Chapter 40 : Unexpected Encounter (1/2)

Kkikikikiki!

The sound of metal clashing echoed.

Startled by the sudden noise, I held my breath. 

Then, for a moment, I felt a sense of weightlessness throughout my body.

A sharp sensation of something colliding coursed through me, and pain overwhelmed my entire body.

It seemed I had been thrown.

Enduring the tingling pain, a moment later, the sound of metal scraping reached my ears again, followed by the sharp clink of a lock.

The sound of a metal door locking soon followed. 

After that, footsteps echoed for a while before the quietness of complete silence began to settle in.

That was when I started moving.

I struggled to move my stiff arm and finally managed to draw the knife from my clothing. 

I aimed it forward and thrust it with all my might, then brought it down.

A blinding light greeted me.

I moved both hands, starting to free myself from whatever was binding me. 

It was as if a baby bird was breaking out of its shell, using all its strength to break free from its constraints.

Not long after, I regained my freedom. 

The moment I cast off everything that had held me back.

I stood up and checked. I examined what had been restraining me all this time…

The sack.

“Finally out,” I muttered as I stretched my stiff body.

The way they brought us here had been rough. 

They first restrained our arms and legs, then shoved us into sacks while we were immobilized, bringing us all the way here.

It had been a very typical kidnapping method.

Even so, it would have been hard to resist. 

There were just too many of them. 

Although we had intended to be caught, if it had been anyone else, they would have been helpless.

Standing up, I surveyed the surroundings to determine where I was.

Unfortunately, just by looking around, I couldn’t figure out exactly where this was. 

But I could tell what kind of place it was.

‘A prison?’

This was a small room, and the entrance was blocked with metal bars.

I walked toward the entrance and grabbed the bars with both hands, shaking them with all my might, trying to test their strength.

There was a small hope that perhaps I could break them with sheer force.

However, it seemed that such luck was not in store for me. 

The bars rattled slightly with a noise but that was it. They showed no signs of opening.

In the end, I gave up on trying to open the bars with my hands.

Instead, I leaned my forehead against the bars and muttered one word.

“Agnes.”

My voice was filled with certainty.

“You’re there, right?”

Soon after, a reply came from the side.

“Yeah, I’m here.”

As expected, she seemed to be trapped nearby as well. 

I had figured it out when I heard the sound of two doors locking earlier.

“It seems there’s no one around, right?”

“Yeah, there’s no sound coming from anywhere nearby. It should be safe to leave.”

“Really?”

If Agnes was right, then there was no reason to stay here anymore. 

I stepped back from the bars and raised my holy sword. 

I then focused the divine energy within me, strengthening my arm, and swung the sword at the bars.

The blade cut through the joints of the bars with ease.

Just like that, I was able to step outside the room without resistance.

‘No windows, just one passage… and it’s a bit dark.’

It was a typical prison setup.

As I thought this, a loud sound came from the side. 

Turning towards the direction of the noise, I saw Agnes walking out, holding a dagger.

It seemed like she had freed herself in the same way I had.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just a bit sore from crouching for too long, but nothing else.”

“Ha, I’m the same.”

I replied as I stretched and loosened my shoulders.

“So, what’s the verdict after coming out first and looking around?”

“I’m not sure yet. We need to go deeper to find out.”

I glanced down the long corridor.

If we were going to explore their base, we’d need to get out of here first.

Although the future seemed a bit uncertain, at least the direction was clear. 

The footsteps had disappeared down this way. 

The exit from this prison must be at the end of this corridor.

Exploring their base would come after we escaped.

“Then it’s just about uncovering the secrets of this place, right?”

Agnes said, starting to walk ahead.

“Let’s go, Dane. Time for an exploration of the unknown!”

She said with a smile, her head slightly turned towards me.

“Yeah, definitely.”

I answered with a smile of my own, as we began to move forward, our footsteps echoing down the dark passage.

“This is it.”

The place the child had led us to, the meeting place of the End-of-Days cult, was a building situated on the border between a slum and a middle zone.

The building was ordinary. Just a regular restaurant. 

Nothing special about it.

The only unusual thing was that there were two people seemingly guarding the entrance.

But aside from that, if it weren’t for the child’s words, I might have thought it was just an ordinary restaurant.

Anyway, we had arrived near the building and were now looking at it from a bit of a distance.

“So, this is the meeting place?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

The child, sitting on the ground, nodded in response to my question.

“How can I be sure of that?”

“Come on, I’m telling you the truth! The meetings are held here, three times a week!”

The child shouted, as if accusing me of doubting them.

Hmm… Their face doesn’t look like they’re lying.

There’s nothing more to ask, I guess. So I should just let them go.

I nodded slightly.

“Alright, you can go now.”

“Really?! Are you serious?”

“Yes, remember the warning I gave you earlier?”

“You mean the one where you said not to tell anyone about today’s events?”

“Yes. You’ve remembered well. Now, off you go.”

The child beamed at Bliss with a big smile, then stood up and waved before disappearing.

“Do you think this is really true?”

