Episode 330
The other day, I had a conversation with Verita.
"Do other believers know that you have been in contact with me?"
"That's right."
"How many of them know?"
"Ten people, including me."
According to Verita, at least ten of the Colorless believers knew my identity. I assumed that was just a minimum number because there was no guarantee that these ten people wouldn't spread it any further. From there on, it was the realm of complete speculation.
I wondered if this boy was among the ten people. If he was close to an S-class hero, he had to be an elite member among the Colorless believers. He was probably on par with Verita.
In any case, I was glad that I'd hidden my Dark Qi. I felt fortunate. My original plan was to deceive Verita's perception, but if it hadn't been for that, this little boy could have found me.
"Ugh... I killed them all again... Why am I so pathetic..." the boy muttered to himself like a madman.
Suddenly, another figure emerged from Ymir's mouth. The newcomer had an appearance that was just as unique as the hunter boy's
Tap, tap, tap.
She had wrinkled and sagging skin, a hunched back, and a hooked nose. At first glance, she looked like an old woman who could die at any moment. However, the staff she held in her hand wasn't designed to support her old body. It was thick enough to be swung as a blunt weapon, and it was dark as if burned by fire. Considering all that and the pointed hat on her head was added, one word naturally came to mind.
A witch? I thought.
The old woman who looked like a witch said with a grin, "Root... Is it you? My small joy was hunting these idiots in a leisurely manner, but you dared to ruin it."
"T-that isn't hunting," the boy called Root said. Perhaps because he was from Frozen Hunt, he spoke in a slightly serious tone as if asserting his own sense of identity. "Choosing not to kill them right away isn't hunting. It is just entertainment... I heard that in the capital, they release animals into parks to enjoy hunting, but that is an insult to us..."
"Shut up. I'm not interested in your hunting. No matter what you say, I consider this hunting," the witch snapped.
"T-take it back!"
"I don't want to."
"Uwah..." Root scratched his head before he seemed to snap. He drew his bow and shouted, "Take it back!"
I wondered if he was crazy. He wasn't just pretending. He actually fired an arrow.
The even more surprising thing was the witch's reaction. She didn't flinch at all. She just snorted and tapped the ground with her staff. At that moment, a wall of ice rose from the ground and blocked the arrow.
It seemed like an over-the-top response at first, but the arrow almost pierced the ice wall that was around one meter thick. Its destructive power was closer to a siege ballista than a bow.
There was no time to be shocked, though. After shooting his bow, Root had already started running. He skillfully climbed the ice wall and plunged his dagger toward the witch.
The witch simply reached out her hand in response. I wondered if she would really stop the blade with just her palm, but in an instant, her outstretched arm stretched out like a snake and cracked like an old tree. Her fingernails grew like roots and tangled around Root's body in an instant.
However, Root skillfully cut the roots even while bound. No blood flowed from the tree-like limb, though. The wood that had extended from her arm soon separated from the old woman's hand.
"Hohoho... Your blade is sharper than the last time I saw you." The old woman chuckled as she took a step forward. "Ah, youth is really good."
Then a remarkable transformation occurred. With the first step, her bent back straightened. In two steps, her white hair became thick and full again. In three steps, the wrinkles on her face disappeared. In an instant, she transformed from an old woman into a woman who was somehow familiar.
I hesitated for a moment, wondering when I had seen her before. Then I focused on her witch-like characteristics and realized something.
I remembered a meeting I had unknowingly participated in while following the Iron-Blooded Lord in the capital. It was between the Middle Names, strategic weapons who received special treatment in the empire.
Among those great figures, there was a woman who had looked at me with a somewhat unsettling gaze. She had been dressed as a witch and had handsome boys as her servants. I hadn't heard her name, but this was definitely the woman I had seen at that time.
Could it be that a Middle Name is a church member? I thought, dumbfounded.
Of course, a Colorless believer couldn't be considered a full-fledged Dark Church member, but that didn't diminish the surprise. At the same time, I couldn't help thinking that it was no wonder the empire was destroyed.
"Shall we stop here? We didn't come all the way here to fight among ourselves," the witch said with a smile. It was a completely different manner of speaking than when she was an old woman.
Root asked timidly, "S-so does that mean you are taking back the insult to hunting?"
"Yes, yes, I'll take it back. So let go of your anger," the woman replied.
Root sighed deeply before laughing heartily and saying, "I-I'm glad we didn't have to fight."
"I would gladly finish you off if you were ugly, but I love all beautiful things. Love and peace."
"By the way, why were you dressed like an old woman?"
"So I can always appreciate my beautiful appearance."
"Huh?"
"Even the finest cookies from De Marlin Refreshments would get boring if eaten every day. Sometimes, you have to try moldy bread."
"Dorothy, you are really strange."
"I won't deny it, but I can't help feeling a bit angry when hearing that from you."
