Bringing the Good News
“Good news coming through!”
“You sure this is the right spot?”
“I told you it is! How many times have we been here? Why do you keep asking?”
“It’s just… it’s too quiet. Shouldn’t we be hearing some screaming by now if they really dragged a woman all the way up here? Are you positive we took the right path?”
“…Now that you mention it, yeah.”
“Maybe they all got drunk and passed out already?”
The low murmur of voices drifted through the darkness, carried on the sound of footsteps. Several torches in the distance began to shift and flicker in response. Sister Celine clamped a hand over her mouth. She was terrified a hiccup might escape. She had to stay completely silent. Whoever these people were, wandering deep into the mountains at midnight, they were clearly no ordinary travelers.
The nun shot Harnok a trembling, desperate glance. What she saw made her blink in disbelief. The massive barbarian stood with his arms folded, calmly watching the approaching lights with perfect composure.
Fire!
Celine frantically tried to signal him with her eyes, but Harnok only blinked back at her, looking mildly puzzled. Growing frantic, she resorted to wild gestures, pointing and mouthing words with every ounce of urgency she possessed.
Fire! Fire! Put out the fire, Harnok! Now!
Harnok tilted his head.
“What are you saying, Sister? If we extinguish the fire, they won’t find us. Then we won’t be able to deliver the Lord’s word! It is a priest’s sacred duty to offer a prayer or two to any traveler, asking the Lord to watch over them!”
Celine had to fight the overwhelming urge to slap her own forehead.
Oh my God, I’m going to lose my mind—!
“What the hell?! Hey, bring those torches closer! I heard voices! Someone’s up ahead!”
In the end, Harnok got exactly what he wanted. The bandits had noticed them. The two original torches multiplied into five. Footsteps quickened. Then came the words Celine had been dreading.
“A campfire?! Over there! Someone’s there!”
“Shit! That’s right next to our hideout!”
Celine finally gave in and smacked her forehead. Now she could see them clearly. These were no ordinary travelers—normal people didn’t climb mountains with swords drawn.
“Hey! Who the hell are you?! What are you doing standing in front of our house? This is our territory! Get lost!”
“Wait! Look closer! That’s a barbarian!”
One of them pointed his sword at Harnok. The man in front faltered.
“What?! You’re right! Damn… What’s a highland barbarian doing all the way out here in the west?”
“Next to him… is that a nun?”
“Hold on… Didn’t the boss say the woman we were bringing in today was a nun?”
“What…?”
The lead bandit’s expression twisted. Realization dawned, and his eyes widened.
“You! Get inside and check! Now!”
One man rushed to the door. A scream erupted from within.
“Aaaaargh—!”
The man burst back out even faster than he had gone in, scrambling on all fours as if he had been thrown.
“Th-they’re all dead!”
“What?”
“Everyone’s dead! The little boss and the others—they’re all gone!”
“You crazy bastard—!”
The lead bandit snarled, gripping his sword tighter. His companions did the same.
“You did this?! You barbarian piece of shit! You slaughtered everyone inside?!”
Celine immediately shook her head at Harnok, her expression pleading. She looked ready to cry. There was no need to admit anything and make the situation worse. Even if Harnok was strong enough to kill wolves bare-handed, he was still human. Fighting multiple opponents twice in one day was suicide.
Then Harnok spoke, and Celine nearly collapsed.
“Indeed! They dared to utter blasphemous words that scorn the Lord’s teachings. How could I possibly overlook such insolence?”
He nodded with absolute conviction. The bandits stared, equally stunned.
“……What? What the hell did you just say, you crazy bastard…? The Lord’s teachings? A barbarian like you? Did you come all the way from the highlands because you’re insane…? I don’t know what kind of bullshit you’re spouting, but you’re the one who killed my men and the little boss! If you love your god so much, I’ll send you straight to him!”
The lead bandit charged, sword aimed at Harnok. His companions followed.
“You crazy bastard! How dare you kill the little boss!”
“You’re not dying easy, you son of a bitch!”
—Crack!
In the next instant, the bandits experienced the same fate as the wolves.
“How dare you—!”
The leader’s head had twisted around. A slap could turn a head, of course—but when the head spun a full 180 degrees and the weapon responsible was a fifteen-centimeter-thick holy book, the line between normal and abnormal became difficult to define.
