Chapter 28: Chapter 28
White flames, glowing divinely, engulfed a section of the city.
As Shan wondered at the solemn, almost majestic spectacle whether some terrifying flame monster had appeared, Vent, who was the first to realize its true identity, muttered under his breath.
“The Flame of Purification!”
“The Flame of Purification?”
“It is a secret technique preserved now by only a few Old Faith priests. A flame that burns away all evil enemies…”
Although the miracles of priests lacked versatility compared to magic, they demonstrated far superior capabilities in several aspects.
Healing, support, and purification.
The Flame of Purification was something that aggressively maximized such concepts and combined them with alchemy.
It made the fire burn hotter, imbued it with the power of purification, and allowed it to continuously regenerate and burn on its own even without fuel.
When oil consecrated through special methods was ignited, it burned pure white, erasing all evil power, and even when clinging to stone walls, it did not easily go out, burning and devouring its surroundings.
In modern times, the use of miracles in wars between humans was strictly prohibited, making it a rare sight, but long ago during the Religious War when the Old Faith and New Faith split, the two factions had called each other heretics and frequently burned the opponent’s cities with the Flame of Purification.
“The Crusader Order of the Kingdom of Ajun has arrived.”
Only then realizing what had appeared at the west gate, Zerpo clicked his tongue.
“They said the Altoan exploration team that came before was also chased by those bastards and lost their harvest. Having found the city’s location during their last encounter, they went back and returned to crush it in earnest. Damn it, why did the timing have to align like this…”
In fact, contrary to Zerpo’s grumbling, they had actually timed it quite well.
If they had arrived just a few days later, they would have seen only the remaining ruins after the Crusaders burned the entire city.
Having realized the opponent’s identity, Green Eyes immediately turned back along the path they had come and headed for the south gate, but flames were rising from that side as well.
At this rate, the north and east were likely in a similar state.
“It seems escaping through the city gates is out of the question.”
“Let’s go through the sewers.”
As Roden grimaced in annoyance, Zerpo, who had been quietly lost in thought, offered his opinion.
“The sewers… Ah! The ones those Altoans used?”
“That’s right. According to the logbook, it was somewhere in the southeast, so it should be near here.”
Fortunately, the entrance to the sewer was not particularly hidden.
The entrance blocked by bars had one side cut open, perhaps breached when the Altoan exploration team came in the past, allowing them to enter without difficulty.
The interior was also wide enough for five or six people to pass through, so they held torches and advanced down the dark passage while fiercely cursing the Crusaders above.
If not for those bastards, there would have been no reason to flee through a sewer like rats.
“Just how many of them are there to burn down such a large city from all directions?”
“They probably move around in groups of hundreds.”
Vent replied softly to Shan’s grumbling.
“In this Demonic Realm?”
First of all, as the number of people increased, not only did marching speed naturally slow down, but securing food and drinking water was far from easy, and finding a place to rest each day was equally difficult.
An even greater problem was that, unlike ordinary regions, securing clean water in the Demonic Realm was nearly impossible.
Furthermore, moving around so noisily would draw immense attention from monsters, and if creatures like banshees were attracted, the force would surely collapse helplessly.
Bestowing mental protection blessings on hundreds of soldiers would require dozens of priests, and at that point, no matter what they brought back from the Demonic Realm, it would not be cost-effective.
At this, Roden offered his own answer.
“That’s because those bastards aren’t rummaging through the Demonic Realm for money like we are.”
Unlike in Pendia, where private exploration teams conducted expeditions for commercial gain, Ajun’s Crusader Order was closer to an allied army of lords.
In other words, it meant that knights and priests who would normally stay refined in Pendia to defend their own fiefs were mobilized in large numbers.
Of course, that would make the expenses outweigh the gains as previously mentioned, but to begin with, the goal of those most fervent Old Faith believers could not possibly be securing ancient Altoan relics or excavating forgotten history.
Erasing all traces of the ancient Altoan Empire, which could be called the minions of the devil, was the objective of the crusade.
Their belief was that even if it meant incurring immense financial costs and loss of human life, achieving that goal would bring them closer to the Goddess.
“Crazy fanatics!”
Zerpo muttered in a voice filled with rage.
In the eyes of this mage, who was deeply enamored with the culture of the ancient Altoan Empire, such behavior by the Crusaders was nothing short of a terrible atrocity.
