Episode 331
"So, you are our priest. Have you been hiding until now, or have you been working with Verita from the start?" For a moment, Dorothy's gaze shifted to Verita. "It doesn't seem like it. Still, you're making a proposal we have no reason to accept. I don't know what type of nagging I'll have to endure if I hurt you."
Her voice carried a trace of playfulness. Did she always keep a wall around herself, or did she simply find my intrusion insignificant?
Either way, it didn't matter. She wasn't the only one amused right now.
I also smiled and muttered, "Nagging..."
The subject was missing, but I could guess who would be scolding her.
Maybe it's Leone. Wasn't she the princess of the fallen Setitus? Now it made sense. Surprisingly, this blasphemous faction served someone other than the current Dark Pope.
Does the Dark Pope know? If not, I had leverage that I could use to pressure these people. If my relationship with them grew complicated, I could just report to the Dark Pope or the priests of other factions that the Colorless faction was serving another Dark Pope.
I took great satisfaction in sowing discord among such rotten people, though I had no idea whether anyone would believe me.
"Ahhhhh!" Root suddenly screamed and staggered back in shock. "H-Hik! P-Priest! The priest?"
He trembled as if he had seen a ghost, then dropped to his knees and bowed as though worshiping me. "I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry! How could I not recognize the priest?"
"It's okay. I wasn't hurt," I replied.
"Uwahh. Why do I always do this? I can't do a single thing right..."
I waved dismissively, but Root didn't seem to notice. He remained on his knees, then straightened his upper body and started striking his face with his fists.
"Bad Root! Useless Root! Garbage Root! Idiot Root!" he shouted at himself.
Baam! Baam! Bam!
He didn't hold back, each blow landing with full force. His lips split, the bridge of his nose collapsed, and even fragments of his teeth flew from his mouth.
It was clear now. Verita wasn't the only one who was crazy. This group of Colorless believers was a nest of lunatics. The more I learned about them, the less I wanted to get involved.
"Just leave him," Dorothy said, still grinning despite her colleague harming himself. "If you try to stop him, he'll scream that he'll bite off his own tongue and die. Besides, it would regenerate anyway. This is the first time meeting in person, right? I was worried about killing you if you were ugly. Thankfully, you aren't that bad."
Verita warned her, "Sister, watch your mouth. Do you want to die with your mouth torn apart?"
Dorothy slipped both index fingers into her mouth, stretched her cheeks toward her ears, and burst out laughing. "How? How?"
I shook my head and stopped Verita from stepping forward. "Forget it. She's crazy too. Just ignore her."
"Too?" Verita muttered absentmindedly, but I followed my own advice and ignored her.
In any case, that witch, Dorothy, seemed to perceive me as a complete stranger. That meant that the Linchal Mask was a better magical tool than I expected. It truly belonged to Dean Alderson's collection.
I felt relieved, but it also made me reconsider the old advice from the Iron-Blooded Lord about maintaining multiple identities. In this situation, my first disguise, Nalu, had proven to be successful. This was the essence of a false identity. The more it diverged from my true self, the more effective it was. Nalu's appearance was the complete opposite of mine, so even this cunning witch couldn't connect the dots.
In hindsight, both Luan Badniker, the Iron-Blooded Lord's child, and Nalu, whom the Iron-Blooded Lord brought to the meeting, shared a connection with him, so linking them wouldn't be difficult.
I named myself too hastily. It was essentially Luan with minor alterations. Next time, I would have to put more effort into naming.
At that moment, Dorothy spoke. "Okay. I have decided. First of all, Root, you're too noisy. Be quiet."
"I-I can't. This isn't enough to atone..." Root cried.
"Don't you realize it's more annoying to show that ugly face? Look at the priest's face. He can barely endure his nausea," Dorothy jeered.
"A-Ahhh...! I'm sorry!" Root finally stopped harming himself.
I see. That's how you handle him.
