Chapter 2

“Where is the child?”

“Who, who are you?”

What the village head, who had run with all his might, saw were the terrified couple and Hamel.

A young mother and her husband stood in front of the dilapidated farmhouse.

Hamel opened his robe to show his clerical habit.

“I’m from the Order.”

Only then did the man brighten with recognition and blurt out urgently.

“Th-that… by the time we came to our senses the child was already gone… Ah! Now that I think about it, the closed door, the window seems to have been open…”

“Understood.”

Hamel nodded and headed toward the window.

It was then.

The woman who had been sobbing as if about to faint opened her mouth.

“Hic, sob our baby… please.”

“……”

Hamel hesitated for a moment, then nodded his head.

The village head reached out and, without meaning to, began to offer excuses, but Hamel shook his head to stop him.

“Tell me everything later.”

As if to say that that was not important right now.

Hamel, with practiced movements, took holy water from his waist and dabbed it on his eyes.

Then, as if having noticed something, he began to run toward the woods at the edge of the village.

“Did you find something?”

“It’s the after-scent of a demonic energy.”

Demonic Energy.

As expected, the disappearance was the work of a demon.

The village head tensed and became aware of the sword at his waist.

So that he could draw it at any moment.

They ran along the forest path like that for some time.

‘…How are his feet so fast.’

The village head fell further and further behind Hamel, his breath coming up to his chin.

He was reaching his limit.

A flash of light seemed to burst from Hamel’s fingertips, and something shot rapidly into the underbrush.

Then a sound like dry wood snapping rang out.

But the village head, with experience as a mercenary, knew better.

That was the sound bones make when they break.

“What on earth…”

He hurried over to where Hamel had stopped.

Below Hamel, who looked around as if searching for something, lay a green chunk of flesh soaked in blood.

It was a monster with red horns sprouting from its head, snaggled teeth, and a yellow, catlike pupil that could have occupied half its face.

The cerebrospinal fluid flowing from the dagger lodged in its forehead was quickly dimming that glow, though.

‘That was driven into its skull?’

Only then did the village head realize in horror that what Hamel had thrown was a dagger only a span long.

Whether it was a human or beast, a skull is harder than most wood.

In his time as a mercenary he’d met many people, but those capable of such a feat could be counted on one hand.

After a brief moment of bewilderment he shook his head and asked.

“Is this the one?”

“Redcap. A creature that steals newborns and delights in toying with humans.”

“Why would it do that… No, never mind the details. So it’s all over then?”

The village head, frowning, asked with a light sigh.

Hamel placed a hand on the hilt of his sword and answered.

“No.”

His gaze still swept the surroundings as if searching for something.

“The child is not here.”

“What? A baby who can’t even roll over alone — where could it have gone by itself?”

“Well…”

Hamel, about to answer, trailed off and hesitated.

Something fell with a patter between the trees.

A lukewarm liquid, unlike raindrops.

“?”

The village head tilted his head as if sensing something amiss.

Hamel, on the other hand, clenched his teeth.

This was no kind of rain.

Even in the dark woods, because he’d applied holy water to his eyes, Hamel could easily tell what it was.

A sticky red…

He didn’t want to look up, but he couldn’t help it.

Hamel ground his molars and raised his head.

“…It means there’s another demon.”

There, a monster grinned widely, gums bared, mocking Hamel.

Bits of red flesh clung between its teeth.

Following Hamel’s gaze, the village head also looked up.

What met his eyes was a pale, smiling monster in the darkness.

Long black hair, snow-white skin, and even pronounced breasts.

At a glance it resembled a woman, but its grotesquely long arms and doglike elongated skull were anything but human.

At that chilling sight, the village head involuntarily staggered back.

“What in hell is that…?”

Hamel ground his teeth and answered.

“White Lady. That’s its name.”

Hamel, usually as motionless as a stone, clenched his teeth in fury, but the village head had no time to notice.

He had heard that name before.

In his mercenary days, a party he knew through the guild had been wiped out.

It was a mission to hunt a beast, not a demon, yet they never returned from the forest.

After several more sacrifices, people learned that a white demon lurked in the forest, and the Order hastily sent priests to deal with it.

When the priests returned to the guild after the matter was settled, they reported its nature as follows.

A mid-rank demon.

They said it was the ‘White Lady.’

“The White Lady… mid-rank?”

The village head muttered in a trembling voice, and Hamel nodded in response.

“……”

His legs gave out and he sank to the ground.

This is the end.

There’s no way to get out of here alive.

The mercenary party that had been annihilated were all seasoned veterans.

By contrast, here stood only himself, retired and rusty in skill.

‘If there’s any difference between them and me…’

The village head looked at Hamel with despair in his eyes.

Under the robe was a boy barely old enough to be called a youth.

Far from being a deacon, even a priest would struggle against a mid-rank demon; such a boy could be of no help.

There was no hope.

It might be better to take his own life.

Just as he thought that.

He suddenly noticed a small scrap of cloth fluttering on the tree where the White Lady clung.

At most slightly larger than a palm, it was clearly a piece of clothing.

“…Fuck.”

An expletive slipped out before he knew it.

Strength returned to his legs.

The village head staggered to his feet and drew the sword at his waist.

For some reason, the boy named Hamel looked at him with a strange expression.

