Chapter 113: Angels and Demons (3)
It is common knowledge that Inquisitors are the ones who know the most about heresy.
And no one can deny the fact that a black mage who has read the seven volumes of the Infernal Scriptures and reached a great realm possesses extraordinarily outstanding knowledge in many fields.
But unfortunately, there was knowledge that both sides did not know well.
“So I hear that this kind of embroidery pattern is in fashion among the young ladies of the Empire these days?”
“……”
“I personally think purple would suit it better, but now that I hear it, perhaps magenta would also be a good combination with this kind of fabric─”
Stories that an ordinary girl would be interested in.
“……Hmm.”
Actually, it wasn’t ordinary. The girl in front of me now, despite her modest appearance, was the Saintess, Rozalin of the Holy See, who received the respect of countless believers.
“I see.”
I said flatly, looking at her chattering.
My main interests were a little different.
Blood and flesh splattering, magic unfolding according to complex formulas, the kind of life-and-death situations.
“……”
Sophia looked sullen at my somewhat dry reply.
“I guess you’re not interested. I’m sorry. I talked too much about myself.”
I looked at her for a moment. Perhaps she usually didn’t have anyone to confide in and talk to properly.
The Saintess is a figure whose very existence suggests the existence of God. Not someone that believers can talk to casually without any formality.
She didn’t have any real power, but she was an incomparably symbolic being.
“No. It’s always a pleasure to learn new things.”
She gave a small smile, understanding my answer.
Of course, now was not a suitable time for such a leisurely conversation.
Although we were in a comfortable carriage, the carriage was heading towards the Catacomb located in the west where the sun sets.
Well, it wasn’t a very uncomfortable journey. After all, it wasn’t an experience one could easily have, traveling comfortably in a carriage escorted by Holy Knights, sitting face to face with the Saintess.
It was Archbishop Frinagen-nim’s consideration.
My role in this expedition was suitable for an Inquisitor who would know more about heresy than anyone else, an advisor secretly invited from Hesterica and an escort for the Saintess.
It was virtually a nominal position.
Although somewhat sudden, the Holy See did not start the Holy War without any prior preparation, and the expedition already knew the location of the Bone Fortress.
She, who had been talking about her daily life, said with a slightly worried expression.
The topic was a nightmare she had recently.
“……It was a place I had never seen before, but it was chillingly vivid. As if─”
A thick fog shimmering with a faint purple light. Shadows spread abnormally everywhere, and smooth stone walls that made it difficult to distinguish front and back.
I lowered my head slightly, listening to her explanation that gave me a strange sense of déjà vu.
If she were an ordinary person, I would have told her to just have a cool glass of water and forget about it. But dreams that people with extraordinary spirituality, such as great mages or supreme sages, have cannot be ignored.
Especially if she is the Saintess.
“……”
But I didn’t show any outward signs. There was no need to add to her worries beforehand in a situation where we didn’t know how things would unfold.
“Hmm.”
Receiving her words with an indifferent expression, I opened my mouth as if I had suddenly remembered something.
“To shake off the nightmare, I’d like to tell you a funny joke.”
“……What is it?”
The Saintess’ s face was filled with anticipation. But she also spoke with a feigned arrogance.
“I might already know it if it’s anything ordinary. I’ve read a lot of books about jokes.”
“It’s a story you’ve never heard before.”
She couldn’t have known. It was a joke I had heard from a passing minstrel five hundred years ago.
Glancing out the window for a moment, I slowly opened my mouth.
“On Saint Mizriel’s Day, a priest, a mage, a knight, and a merchant entered a tavern. The four of them drank heavily together to celebrate the feast day.”
The Saintess’ s eyes sparkled with interest as she listened to the story, as if she were hearing it for the first time.
“And before leaving the tavern, when the tavern owner asked for the bill, the other three looked at the merchant and each said a word─”
And so, with a joke from five hundred years ago, we continued our rather comfortable journey toward the approaching darkness.
🔹🔹🔹
“That’s a boring joke.”
The Holy Knight, holding a sword shining with sacred radiance, muttered softly as he looked at the severed head rolling on the floor.
A nameless village. The heretic who had killed the squad that had stopped by here was now a cold corpse.
The one who treated the words of the curse that the heretic had hurled at him in his last moments, laughing wickedly, as a boring joke was the Captain of the Golden Cross Knights.
He was the one who had recently ascended to the position of Captain in place of Laiber, who had lost his life in an unfortunate accident at the ruins where the Holy Sword was discovered.
He looked at the contorted woman’s body lying on the ground with an emotionless gaze.
The woman, who had revealed her white bones as weapons, was quite powerful, but she could not dare oppose the knight who held the position of leader of the Golden Cross Knights, the second most powerful force in the Holy See.
The black magic she had fired from various hiding places in the village could not penetrate the defensive barrier of the thick holy armor engraved with complex characters, and their hard bones, which had pierced the soldiers’ necks in an instant, were cut like tofu in front of his sword, which shone with sacred radiance.
“Burn it all down.”
After eliminating all the resisting heretics, the man spoke with an unwavering expression to the knight who asked about the disposal of the remaining village.
The remaining people were likely ordinary farmers, but in his eyes, they were not much different from the heretics he had just defeated. Those who had already mingled with heretics and defiled their pride as God’s creations.
Burning them to purify them would be the most appropriate punishment.
