Defrocked Priest
Defrocked Priest Ales looked down at the barbarian man kneeling before him.
"As you said, I sent soldiers. If you're lying, you'll pay for mocking God's apostle—I'll hack off your limbs, slit your gut, and feed your entrails to the dogs."
"As long as the reward is certain, I don't care."
"Greed worthy of a barbarian. If you're telling the truth, a few gold coins are nothing I can't spare. More importantly, the ringleader must be Marhal, right?"
"Yes."
Murharm, a warrior from the Anche tribe and one of Ultekan's subordinates, had realized Ultekan had been deceived. He bided his time and requested a meeting with Ales. If they had truly been abandoned by the church, there was no choice but to abandon it in turn. But if not, there was no reason to leave the city. In that case, Ultekan would be the one who betrayed the church first, and reporting it would all be to Murharm's credit.
The man who spoke Anche and the knight in full plate armor both looked valuable. From Ales's reaction, that man seemed like even more of a big shot than expected. This should net him at least ten Holy Empire gold coins.
What to do with the gold? Drink, gamble big at the dens...
Murharm swallowed, lost in happy imaginings. A spear erupted from the ground, piercing his gut. Then spears of earth shot up from all sides, impaling him.
"Why...?"
"Did you really think I'd honor a promise to the likes of a barbarian? Be grateful you helped carry out God's will."
He coughed up blood. Murharm mustered superhuman endurance to keep breathing.
"The city's... lord... doesn't even keep his word...?"
"As a servant of God, I keep my word to men."
"Then... why?"
Another spear rose, piercing his throat—not killing him, but precisely shattering his vocal cords with malicious precision.
"I keep promises to people. But why should I keep one to a barbarian?"
In his final moments, Murharm understood. Why Ultekan wanted to leave the city. And why he had to.
In a city ruled by divine glory, those not from the East weren't even human.
Ales rose from his chair. With a gesture, the spears that had burst from the floor vanished. He gazed at the scene with satisfaction. This was the power of God. Proof that God had chosen him. Even hundreds or thousands of barbarians couldn't touch him.
Ales summoned a servant to clear the corpse. Then he donned the cloak hanging on the wall.
"Master, are you going out?"
The maid scrubbing the floor asked.
"Yes. To bring judgment upon the barbarians and the heretics defying God's will."
"Your will is God's will, your intent is God's intent. All shall be as you decree."
"It had better be. It will be."
The barbarian had said Marhal was in the city. Ales hated Marhal. A mere mercenary who got lucky becoming a landlord, nitpicking and clinging to his every move like a lowly peasant. And yet, the money and forces he commanded made him too troublesome to kill outright.
The betraying barbarian was the same. From the start, Ales hadn't liked how he took pay for work or picked and chose his tasks, like some barbarian with pretensions. All brawn and daring to defy the church—an eyesore.
Now that he'd gained divine power, two thorns in his side had entered the city. If this wasn't God's will, what was?
Leaving the mansion, Ales focused his mind. The earth rose to support his feet. An earthen platform glided across the ground, carrying him forward. He spread his arms wide, reveling in omnipotence.
"Sinners defying my will—God's proxy comes for you."
Ultekan's family lived in a small house not far from the church. Racing home, Ultekan spotted a soldier roughly pounding on the door. As if reading his mind, Marhal spoke first.
"No need to hold back anymore. It's too late to go back anyway."
Ultekan pulled a chakram from the leather pouch on his shoulder and hurled it. It embedded neatly in the soldier's back. As the man collapsed, the door flew open. A woman in plain clothes—Ultekan's wife, by the look of her—screamed at the sight.
Ultekan rushed over and clamped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened in shock, then crinkled into a broad smile as she threw herself into his arms.
"They make a lovely couple."
"Jealous?"
"Not at all."
Marina replied coolly. With magic's aid, she kept pace with the superhumans without visible strain. That was the convenience of a versatile mage. If she were only half-capable, someone would have had to carry her here, draining the group's stamina even more.
After a few words with his wife, Ultekan's spouse darted inside and emerged carrying their sleepy child, bowing drowsily.
Ultekan scooped up his wife and child, one in each arm, and returned.
"That was quick."
"From the day I married Iii, I vaguely knew this might come. She's from the West—from some obscure little country at that."
The woman spoke with the refined grace of a former nun.
"She's too good for Ultekan."
"True. Too good for the likes of me."
"I'd love to chat, but no time. Let's move."
Ultekan hoisted his wife onto his back; one of his men took the child.
"Marina, what about the soldiers?"
Marina covered one eye with her hand.
"Gathered by the collapsed wall. We haven't been spotted. This saves time..."
"What is it?"
"Ales is moving."
"Defrocked Priest Ales? He's not the type to act personally."
Marina beckoned Marhal over. Standing on tiptoe, she whispered in his ear.
"He wields the history of the land. He's mastered the mystery of controlling this earth's soil through it."
"In just five years?"
"...So you know of land history too."
"Wouldn't it be weirder if I didn't?"
