Chapter 41: The Imperial Heretical Society (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 41: The Imperial Heretical Society (3)
“You fucking bastard!”
“Keuk..!”
Neria let out a short groan as she was kicked in the stomach. It was hard to breathe. She clutched the spot where she’d been hit and struggled to catch her breath.
But Gis couldn't care less about Neria's pain.
He kicked her, stomped on her, and kicked her again.
A full-force beating from a Hero approaching the high 40s in level.
All Neria, who was in her early 30s, could do was carefully take the hits to avoid broken bones or damaged organs.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
One curse, one kick.
Neria's body was becoming more and more battered.
“Stop it! You're going to kill her!”
Unable to watch any longer, Ophelia grabbed Gis's arm to stop him.
“Let go, you fucking slut!”
“Aah!”
When Gis swung his arm, she couldn't hold on and was thrown off. Thud! She flew helplessly, her back slamming against a table as she collapsed.
“Kkheuk...”
“Ophelia!”
“Where do you think you're going, you bitch.”
Gis grabbed Neria by the hair as she tried to run to Ophelia.
He yanked her hair, forcing her to look straight into his face.
His expression was twisted with rage.
“Hey. What the hell has that bastard been doing to change so much? What did he do that made me suffer the humiliation of getting my ass kicked by a fucker like him? Huh? You fucking bitch, were you helping him behind my back? Did you sneak him some items?”
“Let go...!”
Smack. Neria's punch snapped Gis's head to the side. He wiped the spot Neria had hit with his thumb. His lip must have split a little, because there was blood on his finger.
“Ha... haha... First that retard Cloud, and now a worthless bitch like you dares to mock me? Ha, fuck this. I was going to save taking your virginity for when Cloud was watching, but I think I'll just take it now. I can describe it to him in detail later.”
Gis started walking, still gripping Neria's hair.
Neria resisted, but the difference in their Strength stats was overwhelming.
She was dragged along like a rag used to mop the floor.
Just as Gis opened the door to leave...
“Um... Sir Hero...?”
Outside the room stood the real Saint Candidate from Gis's party. As she spoke cautiously, Gis's face contorted into a deep scowl.
“What is it?”
“Well, um... the treatment for your external wounds is almost finished, but I still don't know the condition of your internal organs... I need to examine you a little more.”
“Didn't you finish healing me earlier?”
“Well... I was in the middle of it when you suddenly ran out...”
“Ah, fuck!”
Gis scratched his head furiously. He threw Neria aside and warned her.
“Wait here. I'll be back soon. And don't even think about running away. If I catch you, you're dead.”
Gis left Neria and Ophelia and departed with the Saint Candidate.
“Neria... are you okay...?”
Ophelia ignored the throbbing pain in her back and approached Neria, who was hanging her head low.
Just as she was about to place a hand on Neria's shoulder to heal her...
Neria grabbed Ophelia's hand.
“Ophelia, let's run away.”
“...What? Run away? To where...?”
“Let's go to Cloud. We can go back to how things were.”
“Neria...”
Ophelia felt a pang of pity at the hope in Neria's voice.
It started that day.
The day she and Cloud had completely parted ways. That was when Gis's attitude toward them completely changed.
At first, it was just light shoves, but the violence gradually escalated. Eventually, he began to beat them savagely whenever he was in a slightly bad mood.
Sometimes, he would even throw food scraps at them and order them to eat on all fours like dogs.
Beatings and humiliation.
That had become their daily life.
Leaving the party was the obvious choice, but it was impossible.
Gis had no intention of letting them go.
After enduring such painful days, when they went to bed, Neria would often talk to Ophelia about her childhood memories with Cloud.
When she spoke of her memories with him, Neria would brighten up. Her half-dead expression from the day would be replaced by one full of longing, nostalgia, and joy.
When she was in a good mood, she would take out a memento from her time with Cloud and show it to Ophelia.
A wooden dolphin carving.
It was something Cloud's father had personally made for her and him before he disappeared. A carving that only two people in the world possessed. She considered it an irreplaceable treasure.
And not long after, Gis found the carving and smashed it to pieces.
Ophelia would never forget the look on Neria's face at that moment.
Although she managed to glue it back together, she couldn't escape her depression for a long time.
Whenever Ophelia saw Neria like that, she would think.
As a messenger of God who couldn't overcome the temptation of desire, it was only natural for her to be punished.
But Neria?
What sin had she committed to deserve such punishment, such pain?
Was this just?
She didn't doubt the existence of God.
Various historical records had already proven that God existed.
But she wondered if God was truly as just as the Church claimed, if the trials He gave were truly fitting.
Or perhaps... He was just a bystander, enjoying the tragic fates He threw at people for His own amusement.
Such blasphemous thoughts came to her mind.
“Ophelia, you saw it too. Cloud beating the crap out of Gis. We don't have to worry anymore. We can go back to how things were...!”
Neria's expression was truly desperate as she said this.
Ophelia understood how she felt, but she was skeptical of Neria's words.
‘Is that really possible?’
Just as Neria said, Ophelia had also seen Cloud at the heretical society's gathering.
Even if it was a surprise attack and he was unarmed, Cloud had completely overwhelmed Gis there.
Gis might still have the upper hand when fully armed, but he wouldn't be able to bully Cloud so openly anymore. Cloud could fight back now.
But there was something more important than all that.
‘Will Sir Hero really take us back?’
If he were the same Cloud Neria remembered, he would take them back without a second thought about the wounds they had inflicted on him.
The Cloud they knew was that kind of person.
But whether they liked it or not, Cloud had changed.
She could tell just from the brief glimpse she'd had of him at the gathering.
‘I'd never seen Sir Hero make an expression like that before...’
Cloud was human, so of course he got angry.
