Chapter 4 - Hostage Situation
Chapter 4 - Hostage Situation
“You mustn’t, Your Holiness!”
The oldest-looking holy knight, presumably their commander, shouted urgently.
“You bastard, how dare you lay hands on the Saintess—!”
“We won’t stand for this!”
Simultaneously, furious cries erupted from among the holy knights.
“Raaaaaah!!!”
Some even managed to shake off my Heavenly Demon’s oppressive aura through sheer battle spirit and charged at me.
Well, perfect timing. That one will make an excellent example.
I rose to my feet and delivered a light kick to the charging knight’s shin.
CRACK!
“AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!”
His shin snapped cleanly at the point of impact—along with the thick golden plate armor protecting it.
“…!”
Fear flickered across the faces of the other holy knights as they witnessed the scene.
Leaving the screaming knight writhing on the ground while clutching his shattered leg, I turned back to the Saintess.
“As you can see, I can easily kill every single person here. Including you.”
The Saintess remained kneeling, looking up at me.
Though she struggled to maintain a dignified demeanor, I could see the terror seeping into her golden eyes.
“…Lord Juten… will punish you for this.”
“I don’t care. A god I’m not even sure exists doesn’t scare me. The only thing that bothers me is the thought of Radain Church hounding me for revenge after I dispose of you all here.”
I locked eyes with hers.
“So I’ll give you a choice. Either become my hostage and act as a shield against your precious Radain Church… or die here along with everyone else.”
I had no intention of killing her, but a little intimidation never hurt.
“…”
The Saintess seemed to be weighing her options.
“Your Holiness! You mustn’t go with him! How can you trust the promises of a demon?! Take me instead!”
“Shut up.”
I hurled a surge of Demonic Qi at the shouting commander.
“Guh—!”
The impact sent him crashing face-first into the ground.
Sorry, but a small fry like you wouldn’t make for a convincing hostage. They’d just cut their losses and abandon you.
“Commander Cleos! You—!”
“If you’ve got time to get angry over your subordinate, hurry up and decide. If you stall any longer, I’ll make sure the rest of them suffer worse than him.”
At this point, her answer was already set in stone.
“…Very well. I will go with you.”
“Your Holiness…!”
A collective groan rose from the holy knights.
“You must keep your word. Release the other knights, and once we leave Radain Holy Nation, you will free me. And if you promise not to cause any trouble during our journey… I will comply.”
Quite the list of demands.
Not that I care. I don’t want unnecessary chaos either.
“Fine. But if your side attacks first, all bets are off. You’d better hold up your end too.”
“I swear it.”
The Saintess bit her lower lip, as if swallowing humiliation.
“Good. Then let’s leave without delay.”
“Wait. Before we go… I wish to heal them one last time.”
She glanced at the knight with the shattered shin and the unconscious commander.
“…Three minutes.”
Without hesitation, the Saintess summoned holy light around her hands and mended the knight’s broken leg before rushing to the commander’s side.
Cradling his head, she murmured something, and soon he regained consciousness, blinking up at her.
“…Did you… accept his terms?”
The Saintess smiled sadly.
“Don’t worry. I will return safely. From that demon…”
“…Forgive us. Our weakness has forced you into becoming a demon’s hostage—!”
I’m not a demon.
“Let’s go.”
Before leaving the cavern with the Saintess, I turned one last time to issue a warning.
“You all heard our agreement. Don’t do anything stupid… lest you trample on your Saintess’s resolve.”
After traversing the long cavern littered with corpses, we finally emerged outside.
An endless snowfield stretched before us.
White ground filled my vision, and blizzards howled violently in the wind.
“Damn it. Even after teleporting, I end up in a place like this…”
The cold here was worse than the Northern Ice Palace.
Didn’t the system say it reverted my body to seventeen years old?
At least my cultivation seemed intact.
With Demonic Qi, I could endure the cold well enough.
Glancing at the Saintess, I noticed she was bundled in thick clothing.
“…What?”
She glared sharply at me, matching my gaze.
…I should probably establish some discipline before we go.
