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134
In the dim dawn, in a quiet room where the only light was moonlight seeping in through the window, only small breaths that could be heard only if one concentrated broke the silence.
On a large bed placed alone in the room, a black-haired woman lay motionless. Her shadowed face looked particularly pale.
The man took in this sight anew. A faint doubt lingered in his blinking eyes.
‘…Is this really okay?’
The disappearance of Holy Maiden Leriana had thrown the temple into an uproar. With one priest rushing to inform the central temple with a pale face, one could easily guess how serious this matter was.
For someone blessed by the gods to disappear overnight – it was no wonder. Even the man himself had collapsed into his seat, his legs giving way when he heard the news.
No traces, no evidence left behind. The search was making no progress. In this situation, the only lead was Priest Casia.
Whatever had happened to her, she bore several not insignificant injuries. Numerous priests had flocked to her to treat her wounds. The problem was that even though her injuries had healed completely, Priest Casia had not regained consciousness.
Quite a few priests voiced their concerns, but beyond that, they had no hope left except for her to wake up. The temple had densely deployed guards to protect her from outside forces.
That is, until a few hours ago.
‘What on earth were they thinking…’
Suddenly, new orders came down, and the dense guard personnel were withdrawn. All that remained were himself standing guard inside the room, and one friend guarding outside the door.
Guarding someone who was like the eye of a storm with just the two of them? Moreover, objectively speaking, he didn’t have the skills to perfectly protect the guard subject from a sudden attack. If anything were to happen, he would surely get caught up in it a hundred times out of a hundred.
Of course, whether he was anxious or not, reality didn’t change. His best option was just to heave a deep sigh. He had to stand guard like a statue throughout the night.
Knock, knock knock, knock.
It was then that a steady knocking sound was heard from outside the door. It was a signal agreed upon with his friend who had also been saddled with guard duty.
It meant he was briefly leaving his post to use the bathroom. The man responded with a knock and let out another long sigh. What good would it do to complain? The fact that he had to remain here on guard duty didn’t change. He steeled his resolve.
…Not long after, his thoughts scattered once again. His friend was supposed to knock twice when returning, but a long time had passed with no news from the other side. The man frowned and unconsciously opened his mouth.
“Is he making poop to poop…”
“Indeed. It’s taking longer than expected.”
That’s what I’m saying. No matter how close a friend he was, leaving his post for this long was unacceptable. If there were enough guards, it might be understandable, but knowing full well that only two of them were on duty. He clicked his tongue and shook his head. See, how bad must it be for such an answer to… Answer?
The man’s body froze stiff. There were only two guards: himself and his friend. His friend had disappeared saying he was going to the bathroom. Therefore, there should only be one person left here.
Then whose voice was that just now?
A chill ran through him, making his body shudder. The man turned his head with a creak and stared at where the voice had come from with eyes trembling in fear. And then… he could only gape in shock.
“…Priest Casia!”
The woman who had been sleeping motionlessly the last time he checked was now looking straight at him with her eyes wide open. The man who had let out a shrill voice floundered. His mind was completely consumed by the thought that he needed to quickly inform someone, anyone, of this good news.
“I-I’ll bring Priest… no, Lady Nephia!”
“…Please wait a moment.”
The movement that seemed about to rush out of the room quickly subsided at the guard subject’s words. Only then did he come to his senses. Having been assigned guard duty, he was about to leave the one he was supposed to protect alone. If Casia hadn’t stopped him, he might have made a big mistake.
He should keep his post until his friend returns. The man resolved himself with difficulty.
“Are you alone?”
Casia, who had half-raised her body from lying down, asked. Surprised that she was moving her body right after opening her eyes, the man fidgeted but quickly nodded.
“Yes, there’s one friend guarding with me, but he’s away right now. When he returns, we’ll inform the other priests of this news…”
“No. I think I can move on my own.”
“But, your body…”
“It’s fine. I seem to have recovered sufficiently.”
However… Casia, who had firmly shaken her head, added one more thing. Was it because she was backlit? The man failed to notice her eyes gleaming threateningly.
