Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: I Will Save the Little Lambs (2)
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A young man with blond hair and blue eyes.
He wore the armor of the White Church and carried a single sword.
"I am Holy Knight Eric."
He bowed his head politely as he introduced himself. His name was Eric.
He was a Holy Knight of the White Church.
"I serve to guide lost little lambs back to the Goddess's side."
Holy Knight Eric scanned the surrounding adventurers with a pleasant smile.
The adventurers turned their eyes toward Eric as well.
It was true that their first impression of him had been a bit stiff because he was a Holy Knight.
But that impression faded as Eric extended his hand first.
"If it's alright with you, may I guide you all to the Great One?"
Everyone tilted their heads at Holy Knight Eric's words.
'The Great One?'
But they soon brushed it off as no big deal.
The great being a Holy Knight referred to was probably the Goddess.
And being led to the Goddess meant he would resolve their current troubles.
Even though he phrased it in roundabout terms, that was typical of Holy Knights, so the adventurers simply nodded.
The image of Holy Knights was one of stern devotion, gazing only at the Goddess and loyal to the Church.
That was the common perception.
But the Holy Knight Eric before them was somehow similar yet different.
Eric had a stern expression and a voice dry with emotion.
Yet he had offered a helping hand first.
And his rugged appearance revealed a human side.
Because of that, the adventurers began to lower their guards around Eric.
"Sure! We'll go anywhere the Goddess is!"
The adventurer who had rushed to the Holy Knight first spoke up.
She positioned herself beside Eric as she spoke.
"Oh, well said indeed. May I have your name?"
"Nella. I'm Nella. What luck to meet a Holy Knight here!"
Her name was Nella.
She was an ardent devotee of the Church even as an adventurer.
Having encountered a Holy Knight in the mountains filled her with joy, and she beamed as she introduced herself to Eric.
"Nella... What a lovely name."
Eric gave an enigmatic smile in response to Nella.
He then turned to the other adventurers.
"Come, let's not dawdle here. There's a place nearby where my comrades are gathered."
Comrades?
Everyone perked up at Holy Knight Eric's words.
His comrades were very likely fellow Holy Knights.
Even if not, they would at least be Church members.
Traveling with the Church—that alone guaranteed their safety.
Of course, they were safe right now too.
They hadn't encountered so much as a bandit, let alone a monster.
But the mountains were no easy place.
Things could change in an instant.
If luck turned sour, they could run into monsters anytime or lose their lives to a bandit gang.
That was the mountains for you—variables could pop up anywhere, anytime.
Meeting a Holy Knight in such uncertainty was the greatest stroke of luck.
Even the adventurer who had been grumbling moments ago leaned toward Eric's suggestion.
"Sounds good. We'll follow you."
The adventurer who quickly agreed to follow the Holy Knight was named Silroin.
He harbored other thoughts inwardly.
'Better than sticking around here.'
The group he was in was mostly riffraff anyway.
And there was no guide like Nariel who could track traces.
The original goal of backtracking footprints had already lost meaning.
In this situation, accepting the Holy Knight's offer was a solid choice.
The commission was a general recon of the mountains and their status anyway.
Broadly speaking, this fit within the commission's scope.
'More importantly, something's up.'
He was also curious why Holy Knights were in the mountains.
Uncovering that alone would be a big gain.
'Maybe...'
A possibility suddenly occurred to him.
The one who commissioned them was a noble of the Sail Kingdom.
And the White Church was said to be visiting the Sail Kingdom.
A noble from the Sail Kingdom issues a commission.
Then encountering Holy Knights in the commission site—the mountains. Was that really coincidence?
Silroin suspected some connection between the two.
With that in mind, Silroin promptly followed Eric.
Once the ice was broken, the other adventurers naturally fell in behind the Holy Knight.
Everyone stuck close to the Holy Knight's back.
It almost looked like chicks following their mother bird.
It was proof of how much they trusted the Church.
"By the way, Holy Knight, why are you here? Is something going on?"
Nella, walking beside him, asked Holy Knight Eric.
Eric fell silent for a moment before turning to Nella.
"Because there are those daring to challenge the Great One. Oh, no need to worry. It will all be over soon."
Challenging the Goddess meant heretics, no doubt.
That must be why the Holy Knights were deployed.
Nella nodded in agreement with Eric's words.
The conversation was brief.
The group set off again.
The adventurers followed Eric for quite some time.
Or not that long, actually.
They soon arrived at an unfamiliar cave.
