Shifting the Blame
A massive commotion erupted as blame was shifted. Rumors spread that a holy knight of the Sun Temple was being beaten senseless, and people flocked to the library. If one were to rank the most entertaining spectacles in this world, first place went to watching someone else’s house burn, second to watching someone else’s romance, and third to watching a fight. Especially when it involved the Sun Temple.
“A holy knight of the Sun Temple is getting beaten? I’ve got to see this with my own eyes!”
“Can’t miss this.”
“Are the front seats taken?”
The Sun Temple had accumulated plenty of ill will. While not everyone felt the same, their behavior in Landolf Territory had been enough to earn universal resentment. People despised how they wielded the temple’s prestige and authority with utter arrogance. So when word spread that one of their holy knights was being pummeled, no one could resist coming to watch.
“Good heavens, there’s actually someone crazy enough to do that?”
Naturally, the news reached Richel as well.
“Will you be going to watch?” Abel, who had stepped away briefly for an errand, stood beside her.
“Of course I’m going! It’s related to the Sun Temple, after all! I have to see this!”
Even in the middle of work, she couldn’t resist watching a fight. That was only natural. Richel herself had once gone to the temple hoping to establish a business deal, only to be subjected to all manner of humiliating remarks about how they didn’t do business with second-rate merchant groups. The memory still made her blood boil. And now one of those very holy knights was getting beaten?
‘Oh my! I absolutely must see this!’
Richel grabbed Abel and hurried outside.
“Huh!? M-Miss Richel, where are you going!? We still have mountains of work to do!!”
“I’ll do it after I watch the fight! You lot sort that out while I’m gone! I’ll be right back after a quick look!”
Watching Richel dash off like she was fleeing, one of the workers wore a dumbfounded expression. Then he clicked his tongue in disappointment.
“I’m pretty confident I could enjoy a fight too……”
“But who on earth would pick a fight with the Sun Temple?”
Richel thought anyone who challenged the Sun Temple was a fool. What kind of place was the Sun Temple? It boasted hundreds of thousands of followers. It was, without question, the most powerful and prestigious temple in existence. She had heard that a month ago they had found and brought back the Saintess. With her presence, no other temple could possibly rival the Sun Temple now.
“It must be some foolish human.”
“Exactly. It’s a stupid thing to do. If you cross the Sun Temple, you’ll be branded a heretic. Even nobles have had their entire families ruined, and any merchant groups connected to them collapsed as well.”
There had once been an incident where a noble, drunk on his own power, attempted to assault one of the Sun Temple’s followers. He had been a count. The count tried to use his influence to cover up the matter, but it was meaningless. Branded a heretic, his family was utterly destroyed, and everyone associated with him was ruined along with them.
“We absolutely mustn’t cross them.”
“The temple is a VVIP. We must never, ever get on their bad side.”
To grow her merchant group, Richel knew she could never afford to offend the Sun Temple.
“Then the person fighting the Sun Temple right now……”
“They’re finished. Still, it’s none of our concern. Let’s hurry and watch the fight.”
When they arrived near the library, a massive crowd was already waiting. Richel pushed through the spectators keeping a respectful distance and secured a prime viewing spot. Her heart raced with anticipation.
“Wow, the holy knights are all sprawled out. Serves them right. I never liked how they acted, so seeing someone else beat them up feels incredibly satisfying.”
She, too, had some pent-up grievances and looked genuinely pleased at the sight of the fallen holy knights. However—
‘Something feels off.’
Abel couldn’t enjoy it purely. As a mercenary, he had a rough temperament and loved watching fights more than anyone. Normally, he should have been able to enjoy this spectacle without reservation. So why……
‘Why? Why is my heart suddenly pounding like this?’
“Abel, look over there. That must be the one. He’s wearing some strange mask…… Judging by his build, he seems fairly young? Hard to tell.”
“Hmm…… He’s certainly strong.”
Word had it that he was fighting the holy knights alone. Yet the number of fallen knights around him easily exceeded twenty. That meant……
‘He took down all these people by himself…… Is that even possible?’
“Huh? Isn’t that Albert, the commander of the Sun Temple’s knight order?”
“……He’s strong.”
The masked man and Albert, the knight commander, were locked in combat. Every clash of their attacks, accompanied by fierce sounds of tearing air, sent shockwaves strong enough to make bodies tremble. Abel couldn’t help but be astonished. While others merely watched, his mercenary’s eyes could discern just how advanced their battle truly was.
‘Incredible…… I can barely even follow it with my eyes……’
“That masked man is really strong, isn’t he? I heard Commander Albert has reached the level of a Master…… To fight someone like that on equal terms……”
“……”
“Who could he be? Huh? Abel, what are you looking at?”
“……Over there…… Could you look over there for a moment?”
“Where?”
“There.”
Where Abel pointed, a holy knight lay collapsed. But he had fallen in a peculiar way—his head was buried in the ground.
“That holy knight fell in a rather unusual manner. But why?”