I glanced at Root, though the insight wasn't particularly useful. He was a dreadful sight with his collapsed nose, loose teeth, and miserable expression.
Unexpectedly, he shook his head a few times, and his bloody face started to regenerate at an astonishing speed. Around ten seconds later, Root's face had returned to normal, with only a trace of blood remaining.
Is monstrous regeneration a trait of these people? I recalled the image of Verita pulling out her eyeball last time. If they possessed regenerative abilities strong enough to restore a removed eyeball, then losing a limb would hardly matter to them.
"In addition, Priest, I just remembered something. Would you like to hear it?" Dorothy asked.
"What is it?"
"First of all, I am in favor of one-on-one combat. But why don't we fight separately instead of together?" she suggested.
What is she saying? I tilted my head in confusion.
Dorothy smiled and explained, "Let's create two battlefields and avoid interfering with the other battle. We can each fight one-on-one at the same time. Once one side is decided, the other side will immediately stop the battle and accept that result."
"So victory or defeat would be linked, right?" I asked.
Dorothy nodded. "Yes. You understand quickly."
I finally grasped the peculiar rule. If Root and I fought while Verita and Dorothy fought separately, and Verita managed to defeat Dorothy first, then my fight with Root would immediately be judged as my victory.
At the same time, I seemed to understand why she proposed such a troublesome rule. I didn't fully know their strength, but there was no way either of them could defeat Verita in a short time.
Maybe she's confident that either she or Root can easily overpower me. No wonder why she is a mage.
I wanted to wipe that scheming look off her face.
"I can't accept that proposal," Verita stated, her expression displeased. She was sharp, so she had likely understood Dorothy's intentions.
I was not of the same mind, though.
"Let's do it," I said.
Verita stiffened. "Brother?"
"Instead, can I decide who fights whom?" I asked.
"Ah, of course," Dorothy replied.
"Okay. Then..." I stared at Root, who was desperately avoiding my gaze. He covered his face with both hands and even hopped around.
Finally, Root screamed, "Uwaaah...! Why me?"
"Why? I think it would be more fun to fight you," I claimed.
"I'm not a fun person!" he stated.
"Brother— No, Priest." At that moment, Verita stared at me with a serious expression. "Please withdraw now. Brother Root isn't an easy opponent, and we have no reason to accept that proposal."
"I-I agree! I agree with Verita! I-I can't hurt the priest no matter what!" Root acted innocent, but he was subtly looking down on me.
He shook his head repeatedly in refusal, but I didn't care at all. I was determined to make this matchup happen, even if I had to force it.
So how could I push it?
I recalled how Dorothy had handled Root earlier and said, "I think you are misunderstanding something."
"Misunderstanding something?" he echoed.
"This isn't a fight. I'm hunting you," I pointed out.
I struck a nerve, and Root's expression immediately twisted. "T-take that back!"
"What if I don't want to?" I challenged.
"This instant! Take it back immediately!"
"What if I don't want to? What will you do?" I pressed.
"T-take it... If you don't take it back... Uh, uwah...!"
"Or what? If you are going to say something, then see it through. Stop stammering. Okay?"
The moment I sneered, Root's eyes rolled, and he charged at me in fury. "Uwaaaaah!"
Thus, my first battle against a Colorless believer commenced.
***
I watched Root charge at me and found him peculiar. He had clearly lost his temper, but in such a state, it was hard to find an opening.
He is naturally gifted. It wasn't an insult, but he was like a beast. It was nearly impossible to find an opening in a wild boar charging in fury. For a boar, full-speed aggression was as natural as breathing.
This guy was much smaller than me. For now, I decided to avoid the attack rather than meet it head-on. I sidestepped Root's charge and extended a foot wrapped in energy.
"Uwaaaah." Root fell pathetically, as if he had tripped over a rock.
Verita took advantage of this moment to speak. "Brother, please step back for now—"
"Stop. You'll interfere with the fight. Verita, your opponent is me." A gust of wind followed Dorothy's cackling laugh and swept Verita away.