As soon as the child left, Bliss spoke up, clearly skeptical.

“Let’s believe for now.”

I answered while giving one last glance at the place.

If the child’s words were true, then that normal-looking restaurant was indeed the meeting place of the End-of-Days cult, and their regular meetings were tomorrow.

That meant we could visit the place tomorrow and participate in their gathering to confirm everything.

But there was one issue.

I turned to Bliss.

“By the way, Bliss, there’s something I need to ask.”

“Sure, feel free to ask anything.”

Bliss looked at me with eager eyes, and I spoke carefully.

“Do you have any civilian clothes?”

“Civilian clothes..? You mean a dress?”

“Not that.”

“Then no. This nun outfit is all I’ve got. But why are you asking about that?”

“Well… since we’re going to the End-of-Days cult meeting place, don’t you think it would be a bit out of place for us to go in these clothes?”

I looked down at the nun outfits we were wearing.

The black and white nun habits.

They were pretty, I thought, but they might not be the best choice for entering the cult’s meeting place.

Wearing them into the building might work if we said we were nuns from the End-of-Days cult, since all nun outfits look similar.

But the real problem would come once we were inside. 

The outfits would surely attract attention. What if someone came up to us and asked us to recite the cult’s scriptures?

We, who weren’t actually nuns, wouldn’t be able to answer any of those questions.

Then, the lie would be immediately exposed.

Moreover, if we wear these nun habits and go to their meeting place, and if they find out we’re from the Church of Gyeon, it will only serve to advertise to them that we came with some ulterior motive.

So, the conclusion is…

We need to find something else to wear instead of these nun habits.

“Ah! That makes sense!”

She answered with a look of realization.

“Right?”

“Yes! So what should we do?”

“First, let’s go buy some clothes… Do you have any money?”

At my question, Bliss answered with a bright smile.

“No?”

Damn it.

“What about you, Ruina?”

In response to Bliss’s question, I weakly replied.

“I gave it all to that kid earlier…”

In fact, the gold coin I gave to that child was all I had.

Apart from that, the only thing I had was fairy tales.

So, I am currently broke.

‘This is a serious problem.’

In order to buy civilian clothes, we need money, but we currently have none.

So, we have to somehow get money…

I began to think deeply about how we could get money.

After some thought, I narrowed it down to two possible options.

We could either borrow money from the hero and his companions,

Or, we could request funds from the church.

And the feasible option right now… is the second one. We don’t know where the hero and his party are.

But to request funds from the church, there are several steps involved.

First, we have to go to the church and explain the situation.

That means, in order to get money to buy clothes, one of us has to go to the church.

Here’s the problem.

The church is located on the complete opposite side of this area, so the distance between here and the church is considerable.

Therefore, if we go to the church to get funds and then head back to the market, it will take a lot of time.

It would be very inconvenient.

“Then you go ahead and look around, I’ll go to the church and bring back the money.”

Fortunately, Bliss volunteered to go to the church alone.

“Then I’ll go with you.”

“No, you go ahead.”

Bliss shook her head as she answered.

“I’m also going to check if that Arthorius guy is doing things properly, so you can go ahead.”

Poor Arthorius.

“Is that so? Alright then.”

I nodded to Bliss’s words.

“Where will you go in the market, Ruina?”

“I think the northern market is the closest, so I’ll head there.”

“Then, please wait a bit there. I’ll be back soon!”

“Alright.”

“See you later!”

Bliss said that and started running towards the church.

We watched her for a moment before heading towards the northern market.

Was it because lunch had just ended? The northern market, which we reached after a short walk, was bustling with people.

There were so many that I could hardly see ahead.

So, with a slight concern, I held Reina’s hand a little tighter.

This way, we wouldn’t lose each other.

If I lost Reina in this crowd… ugh, just thinking about it is terrifying.

So, I held Reina’s hand tightly and started weaving through the crowd.

Before long, we managed to escape the throng and arrived at a clothing shop.

Once I’d finally gotten out of the crowd, I took a brief breath and let go of Reina’s hand before starting to browse through the clothes hanging outside.

The clothes in the shop were all plain. Ordinary fabrics, ordinary prices, and decent quality.

I wasn’t buying expensive clothes, and I wanted to look like a normal person, so these plain clothes were just perfect.

They were all basic, so I could pick any of them, but… since there was still a lot of time before Bliss returned, and I wanted to pick something good, I started to choose more carefully.

After taking some time to examine them, I held up one outfit and asked.

“Reina, how about this?”

But when I expected an answer, there was only silence.

Puzzled, I turned to where Reina had been standing.

I was faced with a shocking sight.

The spot where Reina had been was empty.

“Reina…?”

I called out, wondering if she might be hiding somewhere nearby, but there was no response.

“Reina!”

I raised my voice, but still, no answer came.

I turned back to the spot where Reina had been standing.

It was still empty, just like before.

In that moment, cold sweat began to trickle down my back.

Reina, who should have been beside me, was gone.

The spot where she had been was now empty.

Where could she be?