Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Followers of the Forgotten God (11)
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In the corner of the room littered with the monster bird's bone fragments, Guard Captain Yulitan lay sprawled out, oblivious to the world, snoring peacefully like a child.
"……."
Kadim grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him out. Even though he'd cut the man's throat twice and told them to feed him to the dogs... well, he'd saved his life, so there shouldn't be any hard feelings.
Down in the underground passage, Atalan warriors were busily clearing away the bishop's corpse. They hadn't been much help in exterminating the Night Raven sect, but they'd done their part by quietly guarding the passage without causing trouble.
Kadim decided to repay them in his own way.
"Once the job's done, I'll meet with the councilors who sent you and hear them out."
"……Is that for real?"
"Yeah, I'm not planning to join your army or whatever, but I can at least listen. Gotta collect the bounty from those guys anyway."
Perun was delighted but warned him once more to be cautious of the councilors. Kadim waved him off dismissively. If anything, they were the ones who needed to watch out.
He left the cleanup entirely to the Atalan warriors. As he departed, their shouts echoed boisterously behind him: "Glory to the great brother who felled the leader of that vile horde!" "Glory to the Father of the Wilderness who bestowed such a brother upon us!"
Out on the streets, the city was quiet. Looking up, the sky was still blanketed in pitch-black darkness, dreaming faintly of shattering starlight. Kadim inhaled the tepid, cooling summer air and crossed the night like a shadow beneath thunderclouds.
Galentana University, Paulownia Hall, third-floor dormitory.
True to her word, Ilenia was waiting up without sleeping. For some reason, Duncan had his mouth gagged and bound, rolling around on the floor.
"Mmph! Mmmph! Mmph!!"
"……Kidnapped again? Why's he tied up like that?"
"No, it's not that... He kept calling me a fake human and lunging at me... No matter how much blood I showed him or explained I was real, he wouldn't believe me, so I just left him like that……."
Ilenia replied in a weary, exhausted tone.
It was absurd, but at the same time, somewhat understandable. Kadim chuckled and set the unconscious guard captain down beside the merchant. Then he approached the archaeologist and placed the bloodstained fragments of the crow mask before her.
Ilenia's pupils trembled faintly.
"This is……."
"The mask that bishop was wearing. And these are the silver coins he had."
Clink—
Six coins from the fallen kingdom in total. One he'd already had, plus the five seized from the bishop. Now Ilenia's pupils were shaking as if struck by an earthquake.
She barely composed her shock and parted her lips.
"You really found and wiped out the Night Raven sect. In less than a day……."
"There might be some remnants left. But without these coin fragments, they can't pull off any more nonsense like creating doppelgangers or crow monsters."
"……Crow monsters? Did the bishop summon a 'Beast of Darkness' after all?"
"Something like that, yeah. Quite the annoying birdbrain."
Her composure crumbled again.
Ilenia knew full well how powerful a 'Beast of Darkness' was. To dismiss such a being as 'quite the annoying birdbrain'? She couldn't help but marvel at this warrior's insane strength every time.
"Long ago, they said if the Elga Church had Arch Paladins, the Forgotten God cult had Beasts of Darkness. Of course, they weren't true equals, and the cult was annihilated... but those beasts still bore fearsome reputations."
"……."
"I thought the summoning ritual took too long for them to pull it off, but the bishop must have prepared in advance. We nearly had a disaster. If not for you, mercenary, the Night Raven sect might have truly taken over Galentana."
"I didn't do it to hear flattery. Job's done, so time for you to uphold your end."
Kadim shot her a sharp glance.
"……."
For some reason, no immediate reply came.
Her yellow-irised eyes quivered subtly. Kadim felt an unpleasant premonition. His instincts never missed.
"……S-Sorry, but the job isn't fully done yet."
Ah, right. Another linked quest chain.
But he had no intention of playing along with broken promises. He subtly gripped his axe. Ilenia swallowed hard and hurriedly explained.
"Remember how I said the university faction councilor gave holy relics to the Night Raven bishop? Well, he didn't hand over everything. To keep the bishop on a leash, he held onto more than half himself."
"……."
"The Forgotten God cult has more heretical factions than just the Night Raven sect. If others collude with that councilor, this could happen again. We must infiltrate his mansion and seize the relics first."
"……What's that councilor's name?"
"Vittorio. An elder from the university faction eyeing the chairmanship. He could empower any faction threatening you at a moment's notice."
"……."
Kadim gave her a lukewarm look. Sure, eliminating loose ends made sense, but it felt like she was prodding him into handling her dirty work.
Ilenia knew it too. So now, for dramatic effect, she revealed the incentive she'd deliberately held back.
"But after all you've done, it would be rude to just ask more without compensation. I'll join you this time. And once it's over, I'll give you a modest 'token of gratitude'."
"……If it's those damn silver coins, I don't need 'em."
Ilenia shook her head with a gentle smile and elaborated on the gift.
Kadim's eyebrow twitched sharply.
"You can make something like that?"
"Yes, it's possible. You saw it yourself, right? Using the Forgotten God's power through the 'fallen kingdom's silver coins' can warp space."
"……."
The apathy vanished from Kadim's face. Instead, skepticism flickered there.
Thanks to her and her faction's previous linked quest, he'd gained the 'dwarven throwing axe' and 'stone tablet that pursues ruins'. Impressive rewards, sure—but still like game 'items'.
