Chapter: 202
Under the blazing sunlight, an old man dozed off with a blade of grass hanging from his mouth. One half of the old man was shaded by the leaves, but the other half was sizzling in the sunlight.
He probably didn’t initially intend to photosynthesize just half his body. He must have started off sitting comfortably in the shade, enjoying his time. However, as the sun shifted, the shadow moved away, leaving him in this predicament.
Daggadak. Daggadak.
A wagon glided past him. It wasn’t particularly large, but upon closer inspection, it was clearly a high-quality carriage.
Inside the carriage, a noble young lady peeked out the window and smiled at the sight of the old man. In just an hour, he would be half white and half black, looking utterly ridiculous.
That is, unless some kind-hearted traveler woke him up or he managed to rouse himself.
If the young lady had the power to stop the carriage… she might have paused the journey for a moment to give the old man a nudge toward some other spacious shade.
But she had no authority at all. She was not traveling but was instead being isolated from her family to a faraway land. She didn’t even have the right to extend a tiny kindness.
Jalgrak.
Though adorned and disguised like a pretty accessory, she was bound with magical shackles that firmly suppressed her powers. The young lady could exert no influence whatsoever.
Goodbye to the shimmering ice sculptures of her hometown.
Goodbye to the reindeer watching over bustling humans with warm eyes, and to the coniferous forests that proudly thrived even in the chilling winter. Goodbye to all.
Far away, far from where only the Goddess knew her true self. In a rarely visited, secluded little monastery, the young lady would meet her end.
But she held no regrets.
Born with blue blood, she enjoyed many good things. The remaining days of her life would be painted in a dull gray devoid of joy and sorrow… but the sparkles of her 15 years in her hometown would forever remain in her heart.
And then again, it was unlikely, but what if a dashing prince riding a white horse suddenly appeared to rescue her?
Daggadak. Daggadak.
The carriage carrying the young lady passed by.
The dozing old man immediately opened his eyes. A glint of malice shone beneath his wrinkled eyelids, sharp as a finely honed dagger.
He had merely pretended to sleep; he hadn’t truly dozed off for even a moment. His job was to pick out prey.
The carriage was luxurious, but it bore no family crest. There were no knights, and the coachman appeared to be a clueless young man who had never worked with a sword.
Next to the coachman sat a mercenary who looked capable with a blade. However, the crystal ball hidden in his arms floated a single star above it.
Level 1. A low-tier mercenary.
Those who wielded metal rather than wood were undoubtedly elites. While this mercenary was somewhat competent, in this village resided a perfectly seasoned ‘holy knight’ of level 3. He wouldn’t even be a match for the holy knight.
All things considered, it was worth a try. This was a secluded path rarely traveled by people. A single wagon could vanish without a trace. The old man signaled.
“Pull the rope.”
Bapfaeng──!
The rope stretched tight across the path where the wagon was heading, aligned perfectly at the height of the horses’ knees.
“Huh, wha—?!”
The coachman noticed the oddity too late and tried to change direction.
Hihihihing…!!
Thud, clatter!
The horses screeched as they fell, and the wagon shook and toppled over. Meanwhile, the noble young lady, lost in her thoughts, rolled across the interior as it crashed violently.
Caught completely off guard, pain was a delayed reaction. By the time the young lady came to her senses, her entire body was aching. An attack? Was it an ambush? But why?
Was hiding away in the monastery not supposed to guarantee her safety?
“Ugh, huff…”
Her vision spun, making her dizzy. Did she hit her head along the way? The young lady leaned out of the overturned wagon, swaying.
The poor coachman lay dead, his neck broken. Although she felt sadness, she quickly averted her gaze. Now she needed to confirm the identity of her assailants. Who were they?
She raised her eyes.
There, townsfolk armed with pitchforks and tridents surrounded her in a circle. And the sound of clanging metal echoed: Chaeng-! Ching-!
It was common for the impoverished mountain villages to turn into bandit lairs, but she never expected to experience something like this firsthand.
The coachman had chosen this desolate forest route to avoid alerting others about her being exiled to the monastery. That choice had been their undoing.
The wagon did have guards… a watcher. She had heard the mercenary had been working for ten years. Surely, he could handle a group of poorly armed villagers.
Yet the young lady’s expectations were swiftly dashed.
A man in his mid-thirties, towering around 2 meters and brimming with muscle like marble, toyed with the hired mercenary like a plaything.
The disparity in magical power, control, and combat skills was overwhelming. The mercenary was soon cornered, missing an arm. His face was a canvas of confusion and despair as he exclaimed,
“…Th-this sword technique… Why is a holy knight here with a band of mountain bandits──!”
“If you’ve caught on, I can’t let you live. Everything is for my noble Goddess, so don’t hold a grudge against death.”
The holy knight lifted a heavy greatsword. Beneath the shadow of the massive blade, the mercenary, with a face stained by rage and frustration, managed to leave his final words.
“You never intended to spare me from the start… ugh.”
The mercenary was effortlessly cleaved in half, along with the trees that obstructed the sword’s path.
Thump. The fallen trees collapsed, landing with a horrifying thud atop the grotesque corpse. The sound of bones and flesh being crushed resonated, transforming it into a vibrant grave.
Stunned by the shock, the townsfolk came over and forcibly dragged the young lady to her feet. They had captured a meal, so they needed to take it back to their nest, right? The young lady resisted.
“L-let me go…!”
“If you follow quietly, you won’t face a grim fate. Otherwise, you might get whipped and have to crawl like a dog.”
“Your skin is so fair; a smack would leave marks on your backside. Hehe…”
Their vulgar rudeness and overt desires tormented the young lady’s heart with an edge she had never encountered before, causing her strength to drain away.
