Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: 14. I Can't Hold Back Anymore. (4)
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"Hey. Hey. Wake up."
"Uh.... Mm.... Yes?"
Nun Rachel's eyes snapped open at the sound of someone calling her. Still groggy from just waking up, she blinked in a daze, her mind not fully cleared.
"Uh, uh.... Huh...."
Who is it? There's someone in front of me. A woman with silver hair and grayish eyes. I don't know her name, but as Rachel stared at her for a moment, forgotten memories began to resurface vividly.
"Priest...."
Oh no....
Priest Isaiah, who had cast Sleep on the trembling Nun Rachel in her final moments. The memory flashed through her mind, snapping her fully awake.
Wait a second.... What happened after that....
Priest! What happened to the priest?
Nun Rachel shot to her feet, ignoring the woman tilting her head and waiting for an answer.
She frantically shook her head and scanned her surroundings.
The corpses of dead hobgoblins, injured people from the earlier attack, and the medical tent shattered to pieces.
She rolled her eyes wildly, but nowhere could she spot Priest Isaiah.
Her gaze quickly shifted. She turned to the silver-haired woman and opened her mouth.
"H-Have you seen Priest Isaiah?"
"That's what I want to ask you.... Anyway, you're the one who was with Priest Isaiah, right? He's been missing since earlier. Do you not know where he went either?"
The white-haired woman continued, saying she'd been searching for the priest too. Rachel felt like she'd been struck hard in the back of the head.
He was dragged away.... Because of me.... Because I collapsed there....
She didn't want to believe it, but she had no choice but to think Priest Isaiah had been taken by a hobgoblin. There were only two hobgoblin corpses here, which meant one had escaped alive—and that one had been targeting Priest Isaiah.
Damn it....
Why him, of all people....
A panorama of horrific scenes of Priest Isaiah suffering flashed through Nun Rachel's mind. She dropped to her knees and clutched her head, tearing at her hair.
"Sob.... Ugh.... Priest...."
For her, Priest Isaiah was the only sanctuary she could rely on in life. With someone like a father figure kidnapped, she could no longer maintain her reason.
In this helpless, hopeless situation, her tear glands burst. Tears soon fell in drops, soaking the ground.
Should I just die right now? Without the priest, is life even worth living? There's no point in living.
She had lived her whole life fixated on one person. Now that her sole pillar of support had been snatched away before her eyes, she was driven to extreme thoughts.
"Are you okay?"
A hand suddenly rested on Nun Rachel's shoulder. Looking up through her sobs, she saw the white-haired woman gazing down at her with concern.
"It seems something happened to the priest. If you're okay with it, could you tell me what happened?"
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Isabel had heard the rough outline of the situation. She'd suspected as much, but hearing it directly made her head spin.
Haa.... It feels like the priest gets kidnapped every time I see him....
Thinking back, both last time and now, Priest Isaiah always seemed to be getting dragged off by something whenever she encountered him.
At least last time, they luckily found him quickly and rescued him right away, but now.... She had no clue where to even start.
"You're Isabel, right? Can we.... find the priest?"
The woman asked, staring at the ground as if her mental state had collapsed.
Unable to give an answer in a situation where they didn't even know where he'd been taken, Isabel just let out a groan.
Haa.... Out of all these people, why the priest....
Does the priest emit some kind of pheromone? It was suspicious that out of everyone, only he was singled out.
It was obvious this would cause an uproar once the higher-ups found out, and she was incredulous at how lax the security must have been to let those things through.
Frustrated, Isabel crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. Just as she thought she should rush out and search right now, even if it was late...
Ting-
As she moved to head outside, something hard caught her foot, sending her lurching forward. It bounced off the wall once more, spinning as it rolled under the window.
What the?
Did I kick some object that was lying around? But then, drawn like a moth to the glint reflecting the sunlight streaming through the window, Isabel approached.
Up close, a familiar shape came into view.