The look bothered him, but he had a favor to ask now.

“P-please, run now if you can. Please call for the Order’s reinforcements and protect the village.”

He wanted to sound brave, but he stammered a little.

It was unfortunate, but it would do.

As long as the village could be defended, nothing else mattered.

‘This is the only way.’

If by sacrificing himself the seminarian Hamel could escape.

Then further harm could be prevented.

“……”

Hamel gazed steadily at the resolute village head for a moment.

Then he slowly stepped forward.

“What are you doing!”

To the village head’s urgent shout, Hamel replied succinctly.

“It’s all right.”

“All right? That thing is…”

Suddenly the village head realized Hamel was not trembling.

The next moment, the White Lady began to move.

“Kya hahahahah!”

She darted between the trees, her black hair whipping about.

She moved so quickly that only a pale blur could be seen.

She laughed constantly, as if relishing herself.

The sound echoed in all directions.

Just as terror had frozen the village head’s body.

A long arm shot out from the darkness.

He hadn’t realized from the ground, but the arm was far larger and longer than expected.

He knew by instinct.

That being struck by that arm would mean being torn apart.

The images of mercenaries killed by that monster flashed through his mind.

They were all torn to shreds and bitten in places, like ragged scraps.

‘Is this how I’ll die?’

Just as despair and fear surged over him, something flashed at the edge of his vision.

A clear metal sound rang out.

Through the dark canopy, the pattern engraved on a sword cast a faint glow.

With a slicing sound, red blood spattered.

“Kiiiiiiii!”

The White Lady gave a sharp scream and leapt back.

Her pale, thin wrist had been deeply cut.

“…What is this?”

The village head could only murmur in disbelief at what he saw.

Whatever he said or didn’t say.

Hamel quietly clenched and unclenched the hand that held his sword.

“Too light, perhaps.”

He muttered softly and slowly advanced toward the White Lady.

The White Lady touched her wound in disbelief.

Then, as if enraged, she whipped her elongated hand like a whip toward Hamel.

But once again the arm did not reach Hamel.

Hamel twisted his body in a blur, easily evading the now-invisible attack, and plunged in toward her.

And the next moment.

A louder, clearer sound of blade slicing echoed through the woods than before.

“Kiiiii aaaaaah!”

Blood spouted like a fountain along the blade’s path, from the White Lady’s shoulder to her chest.

Yet she still moved, and perhaps sensing danger, she quickly leapt up into the trees.

“Whoa!”

Unconsciously, the village head gestured toward the monster and shouted.

Was she trying to flee like this?

Any relief at having survived was brief; the village head fretted, thinking this might be the only chance to kill her.

Then something appeared in his sight as he followed the monster’s form.

At once he let out a scream.

“Over, over there — a baby!”

At the top of the tree the White Lady had leapt to.

Between the branches, the newborn was visible.

“…Waaah.”

The child babbled as if waking from sleep at the commotion.

It was definitely the child that had disappeared from the village today.

‘So the child was alive.’

The village head felt both joy and despair at once.

Because rescuing the child seemed impossible.

Hamel’s combat skill was certainly far beyond what he’d expected.

In fact, he was honestly impressed — in all his long mercenary years he’d met few with such skill.

But that was only regarding swordsmanship.

Chasing that demon, which had already climbed more than halfway up the tree, was an entirely different matter.

The White Lady, seemingly aware of this, leisurely climbed the tree.

If that creature held the baby as a hostage, no matter how skilled the boy, he couldn’t simply attack.

Her smirking grin made that intention painfully clear.

“Eek!”

The village head, desperate, tried to throw his sword to stop her.

But at that moment.

Cold yet solemn.

Resolute yet merciful.

A voice, somewhat inhuman, sounded from behind.

“Ehurshika’s lawful fire that purifies impurity, burn your enemies away.”

A prayer repeated hundreds, thousands of times until it was more natural than breathing.

As Hamel traced the sign of the cross and clasped his hands.

“Oh ok ok ok ok!”

The White Lady’s startled scream echoed through the forest.

Blue flames rose from her wounds.

In the blink of an eye the flames had engulfed her body and she was blazing fiercely.

The death throes of a creature burning to death are always horrific.

In that, demons are no different from humans.

The creature trembled and stretched out toward the child before it.

It was the last convulsive effort it could make.

The blue-burning mass fell from the tree with a thud and no longer moved.

The flames burned quietly.

They did not spread, but silently erased the demon’s body from this world.

The village head, who had been silent for a long time, murmured in relief.

“Blue flames… I’ve heard of them in my mercenary days. A priest ordained as the youngest Exorcist priest.”

“……”

“A priest of the Azure Flame. So that was you.”

The village head looked at Hamel with trembling eyes.

His eyes held relief, admiration, and fear.

Hamel gave no answer and approached the tree.

Then in an instant he leapt up and stood at the top of the tree.

He took off his robe and carefully wrapped the child in it.

The rain had stopped without anyone noticing.

Under the clearing sky, countless starlights poured down over the priest’s head.

As expected, the priest who had shed his robe was a boy.

The boy’s silver hair shone brilliantly in the starlight.

The village head felt his throat tighten at the sight.

It felt like a scene from the heroic tales he had heard as a child.