Chapter 110: Ambush (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 110: Ambush (2)
A sharp arrow flew straight toward me. I could only stare at it blankly.
Thwack! Th-th-thwack!
[Master, get a grip!]
“...!”
An arrow thudded into the carriage’s canopy. The rest were deflected by something invisible. It seemed the carriage was enchanted with protection magic.
“Little Miss, are you alright?”
“Yeah.”
Philip pulled me into an embrace. Hamilton only knew him as a simple servant, but perhaps recognizing something in him as a fellow warrior, he had allowed Philip to carry a weapon.
Philip’s usually playful face was now grimly set. He muttered under his breath.
“It seems these aren't just ordinary bandits.”
“Then who?”
“....”
Philip hesitated, then fell silent. But I think I knew what he was going to say.
[It looks like those Temple bastards have found us.]
‘Yeah.’
I could feel a faint trace of divine power. Even so, I hadn't expected the Temple and the Empress Dowager to find me this quickly.
‘Is information leaking from the Imperial Palace too?’
Veronica should be the only one in the palace who knew I had met with Hamilton. Naturally, a worried Veronica would have sent knights after me immediately.
Yet the Temple had found me before they did. It was as if they had known this would happen all along.
I instinctively turned my head and looked up at Philip, who was holding me tight. He was biting his lip, looking anxious for some reason.
“You...”
Just as I opened my mouth, people suddenly burst through the smoke ahead of us.
“Who goes there?!”
“....”
The merchants shouted sharply. However, the man at the front fixed his gaze intently on Philip and me.
“The Princess is here.”
“Execute the traitor.”
“Everything for God!”
“...!”
They weren't wearing the clothes with geometric patterns like they had when they invaded the Imperial Palace. But their words gave them away. These were fanatics, just like Philip had been.
“I-I’m so sorry.”
“You’re carrying something on you that can be tracked, aren't you?”
“I... I just realized it myself.”
Philip was trembling, and he didn't seem to be lying. Moreover, the fanatics seemed to know his brainwashing had been broken, as they didn't hesitate to call him a traitor.
Since he had changed his clothes, he wasn't being tracked by something he was wearing. Then, could it be implanted inside his body?
I frowned and scanned Philip’s body. Seeing my expression, he looked like he was about to cry, thinking I didn't believe him.
“I-It’s true. I didn't... I didn't do anything...”
“I get it, so just stay still.”
“...?”
The fanatics immediately attacked the carriage where Philip and I were. Hamilton already seemed to be holding off other fanatics at the front.
Since there were guards here as well, they were currently engaged in combat with the fanatics. In the meantime, I examined Philip’s body.
Even if we managed to shake off the fanatics now, we would eventually be caught again. I had to deliver Philip to Dantalion, so I couldn't just abandon him along the way. It was better to find and remove whatever was being used to track him the moment I noticed it.
[Hmm, here. No, is it here?]
[Find it faster!]
Desmond had transformed into a massive direwolf and was fighting the fanatics alongside the merchants. Bibi, who remained by my side, was working hard to track whatever was inside Philip.
[I think it’s here!]
‘Are you sure?’
[Of course! I can smell the scent of divine power coming from here!]
Bibi pointed toward Philip’s left knee. I grimaced at the sight.
“Are you sure? If I mess up removing it, I think his knee might be ruined.”
“Eek!”
I asked in a low voice, intentionally letting Philip hear. Feeling his physical safety threatened, Philip looked at my hand on his knee with horror.
“L-Little Miss! If that gets ruined, I won't be able to walk!”
“Just stay still.”
Philip was whining so much I could hardly hear Bibi. After silencing him, I focused on Bibi’s voice.
[Tsk, tsk, what a drama queen. It’s not like they buried an object in there; we just need to erase the divine power.]
“Really?”
[Of course. Though it seems they carved it in a spot like this on purpose so that any random hack who isn't a priest might mess up the removal. How devious of them.]
“Hmm.”
I agreed with Bibi. The Temple had clearly injected traceable divine power into a vital joint on purpose.