Perhaps in places they had been unable to check due to time constraints, ancient Altoan books might still remain…
Of course, even so, standing in their way right now made no sense.
No matter how powerful a warrior they had who had slain a cockatrice alone, against an army containing numerous knights and priests, they would be helplessly slaughtered.
“Wait.”
“Why?”
“Something is coming from over there.”
Just when it felt like the end of the sewer was not far off, Shan spoke softly and brought the group to a halt.
No sooner had he finished speaking than lights flickered and approached from the opposite side, prompting Roden to let out a low groan.
“Damn it…”
What appeared from the opposite side were soldiers presumed to be members of the Crusader Order.
Roughly estimating, their numbers exceeded twenty.
Since both sides were carrying torches, the other party immediately noticed their presence as well.
A youthful voice echoed bizarrely due to the terrain of the sewer.
“What’s this? They’re humans, not monsters? We’re supposed to be the only ones guarding this place, right?”
“They are likely explorer bastards from Pendia, Young Master. Last time, they said they spotted those devil bastards near here…”
“Aha! You lot! Drop your bags right now! We cannot allow the items of devils out into the world!”
With the command of the ‘Young Master’, who was presumably of high status, the soldiers not holding torches aimed their arrows in this direction.
As if they would shoot immediately the moment the order was disobeyed.
Just looking at the sharp arrowheads caused Roden’s legs to lose strength involuntarily, making him tightly shut his eyes.
At that moment, Shan hurled the torch he was holding into the trench beside the sewer (where the water channel originally ran) and shouted.
“Huh…”
“Everyone, get back!”
Simultaneously with throwing his torch, Shan also sliced and dropped the torches held by the other three.
Only then realizing his intention, Zerpo and Vent quickly pulled the frozen Roden back, disappearing into the darkness.
As the torches vanished and Shan’s eyes glowed green, one of the Crusaders urgently shouted.
“An Altoan! The devils who betrayed the Goddess!”
“Just as expected, it’s a comrade of those who fled back then! Fire!”
A dozen arrows shot out immediately along with the commander’s order.
Shan quickly rushed forward, swinging his longsword to parry as many arrows as possible.
Unlike him, his companions possessed neither eyes that could pierce the darkness nor the ability to perceive incoming arrows and parry them.
Even in the desperate situation, Shan parried two arrows with his blade, caught one with the shoulder of his damaged chainmail, and miraculously snatched the final one using his teeth.
Even after doing so, four or five arrows that were not flying directly toward him could not be helped.
He could only hope that by good fortune they would remain unharmed.
“He’s coming!”
Seeing the charging green light, the Crusaders immediately threw down their bows and drew their spears and swords.
Yet for some reason, the speed at which the enemy approached was somewhat strange.
There had clearly been a considerable distance, but it was almost as if he were charging on horseback.
“Argh!”
The head of the soldier at the lead split open, pouring blood and brain matter in all directions.
A bluish-gray beam of light shot out like a whip from the darkness.
He had transformed the ‘Thousand Shapes’, which he had wrapped around himself as undergarments until a moment ago, into the shape of a flexible sword and thrust it forward.
When four men lost their lives in quick succession to attacks flying in from outside the area illuminated by torches, one soldier quickly threw a torch.
Upon seeing something squirming like a tentacle in the revealed enemy’s hand, the Crusaders cried out in shock.
“It’s demonic power!”
“The bastard is using magic!”
“Everyone, fall back!”
The one who stepped forward immediately at the word ‘magic’ was none other than the knight who had been escorting the Young Master just a moment ago.
After all, most evil tricks yielded before a formidable fighting spirit.
Stepping forward, the knight accurately blocked the flexible sword Shan swung with the shield he was holding.
With a clanking sound, a corner of the shield was sliced off.
“Mmm…”
The knight groaned in fluster.
However, though he did not show it, Shan was quite surprised as well.
To think that the flexible sword, which could pierce even the stone skin of a cockatrice, merely sliced off a corner instead of cleaving the shield in half?
Even if the opponent had used fighting spirit for defense, it was difficult to understand.
Yet looking closely, the knight’s shield was no ordinary item.
Judging by its color, not only was it an alloy mixed with some special metal, but it also glowed faintly after receiving a priest’s blessing.