So the woman's name was Dorothy. The name felt too ordinary for a witch, but it wasn't any of my business.
In any case, the two of them were skilled enough that I had been worried they would notice my hiding spot. However, judging from their attitudes, that didn't seem to be the case.
Still, I wondered what business the two of them had with Ymir's corpse. Maybe they were planning to use it for some kind of new scheme.
I thought to myself, They must be insane. Really.
Even the neighborhood cats stayed away from an alley for a while after being caught stealing food. It hadn't been long since these bastards caused a scene with Ymir's corpse, and yet they were already crawling back here.
"Why did the two of you come here?" someone suddenly asked calmly as she fell from the air. She had hair dyed in a unique color and was wearing the black uniform of an inquisitor. There was probably no one besides Verita who would dress like that here.
Dorothy chuckled when Verita appeared. She said, "You are late to welcome us. What kept you? I was so bored that I played around with the rats for a long time."
"I had work to attend to."
"Really? With your eyes, you should've noticed our approach a long time ago."
"My eyes aren't such a convenient power. I've been working hard lately, exhausting my strength. Thus, I failed to notice your presence."
"Aha." Dorothy shrugged. "Well, that makes sense. You probably know why we are here, right?"
Verita looked at her without replying, causing Dorothy to finally remove the smile from her face as she continued, "The leader has ordered a shift change. Return to the main headquarters for now. We will take over your mission."
"Two Guardians were sent out just for that?" Verita asked.
"That's right. Well, I didn't know beforehand that Root would also show up here."
Verita was silent for a moment. Then she said, "Not yet."
"Verita?" Root called out.
"Are you going to disobey the leader's orders right now?" Dorothy asked.
"I'll write a report. The leader will understand after finding out about my situation," Verita replied.
"That is a funny thing to say. Are you mistaking me for a messenger?" Dorothy asked.
"That isn't the case. I might've said it in a misleading way. I'm sorry," Verita answered.
"Hmm." Dorothy chuckled with interest. "For someone who usually jumps to obey the leader's orders, disobedience from you is surprising. How interesting. Then let me ask. How much more time do you need?"
"One month."
"Hahahat!" Dorothy burst out laughing. Then she raised her index finger to her temple and swirled it. "Are you crazy? Try thinking before letting words spill out of your mouth. Do you have sewage flowing around in your head instead of a brain?"
Verita said nothing.
"Finish it in an hour. I can't wait any longer than that," Dorothy said.
"Let's make it twenty-three days," Verita countered.
"One hour and ten minutes."
"Twenty-two days."
"One hour and twenty minutes."
As expected, they were really crazy. I wondered if this could even be called a negotiation. They kept shortening the time without making any concessions to each other, but it didn't seem productive.
Perhaps Verita's true nature eventually started to show, as a look similar to a sneer started to appear on her face. She said, "Sister Dorothy, it seems you don't have a proper grasp of my duties. It is difficult for laymen to understand, so I get it. So let me make it perfectly clear. As a member of the Seventy-Two Churches, I was ordered to purify the miasma inside this entity. It is a task that must be carried out meticulously over a long period of time. Abandoning it halfway isn't an option."
"If it is just a mission to purify miasma, either of us could do it. After all, there are no more heroes approaching this entity, right? You must've blocked their access using the authority of the Seventy-Two Churches," Dorothy said. She looked at the blood that still hadn't dried on the snowfield and remarked, "That must be why these idiots keep appearing."
Verita listened silently and Dorothy continued, "You are making such a pathetic excuse. No matter how I think about it, this doesn't seem like you. Something has become twisted."
She raised her staff in the air, let go, and flicked it with her finger. The staff stopped halfway, and Dorothy sat on it. She took a cross-legged position, propped her chin on her hands, and said with a grin, "It looks like we have to solve this using our usual method. What will it be?"
Verita replied, "If that is the only way, I guess I have no choice."
"Okay. The rules are the same as always. The one whose limbs are cut off first loses. Since Root is on the same mission as me, it is a two-on-one fight. You won't be dissatisfied, right?"
Cut off what? I thought I might've misheard and scratched my ears. However, Verita nodded in understanding.
Root muttered hesitantly, "I-I don't want to fight, but this is the leader's will. I will try to cut as painlessly as possible!"
It was the little one who moved first again. His small body blurred slightly before appearing behind Verita; he moved similarly to when he'd killed the grave robbers in an instant. Perhaps it was some kind of power like a blessing.
The surprise attack was difficult to deal with, but the opponent wasn't a grave robber. The eyes of Inquisitor Verita didn't miss Root, as she blocked his attack with the mace in her hand. Then she responded with a counterattack.
Baaaaaang!
An artificial blizzard suddenly appeared as if the white snowfield had been overturned.
Mir Giant was the one person I knew with the greatest physical strength. However, Verita was no less formidable as she wielded her large mace.
