The building collapsing was secondary, after much trouble Keldric had managed to capture at least one old man alive.
But the city was already in an uproar. The fief residents, who had been leisurely enjoying their daily lives, were craning their necks around the accident site.
“Everyone, step back!”
“Don’t get too close! Step back now!”
The soldiers, belatedly noticing the commotion and rushing over, quickly turned pale.
The sight of three or four buildings collapsing completely was certainly shocking. Even Keldric stared blankly for a while at the spot where Zamash had been standing.
Keldric’s eyes met those of the six or so soldiers who had rushed over. Keldric took off his helmet, revealing his face, and slowly walked towards them.
“By the grace of the gods, I am Keldric of the Bellaf family.”
“L-Lord Keldric of the honorable Bellaf family. What on earth happened here…”
“It seems best to inform Count Bogenberg of the details first. I’ll leave it to you to control the surrounding crowd.”
The fact that Keldric had a contract with Count Bogenberg was already known to those who needed to know.
There was no way the soldiers wouldn’t know.
Even if they didn’t know about the contract, they must have noticed that Keldric, who frequented the inner castle like his own home, had some connection with Count Bogenberg.
Keldric intended to head straight to the inner castle, so he entrusted the control to the soldiers and tried to leave the scene.
Whatever the reason, there was no need to explain at length the necessity of informing Count Bogenberg when the city was in such chaos.
‘This is…’
What caught Keldric’s eye was a glimmer emanating from the spot where Zamash had been standing.
Approaching it cautiously, he saw a bizarre object buried among the debris.
It was a palm-sized disc, seemingly made of silver or some other metal.
Around the edge of the disc were letters that Keldric could not recognize.
The pattern engraved in the very center looked, at first glance, similar to the flame-shaped brand engraved on Zamash’s forehead.
The reason he couldn’t be sure was that even the metal disc had been caught in the explosion, and parts of it were half- melted or crushed.
Keldric glanced at it for a moment, then carefully picked it up with his hand.
In the face of such an unprecedented situation, the more evidence, the better.
Each of these things could be an important clue in tracking Zamash’s whereabouts.
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
“S-So, the building collapsed?”
“Yes. The soldiers are controlling the area around it.”
Count Bogenberg, having heard the details from Keldric, pressed his forehead with a bewildered expression.
It was understandable, as this had happened in the middle of the city while they were preparing for the fiefdom war.
Rebuilding the building or clearing the debris was one thing, but the fact that the fief residents’ anxiety had deepened was quite unsettling.
No matter how far away it was from the inner castle, it had still happened in the middle of the city inside the outer walls.
The fief residents must have heard the loud roar. The earth-shattering roar seemed to have reached even the inner castle.
Perhaps there were those who had witnessed the explosion with their own eyes.
If rumors spread that it was ‘divine punishment’ or something, it would be quite a headache for Count Bogenberg.
“We need to keep their mouths shut.”
“Many people saw the collapsed building.”
“What should we do… No, alright. I understand.”
There was no reason for Count Bogenberg to discuss countermeasures with Keldric.
Keldric was digging in too deeply. It would be right to solve this with the advisory council.
“The chamberlain will take care of that, and the problem is the suspicious person you captured.”
“How is he?”
“Locked in the dungeon. We’ll have to discuss it with the church soon.”
The old man Keldric had risked his life to capture was now destined to be behind bars.
It was impossible for Keldric to have destroyed those buildings, and there was no reason not to believe Keldric’s words, who had made a contract in the name of God.
“But, the church… Tsk.”
The problem was that they were relying on the power of the church too often.
Count Bogenberg had already conceded a step regarding the tournament.
With the fiefdom war taking on the aspect of a proxy war with Count Rasau, there would be no better picture than if the church sided with Count Bogenberg in terms of legitimacy.
However, cooperation with the church was not always a good thing. That was what Count Bogenberg was worried about.
In the past, if he were to list all the problems caused by the church’s authority becoming too great, his mouth would be sore.
If the church’s authority grew, the influence of the Vatican would increase, and eventually, it could have the power to control a country, as it had done long ago.
He was skeptical that it could still happen now, but it was certainly possible with Count Bogenberg’s territory.
“This has become a headache. It’s not your fault, but…”
Count Bogenberg clicked his tongue.
The fact that there were such subversive elements in the city was certainly a problem, and it was true that Keldric had suppressed them early on, but… still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Keldric had stirred things up unnecessarily.
“Lord Bogenberg. Actually…”
Keldric, feeling awkward at the uncomfortable gaze, carefully took something out of his pocket and showed it.
It was the disc that had been buried in the rubble.
As the disc, which looked like a shiny silver mirror, was revealed, Count Bogenberg’s eyes widened.
“What is that…?”
“I found it in the rubble. It’s hard to know its purpose and origin, but I brought it in case it might be helpful.”
Count Bogenberg stared at the disc in silence for a long time.
Count Bogenberg’s eyes, looking at the disc, were filled with worry. Keldric waited patiently.
Finally, Count Bogenberg’s tightly closed lips opened with difficulty.
“This… it would be best if only you and I knew about this for now.”
“Why is that?”
“It’s hard to say easily, but this pattern is ominous. It resembles the symbols of heretics.”
Count Bogenberg’s thoughts were as follows.
If he revealed the disc he had taken from the rubble, and it was revealed that the mastermind behind this incident was a heretic, it would not be a good look.
