Worth

Lia burst into tears and crawled on her knees toward Jing. "Jing! How did you get here?! This place is strange! Everything is so strange!"

Jing was holding Priest Blat by the collar with one hand. His eyes narrowed as he took in the sight of Lia, her hands bound behind her back, blood dripping from her fingers.

"Does that look like someone resting comfortably to you?" Jing's grip tightened around Priest Blat's throat, prompting Lia to scramble to her feet in a panic.

"No, Jing, wait! That was Ratel's doing—no, that's not it! Ratel! Ratel was swallowed by the sword!"

Jing approached her as she babbled, her explanation following her frantic stream of consciousness. Even as Jing untied the ropes binding her, Lia continued to tremble violently.

"Lia, what happened? What do you mean, Ratel was swallowed by the sword...?"

Jing looked down at the sword in Lia's hand. It was the first holy relic. Or was it? Having lost its light, Sierra's Sword looked like nothing more than a piece of ancient junk.

"A black fog-like mist poured out of it, swallowed Ratel, and vanished. This is all that's left," Lia said, her face pale with shock.

Jing threw Blat to the floor with a heavy thud. "What happened to the people from Lucha Village? I take it you never intended to give them a blessing in the first place."

"...To think those bumpkins, famous only in their tiny village, actually believed they could receive such a thing. How utterly foolish." Blat sneered, his eyes darting from the silent sword to the trembling Lia, before settling back on Jing.

"If you don't want to die, speak plainly."

"Do you truly not know what happens to those who kill a priest in the Abaran Empire, even at your age?" Jing looked down at the smug priest, then drew the sword at his waist. It did not take long for him to sever Blat's pinky finger.

"Aaaargh!!!" Priest Blat shrieked in agony, clutching his hand. Unfortunately for him, the man standing before him was no loyal citizen of the Abaran Empire. He was one of the few who possessed the will to defy even the gods.

"Pant, pant... What... what do you think you're doing...!" Blat looked up at him in utter disbelief, his face twisted in agony.

"I'm in a bit of a hurry. And as I've said before, I'm a man who has done far worse than this. The wrist is next, so pay attention and answer carefully. What happened to Ratel and the people of Lucha Village?"

Realizing Jing's words were neither a joke nor an empty threat, Blat gnashed his teeth and spoke. "They became food for the sword. Sierra the Great's sword must be fed once a year."

"Food?"

"Just as that girl saw, the black fog swallows people. It doesn't stop until it is satisfied."

"Then is there no way to pull out those who have been swallowed?"

At Jing's question, Blat burst into laughter. "How do you expect to retrieve something that is already inside its belly? Are you going to split the sword open?"

In response to the blatant mockery, Jing punched Blat square in the face. Blood erupted from the priest's nose, but the sneer remained plastered on his face.

"I truly do not know a way. Plenty have been swallowed, but none have ever been spat back out. Though, I suppose it's a relief it only took one of them this time."

Lia, who had been listening to their exchange in a daze, stumbled forward. "P-Priest... does that mean the people of our village... they were all fed to the sword? All of them?"

Blat turned his gaze to the deathly pale Lia. "No, not all of them."

A tiny sliver of hope flickered across her face. "Then..."

"The rest of the trash that the sword didn't eat—we finished them off ourselves."

At his answer, Jing kicked him once more. Blat sprawled pathetically on the floor, flailing, but Jing's boot came down to pin him firmly to the ground.

Lia stared blankly at the sight and muttered, "T-That can't be. Four people left last year too. Everyone was so full of hope when they left the village... even my father..."

Yes, Father won the tournament and left the village too. Lia dropped the sword she was holding and collapsed to the floor. The human-eating sword was so grotesque that she desperately crawled backward to get away from it.

So that's where the villagers are. The people who left, never to be seen again. Once someone left the village, they never returned. No one had thought it strange. The world was vast, and it was all too common for young, independent adults to never return to their hometowns.

Though some resented them for it, far more people offered blessings to those who departed. Perhaps it was out of envy for those who had received divine grace. But to think all of it was merely preparation to feed a sword.

"Are you even human? How could you do such a thing with human lives?"

To Lia, who glared at him with bloodshot eyes, Blat replied without a shred of guilt, "Do you even know what that sword is? It is the sword of Sierra the Great. If the sword desires people, how is that any different from God desiring people? I merely did what had to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be done."

Lia was left speechless, her head dropping low. Watching him, Jing ground his heel harder into Priest Blat's throat.

"Then, to free the people swallowed inside, we just have to destroy the sword, don't we?"

"You dare suggest destroying the holy relic of Sierra the Great?!" Even with blood pouring down his face, Priest Blat thrashed as if having a fit at the mere mention of destroying the relic.

"You really don't know anything, do you?"

Jing gave Blat one final strike, then picked up the sword from the floor. For now, there was nothing they could do immediately. Knights were swarming outside, and no known method existed to retrieve someone swallowed by the sword. No, perhaps he would know. Jing recalled a certain black-haired man who had calmly laid out truths no one else knew.

"Miss Lia, pull yourself together and stand up. We have to get out of here."

Lia, staring blankly up at Jing, stumbled to her feet. Jing took her arm in one hand and gripped Sierra's Sword in the other as they left the room. From above, the hurried footsteps of knights searching for the suddenly missing Priest Blat echoed down.

"Lia, I am going to find Lord Ran again once we escape. He might know a way to release those absorbed by the sword. So steel yourself and hold the sword. You must at least be able to strike back if someone attacks."