Even without the magical restraining device, she knew she could never outrun a monster like the holy knight. Resisting was futile. There was no means of escape.
The young lady was dragged toward the village, confined in a filthy underground prison.
===============================================================
“Finally got something done today, cheers!”
Hehehe… cheers!
The villagers surrounded a bonfire, raising their cups. The girl they had captured appeared to be of high status, and selling her would yield a hefty profit.
Passersby had dwindled on this path lately, and they hadn’t had a successful harvest in quite some time, but today, fortune had smiled upon them. What a truly lucky day.
Well, perhaps it wasn’t today but a week ago?
Amid the festive atmosphere, a village youth casually asked the village chief.
“So, how did that holy knight end up involved with our business? I just can’t wrap my head around it.”
“I don’t know either, kid.”
“Didn’t you and he have a long chat? You mean to say you talked for so long without hearing a reason? If you don’t want to share, just say so, don’t leave me hanging.”
“N-no, I really don’t know. The only thing he mentioned was bizarre stuff. Do something about it yourself.”
That holy knight, resembling a bear, arrived in the village just a week ago from the Elmest Territory. The middle-aged village chief had thought their human trafficking scheme was in danger and was preparing to gather all the village’s money as a bribe, but…
The holy knight said he “already knew.”
Furthermore, he insisted that their trafficking was a sacred task greatly satisfying to the Goddess and urged them to continue capturing and selling people with all their might.
(Though the holy knight peppered in various explanations about how the Goddess purified the world through pure souls, all the villagers heard was pure nonsense.)
And he instructed them to prepare the “flesh of the Goddess,” claiming he had his own business to attend to.
“The flesh of the Goddess…?”
“They said the Goddess was dying or something? That bear-like guy was crying like a waterfall, babbling about how some monks failed and thus the Goddess died. We need to resurrect her, he said.”
“What do you mean, the Goddess can die…? Isn’t she a god, so she doesn’t die?”
“Beats me. I only know how to put a noose around a girl’s neck.”
The chief thought the holy knight had either gone mad or that the world had flipped upside down.
Yet regardless, it seemed beneficial for them. A monster of unknown strength was offering to assist their village business.
Even the task of acquiring the “flesh of the Goddess” seemed to bring some twisted form of joy.
The holy knight required a woman of utmost beauty, and so he had carelessly tossed the less-than-desirable quarry to the villagers for free.
However, he insisted that if they ended up playing with her and she died, he wanted her body returned to him.
They knew very well what to call such despicable behavior. This holy knight must be a dark mage. One who commits horrendous acts like extracting souls from people.
But, for all the reports they had heard, he didn’t seem all that frightening. He communicated well, and cooperation was smooth.
Sometimes, when he sobbed profusely while praying to a glass bottle containing some liquid… and murmured about “nests” or “pleasures,” it would send a slight chill down their spines.
But all in all, wasn’t he an ally for now? A powerful one at that.
“Remember that level detector the holy knight gave us? I secretly tested it on him. It showed three stars! That means level 3, like gold-tier!”
“Gold-tier mercenaries are known to command huge amounts of money from noble lords, right?”
“Exactly. He could chop an ogre in half and wipe out a village if he set his mind to it. A genuine monster! I think he might be the strongest in the world.”
“Aren’t there more powerful beings above level 3? I’ve heard the Empire boasts about some sort of… whatever.”
The chief scoffed.
Fairy tales are just that—fairy tales. There’s no way such creatures exist. Heck, even this holy knight seems too strong to be real; humans can’t possibly grow beyond that.
He was just trying to intimidate them into submission. Probably making a fuss about nothing. Stories of a single person breaking mountains or bringing the sun down are only found in the fairy tales told to children.
If that were true, those so-called ‘legends’ could upend the world if they felt like it. One person could obliterate ten or even a hundred villages.
That didn’t make any sense.
The frog in the well gulped down his beer. They were intoxicated by their own romantic notions. They believed they could continue capturing and selling people, making money, and that this beautiful cycle would roll on indefinitely.
As they reveled in laughter and chatter, a scout rushed in breathlessly.
“A wagon is coming this way again!”
“What about the old man?”
“He says… uhh… they aren’t showing any stars at all? And they’ve got three girls! There’s one guy, but he looks weak and scrawny. And all three girls are incredibly beautiful!”
“Today must be our lucky day! Hey, stop eating, gather the tools! And tell the holy knight to come!”
The chief commanded with a hearty laugh. Three girls would be more than enough for the villagers. What a beautiful life this was!
They hastily made their way toward the forest path.
===============================================================
They set the same plan in motion, pulling the rope with all their might to match the timing of the approaching wagon. The taut rope swept across the horses’ legs.
With the sound of the horse’s cry, the wagon flipped and skidded across the ground.
The holy knight stood stiffly, arms crossed, while the villagers cheered as they drew closer to the overturned wagon. But… something felt off.
Strange, calm dialogue drifted from the upturned carriage.
“I told you to be careful! I said to be cautious!”
“…No, when they go to the inn, I thought they’d serve meals laced with sleeping powder. Flipping the wagon over like this? What if the hostage’s neck breaks and they die? Obviously, if you think—”
“Dullards don’t think like that! Did you take the bet? Do you follow my orders? Hehehe!”
“Aw, come on… So, who’s gonna do it, you or me? Oh dear, did I upset the Tower Master? Did you fall over just ten minutes into using a pillow for your knees? Oh no.”
A silence fell.
Moments later, the villagers surrounding the wagon felt a sensation as if white ants were crawling inside their heads. And then, in a whispery chant:
“…Withdraw the light, shut your eyes. ‘Dark Out’.”
The world became utterly black. So dark that she couldn’t even tell where her limbs were.
Night had come.
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