If heretics were involved, the church would intervene in everything. It would be better to find a connection with Count Rasau.
Besides, if the old man and Zamash were the culprits who planted the parasitic larvae in Lord Ortwin, the church would also question Lord Ortwin about his involvement.
That would not be a glorious thing for Lord Ortwin either.
Whether he had ingested the parasitic larvae unknowingly or not, the church would eventually rush in to find out the connection with the heretics.
That was also a disgrace to Lord Ortwin.
“Then, I will do so.”
“Thank you as always, Lord Keldric.”
Thus, it was decided that Keldric would temporarily keep the disc.
Keldric had no particular reason to refuse.
It would be troublesome for Keldric if Count Bogenberg was caught with it and used as a pretext.
Furthermore, he was also intrigued by the heretics.
He wouldn’t be able to explore and find out something like Alyssa, but he could take a closer look.
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
Leaving behind the commotion of the day, the sky had already darkened, and it was night.
Keldric quickly finished a simple late dinner and lay down on the bed.
His exhausted body screamed. The battle against Zamash and the old man during the day was certainly not easy.
He had done something in Spitzenberg, but somehow, it seemed like the tiring things were increasing.
Keldric stared blankly at the back of his hand, where the skin was slightly scratched.
The root cause was that he had carelessly struck the stone wall. His gauntlet was also quite scratched, so he would have to entrust it to the blacksmith soon.
However, what was making Keldric’s head complicated was something else.
‘I thought it wouldn’t work just before… but I avoided it.’
The unknown flames that Zamash spewed out, and the mysterious vial that the old man threw as well.
Avoiding the attacks that flew in at the same time was not difficult. He just had to move diagonally and step back.
Keldric didn’t do that.
His body moved almost automatically, but looking back, that wasn’t it.
Had his head ever spun so fast? When had he ever concentrated so much while fighting?
Never. Keldric had fought quite a few people so far, but no one had ever made him walk such a tightrope.
If he had to pick one, there was the monster he had fought in Spitzenberg, but that was a threat from the beast’s physical condition.
Extreme skill. Keldric had realized it.
If he had recklessly collided with force, or if he had charged head-on as usual… he wouldn’t have been able to win today. He was sure of it.
Keldric recalled once again the feeling of time slowing down for a moment, and at the same time, every part of his body being under immediate control.
It was as if every single muscle was moving according to Keldric’s will. Thanks to that, he was able to perform feats that he thought were impossible.
For a knight who makes a living by fighting, experience is valuable.
This fight was a good asset for Keldric. He had felt the need to hone his skills rather than recklessly colliding with force.
The longsword swordsmanship and basic footwork he had learned from Lord Volfen, and the way to handle other weapons, including horsemanship.
Those weren’t useless. What Keldric wanted was a skill with a little more advanced process.
Was there a place to ask for learning?
Keldric couldn’t think of any particular solution.
In the end, the method Keldric concluded was ‘more practical experience’.
The incident he had experienced this time was also thanks to the immediate reaction to the unfamiliar practical experience.
It was dangerous to rely on an experimental spirit in unfamiliar situations, but for now, that was the only way to hone his skills.
After putting aside his complicated thoughts for a moment, Keldric picked up the disc he had placed by his bedside.
It seemed to be made of silver, but when illuminated by the candlelight of an oil candle, a brass color flashed faintly.
It was a truly bizarre object. Keldric stared blankly at the flame pattern engraved in the very center of the disc. Keldric’s navy blue eyes were reflected.
‘Heretics…’
Keldric knew nothing about heretics.
It wasn’t just that he disliked and avoided heretics, he just didn’t know.
Since there was no contact, Keldric lived without paying attention to heretics.
However, as the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Defining and getting to
know the enemy clearly is the first step to victory.
‘When Alyssa wakes up, should I ask her about heretics?’
Keldric’s eyes slowly closed. No matter how strong his body and mind were, considering what he had suffered, his fatigue was doubled.
Just before his consciousness became hazy, he barely hid the disc under the bed and fell fast asleep.
And that night, Keldric dreamed again.
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
When he opened his eyes with a slight floating sensation, it was always a familiar place.
Keldric glanced around the common area filled with broken statues.
It was the same scene he had seen before, that is, the scene right after Keldric had smashed the statues indiscriminately.
‘This isn’t Spitzenberg?’
The fact that it was the same space was one thing, but it was still incomprehensible to Keldric.
Keldric had already finished his work in Spitzenberg.
He had killed the monster, sealed the side door in the church’s backyard, and lightly shook off the devil’s temptation. Even the fangs were recovered by Brother Marcus.
So, why dream of coming here again?
If the same thing is repeated three times, it is inevitable.
Keldric, who had already adapted, dusted off the lower half of the statue, which was covered in stone debris, and plopped down on it.
The communal cave was silent. The sound of wind occasionally blew from the distance, but when one turned their gaze towards it, only the pitch-black cave passage was visible.
Growing weary of the bizarre sight where even a demon wouldn’t appear, the unpleasant voice he had heard before echoed in Keldric’s ears.
[Are you lost, deceived by the light, or do you intend to be beneath my feet…?]
Keldric immediately turned his head towards the direction of the voice.
A tail made of snakes, enormous wings, and a black wolf breathing fire from its mouth.
[Another warrior has come.]
The demon he had seen before was there.