The high-ranking Abyss Priest of the Reverse Heaven Society, Ord Zenbel.
The identity of the suspicious man draped in a robe was surprisingly that of a notorious villain who, the moment his actions became known, caused all the nearby paladins to light up with fury and gather around.
It was only a setting, but even in the original novel, his name was mentioned.
“Ord Zenbel…? Could he be the nightmare of Vizenberg, the Monster Bane Ord?”
Friede shouted in shock, as if she was well aware of the opponent’s infamy.
“…What a rude little brat. Are you his offspring?”
Offspring, huh? Well, with that appearance, one could easily mistake it.
…That means, he doesn’t know anything about Friede. That’s a relief.
If he knew she was the Holy Sword’s hero, he wouldn’t be casually chatting now, but would have attacked us on the spot.
“If you are his offspring, then make sure to educate him well. Recklessly speaking of an opponent’s derogatory name is no different from requesting a duel.”
There was a hint of anger in Ord’s voice.
He clearly didn’t like the nickname ‘Monster Bane.’
The ‘Nightmare of Vizenberg’ could be considered a sort of proof of fame from his perspective, but ‘Monster Bane’ was a derogatory term filled with contempt and mockery.
“You’re quite the talker. Do you not consider ‘Betrayer Knight’ a derogatory title?”
He called me the Betrayer Knight right as he laid eyes on me, yet he gets upset at being called a derogatory name. The double standards he displayed were enough to make Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde look tame.
“…That was rude of me. I thought it was better than ‘Iron-faced.'”
Ord apologized for his rudeness. The way he said it made it hard to differentiate if it was an apology or sarcasm, but at least he did it formally.
“You know my nickname very well. Did you investigate me thoroughly? I’m not fond of that.”
I unsheathed my longsword slightly from its scabbard and glared at him.
Even though he told me not to be on guard since he wasn’t the enemy, I couldn’t really let my guard down.
If he truly was Ord Zenbel—one of the high-ranking members of the Reverse Heaven Society—then that meant he was a more formidable foe than any pursuer I had ever faced.
Ord Zenbel was a slaughterer who used abyssal magic to dominate monsters, bringing seven villages and cities crashing down, including Vizenberg.
It seemed he wasn’t accompanied by the army of monsters that made that possible… but he must have some kind of confidence to stand there so calmly without them.
“Moreover, the fact that he just appeared before us like this… Can it be assumed that he’s been tailing me this whole time? You wouldn’t dare say it was just chance, would you?”
There were only five high-ranking Abyss Priests in the entire world. What were the odds of running into one on the road?
Perhaps similar to the chance you’d have of winning a lottery with the absurdly low odds set by a money-hungry game developer?
There was no way to view this as a coincidence; it had to be fate that led to this confrontation.
Like all the countless pursuers I had faced before, he must have been tracking me throughout.
Even though I had been careful to conceal my tracks recently, I never thought I would get caught so suddenly. What kind of trick was he using?
“It isn’t tailing; it’s tracking. I made sure to conceal my movements carefully, but it wasn’t perfect. Using a ‘dog’ made it easier than expected.”
“A dog? A dog, you say?”
He used a hunting dog to find me?
No, that couldn’t be the case. If tracking me was that easy, there’d be at least fifty times more pursuers after me by now.
“If you’d like, I can show you. As long as you don’t mistakenly think it’s a threat and rush at me.”
Ord chuckled, seeming to find my reaction amusing, then lightly snapped his fingers to summon something.
Grurr…
From behind him came the sound of a beast’s growl. In the darkness of the shadowy forest, a pair of red eyes flickered like small torches.
Is that the ‘dog’?
I reached out my left hand to stop Friede, who looked ready to draw her Holy Sword at any moment, and stared intently at the slowly revealing ‘dog.’
It had a head resembling that of a dog, a body covered in rough black fur, a body akin to a monkey, and instead of a tail, three tendrils sprouted from its backside.
It was a monster known as a Makhyun, on par with a Wight.
“The sense of smell of a Makhyun is incomparable to that of an ordinary hunting dog, making it perfectly suited for tracking something. I marked your scent and had it chase you down.”
Ord explained the method by which he tracked me while petting the Makhyun’s head.
There was a strange affection in his touch, which made me understand why he had the nickname ‘Monster Bane.’
“I struggled because the scent was disrupted by moving along the river… but I noticed a particularly strong scent lingering around here. Did you have business under the river?”
“That’s none of your concern. More importantly, you marked my scent? How did you manage that?”
“Curious, are you? Hmmm, well. It wouldn’t be bad to drop some friendly advice as well.”
Ord chuckled smugly, as if even his friends would be sick of him by now.
“Advice?”
“If you intended to hide your identity and sneak around, you should have been more cautious with your belongings. You were sorely lacking in that regard.”
Ord pulled out a piece of dark fabric from his cloak.
Though it was hard to see in the darkness, I understood immediately what he was talking about as soon as I saw it.
