Chapter 125: Patrol
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 125: Patrol
Medieval cities are extremely vulnerable to fire. This is because they are built primarily of wood, with houses often packed tightly together.
When a fire broke out, it would easily spread to the next building. If strong winds were added to the mix, embers would fly in every direction, and the inferno would engulf the entire city.
The bigger problem was the lack of proper firefighting tools. At best, people could throw water with buckets, which wasn't very effective.
That was why even a small fire required everyone to gather and help extinguish it. It was only natural for medieval people to be sensitive about fire.
And yet, here was a man doing the exact opposite—committing arson.
“Repent! Tear down the idols and set fire to the symbols of heresy! Through this, you shall reflect on your sins and beg the Lord for mercy! That is the only way to repent!”
Archbishop Raceni repeatedly raised his voice, pressing the villagers.
“A-Archbishop. If the fire spreads, we’ll all die!” a villager holding a torch protested, trembling.
The archbishop, who always wore the smile of a kind man, now had his face twisted into a demonic mask.
“Get thee behind me, Satan! How dare you try to protect a cult in the presence of the Lord’s servant! This will not do! I shall have all you wicked seeds tied to crosses and burned!”
“Eek! O-Okay! We’ll set the fire!”
With his eyes blazing, the archbishop looked like a man who would burn them alive without a second thought.
As they say, extremes meet. The archbishop, more devout than anyone, was also more ruthless than anyone when faced with heretics.
Trembling with anxiety, the villagers threw their torches at the cult’s assembly hall. The two-story wooden building was instantly engulfed in flames.
The crimson inferno surged, beginning to incinerate everything. The villagers prostrated themselves, shaking in terror.
“G-God will curse us…”
“Not my house. Please, not my house…”
The archbishop grabbed them by the scruff of their necks and forced them to their feet.
“All of you, raise your heads! Open your eyes wide and watch! This is the agonizing end that awaits those who believe in a false cult! You must pray and pray again to the one true Lord to lessen the sin of having believed, even for a moment, in such a wicked thing!”
Forcing them to pray with the cult’s assembly hall being swallowed by the billowing inferno at his back, he looked every bit the madman.
“Shouldn’t we stop him?”
Piole, who had ridden her horse up beside me, couldn’t hide her concern.
“Why?”
“You’re asking because you don’t know? These are all wooden houses! A fire bigger than the city could break out. Then our own safety will be at risk.”
“The archbishop is a fanatic, but he’s not an idiot. Look.”
In truth, only a few people had set fire to the assembly hall. The majority of the villagers were lined up in a long row, drawing water from the nearby Rhine River.
The guards the archbishop had borrowed were watching them with glaring eyes, so no one dared to slack off.
The buildings around the assembly hall had already been demolished in case the fire spread. The wind wasn’t strong, so embers weren’t flying about.
At this rate, the planned arson would burn only its target and then die out.
“If there had been any chance of it spreading, I would have stopped him in the first place.”
Though it had its flaws, it was a fairly well-made town. There was no better place to serve as a forward base for the laborers who would rest here while building the new capital city.
“Well, if you say so…”
Piole backed away with a reluctant expression.
“More importantly, what about the interrogation?”
“They say there’s a real temple of the heretics on that mountain back there. The bastard probably fled there.”
The place Piole pointed to was a low mountain, the kind you could climb to the summit and back down in a day. It was just an ordinary hill behind the village.
That was unexpected. In the game, it was called the something-something mountain, so I thought it was a fairly large and well-known one…
“We won’t need a guide.”
The cult’s temple was at the summit, so we would find it even if we just climbed straight up.
I left Piole and the guards in the village to protect Aenya and to prevent the villagers, who would later be used as laborers for the capital’s construction, from escaping.
The palisade that had once been their sturdy support had now become their prison.
“Archbishop. Are you planning to follow?”
The archbishop began to follow me as I was about to leave alone.
“Did you not see it yourself, Baron? The devil’s minion transforming into a monster. We do not know what other vile tricks he might pull, so you will need the Lord’s protection.”
It was an excuse. The archbishop was nothing more than a fiery old man. He had no ability to stop the man from pulling any vile tricks.
Yet he insisted on coming. There were likely two reasons.
He wanted to burn the cult’s temple to the ground, just like the assembly hall that was now only ashes, and he was wary of me falling for the cult’s temptations.
