Demons on Their Knees (9)
Just as I was about to answer Pelle's question, I heard footsteps gathering around the temple. By the time I stepped out of the priest's quarters, they had already begun their work. Through the opaque windows, I could vaguely make out flickering torches and shadowy figures splashing oil on the temple walls. The acrid stench of oil seeped in through the cracks in the door.
Are they planning to burn down the entire temple?
Pelle, realizing what they were up to, dashed back to the priest's quarters, grabbed her bag and cloak, and returned.
"We're getting out of here—put your boots on first."
I hurriedly pulled on my boots along with Pelle, while outside, the mob kept dousing the temple with oil. I wasn't worried about burning to death. As long as I had the Holy Sword, I was invincible—no one could kill me. The only thing that surprised me was their hatred: the sheer venom driving them to burn down a whole temple just to take out me and Pelle.
Yeah, I get it. Hatred toward other races, especially demons—it's not like I don't understand. But to this extent?
Looks like I underestimated just how far these ignorant gray-hands would go.
The shouts, the torches chaotically illuminating the dark chapel, and the overpowering oil stench had Pelle on edge. With her bag slung over her shoulder, she stood close by my side, glancing anxiously out the window, her slender fingers clutching the hem of my sleeve.
"Don't worry. Just stick by me."
"...Okay."
I pushed on the door, but it wouldn't budge—they must have barred it from outside. I shoved harder, forcing my way forward. The massive beam splintered and shattered, ripping the entire door off its hinges.
A blast of cold wind and snow hit us as we emerged. Dozens of torch-bearing figures surrounded the entrance.
"Digging all day, guarding the city all night—you guys must be exhausted, working nonstop."
I greeted them casually.
"H-how... the door..."
They'd thought it was sealed tight, impossible to escape. No wonder they were freaking out. As I stepped forward, they backed away in tandem.
"What business do you have with me?"
I tossed out the question to spot the ringleader. A man in the center answered.
"That bitch! She's a demon!"
He was scrawny compared to the others, but his eyes burned with pure malice—a young punk. Probably the leader. That glare, the tone, the attitude—he had to be wearing some armband or badge of authority.
"Demons again?"
"If she's not a demon, take off that hat! Prove it right now—no horns!"
"And if she is?"
My counter-question sent him into a foaming rage, spittle flying.
"For defiling this holy temple and endangering the city, we'll burn her alive!"
"Burn her? What era do you think this is—some half-assed witch hunt? Besides, the guard captain let us crash here. Take it up with him."
"Ha! The guard captain? That sword-rattling puppet with no real power?"
"From that mouth of yours, you sound like some punk youth leader strutting around."
"I'm the chairman of the City Development Promotion Committee!"
"Bullshit."
Trashing the guard captain too... In isolated, insular towns like this, public authority always crumbles. This place was worse than I'd imagined—no real law and order. It hadn't been like this last time I passed through a few years back... Well, no helping it now.
"Fine. You're right. She's a demon."
"A demon after all!"
A wave of fury and excitement swept through the crowd, torches flaring wildly, pickaxes glinting in their hands. Pelle's grip on my arm tightened, her shoulder pressing against me.
"Grab them now! Lock 'em in the temple alive and burn it down!"
At the committee chairman's—or whatever he was—command, several charged at me with pickaxes raised. My hand went to the Holy Sword's hilt.
The attackers suddenly crumpled to their knees all at once, as if crushed by an invisible boulder. Blood poured from their mouths.
"Gahk..."
"Curse... it's a curse...! The demon cast a curse!"
"Fall back! Don't get close!"
The armband punk, foaming at the mouth, grabbed the terrified mob by their collars and shoved them toward me.
"Kill the woman now! Smash her skull with a pickaxe!"
Crazy draws more crazy, and this guy was the craziest. That's why he was still coming at me, even knowing what I'd done to the guards and other citizens.
"Pelle. Let go for a sec."
I shook her off and advanced on him. He snatched a pickaxe from the guy next to him.
"Raaagh! Stay back! Die!"
He swung wildly at my head. I batted it aside effortlessly and seized his collar.
"When fighting a madman, you gotta out-crazy him."
I gripped his collar tight, immobilizing him, then snatched a torch from nearby and hurled it at the temple. It hit the oil-soaked wall, flames erupting and racing upward. The temple was engulfed in seconds, roof to foundation.
Pelle, startled by the intense heat and blaze, turned and gasped. My shadow, cast by the inferno at my back, loomed over the so-called chairman.
