Chapter 216
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 216
Chapter Title: Cracks in Faith
Eugene scanned the Holy Knights, who were stunned by the blatant evidence and at a loss for words, before turning his gaze to Princess Lilisein.
"Princess."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Princess Lilisein, who had pulled her helmet back down, strode forward without hesitation.
Even in the lord's private chamber, with an outsider barging in, the Holy Knights could only hesitate and step aside.
"What are you all doing!? My lords! Brothers!"
The cardinal bellowed furiously, causing several Holy Knights to flinch and block Princess Lilisein's path.
Eugene then stepped forward.
"Princess Lilisein is pure-blooded royalty of the Elrand Kingdom and can detect corrupted mana flows. It was thanks to her that we tracked the presence of the one who created that vile monster all the way here."
"......!"
"And my purpose is to slay the wicked one who created the undead. Surely the church's Holy Knights aren't planning to interfere with that?"
"Umm......"
The faces of the Holy Knights blocking the way stiffened immediately, and they exchanged uneasy glances among themselves.
'Well, now.'
From their reaction, Eugene could roughly gauge their nature.
Good family backgrounds, solid skills, but weak against sudden situations and variables.
Come to think of it, even at Count Winslon's knight tournament, the Holy Knights had been incredibly straightforward.
They thought they were being clever, but to Eugene, it was pathetically yawn-inducing.
'I see. They've been holed up in the church their whole lives, clueless about the real world. All they've heard are stories from that rat bastard and his cronies.'
"My lords! What are you doing!? You must not heed the words of that cunning heretic over me, the one who conveys the word of God! Do not be swayed by evil! My brothers!"
Seeing the cardinal still ranting and the Holy Knights hesitating despite his words solidified Eugene's conviction.
And that conviction was spot on.
Normally, the Holy Knights would have blindly followed the cardinal's words, but with the Twin-Headed Ogre undead's head right there in front of them, they couldn't.
'Heretic? That knight?'
'But that's an undead head. The demonic energy is so thick...'
'An elf royal who rejects evil lying in the church? Does that even make sense?'
The faith the cardinal had so diligently instilled now bred conflict and confusion among the Holy Knights. They might be simple-minded, but they weren't fools.
"How unpleasant. A man who claims to convey God's word calling it heresy even with clear evidence before him."
"What did you say!?"
Eugene fixed the cardinal, who glared at him in a frenzy, with a cold stare.
"Or is it because you have something to hide? Something inconvenient if it got out to the faithful brothers here."
"You wretch!"
"Wretch?"
"Eek!"
Eugene's aura shifted abruptly, causing the cardinal to shrink back again.
In truth, he had only lightly invoked his Presence and focused it solely on the cardinal, but no one noticed.
"Did you just insult the Duke of the Brantia Kingdom? Do the priests of Kailer Kingdom have no concept of honor?"
"U-Ugh......"
Even a trace amount of Origin Presence was too much for a human to bear. The cardinal could only tremble and offered no rebuttal.
That sight alone was enough to fill the Holy Knights with deep disappointment and shame.
Setting everything else aside, Eugene was the knight who had personally slain the undead that endangered the capital. He was a benefactor to both kingdom and church.
Calling such a benefactor a "wretch"?
And showing such an ugly face after just one retort?
'Perhaps......'
'The knight might be telling the truth.'
The thought that Eugene, who had boldly entered the grand cathedral protected by holy silver and power and even revealed his face, might be a vampire had already vanished.
Their faith remained strong, but a small crack had formed in their loyalty to the cardinal.
And once that crack appeared, it spread rapidly to all the Holy Knights.
Even Yung Dirhit, who hated Eugene the most, stared at him with entranced eyes.
"The situation is urgent, so let's do this."
Eugene smoothly withdrew his Presence as he spoke.
"We'll find the evidence, then hold everyone accountable for this incident. And I won't ask for your cooperation—just don't interfere with me and the princess. All I want is to find the wicked mage who created the undead. What say you, my lords?"
Eugene's gaze was directed not at the cardinal, but at the Holy Knights.
"Oh......"
The Holy Knights were slightly moved.
As knights themselves, they knew all too well how unpleasant it was to have their honor questioned.
They would have exploded in rage already, yet this knight was considering their pride even in this situation, focusing solely on eradicating evil.
"We shall."
"We want to assist you, my lord, but not everything is crystal clear yet... Please understand our caution."
Several knights sheathed their swords and bowed politely, prompting the rest to do the same.
"My brothers!"
The cardinal cried out desperately, but the Holy Knights deliberately avoided his gaze.
What swayed the Holy Knights' hearts now was not status or justification, but faith.
That profound faith led them to side with Eugene, the true knight upholding "righteous justice and chivalry."
'As expected, naive fools.'
True knight or not, Eugene smirked inwardly with malicious glee.
"Let's go, Princess."
"Yes, sir!"
Princess Lilisein, gazing at Eugene—who had silenced both cardinal and Holy Knights with mere words—with ecstatic eyes, quickly moved forward.
Her unimpeded steps led toward the cathedral's underground.
* * *
Tap, tap, tap!
The mage, his red eyes gleaming, limped through the underground passage.