“…That cloth looks very familiar.”
“Of course, it does. It’s your clothing, after all. I sold it for five times the price of a decent new outfit.”
The padded armor and trousers I had sold to a merchant during my prime as an adventurer. Those were the very items he held in his hand.
…
So this bastard tracked me down using the clothes I once wore?
Isn’t that a little stalker-level creepy?
Eww, shivers.
I involuntarily shuddered a bit. I felt goosebumps rising from my arms to my back, as if my whole upper body was covered in them.
“Ugh…!”
Friede seemed to share a similar sentiment, glaring at the clothing Ord held with an even more fearsome gaze than before.
It was comparable to a hunchbacked monster staring at a golden ring that reveals writing when thrown into fire.
“What do you think? Does that clear the mystery up?”
“…Following a scent left on clothes is a bit revolting. I feel like I want to snatch it away and burn it right now.”
“If you want it, I could burn it for you.”
Ord nodded readily, then conjured a small flame to turn my old clothes into ashes.
…Why is this guy so friendly? His demeanor is oddly warm for an Abyss Priest.
Did he mean it when he said he wasn’t an enemy?
“Is your curiosity satisfied? If so, let’s get to the point.”
Ord dispersed the ashes in the wind as if showing he truly had no intention to fight, turning even the Makhyun away, revealing an outstretched right hand.
A normal palm devoid of any magical aura, as if offering a handshake.
Then he said,
“Let me get straight to the point. Why not join us?”
Out of nowhere, the Abyss Priest Ord parroted something foolishly grandiose, almost comparable to Gunther.
“What? Join you for what?”
I was left speechless, my mouth agape in confusion.
Shock, bewilderment, incredulity.
And a touch of disgust.
Was this how women must feel when confessions come from lowly humans?
To think this guy saw me as lowly trash just like the others… it was a deep insult.
“How dare you…!”
Before I could speak, Friede’s expression contorted in rage, practically radiating murderous intent—she seemed much more furious than I was.
“Wait, wait! Calm down for a sec.”
“Hilde, but…!”
“I’ll handle it. So just stay quiet for a moment.”
I grabbed Friede’s shoulders to calm her down and turned back to Ord, asking,
“What do you mean by that? Are you trying to recruit me to the Reverse Heaven Society… or the Exorcist Reverse Heaven Society?”
What kind of nonsense is it to even suggest joining?
“It’s similar but slightly different. You aren’t a magician or a priest, so you can’t become one of our kin and serve the Abyss, but even if you can’t be one of us, you can be our companion.”
Ord shook his head, explaining that he wasn’t trying to make me an Abyss Priest of the Reverse Heaven Society, but that he literally meant to team up.
“It would be beneficial for you as well. Joining us would free you from the persistent threats of pursuers, and our goals align with yours.”
What, are you going to achieve world peace or something?
“Well, doesn’t seem likely.”
“…You’re quite talkative for what the rumors say. Just listen until the end, would you? The conversation hasn’t concluded yet.”
Ord seemed quite annoyed with how often I interrupted him and sighed as he rubbed his forehead under the hood.
“……”
“Now… let me explain again. Our—Exorcist Reverse Heaven Society’s goal… the current objective is singular. To eliminate the vermin who call themselves heroes.”
Ah, is that so?
Of course, that’s what you’d want.
I nodded with a nonchalant look. That wasn’t a surprising statement at all.
It’s natural for an Abyss Priest to want to kill heroes since their job usually involves getting beaten by paladins and heroes. They must inevitably stick together, cursing the heroes.
They didn’t even realize that one of those heroes was just next to me!
…Hmm, if they figure that out, wouldn’t they attack immediately? Could I win if it came to fighting? I had been deliberately stalling to regain my strength, but I wasn’t sure yet.
“More precisely, you want to assassinate the self-proclaimed hero, Heid Gardarick Hervor. That’s our goal.”
Ah, I can agree to that.
These guys unexpectedly had good intentions. Their end result might not be bad, even if the motives were trashy.
“You were clearly targeting Gunther Hagen of Burgund, weren’t you? I heard you failed in your assassination attempt along with his following trash.”
…That was just a false accusation.
What assassination? I almost got killed by them! I had narrowly escaped thanks to fleeing quickly and the help of Friede.
“If you become our ally and aid in eliminating Heid, we will also help you deal with Gunther. How about it? Isn’t it a satisfactory proposal?”
Ord extended his hand toward me once more, speaking with an air of absolute confidence, as if there was no reason to decline his offer.
“Hmm…”
I released the grip from the hilt of my sword and casually cradled my chin, pondering for a moment.
About his proposal. About what choice I should make.
And then.
“…Yeah, that’s not a bad deal. As long as we can trust each other.”
I nodded, easing my guard and expressing that I was willing to accept the proposal.
Friede, standing beside me, looked at me in shock, but I pressed down firmly on her shoulder, calming her down.
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