“To blaspheme against God—!”
Especially when the man holding that holy book was shouting with a deep furrow between his brows.
“……”
“……”
The incomprehensible usually inspires fear. And fear, more often than not, leads to panic.
“Eek! Eeeeeek—!”
“H-Herko! Herko’s dead!”
“His head! His head—!”
With fifteen men present, the ways they expressed their terror were varied. Some collapsed where they stood. Others clutched their cheeks and trembled. One or two even wet themselves. But in the end, all roads led to the same emotion.
“U-urgh… Aaaaaah—!”
One bandit screamed and fled. The others followed in a mad scramble.
Harnok naturally reached for his hoe. But just as he prepared to give chase, he felt someone tugging at his pant leg. When he looked down, Sister Celine nearly fainted. The barbarian’s face was twisted in a ferocious snarl, teeth bared like a primordial beast.
Harnok growled.
“What are you doing, Sister?! We must capture those who blasphemed against the Lord at once!”
“W-wait! Didn’t you hear what they said?!”
“Hm?”
“They called him the little boss! The big bandit we killed inside that house! That means this place is one of their branch hideouts! So where do you think they’re running? Straight to their main base! And their main base will have their ‘big boss’ and even more bandits!”
“I see!”
Harnok nodded vigorously. Celine let out a sigh of relief. Now that he understood chasing them would lead to their headquarters, he would surely give up. Charging into an enemy stronghold alone was no different from jumping off a cliff.
“Then following them will lead us straight to the leader of these blasphemers! We can deliver the Lord’s word to even more sinners!”
“……Excuse me?”
Celine realized, too late, that she had made the exact mistake she had been trying to prevent.
“Thank you for telling me, Sister! Hold on tight!”
“What? Huh? Wait, hold on to what—? Huh? Eek? Eeeeeek?! Kyaaaaah—!”
Celine didn’t need an answer. She simply had to hold on. Harnok scooped her up with one arm. She threw herself forward and clung desperately to his neck. At least his neck and collarbones were as solid as stone, making it easier to hold on.
Once he confirmed she was secure, Harnok grinned and took off at a run.
“A most meaningful—!”
Objectively speaking, running was far more efficient than walking. Subjectively, however, Sister Celine would have given it the harshest possible review.
“It is time for the sermon—!”
Harnok chose the most direct route: leaping straight down a steep slope.
—Boom!
The violent crash of the door being kicked open was enough to make every man inside frown—especially since they had been drinking and gambling with cards.
“What the fuck? Which piece of shit ruined my—!”
The man beside him spoke up.
“I’ll go check, Kelkaro hyung—nim…? Huh? It’s the youngest.”
“What?”
Kelkaro set down his bottle and heaved his massive body out of the chair. The youngest, who never slammed doors like that, was now curled up on the floor, sobbing.
“What’s wrong with this brat?”
The bandits at the nearby table tilted their heads.
“Hey, kid. Where’s the nun you were supposed to bring? And where’s the little boss? Why aren’t the others back?”
One question was answered when more than ten men burst through the door, all of them huddled and trembling. Especially the last one, who crawled in on his belly and slammed the door shut while gasping for air.
Kelkaro waddled over to the youngest, his belly jiggling.
“Hey. What happened? Where’s my brother?”
The youngest’s answer only deepened the confusion.
“A demon…! A demon…!!! Eek! Eeeeeek—!”
“A demon? What is this kid talking about? Did he read a history book or something?”
The bandits exchanged puzzled looks. The last time a demon had appeared was 130 years ago—long before any of them were born. They assumed the youngest had read too much and had a nightmare, but that didn’t explain why the others were also losing their minds.
—Crunch!
In the next moment, the bandits felt as though their nightmares had become reality.
“Urgh! Urgh!”
“Aaaaaah!”
“It’s a demon! The demon’s here!”
Kelkaro, their leader, had thought someone had thrown a boulder at the door. He wasn’t entirely wrong. A thick, muscular arm smashed through the wood. It fumbled for the lock once, twice, then gave up. Instead, it chose a simpler method.
—Snap!
The arm tore the entire lock mechanism free.
“Brothers.”
—Creak……
The door, now missing its lock, swung loosely on its hinges. It looked like the gates of hell had opened.
“I have come to deliver the gospel.”
Standing before them was a figure wearing a distinctly wicked smile.