The Grey Saint's Devotion
“What… what did you say? Fr… Freeder?”
The unexpected figure that appeared before his eyes. The Saint Freeder. A member of the Hero Party and the continent’s strongest priestess. The moment he heard her name, Crassus felt an overwhelming sense of dread despite his undead body. She was one of the few beings capable of threatening his master, the Demon King, aside from the Hero who wielded the Holy Sword. With her power, piercing through even his master’s illusions would be trivial.
“I’ve been watching for a while… but you’re no ordinary undead, are you?”
“Kuh…!”
Freeder asked in an utterly calm voice. At the warning hidden within her tone, Zik immediately drew his scythe, but Crassus raised a hand to stop him.
‘She’s not an opponent we can defeat. There’s no point in attacking recklessly against someone even our master cannot take lightly.’
Crassus, who wasn’t even a former priest and thus lacked combat ability, stood no chance. The same held true for Zik, who was only marginally better off. Even if they unleashed every ounce of dark magic, a single gesture from Freeder wielding holy power—the natural enemy of the undead—would reduce them both to dust in an instant.
They had run straight into the worst possible enemy at a dead end. Crassus struggled to maintain his composure and quickly analyzed the situation.
‘This is bad… If she’s here, it’s not just my mission that’s in jeopardy. The Demon King’s entire plan could unravel. I have to find a way to inform my master…’
Now that their identities were exposed, Freeder would never let them go. Crassus carefully opened his mouth, hoping to create an opening for Zik to escape with magic, even if only he could get away.
“If we talk… will you spare us?”
“Before I answer that…”
With those words, Freeder began channeling holy power into one hand.
“You must first answer my question. Who is your master?”
It was a clear warning: any trickery would be met with immediate death. Sensing her unyielding stance, Crassus felt his insides burn with urgency but spoke anyway.
“W… We were just doing ordinary clerical work. We didn’t do anything bad, so don’t misunderstand…”
Thud!
“!!!”
In that instant, an eerie presence washed over him. It felt as though his skull was being shattered and his limbs torn apart. Even though Freeder hadn’t moved an inch, the sheer killing intent forced Crassus to clamp his mouth shut.
“Showing mercy to the undead isn’t easy. I’ll ask again. Who ordered this?”
“…”
Her declaration was essentially a final warning. Realizing that further silence was impossible, Crassus was forced to calculate coldly. He weighed the damage his master would suffer if they died here without speaking versus the damage if he leaked some truthful information to let Zik escape. In the end, he chose the latter.
“We… came under the command of a great being. To destroy this land.”
“A great… being?”
“That’s right. The one who has returned to annihilate the insignificant free races. Soon, the humans of this land, and you elves as well, will all scream and perish before him.”
“!”
Thud!
Freeder’s brow furrowed at Crassus’s words, creating a momentary opening. Zik seized the instant, releasing black mana and vanishing from the spot. It was a short-range teleport. The distance wasn’t great, but it was enough for a desperate escape. Concluding that they had cleared the dangerous hurdle, Crassus shouted with renewed lightness.
“Kuhaha… You won’t be able to interfere with his plans. Even if I die here!”
“…”
“Come on then. You filthy whore of a god!”
Though his combat ability was lacking, Crassus drew his scythe, determined to buy even one more second. There was no way for him to survive this situation, but he had no regrets. After all, his body existed solely for his master. If he could become fertilizer for that great plan, it was enough.
Yet…
“…What are you doing? Come at me already.”
“…You said he returned?”
“?”
Contrary to expectations of anger or confusion, Freeder spoke in a dazed voice. Just as Crassus began to feel puzzled—
Thud!
“Ugh!”
In a movement too fast to see, Freeder closed the distance. In that split second, she shattered his scythe and grabbed his skull tightly. It wasn’t a simple attack. If she had wished it, his skull would have already melted under holy power. But the sensation he felt was… urgency in her movements.
“Tell me clearly. You said he returned? And a great being… There aren’t many demons capable of creating an undead like you. As far as I know, there’s only one such person. Are you saying that person… that the Demon King has returned?”
“!?”
Freeder asked in a frantic voice. Crassus grew increasingly bewildered.
‘W… What the hell is wrong with this woman? I never expected this reaction…’
If she had recognized the Demon King’s return from his words, that would have been within expectations. Within the master’s plans, once the undead gathered here, keeping it secret would become difficult anyway. The greater risk had been attacking without knowing the Saint was present. That was why he had leaked the information… but Freeder’s reaction was completely different from what he had anticipated.
“Please… Please tell me. Is it true? Is the Demon King… really alive?”
At some point, her tone had shifted from threats to pleas. There was no fear or dread—only an incomprehensible desperation. Watching her reaction, Crassus felt even greater confusion but answered.
“That’s… right.”
“Ah!”
At that single word, Freeder suddenly broke into a bright smile. She released his skull, dropped to her knees on the floor, and clasped her hands together.
“Thank you… Truly… Thank you so much…”
“!?”
The moment she confirmed the Demon King was alive, the Saint began shedding tears and offering prayers of gratitude. Faced with this utterly bizarre sight, Crassus could only stand there quietly, unsure how to react.
*
“What? Freeder is there?”
“Yes, that’s correct, my lord.”
The unexpected report arrived just as battle loomed. Upon hearing that Saint Freeder was inside Sagunto, which they would reach in half a day, I felt genuine bewilderment.
“Freeder… from the Hero Party?”
“Yes. It was quite some time ago, but she’s the one we fought once before. She was quite strong.”
“Hmm… Of all people, it had to be her…”
Fenrir and Hela expressed unusual concern. It was understandable—the opponent was the Saint, whose holy power was the natural enemy of demons. She wielded sacred power on a completely different level from ordinary priests. While I wouldn’t lose in a direct confrontation, she was undeniably more dangerous than the Hero in certain aspects. Especially in the current situation, even victory would come at a steep cost. In the worst case, over half of the undead forces we had gathered could be lost, and one of our executives might be rendered combat-incapable.
The one saving grace was that, unlike the other Hero Party members, she was someone we could potentially negotiate with. She had shown support for the peace I advocated, and unlike the others who had stabbed me in the back at the end, she at least hadn’t done so. Perhaps dialogue was still possible.
‘Honestly, I don’t particularly want to fight her either… Though if she interferes with my plans, there’s no choice.’
It was a shame about Crassus, who had likely been caught, but if we could turn the Saint away through negotiation, it wouldn’t be a bad outcome. With that thought, I decided to attempt contact and halted the undead soldiers while considering who to send.
Just then—
“M… My Lord!”
“Hm?”
“! L… Lord Crassus?”
The next moment, an urgent voice came from outside. Then Crassus rolled into the tent.
“You’re still alive?”
“Yes, my lord! Thanks to your grace, I survived! B… But more importantly, over there…”
“What on earth happened—!?”
“Huh?”
“Kuh!”
The next instant, a figure slowly entered through the tent flaps. Even at this close distance, the person emitted no presence whatsoever. My subordinates and I instinctively raised our guards.
“…Freeder.”
“…”