Chapter 45 : Assembly (3) (1/2)

“How dare you… how dare you! A mere commoner, to us, the chosen ones!”

Bliss tried to pull away from my hand, ready to charge ahead.

“Please stop! Please, I beg you, okay?”

I grabbed her hand desperately, trying to hold on as much as I could.

“I do want to follow Lord Ruina’s orders as best as I can, but this… this is not possible. The author has just insulted the Empire itself!”

“No, if we’re caught here, everything we’ve done so far will be wasted!”

“Then we’ll end it here!”

Shit.

I felt despair.

No matter what Bliss had said earlier, I hadn’t listened.

Why had it come to this…? Everything was fine up to a point…

To understand why this was happening, I started recalling when Bliss had suddenly changed.

When had she decided to act this way…?

It was probably when Wolf started insulting the Empire. 

Yes, that was it. 

As soon as Wolf spoke ill of the nobles and the Empire, Bliss’s eyes turned wild, and she started screaming that she would punish him.

Why was she acting like this? 

Was it because of her noble birth? 

From what I knew, she had always valued her bloodline.

But even so, this wasn’t right!

“I can end it! Just let me… just let me hit him once!”

With fury in her eyes, Bliss kept talking like that.

“No, no, you can’t!”

Her hands started to loosen, so I quickly wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her in place.

But even then, something was wrong. 

Despite my hold, her fingers started to slip free.

If this continued, Bliss would pull away and rush toward Wolf in no time. 

I needed someone to help me stop her.

I quickly searched for someone around me.

Currently, I had Artorius and Reina with me.

Reina could get hurt trying to help, so I passed on that idea.

Next, Artorius. He was well-built, much larger than us.

He could easily stop Bliss.

I quickly shouted to him.

“Artorius! Please help stop Bliss!”

But I couldn’t finish my sentence.

Something was wrong with Artorius.

His state was odd. He wasn’t speaking like Bliss, but his eyes were wide open, and his body was visibly trembling.

It seemed like he was holding something back.

A wave of unease washed over me.

Shit, could he be…?

“Artorius…?”

I called him carefully, trying to push away the anxiety I was feeling.

His trembling stopped, and suddenly I heard the loudest scream I had ever heard.

“THIS ISN’T JUSTICE!!!”

His cry echoed through the auditorium, the sound so loud it felt like my ears had been struck by a hammer.

I looked to the side, and I saw that Bliss, who had been furious moments ago, was now staring at him, stunned.

Seeing that, I thought it might be okay to let go of Bliss, so I quietly released my grip on her waist and began scanning the area.

The commotion around us had suddenly died down.

I quickly realized that something was wrong.

“Shit…”

All eyes were now on us. More precisely, all eyes were on Artorius.

The sound that filled the room was louder than the voices of all the cultists combined, and it made sense.

I couldn’t hide the unease on my face as I turned to Artorius.

“Please… please just stay still!”

But my hopes were in vain.

He didn’t care about the attention and walked confidently toward Wolf.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

Wolf spoke as he looked at Artorius approaching.

“From now on, you’re coming with me to the church.”

“May I ask why?”

“As a Paladin and Inquisitor of the Cult of Prayer, I have deemed you a heretic.”

Oh, shit.

I felt like the world had collapsed beneath me.

Wolf, looking a bit surprised, responded.

“Well… I don’t really understand why I’m considered a heretic. Honored Paladin, I’m not a heretic. It’s just that my beliefs are slightly different from yours…”

“I’m not listening to your arguments. Just do as I say.”

“What if I refuse?”

“Then… I’ll force you. It’ll hurt.”

With that, Artorius grabbed Wolf by the head and slammed him into the ground.

Oh, shit.

I was horrified by the inhumane treatment.

“Ouch… that really hurts. I think I’ll have a bruise.”

“Follow me quietly. If you do, nothing worse will happen.”

“Sorry, but that won’t be possible.”

“What?”

Just then, Artorius responded with his usual calm, but the tone had changed.

“Let go of Lord Wolf!”

One of the cultists who had rushed over grabbed Artorius and started pulling him away.

Seeing this, Artorius silently raised his other arm to shake him off, but…

“Let go of Lord Wolf, you demon!”

Another cultist grabbed his arm, trying to hold him back.

“Grab his legs!”

At the same time, someone grabbed his legs, trying to pull him down.

“What… what is this?!”

Artorius, his voice full of confusion, tried to shake them off, but…

“Let’s save Lord Wolf!”

The cultists were faster than Artorius. 

The more he struggled, the more cultists latched onto him, like ants attacking a large insect.

“I need to help Artorius!”

Bliss said urgently, looking at me.

“Isn’t it okay? He’s a Paladin after all.”

“That idiot with no flexibility doesn’t use his divine power against weaker people!”