Despite the pitch-black darkness without a single light, he advanced without hesitation, as if he could see perfectly.
In fact, the mage could see as clearly as in broad daylight.
Because he was of the Night Clan.
"Huff, huff......"
Yet, uncharacteristically for a vampire who never tired, labored breaths escaped his lips nonstop.
It was due to the partial damage transferred when his controlled undead was destroyed.
To turn a powerful monster like the Twin-Headed Ogre into an undead underling required accepting mutual damage exchange as a given.
'If only I'd drunk more blood. But time was so tight.'
The mage regretted it, but there was no helping it.
If the one who felled the Twin-Headed Ogre had been someone else, he wouldn't have fled so hastily.
But since it was "him," he had to escape that place no matter what.
'How did he regain his power?'
'Did they perhaps break the pact?'
'No, it's not just breaking the pact. Someone aided him.'
'Could he be the one who ruined things in the Kalsbagen Peninsula?'
Countless thoughts swirled chaotically in the mage's mind.
At that moment, a familiar sensation made the mage jolt and turn around.
'Who is it? H-How......?'
Though far weaker than usual, it wasn't enough to dull his vampire instincts entirely, so he sensed someone following the path he had taken.
'N-No!'
The mage hurried his steps desperately. The current situation was the greatest crisis of his life.
But the chilling energy prickling his spine drew ever closer.
'J-Just a bit further......'
Feeling the wind blowing from far down the dark passage, the mage pushed on desperately.
"Found him! Over there!"
The voice echoing from behind filled the mage with despair.
* * *
'That one's it.'
The moment he spotted the mage panting against the damp wall, Eugene knew instinctively.
'A vampire.'
The Presence was faint but unmistakably from the same clan—a fairly high-ranking one at that.
'Capture him?'
As Eugene pondered, several following Holy Knights drew longswords infused with holy power and charged at the mage.
"You wicked spawn who defies God's will!"
Whoooong!
Holy power blazed brighter than any torch, illuminating the dark passage.
"Gaaargh!"
Eugene merely felt annoyed, but the mage facing the holy-infused blade screamed and shielded his face with his robe sleeve.
Enraged, the Holy Knights' strikes then tore into the mage.
'Whatever, it'll be fine.'
Realizing killing him outright was better than capturing, Eugene left the Holy Knights to it.
As a vampire, if left alive, he'd surely spill about Eugene, derailing the carefully laid plans.
Better for him to die by the Holy Knights' hands all around.
Whoosh!
"Kyaaak!"
The mage erupted in a horrific scream, engulfed in white flames.
"As expected!"
Only monsters of the demonic realm or those involved in black magic and necromancy reacted that way to holy-infused weapons. Confirming the mage's evil, the Holy Knights cheered.
Thud!
Finally, the mage crumbled to ashes, leaving only his tattered robe.
"We've slain God's enemy!"
"Today, our faith stands firm!"
Ooooh!!!
Punishing wicked beings who opposed God—that was the Holy Knights' paramount duty and greatest achievement. They roared in triumph.
"Well done, my lords."
"N-No, my lord!"
Pleased by Eugene's praise, the Holy Knights bashfully bowed their heads.
"You should have finished him off yourself, my lord. We are ashamed."
"The moment we sensed the evil threatening our faith, our bodies moved on their own..."
In truth, they'd rushed ahead pretending extra fury to preempt Duke Bartla from taking the lead.
And a knight of that caliber surely knew it. If he'd wanted the credit, he'd have acted first, and no one could complain.
Yet this honorable knight had graciously yielded the glory to them, the Holy Knights.
They couldn't help but feel grateful toward Eugene.
"My lord. We apologize once more."
"We were blinded for a moment and doubted a brave and honorable knight like you."
Eugene shook his head at the apologizing Holy Knights.
"No. When following God's will, such moments arise occasionally. Isn't that a test of faith as well? I fully understand, my lords."
"Ooh!"
"M-My lord, you truly are......"
Not only yielding a great deed but even preserving their face?
Especially in a situation like this, where no one was watching and they could reveal their true nature without repercussion.
Holy Knights, who had only witnessed nobles' political games in the capital's grand cathedral and palace, were genuinely awed by Eugene.
Heretic? Apostate?
What filthy intrigue against such an honorable knight!
"It's like a fog lifting from my mind!"
"You are the true honorable knight, my lord. Thanks to you, my eyes have been opened wide."
Trembling with emotion and passion, thumbs raised high, the Holy Knights received Eugene's humble smile.
"You flatter me. It was you lords, with your deep faith and noble chivalry, who achieved this. I am the one in awe of Holy Knights who bring no shame to that name."
"Ooh......"
"My lord!"
Whether the Holy Knights were moved or not, Eugene's mind was busily plotting the tasks ahead, using these naive knights as pawns.
No matter what anyone said, the strongest force among Kailer Kingdom's troops in the capital right now was the Holy Knights.
If they sided with him?
'I might pull this off without lifting a finger.'
Not only dethroning the king and cardinal, but plunging the kingdom's leadership into utter chaos afterward seemed possible.
The fanatics Eugene had seen so far always ignited at the slightest spark, consequences be damned.
(To be continued in the next installment)