Chapter 56: The Witch's Trace

When the witch's foot was discovered, a commotion arose from below the cave.

- Horrifying demonic energy…….

- It's part of a powerful magician!

"To think the demonic energy is so thick it can be felt even from here.

You were truly chasing a horrifying spawn of evil."

Maier said with a frown, but Muno and Chloe didn't bother to answer.

'Tsk. Looking at it like this is a bit much.'

Even though it was a trace of an enemy with whom he had fought a life-or-death battle, seeing a severed part of a human body was not a pleasant sight.

However, Maier's face lit up as he welcomed it.

"If she left a part of her body behind, we can definitely track her.

As expected, the oracle was not wrong!"

……Who said anything?

It was an awkward situation to even respond to the words of a fanatic who was getting worked up all by himself.

Fortunately, Maier didn't bother to check their reactions and jumped down into the cave.

Tap.

Whoooosh.

It was a reckless act, throwing himself from such a great height while wearing heavy armor, but neither he nor anyone watching thought it was dangerous.

In fact.

Kaboooooom!

A loud roar was heard from below with the heavy fall(?), but soon Maier was seen soaring up as if bouncing out of the human-shaped crater.

And as he knelt before the severed foot.

- By the power of the great Earth Mother, I beseech thee……!

When he offered a prayer in a booming voice, a blindingly bright pillar of light shot up.

"Ugh!?"

Muno, who was suddenly flashbanged without warning, frowned.

Soon, Maier's booming voice was heard from below again.

- God will guide our path!

- Wooooooaaah!

What?

When I squinted my eyes and looked, I saw Maier, holding the severed ankle, running along a 'path of light' that extended from the ankle to the ground.

Cruuunch.

Soon, Maier and the inquisitors, who had kicked off the ground forcefully, soared up.

The group of only 42 people became a silver wave and crossed the cliff in an instant.

And they, without a word to Muno and Chloe, began to run along that path of light.

"Ha? Damn it, let's go!"

Swish, swish, swish.

Muno hurriedly chased after them.

Strangely, he felt a hot gaze from his side.

Chloe, who had caught up at some point, was staring intently at him with a calm face, even while running like the wind.

"Wh-What is it?! In this situation?!"

Startled, he yelled.

An incomprehensible question came back.

"You, what do you see?"

"Pardon?"

What's that supposed to mean?

"Why did you squint earlier?"

"What are you talking about!? Of course, it was because the light suddenly shot up!"

I gave a perfectly natural answer.

At those words, Chloe's brown eyes were seen widening.

"You, you can see holy power too?"

"Pardon?!"

What's this all about now?

I was bewildered, but fortunately, Chloe didn't press any further.

“……As expected, you’re interesting.”

Whooosh.

With a chuckle and a single remark, she overtook him and began to outpace even the inquisitors who were running ahead.

‘Is holy power normally not visible? What’s going on?’

No, this isn’t the time for such thoughts.

Swallowing the question that came to mind, Muno added more strength to his two legs and ran after the Holy Knights.

Thud. Thump!

It was impossible to overtake them in a single breath like Chloe, but fortunately, with his physical abilities having developed one more step, he could stick to their heels without the help of his chains.

"Oh, brother. Ride my horse!"

The sight of the slitted-eyed Holy Knight proudly holding the severed witch's ankle in one hand and beckoning with the other was incredibly burdensome.

But at a glance, his horse looked the sturdiest.

"I'd be grateful!"

I leaped as lightly as possible onto the horse.

I hadn't considered my own weight.

Thud.

"Neigh! Hrk!?"

The horse staggered for a moment, then whipped its head around and glared at me with dagger eyes.

"Sorry……."

An apology escaped my lips without me realizing, and the horse, as if understanding human speech, snorted and faced forward again.

And.

“Hehe. Just a little more, Stella!”

Flash.

The power of the pure white light that erupted from Maier's hand once again permeated the horse in the form of wings.

"Heeeigh!"

The horse, receiving that power, reared up spiritedly and began to gallop as if it were flying.

"Is this the blessing of holy power……."

Whooooosh.

It was a random remark thrown out because of the awkwardness of clinging to a middle-aged man's waist in the rough wind.

But it seemed Maier had somehow heard his voice.

“Hmm?

How did you know I used a blessing?”

"Pardon?

Ah……. Just a feeling……."

I had a bad feeling for some reason, so I mumbled.

"Oho. Brother, you may have a constitution that is loved by God.

Have you any thoughts of joining the Temple?"

A chilling offer came back.

An offer of priesthood to an atheist, no, a religion-hater.

No, before that.

'So holy power really isn't visible.'

Now that I knew why Chloe was surprised earlier, I became curious once again if this was also related to the ability of the Demon Devourer.

And.

'I need to watch my mouth.'

The moment that thought crossed his mind, Muno decided to just shut up and cling to Maier's back.

While keeping his eyes on the path of light extending from the witch's ankle to the ground.

* * *

Th-th-th-thud.

The gallop of the fanatics, no, the inquisitors, was indeed fearsome.

But after spending more than half a day digging through the cave, they had run for a whole day without rest.

No matter how superhuman they were, they couldn't not be tired.

Naturally, even the Holy Knights who had been incessantly calling out God's will began to grow quiet at some point.

