Chapter 22 : Buying my own home.

The rumor that knights avoided knowledge to rid themselves of fear was quite common.

The logic was that having too much knowledge would make them overthink on the battlefield, turning them into cowards.

“Would it make sense for men with dicks to cower before a single woman?!”

“Surround her! 

If we stab her just once, we win!”

“Kill her!”

Dantalion realized that the logic wasn’t entirely wrong. 

They could only act so fearlessly because they lacked the ability to recognize Johanna’s skill.

The criminals, revealing their hidden weapons, let out war cries as they charged. 

Judging by their worn-out daggers and firewood axes, their skill level was obvious.

“Ignoring the length of their weapons and the spacing between them… 

What a mess.”

These leeches, feeding off the city’s lifeblood, couldn’t possibly be of high caliber.

The lead thug, overcome with excitement, raised his axe with both hands. 

If he brought it down from that height, it could have been a powerful strike—

Slash!

“Ugh?!”

But Johanna was faster.

Like an arrow, she lunged forward and slashed at the exposed arm of the thug. 

The blade cut through his skin, slicing the taut tendons. 

The axe slipped from his hands and fell limply to the ground.

Thud!

“Kuhk?!”

Maintaining her momentum, Johanna lowered her stance and rammed her shoulder into the thug’s stomach. 

She lifted him up and used him as a meat shield. 

With the tendons in his arms severed, he couldn’t even resist properly, only writhing helplessly.

The overconfident thug, now at the forefront, pleaded with his comrades.

“P-please, save me!!!”

Stab!

But what could one expect from a group with no real camaraderie?

His comrades acted as if they hadn’t heard his cries, stabbing their blades into his back.

Reversed daggers and pitchforks tore through his flesh, ripping apart his heart and lungs, sending blood splattering everywhere.

By the time Johanna had passed through half of them, the man had been reduced to an unrecognizable mess of flesh.

“Shit, that pig bastard won’t stop her from moving forward!”

“Stupid bitch, did you really think you could break through us with just one meat shield?!”

There was no mourning for their fallen comrade.

Instead, the criminals smirked wickedly, thinking they had stopped her advance.

They believed they had fully surrounded her and were closing in—

Thud.

Johanna tossed the corpse to the ground and raised her blood-soaked sword horizontally.

A short breath escaped her lips, and flames ignited along her blade, radiating intense heat.

The criminals hesitated instinctively at the sight of fire. 

But it was the wrong decision.

“The moment they chose to attack instead of running, their fate was sealed.”

As the flickering heat haze disappeared, the blade was revealed, now completely dyed in crimson. 

Like the dawn breaking the darkness of night, the sword of a lone girl shone within the ruined church.

“Holy shit….”

At that moment, a streak of light carved its mark upon the bodies of the criminals.

Their bones, flesh, and skin were sliced apart, and they collapsed to the ground, writhing.

Instead of blood and screams, blackened soot rose into the air, mourning the dead.

Confirming that no enemies remained alive, Johanna sheathed her sword.

Dantalion, impressed by her skill, patted her on the head.

“To have grown this much in such a short time… 

Impressive.”

“It’s only natural since you placed your trust in me and granted me strength, Lord Dantalion.”

Johanna responded modestly, as if it wasn’t a big deal. 

Though she clenched her fists tightly, unable to fully conceal her joy.

After a brief moment of head-patting, Johanna asked Dantalion,

“Is that all the criminals you were looking for?”

“There are still more in hiding.”

“Huh? 

That can’t be…”

Johanna was taken aback, as if she hadn’t expected this answer. 

It seemed her instincts weren’t yet developed enough to sense hidden enemies.

Fortunately, Dantalion recalled an ability she could use.

“Even those who erase their presence can never erase one thing. 

Focus my power into your eyes… 

Yes, concentrate the divine energy there.”

Though it was a power from hell, if strengthened through faith, it could still be considered divine.

Nodding, Johanna unleashed her power and concentrated it in her eyes. 

