Infiltrating the Holy City
Emerging from his Single-room, Yohan headed straight back to the Patermachi Cathedral.
"Ah, you've returned," the knight commander, who was busy directing the cleanup operations in front of the cathedral, greeted Yohan as he approached.
"Yeah. Anything happen while I was resting?"
"No, sir. Aside from those on guard duty in case of emergencies, everyone is fully focused on purifying the cathedral."
The knight commander tried his best to appear composed, but Yohan easily caught the faint trace of anxiety lingering on his face.
There was joy in having slain the high-level devil nesting in the cathedral and reclaiming Patermachi. At the same time, there was anger over the many brothers-in-arms who had lost their lives in the process. And finally... a deep, gnawing worry about an utterly unpredictable future.
All these complex emotions swirled together, but because he knew his responsibility as a leader, he was doing his best to suppress them. However, he couldn't fool Yohan, whose sharp instincts had been honed by a lifetime of reading people just to survive.
"The inside is an absolute disaster, so purging the demonic energy won't be easy."
"That is true, sir."
In truth, the situation was far too grim for outright celebration. Reclaiming Patermachi was a victory, but it also meant they were now completely isolated in the dead center of a Holy Kingdom overrun by madness. While Patermachi could serve as a dagger pointed at the throat of the Holy City, it was also the most vulnerable to the Holy City's direct influence.
"Alright. Guess I should pitch in a bit more."
Yohan brushed past the commander and walked straight into the cathedral. Inside, where the lingering trace of the devil's presence still hung thick, several priests were sweating profusely as they cast Miracle Arts. Yohan waved them all aside, then summoned his Divine Flame to completely incinerate the remaining malice.
"We expected it would take at least a few days to drive out the demonic energy..."
"O, Lord God..."
The witnessing priests gasped in unison, some immediately falling to their knees to offer prayers to their deity. That very deity was just crying her eyes out in front of me, begging me to save her, though, Yohan thought. He obviously couldn't tell them that.
"We are in your debt once again. Thank you so much."
"Don't worry about it. You guys are going to have a much rougher time ahead, so the least I can do is make things a bit easier for you now."
The knight commander, who had followed him inside, expressed his gratitude, but Yohan simply waved his hand dismissively.
"Now we must console the souls of our fallen brothers and prepare for the next battle," the knight commander said, looking at Yohan. "On that note... if it isn't too much trouble, would you be willing to lead the memorial service for them?"
"Well, about that..."
To the Holy Knights and the people of Patermachi, Yohan was known as a Heresy Inquisitor from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith—which was technically true. Inquisitors held the authority to lead religious ceremonies in place of priests in remote areas where the Central Church's reach didn't directly extend. Knowing this, the knight commander had made the request.
Of course, Yohan had absolutely no idea how to conduct a Central Church religious ritual.
"Can't do it."
"May I ask why?" At the commander's question, Yohan shrugged. "Because I'm about to head to another city."
And that city was none other than the Holy Capital Justia.
"Ah..."
"We've put out the immediate fire here, so shouldn't we go check on the other neighborhoods?" Yohan's reasoning was sound. Thus, although disappointment was written all over the commander's face, he didn't openly protest.
"Well, good luck with the rest."
It was truly time to go. Yohan unfurled his Wings of Light once more and soared into the sky, charting a course toward the Holy City.
The border region where Easthold met Westphalia had not known a single day of peace lately.
"Look, see here. This is an official inquisitor's badge issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith."
"Yes, I am aware."
"Then why are you blocking our path? And why are our citizens forced to sleep in cramped tents in a corner of the Empire's territory?"
"Orders from above. We were only told to secure the checkpoint thoroughly. We don't know the details either."
"Damn it..."
Some time ago, an individual suspected of impersonating Justia had stolen the Original Scriptures and fled. Infuriated, the Central Church had deployed almost every inquisitor across the continent to retrieve it, leaving behind only the inexperienced apprentice inquisitors.
The problem was that shortly after, the madness began to spread across the Holy Kingdom, starting with Pope Angelo III. Fortunately, the inquisitors who were already outside the country on missions managed to escape the wave of insanity.
When those inquisitors finally returned to the Holy Kingdom, they were met with utter horror.
Following the outbreak of the crisis in the Holy Kingdom, the Empire had swiftly closed the border between the two nations, completely blocking all entry and exit. Consequently, the returning inquisitors found themselves barred from crossing, just like everyone else.
The stranded inquisitors protested vehemently, but the Empire's stance remained unyielding. In the end, all the inquisitors could do was bypass Easthold and wander along the border in search of a gap to slip through, or quietly wait at the temporary shelters where the refugees had gathered.
Since the Empire had only closed the border facing the Holy Kingdom, they had no justification to restrict movement within their own territory. Thus, half of the inquisitors who reached the border left for other areas to find a way inside, while the remaining half chose to stay in Westphalia to tend to the refugees.
After a long period of this suffocating stalemate, the imperial authorities finally summoned the inquisitors staying at the refugee camp.
"And that is the current state of affairs inside the Holy Kingdom as uncovered by the Empire."