Lia blankly grasped the sword Jing thrust into her hand. Jing watched her for a moment, then let out a sigh of relief and took the lead. It was a mercy enough that Lia hadn't responded with, 'I must submit to God's will and die here.' The Sierra's Sword in her hand felt incredibly heavy.

Slap!

A sharp crack of flesh meeting flesh echoed through Mentil Abaran's chamber. Drenched in sweat, Tollin didn't even turn his head back, merely shifting his blank gaze to look at Mentil.

"You brothers are both incredibly stubborn." Tollin's shoulders flinched at Mentil's cold voice.

"As you must know from experience, my ability is not omnipotent. If I command too much in a single day, problems arise," Mentil said, sounding almost regretful.

"Your older brother was a man of upright character, so he gave me quite a bit of trouble. He refused to answer until he broke, so I had to use my power until he was... slightly ruined. We wouldn't want that to happen to you, would we?"

She roughly grabbed Tollin's chin, forcing his face up to meet her eyes. "I will ask again. Where is the holy relic that Ran Abaran is searching for?"

"I... do not know."

Mentil looked down at him as he answered through gritted teeth, then turned away, reclining on her sofa with a smirk. "Last time you said he went east, and today you claim you do not know. How am I to know what the truth is?"

Pouring tea from the pot prepared on the table, she lifted the steaming teacup to wet her throat. "I sent people east just as you said, but no one arrived there. I must find Ran before Dito does."

"I know nothing."

Since his stuttered reply was still not the answer she wanted, Mentil approached Tollin. A faint look of pity crossed her face.

"Foolish son of the Crysa family. You can never succeed anyway. A holy relic can never be destroyed. That is what a thousand-year covenant entails."

Seeing that Tollin still had no intention of giving a meaningful answer, Mentil sighed. "Very well. Since you are being so stubborn, my final act today must be a command, not a question."

At her words, Tollin began to tremble from head to toe. Mentil slowly lifted Tollin's left hand. "How pitiful, child of Crysa. To lose your left arm."

Tollin's breathing grew ragged at her words. His unfocused eyes darted wildly through the air.

"Where are you looking? You must check your wound." Mentil's sweet voice rang in his ears. At her prompting, Tollin's gaze slowly drifted down to his left arm.

There, he saw the cleanly severed stump of his arm. Tollin gasped and squeezed his eyes shut. Mentil, however, did not allow him to look away.

Mentil pulled out a handkerchief, stuffed it into Tollin's mouth, and gripped his shoulder tightly. "It must be painful. Do not worry. The pain will pass soon."

At Mentil's words, a pain he had forgotten surged down his shoulder. "Mmph... mmmph!!! Aaaaargh!!!"

She watched Tollin collapse, drooling as he clutched his shoulder. His perfectly intact left arm hung limply, as if it had completely lost all function. She looked down at him until his screams subsided and he fell into exhaustion.

The innkeeper cast anxious glances at the temple knights who had been roaming around his establishment since dawn. Their grim countenances made it clear this was no ordinary patrol. Spotting him, two knights approached.

"Hey, have you seen these people around here?" The paper the knight held out displayed two familiar faces. One was a sturdy, older man, and the other was a woman with her hair tied up high.

"They were at our inn last night. But the woman was already taken by the temple, and this older man went to the temple to find her."

"And you haven't seen them once since then?"

The innkeeper nodded, looking at them with trepidation. "W-What did these people do? To have you searching for them since dawn..."

"They assaulted and murdered a priest, stole a sacred treasure of the temple, and fled." The innkeeper gulped at the unimaginable charges.

"If you happen to see them, report it to the temple and the guard immediately."

"I-I will absolutely report ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them!" Seeing the disgust on the innkeeper's face toward the heinous criminals who dared assault a priest, the temple knights went on their way.

The innkeeper posted the wanted flyer he had received in front of his shop. As time passed, more and more shopkeepers and homeowners did the same.

Jing, hiding in the narrow gap between buildings to avoid drawing attention, watched the scene unfold in silence.

"This is bad. The city is crawling with people trying to catch us. And honestly, this is too much. Framing us for things we didn't even do."

Jing pulled his robe lower over his face as he spoke to Lia, who was still staring blankly at the sword. She sat with the cloth-wrapped weapon resting on her lap, listening to him.

"I don't think we can resolve this without Lord Ran. But if we try to search for him inside the city, things will only get more complicated."

At the mention of Ran's name, Lia slowly raised her head to look at Jing. Looking down at her face, which had grown gaunt in just a single day, Jing patted her shoulder in pity.

Lia stared blankly at Jing, making it impossible to tell if she actually understood his words or was merely processing them as a random sequence of sounds. Jing let out a sigh and spoke.

"For now, you should leave the city. I will search for Lord Ran inside. It would be best for you to go and hide for the time being."

He could fully understand why she was out of her mind, but the situation was far too urgent to wait for her recovery. Jing grabbed both of her shoulders and slowly tried to pull her up. However, Lia weakly brushed off his hands. Looking up at the bewildered Jing, Lia spoke slowly.

"No, Jing. Let's leave together."

Jing looked at her, troubled. "I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠will be fine. Besides, I am the only one who actually assaulted the priest. It would be safer for you to flee alone rather than traveling with me."

"No, Jing. I don't mean just running away. Well, yes, we are running away, but..." Lia muttered incoherently, then clenched her fists as if she had made up her mind. "What I mean is... let's go back to the mountains."