Of course, she couldn’t do it perfectly on her first attempt, so Dantalion assisted her in maintaining focus.

Moments later, the silhouette of a hidden sinner in the church’s basement was imprinted in her vision.

Johanna muttered, concentrating so she wouldn’t forget the sensation.

“This one… gives me an even worse feeling than the others.”

“My power exists to judge and punish sin. 

Your aversion to him must be because of that.”

It was a power bestowed by the Creator to judge and punish sinners. 

Even ordinary humans who inherited only a fraction of it would be deeply affected.

“I’ve always despised criminals, even in my past life, so I never noticed much of a difference…

Dantalion suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

If she hadn’t been chosen by him, perhaps Johanna’s path in life would have been different.

After a brief silence, Dantalion asked,

“Do you have any regrets? 

You will feel this discomfort every time you face the immoral.”

“Fufu, Lord Dantalion, you’re too kind.”

Hearing his words, Johanna couldn’t help but smile. 

How many gods among the countless deities actually cared about the emotions of mortals?

“Even if I had escaped that hell on my own, my life wouldn’t be much different from now.”

“I see…”

“Yes, that’s just how it is.”

Since she had made her decision, there was no need for further questions.

With a smile on her face, Johanna stomped her foot and walked through the church.

Amid the sound of her boots striking the floor—

Thud! 

Thud!

“Found them.”

“Then I’ll head down right away.”

Hearing a hollow sound, as if knocking on an empty container, Johanna drew her sword.

In an instant, she shattered the floor and let gravity pull her into the basement.

Boom!

“W-what the hell?!”

“Shit… she figured out there’s a basement?!”

The criminals surrounding a scrawny man drew their swords, eyeing Johanna warily.

There were five of them, all properly armed with longswords and chainmail. 

They didn’t seem formally trained, but they weren’t mere street thugs either.

The one-eyed man, who appeared to be their leader, spoke to the thin man.

“Malone, judging by the way she moves, she’s not just any woman…”

“Eric, you damn mercenary, are you still trying to negotiate at a time like this?! 

Fine! 

I’ll pay you twice the usual fee, so kill her now!”

“Now that’s what I like to hear.”

Grinning, Eric and his fellow mercenaries surrounded Johanna.

Eric, positioned at the center of the formation, slowly approached her while checking his blade.

The poison hidden in his scabbard was properly applied.

“Even if her skill is pathetic, she single-handedly wiped out nearly twenty men. 

She must be some knight’s squire blinded by ambition.”

A mercenary fighting a knight’s squire was madness.

But if he didn’t fight fair, there was a way to win.

“Five men ganging up on one woman? 

That’s pretty cowardly.”

“Girl, there’s no such thing as cowardice on the battlefield.”

With poison concealed under his fingernails, Eric signaled his subordinates with a glance.

No matter how strong she was, if her eyes were blinded, she was finished.

A strategy that always worked on idealistic fools who fought fair battles.

“Here she comes!”

Johanna kicked off the ground and closed the distance instantly.

Eric instinctively reached out his hand—if all five of them scattered the poison dust, she wouldn’t stand a chance!

Shkk!

“Huh?”

But instead of attacking forward, the mercenaries’ arms moved downward.

Eric looked down at his own hands, completely bewildered.

Eric’s arms were tightly bound by chains that had erupted from the ground. 

Caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the chains, he instinctively shouted,

“You cowardly—!”

“Didn’t you say there’s no such thing as cowardice on the battlefield?”

Johanna’s sword flashed, severing Eric’s head.

The mercenaries, now leaderless, screamed and swung their swords at the chains.
But they couldn’t cut them.

Realizing how firmly they were bound, they all came to the same conclusion.

“If we want to escape, we have no choice but to cut off our arms!”

That brief moment of hesitation determined their fate.

“Kugh!?”

Leaving behind an unbroken arc, Johanna’s sword slashed through the mercenaries’ necks.

Blood gushed as they collapsed to the ground, twitching.