What she'd just proposed was closer to a 'system' reward, not an item.
Was she really capable of delivering something like that? As he pondered...
A panicked voice burst from behind.
"Mmph! Ptui! N-No! No, sir! Messing with a Senate councilor will bite us in the ass later! And a councilor's mansion is huge—how do you expect two people to search it in one night?!"
Duncan had finally shoved the gag aside with his tongue and was yelling at the top of his lungs.
Ilenia shot him a deeply annoyed glare, while Kadim pondered briefly before replying flatly.
"Is that so. Then you'll come along and help search."
"……Pardon?"
Duncan wore the expression of livestock suddenly slated for the slaughterhouse.
*
Ruin doesn't happen overnight.
It's more like the accumulation of countless causes and effects from judgments and choices piling up over long years, finally triggering at a critical threshold. Like a full cup overflowing or a precarious sandcastle collapsing.
But people tend to focus only on what's visible.
From that superficial view, it seems like the last drop overflowed the cup or the final shovelful toppled the castle. That's why the fallen often curse only that 'final choice', ignoring the long chain of decisions that led there.
And for the university faction's elder councilor, Vittorio, his 'final choice' was this meeting with the woman.
"……I can't understand it. Didn't we have a deal? Just drive out those Agon thugs from Galentana, and I'd give you all the silver coins you want."
"……."
"Is it that 'Demon Slayer' fool? Need more power right now to face him? Why not recruit him instead? The Agon faction's drooling over his strength……."
"……."
"Anyway, you're making a huge mistake. Think you'll betray me without consequences? I've got a messenger ready for the Empire! If I die, he'll report the Forgotten God cult remnants here. Unless you want annihilation by the Elga Church like ages ago, release me now!"
Vittorio's mansion, third floor, deserted office.
The woman with thick dark brown hair ignored him completely. She scoured the carpeted floor, marble ceiling, and walls lined with expensive metal ornaments, focused solely on finding the holy relics.
Vittorio groaned in regret. He'd known she was a double-edged sword, but not that she'd turn on him before he could wield her. Had he known they were this irrational, he'd never have allied with them.
Forgotten God relics weren't something to boast about. Stolen or not, no one to complain to. He could already see himself swept aside by the Agon faction without resistance. He desperately hoped she wouldn't find the box.
That hope shattered quickly.
"……Found it. Here it is."
Click, thud—!
The metal box, hidden under a special stone slab mechanism, hit the floor. Vittorio's heart plummeted with it.
But hope lingered.
The woman soon realized: reinforcement magic made the box unbreakable. She approached and demanded coldly.
"Tell me. Where's the key?"
Meeting Ilenia's eyes, Vittorio furrowed his brow in confusion.
"Who... are you? You're not the one who came before……."
"……."
"Same appearance, but your eyes are different... What the hell is—urk!"
An invisible blade shot from her sleeve, grazing his throat. Vittorio clutched the wound and rolled away. The pain sharpened his survival instincts, letting him think clearly.
"Gah, insolent thief! I don't care who you are—I won't tell you where the key is! Not even if it costs my life! You'd kill me anyway, so no reason to!"
He inched backward subtly. The cabinet behind held a dagger and keyring. Cut the ropes, grab the keys first—then fight or negotiate.
That sound plan was ruined instantly.
"Whoa, found it! Suspicious keyring here!"
"……!"
Vittorio whipped around in shock. A short man had appeared silently behind him, crouched by the cabinet. He'd cleared the dagger and handed the keys to Ilenia.
Jingle—
"……Thanks, old man. First useful thing you've done today."
"Spare the praise. Just pay up as promised, miss. Add the 100 luden from last time—1,100 luden total."
"……."
Robbing a Senate councilor's mansion for pocket change?
No time to gawk at the bargain price. Key secured—only one way out now. Vittorio rallied and bellowed.
"Enough nonsense—get out while you can, you thieves! Don't know how you took down the guards, but Senate troops will swarm soon! They patrol here constantly! Unless you want to be surrounded by hundreds, thousands of elites and dry up—put the box down now and……."
"……Senate troops? You mean these?"
A chilling voice pierced his spine.
A ghostly silhouette at the door.
Thud!
Unconscious Senate guards toppled onto the boards. A muscle-bound giant, barely human, stomped over the fallen men. Though a first sight, the ferocious aura and daytime rumors let Vittorio guess easily.
"D-D-Demon Slayer……?"
Vittorio gaped like a frozen fish. Kadim ignored him lightly and approached the box.
"Why's it taking so long. What're you doing."
Clank, tick! Clank, tick!
Ilenia tested keys one by one. Her hands moved like hummingbird wings, but so many keys slowed her.
"Just a moment... finding the right one……."
"Can't you just smash it."
"It's got reinforcement magic—can't break it! Put the axe down first……."
Bang! Kra-kaka-kak!
The enchanted metal tore like paper under the axe's keen edge.
Kadim upended the wreckage and shook it out. Ten fallen kingdom silver coins spilled with a jingle. He scooped them up and asked the dazed Ilenia.
"What was on the box again?"
"……."
"……."
The archaeologist thanked the gods she'd never crossed him as foe. The elder councilor, now enemy, felt like he'd already been buried and sealed in his coffin.