Fitting for someone who had come all the way to the Demonic Realm for a crusade, he seemed thoroughly equipped.
“Your attack is light! With something like that, you cannot pierce me no matter how many times you try!”
The knight, intentionally bluffing to conceal his disadvantage, glared fiercely at Shan.
In the darkness, Shan’s glowing eyes revealed his position, but that could hardly be considered a major advantage.
For until the final moment, he could not know what stance the opponent took or how he would attack.
Catching his breath, the knight prepared to charge.
Whatever means it was, since the attack range was overwhelmingly long, he would have to withstand the initial strike.
‘That bastard’s weapon is flashy, but its attack power isn’t as strong as expected. Once I block it and close the distance…’
Along with that thought, as a bluish-gray beam of light shot out from the darkness, the knight deployed the defensive technique he had trained his whole life and rushed straight forward.
However,
“Ugh!”
Contrary to his expectation, what flew at him was not a pliable flexible sword, but a long, straight spear.
The bluish-gray spear imbued with intense fighting spirit pierced right through his shield and throat.
“T-the knight Sir?!”
“This can’t be…”
As if the death of the knight they believed in served as the catalyst, the Crusaders who finally lost their morale turned their heads and began to flee.
Chasing after them, Shan split vertically the head of the priest who was bellowing thunderously at them not to run but to fight.
After that, it was simply a one-sided slaughter.
Needless to say for those who fled, those who turned back to resist also died helplessly just the same.
In broad daylight it might be different, but in a sewer where shadows flickered dizzily due to torches, catching sight of and blocking a pliable flexible sword was difficult even for a knight.
Moreover, Shan accelerated with the aid of fighting spirit, kicking off walls and ceilings in succession to utilize the space three-dimensionally.
Severing heads, slitting necks, dismembering arms and legs…
Ruthlessly cutting down his enemies, Shan finally caught up to the ‘Young Master’ who was fleeing at the very front, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and tripped him.
The fellow streaming tears and snot was surprisingly a boy only a few years older than Shan.
“Sob, hic…”
“Are there more of your companions outside?”
“Let me go, you devil! I am Viscount Axion, nephew of His Majesty the King… AAAAHHH!”
“Don’t make me ask twice.”
When Shan plunged the Thousand Shapes, transformed into a dagger, above his collarbone, the screaming boy began choking back his sobs.
However, the pain was too severe for that, and he soon burst into tears and began calling for his mother.
“Save me, Mother…”
“Are there more of your companions outside?”
“AAAAHHH! No, no! Everyone else is at the gates!”
“Good.”
Having obtained the desired answer by lightly twisting the dagger, Shan slit his throat then ran toward his companions.
The originally dry water channel of the sewer rippled in a short moment with the blood of twenty men reduced to gruesome states.
“It’s all finished!”
“Even though there were so many?”
“They were certainly easier than a cockatrice… Ah!”
Approaching closer, Shan opened his eyes wide as he realized Zerpo had been struck by an arrow in the shoulder and another in the chest.
At this, Roden spoke with a guilt-ridden expression.
“Damn it, I should have blocked with my shield in front, but I froze up… I’m sorry, Mr. Zerpo.”
“It’s… fine. More importantly, outside.”
Fortunately, although Zerpo struggled to speak, he did not appear to be on the verge of immediate death.
While Roden carried Zerpo on his back and Vent walked alongside casting healing miracles, Shan moved forward leading the four horses in the rear.
Passing by the pile of corpses he had created earlier, Shan looked back as a sudden thought struck him.
‘Ah, that…’
Even though a corner was sliced off and it had a hole in it, it was a fairly sturdy shield, so taking it along seemed like it would prove useful.
*
Having safely emerged outside through the sewer, Green Eyes moved away from the city without even looking back.
This was because if the commander of the bastards he had killed earlier was indeed the King’s nephew as he had claimed, a pursuit party might follow them.
Ignoring various rules of conduct in the Demonic Realm, their forced march at a near-running pace continued for several days.
Despite such a harsh schedule, Zerpo’s condition quickly improved.
Thanks to administering an anesthetic, cutting open the arrow-struck areas with a blade to extract them, and pouring healing miracles over him.
Had he been slightly unluckier and hit a vital spot, not only would he have failed to heal easily, but he might have died on the spot.
