Heaven's Labyrinth (4)
Leon thought as he drank his milk. The journey of several months was finally over. It could be called short if you considered it short, and long if you considered it long. A rather strange connection, all things considered.
Leon lifted his head. Across from him, Ruina was gulping down honey wine. In this world, there was a saying to beware of flame mages covered in burns. The proverb had arisen from the observation that such individuals had a high probability of scorching their own bodies to raise their rank, and no sane person would ever do such a thing.
The full-body burn mage—Leon recalled his first meeting with Ruina. Late at night, beneath a moon shining in the night sky, he had met her while lying collapsed on the ground. In that atmosphere that felt as if she stood above the world itself, her merciless way of cutting off the mercenaries’ lives remained vividly etched in his memory.
A mage who bewitched those carrying lanterns. Though Ruina knew nothing but magic, Leon had somehow grown accustomed to traveling alongside her.
Leon smacked his lips. Ruina took an unusual amount of interest in other people. It was hard to believe, but she was remarkably good at reading them. Of course, reading people well and actually accommodating them were two entirely different matters.
Ruina was someone who placed magic above all other values. Magic took precedence over anything and everything. There were times when that aspect of her felt utterly alien to him, but what could he do? They had already decided to journey together.
Of course, traveling with Ruina had been genuinely enjoyable. When he thought back to the days he had swung his sword for a single purpose in the Holy Kingdom, the current Leon felt almost like a completely different person.
Priest of the Evil God. Leon rolled the hateful name across his tongue. The day his parents had burned to death. From that moment onward, Leon had possessed only one goal: to set justice right upon this land. To become a paladin like the previous one who had saved him, and to eradicate evil.
That goal was nearly within reach. Soon, Leon would become a paladin. The thought filled him with joy, yet somewhere deep down it also felt strangely hollow. After all, he had not yet reached the true level of a paladin. He would need to train harder. To become a genuine paladin.
Having renewed his resolve inwardly, Leon rose from his seat.
“Sir Leon. Where are you going?”
“I’ll step out for a moment.”
“You’re not still under the delusion that you need to gather more information on the Holy Grail, are you? All that remains is for us to transport it.”
“It’s only a walk.”
Come to think of it, Leon had been moving in exactly this manner for some time. Whenever they arrived in a village, he would plant himself in the pub and collect information. The amount of intelligence he had gathered during that period was considerable. After all, the world was overflowing with rumors.
In the end, when he considered how little those gathered rumors had actually helped in acquiring the Holy Grail, it only reinforced the reason why hearsay should be treated as nothing more than hearsay.
Leon strolled through the streets of North Stella Wood. Though he had only just arrived, the village scenery already felt familiar. This quiet, nearly deserted village reminded him of his own hometown. The same hometown that had now burned away and vanished.
Suddenly, Leon thought about the distant future. Later, far in the future, when the time came for him to retire. Wouldn’t it be nice to spend his days in a village like this?
As he pictured the scene in his mind, Leon narrowed his eyes. Why was Ruina chattering away beside his relaxed figure? It was a curious question. They had not even known each other for a full year, yet Ruina had already burrowed deep into his life. She was the kind of person who shook everything around her.
The imagined Ruina still bore her burns. For a moment, Leon found himself curious about her face. Even now, traces of her old appearance remained on Ruina, but they were literally just traces. It was difficult to guess her original features from them.
Well, it wasn’t impossible if he tried. Naturally it was possible. But it would never be accurate. What Leon wanted was to know her exact appearance.
It wasn’t anything special. Just pure curiosity, wasn’t it? What sort of face could make someone throw their entire body into a pit of flames without the slightest hesitation?
Leon normally paid no attention to others’ outward appearances, but Ruina was an exception. She was Ruina, after all. There was simply no helping it.
After walking to his heart’s content, Leon turned his steps toward the inn. He wanted to rest his body, worn out from the long period of camping. Yet the moment he opened the inn door, his mind froze.
His companions lay sprawled across the inn floor.
“So there was one who got away.”
Black robes. An arrogant tone. And above all, the repulsive sensation that pricked at Leon’s instincts.
A priest of the Evil God. The evil rooted in this world that Leon despised. Drawing his sword, Leon charged toward the priest.
A shield formed of black holy power blocked his blade. Immediately afterward, holy power erupted from Leon’s sword. Pure white and pitch-black holy forces collided, sending a powerful shockwave rippling outward.
The Evil God’s priest laughed.
“For a fledgling holy knight, your sword carries quite a bit of weight.”
Leon offered no reply. Instead, he checked on his companions. They were not dead. But there was no sign they would wake anytime soon. Had sleeping agents been mixed into the food? Just what kind of village was this?
“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
At the priest’s gesture, black swords materialized in the air. Reenacting divine possessions through holy power was basic knowledge for any priest, but such proficiency meant the man had long surpassed the fundamentals. He might even be capable of using Descent.
He could not afford to give an opening.
Leon moved his sword with agile precision. The Holy Kingdom had always gathered children with tragic stories. In a world overflowing with misfortune, it was not a difficult task. And among those children, Leon had displayed overwhelmingly superior talent.
Every time Leon swung his blade, people would sigh and say the boy destined to become a knight was instead walking the path of a holy knight. Holy knights did use swords, but ultimately swordsmanship held little relation to their true strength. A holy knight’s power was decided by how close they stood to God.
Therefore, strictly speaking, Leon was wasting his talent. Yet he paid it little mind. There was nothing wrong with a holy knight possessing excellent sword skills, and what Leon desired lay upon the path of the holy knight.
To destroy the Evil God’s sect, Leon had honed countless sword techniques. What emerged at the end was the Leon Style—a unique school that deployed numerous techniques in exactly the right place at the right time.