Soon, fires began to rise here and there in the village, set by the Golden Cross Knights clad in shining armor.
Those who came out of hiding, unable to withstand the intense heat, all lost their lives to the knights’ swords and spears.
The Knights, who had devastated the village swiftly and accurately as if they were accustomed to it, moved quickly again, and ten thousand infantry followed behind them.
The closer they got to Grave Canyon, the more polluted the air became, and the villages here and there took on the appearance of completely corrupted heretical outposts.
But that was all.
They could not stop the Golden Cross Knights, who charged mercilessly with the support fire of the archers.
Under the knights’ swords and spears, which shone with brilliant radiance, every village they encountered was burned and purified.
And so, at the end of their journey westward.
The vanguard of the Holy See entered the vast canyon.
A desolate canyon with an eerie atmosphere and a chilly wind that didn’t match the season.
A place called Grave Canyon, where monsters and beasts on the verge of death all walk in to meet their demise.
And at the end of the long, barren canyon stood a massive fortress.
A structure with an unusual shape and color, yet perfectly harmonizing with the eerie surroundings.
The Bone Fortress.
“……”
The Captain of the Golden Cross Knights looked ahead from the entrance of the canyon, mounted on his horse.
In the distance, a group of heretics, seemingly having barely escaped, were fleeing towards the fortress.
They were the ones he had half-intentionally let go. The Captain slowly drew his sword.
“Brothers.”
At the Captain’s words signaling the imminent charge, the knights gripped their reins tightly.
It wasn’t a reckless charge without any forethought. They had already conducted a thorough investigation for any possible ambushes.
Before approaching the fortress, the most threatening thing would be an attack from above on both sides of the canyon.
However, according to the wide-range detection magic that the priests had cast beforehand, no evil energy was detected from above.
Clang.
A brilliant radiance slowly began to gather on the sword the Captain had drawn.
He was clad in heavy armor from head to toe, which an ordinary person would struggle even to lift, covering both himself and his horse. The horse, blessed by divine power, easily endured the immense weight and snorted.
At the moment when everyone held their breath.
From the mouth of the Captain, who pointed his heated sword towards the sky, a loud shout erupted.
“God wills it!”
And as if in response, the rest of the knights shouted and vigorously flicked their reins.
“It is God’s will!”
“Burn the heretics!”
“God wills it! Charge!”
Thud, thud, thud. Immediately, the knights, filling the entrance of the canyon, all at once urged their horses forward, chasing after the remnants fleeing towards the fortress.
🔹🔹🔹
It didn’t take long to catch up to the enemy.
The Holy Knights, riding warhorses granted immense stamina through holy spells, closed the distance with the heretics, cutting through the wind blowing from the fortress to the entrance of the canyon.
Crack!
The horses’ hooves and the knights’ spears crushed and pierced the enemies’ bodies.
The enemies, realizing they couldn’t escape, unleashed the sharp bones they had hidden within their bodies, imbued with demonic energy, and fought back, but…
“Kuaaagh!”
“In the name of God─!”
They couldn’t stand against the Holy Knights, armed with powerful holy power and swordsmanship.
Whee! Magic created with wicked demonic energy flew towards the Holy Knight.
A chilling curse. But it couldn’t inflict any significant damage on its target.
Woooong.
The mystical symbols engraved on the knight’s armor glowed brightly in response. The magic circuits written in the ancient sacred language of Behzant activated, immediately deploying a defensive barrier against the curse.
Fizzle.
Above the curse that dissipated like smoke, the Holy Knight’s shining sword descended.
Crack.
The heretic’s head was severed in an instant, and the body, having lost its power, collapsed.
Similar scenes were unfolding throughout the entire clash zone.
“Waaaaah─!”
Following the Golden Cross Knights, who were literally sweeping away everything in their path, ten thousand infantry began to cross the canyon all at once.
After wiping out the fleeing remnants, the Holy See’s forces, surging like waves toward the fortress, reached about the midpoint of the canyon.
“Halt!”
The Captain, leading the charge, shouted loudly and stopped his horse.
Then, the rest of the knights following him and the infantry following far behind slowly came to a halt, starting from the front.
As if to prove they had undergone intense training, the Holy See’s army maintained its formation despite the sudden order to stop.
“……”
The Captain, who had stopped the charge, looked around for a moment.
Even under normal circumstances, they would have had to wait for the main force to properly attack the fortress. But the reason he stopped the charge now was a little different.
An ominous feeling. The silent air of the canyon.
The Holy Knight, who had reached a certain realm, could sense the eerie feeling emanating from this place.
‘There is no ambush.’
The thing they had been most worried about while passing through the canyon, an attack from above, did not happen.
The priests of the Holy See had already confirmed this fact. Perhaps the enemy hadn’t chosen that tactic because it was a predictable attack method that both sides could clearly anticipate.
But the ominous feeling emanating from this Grave Canyon now…
“─!”
Before the Captain at the front could give another order.
Rumble!
The ground began to shake with a tremendous roar. And the ground collapsed.
The Captain finally realized the cause of the ominous feeling he had been sensing.
“……!”
The trap awaiting them was not above the canyon, but below.
“These damn bastards!”
The Captain, who barely managed to regain his balance, looked around urgently.
At the same time, a sinister voice echoed through the canyon.
-This will be your grave, fanatics.
Below, in the wide and deeply dug trap, countless enemy troops were waiting for them.
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