Land history. A mystery usable only by those who accumulated the history of owning the land as its proprietor. The context was like ordinary history or karma. But the method of gaining power and its scale were leagues beyond common mysteries.
If Ales wielded land history, no ordinary superhuman could handle him. Even a knight in full plate couldn't stand against it, depending on the power type.
"Kaban."
"Yes, sir?"
"Steal some horses, slice off a section of wall, and flee. We can escape without the gate."
"Understood."
He knew the situation was dire, but Kaban felt no worry for Marhal. He'd seen Marhal's power. Witness the majesty of Marhal with the paulownia crown, and worrying for him became laughable. Though reality was quite different.
Marhal switched to Holy Empire tongue.
"Ultekan, go with Kaban."
"What about Ales?"
"I'll handle that too. Ultekan, do you know the extent of Ales's land?"
"Roughly."
"Then just focus on getting off it. Once you cross his boundary, he can't send forces after you."
"Got it."
Ultekan and Kaban vanished into the alley beyond. The city was already shrouded in night. The dim lanes quickly swallowed their forms.
Marhal and Marina were left alone.
"Marina's staying?"
"Your plan's obvious."
"What plan?"
"Draw Ales and the soldiers' eyes, then escape. Right?"
"How'd you know?"
Marhal feigned surprise.
"Don't joke. In this situation, it's the highest survival odds. You wouldn't miss it."
"You'll help?"
"Even with his strong new mystery, he can't match the West's top mage."
Marina showed no unease. Ales's mystery was threatening, but she was far greater. If she went all out, she could turn the city to an inferno. No reason to fear a handful of soldiers and one priest.
"Then let's go. Knowing Ales, the moment he spots me, he'll throw everything at killing me. Show my face amid the soldiers, then bolt."
Marina covered her eye with a hand. Her brow twitched.
"That plan might not be needed. Ales is heading straight here. He's done something with the earth."
"Already adapting it. Talented."
"Not the time for jokes."
"You said you're fine."
"Maybe... a bit risky."
Even Marina hadn't sensed the mystery's activation. She didn't master every mystery, but failing to detect even the observing gaze...
Ales might be trickier than imagined.
"Run for now. Can you push with wind?"
"Do it yourself."
"Aw, your wind's stronger than mine."
"Can't be helped."
Marina's wind lightly enveloped Marhal. Gentle now, but potent once in motion.
"Never heard it's bad luck?"
"Heard it so much, I don't know what counts anymore."
"Bad luck."
"Wanna fight?"
"Nah."
One leap carried Marhal to the rooftops. Far off, an earthen pillar rose. Ales stood atop it.
Marhal and Ales's eyes met.
"My god."
"Something massive just..."
Marina, who'd followed Marhal up, fell silent.
Ales smirked arrogantly at them. The earthen pillar moved. The mystery-bound soil smashed through obstructing buildings.
Marhal grabbed Marina's arm.
"Run."
"But how to shake that..."
"Think while running."
Marhal and Marina dashed across rooftops. Marina's wind differed sharply from Marhal's. He ignored streets, heading straight for the wall. Ales did the same.
The gap that should widen didn't. It narrowed instead. Ales, growing accustomed to his power, accelerated.
Marhal aimed for the broken wall section. If Ultekan and Kaban cut elsewhere, paths wouldn't overlap. Heading straight for the breach ensured no intersection.
Ales pursued Marhal from atop his towering earthen pillar, like a moving spire. Ales wasn't superhuman; he couldn't make out Marhal's face from afar. But he was certain from the skulking figure. Few peasants could disgust him on sight alone.
Ales saw the 'power' cloaking the pair. A born cleric, he despised mages. A mage of that caliber in his city wouldn't have escaped his notice. And today, one skilled mage had entered.
"The one beside him... the mage from earlier. Lowly scum stick together."
Ales ground his teeth. He pushed max speed, but the distance barely shrank. He was faster; eventually, he'd catch them. But the hot-tempered priest wasn't satisfied. Chasing two peasants with God's power grated on him.
Ales wanted that vile magic gone. Focusing as he did with earth, he directed his body-like power toward Marhal and the mage.
The pair leaping rooftops plummeted side by side. The power around them vanished.
"As expected, I'm God's chosen."
Ales advanced the pillar.
Suddenly, Marina's wind cut out. Marhal dropped from midair. In the brief fall, he checked her reaction. Eyes shut, she flailed wildly in the void.
Marhal swung the leather cord, yanking her into his arms.
Legs... must protect them, even if I die.
Tie the cord to his wrist, the other end to a roof. Minimize weight with wind. Amid arm-wrenching agony, the fall halted.
Surviving a drop from that height carrying someone with one arm was a bargain. Retrieving the cord, Marhal landed.
"Marina? You okay?"
"Dark. Can't see anything. Where am I? That's right, it's you. Silanatiell, Silanatiell! Kill Mar Silanatiell! Kill Mar Silanatiell! Marina, kill Mar Silanatiell! That's your reward!"
Marina lashed out at empty air with murderous intent. She was far from okay.