"You mad... mad bastard! The temple...! You're a demon too!"
"Spot on. Not a demon, but yeah—I'm the mad bastard."
I flung him into the burning temple. He sailed through the rectangular doorway, flames leaping onto his body.
"Gaaaaahhh!!"
Thrashing wildly, he tried to escape, but blinded by fire, he stumbled deeper into the chapel instead of out. Others tried to pull him free, but the entrance collapsed in a roar, sealing it off. His horrific screams echoed from within.
"It's cold out—anyone wanna warm up, come at me."
The rest stared between me and the blaze, frozen, clutching their pickaxes.
"Wanna stick around and watch the city burn to ash with me?"
The fierce north wind fanned the flames higher, sparks jumping to the neighboring building.
"The fire's spreading!"
But with me blocking the way, they could only stamp their feet helplessly. Then, a shout rose from the back of the crowd.
"Everyone, stand down!"
The mob parted, revealing the guard captain and a burly man flanked by more guards. Who was this? The administrator? But he didn't look like some desk-jockey bureaucrat. He had the rugged build of a lifelong miner.
Still, I asked to confirm.
"You the administrator?"
"I'm the acting administrator."
Acting administrator...? In a backwater like this? That's a position for big cities like Bue.
Then I remembered—months ago, Hildeva had mentioned Apenzel's administrator died in an accident. No replacement yet?
"From the looks of you, I doubt you're a civil servant."
"Sharp eyes. True enough. I'm the head of the mining guild. With the post vacant, I'm handling the duties."
Mining guild head. That explained everything: the powerless guards, the irrational mob behavior. Apenzel was ruled by a local strongman lording over the authorities. A pseudo-fiefdom in a direct-ruled territory. No one wanted to come to this godforsaken spot after the administrator's death, so the guild head stepped in, wielding unchecked power. Even with an administrator, he'd probably have been a puppet—miners would scoff at a lowly 7th-grade official.
"Sharp eyes, huh. You look just like the uneducated gray-hands I figured."
The guild head's lip twitched at my jab, but he kept his cool. It was the surrounding miners who bristled, curses and shouts erupting until he bellowed.
"Shut it!"
They fell silent instantly—clear sign of his authority.
"Situation's dire, so straight to the point. Step aside so we can put out the fire."
His eyes flicked to the raging temple and the spreading flames behind me.
"No."
"Please. Some of us were rude, sure—but innocent citizens shouldn't suffer."
"Playing with lives is just 'rude'? Never heard that one."
"Word is, you're looking for something."
He held up his open palms pleadingly.
"I know where it is. I'll even provide a guide. Just leave the city now, I beg you."
"You know?"
"Of course. I've lived here sixty years—know these mountains like the back of my hand. Trust me."
"After siccing that mob on us? Yeah, right."
"That was a few extremists. I apologize. People will die if we don't act!"
By then, Pelle had sidled up beside me, eyes wide with fear amid the chaos. I'd planned to straighten out this mad town entirely... but seeing her face shook me. For her sake, better to wrap this up quick, grab what we came for, and go.
But could I trust the mining guild boss at the top of the heap?
"What's stopping you from lying?"
"If I do, come back and kill me. I stake my life on it."
"Don't throw your life around lightly."
His eyes burned with resolve as he repeated.
"I stake my life. Come with me. Let us extinguish the fire. The citizens are in danger."
Him acting like the city leader made me feel like the villain holding safety hostage. Dawn was breaking in the eastern sky.
"Fine. We leave now. Send the guide."
"Thank you, stranger. I'll prepare at once."
I stepped aside, and at his command, people rushed to fight the blaze.
"Can we... trust him...?"
Pelle, clinging to my arm, whispered.
"He put his life on the line. We'll see. If not, we kill him."
She looked up at me briefly, then nodded.
Our guide was a hunched old man, nearly eighty, buried in a fur cloak.
"Ain't no one knows these parts better than me."
I worried about his age, but if he said so... I hoisted him onto the Hell Horse. The old timer gawked at first—not a heart attack, but endless fascination, stroking the black flames.
The north gate opened into the dawning blue light, and the Hell Horse galloped out effortlessly with the three of us aboard. We followed the old man's directions along a twisting, endless path deep into the mountains.
As the sun rose and the north wind died down, a precarious plateau amid sheer cliffs appeared, dense with conifers. Peering through the trees was a large, deep-looking cave.
"Is that where the Asenaris live?"
But the old man didn't answer. Thinking he might be deaf, I asked again—only for him to say something off-topic.
"Young fella. Truth is..."