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Nephia, who had heard the full story from Rohan before executing the plan, immediately understood the situation, but the other priests who followed her did not.
“W-what in the world are you doing!”
The more shocking the truth, the harder it is to accept it immediately. The priest who burst out was no exception.
He clearly witnessed a silver dagger in Casia’s hand. Yet he failed to infer that she had tried to stab another priest with that dagger. Focused on the numerous shadows restraining her body, the priest raised his voice at Rohan.
Others were in a similar state. Some stood silently as if at a loss for words, while others showed hostility towards Rohan. There were even those who reached out as if to stop him right away. That would have happened if Nephia hadn’t intervened.
“Does that look human to you?”
Rohan was not unaware of their confusion. His golden eyes turned sharply, rippling strangely. At that moment, even stronger power infused the shadows already tightly constricting the opponent’s body. Then its mouth opened.
“Keeeeek―!”
What burst forth from that mouth was a strange noise that could neither be called a human scream nor an animal’s cry. Only one thing was clear: “something in human form” was suffering madly.
Everyone in the room realized it. This thing is not human. It cannot be human. The horrific scream, the ominously burning red eyes, the movements desperately trying to escape despite getting injured – all of these spoke to that fact.
“Ugh…”
Even the one who had first raised his voice realized the true nature of this thing. The priest, his face turning pale, let out a contemptuous sigh and even took a step back.
As the creature’s facial features began to melt, this atmosphere reached its peak. Its features shrank and expanded repeatedly as if kneading its face. When maintaining Casia’s appearance didn’t resolve the situation, it instinctively tried to mimic the appearance of others.
This bizarre phenomenon wasn’t limited to the face. Gradually, the range spread, and the entire body constantly changed – the length and color of the hair, the size of the body, even the shape of hands and feet. Someone retched from behind. It was that revolting a sight.
“Then, what about Sister Casia…”
A murmur full of foreboding flowed out. From that point, a terrible silence spread. The worst-case scenario was already forming in their minds. Not being able to find Sister Casia like this, and not being able to find any clues about Leriana’s whereabouts… ultimately losing both of them.
It was certainly something that could overturn the balance of power between the Salvation Church and the temple, and probably everyone present would not be able to avoid being held accountable.
At that moment, Nephia spoke up.
“You have a plan in mind, don’t you?”
Even when everyone else was showing fear and trepidation, she remained calm. Part of it was her effort not to crumble, being in the position to lead all the priests present here.
But even if she had been just an ordinary priest, she would have maintained the same attitude. She could dare to say so with confidence.
That wasn’t the only thing supporting her. Even at this moment, Nephia, standing at the forefront, could clearly see Rohan’s face. That serene expression that didn’t show even a hint of disturbance while everyone else was shaken by Casia’s absence.
Looking at that face, her fear completely vanished. A vague hope that somehow everything would be resolved surrounded her.
And her expectation was not off the mark.
Rohan turned to look at Arpel, who was standing guard beside him. Only after he nodded once did Rohan open his mouth.
“This is one of the executives of the Salvation Church. As you can see, it can perfectly mimic the appearance of others.”
“That…”
“You mentioned that this village’s temple doesn’t get along well with the Mercenary Guild, right?”
An executive of the Salvation Church. As the priests gritted their teeth at this fearsome entity, Rohan brought up an unexpected topic. Nephia, her eyes wide, just nodded. She too had only heard that someone who could mimic others’ appearances had infiltrated, but she hadn’t been told the details of the situation, so she listened intently to Rohan’s next words.
“Before coming here, I stopped by the Mercenary Guild and heard their story. They said that small and large conflicts had piled up to reach this point. Is that correct?”
“…Yes. There were many incidents where they deliberately undermined the priests’ authority or picked fights. At first, we tried to let it slide, but as it kept happening countless times…”
Even with more altruism than others, priests are still human. Naturally, if they keep being provoked and victimized, their feelings towards the subject will worsen. As those feelings worsened… before they knew it, the relationship between the Mercenary Guild and the temple had deepened beyond repair.
“The Mercenary Guild thinks the opposite.”
“…You mean.”
A chill ran down her spine. What had been uncertain since hearing the identity of the thing before them had now become a fact.
It meant that all the discord between the two groups had been planned. In the end, both the temple and the Mercenary Guild had been played by the Salvation Church. Did the other priests realize this fact immediately too? In the blink of an eye, their faces turned red and blue.