“Come to think of it, what’s stopping you from breaking our agreement and pulling some stunt?”
“What—?! I swore to abide by your terms! How dare you doubt the word of a Saintess?!”
“You’re only a Saintess within Radain Church.”
Come to think of it, did I still have Solitude in my inventory?
Leaving the fuming Saintess aside, I mentally summoned my inventory as usual.
…Inventory?
“Hah…”
The system messages appeared, but the inventory didn’t?
Sure, after achieving the True Ending, I’d cleared out most of my inventory, but I should still have low-grade elixirs and miscellaneous items lying around.
“Tch.”
Whatever. No point dwelling on what’s gone.
For now, I’d have to make do with temporary measures.
Huuuum—
I concentrated Demonic Qi into my palm, shaping it into a sphere.
“…What is that?”
The Saintess flinched slightly at the sight of the small black orb hovering above my hand.
Instead of answering, I flicked the Demonic Qi toward her left chest.
“Kuh—!”
The energy absorbed into her body, and she staggered with a sharp cry, clutching her chest.
“…What… is this?…”
“Consider it a curse. Or dark magic, if that’s easier to understand.”
“Dark magic…?!”
“If you break our agreement, I’ll crush your heart.”
“…!”
Finally, the last remnants of her composure shattered, and despair flooded her beautiful face.
Good. She bought it.
That was a complete bluff.
The Demonic Qi I’d sent into her had already dissipated.
Even as a Heavenly Demon, I couldn’t manipulate others with magic like that.
Hence the deception.
And judging by her reaction, she fell for it completely. She wouldn’t dare try anything now.
“Don’t worry. I’ll release it the moment we cross the border.”
“…You demon…!”
I’m not a demon. How many times do I have to say it?
“Let’s get moving. What’s the smallest village along the way to the border?”
“The smallest?”
“We need lodging and supplies—food, clothes, things like that. But if we enter a large city, the guards might try to ‘rescue’ you and attack me, right?”
“You’re thorough.”
“I’d prefer ‘prudent.’ Anyway, any place that fits?”
“…About 80 kilometers southwest, there’s a place called Petin. It’s small, but you can get daily necessities and tools for outdoor survival.”
She pointed toward the opposite side of the cavern, beyond the snowfield.
“But even I can’t traverse 80 kilometers in this cold. We should just head to the nearest—”
“80 kilometers, huh?”
A bit far.
I checked my status window to assess my remaining Demonic Qi. After the earlier battle, I’d used some…
[Demonic Qi: 189%]
What? A bug? My Dantian’s capacity was exceeded?
So that’s why I’d unconsciously been emitting Demonic Qi earlier. But how did it accumulate this much?
…No idea. Too tired to think about it. Probably something to do with that ritual.
Either way, this works out. With excess Demonic Qi to spare, we can move faster.
“Hey.”
“?”
“Stay still.”
I approached the Saintess and pressed a pressure point at the base of her neck.
“Ghk—!”
She collapsed limply, like a deflated balloon.
“Wh-what… did you…?”
“Just immobilized you temporarily. I’ll release you when we arrive.”
Scooping her up in a princess carry, I adjusted my grip.
“That direction you pointed earlier, right? Let’s go.”
Channeling excess Demonic Qi into my legs, I kicked off the ground.
[Shadow Moon Step activated! Excess Demonic Qi boosts movement speed!]
Whoosh—
With each step covering dozens of meters, I raced across the snowfield like the wind, the Saintess in my arms.
Following her directions, I pushed my movement technique to its limits and arrived in Petin in under thirty minutes.
As she’d said, it was a tiny village—a few dozen huts, housing no more than 200 people at most.
“Hey. We’re here.”
Glancing down at the Saintess, I froze.
“…Hic.”
“???”
She was crying.
“H-hey. What the hell—”
“I… I, the Saintess of Radain Church… have been defiled by a man’s touch—no, a demon’s touch… Ahh, Lord Juten… please forgive me…”
“…”
A sinking feeling settled in my chest.
This journey with the Saintess was going to be exhausting.