Chapter 7

The boundary between the open field and the forest.

Hamel and Antonio hid there, watching the battle between Djinn and the knights.

“Stand back. I’ll cut it down.”

At that moment, a knight in a red cloak stepped forward, enveloping their sword with aura.

Hamel nodded in approval.

It was a sound judgment.

Through several prior skirmishes, it had become clear that ordinary physical attacks were ineffective.

‘Djinn is fundamentally a spirit attribute.’

Against a demon of spiritual nature, only divine power, magic, or aura could inflict damage.

Thus, the red knight’s aura would surely be effective.

‘However…’

Djinn was cunning.

[La yumkinuk qatli bisikiyn.]

Spitting out words as if mocking, Djinn taunted the knight and fled to higher ground.

“Grrr.”

The knight, visibly enraged, ground their teeth.

No matter how exceptional a knight’s leg strength was, they couldn’t pursue someone fleeing that high.

Just as Hamel was considering whether to step in and help—

Whoosh!

A human clad in metal armor soared into the sky.

Even at a glance, it was a height that could clear the walls of a mansion.

Swish!

The red knight, leaping into the air, swiftly swung their sword.

A portion of Djinn’s smoky form was sliced, dispersing into the air.

It was a near miss.

Djinn, seemingly unprepared for this, hurriedly widened the distance.

“…Are all knights like that?”

Antonio, watching this, asked with a dumbfounded expression.

Of course, that wasn’t the case.

Hamel shook his head and replied,

“That one’s special.”

Even among high-ranking knights, one so specialized in leg strength would be rare.

If ordinary knights were all at that level, the empire’s balance of power would have collapsed long ago.

‘Anyway…’

The spectacle was over.

If left alone, the fight would likely drag on endlessly.

“Antonio, do you have something like a kettle or a lamp with you?”

At Hamel’s sudden question, Antonio nodded with a bewildered look.

“There’s probably a water kettle?”

“Very well.”

Hamel instructed Antonio to fill the kettle with water.

Though Antonio wore a puzzled expression, he prepared it as directed.

Confirming this, Hamel took a deep breath.

From here on, it was a gamble.

It was a hunch, but the knight wasn’t his enemy.

Djinn and the knight faced each other from a distance.

-Step, step.

Hamel emerged from the forest’s edge, closing the distance with steady steps.

“…You!”

The knight, recognizing Hamel, let out a roar laced with hostility, but Hamel brushed it off lightly.

It wasn’t obvious, but the knight’s sword had definitely wounded Djinn earlier.

If so, the next part was simple.

Hamel’s voice rang out across the clearing as he made the sign of the cross.

“O flame of Ehuursika, purifier of corruption, burn your enemy.”

As Hamel clasped his hands together, blue flames suddenly erupted from Djinn’s body.

Whoosh!

[■■■■ ■■!!!]

Djinn writhed, letting out a horrific scream.

Thrashing in midair, Djinn frantically scanned the surroundings as if searching for something.

But only for a moment.

[……!]

Djinn’s gaze locked onto Antonio.

“Huh?”

As Antonio, standing behind Hamel, stumbled back in surprise, Hamel spoke.

“Hold it tightly.”

“Hold what…!”

Before Antonio could finish asking what to hold, he froze.

Djinn, engulfed in flames, surged toward him like a bolt of lightning.

The moment Antonio thought he was done for—

Boom!

With a thunderous roar, Djinn was sucked into the water kettle.

Instinctively, Antonio gripped the violently shaking kettle with all his strength.

Only then did he understand what Hamel meant by “hold it tightly.”

The kettle soon fell still.

“Set it down and step back,” Hamel said.

Hamel approached the kettle Antonio placed on the ground.

Then, with a swing of his sword, he cleaved the kettle in two.

-Crack!

Black demonic energy poured out from the split kettle, absorbed into Hamel’s sword.

The knights and Antonio could only stare at Hamel, dumbfounded.

“…Were you hiding your strength?”

The red-cloaked knight, still radiating hostility, asked coldly.

It was a rather self-serving misunderstanding, but Hamel didn’t respond.

There was no need to.

In truth, Hamel’s easy victory was a matter of compatibility.

A mid-tier spiritual demon like Djinn would require at least a high-ranking knight to face.

The minimum requirement for exorcising a spiritual demon was the use of aura.

On the other hand, an exorcist priest could easily handle a mid-tier demon.