“Because it looks strangely familiar. How should I put it…… I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before……”
“Seen it somewhere? Where……”
At that moment, memories flashed through Richel’s mind. The sight of that head buried in the ground was far too familiar. It was as if she had witnessed it up close herself. Where had she seen it?
“……Gasp!”
Richel drew in a sharp breath. When she turned her head, Abel’s face had also gone pale with shock, as if he had reached the same conclusion.
“A-Abel…… It can’t be…… Surely not…… B-But that person has common sense, right?”
“He does occasionally do things that defy common sense, though.”
“Then…… Could that person over there really be……”
“……”
As much as he hated to admit it, Abel possessed a mercenary’s sharp eye. That was why, upon examining the fallen holy knights, he had spotted several familiar traces. Most of all, that head buried in the ground was exactly the style he had seen countless times before. His unease had now turned into certainty.
“It appears that is the case.”
In that instant, Richel’s mind conjured the image of the merchant group that had been branded heretics and destroyed. She saw her own hard-built group going up in flames, herself being burned at the stake as a heretic.
“Ah……”
Feeling dizzy, Richel collapsed backward. Abel caught her as she fell, glanced once at the masked man, then turned and headed straight back to the merchant group. The excitement had not merely cooled—it had frozen solid.
‘This is ridiculous.’
Albert could not accept the reality unfolding before him. At first, he thought he had simply been careless, that he had misjudged his opponent’s strength and missed the movement because of it. But that was wrong.
‘He’s stronger than me?’
It was absurd. Though the mask obscured his face, the man was clearly younger than him. Even his voice carried the distinct tone of a young man. It was unbelievable.
“Huff…… Huff……”
Albert, who had initially appeared so confident, was now utterly battered. His holy armor, which he maintained daily until it gleamed—the sacred relic bestowed by the Pope, forged from orichalcum and holy stone—could normally withstand an ogre’s strike with ease. Now it was crumpled like a car in a junkyard. It made no sense. That meant……
‘His attacks are far stronger than an ogre’s.’
“……Who the hell are you……? Reveal your identity at once!”
At those words, Albert let out a deep sigh.
“Are you an idiot? Why do you think I’m wearing a mask? Obviously because I have no intention of revealing my identity. And besides……”
Beneath the mask, Albert grinned and tapped his X-Men mask.
“If you’re so upset, why don’t you try taking it off yourself? Ah~ my apologies. You can’t because you lack the skill? Bwahahaha!!”
Albert laughed heartily, mocking him. The provocation was so intense that Albert’s face flushed red and purple.
[That was quite the impressive taunt.]
[Is this…… K-taunting?]
“You bastard!!”
Holy power erupted from Albert’s body. The brilliant light unique to holy power was so blinding it was as if a flashbang had gone off right in front of everyone’s eyes. Thanks to that—
“Aagh! My eyes!!”
“My eyes! I can’t see!!!”
The spectators who had gathered to watch the fight had to clutch their eyes against the sudden radiance.
‘Now!’
Albert, cloaked in light, reinforced his body with holy power and charged forward at a speed invisible to the naked eye. It was so fast that his movement resembled lightning falling from the sky—something no ordinary person could possibly track.
‘He must be blinded by the light. No matter how strong you are, no one who sees this technique for the first time can dodge it!’
Albert swung his sword with all his might toward Albert. The blade, imbued with sunlight, radiated intense heat. The moment it connected, the tremendous heat concentrated in the sword would cleave the enemy apart in an instant.
[Solar Swordsmanship, First Form—Solar Cleave!]
Using the swordsmanship he had learned at the temple, he brought the blade down with the force to split the sun itself. However—
“This bastard suddenly using solar fist techniques. It’s cheating for someone who isn’t even bald to use this.”
Albert dodged the decisive strike with ridiculous ease. His sword sliced through empty air, utterly futile. Albert’s face went blank with disbelief.
“How……? The light should have blinded you……”
“Ah, these have a sunglasses effect too. You didn’t actually think the glass over my eyes was ordinary glass, did you?”
“……What……”
“Whatever. You held up pretty well, though. Time for you to rest.”
Albert raised his leg high and brought it crashing down on Albert’s defenseless back.
“Guhh!!”
The force was so overwhelming that even the Master-ranked Albert couldn’t withstand it. He coughed up blood and collapsed on the spot.
‘Lady El……in……’
With that final thought, he lost consciousness.
“Wow, what a tough bastard. Guess that’s what being a holy knight gets you—his tanking is insane.”
[That took a bit longer than expected.]
“He’s just strong enough to be annoying. Suppressing someone like this is more trouble than it’s worth.”
Because he was Master-rank, he was awkwardly strong, making it harder to control the force. The others passed out with a light tap, but this one wouldn’t go down no matter how many times he hit him, so he had to gradually increase the intensity.
“Well, at least it’s clean.”
[Even as a Master, he’s no match for you, Albert.]
“Obviously.”