After three days, when it became certain they had completely thrown off any pursuit, they relocated the original route and moved southwest.
Having veered somewhat off their original path to evade pursuit, it was nearly a month later when Green Eyes escaped the Demonic Realm and returned to Shedil City.
“Ah, finally…”
“I truly thought I was going to die.”
Looking up at the walls of Shedil City, Vent and Zerpo exhaled sighs laden with mixed emotions.
Stepping inside, the first thing to attract attention was naturally the head of the cockatrice.
While all other relics were packed away out of sight, that alone had been left openly displayed.
“What’s that? It’s a monster head I’ve never seen before.”
“It’s huge.”
“Its skin is made of stone. Isn’t that a cockatrice?”
“What? No way!”
“That’s absurd!”
When someone among them made this fact known, everyone gazed at the returning Green Eyes party with eyes filled with astonishment.
By what possible means had an exploration party with only two warriors, one priest, and one mage subjugated such a monster?
Regardless of what people chattered about, the members of Green Eyes first secured an inn, washed up, and slept soundly.
And the next day, they gathered around a table on the first floor of the Explorers’ Guild to bid their farewells.
“It was a short time, but I enjoyed it.”
“It wasn’t that short. Going back and forth twice, has it not been nearly three months since we met?”
“Has it been that long already?”
At Vent’s words, Zerpo counted the time on his fingers before letting out a soft sigh.
Considering that novice explorers often lost their lives within the first month or two, the time they had spent together was not particularly brief.
Although in truth, a significant portion of that time was due to the second expedition dragging on.
“More importantly, how long do you think it will take to sell the relics?”
“For now, we plan to sell them leisurely over half a year to a year. It would be troublesome if those bastards came to retaliate…”
Selling off the spoils of this journey all at once would not only crash market prices, but would also amount to confessing that they were the exploration party that attacked members of the Crusader Order.
For there could not be many who secured a vast quantity of Altoan relics and returned around that same period.
Of course, those bastards were the ones who attacked first and this side had merely retaliated, but that was hardly how the world worked.
Since a high nobleman around the rank of the King’s nephew had died, those Ajun bastards were certain to stubbornly insist on punishing them no matter what.
At this, Vent nodded in agreement.
“I don’t think Count of Shedil would yield to their pressure, but still, caution never hurts.”
This time, they decided to keep the ruin excavation hidden, sell only the magic stone of the cockatrice, and distribute those proceeds to Vent and Zerpo.
Shan and Roden would hold onto the relics and slowly release them over time as if they had acquired them later.
That would require staying in Shedil City for a few more months, but considering the profit to be gained through this, it was more than a lucrative endeavor.
“Well, then…”
“See you next time!”
Since Vent’s and Zerpo’s shares could simply be sent to the monastery or academic faction to which they belonged, there was no need to receive them in person here.
Of course, all of this was possible because they trusted Shan and Roden.
In a position where they shared everything from the existence of immense treasure capable of shaking a nation to the secret of having killed the nephew of a neighboring country’s king, there was no need to worry about embezzling money.
Thus, just like any other exploration party, Green Eyes disbanded only a few months after its formation.
Though of course, the achievements accumulated during that time were like night and day compared to others.
After the two departed, Shan spoke to Roden in a somewhat crestfallen voice.
“I feel somewhat strange.”
“About what?”
“Just, whenever someone who was beside me for a long time disappears, it always feels… empty, so to speak…”
If he had to recall, it felt similar to when Sir Darkal had abruptly departed.
At Shan’s words, Roden chuckled and spoke.
“Everyone constantly repeats meetings and partings. How could anyone stay together for a lifetime? For example, when you grow up in the future and start a family, you won’t be staying beside me like this either.”
“A family…”
At a story he had never once imagined, Shan spread the wings of his imagination in his mind.
An image of an unknown woman beside him, with a child resembling both her and himself.
‘Green eyes… ah, he said such traits rarely pass down directly.’
Since he was an Altoan, whether his wife was an ordinary human or not, the child would certainly be an Altoan, but thinking about it that way, he couldn’t quite imagine what the child would look like.
Unless it were like Roxy whom he had seen before, simply having two hair colors, was it not a trait of Altoans that their appearances could be endlessly unique if unique at all?
“What’s with you?”
At the sight of Shan groaning in place, Roden wore a look of incomprehension.