Chapter 2
The house stood empty. Yuria had left. Mass had survived. He hadn't been interrogated or punished. But that didn't mean he'd be safe from now on.
'I have to leave after all.'
Mass returned inside and spread a map across the desk. In the center of the map loomed the vast expanse of the Pantia Continent. He was at the eastern edge, in the Holy Kingdom.
'Red Wolf Forest...'
In the continent's heart lay the forest inhabited by red wolves. The rare herbs growing there could surely heal his crippled leg. Naturally, his original destination had been that very Red Wolf Forest, but Mass now had to change course. Even walking normally, it would take two months to reach from here. Now that he'd drawn the attention of the Holy Knight Order again, he'd be caught long before he got anywhere near it.
'I can't stay here either.'
Who knew when Yuria might come back? If Ruen, Sorena, and Rose joined her, things would spiral hopelessly out of control. He had to go. He couldn't predict when their rage might claim him.
'...I was hoping to avoid this unless things got truly dire.'
It was the worst option for a defrocked priest like him. But if it worked, it was a surefire way to preserve his life.
'Since Yuria left, the Demon King must be defeated for sure.'
That meant Rose could hear God's voice again. In the original story, it was unclear how much God told Rose, so Mass couldn't know if divine intervention had cleared his name. Still, with holy power regaining its influence across the continent, now was the perfect time for him to slip away. It at least boosted his odds of survival.
Mass double-checked his pack and stepped out. He scanned the surroundings—no sign of Holy Knight Order surveillance. He found it odd that they remained so lax even after Yuria's visit, but he didn't waste the chance. He headed west, dragging his lame leg, pushing himself to cover as much ground as possible toward that direction.
He didn't dare hope to reach Red Wolf Forest. His goal was simply to escape the Holy Kingdom and enter the neighboring Lion Duchy.
The Lion Duchy shunned summary executions. Even if the Holy Kingdom issued a warrant, they wouldn't hand someone over immediately. They held their own trials, granting at least some right to defense.
"How fleeting it all is."
Mass turned for one last look at the cabin he'd called home, a bitter smile twisting his lips. Then he limped onward.
Lion Duchy. Tucked just inside its eastern border lay the Holy Kingdom's Cathedral Branch. Established to foster goodwill between the Holy Kingdom and the duchy, it was staffed by an archbishop appointed by the Holy Kingdom upon the duchy's recommendation. Though its grounds lay within Lion Duchy territory, it operated under Holy Kingdom command—essentially a diplomatic enclave beyond the duchy's full jurisdiction.
That Cathedral Branch was now on the brink of collapse.
Kwaaaaang.
Two-thirds of the Cathedral Branch had crumbled. The rest shuddered precariously from repeated shocks.
"Urk..."
In the central chamber—the archbishop's office in the main hall—a man crawled across the floor. Fresh blood stained the golden staff brooch marking his rank as archbishop.
"Please..."
With no strength left to crawl, he slowly turned his head. Corpses littered the room: knights who'd guarded the outpost, priests who'd joined in the sacrament. All victims of this carnage.
Archbishop Karmaje, his wrinkled face etched with despair, glared at the culprit behind it all.
"Spare me, please."
Instead of a prayer to God, pleas for mercy spilled from his lips. Those words only stoked greater fury in his captor.
"Then say it again."
A blonde, wall-eyed beauty in knight's garb leveled her sword at him. It was the legendary holy blade said to be bestowed by the God of Holy Light upon humanity: Shining Caliburn. Blood dripped from its edge—tok—gleaming white in the sunlight streaming through the window.
"Did you really deceive me?"
Yuria, captain of the Holy Kingdom's Holy Knight Order. She'd attended the archbishop's investiture here, escorting Karmaje. Afterward, a bond formed. He often counseled her on matters of faith, and she preferred confiding in this outsider over the priests back home. Her title as the kingdom's top knight drew too many prying eyes.
That's how she'd fallen for it. Someone she trusted so easily had deceived her without reason.