After all, the cult bestowed special powers, just as the man who fled had demonstrated.
The faith of someone who has witnessed a miracle firsthand is easily corrupted. In other words, he was here to watch me.
Knowing this, I smiled.
“It’s reassuring to have you with me, Archbishop.”
His company was exactly what I wanted.
If I killed the devil’s minion with my own hands and brought down the cult’s temple, the archbishop would no longer be able to doubt us.
No, he might even vouch for our faith. If, in that state, I also secured the witch of the northern continent…
‘I’ll be able to wield a religious authority more powerful than any other justification.’
It wasn’t for nothing that I had let the man escape.
“Bloodstains?”
The man had kindly left a trail. A path of blood, which had only recently lost its warmth, stretched along the endless trail.
We followed the bloodstains up the mountain. Even if it was just a local hill, it must have been tough for the old archbishop, but he never stopped talking.
“Did you know that all cult temples have a blood-red altar? And that it’s all human blood? The so-called gods of the heretics do not shy away from human sacrifice. That is why, in the age when the many old gods ruled this land, the continent was never free of bloodshed.”
“A god that desires human blood. I can’t believe it.”
When I chimed in appropriately, the archbishop’s expression brightened.
“Indeed! Well said. Is that not proof that those so-called old gods are, in fact, demons? The Lord said not to even listen to the whispers of a demon. A demon will surely test us. It will try to control us by stimulating the desires deep in our hearts and gifting us with wicked powers. But that is not a gift, but a curse.”
“A curse?”
“The Bible is filled with so many poor lambs who fall for a demon’s temptation and are cast into hell, is it not? The man who just fled is an excellent example. You saw it too, Baron, did you not? His arm, transformed into that of a monster. How can you call that human?”
This time, I nodded sincerely. The reason I had turned away from the power I could have easily obtained was because of the physical transformation.
Humans instinctively ostracize other humans who are different from them. They judge primarily by appearance. Why? Because the eyes provide the most information.
In other words, to take on a monstrous appearance is to be exiled from human society. That was too great a price to pay for the power.
Even if that man had built a following with his power and integrated into noble society, the moment his monstrous form was revealed, he would have been exiled and hunted down. It was a truth only a fool wouldn't know.
“You’re right. A human is only meaningful because they are human.”
“Oh, Baron, you are truly unlike other nobles. I feel so moved I wish to give you my blessing.”
“It’s not that I don’t want it. It’s just a pity that I cannot, as I am the sole heir to my family.”
“Do not worry yourself. It must be part of the Lord’s plan to keep a faithful man like you in the secular world.”
“I certainly hope this is part of the Lord’s plan as well.”
I stopped and held out my palm. A downy snowflake landed on it and melted in an instant.
The inside of my hand, the only part of my chainmail gauntlet made of thick cloth, became wet, and soon a biting cold spread through it. It wasn’t an illusion.
Lifting my head, I saw dark clouds blanketing the sky. A thick, cool fog had crept in, swirling below my knees.
“Snow in the middle of summer.”
Come to think of it, it always snowed during this event in the game. Back then, I just thought it was winter, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
“This is the devil’s work! You must not, you must never fall for the devil’s temptation!”
“We’re continuing up. The summit isn’t far.”
The snowfall grew heavier, and our visibility narrowed accordingly. Unable to see even a step ahead, I lost my sense of direction. I could no longer tell how far we were from the summit.
The snow piled up around us to the height of a person, creating the illusion that we were climbing an incredibly high mountain.
“Perhaps we are walking toward the very gates of hell.”
Though he was an archbishop, he was still just an ordinary human with no special powers. The abnormal change in the environment had put him on high alert.
I let out a small laugh.
“You must not have much experience climbing high mountains. Since our ears aren’t popping and we’re not out of breath, it means only the climate has changed. Perhaps it’s a trick by our friend to drive us away.”
“Ah… How embarrassing. It seems I was the one who fell for the devil’s trick. Almighty Lord…”
“Stick close if you don’t want to get lost.”
“Oh, over there—!”
The archbishop, who was about to start praying, pointed ahead. Through the heavy snow that made it impossible to see, a building was faintly visible.
Up close, it was an ancient-style temple, its ceiling supported by dozens of marble columns.
“The symbol of the cult!”
The symbol of the cult was carved into the frieze below the roof.
I lowered my gaze again. With the heavy snow obscuring the sky and no torches, the inside of the temple was pitch-dark despite it being daytime.