Hamel’s unique ability was blue flame—a greedy fire that left no trace of demons but purified and aided the regeneration of humans.

In other words, he couldn’t use his ability against a knight.

Hamel wasn’t skilled at lying.

So, he simply stared.

As Hamel gazed calmly at the knight, a silence hung between them.

After a moment, the knight muttered as if recalling something.

“I remember now. The youngest exorcist priest. The Priest of Azure Flame, was it? That’s you.”

“…”

Hamel nodded.

Fortunately, the knight didn’t seem to know much about his abilities.

After a brief pause, the knight spoke with difficulty.

“What do you want?”

“Take me to the lord.”

“Are you asking to die?”

Without hesitation, the knight raised their sword, exuding killing intent.

It was an expected reaction, so Hamel calmly said what needed to be said.

“The demon I just exorcised is called Djinn.”

“…”

The knight flinched.

The momentum, as if ready to swing the sword, subsided.

Thankfully, they seemed intrigued.

Hamel continued.

“It’s the culprit behind draining the forest’s essence, killing animals, and even people.”

“…So what? Are you saying I should thank you?”

The knight sneered, but Hamel shook his head, as if it didn’t matter.

“The problem is, this isn’t over yet.”

“What do you mean…!”

The knight frowned, then their eyes widened.

They must have realized something.

“…The young lady.”

At the knight’s low murmur, Hamel nodded.

“The target of the curse is the young lady.”

“A curse?”

At the knight’s question, Hamel answered calmly.

“A curse called the Brand of Sacrifice.”

The Brand of Sacrifice.

As the name implies, it’s a curse that offers a sacrifice to a demon.

The cursed individual wastes away, eventually becoming an offering to the demon.

Someone had placed this curse on the lord’s daughter.

The knight, with a stern expression, pressed on with questions.

“Then what about the Djinn?”

“The caster of the curse likely bound Djinn with a contract to complete the ritual.”

Hamel had seen scenes like this countless times.

Where the Brand of Sacrifice was being prepared, the land and trees lost their vitality, and animals and people died as if slashed by a blade or withered into dry husks.

Completing the Brand of Sacrifice required a complex process and many offerings.

It demanded the entire essence of a forest, no less.

That’s why demon worshippers often used Djinn as a tool to complete such rituals.

“While fulfilling the contract, Djinn stays hidden, working to complete the ritual.”

“Then the fact that it showed itself now means…”

“The ritual is complete.”

Hamel looked up at the sky.

It was already completely dark.

The moonlight was hidden behind clouds, and aside from the torchlight, no other light could be found.

“Tonight.”

“…”

The knight’s body trembled faintly as they realized what Hamel meant.

“Like harvesting ripe fruit, it will come.”

Hamel didn’t know exactly what would appear.

But considering Djinn, a mid-tier demon, was merely used as a tool, it was certain that the entity to come would be a high-tier demon.

Three knights, with only one high-ranking among them.

This force was far from sufficient to stop it.

Hamel had explained enough.

He stated why he needed to meet the lord.

“If we can lift the Brand of Sacrifice now, the demon might not appear.”

Demons, surprisingly, valued contracts and efficiency.

Conversely, if the brand wasn’t lifted, the demon would undoubtedly show itself.

A branded sacrifice was far more efficient than offering hundreds of humans.

As long as the lord’s daughter bore the brand, the demon would never give up.

But the knight’s response remained unchanged.

“Get lost.”

“Why?”

Hamel asked calmly.

The knight answered as if it were obvious.

“Because I can’t trust you.”

“Because I’m an exorcist priest? Is that the lord’s will?”

“It’s my will, and the lord agrees.”

“…Then there’s nothing I can do.”

Hamel took a step back and called out to Antonio.

“We’ll camp here. Prepare.”

“What? Oh, yes, understood!”

Though momentarily confused, Antonio instinctively lowered the pack from his shoulder.

Following orders despite his doubts—worthy of some credit.

Hamel was thinking this when—

“…What are you doing?”

The red-cloaked knight, teeth gritted, questioned Hamel.

“Preparing to camp.”

As if it were obvious, Hamel’s tone made the knight clench their teeth harder.

“Didn’t you hear me tell you to get lost?”

“If the lord refuses to see me, there’s nothing I can do. But I can’t stand by and ignore people in danger. That’s my oath and doctrine.”

The knight, incredulous at Hamel’s response, opened their mouth to retort but sighed heavily and turned away.