Watching them briefly, Johanna then approached Malone.

His face pale with terror, Malone fell backward and scrambled across the floor.

“W-wait!

Do you even know what will happen to this city if you kill me?!”

Johanna didn’t care to ask, nor would she stop even if she heard the answer.

To ensure no other criminals felt left out, she beheaded Malone just the same.

With his death, the stench of rot that had lingered in the church completely vanished.

Dantalion and Johanna took deep breaths, inhaling the stale scent of earth.

“Clearing out the trash makes the air feel fresher.”

“Hmm. 

That sense of clarity is one of the few rewards we get. 

If we search his corpse, we might find evidence of his crimes.”

Everything left behind bore traces that couldn’t be erased. 

Especially deeds as foul as these—they left an undeniable imprint.

After rummaging through the corpse, Johanna retrieved a pouch stuffed with gold coins and a notebook. 

Then she climbed back up to the surface.

At that moment, flickering torchlights appeared through the window.

“Over there! 

The screams came from that church!”

“Ugh… 

What kind of bastards are brawling in a church? 

Do they have a death wish?”

“Since when were you such a devout man, squad leader?”

“I was dragged out of bed for this—do you think I’d have anything nice to say? 

The door’s already busted open, so let’s just get in there.”

The guards, likely responding to a report, were sluggishly making their way toward the church.

Johanna, pulling up her hood, slipped out through the back door.

A moment later, startled screams erupted from inside the church.

“We should leave quickly, right?”

“Yes. 

Emily must be worried, so we should return soon.”

The guards would handle the cleanup.

Johanna disappeared into the shadows of the buildings.

The Next Morning.

As if last night’s massacre had only been a dream, Johanna greeted the morning in peace.

After devouring a breakfast that filled the entire table, she finished getting ready and went to find Emily.

“Miss Johanna, today you’re meeting Mr. Victor, correct?”

“Yes. 

It’s time to find a house.”

As if she had expected this, Emily packed her things without hesitation.

She took a hefty book, ink, and a quill—looking every bit like an assistant following her superior.

Dantalion, perched on Johanna’s shoulder, tilted his head in curiosity.

“Did you train Emily or something? 

She seems… unusually disciplined.”

“Fufu, who knows? 

But I didn’t do anything bad.”

“Hmm….”

It wasn’t strange for a young girl to have a secret or two.

Letting it slide, Dantalion accompanied Johanna to the broker’s office.

The office was a fairly upscale brick building, and—

“Oh! 

Miss Johanna, Miss Emily! 

I was planning to meet you this afternoon, but I appreciate you coming by!”

A middle-aged man with an impressively round belly rushed over upon seeing them.

Johanna smiled, greeting him as if they were already acquainted.

“Fufu, it’s fine. 

You’re a busy man, Mr. Victor—I wouldn’t want to trouble you.”

“Oh, nonsense! 

Thanks to you, I was able to mend my marriage—how could this be trouble? 

It’s only right that I come to you.”

So she had been building relationships through good deeds?

Dantalion felt relieved to learn that her connections were formed in a more wholesome manner than expected.

After serving them tea, Victor set aside all other matters and led Johanna and Emily outside.

“I originally had another property to show you, but just this morning, a fantastic place became available!”

“Oh?”

“The previous owner has vanished, so the city is selling it at an incredibly low price. 

With just a few repairs, it’ll be as good as new!”

Victor patted his chest confidently, as if guaranteeing there was no way they would be disappointed.

With hopeful expectations, they followed him—

“Here it is! 

It’s spacious since it used to be a church, and there’s plenty of living space! 

We’re not sure why the doors and floors collapsed, but don’t worry! 

We’ll quickly find someone to repair it for you!”

…It was the very church where Johanna had slaughtered Malone’s gang last night.

Was this fate at work?

Johanna and Dantalion instinctively avoided Victor’s gaze.

Well… at least all the criminals had been sent to hell, so there wouldn’t be any ghosts lurking around.

As a demon, Dantalion could vouch for that.