The Unlikely Miracle
Was this his punishment? The price for ignoring Flynn's wishes and turning a blind eye to the deaths of so many? Or was he a sinner paying for the cheap tricks he used to mask his shallow faith?
Tollin looked up at Jack's impassive face as the man personally dragged him along alongside the temple knights. Slowly, Tollin forced himself to speak.
"...Do you truly believe the young duke ran away?"
Jack glanced down at him. After checking once more to ensure they had put some distance between themselves and the temple knights, he replied in a low murmur.
"It won't be too late to uncover the truth once we have found the young duke."
"Foolish. Do you honestly believe they have any intention of finding Lord Flynn?"
Jack's eyes narrowed at Tollin's biting sarcasm.
"We have been puppets in the temple's hands from the very beginning. The missing children, Lord Flynn's disappearance—it is all the temple's doing."
Tollin kept his suspicions about how deep the conspiracy ran to himself. There was no point in sharing them with Jack, a man who couldn't even bring himself to disobey a simple order from a temple priest.
Tollin felt the hand gripping his arm flinch slightly. But that was all. Jack did not break his stride as he followed the temple knights.
"...You lied back there. I have never heard of any ring worn by the heads of the Fides family during their rituals."
"It was merely a safeguard for the worst-case scenario. Once the young duke was dragged into this, I knew the temple might target him. As it turns out, my fears were justified."
"If you utter another word of blasphemy, I will no longer be able to turn a blind eye."
Seeing the pained look on Jack's face, Tollin felt a spark of hope. Jack was a loyal vassal who had watched the young duke grow since the day he was born. There was no way he truly wanted to stand by and watch Flynn die.
If only I can find a single opening... It might not be too late. He might still be able to save Flynn.
Tollin tensed his entire body, preparing to draw the poisoned dagger hidden in his tunic the moment Jack's grip loosened. It was small, but lethal. There were many priests nearby. Though he was no match for the knights, Tollin had received basic martial training as a noble. With a bit of luck, he might be able to take a priest hostage and force a way out.
"Your eyes have been closed from the very beginning, Jack. If you truly do not wish to be a sinner, give me one last chance. Perhaps we can save the other children as well."
Jack squeezed his eyes shut. Tollin desperately prayed that whatever Jack saw behind his closed eyelids was not the divine. When Jack finally opened his eyes, they were filled with a grim, unshakeable resolve. His grip on Tollin's arm seemed to loosen slightly.
And in the next instant—*crack*.
"Aaaagh!!!"
Tollin shrieked, nearly blacking out from the agonizing pain that suddenly ripped through him.
"If they are punished by God... there must be a reason. Obstructing the judgment of a sinner is also a sin..."
Jack muttered as he reached into Tollin's tunic—who couldn't even open his eyes from the pain—and confiscated the hidden dagger. Jack's resolve was by no means in Tollin's favor. Even in his betrayal, Jack had dislocated Tollin's shoulder with terrifying, clinical precision. A hollow, breathless laugh escaped Tollin's lips at such brutal efficiency.
Jack did not stop walking.
"We are almost there. Sinner Tollin, you will wait here for your judgment."
A temple knight, who had glanced back at the brief commotion, delivered the instruction half-heartedly before turning away. His last sliver of hope shattered, Tollin hung his head like a snapped flower.
But salvation has a way of coming from the most unexpected directions.
"Who the hell are you?"
Drowned in helplessness, Tollin slowly raised his head at the harsh voice that pierced the air.
A man was standing in front of the tower, completely unbothered. Beside the black-haired, golden-eyed man stood a priest in a somewhat worn robe, and a young child was slung over the man's shoulder.
Tollin stared blankly at the bizarre trio. The black-haired man looked indifferently at the priest beside him, completely ignoring the dozen or so knights who were glaring at him.
"I am Gael, a priest from Comiel Village. I have come to hand over a 'special' child we found."
The priest named Gael spoke in a thoroughly cowed voice. At his words, one of the priests walking ahead became visibly flustered. After checking their credentials, the guarding knight finally granted them entry.
What is happening? Tollin watched blankly, unable to process the sudden turn of events. On one hand, it was almost laughable. The tower he had desperately tried to enter could be accessed so easily with just a few words from a priest. In the Abaran Empire, the name of God was absolute.
But what happened next was more than enough to shatter his cynicism.
"Hold on. Only the priest and the child may enter."
The knight guarding the tower blocked the black-haired man's path.
"Why?"
"Wh-what?"
The knight stammered in confusion at the black-haired man's sudden, blunt tone.
"I asked why. I'm his guardian."
"Only priests of the temple are permitted to enter."
Thoroughly angered by his insolent attitude, the knight glared at him threateningly as he replied.
"Stop talking nonsense and just let us in! If you want to live, that is!"
The man in the worn priest's robe pleaded frantically, looking utterly terrified, but the knight only scowled.
"That is impossible. Only the priest and designated personnel are allowed inside..."
"Then we wasted our time."
The black-haired man's dry murmur cut the knight off.
In the next instant, Ratel's fist slammed directly into the philtrum of the guarding knight.
At the sickening sound of bone crushing bone, the man collapsed without even a scream.
The first to react to the sudden outbreak of violence was Gael, the priest standing beside him.
"Y-you crazy bastard! That's enough, isn't it? Just let me go!"
