pulled her hood deep so that her face was not visible, but it was not hard to guess that she was a woman by her slender figure.
Colin bit his lower lip until it bled and muttered.
“As expected… I wasn’t seeing things.”
Then, dozens of barbarians began to circle around her. At first, they thought it was an act of escorting her, but they were shocked by the scene that followed.
“What, what is this?”
The barbarians cut each other’s throats with their own weapons. They fell to the ground with a thud, along with a fountain of blood.
In the center of the blood and corpses, the woman slowly raised her hands.
The first to sense the threat was Ruon.
He shouted loudly, as loud as the lord’s, while the novice magicians on the wall blinked their eyes.
“Magic─!”
The lord, who came to his senses at the sound, turned his head to the mercenary magician next to him. He was a famous and expensive man who had been hired for his skills.
“Why are you just watching! Isn’t that magic!”
The mercenary frowned slightly as the lord screamed. He soon spoke in a sarcastic tone.
“Ha ha, my lord. Don’t worry. It’s impossible to break the wall with magic that is enhanced by the blood and flesh of the dead. Unless she’s a master of the tower… I think it’s some kind of necromancy that revives the dead and makes them stronger. Why don’t you tell the soldiers to be careful.”
What is he doing?
Ruon clenched his teeth at the situation that was getting worse instead of better. He grabbed the bow behind him and pulled the invisible string with all his might. He shouted again.
“Kyle─!”
Kyle knew better than anyone what the voice that called him wanted. His pupils shook like never before.
But he didn’t hesitate for a moment. He stretched out his hammer toward the woman who was chanting.
“…Damn it!”
Vroom-A thunderous sound and lightning lit up the hammerhead.
At that moment, the barbarians who kept walking out were like emotionless wooden dolls, killing themselves or each other and piling up on the ground.
“…Uh? Wait a minute.”
The mercenary magician, who belatedly realized that the situation was not good, spat out a stupid sound. At that moment, giant arrows of light and a bolt of lightning flew toward the woman from both sides of the wall.
At the same time, the woman lightly clenched her palms that were stretched out in front of her.
At that moment, the sound disappeared.
─────────!
─────────!
“Ha ha ha, I don’t know.”
Ruon muttered to himself as he pushed Colin, whose screws were half-loose, behind him.
“…The courage to see the truth.”
As everyone dug into their own wells of thoughts, the night deepened.
***
Nothing much had changed for the group overnight, even though they had heard a shocking story the day before.
They still stood on the wall, looking at the army of barbarians that approached them.
Colin, who had cleared his complicated mind, murmured with a brightened face.
“People’s hearts are really treacherous. I feel like it’s natural to see those monsters climbing the wall after watching them for a few days.”
Kyle clenched his shield tightly and retorted.
“Getting used to it is a good thing, but we can’t fight like this forever. I hope they give up today.”
“I wish that would happen.”
As the two conversed, the lord was shouting loudly with a stern expression from a faraway place.
As usual, he gave a long speech to boost the morale of the soldiers and instill hatred for the enemies. Meanwhile, Ruon quietly observed the barbarians that were coming.
But today, their march was a bit strange. Normally, they would run as fast as they could, competing to see who was faster, and climb the wall without hesitation. But now, they maintained a proper distance and adjusted their formation.
The soldiers, who were more tense by the unusual behavior of the enemies, heard the lord’s booming voice in their ears.
“Don’t be afraid! Nothing has changed! They are just pathetic creatures who have no siege weapons and realized their limits!”
He raised his voice so high that it seemed his throat would be damaged.
“How about us? The wall is still sturdy and on top of it, we have two heroes who killed the great demon and the knights of courage with us─!”
The soldiers cheered loudly.
As he said, they were fighting with beings that were hard to meet even normally.
As the lord was about to open his mouth again with the help of the hot enthusiasm, the army of barbarians began to split to the left and right.
Someone walked out slowly in an orderly manner that they had never seen before.
Ruon and Kyle, who were in different places, muttered the same words at the sight.
“…Amela?”
The faint blue robe that appeared among the barbarians who wore rough fur without even skinning it felt more unreal.
She had pulled her hood deep so that her face was not visible, but it was not hard to guess that she was a woman by her slender figure.
Colin bit his lower lip until it bled and muttered.
“As expected… I wasn’t seeing things.”
Then, dozens of barbarians began to circle around her. At first, they thought it was an act of escorting her, but they were shocked by the scene that followed.
“What, what is this?”
The barbarians cut each other’s throats with their own weapons. They fell to the ground with a thud, along with a fountain of blood.
In the center of the blood and corpses, the woman slowly raised her hands.
The first to sense the threat was Ruon.
He shouted loudly, as loud as the lord’s, while the novice magicians on the wall blinked their eyes.
“Magic─!”
The lord, who came to his senses at the sound, turned his head to the mercenary magician next to him. He was a famous and expensive man who had been hired for his skills.
“Why are you just watching! Isn’t that magic!”
The mercenary frowned slightly as the lord screamed. He soon spoke in a sarcastic tone.
“Ha ha, my lord. Don’t worry. It’s impossible to break the wall with magic that is enhanced by the blood and flesh of the dead. Unless she’s a master of the tower… I think it’s some kind of necromancy that revives the dead and makes them stronger. Why don’t you tell the soldiers to be careful.”
What is he doing?
Ruon clenched his teeth at the situation that was getting worse instead of better. He grabbed the bow behind him and pulled the invisible string with all his might. He shouted again.
“Kyle─!”
Kyle knew better than anyone what the voice that called him wanted. His pupils shook like never before.
But he didn’t hesitate for a moment. He stretched out his hammer toward the woman who was chanting.
“…Damn it!”
Vroom-A thunderous sound and lightning lit up the hammerhead.
At that moment, the barbarians who kept walking out were like emotionless wooden dolls, killing themselves or each other and piling up on the ground.
“…Uh? Wait a minute.”
The mercenary magician, who belatedly realized that the situation was not good, spat out a stupid sound. At that moment, giant arrows of light and a bolt of lightning flew toward the woman from both sides of the wall.
At the same time, the woman lightly clenched her palms that were stretched out in front of her.
At that moment, the sound disappeared.
─────────!
─────────!
