Damn, just when I thought things had been quiet lately, look at this cursed message trying to take me down the moment I show an opening.
With no one to believe me, I had nowhere to appeal.
All I could do was forcibly swallow my suffering and slowly lift myself up.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
Linian tilted his head and asked about my condition.
“It’s nothing. Just an old illness.”
“An old illness, huh.”
“Huff… Yeah. Anyway, you mentioned the Liberta Purification Project? I’ve changed my mind. I’m not interested, but I should at least check what’s going on. Ravi, Elfin, let’s go.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
“Hey, you said it was an illness. If it’s real, shouldn’t you be resting?”
Ravi and Elfin worried about my condition but followed me as we left Linian’s fortune-telling house.
…
Left alone, Linian chuckled while watching Alvis, Ravi, and Elfin leave.
“An illness? There’s no way. Those who bear the goddess’s power receive divine punishment when they act against her will. The severity varies, but still. I heard the holy sword didn’t shine during the Paladin’s inauguration ceremony a while ago—so this was the reason, huh?
Lunia, Goddess… Because you ended up like that, our race still can’t return to its original form. If you were going to resort to this kind of measure, you should have done it sooner.”
Muttering complaints, Linian snapped his fingers.
The luxurious purple velvet, curtains, and rugs that decorated the surroundings all vanished.
The table and chair she sat on, the crystal balls, and all other furnishings scattered like smoke, leaving the room as nothing more than a filthy, abandoned space in a ruined building.
“For you to make such a desperate move… does that mean those underground worms were close to succeeding? Honestly, I don’t care what happens to you as the creator, but if it means our race can regain its original form, I have no choice but to help.
For now… it’s been a while. Let’s pay a visit to the ‘Sun’ and the ‘Moon.’ The more allies, the better.”
Stepping out of the abandoned room, Linian snapped her fingers again.
At the same time, the basement collapsed, completely sealing off the entrance.
“That’s the end of my fortune-telling act.”
The Lawless City Purification Project
This was a frequent event in Holy Knight Bryden NX, and while the entity conducting this “project” varied depending on the scenario branch, the process was always the same.
The Kingdom of Presia had finally drawn its sword to cleanse Liberta, a city infamous for its lawlessness.
From the kingdom’s perspective, Liberta was like a deeply embedded thorn in its flesh.
But the thorn was too large—pulling it out would cause more harm than leaving it in.
So in the end, they had simply given up on dealing with it.
The problem was that in some scenarios, the kingdom would decide to “restore” Liberta.
That was the so-called Lawless City Purification Project.
And like most administrative attempts to stir up trouble, the results were always a disaster.
Originally, this project was meant to “restore law and order to the city and turn it into a proper, civilized place.”
But due to Liberta’s extreme resistance and opposition, the meaning of “purification” had changed quite a bit.
Depending on the circumstances, the project could escalate beyond “purification” and turn into outright genocide.
Sometimes, it devolved into an eternal stalemate of endless clashes—a true hellscape.
In extreme cases, Liberta would even gain the upper hand, reducing the kingdom to ashes.
Regardless of who conducted the purification or how they did it, the results were always bad news for the kingdom or even the entire continent.
The reason?
Because of a certain mercenary group rooted in Liberta.
The Black Shadow Mercenaries.
Anyone who played Holy Knight Bryden NX cursed their name.
A band of thugs who would do anything for money, no matter how dirty the job.
In most scenarios, they either manipulated events behind the scenes to make things worse or appeared as overwhelmingly strong enemies that constantly clashed with the player.
There were routes where the Black Shadow Mercenaries could be recruited as allies, but that only happened in scenarios where the world was already spiraling toward complete ruin.
So they were essentially treated as harbingers of doom.
At the same time, they were also my first target after graduating from the Academy.
If I could just keep these bastards in check, I could prevent over 70% of the major disasters that would befall the continent.
Gaining control over this mercenary group would require immense power, so I hadn’t expected to deal with them so soon.
But now, thanks to some idiot in the kingdom launching the Liberta Purification Project far earlier than anticipated, the Black Shadow Mercenaries were about to swarm out like a hive of disturbed hornets.
If I ignored what was about to happen in Liberta, my stomach pain would only get worse.
But if the mercenaries also joined in and triggered a violent uprising…
“Damn it…! These people usually don’t even care, so why the hell are they suddenly flipping over the trash can now?!”
If you flip a trash can completely upside down, what happens to the garbage inside?
And what if that garbage had a will of its own?
It wouldn’t just quietly fall to the ground the way those in power expected.
From the beginning, the kingdom had left Liberta to rot because it was too much trouble to handle.
And now, after letting it fester into this mess, they suddenly decided to “purify” it?
As if the thousands upon thousands of criminals in this lawless city would just say,
“Oh, is that so? Please, come and cleanse us~” and step aside.
