The only inn in Weinstein County.
Only about ten guests would come in a year, but today it was bustling with customers.
Of course, this bustling was a bit different from feeling vibrant.
“…”
Janice, the innkeeper, looked at the diners with a tense face.
Each one was hiding their face beneath a black hood, eating in silence without a word exchanged.
Even with nearly twenty people gathered, the complete lack of conversation created a strange sense of dread.
“I’m really scared to death…”
But she couldn’t just turn away the rare guests.
Her inn was her personal business, but at the same time, it received support from the House of Weinstein.
Even in a small territory, there should be a place for visitors, right?
Without her inn, visitors would have to sleep rough or borrow a villager’s barn.
So, her inn was able to operate even with such a small number of guests each year.
Anyhow. While she was wiping dirty mugs, trying to read the mood of the guests she didn’t like…
Clang!
A man entered the inn with the sound of the doorbell signaling a new arrival.
He wore a dark cloak different from the others inside.
With black hair and striking red eyes peeking below, he made an impression.
Instantly, the attention of the group in the hall turned to him, but he casually walked to the counter as if he didn’t care about their stares.
The crowd continued to watch the man closely, but soon returned to their meals, realizing he wasn’t interested in them.
“Welcome.”
Why were only such scary-looking customers coming today?
With that thought, Janice greeted the man.
“What would you like to order?”
In response to her question, the man took out a gold coin and a small token made of metal from his coat.
It was a metal piece sculpted with a book, a shield, and wings.
This was none other than the seal of the House of Weinstein.
Seeing it, Janice flinched and stared at the man, but quickly put the items into her pocket as if it were normal.
“Apple soda.”
Then he said with a heavy voice that almost pressured the listener.
It sounded like a dorky order for a grown man, but it actually held hidden meaning.
Apple soda was the favorite drink of Rudell.
In other words, Rudell was involved in this affair, and the gold coin indicated he would cover any financial losses incurred at the inn.
“Please wait a moment.”
Understanding the meaning, Janice opened a storage door on the inn’s floor and headed downstairs…
Only the clock hanging on one wall ticked away, breaking the silence.
‘Just as my lord said.’
Meanwhile, Kyle, who took a seat at the counter, thought this while observing the other diners.
Dressed in black robes and hoods, they quietly ate their meals.
One could question whether it was unreasonable to think they looked suspicious.
The northern part of Weinstein territory was full of dangerous monsters, and sometimes hunters would come in groups to hunt those monsters.
In fact, skilled hunters often emitted a similar vibe to these diners while eating in the hall.
But if that had been the only issue, Kyle wouldn’t have reported it to Rudell separately.
‘The token my lord mentioned…’
The jewelry peeking out from under their cloaks.
A cross-shaped piece adorned in the center with a red-eye pattern matched what Rudell had previously told Kyle.
[If you see someone with such a mark, you should report it.]
[That’s right. Don’t go out alone.]
[Understood.]
For Kyle, Rudell’s commands were absolute.
Rudell was the one who saved him from a life of slavery, so Kyle was prepared to accept any order— even if it meant his death— without hesitation.
‘For my lord, I, Kyle, would even sacrifice my life.’
With thoughts that would make Rudell horrified, Kyle waited for Rudell’s next signal.
*
Meanwhile, on the roof of a nearby house far from the inn.
The moonlight was obscured by clouds, leaving only a pitch-black darkness surrounding the area.
And there was Rudell, peering into the inn from the roof.
“There seem to be about twenty people visible, and around five lurking nearby…”
The thick darkness obscured his view, but it posed no significant problem for Rudell.
Because in this world, there was magic, real magic.
As proof of that, Rudell’s eyes glowed faintly.
He could see through the pitch-black darkness as if it were broad daylight.
Plus, he had magic to sense the life energy of the creatures in his sight.
“It doesn’t look like there are any more.”
Twenty-five, huh…
A number that could be considered either a lot or a little.
After confirming everything one last time, Rudell said that while stretching lightly.
“At last, this day has come.”
Their true identities were of the Church of the Eaters of Death.
Long ago, during an age when gods walked the earth, it was difficult to express in numbers.
This was known as the Age of Myths.
Countless life forms flourished their civilizations under the guidance of the gods.
Overcoming life and death, all beings enjoyed unimaginable abundance by believing in the gods.
It could be called a paradise, but…
Like stories related to paradise, true paradise couldn’t exist.
The gods were not perfect beings, and conflicts began to arise even among them.
That conflict eventually led to a great war that swept the entire world between the gods and the beings beneath them.
The Celestial War.
An unprecedented war of death that decimated the world, leaving only a few life forms alive.
When the remaining creatures were few, the gods realized one ironic fact.
The war they fought for themselves had ironically weakened the gods, which relied on the reverence of beings.
The gods, having lost the worship, finally understood that they had led themselves to destruction, but by then the world had long since become a land of death.
In regret, the gods tried to restore the world, but they had consumed much power due to the war, and their worshippers had diminished.
Faced with a situation where their very existence might be on the line due to lack of worship, the gods decided to scatter the seeds of life across the world and depart.
They would leave this world to avoid annihilation and hope that, with time, life would flourish again, so they could regain their strength based on the revived worship.
At a glance, this seemed like a common myth, but…
In reality, there was a hidden black hand behind this war.
That was the evil god, Thanatos.
Death, chaos, destruction— he gained power from negative events and was gradually losing strength in a world turned paradise by the gods.
On the brink of annihilation, he grew furious at other gods who allowed him to die and secretly spread distrust and hatred among the other gods and their followers.
And just as he intended, the gods began the Celestial War, losing their strength while Thanatos, who drew power from death, was able to accumulate considerable strength.
To put it another way, Thanatos could influence the world ahead of the other gods, and he wished to become the absolute one and only god.
And so he began acting much earlier than the other gods, and that point was the present time.
“I can’t let this go as they please.”
Honestly, Rudell didn’t care about the gods’ troubles.
However, he did not want a world where Thanatos seized the position of god.
In the original novel, the atrocities committed by the Church of the Eaters of Death were beyond imagination.
Offering entire cities full of tens of thousands of people as mere tributes to the gods, inciting conflict between nations to spark wars.
Spreading deadly diseases was just the tip of the iceberg, and they casually committed abhorrent acts that would make anyone nauseous.
A world where such beings worshipped a god becoming the main deity could hardly be called anything less than hell.
For Rudell, who desired a peaceful life, that scenario must never come to pass.
“Well then. Shall we start soon?”
Muttering that, Rudell rose from his position, concentrating his mind with a short sigh.
And at the same time, the surrounding air began to shift…
“Trash belongs in the trash can.”
Muttering that, Rudell covered his face with a mask.