“If it’s alright with you, could you come closer and support me?”
“…! Of course, I should do that!”
His eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. The man approached the bed where Casia was lying and reached out his hand. Casia, who had been staring at the calloused hand stretched out as if telling her to grab it, leaned forward as if to take his hand.
And at that moment, when their bodies drew close.
Casia’s eyes flashed. The hand that seemed to be docilely under the blanket suddenly sprang out. In the hand that had been hidden under the white cloth was a sharp silver dagger. The blade held at her fingertips instantly turned towards the man.
He just stood there, watching all of this unfold. Despite being threatened with a blade.
The situation was so sudden, the development so unimaginable, that his body froze. His eyes, widened to their limit, kept following the sharp blade, watching it approach him. Questions swirled in his mind that had turned blank.
Why? Why is Priest Casia…? For what purpose? Am I going to die like this?
There was no time for other thoughts. He was faced with the shadow of death finally approaching him.
At the moment he thought it was the end, he used all his strength to raise his gaze and examine Casia’s face. And he saw it. Her eyes, which he had surely thought were blue, were emitting an ominous red light.
Clang-!
In an instant, the blade in Casia’s hand made a noise. It was too sharp a sound to believe it was from stabbing a person, and above all, the man… felt no pain. He slowly opened his eyes that he had instinctively squeezed shut. The blade that had seemed about to pierce his chest had stopped as if by a lie.
“Ugh…!”
That wasn’t all. Both the blade dripping with killing intent and Casia who was holding it were bound by black, string-like things that had sprouted from the floor. Her fingertips trembled, perhaps because they were restraining her body so strongly that she couldn’t move.
The man just stared at her with wavering eyes, unable to comprehend the rapidly changing situation.
“You’ve worked hard. Please step back now.”
Until he was startled by an unfamiliar voice from behind and retreated. As he unconsciously took a step back and turned his head, he realized the door had opened at some point. Beyond it stood a familiar figure he had seen somewhere before.
“…Ah.”
I see. He easily recognized who it was.
He had heard stories in passing. And he seemed to have glimpsed him at the temple too. The one who was putting in more effort than anyone to bring down the Salvation Church, blessed by the Demon God. His name was… Rohan, if he remembered correctly.
As soon as he recognized the man’s identity, the tension that had been tightly wound in his body dissipated. Barely managing not to stagger, the man hurriedly moved away from the ‘person in Casia’s form’. At this moment, the thought filling his mind was none other than… ‘I’m alive’.
***
Just as the man guarding Casia was about to be attacked by her, Rohan intervened between them. Shadow tendrils that had been waiting for this moment stretched out without hesitation, tightly binding ‘Casia’s’ body. As the strong force restrained her body, she let out a groan and stopped moving.
Before arriving at the temple, Arpel had said:
‘It’s probably hiding in the temple.’
The executive he had mentioned would be in the temple, or more precisely, near Casia. Warning Dein and incidentally confirming his innocence was to prepare for any contingency.
Rohan actively agreed with his words. Since she was practically the key to the incident at present, it would also be waiting for an opportunity to deal with Casia.
When they arrived at the temple and heard that Casia had not yet regained consciousness, Rohan was confused. But he soon realized that this could conversely be an opportunity.
They needed to induce the creature’s carelessness. To loosen its guard as much as possible, so that it wouldn’t notice its noose tightening.
Requesting a significant reduction in guard personnel was for the same reason. When Nephia heard Rohan’s request, she reacted strongly, saying it was nonsense, but she closed her mouth after hearing about the Salvation Church executive.
She too sensed it. That luring it out would be faster than turning the temple upside down to find the enemy inside.
Even this time spent talking felt wasteful. At this very moment, Leriana’s life might be hanging by a thread. This obsession made Nephia nod her head. To the extent of condoning an act contrary to her beliefs, using a comrade as bait.
“This is…”
Perhaps even she, who had done her best to protect, hadn’t expected this.
That the subject she had tried her utmost to protect would turn out to be a sharp thorn aiming for her throat.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