Whether they were getting worked up recalling the past or not, Rohan continued speaking. He gazed coldly at the thing that was still endlessly changing its form, unable to settle.
“Fortunately, it’s not without weaknesses.”
Not being able to recreate the power of the person it’s imitating. That’s what Rohan said.
In that sense, changing into a priest’s form wasn’t a good method for this thing. Not only could it not use power, but it also couldn’t perfectly recreate the unique aura that those with holy or magical power emit.
It was then that someone suddenly raised their hand and asked. The voice that shouted “I have a question!” was quite bold.
“Then what about Sister Casia’s aura that we feel here?”
It was a question that cut straight to the purpose of the carefully laid out explanation. To this, Rohan showed a smile without hiding anything. As an added measure, he used shadows to shut the mouth of the executive who was screaming noisily, simply by lightly clenching his fist.
“It means that Sister Casia has survived safely and is breathing nearby.”
Everyone’s faces brightened. It was undoubtedly good news.
***
While Rohan was tying up the executive tightly, the priests launched an operation to rescue Casia. Nephia quietly closed her eyes, intensely sensing the surroundings, and when she said “She seems to be underground,” they hurriedly left their positions.
Before long, Casia was safely rescued. Although she wasn’t without injuries, thanks to the priests who quickly gathered to heal her, she seemed to have recovered cleanly without any aftereffects.
“What do you plan to do with the executive?”
Taking advantage of the time while Casia was resting, Nephia once again approached where Rohan and Arpel were. Her eyes, fixed on the thing that was still changing its form dozens of times, not giving up yet, were mixed with clear disgust.
Rohan answered calmly.
“I’m going to kill it.”
“…But, couldn’t we extract some information?”
Nephia hesitated for a moment and expressed a negative reaction. She thought Rohan’s attitude was unexpected.
The story of the Salvation Church having ‘executives’ with terrifying powers had spread among the priests through word of mouth. Most thought it was just a rumor spread by believers to elevate the Church’s status. She too was one of those who held similar thoughts.
But today, that notion was shattered. She had faced with her own eyes a monstrous being that could hardly be called human. If this wasn’t an executive, who or what could dare to be called one? They were monsters.
Capturing such a being alive was an incredible achievement. If they were to hand this one over to the central temple for interrogation right away, they might uncover secrets that could threaten the very existence of the Salvation Church. So she thought Rohan would say he’d keep it alive.
Towards Nephia, who was looking at him with incomprehension, Rohan added in a calm voice.
“Look.”
“Yes?”
“Does this thing look like it has any intelligence?”
Only then did she start to examine the ‘executive’s’ appearance piece by piece. It was difficult to perceive properly because its appearance kept changing endlessly, but after taking some time, she could see it.
Drool was dripping from the part shaped like a mouth. What escaped between the parted lips was an eerie cry that couldn’t be called human speech. It became even clearer when Rohan removed the shadow that had been blocking around its mouth.
The blood-red, half-rolled eyes full of malice, the body shaking as if in a seizure, even the bubbling breath. In the end, there was only one answer Nephia could give. That this thing was in no state to communicate.
“I’ve seen an executive similar to this before. Not only was communication nearly impossible, but its movements were slow and unnatural, as if being controlled by someone else.”
It was the story of the large-bodied executive he had faced a few hours ago. Not only were their behavior patterns similar, but above all, there was one clear commonality between the two.
The red-tinged eyes. Eyes that held a sticky killing intent flowing out without a clear target.
Moreover… Rohan continued speaking. At the same time, as he lightly flicked his hand, large thorns extending from the shadow stems instantly pierced the executive’s body. The thing that had been screaming ear-piercingly met a futile death like that.
“Even if we keep it alive, if we make even a small mistake, it could bring about the same disaster.”
Since it could easily mimic the appearance of ordinary humans. It was a being that might cause a disaster similar to what had befallen this village in another place.
Nephia, who had now fully understood what Rohan meant to say, chose to close her mouth. His actions were cruel, but what he said wasn’t wrong. Rather, she might have been the naive one.
The executive’s body turned to ash and disappeared right there. With a clack, the mask engraved with bizarre patterns fell onto the bed.
Soon after, it cleanly split in half, emanating the aura of an unfamiliar god that had been felt before.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
