13 (74)

Louis realized Nestor was not dead yet. The information should have come in, but it did not. Forget a reward—the number had not even been counted. He was not dead. There was no point asking more. Nestor’s eyes were still rolled back, and he had no life in him. The Abyss began to shake. The ceiling cracked wide open and dropped thick fragments.

The things like glass shards fell in patters at first, then soon poured down like a shower. The headless Demon God statue tilted and collapsed because of the shaking ground. The horses were startled and bucking wildly, so the cavalrymen were busy trying to seize them. Since the Abyss was collapsing, it seemed certain that the caster had died. Louis moved and focused on Nestor’s bleeding body. Whether his heart was beating or not could be checked with this much.

‘It stopped.’

It had stopped. He was dead. His head had fallen off and blood was flowing like a fountain, so it would have been a miracle if his heart were still beating. The information window was still silent. The space was being released. Louis had expected the Abyss to collapse quickly, but after the ceiling was completely shattered, it slowly began to deform.

Nestor was dangling in Louis’s hand. His mind likewise went blank, like a white sheet. It had been a long time since he had thought there was nothing in this world to fear, but that question just now gave him chills. How had he figured it out? Acting, timing, movement, release. He had neglected nothing. It was perfect. Yet the result was awful. Louis knew Nestor was not dead.

“I know you are not dead. If you do not speak, I will crush your face like this.”

“………”

There was no answer. Nestor thought it would be better if Louis simply crushed his face. Even if his head was smashed, as long as even part of it remained, he could revive. That was why this spell was so remarkable. Mitchell Kulin approached.

“He is dead. This place should return to normal after about six hours. We will take the corpse.”

“………”

“What is wrong?”

“Check the corpse.”

Mitchell Kulin’s eyes widened. His expression said, Surely not. He quickly ran over and checked Nestor’s headless body. After some time passed, his expression relaxed as if relieved, and he turned back toward Louis.

“In my opinion, he is certainly dead. More importantly, this rope is amazing. It seems certain that it was lost from the Papal Office…….”

“…….”

While Mitchell Kulin was talking about the rope, Louis spoke.

“What does the Papal Court do when it takes a corpse?”

“They sprinkle holy water on the corpse and burn it with fire. According to prophecy, fire purifies all things.”

“…..I see. Then we should try burning it here.”

“Pardon? It would be difficult to perform that ritual here.”

“I think Nestor is still alive. If we burn him, we will know for certain.”

Mitchell Kulin looked as though he could not understand, but since it was Louis’s order, he looked for mages in order to carry it out. While the mages were coming toward Louis, Nestor was thinking so hard about a way to escape that his head felt as though it would fall off.

‘This insane holy knight bastard!’

He had secretly hoped the holy knight would untie him on the spot to retrieve the rope. The holy knight had only flapped his mouth and did not even touch his body. Louis’s question had a sharp point to it. Nestor had been nervously waiting, thinking, Surely the holy knight won’t say that, but the bastard said it.

Fire purified all things. Kulin thought the process of sprinkling holy water was more important to the purification, and as far as Nestor knew, the Papal Court taught it that way. However, what he feared most was fire itself.

“I wonder if there is truly a need to go this far, but….”

“Set it alight.”

When Louis spoke, the mages lit the fire. The fire covered Nestor’s body. Louis also threw Nestor’s head, which he had been holding, inside. The sensation of his body burning was horrible, but Nestor held his breath. If even the slightest sound escaped, it would truly be the end. He had leeway. He had five lives, so even if he lost a few, his strategy was to hold his breath and wait. Reality was different from his thoughts. One life was flickering. His body had already exposed bone. Louis was still watching. Nestor was going mad.

“Burning it will take some time.”

“I will wait.”

Nestor burned away like that. When his body had completely burned, one life vanished. His remaining lives were now four. A considerable amount of time passed, and they became three, then two. Soon two became one. Nestor knew he had to choose. He had only one life left now, and if he lost that, everything would be over. He was afraid. He feared death. And he regretted it. Louis was so seriously strong that he surpassed his predictions. Before his final life burned away, his reason collapsed, and he decided to escape.

One thousand cavalrymen filled the center. In the middle, the fire blazed fiercely. Louis had his arms crossed in front of it, and the people standing beside him were anxiously looking back and forth between Louis and the flames. They could not grasp what Louis was thinking at all.

At that moment, the corpse, which had been lying there, suddenly raised its waist, fumbled around for its head, and fit it back on. It was burning, and half of it had melted and flowed down like candle wax. Its eyes were empty, but after it looked at Louis once, it ran in the opposite direction. The cavalrymen were shocked, and Mitchell Kulin in particular looked as though his jaw had dropped.

“I knew it.”