The truly astonishing thing was that Root blocked that devastating blow with a simple movement of his wrist. It was a skill that could only be achieved through basic physical durability and mana management. It was clear that this child was no ordinary martial artist.
Nevertheless, he couldn't completely absorb the power of the mace, and Root's small body flew through the air.
The next attack came immediately from Dorothy. Before anyone could notice, a large magic circle appeared behind her and a sinister purple mist poured out. It resembled a thundercloud more than any regular mist, as sparks crackled inside with a sound like a dragon roaring.
At that moment, Verita's left eye turned gold. A golden light enveloped her entire body, but it only lasted for a moment. The brilliant glow quickly faded to a dark gray. Then it moved in a somewhat ominous manner along her shoulders and forearms, gathering in her right palm.
Her right hand looked as if it was wrapped in a swirling vortex. She thrust her palm forward as if pushing against an invisible wall. Then she clenched her hand as if seizing something. The purple storm cloud that had been slowly approaching exploded before it could reach her.
In short, she had nullified the magic in an unimaginable way.
What is with those eyes? I wondered. A part of me wanted to use the Dark Sky Moonward Peak to peek at Verita's internal energy circulation, but I would be caught instantly if I used it now. Instead, I focused on what was happening.
I knew that the Dark Church contained several factions and they weren't on good terms, but the Colorless faction seemed to be an even bigger mess. They were part of the same faction, but they were talking about cutting off each other's limbs. Judging from the level of combat right now, those weren't empty words.
Verita was still here three days later. However, it was hard to say whether she would win. I didn't know their strength individually, but the combination of the two was formidable. I knew Verita's strength quite well, but I couldn't guarantee a certain victory.
However, if Verita was defeated here and forced to return to the church, the question was: Then who stayed in the village?
Looking at the battle again, I saw that Verita was being constantly pressured. At that moment, I felt that her performance was worse than usual. I didn't know her that well, but it somehow felt like she was struggling earlier than she normally would.
Suddenly, the previous conversation popped into my mind.
"My eyes aren't such a convenient power. I've been working hard lately, exhausting my strength. Thus, I failed to notice your presence."
At Verita's level, her mental state was heavily influenced by her physical condition. So this made sense. She had been single-handedly removing the Dark Qi left in the remains of the absurdly large Ymir. In addition, her opponents were two masters. It would have been hard to guarantee a victory against them even if she had been in perfect condition.
A fireball shot out of Dorothy's staff and struck Verita, causing her to fall to her knees. Her gaze was still fierce, but a trickle of blood flowed from her mouth, hinting at an internal injury. She slowly began to speak. "It will be suspicious if I suddenly disappear. The main temple's existence may be discovered, not just by the Hero Society, but also the Seventy-Two Churches."
"Is that the only excuse you can come up with?" Dorothy retorted. She covered her face with her palm and waved it lightly as if she was rubbing her face.
Once she removed her palm, it revealed a face that belonged to Verita. The clothes she was wearing were different, but her face and body had changed to be exactly the same as Verita's.
"How about it? No. What do you think?" Dorothy asked. "Now that this has happened, it should be okay for me to operate under the name Razbet in the future. After all, an inquisitor rarely has to go to the main temple, so there is little risk of being discovered. If I use this identity for a while before dying cleanly on some battlefield, the cleanup will be simple."
A chill ran down my spine at how casually she spoke. It suddenly occurred to me that even the identity of Dorothy wasn't necessarily this woman's real face.
I could see Root adjusting his dagger. The sunlit blade gleamed in an exceptionally cold manner. The little hunter's cautious expression was clear. It was the look of someone thinking how to butcher freshly caught prey.
Wait a minute. My thoughts went in a different direction. Dorothy had a level of transformation that was amazing even to me; it was likely several levels above the Linchal Mask that I used as a magic tool. On top of that, she'd just said she would take over Verita's work. That made me realize something.
It hit me that the short letter I'd received before I regressed could have been written by Dorothy, not Verita.
Claaang!
Before I knew it, I was facing Root with the Seven Sins Sword in hand.
"Eh?" he exclaimed. Up close, Root looked even younger than I thought. It seemed the bulky northern clothes made him look older than he really was.
"Brother?" Verita asked in bewilderment as she looked at me.
I've never seen her look so surprised before, I thought. The unfamiliar sight gave me a sense of novelty.
Meanwhile, Dorothy stood across from me and exclaimed in puzzlement, "Don't tell me that you are—"
"Uh, it's me."
I wondered if they recognized my face. Judging from their expressions, perhaps not. Then again, it didn't really matter much.
I continued, "As a person who has become a hero, I can't just stand by and watch you gang up on the weak like this."
"What?"
"I'm not here to argue about your methods, so let's keep the conditions you just stated. Instead—"
I grinned and continued, "If this is going to be a fair fight, shouldn't the numbers match?"