Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Pale Moon - 2
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Heresy Inquisitor and church cardinal Veronica considered hunting for traces of heresy to be as routine as breathing.
And so, just like any other time, she had spotted signs of heresy and arrived at a small village.
"Is this Baek Eun Village?"
Heresy cultists generally moved in secrecy. As such, until their base was discovered, the inquisitors had no choice but to operate with utmost discretion.
This time, it was merely an investigation, so Veronica arrived in Baek Eun Village accompanied by only two holy knights for protection. She asked her adjutant, and the holy knight adjutant nodded gravely.
"Yes. Ominous signs have been reported from this village. The details are already in the report."
"I see."
The contents of the report she had reviewed before coming here swirled in Veronica's mind.
Livestock had gone missing.
An ominous altar had been found in the hunting grounds.
The palm tree barriers set up by the church were being destroyed one by one.
Traces of monsters had vanished, and something nicknamed a 'chimera'—never seen before—had appeared.
And finally.
People had gone missing.
Taken individually, these were incidents easily seen in any territory or village. But all of them clustered in one place meant something was happening in Baek Eun Village.
That was why Veronica had come here in person. She pulled her black hood over her head to hide her silver hair and set off.
"Over there."
Baek Eun Village had the misty haze typical of a mountain village—like a silver sea covered in a dragon's breath.
It looked like nothing more than a peaceful rural village, beautiful on the surface. Why had traces of heresy been found here?
As she pondered this, something out of place in the village caught her telescope.
"Who are they?"
Down the hill, toward the village, there were four people heading in. Outsiders entering a rural village where visitors were rare?
They might be connected to the heretics.
Veronica placed her hand on the mace at her waist and instructed the holy knights.
"Let's identify them first."
"Yes."
"Understood."
The holy knights also donned their hoods and slowly descended the hill. By the time they arrived in the village, scanning their surroundings—
"Who are you people?"
One of the four they had spotted earlier.
A beautiful blonde girl, as if forged from melted gold, openly on guard and pointing her sword.
Veronica immediately sensed the hostility and wariness in her pretty orange eyes, reminiscent of sunlight, and smiled.
It had been a long time.
Since she'd been regarded with such suspicion.
Her rising competitive spirit and displeasure led her to ask in a cold tone without realizing it.
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking about the other person?"
"...Hero Claire. Chasing traces of the Demon King's subordinate, Clover, in this village."
She had heard about a girl who had recently drawn the hero's sword in the kingdom and been appointed as the hero. Veronica, too busy at the time to attend the ceremony, nodded slightly.
She hadn't expected to meet that hero here.
Or for the hero to instinctively sense she didn't match with her.
Veronica showed her church's Divine Mark to the wary girl.
"Church Heresy Inquisitor Cardinal Veronica."
"Veronica...? Uh...?"
Claire tilted her head, then flinched in surprise. Her reaction seemed less about shock at Veronica's cardinal position and more about something else.
As the quick-witted Veronica narrowed her eyes, Claire muttered softly without thinking.
"She really... came?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Heresy cultists were suspicious and cautious. Thus, inquisitors conducted investigations in secrecy.
As such, very few knew Veronica was coming to this village, and none of those few were loose-lipped.
But what was Claire saying?
It was as if someone knew she was coming here.
In the worst case, this village might be a trap, so the holy knights gripped their weapons. Claire, flustered by their reaction, said,
"My companion, the sage, told me."
"The sage?"
"Yes. He..."
Claire hesitated, sheathed her sword, and cautiously continued her explanation.
"Cardinal Veronica, who discovered traces of the Pale Moon Cult, would come to this village..."
Following Claire's guidance into the village, a strange atmosphere permeated the interior. Distrust and displeasure dominated.
Villagers who had lived like family for years didn't even greet their neighbors. They openly radiated wariness at the mere presence of outsiders.
Even in the central rest area where occasional travelers stayed, the mood was no different.
No, it seemed even worse.
"What about them...?"
"Ah. Over there... those people..."
The people who had entered the village with Claire earlier were gathered together.
Was it because of their odd atmosphere? Claire's voice trembled slightly.
Though they were a party, their awkward vibe was obvious. Veronica could tell what it was.
Wary.
And jealousy.
As someone with exceptional holy power who had risen high in the church at a young age, Veronica recognized it.
It was the same atmosphere those aspiring for higher positions in the church's upper echelons directed at her—emanating from the knight and the elf.
The sturdy female knight and the haughty-faced female elf archer directed complex emotions at the man fiddling with and tuning his lute.
An ordinary-looking man with nothing particularly remarkable about him finished tuning and lightly plucked the lute.
-Twiiing...
A fine tone spread out. And centered on it, the village's atmosphere began to shift, little by little.
A bard's technique: a performance to soothe hearts.
"Didn't you say sage? I didn't expect a bard..."
"Ah. Well, sages can use all kinds of skills. And..."
As the performance ended, those whose wariness had eased approached. Injured perhaps? A hunter with bandages on his arms and legs came forward, and he smiled, extending his hand.
Veronica and the holy knights could hardly believe their eyes.
"Heal."
Healing. Something any priest could do, but no non-priest could.
Before the shocked Veronica and her group could speak, other villagers approached the man called the sage.