It was a painful mistake not to have prepared torches, thinking we could get back down before sunset.
Still, it wasn’t too late. I drew my sword and slowly entered.
The inside of the temple was barren. There were no murals or statues, common in most temples, nor were there any signs of human habitation.
It was like looking at a black-and-white photograph. That made the trail of blood leading further inside all the more eye-catching.
Then, as we reached the center of the temple, I noticed something I hadn't seen from the outside. There was a gaping hole in the center of the ceiling.
Judging by its perfectly square shape, it seemed to have been intentional from the time of construction. Thanks to it, a faint light shone down despite the fierce snow, illuminating the surroundings. At its center was a blood-red altar.
“Hehehe. I knew you’d follow if I left a trail of blood!”
The man who had fled in such a hurry was waiting for us on the altar. A dagger was embedded in the stump of his severed arm.
When he gripped the handle and twisted, blood gushed out. Seeing how it healed instantly, he had left the blood trail on purpose.
“You wasted your effort. I would have pursued you even without the blood.”
“Hmph. How long will that confidence last? This is the hall of the god I serve! A petty noble and a believer in a false god will not be able to withstand His majesty!”
Baa—
The man lifted a lamb from beneath the altar. Judging by its size, it was a newborn. The lamb cried pitifully, as if it sensed its own future.
The archbishop urgently prompted me.
“You must stop him! He’s trying to gain power by offering a sacrifice to the demon!”
“It’s already too late!”
The man pulled the dagger from his arm and plunged it into the lamb’s neck.
Baa…
The pitiful cry of the newborn lamb filled the temple.
The lamb’s blood flowed down the man’s hands and body, soon drenching the altar. The sight of the vivid red being painted over the altar was chilling.
The man lifted the lamb’s corpse with both hands. He then thrust it toward the statue shrouded in shadows behind the altar and shouted.
“O great god! Your humble servant offers you this sacrifice! Please, grant me the power to defeat the enemies who have trespassed upon this sacred hall!”
It was at that moment.
The sky darkened as if a curtain of night had been drawn. The temple was instantly plunged into darkness.
Instead, the flowing lamb’s blood began to glow as if it contained a fluorescent substance.
Drip. Drip. The blood dripping below the altar gradually slowed, then reversed. As if time were rewinding, the blood that had stained the floor was drawn back up.
The blood soon covered the man’s body. It gathered at his severed arm, and a new arm began to form. But that wasn’t all.
Crack
With the sound of twisting bones, the man began to grow larger. His body became covered in so much fur that his skin was no longer visible, and it turned a shade of gray.
His face also became wrinkled, transforming into something like a gorilla’s.
The man tossed the shriveled lamb off the altar and stood up. Not only had his bulk increased, but he had also grown so tall that I had to look up at him.
“Hahaha! I can feel the power! No one can stand in my way now!”
Thud.
The man leaped down from the altar and looked down at me. We were so close that we could touch if we reached out with a sword and a hand. He grinned and continued.
“Hehehe. Look at you, frozen stiff like ice! I told you you’d regret this! Worship the power of a true god with your death!”
The muscles in his arm twitched. He looked ready to strike at any moment.
Having received the full blessing of an old god, he was a formidable opponent. In the game, his strength was somewhere between an ogre and a troll, wasn't it? I might match him in power, but he would surpass me in speed and agility.
So why didn’t I feel any tension?
I calmly looked up at him.
“Can you turn back into a human?”
“…What?”
He wore a blank expression, as if he’d heard something completely unexpected.
“If you can’t turn back into a human, what’s the point of all that power? It just means there’s one more powerful monster in the world.”
“You bastard! Don’t you dare mock the power of a god! Of course I can turn back!”
“Then go ahead and try.”
“Hmph, do you think I don’t know you’re just waiting for me to drop my transformation!”
I shrugged and sheathed my sword.
The man’s eyes widened. He clearly hadn’t expected this.
But only for a moment. A flicker of fear passed through his reddened eyes.
“It can’t be… It can’t be…”
The man backed away, his body contorting. He tried jumping around and even beat his chest with his fists like a gorilla.
But nothing changed.
“Why… why!?”
He whipped his head around toward the statue. The statue, shrouded in shadow, revealed only the barest hint of its mouth, but the shadowed lips seemed to hold a subtle sneer.