They hadn’t even considered what would happen when the garbage lost its trash can and scattered in every direction.
As I moved toward the growing commotion, nearly a thousand outlaws from Liberta were already gathered outside the city, hurling insults at the approaching kingdom forces.
“What the hell does some noblewoman think she’ll find here? Get lost!”
“Leave us alone and piss off!”
“You think that pathetic title of yours will protect your life here?”
Standing confidently before the enraged citizens of Liberta, a noblewoman from the Kingdom of Presia raised her magically amplified voice and shouted at the outlaws.
“Aren’t you all just filthy criminals who ran here after committing crimes elsewhere? The kingdom is offering not to send a pursuit force if you just leave quietly, yet you still resist? How utterly uncivilized!”
Hearing her voice, Ravi, Elfin, and I instinctively turned to look at each other.
“Huh? This voice…”
“No way. It can’t be who I think it is, right?”
“Let’s get closer.”
The noblewoman’s taunting tone was only making the outlaws more furious.
They were on the verge of a full-blown riot.
“That damn bitch, running her mouth like that!”
“She thinks she’s safe just because she brought a few soldiers? She doesn’t know there are real fighters here, huh?!”
The noblewoman sneered, continuing her provocation.
“Such a complete lack of elegance! You ingrates fail to recognize the kingdom’s generosity, and yet you respond with hostility? No matter what you say, the Liberta Purification Project will proceed as planned! You have two choices—leave quietly now while you still can, or be dragged out and rot in the kingdom’s underground prison.
You’ve committed crimes and fled here without facing justice, living however you pleased.
But the Liberta Purification Project is the kingdom’s long-cherished wish! And…”
She raised her voice even higher.
“This is the grand idea of me, Renice Valentine—an elite of the Valentine Count’s family! Failure is not an option! Now then, lawless filth wallowing in your own cesspit, would you kindly get out of this city?”
The idiot leading the kingdom’s forces and antagonizing the outlaws of Liberta was none other than Renice, the third loser heroine from the web novel Loveholic.
“Re-Renice?!”
“What the hell is she doing there?!”
Ravi and Elfin were too stunned to even feel happy about spotting an old friend.
There she was, standing at the city’s entrance, openly taunting a horde of outlaws.
As someone from Presia, Renice had to know just how notorious Liberta was.
And yet, she had lost her mind and decided to camp at the entrance with her troops.
Amidst the brewing riot, I spotted some familiar faces.
High-ranking members of the Black Shadow Mercenaries.
The moment they moved to “send a warning” to the kingdom, Renice was 100% going to die.
Even if I got dragged into this mess because of some damn fate nonsense, that didn’t matter—there was no way I was letting Renice die.
If the Black Shadow Mercenaries had already started moving, I needed to get her out of here immediately.
But she wasn’t the type to listen just because I told her to.
And considering what happened with Ravi and Elfin, I had a feeling she was another person I’d need to keep by my side.
Simply sending her back with her troops wasn’t an option.
Which left me with only one choice…
“Ravi, Elfin. We need to extract Renice from here.”
“How?”
“When I give the signal, close your eyes. The light’s going to be very bright. And then…”
I quickly explained the plan before they could object.
There was no time to waste.
I pulled out the mask I had prepared for infiltrating Liberta and put it on.
Ravi and Elfin tugged their hoods down lower as we rushed forward.
“Close your eyes!”
The moment we reached the center of the crowd, I shouted.
Ravi and Elfin immediately raised their arms to shield their eyes.
Ziiiiiing—!
I activated Lightsaber with full force.
A blinding burst of light erupted from my sword, illuminating Liberta’s entrance like a miniature sun.
It was already daytime, but the sheer intensity of the light was enough to blind everyone in the vicinity—Renice, her troops, and the outlaws alike.
“Kyaaaah!? What is this light?!”
“Ghhhk… M-My eyes…!”
“Now! Block the entrance!”
At Elfin’s command, vines and roots erupted from the ground, sealing off the northern gate of Liberta.
“Over there!”
Ravi sprinted at full speed toward Renice, scooping her up over her shoulder.
“Got her! Let’s go!”
“Wha—?! Who are you people?! Mmgh!”
With Renice secured, Elfin and I bolted after Ravi, escaping the scene as fast as possible.
Moments later, as the light faded and everyone’s vision returned, Renice’s troops blinked in confusion, checking their surroundings.
“Ugh… What the hell was that light…?”
“T-The northern gate is completely blocked! Strange plants have sprouted everywhere!”
“Damn it! What the hell is going on?! Tch… We need new orders—wait, where’s Lady Renice?”
A soldier frantically looked around, his face pale.
“I-I saw it! Three masked figures grabbed the lady while everyone was blinded and ran off!”
“WHAT?!”
Renice’s troops quickly realized the gravity of the situation and shouted in panic.
“L-Lady Renice has been KIDNAPPED!!!”