In the Holy Kingdom, there was a knight. Not just any knight, but the ultimate knight who had honed his skills to prepare for impending crisis. The Paladin, Rednolt. He was the paladin of the Holy Empire Eiros and had reached the pinnacle of power for the Kingdom through sheer strength.
“…This is strange.”
He felt a sense of déjà vu. Today, something big was about to threaten the Kingdom.
It was odd. The corrupted Pope had surely been dealt with by the Goddess, so what was causing this feeling of unease?
Rednolt walked around the Kingdom, entirely focused. It was a light patrol, merely searching for anything out of the ordinary as he traversed the various places of the Kingdom.
There was no need to worry about external threats. The walls that always stood strong to protect the Kingdom were sturdy enough to withstand even a Demon God’s intrusion, at least for a short while.
So he needed to be cautious about the inside. While roaming the Kingdom, he soon spotted something unusual.
“…….”
They appeared to be ordinary people.
Children laughing and playing in the plaza, merchants loudly selling their goods in the marketplace, followers of the Goddess praying and worshipping fervently.
Everyone seemed just fine. It was a normal day in the Kingdom.
But something was off.
No matter how much they tried to deceive the eyes of everyone else, they could not deceive Rednolt’s. For decades, he had devoted himself to safeguarding the Kingdom, taking on the light title of paladin.
“Lafia.”
A girl with green hair and remarkable freckles. She was the kind who would bounce around the Kingdom energetically but would rather smile softly and offer prayers to the Goddess than run around.
“Lion.”
With warm brown hair and eyes. He was once a bold child who would shout that he would become a Solitary Hero to protect everyone.
And now, that boy was stealing from a merchant in the marketplace and fleeing.
“Ryan.”
The ever-pious priest. With a gentle smile, he always carried a pendant declaring everything as the Goddess’s will — until he ripped it from his neck, tossed it aside, and stomped on it.
——Crack!
The pendant shattered. Black liquid dripped from the broken figure of the Goddess.
“…….”
Rednolt carefully picked up the pendant and examined the sticky black fluid that flowed from it.
At that moment, he heard a sinister voice whisper in his ear.
Betray her, hate her, blame her, pierce her, burn her, trample her, despise her, resent her, kill yourself, self-harm, break her, shatter her, destroy her, tear her, choke her.
It was a horrific voice. It seemed as if it had gathered all the anguished screams from tormented souls.
Eerie, bizarre, and utterly foreign. The dreadful voice relentlessly whispered to him.
“Shut up!!”
——Boom!
Rednolt immediately unleashed his aura in resistance against the wicked voice.
The discarded pendant shattered to pieces, and the black tears flowed from the shattered figure of the Goddess, as if her broken eyes were screaming at him.
Why did you cast me aside? I despise you and resent you.
Terrible cursing voices echoed from every direction.
“Get lost!! My Goddess would never speak to me with such a vile voice!”
But his will did not waver. He drew upon the divine power he had realized as a paladin, shaking off the malevolent whispers.
Pure white divine energy radiated and wrapped around his body. He swept the flames of divine power with his hand, sending it out in all directions.
——Fwhoosh!
Purifying flames burst forth, cracking the air that had only moments ago been peaceful.
——Crack!
The sound of something breaking echoed, and the surrounding malevolent energy was completely annihilated.
“Gasp, gasp….”
It was a terrifying sound. The moment that the dreadful whispers vanished, Rednolt’s body swayed.
He planted his sword into the ground to steady himself and looked around.
“Ha, haha….”
Everyone was staring at him. The chaotic swirling black malice in their eyes turned to him, the lone ‘heretic’, with hatred.
It was a chilling sight.
Lafia, who had been playing joyfully.
Lion, who was running away.
Ryan, whose expression twisted in hatred.
The merchants, residents, priests, children.
They all were just staring silently at Rednolt.
“…I see.”
He realized.
There was no one in this Kingdom left with their sanity intact but him. The one behind all this chaos must surely be the Goddess’s adversary.
He had heard it too. The voice that ceaselessly brainwashed, corrupted, and tempted him, as if infecting him with madness.
Would I be able to break this insanity?
Only one way to find out. With that realization, he swung his sword.
Pure white purifying flames billowed around him like flowers blooming.
Ryan, who stood before him, tried to dodge late, but it was too slow. The purifying flames pierced through.
