47. War (9)
47. War (9)
"Damn!!!"
Gwen yelled out in intense frustration, something she would absolutely never do under normal circumstances.
Right now, Gwen was venting her rage from the top of Medherun City's outer walls.
Outside the city, countless Ners were wrapping citizens in cocoons and fleeing.
The moment they stepped outside the city, there was no strength left to pursue them. Gwen knew full well that charging after them now would just be a suicidal dog's death.
To stop it, they never should have given the Ners the time to take the citizens hostage in the first place.
But Heriis's overwhelming power had drawn knights from all over, gathering to confront him.
In that process, citizens in other areas had naturally fallen into danger.
She knew it was unavoidable.
Leaving Heriis alone would have plunged the citizens into even greater peril—not to mention putting the knights, adventurers, and guards in mortal danger or straight-up killing them.
Two knight unit detachments had barely managed to take him on by charging in; if they'd spread out to rescue citizens, they'd have been picked off one by one with massive casualties.
"Ah..."
Watching the Ners kidnap citizens and flee into the distance, Gwen recalled the report of Ners appearing in the Lord's castle, turned to head there—but her footsteps halted once more.
From atop the walls, Medherun City's eastern district was a scene of devastation beyond words.
The stench of blood wafted from every direction, most buildings crushed and destroyed by the massive Ners rampaging through, and the most terrifying part? Not a single citizen in sight.
No people.
In a situation like this, not one corpse to be seen.
Just blood splattered here and there—but not a single body, even with Gwen's exceptional eyesight.
Because the Ners had either devoured or abducted them all.
Medherun City's eastern district housed roughly 30,000 citizens. Even assuming many had evacuated due to the Ners' assault, she figured there had to be at least 10,000 casualties.
Gwen had never felt this utterly powerless before.
But she couldn't let that helplessness paralyze her.
Staring at the imposing castle before her eyes, she steeled her resolve and started moving again.
She couldn't assume every last Ners had fled.
They could pop up anywhere, anytime—and with Ners spotted in the Lord's castle, she had to hustle.
Gwen gathered her determination once more and broke into a run toward the castle, but once again, her feet ground to a halt.
"Mason! Mason, why the hell are you out here!"
Because she spotted her subordinate Mason—who was supposed to be inside the Lord's castle—leading the orphanage kids out of it.
"Gwen-nim!!!"
Mason frantically explained to Gwen everything that had just gone down.
The priest who tried to rape the Saint-nim under the pretense of treating her and got offed by Ners, the Personal Guard refusing to let her into the audience chamber, and then those same Personal Guard forcing the Saint-nim inside.
"What!?"
"I'm sorry...! I wasn't strong enough...!"
"No. You did plenty. Thank you for protecting the kids all this time."
In her high position as Knight Commander, Gwen was well aware of the city's darker corners—so she knew exactly how dangerous it was for Lea to waltz into the audience chamber alone.
That's why she bolted straight there.
Gwen prayed desperately that Lea hadn't caught the eye of that man named Albert.
==
The inside of the Lord's castle was already no different from Medherun City's eastern district.
Wrinkle her nose at the overwhelming stench of blood and acid coming from all sides, Gwen raced directly to the audience chamber.
The Personal Guard didn't dare block someone of Knight Commander rank, letting her straight in.
"Oh! Knight Commander Gwen."
The people idly passing the time peacefully in the audience chamber spotted Gwen arrive and assumed the Ners' raid was finally over, greeting her warmly.
No matter the urgency, Gwen upheld protocol by approaching the Lord first to give her report.
The Lord expressed some regret over failing to protect more citizens, but he didn't see it as catastrophic damage—thanked her for her efforts, and dismissed her.
Truth be told, the Lord wasn't sweating the city's damage from this Ners raid much at all.
Why? Because the hit zone was the eastern district.
That place was practically dubbed Medherun City's "dark underbelly"—a total pain in the ass.
The slums that had naturally sprung up around the Public Cemetery, and all the crime that came with it? It was actually turning a profit, so he'd been keeping a deliberate eye on it.
Lately, though, they'd started getting cocky, thinking his leniency meant they could climb higher—so he'd been planning a good "cleanup."