Verita gritted her teeth and glared at Dorothy. "You damn witch, I'm going to tear you apart..."
In my experience, Verita tended to speak foully when she lost control. She wasn't completely unhinged yet, but I had a feeling that it was only a matter of time.
Then I heard a faint sound and turned at once. A chilling bolt grazed my earlobe.
Root was already back on his feet, staring at me with beast-like eyes.
A mounted crossbow? Araxad and Charon used that weapon. It seemed to suit a hunter well, so it made sense that he had one as well.
Root repeatedly fired from a distance, but the most dangerous shot had been the first.
I dodged most of the bolts, but I didn't bother deflecting them with my sword. It was better to avoid contact as much as possible.
Once he ran out of bolts, Root charged again. His eyes were cold, as if he had regained his composure after rolling on the ground.
I waited until he closed in. Once we were around three steps apart, I drew my sword and thrust it forward.
A sharp burst of compressed air echoed, and the force pushed me back. Root rebounded and flew far away.
At that moment, I felt every gaze turn toward me. It wasn't just Root. Verita and Dorothy, locked in their own fight, had also stopped.
"Just now?"
Did these guys say they were Guardians or something? Perhaps they were among the elite of the Colorless believers, so they were sensitive to the movement of Dark Qi.
Did you sense my refined Dark Qi? I laughed. This was one of the reasons that I wanted to fight Root, even if I had to force it. There was no need to hide my Dark Qi against these guys. It gave me a chance to use the Dark Qi in my heart in real combat. I didn't know when another opportunity like this would arise, so I planned to prolong this fight as much as possible to gain experience. Fortunately, my opponent seemed durable, so he was ideal for that purpose.
Root exhaled once and stood up again, his eyes fixed on me. Perhaps because of the hits he had taken, he didn't rush in blindly. Instead, he assessed me with caution.
This was why people claimed that patience was a virtue. Caution had its merits, but to me, it wasn't interesting.
If I let this drag on and Verita and Dorothy finished their fight, I would end up wasting this precious opportunity.
If he won't come out, I will have to go in.
I took a decisive step, infused with the mysteries of the Thunder Stomp Footwork. Thunder rumbled as I shot forward in a streak of light, closing the gap with Root in an instant.
Root froze for a split second. He was used to ambushing others, not being ambushed himself. Such hesitation was common among assassins below the first tier. Even so, his response was not poor. The moment he confirmed my presence, he swung his dagger.
This time, I didn't use the First Fire Technique. Instead, I immediately activated the Dark Sky Moonward Peak. The movement wasn't gentle, but it felt completely natural after ten intense days of sparring with Senior Sister Tian on Spirit Mountain.
A faint shadow of guilt crossed Root's expression. It could be my imagination, but he seemed to expect his dagger would pierce my palm.
Clang!
Of course, that didn't happen. The dagger that struck my palm shattered horribly, scattering fragments in all directions.
I saw the bewilderment in Root's eyes and realized something. He lacks practical experience. More precisely, he lacks experience sparring with others.
This time, I drove my left fist into his solar plexus. He gasped, eyes wide, as I seized his collar and yanked him closer. At such close range, I delivered a rapid series of blows to his face, chest, and abdomen. At the same time, I forced Dark Qi into his body.
An ordinary human would die from the slightest touch of Dark Qi, but Root was a believer. He would only faint, filled with a terrible pain that gnawed at his entire body.
Flop.
Root collapsed.
I looked behind me and saw Dorothy and Verita watching me. They had stopped fighting again.
"You two... You called yourselves Guardians right?" I asked, recalling the titles they used for each other.
The so-called Guardians were likely meant to protect key figures of the church. The key figure was probably Leone, their leader, or perhaps me, the priest.
As such, I couldn't help tilting my head and looking down at the unconscious Root. "What exactly are you protecting?"