A rosary?
A necklace made of beaded string, with a small cross dangling at the end. The kind used to count prayers lay scattered on the floor.
Could this be...
She knelt and picked up the rosary. The string was broken; the beads had scattered across the floor, leaving only the cross attached to the line.
Is it the priest's?
Considering the circumstances, only two people here would carry something like this: Nun Rachel and Priest Isaiah.
She figured a devout cleric wouldn't discard something so important in a place like this, so she was almost certain it belonged to Priest Isaiah. Still needing confirmation, Isabel turned and brought the rosary straight to Nun Rachel.
"Is this the priest's by any chance?"
"Huh? Ah.... Priest...."
Her eyes widened noticeably—looks like it was.
Nun Rachel took the rosary from Isabel. Teardrops like jade beads fell from her eyes.
Good. I thought he'd been taken without a trace, but something was left behind.
This makes things easier. She had no idea where to search before, but now she had a solid lead.
"Ahem...."
Leaving the weeping Nun Rachel behind, Isabel approached Silvia, who was face-down on the ground, out cold like she was dead.
She knelt and immediately grabbed Silvia's head, lifting it up.
And...
Slap-
Isabel unhesitatingly struck Silvia's cheek. When a couple slaps didn't rouse her, she kept slapping until she woke.
Slap- Slap- Slap- Slap-
"Gah.... S-Save me...."
She'd wondered when she'd wake up, and now her senses were finally returning. She should've woken from a light slap or two—instead, she sleeps through it all. She's asking for it.
"Hey, wake up. How long are you gonna sleep?"
"W-Why so sudden.... Sis, it hurts...."
"Hurts my ass. I know your kind heals fast. Get up already."
After the scolding, Silvia finally pushed herself up from the ground, groaning. Isabel thought it was fake, but she really seemed to be in pain.
"Oww.... I'm dying. What's going on.... You told me to rest earlier."
"I'm going crazy. Hey, does this look like a time to rest?"
Silvia scrunched her face, scratching her head as if she had no idea what was happening. Still half-asleep, she finally looked around.
"Shit.... What happened here?"
Only now noticing the mess, her mouth gaped open, speechless. It seemed her memories from berserk mode had been completely wiped—she had no clue.
"Whatever. You can still smell scents, right?"
"S-Scents? Yeah, still can.... But why?"
"Haa.... We need to find the priest. Looks like a monster dragged him off."
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Grrrrrr-
Grrk-
Splash-
"Urk! Cough! Cough!"
Cold water poured over his head. Thanks to it, his consciousness, lost from exhausting his divine power for so long, returned, and his mind sharpened.
"Cough cough."
Crazy.... If you're gonna wake me, do it nicely—water went up my nose, and I nearly died for a second there.
Shit.... Where am I....
As his awareness sharpened, his vision gradually widened. Lifting his head, right before his eyes was a disgusting hobgoblin spawn.
Grrrr- Grr-
The hobgoblin in front made weird choking noises from its throat. No way to understand what it was saying, so he focused on steadying his breathing first.
"Haa.... Haa...."
This is hell.... Divine power depleted, no strength to move, and doused in cold water—his whole body was soaked.
His head throbbed like it might split, and there wasn't a single healthy spot on him. Forget where he was; if he let his mind slip even a little, he'd collapse right there.
Haa.... Haa.... But why are there so many of these bastards....
Was I wrong? I thought only a few monsters were left, but dragged to their lair, it was way more than that. Just what he could see numbered over twenty easily.
No chance of escape.
He knew it was impossible anyway, but facing it with his own eyes made the frustration indescribable.
Like his soul was being chipped away. With hope itself gone, his sense of reality was dulling.
Grrk- Grk-
Grrk-
Grrrr-
After glancing at him once, the hobgoblins started conversing among themselves. Soon, one or two gripping vines began approaching him slowly.
Shit.... What.... Don't!