And wouldn't you know it, the Ners picked that exact spot to strike.
The Lord defended the other districts with ironclad force but let the eastern one fester like a neglected wound.
Sure, it'd ding the city's image a bit, but he was confident in a quick fix—and hey, this Ners attack? Actually a godsend.
==
Gwen quickly scanned the room.
Only a select few could even enter the audience chamber, so it was a fast check—but Lea was nowhere to be found.
Wondering if she'd overlooked her, she double-checked and locked eyes with a noble lady she got along with.
Spotting the tremor in the noble lady's gaze, Gwen closed in fast.
"Nice to see you."
"Ah, hello. Gwen-nim...."
"By any chance, has the Saint-nim been here?"
"The Saint-nim...?"
She still seemed clueless about the Saint, so Gwen pressed on.
"Black hair, dressed in a nun's habit, big chest, ridiculously beautiful."
"Ah... that... sister...?"
"Yeah. That sister's the Saint-nim. You know where she went?"
"Well... that lord took her away..."
"Yes?"
Glancing around warily, head swiveling like a paranoid owl, she whispered in the tiniest voice.
"She drank the drink Albert-nim handed her and collapsed, then Albert-nim carried her off."
"...!"
Albert.
Ask Gwen who the most wicked bastard in Medherun City is, and she'd say Albert without hesitation.
But to outsiders? He's one of the city's irreplaceable pillars.
Everyone knows how much cash he dumps into it.
Albert? He's all-in on this city—nothing else matters.
Means and methods? Whatever it takes to build it up.
Gwen shut her eyes and spread her mana out wide.
Not a rigid barrier to block stuff—just scattering it like mist, fanning out broadly.
The mana spread... then snap—it cut off sharp somewhere.
Eyes snapping open, Gwen bolted straight there.
Clack.
Locked door. Gwen wrenched the handle with brute force, smashing it open—and froze solid at the sight inside.
"Ah, Gwen-nim! You're safe!"
Lea, calmly sipping tea like it was no big deal.
But the weird part? Lea was blatantly in the superior seat, while Albert played butler like a pro.
Seeing how beat-up and worn-out Gwen looked, Lea shot to her feet in a panic to check her over.
She was gonna be her pet human later, after all—better inspect for injuries now and heal 'em up.
A scar on her pet human? Devastating.
"No major wounds at first glance, but let me heal you anyway."
Lea hated using Holy Power on the regular, but for Gwen? No hesitation.
Healing fixed wounds, not fatigue or stress—but all those little nicks from nonstop fighting got patched, leaving Gwen feeling noticeably lighter.
"Hmm.... Still look wiped out, though.... These eyes don't miss it."
Lea slipped her index finger into her mouth, then—slick with saliva, just like back in the bathhouse—gently offered it to Gwen.
Mid-glare at Albert to keep him in check, Gwen's eyes wavered at the saliva-drenched finger right in her face.
She knew that spit would perk her right up in this state, but with Albert right there? She gritted her teeth and held back.
"I'm fine. First, I have a question for Albert-nim."
Gwen grabbed Lea's hand in front of her and tugged her safely behind.
"Me? What's the question?"
"What did you do to the Saint-nim?"
"Nothing at all?"
"Don't lie to me. With all those eyes on you, you think everyone's just gonna stay quiet?"
"Heh, plenty in that room can't stand the sight of me. You included, Knight Commander."
Gwen never took her eyes off Albert, poised to take him down at the slightest funny move.
Which meant she missed what went down behind her.
Stab.
"Huh?"
Gwen felt something jab into her neck, slapped a hand to it in panic, and staggered back from her spot.
She yanked out whatever was lodged in her neck.
"Syringe...?"
A bit of liquid still sloshed inside, proof of what it'd held moments ago.
"Sa-Saint-nim, wha-what the—"
Whatever was in that syringe? Didn't matter—sleep crashed over her like a wave.
She fought desperately to prop her drooping eyelids open, but her whole body went limp.
In the end, Gwen face-planted onto the floor and passed out cold.
Lea gently stroked her head, flashing the happiest grin she'd worn since arriving in this world.
Albert, watching Lea, shrank back in terror, trembling like a leaf.