Ah, I see.

I looked over at Artorius. 

The cultists had piled on top of him so much that they were now stacking themselves on him.

It would be impossible for him to get out without using his divine power…

I shook my head.

“No, this can’t happen.”

“Why?”

“Look over there.”

I pointed to the entrance.

“Everyone stop right now! We’ve received a report about a violent incident!”

At that moment, soldiers began flooding in from the entrance.

“Everyone stop!”

One of the soldiers shouted.

The soldiers kept coming in. There were so many of them that just the ones who had entered so far must have been in the dozens.

“What are they?”

“I don’t know.”

Bliss asked, pointing at them, and I shook my head in response.

Meanwhile, the soldiers were moving toward Artorius.

I stared at them, thinking.

They came in just when Artorius started subduing Wolf.

It seemed odd, but the timing of their arrival was just too perfect. They came right when Artorius began to take action against Wolf.

And the “violent incident” they spoke of seemed strange. There hadn’t been any real violence up until now.

But more than that…

This place was underground. Of course, they said they were responding to a report, but still, there were many things that didn’t add up.

This was supposed to be a secret gathering. You needed a password just to get in.

So how did they get in? 

How did they know about this?

Their claim of responding to a violent incident was suspicious. 

The timing of their arrival made it clear they must have been waiting for this moment.

There was only one answer.

They were connected. To this place and to those soldiers.

They were soldiers. 

There weren’t many people who could command soldiers within the territory, which meant… they were connected to someone with power over them.

It means they have a position where they can move.

And currently, the only person in Birren who holds such a position is…

The Lord of Birren.

Alright, a few things have become clear from what just happened.

First, there is some connection between the Evil God Cult and the soldiers who have just arrived.

Second, since they are referring to this situation as a violent incident and seem intent on apprehending Artorius, it’s clear we are not on their side.

And lastly… someone with the influence of the Evil God Cult is involved in the Lord’s castle.

So, I tightly grabbed Bliss’s wrist, who looked like she was about to rush out immediately.

“Stay still for now.”

“Damn…”

Bliss muttered in frustration.

“Let’s think about what to do after we leave this place. This is their territory.”

Thus, we could only watch as the guards took Artorius into custody.

Paladin Artorius was apprehended.

Kkreeeekk!

The monster’s howl filled the corridor.

“What the hell?!”

“Get out of the way!”

I shouted at Agnes. It was approaching with its twisted limbs.

Seeing that, we acted immediately. 

She moved to the right, and I moved to the left.

As soon as we moved, its massive hand slammed into the spot where we had just been standing.

I felt cold sweat trickling down. 

The sound of its hand hitting the floor was no ordinary sound. If it hit us, we would definitely be injured.

Ssssaaaarrrrrrgh!

I kept moving, unable to rest for a second. 

The monster was relentlessly chasing us.

Zzzzzzzzzzzziiiiiiiiiiiiiiih!

‘What should I do?’

I once again dodged its hand while thinking.

Several methods came to mind. Among them, I chose the most reliable options.

The most certain method was to approach and strike it with the holy sword.

But executing this method was difficult. 

The monster was wildly swinging its hands, making it hard to predict the trajectory of its attacks, making it tricky to dodge.

Its erratic movements also played a part. 

The monster changed its target unpredictably. 

Sometimes it aimed for Agnes, but then suddenly changed direction and rushed at me.

I couldn’t predict a single movement.

Boom!

The monster’s body passed quickly by me and slammed into the wall. 

I felt the floor tremble faintly from its feet.

I sighed with relief and checked Agnes’s position. She was on the opposite side of me.

Sssaaaarrrrrrrrrrgh!

Then, the monster turned its head toward her with a terrifying roar and began to charge, swinging its forelegs wildly.

It was a situation where we had to dodge immediately. But for some reason, she wasn’t moving.

Had she gotten scared? Or had she injured her leg? Or maybe she hadn’t noticed it yet?

A thousand reasons for her lack of movement flashed through my mind. 

But I had no time to think about it now. If this continued, she would be hit by the monster’s charge for sure.

I yelled at her with all my strength.

“Watch out! Agnes!”

Then, thankfully, the monster hesitated and turned its head back toward me, starting to charge again.

I could breathe a little easier seeing that. 

Although it was still charging, this was a much better situation than it heading toward the motionless Agnes.

I readied myself to dodge the attack.

Then, Agnes shouted.

“I’ve found a way to deal with it. This thing has a weakness!”

A weakness? Her words made me question her. There didn’t seem to be any visible weakness on the monster’s appearance.

“What’s that?!”

I shouted while dodging the monster’s attack. 

Then, Agnes immediately responded.

“It looks like it can’t see in front of it! If we don’t make a sound, it can’t pinpoint our position!”

Her words struck me like a blow to the head.