"Why did you say Mass was behind everything?"
Yuria had grown up an orphan. Without parents, she'd endured bullying, scavenging scraps left by others. Despair drove her to throw herself into the village well. Mass had saved her—pulled her out, fed her, shielded her from the tormentors.
"Why did you say he crushed my hand?"
With his help, she'd grown strong, revealed her sword talent, and joined the village knights. Her rise was meteoric: entry into the Holy Knight Order, ascension to captain. Then, like a lie, her life plummeted. An accident crushed her right hand in an iron gate, robbing her of her sword arm—her dominant hand, honed for a lifetime.
In her despair, Karmaje claimed the childhood bullying was Mass's scheme to make her dependent, and he'd crushed her hand to savor the same twisted pleasure again. She hadn't believed it at first. But the bullies returned, swearing it was true, and investigators confirmed Mass's involvement in every detail.
Blinded by betrayal, she'd gritted her teeth, trained her left hand under Karmaje's guidance—and matched her former skill.
"Why did you do it?"
But Rose's claim of hearing God's voice upended everything. Yuria sought Mass again, sensing something lost reignited. Back at the order, reinvestigating, she'd uncovered the truth here: the Mass affair was fabricated.
"Answer me."
Her sword flashed, and priests confessed one by one. All on Karmaje's orders. The truth spilled out so easily.
Yuria couldn't hold back her rage. She'd only meant to ask, but the answers came too readily—she cut them down.
The lone survivor, Karmaje, insisted there were reasons. It didn't matter to her. Her blade now hovered at his throat.
Sensing death, he clenched his teeth in terror, then muttered with distant eyes.
"Wh-what good does hearing it again do? It's all done now. Mass held too much power. For the Holy Kingdom's sake, he had to step down."
"...Why me?"
"W-wait! Graaaah!"
Yuria drove her sword into his right hand.
"Why did I have to be used without knowing?"
"G-guhhh!"
"Just because I got close to you by chance? Is that it?"
Karmaje had been bribed by someone in the Holy Kingdom, promised a life of luxury for his crimes. Learning this now burned in Yuria's chest. Confusion swirled—was this truth too late? Her body moved anyway.
"What was I to you?"
Pak! She yanked the blade free and stabbed his left hand.
"Arrrghhh!"
She withdrew it again. Karmaje tried to rise and flee on his legs.
Shwaak! She severed both.
He collapsed without a proper scream, writhing.
"...Y-you bitch!"
Dry lips, drooling spittle, gaping maw—he raked the floor with his nails, spewing curses like a beast.
"You fell for it! If you'd trusted Mass, none of this would've happened!"
Snarling at her stunned face, he dissolved into mad laughter amid the pain.
"Stupid bitch...! You didn't even know he prayed for you every night! Go on, kill me! See if you can handle the fallout now! Try it...!"
Thud.
His words ended. Her hand hung in the air, like piano strings plucked taut. Karmaje's head, severed, rolled across the floor with a bewildered expression before stopping.
"..."
Silence enveloped her. She lowered her arm, gazing down. At her feet lay the head. Memories surfaced: barefoot days, Mass buying and fitting shoes on her feet himself.
"I..."
Her face, twisted beyond expression into blankness, mouthed the words.
"I."
Thud.
Before the building crumbled, she collapsed to her knees.
Afterward, she returned to the cabin. She knew not what to do. Only that she had to go where Mass was.
Crossing wind-swept fields and dense woods, she reached the precarious cabin perched on the cliff's edge. She swallowed hard. She'd been here many times before, but now it felt different. A stone weighed on her chest. With each step, it grew heavier—until she could scarcely breathe, halting before the door.
"...Mass."
The name escaped before her held breath. No reply came.
Yuria hesitated, grasped the handle. It turned easily. Without thinking, she pushed the door open and entered.
Traces of a man who'd lived in isolation lingered. But the stone in her chest plummeted.
Time had already passed over those traces.
Mass was gone.