“You, you will all die!! Heretics will die!! By death, we will become one with the great one…!!”
The man’s words couldn’t reach the end.
It was because Rudell had pierced his body with the spikes of shadow.
“Ugh… ack…!!”
“Tch…”
As the man’s final cries echoed, he collapsed, and Rudell clicked his tongue at the sight.
Thinking he could even communicate with that scum was a big mistake.
Even the church that worships the true god shows the fanaticism of crazed believers, so there was no way to reason with those who serve the evil god.
“I had a feeling, but there it is.”
Leje, who was watching the situation, shrugged as if she hadn’t expected any better.
“What do we do now?”
“Well… honestly, I’m not sure either.”
To her question, Rudell let out a short sigh and replied.
As always, this situation was veering far away from the original story.
Just like any other time, Rudell needed time to understand the situation, but this time, there was no room for that.
From the onset, those bastards only moved at the last minute when they had something planned.
If they were revealing their presence, it meant that whatever the situation was, it wasn’t good.
The only thing he could do now was to reduce the number of church members, even if just a little.
“Sigh… if only there was something like a magnet. Something that could just pull them out of hiding.”
“A magnet?”
At Leje’s complaints, Rudell felt something flash through his mind.
Surely… surely he was forgetting something…
“Hmm…”
He had to recall.
He had to remember, Rudell.
As he persistently prodded his mind for that something, it happened.
“Right! I completely forgot about that!”
“Whoa!? What, what’s going on all of a sudden!?”
After much contemplation, Rudell shouted, and Leje jumped in surprise, staring wide-eyed at him.
“There’s really something like a magnet that you talked about!”
“Huh… what do you mean by that?”
Leje tilted her head in confusion, having never seen anything like a magnet around this vicinity.
“You’re really a genius, Leje!”
“There are times when you really freak me out, you know…”
With Rudell shouting in excitement, Leje shuddered lightly.
“We don’t have time! Let’s move quickly.”
And so, leaving her behind, Rudell started making his way through the forest.
*
Rudell headed toward the safe zone where other students were gathered.
“You’ve arrived!”
“Hmm…”
[W-we’re glad you’re safe…!!]
Greeting Rudell, who arrived in the safe zone, were other trembling students in fear and the faculty calming them down.
And there were Silphier, Kurt, and Eleor, who had returned early after receiving word.
“So, why did you call us back?”
Kurt, already splattered with blood from the battles, asked like that.
“I thought of a way to find them.”
Of course, it wasn’t certain yet, but Rudell thought that he had no better idea than this.
[Is that really true!?]
“As expected, Count Rudellheit… that’s amazing.”
At his words, both Silphier and Eleor looked at him with expressions of admiration…
“So? What is that method?”
“It’s simple.”
With a faint smile at Leje’s question, he looked around.
Not long after, a figure caught his eye, and Rudell’s eyes sparkled as he approached.
And…
“Count Capeles.”
“Count Weinstein?”
In front of him, who had stopped his steps, was the necromancer, Capeles, who could barely hide his gloomy mood having lost his usefulness.
“W-what’s the matter?”
“I need Count Capeles’ help.”
“My help…?”
At his sudden comment, Capeles looked at him in surprise.
What could a necromancer, who couldn’t even see souls, contribute?
His expression seemed to say just that.
“You mentioned to me last time, right? Since you came into this forest, you’ve had a feeling like something is drawing you in.”
“Did I? Is there any problem with that?”
“The direction. Can you tell me?”
*
Rudell and his party were charging through the forest with Capeles.
“Is this the right direction?”
“Um… seems like it might be…”
At Rudell’s question, Capeles answered uncertainly.
However, despite his demeanor, Rudell was convinced that they were heading in the right direction.
And for good reason…
“Kill the heretics!!”
“Death for the God of Death!!”
“Return to the embrace of the Great One and become one in the end!!”
The further they went, the more church members charged towards them.
Those who had only been focused on some incomprehensible ritual were now blocking Rudell and his party’s path.
In this current situation, it could only mean one thing.
“I can feel their divine power. It’s repulsive.”
Even Eleor seemed to feel their divine power, wrinkling her face.
Her expression, now infused with fanaticism, looked nothing like a saint.
After defeating the blocking church members for a while…
“It’s right ahead!!”
“Here? But there’s nothing here.”
As Capeles halted, Leje said in disbelief, looking around.
All that surrounded them was just forest.
However…
“I smell something unpleasant… it’s hard to describe.”
“I’m also sensing something strange…”
And it seemed like Kurt and Eleor frowned as if sensing something.
“Is this really the right place?”
“Of course. Everyone, get ready.”
Responding to Leje, who squinted as if she didn’t believe it, Rudell raised his magic power.
A moment later, Rudell lightly stomped his feet…
-crackle!!
“Huh? Wait!?”
“Count Rudellheit!? What the heck are you doing!?”
“EEEEK!?”
“…”
As the ground began to crack around Rudell, his companions voiced their confusion.
But Rudell still smiled and said, “If we want to catch the rats, we’ve got to go underground, right?”
-KABOOM!!
Simultaneously, the ground collapsed, opening a deep chasm beneath them…
“YYAAAAAH!?”
[Oh, mamaaa-!!]
“AAAHH!! I don’t want to die!!”
“God of the Goddess, please grant me your protection!!”
Amidst the falling debris, they began to plunge downward.
As they fell from a height of nearly dozens of meters…
“Levitate.”
With Rudell’s spell, a translucent barrier enveloped them, and their falling speed gradually slowed down.
Before long, the ground, presumed to be some structure, came into view, and they landed with light footfalls.
“My goodness…”
“What is all this?”
[W-where is this…?]
“Oh my goddess…”
The place they arrived at looked like some kind of temple.
On either side of the long corridor stood gruesome statues.
Sinister sculptures that seemed to express all the deaths in the world.
From the braziers beneath them, ominous black flames blazed, and the tiles on the ground were etched with what looked like the faces of suffering humans.
A sight so unpleasant that just looking at it left them all speechless.
Then, at that moment…
“Oh my goodness…”
From Capeles’s lips came a voice of disbelief as he gazed ahead as if enchanted.
“Count Capeles? Do you see something?”
At his voice, Rudell voiced a puzzled inquiry.
“The souls… the souls are crying out… this is… this is hell!!”
“I see nothing at all.”
[Me neither…]
Since the souls were in the realm of the necromancer, Rudell and the others couldn’t see anything.
“I think I know… this space is… filled with sorrow.”
“I’m not sure, but it definitely feels unpleasant.”
Only Eleor, the saint of the church, and Kurt, with his primal senses, nodded slightly at Capeles’s words, seeming to feel something.
But, that was only for a moment.
“Oh, something is coming from the front!!”
At Silphier’s cry, they turned their heads to see armed church members charging at them.
“Block them!”
“Don’t let them disrupt the plan!!”
They were rushing at them, exuding a sinister magic power, likely aided by dark mages, a sight that would intimidate any ordinary person.
However…
“Is everyone ready?”
“Of course!”
[I-I’m ready…!!]
“Hmm…”
“I’m ready too.”
None of them were the type to be intimidated by such a sight.
The future world’s strongest, Leje.
Kurt, who could fight toe-to-toe with her.
Silphier, the greatest genius and researcher, and Eleor, the saint of the Gaia Church.
Though they still had some way to go, they were at a party level that could easily be called a hero squad.
“Alright! Then let’s get started!”
With that smile of pride appearing on Rudell’s face as he looked at them all.
With Rudell’s shout, they charged straight at the fanatics!