Leon struck down the pouring holy spells with his blade. The sword that moved along the optimal route without the slightest waste was astonishingly fast. Pyron Style. A defensive sword art that contained the essence of swiftness. The same Pyron Style Ruina had learned proved exceptionally effective when blocking this many attacks alone.
The priests of the Evil God continued unleashing spells without pause. A grotesque scythe formed of holy power spun wildly, aiming for Leon’s neck. Instead of retreating, Leon advanced and evaded them all. Then he raised his sword.
A sword technique modeled after light reached the realm of true speed and cleaved the Evil God’s priest in two.
Slash—
In the pouring red rain, Leon continued swinging his blade without stopping.
“How dare you!”
A flash. A pillar of light descended from above. Descent. It went beyond simply reenacting divine possessions with holy power and instead borrowed them outright. Of course, it was not the genuine article. Borrowing the real thing was a miracle only possible for saints or saintesses.
Yet even a replica, if its origin was a divine possession, possessed power that ordinary ability users could not withstand.
Leon bit his lip fiercely and gripped his sword tighter. The situation was far from favorable. He needed something—a breakthrough—
“Using holy spells so recklessly indoors is rather rude.”
Flames raced across the air. Twelve orbs of fire split apart, leaving red trails as they engulfed the Evil God’s priest. Wooden soldiers followed, binding the enemies in place.
Not missing the opportunity, Leon sliced through every last one of the priests.
The moment the battle ended, Leon turned his gaze to the mage who had assisted him.
“You’re awake.”
“I got lucky.”
Ruina answered brightly, jingling her lantern.
“Chris accidentally knocked over my honey wine. So it seems I only ingested a small amount of the sleeping agent.”
“I’m relieved.”
It truly was fortunate. If the party’s greatest combat asset—Ruina—had remained asleep, dealing with a priest capable of using Descent would not have been nearly so easy.
“It appears this village is a hiding place for the Evil God’s priests.”
“Considering how quiet it remains despite all this commotion, it must be certain.”
“What do you intend to do?”
Ruina asked. Leon answered without hesitation.
“Let’s subdue them all.”
“Sounds good.”
Leon left the inn together with Ruina.
“Lowly pawn of the Genesis Sect!”
After arresting every last one of the Evil God’s priests who had been lurking gloomily in their underground hideout, Leon caught his breath and examined the spoils.
“Here is a map depicting bases belonging to other branches of the Evil God’s sect.”
“There are quite a few.”
“What will you do?”
“We’ll arrest them.”
“What about the Holy Grail?”
“If we leave them be, there’s no telling what harm they might inflict on civilians. The base information we’ve obtained could become useless as well. Let’s handle this quickly.”
“Understood.”
Leon returned to the inn and departed for the neighboring village with his companions. After wiping out the Evil God’s sect that had prepared an underground torture chamber, he rescued a single child who had endured brutal torment.
The child followed Leon around with particular devotion. Seeing this, Ruina spoke up.
“How about taking him as your disciple? The sect is a well-known collector of orphans anyway.”
“Please stop referring to the sect in such a strange manner.”
Leon gently stroked the child’s head. A disciple. The idea had never existed in Leon’s life plan, but through Ruina he had already learned what a master-disciple relationship meant. Having just one probably wouldn’t be so bad.
Leon taught the child with great care. Surprisingly, the boy possessed genuine talent.
I’m going to become a holy knight like Leon too.
That was the child’s favorite phrase.
Leon traveled the world, burning away the Evil God’s sect. The child followed at his side without fail. Then one day, the child was kidnapped. The culprit was, of course, the Evil God’s sect.
Unable to contain his fury, Leon annihilated every priest in the base. In the blood-drenched stronghold, he lifted the unconscious child into his arms.
Thank goodness. It really was a relief.
Leon let out a sigh of relief and left the base. To him, Ruina spoke.
“What will you do now?”
“As long as the Evil God’s sect exists, this world can never become right.”
“So you intend to eradicate them completely.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll help you.”
Leon met Ruina’s eyes. She looked at him with her usual relaxed, somewhat playful expression.
Yes. If he was with Ruina, perhaps anything was possible.
With renewed confidence, Leon hoisted the child onto his back and strengthened his stance. Many hidden bases of the Evil God’s priests still remained. The road ahead was long.
And then Leon stopped in place.
“……”
Suddenly, while reflecting on the journey until now, one powerful question flashed through his mind.
Staring fixedly at Ruina’s back, Leon muttered quietly.
“Lady Ruina. Have you perhaps stopped collecting magic?”
At Leon’s question, Ruina spun around and tilted her head.
“What are you talking about, Sir Leon? I’m always collecting magic.”
“I see.”
Leon drew his sword. Then he steadied his gaze.
Ruina had always placed magic first. Nothing took precedence over magic for her. In other words, this Ruina—who was helping him with such selfless devotion while setting everything else aside—was fake.
“Master?”
From atop Leon’s back, the child called out to him.
—Now that he thought about it, what had the child’s name been?
Leon reflected on the long journey he had shared with the fake Ruina. If Ruina was fake, then that journey had been fake. If the journey was fake, this world was fake. If this world was fake, then Leon himself was fake.
There was only one way to escape.
Leon reversed his grip on the sword. Then he stabbed down with all his strength.
“Huk!”
Like waking from a dream, Leon jolted upright. Where was this? In a world that had fallen into night, Leon scanned his surroundings. He was in a remote forest. Just what had happened…?
With hazy memories, Leon pressed a hand to his head, then his eyes flew wide open.
Yes, he remembered now. This was all that bastard’s doing.
Pressing his throbbing temples, Leon recalled the first day he had arrived in North Stella Wood. The moment he had encountered Bais—that priest of the Evil God.