“It’s okay. She says you’ll be able to walk as long as the divine power is removed properly.”
“Is that true?”
“Yeah.”
Philip was still uneasy, but he didn't try to move my hand from his knee. He seemed to feel responsible for this ambush.
“And don't feel guilty; this isn't your fault.”
“Pardon?”
“Those guys following us with such dirty tricks are the weird ones.”
“....”
I answered bluntly and then concentrated. I could easily sense divine power, as it was the opposite of my own strength, but I wasn't sure if I could remove it.
I simply moved my energy according to Bibi’s instructions.
[Now, imagine you’re carefully erasing it. Otherwise, that guy’s knee is going to blow up!]
‘I know, I know.’
I glanced at Philip, wondering if he had heard Bibi’s violent words. But since he couldn't hear the demons at all, he just blinked his innocent eyes.
Alright, let’s drive out this divine power. After taking a deep breath, I imagined gently erasing writing with an eraser. Then, miraculously, I felt the divine power embedded in Philip’s knee slowly begin to vanish.
“Done!”
“Then... am I not being tracked anymore?”
“Probably.”
The Temple might have done something else. The divine power in his knee had been so faint that I hadn't even noticed it until now.
So, there might still be something left in Philip’s body that neither I nor the demons had detected. Besides, Philip must have been an elite in the Apocrypha, so they would have managed him thoroughly.
Still, for now, I wanted to believe it was okay. I nodded firmly to reassure the anxious Philip.
“Little Miss!”
“...!”
Right then, a sword flew straight toward me. Philip, noticing it ahead of time, grabbed me and rolled across the floor. Our bodies tumbled out of the carriage.
“Ugh!”
“Philip, are you okay?”
“I-I’m fine...”
Philip, answering my question, suddenly widened his eyes. He swung the sword in his free hand with a speed I couldn't even track.
Clang!
Philip’s arm trembled violently. Someone was pressing down on Philip from above.
“How interesting. Brainwashing shouldn't be broken this easily.”
“...!”
I looked up and saw clear, turquoise eyes through the hazy smoke. Though I had only seen them a few times, they were intense eyes that were hard to forget.
Furthermore, that languid yet articulate male voice. The voice that had answered Dantalion’s questions so smoothly while sounding troubled was still etched in my ears.
‘Diandre Sinclair!’
The High Priest of the Temple. He had personally come to capture me.
It seemed he had tracked Philip, assuming he had disappeared with me, but I hadn't expected the High Priest himself to join the pursuit.
Incredibly, even in my shock, I felt relieved that Nathaniel wasn't here. If it was the High Priest, he wouldn't have let Nathaniel escape either.
“You are...”
“Do not worry. I will take you back and brainwash you even more thoroughly.”
“Ugh!”
The High Priest, speaking softly in that ever-gentle tone, applied more pressure to his sword. Philip’s arm began to shake even more noticeably.
To think a priest could be so skilled with a sword. Moreover, his polite tone even in this situation was skin-crawling. I glared at the High Priest from within Philip’s arms.
‘Should I use magic?’
It didn't look like Philip could stop the High Priest on his own. On top of that, Philip had to fight while protecting me. Everyone else was preoccupied with holding back the fanatics.
But I had used up the magic stone Melissa gave me during the warp. Now, the only magic I could use was the very basics.
However, if I aimed for a gap, I might be able to give Philip the upper hand. I might get caught using my abilities by the High Priest, but I was about to be dragged away; I wasn't in a position to be picky.
‘Just a little bit of water...’
I recalled the water magic I had learned from Melissa. I planned to shoot a jet of water at the High Priest the moment Philip was pushed back. Soon, just as I expected, Philip’s sword began to slide backward.
‘Now!’
I fired the jet of water I had prepared at the High Priest. Caught off guard, he groaned and dodged backward.
“Kh!”
In that instant, Philip swung his sword. It was an immediate reaction, as if he had known I would do that.
Boom!
However, Philip’s sword was blocked by something solid. I furrowed my brows.