He would fly into a rage, especially when innocent people were sacrificed by monsters or bandits.
But the way he looked at the gathering was different. He was clearly angry, but it wasn't like a blazing fire. It was more like a sharply honed sword.
A chilling blade that looked ready to slice its opponent in half at any moment. There was no trace of his former self.
‘Even if Sir Hero forgives us and takes us back...’
Can we really go back to the way things were?
The old Cloud had loved Neria.
Anyone by his side, unless they were a fool, could see it. His decisions changed with every word she spoke.
In fact, you could almost say Neria was the party's leader.
But what about Cloud at the gathering? He not only ignored Neria's desperate pleas but didn't even budge when she tried to physically pull him away, did he?
Yet, the moment he heard Frillite's voice, he stopped punching immediately.
He ignored Neria, who was shouting desperately beside him, and immediately greeted Frillite.
Then he let her lead him away from the gathering. Unlike with Neria, he didn't resist in the slightest as Frillite led him away.
This meant that Neria was no longer the top priority in Cloud's heart.
‘I don't know what happened between them, but...’
It was clear that Frillite had taken Neria's former place.
And there was no way Neria hadn't noticed what even Ophelia had. She was simply turning a blind eye.
To the cruel reality.
“...Okay. Let's go, Neria.”
Ophelia decided to follow Neria, even if it meant facing Gis's retaliation later.
She had to be there to comfort Neria when she finally faced reality and fell into despair.
...And to stop her from making any drastic choices.
Cloud wasn't staying in the guest rooms of the Imperial Palace.
That's why it took them so long to find him. All they had to go on were the hazy memories of drunkards.
Still, they finally managed to track him down.
He was staying at a shabby inn far from the palace.
It was a mystery why he would stay in a place like this instead of the palace, but that wasn't what mattered.
What mattered was that Cloud was here.
Neria's heart pounded with nervousness.
What should I say? Should I apologize first? What if Cloud resents me? And so on.
Various thoughts dominated her mind.
‘...This is no time to waste.’
Neria took a deep breath to calm herself, then knocked on the door of Cloud's room.
-Knock, knock
Click.
The door opened the instant she knocked.
Cloud was rubbing his eyes as if he had just woken up.
Neria was startled by the sudden opening of the door, but she forced herself to calm down and spoke to him.
“Ah, hi, Cloud...”
Neria said in a barely audible voice. Cloud tilted his head.
“Neria... and Ophelia? What are you doing here at this hour?”
A flat tone, devoid of any emotion.
Ophelia realized her suspicions had been correct. Just as she was about to wonder how she would comfort Neria...
“I knew it.”
A voice from the second-floor stairs made Neria and Ophelia freeze.
Their heads slowly turned to the side.
“I don't know why you two are so predictable. Then again, I guess that's why you'll spend your whole lives getting pushed around.”
Gis.
He was sneering at them as he came up the stairs.
Cloud looked back and forth between Neria, Ophelia, and Gis.
He let out a long, drawn-out yawn and said.
“It's cramped in here, so let's talk outside. You two, get in the room.”
I had a feeling something like this might happen.
I'd seen how Eri was treated like an outcast in Lorian's party, and the expressions on their faces at the gathering clearly screamed, 'We're being abused!'
But fuck, I never thought they'd show up this late at night.
Maybe it's because they're barbaric fantasy people, but they don't seem to know the first thing about manners.
“What are you thinking so hard about? You came out here acting all tough, but now you're scared?”
Just ten meters away, Gis, in full gear, chuckled as he spoke.
I'm pissed off because I just woke up, so what the hell is that bastard so happy about?
This is unfair.
At the very least, that bastard should be just as pissed off as I am.
“Tsk, you should've fixed that habit of posturing in front of women. Seeing a weak-ass fucker like you puffing out your chest...”
“Gis, I know your mother is a prostitute.”
“...What?”
For a moment, the smile vanished from his face.
It didn't last long.
He was soon back to his smug, thuggish grin.
“Keuk... keuk keuk... You really have changed, haven't you? I never imagined you'd talk back like this...”
“I also know you're a disgraceful son who ran away from home because you were disgusted by the fact that your mother was a prostitute.”
Slowly, the smile began to fade from Gis's face.
“Are you acting all high and mighty because of what happened at the gathering? Don't tell me you think you're stronger than me just because you landed one surprise attack...”
“Your poor mother. Even now, she's probably thrusting her hips, worrying about her only son. She must always be like that. Ah, though she might forget for a moment when she's getting off on a massive cock.”
Now, there wasn't a trace of a smile on Gis's face. He glared at me, his face twisted in fury.
“I'm going to cut off your arms and legs and throw them to the pigs. You won't be able to move once your limbs are torn off...”
“How much for your mom? Short time and long time?”
“You son of a bitch!”
Gis began to whirl the chain scythes in his hands.
Just as I was about to draw my sword...
Thwack!
A greatsword flew between me and Gis, embedding itself in the ground. Immediately after, Frillite landed beside it, her long red hair fluttering.
..?
“Frillite? What are you doing here all of a sudden?”
“I was waiting nearby, just in case something like this happened. It seems I was right to stay.”
she said, easily pulling the half-buried greatsword from the ground.
I asked her cautiously.
“...Did you hear any of that?”
“Mm, I did. It seems your drunken habit is to become foul-mouthed. I didn't realize it while we were drinking, but hearing it firsthand makes it clear.”
She nodded and looked at me.
“Vulgar language degrades the speaker's dignity. I do not wish for your dignity to be degraded. From now on, you will drink low-alcohol ale instead of wine.”
“No way. Ale tastes like...”
“As I said, I do not wish for your dignity to be degraded.”
Frillite narrowed her eyes.
“...Fine.”
I had no choice but to agree.