There were about thirty Holy Kingdom inquisitors in Westphalia. The Empire shared with them the intelligence they had gathered by scouting various regions of the Holy Kingdom, including Easthold.
"N-no wonder we haven't received any further instructions from headquarters."
"What kind of wretched demon spawn could have..."
Upon hearing the explanation, the inquisitors' initial reaction was denial. However, the imperial officials presented a mountain of detailed reports that left them with no choice but to accept the truth.
The investigation regarding Easthold, in particular, was so thorough it bordered on obsessive. Even the inquisitors, who were professionally paranoid, had to admit the findings were accurate.
After all, the very presence of Easthold refugees in Westphalia was proof enough that something catastrophic had occurred inside the Holy Kingdom, and the inquisitors had already gathered a rough outline of the events from the refugees. In other words, the information had been cross-verified by both the refugees and the Empire.
"Until now, we have limited our actions to allowing the refugees of our blood ally, the Holy Kingdom, to stay on imperial soil, providing them with shelter and daily necessities. However, His Imperial Majesty believes we can no longer stand idly by."
At the imperial official's next words, the inquisitors let out a collective sigh.
"If things continue like this, the Holy Kingdom will suffer irreversible damage, which will inevitably fracture the blood alliance between our Empire and your nation."
The imperial official cleared his throat to regain the inquisitors' attention.
"The collapse of a peace that has lasted for centuries is something our Empire wishes to avoid at all costs. Therefore, His Imperial Highness the Prince has ordered us to utilize every means at our disposal to aid our blood ally."
Soft groans and sighs rippled through the room. The official had phrased it politely, but the underlying message was glaringly obvious:
Now that the Holy Kingdom is in dire straits, we will leverage our aid to restructure our alliance into a master-servant relationship.
Every inquisitor present understood the Empire's true intentions. Yet, they had no power to stop it. After all, all communication with their homeland was completely severed.
"Thus, as soon as our forces are assembled, we plan to enter the Holy Kingdom through Easthold."
Consequently, the inquisitors had only one choice: to accompany the imperial forces. Having already failed to retrieve the Original Scriptures, this was far better than watching the Church collapse and their nation perish.
Once before, Yohan had traveled a long distance to the Holy City in the company of Annie. They had journeyed along the highway connecting Patermachi to the capital, and back then, he had been deeply impressed by the sight of the vast road bustling with carriages and travelers.
"It's completely deserted."
Mmm.
But returning to the highway now, there wasn't a single soul in sight. The once-pristine roadside facilities were scarred with signs of destruction, indicating that chaos had swept through this area as well.
"Still..."
No matter how he looked at it, the state of things was better than he had anticipated. Yohan tilted his head in confusion as he scanned the highway from the sky.
Cities like Easthold and Patermachi had been utterly devastated. In the clashes between the madmen and the sane, entire cities had been ruined, sparing only major religious landmarks like the cathedrals. Even those cathedrals, which neither side dared to touch directly, had been fortified into strongholds.
Yet, for some reason, the highway leading to the Holy City and its surrounding facilities remained remarkably intact.
"Hey, dummy. No matter how I look at this..."
It seems the situation was resolved long ago.
The riots inside the Holy City had likely been suppressed long ago. In other words... everyone currently in the Holy City was completely out of their minds.
"Wow, so I'm basically infiltrating enemy territory all by myself."
Hehe. If you think about it, wasn't it the same when you visited with Annie last time?
"Hey, at least back then we had a solid disguise. Now, the moment I catch anyone's eye, they'll probably scream 'Get him!' and mob me."
Well, it wasn't as if he was deeply worried. The Goddess's Divine Power had already grown significantly, and by extension, Yohan's Apostle's Authority had strengthened as well. While waging an all-out war against the devils lurking in the Holy City might be difficult, he was confident he could sneak in and rescue Justia. Or rather, he had been confident.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Approaching the outskirts of the Holy City, Yohan let out a heavy sigh. As expected, the entire city of Holy Capital Justia had been consumed by the madness. Because the citizens' very concept of faith had been inverted, they went about their daily lives as if nothing were wrong, making the city appear deceptively peaceful at first glance.
But the reality was far from peaceful. For starters, the barrier that once enveloped the entire city atop its circular walls had vanished. As a result, even standing outside the walls, the sheer density of the demonic energy leaking out made Yohan's skin prickle. There wasn't a single trace of the Main God Justia's Divine Power left here. It was no wonder she had been on the verge of fading away from a complete depletion of her power.
Instead of blindly charging over the walls, Yohan paused to consider his options. The simplest method... would be to unleash his Apostle's Authority to its absolute limit and sweep the entire city with his Divine Flame. That would instantly snap the maddened citizens back to their senses while forcing the hidden devils to show themselves in agony. The problem, however, was that doing so would trigger a massive battle with the rampaging devils, inevitably resulting in catastrophic civilian casualties.
"Or..."
After a brief moment of deliberation, Yohan came up with a much more peaceful approach. He would pretend to be afflicted by the madness, blend in naturally with the citizens of the Holy City, and make his way to the Papal Palace.