The priest begged, trembling from head to toe. The black-haired man stared down at him for a quiet moment, then drove a fist straight into the priest's solar plexus.
With a dull thud, the priest collapsed to the ground.
This time, the shocking sight of a priest being assaulted spurred everyone into action. Jack was the fastest to react.
"Capture him! If he resists, kill him!"
At Jack's command, the knights of the Fides family rushed forward, and the temple knights quickly followed suit, lunging at the intruder.
Tollin watched blankly as the black-haired man gently set down the child who had been slung over his shoulder.
Tollin could confidently say that up until now, he had watched the most outstanding knights in the empire, excluding the imperial family, from a very close distance.
The eldest son of the Chrysa family where he was born, the second son—essentially everyone except himself—boasted outstanding martial prowess. The Fides family was, of course, on an entirely different level.
The late Duke had been considered the strongest knight in the empire, excluding the imperial family. As befitted the status of the Imperial Sword, those gathered under the Fides banner were the finest knights in the land.
Which meant he had never, in his wildest dreams, imagined that he would see those very knights collapse helplessly, one by one, sometimes three or four at a time, against a single opponent.
"Surround him! Surround him!"
The panicked knights shouted as they moved in unison, but their opponent was far faster.
Slipping out of their encirclement in an instant, the black-haired man finally drew his sword.
Only then did Tollin realize that the man had been fighting the knights barehanded this entire time.
"He is truly a monster..."
As Jack muttered, the dust began to settle. There was no longer anyone left standing around the monster in question. Now, Jack was the only one left on his feet.
Seeing the man's golden eyes turn toward Jack and himself, Tollin swallowed hard in spite of himself.
"Decide quickly whether you're going to run or fight."
The man spoke with a look of sheer annoyance.
"We do not run from sinners who defy the will of God."
Answering through gritted teeth, Jack drew his sword, tossing Tollin to the ground as he did so.
Thrown to the ground in an instant, Tollin let out a groan of pain as his face slammed into the dirt.
"Don't think of running. You must pay the price for defying God's will along with that man."
At the warning directed at him, the black-haired man's gaze seemed to linger on Tollin for a brief moment, but he couldn't be sure. His golden eyes quickly locked onto Jack, who was already rushing forward.
Jack's sword was blocked with absurd ease. As if he had expected that much, Jack fluidly changed the trajectory of his blade, aiming for the man's legs.
But the man easily deflected that as well. Jack shifted his stance for a third strike, but he never got the chance. This time, the man slipped inside Jack's range.
Jack's flinch of surprise at the bold move lasted only a fraction of a second. The battle was decided in an instant.
*Crack!*
With a sickening sound of bone crushing bone, Jack fell forward. It was not a sword, but the man's bare fist that had struck Jack's nose, completely crushing it.
Jack let out a muffled groan of pain from the clean hit, but the man did not stop. Unlike with the other knights, his fist struck Jack's face several times, the heavy blows continuing until Jack completely lost consciousness and collapsed.
Leaving the completely unconscious Jack behind, the man stood up straight. His gaze turned to Tollin, but he said nothing.
Instead, the man turned around, picked up the child he had set on the ground, and leisurely walked into the tower.
Tollin blinked as he stared blankly at Jack, who lay collapsed in a cloud of dust, and the man's retreating back.
And then he realized. Against all odds, a miracle had occurred right before his eyes.
The child slowly regained consciousness from the jarring, rhythmic bouncing of his body. The rough handling as he was slung over the shoulder made his head ache so much that he couldn't help but open his eyes.
"If you're awake, stand up straight."
At the cold voice, the child's half-opened eyes snapped wide open. Only then did he see who owned the hand that was ruthlessly shaking him. At the same time, he realized where he was.
No, he couldn't say exactly where he was. All he could see were stairs stretching high up and massive pillars.
What terrifies the child more than waking up in a strange place was the red blood dripping from the sword in Ratel's hand.
I'm really going to die this time. As the child tried to pass out again, thinking it would be better to be unconscious, Ratel shook him awake roughly once more.
"If you want to see your parents' faces again, snap out of it."
He sounded exactly like a kidnapper, but it was effective. There was nothing better to coax a frightened child than the thought of his parents waiting for him at home.
Seeing the life return to the child's eyes, Ratel pointed to a small alcove under the stairs and continued.
"Go in there and don't come out. No matter who tells you to follow them, don't come out."
"No one?"
"Yes, no one."
"Why?"
At the child's question, Ratel, who was kicking the unconscious Priest Gude out of the way, answered dryly.
"Because it's safer."
At Ratel's blunt, unelaborated answer, the child hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Then what if a good person comes? Is it okay to follow them because they're safe? Like the priest, or Uncle Jing..."
As the child asked haltingly, Ratel looked down at him in silence. Though his face was expressionless, there was an intensity to his gaze that made the child shrink back.
"The better the person, the more you shouldn't."
He said quietly. Well, this mister doesn't look like a good person either. As the child nodded at his consistent warning, Ratel led him to the small alcove under the stairs.
"Just think of your parents' faces here. Don't follow anyone, no matter who comes."
Because the child wanted to see his mom and dad more than anyone, he obediently crawled into the space under the stairs.
"B-but how long do I wait here?"
Looking down at the child's innocent face, who asked as if the question had only just occurred to him, Ratel looked up at the stairs stretching high above them.
"Until I destroy everything and come back."