Louis lifted the corner of his lips with a smirk, pulled out a short sword as long as an arm from his waist, drew it back, and threw it. The short sword split the flames and left a blue afterimage as it lodged into the back of Nestor’s head. A crack sounded, as if his skull had split, and he collapsed with a thud. Apostle Nestor, who had waged a silent and cruel war against the Papal Court for forty years, died so absurdly like this. Contrary to his prediction that he would live for two hundred years, he met his end far too quickly and emptily.

‘Heh heh.’

Louis was satisfied. Kulin drew his sword, shouted a battle cry, and ran forward. Not only Kulin, but dozens of cavalrymen also ran in that direction. Louis leisurely stepped on the stirrup and mounted his horse.

One chiliarch looked up at Louis and spoke.

“Yo…. Your Highness?”

“He is dead. All forces will leave this place from now on.”

“But that corpse moved.”

“I will confirm it and carry out the order. Move first.”

He looked back and forth between Louis and the corpse, then shouted a salute and a slogan before running toward the corpse. Louis passed over the blood-stained ground. Some of the troops were pulling civilians out from below the pit. Louis left the Abyss like that. Outside, the sound of insects filled the air, and the air was fresh. When he raised his head, he saw the moon. It was a full moon.

The number had originally been 9, so one of Louis’s subordinates had succeeded in killing one more Wandering Guild member. If they caught just two more, this too would bring in a reward. Even if it was not at the national stage, it seemed likely to give a generous number of points. Louis opened the map. Duke Christopher’s territory extended clearly. Even though they were still in the middle of fighting, gold and jewels were drawn at the edge of the plains, where the mountain range first began.

His mind was slowly returning. Rose Christopher slowly opened his hazy eyes. Several misty scents were rising as if fog had settled, and a woman was mounted on top of him. Since his body had no strength at all, he glanced downward. He could see her face. A mole beside her nose and lips, then her neck, and beneath the faintly drawn veins, her voluptuous breasts shook. Farther below, her two thighs were gripping him. His head hurt. His mind was blank. He felt as though he would remember something, but it did not connect properly. One man was bringing something over, while another rushed in.

“Lord Nestor has been defeated!”

The man was so startled that he dropped what he was holding. The sound was loud.

“What are you talking about?!”

“I said Lord Nestor is dead.”

“How do you know that?”

“All the magic tools Lord Nestor operated have gone out.”

“You’re joking, right? Maybe he was simply wounded or….”

“The Abyss went out.”

“My God.”

He looked around and said,

“What do we do about the duke?”

“Think about running away! If we’re caught, it won’t end simply!!”

The young woman also seemed flustered after hearing that. Rose Christopher felt the events so far gradually rushing back in like a tide. The things he had done flooded in like a panorama. Screams, blood, massacres. He struck the woman on top of him. The woman fell to the floor, then awkwardly got up. Rose Christopher staggered to his feet.

“Wh…. what on earth happened…. Harel…. Speak.”

She shed tears.

“You have returned to your senses. My duke. I do not know where I should begin explaining.”

“No…. no. My memories are…. clear. Are the things I did true?”

She could not answer Christopher’s question and trembled. Her appearance was more effective than any answer. Christopher sank back down into the chair.

“Heh…. hehehe…. I…. I did such things. Give me a knife.”

“My duke.”

“Give me a knife.”

She pretended to give him a knife, then suddenly drove a dagger into the duke’s chest. Blood slowly seeped out. The woman spat at the duke and said,

“Did you think I wouldn’t know if you acted…? You dog. Even if I die now, I have no regrets.”

“My daughter……. My daughter…. Where is she?”

“Do not put the princess’s name in your mouth.”

“Please…. There is just one thing I cannot remember. Did I kill my daughter?”

The woman put on her clothes and was about to leave through the door, but after seeing Duke Christopher dying in the chair, she hesitated for a moment and spoke.

“The princess crossed over to the Duchy of Eron.”

After she left, the room became quiet.

Louis led the cavalry and arrived at Christopher’s territory. Thousands of cavalrymen were seething with killing intent. Skilled soldiers infiltrated and opened the castle gate. The castle was so empty that it opened that easily. There were almost no troops. Inside, there were even fewer. Louis looked around. The buildings were bleak. No one walked along the streets, and whenever there seemed to be the slightest sign of people, windows clattered shut.

The city was clearly starving. There were not even rats wandering around, but what made it more certain was that Louis’s information window showed this place lit in red. Louis entered the square. In the square, hundreds of dried corpses were skewered and drying out. The cavalrymen’s faces became even more murderous.

“Everyone dismount and cremate them.”

The cavalrymen dismounted and shot forward to pull out pieces of wood. When they had pulled out about half, Louis’s information window rang.

‘He died.’

“Derek and the cavalry under Derek will follow me. We will enter the duke’s castle like this. The rest will clean up this place, go around the city, and announce our victory to the people. If you see corpses, collect them. If you see enemies, urge them to surrender. If they do not comply, kill them all.”

The cavalrymen shouted slogans loud enough to shake the city.