The Headquarters Castle of the Order of Knights could be called truly ancient.
Of course, the only thing unchanged now was its exterior; the interior had long been renovated in a contemporary style, including the Dungeon used to hold criminals.
But no matter how it was remodeled, this place was never meant to be a palace for entertaining the Emperor, nor a military garrison.
The “Order of Knights” here was a special force under the direct command of the national parliament or the monarch, not some feudal noble’s club. Among them were figures like Christine, who were almost entirely unrestricted.
Loki glanced around.
On the road leading to the Dungeon, knights stood guard on both sides, and squads of three patrolled back and forth, as if they were watching over some one-of-a-kind priceless treasure.
…What are they treating me as?
Christine gave an explanation, her face expressionless.
“The Order rarely gets the chance to take in such dangerous criminals. So they’re a bit flustered… or, you could say, overreacting.”
She added,
“Criminals involved in Soul Sea Corruption are usually handed over to the Church, so these fools are treating this matter very seriously.”
“They’re not going to interrogate me, are they?”
“Heh, everyone in this castle knows you’re under my protection. None of them would dare question you.”
From Christine’s words, it was clear she held a near-transcendent status within the Order.
The knights looked at her with a mixture of fear and respect.
Since Loki had met Christine, she had always been a lone wolf, seemingly indifferent to everything, only ever running wild down the path of hunting her prey.
Even after working together for so many years, Loki still knew pathetically little about her… The two hardly ever spent time together outside of work, and their meetings were almost always about business.
Thanks to Christine’s reputation, the road to the Dungeon was as smooth as an intestine without a single wrinkle.
“But why did that Saintess do this? Her actions have already violated the Church’s rules, and the Order doesn’t actually have the means to detain the Corrupted.”
Christine didn’t even look at the road ahead.
Ever since they’d met, her gaze had been glued to Loki’s face—now, it was burning even more intensely.
She was doubting herself.
Loki could feel the emotion in her gaze, but had no answer to give.
“No idea. Haven’t you dealt with her before? She’s pretty famous.”
“I’ve only met her twice. The Church once invited me to provide combat instruction for a while, and I had the honor of teaching that little girl a few tricks.”
Christine pushed open the massive Dungeon door; the knights standing guard on both sides saluted in silence.
“I’m not close to her, only know that she’s… desperate, and very talented. Even though her way of communicating with the Soul Sea is extremely dangerous, there isn’t even a hint of corruption on her—it’s astonishing.”
Inside, the Dungeon was brightly lit.
It had once been dark and damp, but prisoners had used that as cover to stage numerous escapes and suicides, so they’d since installed ample lighting.
Just as Christine said, the Order’s Dungeon was nothing more than an ordinary prison—though, it seemed they’d procured some special restraints from elsewhere, not foolish enough to rely on iron shackles.
Loki remained silent.
Of course he knew how outstanding Sailulu’s talent was; otherwise, he wouldn’t have lured her into the Hand of Truth as a ticking time bomb to destroy the organization.
…Ugh.
Although Christine had said she’d let bygones be bygones, Loki had a feeling that if he told her all this, he’d probably end up living here the very next second.
He had no choice but to pretend to know nothing about Sailulu—no matter if Christine was suspicious, as long as he never admitted anything, it’d be fine.
“You said she came here for you specifically?”
If Loki had known he’d end up entangled with Sailulu, he never would have confessed so casually to Christine.
Don’t be fooled by the female knight’s cold face; in reality, she loved meddling in other people’s business.
Loki was one such “trivial matter” she took upon herself.
He used to resent Christine greatly, but after realizing he’d probably never have a peaceful and happy life, he resigned himself to serving the female knight.
At least his personal safety was better guaranteed.
“That’s right.”
Loki replied absentmindedly.
The two descended a spiral staircase.
“What did she come to you for?”
“She just came to make trouble for me, that’s all. After all, she’s the Church’s Saintess, so naturally she knows what kind of person I am… You know, if it weren’t for you, I’d have been dragged to the stake for judgment long ago.”
“Is that so.”
Christine responded coldly.
“How did she make trouble for you?”
…
I really shouldn’t have said anything.
“In short… she made trouble.”
Loki answered vaguely.
“But it’s nothing serious, like stubbing your little toe on a door, or being called ‘uncle’ by a cute stranger girl.”
“I see. If she ever tries to harm you, remember to use that item immediately.”
“I will.”
Christine nodded.
Though she felt Loki was hiding something, she didn’t press further and shifted the topic to the most important matter at hand.
“However, since the Church sent the Saintess to Caesarnia, it means we might be facing some very thorny situations ahead.”
After passing through a long corridor, the two finally arrived in front of a special cell.
The tightly shut mithril door was covered in countless pure seals made from fire wax, each imprinted with lengthy passages of Church scripture. Intricately patterned silver chains crisscrossed the center of the door, all gathered into a shield-shaped lock.
Four fully armored knights stood before the door, forming a barrier stronger than any metal.
“My Lady, we’ve been waiting for you.”
One of them said.
“Please, go in.”
“Mm.”
After a complicated and tedious series of operations, the chains were removed and the door opened. Loki and Christine stepped over the threshold and entered.
A wave of cold rushed to meet them.
Loki instinctively pulled his clothes tighter and stared straight ahead.
The empty chamber was about thirty square meters, with only a single seductive woman locked inside a cage.
Ram horns, a tail, scales and spikes on her skin—various abnormal features sprouted from her body, though she barely maintained a human form.
She lifted her head, her gaze full of venomous hatred, like two flashing silver daggers stabbing straight at Loki.
But the young man neither dodged nor flinched, only curled his lips into a mocking smile.
“Traitor, despicable soulless one… You can’t escape. Even if I can’t kill you, countless others will come to take your wretched life!”
The woman whispered in a sinister tone.
“Ah, surely the great First Seat has already realized this, which is why you were sent to seize those important artifacts. You’ll be devoured by the flames of vengeance and meet an end more miserable than mine!”
“Shut your mouth, blasphemer. I didn’t give you permission to speak.”
Christine raised her foot and ruthlessly kicked the woman’s face with the hard sole of her boot.