His flesh melted, and no horrific events occurred.
The purifying flames simply burned away the corruption inscribed upon him.
“Ah…?”
Ryan the priest stared blankly at his hands.
“Wh-what did I…….”
He appeared confused, clutching his head tightly while crying out in terrible pain, eventually collapsing.
“Collect yourself, Priest.”
“…Paladin Rednolt?”
“Many seem to have been entranced by the wicked voice. Please join me in prayer.”
“Yes, yes…!”
Ryan was bewildered. But he could tell he was genuinely devoted to the Goddess.
Therefore, he had to do his part.
Once again, white flames erupted from Rednolt’s sword, and white light blossomed from the clasped hands of Ryan.
The flames were swirling.
“Eh?”
Every time the light flickered.
“What is this?”
The lost consciousness of the people began to return. The frenzy in their eyes was elsewhere long gone.
Finally, a sigh of relief escaped Rednolt. Of course, he didn’t let it show. He was a knight who always had to stand tall before everyone.
He couldn’t reveal any signs of weakness.
“Everyone, you’re all okay now, so I shall go find the source of this evil.”
“I’ll follow you…!”
“No. It seems like the foe primarily uses mind control, and you’ve already fallen victim once. It’s too dangerous for you.”
“…….”
He held back Ryan, who tried to follow after him, just as he was about to dash off to find the source of all this.
—Tap.
“……?”
Someone grabbed his hand.
It was Ryan.
He was trembling, head lowered, tightly grasping his hand.
Rednolt assumed it was embarrassment. The shame of being unable to snap out of the wicked voice’s influence and having shattered the pendant of the Goddess brought forth guilt and self-hatred.
As he was about to offer comfort,
“Oh, the great one descends and mere creatures bow down, bury their heads in the ground, and cannot glance upon him, gouging out their eyes, tearing their own flesh to craft it, splitting their eardrums to serve the great one, and thereby become part of his greatness.”
“……!!”
There were no eyes.
From the sockets where eyes should have been, a black, shapeless liquid oozed.
The maddening chant grew faster, transforming into something even Rednolt, a trained paladin, couldn’t comprehend at that speed.
“Die, fear, worship. The great one descends!”
The horrific chorus continued. Before they knew it, even the onlookers, now horrifyingly twisted, joined in unison, banging their heads against the ground and chanting dreadful verses.
Air was choked out of Rednolt’s lungs. He couldn’t hide his panic and smacked his arm away.
——Thud!
His arm, now drenched in the black liquid, simply crumbled to the ground.
Regardless of everything else, the multitude of people — no, the monsters plagued by insanity kept uttering words, banging their heads against the ground.
There were at least tens of thousands of them.
Each and every one of them striking their heads together shook the earth.
No, it was more than that.
——Guhhhhhh…
Buildings were collapsing.
Simultaneously, something was trying to break free.
Endlessly black.
And concurrently, horrifying hellish monsters.
The very earth trembled. As the monsters emerged more and more, Rednolt found it hard to breathe even.
He could feel an enormous presence.
“Be, below….”
It was hard to get the words out.
He instinctively felt it.
No, it was harder not to feel it.
The massive presence below his feet. He felt as if he were a mere bug standing atop an endlessly vast monster’s maw.
His limbs trembled.
The shaking earth and the rising cacophony of insanity grew ever louder.
But.
“Guh!”
Rednolt drove his sword into himself.
Clang!
The blade pierced his ears, spilling bright red blood and cold glimmering light.
In that painful moment, clarity returned.
He clenched his teeth hard and glared at the earth.
“Come, I am Rednolt, the knight of the Goddess! I will not yield!!”
The instant he uttered those words, everything fell silent.
The tremors that shook the ground.
The echoes of those mad beings hitting their heads and screaming.
All of it fell quiet.
Rednolt suddenly felt the sun being blocked out by clouds.
Of course, that was to be expected.
If it weren’t, there wouldn’t be any being capable of eclipsing this vast expanse.
Rednolt felt dread at the shadow swallowing the Kingdom.
Cold sweat dripped down. He could not bring himself to turn away.
The entity behind him.
He wasn’t ready to see the being that could cast a shadow over the Holy Kingdom.
But he had to face it.
Slowly, he turned his head.
And then.
“Ah.”
That too had merged with the madness of the great one.
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