Even a Master was only SS-rank by hunter standards. They stood no chance against Albert, an EX-rank hunter. If they were superhumans, Albert was an existence that transcended human limits entirely. If he had intended to kill him, he could have crushed his skull in an instant. The gap between them was simply too vast. Another sky above the sky. This was the EX-rank hunter, the pinnacle of humanity, the strongest hunter—Albert.
“Shining Arrow!”
Just then, a flash appeared from somewhere, and an arrow condensed from light flew straight toward Albert. He reached out and caught it. The projectile carried enough power to kill an ordinary person on impact. Of course, Albert could block it with a single finger.
[It’s an arrow of light.]
[It’s only first-circle holy magic from the other world, yet it’s comparable to second-circle magic.]
[Still, it’s rather crude.]
Albert looked in the direction the arrow had come from. A woman stood there. She appeared to be in her twenties, with short silver hair and silver eyes. Her beauty was enough to captivate any man; in the other world, she could have dominated the entertainment industry with her face alone.
[That’s her.]
[I analyzed her, but couldn’t get a complete read.]
‘That woman?’
“Hmm. With that appearance and that level of holy power, she must hold quite a high position in the Sun Temple.”
“You!”
She spoke in a sharp, angry voice, glaring at him with fierce eyes.
“You think you’ll get away with this!?”
“I think I will.”
“What?”
“Look around. There’s no reason I wouldn’t get away with it.”
All the holy knights were down. Even Albert, the Sun Temple’s greatest combat asset, had been defeated. Who could possibly threaten Albert now?
“Worry about yourself instead.”
“What?”
“You took the first shot. Did you really think I’d just let you go?”
“……A-Are you saying you’re going to hit me?”
“Obviously.”
Albert strode toward Elin. She felt a sudden chill of fear. There was no one left to protect her, and no one who could stop him. Moreover—
‘Those eyes…… He’s serious. He really intends to hit me……’
He meant it. Just look at those eyes. They said, ‘I will strike my opponent with everything I have, even if it’s a woman.’ The madness in his gaze was chilling.
“Y-You! Do you even know who I am!? If you touch me, the temple won’t stay silent!”
“Really? But the temple that’s supposed to protect you is far away, while my fist is right here. Do you think that threat will work?”
The law and authority were distant, but fists were close. Besides, Albert had no reason not to hit her.
‘She attacked first. And with killing intent, no less.’
While Shining Arrow had no effect on Albert, it would have killed or severely injured anyone else. In other words, Elin had attacked with the intent to harm him. There was no reason to hold back.
Smack!
Albert slapped her cheek without hesitation. He did adjust his strength considerably, taking into account that she was a woman. Attacking first was infuriating, but he supposed some leniency was warranted.
‘This is what warm consideration looks like. Thanks to me, her cheek is nice and warm now.’
[I don’t think this counts as consideration.]
‘It could be argued either way.’
“Y-You hit me……? I’ve never been hit even by my parents or His Holiness the Pope……”
[So I’m the first person to hit you! Is that the pattern?]
[She’s popular, huh?]
‘Not interested.’
[But she’s pretty.]
[With looks like that, compared to Yeseul……]
Albert snorted.
‘Pretty? My little sister is way prettier than her.’
[You’re such a siscon.]
[Albert, that’s severe.]
‘Shut up.’
“Well then.”
Albert stood up. His business here was done, so it was time to leave.
[What about the books?]
‘Well, I’ll come back once things settle down a bit.’
The situation had escalated too much; using the library right now would be difficult. He would need to wait until things calmed down. It didn’t seem feasible at the moment.
[You promised!? Right?]
‘Fine. If it really doesn’t work out, I’ll just ask the merchant group for the books.’
“You…… I will never forgive you…… Hitting me! Just who are you!?”
At those words, Albert paused to think. He could simply leave without saying anything, but that might cause trouble later.
‘If I just leave like this, they’ll probably turn the entire territory upside down looking for me. That’ll affect the merchant group’s business too……’
Then Albert came up with a brilliant solution. Since those guys seemed to be here as well, he could make use of their existence.
“Kuk, kukukuk. Curious who I am? Even after seeing this energy, you still don’t know?”
A black aura flowed from Albert’s body, releasing a sinister power. The dark force that stirred primal fear from deep within made Elin’s body tremble as if she were having a seizure.
“That…… power…… D-Don’t tell me…… a Main?”
“Foolish creatures…… I tested how strong these so-called holy knights were, and this is all they amount to…… How boring.”
With those final words, Albert vanished in a flash. Left suddenly alone, Elin clutched her stinging cheek and muttered in terror.
“A Main…… A Main appeared. This was all the work of the Mains!!!”
Albert’s brilliant plan had been to pin everything on the Mains. It was a perfect shift of responsibility. In her panicked state, Elin noticed something else.
“A-Albert’s head!!”
His head had been cleanly shaved. Beside it, written in Korean, were the words: “If you’re going to use solar fist techniques, being bald is the national rule.” But she couldn’t read it.