The sun set and the moon rose, then the moon set again and the sun rose, and by the time it was noon.

“There it is! Everyone, prepare for the holy war!”

The moment Maier's shout echoed.

“By God’s will!”

"Let's punish the evil!"

The group's gallop began to regain its vigor.

However, only one person's reaction was different.

"Wait! Sir Maier!"

Heeigh!

Chloe's horse, which had quickly moved ahead, shot to the front and blocked the group, forcibly calming the seething atmosphere.

"No, why……?"

Maier, forced to stop his horse, wore a dissatisfied expression.

Pffft.

"Sorry, boy……."

Chloe's horse, which had not received the blessing of holy power, was foaming at the mouth with blood.

And her face, as she stroked the horse, was flushed even redder.

"Sir Maier, were you planning to charge in head-on just now!?"

"Of course I was……."

"Do you even know where that is!?"

In the direction Chloe was pointing, a fairly large city with walls much lower than a typical castle could be seen.

“Nowhere can block the will of God!”

“That is the trade city of Ruble, which His Excellency governs by sending an official directly!

You can’t just smash it up as you please!”

“Wherever the devil exists, it must be cleansed.

That is the law of the Temple!”

What?

Only after hearing Maier’s shout did Muno realize his intention, and with a dumbfounded expression, he jumped off the horse and stood next to Chloe.

“It’s not a devil! It’s just a high-ranking magician! Don’t stretch the interpretation of the law as you please!!”

Did the word ‘law’ work?

Maier, who had seemed intent on not backing down, glared at Chloe before letting out a deep sigh.

“I didn’t know you were well-versed in the scriptures, Sir Chloe.”

Hey, don't tell me you……. On purpose?

“I’m the one who didn’t know you would be so reckless, Sir Maier!”

The moment the slitted-eyed Holy Knight's reputation plummeted in Muno's mind.

"Hah……. But the enemy of God is there."

"So why are you charging in blindly!!

Are you trying to kill everyone who gets in the way like the previous captain!?

You were the same kind of bastard!?"

……Like the previous captain?

Chloe yelled with the veins on her face bulging.

It seemed there were circumstances Muno didn't know about.

But Maier, his face hardened, didn't seem to have any intention of backing down easily.

“I only intended to deal with those who interfere.”

“Do you think the city’s forces will just stand by when a knightly order comes barging in out of the blue?”

“We are not just a knightly order, but a holy…….”

“This isn’t the Holy Kingdom! Sir Maier!”

“Kngh……”

Did Chloe's shout get through?

Maier eventually frowned and took a step back.

"Fine. But you do know that the enemy of God might escape while we dally, right?"

"I know. And identifying that enemy will be this friend's job."

Chloe gently pushed Muno's back.

Ack?

"Sir Chloe, if that witch decides to hide properly, I……."

Feeling flustered, he tried to whisper urgently to Chloe.

She gestured toward Sir Maier as if to say not to worry.

"‘That thing’ will find the witch."

"Ah……. Righ-t."

Muno, recognizing the foot in Maier's hand, or more precisely, the path of light extending from that foot to the ground, finally nodded.

"You just need to take care of the other guys. You can do that, right?"

"Yes. That, I can do……."

"Good. Then that's settled."

The moment the conclusion was reached.

“Is that definitely possible?”

“Whether it’s the law of God or the law of man, if things go wrong, I, Chloe Rommel, will take full responsibility, Sir Maier!”

A hearty shout.

It was visible even to Muno's eyes that the spirit of a single female knight was suppressing the will of the fanatics.

"……Very well. Holy Knights, follow Sir Muno's guidance and deal with the devil's minions!"

"Ha!"

However.

"You can do it, right?"

“How?”

"Just identify the ones with demonic energy.

Then they'll take care of cutting them down."

"Ugh……."

Muno, who suddenly felt like he had become a judge passing death sentences, reluctantly had to stand at the head of the group with a sour expression.

"Vice-Commander of the Trian Knightly Order, Chloe Rommel!"

“Sir!”

A hologram of a gray rose crest rose from Chloe's identification plaque.

With that, the 42, no, including Muno and Chloe, a total of 44 knights were able to pass through the north gate of the trade city of Ruble.

“We will run straight toward the witch's location, so please point out all the demons you see on the way, brother.”

Muno couldn't easily answer Maier's whisper in his ear.

Because.

‘Fuck, why are there so many?’

- Monster hides from the northern Trian mountains for the low price of……!

- We have fruits from the south! A cheaper price before you head to Trian……!

- Co…… ahem, come see the goods from ‘that country’!

A bustling market, as expected of a trade city.

The group was attracting all sorts of gazes from among the countless people.

But right now, Muno wasn't just fed up with the pouring gazes.

The problem was that among those looking at him, about 3 to 5 out of every 100 people had demonic energy.

And such people were even more numerous in the direction the path of light from the ankle Maier held was heading.

And what's more, many of them were wearing the uniforms of the city guards.

As if a group of magicians had taken over this city.

And if that were true.

'If I kill everyone with demonic energy along this path…….'

A great massacre would truly unfold.

The scene of countless people before his eyes scattering in screams amidst a crucible of chaos seemed to paint itself in his mind.

“Brother?”

Hearing Maier's urging voice, Muno couldn't help but feel a cold sweat run down his back.

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