They had already sheathed their sword.

“If I deem you a threat, I’ll cut you down without mercy.”

“Do as you please.”

Hamel replied nonchalantly and began helping Antonio prepare a meal.

For a knight to repeatedly threaten to cut down a priest of the order, they and the lord must be truly desperate. They likely weren’t even considering the consequences.

For now, Hamel needed to rest.

A life-or-death battle was fast approaching.

---

“It was my favorite water kettle.”

“…”

Hamel remained silent as Antonio muttered, holding up the broken kettle.

Though they hadn’t been traveling together long, Antonio could tell Hamel felt guilty.

He also knew that asking questions now would get kinder answers than usual.

“Why did Djinn go into the water kettle earlier?”

“…Djinn is a demon but close to a spirit. Spirits often inhabit objects, and in a situation like earlier, when its body was set ablaze, it would naturally seek water. That’s why it went into the kettle.”

This was a method commonly used by shamans or pagans to capture spirits or Djinn for contracts.

Naturally, Hamel had no intention of contracting with Djinn, so he simply cut the kettle and dispatched Djinn with ease.

“I see.”

Antonio nodded at the explanation.

Then, after gauging Hamel’s mood, he asked another question.

“What was that earlier?”

Antonio gestured toward the sword Hamel carried.

The demonic energy that had been sucked into the sword the moment Djinn was defeated.

Antonio had never witnessed such a phenomenon in his life.

Hamel casually drew his sword and handed it to Antonio.

“My talisman.”

“Talisman!”

Antonio’s eyes sparkled.

The weapons given to exorcist priests by the order were called talismans.

Their form and abilities varied depending on the priest’s disposition, unique abilities, and combat style.

But talismans shared one common trait: they absorbed demonic energy.

And the more demonic energy they absorbed, the stronger the talisman became.

Forgetting his fatigue, Antonio stared at the sword.

Its blade was etched with indecipherable runes, each varying slightly in thickness.

When Antonio asked about them, Hamel calmly pointed to the markings and explained.

“The thickness varies depending on the demon’s rank. This is for high-tier, this for mid-tier. Low-tier demons aren’t absorbed.”

Antonio was speechless at the explanation.

The sword was covered in dense, black runes.

Just how many demons had he vanquished?

What kind of life had he lived to achieve this?

It was impossible to fathom.

Feeling a mix of emotions, Antonio returned the sword and finished preparing the meal.

Afterward, Hamel and Antonio lit a campfire, ate, and quickly fell asleep, trusting the lord’s knights and soldiers to keep watch.

“Unbelievable.”

The red-cloaked knight let out a scoffing laugh repeatedly, but as Hamel predicted, he didn’t neglect his duty to stand guard.

How much time had passed?

Bark! Bark!

The sound of dogs barking began to echo from a distance.

And the sound grew closer.

“It’s here.”

Hamel rose and slowly checked his equipment.

The brief rest had alleviated some of his fatigue.

It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t bad either.

‘The key is what we’re facing.’

Even among high-tier demons, their strength varied widely.

Hamel had fought high-tier demons several times, but he could never fully suppress his tension.

‘Still, with Antonio and the other knights, we should manage somehow.’

That thought crossed his mind when—

Bark! Bark!

The barking rang out again.

It was very close now.

‘A high-tier demon related to dogs?’

Hamel was mentally listing possible demon names when—

“Woof! Woof!”

Two black dogs emerged from the forest.

Their size was closer to wolves, but they were unmistakably canine in form.

The first to react was the red-cloaked knight.

“What’s this? Is this the great demon you spoke of?”

His openly mocking words left Hamel speechless.

The knight, smugly studying Hamel’s face, expected to see embarrassment.

But he didn’t find the expression he wanted.

Flinch.

“…What’s wrong?”

Only then did the knight sense something was amiss.

Hamel couldn’t pull himself together.

Sweat dripped from his hands.

His head buzzed, and his legs trembled.

His face must have been deathly pale.

Oh no.

This was the worst.

He had been far too complacent.

To encounter ‘Roschka’s Black Dogs’ here, of all places.

Hamel recalled the ancient demon recorded in the scriptures.

The other name for ‘Roschka’s Black Dogs’ was ‘The Watchdogs that Herald Death.’

Their appearance signaled the doom of everyone present.

An unstoppable entity was coming.

From far away, it felt as though the sound of a trumpet was echoing.