"What is that man doing?"
"Ah... well, the sage is always like that."
He always helped people.
Whether fixing broken village goods or handling miscellaneous village tasks, no matter how trivial.
At those words, Veronica stared at the sage in wonder, and as if sensing her gaze, he stood and approached her.
"Pleased to meet you. Sage Hyunwoo. Call me casually."
"Ah. I am..."
"I know."
A curious man.
As if he already knew her, he approached Veronica, extended his hand, and said,
"Cardinal Veronica."
.
.
.
"Snap out of it!"
-Tiiiiiing!!
With the harsh shout and the lute's ear-piercing sharp tone, Veronica snapped back to her senses.
What had just happened?
Veronica lifted her heavy head and looked around.
"Eeeeeeee!! Murder!! I'll murder you!! Keeeeeek!!"
Lark's sonic attack from his vulgar, deranged performance—screeching monstrous cries—kept the numerous tentacles at bay.
"Wow! Look at those tentacles! So many! Could we eat that? Ah! In our village, we eat monsters too! It's got such a weird shape! Similar to tentacle squid, but depending on the recipe, it becomes a local delicacy! We sell it in our village— you should come try it sometime, you'd love it! The chewy texture is just exquisite... Huh? What's that? Sage! Sage! Look over here!"
"When darkness falls! Woo woo woo yeeee~ Chaotic wings call the bloodaaaa! Keeeee~~!! O yeeee~ Kill~! I'll slaughter yoooo~!!"
"Wak! Almost got hit! Hehe, but outrunning a werewolf like me is tough! Wow! Look at those eyes! Sage! Sage! Should I fire shadow spears at those eyes? Ah! It closed them! Pattern as expected..."
Veronica felt her mind going blank. The flashback earlier might have been due to this endless chatter and the insane performance and song blasting like background music.
"I get how you feel, but that's not it. If anything, thanks to them, you snapped out of it faster."
"Ah. Oh. I see."
Veronica, slumped on the floor, blankly looked up at the hand extended to her.
A large hand. And a rough one.
The moment she saw it, Veronica squeezed her eyes shut.
Right.
It had been a hand like this back then.
"Now that you've been marked by the Pale Moon, every time you use a skill, your mind will wander between past and present."
"...Ah. Is that so."
Hyunwoo had mentioned it while passing the corridor earlier. The Pale Moon targets the one with the strongest holy power.
One of its attacks was mental: every time holy power-infused skills were used, it assaulted the mind, making one oscillate between past and present.
Realizing she had fallen victim, Veronica ground her teeth, biting her lip.
"...To think I fell for it."
"It's fine. It happens."
"...You're not disappointed in me?"
A penalty that inevitably triggered in the game, so Hyunwoo didn't mind much.
But Veronica couldn't stay nonchalant.
Having heard about it yet still falling for it—and barely snapping out with his help—had bruised her pride.
So, looking down at the dejected Veronica, Hyunwoo smiled.
He always thought it, but people in this world had weak mental fortitude.
In that sense, the adventurers living freely out there might be better.
"Eeeeeeee!"
"Yahoo!"
Wilkers, chattering nonstop like he had a motor in his mouth, and Lark screeching like a pig being slaughtered.
Watching them, Hyunwoo slowly shook his head.
'Have I been influenced by that performance and chatter too? Thinking those guys look better.'
"Anyway, I told you earlier. You can't block or dodge this. Just remember what you need to do now."
"What I need to do..."
Veronica opened her closed eyes and stared at Hyunwoo.
But her eyes were shaking. Proof her confidence had dropped from the stress of the mental attack. But Hyunwoo wasn't worried.
He had plenty of experience with this, in games and this world, and knew how to handle it.
"Who are you?"
"Veronica. Veronica... Elaits."
"And?"
"...Church cardinal and heresy inquisitor."
"Then, facing the monster the Pale Moon Cult worships, the symbol of heresy, the dark entity seeking to rule the world—what should you do?"
Harsh voice and performance, shaman's spells.
Finally, the sounds of the Pale Moon's tentacles moving.
It was noisy and mind-numbing enough, but even so, Hyunwoo's skill 'Psychological Counseling' was enough to lift her spirits.
Thus, Veronica smiled unwittingly.
He had been like that back then.
Always.
So naturally, healing people's hearts and making them rise.
"Fight."
"Good."
With her resolve hardened, strength entered their clasped hands. Even marked by the Pale Moon's mental attack, the need to fight remained unchanged.
"Light!!"
Veronica raised her Divine Mark. The light barrier from her prayer and holy power began healing the wounds of the injured three.
At that moment, Hyunwoo shouted.
"You bastard! Don't open your eyes like that!!"
The sage who shouted that.
Leaped toward the gigantic, indistinct, identity-unknown monster.
Seeing it, Veronica thought.
You.
Haven't changed.
Just like back then.
When he had charged without hesitation into the nightmare of Baek Eun Village, something even she thought unbeatable.
Author's Note (Afterword)
Hope you enjoyed today's chapter~ Have a good night~
Back Alley Novelist // A normal player might take some damage and bring the hero party + Veronica, but Hyunwoo is a veteran, so he goes for a more stable, control-heavy approach. This game emphasizes combos and control, heh heh.