"My comrades are waiting inside."
Eric gestured for everyone to enter, saying his comrades were in the cave.
"What a cleverly hidden spot."
One of the adventurers muttered while eyeing the cave.
As he said, the cave's entrance was subtly concealed by trees and vines.
On a normal day, they might have passed right by without noticing.
Silroin eyed the cave too.
A faint unease stirred in him.
'Are there really other Holy Knights inside?'
He couldn't say why, but something felt off.
More importantly, was it really okay to go in?
He discreetly pulled an artifact from his pocket.
It was an item that detected dungeons, fairly common among adventurers.
'Not a dungeon.'
Fortunately, the cave wasn't a dungeon.
No energy readings at all—it was just an ordinary cave.
Having confirmed that, Silroin followed the others into the cave.
"......"
The cave interior was eerie.
No wind blew, yet the chill hung heavy.
Only the occasional drip of water from the ceiling echoed in their ears.
Silent stillness.
And a frigid space.
Together, they created the illusion of an abyss.
Everyone thought as much while fixating on Eric's back.
Eric said nothing.
He simply walked on in silence.
Then a three-way fork appeared.
Holy Knight Eric remained wordless.
He just kept walking, as before.
Despite the fork, he took the first path on the left.
The others followed without suspicion.
Once on the first path, the eerie aura intensified even more.
It was chilling enough to make their spines tingle.
"Um... Holy Knight?"
Something was wrong.
Nella, right behind Eric, spoke up.
"Are your comrades really here...?"
It might just be paranoia.
But her gut screamed there were no other Holy Knights here.
And that instinct blared a warning of danger in her mind.
Even as Nella cried out, Eric didn't stop.
He just kept walking forward.
But then, something unnatural happened.
"Heehee... heehehehe!"
Nella suddenly burst into mad laughter.
She clutched her head with both hands and kept laughing.
"Heehehehe!"
She laughed and laughed.
Then strength entered her hands gripping her head.
Crack—
With a bone-snapping sound, her head twisted in an unnatural direction.
Even with her head snapped, Nella's face still wore a laughing expression.
"Fuck!"
Silroin, at the rear of the group, cursed and drew his sword.
At this point, it was impossible to ignore.
Things had gone wrong.
Starting with Silroin's action, the adventurers halted.
And they all drew their swords.
But those swords had no direction.
They didn't even know who to aim at.
"Haha!"
Adventurers began emitting laughter like dead Nella's, one by one.
The sight of them all grinning identically was grotesque, repulsive, bizarre.
The madly laughing adventurers raised their swords.
The blades pointed two ways.
Their own throats.
Or the throats of those ahead.
Once decided, they swung mercilessly.
The thick scent of blood filled the air.
Joyful laughter echoed and reverberated.
Crimson fluids sprayed through the air.
Wh-what is this...!"
Silroin was aghast at the unfolding horror.
Fortunately, not everyone had lost their minds.
He himself was fine, for one.
But the problem was the others swinging swords wildly.
Mad or not, they were still people.
Hesitation gripped his blade.
"......"
But that brief hesitation led to a different outcome.
Someone's sword pierced Silroin's throat.
Blood spurted from his neck.
Silroin's vision turned red.
His eyes began to close.
In his final sight.
"S-save me!"
"Please...!"
It was pure pandemonium.
His body crumpled to the ground.
Other adventurers' bodies collapsed too.
In the end, seven adventurers remained.
But none were normal.
Their bodies were covered in red bloodstains.
They wore inscrutable expressions, laughing in rapture.
Only then did Holy Knight Eric, whom they had ignored until now, approach.
"Truly my comrades."
Flying entities lurked here.
Ghostly beings that seemed to exist yet not.
They were all Banshees.
The Banshees had manipulated the adventurers' minds, causing this carnage.
And Eric had once been a Holy Knight.
But now, he was merely a vessel whose mind the Banshee had devoured.
"Brothers and sisters blessed with the Great One's mercy."
Eric smiled in satisfaction.
"Go."
Eric raised his hand toward the exit passage.
"Deliver judgment upon those who dare block the Great One's path."
He murmured in a soft whisper.
"Guide them all to the Goddess's embrace."
The blood-soaked adventurers charged forward.
Countless alarms rang out.
It had been a long time since sacrifices were offered.
But this time, the sacrifices themselves weren't the point.
A new alarm brought up a system.
That system was the Monster Reinforcement System.
It was the one I'd seen when I first acquired the 'True Dungeon Master' trait.